Twins Minor League Report (8/13): Andrew Morris Dominant in Saints Debut

TRANSACTIONS

• The Minnesota Twins officially selected the contract of RHP Zebby Matthews from the St. Paul Saints, and he made his MLB debut at Target Field Tuesday evening. Though he didn’t make the cut for my preseason debut prediction list, he is the fifth Twins player to make their MLB debut so far this season.
• To take his place on the Triple-A roster, RHP Andrew Morris was promoted to the Saints from Wichita. One could argue Morris has been just as good as Matthews so far this season and both of them have been huge risers this season on our Top 20 prospect list.
• LHP Christian MacLeod made one start with the Saints, but was sent back to the Wind Surge on Tuesday.
• In Double-A, RHP Kyle Jones was transferred to the 60-day injured list, RHP Cody Laweryson was placed on the Development List, and RHP C.J. Culpepper was promoted from Cedar Rapids.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 5
Box Score
While his fellow pitching prospect that started the year in the Cedar Rapids Kernels rotation was making his MLB debut at Target Field, Andrew Morris hit the road in Indianapolis to make his Triple-A debut for the St. Paul Saints. 

Morris also passed with flying colors at his new level. He gave a quality effort, finishing six innings and allowing just two hits and one walk. The one blemish was a solo home run, and he struck out two batters. Of his 81 pitches, 57 went for strikes (70.4%), and he topped out at 96 MPH. After that home run in the second, Morris retired 14 of the final 15 hitters he faced.

While he was on the mound, the Saints built a 4-1 lead with most of that damage coming in the fourth inning. Michael Helman led off with a single. Edouard Julien followed with a walk. Jair Camargo then brought in their first run of the game with a double. A sac fly from Diego Castillo brought in their second run, before a ground ball from Patrick Winkel turned into a double play, but also let Camargo score to make it 3-1.

They added one more in the fifth after Rylan Bannon led off with a walk. Payton Eeles followed with an infield single that also had a throwing error that allowed Bannon to take third. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. then brought him in with an RBI single.

Unfortunately for Morris, reliever Jeff Brigham didn’t have his best stuff in the seventh as three consecutive walks put the go-ahead run in the batter's box. After a strikeout the first pitch of the next at bat was blasted for a grand slam to put the Saints down by one. Brigham finished the seventh, striking out two in total. Giovanny Gallegos pitched a one-two-three eighth to give the Saints their final chance.

After a two-out walk to Winkel, the Saints pinch ran Anthony Prato, and he ended up on third base after a steal, but Bannon grounded out to the pitcher to end the game.

St. Paul outhit Indianapolis 5-3 on the game, but the opposition got the big one when it counted. Camargo’s double was the Saints only extra-base hit. Keirsey Jr., Bernard, and Eeles each reached base twice.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Arkansas 8, Wichita 3
Box Score
The Wind Surge fell behind early and weren’t able to claw their way back in Tuesday night’s series-opening game against the Travelers.

Taylor Floyd took the bump for Wichita, making his first start as a professional, and was unceremoniously ambushed in the first inning. A leadoff walk, single, and two doubles put Arkansas up 3-0 before the home team had their first at-bat.

They did their best to answer as Tanner Schobel and Jeferson Morales hit back-to-back singles to start it off. Two outs later, Andrew Cossetti delivered a big triple to make it 3-2.

Floyd wasn’t able to make it through another inning, however, as his outing was ended after a two-run double made it 5-2. He was credited with five earned runs on five hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings.

Jarret Whorff came on in relief and did his best to stabilize it through the fifth. He was charged with one earned run on three hits and two walks in his 3 2/3 innings. He struck out five.

Wichita added a single run in the bottom of the sixth after Carson McCusker led off the inning with a triple. Cossetti followed with a sac fly to drive him in and make it 6-3, but that’s as close as they would get.

John Stankiewicz allowed two runs (one earned) in his two innings of relief. He gave up two hits and struck out two. Kyle Bischoff finished the final two innings, giving up one hit, walking two, and striking out five.

Schobel had two hits in four at-bats out of the leadoff spot, taking over for Luke Keaschall who underwent Tommy John surgery now so he’d be ready to go for spring training next season. The triples from McCusker and Cossetti were the only extra-base hits, and Cossetti drove in all three of the Wind Surge’s runs.

KERNELS NUGGETS
South Bend 4, Cedar Rapids 1
Box Score
Darren Bowen got the starting nod for the Kernels on Tuesday night against the Cubs and he finished the first four innings. He allowed single runs in the first and the third, allowing four hits and two walks in total, while striking out two.

Cedar Rapids tied the game at one in the bottom of the second thanks to Rixon Wingrove’s first home run in a Kernels uniform. But that was going to be it from the offense on the night as the team tallied just five hits total, went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base.

After Bowen’s outing was done the bullpen trio of Jacob Wosinski (2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K), Rafael Marcano (2 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K), and Juan Mendez (IP, K) finished it out.

Wingrove (2-for-4, R, HR, RBI, 2 K) and Rubel Cespedes (2-for-4) had four of the team's five hits, with Nick Lucky chipping in the other single. Walker Jenkins finished 0-for-4 with a strikeout and is still looking to find his groove in the Midwest League. Don’t get down about that however, as he also just moved up to #4 in MLB Pipeline’s latest update to their Top 100.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Lakeland 2, Fort Myers 6
Box Score
The Mighty Mussels jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning, as a 2024 draft pick delivered the first big fly of his career. Khadim Diaw got it started with a one-out single. One out later, Daniel Pena was hit by a pitch to put multiple runners on, and sixth-round pick Derek Bender launched a three-run homer.

They remained in complete control for the rest of the game, as they got a scoreless effort from their starting pitcher, Cesar Lares. He went the first five innings, scattering seven hits (all singles) with no walks, and striking out two, and inducing a pair of double-play balls.

The home team extended their lead with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, which was started by a leadoff walk from Caden Kendle. Kaelen Culpepper and Kyle DeBarge each followed with a double, with DeBarge’s driving in two. After advancing to third, DeBarge scored on an errant pickoff throw to make it 6-0. 

Cleiber Maldonado came on to start the sixth inning and went two scoreless. He allowed one hit and struck out four. Paulshawn Pasqualotto gave up a pair of runs in the eighth, but it was nearly enough for the Flying Tigers. Jack Noble finished it off by striking out the side in the ninth.

Bender led the way with two hits in three at bats, with his homer and three RBI pacing the lineup. Billy Amick drew two walks and struck out twice in four plate appearances. DeBarge stole his sixth base in six games with the Mighty Mussels.

DOMINICAN DAILY
DSL Twins 6, DSL Rangers Red 4
Box Score
The Twins lineup gave them an early lead, scoring five of their six runs in the first three innings.

Merphy Hernandez led off the game with a single, and promptly scored the first run of the game on an RBI double from Daiber De Los Santos. He then stole third base and was able to make it 2-0 on a groundout.

In the second inning Nestor Urbina drew a leadoff walk, and Carlos Silva brought them both in with a two-run homer, his first of the season.

Then in the third Ramiro Dominguez scored their fifth run of the game after drawing a walk, advancing to second on a hit-by-pitch, and coming home on an RBI single from Silva.

Right-hander Santiago Rojas made the start for the Twins and pitched into the fourth inning. Though he gave up some runs, the Twins stayed in front the entire time he was out there. In 3 1/3 innings, Rojas was charged with four earned runs on five hits and four walks, while striking out two.

Anderson Ramos went the next 3 1/3 frames and held the Rangers in check. He allowed one hit, walked two, and struck out six to pick up his fifth win. Aiberson Ventura finished the last 2 1/3 for his first save. He allowed one hit and struck out three.

The Twins added an insurance run in the seventh when Eduardo Beltre delivered an RBI double.

De Los Santos (2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 K, 2 SB), Beltre (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K, SB), and Silva (2-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, SB) each collected two hits in the game to lead the way.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Andrew Morris, St. Paul Saints (6 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 2 K)
Hitter of the Day - Derek Bender, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2-for-3, R, HR(1), 3 RBI, K)

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

#1 – Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-4, K
#5 – Zebby Matthews (Minnesota) – MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT: W, 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
#7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-4
#9 – Kaelen Culpepper (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, R, 2B, K
#11 – Andrew Morris (St. Paul) – 6 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 2 K
#12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4, K
#16 – Kyle DeBarge (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB
#17 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 2-for-4, R, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Indianapolis (12:35 PM CDT) - LHP Caleb Baragar (0-1, 4.11 ERA)
Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - TBD
South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Ricky Castro (0-2, 5.25 ERA)
Lakeland @ Fort Myers (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Charlee Soto (1-4, 5.15 ERA)
DSL Mets Blue @ DSL Twins (9:00 AM CDT) - TBD

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!