Twins Minor League Week in Review (5/1-5/7)

You can also read Nick's Twins Week in Review for a look at their previous week. 

TRANSACTIONS 

• RHP Jose Bravo has been transferred from St. Paul to Wichita. 

RESULTS

• Tuesday (5/2): Errors and Extras
• Wednesday (5/3): Hidalgo, Rozek Pitch Great; Wallner, Prato, Fedko Deliver Big Hits
• Thursday (5/4): May the Fourth Be With Them
• Friday (5/5): History Made in St. Paul
• Saturday (5/6): Blayne Enlow Dominates and Emmanuel Rodriguez Returns
• Sunday (5/7): Split Day on the Farm

MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT 

• Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - April 2023
• Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month - April 2023
• Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - April 2023
• 5 Scenarios That Could Open Up Regular Playing Time for Alex Kirilloff
• One Twins Pitching Prospect is Quietly Putting Himself on the Prospect Map
• Baseball is Bringing the Best Rule Change Yet

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

• Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37PM CST) - TBD
• Wichita @ Frisco (6:05PM CST) - LHP Aaron Rozek (0-1, 9.19 ERA)
• Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30PM CST) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo (0-1, 1.29 ERA)
• Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD

WEEK IN REVIEW 

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints (Week: 3-3)

• Overall: 18-13, 1.0 game back in the International League West. 
• Overview: After dropping two of the first three games of the series, the Saints were faced with imperfect weather. Friday’s night was suspended and finished Saturday. Then Saturday’s game was postponed to Sunday for a doubleheader. The Saints were able to win two of those three games to salvage a series split. 
• 🔥: Kyle Farmer looks poised to rejoin and give a jolt to the Twins lineup. In four games with the Saints, Farmer had two doubles and a home run among his four hits. He drove in three runs and took two walks. 
• 🔥: Edouard Julien was back to looking like himself with eight hits, six runs and walking as much as he strikes out (three each). He had three doubles and two home runs. 
• 🔥: Jordan Balazovic got a start and pitched 3 1/3 innings. He struck out six, while walking three and allowing on one hit and one run. 
• 🔥: Cody Laweryson pitched twice and in his 4.2 innings, allowed only two hits (one home run) and struck out eight.
• 🥶: Matt Wallner struck out six time in 12 at-bats, though he was able to drive in two runs in his 3-for-12 week. 
• What's Next: Indianapolis (15-17) comes to town as the Saints continue their homestand.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge (Week: 1-5)

• Overall: 10-17, 7.0 games back in the Texas League North and currently has the worst overall record in the whole Texas League.
• Overview: It’s been a rough go for the Wind Surge, who have dropped every single one of their nine day games this season. 
• 🔥: Yoyner Fajardo is on an 11-game hitting streak and totaled eight hits in his six games this week. He continues to stuff the box score. He scored two runs, hit a double and a triple, walked twice, struck out three times and was successful in three of his five stolen base attempts.
• 🔥: Brooks Lee had eight hits on the week including four doubles. He walked and struck out three times. 
• 🔥: It’s hard not to appreciate what Blayne Enlow is doing this year. He struck out nine over six innings in his start this week. He took the loss, but he only gave up one earned run.
• 🥶: Seth Gray has power. His home run was one of only four hit by the team all week. But his home run was also his only hit in 11 at-bats and he struck out six times. 
• What's Next: Wichita will continue their road trip against Frisco (13-14)

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels (Week: 4-2)

• Overall: 13-13, 3.0 games back in the Midwest League West. 
• Overview: It hadn't been a great opening month for the Kernels, but a 4-2 week against a good South Bend team helped them get back to .500 despite being without arguably their top hitting and pitching prospect. 
• 🔥: Kala'i Rosario led the organization with 11 hits this week and also walked six times. Getting on base 59% of the time is a very good thing. 
• 🔥: Ben Ross isn’t getting the attention he probably deserves. With an OPS north of 1.000, Ross had nine hits (including a double and home run) to go with five walks.
• 🔥: Both Alejandro Hidalgo and Pierson Ohl struck out nine.
• 😏: Emmanuel Rodriguez is playing again. He didn't get an hits, but he's back!
• 🥶: Noah Miller struck out 10 times while going 4-for-24. 
• 🥶: It’s not fun pointing it out almost every week, but Misael Urbina continues to really struggle. He was 1-for-14 with a double this week and struck out four times. 
• What's Next: The Kernels hit the road for seven games (including a doubleheader on Thursday) against Quad Cities (10-16), who just dropped five of six to Great Lakes. 

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels (Week: 1-5)

• Overall: 13-14, 8.0 games behind Clearwater (who is on a 13-game win streak) in the Florida State League West. 
• Overview: After taking the series opener, the Mighty Mussels dropped five in a row to Dunedin. The first four losses were of the one-run variety which makes a 1-5 week even harder to stomach.
• 🔥: Jorel Ortega had seven hits including four extra base hits (three doubles and a home run). He’s still got to cut down on his strikeouts (eight this week) though.
• 🔥: Cory Lewis was the only starter who limited his opponent to less than two runs. He struck out five in five innings. 
• 🥶: Andrew Cossetti hit .263/.391/.263 this week which is way below his season average of .600/.800/.800. Ok, that’s not actually his season line, but it sure seems like it. 
• 🥶: Zebby Matthews struck out eight, but gave up nine hits (.429 BAA) in four innings. 
• What's Next: Another week of games in Fort Myers against Tampa (11-16) before heading out on the road for a two-week trip.

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 on the first of each month 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. Misael Urbina, OF, Cedar Rapids: 1-14, 2B, 3RBI, R, BB, 4 K. (.127/.213/.228. .441 OPS) 
• 19. Jose Rodriguez, OF: Extended Spring Training
• 18. Tanner Schobel, 2B, Cedar Rapids: 7-21, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB, 2 K. (.233/.287/.378. .665 OPS), played one game at second base (eleven total) and committed no errors in four chances (two in 46 chances total); played three games at third base and was perfect in eleven chances (has not committed any errors in 22 total chances in nine games). 
• 17. Ronny Henriquez, RHP: Rehabbing with the Mighty Mussels. Will join the Saints this week.
• 16. Jordan Balazovic, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 2.70 (2.45) ERA, 3.1 IP, H, ER, 3 BB, 6 K. (1.27 WHIP, .1967 BAA)
• 15. Matt Canterino, RHP: Still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
• 14. Noah Miller, SS, Cedar Rapids: 4-22, 3B, RBI, BB, 10 K, SB. (.232/.315/.305. .620 OPS), played shortstop in four games (19 total) and committed one error in 16 chances (two errors in 74 total chances); played one game (four total) at second base and committed no errors in no chances (15 total).
• 13. David Festa , RHP, Wichita: 0-1, 12.46 (5.40) ERA, 4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. (1.37 WHIP, .267 BAA)
• 12. Yasser Mercedes, OF: Extended Spring Training
• 11. Matt Wallner , OF, St. Paul: 3-12, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB, 6 K. (.265/.432/.471. 903 OPS); Minnesota: (.000/.273/.000. .273 OPS)
• 10. Austin Martin, SS: Martin is still recovering from an arm injury.
• 9. Louie Varland , RHP, St. Paul: (1.27 WHIP, .263 BAA); Minnesota: (1.17 WHIP, .250 BAA); Did not pitch. Recalled to Minnesota
• 8. Jose Salas, INF: 4-20, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K, SB, CS (.158/.256/.211. .467 OPS), played two games at shortstop and had one error in nine chances (two errors in 26 chances in seven games total) and no games (six total) at third base (one error in 12 total chances). He played two games (seven total) at second base with no errors in nine chances (no errors in 23 total chances).
• 7. Connor Prielipp , LHP, Cedar Rapids: After good news last week, all was quiet around Prielipp this week. The plan is for him to slowly ramp up. . (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA)
• 6. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 9.00 (6.35) ERA, 3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, HRA, 2 BB, 4 K (1.59 WHIP, .294 BAA); Minnesota: (2.14 WHIP, .350 BAA)
• 5. Edouard Julien, 2B, St. Paul: 8-23, 3 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, 3 K, SB. (.273/.417/.519. .936 OPS); Minnesota: (.222/.276/.444. .720 OPS)
• 4. Marco Raya, RHP, Cedar Rapids: 0-0, 0.00 (5.19) ERA, 3.0 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K. (1.27 WHIP, .214 BAA)
• 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 0-6, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K, SB. (.152/.326/.515. .841 OPS)
• 2. Royce Lewis, SS: Lewis is expected to join Wichita this week. Reports suggest he’ll be playing shortstop and third base.
• 1. Brooks Lee, SS, Wichita: 8-23, 4 2B, 4 RBI, R, 3 BB, 3 K, SB. (.294/.357/.461. .818 OPS), played all five games (24 total) at shortstop and committed one error in 21 chances (three errors in 105 total chances). 

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (as voted on by fans on Twitter)
PITCHER - Blayne Enlow, Wichita.  After injuries and being removed from the 40-roster, it would have been easy to move on... for the Twins, for the fans, and for Enlow himself. Instead, Enlow is getting better results than he's gotten as a pro. His WHIP is 1.01 and he's holding opponents to a .202 batting average plus he's struck out 33 in 26 2/3 innings. If he keeps this up, his name will return to the Top 20 list.

(Enlow 59%, Ohl 32%, Laweryson 9%)

HITTER - Edouard Julien, St. Paul.  After a cold stretch in Minnesota and a slow start in his return to St. Paul, Julien is starting to reheat. Playing exclusively at second base and with Polanco back healthy, the pressure is off. Julien can relax and just get back to hitting.... and he has. His eight hits last week were tied for third in the organization. And no one else had more home runs than Julien (2) and only Brooks Lee (4) had more than Julien's three doubles. 

(Julien 50%, Rosario 38%, Lee, 12%, Ortega 1%)

Who would have been your picks? Any early season surprises or disappointments? Ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects in the COMMENTS below. 

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!