Twins Minor League Report (5/26): Kernels Pop, Duran K’s 14

TRANSACTIONS

RHP Sean Poppen promoted to Rochester.

C Janigson Villalobos promoted to Fort Myers.

OF Trey Cabbage placed on the suspended list with Fort Myers (Suspended by team).

AWARDS

The Twins announced their weekly Hitter and Pitcher of the Week:

• Hitter of the Week: Ryan Jeffers, Fort Myers
  

Jeffers played in six games for the Miracle, hitting .400 (8-for-20) with two home runs, four RBI, three walks and a .478 on-base percentage. Jeffers, 21, was drafted by the Twins in the second round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

• Pitcher of the Week: Austin Schulfer, Cedar Rapids
  

Schulfer made one start his week on Wednesday against Burlington. He and Jose Martinez combined to throw a seven-inning no hitter. He pitched five shutout innings while striking out seven and walking one. Schulfer, 23, was drafted by the Twins in the 19th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 9, Pawtucket 2 (Completion of suspended game 5/25)

Box Score

Rochester was already up 6-1 before Saturday’s contest got rained out. Randy Dobnak, in his Triple-A debut, had started the original game. He allowed one run on one hit and struck out one. Sean Poppen started on Sunday. He would pick up his second win after he pitched six strong innings. He struck out seven, walked three, and allowed one earned run. Trevor Hildenberger allowed one hit, but he was able to finish off the ninth.

Nick Gordon, Tomas Telis, and Jordan Valdespin all went 2-for-4. Telis and Valdespin both collected three RBI and Gordon added his seven double. LaMonte Wade reached base twice knocked his first triple and scored two runs.

Rochester 6, Pawtucket 7 (8 Innings)

Box Score

Rochester got out a head in this one with a couple runs in the third. Jack Cave and LaMonte Wade walked to put two runners on base. Zander Wiel cracked his ninth double to score both runners. Rochester was up 2-0 but the lead wouldn’t last long.

Gabriel Moya pitched two scoreless innings to start the game. Fernando Romero took over in the third but he ran into some trouble in the fourth. He allowed four runs on three hits and he didn’t make it out of the inning. Jake Reed allowed one run on three hits in 1 2/3 innings.

This game was supposed to be over after seven frames, but LaMonte Wade wouldn’t let the Red Wings go quietly. With Rochester down two, he smacked his two-run shot to tie the game. Andrew Vasquez quickly saw the lead disappear. A triple with a runner on second was followed by a single to push a second run across and the Red Wings were back down by two.

https://twitter.com/RocRedWings/status/1132842728205750272

Rochester cause some fuss in the bottom of the final frame, but it wouldn’t be enough this time.

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Pensacola 11, Tennessee 10

Box Score

Pensacola scored runs in the final six frames to cap a come from behind victory. Andro Cutura ran into some early trouble as he didn’t make it out of the second inning. He allowed four runs on seven hits with a pair of strikeouts. Jeff Ames calmed things down as he limited Tennessee to one hit over the next two innings. He struck out four and walked two. The next couple relievers didn’t do as well.

Cody Stashak allowed three earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out one and surrendered four hits. Ryan Mason pitched less than an inning and allowed three earned runs. Tyler Jay and Williams Ramirez put up zeros over the final two innings to help the Blue Wahoos stay in the game.

Travis Blankenhorn provided quite the offensive punch. He finished the night 4-for-6 with a home run and four RBI. His ninth inning home run gave the team the lead for good. Obviously, he wasn’t the only one. Ben Rortvedt drove in three runs and hit his first Double-A home run. Mitchell Kranson almost matched Blankenhorn in hits as he went 3-for-5.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 3, Daytona 5

Box Score

Royce Lewis got things started early as he tripled to start the game. Lewin Diaz drove in Lewis with a sacrifice fly. Trevor Larnach followed with his third home run of the season. Fort Myers had an early 2-0 lead. After Daytona tied it up, Jose Miranda hit a solo home run in the fourth. Unfortunately, that was the end of the scoring for the Miracle.

Jhoan Duran recorded 18 outs and 14 were by strikeout. He allowed one earned run on one hit. He reached 101 mph on the gun and hit triple-digits four times in the first inning. Calvin Faucher took the loss in this one after he took over for Duran. He allowed three earned runs on four hits. Alex Phillips pitched the final 1 1/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one.

Fort Myers went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 14, Peoria 1

Box Score

Cedar Rapids used a huge seven-run second inning to distance themselves from Peoria. The club never looked back from there. Every hitter in the Cedar Rapids line-up collected a hit. In fact, all but two players reached base multiple times.

Yeltsin Encarnacion had one of the big hits in the second inning, a three-run home run. He finished 3-for-6 and he scored three runs. Jacob Pearson had a three-run double in the same inning. He led the team with four RBI. Gabe Snyder and Gilberto Celestino joined Encarnacion in the three-hit club. Celestino add a triple, his first of the year.

Josh Winder was able to sink into cruise control mode on the mound. He tossed seven strong innings by allowing one run on four hits. He struck out seven and walked one. Jose Martinez tossed two scoreless frames to finish the game. He only allowed two base runners.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

TD Pitcher of the Day- Jhoan Duran, Fort Myers (6.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 14 K, 2 BB)

TD Hitter of the Day- Travis Blankenhorn, Pensacola (4-6, HR, 4 RBI, R, 2 K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 2-4, 3B, R

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 1-5, R, BB, K

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Did not pitch

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, HR, R, RBI

#5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – Did not play

#6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Injured (wrist)

#7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – 6.0 IP, ER, H, 14 K, 2 BB

#8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did not pitch

#9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch

#10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – Injured List

#11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 2-4, 2B, R, BB

#12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) – Did not pitch

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 0-4, 2 K

#14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB

#15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List

#16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 3-6, 3B, RBI, 2 R

#17 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) – Did not pitch

#18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 2-7, 3B, HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2K

#19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not pitch

#20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, HR, R, RBI, 2 K

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester vs. Pawtucket (12:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (3-2, 3.52 ERA)

Pensacola – Scheduled Off-Day

Fort Myers – Scheduled Off-Day

Cedar Rapids vs. Peoria (12:05 CST) – RHP Austin Schulfer (4-2, 2.41 ERA)

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!