Twins Minor League Report (8/5): Kaelen Culpepper, Walker Jenkins Go Back-to-Back Against Big Leaguer

TRANSACTIONS
The Minnesota Twins system continues to be full of transaction activity as the fallout of trading 10 players on your Major League roster continues to be felt days later.

• In perhaps the biggest news, IF Luke Keaschall completed his rehab assignment and was returned to the Minnesota Twins where he certainly made his presence felt in Detroit. The Twins also selected the contract of RHP Darren McCaughan. OF DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and RHP Noah Davis were optioned back to Triple-A.
• The Saints assigned LHP Gabriel Yanez back to Wichita and received RHP John Klein in his place. Klein is a graduate of Burnsville high school, so he should bring some fans in when he pitches. 
• Down in the ICT the Wind Surge released RHP Joel Cesar and received RHP Eston Stull from Cedar Rapids. They also activated RHP Michael Martinez from the 7-day injured list and sent RHP Kyle Jones on a rehab assignment with Fort Myers. Jones had not pitched in a game in over a year. 
• On Monday the Kernels activated C Khadim Diaw from the 60-day injured list and received helium pitching prospect RHP Adrian Bohorquez from the Mighty Mussels.
• In the Florida State League, RHP Joel Garcia was promoted from the FCL, and 2B Ryan Daniels was placed on the 7-day injured list with a hip impingement.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Iowa 5, St. Paul 10
Box Score
The Saints utilized two four-run innings and a four-hit night from one of their several new players (though not one from a trade…), to take game one of their series with the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday night at CHS Field.

They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second thanks to catcher Jhonny Pereda, who they claimed off waivers from the Athletics a few weeks ago. His first home run in a Saints uniform also scored Aaron Sabato, who had led off with a single.

The home team tacked on four more in the fourth to take a 6-0 lead behind walks from Jonah Bride, Anthony Prato, and James Outman, as well as a single from Pereda to score one and keep the bases loaded. Kyler Fedko added a sac fly, Payton Eeles clubbed a ground-rule RBI double, and Gabriel Gonzalez an RBI single to account for all of those runs. 

Starter Aaron Rozek went the first four scoreless frames, scattering four hits and a walk, while striking out three. John Stankiewicz added two dominant innings of relief, striking out five of the seven hitters he faced. Cole Percival came on for the seventh and had some trouble finding the strike zone, leading to four runs allowed. He walked three and gave up two hits in 2/3 of an inning. Jarret Whorff cleaned up the rest of that mess, and finished the game with 2 1/3 scoreless. He gave up an unearned run, but no hits or walks, and struck out two.

The Saints got all four of Percival’s runs back in the bottom of the seventh. Sabato reached on an error. Pereda delivered an RBI single. Prato added a single of his own as did Fedko to drive in their eighth run of the game. Eeles capped it off with a two-run single to make it 10-4

The Saints got multiple hits from Fedko (3-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 SB), Eeles (2-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB), Gonzalez (2-for-5, RBI, 2 K), and Prato (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K, SB). But Pereda led them all with a 4-for-4 night, falling a triple shy of the cycle. He had a double, home run, three RBI, and drew a walk.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
NW Arkansas 7, Wichita 8
Box Score
Pitching for the Naturals in the series opener in the ICT, was the rehabbing Michael Lorenzen who had pitched just shy of 100 innings for the Kansas City Royals so far in 2025. This meant top prospects Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper were going to see some MLB pitching experience to get the night started. 

They looked like minor leaguers in the bottom of the first, as Lorenzen struck them both out swinging.

But they also learned quickly.

In the bottom of the second Culpepper got the scoring started with a three-run shot to left on a 1-0 breaking ball from Lorenzen. Jenkins followed by blasting a 1-0 fastball deep into the right field seats for back-to-back bombs.

The Wind Surge also had an organizational debut on the mound from the recently acquired Sam Armstrong, who came over in the Willi Castro trade with the Chicago Cubs. He struck out the first batter he faced with his new team and began with three scoreless innings. In the top of the fourth the Naturals scored one, then tied the game at four in the fifth to finish his debut. He was charged with four earned runs on five hits and two walks in his five innings. He struck out six.

In the bottom of the fifth Wichita got him off the hook after Jenkins led off with a single. Kala’i Rosario then sent a liner into right, and Jenkins tried to go first-to-third. The throw hit him on his slide and got away from the third baseman, allowing him to get back up and beat the rushed throw home for a 5-4 lead. Rosario then scored on a wild pitch to put the home team up by two.

Michael Martinez came on in relief for the sixth inning, and gave up one earned run on two hits, while striking out one. The minor leagues preeminent win-vulture then came on for the seventh, in Mike Paredes, and you should never doubt his ability to tack on another win. Though he gave up the lead in the seventh, he stayed in to finish the game and in doing so improved his record to 11-0 on the season, which ties him for all the MiLB lead and set the Wind Surge franchise record. 

He was able to do so, as three consecutive singles to start the eighth from Hendry Mendez, Nate Baez, and Rubel Cespedes loaded the bases, a passed ball tied the game back up, and they took the lead on an RBI groundout from Jake Rucker.

In the win Wichita got multi-hit efforts from Jenkins (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, 2 K) and Mendez (2-for-4, R, 2 K). Despite their eight runs they finished just 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position, leaving five men on base.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 0, West Michigan 6
Box Score
The Kernels were held to just three hits in this one and they were all singles, with two of them not coming until the top of the ninth inning.

If you are looking for a silver lining, one of those singles in the ninth came from a new top prospect in the organization, as Eduardo Tait delivered a two-out single to right before the final out of the game was recorded. The other two hits came from Brandon Winokur and Kyle Hess. Tait also drew a walk among his four plate appearances. The only other perhaps notable thing on the offensive side of the ledger for Cedar Rapids, was Kyle DeBarge was caught stealing for only the fourth time on the season in 60 attempts. 

Starter Jacob Kisting went the first three innings and held the Whitecaps to just one run. He allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out three. Right-hander Matt Gabbert took on a “bulk” role and completed the next four innings, holding West Michigan scoreless in the middle frames. He gave up two hits and struck out two. Nick Trabacchi came on for the bottom of the eight with just a one run deficit, but it turned into the final six when he was done. He was charged with five earned runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out one.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Clearwater 7, Fort Myers 6 (10 innings)
Box Score
This matchup went back and forth throughout, with the Threshers scoring two in the first while the Mighty Mussels answered with one of their own and tied it up in the third.

Christian Becerra got the starting nod in the series opener and completed the first four innings. He was charged with three earned runs on four hits and a walk, while striking out three. He left the game down by one but Fort Myers would tie it up at two in the bottom of the third.

The home team got a leadoff single from Marek Houston in the bottom of the first, but was erased at second on a Dameury Pena grounder. Pena however, then stole second and third base, and scored on a Yasser Mercedes double to get them on the board. The 2025 first round pick led off the third with a single again, and Pena followed with a single of his own this time to move him into scoring position. Two batters later he came home on an Eduardo Beltre grounder to tie the game.

Relievers Kyle Jones and Tyler Stasiowski each got an inning after Becerra's removal. Jones walked two and struck out one in a scoreless frame. Stasiowski gave up one run on three hits in the sixth to put the Threshers up 4-2.

In the bottom half the Mighty Mussels tied it back up again. Enrique Jiminez drew a leadoff walk, and with two outs JP Smith II delivered his first home run as a professional to make it 4-4.

Brent Francisco came on for the seventh inning and recorded the next five outs. He allowed two hits and struck out two. 

In the bottom of the seventh Houston again made his presence felt, this time by leading off the inning with a double the opposite way. He proceeded to steal third base and scored his second run of the game on an error to put the Mighty Mussels up 5-4.

After two outs in the top of the eighth Julio Bonilla was brought in with runners on second and third, and got a groundout to end the inning. Back out for the ninth he got the first two outs, but then a single, walk, and RBI single tied the game back up at five and sent it to extras. Bonilla finished 1 1/3 innings and gave up one earned run on two hits and a walk. Anthony Narvaez got the top of the 10th, and a leadoff double put the Threshers up by one, and an RBI single that followed gave them a little breathing room.

The first two hitters of the bottom half went down via strikeout, but the Mighty Mussels put up a fight with an RBI single from Ryan Sprock, and a walk to Shai Robinson that put the tying run in scoring position. Smith II went down swinging to end the game, however.

Houston led the offense out of the leadoff spot finishing 3-for-5 with two runs scored, and a double. Smith added two hits in five plate appearances, including the home run.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
Monday: DSL Twins 7, DSL Miami 12
Box Score
The Twins jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the top of the third inning, but the Miami squad responded with five runs in the bottom of the third, and four in the bottom of the sixth to win this one.

Despite just five hits as a team, the Twins put up those seven runs thanks to home runs from Joyner Perez (two-run) and Jamesson Val (three-run), who actually entered the game for Perez to start the bottom of the second inning. They scored one run in the second inning thanks to a pair of errors, and their final run in the ninth after Yovanny Duran led off with a walk, stole his 22nd base of the season, and ended up on third after an errant throw. He came home on a groundout from Gerardo Cardona.

Omar Montano started on the bump and was charged with five earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. He was clean for the first two until the Miami bats came alive in the third. He allowed five hits, walked one, and struck out one. Relievers Jensi Infante (2 2/3 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, K), Agustin Campusano (2 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, K), and Brandy Ceballos (1 IP, BB, K) finished off the rest of this one for the Twins.

Tuesday: DSL Miami 3, DSL Twins 4
Box Score
The Twins got some revenge on Tuesday, as Miami took an early 3-0 lead only to fall late thanks to a four-run inning from the home team who had been held hitless to that point.

Starting pitcher Rey Pacheco gave up four singles in the top of the first that led to those three Miami runs but went on to retire the final 10 hitters he faced to finish four innings. He struck out three. The bullpen trio of Nestor Cafe (1 IP, 3 BB), Juan Figaro (1 IP, BB, K), and Jeicol Surumay (3 IP, 2 BB) held Miami hitless the rest of the way as well.

Without yet recording a hit through seven innings, the Twins finally got their first knock in the bottom of the eighth when Jose Barrios led off with a double. Christian Bonifacio got them on the scoreboard two batters later with an RBI single before two walks, an error, and multiple wild pitches allowed the Twins to take the 4-3 lead and steal the win.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – John Stankiewicz, St. Paul Saints (W, 2 IP, H, 5 K)
Hitter of the Day – Jhonny Pereda, St. Paul Saints (4-for-4, 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB)

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

#1 – Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (6), RBI, 2 K
#2 – Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): 2-for-4, R, HR (1, first of career), 3 RBI
#3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 1-for-5, HR (7), 3 RBI, 2 K
#8 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 2-for-5, RBI, 2 K
#10 – Marek Houston (Fort Myers): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, K, SB (2)
#11 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4
#14 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, BB, K
#17 – Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, K
#19 – Eduardo Beltre (Fort Myers): 1-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB (1)
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 1-for-4, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Iowa @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Taj Bradley (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-1, 2.78 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ West Michigan (5:35 PM CDT) - RHP Adrian Bohorquez (0-0, -.-- ERA)
Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Jason Doktorczyk (3-5, 5.25 ERA)

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!