Twins Minor League Report (6/13): Chris Williams is the Boss

TRANSACTIONS

• With C Ricardo Olivar being activated from the 7-day injured list for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, they returned C Alex Rodriguez to the FCL Twins.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 18, Louisville 7
Box Score
The pregame conversation for this one could have focused on current Saints players facing off against a former teammate many Twins fans have been fretting over trading away last year, in Christian Encarnacion-Strand.

One of those current Saints players, Chris Williams, perhaps took issue with this idea, remembering that when he played with CES, it was him showing the young guy what a slugger is.

They played 13 games together before Encarnacion-Strand was traded to the Cincinnati Reds organization, but in that time Williams hit seven home runs, drove in 20, and amassed a 1.319 OPS compared to just five homers, 17 RBI, and a 1.085 OPS for his former teammate.

With that in mind, Williams reminded his brief teammate and the Bats who’s the real boss in this one.

His first home run of the game came in the second inning, a two-run shot for the Saints first runs of the game. Elliot Soto added an RBI single later in the inning to make it 3-0 Saints.

With two outs in the third, Williams again connected like Encarnacion-Strand only wished he could, hitting his ninth home run of the season to make it 5-3 Saints. Tony Wolters extended the lead to three with an RBI single later in the frame.

The fourth inning started with a walk from Matt Wallner and a single from Kyle Garlick, before Williams stepped into the box for the third time with one out. Watch for yourself:

His third bomb of the game made it 10-3 Saints, and despite the Bats drawing 13 walks and collecting 10 hits, couldn’t match Williams and the Saints' 21 total hits.

So in case you’re counting, Williams wasn’t the only one who went off. In fact, all nine hitters in the Saints lineup reached base multiple times, scored at least one run, and only one didn’t collect at least two hits in the game. Rather than recounting this insanity in full, I invite you to please click that box score link above, and scroll the @StPaulSaints Twitter feed today for all the highlights.

Adding to the comparison above in the Chris Williams and Christian Encarnacion-Strand history after this one, in 14 total games played with or against each other:

Williams: 18-for-50, 11 R, 2 2B, 10 HR, 27 RBI, 14 BB, 10 K
vs.
CES: 19-for-57, 11 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 6 BB, 15 K 

That acronym guy was even pinch-hit for to end this game…Psshh…Pathetic… 

Polite (or infuriating) reminder Encarnacion-Strand is second in the International League with 17 HR’s this season, and leads the league with a .734(!) slugging percentage after this game, so this is all in jest…

On the pitching front, starter Aaron Sanchez went the first 3 1/3 innings, running into trouble in multiple innings due to some wildness ending up charged with seven earned runs on six hits and six walks, while striking out only one. He allowed a pair of home runs to former major leaguers Matt Reynolds and Wil Myers. Future Hall of Famer Joey Votto was also rehabbing with the Bats, finishing 0-for-3 with two walks and an RBI.

Ronny Henriquez (W, 1 2/3 IP, H, 2 BB, K), Austin Brice (1 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K), Michael Boyle (1 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K), and Patrick Murphy (2 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K) produced a scoreless effort from the Saints bullpen to close it out.

Gilberto Celestino (3-for-6, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K) and Matt Wallner (2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, BB, 3 K) chipped in from the top two spots in the lineup.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 8, Midland 2
Box Score
DaShawn Keirsey Jr. blasted the first pitch of the game for his seventh home run of the season and an early 1-0 lead, but it was a seven-run third inning that would end up smashing the RockHounds in this one.

In the third, it was five consecutive singles to start the inning, an RBI double from Aaron Sabato, and then a three-run home run off the bat of Seth Gray that did the damage. In a somewhat odd occurrence, Alerick Soularie was both the first and last hitter of the inning.

Starting pitcher Travis Adams picked up his second win of the season, finishing five innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits and a pair of walks while striking out three. Osiris German (1 2/3 IP, 3 H, BB, K) and Regi Grace (2 1/3 IP, H, BB, 2 K) finished off the final four scoreless innings.

The Wind Surge got multiple hits from Keirsey Jr. (2-for-5, 2 R, HR, RBI, SB), Yunior Severino (3-for-5, R, RBI), Sabato (2-for-4, R, 2 2B, RBI), and Gray (2-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K) to lead the offense. Brooks Lee was 1-for-5 with a run scored and RBI out of the two-hole.

As a team Wichita did not draw a single walk but made the most of their 12 hits by going 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position, leaving only four men on base for the game.

KERNELS NUGGETS
South Bend 2, Cedar Rapids 3
Box Score
The Kernels got a solid start from Mike Paredes, and an even better piggy-back outing from Jordan Carr to take down the Cubs in their series opener.

Cedar Rapids struck early in the bottom of the first, thanks in part to a pair of errors that extended the inning. Kala’i Rosario and Noah Cardenas made them hurt with consecutive RBI singles for the 2-0 lead.

Paredes pitched the first four innings of the game, allowing two earned runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out five. He gave up a two-run homer in the top of the third to tie the game at two but otherwise was on point. Then came Carr. 

He struck out three, scattered one hit and three walks over the next five innings, and kept the game tied going into the bottom of the ninth, giving his team a chance to walk it off.

In a flash, they did.

Leading off, Ben Ross was hit by a pitch to put the winning run on base, then moved up to second on a wild pitch. This brought Rosario to the plate, and like he’s done so far this season, came through with a single up the middle to start the celebration.

Both teams had just four hits in the game, but like Rosario’s, three of those came with runners in scoring position for the Kernels, compared to zero for the Cubs.

Rosario finished 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead the way. Misael Urbina chipped in the other single, and Ross scored two runs and stole his fifth base of the season in the win. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 9, Bradenton 3
Box Score
Mighty Mussels starter C.J. Culpepper was ambushed by solo home runs from the leadoff man in each of the first two innings, but after that the Marauders couldn’t find an answer for the Minnesota Twins 2022 13th-round draft pick.

Those home runs were the only runs he would allow, settling in for three scoreless frames to end his outing after five. In all, he surrendered five hits, walked three, and struck out seven to pick up his third win of the season.

Even when allowing those home runs, his lineup had his back by scoring runs in each of the first four innings. Ricardo Olivar had an RBI single in the first, Dillon Tatum an RBI single in the second, and Jorel Ortega’s homer in the third gave them the lead for good.

They put up a crooked number in the fourth thanks to Tatum’s first home run of the season, a three-run shot making it 6-2  Fort Myers. In the seventh they tacked on some more insurance, with Dylan Neuse’s grounder to third leading to a run-scoring error, Ortega contributing an RBI groundout, and Danny De Andrade’s RBI single capping their scoring at nine.

Relievers Jarret Whorff (2 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K) and Danny Moreno (2 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K) finished out the win for the Mighty Mussels.

Ortega (3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), De Andrade (2-for-4, RBI, K), and Tatum (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB, K) each had multiple hits.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 3, FCL Braves 7
Box Score
The Twins fell behind early and weren’t able to recover against the Braves on Tuesday morning.

Starting pitcher Jacob Wosinski recorded just one out in the first inning and ended up charged with four runs (three earned) on three hits before his exit. Relievers Owen Griffith (1 2/3 IP, 2 K) and 2022 DSL standout Miguel Olivares (2 IP, BB, 4 K) filled in admirably after Wosinski’s exit, before Carlos Gutierrez (3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 K) gave up a two-run homer in his second inning. Kyle Bischoff finished off the game for the Twins, allowing one earned run on two hits in his lone inning, striking out one.

The lineup for the Twins managed a single run in each of the third, seventh, and ninth innings, and outhit the Braves 9-7 in the game, but had only one extra-base hit. Isaac Pena (3-for-5, 2 RBI, K) and Reynaldo Madrigal (1-for-3, 2 R, 2 K) led the way, with Jose Rodriguez (1-for-5, RBI, K), and Bryan Acuna (1-for-3, BB) also contributing.

DOMINICAN DAILY
DSL Twins 8, DSL Astros Orange 7 (10 innings)
Box Score
The Twins took an early lead with two runs in the first inning, thanks to multiple balks and a wild pitch from the Astros pitchers. It stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth as starter Adrian Bohorquez was solid through the first four innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while picking up four strikeouts. In the fifth inning, however, he was out of gas and walked the first three hitters of the inning, putting an end to his outing. All three of those runners would end up crossing home plate to put the Astros in front.

The good guys tied the game at three thanks to multiple wild pitches and an error in the top of the sixth, then took a 6-3 lead in the seventh thanks to a bases-loaded walk and two-run double from Dameury Pena.

Relievers Leonardo Lugo (3 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K), Jeicol Surumuy ( 2/3 IP, ER, 3 BB, K), and Jose Ojo (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 K) got the team through the ninth inning, but the blown save from Ojo led them to extra innings.

In the top of the tenth inning, two throwing errors from the Astros on a pop-out led to the ghost runner on second base scoring the go-ahead run, then after a pair of singles another wild pitch and an errant pickoff throw added another insurance run.

The Astros were able to score their own ghost runner in the bottom half, but didn’t get another runner on base as Oscar Paredes shut the door to pick up the save.

Pena (2-for-6, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI) and Jayson Bass (3-for-5, RBI) led the way with multiple hits. Lead-off man Yilber Herrera drew five walks, scored a run, and was credited with an RBI.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Jordan Carr, Cedar Rapids Kernels (W, 5 IP, H, 3 BB, 3 K)
Hitter of the Day - Chris Williams, St. Paul Saints (3-for-5, 3 HR, 7 RBI, BB, 2 K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-5, R, RBI
#2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1-for-3, K
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, R, 3 K
#4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, R, 2B, BB, K
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, BB, 3 K
#12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, K
#13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, K
#18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) - 1-for-5, RBI, K
#19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 3-for-5, R, RBI

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Louisville (11:05 AM CDT) - RHP Randy Dobnak (2-3, 6.15 ERA)
Wichita @ Midland (6:30 PM CDT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (0-3, 7.11 ERA)
South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Bradenton (11:00 AM CDT) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-1, 1.80 ERA)

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’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!