Twins Minor League Report (6/10): Mick Abel Outduels Justin Verlander in Rehab Start

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Mick Abel sent to AAA St. Paul on rehab
RHP Andrew Bash transferred to development list (AAA St. Paul)
RHP Taylor Rashi reported to AAA St. Paul

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 12, Toledo 1
Box Score
Mick Abel: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
HR: Aaron Sabato (12), Kyler Fedko (15), Matt Wallner (6), Gabriel Gonzalez (9)
Multi-hit games: Kyler Fedko (2-for-3, HR, 3 R, RBI, BB), Matt Wallner (2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI), Gabriel Gonzalez (3-for-5, HR, 2B, 3 R, RBI), Aaron Sabato (3-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI)

The Saints dominated their opponent on Wednesday.

Mick Abel vs Justin Verlander. For the price of a AAA ticket? Toledo hadn’t seen such entertainment since Art Tatum’s piano playing in the late 20s and early 30s. 

The youngster clearly bested the elder in the matchup of generations: Abel pounded the zone and flashed healthy-looking stuff, topping out at 97.9 while punching out five. He tossed three shutout innings. 

Verlander, on the other hand, couldn’t escape the gopher ball. Aaron Sabato got him in the second off a hanging slider, and Kyler Fedko also pounced on the Hall-of-Famer’s signature strikeout pitch for a homer in the third.

Verlander settled in for a time before Matt Wallner and Gabriel Gonzalez went back-to-back in the sixth. That’s four home runs off a pitcher who will one day remain forever alive in the walls of Cooperstown.

The Mud Hens weren’t done sending former All-Stars to the mound, as Kenley Jansen entered in the seventh. He, too, didn’t phase the Saints. Three straight baserunners chased the owner of the third-most saves in MLB history, starting an assembly line of runs that concluded with six on the board, and 10 in the game for St. Paul. They tacked on two more for good measure in the eighth.

The Mud Hens roster Max Clark, the seventh-ranked prospect in MLB. He singled once in four at-bats. 

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 2, Wichita 5
Box Score
Jose Olivares: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-3, 2B, R, BB)

The Wind Surge came up short on Wednesday.

It's possible the game’s opening inning cursed Wichita: Jose Olivares walked the leadoff batter—a sin in the eyes of the baseball gods—and the Olivares/Poncho Ruiz battery allowed the runner to steal second, an insolent act made worse by a throwing error that sent him to third. The baseball gods look unfavorably on poor fundamentals, and the Wind Surge soon learned this.

Matters settled into a Cold War stalemate for a few frames before Kyle DeBarge lurched us into modernity with a cracked double to start the fifth. Jaime Ferrer then knocked him home with a single up the middle. 

The Drillers responded with two runs, and when Wichita scored in the sixth, Tulsa clubbed on two more runs to emphasize their point. It was taken. The Wind Surge didn’t score the rest of the game. 

DeBarge enjoyed one his best games of the season; the infielder doubled, singled, walked, and stole his 17th base on the year. It was his first multi-hit game since May 26th. 

That anonymous leadoff man from before was actually Josue De Paula, the eighth-best prospect in baseball according to MLB.com. He doubled and walked twice. 

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 8, Lansing 9 (10 Innings)
Box Score
Michael Ross: 3 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
HR: Quinn McDaniel (1), Eduardo Tait (10)
Multi-hit games: Yasser Mercedes (2-for-5, 2B, 2R), Quinn McDaniel (2-for-5, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI), Danny De Andrade (2-for-5, 3B, 2 R, RBI)

The Kernels lost in extras on Wednesday.

Quinn McDaniel continues to be a revelation for the Twins organization, as he launched his first A+ ball homer and added a double to give him six total bases in the game. He’s hitting .333/.406/.517 in 16 games with Cedar Rapids. Wichita may be in his near future.

Eduardo Tait smashed a three-run shot in the seventh for his tenth home run of the year. Though the catcher endured a slower start to the season, he’s slugging .563 in seven games to start the month of June. That’s more in the line with the production the team expected when they traded for him last year.

Every batter for the Kernels reached base at least once, and every batter outside Tait and Khadim Diaw reached base at least twice. 

No player in the Athletics’ top 30 prospect list played in Wednesday’s game.

Mussel Matters

The Mighty Mussels met the one thing mightier than them: mother nature. And what a temperamental gal is she. They will attempt to play a doubleheader on Thursday, June 11th. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Mick Abel
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Gabriel Gonzalez

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#2 – Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1-5, R, BB
#5 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, HR, R, 3 RBI, K
#7 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, RBI, 2 BB, 
#10 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 3-5, HR, 2B, 3 R, RBI
#12 – Andrew Morris (Twins) - 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
#15 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K
#19 – Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, K
#20 – Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 2-3, 2B, R, BB

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05 PM) - RHP Austin Voth
Wichita @ Tulsa (7:00 PM) - RHP Sam Armstrong
Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 PM) - RHP Riley Quick
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (3:35 PM) - RHP Eli Jones
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (Game Two) - TBD
FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (11:00 AM) - TBD
DSL Twins @ DSL NYY Yankees (10:00 AM) - TBD

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