Twins Minor League Week in Review (8/12-18): Payton Eeles Electrifies Saints Offense

Spoiler Alert!
I am about to post a video interview with this week's Twins Minor League Hitter of the Week. If you prefer to just read through everything before seeing who that is, be sure to scroll quickly past the video shown directly below this paragraph. 

TRANSACTIONS

• SS Kaelen Culpepper has been promoted to Cedar Rapids. 
• The Kernels put 1B/3B Kevin Maitan on the 7-Day IL with a hamstring strain. 

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 10, DSL Rockies 2
Box Score 
In the DSL Twins penultimate game of the 2024 season, Eduardo Beltre did Eduardo Beltre things in leading his team to a big win. In this game, Beltre went 3-for-5 with his ninth double, 11th home run, and four RBI. For the season, he is now hitting .336 with a 1.096 OPS. He also stole his 10th base of the season. 

Daiber De Los Santos had a nice pro debut season as well. In this game, he went 3-for-5 with his 11th double. Irvin Nunez also went 3-for-5. Catcher Carlos Silva was a big signing a year ago, and he went 2-for-5 with his ninth double in this game. 

Melvin Rodriguez put together his fifth strain solid start for the DSL squad. In this game, he tossed four scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and walked two while striking out four batters. Jose Vasquez gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in three innings. He had five strikeouts. Aiberson Ventura ended the game with four strikeouts over two, one-hit innings.   

WEEK IN REVIEW
Triple-A: St. Paul Saints

• Overall: 56-63, Ninth place in the IL West.
  • 2nd Half: 18-27, Tied for ninth place in IL West. 
• Last Week: 0-6 at Indianapolis. The Saints lost all six games by a combined total of nine runs, including four one-run losses. 
• Payton Eeles continues to amaze. The infielder is now also playing some outfield. He played in all six games this past week. He went 8-for-19 and hit .421/.522/.526 (1.048) with two doubles.
• Caleb Boushley gave up one run on six hits over six innings in his start. He had eight strikeouts and did not allow a walk. 
• Randy Dobnak returned from his much-anticipated return to the big leagues and went four innings in his start. He gave up one run on four hits. He walked two and had six strikeouts. 
• Andrew Morris made his first two Triple-A starts. The first went well. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk over six innings. In the second start, he gave up three runs on two hits, a hit batter, and four walks. 
    
• What’s Next: The Saints will be hosting Scranton/Wilkes Barre, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. Head out to CHS Field for a few games. Click here for ticket information.  

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge

• Overall: 49-65. Fifth place in the Texas League North
  • 2nd Half: 18-27. Fifth place in Texas League North. 
• Last Week: 2-4, at home versus Arkansas.  
• Andrew Cossetti played more and he played well. In four games, he hit .333/.308/.833 (1.141) with a double, a triple, and a home run. He also drove in five runs. 
    
• OF Carson McCusker played in all six games. He went 9-for-25 and hit .360/.360/.720 (1.080) with four doubles, a triple, and one home run. 
• UT Dalton Shuffield continues to play well despite rarely finding a permanent home. In five games, he went 6-for-17, hitting .353/.389/.588 (.977) with a double, a homer and five RBI. 
• Is it possible that the top pitching performance of the week for the Wind Surge came from infielder Jorel Ortega. He went 1 1/3 innings and did not allow so much as a baserunner. 
• Marco Raya went 4 1/3 innings in his start. He gave up no runs, two hits, walked three and struck out five batters. 
    
• Cory Lewis went 5 1/3 innings in his start. He gave up one run on five hits. He walked three and had seven strikeouts. 
   
• Christian MacLeod returned from his one-start appearance with the Saints. The southpaw gave up one run on three hits and a walk over 4 1/3 innings. Travis Adams went 3 2/3 innings in his start. He gave up one run on two hits. He walked two and had five strikeouts. 
• Miguel Rodriguez pitched twice and had one save. In three innings, he gave up no runs on two hits. He hit two batters and had four strikeouts. Kyle Bischoff had nine strikeouts over four innings. 
• What’s Next: For the second straight week, the Wind Surge will be on the road. They will be in Midland, taking on Oakland’s Double-A affiliate. 

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels

• Overall: 61-51 (3-3 last week in Peoria) Second place in the Midwest League West
  • 2nd Half: 24-24: Third place in the MWL West Division (4.5 GB) 
• Last Week: Went 3-3, hosting the Cubs High-A affiliate from South Bend. 
• Rixon Wingrove’s transition to High-A has gone quite smoothly. In six games, he went 6-for-20. He hit .300/.364/.750 (1.114) with three home runs. 
• Jose Salas had a very nice week. He played all six games and went 6-for-18, hitting .333/.368/.556 (.924) with two doubles and a triple. 
• Walker Jenkins hit .320/.370/.440 (.810) with three doubles over 27 plate appearances. 
• On Sunday, Jeremy Lee made a start and tossed four scoreless innings. Spencer Bengard came on in relief and gave up only an unearned run over four innings. Combined they gave up just five hits and walked two.
• John Klein made a rare appearance out of the bullpen. He tossed five scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and had three strikeouts. 
• Lefty Rafael Marcano, a minor-league Rule 5 pick in December, pitched twice out of the bullpen. In a combined six innings, he gave up no runs, three hits, two walks, and he had six strikeouts. 
• Ricky Castro put together arguably his best start since joining the Twins organization a couple of months ago. In six innings, he gave up one run on four hits. He walked two and struck out eight batters.   
• What’s Next: The Kernels will be on the road the next two weeks. This week they’ll be in Dayton, followed by an off day before starting a series at Lake County. They will return home on September 3rd (the day after Labor Day) for their final series of the season. They’ll be taking on Cooper Pratt and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. 

Low-A: Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

• Overall: 68-43. Second place in Florida State League West
  • 2nd half: 29-15, First place in FSL West (4 game lead over Lakeland) 
• Last Week: In a big series, the Mussels took four of six games against Lakeland at Hammond Stadium. They increased their second-half lead from two to four games. 
• Brandon Winokur had a big week in one game last week. His three home run game was the key factor in his 1.080 OPS. Overall, he hit .286/.318/.762 and added a double. He also went 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts. 
    
• In five games, the Twins fifth-round pick from the 2024 draft, Caden Kendle went 6-for-16 and hit .375/.474/.500 (.974). 
• Sixth-round pick from Coastal Carolina, Derek Bender, played in four games and hit .308/.357/.538 (.895) with a home run. 
• Jaime Ferrer, the fourth-round pick from Florida State, had three doubles during the week. 
   
• The Mussels put together some really strong starts last week. 
  • Charlee Soto went five shutout innings in his start. He gave up four hits, walked two, and had four strikeouts. 
      
  • Jose Olivares tossed four innings in his start. He gave up no runs and no hits. He walked two and struck out three batters. 
  • Lefty Cesar Lares made one start and worked five scoreless innings. He gave up seven hits, walked none and had two strikeouts. 
  • Young Adrian Bohorquez went four scoreless innings during his start. He gave up one hit, walked three and struck.
• There were also some strong appearances out of the bullpen. Of course, with young arms, generally in their first couple of seasons in pro ball. Starting and relieving can be a big interchangeable.
  • Knuckleballer Devin Kirby went four one-hit innings in his appearance. He walked one and struck out five batters.
  • Juan Mercedes tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings over two appearances. He gave up one hit, walked two and had five strikeouts.  
  • Ben Ethridge recorded a three-inning save. He gave up no hits, walked one and had four strikeouts.
  • Samuel Perez struck out four batters over three scoreless innings in his appearance. He gave up two hits and walked none.
• What’s Next: The Mussels will travel north to Tampa to play seven games. They will play doubleheaders on Wednesday and Saturday with a day off on Friday.  

Dominican Summer League: DSL Twins

• Overall: 29-25: Fourth place in Dominican Summer League South
• Eduardo Beltre has consistently been in these weekly reports. Last week, he played in four games and went 7-for-16. He hit .438/.471/.563 (1.034) with two doubles. He was also 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts. 
• Nelson Urbina played in three games and .444 with a double and a triple. Carlos Silva hit the team’s lone home run. He also walked four times.  
• Anderson Ramos struck out six and walked two batters in a one-hit, 3 1/3 inning appearance. 
• After taking on the Rockies on Monday, the DSL Twins will host the Angels on Tuesday morning. It will be the final game of their season. 

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.

#1– Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) – 6 G, 8-for-25, .320/.370/.440 (.810), 3-2B, 6 R, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K.
#2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – Injured List (right biceps)
#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - Injured List (hand/wrist)
#4 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – Injured List (Elbow) 
#5 – Zebby Matthews (Minnesota) – 1 GS, 1-0, 3.60 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .250 BAA, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. 

#6 - David Festa (Minnesota) - 1 GS, 0-0, 3.60 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .286 BAA, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K.
#7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 6 G, 5-for-24, .208/.296/.292 (.588), 2 R, 5  RBI, 3 BB, 3 K. 
#8 – Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) – 1 GS, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .222 BAA, 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K.   
#9 - Kaelen Culpepper (Fort Myers) - 6 G, 6-for-24, .250/.308/.417 (.725), 1-2B, 1-HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K. 
#10 - Marco Raya (Wichita) - 1 GS, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .143 BAA, 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K. 
#11 - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 2 GS, 0-0, 4.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .129 BAA, 9.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 5 K.
#12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 6 G, 6-for-21, .286/318/.762 (1.080), 1-2B, 3-HR, 5 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 3 SB.
#13 – Cory Lewis (Wichita) – 1 GS, 0-0, 1.69 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .263 BAA, 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K.
#14 - Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - IL.  
#15 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - Injured List (elbow fracture) 
#16 - Kyle DeBarge (Fort Myers) - 6 G, 4-for-21, .190/.320/.238 (.558), 1-2B, 3 R, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 8 K, 3 SB
#17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 6 G, 8-for-27, .296/.321/.444 (.765), 2-2B, 1-3B, 4 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K.
#18 - Dasan Hill (FCL Twins) - Not assigned to a roster yet.
#19 - C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - 1 GS, 0-0, 10.13 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .333 BAA, 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K.
#20 – Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) – 1 GS, 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, .385 BAA, 3.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Hitter of the Week - Payton Eeles (Saints)
6 games, 8-for-19, .421/.522/.526 (1.048), 2-2B, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1-for-1 SB

Pitcher of the Week - Ricky Castro (Kernels)
1 GS, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 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!