Twins Minor League Week in Review (7/15 - 7/21): Zebby Promoted and Chris Williams Ties a Record

It was a light week in the Minor Leagues with most affiliates on break along with the Major League teams. Zebby Matthews' debut with the Saints along with a Minor League Player of the Week award for Luke Keaschall were the highlights.

TRANSACTIONS

• Connor Prielipp was activated from the 60-day IL and is active immediately with the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
• RHP Kyle Bischoff and LHP Christian MacLeod have been transferred from Cedar Rapids to AA Wichita.
• RHP Ricky Castro transferred from Low-A Fort Myers to High-A Cedar Rapids.
• RHP Tomas Cleto reinstated from the 7-day injured list.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Pirates 6, FCL Twins 0
It was a tough game for the FCL Twins’ offense, which was only able to muster together two hits on the day, singles from Jayson Bass and Yilber Herrera.

On the other side of the ball, poor defense plagued the FCL Twins as throwing errors contributed to crooked numbers in both the second and fourth innings, giving the Pirates three runs in each of those. On the mound, Anthony Narvaez allowed seven hits across four innings, striking out five.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Yankees 2, DSL Twins 0 (Top 3 - Suspended)
Not much to report on for the DSL Twins, as rain suspended the game just as the top of the third inning kicked off against the DSL Yankees. In 2+ innings, Cristian Hernandez allowed three hits and two walks, contributing to three earned runs.

WEEK IN REVIEW
Triple-A: St. Paul Saints

• Overall: 47-48 (3-0 last week) Fifth place in IL West
• Overview: Saints came out of the break hot with a convincing sweep on the road against the Toledo Mud Hens.
• Zebby Matthews had a strong triple-A debut, earning a win after throwing five innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out six.
• Chris Williams tied Mark Contreras for the St. Paul Saints franchise career home run record with his 43rd blast in a Saints uniform. Williams was 9-for-13 on the weekend for the Saints.
• Anthony Prato connected with a career-high four RBI in Saturday’s 11-3 win for the Saints.
• What’s Next: The Saints return home for a six-game set against the Omaha Storm Chasers.
• Josh Winder struggled again for the Saints in relief, allowing two hits, while walking two and giving up earned runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge

• Overall: 38-58 (2-1 last week) Fifth place in the Texas League North
• Overview: Wind Surge rebound from Friday night loss with a couple of stellar pitching performances to take the series over the Frisco RoughRiders.
• Andrew Morris continued his dominance with an excellent outing on Saturday night, throwing six innings of one-run ball.
• Jordan Carr had a strong outing for Wichita, pitching five innings and allowing one earned run while striking out four.
• Luke Keaschall was named Minor League Player of the Week after posting nine hits, two home runs, four RBI, and four runs scored to go along with zero strikeouts in four games the week prior. He also participated in the 2024 All-Star Futures Game this past Sunday.

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels

• Overall: 51-37 (1-2 last week) Second place in the Midwest League West
• Overview: After trading a win and a loss on Friday and Saturday, the Kernels dropped their rubber match on Sunday to take a weekend-series loss against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
• Rubel Cespedes hit two home runs for the Kernels on Sunday in a losing effort. Cespedes was 6-for-13 with three RBI on the weekend for the Kernels.
• Christian Macleod was stellar for Cedar Rapids on Friday night, throwing six innings, allowing just one run, and striking out seven en route to a 2-1 victory.
• Darren Bowen struggled for Cedar Rapids, allowing five hits and three earned runs, while not getting out of the third inning.
• Ricardo Olivar also struggled, going hitless in 12 at-bats with four strikeouts.

Low-A: Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

• Overall: 46-41 (3-0 last week) Third place in Florida State League West
• Overview: Mighty Mussels ride hot hitting and a stellar starting pitching outing to a weekend sweep of the Clearwater Threshers.
• Ricky Castro turned in a stellar start for the Mussels, tossing five innings of one-hit ball while striking out seven.
• Walker Jenkins stayed hot for the Mighty Mussels this weekend, going 3-for-6 with a triple and five walks in 11 plate appearances.
• Rixon Wingrove connected with two home runs, a double and a triple in 14 at-bats this weekend.
• Brandon Winokur had a tough weekend, going hitless in 13 at-bats with 10 strikeouts.
• Connor Prielipp pitched for the Mighty Mussels in a rehab start and threw two promising innings, only allowing one hit, while not allowing a run and striking out three.

Complex League: FCL Twins

• 26-30 (1-3 last week) Fourth place in Florida Complex League South
• Yasser Mercedes had a strong week, going 7-for-13 with five extra-base hits.
• Bryan Acuna had a solid week as well, with two extra-base hits and two RBI across four games.
• Devin Kirby was a star on the mound this week, pitching 5 ⅓ scoreless innings, while striking out six.

Dominican League: DSL Twins

• 17-16 (2-2 last week) 4th in Dominican Summer League South
• Irvin Nuñez connected with a home run and a double in just six at-bats last week. His seven total bases led the team.
• Alver Medina swiped four bases for the DSL Twins.
• Neftali Rodriguez finished two games for the DSL Twins this week, tossing 2 ⅔ innings without allowing a run and striking out four.

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#1– Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) – 3-6, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 5 BB, 1 K
#2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 2-9, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
#5 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 2-11, 3 K
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 3-10, 3 R, 2 BB
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-16, 2 BB, 10 K
#11 – Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) – N/A
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-10, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K
#14 – Zebby Matthews (St. Paul) – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
#17 – Connor Prielipp (Fort Myers) - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
#18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 5-13, 3 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 0-12, 1 BB, 4 K

Hitter of the Week - Chris Williams (St. Paul) - 9-13, 6 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K

Pitcher of the Week - Ricky Castro (Fort Myers) - 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 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!