Twins Minor League Week in Review (8/14-8/20)

The Twins have pushed their lead to a season-high six games. Read all about it in Nick’s Week in Review. 

WEEK IN REVIEW 

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints

• Overall: 26-19 (3-3 last week) in the second half; In first place in the IL West by half a game; in fourth place in the International League.
• Overview: The Saints had a chance to separate themselves from Iowa, but struggled to a split with Indianapolis.
• 🔥: Yunior Severino  had a big week, hitting three home runs among his seven hits. He's shown to have a ton of power this season, but the strikeouts are and will reman a problem. He struck out 10 times in 19 at-bats this week. 
• 🔥: Simeon Woods Richardson  (five innings, two runs, six strikeouts) and Joe Ryan (rehab, four innings, one run, seven strikeouts) both had really good starts. Blayne Enlow also struck out three in two perfect innings.
• 🔥: DaShawn Keirsey (seven hits, triple), Austin Martin (six hits, two home runs) and Andrew Stevenson (six hits, two doubles home runs.) all had good offensive weeks. It was also nice to see Gilberto Celestino (five hits, double, triple) get back on track.  
• 🥶: Two starts for Randy Dobnak , but it was a rough week. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed 12 runs (10 earned) on 19 hits and five walks. He struck out seven. 
• 🥶: Trevor Larnach  struck out 11 times in 19 at-bats. He only had one hit.
• What's Next: The Saints head to Omaha, who is currently in last place in the IL West.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge

• Overall: 24-21 (5-1 last week) in the second half with a half-game lead. 
• Overview: The Wind Surge has won three straight series and been very hot since the promotions of their best three offensive players.
• 🔥: Pierson Ohl has been on fire. In two starts, he completed eleven innings and allowed only three runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out nine. 
• 🔥: Alex Isola and David Banuelos  had huge weeks. Isola had 12 hits in 23 at-bats. He had three home runs and scored eight runs while driving in six. Banuelos had nine hits, including three doubles and a home run. He drove in seven.
• 🔥: Travis Adams  allowed a single run on two hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out two. He had a no-hitter through the first six innings. 
• 🥶: Dalton Shuffield  was 3-for-18. He did steal two bases though.
• 🥶: Carlos Luna  allowed five runs on 11 hits this week. 
• What's Next: The Wind Surge head to Arkansas (18-26), the first-half champion, to try to extend their lead in the Texas League North.

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels

• Overall: 31-17 (5-1 last week) in the second half, four games ahead of Peoria. The Kernels have clinched a postseason berth.
• Overview: The Kernels got some separation from Peoria with a huge week.
• 🔥: Noah Miller  led the offensive charge with seven hits, including three doubles. 
• 🔥: Kyle Jones made a scoreless four-inning start. C.J. Culpepper, Andrew Morris, and Zebby Matthews all allowed one earned run in their starts.
• 🔥: Kala'i Rosario  had two home runs in his four hits and drew three walks. He did strike out seven times though. 
• 🥶: This is usually where you get a weekly Misael Urbina and/or Jose Salas update. They could both be here... but people are more interested in Emmanuel Rodriguez , who went 4-for-18 with six strikeouts.
• 🥶: Cory Lewis  gave up three earned runs in his start, tied for the most he's allowed with the Kernels.  
• What's Next: The Kernels head to South Bend (19-28). It's a match-up of the hottest team in the league and one of the coldest teams in the league.

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels

• Overall: 22-26 (4-2 last week) in the second half, 9.0 games out of first place.
• Overview: It's been a turnaround for Fort Myers, who have put up a +24 run differential in the second half, but still find themselves far behind Lakeland, Clearwater and Bradenton. 
• 🔥: Danny De Andrade had another big week and jumped into the TwinsDaily Top 20 prospects. His two home runs led the team as did his six runs batted in and three stolen bases. 
• 🔥: John Klein struck out eight over six one-hit, one-walk innings and earned his first victory of the season in his best start as a professional.
• 🔥: Jay Harry had a very successful week at the plate batting .522 (12-23). He also led the team with three doubles and walked and struck out twice. As most college hitters should - with the elimination of short-season rookie ball - he's proving that he may be too advanced for this level. 
• 🥶: Miguelangel Boadas made a start, but couldn't make it out of the third inning before allowing eight runs on six hits, three hit batters and two walks. 
• 🥶: Maddux Houghton and Gregory Duran were the only hitters to bat below .200 on the week.  
• What's Next: Fort Myers will play host to Daytona (21-25).

Rookie: FCL Twins

• Overall: 23-29 (2-2 last week) on the season. 6.5 games behind the FCL Pirates in the FCL South. 
• 😍: Walker Jenkins didn't have a great week, but still had a very good week with some promising signs. Among his five hits, he doubled and hit a home run. Most encouraging though, is that he struck out and walked twice each. 
• 🔥: Brandon Winokur continues to strike out too much (four times in eighteen at-bats is good for him), but he keeps swinging. He had seven hits including three doubles and a home run. 
• 🔥: On a staff where only six pitchers threw more than two innings, Kyle Bischoff's week really stands out. In two appearances, he pitched seven innings. He allowed three hits and hit a batter, but surrendered no runs and struck out 10.
•  🤔: Devin Kirby made his professional debut with six strikeouts over three innings. Kirby is unique in that he throws a legit knuckleball. He's an undrafted free agent from Connecticut. 
• 🥶: Bryan Acuna (1-9, 2 K) and Byron Chourio (1-7, 2 K) both struggled this week.

Rookie: DSL Twins 

• Overall: 14-36 (0-3 last week) on the season. 26.0 games back in the DSL South. 
• 🔥: Javier Roman and Moises Lopez tied for the team lead in hits with four each. They both had a double as well. 
• 🔥: Yency De Jesus seems to get an update every week. He struck out six in four innings and neither of the two runs he allowed were earned. He only gave up one hit, but the four walks were too much.
• 🥶: Hendry Chivilli had another lackluster week, collecting only two hits in 12 at-bats. One of those hits was a grand slam, but two-thirds of the at-bats resulted in strikeouts. 

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. Brent Headrick, RHP, St. Paul: 1-0, 9.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, HRA, BB, 4 K (1.39 WHIP, .267 BAA).
• 19. Cory Lewis, RHP, Cedar Rapids: 0-0, 6.23 ERA, 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (1.03 WHIP, .191 BAA).
• 18. Jose Rodriguez, OF, FCL Twins: 6-19, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 K, CS. (.257/.319/.410. .729 OPS)
• 17. Danny De Andrade, SS, Fort Myers: 5-19, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 7 R, BB, 3 K, 3 SB, CS. (.242/.357/.398. .755 OPS), played 77 total games at shortstop and committed 13 errors in 278 chances and one game at third base and had no errors in four chances. 
• 16. Jordan Balazovic, RHP, Minnesota. St. Paul: (1.60 WHIP, .261 BAA); recently optioned to St. Paul.
• 15. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-1, 3.60 ERA, 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, HRA, BB, 6 K (1.58 WHIP, .263 BAA); Minnesota: (1.85 WHIP, .313 BAA)
• 14. Yunior Severino, 3B, St. Paul: 7-19, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, BB, 10 K. (AA/AAA combined .286/.363/.566. .929 OPS).
• 13. Kala'i Rosario, OF, Cedar Rapids: 4-18, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 K. (.260/.373/.478. .851 OPS).
• 12. Yasser Mercedes, OF, FCL Twins: Did not play. (.196/.248/.381. .629 OPS)
• 11. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids: Prielipp underwent season-ending elbow surgery. (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA)
• 10. Luke Keaschall, 2B, Fort Myers: 5-19, 2 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 2 SB. (rookie/l-A combined .263/.430/.386. .816 OPS), played four games (13 total) at second base and committed no errors in 13 chances (one error in 33 total chances) and one game in centerfield (two total) and had no chances. Previously played one game at third base and committed one error in two chances. 
• 9. Brandon Winokur, OF, FCL Twins: 7-18, 3 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, 4 K. (.288/.338/.545. .883 OPS), played one game at shortstop (nine total) and committed no errors in three chances (two errors in 34 total chances) and played three games (seven total) at centerfield and committed no errors in eight chances (no errors in 19 total chances). 
• 8. Tanner Schobel, INF, Wichita: 5-21, 4 RBI, 3 R, 5 K, SB. (high-A/AA combined .263/.351/.436. .787 OPS), played four games (43 total) at second base and committed no errors in 14 chances (8 errors in 174 total chances), played one game (56 total) at third base and had no chances (four errors in 109 total chances).
• 7. Austin Martin, SS, St. Paul: 6-19, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K, CS. (rehab/AAA combined .268/.373/.415. .788 OPS), played three games (seven total) in centerfield and committed no errors in five chances (no errors in 14 total chances), played six games (27 total) at second base and committed two errors in 20 chances (two errors in 109 total chances), played three games (seven total) in left field and committed no errors in four chances (no errors in 14 total chances). (This must have not been updated last week, so these are two-week totals.)
• 6. David Festa, RHP, Wichita: On the Temporary Inactive List. (1.43 WHIP, .257 BAA)
• 5. Charlee Soto, RHP: Has not played in a professional game.
• 4. Marco Raya, RHP, Wichita: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, H, 3 K. (AA/Hi-A combined 1.17 WHIP, .210 BAA)
• 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 4-18, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K. (.227/.390/.441. .831 OPS)
• 2. Walker Jenkins, OF, FCL Twins: 5-18, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K, CS. (.340/.380/.574. .954 OPS)
• 1. Brooks Lee, SS, St. Paul: 6-20, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K. (AA/AAA combined .286/.355/.465. .820 OPS), played four games (92 total) at shortstop and committed one error in 22 chances (15 errors in 377 total chances) and played one game (three total) at third base and committed no errors in one chance (one error in seven chances total chances). 

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
HITTER - Alex Isola, Wichita

PITCHER - Pierson Ohl, Wichita

Old tweet; still plays:

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!