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Seth Stohs last won the day on November 11 2025
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About Seth Stohs
- Birthday 06/25/1975
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Biography
Twins blogger since May of 2003, frequent contributor on several radio shows, hosted several Twins and Twins minor league related podcasts, TwinsCentric member, author the the annual Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook, father of a 17-year-old daughter.
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Senior Technical Writer at Marvin Windows and Doors, owner and writer at TwinsDaily.com
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mikelink45 reacted to a post in a topic:
Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - June 2026
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mikelink45 reacted to a post in a topic:
Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - June 2026
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mikelink45 reacted to a post in a topic:
Twins Minor League Report (6/2): Kaelen Culpepper Hits a Leadoff Homer, Royce Lewis Homers Twice; Rinse and Repeat
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Steve Lein reacted to a post in a topic:
Twins Minor League Report (6/2): Kaelen Culpepper Hits a Leadoff Homer, Royce Lewis Homers Twice; Rinse and Repeat
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Steve Lein reacted to a post in a topic:
Twins Minor League Report (6/2): Kaelen Culpepper Hits a Leadoff Homer, Royce Lewis Homers Twice; Rinse and Repeat
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I don't have a problem with the organization still wanting Fedko to play all over the diamond every day. Could he come up and put up better offensive numbers that James Outman? Possible, though certainly not a guarantee. I certainly won't say that Outman's been anything but not good, but again, he's 29, strong defense, good base runner, fits his role. Fedko could do the role, but again, I'd rather he plays. Sabato had put up numbers in college that were pretty equivalent to those of Spencer Torkelson who went #1 overall that year. I haven't had him on a prospect list for years and still don't. But I think he could probably hold his own in the big leagues. Like Fedko, once they decide to sell, then Bell and others can traded or let go. Until then, just keep gaining confidence.
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Jeff K reacted to a post in a topic:
Twins Minor League Report (6/2): Kaelen Culpepper Hits a Leadoff Homer, Royce Lewis Homers Twice; Rinse and Repeat
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rdehring reacted to a post in a topic:
Twins Minor League Report (6/2): Kaelen Culpepper Hits a Leadoff Homer, Royce Lewis Homers Twice; Rinse and Repeat
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rdehring reacted to a post in a topic:
Twins Minor League Report (6/2): Kaelen Culpepper Hits a Leadoff Homer, Royce Lewis Homers Twice; Rinse and Repeat
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Prospect-wise, Ross is probably ahead of maybe Gray and Kreidler, only because he's younger. But he's in that category. However, he's only 24-25. His ability to play 4 infield spots and 2 or 3 outfield spots is huge... And, I think he can hit a bit too. Not because he's hitting in St. Paul. You and I could probably hit in St. Paul (note - I don't really think this). 1st round picks: Lee, Culpepper, Lewis, Houston 2nd round picks: Keaschall, Kreidler 13th round: Gray Ross was a 5th round pick out of D2 Notre Dame College. From a Starters: Lee, Culpepper, Lewis, Keaschall, maybe Houston Utility Guys: Kreidler, Gray. I think Ross can fit the role of a "super utility" type.
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- aaron sabato
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I think Morris has to be very close to 45 days, maybe even past it. Prielipp's maybe close. He's been up 31-32 days. He's at 33 1/3 innings. We'll have to vote again. (hard to guess. I know my rankings of the Top 20 looks quite a bit different from the Twins Daily one, especially the 12-20 range.)
- 30 replies
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- minor league report
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We just learned yesterday that he'll be getting time at 1B and 2B. Also, do you/we want Royce Lewis to fill the James Outman, 5th outfielder role?
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- minor league report
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Agreed... Mendez has a chance to be a really good player and give a good feeling about the 2025 deadline, but there are several good players and good prospects. Aside from missing Varland, the Twins did really well with the trade deadline. And he netted Rojas and Roden (whose prospect status was well above Mendez's.) He just needs to be healthy.) To get two AA SPs for Willi Castro? Gallagher's already in AAA. So many nice pieces to the trade.
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Seth Stohs reacted to a post in a topic:
One Twins Prospect May Save Last Year's Trade Deadline Selloff
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Seth Stohs reacted to a post in a topic:
One Twins Prospect May Save Last Year's Trade Deadline Selloff
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Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - June 2026
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Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (Top L to R: Ricardo Olivar, Aaron Sabato, Kaelen Culpepper; Bottom L to R: Kyler Fedko, Ben Ross, Hendry Mendez) I have been writing up these monthly reports for a good 15-20 years, and I am almost 100% certain that what you'll see below, I have never seen before. The Saints offense has been tremendous this season. They are hitting homers at a record-setting pace and scoring a lot of runs. The nice thing is that most everyone is contributing. Guys coming up from Wichita or down from the big leagues are contributing. For now, let's just say that you'll see a few Saints players near the top of this list. But there were a lot of strong offensive performances this month. Below you will find the Top 5 hitters of the month, including our choice for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. But, because there were so many options, I wrote up "The Next Three" Hitters too. There are also eight Honorable Mentions. I'm curious what our readers think and how they would rank the top hitters of the month. There were even a few FCL Twins mentioned in the Honorable Mention section. You could certainly make an argument for one of them being in the Top 8 or 10, but that player had just 13 games played where others played as many as 27 games. What a great month for hitters in the Twins minor leagues! Let's get started. Leave feedback in the comments below. HONORABLE MENTIONS 1B/OF Jaime Ferrer - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Wichita Wind Surge 24 G, 21-88, .239/.337/.477 (.814), 1-2B, 1-3B, 6-HR, 20 RBI, 12 R, 10 BB, 25 K UT Jay Thomason - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 21 G, 15-65, .231/.375/.462 (.837), 2-2B, 2-3B, 3-HR, 9 RBI, 10 R, 15 BB, 21 K C/CF Khadim Diaw - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 26 G, 26-91, .286/.362/.440 (.802), 9-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 11 RBI, 18 R, 10BB, 16 K OF Jayson Bass - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 22 G, 17-70, .243/.375/.443 (.818), 4-2B, 2-3B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 12 R, 15 BB, 23 K. 2B Dameury Pena - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 24 G, 32-103, .311/.393/.350 (.743), 2-2B, 1-3B, - HR, 15 RBI, 17 R, 13 BB, 7 K C Miguel Caraballo - FCL Twins - 17 G, 13-48, .271/.400/.500 (.900), 5-2B, 2-HR, 8 RBI, 10 R, 9 BB, 17 K OF Yovanny Duran - FCL Twins - 17 G, 18-61, .295/.371/.508 (.879), 2-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 13 RBI, 14 R, 7 BB, 17 K OF Jhomnardo Reyes - FCL Twins - 13 G, 14-37, .378/.511/.892 (1.403), 3-2B, 2-3B, 4-HR, 15 RBI, 12 R, 9 BB, 7 K THE NEXT THREE HITTERS Number 8 - OF Yasser Mercedes (21) -Fort Myers Mighty Mussels/Cedar Rapids Kernels 24 G, 24-for-91, .264/.364/.495 (.859) with 7 double, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 21 R, 20 RBI, 15 BB, 23 K Mercedes has had a career filled with ups and downs, but so far 2024 has been a definite up! No one has ever questioned his athleticism and general talent level. But that hasn’t always translated statistically. While his season started late, Mercedes just looks different on the field. Maybe it’s body language, but he’s playing much more confidently. In 21 games for Fort Myers, he hit .321/.439/.642 (1.081) with four doubles, two triples and six home runs. He’s played in 16 games for Cedar Rapids and is hitting .203/.304/.373 (.677) with four doubles and two homers. More importantly, he doesn’t look overwhelmed. He also has a combined 19 stolen bases. Number 7 - 3B/SS/CF Brandon Winokur (21) - Cedar Rapids Kernels 26 G, 33-99, .333/.427/.495 (.922), 4-2B, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 16 R, 15 BB, 25 K. If only looking at OPS, this is the best month of the former third-round pick’s career. While he has played more third base in 2026, he’s still getting quite a bit of playing time in both center field and at shortstop. He struggled in April, but in May, he took off. Manager Brian Meyer moved him into the leadoff spot for a few games, and he seemed to respond well. He took better at-bats and carried that forward regardless of his spot in the lineup. Could a promotion be coming soon? Number 6 - OF Hendry Mendez (22) - Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints 23 G, 31-90, .344/.449/.489 (.938), 4-2B, 3-HR, 18 RBI, 17 R, 17 BB, 13 K. Mendez played two May games in Wichita. He has now played 21 games for the Saints and reached base in all of them. He hits for average. He’s a big guy with power potential. He has a very good eye and has consistently had more walks than strikeouts. THE TOP FIVE HITTERS Number 5 - C Ricardo Olivar (24) - Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints 21 G, 24-81, .296/.352/.642 (.994 OPS), 7-2B, 7-HR, 24 RBI, 14 R, 6 BB, 22 K. Olivar ended the 2024 season with a few weeks in Double-A. He spent the entire 2025 season in Wichita, and that’s where he began the 2026 season as well due to the depth above. In mid-May, Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers swung at a pitch and broke his hamate bone. He will be out for two months. The Twins called up Alex Jackson to the big-leagues, and Olivar finally got his promotion to the Saints. After not homering for his first 11 games this season in Wichita, he went on a run in which he hit 10 home runs in 13 games. The first five came in April, the next five in May. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his first Saints game. In his second game, he hit a bloop single to drive in a run. He then drove in runs in five straight games. In his third game, he had two hits. In his fourth game, he hit his first double. In his fifth game, he had a double and hit his first home run. In his sixth game, he hit another home run. At a new level, it has to be a good feeling to start out well and feel like you below. Number 4 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (23) - St. Paul Saints 25 G, 28-100, .280/.407/.540 (.947), 5-2B, 7-HR, 21 RBI, 26 R, 19 BB, 21 K. There was definitely some adjustment needed for Culpepper as he moved up to Triple-A in 2026. In March/April, he hit .234, but he did hit five home runs. He was much improved and much more consistent in June. He has done a nice job at the top of the Saints lineup. Not only does he know the strike zone pretty well (19 BB) and he puts the ball in play a lot, but he can give the team an early lead with a home run. With his offensive tool set, Culpepper can be an instigator, a catalyst at the top of the order. But he’s strong and can drive the ball to all fields. He can be a run producer. In addition, it’s no surprise that he played at a solid college program because he has strong instincts to go with strong fundamentals. The Twins are clearly creating a path for Culpepper. Generally speaking, it’s rarely as obvious as the Twins are making it. The first few weeks of the season, he would play three games at shortstop and one each at second base, third base, and DH. He hasn’t played second base since early May. He has not played third base since Royce Lewis was optioned. With that transaction also pushing Brooks Lee from shortstop to third base in the big leagues, there is an opening at shortstop for the Twins. It’s a position that can be filled in the short-term by Orlando Arcia and Ryan Kreidler, but it’s a position that every manager wants to have a guy they put in that spot 155-160 games per season. Is Culpepper ready for the big leagues right now? I don’t know. I certainly won’t say that he isn’t. I think he could come up now and hold his own. Personally, I’d like to see him spend another three or four weeks for St. Paul. Continue to do the things he did in May; play solid defense, take quality plate appearances, hit the ball hard, use the whole field. Honestly, just keep playing baseball. Remember, the goal is not to get players to the big leagues fast. It’s to have them ready to stay there when they get there. Number 3 - UT Ben Ross (24) - St. Paul Saints 27 G, 25-88, .284/.452/.523 (.975), 9-2B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 21 R, 24 BB, 27 K Ross backed up his April Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month with a strong first full month at Triple-A. Ross started the season with 16 games in Wichita before ending the month with four games with the Saints. Combined, he hit .365/.460/.676 (1.136) with eight doubles and five home runs. He had a little adjustment offensively to the higher level, but maybe the best thing is that for multiple reasons, he has had to be in the lineup every day. His last day off was the last day of April. He’s primarily played center field, followed closely by time at shortstop. He’s also played second base, third base and left field in his time with the Saints. But while his batting average expectedly dropped from .365 to .284, he was able to continue working walks and getting on base. His speed, athleticism, strong defense and ability to take quality plate appearances should continue to get playing time all over the diamond. Number 2 - OF Kyler Fedko (26) - St. Paul Saints 22 G, 29-87, .333/.433/.586 (1.019), 8-2B, 1-3B, 4-HR, 18 RBI, 23 R, 14 BB, 17 K. If you have only followed the Twins and their minor league system the past two seasons, you just might think that Kyler Fedko is the greatest hitter in Twins minor league history. In 2025, he spent about two-thirds of the season at Double-A Wichita and finished the season with 42 games in a Saints uniform. Combined, he hit .258/.367/.487 (.854) with 25 doubles, 28 homers, 82 RBI and 38 stolen bases. He earned an invitation to Twins big-league spring training and began the season with the Saints again. In April, playing time was inconsistent with Walker Jenkins and other “prospects” being eased back into the lineup. He hit just .222, but he ended the month with two doubles, a triple, and seven home runs. Since mid-April, he has been in the Saints lineup most every day. As shown above, he hit for average, took walks and got on base, and ended the month with 13 extra base hits. The 12th round pick in 2021 out of UConn continues to play solid all-around baseball on defense, on the base paths and at the plate. He continues to wait for an opportunity to get to the big leagues. The Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month of May is: 1B Aaron Sabato (26) - St. Paul Saints 25 G, 29-for-93, .312/.402/.699 (1.101), 10-2B, 1-3B, 8-HR, 22 RBI, 17 R, 13 BB, 27 K. April 23rd was a big day for Aaron Sabato. In the 3 1/2 weeks of the season prior to that date, he was playing about twice per week. Since that date, he has only been out of the Saints lineup twice. What happened on April 23rd? That’s the day that the Twins DFAd Eric Wagaman from the 40-man roster. He was claimed by the Mets. May 5th was a big day for Aaron Sabato. That’s the day that the Saints went to Las Vegas for a rare series against a Pacific Coast League team. On that day, he went 4-for-5 with a double, three home runs and seven RBI. The next night, he went 2-for-5 with another home run and two RBI. In the third game of the series, he was 2-for-4 with a double. On Friday, he went 0-for-3 but had two walks… and a stolen base. In the series' fifth game, he went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI. In his last game in Vegas, he went 0-for-4. A nice, great, powerful week, but then what? Was that it? Well, on May 12th, the Saints played two straight weeks at CHS Field. Sabato went hitless, but he walked twice, starting a 14-game on-base streak. He had at least one hit in 13 straight games. Within that stretch, he had eight doubles and three more home runs. In 38 total games this season, the former first-round pick is hitting .289/.366/.622 (.988) with 13 doubles, a triple, and 10 RBI. It will be very interesting to see what the Twins do with Sabato. If not on the 40-man roster following the World Series, he can become a minor-league free agent. If the Twins fall well out of contention, could they look to sell veterans again? Specifically, Josh Bell - playing on a one-year deal - would likely be dealt? Will the Twins brass decide to give him a couple of months in the big leagues to see how he responds? Will he hit for power? Will he put the ball in play? That’s for other people to figure out. My job, at least for this article, was simply to write about the top offensive performances in May. For me, Aaron Sabato was the easy choice. Congratulations to Saints first baseman Aaron Sabato, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for May of 2026. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions. How would you rank the top five hitters in the Twins organization in May? View full article
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- aaron sabato
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Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - June 2026
Seth Stohs posted an article in Minor Leagues
I have been writing up these monthly reports for a good 15-20 years, and I am almost 100% certain that what you'll see below, I have never seen before. The Saints offense has been tremendous this season. They are hitting homers at a record-setting pace and scoring a lot of runs. The nice thing is that most everyone is contributing. Guys coming up from Wichita or down from the big leagues are contributing. For now, let's just say that you'll see a few Saints players near the top of this list. But there were a lot of strong offensive performances this month. Below you will find the Top 5 hitters of the month, including our choice for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. But, because there were so many options, I wrote up "The Next Three" Hitters too. There are also eight Honorable Mentions. I'm curious what our readers think and how they would rank the top hitters of the month. There were even a few FCL Twins mentioned in the Honorable Mention section. You could certainly make an argument for one of them being in the Top 8 or 10, but that player had just 13 games played where others played as many as 27 games. What a great month for hitters in the Twins minor leagues! Let's get started. Leave feedback in the comments below. HONORABLE MENTIONS 1B/OF Jaime Ferrer - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Wichita Wind Surge 24 G, 21-88, .239/.337/.477 (.814), 1-2B, 1-3B, 6-HR, 20 RBI, 12 R, 10 BB, 25 K UT Jay Thomason - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 21 G, 15-65, .231/.375/.462 (.837), 2-2B, 2-3B, 3-HR, 9 RBI, 10 R, 15 BB, 21 K C/CF Khadim Diaw - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 26 G, 26-91, .286/.362/.440 (.802), 9-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 11 RBI, 18 R, 10BB, 16 K OF Jayson Bass - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 22 G, 17-70, .243/.375/.443 (.818), 4-2B, 2-3B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 12 R, 15 BB, 23 K. 2B Dameury Pena - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 24 G, 32-103, .311/.393/.350 (.743), 2-2B, 1-3B, - HR, 15 RBI, 17 R, 13 BB, 7 K C Miguel Caraballo - FCL Twins - 17 G, 13-48, .271/.400/.500 (.900), 5-2B, 2-HR, 8 RBI, 10 R, 9 BB, 17 K OF Yovanny Duran - FCL Twins - 17 G, 18-61, .295/.371/.508 (.879), 2-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 13 RBI, 14 R, 7 BB, 17 K OF Jhomnardo Reyes - FCL Twins - 13 G, 14-37, .378/.511/.892 (1.403), 3-2B, 2-3B, 4-HR, 15 RBI, 12 R, 9 BB, 7 K THE NEXT THREE HITTERS Number 8 - OF Yasser Mercedes (21) -Fort Myers Mighty Mussels/Cedar Rapids Kernels 24 G, 24-for-91, .264/.364/.495 (.859) with 7 double, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 21 R, 20 RBI, 15 BB, 23 K Mercedes has had a career filled with ups and downs, but so far 2024 has been a definite up! No one has ever questioned his athleticism and general talent level. But that hasn’t always translated statistically. While his season started late, Mercedes just looks different on the field. Maybe it’s body language, but he’s playing much more confidently. In 21 games for Fort Myers, he hit .321/.439/.642 (1.081) with four doubles, two triples and six home runs. He’s played in 16 games for Cedar Rapids and is hitting .203/.304/.373 (.677) with four doubles and two homers. More importantly, he doesn’t look overwhelmed. He also has a combined 19 stolen bases. Number 7 - 3B/SS/CF Brandon Winokur (21) - Cedar Rapids Kernels 26 G, 33-99, .333/.427/.495 (.922), 4-2B, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 16 R, 15 BB, 25 K. If only looking at OPS, this is the best month of the former third-round pick’s career. While he has played more third base in 2026, he’s still getting quite a bit of playing time in both center field and at shortstop. He struggled in April, but in May, he took off. Manager Brian Meyer moved him into the leadoff spot for a few games, and he seemed to respond well. He took better at-bats and carried that forward regardless of his spot in the lineup. Could a promotion be coming soon? Number 6 - OF Hendry Mendez (22) - Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints 23 G, 31-90, .344/.449/.489 (.938), 4-2B, 3-HR, 18 RBI, 17 R, 17 BB, 13 K. Mendez played two May games in Wichita. He has now played 21 games for the Saints and reached base in all of them. He hits for average. He’s a big guy with power potential. He has a very good eye and has consistently had more walks than strikeouts. THE TOP FIVE HITTERS Number 5 - C Ricardo Olivar (24) - Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints 21 G, 24-81, .296/.352/.642 (.994 OPS), 7-2B, 7-HR, 24 RBI, 14 R, 6 BB, 22 K. Olivar ended the 2024 season with a few weeks in Double-A. He spent the entire 2025 season in Wichita, and that’s where he began the 2026 season as well due to the depth above. In mid-May, Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers swung at a pitch and broke his hamate bone. He will be out for two months. The Twins called up Alex Jackson to the big-leagues, and Olivar finally got his promotion to the Saints. After not homering for his first 11 games this season in Wichita, he went on a run in which he hit 10 home runs in 13 games. The first five came in April, the next five in May. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his first Saints game. In his second game, he hit a bloop single to drive in a run. He then drove in runs in five straight games. In his third game, he had two hits. In his fourth game, he hit his first double. In his fifth game, he had a double and hit his first home run. In his sixth game, he hit another home run. At a new level, it has to be a good feeling to start out well and feel like you below. Number 4 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (23) - St. Paul Saints 25 G, 28-100, .280/.407/.540 (.947), 5-2B, 7-HR, 21 RBI, 26 R, 19 BB, 21 K. There was definitely some adjustment needed for Culpepper as he moved up to Triple-A in 2026. In March/April, he hit .234, but he did hit five home runs. He was much improved and much more consistent in June. He has done a nice job at the top of the Saints lineup. Not only does he know the strike zone pretty well (19 BB) and he puts the ball in play a lot, but he can give the team an early lead with a home run. With his offensive tool set, Culpepper can be an instigator, a catalyst at the top of the order. But he’s strong and can drive the ball to all fields. He can be a run producer. In addition, it’s no surprise that he played at a solid college program because he has strong instincts to go with strong fundamentals. The Twins are clearly creating a path for Culpepper. Generally speaking, it’s rarely as obvious as the Twins are making it. The first few weeks of the season, he would play three games at shortstop and one each at second base, third base, and DH. He hasn’t played second base since early May. He has not played third base since Royce Lewis was optioned. With that transaction also pushing Brooks Lee from shortstop to third base in the big leagues, there is an opening at shortstop for the Twins. It’s a position that can be filled in the short-term by Orlando Arcia and Ryan Kreidler, but it’s a position that every manager wants to have a guy they put in that spot 155-160 games per season. Is Culpepper ready for the big leagues right now? I don’t know. I certainly won’t say that he isn’t. I think he could come up now and hold his own. Personally, I’d like to see him spend another three or four weeks for St. Paul. Continue to do the things he did in May; play solid defense, take quality plate appearances, hit the ball hard, use the whole field. Honestly, just keep playing baseball. Remember, the goal is not to get players to the big leagues fast. It’s to have them ready to stay there when they get there. Number 3 - UT Ben Ross (24) - St. Paul Saints 27 G, 25-88, .284/.452/.523 (.975), 9-2B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 21 R, 24 BB, 27 K Ross backed up his April Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month with a strong first full month at Triple-A. Ross started the season with 16 games in Wichita before ending the month with four games with the Saints. Combined, he hit .365/.460/.676 (1.136) with eight doubles and five home runs. He had a little adjustment offensively to the higher level, but maybe the best thing is that for multiple reasons, he has had to be in the lineup every day. His last day off was the last day of April. He’s primarily played center field, followed closely by time at shortstop. He’s also played second base, third base and left field in his time with the Saints. But while his batting average expectedly dropped from .365 to .284, he was able to continue working walks and getting on base. His speed, athleticism, strong defense and ability to take quality plate appearances should continue to get playing time all over the diamond. Number 2 - OF Kyler Fedko (26) - St. Paul Saints 22 G, 29-87, .333/.433/.586 (1.019), 8-2B, 1-3B, 4-HR, 18 RBI, 23 R, 14 BB, 17 K. If you have only followed the Twins and their minor league system the past two seasons, you just might think that Kyler Fedko is the greatest hitter in Twins minor league history. In 2025, he spent about two-thirds of the season at Double-A Wichita and finished the season with 42 games in a Saints uniform. Combined, he hit .258/.367/.487 (.854) with 25 doubles, 28 homers, 82 RBI and 38 stolen bases. He earned an invitation to Twins big-league spring training and began the season with the Saints again. In April, playing time was inconsistent with Walker Jenkins and other “prospects” being eased back into the lineup. He hit just .222, but he ended the month with two doubles, a triple, and seven home runs. Since mid-April, he has been in the Saints lineup most every day. As shown above, he hit for average, took walks and got on base, and ended the month with 13 extra base hits. The 12th round pick in 2021 out of UConn continues to play solid all-around baseball on defense, on the base paths and at the plate. He continues to wait for an opportunity to get to the big leagues. The Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month of May is: 1B Aaron Sabato (26) - St. Paul Saints 25 G, 29-for-93, .312/.402/.699 (1.101), 10-2B, 1-3B, 8-HR, 22 RBI, 17 R, 13 BB, 27 K. April 23rd was a big day for Aaron Sabato. In the 3 1/2 weeks of the season prior to that date, he was playing about twice per week. Since that date, he has only been out of the Saints lineup twice. What happened on April 23rd? That’s the day that the Twins DFAd Eric Wagaman from the 40-man roster. He was claimed by the Mets. May 5th was a big day for Aaron Sabato. That’s the day that the Saints went to Las Vegas for a rare series against a Pacific Coast League team. On that day, he went 4-for-5 with a double, three home runs and seven RBI. The next night, he went 2-for-5 with another home run and two RBI. In the third game of the series, he was 2-for-4 with a double. On Friday, he went 0-for-3 but had two walks… and a stolen base. In the series' fifth game, he went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI. In his last game in Vegas, he went 0-for-4. A nice, great, powerful week, but then what? Was that it? Well, on May 12th, the Saints played two straight weeks at CHS Field. Sabato went hitless, but he walked twice, starting a 14-game on-base streak. He had at least one hit in 13 straight games. Within that stretch, he had eight doubles and three more home runs. In 38 total games this season, the former first-round pick is hitting .289/.366/.622 (.988) with 13 doubles, a triple, and 10 RBI. It will be very interesting to see what the Twins do with Sabato. If not on the 40-man roster following the World Series, he can become a minor-league free agent. If the Twins fall well out of contention, could they look to sell veterans again? Specifically, Josh Bell - playing on a one-year deal - would likely be dealt? Will the Twins brass decide to give him a couple of months in the big leagues to see how he responds? Will he hit for power? Will he put the ball in play? That’s for other people to figure out. My job, at least for this article, was simply to write about the top offensive performances in May. For me, Aaron Sabato was the easy choice. Congratulations to Saints first baseman Aaron Sabato, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for May of 2026. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions. How would you rank the top five hitters in the Twins organization in May?- 18 comments
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- aaron sabato
- kyler fedko
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TRANSACTIONS In a surprise Saturday morning move, the Twins announced that Simeon Woods Richardson was Designated for Assignment. Despite a rough start to his 2026 season, he is just 25 years old and has shown he can pitch in the big leagues over extended points in 2023 and 2024. Taking his spot with the Twins is RHP John Klein who had been scheduled to start for the Saints on Saturday. How did Brian Dinkelman adjust? RHP Mitch Mueller was promoted from Fort Myers to Wichita. Born in the Twin Cities, he grew up and went to high school in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He pitched one college season at Winona State. The Twins signed him in early May 2015. (Here is his first Double-A strikeout, against a rehabbing big leaguer). Cedar Rapids placed RHP Eston Stull on the 7-Day IL. Infielder Yilber Herrera returned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins. RHP Callan Fang, the Twins 13th round pick in 2025 out of Harvard, began a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. He’s been on the 60-Day Injured List all season. Fang went to Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, the same school that 16-year NFL star Troy Vincent, a former Walter Payton Man of the Year Award recipient, went to in the 1980s. Maybe a bit more relevant to this article and this website, Fang and Twins 2025 ninth-round draft pick Justin Mitrovich were both 2022 graduates of Pennsbury. Mitrovich is currently in the Mighty Mussels starting rotation. RHP Frederick Hiciano was assigned to the FCL Twins from the DSL Twins roster. The Twins also signed 17-year-old RHP Cristian Alvino. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Louisville 2 Box Score For the second straight game, the Saints scored seven runs. They just feel much better about that when the team gives up two runs like on Saturday rather than the 11 runs they gave up on Friday night in Louisville. The Bats scored single runs in the bottom of the first and the bottom of the second innings. The Saints had two runners reach base in the first two innings but didn’t score. That drought ended in the third. Kaelen Culpepper and Hendry Mendez started the inning with singles. With one out, Kyler Fedko knocked his 10th double to drive in Culpepper with the first run. With two outs, Gabriel Gonzalez singled to left to drive in Mendez and Fedko and give the Saints the 3-2 lead. Gonzalez now has an 11-game hitting streak during which he has hit .447. With one out in the top of the fifth inning, Matt Wallner singled. With two outs, Ben Ross singled. Following a pitching change, Ricardo Olivar hit his second home run in as many days to give the Saints a 6-2 lead. He took a 0-1 fastball and crushed it 107 mph. It landed about 430 feet from home plate. That was it for the scoring until the top of the ninth. Culpepper singled to lead off the inning. With one out, Royce Lewis doubled to left field at 108 mph to drive in the seventh run. Culpepper went 3-for-4 with a walk. Lewis and Wallner were both 2-for-5. Lewis’s double was his third. Marco Raya made his first start of the season. He gave up two runs on three hits over three innings. He had four strikeouts. Alejandro Hidalgo came in and had five strikeouts over three scoreless, one-hit innings. Raul Brito recorded the save with three scoreless innings. He walked one and had two strikeouts. WIND SURGE WISDOM Game 1: Wichita 3, Springfield 3 (Suspended after six innings) Box Score They were hoping to get two games in on Saturday. Instead, they got through six innings. The game was tied, and with just one inning to go (maybe), the field conditions became unplayable and the game was suspended. The hope is to play out the suspended game (a 7-inning game) and then play a nine-inning game after that. The missed game will be made up later in the season. A more complete rundown of this game will be available when it gets final. A couple of quick notes. First, in the top of the second, Andrew Cossetti’s third home run of the season drove in Kala’i Rosario and gave the Wind Surge a 2-0 lead. Through four innings, they found themselves down 3-2. In the top of the fifth inning, Jose Salas hit his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot that tied it up. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 2 Box Score Riley Quick was back on the mound for the Kernels on Saturday night. He gave up two runs in the first inning but then worked three more frames without letting the Bandits add on. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks, and he had three strikeouts. Early in the game, he was sitting 96-97 mph. Michael Ross came in and worked the next four innings. He gave up no runs and just one hit. He had four strikeouts and no walks. In fact, he faced the minimum of 12 batters in four innings. The second batter he faced singled, but he was erased on a double play ball. Eston Stull returned from the Injured List. He was given the ninth inning. He faced three batters and struck out all three of them to earn his third save. The Kernels faced one of the Royals top pitching prospects, lefty David Shields. He started with two scoreless innings despite multiple base runners in both frames. Marek Houston led off the bottom of the third inning with a single. He advanced to second with his 12th stolen base. With two outs, Yasser Mercedes doubled, his fourth, to right field to drive in the first Kernels run. Quinn McDaniel followed with a triple to the left center field gap to drive in the second run and tie the game. It’s his second triple since joining the Kernels las week. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Jay Thomason reached on an error. Danny De Andrade followed with a walk. A wild pitch moved runners to second and third with nobody out. After a strikeout, Houston flew out to right field, deep enough to drive in Thomason from third base and give the team a 3-2 lead. And that was it for the scoring in the game as both bullpens pitched well. Marek Houston went 3-for-3 with two stolen bases. The team had just seven total hits and three walks in the game. By the way, if you're into sports photography MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Jupiter 1 Box Score The Mussels got a fantastic start, took an early lead, added on a bit, and the bullpen came through late to help the team to a very nice win on Saturday. Matthew Dalquist started the game with five shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and had three strikeouts. He was also efficient, needing just 60 pitches (44 strikes, 73.3%). Consider that the first inning began with a ground rule double against him, and two batters later, they had runners on first and third with one out. He worked out of that situation. He gave up just one more hit and no more runners reached third base over his final four innings. The Mussels took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. JP Smith and Henry Kusiak started the inning with singles, and Jayson Bass walked to load the bases. Smith scored on an Irvin Nunez sacrifice fly. They added on in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Smith singled. After a pitching change, Kusiak got a 1-0 hanging curveball over the inner half of the plate and hit his first home run in affiliated ball to give the team a 3-0 lead. Dylan Questad pitched the sixth inning. He gave up one run on two walks. He had two strikeouts. Jonathan Stevens came in and gave up a hit and two walks, but no runs in 1 2/3 innings. Lefty Jake Murray recorded the final four outs. He walked one batter, but he had four strikeouts to earn the Save. There were a lot of baserunners for both teams, but not a lot of them crossed home plate. Jupiter went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They left nine on base. The Mussels, on the other hand, scored their four runs on 10 hits and 11 walks. They were also 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, but they left 15 runners on base. Dameury Pena went 2-for-2 with three walks. JP Smith went 3-for-4 with a walk. Henry Kusiak went 2-for-3 with two walks and his first home run. Luis Fragoza went 2-for-4. Irvin Nunez and Jayson Bass each walked twice. COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins 9, FCL Red Sox 10 Box Score Callan Fang made his first appearance in a regular game since he was drafted last July. In his first rehab appearance, he gave up two unearned runs on one hit, a hit batter, and two walks. He recorded two outs, one on a strikeout. Melvin Rodriguez came in and gave up five runs on one hit and four walks over two innings. He struck out three batters. Carter Holjes gave up one run on two hits and two walks over 1 1/3 innings. Brad Rudis struck out two batters over two scoreless innings. Nick McAuliffe struck out five batters over two innings. He gave up one run on two hits. Pablo Castillo gave up an unearned run (the Manfred Man) in the ninth inning on one hit. The FCL Twins committed six errors in this game. They also allowed four players to steal a combined 13 bases. Edwin Darville alone had five stolen bases. When the FCL Twins came to the plate for the bottom of the fourth inning, they were already behind 8-0. They got on the board when Teilon Serrano and Carlos Taveras started the inning with singles. Serrano scored on a double play ball. Just one run, but it was a start. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Jose Barrios walked with one out. He scored on a double by Yovanny Duran which cut the deficit to 8-2. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ricardo Paez led off with a walk. Darwin Almanzar doubled him to third. They scored on a wild pitch and then a passed ball. 8-4. With one out, Victor Leal walked and went to third base on a Jose Barrios double. Leal scored on a sacrifice fly by Duran. That made the score 8-5. In the top of the seventh, the Red Sox added a run to push the lead back to four runs. Paez and Almanzar walked. A strikeout and a flyout left the Twins one out from a loss. Barrios was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Yovanny Duran came to the plate and crushed his third home run of the season, a grand slam that tied the game at 9-9. The Twins went scoreless twice in extra innings. In the ninth inning, position player Pablo Castillo pitched. Yovanny Duran is a switch-hitting, 18-year-old outfielder from Venezuela. He went 2-for-3 with a walk, his second double, his third home run, and five RBI. Jose Barrios went 2-for-3 with a walk and his second double. He was also hit by a pitch. He stole his third base. Jhomnardo Reyes was 1-for-3 with two walks. Miguel Caraballo hit his fifth double. He also walked once and was hit by a pitch. Danny Almanzar hit his second double. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul): 3-for-4, BB, 2 R, K. Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-3, R, SF RBI, 2 SB(13) Dameury Pena (Fort Myers): 2-for-2, 3 BB. Henry Kusiak (Fort Myers): 2-for-3, 2 BB, HR(1), R, 2 RBI JP Smith II (Fort Myers): 3-for-4, BB, 2 R, K Yovanny Duran (FCL Twins): 2-for-3, BB, 2B(2), HR(3), 5 RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Matthew Dalquist (Fort Myers): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 60 pitches, 44 strikes (74.2%) Alejandro Hidalgo (St. Paul): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 31 pitches, 23 strikes (74.2%) Michael Ross (Cedar Rapids): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 48 pitches, 31 strikes (64.9%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 3-for-4, BB, 2 R, K. (batted first, played SS) #7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-3, R, RBI, 2 SB(13), PO (batted first, played SS) #8 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, HB, 3 K, 56 pitches, 35 strikes (62.5%) #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 K. (batted sixth, played 1B) #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, R, K (batted second, played DH) #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K (batted second, played 3B) #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB (batted third, played CF) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 0-for-3, game suspended (batted first, played SS) UPCOMING PROBABLES Sunday, May 31: St. Paul @ Louisville (12:05 pm CT) - RHP Mike Paredes (2-1, 3.38 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (suspended game + 9-inning game starting at 2:15 pm CT) - RHP Eli Jones (0-2, 4.20 ERA), Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - LHP Garrett Horn (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (11:05 am CT) - RHP Reed Moring (1-0, 1.42 ERA) Monday, June 1: FCL Rays @ FCL Twins (11:00 am CT) - TBD DSL Rangers Red @ DSL Twins (10:00 am CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 27-32 (3rd place (of 5) in AL Central, 6.5 GB)) St. Paul Saints: 28-27 (6th place (of 10) in IL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Wichita Wind Surge: 21-26 (4th place (of 5) in TL North Division, 8.5 GB)) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 25-25 (3rd place (of 6) in MWL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 28-22 (2nd place (of 6) in FSL West Division, 2.0 GB)) FCL Twins: 10-10 (3rd place (of 6) in FCL South Division, 3.5 GB)) DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!
- 4 comments
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- minor league report
- kaelen culpepper
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Image courtesy of Malamut Photography (photo of Marek Houston) TRANSACTIONS In a surprise Saturday morning move, the Twins announced that Simeon Woods Richardson was Designated for Assignment. Despite a rough start to his 2026 season, he is just 25 years old and has shown he can pitch in the big leagues over extended points in 2023 and 2024. Taking his spot with the Twins is RHP John Klein who had been scheduled to start for the Saints on Saturday. How did Brian Dinkelman adjust? RHP Mitch Mueller was promoted from Fort Myers to Wichita. Born in the Twin Cities, he grew up and went to high school in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He pitched one college season at Winona State. The Twins signed him in early May 2015. (Here is his first Double-A strikeout, against a rehabbing big leaguer). Cedar Rapids placed RHP Eston Stull on the 7-Day IL. Infielder Yilber Herrera returned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins. RHP Callan Fang, the Twins 13th round pick in 2025 out of Harvard, began a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. He’s been on the 60-Day Injured List all season. Fang went to Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, the same school that 16-year NFL star Troy Vincent, a former Walter Payton Man of the Year Award recipient, went to in the 1980s. Maybe a bit more relevant to this article and this website, Fang and Twins 2025 ninth-round draft pick Justin Mitrovich were both 2022 graduates of Pennsbury. Mitrovich is currently in the Mighty Mussels starting rotation. RHP Frederick Hiciano was assigned to the FCL Twins from the DSL Twins roster. The Twins also signed 17-year-old RHP Cristian Alvino. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Louisville 2 Box Score For the second straight game, the Saints scored seven runs. They just feel much better about that when the team gives up two runs like on Saturday rather than the 11 runs they gave up on Friday night in Louisville. The Bats scored single runs in the bottom of the first and the bottom of the second innings. The Saints had two runners reach base in the first two innings but didn’t score. That drought ended in the third. Kaelen Culpepper and Hendry Mendez started the inning with singles. With one out, Kyler Fedko knocked his 10th double to drive in Culpepper with the first run. With two outs, Gabriel Gonzalez singled to left to drive in Mendez and Fedko and give the Saints the 3-2 lead. Gonzalez now has an 11-game hitting streak during which he has hit .447. With one out in the top of the fifth inning, Matt Wallner singled. With two outs, Ben Ross singled. Following a pitching change, Ricardo Olivar hit his second home run in as many days to give the Saints a 6-2 lead. He took a 0-1 fastball and crushed it 107 mph. It landed about 430 feet from home plate. That was it for the scoring until the top of the ninth. Culpepper singled to lead off the inning. With one out, Royce Lewis doubled to left field at 108 mph to drive in the seventh run. Culpepper went 3-for-4 with a walk. Lewis and Wallner were both 2-for-5. Lewis’s double was his third. Marco Raya made his first start of the season. He gave up two runs on three hits over three innings. He had four strikeouts. Alejandro Hidalgo came in and had five strikeouts over three scoreless, one-hit innings. Raul Brito recorded the save with three scoreless innings. He walked one and had two strikeouts. WIND SURGE WISDOM Game 1: Wichita 3, Springfield 3 (Suspended after six innings) Box Score They were hoping to get two games in on Saturday. Instead, they got through six innings. The game was tied, and with just one inning to go (maybe), the field conditions became unplayable and the game was suspended. The hope is to play out the suspended game (a 7-inning game) and then play a nine-inning game after that. The missed game will be made up later in the season. A more complete rundown of this game will be available when it gets final. A couple of quick notes. First, in the top of the second, Andrew Cossetti’s third home run of the season drove in Kala’i Rosario and gave the Wind Surge a 2-0 lead. Through four innings, they found themselves down 3-2. In the top of the fifth inning, Jose Salas hit his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot that tied it up. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 2 Box Score Riley Quick was back on the mound for the Kernels on Saturday night. He gave up two runs in the first inning but then worked three more frames without letting the Bandits add on. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks, and he had three strikeouts. Early in the game, he was sitting 96-97 mph. Michael Ross came in and worked the next four innings. He gave up no runs and just one hit. He had four strikeouts and no walks. In fact, he faced the minimum of 12 batters in four innings. The second batter he faced singled, but he was erased on a double play ball. Eston Stull returned from the Injured List. He was given the ninth inning. He faced three batters and struck out all three of them to earn his third save. The Kernels faced one of the Royals top pitching prospects, lefty David Shields. He started with two scoreless innings despite multiple base runners in both frames. Marek Houston led off the bottom of the third inning with a single. He advanced to second with his 12th stolen base. With two outs, Yasser Mercedes doubled, his fourth, to right field to drive in the first Kernels run. Quinn McDaniel followed with a triple to the left center field gap to drive in the second run and tie the game. It’s his second triple since joining the Kernels las week. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Jay Thomason reached on an error. Danny De Andrade followed with a walk. A wild pitch moved runners to second and third with nobody out. After a strikeout, Houston flew out to right field, deep enough to drive in Thomason from third base and give the team a 3-2 lead. And that was it for the scoring in the game as both bullpens pitched well. Marek Houston went 3-for-3 with two stolen bases. The team had just seven total hits and three walks in the game. By the way, if you're into sports photography MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Jupiter 1 Box Score The Mussels got a fantastic start, took an early lead, added on a bit, and the bullpen came through late to help the team to a very nice win on Saturday. Matthew Dalquist started the game with five shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and had three strikeouts. He was also efficient, needing just 60 pitches (44 strikes, 73.3%). Consider that the first inning began with a ground rule double against him, and two batters later, they had runners on first and third with one out. He worked out of that situation. He gave up just one more hit and no more runners reached third base over his final four innings. The Mussels took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. JP Smith and Henry Kusiak started the inning with singles, and Jayson Bass walked to load the bases. Smith scored on an Irvin Nunez sacrifice fly. They added on in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Smith singled. After a pitching change, Kusiak got a 1-0 hanging curveball over the inner half of the plate and hit his first home run in affiliated ball to give the team a 3-0 lead. Dylan Questad pitched the sixth inning. He gave up one run on two walks. He had two strikeouts. Jonathan Stevens came in and gave up a hit and two walks, but no runs in 1 2/3 innings. Lefty Jake Murray recorded the final four outs. He walked one batter, but he had four strikeouts to earn the Save. There were a lot of baserunners for both teams, but not a lot of them crossed home plate. Jupiter went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They left nine on base. The Mussels, on the other hand, scored their four runs on 10 hits and 11 walks. They were also 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, but they left 15 runners on base. Dameury Pena went 2-for-2 with three walks. JP Smith went 3-for-4 with a walk. Henry Kusiak went 2-for-3 with two walks and his first home run. Luis Fragoza went 2-for-4. Irvin Nunez and Jayson Bass each walked twice. COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins 9, FCL Red Sox 10 Box Score Callan Fang made his first appearance in a regular game since he was drafted last July. In his first rehab appearance, he gave up two unearned runs on one hit, a hit batter, and two walks. He recorded two outs, one on a strikeout. Melvin Rodriguez came in and gave up five runs on one hit and four walks over two innings. He struck out three batters. Carter Holjes gave up one run on two hits and two walks over 1 1/3 innings. Brad Rudis struck out two batters over two scoreless innings. Nick McAuliffe struck out five batters over two innings. He gave up one run on two hits. Pablo Castillo gave up an unearned run (the Manfred Man) in the ninth inning on one hit. The FCL Twins committed six errors in this game. They also allowed four players to steal a combined 13 bases. Edwin Darville alone had five stolen bases. When the FCL Twins came to the plate for the bottom of the fourth inning, they were already behind 8-0. They got on the board when Teilon Serrano and Carlos Taveras started the inning with singles. Serrano scored on a double play ball. Just one run, but it was a start. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Jose Barrios walked with one out. He scored on a double by Yovanny Duran which cut the deficit to 8-2. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ricardo Paez led off with a walk. Darwin Almanzar doubled him to third. They scored on a wild pitch and then a passed ball. 8-4. With one out, Victor Leal walked and went to third base on a Jose Barrios double. Leal scored on a sacrifice fly by Duran. That made the score 8-5. In the top of the seventh, the Red Sox added a run to push the lead back to four runs. Paez and Almanzar walked. A strikeout and a flyout left the Twins one out from a loss. Barrios was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Yovanny Duran came to the plate and crushed his third home run of the season, a grand slam that tied the game at 9-9. The Twins went scoreless twice in extra innings. In the ninth inning, position player Pablo Castillo pitched. Yovanny Duran is a switch-hitting, 18-year-old outfielder from Venezuela. He went 2-for-3 with a walk, his second double, his third home run, and five RBI. Jose Barrios went 2-for-3 with a walk and his second double. He was also hit by a pitch. He stole his third base. Jhomnardo Reyes was 1-for-3 with two walks. Miguel Caraballo hit his fifth double. He also walked once and was hit by a pitch. Danny Almanzar hit his second double. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul): 3-for-4, BB, 2 R, K. Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-3, R, SF RBI, 2 SB(13) Dameury Pena (Fort Myers): 2-for-2, 3 BB. Henry Kusiak (Fort Myers): 2-for-3, 2 BB, HR(1), R, 2 RBI JP Smith II (Fort Myers): 3-for-4, BB, 2 R, K Yovanny Duran (FCL Twins): 2-for-3, BB, 2B(2), HR(3), 5 RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Matthew Dalquist (Fort Myers): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 60 pitches, 44 strikes (74.2%) Alejandro Hidalgo (St. Paul): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 31 pitches, 23 strikes (74.2%) Michael Ross (Cedar Rapids): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 48 pitches, 31 strikes (64.9%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 3-for-4, BB, 2 R, K. (batted first, played SS) #7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-3, R, RBI, 2 SB(13), PO (batted first, played SS) #8 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, HB, 3 K, 56 pitches, 35 strikes (62.5%) #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 K. (batted sixth, played 1B) #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, R, K (batted second, played DH) #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K (batted second, played 3B) #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB (batted third, played CF) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 0-for-3, game suspended (batted first, played SS) UPCOMING PROBABLES Sunday, May 31: St. Paul @ Louisville (12:05 pm CT) - RHP Mike Paredes (2-1, 3.38 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (suspended game + 9-inning game starting at 2:15 pm CT) - RHP Eli Jones (0-2, 4.20 ERA), Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - LHP Garrett Horn (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (11:05 am CT) - RHP Reed Moring (1-0, 1.42 ERA) Monday, June 1: FCL Rays @ FCL Twins (11:00 am CT) - TBD DSL Rangers Red @ DSL Twins (10:00 am CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 27-32 (3rd place (of 5) in AL Central, 6.5 GB)) St. Paul Saints: 28-27 (6th place (of 10) in IL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Wichita Wind Surge: 21-26 (4th place (of 5) in TL North Division, 8.5 GB)) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 25-25 (3rd place (of 6) in MWL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 28-22 (2nd place (of 6) in FSL West Division, 2.0 GB)) FCL Twins: 10-10 (3rd place (of 6) in FCL South Division, 3.5 GB)) DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article
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- minor league report
- kaelen culpepper
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TD and national media said that the Saints roster was most exciting or prospect filled. That has nothing to do with wins and losses. Prospects are generally young for the level of competition... especially at AAA where there are teams that have a ton of veterans with MLB experience. Then Jenkins and E-Rod have been hurt. Zebby, Morris, Rojas, Prielipp and now Klein are in the big leagues.
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- minor league report
- jhomnardo reyes
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TRANSACTIONS The Twins placed lefty Kendry Rojas on the 15-Day Injured List with left elbow inflammation. They also optioned Travis Adams to St. Paul. RHP Cody Laweryson completed his rehab stint and was activated from the IL. LHP Kody Funderburk has also been recalled. The Twins also signed a pair of right-handed pitchers. RHP Yolcar Garcia is 18 years old, and RHP Manuel Meza is already 19 years old. Both have been assigned to the DSL Twins roster. Their games begin on Monday down in Boca Chica. Fort Myers has added RHP Matt DesMarets to their roster. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Louisville 11 Box Score Two big innings by the Bats were the big difference in this game in Kentucky on Friday night. Lefty Aaron Rozek started. He was charged with five runs (4 earned) on seven hits. He walked none and had four strikeouts. He left with one out in the fourth inning. Grant Hartwig came on and struck out both batters on strikeouts. Ty Langenberg came in and gave up single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. He faced three batters in the seventh inning and didn’t record an out. Trent Baker came in with two runners on and nobody out. Both runners scored. So Langenberg’s final line was two innings, six hits, five runs, one walk and four strikeouts. Baker gave up a run of his own in the seventh as well, but that’s it over the final two innings. The Saints offense wasn’t the problem. In the top of the third, Ben Ross led off with a walk. He scored on a double off the bat of Ricardo Olivar to tie the game at 1-1. Tanner Schobel reached on an error. With one out Hendry Mendez singled to drive in Olivar. Mendez got picked off at first, but Royce Lewis doubled to right field to drive in Schobel with the third run of the inning. The Saints increased their lead in the top of the fourth inning. Gabriel Gonzalez led off with an infield single. The next two batters got out, but Ricardo Olivar picked them up. He launched his first Triple-A home run to give his team a 5-1 lead. Unfortunately, the Bats scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at five. The teams exchanged runs the next two innings. Kaelen Culpepper led off the top of the fifth inning with his 12th home run to take a 6-5 lead, but the Bats tied it in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs in the top of the sixth, Ben Ross hit his fourth home run since joining the Saints to give his team the 7-6 lead. The Bats scored the tying run in the bottom of the sixth inning. They put up four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take over the game and grab the win. Olivar led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with his second double and his first home run with the Saints. Ross went 1-for-2 with two walks and his ninth overall season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Springfield 6 Box Score After a rain out on Thursday night, the Wind Surge had the opportunity to face Cardinals top pitching prospect, lefty Liam Doyle. They have had some success against him in two previous outings. This time, the Surge scored two runs (1 earned) on two hits in 4 2/3 innings against Doyle. They struck out eight times but also worked four walks. Sam Armstrong took the ball for Wichita. He gave up three runs on two hits and four walks in two innings. He had two strikeouts. Darren Bowen came on next. He was charged with an unearned run on one hit in 2 2/3 innings. He had two walks and two strikeouts. Sam Ryan got the final out of the fifth inning and worked a scoreless sixth as well. William Fleming came in and gave up two unearned runs on two hits over the final two innings. Down 3-0 through two innings, the Wind Surge got on the board in the top of the third. Billy Amick worked a one-out walk. With two outs, Garrett Spain doubled in Amick with the first run. Spain scored on a passed ball and Wichita was down 3-2. By the eighth inning, the Surge were behind 6-2. Spain knocked his 11th home run of the season. Spain went 2-for-3 with the homer and his seventh double. What's more impressive? He was hit in the face with a 99-mph fastball in the first inning. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 11 Box Score While his final stat line won’t look good, Ivran Romero provided his Kernels teammates with exactly what they needed. Romero gave up three runs in the first inning and another in the second inning, but he settled down and put three zeroes on the board. He gave up four runs on six hits and a walk. He had five strikeouts. Unfortunately, when Romero was done, Nick Trabacchi was called upon to start the sixth inning. He gave up six runs on four hits and two walks. Yehizon Sanchez got the final out of the sixth inning and gave up a run in the seventh. Brian Zeldin struck out two batters over two scoreless, one-hit innings. The Kernels offense wasn’t bad. They scored at least one run in five of the first seven innings. In the first inning, Marek Houston led off with a single. Eduardo Tait walked, and Brandon Winokur singled to put the team on the scoreboard. Winokur led off the third inning with a double. Khadim Diaw singled him to third. Yasser Mercedes drove him in with a sacrifice fly. They almost scored another. Quinn McDaniel doubled, but Diaw was thrown out at home. In the fourth inning, Rayne Doncon led off with his sixth double. He went to third on a single by Danny De Andrade and scored on a sacrifice fly off of Tait’s bat. That cut the team’s deficit to just 4-3. However, the River Bandits scored six runs in the top of the sixth. Down 10-3, the Kernels scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the new deficit in half. Jay Thomason led off with a single. With two outs, Thomason scored on a Houston single. Houston stole second and scored on a Tait single. With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, McDaniel singled and stole second. Thomason walked, and then they were successful on a double steal. With two outs, De Andrade walked. After a pitching change, McDaniel scored on a Marek Houston walk. Houston was 2-for-4 with a walk. Tait was 1-for-3 with a walk. They both had two RBI. Winokur went 2-for-4 with a walk and his ninth double. McDaniel was also 2-for-4 and notched his first double. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 1 Box Score Both teams scored a run in the second inning. The Mussels scored on two walks, a double-steal and a sacrifice fly off the bat of JP Smith. The score remained at 1-1 until the seventh inning. Justin Mitrovich started and gave up one run on three hits. In four innings, he walked two and had four strikeouts. Matthew DesMarets came in and went 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two, hit one, and had two strikeouts. Brent Francisco got the final seven outs, two of them on strikeouts. He improved to 5-0 on the season. Tied 1-1, JP Smith led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk. With one out, Graham Brown walked. Luis Fragoza came up and doubled in Smith with the go-ahead run. Following a pitching change, Brown scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1. In the bottom of the eighth, Ryan Sprock led off with a walk. Ramiro Dominguez singled to shortstop and Sprock was thrown out trying to hustle to third base. Henry Kusiak walked. Both runners advanced on a double steal. Smith recorded another sacrifice fly to make it 4-1, and Kusiak scored on a Brown single for the game’s final run. The Mussels scored their five runs on only five hits. However, they were helped by 12 walks. Kusiak was 0-for-1, but he walked twice and stole two bases. Ryan Sprock also walked twice. Graham Brown went 2-for-3 with a walk and his first double. COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins 6, FCL Red Sox 8 Box Score Both teams had a two-run inning early in the game. The Twins had a big four-run inning in the sixth inning. Unfortunately, the Red Sox had a six-run inning in the bottom of the fifth, and the Twins were unable to catch all the way up. Lefty Cesar Lares made another rehab start. He gave up two runs on three hits over 3 2/3 innings. He had five strikeouts and maybe most important issued no walks. Santiago Rojas came in from the bullpen to get the final out of the fourth. However, in the fifth inning, he was charged with six runs (3 earned) on two hits and four walks. He came out with two outs, and Josh Walker came in. He allowed two inherited runners to score before getting the third out. But, he got three more outs in the sixth inning with no further damage. Down 2-0, Jhomnardo Reyes drove in Yilber Herrera and Jose Barrios to tie the game. Down 8-2 going into the top of the sixth, Teilon Serrano led off with a triple. He scored ahead of Reyes who hit his fourth home run of the season. The exit velo on the homer was 109 mph. Carlos Taveras walked and stole second. With two outs, he scored on a Herrera single to center. He advanced to third base on Pablo Castillo’s first double. Herrera scored on a Jose Barrios single. Jhomnardo Reyes led the offense again. He went 3-for-4 with his fourth homer and four RBI. Herrera went 2-for-3 with his sixth stolen base. Carlos Taveras played in his first game of the 2026 season. The highly-talented, highly-touted prospect went 2-for-3 with a walk. He also stole two bases. His first at-bat was a ground out, but it was 98 mph. In his second at-bat, he singled to center. He put that ball in play at 110 mph! After a walk, he hit a single at 94 mph. He is young for his signing class. He will turn 18 on Sunday. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Jhomnardo Reyes (FCL Twins): 3-for-4, HR(4), R, 4 RBI Ricardo Olivar (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2B(2), HR(1), 2 R, 3 RBI. Pitcher of the Day Brent Francisco (Ft. Myers): 2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 25 pitches, 20 strikes (80.0%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (left shoulder) #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, HR(12), R, RBI, K (batted first, played SS) #3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (thumb) - Had surgery. #4 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, 2 RBI, 2 K (batted second, DHd) #6 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch. #7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB(11) (batted first, played SS) #8 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch. #9 - LHP Kendry Rojas (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. Placed on 15-Day IL. #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, 3 K. (batted fifth, played RF) #11 - RHP Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, RBI, K (batted second, played LF) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K. (batted fifth, played SS) #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, BB, 2B(9), R, RBI, K (batted second, played 3B) #16 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #18 - RHP James Ellwanger (Ft. Myers) - 60 Day Injured List (right elbow sprain) #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5 (batted fifth, played CF) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 1-for-5, 2 K (batted first, played SS) UPCOMING PROBABLES Saturday, May 30: St. Paul @ Louisville (6:15 pm CT) - RHP John Klein (1-1, 6.10 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (DH starting at 4:05 pm CT) - RHP Jose Olivares (0-3, 8.00 ERA), TBD Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Riley Quick (0-1, 4.38 ERA) Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (5:05 pm CT) - RHP Matthew Dalquist (0-1, 4.02 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (9:00 am CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 27-31 (3rd place (of 5) in AL Central Division, 6.5 GB)) St. Paul Saints: 27-27 (6th place (of 10) in IL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Wichita Wind Surge: 21-26 (4th place (of 5) in TL North Division, 8.0 GB)) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 24-25 (3rd place (of 6) in MWL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 27-22 (2nd place (of 6) in FSL West Division, 2.0 GB)) FCL Twins: 10-9 (3rd place (of 6) in FCL South Division, 2.5 GB)) DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!
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- minor league report
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Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Ricardo Olivar) TRANSACTIONS The Twins placed lefty Kendry Rojas on the 15-Day Injured List with left elbow inflammation. They also optioned Travis Adams to St. Paul. RHP Cody Laweryson completed his rehab stint and was activated from the IL. LHP Kody Funderburk has also been recalled. The Twins also signed a pair of right-handed pitchers. RHP Yolcar Garcia is 18 years old, and RHP Manuel Meza is already 19 years old. Both have been assigned to the DSL Twins roster. Their games begin on Monday down in Boca Chica. Fort Myers has added RHP Matt DesMarets to their roster. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Louisville 11 Box Score Two big innings by the Bats were the big difference in this game in Kentucky on Friday night. Lefty Aaron Rozek started. He was charged with five runs (4 earned) on seven hits. He walked none and had four strikeouts. He left with one out in the fourth inning. Grant Hartwig came on and struck out both batters on strikeouts. Ty Langenberg came in and gave up single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. He faced three batters in the seventh inning and didn’t record an out. Trent Baker came in with two runners on and nobody out. Both runners scored. So Langenberg’s final line was two innings, six hits, five runs, one walk and four strikeouts. Baker gave up a run of his own in the seventh as well, but that’s it over the final two innings. The Saints offense wasn’t the problem. In the top of the third, Ben Ross led off with a walk. He scored on a double off the bat of Ricardo Olivar to tie the game at 1-1. Tanner Schobel reached on an error. With one out Hendry Mendez singled to drive in Olivar. Mendez got picked off at first, but Royce Lewis doubled to right field to drive in Schobel with the third run of the inning. The Saints increased their lead in the top of the fourth inning. Gabriel Gonzalez led off with an infield single. The next two batters got out, but Ricardo Olivar picked them up. He launched his first Triple-A home run to give his team a 5-1 lead. Unfortunately, the Bats scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at five. The teams exchanged runs the next two innings. Kaelen Culpepper led off the top of the fifth inning with his 12th home run to take a 6-5 lead, but the Bats tied it in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs in the top of the sixth, Ben Ross hit his fourth home run since joining the Saints to give his team the 7-6 lead. The Bats scored the tying run in the bottom of the sixth inning. They put up four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take over the game and grab the win. Olivar led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with his second double and his first home run with the Saints. Ross went 1-for-2 with two walks and his ninth overall season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Springfield 6 Box Score After a rain out on Thursday night, the Wind Surge had the opportunity to face Cardinals top pitching prospect, lefty Liam Doyle. They have had some success against him in two previous outings. This time, the Surge scored two runs (1 earned) on two hits in 4 2/3 innings against Doyle. They struck out eight times but also worked four walks. Sam Armstrong took the ball for Wichita. He gave up three runs on two hits and four walks in two innings. He had two strikeouts. Darren Bowen came on next. He was charged with an unearned run on one hit in 2 2/3 innings. He had two walks and two strikeouts. Sam Ryan got the final out of the fifth inning and worked a scoreless sixth as well. William Fleming came in and gave up two unearned runs on two hits over the final two innings. Down 3-0 through two innings, the Wind Surge got on the board in the top of the third. Billy Amick worked a one-out walk. With two outs, Garrett Spain doubled in Amick with the first run. Spain scored on a passed ball and Wichita was down 3-2. By the eighth inning, the Surge were behind 6-2. Spain knocked his 11th home run of the season. Spain went 2-for-3 with the homer and his seventh double. What's more impressive? He was hit in the face with a 99-mph fastball in the first inning. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 11 Box Score While his final stat line won’t look good, Ivran Romero provided his Kernels teammates with exactly what they needed. Romero gave up three runs in the first inning and another in the second inning, but he settled down and put three zeroes on the board. He gave up four runs on six hits and a walk. He had five strikeouts. Unfortunately, when Romero was done, Nick Trabacchi was called upon to start the sixth inning. He gave up six runs on four hits and two walks. Yehizon Sanchez got the final out of the sixth inning and gave up a run in the seventh. Brian Zeldin struck out two batters over two scoreless, one-hit innings. The Kernels offense wasn’t bad. They scored at least one run in five of the first seven innings. In the first inning, Marek Houston led off with a single. Eduardo Tait walked, and Brandon Winokur singled to put the team on the scoreboard. Winokur led off the third inning with a double. Khadim Diaw singled him to third. Yasser Mercedes drove him in with a sacrifice fly. They almost scored another. Quinn McDaniel doubled, but Diaw was thrown out at home. In the fourth inning, Rayne Doncon led off with his sixth double. He went to third on a single by Danny De Andrade and scored on a sacrifice fly off of Tait’s bat. That cut the team’s deficit to just 4-3. However, the River Bandits scored six runs in the top of the sixth. Down 10-3, the Kernels scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the new deficit in half. Jay Thomason led off with a single. With two outs, Thomason scored on a Houston single. Houston stole second and scored on a Tait single. With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, McDaniel singled and stole second. Thomason walked, and then they were successful on a double steal. With two outs, De Andrade walked. After a pitching change, McDaniel scored on a Marek Houston walk. Houston was 2-for-4 with a walk. Tait was 1-for-3 with a walk. They both had two RBI. Winokur went 2-for-4 with a walk and his ninth double. McDaniel was also 2-for-4 and notched his first double. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 1 Box Score Both teams scored a run in the second inning. The Mussels scored on two walks, a double-steal and a sacrifice fly off the bat of JP Smith. The score remained at 1-1 until the seventh inning. Justin Mitrovich started and gave up one run on three hits. In four innings, he walked two and had four strikeouts. Matthew DesMarets came in and went 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two, hit one, and had two strikeouts. Brent Francisco got the final seven outs, two of them on strikeouts. He improved to 5-0 on the season. Tied 1-1, JP Smith led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk. With one out, Graham Brown walked. Luis Fragoza came up and doubled in Smith with the go-ahead run. Following a pitching change, Brown scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1. In the bottom of the eighth, Ryan Sprock led off with a walk. Ramiro Dominguez singled to shortstop and Sprock was thrown out trying to hustle to third base. Henry Kusiak walked. Both runners advanced on a double steal. Smith recorded another sacrifice fly to make it 4-1, and Kusiak scored on a Brown single for the game’s final run. The Mussels scored their five runs on only five hits. However, they were helped by 12 walks. Kusiak was 0-for-1, but he walked twice and stole two bases. Ryan Sprock also walked twice. Graham Brown went 2-for-3 with a walk and his first double. COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins 6, FCL Red Sox 8 Box Score Both teams had a two-run inning early in the game. The Twins had a big four-run inning in the sixth inning. Unfortunately, the Red Sox had a six-run inning in the bottom of the fifth, and the Twins were unable to catch all the way up. Lefty Cesar Lares made another rehab start. He gave up two runs on three hits over 3 2/3 innings. He had five strikeouts and maybe most important issued no walks. Santiago Rojas came in from the bullpen to get the final out of the fourth. However, in the fifth inning, he was charged with six runs (3 earned) on two hits and four walks. He came out with two outs, and Josh Walker came in. He allowed two inherited runners to score before getting the third out. But, he got three more outs in the sixth inning with no further damage. Down 2-0, Jhomnardo Reyes drove in Yilber Herrera and Jose Barrios to tie the game. Down 8-2 going into the top of the sixth, Teilon Serrano led off with a triple. He scored ahead of Reyes who hit his fourth home run of the season. The exit velo on the homer was 109 mph. Carlos Taveras walked and stole second. With two outs, he scored on a Herrera single to center. He advanced to third base on Pablo Castillo’s first double. Herrera scored on a Jose Barrios single. Jhomnardo Reyes led the offense again. He went 3-for-4 with his fourth homer and four RBI. Herrera went 2-for-3 with his sixth stolen base. Carlos Taveras played in his first game of the 2026 season. The highly-talented, highly-touted prospect went 2-for-3 with a walk. He also stole two bases. His first at-bat was a ground out, but it was 98 mph. In his second at-bat, he singled to center. He put that ball in play at 110 mph! After a walk, he hit a single at 94 mph. He is young for his signing class. He will turn 18 on Sunday. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Jhomnardo Reyes (FCL Twins): 3-for-4, HR(4), R, 4 RBI Ricardo Olivar (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2B(2), HR(1), 2 R, 3 RBI. Pitcher of the Day Brent Francisco (Ft. Myers): 2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 25 pitches, 20 strikes (80.0%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (left shoulder) #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, HR(12), R, RBI, K (batted first, played SS) #3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (thumb) - Had surgery. #4 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, 2 RBI, 2 K (batted second, DHd) #6 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch. #7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB(11) (batted first, played SS) #8 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch. #9 - LHP Kendry Rojas (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. Placed on 15-Day IL. #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, 3 K. (batted fifth, played RF) #11 - RHP Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, RBI, K (batted second, played LF) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K. (batted fifth, played SS) #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, BB, 2B(9), R, RBI, K (batted second, played 3B) #16 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #18 - RHP James Ellwanger (Ft. Myers) - 60 Day Injured List (right elbow sprain) #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5 (batted fifth, played CF) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 1-for-5, 2 K (batted first, played SS) UPCOMING PROBABLES Saturday, May 30: St. Paul @ Louisville (6:15 pm CT) - RHP John Klein (1-1, 6.10 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (DH starting at 4:05 pm CT) - RHP Jose Olivares (0-3, 8.00 ERA), TBD Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Riley Quick (0-1, 4.38 ERA) Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (5:05 pm CT) - RHP Matthew Dalquist (0-1, 4.02 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (9:00 am CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 27-31 (3rd place (of 5) in AL Central Division, 6.5 GB)) St. Paul Saints: 27-27 (6th place (of 10) in IL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Wichita Wind Surge: 21-26 (4th place (of 5) in TL North Division, 8.0 GB)) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 24-25 (3rd place (of 6) in MWL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 27-22 (2nd place (of 6) in FSL West Division, 2.0 GB)) FCL Twins: 10-9 (3rd place (of 6) in FCL South Division, 2.5 GB)) DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article
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Ask Us Anything: Twins Minor League System
Seth Stohs replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in Twins Minor League Talk
I like that "question." By "talent" do you simply mean athleticism, or do you mean, most MLB ready, or what is most ready to contribute to the big leagues now? -
TRANSACTIONS Wichita played RHP Luis Quinones on the 7-Day Injured List with a right forearm strain. Infielder Jake Rucker came off of the Injured List for the Wind Surge. Miguelangel Boadas was placed on the 7-Day Injured List of the Kernels. Taking his roster spot is RHP Xavier Kolhosser, promoted from Fort Myers. Following the Twins Thursday afternoon loss in Chicago, the Twins Minor League Transaction page shows that RHP Travis Adams has been optioned to St. Paul. So who will be joining the Twins in Pittsburgh on Friday? SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Louisville 1 Box Score Down in Kentucky, the Saints offense started early and scored often through the game’s first four innings. And while they didn’t add on in the game’s second half, they didn’t need to thanks to some terrific pitching. Ryan Gallagher made his sixth start with the Saints this year, and it was easily his best. He tossed five scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and had five strikeouts. In his previous two starts combined, he had given up 12 earned runs on nine hits and seven walks in seven innings. It’s clear his focus heading into this start was to throw strikes and not hurt himself with walks (Reports indicate that they haunt.). 73% of his 74 pitches were strikes. Very encouraging start for the 23-year-old. Andrew Bash came in and made up for the lack of walks. He walked four batters over two innings, but he managed to give up no runs and no hits. C.J. Culpepper pitched the final two innings. After a scoreless eighth, he gave up a solo home run in the ninth inning. He gave up four total hits, walked none and had four strikeouts. The Saints scored their eight runs on 11 hits and were helped with nine walks. Louisville also committed two errors. The Saints took an early lead in a not-at-all surprising way. Two batters in, they had a 2-0 lead. Kaelen Culpepper walked, and Royce Lewis followed with his seventh Saints home run. On a 1-0 sinker from veteran southpaw Brandon Liebrandt was hit 108.6 mph at 22 degrees and traveled 406 feet. The second inning began with singles by Kyler Fedko and Aaron Sabato. Ben Ross walked to load the bases. Catcher Noah Cardenas came to the plate and on a 2-1 fastball, he hit a four-seam fastball at 28 degrees and 103 mph. It traveled 394 feet and gave the Saints a 6-0 lead. In the third inning, Matt Wallner scored on a ground out by Ben Ross. With one out in the fourth inning, Hendry Mendez and Gabriel Gonzalez singled. Wallner was hit by a pitch. Fedko drove in Mendez with the team’s eighth and final run of the game. Along with his 109 mph first inning homer, Lewis had a walk, and in the second inning, he hit a double to left at 115.7 mph. Cardenas was also 2-for-4 with a walk and his third double. The grand slam was his second home run of the season. Fedko was also 2-for-4, and Gonzalez went 2-for-5. Ben Ross and Matt Wallner both walked twice. Wallner was also hit by a pitch. Culpepper had a single and two walks. He also stole his 12th base of the season. Sabato had a single and a walk. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita, Springfield Box Score Rains ruled the day in mid-Missouri and caused the postponement of Thursday’s Wind Surge-Cardinals game. The plan is to play two games on Saturday. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 1, Quad Cities 12 Box Score Let’s start with the positive. Jacob McCombs hit his third home run of the season in the second inning. McCombs was 2-for-3 in the game. The key story of this game was the performance of lefty Dasan Hill. The lanky southpaw threw 43 pitches and recorded just two outs in the first inning. Just 12 of the pitches were strikes. Hill was ultimately charged with four runs on six walks and a hit batter. He also threw two wild pitches. Fortunately, Christian Becerra came in with the bases loaded and recorded the final out without any more runs scored. Hill has been dealing with a blister lately, and maybe the ball was coming out of his hand and off of his finger wrong, but if he was experiencing a new blister, he would have come out sooner. It’s shocking he was allowed to throw 43 pitches in an inning. It will certainly be interesting to see what the plan is in the near term for the immensely talented flamethrower. Becerra also pitched the second and third innings. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. Becerra pitched to one batter in the fourth inning before Sam Rochard came in. He worked 2 2/3 innings and allowed the inherited runner to score and one more run on two hits and a walk. Xavier Kolhosser went the next 2 1/3 innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and four walks. Five of the seven outs came on strikeouts. Position Player Pitcher Alert!! Harry Genth came in for the ninth inning. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. One of the runs scored on a balk. The Kernels had just four hits and four walks in the game. Marek Houston hit his 10th double. MIGHTY MATTERS Game 1: Ft. Myers 9, Jupiter 1 Box Score In the first game, the Hammerheads took the first lead, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Marlins prospect Andrew Salas, younger brother of Wind Surge utilityman Jose Salas. Then the Mighties scored nine straight to run away with it. Fort Myers responded to that second inning run by putting a “4” on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Graham Brown made his Twins and affiliated baseball debut and recorded his first hit, an infield single. He stole second before Byron Chourio walked. Bryan Acuna drove in Brown with a single to left. The runners advanced to second and third. Murphy Hernandez grounded to second but reached on a fielder’s choice and throwing error that allowed Chourio to score. Hernandez stole second (his fourth steal is less than a week with the team). Dameury Pena doubled to drive in two runs and give them a 4-1 lead. Hernandez and Pena were back at it in the bottom of the fourth. Hernandez singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Pena to make it 5-1. In the bottom of the fifth frame, Brown walked with two outs. He stole second and scored on Luis Fragoza’s third home run. In the sixth inning, Hernandez was hit by a pitch. After a short delay to make sure he was OK, he went and stole another base. Pena walked. With one out, Ryan Sprock was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With two outs, Quentin Young walked to score Hernandez, and then Pena scored on a wild pitch to make it 9-1. Merit Jones was terrific on the mound too. The right-hander earned his first pro win. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks over five innings. He struck out six batters. He was remarkably efficient. He needed just 52 pitches to get through five innings. 35 of them were strikes. Jonathan Stevens struck out two batters in a scoreless inning. Jake Murray also worked a scoreless inning to end the game. Dameury Pena went 3-for-3 with a walk, his fourth double and three RBI. He also stole his 13th base. Fragoza came in for Byron Chourio in the third inning. He went 1-for-2 with the two-run homer. Hernandez went 1-for-2, was hit by a pitch, stole three bases and scored three runs. Graham Brown went 1-for-3 with a walk, a single, two stolen bases, two runs scored, and two strikeouts. Brown, 24, signed this week from the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier League. In 2025, the Twins signed both Caleb McNeely and RHP Brett Francisco. Brown is a Maryland native, spent a season at Potomac State College in West Virginia (Junior College), and then played in 177 games over three seasons at Coastal Carolina. Undrafted, he spent the 2025 season with Evansville in the Frontier League He played mostly right field for three years in college. Last season, he played mostly center field but also got time at second base and third base. Seems similar to the signing in recent weeks of Quinn McDaniel. Maybe they didn’t expect the Mighty Quinn to force a promotion to Cedar Rapids so quickly. Game 2: Ft. Myers 8, Jupiter 7 (10 innings) Box Score After starting the season on the 7-Day Injured List, fourth-round pick from 2025 Jason Reitz made one rehab appearance in the FCL. Last week, he made his first official pro start with one inning in Dunedin. On Thursday, he made his Hammond Stadium debut and was fantastic. The 6-11 right-hander tossed three scoreless, hitless innings. He walked one and had two strikeouts. Kolten Smith came on and was charged with four runs on six hits in four innings. He had three strikeouts. Mike McKenna was charged with two unearned runs over two hitless, walkless innings. Michael Hilker gave up an unearned run on one hit in the 10th inning, but he gets the win because the Mussels came back with two runs in the 10th inning. The Mussels scored first in the fourth inning when JP Smith scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch. Jupiter jumped ahead with three in the top of the fifth and another in the sixth. Down 4-1, the Mussels tied things up in the bottom of the seventh. Murphy Hernandez led off with a bunt single and stole second. Dameury Pena and Ramiro Dominguez walked to load the bases. Henry Kusiak walked to drive in Hernandez. After a pitching change, Pena scored on a Jayson Bass sacrifice fly. JP Smith followed with another sacrifice fly to tie it at 4-4 and send the game to extra innings. Both teams scored in the eighth. Hernandez singled with two outs to drive in Manfred Man Quentin Young to tie the game and send it to the ninth. Both teams scored in the ninth. Ramiro Dominguez scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Jayson Bass and the game went to the 10th frame. Both teams scored in the 10th inning. Young started the inning on second base again. Luis Fragoza grounded out but Young advanced to third base. He scored when the Hammerhead pitcher balked. With two outs, Hernandez singled to right. He stole second and scored on a line drive to center by Dameury Pena. Hernandez led the way. He had four of the team’s six hits in the game. He also stole four bases. Pena had the game-winning single and two walks. Ramiro Dominguez had a single and two walks. The Mussels certainly had more opportunities. Despite just six hits, the Mussels also had eight walks and stole nine bases. They went just 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position and left a total of 12 on base. COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins, FCL Orioles Box Score The game was postponed by rain. The plan is to make it up in mid-June. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Merphy Hernandez (Fort Myers): 5-for-7, HBP, 5 R, 2 RBI, 7 SB(10). Dameury Pena (Fort Myers): 4-for-7, 3 BB, 2B(4), 2 R, 4 RBI, SB(13). Pitcher of the Day Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul): 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 74 pitches, 54 strikes (73.0%) Merit Jones (Fort Myers): 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 52 pitches, 35 strikes (67.3%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. Note that the links in this section will take you to the results of a search for articles that player has been tagged in on Twins Daily. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (left shoulder) #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 BB, R, K, SB(12), CS(1) (batted first, played SS) #3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (thumb) - Had surgery. #4 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K, E(5), PB(3) (batted four, catcher) #6 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - 2/3 IP, 0 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 1 HBP, 2 WP, 43 pitches, 12 strikes (27.9%) #7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2B(10), 2 K, E(7) (batted first, played SS) #8 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch. #9 - LHP Kendry Rojas (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. Scratched from the start. #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, 2 K. (batted fourth, DHd) #11 - RHP Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota) - 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 29 pitches, 19 strikes (65.5%) #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R (batted third, played LF) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 1-for-3, BB, RBI, K (batted fifth, played SS), Game 2: 0-for-4, BB, 2 R, SB(4), 2 K (batted sixth, DHd) #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K (batted second, played 3B) #16 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 74 pitches, 54 strikes (73.0%) #17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 38 pitches, 26 strikes (68.4%) #18 - RHP James Ellwanger (Ft. Myers) - 60 Day Injured List (right elbow sprain) #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) -0-for-3, BB, K, SB(3) (batted fifth, played CF) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - Rained Out. UPCOMING PROBABLES Friday, May 29: St. Paul @ Louisville (6:15 pm CT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (0-0, 1.84 ERA) vs Chase Petty (2-4, 6.32 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (7:05 pm CT) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-1, 6.75 ERA) vs SHP Jurrangelo Cijntje (3-2, 5.18 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Ivran Romero (2-2, 8.20 ERA) Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (0-1, 0.77 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Orioles (11:00 am CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 27-30 St. Paul Saints: 27-26 Wichita Wind Surge: 21-25 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 24-24 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 26-22 FCL Twins: 10-8 DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!
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