Matt Braun

Although, maybe someone should think twice about this lineup. Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports (Jun 7, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Home plate umpire Paul Clemons (104) ejects Minnesota Twins assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon (not pictured) from the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at PNC Park.) Box Score Joe Ryan: 7 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Royce Lewis (-.214), Max Kepler (-.195), Carlos Santana (.111) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) For those who remembered their Apple TV+ login from three weeks ago when they paid for, and immediately cancelled their subscription just to watch Cleveland dance all over the Twins, your reward was this: a clash of Central squads hovering around .500. Neither team has been particularly dominant; the Pirates—despite possessing a trio of pretty incredible young hurlers—sit in the doldrums of the NL Central, which isn’t quite the insult it used to be. They have talent. Oneil Cruz is a freak of nature. Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes are borderline stars. But the quagmire that has cursed the franchise since the days of Ray Searage’s pitch-to-contact success still remains, and the years have only proved that they do not yet know how to overcome themselves The Twins nearly started the game well. Following a Trevor Larnach double and a Carlos Correa walk, Minnesota enjoyed a special opportunity to crack a good pitcher in Mitch Keller early. The runs were basically accounted for. Royce Lewis was next, after all. But Lewis flew out to center, and the next two batters—Max Kepler and Ryan Jeffers—were caught window-shopping to end the frame without a score. Oh well. Joe Ryan was starting, anyway. Pittsburgh shouldn’t score much. His opening frame came and went with little fanfare. Byron Buxton made an incredible diving catch for the first out. These things happen. And overall, Ryan pitched like himself—profoundly effective and occasionally prone to allowing monster homers. He reached the end of the 7th inning for the fourth time since the beginning of May, punching out eight while allowing just two hits and two walks. Unfortunately, one of those hits flirted with the Allegheny River, and those two walks portended a sacrifice fly. Timing was not on Ryan’s side. In a bizarro reversal of fates, timing was on Keller’s side. The 2023 Diamond Award recipient slipped through Minnesota’s grasp multiple times. Twins hitters totaled seven hits and a pair of walks against the Cedar Rapids native, but a damaging break-the-game-open style of knock eluded them. They ran into outs on the base paths and struck out twice with the bases loaded, sending assistant hitting coach Derek Shoman to the showers early (do coaches shower after games?) when he beefed with home plate umpire Paul Clemons’ strike zone. He was right. Clemons’ feel for the zone stunk. The ejection fueled nothing, though, as Minnesota's bats continued to come up empty, even as Pittsburgh's starting pitcher melted into their relievers. In fact, things only got worse: Connor Joe blasted an insurance homer off Griffin Jax in the 8th. The game reached its final, measly end when a lame rally attempt ended with a lazy flyout. Twins lose. Notes: Joe Ryan's eight strikeouts give him 463 in a Twins uniform, four away from passing Tyler Duffey for 28th all-time. Max Kepler is slashing .059/.111/.118 in June. Alex Kirilloff batted in his hometown, PNC Park, for the first time in his career. Jose Miranda is hitting .292/.346/.542 in his last seven games. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Pirates will play the second game of their series on Saturday, with first pitch coming at 3:05. Simeon Woods Richardson toes the rubber opposite of the mercurial and unpredictable TBD (also known at Quinn Priester, unless the Pirates do something creative). Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

After acknowledging the starting pitchers, we turn our attention to those who enter a little later in the game. Image courtesy of David Malamut (@MWLArchives on X) Let’s clear something up right away: I don’t like using ERA to rank relievers. It stinks. We’re dealing with astronomically small sample sizes, and a significant portion of a reliever’s job—stranding runners—isn’t included in that classic acronym. I think more accurate ways to measure a bullpen arm’s mettle are with strikeouts—dominance—and WHIP. That being said, if an ERA is low enough, I'll respect the performance and give the hurler credit. Understand this, and my list makes a lot more sense. Anyways, here are the honorable mentions: Xander Hamilton, A Fort Myers - 2.93 ERA, 15 1/3 IP, 1.11 WHIP, 30.2 K% Hamilton made a serious bid for the list, but others threw more innings or allowed fewer baserunners. 19 Ks buoyed the righty from Appalachian State University's profile. Taylor Floyd, AA Wichita - 1.74 ERA, 10 1/3 IP, 0.77 WHIP, 30.8 K% Floyd put up a sparkling ERA but lacked the frames to claim a better ranking. Nolan Santos, A Fort Myers - 2.56 ERA, 17 IP, 1.35 WHIP, 25.7 K% His WHIP disqualified him from reaching higher, but Santos did total a healthy amount of innings while going 3-for-3 in save opportunities. He’s yet another 2023 selection to be mentioned on our pitching rankings. Hobie Harris, AAA St. Paul - 2.25 ERA, 12 IP, 0.67 WHIP, 37.2 K% Harris had probably the best month a reliever can have while allowing three homers. He struck out a platoon’s worth of batters, but I needed to see a few more innings to place him on the list. Jacob Wosinski, A+ Cedar Rapids - 1.04 ERA, 17 ⅓ IP, 0.92 WHIP, 23.2 K% Wosinski earned an honorable mention due to a below-average strikeout rate compared to some of the other arms on this list. John Stankiewicz, AA Wichita - 0.90 ERA, 10 IP, 0.60 WHIP, 23.5 K% Stankiewicz allowed just one run the entire month, but he only totaled 10 innings. 5. Aaron Rozek, AA Wichita - 1.75 ERA, 25 2/3 IP, 1.01 WHIP, 16.5 K% Despite making one start, Rozek tossed as many innings as Darren Bowen and allowed just five earned runs the entire month—three of which came in that lone start. He was otherwise brilliant; the Burnsville native held batters to a .216 batting average and never pitched fewer than four innings in any of his appearances. (He’s also very active on Twitter if anyone cares to ask him questions about pitching or coffee) 2024 is the 28-year-old's fourth season in the Twins system. His early strikeout promise quietly tapered off as he moved through the levels, but the lefty has had extended, awesome play at times—and May is an example of what Rozek can do when everything goes right. 4. Samuel Perez, A Fort Myers - 2.95 ERA, 18 1/3 IP, 1.31 WHIP, 34.6 K% I desperately wanted to rank Perez higher. Lefties who punch out over a third of the batters they face don’t grow on trees. Lefties who do that while accruing more than three outs in each one of their appearances may as well be considered an endangered species. Perez is one of those rare players still left in the wild. Eight walks is eight walks, though, and I couldn’t overlook that when making the list. Originally a member of the Angels system, Perez signed with the Twins four separate times since 2021, essentially just renewing his lease every time the season ended. It’s a wonder why he hasn’t found a more stable situation; the Venezuelan owns a career 2.39 ERA across 244 1/3 minor league innings and has struck out more than a batter an inning. He’s now being stretched out as a starter; he may soon join the pitchers mentioned on our list a few days ago. 3. Jordan Carr, A+ Cedar Rapids - 1.71 ERA, 21 IP, 1.19 WHIP, 20.9 K% Carr is basically a Kernels staple at this point. After cruising with a 1.48 ERA with them last season, he returned and bounced back from a poor April to return to his usual, assumed, somewhat boringly great self. The Baltimore native crushed the AFL after his season ended last year—notable in the fact that no pitcher does that—and looks primed for a return to Wichita. His experience there last year was… not good. It’s best not to mention his numbers. Maybe an older, more seasoned Carr is ready to perform at AA. 2. Gabriel Yanez, A+ Cedar Rapids - 0.59 ERA, 15 1/3 IP, 0.91 WHIP, 21.3 K% Gabriel Yanez allowed one run in the month of May. He’s allowed three runs the entire year. It’s June. What strikes me the most about Yanez is his unique ability to pound the zone with his breaking ball. Throwing a slider for strikes is a cheat code in the low levels of the minors; you can watch in real-time as a 21-year-old realizes the offering he thought slipped out of Yanez’s hand is actually spinning in for a strike. It’s enough to make a hitter reconsider his career choice. Yanez rode that breaker to a tremendous month; he surrendered just nine hits while often working in a multi-inning role. Perhaps the zenith of his May came on its final day when he channeled his inner Goose Gossage to cleanly deliver the game to its final four outs, quietly retiring eight men over just 33 pitches. That's the kind of effort that earns a 2nd overall ranking on this list. 1. Ricardo Velez, A+ Cedar Rapids - 0.69 ERA, 13 IP, 0.91 WHIP, 35.8 K% Yanez and Velez—a lockdown two-some you don’t see too often, regardless of level. Velez was basically Yanez but with more whiffs; the righty struck out 19 in May, one more than Carr despite throwing eight fewer innings. The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma has been a strikeout machine since joining the Twins system, with 104 punchouts over just 78 2/3 innings. He’s added a new wrinkle this year, though: hitters are putting the ball on the ground over half the time against Velez, essentially assuring that batters will either miss or burn some worms. That’s a tough combo. Kernels manager Brian Dinkelman has almost strictly utilized Velez as a true closer; the righty's earliest foray into a game came once in the 6th inning. Outside of that, he's been a third-act monster, hammering home saves while somehow earning five wins in the month of May alone. For this dominance, Velez takes home his second consecutive non-existent trophy as Twins Daily's Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month. View full article

Blame minor league pitching usage and our human desire to label things

Only three starts for Morris. In hindsight, he probably should have been an honorable mention fighting for that fifth spot, but I need more frames to rank him higher.

Read and rejoice in the minor league hurlers who stood out in the month of May. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge It’s time once again to spotlight and celebrate the handful of pitchers in Minnesota’s farm system who stood above their peers and dominated all who entered the batter’s box. Now, starting pitcher designation is strange in the minors—hurlers are often brought in during the middle innings but still rack up frames like a starter—so I like to use the Potter Stewart method of defining a starter: I know it when I see it. For the most part, this philosophy does the trick. How did I decide my rankings? First, I look at who struck out the most batters—punchouts are always outs, after all—before considering a combination of ERA and innings pitched to differentiate between the candidates. Innings mean a lot to me; a pitcher with a low ERA but a vast chasm where their frames should be are like empty calories. I want a guy who can sustain his play over a long period of time. With that out of the way, let’s look at the honorable mentions. Spencer Bengard, A Fort Myers - 1.31 ERA, 20 2/3 IP, 2.49 FIP I nearly left Bengard off the list because he technically only made two starts, but those numbers are far too good to ignore. The righty out of Cal Baptist (same alma mater as C.J. Culpepper) went six shutout on May 7th and nearly copied the start with a six-inning, one-run appearance on the 21st. A victim of labeling and designations, Bengard will have to settle for an honorable mention. Adrian Bohorquez, FCL Twins - 3.00 ERA, 15 IP, 3.11 FIP The 19-year-old out of Venezuela was remarkably consistent in May; all three of his starts went for four innings, he never walked more than one batter in any outing, and only five runs scored on his watch the entire month. Keep an eye out for Bohorquez. David Festa, AAA St. Paul - 3.44 ERA, 18 ⅓ IP, 3.70 FIP I was this close to putting Festa on the list, but—as much as I love the strikeouts—I couldn’t ignore his relatively mild innings total and simply passable ERA. If only his May 5th start wasn’t so disastrous. Jaylen Nowlin, AA Wichita - 2.88 ERA, 25 IP, 4.18 FIP Leaving Nowlin off the list was the toughest choice of the month—and I’m still not entirely sure I got it right. Nowlin gobbled 25 innings in May, but his dazzling ERA is undercut by his ghastly walk rate, which was high enough to reign in his ranking. Consider this to be the 5.5 spot. The List: 5. C.J. Culpepper, A+ Cedar Rapids - 3.00 ERA, 18 IP, 2.54 FIP, 29.7 K% Oh, there you are, Culpepper. The righty missed the first month of the season and returned to whiff nearly 30% of batters while issuing just three free passes. It appears rust was never a worry. The zenith of his play was his May 23rd start, in which he cruised through six perfect innings with eight strikeouts, earning him Midwest League MiLB Pitcher of the Week, Twins MiLB Pitcher of the Week, and Yeah, This Guy Obviously Kicked Butt honors. Unfortunately, any excitement surrounding Culpepper’s incredible month exited when he hit the IL on Saturday with the worst four words a pitcher can hear: a right forearm strain. Hopefully, the righty can avoid serious surgery. 4. Cesar Lares, A Fort Myers - 2.73 ERA, 26 ⅓ IP, 4.27 FIP, 25.2 K% Lares had the good fortune of timing in the month of May. You don’t see five-start months in the low levels of the minors too often, especially for a hurler as young as Lares—and he took full advantage of his luck, never allowing more than three runs in any of his outings. The beauty of his month is in choice: was his best start the 11-strikeout performance on the 12th, or was it either of his six-inning, zero-earned-run outings surrounding the punchout fest? His only real blot was hit by pitches. Lares plunked nine and hit at least one batter in each start. A few fewer free passes and the lefty will be an easy candidate for a higher placing in future months. 3. Pierson Ohl, AA Wichita - 2.20 ERA, 28 2/3 IP, 3.50 FIP, 25.2 K% It is a genuine pleasure to watch Ohl pitch. Few pitchers in the system can consistently match his play. The 14th-rounder out of Grand Canyon University clearly already understands his game at a high level as he dips, dives, and attacks hitters with gumption unseen outside of the most revved-up closer. It’s art. To live in the zone as consistently as he does is outstanding; hitters know he’s going to throw a strike, and there’s nothing they can do about it. Given Minnesota’s troubles with the back end of their starting rotation, a future where Ohl subs in for a few starts down the stretch doesn’t seem far-fetched. Louie Varland’s struggles leave a wide-open gap behind Festa as the next man up; could Ohl be the one who steps up? 2. Ty Langenberg, A Fort Myers - 2.93 ERA, 27 2/3 IP, 2.47 FIP, 31.6 K% Langenberg struck out 37 batters over 27 2/3 innings in May. That’s a 268-strikeout pace over 200 frames. What else is there to say? The University of Iowa product is likely the most unfamiliar name on the list: drafted just last year, Langenberg barely played pro ball in 2023 and greeted 2024 with a disastrous five-inning, five-run outing. Undeterred, he smoked the competition in May, reaching five innings in all five of his starts with one lone clunker—a forgettable May 4th outing. Maybe he’s only hittable on the first start of the month. Yet again, the college-arm-turned-overwhelming-pro pipeline the Twins perfected appears to have given us another pitcher to consider. It’s getting difficult to keep track of these guys. 1. Zebby Matthews, AA Wichita - 1.21 ERA, 29 2/3 IP, 1.43 FIP, 33.3 K% Do you guys see all those “1’s?” This wasn’t even a battle; the only choices were for 2nd through 5th place. Matthews thoroughly crushed his competition in May, striking out batters while walking them at a hilarious 18-to-1 pace. That’s two walks and 36 whiffs. I mean, would it have been better just to stay in the dugout? Almost all of this came following a promotion, by the way. A promotion to a level known for hitting. Doesn’t matter. Matthews held steady in his run prevention while still punching out batters at the rate of an elite reliever. Oh, and he didn’t walk a batter until the 22nd. It’s abundantly clear now that Matthews is one of Minnesota’s finest pitching prospects, and he can now claim ownership of two Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month awards. View full article

So did Kala'i Rosario, but Wallner's team actually won, so. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge TRANSACTIONS C Jair Camargo transferred to Mighty Mussels from FCL Twins on Minor League rehab Saints Sentinel St. Paul 8, Rochester 1 Box Score Randy Dobnak: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 3 K HR: Matt Wallner (9) Multi-hit games: Tony Kemp (3-for-6, 2B, 2 R), Matt Wallner (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI), Yunior Severino (2-for-4, RBI, BB), Alex Isola (2-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI), Diego A. Castillo (2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB) The Saints smoked their opponents on Sunday. Hitters up and down the lineup enjoyed the day; nearly every player reached base at once, and six did so multiple times. Including a pair of hit by pitches, St. Paul touched 1st base safely 20 times during the game. That’ll score some runs. The biggest bat of all belonged to Matt Wallner, who blasted his 9th Saints homer just above the fence in left-center field before finishing his day with an RBI double that nearly knocked down the wall. Extra points go to Tony Kemp for netting his second three-hit game in the series against Rochester. Red Wings pitchers likely ushered him to the team bus with fanfare and delight. The offensive flurry accentuated a tremendous pitching effort by the Saints. Randy Dobnak enjoyed a sporadic relationship with the strike zone, walking more than he struck out, but only allowed one run during his time on the mound. Nick Wittgren, Ryan Jensen, and Kody Funderburk mowed down the Red Wings in his absence, needing just 41 combined pitches to work three scoreless frames. Former Twin Travis Blankenhorn doubled and walked in four plate appearances. Darren Baker, son of Dusty, walked twice and stole three bases. Yes, that’s the same son who J.T. Snow saved during the 2002 World Series. He is Washington’s 24th-ranked prospect. Royce Lewis singled and walked in five plate appearances. Sunday was the sixth game of his rehab assignment. He is expected to join Minnesota for their game on Tuesday. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Springfield 6 Box Score Andrew Morris: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: Kala’i Rosario (5) Multi-hit games: Jeferson Morales (2-for-3), Aaron Sabato (2-for-4, R), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, RBI), Kyler Fedko (2-for-2, 2B, RBI, 2 BB) The Wind Surge imploded late on Sunday. Andrew Morris dazzled in his second AA start. The righty out of Texas Tech fired off six innings of one-run ball, punching out three as he limited the Cardinals to three hits and two walks. He threw 80 pitches. A runner reached second only twice on his watch. Kala’i Rosario brought the thunder offensively, banging his fifth homer of the year on a no-doubt wait-is-that-kid-wearing-a-Brian-Urlacher-jersey shot in the 4th. He also hit his 14th double of the season earlier in the game. Wichita entered the 9th tied with Springfield before Miguel Rodriguez loaded the bases with no one out. After coaxing a pop out, Rodriguez fired him to Bryan Torres, who shot a sky-scraping fly ball into center that Kyler Fedko never got a good glimpse of. Both fielder and ball drifted back before the object rocketed back to earth, clanking off the wall and clearing the bases as Fedko scrambled to throw the ball back to the infield. Springfield scored once more in the inning for good measure. The game ended on a double play off the bat of Jake Rucker—the fourth turned by the Cardinals that day. Springfield starter Max Rajcic is the Cardinals’ 14th-best prospect, according to MLB pipeline. He allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Lake County 8 Box Score Miguelangel Boadas: 2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jose Salas (2-for-3, BB), Dillon Tatum (2-for-3, 2 2B, RBI) The Kernels never had a chance on Sunday. Errors and walks defined the match’s opening act; a Jay Harry error begat a double and a wild pitch, allowing a self-inflicted run to score before the team could even hit. Dillon Tatum knotted the score with his first double of the year, but Cedar Rapids soon melted down and put the game far out of reach. Miguelangel Boadas began the 3rd with a walk, a walk, a walk, a fielding error that scored two, a walk, and an RBI groundout before Brian Dinkelman pulled the plug on his starter, showing mercy to a hurler clearly out of whack. One more grounder scored a fifth run attributed to Boadas (only two were technically earned, even though it was Boadas himself who committed the run-scoring blunders. And that’s about it. The Kernels committed six total errors in a game whose high point was when Keoni Cavaco took the mound in the 9th and struck out a batter. Somehow, it was one of the better pitching displays by Cedar Rapids, outside of Ricardo Velez’s assumed dominance. Outfielder Jake Fox is Cleveland’s 18th-ranked prospect. He cracked an RBI double and walked in five trips to the plate. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Bradenton 1 Box Score Samuel Perez: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Payton Eeles (2-for-3, R, BB) The Mighty Mussels won a squeaker on Sunday. Starter Samuel Perez was dynamite. The lefty from Venezuela needed just 51 pitches to finish four frames of work, striking out five in the process while allowing just two baserunners. The start was nothing new, really; Perez’s career ERA sits at 2.39 through 244 1/3 innings in the Twins’ system. Sunday was only his fourth start, though. I think he’s earned a few more. Ben Ethridge, Aaron Holiday, and Jack Noble worked to deliver the pitching staff a combined 0 earned run performance. The bats were persistent but poorly-timed. A pair of early runs portended an ugly 1-for-12 showing with runners in scoring position. The lineup knocked around seven hits and took four walks, but the big blast never came; even those two aforementioned runs scored via a sacrifice fly and a groundout. Still, Payton Eeles reached base three times, and Brooks Lee cracked his first extra-base hit since joining the Mighty Mussels on his rehab assignment. Jair Camargo—also on a rehab assignment—singled and struck out twice as the designated hitter. Shalin Polanco, Pittsburgh’s 15th-ranked prospect, walked twice and stole two bases for the Marauders. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Matt Wallner PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 - Brooks Lee (Fort Myers) - 1-3, 2B, R, BB, K #9 - Luke Keaschall (Wichita) - 1-5, 2 K #11 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Twins) - 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K #12 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 2-4, HR, 2B, R, RBI, K #18 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-4, RBI, BB, K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS FCL Rays @ FCL Twins (9:00 AM) - TBD FCL Rays @ FCL Twins (Game Two) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Nationals (10:00 AM) - TBD View full article

I imagine getting Sands some mojo against a weaker part of Houston's lineup matters more than using Staumont just for the sake of it. Just my two cents, though.

Is it that hard to beat a Texas-based sports team? Image courtesy of © Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Pablo López: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (5), Carlos Santana (8) Top 3 WPA: Pablo López (.224), Willi Castro (.131), Carlos Correa (.097) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) “These aren’t the same Astros,” cried the ink of countless writers, unaware that their observations of a team that didn’t quell until Game Seven of the ALCS only fuels the terrible monster. For years, Houston has been a supernatural baseball force. Minute Maid Park curses all; playing in that park—under the superficial lights, drenched in a mildly stale aesthetic—feels akin to facing the final boss in a video game so unfair that most never even bother to play. Just ask Carlos Correa. The Astros should never be underestimated until the day they retire Jose Altuve’s number. But maybe the prognostications are finally correct. Houston entered Friday seven games under .500. Their starting rotation is a sad imitation of themselves. Justin Verlander is nearly as old as JFK was when he took the oath of office. The sheen of intimidation that had followed those orange jerseys no longer strikes as deeply—can the Twins take advantage of their weakened foe? For Pablo López, the game was a return to his greatest conquest; just six months ago, he climbed the same mound and fired off seven scoreless innings in the finest moment of Twins baseball since a random collection of misfits and weirdos made the ALCS 22 years ago. He was brilliant. The Astros had no answer. He nearly matched that outing on Friday, albeit with quieter fanfare and a little less dominance. The Pablo López of May 31st, 2024, commanded his stuff well enough—to a point that usually earns a hurler a win—in a start that reversed the fortune of those that came before. His ghastly ERA fell, and inklings of the ace we fell in love with last year showed through; he ended the start with a lone earned run allowed and six strikeouts. Perhaps most encouraging, he shed a middle-inning mess and appeared to grow in strength as the start went on; the Astros never seriously rallied after the 4th inning. Minnesota kicked off the scoring with a third-inning skirmish. Not quite an ambush, the Twins plated a pair when Willi Castro led off the frame with a triple, eventually scoring when Correa slashed a double to right center. Alex Kirilloff beckoned home another run with a sacrifice fly. Alex Bregman brought the game within a run the following frame with a cheeky homer—it’s always the short home runs that feel the most insolent—before the Twins shortly ensured the Astros shenanigans of old would not wreck their lead. Castro walked, Jose Miranda walked, and Trevor Larnach worked Houston’s starter, Ronel Blanco, for about a million pitches. Nothing he threw was good enough. Larnach spoiled more pitches than a crusty CFO. Finally, on the 9th offering of the at-bat, the lefty found a hittable pitch: a lethargic slider spinning mildly in the middle of the zone. The offering landed 401 feet away. 4-1 Twins. The rest of the game was ancillary to what came before; Minnesota plated more runs as their pitchers continued to cruise, but a serious threat to their authority never came; all Houston could do was wilt. Carlos Santana homered during the muck. The game continued to slither and melt as second-tier relievers, only trusted in unserious situations, racked up the out totals, finally pushing the game to its assumed conclusion when Cole Sands punched out Mauricio Dubón. Notes: Carlos Santana's 309th career homer ties him with Edgar Martínez for 146th all-time. Trevor Larnach's 25th career Twins homer ties him with Rich Becker, Robbie Grossman, and Denny Hocking for 84th place on the all-time Twins home run list. Pablo López's six strikeouts give him 309 in his Twins career, good for 59th place on Minnesota's all-time strikeout leaderboard. Willi Castro's fourth triple ties him for, ironically, fourth place in MLB for three-baggers hit. Jarren Duran leads with eight. Carlos Correa passed Curt Flood and Eduardo Escobar (for real) in career RBIs with his 637 run batted in. He stands at 789th all-time in MLB history. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Astros will play the second game of their series on Saturday, with Joe Ryan set to face off against Framber Valdez. First pitch is at 3:10. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

That's... exactly what I advocated for? Is it wrong to point out that he's been terrible in May but is otherwise a very talented pitcher? I feel like we're on the same page here.

Oh, and Luke Keaschall and Emmanuel Rodriguez went deep, but you probably already knew that. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge TRANSACTIONS RHP Jay Jackson clears waivers, likely to report to AAA St. Paul soon. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 3, Buffalo 8 Box Score Louie Varland: 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (8) Multi-hit games: Royce Lewis (2-for-5, 2B, R), DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI), Michael Helman (3-for-4) St. Paul’s pitching betrayed them on Sunday. It’s been a tough season for Louie Varland. He’s halved his MLB ERA with the Saints, but efficiency remains a critical Achilles heel; three of his last four starts have seen hit totals of at least seven. Buffalo banged out eight on Sunday. The big one came in the 3rd, when Addison Barger smoked a liner that just barely cleared the wall, giving him a three-run home that counts all the same. The blast overshadowed a homer hit the previous half-inning by DaShawn Keirsey Jr. Is it his time? Thoughts vary. At least, that’s what 80 comments tell me. His production cannot be denied, however, as the homer fueled a multi-hit outing that saw his 16th successful stolen base of the season. Respectful deke attempt there. Royce Lewis played his second straight rehab game for the Saints, collecting a pair of hits while satisfying the Twins front office with his plodding baserunning; no steals were attempted during the filming of this game. Nick Wittgren struck out a pair of batters in a scoreless inning. His ERA sits at 2.63 since joining the Twins organization. Buffalo shortstop Leo Jimenez is Toronto’s 5th-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He singled and walked in four plate appearances. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, San Antonio 1 Box Score Pierson Ohl: 6 ⅔ IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: Emmanuel Rodriguez (8) Multi-hit games: Emmanuel Rodriguez (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB), Jeferson Morales (2-for-4, R, RBI), Jorel Ortega (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) Pierson Ohl spearheaded a Wichita victory on Sunday. The start embodied the best Ohl has to offer as a pitcher: he earned four 1-2-3 innings, struck out five, and only allowed a run when he finally broke down in the 7th. He threw 85 pitches. The start lowered his season ERA to 3.51—the 4th lowest of any pitcher in the Texas League with at least 40 innings pitched. Somehow, Logan Evans has a 1.39 ERA in that godforsaken pitching environment. Oh, and only one pitcher in the league has pitched more innings (Gunnar Hogland; 48 ⅔ IP to 49 ⅔ IP. 2024 might be the best we’ve seen from Ohl in his professional career so far (and maybe he should be a top-20 prospect!) Speaking of unsurprising things, Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a lead-off homer. He torched a liner into right and nearly knocked down an entire row of stands with a bomb reminiscent of prime Robinson Canó’s low-lining screamers. He also singled and walked. Totally normal player doing totally normal stuff. Taylor Floyd and Jared Solomon combined to carry the game to a (relatively) unpainful conclusion. Solomon allowed a pair of runners, but that’s just par for the course for Wichita’s bullpen in 2024. Tanner Schobel played in the outfield for the first time in his professional career. Are the Twins preparing for a Luke Keaschall promotion? Missions’ catcher Brandon Valenzuela is San Diego’s 11th-best prospect. He went 0-4 with a strikeout. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 2 Box Score Jeremy Lee: 3 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K HR: Luke Keaschall (7), Nate Baez 2 (2, 3), Multi-hit games: Luke Keaschall (2-for-5, HR, R, RBI), Nate Baez (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI) The Kernels easily handled their opponents on Sunday. The Wind Surge weren’t the only team to start their game with a homer; Luke Keaschall obliterated the third pitch of the game, blasting his seventh homer of the season over the left-center wall. He’s hitting .335 on the season. Midwest League pitchers may soon petition the Twins to give him a promotion. It was his sixth leadoff home run of the season. Cedar Rapids continued the rally, turning a pair of singles into a second run thanks to a Misael Urbina sacrifice fly. South Alabama product Jeremy Lee—an alma mater brother with Luis Gonzalez, Lance Johnson, and Twins legend P.J. Walters—made his Kernels debut on Sunday. He breezed through his first two frames before finding trouble in the 3rd and 4th; that final frame proved to be his last, as Juan Mercedes entered the game following a two-out walk. The 13th-round pick lowered his minor league ERA to 2.03. Mercedes opened for what became a tremendous showing for the Cedar Rapids bullpen: four relievers combined for 5 ⅓ innings with one earned run, striking out five in the process. The work culminated in a dominant 9th by Gabriel Yanez, who dropped his season ERA to 1.29. Though Keaschall began the game with a homer, the offensive star proved to be Nate Baez, a 2022 12th-round pick from the same college as Keaschall. Baez blasted a pair of homers to claim his second career two-homer day. He only has eight career home runs! Apparently, he only hits them in bunches. (For those counting at home, that means that Kernels who went to Arizona State outscored the Chiefs on Sunday.) Peoria is the A+ affiliate for the St. Louis Cardinals, and their starter—Cooper Hjerpe—is a former 1st round pick and their 6th-best prospect. He went four innings and allowed two earned runs. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Daytona 4 (10 Innings) Box Score Charlee Soto: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Gregory Duran (3-for-5, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI) The Mighty Mussels outlasted the Tortugas on Sunday. Starter Charlee Soto was… dull, I suppose. He labored through two-plus innings—tossing 40 pitches in the process—before earning the hook with an opening-batter walk to start the 3rd. He also plunked a pair. Hopefully, Sunday is a critical lesson for the 18-year-old hurler; he’s too talented to continue to pitch so poorly. The truncated start begat a three-man effort to deliver Fort Myers to the end of the game. 2023’s 14th-round pick, Xander Hamilton, enjoyed the finest outing of them all; he struck out five over 2 ⅓ innings and held the Manfred Runner at bay in the 10th. Fort Myers turned in a strange offensive performance. You don’t often see a team score seven runs despite going 3-16 with runners in scoring position. The Mighty Mussels collected nine hits and seven walks, but the big, relaxing thank-god-someone-broke-the-curse knock didn’t occur until deep into the game. With two on, staring at two outs and two strikes, Gregory Duran smacked a triple to crack the game open. He later scored on a wild pitch. Three Mighty Mussels runs scored with a hit. DH Ricardo Cabrera serves as the 9th-best prospect in the Reds’ system. He singled and struck out in five 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 – Nate Baez PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB, K #7 - Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 2-5, 2B, RBI #9 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, HR, R, RBI, 2 K #10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 0-5, R, 3 K #12 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-4, 2 K #13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-2, BB, K #18 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-3, BB, 2 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Rochester (3:05 PM) - RHP Randy Dobnak St. Paul @ Rochester (Game Two) - TBD Wichita @ Springfield (7:05 PM) - TBD Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - TBD Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM) - TBD FCL Twins @ FCL Orioles (11:00 AM) - TBD View full article

Yeah, that phrasing sucked. Just changed it.

You know it's an uneventful game when two relievers were the most impactful players. Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Bailey Ober: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K Home Runs: Alex Kirilloff (4) Top 3 WPA: Jhoan Duran (.161), Griffin Jax (.120), Christian Vázquez (.113) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) On a day you could have—and probably should have—chosen to watch the Timberwolves, Minnesota honored Star Wars night by following the original trilogy’s ethos to a tee. No, the evil wasn’t their opponent; it was the spirit of Minnesota sports, cursed, lording, perpetually undercutting, and creeping behind the optimism that so often blesses other franchises. One may call it the force. Certainly, it pushes individuals to choke. Would either team break the curse on Friday? Bailey Ober didn’t make it easy for his team. An optimist would call his start “workmanlike;” a pessimist, inefficient. His rare poor command portended early trouble when a lead-off walk of Marcus Semien set up Corey Seager to blast a two-run homer to center. He was the second batter of the game. Perhaps it was better to wait for the Wolves. But, the Rangers didn’t command the same presence they did last year; their World Series hangover hasn’t been yack-in-the-toilet-immediately-after-waking-up bad, but they’ve been laying on the couch nursing a tall bottle of Gatorade for nearly two months now. Their rotation is a mess. Their bullpen—already a scourge, even in the best of times—is less trustworthy than Russia in the Cold War. They entered the series with a 24-27 record following a sweep in the city of Brotherly Love. José Ureña revealed this weakness with early mistakes. He navigated a 1st inning mess before faltering in the 2nd, allowing a run when Christian Vázquez smacked his first double of the year into right field. Edouard Julien then concluded the rally with an RBI groundout. That only tied the game, though. The lead-changing hit didn’t come until Alex Kirilloff caught a lethargic changeup in the zone and turned it into a souvenir. So began the typical push-pull common in most baseball games. It's not fair to say that nothing happened; rather, threats appeared and dissipated, occasionally considering altering the glacial task of scoring a run before ultimately falling by the wayside with nothing to show. Steven Okert needed five pitches to get through an inning. Caleb Thielbar, 12. Griffin Jax followed with an equally event-less 8th to allow Jhoan Duran to enter the 9th in a save situation. And he looked like the Duran of old. Mostly. His first fastball clocked in at 102. His second, the same. Travis Jankowski earned a four-pitch walk, but Semien chopped a grounder to 3rd to render the free pass completely irrelevant. Twins win. Every TV in the area simultaneously switched to the Wolves. Notes: Royce Lewis will fly to Buffalo and join the Saints for a rehab assignment starting Saturday. Jhoan Duran earned the 40th save of his MLB career. He is four saves away from passing Doug Corbett for 14th place on the All-Time Twins list. Bailey Ober's three walks allowed tied a single-game career-high. Alex Kirilloff's 26th career homer ties him with Vic Power, Scott Leius, Mickey Hatcher, and AJ Pierzynski for total home runs hit in a Twins uniform. Griffin Jax lowered his season ERA to 2.53. Post-Game Interviews: What’s Next? The Twins and Rangers will play the second game of their series on Saturday. Chris Paddack faces off against Michael Lorenzen. First pitch is at 1:10 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

In other news, the pope appears to be Catholic. Image courtesy of © MATT DAYHOFF/JOURNAL STAR / USA TODAY NETWORK TRANSACTIONS INF/OF Dalton Shuffield transferred to Cedar Rapids from AAA St. Paul. RHP Caleb Boushley recalled by Minnesota. INF Will Holland reinstated from 7-day IL (St. Paul). Saints Sentinel St. Paul 2, Omaha 11 Box Score Joe Gunkel: 3 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Saints were demolished on Sunday. The game ended before it could even begin: Omaha blitzed starter Joe Gunkel with an all-lineup attack in the opening frame, tagging him for six runs before St. Paul’s leadoff man could see his first pitch. Once he did, things didn’t improve. A six-run lead is hard to overcome, after all. And it’s even more difficult to surmount when it morphs into a nine-run lead. The Storm Chasers eased off Gunkel but nicked Josh Winder and dented Jordan Balazovic. They scored five more times against the two pitchers, with four runs coming against the poor Canadian. Ryan Jensen, Nick Wittgren, and Diego Castillo were ironically dominant following the melee. It’s all about timing. Lethargic is the best way to describe St. Paul’s offensive effort. Daniel Lynch diced them up over 6 ⅔ innings before a series of relievers with sky-scraping ERAs held them at bay to end the game. They could only score twice. Saints pitchers have totaled 438 strikeouts so far this year, the 3rd-most in the International League. Left fielder Tyler Gentry served as Omaha’s best prospect on Sunday. The left fielder doubled and struck out twice in five at-bats. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Tulsa 6 Box Score Pierson Ohl: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K HR: Emmanuel Rodriguez (6), Alerick Soularie (2) Multi-hit games: Andrew Cossetti (3-for-5, 2B), Alerick Soularie (2-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB) Wichita’s bullpen melted down on Sunday. Entering the 8th with a 5-3 lead, Scott Engler wobbled a little, threatening to blow the game, but he ultimately left with an advantage. Peter Solomon faced a different fate. He allowed a single before plunking a batter to place men on 1st and 2nd. A botched double play allowed the lead runner to score. Alex Freeland singled home the game-winning run. So it goes. Pierson Ohl was almost brilliant. Unfortunately, home runs exist. The righty walked one and allowed just three hits. Two of those knocks flew over the outfield wall, though, and they soiled what could have been an outstanding pitching line. Instead, Ohl had to settle for acceptable. Emmanuel Rodriguez homered and walked twice. Nothing else needs to be said about him. Alerick Soularie blasted what has to be the slicing-est homer a righty can hit. Just take a look at this: That was a double with maxed-out optimism. Tulsa played a pair of outstanding prospects on Sunday. Catcher Diego Cartaya—now ranked 8th in the Dodgers’ system—struck out three times in four at-bats, perhaps proving why he isn’t quite the prospect he once was. Dalton Rushing, ranked 52nd on Pipeline’s top 100, was hit by a pitch in a pinch-hit appearance. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Quad Cities 3 Box Score Darren Bowen: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Luke Keaschall (2-for-2, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB, HBP), Ricardo Olivar (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI), Rubel Cespedes (2-for-4, RBI) The Kernels rallied late to win on Sunday. Once again, Luke Keaschall stole the show. Minnesota’s 2nd round pick last year reached base in all four plate appearances, scored two runs, and knocked in another run with one of his singles. His OPS is up to .968. His OBP is .449. It appears the only thing keeping him out of Wichita is an already-full infield at the level. Ben Ross, Tanner Schobel, Jorel Ortega, and Jake Rucker also play 2nd; something will need to give before Keaschall can earn his promotion. The next players fueling Cedar Rapids’ offense on Sunday were just as easily predictable. Ricardo Olivar and Rubel Cespedes continued their decimation of the Midwest League with four combined hits, three RBIs, and a pair of runs scored by Olivar. The day pushed Cespedes’ RBI total to 36, tied with Xavier Isaac for the highest total in A+ ball. Darren Bowen pitched… fine. He only walked one for the second time on the season, but the River Bandits threatened constantly against him and pushed three runs across the plate on his watch. He struck out five. Cedar Rapids’ bullpen, though, was excellent. Gabriel Yanez lowered his ERA to 1.50 with a pair of scoreless innings, and Rafael Marcano and Kyle Bischoff added perfect frames of their own to neutralize Quad Cities’ offense. The River Bandits never scored again once Bowen exited. The win moved the Kernels’ record to 24-14, which puts them second in the Midwest League. Wisconsin leads them by 1.5 games. According to MLB Pipeline, Carter Jensen is the Royals’ 10th-best prospect. He homered and walked twice. Seems like a good ranking. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Lakeland 2 Box Score Ross Dunn: 2 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Isaac Pena (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI), Gregory Duran (2-for-4, 2 RBI) The Mighty Mussels bullied their opponents on Sunday. A breakthrough 6th proved to be the winning stroke. Fort Myers entered the frame with a slim 2-1 lead and left it a laugher, with six runs dropped on Lakeland’s unsuspecting arms. It was death by a thousand paper cuts: Brandon Winokur extended the lead with a single, Yohander Martinez continued the effort with an RBI walk, Isaac Pena summoned two more with a knock, and Gregory Duran capped the whole thing with a two-run grounder through the infield. Ross Dunn earned the start for the Mighty Mussels. He performed well, reaching the third inning with a lone earned run against him. Ben Ethridge was shockingly efficient in relief; the righty earned 10 outs on 36 pitches, good for a 3.6 pitch-per-out ratio. That’ll play. Payton Eeles and Rayne Doncon set the table immaculately; the two combined to reach base six times and scored four runs with eerily identical stat lines. Eeles’ OPS now sits at .912 through 42 at-bats with the Mighty Mussels. Max Clark, the 3rd overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, singled and scored a run in four at-bats. He is slashing .250/.359/.320 so far in 2024. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ben Ethridge Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Luke Keaschall PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 1-3, HR, R, RBI, 2 BB #10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 1-5, R, RBI, K #11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-0 #12 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-2, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB, HBP #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 0-3, BB, K #19 - Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Buffalo (5:05) - RHP Louie Varland San Antonio @ Wichita (7:05 PM) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM) - TBD Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35 PM) - TBD FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (11:00 AM) - TBD View full article

Jose Ramirez's home run off of Jhoan Duran in the eighth inning wins the game for Cleveland. Image courtesy of © David Richard-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 5 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Home Runs: Alex Kirilloff (3) Bottom 3 WPA: Jhoan Duran (-.237), Steven Okert (-.225), Ryan Jeffers (-.186) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) If you successfully navigated the mess of streaming services and various “+” outlets—perhaps communicating with a younger relative to successfully accrue a login—a pitcher’s duel served as your reward for finding the game. Considering the matchup, this was unusual; Simeon Woods Richardson exited Canada with a far higher ERA than he entered the country with, and Triston McKenzie has so far walked a small island nation to start 2024. Naturally, both men excelled. The opening play should have tipped us off: Edouard Julien smoked a liner to center just to watch Tyler Freeman take off with the grace of a sprinter and dive perfectly to snag the ball. Things settled, at least for a time. The sudden excitement did not portend absurdity. Rather, the game lulled itself into quiet, sporadic neutrality, only occasionally broken when a Twins baserunner evaporated through double play means. Such a play happened three times in three innings. So it goes. But one of those twin killers came following good news: Alex Kirilloff homered. The streak was over. The Dust Bowl fruitlessness carried through the Yankees series crumbled when the lefty caught up to a high fastball and deposited it over the right-center wall. A few odds and ends happened in the middle innings—Kirilloff was later picked off first; Cleveland caught Carlos Correa shifting too far, certainly the only game in which both occurrences have ever been observed—but the result never wavered. The match stayed at a 1-0 advantage while Woods Richardson stood on the mound. The issue? He was in the dugout in the 6th. Steven Okert entered, coaxed an out, then threw a slider that forgot to break into the dirt, allowing David Fry to greet the offering with a home run swing. 2-1 Guardians. No win for Woods Richardson. Commiserating wasn't on the menu for Minnesota, though. While those watching at home groaned and complained, the Twins worked up a skirmish in the 8th. Jose Miranda singled. The pinch-runner, Austin Martin, swiped 2nd. Rocco Baldelli's infamous Platoon Preference (TM) arrived when Kyle Farmer entered to face the lefty Tim Herrin. It worked. The veteran stroked a double into the gap to tie the game. Maybe it's no surprise that something so rare turned out to be so tragically short-lived. Baldelli invoking his human trump card meant nothing to José Ramírez. Jhoan Duran hung a curve just a touch too high, and the forever thorn in Minnesota's side struck once again. Home run. Cleveland leads. Ballgame. Notes: Byron Buxton, who has been on the injured list and played a couple of days on a rehab assignment in St. Paul on Wednesday and Thursday, is in Cleveland with the team. It is expected that he'll be activated and play on Saturday. The Twins and Guardians will play the second game of their series on Saturday. First pitch is at 5:10 PM. Bailey Ober faces off against Logan Allen. View full article

Good luck picking a hitter of the day. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Rayne Doncon) Be sure to vote now for the Twins Top 20 prospects. You can rank the prospects here. TRANSACTIONS 1B/OF Gregory Duran activated from 7-day IL (Fort Myers) Saints Sentinel St. Paul 5, Toledo 4 Box Score Joe Gunkel: 3 ⅓ IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Michael Helman (2-for-5, 2B), Tony Kemp (2-for-4, 2B, R), Patrick Winkel (2-for-4, 2 RBI) A four-run 6th inning spearheaded a Saints victory on Sunday. In an introduction to how the rest of the system played on Mother’s Day, the Saints found a way to win despite not hitting a homer. No one did. In the entire system. Three of the four teams still walked away victorious. The rub? A well-balanced offense: St. Paul banged out nine hits, took six walks, and scratched and clawed their way towards five runs, just enough to take home the win. Most of the action came in the 6th, immediately after Toledo starter Ty Madden exited the game. Facing Wilmer Flores (no, the other Wilmer Flores), Matt Wallner walked, Alex Isola doubled, Yunior Severino singled, Tony Kemp doubled, and Patrick Winkel singled in succession, plating four runs with such a systematic perfection that Henry Ford would be proud. The pitching effort was a different story. Joe Gunkel could only reach the fourth, necessitating an entourage of short-term hurlers to follow. Ironically, the worst performance went to the pitcher credited with the “W”: Josh Winder allowed a pair of runs and walked three, but because of an outstanding sense of timing, he laid claim as the man on the mound during St. Paul’s offensive breakthrough. Hobie Harris took home the hard-earned save with a trio of splitters, all of them good enough to fool Parker Meadows to nail the 27th out. Former Twin Gio Urshela singled thrice for the Mud Hens. On Sunday, the aforementioned Madden was Detroit’s finest prospect. He struck out seven over five innings, allowing just one earned run. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 11, Arkansas 1 Box Score Jarret Whorff: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Aaron Sabato (2-for-5, 2 2B, R, RBI), Jake Rucker (2-for-4, R, 3 RBI), Jorel Ortega (2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI) The Wind Surge bludgeoned their opponents on Sunday. It was an all-around onslaught: each batter reached base at least once, everyone scored a run, and only two players went home without a higher RBI count than they entered with. Somehow, no one homered. Runs came organically and ethically. Alerick Soularie stole home. A special shoutout goes to Aaron Sabato, who doubled twice to move his season batting average to .350. He also struck out three times. You take the good with the bad. The impressive scoring should not overshadow a tremendous group pitching effort by the Wind Surge bullpen. Everyone pitched. I think Jon Rauch even snuck out there. Five relievers combined to work six innings, allowing just one hit and a lone walk along the way (thanks, Jared Solomon). John Stankiewicz lowered his season ERA to 1.46. The Travelers sent one of baseball's best catching prospects out to play on Sunday. Seattle’s Harry Ford ranks as the 34th-best overall prospect across the minors. He singled twice and struck out. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Iowa 2 (10 Innings) Box Score Christian MacLeod: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Ricardo Olivar (2-for-4, 3B, R, 2 RBI, BB) The Kernels won using Manfred ball on Sunday. Lefty Christian MacLeod started for the first time in nearly a month, tossing 30 pitches, earning 15 strikes, and leaving after just two frames. He looked rusty. Rusty is better than injured, though, and MacLeod should pitch better in the coming weeks. MacLeod gave way to a bevy of relievers, none of whom allowed an earned run for the next eight innings. Jordan Carr ate up 3 ⅔ innings. Jacob Wosinski tossed in four outs. Ricardo Velez topped them all; he pitched three perfect frames with four strikeouts and an unearned run, giving him an unusual 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER line. So it goes with the Manfred runner. Fortunately, the Kernels built up a big enough lead to make that one run insignificant. Give thanks to Ricardo Olivar: unsatisfied with a walk and a hit already under his belt, the catcher blasted a critical two-run triple to the right field to give Cedar Rapids a two-run advantage. He later scored on an error. Iowa’s DH Jefferson Rojas is the Cubs’ 8th-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He went 0-5 at the plate. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Dunedin 4 Box Score Cesar Lares: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 11 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Rayne Doncon (3-for-4, BB), Poncho Ruiz (2-for-2, 2B, RBI, BB) A three-run opening frame buried Fort Myers on Sunday. There’s no recovering from damage already done, but Cesar Lares got as close as one can to rectifying his mistakes. A disastrous 1st inning did not portend a terrible outing; rather, the 20-year-old lefty hunkered down and crushed Dunedin’s lineup with an 11K outing, turning heads and swings with a dastardly slider. He earned 16 swings and misses. Somehow, he found the time to pick off two runners as well. It was not quite enough, though, as—despite acquiring more hits than their opponents—the Mighty Mussels couldn’t time their knocks well enough, leading to just three runs, all coming in the 7th. The batter of the game nod could go to either Rayne Doncon or Poncho Ruiz: Doncon reached base four times, but Ruiz added a double to his ledger. Gregory Duran singled and scored a run in his first game since April 30th. Toronto’s 20th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Arjun Nimmala, homered and singled in four trips to the plate. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Cesar Lares 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: #7 - Austin Martin (Minnesota) - 0-2 #11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-4, R, RBI #12 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, RBI, BB #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 0-4, R, RBI, BB #15 - Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5 #16 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-4, 2 RBI, 3 K #19 - Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 3B, R, 2 RBI, BB, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (11:07 AM) - TBD Wichita @ Tulsa (7:00 PM) - RHP Pierson Ohl Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - TBD Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM) - TBD FCL Twins @ FCL Rays (11:00 AM) - TBD View full article