Twins Minor League Report (9/13): Marco Raya Goes 5 Scoreless; Walker Jenkins Tallies 1st Double-A Hit

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 78-69
St. Paul Saints: 68-73
Wichita Wind Surge: 57-79
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-63 (season complete)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 66-59 (season complete)
FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete)
DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete)

SAINTS SENTINEL 
Columbus 11, St. Paul 1
Box Score
Saints starter Aaron Rozek managed to get through the first three innings without allowing any damage, but the Clippers would not be held down for long.

Rozek surrendered two runs in the fourth inning and three more in the sixth before being replaced by Kody Funderburk. The second appearance of his rehab assignment did not go well. Funderburk surrendered six runs on four hits (one of them a homer) and two walks while only recording two outs.

The Saints lineup was also quiet. It was a tough night for St. Paul, but Austin Martin played well in his first game back with the Saints since mid-June, going 2-for-3 with a walk.

After the game had been blown wide open, Ryan Jensen and Stephen Okert pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively. This marked Okert’s first outing since coming off the temporary inactive list. 

Not a lot of positives to pull out of this one, but in case you missed it, the Saints social team did share a nice Payton Eeles feature that included some of an interview and highlights.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 9, Tulsa 1
Box Score
Marco Raya had one of his better and longer starts of the season tonight, delivering five shutout innings and striking out five batters. Raya struggled with his control at times, walking three batters while throwing 56.7% of his pitches for strikes (38 of 67 pitches), but did a great job navigating out of jams. 

Tusla put a runner into scoring position with one out in both of the first two innings. Raya induced a 5-4-3 double play in the first inning and his catcher, Andrew Cossetti, gave him a hand by throwing out a baserunner in the second.

After being challenged in those first two frames, Raya cruised. He retired nine of the final 10 batters he faced. Tonight marks the fifth time in 24 starts this season that Raya completed five or more innings. He’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft.

Wichita scratched across a run in the first inning before adding four more runs in the second. That rally featured a Ben Ross two-run homer and Walker Jenkins’ first Double-A hit. It wasn’t much to look at — a swinging bunt, essentially — but at least that box is checked. Jenkins also drew a pair of walks and played right field tonight.

In addition to helping guide Raya behind the plate, Cossetti was a tough out. He drew a seven-pitch walk, slapped a two-run triple the other way, walked again, smoked a two-run double off the wall and then was finally retired on a groundout in the ninth inning. In addition to Cossetti, there were also multi-hit games from Kala’i Rosario, Ales Isola and Jorel Ortega.

Jacob Wosinksi was the first arm out of the Surge pen and provided two perfect innings. Cody Laweryson couldn’t quite complete the shutout, but did keep the damage to one run while covering the final two frames.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Marco Raya, Wichita
Hitter of the Day: Andrew Cossetti, Wichita

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

#1 Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, 2K
#2 Brooks Lee (Minnesota): 1-for-3, 2 RBI
#10 Marco Raya (Wichita): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 67 pitches
#15 Kala’i Rosario (Wichita): 2-for-5, 2B, R, 2 K
#17 Tanner Schobel (Wichita): 1-for-3, 2 BB, 3 R, K

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul at Columbus, 6:05 pm CT: Andrew Morris
Wichita vs. Tulsa, 6:05 pm CT: C.J. Culpepper

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!