Twins Minor League Week in Review (4/8-4/14): Pitching Pipeline Pumping Along

MONDAY TRANSACTIONS 
RHP Xavier Kolhosser transferred to FCL Twins (Fort Myers)
INF Isaac Pena transferred to FCL Twins (Fort Myers)
RH RP Scott Blewett claimed by the Baltimore Orioles. 

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS THIS WEEK
OF Walker Jenkins placed on 7-day IL with ankle injury (Wichita)
INF Kaelen Culpepper placed on 7-day IL with right wrist sprain (Cedar Rapids)
INF Rayne Doncon placed on 7-day IL with right oblique strain (Cedar Rapids)
LHP Ross Dunn placed on 7-day IL with left forearm strain (Cedar Rapids)
RHP Jack Noble placed on 7-day IL with right bicep strain (Cedar Rapids)
RHP Michael Ross placed on 7-day IL with neck strain (Fort Myers)
1B Aaron Sabato on rehab assignment in Fort Myers (Wichita)
LHP Richard Lovelady signed and assigned to St. Paul
INF Jose Miranda optioned to St. Paul
LHP Kody Funderburk recalled by the Twins
RHP David Festa recalled by Minnesota Twins

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT

• Do the Twins Have Offensive Upgrades in the Minors?
• Has Luke Keaschall Surpassed Emmanuel Rodriguez as Minnesota Twins' Second-Best Prospect?
• Twins Minor League Report (4/13): The Mussels Flex Their New Starter and the Kernels Hang Ten...on Beloit
• Twins Minor League Report (4/12): Dasan Hill, Connor Prielipp Make Second Starts, but Aaron Rozek is Top Lefty on This Day
• Twins Minor League Report (4/11): Charlee Soto and the Chalk-Up-A-Lotta-Dubs Factory
• Twins Minor League Report (4/10): Kyler Fedko, John Klein Lead Wichita to Comeback Win, Saints Offensive Juggernaut Returns
• Minor League Report (4/9): Will Anyone Score on Andrew Morris?
• Twins Minor League Report (4/8): Good Night for The DBo Show, Strong Starts from Zebby Matthews and Dylan Questad Squandered

WEEK IN REVIEW
Triple-A: St. Paul Saints
Overall: 5-7 (5.5 games out of first)
Last Week: 3-3 vs Omaha 

• Zebby Matthews tied a career-high with nine strikeouts. He struck out at least one batter in each inning. He gave up just one hit through the first four innings and retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced. The only runs charged to him were on a misplayed ball by Yunior Severino. 
• Andrew Morris tossed five shutout innings including retiring eight of the final nine men he faced. He allowed four hits and walked two while striking out three. He has yet to allow a run in 10.0 innings to start the year. 
• Jair Camargo hit a two-run homer on Wednesday, his 34th home run in a Saints uniform. He is tied for fourth all-time in franchise history. 
• Carson McCusker hit his first home run of the year on Wednesday, and it turned out to be the difference in a one-run game. On Friday, he hit another homer, a two-run shot, that was the difference in that game. 
• On Thursday, the Saints exploded for 13 runs. Eight different Saints collected a hit, 10 different players scored a run, and seven guys knocked in a run as the Saints pounded out 16 hits, six of them doubles one shy of tying the franchise record.
• Luke Keaschall hit his first Triple-A home run on Friday. He finished the game 2-for-2 with a home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. 
• In a bullpen game, Alex Speas was dominant. Outside of the single in the fourth, he retired six batters in a row, five on strikeouts, tying a career-high. He went 2 1/3 shutout innings allowing one hit and striking out five.
• In the same game, Kyle Bischoff went two hitless, scoreless innings while walking two and striking out five. He threw a career-high 43 pitches. 
• Diego Cartaya ended an 0-for-13 slump to start the year with a solo home run on Saturday. 

What’s Next: The Saints head on the road for a six-game series against the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines. The following week, they have eight home games in six days to make up for postponed games from earlier in the season. 

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge
Overall: 6-3 (1.0 game out of first)
Last Week: 5-1 vs Midland 

• This series marked the first time Wichita had won five games in a series since August 22-28, 2023. 
• Walker Jenkins experienced “renewed stiffness” in his left ankle, according to Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll. It’s the same ankle that Jenkins sprained early in spring training, causing him to miss much of camp.
• Tanner Schobel had a six-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday. During that stretch, he had two multi-hit games. He’s only been held hitless in two games so far this season.
• Kyler Fedko had a three-hit game on Thursday and hit his first home run of the season on Friday. 
• John Klein picked up his first win of the season. He pitched three hitless relief innings while striking out five. 
• Trent Baker allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks. He pitched four innings and lowered his season ERA to 1.29. 
• Mike Paredes has yet to allow a run this season in relief. On Wednesday, he pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings with one hit, one walk, and three strikeouts. 
• Darren Bowen was dominant in his Double-A debut. In five innings, he allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts and no walks. On Sunday, he returned and allowed one earned run on four hits in four innings. 
• Aaron Rozek tossed 5 1/3 innings by allowing one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts. 
• Rubel Cespedes had one game with two-hits including a home run, a double, and three RBI. Earlier in the week, he had six total bases with a home run, a double, and four RBI. He has a 1.137 OPS in 24 AB. 

What’s Next: The Wind Surge face the Tulsa Drillers in a six-game road series that begins on Tuesday. 

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels
Overall: 6-3 (Tied for 1st in the Midwest League West)
Last Week: 4-2 vs Beloit 

• Jose Olivares, in his Cedar Rapids debut, did not give up a run in 4 2/3 innings of work, allowing just one hit while posting six strikeouts.
• Wilker Reyes pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings on Wednesday. He allowed one hit with one walk and four strikeouts. 
• Billy Amick and Gabriel Gonzalez each had three hit games in Thursday night’s loss. 
• Charlee Soto allowed just one hit across five scoreless innings with six strikeouts and no walks. He retired 15 of the 16 batters he faced in his home debut. On Monday, Soto was named the Midwest League's Pitcher of the Week. 
• Caden Kendle hit his first professional home run, a solo shot in Friday’s game. Later in that game, he doubled and came around to score the go-ahead run. 
• Spencer Bengard allowed just one run across four innings of relief on Saturday. He struck out five.
• Kyle DeBarge had a three-hit game on Saturday including a triple, three runs scored, and two stolen bases. He followed it up with another multi-hit effort on Sunday. He’s hitting over .350 for the season. 

What’s Next: Cedar Rapids heads on the road for a six-game series against the Peoria Chiefs. 

Low-A: Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
Overall: 4-5 (2.0 games out of first)
Last Week: 3-3

• Dylan Questad dazzled in his Florida State League debut, spinning five scoreless innings, allowing just two base runners on one hit and one walk with eight strikeouts.
• Dameury Pena drove in three runs with a sacrifice fly and a single on Wednesday.
• Jacob Kisting struck out six batters in a row in relief to help Fort Myers escape a tough spot. 
• On a rehab assignment from Double-A, Christian MacLeod made a start on Thursday and finished with four strikeouts across two scoreless frames. 
• Pierson Ohl, also rehabbing from Wichita, followed MacLeod. He picked up a pair of strikeouts, scattering one hit across two shutout innings.
• Byron Chourio has been a threat at the top of the lineup with five leadoff walks and two steals. 
• Yasser Mercedes drove in a pair of runs as part of a multi-hit effort on Friday.
• Cole Peschl made his Florida State League debut and earned a four-inning save. He struck out four and only saw an unearned run score against him.
• Dasan Hill made his home debut and allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.
• Jason Doktorczyk went 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four in relief of Hill.
• On Sunday, Devin Kirby, Zander Sechrist and Hunter Hoopes combined for six scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowing just five hits while striking out eight. The Mussels’ bullpen did not allow a run for the second consecutive game.

What’s Next: The Mighty Mussels continue their home schedule with a six-game series against the Bradenton Marauders. 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. And, be sure to note the new, updated Top 20 rankings. Roster assignments below are subject to change as some players have yet to be assigned or are in Extended Spring Training. 

1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): On injured list
2. Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 5-21, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 8 K
3. Luke Keaschall (St. Paul): 3-17, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, 6 BB, 6 K
4. Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids): 5 IP, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
5. Andrew Morris (St. Paul): 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
6. Marco Raya (St. Paul): 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
7. Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 3-9, 2 2B, 0 BB, 1 K (placed on IL)
8. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 5-24, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 6 K, 2 SB
9. Cory Lewis (St. Paul): 3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
10. Connor Prielipp (Wichita): 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
11. Dasan Hill (Fort Myers): 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K
12. C.J. Culpepper (Wichita): On IL
13. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 8-23, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 7 R, 7 BB, 4 K, 5 SB
14. Eduardo Beltre (DSL Twins): In Extended Spring Training
15. Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers): 5-19, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, 3 SB
16. Rayne Doncon (Cedar Rapids): 0-9, 0 BB, 6 K (placed on IL)
17. Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 8-19, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 2 R, 7 BB, 5 K 
18. Kala’i Rosario (Wichita): 2-19, 1 RBI, 12 K, 0 BB, 1 SB
19. Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids): 6-22, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K
20. Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 4-20, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Hitter of the Week: Kyle DeBarge, Cedar Rapids
8-23 (.348), 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 7 R, 7 BB, 4 K, 5 SB

Pitcher of the Week: Dylan Questad, Fort Myers
5.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 8 K

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!