Matt Braun

Sands in the 8th raised an eyebrow from me, but it was good to see him come through. Hope that’s a confidence builder for him going forward.

Image courtesy of © Eric Canha-Imagn Images Box Score Joe Ryan: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K Home Runs: Ryan Jeffers (2) Bottom 3 WPA: Louis Varland (-.140), Danny Coulombe (-.124), Carlos Correa (-.106) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Fresh off a standard Cleveland series—what with the multiple walk-offs and unlimited late blown leads—Rocco Baldelli looked to change things up. The repetition felt stale; something about the team needed altering if they wanted to avoid the pitfalls of 2024. That’s how we get a lineup featuring Trevor Larnach hitting leadoff with Brooks Lee in the three-hole. Would it work? Let’s see. Early returns were not favorable. Not that it had anything to do with the lineup. Joe Ryan sliced up Boston’s first two hitters before an old foe in a new uniform appeared. Alex Bregman may have traded Houston’s orange for Boston’s white and red trim, but he’s still a Twin-killer at heart—and new threads didn’t change that. He saw one of Ryan’s signature high fastballs and cracked the pitch 410 feet into left-center. Annoying as the run was, Minnesota responded fairly quickly, finding their redemptive gumption through Ryan Jeffers’ bat, which found kinship in a hanging Brayan Bello slider, soon to become one of those classic high-rising line drive homers that appear capable of leaving Boston altogether. That quieted things. Both starters settled in. Ryan shed the 1st-frame inefficiency to cut through the Red Sox lineup, collecting whiffs with his impossibly squirrely fastball; before it was all said and done, he earned 12 swings-and-misses on the pitch, and eight strikeouts overall. Not quite the bat-missing wizard, Bello decided to let his defense work for him, striking out just five while Jarren Duran performed Olympic-level gymnastics in left field. The two crossed the six-inning threshold with just their lone solo homers as blemishes. Sometimes there were threats. Often, there wasn’t. Any trouble seemed inconsequential as the starters dove deep into the game. As it always seems to be, drama didn’t fully arrive until the bullpen entered the game. Louis Varland took the mound rearing, ready to fire heaters, but walked off the mound puzzled after just five pitches when two singles and a bunt placed two men in scoring position. Enter Danny Coulombe. The Great Problem-Solver. Capable of wriggling out of anything. He struck out his first batter, Duran. Rafael Devers? A little trickier. He shot a grounder somewhere between routine and tricky to Edouard Julien, who couldn’t handle the opportunity, falling all over himself as two runs scored. And that portended the worst of it. Things continued to slide: Jorge Alcalá entered in the 8th and found no favor in the mound; in his arm; or in his fortune in attempting to accrue outs. Three runs scored on his watch. It was nearly four, but grace blessed him in a most minor and, frankly, somewhat insulting way, as Duran was originally called safe when sliding into home, yet was called out on review. Liam Hendriks ended the inevitable in the 9th, perhaps as a way to salt the wound. Notes: Joe Ryan's eight strikeouts give him 572 in his career, the 18th-most in Twins history. He's 14 away from tying Rick Aguilera. Ryan Jeffers hit his 61st career homer on Friday, the 4th most by a primary catcher in Twins history. He's 15 away from tying Earl Battey. Danny Coulombe appeared in his 302nd career MLB game. Byron Buxton is slashing .444/.444/.444 in two games in May. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Red Sox battle again on Saturday, with Bailey Ober set to face off against Hunter Dobbins. First pitch is at 3:10 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Aaron Sabato) TRANSACTIONS RHP Cole Percival signed and assigned to A+ Cedar Rapids RHP Agustin Campusano assigned to DSL Twins RHP Michael Ross activated from 7-day IL (A Fort Myers) RHP Will Armbruster assigned to FCL Twins RHP Matt Canterino re-signed and assigned to they 7-Day IL of AAA St. Paul So concludes our right-handed pitcher update. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 8, Columbus 7 (11 Innings) Box Score Andrew Morris: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: Mike Ford (5) Multi-hit games: Ryan Fitzgerald (2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB), Mike Ford (2-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI), Patrick Winkel (2-for-5, 2B) The Saints won in extras on Wednesday. Who cursed Andrew Morris? After starting the season with back-to-back scoreless starts, the righty experienced his second clunker in his last three outings. The damage was immediate and consistent; he didn’t see his first 1-2-3 frame until the 4th, which proved to be his final inning. The good news is that he still struck out five and only walked one. St. Paul’s offense favored democracy; only two starters went home without a hit, and five batters drove in at least one run. Most potent was the Carson McCusker/Mike Ford/Armando Alvarez run at the lineup’s heart; the three hitters combined for six RBIs, four hits, and three runs. Ford sure hits them high. The Saints and Clippers traded Manfred Man runs in the 10th before St. Paul scored again in the 11th and held their counterparts at bay to win the game. Rehabbing big-leaguer Royce Lewis went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. He played nine innings at third base before being lifted for a defensive substitute. Rehabbing big-leaguer Michael Tonkin appeared for the first time since April 25th. He threw two innings, allowing a run while striking out two and walking two. Columbus is the AAA affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. First baseman C.J. Kayfus—ranked eighth on the team—served as their finest prospect. He homered and singled in five at-bats. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 7, Frisco 0 Box Score Trent Baker: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: Aaron Sabato (2), Kyler Fedko (5) Multi-hit games: Ricardo Olivar (2-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB), Aaron Sabato (2-for-3, HR, 2B, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB) The Wind Surge smoked their competition on Wednesday. Already one of April’s top performers, Trent Baker added to his resume with five brilliant innings, punching out four while blanking the RoughRiders. He allowed just three baserunners. It’s hard to make a better organizational impression than Baker, who joined the Twins following four seasons with the Cardinals. He was also a Mankato MoonDog back in 2019! Baker handed the ball to Mike Paredes, who continued the pitching vibes with three shutout frames of his own. Joel Cesar concluded things to give Wichita their second shutout in five days (the other was also a 7-0 victory.) Offensively, the Wind Surge scored early and often. Aaron Sabato blasted an opposite-field homer in the 2nd to kick off the festivities, and Andrew Cossetti singled in a run two frames later. In the sixth, Kyler Fedko launched a moonshot to plate a third run, soon to become four after a Ricardo Olivar RBI knock in the seventh. The eighth is when things got absurd. Four consecutive walks augured a run, which soon stacked into three with a Tanner Schobel single and Olivar sacrifice fly. The 16th-best prospect in MLB, Sebastian Walcott, played shortstop for Frisco on Wednesday and went 0-for-4 at the plate. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 4, Iowa 3 Box Score Chase Chaney: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K HR: Brandon Winokur (1), Kyle DeBarge (3) Multi-hit games: Kyle DeBarge (3-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI), Billy Amick (2-for-4) The Kernels squeaked out a win on Wednesday. Starter Chase Chaney’s outing was unique; unique in that starters in April don’t often reach six innings in the minors; unique in that he walked more than he struck out; and unique in that he only needed 78 pitches to do so. We may never see a start quite like this again—and the good news is that he also excelled in run prevention, with only two men scoring against him. Nate Baez kicked off the scoring with an RBI double in the second, before Brandon Winokur extended the lead with a two-run shot the following frame, his first homer of the year. The runs portended an extended streak of emptiness from both squads: starting with the fourth inning and running until the eighth, neither team scored, and they only ever mildly threatened to do so. Sometimes a man reached second. That’s as far as he would get. Lonely was the base paths; dull was the adventure. But that would eventually change. In the eighth, Carter Trice homered for Iowa to knot the game at three, inspiring Kyle DeBarge to respond with an absolute tank. Minor-league cameras are never great, yet they usually at least find some semblance of the ball; good luck seeing where this one went. Spencer Bengard shut the door in the ninth to cap off a brilliant three-frame outing out of the bullpen. His minor-league ERA over 110 career innings is now 2.05. The best of the baby Cubs is mostly waiting on the franchise’s AAA squad, but Iowa does enjoy the presence of Jefferson Rojas, the team’s 7th-ranked prospect. He singled and drove in a run in four trips to the plate. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 6, Jupiter 5 Box Score Michael Ross: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Will Holland (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI), Poncho Ruiz (3-for-3, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB) The Mighty Mussels walked off their opponent on Wednesday. Given his prolific day at the plate, it was only fitting that Poncho Ruiz was the man to deliver the win for Fort Myers: the catcher reached base all five times he stepped up to the plate, thrashing a pair of doubles and a single while working a pair of walks. Three of the game’s six runs scored thanks to his hits. The final two were ushered home off his game-winning smack deep into the left-center gap. That was Fort Myers’ first walk-off since Brandon Winokur’s game-ending homer on August 27th, 2024. Starter Michael Ross made his second professional appearance on Wednesday, and his first since hitting the IL on April 6th. The Samford product—alma mater of just two big leaguers—worked two inefficient innings with an earned run allowed, displaying the kind of rust expected from a hurler who hadn’t pitched since the beginning of the month. Outside of Ruiz, the Mighty Mussels were remarkably balanced offensively: eight of the nine starters reached base at least once, and they took seven walks as a team. Ruiz wasn’t even the only batter to walk twice; Jose Rodriguez accomplished the same feat. As a team, Fort Myers went 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position, which is ghastly, but it's also kind of impressive that they hit 17 times with someone in scoring position. The Hammerheads are an affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They employ the talents of the team’s 7th-ranked prospect, outfielder, and former 1st-rounder P.J. Morlando. He doubled and walked in five plate appearances. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Trent Baker Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Aaron Sabato ft. Poncho Ruiz and Kyle DeBarge PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #5 – Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K #7 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4 #8 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI #13 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 3-4, HR, 2 R, RBI #15 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - 0-4, R, BB, 2 K #17 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4 #18 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 0-5, 4 K #19 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 2-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus Game One (11:05 AM) - RHP Cory Lewis St. Paul @ Columbus Game Two - RHP Marco Raya Wichita @ Frisco (6:35 PM) - RHP Pierson Ohl South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo Jupiter @ Fort Myers (5:05 PM) - TBD View full article

In the fourth week of each April, the NFL Draft upstages even actual baseball games and the NBA Playoffs, at least in many American households. Is it realistic—or even desirable—for the MLB Draft ever to approximate that level of mania? Image courtesy of © Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images “You want to televise what?” then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle incredulously replied, when a fledgling network called ESPN brought their desire to broadcast the NFL Draft to league officials. The statement has become immortalized in football legend, but Rozelle had good reason for skepticism. At that pointm the draft was a conclave of middle-aged men, bespectacled and ringed with cigarette smoke, making calls and deciding team futures over glasses of brandy. It was conducted in the wood-lined walls of hotel rooms, and served as little more than an organized press release to inform the public which college stars would be going to what teams. Nowadays, the draft is a spectacle unrivaled in pro sports. Perhaps inspired by the ethos of a traveling circus—including the dazzling and melodramatic flourishes inherent in the event—the draft is now a three-day roaming event, taking over cities as it commands the attention and commerce of the local community. Great stages are sculpted and (just as quickly) torn down, all to highlight the young talent soon to become the league’s next corps of superstars. In contrast with the events of yesteryear—the limited gatherings that made fans feel like outsiders gazing into a private convention—modern draft events are open for all. There’s live music; an embrace of local customs; and a bizarrely carnival-like atmosphere. Beloved players from past and present come in to make people feel like this draft is for them. More than an in-person event, the draft has erupted in popularity because of its success as a TV affair. It provides the drama, stakes, and unexpected developments present in sporting events, but this time on an actual, literal stage. We usually know who’s going first overall. Everywhere else? A guess. And the How and When that create specific moments are often more juicy than the selections themselves. Months of speculation and theorizing from media and casual sports talk fail to hit on everything; an unpredictable trade or unforeseen choice will occur. The excitement keeps people watching and talking. In this respect, the draft is unique: teams have a great deal of time to plan offseason moves in signings and trades, yet the endless scouting and debates for each player are turbo-driven by the clock and the potential for one night to change a franchise’s fortunes. Sure, maybe you’re reaching. But do you want to risk someone else nabbing the guy you like? Are you willing to put your job on the line for one transcendent yet troubled talent? Every year, we see the smartest executives struggle with these thoughts. Watching the rational become irrational is a rare moment in the modern, ultra-analytical sports environment. Critically, these decisions have an almost immediate impact. Unlike, say, a bad player-for-player deal—which usually takes a few years to pan out—a bad pick or foolish trade-up becomes apparent almost immediately. Players are selected as mostly finished products. Rookies often can—and do—dominate the league. Time is unforgiving. One bad draft decision can quickly create dread in fans and executives alike. Add in the popularity and familiarity casual fans have with college football, which makes stars like Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter household names, and the draft becomes a dazzling and personal spectacle. A solar system of dedicated prospect writers, “experts,” and fans of varying die-hardness fuel its success. It’s large—maybe a bit too large for its own good—and doesn’t seem to be losing momentum. So, can MLB replicate this? Would it even be smart to try? In recent years, baseball has taken steps to build buzz for their draft. Now tucked into All-Star weekend festivities, top youngsters, their families, and the MLB media apparatus pack the All-Star host stadium for an event not far off from the one the NFL offers. Everyone is dressed to the nines. Fans line the seats to see their newest young players. It’s come a long way since 2001, when the only evidence we had of Joe Mauer’s 1st overall selection was a wire announcement more reminiscent of military communication than a sports draft. Shoot, it’s come a long way since even 2009, when MLB Network broadcasted the 1st round for the first time, attracting only one player (Mike Trout, who lived in New Jersey, where the event was held) to show up at the studio for the festivities. If you build it, they will come, of course. Where the draft lacks, and where it will probably never touch football, is in the drama. Teams can trade competitive-balance picks, but that’s it. And there are no trades on the day of the draft. Even if there were, MLB’s slot system—allocating bonus money based on where a team selects—would make dealing picks a much more complicated affair. A team could “trade up” for a player who doesn’t even sign for them. So, the only drama MLB has is garden-variety: who goes where? Every draft has that. They’ll need more than that to become a true spectacle. Unlike those college football stars who often become Pro Bowl-caliber right away, baseball requires more development. Sure, that process has been accelerated in recent years, with teams like the Braves and Angels aggressively promoting college prospects, but only some players are suitable for moving so quickly. It’s an open question whether the strategy is wise, given that players like Nolan Schanuel have been merely ok so far as big leaguers. It’s simply hard to get excited about drafting someone who’s three to four years away from impacting the major-league roster. As it currently operates, I don’t think the MLB Draft needs to change. They can take extra steps to improve the grandness of the operation—it’s just inherently a cool thing to give these talented young men a night to celebrate—but the league would risk worsening their system of player development if they move to be more like the NFL. The added drama wouldn’t be worth it. The point is the major-league product, after all. The league is fine keeping the status quo. Plus, who actually liked hearing Mel Kiper talk about Shedeur Sanders for three days? View full article

Just don't ask what happened to Luke Keaschall. Image courtesy of Matt Krohn-Imagn Images (photos of Griffin Jax, Jhoan Duran), Ken Blaze-Imagn Images (photos of Byron Buxton, Pablo Lopez) Box Score Starting Pitcher: Pablo López: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Home Runs: Byron Buxton (6), Trevor Larnach (4) Top 3 WPA: Trevor Larnach (.202), Pablo López (.099), Byron Buxton (.090) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Fresh off (mostly) beating up on the White Sox, Minnesota entered Friday with the opportunity to collect wins against another meager opponent: the Angels. Certainly, The Other LA Team presents as a more formidable foe than Chicago—the target to beat is the floor—but their habitual mediocrity in recent years makes for a far less intimidating opponent than most. Can the Twins make the most of their matchup? Healthy once again, Pablo López started for the Twins for the first time since April 8th. The timing couldn’t have been better: Minnesota had oscillated from sluggish to uninspiring in performance, often appearing content with their dull outcomes. López didn’t dominate with overpowering stuff like we’ve seen—he battled command, and his defense all game—but he did enough to keep his team competitive before walking off the mound. The Angels countered with Kyle Hendricks. The Cubs icon, once a youngster with veteran touch; now a veteran with youngster touch, still offers his usual selection of tricky sinkers, floating changeups, and impossibly tall curveballs. The team exchanged opening runs—the Twins off a Carlos Correa sacrifice fly; the Angels via a Jo Adell RBI single—before the game grew legs and took off. And with great haste. One of those skyscraping breakers found itself in the middle of the strike zone, perfectly placed for Byron Buxton to demolish the pitch for a solo homer. Two batters later, Trevor Larnach cracked a double into the right-center gap to plate a third run. Then the dam broke. The inning started walk, single, walk. Which brought Ron Washington to debate replacing his starter. No, he determined. Hendricks is fine. One final walk scored a run and ended the 35-year-old’s night, perhaps a batter later than it should have. Buxton tacked on a sacrifice fly. Mickey Gasper fought off a high-and-inside offering, slashing it beyond the shortstop’s reach for the team’s sixth run of the night. Then, with two men on, Larnach strolled up to the plate, observed a first-pitch curve fall in for a strike, and smoked the next delivery 110.6 MPH over the towering wall in right-center. Nine runs. In four innings. Can you believe it? Now pitching with a significant lead, López finished his night softly, but nonetheless successful. Mike Trout guided an RBI grounder into right field to stain the Venezuelan’s ledger with a second run before López whiffed Taylor Ward to conclude his fifth inning of work. The next few innings were a seesaw in baseball form. The Twins would score; then the Angels would answer back. Runs scored. ERAs ballooned. Great stress and annoyance struck various pitchers, but the ultimate reality never changed; Minnesota still commanded the lead—and by a significant margin. The game reached its inevitable conclusion when Justin Topa caught Trout staring at a sinker that split the heart of the plate. Notes Luke Keaschall exited the game following a hit by pitch in his first plate appearance. More information regarding his status will be provided when known. Byron Buxton hit his 139th career home run, good for 15th place in Twins history. He is two away from tying Michael Cuddyer. Mickey Gasper earned his first career MLB extra-base hit. Pablo López struck out his 452nd batter in a Twins uniform, the 31st-most in team history. He is 14 away from tying Tyler Duffey. Edouard Julien set an MLB career-high with four walks. Perhaps related, the Twins forced a career-high five walks from Kyle Hendricks. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Angels will return Saturday for the second of their three-game series. Simeon Woods Richardson will start opposite Yusei Kikuchi. First pitch is at 1:10 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

If I had a nickel for every Alabama native who made a start on Wednesday, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Ricardo Olivar) TRANSACTIONS There were no moves made on Wednesday. Saints Sentinel Game One: St. Paul 5, Indianapolis 1 (Seven Innings) Box Score Andrew Morris: 4 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K HR: Mickey Gasper (2), Mike Ford (3) Multi-hit games: None The Saints won a breezy opening game of their doubleheader. Andrew Morris remains peripheral agnostic. He does not care. Walks. Strikeouts. The man only cares about one thing: outs, and he’ll claim them regardless of what nerdy FIP or FIP-adjacent stat you throw at him. Wednesday was maybe his magnum opus: three walks, five hits, two strikeouts, and—critically—zero earned runs. Majestic. Mickey Gasper continued his AAA tear with a 1st-inning two-run blast, the first of three runs scored by the Saints to start the game. Carson McCusker drove in the concluding run with a double. (And it was ripped, because it was Carson McCusker and that’s the only way he lives life.) Brady Fiegl and Richard Lovelady combined to work the final three frames, holding Indianapolis scoreless with just two harmless baserunners. Mike Ford capped the scoring with an absolute skyscraper into right field, a 45-degree behemoth that may have spooked a bird, or a low-flying aircraft. MLB.com’s 76th overall prospect, Thomas Harrington, started for Indianapolis. He allowed five runs across four innings. Game Two: St. Paul 2, Indianapolis 4 Box Score Cory Lewis: 3 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The knuckleball looked unfavorably upon Cory Lewis. Back to starting, if just for a short time, the righty ran into early trouble, allowing a pair of homers in the games' opening frames to fall into a 3-0 deficit. Unfortunately, the home run issue is a sticking point from his last appearance; Lewis has now allowed six long balls across his two most recent outings. St. Paul’s bats offered tepid support of their starter, with Anthony Prato singling home a run in the 2nd. Then, in the 3rd, Indianapolis pulled their starter in favor of reliever Drake Fellows—otherwise known as OVO—and Carson McCusker singled to call in a second run. That proved insufficient, as the Saints offense never woke up, and Indianapolis scored one more run before eventually claiming the win. Pittsburgh’s 5th-ranked prospect, Nick Yorke, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 7, Springfield 6 (10 Innings) Box Score Christian MacLeod: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Tanner Schobel (2-for-5, 2B, 2 R), Ricardo Olivar (4-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI), Ben Ross (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI) The Wind Surge won in an extra-inning walk-off on Wednesday. Lefty Christian MacLeod made a triumphant return to Wichita. The Hunstville native cruised in three frames, shutting out the Cardinals with five punchouts. He threw 44 pitches. He has not given up a run in seven innings to start the season. Evidently, Springfield experienced a renewed vigor the second they saw MacLeod exit the game, because Wichita’s next two pitchers had a far less fun afternoon. Angel Macuare was walloped for three runs in a single inning; John Klein suffered the same (two earned) across 3 ⅔ innings. The good news is that Wichita’s offense was primed and ready to score some runs. Kala’i Rosario summoned home a pair with a 4th inning double, marking the beginning of a three-inning drought. Then, staring at a 6-2 deficit, they erupted for two in the 8th, two more in the 9th to tie the game, and a final, Manfred-Man-scoring knock off Kyler Fedko’s bat to deliver the win. Ricardo Olivar stood at the heart of the offensive supernova, exploding for four hits—two doubles—and three RBIs. He even threw a guy out at home. Sometimes, everything just goes right. Wind Surge pitchers struck out 14 batters in the game. Springfield is an affiliate of St. Louis, typically a talented system. Their top prospect—2024 first rounder, J.J. Wetherholt—is on the team, but did not play on Wednesday. Instead, Chase Davis, ranked 9th, in the system, served as their finest youngster. He singled and struck out thrice in five trips to the plate. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 2 Box Score Ty Langenberg: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Nate Baez (2-for-3) Ty Langenberg pitched a fine ball game. The righty out of Iowa was nearly flawless; a 2nd inning single immediately erased by a double play proved the only jab the Timber Rattlers were able to land on him. Every out except one came via a strikeout or groundout. With just 40 pitches, Langenberg put forth an early submission for most efficient start of the year amongst Twins minor leaguers. Kernels’ bats started dormant, but woke up in the 5th. Khadim Diaw plated the opening run of the game by stealing 2nd before dashing home on a wild pitch/catcher throwing error combo. Two more runs scampered home off a Danny De Andrade double the following frame. Steals helped fuel the scores, and they were a consistent theme all night for the Kernels: they ended up swiping four bases, including Kyle DeBarge’s ninth of the season. The Timber Rattlers scored a final 9th inning off a groundout. Strangely, both runs scored by Wisconsin were via a groundball, giving them the unique distinction of going 0-for with runners in scoring position despite scoring two runs. 2nd baseman Jadher Areinamo ranks as the Brewers’ 23rd-best prospect. He doubled in four at-bats. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 3, Clearwater 4 Box Score Eli Jones: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Mighty Mussels came up short on Wednesday. Hitting was at a premium for Fort Myers. Their starting nine could only muster three hits—none of which went for extra bases. Augured by five walks, though, and a pair of stolen bases Angel Del Rosario, they were able to plate a trio of runs, perhaps more than they “deserved” given the meager inputs. RBI credits go to Jose Rodriguez for walking with the bases loaded, and the aforementioned Del Rosario, who singled in two in the 7th. 2024 draftee, Eli Jones, did not have his best stuff. A pair of scoreless frames to begin the game portended an extended, laborious 3rd for the Birmingham-born Jones, in which he walked two, allowed a pair of singles, and ushered home a run with a wild pitch. A 5th inning solo shot capped his allowed damage. The University of South Carolina product topped out at 94.2. Fort Myers was able to put the tying run in scoring position in the 9th, but Byron Chourio did not play the hero; he grounded out to end the game. The Threshers are the A-ball affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. Their 4th-ranked prospect, Eduardo Tait, DH’d, singling once in four at-bats. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ty Langenberg Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Ricardo Olivar PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0-2, R, BB, K #3 – Luke Keaschall (Twins) - 1-3, 2B, R, BB #5 – Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K #8 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #9 – Cory Lewis (St. Paul) - 3 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K #13 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 2B, R #15 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - 1-4, R, K #17 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, 2 K #18 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 2-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI, K #19 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 4-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM) - RHP Marco Raya Springfield @ Wichita (6:35 PM) - RHP Trent Baker Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Chase Chaney Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM) - RHP Jason Doktorczyk View full article

Finally, a disadvantage for tall people. Image courtesy of © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Ten innings into 2025, a concerning trend with David Festa is continuing: his fastball isn’t cutting it. He’s allowing a .357 batting average against the heater, and the under-the-hood stats suggest it isn’t a fluke; that pitch is just far too hittable. If he wants to become a regular in the Twins rotation, something will need to change. One of the inherent challenges in altering a pitcher’s offerings rests in the bedrock of their mix, the fastball. A player’s four-seam fastball can be malleable, to an extent—we’ve seen cut/cut-ride hurlers (like Dylan Cease) tweak their heaters for the better, or simply add a sinker—but the way someone throws a fastball is almost written into their DNA, and this isn’t Gattaca (1997). Unlike the crazy alterations we see pitchers make with breaking balls and offspeed offerings, their fastballs remain mostly static. Even Twins pitching guru Josh Kalk said, at last year's SABR Annual Conference in Minneapolis, that the team thinks about fastball shape as an immutable characteristic, akin to a fingerprint. Festa’s main issue is that he’s an outlier in the modern pitching world, but maybe not in the best way. The Joe Ryans (Joes Ryan? people like Joe Ryan, is the point) of the world, with their low slots and high-rise heaters, are everywhere, and for good reason: carrying four-seamers at the top of the zone are difficult for hitters to identify and hit with consistency. Yet, while Ryan throws with a 23-degree arm angle, Festa is at 50 degrees, one of the highest in baseball. That makes one of his fastballs at the top of the zone much easier for batters to hit. Hitters are less fooled by high heat when it comes from a high slot. Four-seamers in the top third of the zone with a sub-25° arm angle have induced a .181 batting average, .359 slugging, and 30.2% whiff rate since the start of last year, league-wide. The same pitch type in the same location begets a .249 average, a .435 SLG, and just 21.4% whiffs per swing if it comes from an arm angle of at least 50°. That’s how Festa's 95-MPH fastball—with some of the best induced vertical break in MLB (19.2 inches)—gets hit at such a troubling clip. So, what can he do about it? Well, it’s clear the Twins are aware of his fastball woes. Festa introduced a sinker in 2025 to help augment his pitch mix, and introducing a sinker counts as a drastic step for the Twins. He’s only thrown the offering seven times in the majors, though, so it’s still unclear how effective it may be, and how it alters his profile. He also is already down 6° from his arm slot in 2024, so maybe they're trying to gradually get him working from a slightly more conventional three-quarters slot. Location is another factor. Festa has moved from a middle-high target to one on the glove-side third of the plate, belt-high. That’s an interesting change to make, given that the team is likely well aware of his on-plane issues. Here's where his fastballs landed in 2024, for reference. Obviously, too many of those balls crept down into the lower half of the zone and were still in the middle of the plate, but you can see what he's trying to do. They could be looking at altering how he tunnels, but haven’t yet seen results because his slider command from last year has yet to arrive at the party. In any case, I think the horizontal move is groovy, but he’s still just a little low; if he can consistently bang high-and-away to righties, and under the armpit to lefties, that should do the trick. But that’s a tough spot to live in if his command isn’t up to snuff. So far, he's not quite finding that spot. He's caught in between hitting that top rail and steering it to the glove side, a bit. There are successful tall, high-slot pitchers, but it’s a small group. Festa doesn’t have the velocity of Peak Justin Verlander or Tyler Glasnow, so he can’t just overpower hitters in the zone. He’s somewhat similar to his rotation mate, Chris Paddack, who has also had trouble getting the most out of his fastball. He may have to embrace the philosophy of Michael Wacha. Like Festa, Wacha is 6-foot-6 and throws from an almost identical slot (51°). His fastball isn’t good, in velocity or in shape characteristics, so he’s content to throw it in hittable locations to allow his tremendous changeup to succeed. The difference is in the depth of their arsenals: Wacha has six pitches, and while only one of them may be truly elite, the mere existence of the other five is enough to give him an edge that Festa lacks. It’s a lot easier for a hitter to only consider three (and a half? How generous are you feeling about that sinker?) pitches. At least throw an overhand curveball, dude! Festa is still a tremendously promising pitcher. Of the trio of young hurlers consisting of Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews, and Festa, I think he possesses the best chance at becoming a stud major-league starter. His changeup feel at such a young age is difficult to teach; his slider command last year was remarkable. He’s in a weird spot, where his command and “stuff” are good but need tweaking for him to reach his full potential. Those tweaks may be difficult to make. View full article

What evil to send such competency against teenagers. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Brock Stewart) TRANSACTIONS INF Dameury Pena placed on 7-day IL (Fort Myers) Saints Sentinel St. Paul 6, Iowa 20 Box Score Andrew Morris: 3 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: Jeferson Morales (1), Carson McCusker 2 (3, 4), Armando Alvarez (1) Multi-hit games: Carson McCusker (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) The Saints allowed a franchise record eight home runs in a thumping on Wednesday. Andrew Morris had been sharper. The Texas Tech product entered the game without an earned run on his ledger, and exited with an ERA that would make most pitchers blush. It started with a pair of runs in the 1st, before the Cubs pricked and prodded the righty with runs in each subsequent frame he pitched. The chaos—for him, at least—concluded with a Moisés Ballesteros two-run shot in the 4th. The good news? Morris hit 99.3 MPH on the gun. The bad news? Well, you can read, and somehow the game devolved from a seven-run punch to a 20-run laugher. Cory Lewis worked a pair of scoreless innings before running face-first into the pitching equivalent of the painted boulders that perpetually fools the Road Runner. A single begat a double, which begat an excruciating sequence in which—across six hitters—four Iowa Cubs took Lewis deep. Anthony Prato, not a pitcher, relieved him. They hit one more for good measure. There were some signs of life offensively: Jeferson Morales homered back when the game was still winnable, and Carson McCusker blasted a pair of shots late in the game, the second of which was part of a back-to-back effort with Armando Alvarez. Cubs starter Cade Horton served as the team’s impact prospect. Ranked 2nd in the system, and 48th overall, the former 1st-round pick tossed five innings allowing just one earned run. He struck out six. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 4, Tulsa 5 (14 Innings) Box Score Chase Chaney: 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K HR: Kyler Fedko (2) Multi-hit games: Kala’i Rosario (2-for-6), Jake Rucker (2-for-5, 2 R, RBI), Tyler Dearden (4-for-6) The Wind Surge fell in a 14-inning marathon on Wednesday. It took 12 total pitchers, 398 combined pitches, and nearly four hours to determine a winner. Fortune fell in favor of the Drillers. So it goes. Chase Chaney enjoyed his finest outing of the season, going 4 2/3 innings while allowing a lone unearned run. He gave way to Angel Macuare who continued to buzz through AA hitters with 2 1/3 perfect frames. He has now totaled 6 2/3 scoreless innings in 2025 with nine strikeouts. Wichita’s bats didn’t have much to offer in support of their pitching at this point; Macuare was able to leave the game tied only thanks to a 7th-inning scrap that concluded with a Jake Rucker sacrifice fly. Two frames later, Kyler Fedko smoked a hanging breaking ball to give the Wind Surge a 3-1 lead. Tulsa matched with two of their own in the bottom of the 9th to kick off the absurdity. Both teams opted for an empty 10th before scoring in the 11th. The Manfred Men of the 12th and 13th found home plate unattractive; Rubel Cespedes nearly scored once, but was thrown out at the plate. Finally, the Drillers found the end of the game with a leadoff single in the bottom of the 14th. The Drillers are a part of the Dodgers system. Typically overflowing with talent, the best LA has to offer has somehow missed Tulsa, Oklahoma; no one in the team’s top 30 appeared for the Drillers on Wednesday. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 8, Peoria 7 (11 Innings) Box Score Ty Langenberg: 3 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Brandon Winokur (3-for-5, 2 2B, 4 RBI, BB), Nate Baez (4-for-5, 2 R), Caden Kendle (2-for-5, R, 2 RBI) The Kernels came back late to win in extras on Wednesday. Ty Langenberg was not his best self. In fact, it’s been a rough two games to start the season for the Urbandale native, as his ERA on the year sits at a ghastly 7.50. Fortunately, a two-start sample means almost nothing; he has quite some time to get back on track. Offensively, the Kernels universe revolved around two players: Brandon Winokur and Nate Baez. The former collected three hits—two of them doubles—and walked while driving in four. Baez kept things simple: if he went to the plate, he singled, which proved fully true when the author wrote that sentence, but was only altered with a fifth at-bat strikeout. A Khadim Diaw RBI single in the 9th pushed the game to extras, and Winokur’s final RBI of the night broke the tie in the 11th. Gabriel Yanez earned the save. Kyle DeBarge stole his eighth base of the season, the 3rd-most in the Midwest League. Catcher Ryan Campos—ranked as the 18th-best player in the Cardinals system—went 2-5 with a run and a walk. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 1, Bradenton 0 Box Score Christian MacLeod: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K HR: Jay Thomason (1) Multi-hit games: None Mighty Mussels pitching threw a shutout on Wednesday. Ok, it’s a little less impressive considering they had a big leaguer and two minor league rehabbers pitch, but, still. Christian MacLeod was the first rehabber up. The 25-year-old out of Huntsville made quick work of his opponents, dicing up the six hitters he faced with just 26 pitches, He struck out four. Then Brock Stewart entered. Those poor kids. 13 pitches later, he walked off the mound with three more strikeouts under his belt. He topped out at 95 MPH. Pierson Ohl took the mound and proceeded to punch out eight of the ten batters he faced, with his only hit—and the only hit Bradenton earned the entire night—coming from a bunt single. Somewhere, Brian Dozier felt extra red-ass. Dylan Questad delivered the game to its finale with a trio of clean frames. Fort Myers’ offense came via a Jay Thomason solo homer. That was it. They took six walks and singled thrice, but Thomason’s blast represented their only run of the game. 2024 1st-rounder Konnor Griffin was the Marauders' most notable prospect. Ranked 40th in baseball by MLB.com, the DH struck out three times in four at-bats. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Pierson Ohl 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: #2 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0-2, R, 3 BB, K #3 – Luke Keaschall (St. Paul) - 0-4, K #5 – Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 3 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 6 K #9 – Cory Lewis (St. Paul) - 2 2/3 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 4 K #13 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB #15 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - 0-4, 2 K #17 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 2 K #18 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 2-6, 2 K #19 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, BB THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 PM) - RHP Marco Raya Wichita @ Tulsa (7:00 PM) - RHP Trent Baker Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM) - RHP Charlee Soto Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM) - RHP Eli Jones View full article

Not long after Ty France delivered the game-winning single in Wednesday’s contest, the Twins traded for 29-year-old corner infielder Jonah Bride. Image courtesy of © Rhona Wise-Imagn Images Who Is John Galt Jonah Bride? A Milwaukee native, Bride was originally a 23rd-round Oakland draftee in 2018, back when one could still be such a thing. Once a catching prospect, the University of South Carolina product journeyed deeper into the infield when his catching acumen proved detrimental; he has only played 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the majors. He debuted in 2022 before trekking to Miami before the 2024 season, in which he slashed .276/.357/.461 across 272 plate appearances. Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs last wrote about Bride in 2022, in which he had this to say about him: “Bride, who recently made his big league debut and is currently on the IL, is a recent (part-time) catching convert who would be stuffed in the 45 FV tier if his ball-blocking and receiving had progressed more quickly and I felt more confident that he could catch often. It’s still possible that he could turn into a role player with this sort of special versatility if his defense behind the plate continues to improve, but because he can hit, Bride is at least going to be a solid part-time infielder, with third base his most natural position.” Why Jonah Bride? Twins players are dropping like flies. Edouard Julien probably pulled a groin while you read this article. It’s doubtful that Bride is any sort of long-term answer or pet project for the team; they need warm major-league bodies and they need them now. Matt Wallner will head to the IL, and the statuses of Willi Castro and Carlos Correa are currently unknown. St. Paul Saint Ryan Fitzgerald appears a prime candidate to replace one of them, but he is just one man. Bride seems likely to play 3rd, where he was once worth 3 Statcast Outs Above Average in a limited sample in 2023. 2nd base is also an option. This is also some Sicko Stuff, because who was watching a Twins-Marlins series late in 2024, when the team’s collapse was nearly complete, but you may remember Bride because, across three games in Target Field, he slashed .429/.400/.786 with a home run and two doubles. Maybe he’s secretly Edwin Encarnación 2.0. Bride was DFA'd on the 15th. Minnesota is sending cash to complete the deal. What happens going forward? Fortunately, Minnesota has an off-day on the 17th to figure out their moves before starting a series on the 18th with the Atlanta Braves. Bride is the first of what could be two more moves: Correa and Castro. Correa is suffering from wrist soreness, apparently a malady that affected him since Spring Training, and he didn't start in Wednesday's affair, although he did enter the game as a defensive replacement. He never took an at-bat. Castro exited early Wednesday with "mild right oblique tightness," a choice that Rocco Baldelli described as "precautionary." Currently, that wonderfully vague term is all we have to understand the nature of Castro's injury. Of course, the situation is augmented by the recent news that José Miranda landed on the minor league IL because of an incident at Target that involved a dropped case of water. Tremendous stuff. Assuming Castro and Correa are both incapacitated, Brooks Lee becomes the obvious starter at shortstop, with calling up a minor leaguer like the aforementioned Fitzgerald a logical move. That would create a Bride-Lee-Julien-France infield with Mickey Gasper filling in when needed. Not ideal, certainly, but hopefully it would only be for a short period of time. But, who knows? The esoteric nature of Castro and Correa's injuries leave room for pure speculation, yet nothing solid. If one or both players are closer to fine, then life for the Twins looks a lot easier. Hell, even just one of them being ready to go renders the previous paragraph something of a worst case scenario. As of now, we understand little, but, after acquiring Bride, their depth nonetheless appears better than it was before. View full article

And to think we had to pay 9.99 to watch it. Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Box Score David Festa: 4 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Home Runs: Byron Buxton (2) Bottom 3 WPA: Jorge Alcalá (.-356), Mickey Gasper (-.257), Justin Topa (-.234), Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) If you successfully navigated the litany of streaming services—searched deep for a sign-in; contacted your youngest and hippest relative—your reward for accessing Apple TV+ was so: David Festa took the mound for the Twins. Down Pablo López, Minnesota looked to their plethora of young hurlers to carry the weight usually shouldered by their ace. Early on, their decision appeared wise: Festa navigated back-to-back 1-2-3 innings to start the game. The breakers stole strikes. The heater sizzled through the zone. Uncharacteristically, Minnesota’s offense looked frisky early. The 1st inning only saw a harmless Carlos Correa walk, but that was just a setup for a fruitful 2nd. Byron Buxton walked—a rare occurrence—and swiped second base—a more common one. Ty France then deemed an inside fastball an adequate vessel for action, punching the ball through the middle of the infield for a run-scoring single. That hit ushered in the beginning of a typical baseball pace; two innings started and concluded with no effect on the score. Men reached base. Sometimes. Maybe not. No adventure finished its cycle, and the game advanced towards a (potentially) more impactful future. Detroit’s first run eventually arrived, perhaps ironically, mostly unrelated to Festa’s efforts. With a runner on 1st, Gleyber Torres poked a Professional Single through the right side of the infield, and as the lead runner scampered to 3rd, Matt Wallner uncorked an unwieldy shot, evidently tricky enough to evade two defenders and eventually roll into the Tigers dugout. The runner scores. Unearned, of course. Yet, they count all the same. The Twins answered with a fervor. A Wallner HBP begat a pair of singles, the final an RBI knock by Correa to put the team back in the lead. A pitching change couldn’t even halt the momentum: a Buxton fielder’s choice coaxed a third run in before Edouard Julien ended the offensive outbreak with an RBI double into the right-field corner. Tragedy is the life of all who place themselves in the hands of fortune and fate. Cruelty knows no bounds, and prior suffering does nothing to halt an inevitable force returning to strike disaster back on those already under an affliction. The game doesn’t care. The game will never care. If each out isn’t earned legitimately, through besting the other team’s hitters at least 27 times, then nothing can be guaranteed. Two walks and a nubbed infield single welcomed Jorge Alcalá. Zach McKinstry dumped a single into center. Just as quick as the Twins found a lead, their placement on top appeared tenuous. And so it was. Justin Topa entered the game to elicit a signature ground ball; of course, the chopper off Dillon Dingler’s bat happened to find its way into right field. Tie game. Advantage Tigers when a groundout called home a fifth score. It soon became a sixth score when a second unearned run touched home plate. But Buxton homered to bring the game back to its previous state. Detroit scored once more. Perhaps unimportant. The game had indeed seen the importance of bonus runs, but the vigor that Minnesota had appeared to care about their deficits this year made predicting the future cloudy. It did matter. So it goes. One more 9th-inning rally plated a sixth run, but the unlikely comeback came to an impotent end when Mickey Gasper check-swung a grounder to 1st to end the game. Notes: Byron Buxton's homer was his 135th in team history, good for 15th all-time. He's six away from tying Michael Cuddyer. Buxton's steal was his 96th in team history, tying him with Matt Lawton for 9th all-time. He's two away from tying Brian Dozier. Ty France is slashing .300/.364/.480 on the season. Danny Coulombe appeared in his 295th career MLB game. What’s Next? The Twins and Tigers play the second of their three-game series on Saturday. Chris Paddack will start opposite Jackson Jobe. First pitch is at 1:10 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

If Betterridge's law of headlines is true, the International League is screwed. Image courtesy of William Parmeter TRANSACTIONS OF Walker Jenkins placed on 7-day IL. Tyler Dearden activated by the Wind Surge from the Development List. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 3, Omaha 2 Box Score Andrew Morris: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: Jair Camargo (1), Carson McCusker (1) Multi-hit games: Emmanuel Rodriguez (2-for-4), Austin Martin (2-for-3, BB), Carson McCusker (2-for-4, HR, R, RBI) The Saints squeaked out a win on Wednesday. One of these days, Andrew Morris will allow a run. That day was not last Wednesday, nor was it this one: the righty breezed through five shutout innings, scattering four hits and two walks while striking out three. Thrice a runner made it as far as 2nd base—and one of them attempted to come all the way home, before being stopped by a beautiful one-hopper from Austin Martin—but Morris worked out of danger every time. Like he did last week, Cory Lewis entered in relief of Morris. Things did not go as well this time. Omaha jumped on Lewis for a pair of runs in the 6th, before the righty righted the ship and cleaned up his outing the best he could with two scoreless innings. Anthony Misiewicz pitched the 9th. While the Saints only mustered three runs, that total proved enough to do the job. Jair Camargo notched the first two scores with a two-run blast in the 4th, and Carson McCusker blasted a solo shot in the 6th. That’s all they did; that’s all they needed. Brooks Lee went 1-4 with a strikeout while playing seven innings at third base. Old friend Nick Gordon singled and walked in four trips to the plate for Omaha. The Storm Chasers are the AAA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. No player on their MLB.com top 30 prospects list appeared in this game. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 4, Rockhounds 8 Box Score Ricky Castro: 2 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K HR: Rubel Cespedes (1) Multi-hit games: Rubel Cespedes (2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, 4 RBI) The Wind Surge lost handily on Wednesday. Offensively, it was the Rubel Cespedes show. The 24-year-old knocked in all four of Wichita’s runs with a 1st-inning grand slam, perfectly stroked out deep into right field. He later tacked on a double. The early explosion only begat a tepid showing from the rest of Wichita’s lineup. That eventful 1st contained two of their five hits on the night; a handful of meager threats across the coming frames were always snuffed out, and by the time a runner finally saw 3rd base again, the deficit was too much to recover from. Mike Parades and Jaylen Nowlin made quality appearances out of the bullpen, combining for 5 ⅓ scoreless innings with five strikeouts. The Rockhounds are an affiliate for the Franchise Formerly Known as the Oakland Athletics. The tremendously named Henry Bolte is their 8th-best prospect, and he singled and walked in five plate appearances while playing center field. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 0, Beloit 10 Box Score Ross Dunn: 3 ⅓ IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Kernels were thumped on Wednesday. Sometimes you don’t have it, and sometimes you really don’t have it. Oddly enough, this wasn’t quite that black and white: the Kernels were reasonably competitive up until the 9th when a 3-0 game ballooned into a 10-0 laugher with some diabolical ERAs. Cedar Rapids’ bats didn’t help matters. Doubles by Billy Amick and Kaelen Culpepper marked the only significant shots taken off Sky Carp pitching. The box score is a graveyard: five starting hitters failed to reach base safely and of the four that did, only Khadim Diaw did so more than once. The Kernels allowed 10 stolen bases, with six alone coming from Emaarion Boyd. Beloit starter Noble Meyer, the 82nd best prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com, pitched 4 ⅔ scoreless innings in his outing. Mussels Matters Fort Myers 5, Tampa 1 Box Score Michael Carpenter: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Byron Chourio (2-for-3, 2B, 2 R, BB), Yasser Mercedes (2-for-3, 2B, R, BB) Fort Myers ran a smorgasbord of pitchers to win on Wednesday. Lefty starter Michael Carpenter made his Twins organization debut. The 20-year-old from Menomonee Falls—and selected in the 11th round of the 2024 draft out of Madison Area Technical College, the alma mater of just three other draftees—led all of JUCO DII with a 1.03 ERA in his draft year and tossed 45 consecutive shutout innings. Carpenter’s initial foray into pro ball was curt but successful. He struck out the first two batters he faced before beginning to labor, allowing a double and two walks to inflate his pitch count. He punched out Tampa’s Tyler Wilson with his 36th and final pitch of the night. With that out of the way, 2025 should hold big things for the fascinating small-school prospect. A slew of hurlers carried the pitching effort the rest of the way. Kade Bragg, Devin Kirby, Jacob Kisting, Ivran Romero, and Tyler Stasiowski combined for eight frames, five hits, one earned run, six walks—a little heavy on the free passes—and ten strikeouts. The 22-year-old Kisting was the star of the show; the Madison-born righty out-pitched his Wisconsinite brother by breezing through 2 ⅓ innings. Six of those seven outs came via the strikeout. Fort Myers’ bats were efficient. Although, really, it was their legs that delivered them to success: Byron Chourio sparked a 1st inning run with a walk and a steal, quickly advancing to 3rd off an errant throw by Tampa’s catcher. Dameury Pena brought him home with a sacrifice fly. Then, Yasser Mercedes scored in the 4th when a steal put him in position to score off a Jose Rodriguez single. Finally, a 7th-inning skirmish—fueled by a Pena two-run knock—concluded when Pena scampered home following a wild pitch. The Tarpons are an affiliate of the New York Yankees. Always a talented system, shortstop Roderick Arias—the franchise’s 7th-best prospect—went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Rubel Cespedes PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 2-4, K #3 – Luke Keaschall (St. Paul) - 0-4, 3 K #5 – Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K #7 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, 2B #8 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K #9 – Cory Lewis (St. Paul) - 2 ⅓ IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K #13 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) -0-3, BB, 2 K #15 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - 2-3, 2B, R, BB #16 – Rayne Doncon (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #17 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, 2B #18 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-4, R, 2 K #19 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4 #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-3, R, BB THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (5:37 PM) - RHP Marco Raya Midland @ Wichita (5:35 PM) - RHP Chase Chaney Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (5:35 PM) - RHP Ty Langenberg Tampa @ Fort Myers (5:05 PM) - RHP Jakob Hall View full article

I guess it's only fair they get one. Image courtesy of William Parmeter TRANSACTIONS RHP Darren Bowen assigned to Wichita RHP Joel Cesar assigned to Wichita LHP Jaylen Nowlin assigned to Wichita RHP Randy Dobnak outrighted to St. Paul Saints Sentinel St. Paul 0, Columbus 2 Box Score Andrew Morris: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Carson McCusker (2-for-4, 2B), Jeferson Morales (2-for-4, 2B) On the heels of a historic back-to-back shutout streak, Andrew Morris was set to carry a special torch. Could the top prospect add a third day to St. Paul’s cavalcade of “0’s?” Spoiler alert: he was great. The Clippers scattered five hits and a walk across his five frames—including loading the bases against the Texas Tech product in the 4th—but Morris’ gumption reigned supreme; he hunkered down and stifled Columbus’ bats at every turn. He walked off the mound with four strikeouts and 69 pitches thrown. Cory Lewis relieved Morris for just his third professional appearance out of the bullpen. Begin speculation now. Given the Saints’ stacked rotation, it seemed like someone was due to be the odd man out; Wednesday’s game may reveal Lewis to be that individual. But the inning he entered didn’t seem to impact his play: Lewis tossed 1 ⅔ shutout innings with four strikeouts and a pair of walks. And in case you were wondering, he threw eight knuckleballs, coaxing four swings, with two of them coming up empty. Unfortunately—as George Harrison told us in 1970—all things must pass, and the Saints’ scoreless streak finally came to an end on Wednesday. In the 8th, Jacob Bosiokovic allowed a pair of singles, a sacrifice fly, a stolen base, and a concluding single to mark St. Paul’s 1st and 2nd runs allowed on the season. So it goes. The Saints couldn’t muster any offense in support of the pitching effort. Eight walks and seven hits portended a deadly 1-for-11 performance with runners in scoring position. Just brutal stuff. The 9th was a good microcosm of the forces affecting St. Paul’s hitters. Jeferson Morales doubled and Ryan Fitzgerald walked. At this point, the Saints held a 1-in-4 chance of winning. Almost all of it was wiped out with a back-breaking Austin Martin double play; Emmanuel Rodriguez struck out two batters later to conclude the game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Carson McCusker/Jeferson Morales PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0-3, 2 BB, 3 K #3 – Luke Keaschall (St. Paul) - 1-3, 2BB #5 – Andrew Morris (S. Paul) - 5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K #9 – Cory Lewis (St. Paul) - 1 ⅔ IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (5:15 PM) - RHP Marco Raya View full article

Facing prime Mariano Rivera would be preferable over Fedde, at this point. Image courtesy of © Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Box Score Joe Ryan: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Jorge Alcalá (-.250), Carlos Correa (-.093), Louis Varland (-.078) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Thursday’s dud of an Opening Day set the stage for a redemptive episode—this time featuring an old friend unseen on a big league mound since August 7th of last year. Would Joe Ryan prove to be the catalyst needed to spark Minnesota’s first win of the season? You’d be forgiven if you thought the start of Saturday’s match was a rerun; St. Louis scrapped their way to a 1st-inning run thanks to two well-placed singles sandwiched around a runner advanced on an out. That’s Cardinals baseball, alright. Whitey Herzog would have been proud. But that run proved to be the only score against Ryan, who—while uncharacteristically inefficient at times—worked around trouble to stymie St. Louis from advancing any further. He ended his day with five strikeouts and no walks. He did not earn a decision. Working opposite Ryan was one Erick Fedde, a recently developed personal nemesis of the Twins. He has their number. Entering the game, Fedde had allowed just two runs across 17 frames against Minnesota, whiffing 23 with a WHIP of .824. Something about his finessing ways short-circuits Twins hitters, no matter their style. And he continued to fool them. An early run knocked in by Willi Castro (aided by a Trevor Larnach steal!?!) served as the lone dent in his armor. The only runner to reach following Castro’s double was via a Fedde fielding error; that runner was then negated with a double play, anyways. Few were surprised. Minnesota’s defense proved adept at times. An early steal attempt was snuffed out thanks to some gold medal-level gymnastics from Carlos Correa, and Byron Buxton later made a deep flyout to center look simple with signature smoothness. The wind may need an assist on that Brendan Donovan flyout, as well. Unfortunately, the good news ended there. Ryan’s exit after the 5th inning portended a disastrous showing from Minnesota’s bullpen. Jorge Alcalá was greeted with a line shot off his person, resulting in a rare infield double and a greeting from the athletic trainer. He was deemed fine. Perhaps in health, but certainly not in performance: he allowed two more runners and broke the tie before being yanked in favor of Louis Varland, who nearly escaped the situation. He walked one to load the bases but struck out two to regain favor. One measly out stood between him and an impressive outing. But the man up was Lars Nootbaar, so far the main character of the 2025 MLB season, and he cracked a two-out single into center to plate a pair of back-breaking runs. A fifth and final run in the 8th charged to Jhoan Duran removed the necessity for St. Louis' stud closer, Ryan Helsley, to enter the game; instead, Phil Maton took the mound to quell Minnesota's bats from offering a last-minute comeback. Post-Game Interview: Notes: Mickey Gasper earned his first career MLB hit with an infield single in the 8th inning. Joe Ryan's five strikeouts give him 530 in his Twins career, good for 22nd place in team history. He's two Ks away from tying LaTroy Hawkins. Matt Wallner, Carlos Correa, and Byron Buxton are a combined 0-for-24 to start the season. Trevor Larnach stole his seventh career base on Saturday. He's 269 behind Chuck Knoblauch for 1st place in Twins history. What’s Next? The Twins and Cardinals finish their series with a Sunday excursion pitting Bailey Ober against Andre Pallante. First pitch is at 1:15 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article