Twins Minor League Report (7/19): Several Top 20 Twins Prospects Have a Big Day

Before we start talking about Wednesday's games, here are the updated records for the Twins six affiliates. 
St. Paul Saints: 54-37 
Wichita Wind Surge: 35-50
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 52-34 
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 42-44
FCL Twins: 14-15
DSL Twins: 7-23

Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. 

TRANSACTIONS
It’s unusual, but there were no transactions in the organization on Wednesday. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 9, Omaha 4
Box Score
The Saints scored in four of the first five innings, but the four-run fifth inning is what made this a rather relaxed win. 

Let’s start with the pitching though. Louie Varland was back on the mound to start this one. The St. Paul native gave up two runs on five hits over six innings. He had three strikes and did not issue a walk.

Aaron Sanchez tossed two scoreless innings before giving up a two-run homer in the ninth. But he earned the three-inning save. 

The Saints got a run in the first inning on a Chris Williams double. In the second, Austin Martin walked with the bases loaded to give the team a 2-0 lead. In the fourth inning, it was a double by Andrew Stevenson that scored Ernie Yake. 

Then came the fifth inning. With a 3-1 lead, Mark Contreras ripped a two-run homer. It was his ninth blast of the year. Incredibly, Austin Martin had another bases-loaded walk which was followed by a wild pitch to score Alex De Goti. The 7-1 lead was a great thing.

In the top of the ninth, Martin came to the plate with runners on second and third, and he added his third RBI, this time on a sacrifice fly. A couple batters later, it was Williams that had a bases loaded walk to score the Saints ninth run. 

Williams went 2-for-3 with two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and his ninth double. He also stole a base for the third time this year. Andrew Stevenson went 3-for-4 with his 15th double. He was also hit by a pitch twice (so was Anthony Prato). He stole his 32nd base of the year. Martin added a third walk in the game as well. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 5, Amarillo 7
Box Score
Going into the seventh inning, this game was tied at two. The Wind Surge scored three runs, but the Sod Poodles countered with four runs in the bottom of the inning. They added a single run in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Surge loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth, but a pop out and a ground out later, the game was complete. 

Brooks Lee remained hot. In this game, he went 3-for-4 with a walk, his league-leading 30th double, and his 10th home run. 

Tanner Schobel made his Double-A debut. His first at-bat came in the first inning with an RBI single. He went 2-for-4 in the game with two RBI. DaShawn Keirsey walked twice in the game. 

Chad Donato started and gave up two runs on five hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out five batters. Curtis Taylor came in and struck out the side in the sixth frame. Taylor Floyd came in to start the seventh inning. However, he gave up four runs on four hits (including a three-run homer). He got one out on a strikeout but he was replaced by Hunter McMahon who got the final two outs of the seventh and pitched the eighth inning as well. He was charged with a run on two hits and a walk. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 7, Peoria 6
Box Score
Let’s start at the end. This was a back-and-forth game, but as the Kernels came in to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, they were down by a score of 6-5 to Peoria. Mikey Perez led off the inning with a walk and with one out advanced to second on a wild pitch. Noah Miller then walked. That brought up Emmanuel Rodriguez who put together a picturesque swing and drilled a liner over the shortstop and into the left-center field gap. Perez scored the tying run, and Miller advanced to third. Rodriguez dove headfirst into second with a double. 

That brought Kala’i Rosario to the plate. He got jammed on a fastball, but because the infield was in, it dropped just beyond the second baseman which allowed Miller to score the game-winning run. And then the Kernels rejoiced. 

The Kernels got things going on the scoreboard in the second inning on a strange play. With the bases loaded, Andrew Cossetti drilled a single to left field. Jorel Ortega scored. Noah Cardenas scored on an error by the left fielder. Then when the pitcher backed up the ball, he made a throw that went quite errant and allowed Cossetti to score as well. A Little League Home Run! 

Cory Lewis made the afternoon start for the Kernels. The righty gave up three runs on three hits and two walks over five innings. He had two strikeouts. Mike Paredes came on and worked the next three innings. He was charged with three runs (2 earned) on three hits. He had five strikeouts without any walks. John Stankiewicz tossed a scoreless top of the ninth inning to take the Win. 

Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with two walks and the clutch double, his sixth of the year. Cossetti went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 6, Bradenton 9
Box Score 
The Mighty Mussels took advantage of some wildness early in the game to grab a 4-0 lead after one-and-a-half innings. Unfortunately Ft. Myers was equally - ok, even more - wild as the Marauders. 

Miguelangel Boadas started and gave up three runs on two hits, four walks, and two hit batters in just 2 1/3 innings. Of the seven outs he recorded, five of them came on strikeouts. Samuel Perez came in and stranded an inherited runner. He worked two innings and was charged with three unearned runs on just one hit and one walk. 

Danny Moreno came in with two runners on and both scored. He gave up another run of his own before getting the final two outs of the fifth inning. Gabriel Yanez came in and gave up a solar homer over his 1 2/3 innings of work. Develson Aria got the final four outs, but not before he gave up one more run. Perez, Moreno and Aria each hit a batter as well. 

Ricardo Olivar was the team’s leadoff hitter. He went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 16th double of the season. Yohander Martinez went 2-for-2 with two walks in the game. Danny De Andrade went 2-for-5. Dylan Neuse drove in two runs on his 10th double of the year. Carson McCusker walked three times, including once with the bases loaded. Rubel Cespedes walked twice, also once with the bases loaded. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitters of the Day – Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-for-4, BB, 2B(30), HR(10), 3 R, RBI. 
Pitcher of the Day – Louie Varland (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K. 95 pitches, 65 strikes (68.4%) 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. (Note - Our Top 20 Prospect Rankings have been updated. Click the above link to see who moved up or down, and where the 2023 draft picks slot in.)
#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-for-4, BB, 2B(30), HR(10), 3 R, RBI
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for3, 2 BB, 2B(6), RBI.
#5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-for-2, BB, K. 
#8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, 3 BB, 3 RBI, SF
#10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-for-4, HBP, 2 RBI
#16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, K, GW RBI
#17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K. E(11)

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES
St. Paul @ Omaha (7:05 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (3-1, 3.81 ERA)
Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (2-2, 5.03 ERA)
Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Jose Olivares (2-3, 6.71 ERA) 
FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (11:00 AM CST) - TBD 
DSL Giants Black @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 

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!