Seth Stohs

This is good feedback... about 'seeing the analysts" all the time. That's certainly fair. We've heard plenty of each of their voices that we know who is talking. And it wouldn't matter who asked Pohlad that question... he's not (and shouldn't) answer it. I agree with those who say that it has to be somewhat limited. So far, they've limited it to one series per season. However, if things go ugly again after the trade deadline, then maybe a second series because we'll need to be entertained.

Image courtesy of © Brad Rempel-Imagn Images The beauty of the baseball season is that it is a long season, that it is a marathon and not a sprint. After 162 games, the best teams separate themselves from the others. The difficulty of the baseball season for players and for fans is that it is a long season. Players have to figure out a routine and that could certainly get monotonous. It's the same for most fans, even die-hard fans. The routine of watching most of the 162 games can get a little stale, especially if you are a fan of a team that isn't very good. It can also be true of great team. So sometimes teams and players need to mix up. Days off, completely away from the field are important. Taking batting practice in the batting cage instead of on the field. Taking the second bus from the hotel instead of the first bus to the ballpark. Maybe something as simple as wearing your pants to your knees. Likewise, for fans, we need to find different ways of watching. Maybe on your big living room TV. Maybe on a laptop grilling or sitting near a campfire. Maybe it's listening on the radio on a Saturday afternoon with a fishing pole in your hand on the pontoon. Maybe it's as simple as hearing different voices. Twins fans are really lucky. Dick Bremer and his iconic voice was welcomed into our homes calling Twins fans for 40 seasons. This coming weekend, he will be welcomed with open arms as one of the most deserving members of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. Cory Provus was the radio voice for the Twins for a dozen years. He has now been in the TV booth for a few seasons. Enjoying the All-Analyst Broadcast is not in any way a knock on Provus. I think most know just how good he is behind the microphone. He does probably 150 Twins games each year. He's fantastic calling college football and college basketball in the offseason. He also has a young family. I'm sure an extra series off here and there is a great thing. We all want a quality work-life balance, right? Early in his career, Bremer teamed with Tommy John, Jim Kaat and Harmon Killebrew. For a long time, Bremer worked mostly with Bert Blyleven. That was fun early on and when the "Circle Me Bert" became a thing. If we're being honest, the Blyleven experience is why many of us started watching the game on mute. Sure, you occasionally missed Blyleven expanding the English dictionary, even getting himself suspended. What we learned from that is that on TV you can see what's happening. You don't need to have the play detailed to the same level as is needed on the radio. When Blyleven retired from the booth, the Twins decided to go with analyst-by-committee. Remember how much we enjoyed Tom Kelly's takes and stories the first time that he was in the booth. Roy Smalley had been around for a while. Justin Morneau came on board in 2019. The Twins tried out the likes of Torii Hunter (which made us all a bit nervous to hear what he might say). Glen Perkins got more and more time. LaTroy Hawkins was on for a few years before joining the coaching staff this year. Trevor Plouffe and Denard Span have been added in the last couple of years. I always thought that mixing up his in-booth partners brought out the best in Bremer. He seemed rejuvenated by the opportunity to work with more players. Few know the game of baseball and the history of the Minnesota Twins than Bremer, but he let his analyst be the "star" of the broadcast. He set them up for success. He asked questions that he likely knew the answers to, but he knew that the audience wanted to hear the opinions of the former players. Last year, the Twins tried something new. Because of the popularity of the former players involved in the broadcasts, they put together an All-Analyst broadcast. Instead of the traditional play-by-play announcer and an analyst. the broadcast was solely called by the analysts. In 2025, Morneau, Perkins and Plouffe were in the booth. Pablo Lopez joined the broadcast and impressed us all. The three former players were teammates with the Twins from 2010-2013 The Twins and Twins.tv brought back the All-Analyst broadcast. This year's class added another former teammate, Denard Span. It is clear that the four players have strong and lasting relationships. Those teams weren't always good, but the players were close and remain close. It is completely entertaining to hear them share stories about their playing years, but it's also fun to hear them analyze the game from their experiences. Luke Keaschall made his first start in center field on Wednesday night. He had played some center field in Cedar Rapids in 2013 before his Tommy John surgery. Just recently, he has moved from second base to the outfield. Denard Span talked about how he played center field only in the minor leagues, but when he was called up, he had to play right field. He discussed the differences between the three outfield spots. They also discussed Span's "walk off grand slam!" Trevor Plouffe discussed the challenges he had coming up as a shortstop, getting some time at second and third base, and then being thrown into the corner outfield spots. He talked about the difficulty and differences between the infield and the outfield. On Tuesday, the highlighted a trip he made to the A's bullpen and got a good laugh about it. Pablo Lopez spent an inning with the broadcasters on Tuesday night. They talked about his "success" as a hitter in the National League earlier in his career. They also talked about him taking 14 Twins players with less than one year of service time to a tailor who made custom suits for each. He talked about Martin Prado being the guy who paid it forward to him. Wednesday night's game began with Morneau and Perkins in the booth while Trevor Plouffe sat by the foul pole in left field, and Denard Span sat by the foul pole in right field. In the first inning, Span reached toward a ball that Kody Clemens knocked off the top of the wall, maybe 10 feet from him. Later, he "jumped" for a long foul ball over his head. His broadcast teammates laughed and mocked him in the way only teammates can. Meanwhile in left field, Trevor Plouffe told the TV audience that he had his wallet, and it had a few $20 bills in it. He said that he would give a $20 to those that came up to him and mentioned it to him. It didn't take long for a line to come up to him, get a $20 and take a picture and shake his hand. In fact, at one point he ran out of money. Soon after, Twins owner Tom Pohlad and Dustin Morse showed up in left field. Pohlad handed Plouffe some more $20s and they made fans of several more people. Then they went over to see Denard Span in right field, and Pohlad gave him some money to hand out to fans as well. I think that the experience "humanized" Tom Pohlad to some Twins fans who, to this point, have only read quotes or heard negative things about the family. Pohlad appeared to be having a great time talking to the broadcasters, chatting with the fans, and being present. It is exactly the kind of thing that he needs to do to simply start the process of gaining fan confidence. (Yes, proving it by spending more and pushing payroll back to the 2023 and 2024 levels would also have a huge impact.) Asked if they wanted to hand out some money from the broadcast booth, Morneau and Perkins both said that they'd rather have a hot dog. The next half-inning, there was Tom Pohlad, placing a huge hot dog in front of them. That's when Span and Plouffe rejoined Perkins and Morneau in the booth. Of course, it's always fun when we get to see the Twins win, especially against an AL Central foe. But both games have been really good baseball games. The Twins won 3-1 on Tuesday night. And Alan Roden played hero in the Twins walk-off win on Wednesday night. The Twins and Guardians will play one more game this series. We get to enjoy one more game with the four analysts working together. What topics will they cover today? What stories will they share? Will there be any surprises, such as additional former players joining them, or unique angles, or stories we haven't heard before? And could we be so bold as to ask for another Twins win? What are your thoughts on the All-Analyst Broadcast? Is it something you would like to see more of? Is it brilliant, or is it crazy? Is it perfect as is, one series each season, to help us all with the long season? Share your thoughts below. I'm sure the Twins would love to hear what you think? The people behind Twins TV would love to hear it as well. Whether you love it or hate it, let them know. Another question for discussion? Are there other former Twins players that you would like to see in the TV booth? View full article

Not sure how much of an organizational philosophy change will happen when aside from Derek Falvey, the scouting group is still pretty much the same. Zoll will have little to do with the actual selections. He'll be part of the discussions over the next few days as they prep, but he's smart and will let Sean Johnson do his job. Certainly, they have had many discussions with Zoll in the room about Cho, Emerson and Lackey and probably Flora. I'm sure Zoll has asked questions, maybe encouraging the room to say, well, if Cholo and Lackey are taken, would we consider taking a Justin Lebron, getting him for $2 million under slot ... so that they can give an extra million for their next few picks? Ask questions for consideration, but when it comes to Saturday and Sunday, Sean makes the ultimate decision and trusts the opinions and reports of the area and regional scouts and cross-checkers. My guess is they have their Top 200 or so. I would guess that they probably have a ranked list of 25-30 seniors that they really, really like. They can be used as "senior signs" in the first 10 rounds, or they can communicate with throughout and hope to sign right after the 20th round.

Darrell Jackson overcame several obstacles throughout his life, but on Sunday, he lost his battle with lung cancer, passing away at the age of 70. Jackson grew up in Los Angeles in the '60s and early '70s. He and his family were affected by the Watts riots in the mid-to-late-'60s. He attended Locke High School which was established in 1967 to be a safe place for children and families, but they were unable to keep the race issues from coming in. There were frequent fights, and during Jackson's senior year, two people were shot in a targeted gang attack. The following January saw an 18-year-old student killed on the school jogging track in a gang-related shooting. He was just an innocent bystander. Tyrese Gibson graduated from Locke in 1996, just two years before being signed by RCA Records. He has spent lots of time on Billboard Top 100 lists, and many now may know of him from his roles in the Fast & Furious and Transformers series of films. Jackson played on a pretty good baseball team in high school. He pitched well, and the Twins made him their sixth-round draft pick in 1973. Fellow 1973 Locke High School grads included future Hall of Famers Eddie Murray and Ozzie Smith. Murray was a third-round pick by the Orioles and signed right away. Smith went undrafted out of high school, went to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo on an academic scholarship and walked onto the baseball team. The Tigers drafted him in the seventh round in 1976, but he didn't sign. The Padres signed him after making him their fourth-round pick in 1977. Jackson certainly could have signed out of high school. He didn't, opting to attend Arizona State University. He pitched there for four years and won three College World Series championships. His time in the minor leagues was very short. His first professional start came in 1978 for the Orlando Twins, the team's Double-A affiliate at the time. He tossed nine no-hit innings. He made 10 starts and was 4-3 with a 1.80 ERA. In 75 innings, he gave up 52 hits, walked 32 and had 68 strikeouts. On June 16, 1978, Jackson made his MLB debut at Met Stadium against the Detroit Tigers. The southpaw tossed 7 1/3 innings and gave up just one run despite giving up seven hits, walking four, and having seven strikeouts. Veteran Mike Marshall got the final five outs in a 5-2 win. The bottom three hitters in the Tigers lineup that day were all rookies, catcher Lance Parrish, shortstop Alan Trammell, and second baseman Lou Whitaker. July 7th, he made his fourth career start at Oakland. He tossed a complete game shutout. In nine innings, he gave up just three hits and one walk, while striking out seven batters. In a start on May 10, 1980, at Yankees Stadium. He tossed 10 scoreless innings. He gave up five hits and walked one batter. The Bronx Bombers lineup including Willie Randolph, Reggie Jackson, Lou Pinella, Graig Nettles, he gave up a double to Bucky Dent, and Bob Watson went 4-for-4 with a double. Doug Corbett got the final three outs for the save. He went 0-5 with a 6.25 ERA in mid-June of 1982. The Twins released him. He pitched in Mexico briefly in 1983 but at that point, his career was complete. Jackson pitched for the Twins in parts of five seasons. He went 20-27 with one save. He posted a 4.38 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. 60 of his 102 career games pitched were starts. He certainly had flashes of greatness at times. Later, Jackson acknowledged that there was a lot more going on in his life and in his body. He talked about drinking too much starting in college and then drank even more once he became a pro ballplayer. Like so many pro athletes in that era, Jackson struggled with cocaine and its addictive qualities. He said in a 2022 interview that he had mistaken money, drugs, women and attention for success. When his baseball career ended, he continued to abuse alcohol and drugs. And at that point he found himself really fighting depression. He went to treatment and rehab a few times. It didn't take. He happened to meet former big league pitcher Dock Ellis, who coincidentally is best known for pitching a no-hitter while tripping on LSD. He encouraged Jackson to keep going back to treatment. It didn't work, he would relapse, but finally, it took. Had he lived about three more months, he would have reached 40 years of sobriety. And in that time, he has done a ton in the Los Angeles area to help kids and families. He led the 10-20 Club. He worked with a treatment center and others to create scholarships for young people who could not otherwise afford it or have the insurance to do so. As the name suggests, the intended audience for the program is between 10- and 20-year-olds. Beyond working with communities and organizations and law enforcement and others to help fund the program, he was often there for the kids himself. He met with the kids, told his story, and offered his contact information to the kids with the OK to call him whenever necessary, any hour of the day. Best wishes to the friends and families of Darrell Jackson! View full rumor

1. They didn't. They scored four in the bottom of the 2nd. 2. My bad, I kept forgetting it was a 7-inning game 3. I assume Bass left for third base with the pitch whereas Young likely didn't take off for second until after the ball got by the catcher.

I wouldn't trade him unless you get an upside guy for the future. I certainly wouldn't DFA him. Frustrating at times? Sure. But can carry a time at times too.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Matt Wallner) TRANSACTIONS RHP Bailey Ober had his rehab transferred to the Saints. LHP Aaron Rozek was placed on the temporary inactive list. RHP Julian Merryweather began his (second) rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Buffalo 5 Box Score On the Fourth of July, Saints batters hit some bombs off of an #OldFriend and held on until rains came and cut the game short. However, it counts as a full Win. Simeon Woods Richardson made his first start for the Bisons since being DFAd and clearing waivers last week. The Twins jumped on him right from the start. While SWR got fellow former Blue Jays prospect Alan Roden to start the game, Ryan Jeffers crushed a 1-2 splitter 105.4 mph and lined it over the fence in left center field. The bottom of the second began with a walk to Orlando Arcia and a single by Hendry Mendez. After two strikeouts, Ben Ross drove in the team’s second run with a ground-rule double. Ryan Jeffers led off the bottom of the third inning with a 97 mph double. Walker Jenkins walked, and Matt Wallner welcomed his former teammate to CHS Field by knocking the first pitch over the right-field wall for a three-run homer that made it 5-1. Orlando Arcia followed with a home run of his own to make it 6-1. Woods Richardson finished the third inning. He was charged with six runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out four batters. On the other side of the ball, Bailey Ober was making a rehab start. Last weekend, Ober made a start in Cedar Rapids. He worked five innings and gave up four runs on six hits. He had five strikeouts without issuing a walk. 50 of his 76 pitches were strikes (66%). His four-seam fastball averaged 89.0 mph on the night. Just once, he topped 90 mph (90.1 mph). Most of his fastballs, especially after the third inning, were below 88 mph. Alejandro Hidalgo came in for the sixth inning. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks. He struck out two and earned a save. Ryan Jeffers went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run. Noah Cardenas came into the game to catch in the sixth inning. He gave up one stolen base and caught one attempting to steal. He had a throwing error, but that isn’t related to his readiness. Hendry Mendez went 2-for-3 Matt Wallner went 2-for-4 with his 14th home run and three RBI. Arcia’s homer was his 11th with the Saints. He went 1-for-2 with a walk. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Tulsa 10 Box Score The Wind Surge’s miserable season continued on Saturday with another lopsided loss. Sam Armstrong started the game by putting three zeroes on the board. He gave up two runs in the fourth inning. In total, he gave up two runs on three hits and a walk over four innings. He had five strikeouts. Not a bad start by any means. However, the Drillers scored in five straight innings, including three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to make it a laugher. Wichita had just three hits and six walks to go with 14 strikeouts in the loss. Marek Houston was 1-for-3 with a walk. The only guy to really hit for Wichita has been on fire for awhile now. Andrew Cossetti went 1-for-1 with two walks, a sacrifice fly, and his 13th home run of the season. Consider that after the game on May 5th, he was hitting .131/.280/.148 (.428) with just one extra-base hit, a double. In 42 games since then, he has hit a robust .252/.407/.552 with five doubles, a triple, and 13 homers. He’s also walked 32 times. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 9, Quad Cities 15 (completion of suspended game) Box Score The rain came down in Davenport on Friday night in the bottom of the fourth and the game was suspended until Saturday. Despite a lopsided 13-2 lead for Quad Cities, the teams finished this game before the regularly-scheduled game. A quick reminder that you probably didn’t want to re-read from yesterday’s article, “Quad Cities scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and four more in the bottom of the second. They had already scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth when the game was suspended with two outs. Finally, we’ll go into more detail when the game is complete. But just so you’re aware. Lefty Cesar Lares started and was charged with 11 runs (10 earned) on seven hits (including 2 homers) and three walks.” The Kernels offense put up seven runs in the five times they came to the plate in the completion of the game. Yasser Mercedes went 3-for-4 with his fifth home run since joining the Kernels. He was also hit by a pitch. Dameury Pena went 2-for-5 with a double and four RBI. Miguel Briceno was 2-for-4. Brandon Winokur added his 13th double. Brian Zeldin came into the game when play continued. There were two runners on base. Both scored and were credited to Nolan Santos. However, he worked 2 1/3 innings and gave up no additional runs on one hit, one walk, and he only had one strikeout. Christian Becerra pitched a scoreless inning, and then outfielder Graham Brown threw a perfect eighth inning. Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 4 (regularly scheduled game) Box Score The Kernels tried to carry a little of their offensive momentum into the regularly scheduled game. With one out in the top of the first, Eduardo Tait singled. After a wild pitch, he scored on Jacob McCombs ninth double of the season. Adrian Bohorquez pitched a scoreless first inning, but in the second, he gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out three batters, and that was the end of his game. Yehizon Sanchez came in and faced nine batters over three perfect innings. He struck out two batters. Down 3-1, Andy Lugo led off the top of the fifth inning with a walk. Two batters and two outs later, he went to third on a double by Tait. Lugo and Tait scored on a single by McCombs to tie the game at 3-3. Adam Falinski pitched a scoreless sixth inning. However, with two outs in the bottom of the seventh (and final) inning, he gave up the game-winning run to take the loss. Falinski gave up one run on four hits and a walk over 1 2/3 innings. The Kernels scored their three runs on six hits and three walks. Tait went 2-for-4 with his 16th double and two runs scored. McCombs went 2-for-4 with his ninth double and three RBI. Lugo returned to the Kernels lineup and walked twice. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Clearwater 7 Box Score Hendry Chivilli started and gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. He had one strikeout. Callan Fang came in and gave up one run on two hits and two walks. And yes, he had two strikeouts. Dylan Questad came in for the eighth inning. He gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in 2/3 inning. Matt DesMarets came on with two on base. He walked a batter to load the bases but then got the final out without any additional runs scored. Down to 2-0 after one inning, Jayson Bass doubled to start the second frame. With one out, Quentin Young walked. Bass stole his 19th base. On the same pitch, Young went to second on a wild pitch. Byron Chourio followed with a two-run single to tie the game at 2-2. Ryan Sprock led off the top of the third inning with his 12th double. He went to third base on a fly out and scored on a JP Smith sacrifice fly to make it 3-2. Unfortunately, that was the end of the Mussels scoring runs in this game. Byron Chourio went 2-for-3. He was the lone Mussels batter with a multi-hit game. Bass’s double was his 11th, and Sprock’s double was his 12th of the season. COMPLEX CHRONICLES Game 1: FCL Twins 10, FCL Red Sox 9 Box Score This was a high-scoring, back-and-forth game with big innings and a ton of walks. The Red Sox scored five runs in the second and three runs in the sixth. The Twins scored three runs in the third, four runs in the sixth and two runs in the top of the seventh. Despite some strange pitching lines, the Twins held on in the final inning for the win. Saturday was a game for rehabbers, at least to start the day. Veteran Julian Merryweather gave up a single in an otherwise flawless first inning. Michael Carpenter came in and struggled to find the strike zone. The southpaw gave up four runs on three walks and a hit without getting an out. Billy Oldham came in to replace him with the bases loaded. He allowed all three inherited runners to score. In 1 1/3 innings, he gave up two of his own runs as well on two hits (including a homer). All four outs he got were on strikeouts. Santiago Rojas struck out four batters over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and two walks. Brad Rudis gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in one inning. He struck out two batters. Omar Montana had one of the strangest box score lines you will see. First, he was credited for blowing a save. He entered the game with the bases loaded and the Twins leading 8-6 with two outs in the eighth inning. He proceeded to walk the next three batters before getting the final out. He gave up a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh. He got a pop out and a fly out but then issued another walk. Jack Walker came in and got a ground out to end the game and record the save. So, Omar Montano worked one inning. He gave up no runs on one hit and four walks. He received the blown save but because the Twins went ahead in the top of the seventh, he gets credit for the Win. Between 10 hits and 12 walks, eight of nine Twins hitters had at least one hit. Seven of the nine had at least one walk. Eight of nine Twins hitters reached base at least twice. Carlos Taveras reached four times. He went 2-for-3 with two walks and his first home run of the year. Jhomnardo Reyes went 3-for-5 with his fifth home run of the season. Victor Leal reached three times. He hit his fourth double and walked twice. Teilon Serrano was 0-for-2 but walked three times. Yovanny Duran walked twice. Game 2: FCL Twins 5, FCL Red Sox 2 Box Score The Twins were the home team in the second game of the day. The second game was almost completely the opposite of the first game. In Game 1, the teams combined for 19 runs on 19 hits and 22 walks. In Game 2, the teams combined for seven runs on six hits and five walks. Fortunately, the Twins accounted for five of the seven runs, and they were able to sweep the doubleheader. Melvin Rodriguez has done a nice job as a starter in his time in the Twins organization. Already 20, he has pitched a slightly different role in 2026. Saturday was just his third start in nine appearances this season. That said, he’s only worked less than two innings once. He had his best appearance of the season on Saturday. The right-hander gave up only a solo home run over five innings of work. He walked one batter and had five strikeouts. 24-year-old Jake Covey signed as a minor-league free agent one month ago. In the sixth inning, he struck out three batters, but he gave up one run on two hits. He threw three wild pitches. He had one more strikeout in a 1-2-3 seventh inning. DSL Twins 3, DSL Cardinals 5 (Suspended in fourth inning) Box Score For the second straight day, the DSL Twins had their game suspended by rain/lightning in the fourth inning. Will they finish the game? If they can before the end of the season. By the way, there was something unusual in this game, something we see in spring training once in a while. A starting pitcher will hope to go four innings in a particular start. However, in the second inning, he throws 32 pitches and only gets one out. A reliever can come in for him, but that starter can come back in the next half inning to get his work in, in preparation for the season. I had never seen that in a regular-season game, and certainly we never will see it in the big leagues. My assumption is we won’t see it in a full-season league, but in this game, it happened. Juan Collado started for the Twins. He had a regular first inning. In the second inning, he had three walks. With two outs, he gave up a two-run single. Jesus Moreno came in, and after a run-scoring single, recorded the final out of the inning. Collado re-entered the game in the third inning and went 1-2-3. He went out for the fourth inning but allowed two runs before being replaced by Alam Soriano with two outs in the fourth. He threw two pitches before the lightning got too close for comfort. My assumption is that, even in the DSL, there is probably a once-per-game type of rule so that teams aren’t taking too much advantage of it. Jhon Gonzalez had both of the Twins hits. In the bottom of the first inning, Jendy Martinez led off with a double. He stole second base, his 10th of the season. Daiyer Barboza then reached on another error which allowed Martinez to score. Gonzalez followed with a single. Luis Duarte reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed Barboza to score. There was another error on the play. After the second out, Enmanuel Merlo reached on an error. The Twins added another run in the third frame. Gonzalez singled. Luis Duarte then reached on an error that allowed Gonzalez to score from first base. Should they continue the game at a later date, you might read some of this a second time. I just thought there was enough that I found interesting in 1/3 of a game to write about. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul): 2-for-3, 2B(1), HR(1), 2 R, 1 RBI Matt Wallner (St. Paul): 2-for-4, HR(14), R, 3 RBI, K Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-4, HBP, HR(5), 3 R, RBI, K, Game 2: 1-for-3, K, SB(22), CS(2) Jhomnardo Reyes (FCL Twins): 3-for-5, HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K Carlos Taveras (FCL Twins): 2-for-3, 2 BB, HR(1), 2 R, 2 RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Melvin Rodriguez (FCL Twins): 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 60 pitches, 39 strikes (65.0%) Yehizon Sanchez (Cedar Rapids): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 35 pitches, 20 strikes (57.1%) 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) - 0-for-3, BB, R, K (batted third, played CF) #4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1: 1-for-5, R, K (batted third, played catcher), Game 2: 2-for-4, 2B(16), 2 R, 2 K (batted second, DHd). #5 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, 2 K (batted second, played SS) #9 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, (batted sixth, played LF) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, 2B(13), R (batted first, played 3B) , Game 2: 0-for-4, 3 K (batted first, played SS) #13 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K (batted third, played catcher) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, R, 3 K (batted sixth, played SS) #18 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, HBP, HR(5), 3 R, RBI, K (batted fifth, played RF), Game 2: 1-for-3, K, SB(22), CS(2) (batted sixth, played RF) #19 - 1B/3B Billy Amick (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K (batted fourth, played 3B) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K (batted sixth, played 2B) UPCOMING PROBABLES Sunday, July 5 Buffalo @ St. Paul (2:07 pm CT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (3-2, 4.76 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-2, 3.82 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (1:00 pm CT) - RHP Michael Ross (5-3, 7.07 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (11:00 am CT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (1-2, 2.38 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 43-47 St. Paul Saints: 48-36 Wichita Wind Surge: 26-52 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 33-44 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-33 FCL Twins: 26-20 DSL Twins: 6-16 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

It's happening all over the minor leagues. As I've written before, there is talk that the ball is different. St. Paul has always been a home run/offensive park. It's not something I'm worried about since it'll only matter who gets to the big leagues and if any can stay there.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Ryan Gallagher) TRANSACTIONS Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers began his rehab assignment with the Saints on Friday night in St. Paul. IF Andy Lugo was activated by the Kernels. LHP Michael Carpenter went to the FCL to make a rehab appearance on Saturday. FCL Twins infielder Haritzon Castillo was placed on the 60-Day Injured List. He has not played since the first week of the DSL season. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Buffalo 3 Box Score Ryan Gallagher has experienced several ups and downs since joining the Saints. This is one of his best Triple-A starts. He tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and had five strikeouts. Kendry Rojas came in to get the final out of the fifth inning and worked two more innings. In 2 2/3 innings, he gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. He had three strikeouts. C.J. Culpepper came in to get the final two outs of the seventh inning. He walked one but was otherwise unscathed. Paulshawn Pasqualotto came on for the ninth inning, attempting to hold onto a 4-2 lead. He gave up an unearned run on a hit and a walk but struck out three batters to complete the Saints win. Pasqualotto was just promoted to St. Paul a day earlier. This was his Triple-A debut, and he recorded his first Triple-A save. Walker Jenkins returned to the lineup on Friday night after one night off. In the third inning, he hit a solo homer, his third with the Saints to give the team a 1-0 lead. He went 2-for-4 in the game. In addition, he shared an assist with Tanner Schobel to record an out at home. After missing nearly two months with a broken hamate bone, Ryan Jeffers began his rehab. He DHd and got four at-bats. He went 2-for-4 with a couple of rocket singles to center, the first at 105 mph and the second at 108 mph. In the fourth inning, Cody Morissette hit his sixth home run with the Saints to make it 2-0. The 26-year-old was the Marlins second-round pick in 2021 out of Boston College. He reached Triple-A Jacksonville late in the 2025 season, and that’s where he began the 2026 season. He was released by the Marlins on June 2nd. He signed with the Twins on June 8th. He spent about one week with Double-A Wichita to get some at-bats. In his 15th game with the Saints, he went 2-for-4 with his fourth double and sixth home run. The Twins third run scored came on a sacrifice fly by Hendry Mendez that scored Matt Wallner. He had walked and went to third on Gabriel Gonzalez’s 14th double. Wallner was 1-for-2 with a walk, was hit by a pitch, and in the seventh inning, he hit his 13th home run with the Saints. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Tulsa 10 Box Score Through the first inning, Wichita had a 3-1 lead. Through five innings, they were ahead 4-2. However, the Drillers scored three runs in the sixth, three in the seventh, and two more runs in the eighth inning. Andrew Cossetti led off the bottom of the first inning with his sixth double. He advanced to third with one out. Garrett Spain walked. Cossetti scored on a sacrifice fly by Billy Amick. Kyle DeBarge followed with his ninth home run of the season, a two-run shot that made it 3-1. DeBarge went 2-for-4. Chris Vallimont started and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk over four innings. He had three strikeouts. Zach Vennaro came on and gave up two runs on one hit over 1 1/3 innings. Sam Ryan came on with a runner on base. He allowed the inherited runner to score and two more runs on two hits and two walks, and he recorded two outs. Nick Mikolajchak gave up two runs on three hits in one inning. Darren Bowen gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits in two innings. He walked three and had four strikeouts. Amick went 2-for-4 with his 12th double. His 19th home run came in the third inning. Jaime Ferrer went 2-for-4 and stole a base. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 13 (suspended in the 4th inning) Box Score The rain came in the bottom of the fourth and the game was suspended. The teams will finish this game on Saturday before the regularly scheduled game. Some might argue this one was over soon after it started. Quad Cities scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and four more in the top of the second. They had already scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth when the game was suspended with two outs. Finally, we’ll go into more detail when the game is complete. But just so you’re aware. Lefty Cesar Lares started and was charged with 11 runs (10 earned) on seven hits (including 2 homers) and three walks. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Clearwater 3 Box Score Five of the game’s seven runs were scored in the first inning. The Mussels scored three runs in the top of the first inning. Clearwater responded with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Just two more runs scored over the final eight innings. With two outs in the top of the first inning, Jayson Bass walked. Luis Fragoza followed with a single. Byron Chourio followed by crushing his fifth home run of the season to make it 3-0. Reed Moring started and gave up two runs on five hits over three innings. Merit Jones came in and gave up one run on five hits and four walks over 3 2/3 innings. Michael Hilker came in and tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his third save. He gave up just one hit, walked none, and had three strikeouts. He really ‘earned’ the save in the bottom of the seventh when he entered the game with the bases loaded and didn’t allow any to score. In the third inning, Ryan Sprock hit his fifth home run of the season. He went 2-for-5 in the game. Luis Fragoza went 2-for-2. Ricardo Pena had the other extra base hit, his first double. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins, FCL Red Sox (postponed) Box Score Rain caused Friday’s game to be postponed. The cross-town rivals will attempt to play two games on Saturday. DSL Twins 1, DSL Marlins 2 (8 innings) Box Score They were scheduled to play seven innings, but the Twins and Marlins were having so much fun, they played an extra inning too on Friday morning. Actually, when the score was tied 1-1 after seven innings, the rules of the game are to play another inning. The Twins jumped to an early lead when Fabian Ulloa walked with the bases loaded in the top of the first inning to drive in Daiyer Barboza. That was about it for the Twins offense. The pitching was really good though. 16-year-old Adrian Martinez started and struck out eight batters over four scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked two batters. Herkyn Taveras came on and had a walk and a strikeout over two scoreless, hitless innings. Jeremy Jimenez came in for the bottom of the seventh, but he gave up a run to send it to an extra frame. He gave up a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the eighth which ended the game. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits. In his 1+ inning. The Twins had just two hits in the game. They walked eight times. Abel Sosa and Anibal Beltre each walked twice. Enmanuel Merlo hit a single, and Daiyer Barboza hit his third double. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Cody Morissette (St. Paul): 2-for-5, 2B(4), HR(6), R, RBI, K. Billy Amick (Wichita): 2-for-3, 2B(12), HR(19), SF, 2 R, 2 RBI Pitcher(s) of the Day Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul): 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 61 pitches, 38 strikes (62.3%) Michael Hilker (Fort Myers): 2.1 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 30 pitches, 18 strikes (60.0%) Adrian Martinez (DSL Twins): 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 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) - 2-for-4, HR(3), R, RBI (batted first, played CF) #4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2 (batted third, played catcher). #5 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-for-4 (batted second, played SS) #7 - LHP Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) - 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 46 pitches, 32 strikes (69.6%) #9 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, SF, RBI (batted fifth, played LF) #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2B(14), K (batted fourth, played 1B) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, 2B(13), R (batted first, played 3B) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-2, 2 K (PH, then played 3B) #15 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 61 pitches, 38 strikes (62.3%) #17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 13 pitches, 6 strikes (46.2%) #18 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, R, K (batted fifth, played RF) #19 - 1B/3B Billy Amick (Wichita) - 2-for-3, 2B(12), HR(19), SF, 2 R, 2 RBI (batted fourth, played DH) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 2-for-4, HR(9), R, 2 RBI, K (batted fifth, played 2B) UPCOMING PROBABLES Saturday, July 4 Buffalo @ St. Paul (6:07 pm CT) - RHP Bailey Ober (rehab) vs Simeon Woods Richardson Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 pm CT) - RHP Sam Armstrong (2-6, 4.43 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (DH @ 4:00 pm CT) - RHP Adrian Bohorquez (0-0, 9.64 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 pm CT) - RHP Hendry Chivilli (1-1, 6.75 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (DH @ 9:00 am CT) - DSL Cardinals @ DSL Twins (9:00 am CT) - CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 42-47 St. Paul Saints: 47-36 Wichita Wind Surge: 26-51 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 33-42 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-32 FCL Twins: 24-20 DSL Twins: 6-16 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

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Billy Amick) TRANSACTIONS RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto was promoted from Wichita to the St. Paul Saints. Catcher Ian Daugherty was placed on the Saints development list. RHP Nick Mikolajchak was placed on the Wind Surge development list. Futures Game Update On Thursday, MLB announced that Walker Jenkins has been added to the roster for the Futures Game this weekend. Jenkins will join shortstop Kaelen Culpepper in the game. TWINS in the Futures Game (past 20 years) 2026: SS Kaelen Culpepper, OF Walker Jenkins 2025: SS Kaelen Culpepper, 2024: SS Brooks Lee (called up before this game), 2B Luke Keaschall 2023: RHP David Festa, 2022: OF Matt Wallner, IF Spencer Steer 2021: RHP Josh Winder, 2019: SS Royce Lewis, RHP Jordan Balazovic, 2018: LHP Lewis Thorpe, OF Alex Kirilloff, 2017: SS Nick Gordon, 2016: RHP JT Chargois, 2015: OF Max Kepler (injured shoulder), RHP Jose Berrios, 2014: 1B/DH Kennys Vargas, RHP Alex Meyer (starting pitcher for USA team), RHP Trevor May (called up before this game), Jose Berrios (starting pitcher for World team at Target Field) 2013: 3B Miguel Sano, OF Byron Buxton, 2012: OF Oswaldo Arcia, 2011: RHP Liam Hendriks, RHP Kyle Gibson, 2010: RHP Anthony Slama, OF Ben Revere, RHP Liam Hendriks 2009: OF Rene Tosoni, 2008: OF Denard Span (called up just before this game), 2B Luke Hughes, 2007: RHP Matt Garza (called up just before this game), IF Matt Tolbert SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 1, Buffalo 16 Box Score John Klein had a rough first inning. He gave up four runs, but he came back out and threw three scoreless innings after that. Through five innings, Buffalo held a 4-1 lead. Then things got ugly in a hurry. Buffalo scored three in the sixth inning, four in the seventh inning, and five in the ninth inning to run away with the win. Raul Brito gave up three runs on one hit and three walks in 1 1/3 innings. Grant Hartwig came in with the bases loaded and allowed two of the three runners to score. He started the seventh inning, but all four batters got on base. Overall, he gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in 2/3 innings. Jake Higginbotham struck out three batters, but he allowed all three inherited runners to score first. Taylor Rashi pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Then it was time for Position Players Pitching. Ben Ross started the ninth inning, faced five batters and all of them got on base, four hits and a walk. Tanner Schobel came in and settled things down. He gave up a hit and a walk but no runs. He got all three ninth-inning outs. He even got a strikeout. He dropped his season ERA to 3.60, lowest season ERA of any of the Saints pitchers who worked on Thursday night with the exception of relative newcomer Taylor Rashi and his 3.52 ERA. With Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper out of the lineup, the Saints had just four hits in this game. Alan Roden was 1-for-3 with a walk. Aaron Sabato hit his 16th home run of the season in the fifth inning. It gave him 50 RBI on the season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 7, Tulsa 11 Box Score Through seven innings, Wichita had a 7-4 lead in the game. The Drillers scored two runs in the eighth and then five runs in the top of the ninth to take a big lead. The Surge were unable to respond. The offense showed up in this game for Wichita. They had seven runs on eight hits and five walks. Five of those hits were home runs. Andrew Cossetti went 2-for-5. He hit his 11th home run in the first inning and his 12th home run in the second inning. Billy Amick went 1-for-3 with two walks. He hit his 18th homer of the season with a first-inning two-run shot. Jose Salas went 2-for-4 with his seventh home run. Jorel Ortega hit his fourth homer of the season in the sixth inning. Preston Johnson started and gave up four runs on four hits over the first five innings. Ruddy Gomez gave up no runs on one hit in 1 2/3 innings. He walked two and had four strikeouts. Kyle Bischolff gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. Jaylen Nowlin got the ninth inning and gave up five runs on five hits and two walks. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 1, Quad Cities 3 Box Score The Kernels were unable to do much offensively against the Royals top prospect Kendry Chourio on Friday night in Quad Cities. Chourio gave up one run on three hits and a walk in six innings. The Kernels had just four hits and three walks in the game. Interestingly, all four hits were doubles. Caden Kendle walked and hit his seventh and eighth doubles. Jacob McCombs hit his eighth double. He was also hit by a pitch… twice. Eduardo Tait had a walk and hit his 15th double. The team went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base. Ivran Romero had a solid start. The right-hander gave up two runs on six hits and two walks in four innings. He had seven strikeouts. Jesse Bergin gave up a run in his inning. Xavier Kolhosser tossed three shutout innings. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Clearwater 4 Box Score Tough day for the Mighty Mussels offense. They had just three hits and one walk in the game. JP Smith hit his 10th homer of the season. The other run scored on a single by Irvin Nunez. Jason Reitz started and gave up three runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings. He walked twice and had four strikeouts. Jonathan Stevens gave up one run on one hit, a solo homer, in 2 1/3 innings. He walked one and had one strikeout. Nick McAuliffe tossed two scoreless innings. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 8, FCL Orioles 9 Box Score The Twins scored three runs in the second and three more in the fourth inning. Unfortunately, a six-run sixth gave the Orioles a lead they didn’t surrender. Frederick Hiciano started. He gave up two runs on three hits and got just two outs before he was removed from the game. He threw just 14 pitches, so we’ll dig a little and see if there was some other issue. Carter Holjes gave up an unearned run on two hits over 3 1/3 innings. Carlos Taveras led the Twins offense. He went 3-for-4 with a walk and three RBI. Yovanny Duran went 2-for-3 with a walk, his third triple, and his 20th and 21st stolen bases. Jhomnardo Reyes had a rough June, but he started July with a two-hit game including his 10th double. Daiber De Los Santos went 1-for-2 with two walks and his second double. DSL Twins 3, DSL Angels 6 (suspended 5th inning) Box Score This game was suspended in the top of the fifth inning. The Angels had already scored two runs in the inning without any outs. It will be interesting to see if they end up making the game up later in the season. The Twins scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Juan Holmann was 2-for-2 to this point in the game. Obviously more can be written on this game should they finish it. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Andrew Cossetti (Wichita): 2-for-5, 2 HR(12), 2 R, 3 RBI, K. Pitcher(s) of the Day Carter Holjes (FCL Twins): 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 40 pitches, 28 strikes (70.0%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(15), R (batted third, played DH). #5 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-for-5, R (batted third, played SS) #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4 (batted second, played 1B) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, K (batted first, played 3B) #13 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 0-for-4, HBP, 2 K (batted second, played C) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K (batted fifth, played 3B) #19 - 1B/3B Billy Amick (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, HR(18), R, 2 RBI, K (batted fourth, played 1B) UPCOMING PROBABLES Friday, July 3 Buffalo @ St. Paul (6:07 pm CT) - RHP Ryan Gallagher (2-3, 7.63 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 pm CT) - RHP Chris Vallimont (0-1, 5.79 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:00 pm CT) - LHP Cesar Lares (0-2, 12.00 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 pm CT) - RHP Merit Jones (2-1, 4.43 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (11:00 am CT) - DSL Twins @ DSL Marlins (10:00 am CT) - CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 42-46 St. Paul Saints: 46-36 Wichita Wind Surge: 26-50 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 33-42 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 44-32 FCL Twins: 24-20 DSL Twins: 6-15 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