Twins Minor League Week in Review (7/31-8/6): Faces in New Places

The Twins were able to celebrate Joe Mauer's induction into the team's Hall of Fame by sweeping the Diamondbacks. You can read all about that and the Twins complete inactivity at the trade deadline in Nick’s Week in Review. 

And there was a lot that happened in the (still fully intact) system. 

WEEK IN REVIEW 

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints

• Overall: 18-15 (2-4 last week) in the second half; In second place in the IL West, trailing Louisville by one game.
• Overview: It was a down week, dropping out of a first place tie. The Saints, though, are still only 2.5 games outs in their attempt to win the second half title and qualify for the playoffs.
• 😍: It was a fun week for prospect-watching because the Twins promoted top prospect Brooks Lee, top 20 prospect Yunior Severino and borderline top 30 prospect DaShawn Kiersey.  It's entirely conceivable to believe that Severino and Kiersey are doing well enough on their year-long audition to be added to the 40-man roster. The problem for both is that they play positions that have good depth in the organization. How do Severino and Miranda both fit as third basemen? Kiersey is two years older than Gilberto Celestino and, along with most of the other outfielders, bats lefthanded. But Celestino will be out of options going into next year, so it's possible that Kiersey could just replace him.
• 🔥: I was critical of Austin Martin in this very space last week and he turned around and had a very good week. He only had four hits on the week (in five games), but they came in only 13 at-bats because he also drew seven walks (versus only three strikeouts). He hit for two doubles and was three-of-four in stolen base attempts. He's not playing shortstop at all anymore, but he does add a dynamic right-handed alternative in left field and can also play second base. As the roster flotsam clears up this winter, it's entirely possible the Twins just replace the out-of-options Nick Gordon by giving his roster spot to Austin Martin. Aside from their handedness, they would provide the Twins with pretty similar skillsets. 
• 🔥: Kody Funderburk is almost 27 years old, but it wouldn't be shocking if the Twins took a look at him in the big-league bullpen before the end of the year. He's a tall lefty who began the year at Wichita, but has thrown 43 2/3 innings and struck out 65 for the Saints. His numbers are extremely impressive. In his three games (five innings) this week, he allowed a single run on a hit and three walks. he struck out nine. Most impressively, though, Funderburk has absolutely destroyed right-handed batters (.183/.254/.209. .463 OPS). He hasn't allowed a home run this entire year. He's allowed only three doubles to right-handers in 115 at-bats. 
• 🔥: Trevor Larnach led the team with nine hits and tied for the lead with three extra-base hits. He put up a 1.229 OPS despite not hitting a home run. He's been passed on the organizational depth chart by Matt Wallner and Max Kepler has been raking his way into "maybe the Twins should pick up his option for next year" territory. That would ticket Larnach for St. Paul again, where he would be on his final optional assignment. 
• 🥶: Lee (1-13), Severino (1-8) and Kiersey (2-9) are all adjusting in their first handful of games at the highest minor-league level. 
• 🥶: Blayne Enlow has really slowed down since his promotion to AAA, but he's nearly 80 innings on the year, exceeding his combined innings in the 2021 and 2022. Prior to COVID, Enlow had broken the 100 innings mark in 2019, but obviously didn't throw in games in 2020. Enlow gave up four hits and walked four in three innings allowing four runs (three earned). He struck out two.
• What's Next: The Saints, who own the best second-half home record (11-4) will welcome the Louisville Bats to CHS Field. Louisville is on a six-game winning streak and are the hottest team in the International League. Two giants colliding!

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge

• Overall: 15-18 (4-2 last week) in the second half; 2.5 games behind NW Arkansas and in fourth place in the Texas League. 
• Overview: Wichita sent their three best hitters to St. Paul, but still managed to take four wins in the series.
• 🔥: Dalton Shuffield has really bounced around since signing as a 10th-round pick in 2022. He got 48 AAA at-bats last year, but has mostly played in Fort Myers this year. He made a brief stop at Cedar Rapids before getting to Wichita and being productive in three games. His three home runs last week (in eight at-bats) were one more than he had in his previous 129 at-bats this season. 
• 🔥: Yoyner Fajardo led the team with 12 hits, six runs and four doubles last week. He also hit two home runs and tied for the team lead with six runs batted in and four stolen bases. The 24-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder has a .811 OPS and 34 stolen bases. He doesn't have a typical corner-outfield profile, but he's definitely impressed.
• 🔥: Pierson Ohl put up another great start. He allowed only three hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out five. Through 46 AA innings, he's struck out 43 with only nine walks. His WHIP is 1.09 and he's actually pulling off the rare feat of making baseball look easier despite moving to a harder level. 
• 🔥: Patrick Winkel had two doubles and two home runs among his seven hits in 16 at-bats. He also drew six walks for an impressive 1.529 OPS. 
• 🥶: Tanner Schobel continues to struggle through 15 games at AA. He went 3-for-19 with two doubles this past week. With the heart of their lineup promoted, someone is going to have step up and eyes will be on Schobel. 
• 🥶: Marco Raya was here last week after a dismal start. This one was even worse. He got pulled without recording an out. He gave up six runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk. It will be interesting to see how Raya is handled this week. The kid gloves have been on with him at almost every turn. 
• What's Next: Heading to NW Arkansas, looking to close the gap in the league standings. 

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels

• Overall: 23-13 (5-1 last week) in the second half, 2.0 games ahead of Peoria. The Kernels have clinched a postseason berth.
• Overview: A loss on Sunday prevented the Kernels from the six-game sweep. 
• 🔥: Like Emmanuel Rodriguez's performances, I'm hot and cold on him. When it's bad, it's almost unbelievably bad. When it's good - like this past week - it's really, really good. He was 6-for-17 with three home runs. He walked five times and only struck out three times. He also stole two bases. 
• 🔥: After struggling in his debut last week, Andrew Morris picked up a win, throwing six strong innings, allowing only one run on five hits. He struck out nine batters. 
• 🔥: Cory Lewis didn't quite strike out a batter per inning (five in six innings), but he did only allow one run on three hits and a walk.
• 🔥: Two bullpen members deserve a mention: Jordan Carr pitched four near-perfect innings last week. He struck out three and allowed a single walk. He was in the starting rotation until around Memorial Day, but had a 1.45 WHIP and an opposing batting average of .295. Since the transition, Carr has not allowed an earned run (eight appearances, 23 innings) and has reduced his WHIP and opposing batting average in each appearance (down to 1.05 and .211).  Miguel Rodriguez has also been very good. He's 14-for-14 in save opportunities. He's struck out 42 in 41 innings over 33 appearances. His WHIP is 1.05 and his opposing batting average is .212. Carr and Rodriguez are nice back-end for a playoff team.
• 🔥: Both Jorel Ortega (5-15, 2B, 3B, HR) and Noah Miller (6-18, 2B, HR) had weeks with an OPS over 1.000.
• 🥶: It's easier to overlook the Kala'i Rosario strikeouts when he's banging home runs. It's less easy when he's striking out 12 times in 21 a-bats.
• What's Next: The Kernels will head to last-place Quad Cities (12-24), but they'll need to stay hot to keep Peoria and their eight-game winning streak at bay.

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels

• Overall: 15-21 (3-3 last week) in the second half, 10.0 games out of first place.
• Overview: A split with Dunedin! Reason to celebrate... but Dunedin is tied for last place with Fort Myers. 
• 🔥: Luke Keaschall is by far the best prospect the Mighty Mussels have and he had a very good week with two doubles in his seven hits. He also stole two bases. 
• 🔥: Jarret Whorff had a great start, allowing only one run on two hits in six innings while striking out nine. It's his best start since moving into the rotation in early July.
• 🔥: Ricardo Olivar tied for the team lead in hits with seven and also was one of three players to hit a home run. He also stole a base.
• 🔥: Ben Ethridge allowed three hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball. He struck out five. 
• 🤔: Fort Myers just isn't a very good team this year. We're not going to pick too much on the guys that are struggling. Hopefully there are some more prospect reinforcements on the way to help.
• What's Next: Bradenton (23-13) will come to town. 

Rookie: FCL Twins

• Overall: 17-25 (1-4 last week) on the season. 10.5 games behind the FCL Pirates in the FCL South. 
• 😍: Walker Jenkins is slowing getting back into the baseball thing... and I think he's going to be ok.
• 🔥: Brandon Winokur led the team with eight hits, six runs and four runs batted in his first few days playing professional baseball. Impressively, Winokur has been playing more shortstop than anything else. Drafted as an outfielder and projected to eventually fit in a corner, the Twins must think that there's a chance Winokur could stay in the dirt (most likely at third base). 
• 🥶: The young international, newsworthy guys - Jose Rodriguez, Yasser Mercedes, Byron Chourio and Bryan Acuna - are all Top 30-type guys and still struggling. Chourio had the best week going 5-for-13.
• 🥶: Lots of crooked numbers on the pitching side of things and that's not ideal. No one threw more than two innings and had an ERA under 4.00 and only one had a WHIP under 1.40. 

Rookie: DSL Twins 

• Overall: 9-32 (1-4 last week) on the season. 24.5 games back in the DSL South. 
• 🔥: Yency De Jesus was really good two weeks ago and even better last week. He tied for the lead in innings pitched (5) and strikeouts (5), and led WHIP (0.40) while not allowing a run. 
•  🔥: Dameury Pena led the team with five hits. Despite not hitting for any power, he still managed to get on base 54% of the time so his OPS was near 1.000. 
• 😏: Hendry Chivilli is coming on. He collected four hits in 13 at-bats, including a triple. He is the highest-regarded prospect on this roster.
• 🥶: There's a reason this team isn't winning many games and a lot of that has to with poor pitching.

PROSPECT SUMMARY 
This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week. The Prospect Tracker will be updated periodically throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. Season-long stats will be in parenthesis. 

• 20. Jose Rodriguez, OF, FCL Twins: 4-21, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K, CS. (.252/.318/.404. .722 OPS)
• 19. Brent Headrick, RHP, Minnesota. St. Paul: 0-1, 13.50 ERA, 4 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 1 HB, 3 BB, 3 K. (1.42 WHIP, .271 BAA); currently pitching out of the Twins bullpen.
• 18. Jose Salas, INF, Cedar Rapids: currently on the Development List and appears on the FCL Twins roster but has not played. (.181/.268/.265. .533 OPS), previously played two games at shortstop and committed one error in seven chances (13 total; four errors in 43 chances total), played one game (14 total) at third base and committed no errors in one chance (three errors in 32 total chances). He played five games (40 total) at second base with no errors in 16 chances (three errors in 161 total chances).
• 17. Yunior Severino, 3B, St. Paul. Wichita/St. Paul: 2-14, RBI, R, 2 BB, 5 K. (AA/AAA combined .284/.360/.555. .910 OPS).
• 16. Kala'i Rosario, OF, Cedar Rapids: 3-21, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, 4 BB, 12 K. (.262/.377/.481. .858 OPS).
• 15. Jordan Balazovic, RHP, Minnesota. St. Paul: (1.60 WHIP, .261 BAA); currently pitching out of the Twins bullpen.
• 14. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 6 BB, 4 K (1.63 WHIP, .271 BAA); Minnesota: (1.85 WHIP, .313 BAA)
• 13. Brandon Winokur, OF, FCL Twins: 8-20, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 7 K. (.321/.367/.500. .867 OPS), played four games at shortstop and committed one error in 17 chances and played two games at centerfield and committed no errors in eight chances. 
• 12. Luke Keaschall, 2B, Fort Myers: 7-15, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K. (rookie/l-A combined .364/.516/.455. .971 OPS), played five games at second base and committed one error in 12 chances and played one game at third base and committed one error in two chances. 
• 11. Yasser Mercedes, OF, FCL Twins: 2-7, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 SB. (.196/.248/.381. .629 OPS)
• 10. Tanner Schobel, INF, Wichita: 3-19, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K, CS. (high-A/AA combined .268/.357/.456. .813 OPS), played four games (35 total) at second base and committed one error in seven chances (6 errors in 142 total chances), played two games (52 total) at third base and committed one error in four chances (four errors in 107 total chances).
• 9. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids: Announced that Prielipp will be undergoing season-ending elbow surgery. (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA)
• 8. Austin Martin , SS, St. Paul: 4-13, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 7 BB, 3 K, 3 SB, CS. (rehab/AAA combined .231/.344/.333. .677 OPS), played two games (four total) in left field and committed no errors in six chances (no errors in 10 total chances) and played three games (17 total) at second base and committed no errors in 11 chances (two errors in 72 total chances). Has also played three games in centerfield and committed no errors in seven chances(Not so sure we can call him a shortstop prospect anymore,)
• 7. David Festa, RHP, Wichita: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 HB, 3 BB, 9 K. (1.44 WHIP, .261 BAA)
• 6. Charlee Soto, RHP: Has not played in a professional game.
• 5. Matt Wallner, OF, Minnesota: St. Paul (.291/.403/.524. .927 OPS); currently with the Twins.
• 4. Marco Raya, RHP, Wichita: 0-1, INF ERA, 0.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 4 ER, HRA, BB, 2 K. (AA/Hi-A combined 1.10 WHIP, .216 BAA)
• 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 6-17, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB, 3 K, 2 SB, CS. (.228/.396/.452. .848 OPS)
• 2. Walker Jenkins, OF, FCL Twins: 4-8, 2B, RBI, SB, CS. (.500/.500/.625. 1.125 OPS)
• 1. Brooks Lee, SS, St. Paul. Wichita/St. Paul: 3-21, 2B, RBI, R, 4 K ,SB. (AA/AAA combined .285/.356/.461. .817 OPS), played 5 games (85 total) at shortstop and committed two errors in 14 chances (14 errors in 342 total chances). Lee has committed one error in three chances in one game at third base this season.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

HITTER - Yoyner Fajardo, Wichita. 

PITCHER - Kody Funderburk, St. Paul.

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!