Twins Minor League Report (8/10): Skenes Debuts Against Twins

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 8, Louisville 5
Box Score
Lots of storylines were present for Thursday’s Saints action. With Royce Lewis back in the lineup during his rehab assignment, the Bats sent Hunter Greene to the mound on a rehab assignment of his own. Hunter was taken one pick after Lewis in the 2017 draft, and the pair were teammates for Team USA in 2016 and in 2014.

Blayne Enlow went four innings allowing four runs on four hits. He walked only one and punched out six on the evening.

After getting down 1-0 in the top of the first inning, Trevor Larnach answered with a solo blast of his own in the bottom half. Noelvi Marte homered in the second inning, and Louisville added a pair in the third inning. Looking to respond, St. Paul scored one on an Andrew Stevenson solo shot in the bottom of the third.

Jair Camargo made it a one-run game with a double that scored Kyle Garlick in the fourth inning, and Yunior Severino tied things when he drew a bases loaded walk scoring Lewis in the fifth. Garlick then lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in Larnach before Camargo took a walk on a wild pitch that scored Anthony Prato. Gilberto Celestino doubled home both Severino and Camargo putting the Saints ahead 8-4.

The Bats added a run in the sixth inning to make it a three-run game, but that was as close as they'd get. St. Paul finished with six hits, and no one recorded more than one. Lewis was 0-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
NW Arkansas 9, Wichita 6
Box Score
Travis Adams took the ball Thursday for the Wind Surge and went just 4 1/3 innings allowing six runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out three during his outing.

After getting behind 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Wichita looked for an answer. Willie Joe Garry Jr. singled home Seth Gray in the second inning before Aaron Sabato hit his seventh homer of the season, a third inning solo shot, to make it a 3-2 game.

Putting up a four-spot in the fifth inning, Northwest Arkansas really started to pull away. The Wind Surge answered with four of their own in the seventh inning. Sabato singled home Garry Jr. and Will Holland before Patrick Winkel drove in Yoyner Fajardo on a single of his own. Dalton Shuffield then singled home Sabato to draw within one.

Wichita gave two back during the bottom of the seventh inning and faced a three-run deficit going into the eighth inning. Unable to add in the eighth, while giving up another run, the Wind Surge were blanked in the ninth inning as well.

Sabato put up a three-hit game with Shuffield and Alex Isola both grabbing two apiece. The ten total hits for the team still came up just short.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 11, Quad Cities 5
Box Score
It was Christian MacLeod’s night on the hill for Cedar Rapids, and he turned in five innings of three-run baseball. MacLeod gave up five hits and three walks while striking out for on the evening.

Jorel Ortega opened the scoring with a first inning sacrifice fly that brought home Emmanuel Rodriguez, but Quad Cities responded with three runs in the bottom half.  Noah Miller made things closer with an RBI single in the second inning that scored Carson McCusker, and the Kernels made waves during the third.

A four-run third inning started with Ben Ross’s 15th home run of the year, and was followed by Jose Salas driving home Andrew Cossetti on a single. McCusker then singled home both Noah Cardenas and Salas to make it a 6-3 game.

In the sixth inning, Kala’i Rosario ripped his third triple of the season to plate Rodriguez, and the Kernels lead was extended again. Ortega singled home Rosario before McCusker brought Ross home on a single of his own. Another four run inning made it a 10-3 game.

Rodriguez singled in the ninth inning to add another run when McCusker scored, and Cedar Rapids had a lead big enough to cruise for a victory. Rodriguez, Rosario, and Ross all had two hits while McCusker added four of his own.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Bradenton 15, Fort Myers 8
Box Score
This season Ben Ethridge has put up solid numbers, but it was a weird outing for the Fort Myers starter. He lasted just four innings allowing only two runs on two hits, but he walked five and struck out only three.

The Mighty Mussels got ahead early when Danny De Andrade doubled in the first inning. Scoring both Nate Baez and Ricardo Olivar, his 16th two-base hit did damage. Rafael Cruz then followed with his 13th double to drive in De Andrade and make it a 3-0 game.

Bradenton answered with two runs in the second inning, but Fort Myers added again in the fourth. Maddux Houghton blasted a solo shot and it was a 4-2 game after the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Alec Sayre stepped in and launched a grand slam to score Cruz, Kyle Schmidt, and Gregory Duran. Now up 8-2, this one seemed plenty in hand.

The Marauders clawed back on a three-run homer during the sixth inning, but the Mighty Mussels still had a commanding advantage. That advantage quickly disappeared during the eighth inning when Bradenton put up a seven-spot to pull ahead 12-8. They added another three runs in the ninth inning, and the 15-8 score represented a laugher.

Cruz contributed a trio of hits with Olivar posting two of his own.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 4, FCL Pirates 2
Box Score
Thursday’s FCL game had a good deal of intrigue as top Pirates prospect Paul Skenes was making his professional debut. Selected first overall in the 2023 Draft, Skenes was dominant for LSU. He pitched just a single inning for the Pirates, but faced Twins prospects Byron Chourio, Brandon Winokur, and Walker Jenkins. He gave up no hits, and got Jenkins on a strike out.

After getting down in the first inning, the Twins answered with a three-run third inning. Winokur grounded into a force out that allowed Daniel Pena to score before a Jenkins single brought in Andres Centeno. With the bases loaded, Isaac Pena took a walk to bring Winokur home.

For the second time in the game, the Twins drew a bases loaded walk scoring a run. This time it was Chourio bringing home Daniel Pena. Devin Kirby finished off 4 2/3  of scoreless relief work to slam the door. Jenkins finished as the only player with two hits.

DOMINICAN DAILY
DSL Giants Black 8, DSL Twins 5
Box Score
Miguel Cordero got the start Thursday and worked five innings allowing just two runs, only one of which was earned. He gave up three hits and a walk while striking out three.

Ariel Castro had arguably the best game of his young career. The Twins top international free agent signee in January picked up three hits, including a double and triple. He drove in a pair of runs on the day as well. Hendry Chivilli and Jayson Bass each had hits as well, with Junior Del Valle as the only other player to record a pair of hits.

The Twins scored in the first inning on a wild pitch, added another on a second wild pitch in the third inning, and then grabbed three more in the fifth inning. The Giants added six in the seventh inning to take the lead and make it a 8-5 game. The Twins didn’t mound a comeback and that’s how this one ended.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Devin Kirby (FCL Twins) - 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB 4 K
Hitter of the Day – Ariel Castro (DSL Twins) - 3-4, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:

#2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 2-5, RBI, K
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB
#5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-1, BB
#10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-4, K
#13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 0-5, R, RBI, 2 K
#16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, R, RBI, BB, K, 3B
#17 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-2, R, RBI, 2 BB
#18 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, R, RBI, BB, K 
#20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-3, BB, K

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya
Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30PM CST) - RHP Andrew Morris
Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Jack Noble

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’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!