Matt Braun

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Kala'i Rosario) TRANSACTIONS LHP Connor Prielipp transferred to Development List (St. Paul) RHP Cody Laweryson activated from 7-day IL (St. Paul) RHP John Klein activated from Development List (St. Paul) Saints Sentinel St. Paul 5, Round Rock 7 Box Score Kendry Rojas: 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K HR: Jhonny Pereda (2) Multi-hit games: None The Saints came up short on Wednesday. Kendry Rojas continued his tepid introduction to the Twins organization. The talented lefty struggled to find the zone, and got hit when his offerings crossed the plate, resulting in far too many “fours” in his stat line than one would care for. His Saints’ ERA sits at 4.97 with a WHIP of 1.66, inflated largely by nine walks issued across 12 2/3 innings. Hopefully, he can find his groove with his next start. The Saints’ offense was… condensed. They scored two in the fourth off a Jhonny Pereda home run and then returned the following frame for three runs off a run-scoring groundout, an Aaron Sabato flop shot, and a wild pitch. With a hit and two walks, Kyler Fedko is now slashing .357/.439/.671 in 17 games since being promoted to the Saints. Old friend Michael Helman played center field for the Express and homered once in five at-bats. Craig Kimbrel—he of 440 MLB saves—closed out this affair with a 1-2-3 inning and two strikeouts. No member of the Rangers’ top 30 prospects played in this game. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 5, Midland 7 Box Score Darren Bowen: ⅔ IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K HR: Kala’i Rosario (20) Multi-hit games: Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI), Maddux Houghton (2-for-4, 2 2B, K) A late-inning scrap did not favor the Wind Surge on Wednesday. Starter Darren Bowen failed to net a third out in the game’s opening frame—though not necessarily for performance reasons. With two on and two out, Bowen balked, allegedly, which ushered in two events: a run scoring, and Bowen to argue with the umpire, likely uttering one of George Carlin’s famous seven words on his way to an ejection from the game. This was now an impromptu bullpen game. The results were reasonably acceptable given the circumstances until John Stankiewicz took the mound in the eighth. What was once tied became untied thanks to a flurry of walks, hits, and steals. The carnage resulted in a three-run lead for the Rockhounds. The game was only tied at the point, though, thanks to Kala’i Rosario doubling in a run in the third, a second run scoring off a wild pitch, and a balk that called home the hero mentioned earlier in this sentence. Then Rosario stepped up to the plate in the eighth and bashed a homer down the left field line. Jake Rucker smacked in another run in the ninth, but it was all window dressing: Kaelen Culpepper lined out to end the game one batter later. Athletics’ new uber prospect Leo De Vries—ranked 3rd in all of baseball—singled once in five at-bats. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 6, South Bend 4 Box Score Jacob Kisting: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Danny De Andrade (2-for-3, R, 2 BB), Poncho Ruiz (2-for-3, 2 RBI) A sixth-inning explosion carried the Kernels to victory on Wednesday. Laying the foundation for that game-winning frame was a pair of scores in the second. The Kernels loaded the bases with no one out before nearly squandering their crooked number opportunity when Misael Urbina lined out to short, which then turned into a double play when an overly excited Danny De Andrade took off for third. A walk reloaded the bases for Poncho Ruiz, who wisely placed his line drive in the safe outfield oasis, scoring two on the play. Then, the sixth. Again, the Kernels loaded the bases, and they quickly took advantage with a two-run swinging bunt from Misael Urbina, a sacrifice fly, and three consecutive base on balls to give Cedar Rapids a sixth and final run. Matt Gabbert worked 3 1/3 unnings with one earned run out of the bullpen. South Bend, as you can imagine, is an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Their best prospect to play on Wednesday was Cristian Hernandez, an infielder ranked 10th in their system. He doubled once in four at-bats. Mussel Matters Game One: Fort Myers 4, Tampa 15 (7 Innings) Box Score Joel Garcia: 1 ⅓ IP, 8 H, 10 ER, 5 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Dameury Pena (2-for-3, R, BB) Last Wednesday, the Mighty Mussels lost 15-4. This is not an ideal pattern. As it was the first game of a doubleheader, Joel Garcia’s early struggles couldn’t be spelled by a reliever; he had to eat it. So he devoured: 61 terrible pitches with eight hits, 10 earned runs, five walks, and just four outs. Go get them next time, Garcia. Though they accrued just five hits, the Mighty Mussels took eight walks, and—in fact—the Tarpons found themselves in a walking mood as well. All told, there were 15 free passes and three hit by pitches, a gentle reminder of the frayed relationship low-minors pitchers often have with the strike zone. Dameury Pena, with his two hits, walk, and stolen base, put forth the best offensive effort of any Mighty Mussel. The 19-year-old is reaching base at a .413 clip in August. Tanner Schobel walked twice in four plate appearances on a minor league rehab assignment. Tampa is a member of the juggernaut Yankees farm system. Their eighth-ranked prospect—shortstop Dax Kilby—picked up a pair of hits and walked once in five trips to the plate. Game Two: Fort Myers 0, Tampa 4 (7 Innings) Box Score Michael Ross: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 6 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None Fort Myers lost the second game of their doubleheader on Wednesday. At least the previous match possessed some intrigue; game two was a desolate, uneventful slog. The Mighty Mussels reached base five times all game. The Tarpons reached base five times before their first trip through the lineup concluded. Bryan Acuna earned the team’s only extra-base hit with a second inning double. The aforementioned Kilby DH’d and walked twice in four plate appearances. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Matt Gabbert Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kala’i Rosario PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 1-3, R, BB #2 – Luke Keaschall (Twins) - 2-4, 2B, BB #3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 0-5, K #5 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 2B, 2 R, BB #9 – Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) - 3 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K #13 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, RBI, BB #17 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-5, K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Round Rock @ St. Paul (7:07 PM) - TBD Wichita @ Midland (7:05 PM) - RHP Ryan Gallagher Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM) - RHP Jose Olivares Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM) - RHP Jonathan Stevens View full article

To my eyes, Ohl and Adams need some more seasoning in the minors. Honestly, I would probably cut bait on Adams' prospects as a starter, have him focus on two or three of his best offerings, and have him back as a reliever next year. Ohl, for some reason, I have some belief he can stay a starter. I'd give him another year in a rotation, at least. That changeup really is something. I think we'll see Taj Bradley soon, but I wouldn't count on Mick Abel being in a Twins uniform in 2025. The more likely scenario is that Simeon Woods Richardson returns with Andrew Morris being the next man up on the call-up totem pole.

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Box Score Pierson Ohl: 2 ⅓ IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Pierson Ohl (-.400), Edouard Julien (-.050), Royce Lewis (-.035) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Friday’s match gave us a classic baseball archetype: that of the young, spry hurler facing off against the wily veteran. Minnesota’s starter was eight years old when Tigers pitcher Charlie Morton debuted; the elder statesman has him bested by 2,155 career strikeouts, 404 regular-season games, and an iconic moment as the man on the mound when the Astros earned their first World Series* win in their franchise’s history. But all that matters is what lies ahead for these two—and Pierson Ohl could win the generation battle with an impressive performance. He didn’t win. Frankly, it wasn’t close. The line speaks for itself as a Greek chorus of sorts; sloppy weather portended sloppy play from the Ship of Theseus Twins, with a pair of singles placing men on the corners, and a clanked grounder by Luke Keaschall opening the scoring for Detroit. The second baseman should have made the play. The run would have scored, yet Minnesota could have had two outs. The Tigers pounced. A flurry of hits turned the lead from one to five, with the inning’s final out—perhaps fittingly—coming on an RBI double halted at just one run on a questionable send and competent relay by Royce Lewis. Ohl survived through a scoreless second, though Detroit returned in the third to eventually knock the righty out of the game. A single, walk, and sharply struck double ended his night. Reliever (Piggybacker? Other Bulk-Guy?) José Ureña entered to save the bullpen and survive as long as possible—his two long-term goals. He’d accomplish those in time. In the short term, he’d allow one more run to give the Tigers a commanding seven-run advantage. That left the quadragenarian Morton as the decisive winner of this somewhat arbitrary conflict. His effectiveness these days usually precedes the word “wild” and Friday was no exception: he walked three and hit a batter, yet kept Twins hitters off the barrel, coaxing a variety of weak contact across six shutout innings. Don’t let anyone tell you that a 41-year-old can’t offer the sport new lessons. Detroit's bullpen took over to declare what we all knew to be true. The middle-to-final innings weren't a game; it was like watching the teacher walk over to hand you back a test you didn't study for. The result was inevitable. Maybe there was a faint sense a miracle would occur. However, fate was sealed long ago. Minnesota almost avoided a shutout, placing runners on base in the ninth to threaten at least something. Naturally, with one out, Edouard Julien lined a pitch up the middle... into shortstop Trey Sweeney's glove, leading him to catch the ball and step on second to end the game and secure the shutout. So it goes. Notes: Luke Keaschall reached base thrice for the third time in his MLB career. José Ureña's Twins ERA is now 2.13. Erasmo Ramirez appeared in his 333rd career MLB game. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Tigers play the third of their four-game set on Saturday, with first pitch set to arrive at 6:15 PM. Zebby Matthews will start opposite Casey Mize. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Image courtesy of David Malamut (photo of Ty Langenberg) TRANSACTIONS RHP John Klein transferred to development list (St. Paul) RHP Julio Bonilla promoted to A+ Cedar Rapids C Daniel Pena promoted to A Fort Myers Saints Sentinel St. Paul 8, Omaha 3 Box Score Kendry Rojas: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K HR: Payton Eeles (3), James Outman (2) Multi-hit games: Kyler Fedko (3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB), James Outman (2-for-5, HR, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI) Multiple crooked frames carried the Saints to victory on Wednesday. What’s better than a three-run inning? How about a five-run inning?. St. Paul’s initial rally kept it simple: Payton Eeles homered, then Kyler Fedko doubled, and James Outman hit one over the fence in a five-pitch stretch. That’s one of the more efficient rallies you’ll ever see. Unsatisfied, the Saints returned in the fourth with an unquenching desire to bludgeon some baseballs. Jonah Bride earned the first RBI of the frame; then Fedko knocked in two, Outman summoned another run with a triple, and Gabriel Gonzalez ushered him home with a sacrifice fly. Needing just six outs, St. Paul sent out and successfully returned eight baserunners. Kendry Rojas continued his shaky introduction to the Twins organization with a forgettable four-inning, three earned run outing. He topped out at 95 MPH and earned 11 swings and misses. Hopefully, the 22-year-old can find his comfort and performance soon. Christian MacLeod played hero with four clean innings out of the bullpen, striking out four to deliver the game to Noah Davis, who concluded the game with minimal resistance. Outman’s seven total bases were the highest since July 4th, when he was a member of the Dodgers organization. Old friend Diego A. Castillo played shortstop for the Storm Chasers. Rehabbing big leaguer Mark Canha homered and walked in four plate appearances for Omaha. No member of Kansas City’s top-30 prospect list played on Wednesday. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 1, Springfield 5 Box Score Connor Prielipp: 3 ⅓ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: Kala’i Rosario (18) Multi-hit games: None The Wind Surge were bested on Wednesday. Brevity may be the soul of wit, but it isn’t the ideal descriptor of an offense. Kala’i Rosario homered in the seventh. That was the lone hit of Wichita’s night. Unfortunately, their dry spell coincided with a less-than-sharp Connor Prielipp outing. He gave up a flurry of hits—six across ten outs netted—as the Cardinals plated three earned runs on his watch. His season WHIP now sits at 1.49. Ricky Castro was unable to save the day, though his 3 ⅔ inning appearance with a lone earned run deserved a spotlight. Springfield catcher Leonardo Bernal, ranked as the 74th best prospect in baseball, collected two hits and a walk in four plate appearances. Kernels Nuggets Game One: Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 0 (7 Innings) Box Score Ty Langenberg: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-3, 2B, R, RBI), Danny De Andrade (2-for-3, 2 2B, R), Maddux Houghton (2-for-2, RBI) Ty Langenberg tossed a complete-game shutout in game one of Cedar Rapids’ doubleheader on Wednesday. Ok, it was only seven innings, not the usual nine. Still, Langenberg’s effort remains impressive. The Urbandale, Iowa native walked the lead-off hitter in a prolonged plate appearance before falling into a deep groove, allowing just four more baserunners the rest of the way as he cruised in possibly the best start of his professional career. Certainly, it was the best of his work in 2025; his previous high in innings in a start was just six, and he only earned a clean earned run slate twice. He threw 98 pitches. Maddux Houghton broke the stalemate with a fifth-inning RBI single. Kyle DeBarge cracked an opposite field double the next frame to push the lead to two, and Misael Urbina drove in his two-bagging teammate for a third and final run. The 49th-ranked prospect in MLB, Blake Mitchell, DH’d for the River Bandits, singling once in three trips to the plate. Game Two: Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 9 Box Score Chase Chaney: 3 ⅓ IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jaime Ferrer (2-for-3, 2B, R) Matters did not favor the Kernels in game two. The bats remained consistent—they scored thrice just as they did the previous game—but Cedar Rapids’ pitching crumbled. The River Bandits thrashed starter Chase Chaney for nine hits and five runs, then smacked Juan Bonillo for three more runs in his Kernels debut. Ivran Romero somewhat settled the melee, yet even he was tagged for an unearned run. Jaime Ferrer earned his second multi-hit game of August. Luis Hernandez caught his first game for the Kernels. The aforementioned prospect Mitchell caught in game two, tripling, singling, and walking in five plate appearances. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 4, Daytona 15 Box Score Joel Garcia: 3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 K HR: Enrique Jimenez (1) Multi-hit games: Marek Houston (2-for-5, RBI), Dameury Pena (2-for-4, BB), Enrique Jimenez (2-for-3, HR, R, RBI, BB) The Mighty Mussels were eviscerated on Wednesday. It started bad and got worse. Three runs arrived in the first, another came in the second, and a fifth runner touched home before the third inning concluded. A respite fourth—an oasis in a painful desert—gave Fort Myers time to breathe, before the whole thing came crashing down with ten runs spread across the fifth and sixth frames. ERA ballooned. Egos were destroyed. A trench on the basepath between third and home started to form. Some minor positives: newcomers showed out. Enrique Jimenez blasted his first homer in the Twins organization while reaching base three times, and Marek Houston cracked two hits. Minnesota’s recent 1st-rounder is slashing .378/.410/.432 in eight games with Fort Myers. Yet another elite catching prospect played against a Twins affiliate on Wednesday. The 75th-ranked prospect in MLB, Alfredo Duno, cracked three hits, including a homer, in five at-bats. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ty Langenberg Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – James Outman PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 0-4, K #2 – Luke Keaschall (Twins) - In Progress #3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 0-4, 2 K #5 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, K #6 – Connor Prielipp (Wichita) - 3 ⅓ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K #9 – Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K #11 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-3, RBI, BB #13 – Marek Houston (Fort Myers) - 2-5, RBI, K #14 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-6, K #17 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 3-6, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM) - RHP Marco Raya Wichita @ Springfield (7:05 PM) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Jose Olivares Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35 PM) - RHP Michael Ross DSL Twins @ DSL Rockies (10:00 AM) - TBD View full article

Image courtesy of David Malamut (photo of Ty Langenberg) TRANSACTIONS RHP John Klein transferred to development list (St. Paul) RHP Julio Bonilla promoted to A+ Cedar Rapids C Daniel Pena promoted to A Fort Myers Saints Sentinel St. Paul 8, Omaha 3 Box Score Kendry Rojas: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K HR: Payton Eeles (3), James Outman (2) Multi-hit games: Kyler Fedko (3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB), James Outman (2-for-5, HR, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI) Multiple crooked frames carried the Saints to victory on Wednesday. What’s better than a three-run inning? How about a five-run inning?. St. Paul’s initial rally kept it simple: Payton Eeles homered, then Kyler Fedko doubled, and James Outman hit one over the fence in a five-pitch stretch. That’s one of the more efficient rallies you’ll ever see. Unsatisfied, the Saints returned in the fourth with an unquenching desire to bludgeon some baseballs. Jonah Bride earned the first RBI of the frame; then Fedko knocked in two, Outman summoned another run with a triple, and Gabriel Gonzalez ushered him home with a sacrifice fly. Needing just six outs, St. Paul sent out and successfully returned eight baserunners. Kendry Rojas continued his shaky introduction to the Twins organization with a forgettable four-inning, three earned run outing. He topped out at 95 MPH and earned 11 swings and misses. Hopefully, the 22-year-old can find his comfort and performance soon. Christian MacLeod played hero with four clean innings out of the bullpen, striking out four to deliver the game to Noah Davis, who concluded the game with minimal resistance. Outman’s seven total bases were the highest since July 4th, when he was a member of the Dodgers organization. Old friend Diego A. Castillo played shortstop for the Storm Chasers. Rehabbing big leaguer Mark Canha homered and walked in four plate appearances for Omaha. No member of Kansas City’s top-30 prospect list played on Wednesday. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 1, Springfield 5 Box Score Connor Prielipp: 3 ⅓ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: Kala’i Rosario (18) Multi-hit games: None The Wind Surge were bested on Wednesday. Brevity may be the soul of wit, but it isn’t the ideal descriptor of an offense. Kala’i Rosario homered in the seventh. That was the lone hit of Wichita’s night. Unfortunately, their dry spell coincided with a less-than-sharp Connor Prielipp outing. He gave up a flurry of hits—six across ten outs netted—as the Cardinals plated three earned runs on his watch. His season WHIP now sits at 1.49. Ricky Castro was unable to save the day, though his 3 ⅔ inning appearance with a lone earned run deserved a spotlight. Springfield catcher Leonardo Bernal, ranked as the 74th best prospect in baseball, collected two hits and a walk in four plate appearances. Kernels Nuggets Game One: Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 0 (7 Innings) Box Score Ty Langenberg: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-3, 2B, R, RBI), Danny De Andrade (2-for-3, 2 2B, R), Maddux Houghton (2-for-2, RBI) Ty Langenberg tossed a complete-game shutout in game one of Cedar Rapids’ doubleheader on Wednesday. Ok, it was only seven innings, not the usual nine. Still, Langenberg’s effort remains impressive. The Urbandale, Iowa native walked the lead-off hitter in a prolonged plate appearance before falling into a deep groove, allowing just four more baserunners the rest of the way as he cruised in possibly the best start of his professional career. Certainly, it was the best of his work in 2025; his previous high in innings in a start was just six, and he only earned a clean earned run slate twice. He threw 98 pitches. Maddux Houghton broke the stalemate with a fifth-inning RBI single. Kyle DeBarge cracked an opposite field double the next frame to push the lead to two, and Misael Urbina drove in his two-bagging teammate for a third and final run. The 49th-ranked prospect in MLB, Blake Mitchell, DH’d for the River Bandits, singling once in three trips to the plate. Game Two: Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 9 Box Score Chase Chaney: 3 ⅓ IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jaime Ferrer (2-for-3, 2B, R) Matters did not favor the Kernels in game two. The bats remained consistent—they scored thrice just as they did the previous game—but Cedar Rapids’ pitching crumbled. The River Bandits thrashed starter Chase Chaney for nine hits and five runs, then smacked Juan Bonillo for three more runs in his Kernels debut. Ivran Romero somewhat settled the melee, yet even he was tagged for an unearned run. Jaime Ferrer earned his second multi-hit game of August. Luis Hernandez caught his first game for the Kernels. The aforementioned prospect Mitchell caught in game two, tripling, singling, and walking in five plate appearances. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 4, Daytona 15 Box Score Joel Garcia: 3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 K HR: Enrique Jimenez (1) Multi-hit games: Marek Houston (2-for-5, RBI), Dameury Pena (2-for-4, BB), Enrique Jimenez (2-for-3, HR, R, RBI, BB) The Mighty Mussels were eviscerated on Wednesday. It started bad and got worse. Three runs arrived in the first, another came in the second, and a fifth runner touched home before the third inning concluded. A respite fourth—an oasis in a painful desert—gave Fort Myers time to breathe, before the whole thing came crashing down with ten runs spread across the fifth and sixth frames. ERA ballooned. Egos were destroyed. A trench on the basepath between third and home started to form. Some minor positives: newcomers showed out. Enrique Jimenez blasted his first homer in the Twins organization while reaching base three times, and Marek Houston cracked two hits. Minnesota’s recent 1st-rounder is slashing .378/.410/.432 in eight games with Fort Myers. Yet another elite catching prospect played against a Twins affiliate on Wednesday. The 75th-ranked prospect in MLB, Alfredo Duno, cracked three hits, including a homer, in five at-bats. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ty Langenberg Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – James Outman PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 0-4, K #2 – Luke Keaschall (Twins) - In Progress #3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 0-4, 2 K #5 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, K #6 – Connor Prielipp (Wichita) - 3 ⅓ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K #9 – Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K #11 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-3, RBI, BB #13 – Marek Houston (Fort Myers) - 2-5, RBI, K #14 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-6, K #17 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 3-6, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM) - RHP Marco Raya Wichita @ Springfield (7:05 PM) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Jose Olivares Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35 PM) - RHP Michael Ross DSL Twins @ DSL Rockies (10:00 AM) - TBD View full article

He threw one 95.8 and sat 93.4. His average on the season is 93.5.

Image courtesy of © Brad Rempel-Imagn Images Box Score Joe Ryan: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Home Runs: Matt Wallner (16), Kody Clemens (13) Top 3 WPA: Luke Keaschall (.146), Ryan Jeffers (.101), Kody Clemens (.094) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The prodigal sons return home. Or maybe they never left. Connecting the allegorical themes of the biblical story and this baseball team seems strained. In any case, the Ship of Theseus Twins, fresh off a convincing and enjoyable series win in Detroit, graced Target Field with their presence for the first time since 40% of the squad was sent elsewhere. It’s the dawn of a new age; one in which Alan Roden not only exists in Minnesota’s shared memory, but hits leadoff. How would the hometown faithful greet their new heroes? And would they bring new tales to tell? Initial results favored the opponent. Long-time Giant Mike Yastrzemski greeted Joe Ryan with a lead-off blast deep into the overhang in right field. The homer augured an occasional quirk of Ryan: a decidedly poor first inning that casts doubt on his ability going forward in the game. He allowed another hit. He threw 26 pitches. The final out nearly banged off the right field wall. That’s just how it goes. Fortunately, these Twins are apparently resilient in a way previously rarely seen before the Great Trade-Off of 2025. Facing Seth Lugo and his perpetual offerings, Matt Wallner found a fastball to his liking and cracked the pitch 434 feet to left-center to tie the game. With an even slate, Minnesota went to work. Ryan Jeffers walked, and Kody Clemens sharply singled to left to set up Luke Keaschall with two men on base. Pro tip: you do not want to set up Luke Keaschall with two men on base. The youngster slashed a single to right before helping a third run score by beating the throw to second off a Royce Lewis dribbler. The onslaught continued. A pair of runs scored in the second. Ryan Jeffers knocked in the first. The RBI machine, Keaschall, drove in the other. The jersey retirement ceremony will occur any day now. The Twins fell silent in the third—perhaps lulling Lugo into some sense of relaxation—before uncoiling for a fourth-inning strike. Jeffers chopped a grounder too tall for first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, setting up Clemens to smash a two-run shot, giving Minnesota seven runs off the 2024 AL Cy Young runner-up. All the while, Ryan settled into the usual competence that made him so coveted at the trade deadline - and so worthy of remaining a Twin. He navigated Kansas City’s lineup with ease, striking out five across five frames with the Yastrzemski homer remaining as his lone blemish. Once again, he also blessed us with an iconic image: this time, a still of him harkening back to Suleiman the Magnificent, or perhaps an ancient Muslim at the Baghdad House of Wisdom, or maybe the Girl with the Pearl Earring, this time swathed in a Gatorade-branded towel. The rest of the game was window dressing surrounding the inevitable. Travis Adams entered. Bobby Witt Jr. immediately homered. So it goes. Minnesota responded with two scores to push their total to nine. Adams allowed another run. Cole Sands was forced to enter the game. He loaded the bases. There was maybe a second where things got uncomfortable. Adam Frazier softly grounded out to conclude the threat. Brooks Kriske took the mound in the ninth to end what we already knew to be true; that the Twins had won on Friday in impressive fashion. Few cared that he allowed a run. Is this 2017 2.0? We shall see. Notes In his pregame talk, manager Rocco Baldelli revealed that his strategy versus Lugo was to load up the lineup with as many left-handed hitters as he could find because Lugo has been particularly effective versus right-handed hitters this year. He's right: left-handed batters entered the game wth a 788 OPS against Lugo, while right-handed hitters have just a 572 OPS with a .177 batting average. So the Twins lineup only included three right-handed hitters: Royce Lewis, Luke Keaschall, and Ryan Jeffers. The other seven batters went 7-17 (.412 BA) against Lugo, including two home runs and seven earned runs. Though the three righties found success, as well, so maybe it was just one of those nights. Matt Wallner is slashing .292/.452/.792 in his last seven games with more walks (6) than strikeouts (5). Joe Ryan has set a career high in fWAR with 3.2 (although that number could fall, as WAR is not a counting stat.) He also crossed the 600-inning mark in his MLB career. Luke Keaschall's 10 RBIs through his first 10 games is a Twins team record. Across their last three games, the Twins have taken 12 walks while striking out nine times. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Royals meet again for a game on Saturday. An evening affair with a 6:10 PM start time, Bailey Ober will start opposite lefty Noah Cameron. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints TRANSACTIONS RHP Cole Percival placed on 7-day IL (St. Paul) LHP Brady Feigl transferred to 60-day IL (St. Paul) C Daniel Pena activated (FCL Twins) 3B Billy Amick placed on 7-day IL (Cedar Rapids) C Khadim Diaw placed on 7-day IL (Cedar Rapids) C Ian Daugherty promoted to A Fort Myers C Jefferson Valladares promoted to A+ Cedar Rapids OF Jayson Bass promoted to A Fort Myers Saints Sentinel St. Paul 4, Iowa 7 Box Score Taj Bradley: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K HR: Noah Cardenas (7) Multi-hit games: Noah Cardenas (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI) A disastrous seventh inning sank the Saints on Wednesday. With eyes aplenty casting judgement upon his start, Taj Bradley performed marvelously. The 24-year-old kicked off his Twins organization debut with four consecutive 1-2-3 innings, with two coaxed double plays, and ended his day with a lone earned run struck against him—a solo homer off the bat of Chase Strumpf. He earned eight swings and misses. Unfortunately, John Klein found no such fortune. The Brooklyn Park native crushed AA this season with a 3.12 ERA across 95 strikeouts, earning a promotion to the Saints. Wednesday was his first appearance with his new team. He’d probably like a mulligan. The Cubs batted him around, totaling six knocks, two walks, and a hit by pitch in a seventh inning he started, yet could not escape from. Trent Baker arrived to nab the final out. Hopefully, Klein’s second AAA outing goes better. St. Paul’s hitting effort was tepid; they plated an early run off a dribbling infield hit by Kyler Fedko before falling dormant for five frames. Noah Cardenas drew them from the doldrums with a ninth-inning three-run shot, though the blast was too little, too late. Iowa sent rehabbing big leaguer Javier Assad to the mound, and he pitched 4 ⅓ innings, allowing one earned run. MLB’s 47th-ranked prospect, Moisés Ballesteros, DH’d for the Cubs, doubling once in five at-bats. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 6, Naturals 0 Box Score C.J. Culpepper: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, 3B, R), Hendry Mendez (2-for-3, 2 R, BB) The Wind Surge pitched a combined shutout on Wednesday. C.J. Culpepper kicked off the fun with four workman-like innings, narrowly escaping a bases-loaded situation in the third before ending his day with a breezy fourth. Logan Whitaker begat Jacob Wosinski, with both hurlers adding a pair of innings to the effort. That left Kade Bragg to conclude things—which he did, though not without two walks to add drama. For six innings, it seemed that Wichita’s bats may not do enough to support their pitchers, as the infamous murder’s row lineup went quiet. The silence did not last. Kala’i Rosario cracked a triple and broke the seal by scoring on a wild pitch. Two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with two outs. Then, mild carnage: Ben Ross lined a two-run single to left, Jorel Ortega nubbed an infield hit to score one more, and Kaelen Culpepper pulled out his pitching wedge and dropped a flop-shot in front of the right fielder to cap the rally. Andrew Cossetti doubled in a sixth and final run the following frame. Hendry Mendez is hitting .588 in 17 at-bats since joining Wichita. Kansas City’s fourth-best prospect, pitcher Ben Kudrna, started for NW Arkansas, allowing three runs across 6 ⅓ innings. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 2, West Michigan 8 Box Score Adrian Bohorquez: 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K HR: Caden Kendle (8), Eduardo Tait (1) Multi-hit games: None The Kernels fell convincingly on Wednesday. It was a day for team debuts, and Adrian Bohorquez was amongst those looking to impress his new peers. The reigning FSL Pitcher of the Month was… fine. He whiffed four—always a skill in his toolset—but allowed eight hits and hit two batters. The seemingly endless traffic resulted in three runs, likely a somewhat fortunate amount. Still, his feet at A+ ball have now been soaked, and the talented righty has a platform to grow from as he continues to develop. Cedar Rapids scored just twice. If you went to pee, you could have missed it: Caden Kendle homered in the sixth, then Eduardo Tait went deep in the same inning. That not only concluded the scoring on the day for the Kernels, but the two homers represented the only hits Cedar Rapids accrued on Wednesday. West Michigan’s second baseman John Peck ranks as the 17th-best prospect in the Tigers system; he racked up three hits in five trips to the plate. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 4, Clearwater 6 Box Score Jason Doktorczyk: 5 ⅓ IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Marek Houston (2-for-5, RBI), Dameury Pena (2-for-4, RBI), Peyton Carr (2-for-5, R), JP Smith II (3-for-5, 3B, 2B, 2 R, RBI), Bryan Acuna (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB), Luis Hernandez (2-for-4, BB) The Mighty Mussels tried to piranha their opponent to death on Wednesday. The ratio of players with multi-hit games to runs scored is incongruent. Perhaps it’s no surprise Fort Myers left 13 runners on base—and that’s not even the juiced way of counting. Spearheaded by a JP Smith II double in the second, the Mighty Mussels plated a trio of runs; Smith, Marek Houston, and Dameury Pena earned RBIs. Then, Smith—Minnesota’s 17th-round pick this last draft—tripled in the third, placing him in position to score off a Bryan Acuna single. The Twins selected Houston in the first-round last month thanks in large part to the strength of his glove. He’s a warlock with the leather, they said. He showed off some of that ability in the third inning of Wednesday’s game. Rehabbing big leaguer Christian Arroyo earned two hits for the Threshers. DH Dante Nori is the Phillies’ fifth-ranked prospect. He tripled and walked in five plate appearances. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Taj Bradley Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Noah Cardenas PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 0-3, BB, K #2 – Luke Keaschall (Twins) - 2-5 2 2B, 3 RBI #3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 1-4, RBI, K #8 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-4, K #10 – Marek Houston (Fort Myers) - 2-5, RBI, K #11 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4 #14 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #15 – C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-3, R, BB View full article

Definitely not this winter and likely not even post-2026, though that's what Fangraphs claims is a possibility. I tried to stick with their information even if the arb timelines weren't realistic.

Image courtesy of David Malamut (photos of Hendry Mendez and Ryan Gallagher) It’s been a few days since Minnesota’s whirlwind trade deadline. How is everyone doing? Frankly, the phrenetic pace at which everything occurred made it difficult for me to fully understand the nature of what just happened. Things certainly changed; but just how much? And how do we make sense of it beyond the obvious financial incentives? Today, we’ll observe the moves through the lens of the major league roster. I’ll be honest: this will be a granular article, though I’ll add analysis where I see fit. At hand is a discussion on options, 40-man roster considerations, arbitration, prospect timelines, and all that joyous nerd stuff that you, the advanced baseball fan, care so much about. Let’s start with the players who arrived as big leaguers. Already on the 40-man: James Outman joins the team with a year of service time already under his belt; he’ll potentially be arb-eligible post-2026, and is in his final option year. That final point is a critical one: acquiring Outman was a head-scratcher—the last thing the team needed was a left-handed outfielder—and the Twins don’t have much time to potentially fix him. He can’t go back to the minors in 2026 without being DFA’d, thus exposing him to waivers. If he doesn’t turn it around in St. Paul soon, his time in Minnesota will be curt. Taj Bradley becomes a Twin with a year of service time as well, making him potentially arb-eligible post-2026. He has an option year remaining. Minnesota has, well, options with him: the rest of 2025 could be spent entirely on adjustments and finding familiarity in the organization with no concern for roster shenanigans. The best news? If everything goes well, and Bradley hits his stride in 2026, the Twins will have three more years with the righty, as he enters arbitration prior to the 2027 season. Mick Abel still has not exhausted rookie eligibility, meaning the team has basically forever (six years) to mold the 23-year-old to their vision. He has two more option years after this season. I believe Alan Roden has passed the rookie threshold through time spent on the active roster, though he’s short on at-bats. It’s a moot point given that the Twins sent him straight to the big-league club, anyways, and look to give him consistent playing time. Because that clock has started, he won’t potentially be arbitration eligible until after the 2027 season, and he has two option years left after 2025. The team has the time and resources to be patient with the 25-year-old outfielder. Players eligible for the Rule-5 draft in 2025: Now we’ll begin to cover the players who will need to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid possible selection in the Rule-5 draft this year. Here’s a quick primer on the subject for those unaware of details about the draft. The three players eligible following this season are Hendry Mendez, Matt Mikulski, and Kendry Rojas. With all due respect to the athletic abilities of Mikulski, his inclusion in the Carlos Correa deal was pure eyewash; he’s 26 and hasn’t made it out of A+ ball since being drafted in 2021. I doubt he remains in the organization following this season. Mendez is an interesting case. He’s displayed legitimate hitting ability throughout his time in the minors yet hasn’t been healthy enough to push himself into a higher echelon of prospect conversation. Again, the Twins have enough major-league outfielders to go around—and there’s three (four if you count Luke Keaschall; maybe a fifth depending on how much you like Kala’i Rosario) outfield prospects at AA and higher who will demand priority over the 21-year-old. I don’t think the organization will add him to the 40-man roster, but it’s also unclear at the moment whether another team will pick him. He’s a tweener. Consider this a José Miranda situation. Finally, Rojas will certainly be added to the 40-man roster. No more analysis is needed. 2026 Sam Armstrong was the lesser-heralded pitching prospect arriving in the Willi Castro deal. His numbers are simply fine, but he deserves a spot in the AA rotation, and the Twins won’t have to decide whether to protect him until next year. By then, the answer should be apparent. 2027 We have a quartet of players for this year: Enrique Jimenez, Eduardo Tait, Ryan Gallagher, and Garrett Horn. We can bunch them as “international youngsters” and “college arms.” Let’s start with the pitchers. As 22-year-olds, their worthiness to be added to the 40-man roster should be self-evident by 2027. In fact, one would expect their major-league impact to arrive a year earlier, if either is, indeed, a legitimate prospect. Gallagher has the leg up in performance and level (he’s at AA), though Horn isn’t far behind, as he was sent to A+ ball, which would be his first taste of play at the level. I’m not going to insult your intelligence by predicting whether actual teenagers will still be notable catching prospects in two years. The only conclusion here is that the Twins can place the pair in the slow cooker for some time before they need to worry about pushing their development to the big leagues. 2029 Yes, this baby goes all the way out to 2029, which will happen when you trade for someone born the year Obama was first elected president. Geremy Villoria is so far away from 40-man consideration that this paragraph’s sole purpose is to be a reminder to set an alarm four years in the future. Broadly speaking, it seems that the Twins either focused on immediate talent or guys who won’t affect the roster until years down the road. Most executives will say they look for a blend of talent age, and Minnesota was no different here. The optimistic view is that the initial wave—Bradley, Abel, and Roden—will stabilize the club, while players like Tait and Gallagher serve as reinforcements. Hovering above all of this is the seemingly imminent arrival of Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, and Emmanuel Rodriguez, if he could ever stay healthy. At the very least, they appeared to have avoided an overwhelming wave of needed 40-man additions in any one year and instead should shuffle in talent through the seasons. Keep an eye out for 2027, especially. Though 40-man implications aren't the sole driver of determining when a player becomes a big leaguer, it's a good predictor of one's timeline. Teams generally make prospects potential players when they have to, unless someone suddenly Juan Sotos their way through the minors. Consider these years to be approximations of when these players should become Twins. View full article

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Box Score Joe Ryan: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Alan Roden (-.252), Kody Funderburk (-.193), Mickey Gasper (-.189) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Still reeling from the Great Restructure of 2025, the Twins had to play ball. Though emotions still ran high from the day prior, these games nonetheless must be played—even if the team most closely resembles a zombie, or perhaps an organism controlled by a parasite long after it died. So, bring on your huddled masses—your Austin Martins, Edouard Juliens, and Erasmo Ramírezs—because these games matter to them. And someone has to play them. Friday’s opponent was the Cleveland Guardians. Hey, at least the inevitable heartbreak will feel numb this time. No need to re-explore the third track off Elton John’s Honky Château. Joe Ryan appeared disinterested initially. And a little lethargic. His stuff was fine, yet his typical calm demeanor read more aloof than usual; no play exemplified this more than when José Ramírez stole second off him in the game’s opening frame with a cartoonish jump so large he could have run safely to Dayton. Cleveland scored runs in the first and second off the righty. Fortunately, the malaise was short-lived, as Ryan settled into a scoreless groove for four frames, eventually allowing him to walk off the mound with a respectable two-run, six-inning start under his belt. He whiffed four. Ryan Jeffers, Matt Wallner, and their Merry Men of Hitters Still on the Team had their hands full with Guardians starter Gavin Williams. A practitioner of stuff, not command, the tall righty overpowered the Twins with his assortment of high-velocity fastballs and sweeping breakers. They were utterly baffled; Williams shut them out for six frames with two threats—a close attempt by Brooks Lee to score on a hit to the outfield in the third, and a base-loaded opportunity in the fourth—serving as the only real threats to his dominance. Yet, providence evidently deemed the Twins a useful vessel for her unusual methods. With Williams gone, Minnesota placed two men on base, coaxing Guardians manager Stephen Vogt to call on Hunter Gaddis out of the bullpen. Gaddis elicited a meager check-swing by Martin that dribbled the ball in front of the plate. The pitcher pounced. He saw a vision. There he is, Jeter-ing the ball to first in miraculous fashion. The ESPN Top 10 would certainly include his play. The Not Top 10, it turns out. Gaddis hurled the ball beyond Carlos Santana, who awkwardly tipped it into no-man’s land, allowing the eventual game-tying run to score. The game sat at two a piece for a time. Neither side looked vigorous in their scrap to score again. Twice, a Cleveland batter flew out to right field the warning track in the ninth. Matt Wallner was unenthused both times. The game lurched into extras with the Twins' offense still stuck in neutral. They couldn't score their Manfred runner. The Guardians did. This time, Kyle Manzardo was the hero. With a great lacking in clutchness, the Twins reminded us that, though the players may change, the jerseys still restrain them from being able to win a close game against the Cleveland Guardians Notes: Joe Ryan's four strikeouts give him an Ozzy-inspired 666 in his career, good for 16th in team history. He's 49 behind Eric Milton. Austin Martin set an MLB career-high with three hits in a game. José Ramírez became the 17th player in MLB history with 275+ homers and 275+ steals in his career. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Guardians play again on Saturday, with the highly-anticipated TBD (likely Bailey Ober) is set to pitch against Tanner Bibee with first pitch arriving at 3:10 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Image courtesy of David Malamut (photo of Kyle DeBarge) TRANSACTIONS LHP Jaylen Nowlin transferred to AAA St. Paul RHP John Stankiewicz transferred to AAA St. Paul RHP Connor Gillispie outrighted to AAA St. Paul RHP Pierson Ohl optioned to AAA St. Paul RHP Noah Davis recalled by Twins RHP Logan Whitaker transferred to AA Wichita Saints Sentinel St. Paul 3, Toledo 4 (8 Innings) Box Score Darren McCaughan: 5 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Saints lost in a rain-called game. Frankly, the rain didn’t mask any particularly intriguing performance. Carson McCusker doubled in a run. José Miranda knocked in two in the sixth. Payton Eeles reached base three times. Darren McCaughan threw 97 pitches. This concludes the notable events and outcomes from the game. Eeles is slashing .333/.415/.444 in 22 games in July. Old friend Akil Baddoo went 0-4 for the Mud Hens. Luke Keaschall is slashing .205/.304/.205 in his rehab assignment. Third baseman Hao-Yu Lee is the seventh-best prospect in the Tigers' system. He singled once in four trips to the plate. Wind Surge Wisdom The Wind Surge were rained out on Wednesday. They will play two on Thursday. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 7, Lansing 3 Box Score Chase Chaney: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K HR: Brandon Winokur (14) Multi-hit games: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, BB), Billy Amick (2-for-4, R, BB), Andy Lugo (2-for-3, R) The Kernels cruised to a win on Wednesday. It always helps to start the game with a four-spot. A trio of singles, and Kyle DeBarge’s 53rd stolen base of the season, plated a run and left two more men waiting on the basepaths. They didn’t stay there long. Brandon Winokur worked the count to 2-0 before smoking a three-run shot over the left field bleachers. That’s back-to-back games with a homer for the 20-year-old. And he tied a career-best with 14 long balls on the year. A Maddux Houghton knock in the fifth plated another run; a second man touched home off a wild pitch. A Jay Thomason sacrifice fly in the eighth capped the scoring for the night. Cedar Rapids walked a preposterous 10 times against just four strikeouts. Extreme patience or a result of unseasoned A+ ball pitchers? Sometimes these things happen in the lower levels of the minors. Kyle DeBarge stole his 53rd and 54th base of the season. The Twins franchise single-season record is 62, set by Chuck Knoblauch in 1997. The organization's minor league record dating back to 2006—the extent that Fangraphs’ data reaches—is 56 by Zack Granite in 2016. In his Kernels debut, Ruddy Gomez pitched a pair of scoreless innings with four strikeouts. No player ranked in the Athletics’ top-30 played on Wednesday. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 3, Bradenton 4 Box Score Adrian Bohorquez: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K HR: Yasser Mercedes (8) Multi-hit games: None The Mighty Mussels were nearly no-hit on Wednesday. For seven full innings, Fort Myers didn’t have a hit. They had two runs—give thanks to a boatload of free passes and a sacrifice fly—but a baseball falling safely onto the Earth eluded them. As you may presume, this wasn’t dominance; the Mighty Mussels took six walks and were hit by two pitches by the time Yasser Mercedes strode to the plate in the eighth. Then, the 20-year-old put the whole thing to bed, launching a solo shot deep into the Florida night to ensure history would not be made in this game. Though he walked off the mound with two runs on his ledger Adrian Bohorquez continued to flash the strikeout stuff that put him on the prospect map last year. The righty whiffed eight in his start, the second time he had done so in 2025, and walked just one, a critical development given his early-season issues with free passes. He ends July with a 0.90 ERA in the month, along with 20 strikeouts in 20 innings and just five walks. A final ninth-inning rally fell short as Jefferson Valladares smashed a grounder directly towards second baseman Wyatt Sanford with one out and the bases loaded, leading the infielder to snag the ball, step on second, and end the game with an easy throw to first. Like the Kernels, the Mighty Mussels walked more than they struck out on Wednesday, doing so at a seven-to-five clip. Eduardo Beltre went 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in his Fort Myers debut. Pittsburgh’s sixth-ranked prospect, Edward Florinto, played center field, going 0-3, with a strikeout. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Adrian Bohorquez Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Brandon Winokur PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 – Luke Keaschall (St. Paul) - 0-3, R, BB #11 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB #14 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, 2B, 2 R, BB #16 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, R, BB #19 – Eduardo Beltre (Fort Myers) - 0-3, BB, 2 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05 PM) - RHP Marco Raya Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05 PM) - RHP John Klein Wichita @ Amarillo (Game Two) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 PM) - RHP Ty Langenberg Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 PM) - RHP Jason Doktorczyk DSL Twins @ DSL Phillies Whites (10:00 AM) - TBD View full article

Image courtesy of David Berding-Imagn Images A Bill Smith draftee in 2009’s first round, Kyle Gibson was a 6’6” righty out of the University of Missouri was in the final class of players selected with the Metrodome in mind. He rocketed through three levels of the minors in 2010, and surely would have graced the dismal, pitching-starved 2011 squad if his right elbow didn’t pop, requiring Tommy John surgery. Still, he returned to the mound near the end of 2012 and debuted for the Twins in 2013. Somehow, there are still four active players left from the 2013 team Gibson graced, and all of them are pitchers: Ryan Pressly, Liam Hendriks, Caleb Thielbar, and Michael Tonkin. Two of them are Cubs at present. Go figure. Struggles in Gibson’s rookie year augured a solid 2014 and an above-average 2015, in which he tossed 194 ⅓ innings with a 3.84 ERA, displaying early a skillset that would net him jobs in MLB even in the late stages of his career. There were always pitchers with better stuff—a more visceral pitch mix, perhaps blow-you-away velocity—but few hurlers in his time could pitch as often as Gibson. Lord did he pitch. Using “innings eater” as a term to damn with faint praise is dying in the modern age as pitching injuries rack up like a WW1 trench battle body count, yet—no matter the hat he wore—there stood Gibson: 60 feet, six inches away from the mound, ready to ride his sinker/slider mix to the ends of the earth. At the time of his announcement, the righty was seventh amongst active pitchers in innings pitched with 1,878. Though he was less effective in 2016 and 2017, Gibson, at 30, turned in his best year as a Twin in 2018. He racked up a career-high 196 ⅔ innings, struck out a career-high 179 batters, and pitched to a career-low 3.62 ERA. At least part of his success could be tied to a refined approach with his slider, which went from an ordinary offering to a deadly weapon. Gibson battled through health issues in 2019, which caused him to shed weight, and pushed the Twins—dying for starting pitching at season’s end—to try him in the bullpen leading into the playoffs. Indeed, he pitched the first of four career postseason outings in relief during a 10-4 Game One loss to the Yankees. That was the end of his time in Minnesota. Gibson latched on with the Rangers with a three-year pact prior to the 2020 season. Though that year was a wash (wasn’t it for everyone?) Gibson found a gear similar to 2018 during his 2021 campaign, which made the righty an All-Star for the first time. Thrilled with the excellent play, the Rangers were nonetheless out of contention and a few months away from handing out $500 million to the double-play tandem that would lead them to a World Series. So, at the trade deadline, they sent the veteran to Philadelphia, where he would provide critical depth for a team that eventually made it to the Fall Classic. All things that are Gibson must return to equilibrium, though, and the move to the Phillies marked the beginning of his work as a traveling arm. He moved on to explore the bays of Baltimore in 2023. Then he teamed up with other former Twins pitchers Sonny Gray and Lance Lynn to play in the shadows of the Gateway Arch in 2024. Returning for an Orioles respite in 2025, Gibson made just four starts before flocking to Tampa Bay’s AAA team. Without a clear path to the major-league starting rotation, the 37-year-old found the extra time around his family more appealing than looking elsewhere for work. The totality of Gibson’s baseball career—like most who seek shelter in the game—will likely be lost to the sands of time. Few will find amazement from the one-time All-Star who only led a league in something twice: in starts in the AL with 33 in 2023, and in hits allowed with 198 the same year. But Gibson played a critical part as one amongst the rank-and-file who create the tapestry of baseball we observe and enjoy every day. His occasional brilliance as a talented youngster inspired hopeful Twins fans during the dredges of Target Field’s early years, while his work as a veteran presence and reliable arm placed him playoff teams for three straight years between 2021 and 2023. He has undoubtedly altered the game for the better, even if he had a habit of driving us mad during his starts. View full article

Image courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Box Score Chris Paddack: 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Home Runs: Byron Buxton (22), Willi Castro (10) Bottom 3 WPA: Chris Paddack (-.236), Brooks Lee (-.151), Harrison Bader (-.097) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The last time the Twins were in Colorado felt different. The 2023 squad chomped on Coors Field as their victory cigar, claiming two final wins in what was window dressing for an already postseason-bound team. They had the liberty of using a position player pitcher to conclude the final game—and the season. This squad, however, is barely clinging onto life. The 2025 Twins are squabbling in an AL wild card melee, constantly oscillating their playoff chances between “unlikely” and “possible.” Minnesota entered Friday on something of a hot streak, with three straight series wins (and also three straight missed sweep opportunities). How would they fare in the first game since the All-Star break? Early? Poorly. Very poorly. Exceedingly poorly. Through 5,116 games as a franchise, the Rockies had never started a game with four consecutive extra-base hits, yet that’s exactly what they did Friday, going double, double, triple, homer to clock Chris Paddack for four runs through as many batters. Welcome to the second half. The Rockies struck for a fifth run in the second before entering a slumber. Meanwhile, the Twins started lethargic and remained stalled for most of Kyle Freeland’s time on the mound. Byron Buxton cracked a solo homer in the fifth—that one was for the Home Run Derby pessimists—yet no other legitimate scoring threat came to fruition while the lefty stood on the mound. Well, there was one. Carlos Correa started the sixth with a walk, and Ty France followed with a single. Staring at a tremendous chance to score at least one run, Minnesota’s next three hitters pooped their pants as all three struck out swinging. Freeland entered the frame with zero strikeouts in the start. It’s incredible how funny this game can be. The botched rally portended a sixth run for Colorado the next half-inning; evidently the dredges of dower baseball proved to be a launching point, though, as Freeland’s exit for the game sparked a sign of life. Buxton outran an infield hit, and Ryan Jeffers served a single into right. As unbelievable as it may be given the ugliness of what came before, the Twins were a swing away from jumping back into things—and Willi Castro provided that swing, crushing a first-pitch sinker 439 feet out to dead center. That proved to be the end of excitement. The Twins never scored again. Their bats petered out against the back end of the Colorado bullpen, leading to an empty and disappointing start to the season's second half. Notes: Ryan Jeffers earned his first four-hit game since May 17th. Christian Vázquez caught in his 912th career game, the fourth-most amongst active catchers. Byron Buxton is slashing .556/.586/.1.074 in his last seven games. Post-Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins and Rockies match up once more for a rare Saturday evening game as the highly anticipated TBD takes on Antonio Senzatela. First pitch is at 7:10 PM. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article