Twins Minor League Report (6/6): Aaron Sabato Plays Hero in St. Paul; Is Wichita Losing the Wind Surge?

On Saturday afternoon in Wichita, the Wind Surge management announced that following the 2026 season, the team will be rebranded as the Wichita Turbo Tubs. It isn't a completely new name. The team has used the name and unique uniforms for select games over the past four or five years. 

Wind Surge GM Matt Hamilton said, "This is more than a name change. It's a celebration of who we are and where we're headed. The community asked for this, and we have made the bold change!" He continued, "Baseball should be fun, memorable, and uniquely tied to our community. The Turbo Tubs captures that energy in a way that fans of all ages can rally behind." 

The decision makes no sense to me. I get that minor league teams have been switching names to strange names that make little sense. Who are some of your favorites? I like the Rocket City Trash Pandas and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. I bet some #OldFriends from the New Britain Rock Cats days are still working for the Hartford Yard Goats. If they hadn't moved to Wichita in 2021, the Twins Double-A affiliate would most likely be the Amarillo Sod Poodles. 

Personally, I don't get it. So, I'll let the Wichita media relations staff try to explain it, and what makes it so perfect for a team from Wichita. 

"The Turbo Tubs identity is a direct tribute to Wichita with distinct identifiers specific to the city. The wind sail and jet engines propel the porcelain bathtub onward, paying homage to the tub races once seen in the Arkansas River.  The jet engine pays homage to the aerospace industry here in Wichita.  The troll found along the water walk, near the Keeper of the Plains, takes charge as captain, bringing to life the fable tales heard by young and old throughout the community. The branding also includes a color palette of the one-of-a-kind sunsets uniquely present in the Midwest geographical region. The Tubs logo represents many things Wichitan’s love about this great city while incorporating the playful side of MiLB." 

What are your thoughts? 

And before we jump to the rest of today's minor league report, a reminder that the College World Series bracket is being filled. On Sunday, Troy University became the first team with 30 losses to earn a spot in Omaha. And how cool is this tradition at West Virginia who earned their first trip to Omaha. 

TRANSACTIONS   
With an afternoon game, the Twins announced early-ish on Saturday morning that James Outman has been DFAd, and Royce Lewis is back. 

Alan Roden began a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins on Saturday morning. 

Henry Kusiak was assigned to the Saints from the Mussels. 

Wichita moved RHP Jacob Wosinski to the Development List. 

The Twins signed RHP Zach Vennaro and assigned him to Wichita. The 6-6, 220 pound, 30-year-old has been working this season with pitching coach Frank Viola and the High Point Rockers. In 13 relief appearances this year, he has tossed 14 1/3 innings. He’s given up seven runs on 13 hits, but he’s got 19 strikeouts and just three walks. He has pitched for High Point since 2024. A native of Utica, New York, he first went to Monroe Community College before spending a season at the University of Mount Olive. He went undrafted in 2018, and in June of 2019, he signed with the Brewers. He spent 2021-2023 with Double-A Biloxi, though he did pitch in three games for Triple-A Nashville.  

After signing on Friday, Halton Hardy was assigned to the FCL Twins. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 6  
Box Score
They needed to work a little overtime, but the Saints ended a nice week hosting Indianapolis with an 11-inning win. They won four of five games in the series with one more to play. 

Aaron Rozek made the start and was again very solid. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits, two walks, and a hit batter. He struck out four batters. 

Alejandro Hidalgo struck out two batters over two perfect innings. Drew Smith walked one and had two strikeouts over 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Raul Brito worked the next 1 2/3 innings and gave up only a solo home run. Trent Baker came in and pitched the 10th and 11th innings. He pitched a scoreless 10th inning and gave up the unearned run in the top of the 11th. 

With two outs in the bottom of the first, Kyler Fedko launched the seventh pitch he saw to left center, 398 feet from home plate, to tie the game at 1-1. It was his 14th homer of the season.   

In the second, Aaron Sabato and Tanner Schobel singled. Noah Cardenas walked to load the bases. Kaelen Culpepper was hit in the left hand by a pitch, taking on a little pain for the RBI and the 2-1 lead. Indianapolis scored their second run in the top of the third. 

Then things went quiet. In fact, it remained 2-2 until the ninth inning. Esmerlyn Valdez led off the top of the ninth inning with his 12th home run of the season to give the Pirates affiliate the 3-2 lead.  

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Aaron Sabato hit a double with one out. Ben Ross followed with a line drive to center to drive in Sabato with the tying run

Cardenas was important in the 10th inning. In the top of the inning, he threw out the Manfred Man attempting to steal third base. In the bottom of the inning, his sacrifice bunt moved the Saints Manfred Man to third base. Unfortunately, they were unable to bring him in from there. 

In the top of the 11th, Termarr Johnson led off by singling in the go-ahead run to give them a 4-3 lead. Trent Baker came up big at the point with a strikeout and a double-play ball. 

In the bottom of the 11th inning, Kyler Fedko started the inning at second base. Matt Wallner led off with a double to tie the game at 4-4. Gabriel Gonzalez was asked to and successfully sacrificed himself to get Wallner to third. 

Aaron Sabato played hero again with a walk-off, two-run homer. 

Sabato went 3-for-5 with his 15th double, 11th home run and two RBI. Ben Ross was 2-for-4. Noah Cardenas walked twice, threw out one would-be base stealer and picked off two runners including one at third base. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 2, San Antonio 4
Box Score
This was a good game of back-and-forth, until it wasn’t. 

San Antonio scored a run in the top of the first inning. With one out in the bottom of the first, Kyle DeBarge’s 12th double of the season drove in Kala’i Rosario to tie the game at 1-1.   

Sam Armstrong, acquired from the Cubs with Ryan Gallagher in the Willi Castro trade, made the start for the Surge. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk over five innings. He had two strikeouts.  

Spencer Bengard came on and gave up one run on four hits and a walk over two innings. He gave up a run in the top of the sixth. In the bottom of that inning, Rosario led off with a double. With one out, Billy Amick was jammed but strong enough to drop it in just the right spot to record an infield hit and move Rosario to third. With two outs, there was a pitching change. Andrew Cossetti came to the plate and lined a single to left to drive in Rosario and tie the game at 2-2. 

William Fleming gave up a run in the eighth inning. The Wind Surge went scoreless. 

Kyle Bischoff gave up one run on two hits and a walk in the top of the ninth. The Wind Surge went scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to fall 4-2. 

Wichita scored their two runs on just four hits and four walks. Kala’i Rosario went 1-for-2 with his third double and two walks. He scored both of the team’s runs. DeBarge’s RBI double was his 12th of the season. He also stole his 16th base. He was 1-for-3 with a walk.

The Wind Surge have lost nine of their last 10 games. They are 3-13 in their past 16 games. They have lost three straight series. 

The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Be sure to check out one of our DiamondCentric sites, Padres Mission. Also, check out how many of these Missions players appear on the Padres Mission Top 20 Prospect Rankings. 22-year-old outfielder Braedon Karpathios went 2-for-2 with three walks. 

KERNELS CHRONICLE 
Cedar Rapids 7, Wisconsin 6 (Six. Seven.)
Box Score
The Timber Rattlers roster is loaded with prospects, some pitchers but the lineup has a lot of potential big leaguers. Be sure to go to our sister site, Brewer Fanatic, and check out how many of their top prospects play for Wisconsin.  

Lefty Cesar Lares made his first career Midwest League start. He’s missed time the last couple of seasons with elbow issues and eventually had Tommy John surgery. He did well though. He gave up two runs on four hits over four innings. The reality is he gave up two runs on just two of those hits. 2024 top pick Braylon Payne led off the game with a homer, and 2025 top pick and MWL Home Run leader Andrew Fischer (both left-handed hitters) hit his 18th home run. Lares had five strikeouts and, maybe most importantly, zero walks! 

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Marek Houston led off with a walk. Eduardo Tait singled to left. With one out, a passed ball put runners on second and third, but then Khadim Diaw was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jay Thomason flew out to left, deep enough to drive in Houston with the team’s first run. Quinn McDaniel followed with a single to right to drive in Tait with the tying run. 

Fischer’s home run tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning. The bottom of the fourth inning started with two outs. Harry Genth was hit by a pitch. Houston singled him to second. Tait singled to right to drive in Genth. Brandon Winokur stepped to the plate and crushed a three-run shot to the deepest part of the ballpark and give the Kernels a 6-2 lead.  (see below, he was joyous)

Adam Falinski came in and tossed a scoreless fifth frame. However, he gave up a three-run homer to Eric Bitonti which tightened things at 6-5. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Winokur was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He moved to second base on a disengagement violation. He was still on second with two outs, but McDaniel picked up his teammates with a line drive, RBI single to right field for an insurance run. 

Xavier Kolhosser came on and had 1-2-3 innings in the seventh and eighth innings. He got the first out of the top of the ninth, but Luis Castillo knocked a solo home run to cut the lead to just 7-6. But Kolhosser responded by getting a pop out and a strikeout to end the game. 

Houston went 2-for-3 with two walks. Tait went 2-for-5. McDaniel went 2-for-4. The only other hit was Winokur’s three-run homer. Winokur and Diaw were also hit by pitches. Genth was hit twice by pitches. 

The Kernels have gone 8-13 in their past 21 games. 

MIGHTY MATTERS
Ft. Myers 5, Lakeland 0
Box Score  
For the second time in three games, the Mussels pitching staff tossed a shutout in Lakeland. Merit Jones struck out six batters over the first four scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and walked on batter. 

Lefty Jake Murray tossed two shutout innings and gave up just one hit. Eric Hammond, fresh off the injured list, gave up just one hit and one walk over 2 2/3 innings. He left the game with one out remaining and two runners on base. Mike Hilker came on and got the final out, preserving the shutout.

The Mussels scored what proved to be the winning run in the top of the first inning. Dameury Pena led off with his seventh double of the season. Ryan Sprock followed with a single. Pena scored on a double-play ball. 

With one out in the top of the fourth inning, Jayson Bass lined a single to right. Graham Brown then drilled a two-run home run to make it 3-0.   

The top of the sixth began with a Quentin Young walk. He stole second and went to third on a Brown single to left. With two outs, Irvin Nunez lined a two-run double off the tip of the diving center fielder’s glove. 

Graham Brown went 2-for-4 with his first home run in affiliated ball. He scored twice and drove in two runs. Dameury Pena went 2-for-5 with his seventh double. He also stole his 16th base. 

The Mussels have now won nine of their past 10 games. Before that stretch, they had lost five in a row. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLE
FCL Twins 4, FCL Red Sox 8
Box Score  
The Twins scored four runs over their seven innings on Saturday morning. The Red Sox scored four runs in the second inning, and then four more runs in the fourth inning to  take the win. 

The TWins took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Miguel Caraballo led off with a walk. The rehabbing Alan Roden followed with a walk. Following two strikeouts, the runners were successful on a double steal. Caraballo scored on a throwing error. 

Melvin Rodriguez got the start for the Twins, and he had a terrific start. In the first inning, he struck out the side on 13 pitches.

Daiber De Los Santos led off the top of the second with a single. Darwin Almanzar took over at first base after hitting into a fielder’s choice. With two outs, Caraballo advanced Almanzar to third with a double. Showing good patience, Roden walked for a second time. With the bases loaded, Jhomnardo Reyes drove in two runs with a double. 

Melvin Rodriguez struck out three batters in the bottom of the second inning too. Of course, the inning started with three singles and after the first strikeout. The Red Sox scored on a double steal, a single, and a wild pitch to tie the game at 3-3. A Liosward Marin homer gave the Red Sox the 4-3 lead. 

Rodriguez threw a scoreless third inning with one strikeout. He began the fourth inning with two walks. Carter Holjes came into the game in relief with runners at first and third base. Holjes threw a wild pitch to make it 5-3. After a strikeout and a walk, Franklin Primera hit a three-run homer that made it 8-3. 

Rodriguez’s final line shows he gave up six runs on six hits. He walked three and had seven strikeouts in three innings. Holjes gave up two runs on two hits and two walks over two innings. He struck out three. Brad Rudis struck out one batter in a perfect inning. 

The Twins scored one more run in the top of the seventh. Two walks and a single loaded the bases, and with one out, Almanzar walked to drive in a run. 

The Twins scored their four runs on six hits and 12 walks. They had more chances but went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base. Pablo Castillo had two of the team’s six hits. Reyes went 1-for-4 with his two-run double. It was his fifth double of the season. Caraballo hit his sixth double and walked twice. He also stole his sixth base. Carlos Taveras and Teilon Serrano each walked twice. Alan Roden went 0-for-1 with three walks. He had a stolen base and played the whole game in right field. 

DSL Twins 5, FCL Angels 9
Box Score  
Well, I guess you can’t score 21 runs every day. Through four innings on Saturday, the Twins were kept scoreless. 

Sebastian Echavarria made his pro debut. He gave up one run in the first inning. He faced four batters in the top of the second inning. When he was removed from the game, he had already given up four runs. He struck out the final batter he faced, but it got by the catcher and he reached base. 

Manuel Meza came on in relief. He threw two wild pitches which scored the inherited runner and ended the Echavarria line. He was charged with five runs on two hits and three walks in one inning. He also hit two batters. Meza worked two innings and gave up three of his own runs on two hits and two walks. He had three wild pitches. He struck out two. 

Juan Quinones worked the final four innings. He gave up only an unearned run on five hits and three walks. He also had five strikeouts. 

The Twins got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning. Friday’s hero, Abel Sosa, walked. He went to second on a passed ball and to third on a single by Jeferson Abreu. Sosa scored on a double play groundout. 

The bottom of the sixth started with walks by Jendy Martinez and Daiyer Barboza. Jhon Gonzalez reached on an infield single to load the bases. Enmanuel Merlo came to the plate and drilled his first professional home run, a grand slam that turned the game from a 9-1 blowout to a 9-5 game where you still need another grand slam to tie it up. Merlo, as you recall, was the Twins top international signing in January. A consensus Top 40 in the international class, he received a $1.5 million bonus. 

Gonzalez had two of the team’s five hits. Merlo had the grand slam and one of the team’s eight walks. Martinez and Barboza were both 0-for-1 with three walks in the game. 

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter(s) of the Day  
Aaron Sabato (Saints): 3-for-5, 2B(15), HR(11), 3 R, 2 RBI. 
Marek Houston (Kernels): 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R 

Pitcher(s) of the Day 
Sam Armstrong (Wichita): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 52 pitches, 36 strikes (69.2%) 
Merit Jones (Mussels): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 64 pitches, 41 strikes (64.1%)
Juan Quinones (DSL Twins): 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today.

#2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, HBP, RBI, K. (batted first, played SS)
#5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, 2 R, RBI(batted second, played catcher).
#7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, E(9) (batted first, played SS)
#10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 2 K, SH (batted fifth, played LF) 
#13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, IBB, 2 K (batted second, played DH)
#14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, R, SB(5) (batted fifth, played SS)
#15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, HBP, HR(7), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K (batted third, played 3B)
#19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, HBP (batted fourth, played CF) 
#20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(12), RBI, K, SB(16) (batted third, played SS)

UPCOMING PROBABLES
Sunday, June 7: (Six, Seven!!)
Indianapolis @ St. Paul (3:07 pm CT) - RHP John Klein (1-1, 6.17 ERA)
San Antonio @ Wichita (1:05 pm CT) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-1, 6.52 ERA),
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - LHP Garrett Horn (0-0, 1.50 ERA)
Ft. Myers @ Lakeland (11:00 am CT) - RHP Ramiro Villanueva (0-1, 2.66 ERA)
Monday, June 8:
FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (11:00 am CT) -
DSL Angels @ DSL Twins (10:00 am CT) -  

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 30-35 (3rd place (of 5) in AL Central, 6.5 GB))
St. Paul Saints: 33-28 (4th place (of 10) in IL West Division, 4.0 GB))
Wichita Wind Surge: 22-32 (5th place (of 5) in TL North Division, 12.5 GB))
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 28-28 (4th place (of 6) in MWL West Division, 7.5 GB))
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 33-23 (2nd place (of 6) in FSL West Division, 2.0 GB))
FCL Twins: 12-13 (4th place (of 6) in FCL South Division, 4.5 GB))
DSL Twins: 1-4 

Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 

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!