Twins Minor League Report (8/1): Khadim Diaw Returns, Marek Houston Debuts

FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Toledo 3, St. Paul 2
Amarillo 3, Wichita 1
Lansing 10, Cedar Rapids 7
Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 0
DSL Rockies 11, DSL Twins 9

TRANSACTIONS
There were so many transactions Friday that it needed to be its own article. More than 40 players across the system were involved in a transaction, one way or another.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Michael Carpenter, Fort Myers (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)
Carpenter gave up a double to the second batter he faced tonight, but that was it. The second inning started out with new acquisition Enrique Jimenez (who came over from Detroit in the Chris Paddack trade) committing an error at first base. He made up for it immediately, though, as he started a 3-6-3 double play, combining with 2025 first-round pick Marek Houston on the twin killing. Houston played shortstop and hit leadoff, going 1-for-4 with a single, a run and an RBI. He also started an inning-ending double play in the fifth.

Carpenter put together 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth frames, ending his night on a high note with back-to-back strikeouts. The lefty was slider-heavy tonight, featuring that offering on 22 of his 52 pitches. He also threw 19 sinkers, eight changeups and three four-seamers, topping out at 94.1 mph.

The Twins nabbed Carpenter in the 11th round of last year’s draft but paid him the sixth-biggest bonus of the class to lure him away from transferring to East Carolina after an insanely successful junior college career.

Michael Ross followed Carpenter and was also excellent over the final five innings, finishing out the combined shutout. Ross, the Twins 18th-rounder from last year’s class, only yielded four hits and walked one batter while striking out four. He has a 2.93 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 61 1/3 innings this season. He topped out at 94.5 mph tonight.

Hitter of the Day: Khadim Diaw, Fort Myers (1-for-2, HR, BB, R, 3 RBI)
The big blow in support of all that great Mussels pitching was a Khadim Diaw three-run homer in the first game of his rehab assignment. He played catcher for seven innings and, in addition to the home run, also drew a walk.

Diaw suffered a fractured thumb and missed all of June and July. Prior to going down with the injury, Diaw was looking like a breakout prospect of 2025, hitting .302/.455/.431 (.886 OPS) in 38 games with Cedar Rapids. After hitting one home run in his first 51 professional games, Diaw now has four homers in his last 12 games played.

That Diaw was right back behind the plate in his first rehab game was a pleasant surprise. I would have guessed they would have opted to ease him in by either slotting him in at DH or outfield. Hopefully he’ll be back with High-A Cedar Rapids before too long.

STARTING PITCHING LINES
John Stankiewicz (St. Paul): 1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 38 pitches (47.4% strikes)
Connor Prielipp (Wichita): 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 65 pitches (60.0% strikes)
Matt Gabbert (Cedar Rapids): 2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 59 pitches (57.6% strikes)
Michael Carpenter (Fort Myers): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 52 pitches (67.3% strikes)
Santiago Castellanos (DSL): 2 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

HOME RUNS
Wichita: Kala’i Rosario (14)
Fort Myers: Khadim Diaw (1st with FTM, 4th overall)
DSL: Joyner Perez (2), Dencer Diaz (1)

MULTI-HIT GAMES
St. Paul: Aaron Sabato (2-for-4)
Wichita: Rubel Cespedes (2-for-4)
Cedar Rapids: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-4, BB)
DSL: Dencer Diaz (2-for-4, HR), Darwin Almanzar (2-for-4, 2B), Jose Barrios (2-for-4).

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Cory Lewis was the follower for St. Paul today. Though he only surrendered one run over 3 2/3 innings and struck out five batters, he also issued six walks. He’s up to 49 walks in 59 1/3 innings this year (7.4 BB/9).

Gabriel Gonzalez and Kyler Fedko each got a hit in their respective Triple-A debuts with the Saints tonight. 

Lefty reliever Gabriel Yanez, who has spent the majority of this season in High-A, delivered three innings of shutout ball with five strikeouts and no walks for the Saints. 

In addition to Marek Houston, 2025 draftees Ryan Sprock, Shai Robinson and JP Smith II also made their professional debuts with the Mighty Mussels. Sprock, taken in the eighth round, went 1-for-3 with a walk.

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 
1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 0-for-4
2. Luke Keaschall (rehabbing with St. Paul): 1-for-2, BB, HBP, 2 SB (11)
3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 0-for-4
5. Connor Prielipp (Wichita): 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
8. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-4, K
10. Marek Houston (Fort Myers): 1-for-4, R, RBI, 2 K in professional debut
11. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 K
14. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, BB, 2 R
16. Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-2, 2 BB, HBP, 2 R, RBI
17. Khadim Diaw (rehabbing with Fort Myers): 1-for-2, HR, BB, R, 3 RBI
19. Eduardo Beltre (Fort Myers): 0-for-3, BB 

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 51-58
St. Paul Saints: 46-58
Wichita Wind Surge: 52-48
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 58-41
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 44-54
FCL Twins: 39-20 (season over)
DSL Twins: 16-27

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul at Toledo, 6:05 pm CT: Trent Baker
Wichita at Amarillo, 7:05 pm CT: Alejandro Hidalgo
Cedar Rapids at Lansing, 6:05 pm CT: Jose Olivares
Fort Myers vs. Dunedin, 5:05 pm CT: Dasan Hill
DSL Twins at DSL Giants Black, 9 am CT: TBD

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!