Matt Braun

You don’t see many one-for-one reliever swaps, but this is one that looks solid for both sides. Image courtesy of Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports Minnesota kicked off their 2023 trade deadline on Wednesday, dealing Jorge López to the Marlins while getting Dylan Floro in return. Let’s talk about it. For the Twins, it was untenable to keep López in Minnesota; he allowed a run in his second career outing with the Twins, and it only got worse from there. Like a flicked switch, López went from dominating All-Star to a messy coin flip, with Rocco Baldelli never quite knowing what to expect whenever he called for the righty. A poor 2022 begat a disastrous 2023—one that has seen his ERA and FIP skyrocket to absurd levels. All the stuff in the world didn’t matter as batters pounded López’s offerings, hitting seven homers over just 35 ⅓ innings. There was more than just athletics, though. López was placed on the recently-created mental health IL, as he revealed that he was not right mentally, perhaps in part because of health problems ailing his son, perhaps because of his sudden fall-off in performance. The mound can be the loneliest place in the world, as the camera’s spotlight captures failure and success alike, leading to painful agony as the numbers balloon and the outs never come easy. Any man’s fortitude would be tested when such pressures are magnified by personal sorrow; we root for López to find the things in life that can better bring him joy. Hopefully, that joy is in Miami. (It feels weird to continue analyzing the deal after writing such a thing, but analyze we must, so.) In return, the Twins received the 32-year-old Dylan Floro. Floro—a champion with the 2020 Dodgers, perhaps most well-known as Kenley Jansen’s set-up man for a bit—is better than your typical throw-in. His ERA disagrees with him in 2023, but his peripherals rave about him; Floro is striking out batters at the highest rate of his career, and he’s acquiring groundballs at a 55.1% rate. The result is… a 4.54 ERA. That’ll happen when your BABIP is nearly touching .400. But his FIP is an elite 2.74. It's unlikely that he's a true-talent 2.74 FIP pitcher these days, as he has a a bit too much loud contact in his profile; still, somewhere in the mid 3s would represent enough reliability to fulfill an effective role in the second-tier of Minnesota's bullpen. With a boilerplate sinker/four-seam/slider/changeup repertoire, Floro likes to bully batters with a lively sinker before finishing them off with a well-placed slider. The occasional lefty will see a four-seamer. He’ll likely slot in behind Griffin Jax on the bullpen hierarchy, likely seeing time in the seventh or earlier before Brock Stewart’s return, bumping him to a more flexible, roving middle-relief guy. And, honestly, a solid middle reliever is a pretty good get for the Twins. It was clear that López was in dire need of a change of scenery, leaving the team without much leverage in negotiations. To get a potentially, historically reliable arm for a player they couldn’t do much with is a win; the onus is now on Miami to work with López and get him to the place he needs to be. It's interesting as well that the Twins were willing to admit a mistake: rather than double-down and continue playing a player obviously not as good as the one they expected, the team dealt López not even a year after acquiring him. This is no promise that a player like Joey Gallo will follow suit, but if I'm him, I'm less certain about my spot on the team going forward. Floro is only a rental, being a free agent at year’s end, while López is under team control for another year. There remains a chance that López figures it out in Miami, but that shouldn’t cause Twins fans to lose sleep: he probably wasn’t going to do that here. This is an atypical deal, involving no prospects, only two relievers with unattractive ERAs; the Twins probably did about as well as they could do, but this isn’t the impact deal that will define the team, and there’s a real chance this acquisition is washed over by the sands of time, with only immaculate grid weirdos remembering each player and whom they played for. View full article

Max Kepler is slashing .341/.378/.585 since the break. Seems good.

Perhaps the player we’re looking for isn’t stuck on the doldrums of MLB’s worst teams. Image courtesy of Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports We, the good, dutiful Twins fans, have poked high and low over the past few weeks, interrogating each poor team’s roster for potential improvement. These players may be wasted with their current franchise, after all; might a move to the dynastic Twins better both side’s fortunes? Indeed, there are quality players available on such teams, but Minnesota may want to look at the Baltimore Orioles and their first baseman, Ryan Mountcastle. The Orioles strategically moved their left-field fence back 26.5 feet and raised the wall nearly six feet before the 2022 season. The result is aesthetic garbage, soiling one of MLB’s classic ballparks with jagged, empty nothingness, but it also bore great success, as the team took off in their first season with the new dimensions. They stacked their lineup with lefty power bats and righty contact hitters immune to left-field’s new poison; Mountcastle was left sobbing in the rain. As Jay Jaffe wrote in his recent replacement-level killers piece, when the Orioles first brought their Great Wall of Baltimore into existence last season, “perhaps no hitter bore the brunt [of left field’s dimensions] more than righty-swinging Ryan Mountcastle, whose 86-point gap between his slugging percentage and .509 xSLG was the majors’ largest, limiting him to a 106 wRC+.” xSLG is one of Baseball Savant's many New Deal program-sounding stats. It determines the expected slugging percent of any given batted ball based on exit velocity and launch angle, regardless of outcome. Things aren’t any better in 2023, as Mountcastle continues to lag behind his batted-ball data. He’s actually added a few points of xSLG, sitting at .519, good for 27th-best amongst qualified hitters. He’s tied with Bo Bichette. Indeed, being a righty power bat in Baltimore is like being cursed to push a boulder up a hill for eternity. Camden Yards is the fourth-toughest ballpark on righty homers—and the fourth-best at suppressing righty offense in general. Target Field isn’t an outlier in either metric, but its simple virtue of lacking a vast chasm where fans should be sitting could right Mountcastle’s problems. The whole situation smells a lot like the issue the Rays had with Willy Adames. Adames was a quality player—a slick shortstop capable of punishing a baseball like a corner outfielder—but he couldn’t see the ball for squat at Tropicana Field, a small problem given that Tampa Bay played 81 games a season there. They bit the bullet. The Rays found a partner with the Milwaukee Brewers, plucked a few talented arms from their system, and both sides have enjoyed a mutual tide-rising, with Adames playing his excellent fully-realized game and Drew Rasmussen tossing nearly 250 innings with a 2.70 ERA. Admittedly, the deal would make Minnesota’s lineup somewhat complex. Mountcastle is only a first baseman, and Alex Kirilloff—one of the few consistent potent bats in Minnesota’s lineup—calls that position home. With Byron Buxton evidently tied in a 30-year mortgage at DH, Kirilloff would need to move to the outfield, necessitating shuffling in the form of a Joey Gallo DFA (technically likely, maybe tough given the FO’s attachment to their moves) or a Max Kepler trade (not in a million years). In any case, Mountcastle is an asset the Orioles can’t use, a weapon they can’t fire. They know this. If the price is right, it might be beneficial for the Twins to save the power bat from his home ballpark, enjoying the fruits of an offense unable to grow in Baltimore’s harsh environment. View full article

Yet again, having Jhoan Duran to melt faces proves to be unimaginably valuable.

Even the former major-leaguers couldn't help the Saints win, though. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints TRANSACTIONS OF Alec Sayre activated from 7-day IL (A-Fort Myers) SS Dalton Shuffield sent to a rehab assignment (FCL Twins) Saints Sentinel St. Paul 5, Omaha 8 Box Score Dallas Keuchel: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K HR: Jorge Polanco (1), Andrew Stevenson (11), Jair Camargo (14) Multi-hit games: Andrew Stevenson (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI), Jorge Polanco (2-for-3, HR, R, RBI), Mark Contreras (2-for-3, 2B, RBI) The Saints imploded late, allowing four runs in back-to-back frames to lose on Saturday. Dallas Keuchel shocked many earlier in the week, forgoing his opt-out to stay with St. Paul for the near future. His attachment was a reward for both sides; Keuchel continued to suppress runs, tossing six scoreless innings with just two hits allowed on 73 pitches. Jorge Polanco—rehabbing, perhaps soon to move to third base—smoked a solo shot to center to start the scoring. He wasn’t the only Saint homering to center; Andrew Stevenson blasted a two-run shot to give St. Paul a healthy 4-0 lead. It appeared the Saints were well on their way to a breezy victory, but fortune changed immediately when Keuchel left the game. Blayne Enlow imploded; the righty allowed seven earned runs over 1 1/3 innings, mixing in a pair of pickoff throwing errors to completely alter the shape of the game, turning it from an in-hand win for St. Paul to a sudden, heartbreaking deficit. Jair Camargo blasted a solo homer in the ninth, but that was all for the offense, and the Saints could only watch their once hard-earned lead dissipate into nothingness. Kansas City’s 3rd-ranked prospect, Nick Loftin, singled and struck out in four at-bats. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 2, Amarillo 8 Box Score Travis Adams: 5 2/3 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K HR: Alex Isola (12) Multi-hit games: None The Wind Surge scored twice in the first, and failed to do anything with it, eventually losing big to the Sod Poodles on Saturday. Let’s start with the good news: Alex Isola homered on his birthday. The fresh 25-year-old blasted a two-run shot in his first at-bat, giving the Wind Surge an early advantage. Unfortunately, the rest of the game only delivered bad news. Starter Travis Adams coughed up two runs of his own in the first—he gave up three over the course of his start—and Amarillo really stepped on the gas when Wichita’s bullpen entered the game. Each reliever allowed at least one run, leading to five extra runs, and a dominating, suffocating win for the Sod Poodles. Yoyner Fajardo swiped his 27th base of the season. The fifth-best prospect in MLB, Jordan Lawler, doubled twice and walked in an impressive showing out of the two-hole. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 2 Box Score Kyle Jones: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Kernels scored early, late to win their game on Saturday. It started quickly; Noah Miller walked and Ben Ross was hit by a pitch, placing the first two men of Cedar Rapids’ lineup on base to start the game. A passed ball moved both runners up. Kala’i Rosario wasn’t fancy—he didn’t need to be—and a simple well-placed groundout plated the first run of the game. Kyle Jones appreciated the support. The sinking groundball specialist gobbled up six efficient innings, only needing 62 pitches (with 48 strikes) to carry his team deep into the ballgame. He punched out two. The eighth saw a similar situation as the first, with Rosario, again, stepping up to the plate with runners in scoring position. The infield was in, but a second well-placed groundball caused the second baseman to hesitate slightly, allowing the speedster Mikey Perez to scamper home on Rosario’s second RBI of the night. The lead held, and Miguel Rodriguez was the reliever who slammed the door in the ninth. The usually stacked Cardinals minor league system lacked a true dominant prospect playing in Saturday’s game, but the wonderfully named Jimmy Crooks—13th in the system—caught and went hitless in four at-bats. Mussel Matters Ft. Myers 3, Bradenton 2 Box Score Andrew Morris: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K HR: Carson McCusker (7) Multi-hit games: Carson McCusker (2-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI), Dylan Neuse (2-for-4, 2B) The Mighty Mussels won their game on Saturday… eventually. Andrew Morris was masterful. Minnesota’s fourth-round pick in 2022 set a professional career-high in strikeouts, punching out eight batters over six frames of work. He allowed one earned run. There was an early stumble—Bradenton knocked him for two runs in the first two innings—but Morris locked in, allowing one lonely hit in his last four innings of work. It was a well-deserved win that he did not get. The Mighty Mussels and Marauders settled into an extended Cold War, wiping out nearly the entire game with stranded runners and batters walking back to the dugout; no team scored between second and ninth innings. But Fort Myers broke through eventually, plating two off a clutch two-out Carson McCusker homer. The rain came, forcing the bottom of the ninth to wait a little, but Gabriel Yanez was unfazed, tossing a clean inning to end the game—perhaps some time later than they hoped. Ricardo Olivar did not take an at-bat on Saturday, walking all four times he stepped up to the plate. 2nd baseman Termarr Johnson served as Bradenton’s finest prospect; the 26th-best prospect in MLB went hitless in four trips to the plate. Complex Chronicles FCL Twins 2, FCL Red Sox 4 Box Score John Klein: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K HR: Endy Rodriguez (2) Multi-hit games: Dalton Shuffield (2-for-4) The FCL Twins fell to the FCL Red Sox on Saturday. Rehabbing minor leaguer, Dalton Shuffield, collected a pair of hits out of the leadoff spot, also stealing a base for good effect. The rest of the offense mostly didn’t show up, though; Endy Rodriguez had the only extra-base hit with a fifth inning solo shot. They did find other ways to score, as Andres Centeno and Bryan Acuna executed a double steal, allowing Centeno to swipe home for the second run of the game. It was the FCL Twins’ final score. John Klein wasn’t great on the mound, but reliever Miguel Olivares was; he struck out two in a scoreless frame. Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 0, DSL NYY Yankees 3 Box Score Juan Cota: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The DSL Twins lost quietly on Saturday. The bats were silent; Hendry Chivilli was the sole extra-base hit earner, and he was promptly left stranded on second—along with every other DSL Twins hitter that reached base. Juan Cota was solid on the mound, tossing four frames with no earned runs and six punchouts. Defense proved to be the Achilles Heel, as they committed four errors, leading to two unearned runs scoring. Somehow, neither team got a hit with runners in scoring position. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dallas Keuchel Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Andrew Stevenson PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-4, K #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-4, K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-0 #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-4, K #11 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 0-3, K #15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, W #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 0-3, R, K #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-3 SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (5:05 PM) - RHP Randy Dobnak Wichita @ Amarillo (6:05 PM) - LHP Aaron Rozek Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) - LHP Christian MacLeod Fort Myers @ Bradenton (11:00 AM) - RHP Ben Ethridge View full article

Strikeouts still look good and the walks, save for the Oakland outing, are normal as well. It just looks like a homer phase which (normally) is pretty random. I’m at about a 2 or 3 out of 10 for worried-ness.

I suppose there's nothing uncommon about Lance Lynn giving up a lot of runs at Target Field. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Joe Ryan: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 10 K Home Runs: Alex Kirilloff (8), Byron Buxton (16, 17), Ryan Jeffers (5) Top 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (.209), Alex Kirilloff (.202), Edouard Julien (.045) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The first pitch couldn’t have gone any worse, as Andrew Benintendi blasted a fastball out to right field, making his second homer of the year a rare lead-off shot. Joe Ryan recovered, but the Twins would now need to respond in a timely manner. They did. Carlos Correa didn’t join the fun—he simply lined out sharply to center field—but Edouard Julien did, crushing a line drive deep to left field. Benintendi played the ball well, collecting the bounce and unleashing a throw to second base that should have nailed a lethargic Julien. Elvis Andrus muffed it. Oh well, surely the base-runner wouldn’t matter soon. Alex Kirilloff homered two pitches later. One of Lance Lynn’s cutters didn’t cut, and all Kirilloff had to do was lift the offering a little, earning his eighth homer of the season. Byron Buxton homered eight pitches later. Max Kepler reached on an infield hit—perhaps botched a little again by Andrus—and Matt Wallner walked on five pitches. Despite being 0-July (not really, but emotionally, perhaps), Buxton lasered a first-pitch fastball at 114.3 MPH, giving the Twins a sudden 5-1 advantage. The game calmed down, entering the usual see-saw to nowhere that many baseball games see for a few innings. Until Buxton, again, somehow, hit his second homer of the night, breaking free from the arctic grasp the baseball gods had on him; this time with a bomb less prodigious, but still effective. Ryan Jeffers joined him quickly. The runs were needed, because Ryan wasn’t as sharp as usual. The strikeouts were there—he whiffed 10 and elicited 17 swings and misses—but Chicago found a way to hit him hard; Yasmani Grandal’s two-run shot in the sixth inning was especially brutal. What should have felt like an untouchable lead was now well within reach. Lynn was battered, ineffective, and tiring, but he remained in the game, tasked with keeping the lead at three. He should have, having earned a flyout from Correa that should have ended the frame, but right fielder Zach Remillard booted the ball, giving Minnesota extra life. Oh well, surely the base-runner wouldn’t matter soon. Julien worked his second walk of the night before Kirilloff plastered Lynn’s final offering of the night: a fastball turned two-run double pelted off the right-center wall. And that was it. Emilio Pagán shut down the White Sox in the seventh and Jovani Moran carried the pitching effort to the finish line, tossing a pair of scoreless innings to end the game 9-4 in favor of the Twins. Notes: Byron Buxton's multi-homer game was his first since June 22nd against the Red Sox. Joe Ryan's 10 strikeouts tied a season-high; he's punched out 10 in a game five times in 2023. Alex Kirilloff has four homers since the All-Star break ended; he had four homers before the break. Edouard Julien extended his hit streak to nine games. Post-Game Interviews: What’s Next? The Twins and White Sox will play the second game of their weekend series on Saturday, with first pitch at 6:15. All-Star Sonny Gray and somehow-not-an-All-Star-in-2022 Dylan Cease will face-off on the mound. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

On Andrade: "...though scouts now think he’s filled out to the point where he’ll be limited to second and third base on defense," quoted from Eric Longenhagen's prospect writeup. Also Minnesota's habit of handing him playing time at third, even if that slowed in 2023. Miller was just two spots ahead, and it doesn't matter anyways; tier matters more to me than specific rankings, meaning he could be as high as six in my rankings. I realize now I failed to make that clear in this article. On Rosario: It's relative for each player. Rodriguez can strike out that much because he walks more and has tapped into his power more consistently than Rosario, even if that's evened out more this season. Plus Rodriguez brings more to the table on the defensive end.

I have no earthly clue how a batter is supposed to hit off Jhoan Duran

Maybe. I can't get over the strikeouts even if they are a career-low for him. Rest assured he will rise if he continues to hit, though.

Thank you! The substitutions missed my mind, evidently

Whoops, good catch

I just don't see the Twins as being unique in pitcher health. Prielipp was a risk they knew about, sure, but other than Canterino, this is (knock furiously on wood) as stable a group of arms you could probably ask for. Henriquez is the only other non-Prielipp or Canterino arm to hit the IL this year, I believe.

Williams was a straight miss; should have had him in the back-end somewhere. Winokur is great, but I always feel uncomfortable ranking recently-drafted guys anywhere. I'll make an exception for the first two rounds, but anyone after that probably won't sniff any immediate list from me. Just a personal thing, and Winokur will absolutely hit the list once he plays well. Nowlin I just don't believe will ever throw enough strikes to be relevant, but I could be wrong. Probably should have had him somewhere on the back-end.

Have you guys heard that a win is a win? Image courtesy of © D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Joe Ryan: 5 ⅓ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K Home Runs: Christian Vázquez (2), Alex Kirilloff (5) Top 3 WPA: Alex Kirilloff (.453), Emilio Pagán (.204), Christian Vázquez (.185) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins—disappointing; lethargic—entered Sunday, the victors of the two first games of the second half. Oakland hadn't made it easy. The California tankers fought with vigor to win, challenging Minnesota in almost every inning the two teams played. Would the Twins earn a sweep to start the second half, or would the A's be too feisty to handle? It was a homecoming of sorts for Joe Ryan. The Northern California native took the mound with plenty of supporters in the stands, rooting on the sterling pitcher in his breakout season. He was stellar early, working a six-pitch 1st to send the team on its way. JP Sears is no slouch, however. Assuming Oakland's team lacks talent would be foolish; the 27-year-old lefty stood as Ryan's opponent on Saturday and was on his game. Until Mark Kotsay took the ball from Sears' hand, the former Yankees farmhand was sharp, efficient. He diced through lefties and righties all the same, offering rising heaters, dying changeups, and sweepers that seemed to move from the Pacific to the Atlantic, all leading to 6 ⅓ quality innings with seven strikeouts. But he wasn't perfect. Christian Vázquez startled his shutout effort in the 5th, hammering one of those fastballs out to right-center to give the Twins their first run. They only needed one more out to score again. Alex Kirilloff also caught a fastball—this one trickier, placed precisely on the outside corner—but powered it enough to reach the top of the wall, cutting Minnesota's deficit to one. About that deficit: Ryan wasn't himself. A sluggish splitter to Jordan Diaz cost him some ERA points in the 2nd, but the primary damage came in the fourth when Oakland shot the ball around the yard to plate two. You could tell Ryan's story in more than earned runs, though: he walked three batters for the first time since May 30th. It seemed, then, that the Twins would have trouble winning this game. With yet another lackluster start from their stud starting rotation and with the bats again flailing with wild abandon, Minnesota needed drastic action to take the lead. They got it. Sears exited the game to a hero's appreciation, turning the ball over to Oakland's dreadful bullpen. A walk and an infield hit loaded the bases, sending Kirilloff to the plate. He delivered. A shot a ball down the left field line, allowing all three runners to come home safely as he trotted into third. Minnesota failed to plate another run, but their lead was enough now. What would they need an extra gluttonous run for? 5-3 soon became 5-4. Jorge López smoothly ended the sixth with a first-pitch double-play lineout, but the seventh wasn't as kind. He walked a man, eventually giving him 2nd off a wild pitch. Then Zack Gelof plopped a ball between a galloping Kepler and a flailing Kirilloff, chopping off the all-important luxury run with one fortunate swing. And so entered Jhoan Duran. He pitched on Friday and Saturday, but Rocco Baldelli decided to call upon his reliable workhorse for a third straight game. He had yet to do such a thing in his MLB career. He coaxed a grounder to start the inning, but Shea Langeliers smoked a double high off the right-center field wall. Jace Peterson flew out. Laboring, Duran fired without his usual control, and Tony Kemp lined one of his hanging splitters... directly into Willi Castro's glove to end the game. Notes: Alex Kirilloff's 4 RBIs tied a single-game career-high; his previous 4 RBI outing was on April 30th, 2021 against the Royals. Joe Ryan's seven strikeouts pushed his season total to 131, good for 8th in MLB. He is 21 strikeouts away from setting a single-season career-high. Carlos Correa extended his on-base streak to 13 games. Christian Vázquez reached base three times for the first time since June 1st. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins will extend their west coast trip, heading up I-5 to play the Mariners in Seattle. Sonny Gray will retake the mound he pitched on in the All-Star game; Logan Gilbert will pitch opposite of him and first pitch is at 8:40 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

It seems like something is going on in Cedar Rapids. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (image is of Simeon Woods Richardson) TRANSACTIONS INF Yohander Martinez reinstated from 7-day IL at Fort Myers OF Luis Baez transferred from 7-day IL to 60-day IL at Fort Myers OF Matt Wallner recalled by Twins RHP Pierson Ohl reinstated from development list RHP Jose Bravo reinstated from development list and released RHP Jordan Brink released OF Armani Smith released Saints Sentinel St. Paul 4, Durham 2 Box Score Brent Headrick: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K HR: Anthony Prato (6), Jair Camargo Multi-hit games: Jair Camargo (2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, RBI) The Saints scored late to win on Saturday. They did it again. After the wild success that was last Saturday’s Brent Headrick/Simeon Woods Richardson’s piggyback, the Saints tried the strategy again. Headrick crushed his start, tossing a trio of scoreless innings, while Woods Richardson flourished as well, allowing a lone earned run over five frames. Kody Funderburk slammed the door with a quiet 9th. The bats aided the outstanding pitching effort. Anthony Prato and Jair Camargo both hammered late homers, earning and extending the precious lead. 0Prato now has a 1.064 OPS since joining the Saints. No hitter batting 1-4 got a hit on Saturday; only once did they reach base. Durham’s finest prospect is INF Curtis Mead. The Australian—third in the system; 32nd in MLB—doubled and singled in three at-bats. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 2, Springfield 10 Box Score Pierson Ohl: 4 ⅓ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K HR: Brooks Lee (8) Multi-hit games: None The Wind Surge got smoked on Saturday. Pierson Ohl was not himself. The righty, so adept at throwing strikes, never found his command; he walked three with a smattering of base hits to allow three runs on his watch. Given that he was only reinstated from the Development List today, he may have just been rusty. Hopefully his typical strike-throwing self appears soon. Brooks Lee gave Wichita their first run when he smoked a solo shot in the 4th inning. But they could only score once more against the Cardinals. Ace pitching prospect, Tink Hence, allowed both runs in an atypically mediocre outing, but Springfield’s bullpen was nails, and the Wind Surge never even got a hit after Hence exited the game. Wichita’s pitchers found no such fortune. Taylor Floyd and Hunter McMahon allowed seven combined runs in support of their starter. The team never recovered. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 9, Beloit 7 Box Score Kyle Jones: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K HR: Kyler Fedko (3) Multi-hit games: Andrew Cossetti (3-for-3, R, RBI, BB) An explosive 1st inning carried the Kernels to victory on Saturday. It took until the seventh batter for Beloit starter Zach King to earn his first out; even that ended up as a run-scoring sacrifice fly. Cedar Rapids went double, hit by pitch, single, single, walk, single, before earning their fifth and final score of the inning when Andrew Cossetti flew a ball deep enough to coax in a run. The Kernels all-around offense continued throughout the game—and the team ended up walking more than they struck out (nine to eight) with every hitter reaching base at least once. Pitching wasn’t as smooth. Kyle Jones was cromulent over five innings, allowing a trio of earned runs, but a few late runs pushed the game within striking distance; fortunately, the Sky Carp never found the critical game-tying knot. Miguel Rodriguez stared down his last man and caught him looking, stranding a runner at third to conclude the game. The Kernels improved their season record to 51-32. Beloit’s star prospect—the second-in-the-system third baseman, Jacob Berry—doubled and struck out three times in five trips to the plate. Mussel Matters Ft. Myers 7, Clearwater 8 (10 Innings) Box Score Jarret Whorff: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: Danny De Andrade (7), Mikey Perez (5) Multi-hit games: Ricardo Olivar (3-for-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB) The Mighty Mussels blew a late lead, turning a three-run advantage with one in the 9th into an extra-innings loss. Jarret Whorff was who he needed to be. The 24-year-old righty worked five scoreless frames, holding the second-scariest offense in the Florida State League to just a pair of singles, scattered and harmless. He unfortunately exited before his bats could give him the support he deserved. But they did come through eventually. Clearwater took a slim lead before Fort Myers roared back, plating four with a Danny De Andrade two-run shot exclaiming the scoring with authority. The lead held strong, guiding the Mighty Mussels into the 9th confident in their work. Gabriel Yanez acquired the first out before Jackson Hicks entered the game. He fell apart. A pair of singles and a three-run homer instantly zapped away the lead. The game entered extra innings. Zach Veen suffered just as well. The new pitcher allowed a back-breaking bases-clearing triple, eventually exiting with four runs standing between Fort Myers and the game continuing. They nearly did it. Mikey Perez blasted home himself and the Manfred Man. A productive groundout brought the game within one, but that was as close as the team could get, and Rubel Cespedes’ full-count strikeout delivered the game its final, disappointing verdict. Outfielder Justin Crawford, Philadelphia’s 3rd-best prospect, and the best prospect playing for the Threshers, singled in five plate appearances. Complex Chronicles The FCL Twins game was halted in the fifth; they will continue their match against the FCL Red Sox on the 21st. Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 2, DSL Guardians Red 6 Box Score Juan Cota: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jayson Bass (2-for-3), Juan Zapata (2-for-3, 3B, RBI) The DSL Twins lost handily on Saturday. It took until the 5th for either team to score—and the game still ended up a seemingly normal affair. Starter Juan Cota has his stuff, leading to three scoreless frames with a pair of strikeouts—and, unusual for a DSL pitcher—no walks. But the Twins’ batters couldn’t take advantage of the effort; a Juan Zapata triple was their lone extra-base hit. The Guardians Red (what a clunky team name) stole four bases, and caught the Twins stealing twice. Hendry Chivilli, Minnesota’s big international signing in January, struck out three times in the game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jair Camargo PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-4, HR, R, RBI, 3 K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, R, BB, 2 K #7 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-4, K, SB #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, R, BB K #15 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 0-4 SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Durham @ St. Paul (2:07 PM) - LHP Dallas Keuchel Springfield @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Travis Adams Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (1:05 PM) - LHP Christian MacLeod Clearwater @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM) - RHP Andrew Morris View full article

Yes, it is possible for a win to feel gross. Image courtesy of © Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Kenta Maeda: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K Home Runs: Joey Gallo (16) Top 3 WPA: Donovan Solano (.362), Joey Gallo (.331), Jovani Moran (.142) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Fresh out of the All-Star break, the Twins were handed a gift from the baseball gods: the Oakland A’s. Despite over 90 games already played, Minnesota had yet to establish a consistent, positive offense identity; the team recently leaned on the all-important semi-religious “players-only meeting,” to save their season, but the results hadn’t improved—outside a date with the lowly Royals. Would an entangle with the worst team the west coast could scrap up prove similar? Twins bats exploded with a mighty crash. Ken Waldichuk thought he had more time, more opportunities to toss his weaker stuff. Still, Minnesota offered no quarter, attacking quickly with a double from Carlos Correa and a single from Donovan Solano. Byron Buxton flew out deep enough to plate Correa. With a critical potential run on second base, Kyle Farmer crushed a changeup nearly as far as a batter can hit a ball without earning a free jog around the bases; instead, he earned a triple for his efforts. The game was underway. Unfortunately, Kenta Maeda was not sharp. He fired off a ton of pitches—entirely too many of them—to fend off Oakland in the 1st, and his frame proved prophetic: he would not last beyond three innings. He labored again in the 2nd, handing back a portion of the lead his offense earned. With another rally in the 3rd, Minnesota’s advantage was now a deficit—and Maeda’s day was over. These are the A’s we’re talking about—intentionally bad; served as a self-evident excuse to bolt cities—so the game was far from decided. A few walks inspired Rocco Baldelli to pinch-hit early, sending the rookie Edouard Julien to the plate with a pair of runners on the bases. He delivered. Julien smashed a double to left field, tying the game at three as the teams settled into their equal struggle for victory. And so the game entered its bullpen stage. This was not a smooth affair; batters often reached base, threatening to change the balance of power only to remain stagnant, forced to watch their teammates come up short. Twice the Twins loaded the bases. Both times they failed to net that critical damage-inducing knock. Twins hitting coach David Popkins was tossed in the 7th—the strike zone was nebulous all day—following a called third strike to Joey Gallo. Ironically, the call in question was correct; it was one of Nic Lentz’s best calls all night. So was the lone spark between the 4th and 9th. Both teams displayed a hideous understanding of hitting, working poor at-bats in crucial situations, leading to a slow and muddy affair—one dragging on far beyond any reasonable person’s tolerance for mediocre baseball. Until the sudden jolt. Gallo stepped up against Shintaro Fujinami, with Solano standing on 2nd. He received a fastball—Fujinami’s special—and turned it around with vigor, smoking a two-run shot into Oakland’s right field seats to give Minnesota the lead. The game was not done being mischievously annoying, though, as Jhoan Duran wobbled in the 9th, enough to sow real doubt regarding the potential win. He allowed a double and a single, bringing Brent Rooker to the plate as the go-ahead run. Duran plunked him with a curveball. Seth Brown now stood in the batter’s box, but he could not muster any magic, and his groundout to Julien mercifully ended a brutal 5-4 win for the Twins. Notes: Joey Gallo is now three homers away from tying his total from 2022; he has 234 plate appearances this year and earned 410 last year. Griffin Jax has not allowed an earned run since May 19th. Donovan Solano has reached base at least three times in three of his last six games. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and A’s play the second game of their weekend series on Saturday. Pablo López returns from his first All-Star game to pitch against Hobie Harris; first pitch is at 6:07 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

CFer I say E Rod, but who knows; they guy hasn't even played at AA yet. Pitching isn't overwhelming, but which system is? I think Raya and Festa are strong plus there's a solid chance one of the many college arms from 2022 turn into something. Overall I'd say it's around league average. Fangraphs has them 13th before the draft and that feels about right.