Matt Braun

Image courtesy of © Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images Box Score David Festa: 5 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Home Runs: Byron Buxton (18) Top 3 WPA: David Festa (.309), Brooks Lee (.184), Byron Buxton (.083) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Well, it’s time. The Twins have their shot at the kings. The beauty of divisional play is that—no matter how mediocre a team may appear—they’ll always see the best of their competition multiple times a season. Could they be embarrassed in three games? Absolutely. But, they could also shock the team at the top. Does Minnesota have the fight in them to do so? We shall see. Early returns were inconclusive. Former Twins farmhand Sawyer Gipson-Long held the Twins bats at bay, while David Festa did the same. The two only dealt in efficiency: neither pitcher allowed a run for three innings. And it seemed that Gipson-Long would extend the streak into the fourth. He needed just five pitches to coax a pair of groundouts. Easy stuff. Breezy. The inning may as well be over. Then, Matt Wallner doubled. Still, no matter: two outs is a lot. It’s almost three, in fact. Strangely, Brooks Lee shot a skimming heater down the first base line just fair to score Wallner. Huh. That hit augured three consecutive run-scoring frames. Byron Buxton bazooka-ed a solo shot in the fifth, his 18th of the season. Everyone in Michigan knew it was gone the second his bat hit the ball. In the sixth, Lee singled in Willi Castro to conclude what had been a clever trip around the bases; with Castro walking, stealing second, and advancing to third on a wild pitch. Meanwhile, Festa was in a deep groove. Like, a Superstition or 1999 type of groove. The sliders were perfectly placed; fully reminiscent of the promise the lanky righty flashed in 2024. He escaped a minor threat in the second and only finally allowed another baserunner with two outs in the sixth. In total, it was likely the best big-league start Festa had pitched in 2025. (Matters are always helped when your third baseman pulls off plays like this.) Danny Coulombe begat Louis Varland, who begat Griffin Jax, who begat Jhoan Durán. Somewhere in the middle, the Twins scored a fourth run off an honest-to-God squeeze bunt. Jax ran into some trouble. A run scored against him. A few Tigers prowled around the bases, hungry to score. An overwhelming barrage of off-speed pitches, and two very confused hitters later, and Jax walked off the mound fired up and successful. Notes: The Twins scored their four runs on just six hits. It helps when half of those hits are for extra bases, but it also helps when aggressive baserunning tacks on a couple of insurance runs. A blowout win yesterday helped the cause today. The Twins leaned on their bullpen for the last 3-1/3 innings, and three of the four high-leverage relievers they used did not pitch yesterday. Byron Buxton hit his 151st career home run, the 13th-most in Twins history. He's 10 away from tying Max Kepler. Danny Coulombe pitched in his 316th career MLB game on Friday, Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Tigers match up again on Saturday, as Bailey Ober is scheduled to start opposite Casey Mize. First pitch is at 12:10 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge TRANSACTIONS LHP Rafael Marcano released (Cedar Rapids) RHP Ryan Jensen released (St. Paul) C Patrick Winkel activated from 7-day IL (St. Paul) Saints Sentinel The Saints were rained out on Wednesday and will play a doubleheader Saturday. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 10, Springfield 1 Box Score John Klein: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K HR: Kala’i Rosario (8), Kaelen Culpepper (2) Multi-hit games: Kala’i Rosario (4-for-5, HR, 3B, 2B, R, 6 RBI), Ricardo Olivar (3-for-5) Kala’i Rosario hit for the cycle on Wednesday. He started with a sharply struck double in the first before crushing a homer in the third. A successful day at the ballpark already, Rosario nonetheless tacked on a two-run single in the fourth. At this point, Rosario lived in the infamous “triple away from the cycle” world. He was technically close to finishing the deed, but a triple is a rare outcome for even the quickest players. He did it, though. The footage is something to watch; hard-cutting from the ball’s violent ricochet off the wall to an aggressively helmet-less Rosario dashing around second with singular intent. He slams his hand against the bag. The third base coach smiles and high-fives the hero. A perfect moment. Rosario is the second Wind Surge hitter in franchise history to hit for the cycle (Christian Encarnacion-Strand, July 17, 2022, vs. Arkansas). He’s also the first Wichita hitter this year with five or more RBIs in a game (6). Lost in the exultations was John Klein’s brilliance on the mound. The Brooklyn Park righty mowed down the Cardinals, whiffing nine of them, a season high, with just one earned run. His season ERA with the Wind Surge now sits at 3.10. Kaelen Culpepper homered for the second time since being promoted. As you may have guessed, Springfield is an affiliate of the Cardinals. Their seventh overall pick in 2024, J.J. Wetherholt is ranked as the 17th-best prospect in baseball; he singled and walked in four plate appearances. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 1, South Bend 4 Box Score Chase Chaney: 6 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Kernels lost plainly on Wednesday. Chase Chaney was the clear star of the show. The righty worked efficiently, netting 19 outs with just 88 pitches. The secret? Grounders. Lots of them. He nabbed nine groundouts, and overall allowed just three balls to leave the infield. Given his prime Keuchel-ian play, he probably deserved an even better line. Poor Kade Bragg was part of the reason why Chaney’s box score didn’t live up to its potential. You may have had a bad day in the office—or restaurant; store; construction; wherever else our readers may gather to sell their labor for money—but few suffered a tougher day than Bragg. He surrendered an inherited run, an earned run, an unearned run, four walks, five stolen bases, and uncorked a wild pitch before Jacob Kisting mercifully ended his night. Go get a good night’s rest, Bragg. You deserve it. The Kernels earned two hits: a double by Andy Lugo and a triple by Danny De Andrade. Kyle DeBarge stole his 40th base of the season. South Bend is, of course, an affiliate of the Cubs, and they played the 71st-ranked prospect in baseball, Jefferson Rojas. The second baseman walked once in four plate appearances. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 3, Tampa 1 Box Score Michael Carpenter: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: Yasser Mercedes (4) Multi-hit games: Peyton Carr (2-for-3) The Mighty Mussels won narrowly on Wednesday. What a bizarre game. Fort Myers pitchers walked nine, yet allowed just five hits, and nearly escaped with a shutout. On Tampa’s side, their starter, Gage Ziehl, pitched eight innings—an almost unheard of thing in the minors. And he lost. Go figure. Michael Carpenter has left quite an impression lately. He entered his May 21st outing with an ERA over 7, but has allowed just three earned runs across 13 innings. Not a bad showing from the Menomonee Falls native. The Mighty Mussels offensive effort was curt. Yasser Mercedes slashed a two-run homer to right in the game’s opening frames. Then the bats fell dormant. Maybe they were resting. In any case, Angel Del Rosario decided to take matters into his hands. In the eighth, he legged out an infield single, stole second, advanced to third on a pickoff error, and finally scored on a wild pitch. That’s high-quality manufacturing. The steal was Del Rosario’s 25th of the season, the 4th-most in the Florida State League. Tampa is an affiliate of the famous New York Yankees farm system. Though it appears a bit more tepid than usual, they still sent their fifth-ranked player, infielder Roderick Arias. He went 0-5, with four strikeouts. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – John Klein, Wichita (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K) Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kala’i Rosario, Wichita (4-for-5, HR, 3B, 2B, R, 6 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects, which was recently updated! #1 – Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 1-4, BB, 2 K #4 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 1-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB #9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB, 2 K #10 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB #12 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, RBI, BB, K #13 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 1-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB #18 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 3-5 #19 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 3B, R, K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07 PM) - RHP Trent Baker Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM) - RHP C.J. Culpepper South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Tanner Hall Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30 PM) - RHP Adrian Bohorquez FCL Braves @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM) - TBD DSL Cardinals @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games. View full article

Image courtesy of © Troy Taormina-Imagn Images There's no need to beat around the bush: the Twins stink. And they’re injured. The team is on pace to miss the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, and now that the AL Central possesses a legitimately dominant team, the front office should go back to the drawing boards in multiple facets. The main issue for the franchise is that a full-on rebuild is off the table. They’re stuck. Bailing on the Carlos Correa/Byron Buxton nucleus isn't an option. There seemed to be a plan when the team handed out large contracts to Buxton, Correa, Christian Vázquez, and Pablo López, before ownership kneecapped their purchasing power and put the team up for sale. Building a competitive team on the cheap isn’t impossible—just ask the Brewers or Guardians—but building one when four guys take up about half the payroll? That’s a different beast. At least Vázquez’s deal is set to expire after the season. What they could do is re-tool, or refuel—whichever description strikes your fancy. This is something the team did in 2018. Mired in a muck of mediocrity similar to the one the 2025 group appears incapable of escaping, the front office decided to detonate, dealing fan favorites (Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier), one-year rentals (Zach Duke and Lance Lynn), and a team-controlled reliever with great potential (Ryan Pressly). Honestly, the return the Twins received was simply ok. Player-wise, it was probably barely a net positive. Receiving Jhoan Duran for Escobar was a clear win, but that’s the only deal in which they inarguably came out on top. The next-best players were ancillary contributors like Devin Smeltzer and Jorge Alcala. In that respect, following the ethos of that deadline may seem like a questionable move. Yet, the deals opened up opportunities. Miguel Sanó took over third base full-time after Escobar left, and had his best hitting season as a pro. Jonathan Schoop enjoyed a solid year as Dozier’s replacement while Luis Arráez snuck into the fold before becoming a mainstay for the next few years. Minnesota eschewed the inessential. The team made the playoffs in 2019 and 2020. With that in mind, let’s look at the levels of trades the team could make. Level 1: Ty France, Harrison Bader, and Chris Paddack These are the easiest players to imagine trading. France’s Statcast page speaks to him being a legitimate bat to lengthen a playoff lineup, while Bader is the prototypical fourth outfielder, with Gold Glove corner defense; an ability to play center; and a bat good enough to stick in a lineup without feeling sick about it. Paddack is healthy and available. Considering pitching is often a war of attrition, that could be valuable to a contender. Yet—given all three are on one-year-deals—the return for any player will be minimal, likely an organizational depth piece blocked in their previous franchise. This level is just a start. Level 2: Willi Castro I love Willi Castro. You probably love Willi Castro. Who doesn’t love Willi Castro? Switch-hitters who can play everywhere and hit—like, really hit, at times—do not grow on trees. Yet, they are a luxury. Can the Twins afford luxuries? I don’t think so. This is his final season before hitting free agency, so if Minnesota wants anything beyond a comp pick, they will need to pounce on a trade. Fortunately, his market should be robust, and he could bring back a Duran-esque prospect. Level 2.5: Trevor Larnach Let’s throw a surprise in here. Larnach, yet again, has proven to be talented, moderately useful, and a disappointment, relative to his potential. His penchant for grounders makes his dreadful defense hard to stomach, and, well, at some point a player hits the Oswaldo Arcia threshold. He is what he is—at least for the Twins. I could see someone like the Rays taking a chance on trying to unlock him. This would be an “opportunities” trade, as mentioned before. Level 3: Griffin Jax and/or Jhoan Duran If you want to compete with the big boys, you need to make big-boy decisions. Jax and Duran are two of the best relievers in franchise history; they’re both top 15 in career fWAR for Twins bullpen arms. And they’re luxuries—volatile ones, at that. Having two fire-breathing dragons in the back end of a bullpen means nothing when the starting pitching crumbles, as it has in recent weeks. At that point, you’re just paying incredible athletes to sit on their ass and watch a game. The good news is that the two are team-controlled for two more seasons after 2025, and bullpen arms are consistently the hottest commodity at the trade deadline. Remember the incredible return Tampa Bay received for Jason Adam last year? Imagine upping that a little, and then imagine doubling it. Level 4: Joe Ryan and/or Bailey Ober Ok, I think this step loses the plot. “Re-tooling” and “rebuilding” can be nebulous terms, but I don’t think it’s crazy to say that dealing reliable starting pitchers leans toward the latter. On the other hand, the Rays traded away Tyler Glasnow and got Ryan Pepiot in return, who has been a very good starting pitcher for them. I don’t know. The Rays are weird. In any case, this is murky territory. Critically, despite interest from other franchises, the team in 2018 did not deal Jake Odorizzi or José Berríos; both starters became All-Stars in 2019. We’ve seen that young hurlers—while intriguing and occasionally brilliant—often take time to adjust at the major-league level. How much do you trust David Festa and Zebby Matthews to be quality big-leaguers in 2026? Would you risk burning a year of Buxton and Correa’s shrinking prime? On top of that, you would be selling low on Ober, which is a strategy the current regime has avoided. This cannot be another year of mild, tepid action. “Business as usual” has resulted in a team behind the 8-ball, in a division now led by a terrific team in Detroit. We saw bold moves pay off for the team seven years ago. Now may be the time to execute a similar plan. View full article

I do personally agree that a tier method is better, but a number ranking is simply easier to analyze and digest in a presentable form, especially considering it's an aggregate.

Four steals for Jenkins already with Wichita. Could be an interesting development in his game if he continues at that pace.

Image courtesy of Khadim Diaw The new prospect rankings can be found here, let's go over the notable changes. The Big Risers Starting with the positives. Kaelen Culpepper, Dasan Hill, and Ricardo Olivar all jumped multiple spots in our rankings, with Culpepper moving to #4, Hill going to #6, and Olivar reaching #18. Culpepper might be the prospect story of the year for the Twins. Taken 21st overall in the 2024 draft, the Kansas State shortstop has exploded in 2025, slashing .293/.385/.479 with the Kernels in 54 games. Even more exciting is his defense, which Eric Longenhagen calls “bold and creative,” as he harnesses his deft nimbleness and strong arm to impact the game as a plus defender. He was recently promoted to AA Wichita. Perhaps as intriguing, is another 2024 draftee, Hill. Minnesota capitulated stylistically in selecting the prep lefty 69th overall before giving him 2,000,000 reasons to skip going to college. His raw stuff as a 19-year-old is unbelievable. His heater already sits in the mid-90s, and his off-speed stuff is generating swing-and-miss at an exceptional level. He currently holds a 1.65 ERA across 27 ⅓ innings with the Mighty Mussels. The Big Fallers There are only two ways to move up a prospect list: someone ahead of you either graduated or dropped. Unfortunately, the latter was the case for Charlee Soto, Marco Raya, and Cory Lewis (a bad month to be a pitcher, I guess.) Soto flashed tremendous potential in his second season in the Twins’ system, but he last pitched on April 17th due to a right triceps strain. He was recently placed on the 60-day injured list. Raya has been healthy… and that’s about the only thing that’s gone right for him this year. The numbers are gruesome: he carries an 8.66 ERA and 2.04 WHIP in 12 starts with the St. Paul Saints. Still, he’s only 22 years old and will have plenty of time to find his groove again. It almost seems like the Lewis we knew was kidnapped and replaced with a much lesser version. The pitcher who dominated in 2023 and 2024 has been nowhere to be seen; Lewis claims a 9.09 ERA with the Saints in 2025. For his sake—and because we need to see another knuckleballer in the majors—hopefully, the rest of the season is kinder. A legitimate catching prospect? In the Twins system? 2024 3rd-rounder Khadim Diaw enters our list as the team’s 16th-best prospect—and we’re even short-changing him if you ask Kiley McDaniel. The first player of Senegalese descent to be drafted by a major-league club, Diaw moonlighted as a catcher while at Loyola Marymount but showed enough athletic potential for the Twins to select him 96th overall for a cool $597,500. Longenhagn of Fangraphs writes that being “[l]anky and fluid, Diaw loads his glove from the ground and shows the actions to grow into being an average receiver and blocker, though his backhand is presently unreliable. His arm strength is playing below average, but he is quite accurate and is already doing passable work despite threadbare experience.” Offensively, Diaw has been awesome in 2025. He’s slashing .302/.455/.431 with a 12.4% walk rate as a 21-year-old at A+ ball. Indeed, zone control is his calling card: across 714 combined plate appearances in college, summer league, and the minors, Diaw has struck out just 104 times. Diaw does the Ricardo Olivar/early-career Daulton Varsho thing where he splits time between catching and playing the outfield. Given his atypical athleticism for a catcher, Diaw could become something special. If you’re looking for the team’s next big thing, he may be it. All hail the 5’5” terror. Payton Eeles hit his way onto the prospect radar in 2024 when he slashed .306/.435/.497 across three minor league levels, which included a lengthy look with the St. Paul Saints. Eeles’ journey here has been incredible. He spent four years with D-II Cedarville before using his bonus pandemic season to transfer to Coastal Carolina, where he put up a .500 OBP as a fifth-year senior. 5'5" fifth-year seniors don’t get drafted, though, so Eeles went the indy-ball path to finish 2023; he spent just six games as a Southern Maryland Blue Crab in 2024 before the Twins scooped him up. What a signing it may be. Eeles has mainly played second base as a pro but has also spent time in the infield spots to his right, as well as the outfield. He bears a strong resemblance to a Mauricio Dubón-type, both in defensive utility and offensive profile. He missed the start of 2025 due to a knee injury yet is now back to playing with the Saints. Like Carson McCusker before him, he could see big league time because of injury, and because, well, a player with his profile needs to have a shot at the highest level. View full article

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Box Score Joe Ryan: 5 ⅓ IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K Home Runs: Matt Wallner (6) Bottom 3 WPA: Justin Topa (-.081), Carlos Correa (-.060), Harrison Bader (.051) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Fresh off an impotent Reds series only saved by a third-game offensive explosion, the Twins look to be wandering in the desert. That extended winning streak earlier in the season is about as old as the Magna Carta; recent play revealed the same mucky inconsistency that has plagued the team since the pandemic. With a red-hot Brewers team in town, and their young fireballer Jacob Misiorowski on the mound, Minnesota possessed the chance to secure a potentially fortune-altering win. Joe Ryan started, which means we had front-row seats to observe The Experience in action. Words fail to capture the full essence of The Experience—it must be observed to be fully understood—but here’s a quick selection of Ryan’s mound antics: He continuously pitched unphased by the pitch clock and its consequences, often letting the timer tick close to 0 before snapping into his windup. He walked away from the mound before a check-swing appeal was made to the first base umpire. (The batter was called out.) He coiled himself into a crouch when a first-pitch curve fell too high in the zone. (It was just a called strike.) He pulled a sweeper and dropped an f-bomb loud enough for the broadcast to clearly pick up. And all of that came just in the third inning. There is no one like him and there will never be anyone like him again. Ryan’s actual production betrayed his entertainment. In fact, he capitulated. The righty walked three, and while he struck out seven, Milwaukee pounced on their opportunities, pushing across a fourth-inning run off a Jackson Chourio walk, before Chourio doubled in a score in the sixth and eventually touched home himself after Ryan had left the game. Oh, and that Misiorowski fellow from before? You may want to memorize how to spell his last name: he is nasty beyond belief. The heater routinely hit 100+. The slider sat at 94.7. The slider. He cut through the Twins' lineup with the ease of prime Nolan Ryan. The best strategy for attacking Misiorowski proved to be forcing him to sit for about 30 minutes in the seventh as Justin Topa and Joey Wentz both failed to produce any sense of relief in their pitching. Coming out of that break, Misiorowski lost his no-hitter by walking Byron Buxton on four pitches, then allowed his first major-league hit (in the second start of his career) off a Matt Wallner sky-scraping two-run shot. This game does occasionally have a sense of humor, you know. Milwaukee immediately responded by striking Wentz for four more runs in the eighth. Then Jonah Bride pitched to add levity to the situation. No one laughed. He allowed five runs and struck out Eric Haase. Ok, that one was pretty funny. The Brewers countered with their own position player pitcher, a much giddier Jake Bauers. Something vaguely resembling baseball occurred, and the game finally reached its inevitable conclusion. Notes: Attendance for the game was 28,011, but it felt like most of them were down the third base line behind the Brewers' dugout. They also seemed to enjoy their trip to Target Field. The cynical ninth inning did have one benefit: Brooks Lee singled versus Bauers to extend his hit streak to 19 games. Joe Ryan's 621 strikeouts are the 16th-most in Twins history. He's 94 away from tying Eric Milton. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Brewers play again on Saturday with first pitch coming at 1:10 PM. Simeon Woods Richardson will start opposite Joe Quintana. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge TRANSACTIONS INF Tanner Schobel transferred to 60-day IL (St. Paul) LHP Richard Lovelady released (St. Paul) Saints Sentinel St. Paul 4, Toledo 6 Box Score Travis Adams: 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: Edouard Julien (4), Carson McCusker (13) Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB), Carson McCusker (2-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI), Jeferson Morales (2-for-4, 2B) The Saints’ comeback fell short on Saturday. Old (old, old, old) friend Dietrich Enns started for the Mud Hens. That’s right, we’re throwing it back to the Jaime García trade. The lefty—now a 34-year-old with a pinch of salt in his beard—allowed a trio of runs while racking up 10 strikeouts. The first of those scores came in the fourth when Edouard Julien bashed a solo homer to center, and the second run arrived one pitch later; this time via a Carson McCusker blast. McCusker added an RBI knock in the fifth. Travis Adams had seen better days on the mound. Toledo tagged him for a trio of runs during the game’s crucial transition from its early to mid stages, cutting his start off after four innings. He threw 66 pitches. Still, the game was tied heading into the eighth. Heading into his second inning of work, Kyle Bischoff loaded the bases with one out, necessitating Cody Laweryson to attempt to save the day. He did not. Akil Baddoo blasted a back-breaking double that staked the Mud Hens to a 6-3 lead. St. Paul clawed back in the ninth—and Julien even drove in a run on a single—but McCusker struck out looking with the bases loaded to end the game. Old friend-ish Akil Baddoo went 3-4 with a triple and a double. He drove in four. Toledo second baseman Hao-Yu Lee is ranked as the 6th prospect in the Tigers organization. He walked once in five plate appearances. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 4, Arkansas 5 (10 Innings) Box Score Christian MacLeod: 2 ⅔ IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: Kala’i Rosario (7) Multi-hit games: None The Wind Surge were walked-off in extras on Wednesday. The Travelers celebrated Christian MacLeod’s return from the IL with rude intentions and poor manners. Blake Rambusch greeted the lefty with a leadoff triple; he later scored on a sacrifice fly. Again, in the second, the frame’s first hitter clocked MacLeod for an extra-base hit—this time a double—before eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly. A third and final run in the third chased MacLeod from the game. Relievers entering under dire straits aren’t supposed to cruise for an extended outing, but evidently nobody told Pierson Ohl of this. He pitched brilliantly. An unearned run was his only blemish; he otherwise struck out seven over 3 ⅓ innings. His season ERA dropped to 2.08. Wichita’s most potent offensive inning came in the fourth. Kala’i Rosario blasted a solo shot to kick off the scoring. Ricardo Olivar struck out, but Rubel Cespedes doubled and advanced on a grounder while Ben Ross walked and stole second. With two runners dying to come home, Jose Salas smacked a single into center to tie the game. Olivar singled in Walker Jenkins in the fifth to cap Wichita’s scoring. The Wind Surge failed to plate their Manfred Man in the 10th, while Arkansas laid down a sacrifice bunt turned game-winning play in the bottom of the inning when Salas fielded the ball and overshot Jake Rucker covering first. Walker Jenkins arrived back in a Wichita uniform with typical flair. He walked twice, singled, and stole two bases. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. Always a hotbed for talent, they sent forth their 15th-ranked prospect, Brandyn Garcia, who pitched the aforementioned scoreless 10th. Kernels Nuggets The Kernels were rained out on Wednesday. They will play a doubleheader on Thursday, June 19th. Mussel Matters Game One: Fort Myers 2, Lakeland 5 Box Score Christian Becerra: 2 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K HR: Daniel Pena (2) Multi-hit games: Byron Chourio (3-for-4, R) Fort Myers fell in a game that started on Tuesday. Steve Lein covered that part of the match here. The extra day did little to affect Fort Myers’ fortunes. Starting at the bottom of the third with runners on second and third, Billy Amick struck out before Dameury Pena summoned home a run off a groundout. Bryan Acuna then punched out. That concluded the last serious scoring threat the Mighty Mussels produced. Matters on the mound went better. Jason Doktorczyk pitched as the pseudo-starter. He was brilliant. Early command issues begat six dominant, scoreless frames, as the righty’s six-pitch mix befuddled hitters. He topped out at 91.8 and elicited 13 swings and misses across 71 pitches. On a day when his team needed length, Doktorczyk couldn’t have performed much better. Byron Chourio singled thrice and stole a base. Rehabbing minor leaguer, Billy Amick, singled and struck out twice in three at-bats. Lakeland is an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and they offered the phenomenally named Franyerber Montilla—their 11th-ranked prospect—as their finest youngster. He went 3-4 with two doubles, two runs, two RBIs, and a walk. Game Two: Fort Myers 1, Lakeland 6 (7 Innings) Box Score Matt Gabbert: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Bryan Acuna (2-for-3) The Mighty Mussels came up short in the second game of their doubleheader. There was a point in which Fort Myers was winning. For about half an inning. A curt lead indeed. A Peyton Carr walk and two productive groundouts moved the 1st baseman to third; he then scored on a fielding error. That’s when the trouble began. Starter Matt Gabbert had expertly held the Flying Tigers at bay, yet Brennen Oxford entered a much more hostile environment. Lakeland bludgeoned him for four runs in a frame he would not escape, portending Fort Myers’ impending doom. They would tack on two more runs in the seventh. The Mighty Mussels and Flying Tigers combined for a hit by pitch, three walks, and five strikeouts across 58 plate appearances, a remarkable display of putting the ball in play. Yet again, Montilla was Lakeland’s best prospect, and, yet again, he went off, homering and singling in four at-bats. He may need a bump in his ranking. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jason Doktorczyk Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Carson McCusker PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 1-3, R, 2 BB #13 – Billy Amick (Fort Myers) - 1-3, 2 K #14 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 0-4, K #18 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - 1-4, 2 K #19 – Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - 2-5, HR, R, 2 RBI, K #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 1-4, RBI, BB, K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM) - RHP Andrew Morris Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35 PM) - RHP John Klein Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (4:05 PM) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (Game Two) - TBD Lakeland @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM) - RHP Michael Ross FCL Rays @ FCL Twins (9:00 AM) - TBD FCL Rays @ FCL Twins (Game Two) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Miami (9:00 AM) - TBD View full article

Image courtesy of © Thomas Shea-Imagn Images Box Score Chris Paddack: 4 IP, 12 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Willi Castro (7), Royce Lewis (2), Ty France (5) Bottom 3 WPA: Chris Paddack (-.378), Ryan Jeffers (-.063), Carlos Correa (-.055), Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Friday was supposed to be a celebration for Chris Paddack. The native Texan—self-evident in demeanor and appearance—hadn’t pitched in his home state since his relief outing in the 2023 postseason in the same stadium he found himself in today. Friends were here. Family was here. He was on a hot streak. The stage looked set for the righty to showcase his stuff to the people that knew him best. And the Astros figured him out like he was a half-bit magician’s cheap trick. The pummeling never stopped; it only lessened. Houston started the carnage with a trio of runs in the first and returned to clock Paddack for a pair in the second. The third? Unrelenting. Three more runs. Score-wise, the fourth served as a break; yet, the lone run plated that frame was a Jose Altuve short-porch shot that would have been an out had he hit it in any other stadium. There’s something akin to gallows humor there. The baseball gods see no need to soften their mockery. By itself, the poor pitching outing would be a difficult obstacle to fight. And overcome, the Twins offense did not. In his sixth career MLB start, lefty Colton Gordon baffled Minnesota’s hitters. Some batters are likely still shaking their heads in disbelief. He cruised in a way rookies rarely do—the luxury of being up five runs before facing the other team’s number-nine hitter. They did get him, though. Willi Castro smoked a laser beam in the fourth to get the Twins on the board, and Royce Lewis cracked a hanging breaking ball 425 feet for the team’s second run. The game crawled through its middle and late stages with dull inevitability. The outcome was never in question. Yet, a cadre of relievers were forced to ignore the futility of their effect on the course of events and throw fastballs and stuff. So, they did. Occasionally a run scored. It's unclear how much anyone cared. Actions only proved critical when Lewis pulled up lame on a single before immediately leaving the game. Apparently, physical pain needed to match the ego pain Minnesota felt on Friday. Notes: Chris Paddack's 12 allowed hits tied a career-high. Willi Castro is slashing .314/.402/.549 since returning from the IL on May 6th. Danny Coulombe allowed his first earned run of the season. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Astros return Saturday with an exciting pitching matchup. Two Cy Young contenders, Joe Ryan and Hunter Brown, will take the mound. First pitch is at 3:10 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

I would probably give it to his May 24th start. 4 shutout innings, no walks, or hits, and seven strikeouts.

Image courtesy of David Malamut (photo of Ty Langenberg) TRANSACTIONS No moves were made on Wednesday. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 5, Indianapolis 4 Box Score Marco Raya: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (2-for-3, 2B, R, RBI) The Saints eked out a win on Wednesday. God only knows what got into Marco Raya. The 22-year-old entered the day with an ERA north of 10 on the season. His WHIP was 2.21. You get the idea. He was perhaps more effectively wild than truly dominant—as evident by the three walks and hit by pitch—but he stopped Indianapolis from scoring at each turn, and deserved a win for his efforts. That didn’t happen, unfortunately. St. Paul staked him to a lead with a four-walk first inning before pouring on in the sixth. With two outs in the frames, the Saints went double, walk, double, double to add three runs to the lead. RBIs went to Jeferson Morales and Tanner Schobel. Then, disaster. Alex Speas imploded. Nothing worked. Cody Laweryson had to enter early to save his comrade, but the damage had been done; the lead was no more. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. saved the day in the seventh, though, singling in Payton Eeles to give St. Paul an advantage that would stick for good. Cody Laweryson lowered his season ERA to 2.28. Rehabbing big leaguer Joey Bart went 1-2 for Indianapolis. Wednesday was set to be a special day. Pirates product and MLB.com’s #2 prospect, RHP Bubba Chandler, started for Indianapolis. Yet, the righty struggled with command in his opening inning and exited with more walks than outs (four to two.) So it goes. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 0, Corpus Christi 11 Box Score Darren Bowen: 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Wind Surge were bludgeoned on Wednesday. There were no good vibrations. From the opening frame, Wichita suffered a deficit that grew and grew, eventually swelling into an 11-run rain cloud that covered them for more than half the game. Only one pitcher—Joel Cesar—left the game with a lower ERA. Offensively, Wichita failed to score a run, yet, their process was better than it appeared. They took seven walks while striking out just eight times. Just two batters failed to reach base. Still, zero runs are zero runs. Hopefully, the hits land easier on Thursday. Corpus Christi is a member of the Astros organization, and they offered their 10th-best prospect, Luis Baez, on Wednesday. He went 0-5. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 0 Box Score Ty Langenberg: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Danny De Andrade (2-for-3, 3B, R, RBI, BB), Jaime Ferrer (2-for-4, 3B, R, RBI), Caden Kendle (2-for-2, 2B, R, RBI, BB) The Kernels shut out their opponent on Wednesday. Wouldn’t it be nice if pitching was as easy as Ty Langenberg made it look? The Iowa product scattered an assorted collection of base runners across his six innings of work, but—like a swatter to a fly—stopped all of them in their tracks. Only twice did someone reach scoring position. He threw 86 pitches. Cedar Rapids opted for a triples-heavy approach on offense. Unusual decision. The results can’t be argued against: Danny De Andrade, Jaime Ferrer, and Justin Connell all claimed a three-bagger, and all three eventually scored. De Andrade's was his fifth of the season, the most in the Midwest League. Connell perhaps deserves his own paragraph. Born in Spain, he marinated in the Nationals system between 2017-2023, with AA marking the height of his professional career. He opted for Indy ball, and the Twins plucked him from the York Revolution after he slashed .370/.535/.712 in 101 plate appearances in 2025. Might he be the next Carson McCusker? We shall see. Peoria is an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. While they usually offer an impressive selection of prospect talent, the best they had on Wednesday was their 29th-ranked player, outfielder Zach Levenson. He walked once in four plate appearances. Mussel Matters The Mighty Mussels were rained out on Wednesday. They will play a doubleheader on Thursday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ty Langenberg Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Danny De Andrade PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #6 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 2 RBI #7 – Marco Raya (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K #9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 3 K #11 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, 2B, BB, K #14 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 1-3, BB #17 – Tanner Schobel (St. Paul) - 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB #19 – Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - 0-5, 2 K #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-2, 2 BB THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Indianapolis (5:05 PM) - RHP Andrew Morris St. Paul @ Indianapolis (Game Two) - RHP Randy Dobnak Corpus Christi @ Wichita (7:05 PM) - TBD Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM) - RHP Chase Chaney Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (Game Two) - RHP Jeremy Lee Fort Myers @ Dunedin (3:00 PM) - RHP Michael Ross Fort Myers @ Dunedin (Game Two) - TBD FCL Pirates @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Rockies (10:00 AM) - TBD View full article

Well, 1. Catching depth in the Twins system isn’t particularly good. 2. He’s the closest to the majors. 3. His 2025 so far is just a 14 game sample. The only one in competition with Cartaya is Cardenas, whom Cartaya is two years younger than.

Interesting question. I guess a lot of it depends on how much of a "catcher" Ricardo Olivar really is. I'd go Cartaya, Cardenas, Diaw, Olivar, then Cossetti. That sounds about right to me but it's also difficult to understand and evaluate catcher defense in the minors.

Well if the Dodgers have taught us anything, it's that Louisville catchers are the way to go.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Andrew Cossetti) TRANSACTIONS OF Byron Chourio activated from 7-day IL (Fort Myers) RHP Travis Adams optioned to AAA St. Paul C Noah Cardenas promoted from AA Wichita to AAA St. Paul RHP Simeon Woods Richardson recalled from AAA St. Paul C Nate Baez promoted from A+ Cedar Rapids to AA Wichita RHP Trent Baker promoted from AA Wichita to AAA St. Paul INF Bryan Acuna promoted from FCL Twins to A Fort Myers C Luke Napleton promoted from A Fort Myers to A+ Cedar Rapids Saints Sentinel St. Paul 3, Indianapolis 2 (10 Innings) Box Score Travis Adams: 4 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) The Saints fell in extras on Tuesday. Travis Adams earned his second start of the season. The righty had known bulk appearances all year—he has yet to see an outing last fewer than two frames—yet the timing of his return to the rotation feels notable given the suddenly shrinking depth of starting pitchers available to the Twins. And, Adams pitched well, allowing a lone earned run across four innings with four strikeouts. The Saints offense was… concise? They certainly weren’t overwhelming. Before the ninth, a St. Paul runner reached second base just once, when an Anthony Prato HBP moved Carson McCusker to scoring position in the fifth. But they did get off the schneid eventually. McCusker walked and scampered to second off a wild pitch to set up Edouard Julien with a chance to tie the game. He looped a fly ball to left. A defeated bat toss ensued. The ball continued to fly, though, propelled by a chaotic force just nefarious enough to make Indianapolis’ left fielder miss the catch. In extra-innings, St. Paul would add a run with a Payton Eeles sacrifice fly, but Indianapolis scored twice, with the dagger arriving in the form of a swinging nubber hit too slow for Kyle Bischoff to field and throw out the runner at home. Noah Cardenas made his AAA debut with a single and a walk in five plate appearances. Rehabbing big leaguer Michael Tonkin tossed a scoreless inning. He struck out one and topped out at 93.8 MPH. Indianapolis is an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and second baseman Nick Yorke is ranked as the franchise’s 6th-best prospect. He singled in four at-bats. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 8, Corpus Christi 2 Box Score Pierson Ohl: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: Andrew Cossetti 2 (6, 7), Aaron Sabato (9), Rubel Cespedes (4) Multi-hit games: Gabriel Gonzalez (2-for-4, R, BB), Aaron Sabato (2-for-5, HR, 2B, R, RBI), Rubel Cespedes (3-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI), Andrew Cossetti (2-for-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI), Ben Ross (3-for-4, RBI) A home run explosion helped the Wind Surge win on Tuesday. The first homer to drop actually wasn’t one from Wichita. Edwin Diaz, unrelated, drove a Pierson Ohl delivery over the wall in left-center to start the scoring. Then, in the second, Andrew Cossetti dropped his first of the day way out to center field. A second Corpus Christi homer pushed the Hooks into the lead, but that concluded their offense for the day. The Wind Surge? Barely even started. In the fourth Aaron Sabato cranked his ninth homer of the season and Ben Ross singled in Rubel Cespedes to take the lead. One frame later, Cespedes switched scoring a run for knocking one in. Kyler Fedko added on in the sixth. Finally, in the seventh, Cespedes demolished his fourth homer of the season, and Cossetti concluded his offensive barrage with a massive shot to go back-to-back with his teammate. Cole Percival, Jacob Wosinski, and Michael Martinez combined for five scoreless innings in relief of Ohl. They punched out five and allowed two hits. Corpus Christi is connected to the Houston Astros. No longer the talent firestorm of a system that dominated MLB for years, they nonetheless offered their 10th-ranked player, outfielder Luis Baez, who went 0-4, with three strikeouts. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 7, Peoria 6 (10 Innings) Box Score Cole Peschl: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K HR: Brandon Winokur (6), Caden Kendle (3) Multi-hit games: Caden Kendle (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI) The Kernels claimed victory in extras on Tuesday. Somehow, Cedar Rapids only had four hits. Four. And they scored seven runs. How is that possible? One of them, a Justin Connell double, plated Rayne Doncon in the second. Doncon reached base via a walk—the first of eight for the Kernels on the day. In the sixth, a Kyle DeBarge walk begat a Brandon Winokur home run. Cedar Rapids is halfway through their allotted hits for the day. Considering how effective that play was, the Kernels ran it again the next frame, with Poncho Ruiz walking to place Caden Kendle as the man to leave the stadium. Cedar Rapids is 75% of the way through their allotted hits for the day. DeBarge walked and stole two bases in the eighth before Jay Thomason brought him in with a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Funny enough, Cedar Rapids’ final hit of the day came in the ninth with an ultimately harmless single from Kendle. So, how did they eventually win? How about a 10th inning that went fielder’s choice, groundout, intentional walk, and walk-off sacrifice fly. Paulshawn Pasqualotto pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings to lower his season ERA to 0.96. Kyle DeBarge stole his 31st, 32nd, and 33rd bases of the season. St. Louis’ 18th-ranked prospect—catcher Ryan Campos—singled in five at-bats. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 5, Dunedin 4 Box Score Eli Jones: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: Jefferson Valladares (3) Multi-hit games: None The Mighty Mussels won narrowly on Tuesday. Early scoring proved to be the key to winning. Jefferson Valladares smoked his third homer of the year in the second, ushering in a scrappy three-run third which saw a flurry of singles, BBs, and one critical error give Fort Myers a 4-0 lead. Bryan Acuna collected his first A-ball hit in the melee. A fifth and final run came in the eighth thanks to a double steal. Though starter Eli Jones had to battle through his start, Christian Becerra and Ruddy Gomez combined for four frames of one-run ball to carry the game to its conclusion. Rehabbing minor leaguer Walker Jenkins singled, walked, stole two bases, and struck out twice in four plate appearances. He played center field for seven innings. The Dunedin Blue Jays don’t offer a tremendous collection of prospect talent; second baseman Sam Shaw is the best they have on hand. Ranked 24th in the organization, he doubled once in three at-bats. Complex Chronicles FCL Twins 0, FCL Pirates 11 Box Score Yoel Roque: 0 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The FCL Twins were smoked on Tuesday. Yoel Roque failed to record an out in his start. Will Armbruester relieved him and performed admirably in recovering from the curt outing, netting seven outs with just one earned run. He whiffed three. Two batters—Yandro Hernandez and Ricardo Perez—recorded a hit for the FCL Twins, both singles. The team also took four walks. Eduardo Beltre stole his 10th base of the season, tying him for 11th-most in the FCL. Rehabbing minor leaguer, Yasser Mercedes, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 2, DSL Mets 3 (8 Innings) Box Score Jeicol Surumay: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The DSL Twins lost in extras on Tuesday. Jeicol Surumay delivered three quality innings in his start, as he rebounded from allowing a run in the first, eventually finishing the day without another score on his ledger. The DSL Twins plated a pair of runs in the fourth when Carlos Taveras tripled in a run before jogging home on a balk. Haritzon Castillo singled, walked, and stole a base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Andrew Cossetti PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed. You can vote/rank your Top 20 Twins prospects now by clicking here. #1 – Walker Jenkins (rehab with Fort Myers) - 1-3, R, BB, 2 K #6 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 0-5, K #9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, HR, R, 2 RBI #11 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, 3 R, 3 BB, K #14 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 2-4, R, BB #16 – Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - 0-1, BB #18 – Yasser Mercedes (rehab with FCL Twins) - 0-3, 2 K #19 – Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - 0-3, BB, 2 K #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 1-4, 2B, R, BB, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Indianapolis (12:35 PM) - RHP Marco Raya Corpus Christi @ Wichita (12:05 PM) - RHP Darren Bowen Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM) - RHP Ty Langenberg Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM) - RHP Jason Doktorczyk View full article

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images At-bats don’t exist without context. Hitters bring to the plate scouting reports, understandings from their previous entanglements with a hurler, and knowledge from plate appearances taken earlier in the day. Matt Wallner entered the game Saturday with a single and a walk against Kevin Gausman in five matchups, and had grounded out and walked against the hurler prior to the two facing off again in the sixth inning. For pitch selection purposes, Gausman is a simple one to analyze. He’ll throw an occasional slider to keep a hitter honest, but is otherwise a fastball/splitter specialist. For a hitter, that makes sitting on a pitch easy. In practice, matters are more complicated, as evidenced by his 3.36 ERA since 2020. Here’s a selection of two swings Wallner took off him earlier in the game: MTZxbjNfWGw0TUFRPT1fVlFGVVZGMEFYZ2NBRGdCWFVBQUhCVkFIQUZsVFVsWUFDd0JUQndZR0FnZFZDQVFD.mp4 MTZxbjNfWGw0TUFRPT1fQkFkWUJRSlFWbE1BREFBQVh3QUhVMVZWQUZrQkFWa0FCQUFIQ1ZkUVUxSldVZ3BX.mp4 Two middle-middle fastballs. Two aggressive hacks. Absolutely nothing to show for it. I don’t think you need a damage heat map to know that throwing a pitch to Wallner there is a bad idea. Yet, Gausman escaped unharmed both times—he even earned a whiff in a previous at-bat, on a third heater chucked down the middle. Sometimes, that’s how it goes. Fast-forward to the sixth, and Gausman was near the end of his start when Wallner stepped into the batter’s box again. Knowing the swings Wallner took off his fastball—and knowing that Wallner was likely to sit on the heat again—Gausman offered the lefty his signature pitch: MTZxbjNfWGw0TUFRPT1fVWdOVkJnRUdWZ01BQ0FNRVh3QUhWVk5XQUFBR1VGQUFCZ1pUVWxjSEFRc0FCZ3RU.mp4 Wallner barely taps it foul, as he clearly swings like a fastball is coming. It isn’t a great pitch—splitters generally don’t want to live too much in the zone—but it wrinkled just enough to elude Wallner’s barrel, handing the veteran pitcher the advantage. I find Wallner’s post-swing demeanor hilarious: he walks away disgusted by the notion that Gausman wouldn’t challenge him with a heater. Still, it’s 0-1, and time for another pitch: MTZxbjNfWGw0TUFRPT1fQlFSWFhWTlJBQU1BRHdSUVZnQUhWd1JWQUZrQUJRVUFBbFFHQ0ZkWFV3ZFRBMVJT.mp4 That’s why Gausman is a 13-year player with Cy Young votes in three separate seasons. Oddly, his splitter took a horizontal shape here. Usually, it’s a pitch that drops vertically, yet this thing took off running like it missed its exit on the highway. No matter. Wallner took a hack that had little shot of connecting, and his deficit moved to 0-2. MTZxbjNfWGw0TUFRPT1fQXdnRFVnVUdBRk1BRFZaVUJRQUhWd1ZXQUFNTVcxQUFDMXdGQkFwVFZ3RUVVUUJT.mp4 Well, if two splitters lead to an 0-2 count, why not go to the well once more? It wasn’t the best split of his career, and the location was a touch too low to render as “nasty,” but that’s a pitch that could coax a swing from a more foolish hitter. Wallner was not that. He identified the split and took it easily. Given the sequence of this at-bat and the ones that came before it, Wallner was in a pickle. Gausman hadn’t strongly favored the splitter in their previous encounters, yet he hadn’t seen anything straight so far, and the man on the mound is the type of pitcher to spam splitters until he nets the result he wants. So what would he see next? Another split? Or the first fastball of the plate appearance? MTZxbjNfWGw0TUFRPT1fQUFRQ0J3QURBQUFBQ3dNQkFBQUhCZzllQUFOWEFBTUFWZ2RYVXdwWEFGRlFWQWRV.mp4 He got it. He didn’t get all of it. But he got it. Catcher Tyler Heineman clearly wants to change Wallner’s eye level with a fastball either at the top of the zone or just above it. That, by itself, could have been the out-pitch. If Wallner did foul it off or take it for a ball, though, then a splitter was certainly arriving next. Instead, Gausman pulls the pitch to the center of the zone, and Wallner—determined not to simply foul a hittable fastball like before—elevates and celebrates for his fourth homer of the year. Matt Wallner is a world-class hitter. For some reason, power hitters often receive less credit than contact hitters in our shared baseball discussion regarding the finest batters in the league. Make no mistake, though: Wallner is an elite craftsman of hitting. He has a supernatural ability to pull any pitch for a flyball, and his plate discipline separates him from someone like Miguel Sanó, who often ran into trouble tapping into his awesome power potential. He’s a consummate pummeler of baseballs, who has even shaved off some strikeouts while taking more walks. His ceiling is seemingly endless—and this homer from June 7 demonstrates that a pitcher can only make so many mistakes before he punishes them. View full article