Twins Minor League Report (8/27): Emmanuel Rodriguez Returns

TRANSACTIONS
OF Emmanuel Rodriguez sent to A Fort Myers on Rehab
RHP Cory Lewis transferred to development list (AAA St. Paul)
LHP Brady Feigl released (AAA St. Paul)
RHP Pierson Ohl optioned to AAA St. Paul
INF Ryan Daniels transferred to full-season IL (Fort Myers)
RHP Simeon Woods Richardson returned to Twins

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 3, Toledo 1
Box Score
Kendry Rojas: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
HR: José Miranda (7), DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (3)
Multi-hit games: None

The Saints came out on top in a close affair on Wednesday.

Kendry Rojas turned in easily his best start as a Saint. The lefty eschewed whatever malaise had cursed him in his last three starts; against the Mud Hens, he mostly avoided the barrel and whiffed five batters over four shutout innings, walking just one. He threw 77 pitches. Some strike-throwing issues persisted—just 46 of his pitches went for strikes—but that’s a nitpicky complaint in an otherwise encouraging outing. 

St. Paul condensed their offense to two critical swings: José Miranda in the eighth, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in the ninth for insurance. 

Noah Davis earned the game’s final five outs to notch his second save of the season with the Saints. 

Though the Tigers boast tremendous prospect talent, most of their best youngsters are in AA, leaving seventh-ranked Hao-Yu Lee as the highest-ranked player in Wednesday’s game. He collected two hits in four trips to the plate. 

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 8, Arkansas 5
Box Score
Ryan Gallagher: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
HR: Kala’i Rosario (21)
Multi-hit games: Kala’i Rosario (3-for-5, HR, 3B, 2B, 3 R, RBI), Hendry Mendez (3-for-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB), Nate Baez (2-for-5, R), Andrew Cossetti (2-for-4, RBI)

Wichita dropped an avalanche of hits to win on Wednesday.

Ryan Gallagher’s acclimation to the Wind Surge continues to be rough. The UC Santa Barbara product’s ERA with the team now sits at 6.12 after Wednesday’s outing. The problem? A nearly-escaped fifth inning turned nightmare when Hunter Fitz-Gerald homered to push Gallagher from a reasonable two-run start to a less acceptable four mark. Three walks and a run-scoring wild pitch did not help either. Hopefully, his next start gets him back on track.

Fortunately, Wichita’s bats were potent all night. Kala’i Rosario, Hendry Mendez, and Nate Baez—their two, three, and four hitters—all cracked multiple hits; Rosario nearly cycled (again); and Mendez reached base safely all five times.

Rosario is slashing .310/.444/.701 (that’s correct) across 23 games in August. 

Seattle’s sixth-ranked prospect, Michael Arroyo, played second base and collected two hits in five at-bats. 

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 0
Box Score
Jose Olivares: 4 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 6 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Misael Urbina (2-for-3, 3B, RBI), Caden Kendle (2-for-3)

The Kernels won with a shutout on Wednesday.

If you don’t know where the ball is going, then neither does the opponent. Jose Olivares epitomized this philosophy. Walking five likely drove his pitching coach mad, yet results favored the righty; the Sky Carp only once ever sent a man to third base, and never ushered one home off Olivares (or anyone, for that matter.) 

Brennan Oxford, Eston Stull, Julio Bonilla, and Paulshawn Pasqualotto worked to deliver the shutout to its conclusion.

The game’s only run arrived off a Misael Urbina RBI triple. Because an error preceded Urbina’s hit, no pitcher was charged with an earned run, meaning there were no earned runs at all in Wednesday’s game.

Those are Margaritaville jerseys worn in honor of America’s finest proprietor of leisure and beach lethargy, Jimmy Buffett. 

Recent first-round pick and 39th-ranked prospect, Aiva Arquette, went 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts for the Sky Carp. 

Mussel Matters
Game One: Fort Myers 5, Dunedin 1 (7 Innings)
Box Score 
Christian Becerra: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Jacob McCombs (2-for-4, RBI), Dameury Pena (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R), Peyton Carr (2-for-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB)

The Mighty Mussels easily took the first of their two games on Wednesday.

Perhaps inspired by the presence of Emmanuel Rodriguez, Fort Myers played a well-rounded ballgame. Christian Becerra spearheaded the pitching effort, covering five frames with a leadoff homer as his lone blemish. The Blue Jays only accrued a trio of singles off the hurler the rest of the way. He struck out three.

Though Dunedin scored first, the Mighty Mussels responded with three scores in the second. Dameury Pena smacked a double to left, then ran home when Peyton Carr smashed a two-bagger of his own. Feeling left out, Yasser Mercedes also doubled. Feeling content with a hit of any variety, Bryan Acuna singled in Mercedes to cap the rally.

RBI singles by Carr and Jacob McCombs in successive innings gave Fort Myers a healthy four-run cushion.

Rodriguez singled, walked, and struck out in four plate appearances. 

No member of Toronto’s top 30 prospect list played in this game. 

Game Two: Fort Myers 1, Dunedin 3 (7 Innings)
Box Score
Michael Ross: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Dameury Pena (2-for-3, R)

The Mighty Mussels couldn’t complete the doubleheader sweep on Wednesday.

Dunedin jumped on starter Michael Ross for a pair of first inning runs aided by a Bryan Acuna throwing error. A third inning run scored off a balk.

Fort Myers peppered Blue Jays pitchers for seven hits yet couldn’t escape the shutout until they had two outs in the sixth, when Yasser Mercedes smoked a double to score Dameury Pena. 

The aforementioned Pena is slashing .352/.413/.380 in 18 games in August.

Again, no one on Toronto’s top 30 prospect list played in this game. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kendry Rojas
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kala'i Rosario (honorable mention to Hendry Mendez)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1 – Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 0-4, 2 K
#2 – Luke Keaschall (Twins) - 2-5, HR, 2B, R, RBI, 2 K
#3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 1-5, RBI, K
#4 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 1-3, BB, K
#5 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB, 2 K
#9 – Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
#11 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-3, BB, 2 K
#13 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4
#14 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K
#17 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, R, 2 K
#20 – Hendry Mendez (Wichita) - 3-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Toledo (5:35 PM) - RHP Andrew Morris
Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM) - RHP Sam Armstrong
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - LHP Garrett Horn
Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM) - RHP Eli Jones

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!