Seth Stohs

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Kala'i Rosario) TRANSACTIONS The Saints activated Ian Daugherty from the Development List. RHP Jason Reitz was activated from the Injured List for the Mussels. In addition, OF Ricardo Paez was promoted from the FCL Twins to the Mussels. Kernels OF/1B Jayson Bass was placed on the temporary inactive list. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Toledo 1 Box Score This was a low-scoring affair until the bottom of the fifth inning when Matt Wallner bashed a grand slam to give the Saints some space. They added more. Kala’i Rosario led off the top of the second inning with his fourth Saints home run. After two were out, David Banuelos hit his seventh home run of the season to make it 2-0. Jack Anderson started for the Saints. He gave up one run on four hits and a walk over 4 2/3 innings. He hit 68 pitches and then Matt Bowman came on to get the final out of the fifth inning. He also worked a scoreless sixth inning.Garrett Acton tossed two innings and struck out four batters. Marco Raya pitched a perfect ninth inning to finish out the win. They didn’t need it, and obviously they didn’t know that they didn’t need it, so the Saints kept adding on. With one out in the fifth inning, Banuelos was hit by a pitch. Alan Roden singled, and Gabriel Gonzalez lined a single to left to load the bases. That brought Matt Wallner to the plate, and he took a 2-0 sinker on the inning third of the plate and deposited it over the wall in right field to make it a 6-1 game in favor of the Saints. It marked his 24th home run with the Saints this season as he continues to add to his franchise-leading single-season home run record. In the bottom of the seventh, Wallner came to the plate with Gonzalez at second base after a walk and wild pitch. Wallner lined a single to the opposite field to drive in Gonzalez and make it 7-1. In the bottom of the eighth, Kala’i Rosario came up and hit his second home run of the night and fifth with the Saints. It was a laser at about 112 mph. That gave the Saints an 8-1 lead that they held onto. Wallner was 2-for-3 with a walk, his 24th home run and five RBI (which gives him 70 for the season). Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with a walk. Rosario hit two homers over four at-bats. Banuelos was 1-for-2 with a walk, a hit by pitch, and his seventh home run of the season. Playoff Update: With 19 games left in the season, the Saints are 2.0 games out of the lone second half playoff spot. Home Run Record Update: The Saints have hit 228 home runs this season. The current International League record for single-season home runs by a team is 231. The Saints have 19 games left. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Arkansas 11 Box Score Before the game, Andrew Cossetti was presented the Wind Surge 2026 Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service. That truly is an honor. In the bottom of the second inning, Cossetti gave his team a 1-0 lead with his 17th home run of the season. After that, the Travelers scored the next, and final, 11 runs of the game. Cory Lewis started. In a season-high 4 1/3 innings, he gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. He had five strikeouts. Hunter Gregory came in and gave up two runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings. Jaylen Nowlin came in for the seventh inning. He gave up five runs (4 earned) on two hits, three walks, and a hit batter. He recorded just two outs. Kyle Bischoff got the final out of the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth inning. Catcher Luis Hernandez came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning. He gave up two runs on four hits in the inning. Khadim Diaw was back in the lineup. He went 2-for-4 with his eighth double. It marks his 17th multi-hit game since joining Wichita. Garrett Spain went 2-for-4. He's had 25 multi-hit games. Kyle DeBarge went 2-for-4 and stole his 34th base on the season. DeBarge has 24 multi-hit games this season. With Kade Anderson called up by the Mariners, the clear top pitching prospect in the Mariners system is Ryan Sloan. He started this game for Arkansas. He gave up one run on five hits over six innings. He had six strikeouts to zero walks. Like Anderson, you can find Sloan among the top 10 prospects in all of baseball. Marek Houston was out of the Wind Surge lineup for the second straight game. He hasn't played since being ejected in the eighth inning on Thursday. Home Run Record Update: Cossetti's home run gave the Surge 171 homers this season. That ties the franchise's record for homers in a season. The Surge have seven more games to play. Did you Know? Walker Jenkins became the 50th former Wind Surge player to make his MLB debut. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Lake County 10 Box Score Kolten Smith has certainly not been himself since he joined the Kernels, but it’s been especially rough his past three starts. In this game. He tossed a scoreless first inning and completed the first inning for the first time in three starts. However, he gave up four runs in the second and four more runs in the third inning. In total, he gave up eight runs on seven hits (2 homers) and five walks in 2 1/3 innings. Just 36 of his 71 pitches were strikes. Ivran Romero came in and went the next 4 1/3 innings. He came in with the bases loaded and got out of the inning without allowing any of the inherited runners to score. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out two batters. Cleiber Maldonado got the next four outs, three of them on strikeouts. Catcher Irvin Nunez came in and pitched the ninth. He had a 1-2-3 inning with two ground balls and a line out to center. While they found themselves down 8-0 after three innings, the Kernels hitters didn’t give up. In the bottom of the fourth inning, JP Smith led off with a walk. Luis Fragoza singled him to center. The runners advanced on a balk. Following a walk, Byron Chourio and Ramiro Dominguez each drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to make it 8-2. In the bottom of the sixth, Fragoza led off with a single. With two outs, a Dominguez single drove him in. That made the deficit 9-3. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Yasser Mercedes clobbered a 2-2 hanger beyond the wall in left field, and completely out of the stadium. It left the bat at 110 mph. Mercedes went 3-for-5, and that was his 10th home run with the Kernels. Fragoza went 2-for-4. Byron Chourio hit his fourth double. Tait fouled for the 23rd time this season. On Sunday, the Kernels will play their final home game of the 2026 season. They are scheduled to play six games in South Bend next week to close out their season. MIGHTY MATTERS Fort Myers, Bradenton (postponed) Box Score For the second straight night, conditions at Hammond Stadium, specifically the rain, caused an unplayable field. Friday’s game was cancelled. The two teams will attempt to play a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. They will be the final two home games for the Mussels this season. Fort Myers is scheduled for six games in Clearwater next week to conclude their season. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Matt Wallner (St. Paul): 2-for-3, BB HR(24), R, 5 RBI Kala’i Rosario (St. Paul): 2-for-2, 2 HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, HR(10), R, RBI, 2 K Pitcher(s) of the Day Jack Anderson (St. Paul): 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K Garrett Acton (St. Paul): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today. (Click on player links in this section to see Twins Daily articles that the player has been tagged in.) #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (Minnesota) - 1-for-3, 2B(1), RBI(1), SB(1) (batted ninth, played CF) #2 - C Vahn Lackey (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, BB, 3 K (batted second, placed catcher) #3 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, R, K (batted seventh, played SS) #8 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2B(23), K (batted third, played DH) #9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, BB, 2 R (batted second, played LF) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K (batted third, played SS) #13 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2B(8) (batted second, played DHd) #19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, HR(10), R, RBI, 2 K (batted first, played CF) UPCOMING PROBABLES Sunday, August 30 Toledo @ St. Paul (2:07 pm CT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (3-3, 3.94 ERA) Arkansas @ Wichita (1:05 pm CT) - RHP Riley Quick (0-2, 4.76 ERA) Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - LHP Cesar Lares (1-6, 11.45 ERA) Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (DH @ 11:05 am CT) - RHP Eric Hammond (1-4, 4.40 ERA), TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 64-72 St. Paul Saints: 74-56 Wichita Wind Surge: 51-72 (Final Game 9/13) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 46-77 (Final Game 9/6) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 67-55 (Final Game 9/6) FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete) DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete) 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 Malamut Photography (photo of Byron Chourio) TRANSACTIONS I’m not sure if you have heard yet, but the Minnesota Twins called up OF Walker Jenkins to the big leagues (officially on Friday). To make room on the 26-man roster OF Alan Roden was optioned to St. Paul. To make room on the 40-man roster, RHP Woo-Suk Go was Designated for Assignment. RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto was promoted to St. Paul for the second time this season. RHP Finnegan Wall moved from the FCL Twins roster to the Cedar Rapids Kernels. The Kernels placed RHP Brian Zeldin on the 7-Day Injured List. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 1, Toledo 4 Box Score To say this wasn’t a great game for the Saint is probably an understatement. Well, the pitching wasn’t actually too bad. German Marquez provided the Saints with innings in this game. He gave up four runs, but he gave the team six innings. He gave up eight hits, walked four and had four strikeouts. C.J. Culpepper struck out two batters over two scoreless innings. Julian Merryweather gave up two hits but no runs in a scoreless ninth frame. He had one strikeout. The Saints went scoreless through the game’s first eight innings. They did score a run in the bottom of the ninth when Tanner Schobel drove in Kala’i Rosario with a fielder’s choice grounder. The Saints scored their one run on five hits and four walks. They were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base. That’s understandable when a team strikes out 19 times. All 10 Saints batters that played in the game struck out at least once. Four Saints batters struck out three times. Kala’i Rosario went 2-for-4 with his second double. He also stole his second base. Tristan Gray had the only other extra base hit, his third Saints double. Emmanuel Rodriguez was 0-for-2 but walked twice. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Arkansas 5 Box Score Chris Vallimont made the start for the Surge. The veteran gave up one run on three hits and a walk over four innings. He struck out four batters. Sam Armstrong went the next four innings. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits. He struck out six batters and walked none. Darren Bowen walked two and had a strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning. The issue was that, like the Saints, the Wind Surge scored in just one of nine innings. Down 4-0 going to the bottom of the seventh inning, Wichita scored three runs after the 7th Inning Stretch. Jaime Ferrer led off the seventh by being hit by a pitch. Graham Brown followed with his third Double-A home run which cut the deficit in half. With two outs, Jake Rucker walked. Brandon Winokur singled him to third. Rucker scored on a Garrett Spain single to make it 4-3. That’s as close as they got. Wichita had three runs on six hits and four walks. Caden Kendle went 2-for-2 with a walk. Brown’s home run was his third Double-A homer. Spain and Andrew Cossetti each had a single and a walk. They were just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Lake County 3 Box Score The Kernels fell behind early in this game. Justin Mitrovich started and gave up one hit, walked three and hit one batter. He recorded just two outs, one on a strikeout, but he was already at 39 pitches, so he came out with the bases loaded. Finnegan Wall came in with the bases loaded and walked the first batter he faced before getting the first inning’s final out. All three runs were charged to Mitrovich. Wall went 2 1/3 innings and gave up no runs of his own. He gave up three hits and walked a second batter. Not a bad first professional appearance, especially with what he came into. Down 3-0 after one inning, the Kernels bullpen was really good the final eight innings. Yehizon Sanchez and Brent Francisco each tossed two scoreless innings. Sanchez gave up one hit, hit one batter, and walked one. He struck out two batters. Francisco gave up four hits and had four strikeouts. Cole Peschl and Michael Hilker each tossed a scoreless innings. Peschl had one strikeout and Hilker had two strikeouts. The Kernels got on the scoreboard in the second inning. With two outs, Ramiro Dominguez walked. He advanced a base on a Byron Chourio single. Irvin Nunez reached on an error to load the bases. Jacob McCombs then reached on another fielding error which allowed two runs to score. In the bottom of the third inning, JP Smith knocked his sixth home run since joining the Kernels earlier in the month. He had 15 home runs with Fort Myers. The solo homer tied the score at 3-3. The middle innings were quiet, but the Kernels took their first lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Chourio started the inning with a single to left. He stole second and went to third base on a throwing error. Chourio scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of McCombs. The Kernels broke things open in the bottom of the eighth inning, doubling their scoring output from the previous seven innings. Eduardo Tait led off with a single. He went to third on a Smith single and a throwing error. With one out, Jayson Bass singled in Tait to make it 5-3. With two outs, Chourio stepped to the plate and launched a three-run homer to make it 8-3. Batting eighth, Chourio went 3-for-4 with his third home run, three runs scored and three runs driven in. He also stole his sixth base. McCombs went 2-for-3 with his fifth triple. Smith was 2-for-3 with a walk and his sixth Kernels homer. The photo of Byron Chourio at the top of this article is one of nearly 4,000 photos that Dee Malamut of Malamut Photography took at last night's Kernels game in Cedar Rapids. You will see Dee at most Kernels home games, and we are lucky enough to be able to use some of his great photos. And, if you're planning on going to Cedar Rapids, or maybe at Twins Fest, you can order some photos from Dee himself. Check out the home page and find links to the 2026 games (and further back). You can also use the search functionality and type in names of current or past Kernels players and find their photos. The current Kernels roster has Top 20 prospects like Vahn Lackey, Eduardo Tait, and Yasser Mercedes. Marek Houston, Riley Quick, Khadim Diaw, Enrique Jimenez, Brandon Winokur are Top 20 prospect who were with the Kernels earlier this year. Caden Kendle and Adrian Bohorquez were in Cedar Rapids until recently. Want to see more Chourio, or JP Smith photos, check out Friday's Kernels game photos. And if you're a fan of minor leaguers from other organizations, you might be able to find them. For instance, Royals outfield prospect Carson Roccaforte was recently promoted to Triple-A Omaha. A search of the Malamut Photography site shows us that he's posted 30 photos of a Top 10 Royals prospect. MIGHTY MATTERS Fort Myers, Bradenton (Cancelled) Box Score The Mussels game on Friday night (and the postgame fireworks) was cancelled when rains made Hammond Stadium unplayable. With the season winding down, the game was cancelled rather than postponed as it won’t make a difference for the playoffs. Saturday and Sunday are the final two home games for the Mussels 2026 season. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Byron Chourio (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-4, HR(3), 3 R, 3 RBI, SB(6) Pitcher(s) of the Day Finnegan Wall (Cedar Rapids): 2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 64-71 St. Paul Saints: 73-56 Wichita Wind Surge: 51-71 (Final Game 9/13) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 46-76 (Final Game 9/6) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 67-55 (Final Game 9/6) FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete) DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete) 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 not a huge deal. I did go back and watch the first one. He didn't do much. In fact, I recall tweeting something like, "That was the most laid back, calm ejection I'd ever seen."

I mean, "Speed" is absolutely his game. He's young, thin and fast. That said, he's got maybe four homers this year and a couple went a long way. But definitely he's a solid centerfielder and has a good arm. Lots of growing and developing to do, but he's been productive each of his pro seasons. 3 years, 3 levels.

I didn't go back to the video, but he struck out in the bottom of the 7th, and then the third base ump tossed him, I believe, when he was one his way back out to the field. I'm guessing it isn't anything to worry about, but it is worth noting.

Image courtesy of Malamut Photography (photo of Ramiro Dominguez) I was going to start this article today with what is now the third paragraph. But then I took about a second and thought. Hmmm, the Minnesota Twins are calling up their top prospect on Friday. Maybe that should be the introductory paragraph. It was clear that Jenkins would be a big leaguer. It was always a matter of when, and not if. Even this year, he had a couple of stints on the Injured List, first with a hamstring strain and later a shoulder issue. That delayed him, but when he played, he did everything. Well, almost everything. The one thing he had really not shown yet was in-game power. Sure, he hit some homers, and some of them went a long way. And then came August. Jenkins played in 18 games for the Saints. He had multi-hit games in 11 of them. He had his first three multi-homer games this month. He hit eight home runs including five of them in the past six games. In August, he hit .411/.488/.795 (1.283) with two doubles, a triple, eight homers and 13 RBI. He also walked 11 times and had seven stolen bases. There’s no way to know how Jenkins will perform in his first month in the big leagues, but he should be coming into the league with a lot of confidence. I know he’s no longer a Twins pitching prospect, but lefty Dasan Hill was a nice addition to the Twins organization the past couple of years. He had a big breakout season in 2025, and despite struggles in 2026, remained a very intriguing prospect. The Twins were able to acquire RHP Jeff Hoffman in large part due to including Hill in the trade package. On Thursday, Hill posted a video on YouTube. In it, he mentioned his love for the Twins organization, teammates and coaches and trainers and everyone. He had an immediate reaction to the trade, clearly still reeling from the surprise. He then talked about his transition over to the Blue Jays organization. He’s excited, of course. He also broke down a recent outing that he had. I definitely encourage people to take the 13ish minutes to watch his YouTube video. TRANSACTIONS The recently-signed veteran RHP Ron Marinaccio was placed on the temporarily inactive list. Infielder Ramiro Dominguez was promoted from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids. RHPs Rainer Marin and Aidan Russell were promoted from the FCL to Fort Myers. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Toledo 9 Box Score The Twins made the decision to call up Walker Jenkins from the Saints. Emmanuel Rodriguez has been showing all of his skills and tools in recent weeks as well. On Thursday night, Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with his fifth double and his 10th home run. He played left field, and it will be interesting to see if he gets to the big leagues too before the season ends. Tanner Schobel went 2-for-3 with a walk and his sixth home run, a two-run shot in the fifth inning. Tristan Gray went 2-for-4. Those three accounted for six of the team’s seven hits. Matt Wallner walked twice. The Wind Surge went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, but it didn’t matter on this night. Ricky Castro started for the Saints and was charged with five runs on five hits. In 3 1/3 innings, he walked three and had six strikeouts. Alejandro Hidalgo gave up two runs on two hits in 1 1/3 innings. He had four walks and two strikeouts. Eric Orze calmed things with 2 1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Marco Raya gave up two runs on one hit and two walks in his inning. He struck out three batters. Woo-Suk Go struck out two in a perfect ninth inning. If the Twins were to need to make a 40-man roster move on Friday, Go could be gone. In nine games with the Saints, he is 2-1 with a 12.54 ERA. In 9 1/3 innings, he’s given up 13 earned runs on nine hits and 11 walks. The 28-year-old also struck out nine batters. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Arkansas 8 (10 innings) Box Score The Surge took an early lead in the third inning. From there it was back and forth. Through nine innings, the game was tied 3-3. Arkansas scored five runs in the top of the 10th frame to take the commanding lead. The Kernels scored in the bottom of the 10th but fell far short. In the bottom of the third inning, Marek Houston notched a one-out single. With two outs, Brandon Winokur’s ninth Surge homer gave Wichita a 2-0 lead. On Thursday night, Winokur set his career high with his 18th home run. On Friday, he added to that total with his 19th overall home run of the season. Ty Langenberg got the start for Wichita and continued to pitch well. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk over five innings. He had five strikeouts. Wichita added a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, but they could have had more. Jaime Ferrer and Graham Brown started the inning with singles. Quinn McDaniel drove in Ferrer with a double to make it 3-1. Runners were on second and third base with nobody out. Unfortunately, the next two batters struck out, and a ground out ended the inning. Spencer Bengard came in and gave up just one hit and one walk over two scoreless innings. He struck out two batters. Jaylen Nowlin gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and two walks in the top of the eighth which tied the game at 3-3. Mitch Mueller came on and pitched a scoreless ninth inning. He went out for the tenth inning and faced five batters. He got no outs. He gave up five runs (3 earned) on two hits and two walks. Kyle Bischoff came on and got three outs, two on strikeouts. He also walked one batter. Brandon Winokur drove in the Wichita Manfred Man to make it 8-4, but that was as close as it got. Winokur went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs, all with two outs. Kyle DeBarge went 2-for-4 and stole his 32nd and 33rd bases of the season. McDaniels’ double was his second with Wichita. For the second time since joining Wichita, Marek Houston was ejected. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Lake County 11 Box Score Through four innings, the Kernels found themselves behind by a score of 8-3. By the end of the seventh inning, Cedar Rapids had a 10-8 lead. Unfortunately, a three-run eighth inning gave the Captains a one-run lead that they held onto. Merit Jones started and was charged with eight runs (7 earned) on nine hits and four walks. Michael Ross came in and worked the final five innings. He gave up three runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out four batters. Byron Chourio led off the bottom of the first inning with a single. He stole a base and Vahn Lackey walked. With two outs, Danny De Andrade hit his 14th home run to give his team the early 3-2 lead. Andy Lugo led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a walk. Ramiro Dominguez walked to the plate. He had flown out in his first at-bat with the Kernels, in the second inning. Wearing the #2 on his white Kernels jersey, he lined a first-pitch fastball over the wall in left field. It hit the foul pole and cut the Kernels deficit to three. The bottom of the sixth inning began with walks by JP Smith and Danny De Andrade. With one out, Irvin Nunez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Then, with two outs, #2 stepped to the plate again. On a 2-1 pitch, Dominguez crushed another ball. There was no question if it was fair or foul, and it was no question if it was deep enough. He turned a three-run deficit into a one-run lead with the blast. Dominguez ended the day 2-for-4 with six RBI. In 90 games for Fort Myers, he hit nine homers. A quick search on this site for articles in which Ramiro Dominguez is tagged brings back 18 results including a reminder that he was the Twins Daily 2025 FCL Hitter of the Year. As noted, the Kernels gave up three runs in the eighth and took the tough loss. We reached out to the Kernels, but we have not yet heard back from them at the time of publication. We wanted to address the rumors that the Kernels are thinking about giving Dominguez the number 3 on his uniform for the game on Friday. There were also some reports that first baseman JP Smith offered to give up #46 to Dominguez right before Merit Jones offered him uniform #51. We’ll be sure to follow up. No, not really. Danny De Andrade went 3-for-3 with two walks, his 14th home run and four RBI. Byron Chourio went 2-for-5. Vahn Lackey had his first hitless game since joining the Kernels. He was 0-for-1 with four walks. The photo at the top of this article is one of nearly 5,000 photos that David Malamut of Malamut Photography took at last night's Kernels game in Cedar Rapids. David can be seen at most Kernels home games, and we are lucky enough to be able to use some of his great photos. And, if you're planning on going to Cedar Rapids, or maybe at Twins Fest, you can order some photos from David himself. You can check the home page and find links to the 2026 games (and further back). You can also use the search functionality and type in names of current or past Kernels players and find their photos. The current Kernels roster has Top 20 prospects like Vahn Lackey, Eduardo Tait, and Yasser Mercedes. Marek Houston, Riley Quick, Khadim Diaw, Enrique Jimenez, Brandon Winokur are Top 20 prospect who were with the Kernels earlier this year. Caden Kendle and Adrian Bohorquez were in Cedar Rapids until recently. Want to see more Ramiro Dominguez photos, check out Thursday's Kernels game photos. And if you're a fan of minor leaguers from other organizations, you might be able to find them. For instance, on Thursday, Brewers slugging prospect Andrew Fischer hit three homers, his 41st, 42nd and 43rd of the season. A search of the Malamut Photography site shows us that he's posted 85 photos of the Brewers 2025 first-round pick. MIGHTY MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Bradenton 2 Box Score The Mussels got off to an early lead and then held on for the win. Merphy Hernandez led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple. Carson Tinney followed with a walk. With one out, Isaiah Lane drove in Hernandez with a single. Bryce Fowler led off the second frame with a double. Quentin Young followed with an RBI single to left to make it 2-0. The third inning began with a Tinney walk. Colby Turner hit a ground rule double to advance Tinney to third base and then scored on a passed ball. Walks by Lane and Fowler loaded the bases. Young hit a fly ball to center field, deep enough to drive in Turner with the team’s fourth run. Cristian Hernandez started and gave up one run on six hits in 3 2/3 innings. He walked one and had six strikeouts. Rainer Marin gave up two hits and a walk over 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Adam Falinski gave up one run on three hits and two walks in his two innings. Nick McAuliffe tossed two scoreless innings to record the save. Lane was the lone Mussel batter to record a multi-hit game. He was 2-for-3 with a walk. Fowler’s double was his second, and Turner’s double was his fifth of the season. Tinney went 1-for-3 with two walks. Merphy Hernandez went 1-for-2 with three walks and his second triple. He stole his 45th and 46th bases of the season. That pushed him past Ben Revere in 2009 for second-most steals in franchise history (dates back to 1992). It is fairly unlikely that Hernandez will surpass the current leader and jump into the #1 spot. That belongs to outfielder Anthony Felston who, in 1998, stole 86 bases for the Miracle. Felston was the Twins 34th round pick in the 1996 draft out of the University of Mississippi. Felston stole 86 bases and was caught 26 times in 114 games in his age-23 season. Hernandez will not turn 20 until mid-December and has 46 bases in 56 Mussels games. (It’s also important to note that the Miracle were the organization’s High-A affiliate until the 2021 season when it became the Low-A affiliate.) A quick search of Twins Daily, brings back these articles in which Hernandez was tagged. COMPLEX TOPICS The Florida Complex League and the Dominican Summer League seasons are complete. On Thursday, The FCL Twins Yovanny Duran was named an FCL All Star outfielder. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-3, 2 BB, HR(14), 2 R, 4 RBI, SB(1) Ramiro Dominguez (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, 2-HR (2), 2 R, 6 RBI Murphy Hernandez (Fort Myers): 1-for-2, 3 BB, 3B(2), R, K, 2 SB(46) Brandon Winokur (Wichita): 3-for-5, HR(9), R, 3 RBI Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2B(5), HR(10), R, RBI Pitcher(s) of the Day Ty Langenberg (Wichita): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (Minnesota) - Did Not Play. Called up to Twins. #2 - C Vahn Lackey (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-1, 4 BB, R, SB(2) (batted second, played catcher) #3 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota) - No Game. #4 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R, K, ejected in 8th (batted first, played SS) #5 - RHP Riley Quick (Wichita) - Did Not Play. #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2B(5), HR(10), R, RBI (batted second, played LF) #7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 K (batted fifth, played DH) #8 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5 (batted third, played DH) #9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, K (batted third, played 1B) #11 - C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, R, K (batted second, played Catcher) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 3-for-5, HR(9), R, 3 RBI (batted third, played CF and SS) #18 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-3, 2 RBI, SF, SB(8) (batted seventh, played SS) UPCOMING PROBABLES Friday, August 28 Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 pm CT) - RHP German Marquez (0-0, 7.71 ERA) Arkansas @ Wichita (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Chris Vallimont (2-3, 4.86 ERA) Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (2-1, 3.08 ERA) Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Matthew Dalquist (3-3, 4.66 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 64-70 St. Paul Saints: 73-55 Wichita Wind Surge: 51-70 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 45-76 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 67-55 FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete) DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete) 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

I would certainly hope that his leash isn't short with the organization. I think we've seen a lot of good streaks from him. That's not to say that he can't be optioned if they think that Garrett Acton or Jack Anderson would be better over the next month. Maybe. Orze, Raya and Go are on the 40-man roster too. Rojas and Laweryson and Gomez are on the IL. Would we feel comfortable with the veteran relievers in St. Paul like Bowman, Marinaccio, Merryweather, Marquez, It's completely guessing to know who would pitch best in the big leagues over the final 5ish weeks between those 13+. And, moves can be and will likely be throughout September.

The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels and the Cedar Rapids Kernels have announced that catcher Vahn Lackey has been promoted to the High-A Kernels. He certainly didn't put up the kind of numbers some might expect in his 15 games with the Mussels. He hit just .204 with a .370 slugging percentage, but he did get on base 39% of the time. The actual numbers are not important. 15 games is a small sample, and Lackey had not played competitive baseball in about two months. Lackey showed some of his talent and the tools that make him such an intriguing catching prospect. Behind the plate, he has several caught stealing videos showing a quick transfer, quick release, good feet, and a strong and accurate arm. That said, he got just six out of 26 would-be base stealers (23%). Lackey showed really good speed with the two doubles and two triples. He was also successful in five out of six stolen base attempts. Regardless of the statistics themselves, it is time to push the top pick up to High-A Cedar Rapids for the final couple of weeks. I am a bit surprised that second round draft pick and fellow catcher Carson Tinney did not take the same flight up to Iowa. Tinney has played in 16 games for Fort Myers. The Texas alum hit .222/.409/.593 (1.001) with two doubles and six home runs. After going 3-for-27 in his first nine professional ballgames. He was hitting .111/.385/.222 (.607) with one home run. He had 11 walks to 13 strikeouts. In his past eight games, Tinney has gone 9-for-27. He has hit .333/.438/.963 (1.401) with two doubles and five home runs. He's been much more aggressive with four walks and eight strikeouts. The Rest of the 2026 Draft Picks (Hitters): 11th round Aidan Teel: 16 G, 14-for-53, .264/.385/.396 (.781) with 5 doubles, 1 triple. 12th round Colby Turner: 16 G, 20-for-62, .323/.403/.452 (.854) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run. 13th round Isaiah Lane: 14 G, 16-for-47, .340/.418/.617 (1.035), 4 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run. 15th round Charlie Scholvin: 14 G, 8-for-45, .178/.362/.200 (.562), 1 double. 17th round Hideki Prather: 7 G, 3-for-23, .130/.214/.174 (.388), 1 double. 19th round PJ Moutzouridis: Remains on the FCL Twins roster. View full rumor

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Carson Tinney) TRANSACTIONS The Twins signed veteran RHP Ron Marinaccio to a minor league contract and assigned him to the Saints. The Reds recently DFAd him. He cleared waivers and elected free agency on Thursday. The Twins signed him on Saturday. He has pitched in 149 big-league games over the past five seasons. He spent three years with the Yankees. He pitched for the Padres some in 2025 and began the season with 33 appearances for San Diego. He then pitched four games for the Pirates and four games for the Reds. He will join the Twins bullpen depth in St. Paul, looking for another opportunity. The Saints also placed Kendry Rojas on the injured list with a strained right oblique. Catcher David Banuelos was placed on the temporary inactive list. Catcher Ian Daugherty was activated from the Saints development list. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 15, Columbus 11 Box Score After scoring just one run on Friday night, the Saints offense returned with a vengeance on Saturday. The pitching was certainly not great, but St. Paul had innings with four runs scored and six runs scored. The Saints got on the board first in the second inning with a familiar result. Tristan Gray hit a home run for the fourth day in a row. Walker Jenkins led off the third inning with a walk. After two strikeouts, he stole second. Emmanuel Rodriguez and Aaron Sabato walked to load the bases. Hendry Mendez responded with a two-run single to right field to make it 3-0. However, the Clippers scored five runs in the third and three runs in the fourth inning to grab an 8-3 lead. German Marquez started and tossed two scoreless innings before giving up five runs on five hits (including three homers) and a walk in the third inning. He walked three batters in a scoreless first inning. Ron Marinaccio made his organizational debut. In the fourth inning, he was charged with three runs on three hits (one homer) in the inning. But that Saints offense is potent. They scored six runs in the top of the fifth inning to reclaim the lead 9-8. The inning started with a Ben Ross double. With one out, Emmanuel Rodiguez hit his ninth home run with the Saints. With two on and two outs, Cody Morissette doubled to drive in Sabato and Gray. Noah Cardenas followed with his 12th home run of the season to give the Saints the 9-8 lead. Woo-Suk Go pitched a scoreless fifth, but when given a lead, he gave up two runs on a hit, a hit batter, and two walks in the sixth inning. Down 10-9 through six innings, Sabato led off the top of the seventh inning with a double. He moved to third on a groundout and then scored the 10th run on another grounder. Morissette and Cardenas walked to load the bases. After a pitching change, Walker Jenkins walked in the go-ahead run. The Saints kept adding on in the eighth. Rodriguez walked and stole second. Mendez walked. Tristan Gray hit into a fielder’s choice, but because of a throwing error, the bases were loaded. Morissett stepped to the plate and launched a grand slam to give his team a 15-10 lead. Marco Raya pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He gave up a solo home run and struck out three batters. Matt Bowman struck out three batters in a hitless, scoreless ninth inning. Morissette went 2-for-4 with a walk, his 14th double, his 11th home run, and six RBI. Walker Jenkins went 2-for-4, two walks and 15th stolen base. Aaron Sabato went 2-for-5 with a walk and his 27th double. Ross added his 22nd double and a walk. Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with three walks to go with his ninth home run and fifth stolen base. Cardenas walked in addition to his 12th home run of the season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 7, Frisco 5 Box Score The Surge scored three in the first and three in the second and then held on, keeping Frisco from completing the comeback. Jake Rucker led off the game with a walk and went to second on a throwing error. Caden Kendle followed with a walk. Brandon Winokur came up and drove in a run with his second Surge double. Kendle scored on a sacrifice fly by Garrett Spain. Andrew Cossetti walked. A Kyle DeBarge sacrifice fly to drive in Winokur with the third run. Jay Thomason led off the second inning with a single. He went to third on a Graham Brown double. With one out, Rucker launched his eighth home run to give them a 6-0 lead. Chris Vallimont started and gave up two runs on six hits. He had five strikeouts with no walks. Darren Bowen came on and gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters. Jacob Webb got four outs and gave up just one hit. Mitch Mueller struck out three batters over two, one-hit innings. In the fifth inning, Caden Kendle hit his eighth home run to add on some insurance. Kendle is now hitting .382 (1.122) walked and homered in the game. Rucker had a walk and his eighth home run. Winokur and Brown each hit their second Double-A doubles. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 11 Box Score Not a great game for the Kernels. They scored three runs despite just three hits and six walks. For the second straight start, Kolten Smith was unable to complete the first inning. He gave up three runs on one hit, one hit batter, and four walks. Both outs he recorded were on strikeouts. Ivran Romero came on and gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits over 2 1/3 innings. Cleiber Maldonado gave up one run on one hit and a walk over two innings. He struck out four batters. Mike McKenna gave up four runs on five hits (two homers). He had three strikeouts and walked none. Michael Hilker tossed two scoreless innings with just a walk and a strikeout. The Kernels got on the board in the top of the third innings when Eduardo Tait launched his 21st home run of the season. In the top of the fifth, Andy Lugo walked, Yasser Mercedes was hit by a pitch, and Eduardo Tait walked to load the bases. Lugo scored on a sacrifice fly by JP Smith. In the sixth inning, Luis Fragoza walked and went to second on a wild pitch. Tait went 1-for-2 with two walks and a homer. Luis Fragoza went 0-for-2 but walked twice and stole two bases. MIGHTY MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Palm Beach 2 Box Score Palm Beach took an early 2-0 lead through the first three innings. In the middle three innings, the Mussels scored two runs. Rains came after seven innings, so the seventh inning is where the game was decided. Callan Fang started and gave up one run on two walks over the first two innings. He gave up no hits and struck out three batters. Following a nearly 100-minute rain delay, Jackson Sleeper came into pitch. He gave up one run on a solo home run. Over 1 2/3 innings, he gave up just one hit and walked two while striking out two batters. Nick McAuliffe came on and worked 2 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings. He walked two and had three strikeouts. Brian Strange came in for the seventh inning. He gave up no runs and no hits. He walked one and had two strikeouts to earn his first professional save. With one out in the top of the fourth inning, Carson Tinney knocked a double. He went to third on a passed ball. Aidan Teel drove him in with a single to center. In the sixth inning, Colby Turner and Carson Tinney started things with a single. Teel reached on a fielders’ choice. Tinney stole third base, and Teel stole second. Tinney scored on a sacrifice fly by Isaiah Lane. The score was tied 2-2 going into the seventh inning. The first two Mussels batters got out. Murphy Hernandez singled and went to third on a throwing error. (Speed is awesome!) He scored on a Turner single to right. Carson Tinney came to the plate and launched a two-run homer to make it 5-2. Tinney went 3-for-3 with a walk, his second double, his sixth home run, three runs scored and two RBI. He also stole his first professional base. Turner and Hernandez both went 2-for-4. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Carson Tinney (Fort Myers): 3-for-3, BB, 2B(2), HR(6), 3 R, 2 RBI, SB(1). Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-2, 2 BB, HR(21), R, RBI. Cody Morissette (St. Paul): 2-for-4, BB, 2B(14), HR(11), 2 R, 6 RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Mitch Mueller (Wichita): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2 BB, R, RBI, SB(15) (batted first, played DH). #3 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, HR (2), R, RBI, (batted ninth, played SS) #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, 3 BB, HR(9), 3 R, 2 RBI, SB(5) (batted fourth, played CF) #7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, R, 2 RBI (batted sixth, played LF) #8 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, 2 BB, HR(21), R, RBI (batted second, played Catcher) #11 - C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) - 3-for-3, BB, 2B(2), HR(6), 3 R, 2 RBI, SB(1) (batted third, played Catcher) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B(2), R, RBI, K (batted third, played SS) #19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K (batted first, played DH) UPCOMING PROBABLES Sunday, August 23 St. Paul @ Columbus (12:05 pm CT) - RHP Ryan Gallagher (5-6, 6.56 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (7:05 pm CT) - RHP Sam Armstrong (7-8, 4.81 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 pm CT) - LHP Cesar Lares (0-6, 13.18 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:00 pm CT) - RHP Eric Hammond (1-4, 4.76 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 63-67 St. Paul Saints: 72-52 Wichita Wind Surge: 50-67 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-73 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 64-53 FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete) DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete) 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 Charisma Jones (photo of Ty Langenberg) TRANSACTIONS William Fleming signed as a minor-league free agent days after the start of the minor-league season in early April. He went straight to Wichita and contributed to the Wind Surge bullpen. On Friday, he was released by the Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 1, Columbus 5 Box Score After the Saints swept the Clippers on Thursday, Columbus was able to claim the Friday game. The biggest story in this game, however, was that lefty Kendry Rojas left the game during the first plate appearance of the second inning. I went back to the game and watched it. I followed up with a three-part tweet. (Important: I am not a doctor, a trainer, a physical therapist, so take my thoughts with a bunch of grains of salt. I'm sure we will learn more tomorrow.) Part 1: “I just watched the Kendry Rojas injury tonight for St. Paul. Looked good the first three pitches of the 2nd inning. Then he got the sign, took a deep breath and grimaced, but he threw the pitch. Then another pitch. Then after another pitch, he dropped his glove, (more)” Part 2: “and eventually came off the field. At no point did it look like anything was wrong with his left arm which would be good. I couldn't see anything with his right arm. To me, it looked like his right-side oblique might be the issue. (more)" Part 3: “Depending on severity, an oblique injury (or hip?) could cost 4-6 weeks which would essentially end his season but still better than anything arm-related, probably. Honestly, I'm hoping it's nothing, something he just hadn't felt/experienced before. Hopefully!” So, Rojas completed a scoreless first inning and left the game during the first plate appearances of the second inning. Aaron Rozek was forced to get ready quickly. But he kept the game scoreless in the second and third innings. Overall, he gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters. C.J. Culpepper came on and gave up one run on a solar home run in 1 1/3 innings. Matt Bowman and Alejandro Hidalgo each worked a scoreless inning. After hitting nine home runs on Thursday, the Saints managed just one run on five hits and two walks on Friday night. Tristan Gray was the offense. He went 2-for-4, and his solo home run provided the only run for the team. It was his third straight day with a home run. Matt Wallner went 1-for-2 with two walks. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Frisco 1 Box Score Through seven innings, this ballgame was completely scoreless. Ty Langenberg started and tossed five shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked three, and he had four strikeouts. Paulshawn Pasqualotto tossed two scoreless innings and gave up just one hit. He struck out three batters. Then came the top of the eighth inning. Jake Rucker, Brandon Winokur, and Garrett Spain walked consecutively to lead the bases. Andrew Cossetti followed by taking a strike. On the second pitch, he got a crushable pitch, and guess what? He crushed it over the wall in left center field, beyond the berm, over the walkway and out of the stadium. Grand Slam. Surge lead 4-0! Spencer Bengard pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Kyle Bischoff got the ninth inning and gave up a run on two hits and a walk. The Surge scored their four runs on four hits and seven walks. Cossetti’s home run was his 16th of the season. Kyle DeBarge hit his 21st double and walked. Garrett Spain had a single and a walk. Jay Thomason had a single and was hit by a pitch which put his Double-A OPS at .805. Jake Rucker walked twice. Sure, the team was just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, but the “1” was pretty important. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 5 Box Score The game was delayed by almost two hours, but when things got started, the Kernels jumped out to an early lead. Byron Chourio led off the first inning with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. He scored on a JP Smith single to make it 1-0. With one out, Jayson Bass came up and drilled his third home run since joining the Kernels to make it 3-0. In the top of the second inning, Irvin Nunez led off with a walk. With one out, Chourio singled. Smith walked to load the bases. Nunez scored on a sacrifice fly by Yasser Mercedes to make it 4-0. Justin Mitriovich started and began the game by putting three zeroes on the board. He had six strikeouts through three perfect innings. However, he gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits and a walk and only got two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Yehizon Sanchez got the final out of the fourth inning. He worked two more innings and gave up one run on two hits and a walk. Christian Becerra walked one and had one strikeout over two hitless, scoreless innings. Unfortunately, after scoring four runs in the first two innings, the Kernels went scoreless the remainder of the game. The Kernels scored their four runs on five hits and seven walks. They went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base. No one had a multi-hit game. Bass hit his third home run, and Danny De Andrade hit his 16th double and walked. Chourio and Smith each had a walk and a single. MIGHTY MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Palm Beach 7 Box Score This was a good ol’ back-and-forth game. There were four lead changes and the game was tied four times. Unfortunately, it was the Cardinals who took the last lead with a two-run eighth inning. Matthew Dalquist gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters without walking any. Matthew Becker walked two over 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Brent Francisco worked 2 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. Adam Falinski got the final two outs, but not before an inherited runner and a run of his own to take the loss. The Mussels got on the scoreboard in the second inning. Isaiah Lane and Jimmy Keenan walked. Quentin Young singled to center to drive in Lane. With one out in the top of the third, Vahn Lackey launched his first professional home run. Two pitches later, second-round pick Carson Tinney hit his fifth professional home to tie the game at 3-3. Aidan Teel reached on an error and scored on a Ramiro Dominguez double to give them the 4-3 lead. In the top of the fifth inning, Tinney walked and went to third on a Teel double. He scored on a wild pitch. In the seventh frame, Tinney led off with a double and later scored on a Dominguez sacrifice fly. That gave the Mussels a 6-5 lead. But again, Palm Beach scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth and shut down the Mussels in the ninth. Tinney led the offense. He went 2-for-3 with a walk, his first double and his fifth home run. Lane was 1-for-2 with two walks. Dominguez’s double was his 25th of the year. Teel’s double was his fifth as a pro. And Quentin Young went 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Carson Tinney (Fort Myers): 2-for-3, BB, 2B(1), HR(5), 3 R, RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Ty Langenberg (Wichita): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, K, SB(14) (batted first, played CF). #2 - C Vahn Lackey (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5, HR(1), R, RBI, K (batted second, played catcher) #3 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, 2 K (batted ninth, played SS) #4 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 0-for-5, K (batted first, played SS) #7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, K (batted fourth, played DH) #9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4 (batted second, played 1B) #11 - C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B(1), HR(5), 3 R, RBI (batted third, played 1B) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 0-for-4, BB, R, K (batted third, played CF) #18 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-3, BB, RBI, 2 K (batted eighth, played SS) #19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, RBI, 2 K (batted third, played CF) UPCOMING PROBABLES Saturday, August 22 St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 pm CT) - RHP German Marquez (0-0, 2.25 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (7:05 pm CT) - RHP Chris Vallimont (2-3, 4.89 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 pm CT) - LHP Cesar Lares (0-6, 13.18 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:00 pm CT) - RHP Callan Fang (3-3, 4.33 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 63-66 St. Paul Saints: 71-52 Wichita Wind Surge: 49-67 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-72 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 63-53 FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete) DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete) 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

That is not necessarily true at all. He might, but there is no way to know how he'd do in his first month in the big leagues, anything good or bad can happen in the small sample of 4-6 weeks. He has the talent offensively to be one of the best hitters in Twins history in his career.

The biggest topic of conversation among Twins fans involves when we will get to see Walker Jenkins in a Twins uniform. It's a fair question, and it's a good question. There are certainly arguments to be made on both sides of that argument. Jenkins made his 2026 Saints debut in late June after starting the season on the Injured List. Certainly, it was understandable to ease him back into the lineup. He has remained healthy for about two months now. In August, he has played in 13 games. He has eight multi-hit games this month. Twice this month, Jenkins has hit two homers in a game. At the end of July, he was hitting a solid .268/.377/.432 (.809). After yesterday's game, Jenkins is now hitting .295/.392/.500 (.892). A 20-year-old at AAA with an OPS of .800 is very exciting, a top 10 global prospect. A 20-year-old at AAA with nearly a .900 OPS is a guy to consider calling up. Of course, the assumption these is that he will play most every day. That's the difference between Jenkins situation and the Kaelen Culpepper situation. Culpepper came back from injury, started hitting again, and was called up? Why? Ryan Kreidler is a tremendous defensive shortstop, and he did an adequate job at the plate (even pretty good early in the season). But clearly there was a huge potential upgrade in going from Kreidler to Culpepper and the time was right. In my mind, Trevor Larnach should be in left field most days with Byron Buxton in center field most days. In right field are Luke Keaschall and Alan Roden. And this is after Austin Martin got hurt. For me, the key to whether or not to call up Walker Jenkins is how much playing time he'll get. Like Culpepper, Jenkins would need to play at least four to five games per week. It doesn't have to be an everyday thing. There are benefits and learning opportunities from being in the big leagues. But he needs to play at least two out of every three games in a series. Also, will Derek Shelton play him against left-handed pitching? Will he pinch hit for him against lefties late in games? Keaschall's been tremendous offensively for two months but certainly isn't a natural outfielder. So, Jenkins should get a bunch of time in right field. He should play one or two games per week in center field which would allow Buxton to DH or get a couple of days off. And, if the Twins are serious about being a playoff team, is calling up Jenkins the right move? Matt Wallner has again put up big numbers in St. Paul, and he's had plenty of exciting moments in the big leagues where he has carried the offense for extended periods. And what about Emmanuel Rodriguez? He is finally back with the Saints, and healthy, and like Jenkins, he hit two home runs in the team's doubleheader. "E-man" will be out of options (most likely) next year and the Twins would certainly like to get him some big-league time before next year too. While not a Top 20 prospect globally, Rodriguez has been at Top 50 global prospect most of the past four seasons. And I don't want to overplay it as I don't think it's a huge priority, but if there is a work stoppage in 2027 (likely), Jenkins could still play in the minor leagues if he's not on the 40-man roster. While there could be something to that, the Twins have already called up Culpepper. The Tigers called up fellow 2023 draft pick Max Clark, and just this weekend, the Mariners are calling up Kade Anderson. Likewise, the idea of holding him back to Rookie of the Year consideration next year or even getting an extra draft pick potentially for having him up from opening day 2027, aren't a consideration if the Twins believe that he can help them get to the playoffs and perform there. Two or three weeks ago, I didn't think that anything was saying that Jenkins was a Must Call Up. Ten days ago, or so when it became more of a topic, I still kept thinking that there are plenty of legitimate reasons to hold back a little more. How do the Twins and their front office feel about this situation? I feel pretty confident in saying that Jeremy Zoll, the assistant GMs, minor league coaches, and player development would be pretty consistent in their opinion. They are thrilled that Jenkins is making the decisions incredibly difficult for them. They're likely thrilled that Rodriguez is back, playing most every day, healthy and now performing. They're presumably happy that Matt Wallner has continued to provide power for the Saints. Tough decisions and depth are a good thing. Like Jenkins, Gabriel Gonzalez hit two homers on Thursday, and he's right-handed. I think we can all agree that we wouldn't want any of these players called up to sit on the bench, maybe play once a week, and do some pinch runner or be a late-inning defensive replacement. Right? Jenkins will come up, sometime. And we think he'll be really good. He could come up and be a difference maker for the Twins, or he could struggle immensely, as could other options and current options. For now, he just keeps raking in St. Paul and adding some power in the past month that he really hasn't shown previous to this month. I'd make sure he's getting some time in the corner outfield spots. And at the same time, I'd probably want to reach out to Jenkins' agent, Scott Boras, with the idea of calling him up as soon as he signs a contract that will keep him in a Twins uniform for the next eight-to-10 years. I mean, legally, of course. You've seen several articles making the case for calling up Walker Jenkins or not. Good cases have been and can be made on both sides. Now make your case for what you would do in this situation? Call him up? Keep him in St. Paul? If called up, how much would he need to play, or are you OK with him being a bench player? Which position will he play? Who would lose playing time to him? Discuss.

Image courtesy of Charisma Jones (photo of Brandon WInokur) TRANSACTIONS With the DSL season now complete, the Twins have released infielder Luis Suarez and RHPs Failin Placencio and Wisarly Reinoso. The Twins signed RHP Jui-Chieh Lin out of Taiwan about six weeks ago. On Thursday, he was placed on the Fort Myers roster. SAINTS SENTINEL Game 1: St. Paul 10, Iowa 2 (Completion of Suspended Game) Box Score On Wednesday night, the game began a bit late due to rain. When they started, Walker Jenkins drilled a leadoff home run beyond the wall in center field. An inning later, Tristan Gray launched a home run to make it 2–0. Ricky Castro started the game and when the rains came, he had tossed 2 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings. The good? He had five strikeouts. The less-than good? He also walked four batters. Then in the bottom of the third, the rains came again, and the game was suspended. That’s where the game started on Thursday. When the game resumed on Thursday, Trent Baker took the mound. He gave up two solo homers, but he struck out eight batters over 4 1/3 innings. Eric Orze and Marco Raya combined for the final seven outs without allowing a base runner. They combined for three strikeouts, and Raya had three strikeouts. The Saints batters just kept adding on. They scored two runs in four of their final five innings to take a commanding lead and the win. All eight additional runs came on homers as well. In the fifth inning, David Banuelos knocked a two-out single. Jenkins followed with his second home run of the game. The top of the sixth inning began with homers by Gabriel Gonzalez and Tristan Gray, his second of the game. In the top of the eighth, Emmanuel Rodriguez walked, and Gonzalez knocked his second homer of the day. In the top of the ninth inning, Kala’i Rosario was hit by a pitch. Emmanuel Rodriguez followed with another two-run homer to give them a 10-2 lead. Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with a walk and his 14th and 15th home runs. Jenkins was 2-for-4 with a walk and his eighth and ninth home runs. Gray went 2-for-5 with his first two Saints home runs. Rodriguez hit his seventh home run and had a walk. Matt Wallner hit his 11th double and had a walk. Game 2: St. Paul 8, Columbus 6 (Regularly Scheduled Game) Box Score The Saints completed the sweep thanks to a big, four-run sixth inning to put themselves 20-games over .500. With two outs in the top of the second, Tanner Schobel walked. Noah Cardenas kept the day’s theme going by launching a two-run homer to give the Saints the first runs of the game. In the top of the third inning, Matt Wallner hit his franchise-record 23rd home run of the season. The shortened game was basically a bullpen game for the Saints. Jack Anderson started and went three innings. He gave up five runs on seven hits and a walk. He struck out three batters. Garrett Acton came on and gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings. He also struck out three batters. In the top of the fifth inning, the Saints did something unusual. With two outs, Gabriel Gonzalez walked. He then scored on a Matt Wallner double. After 11 runs scored on home runs, the team finally found another way to score. Down 5-4 going to the sixth inning, Kala’i Rosario led off with a game-tying home run. Tanner Schobel singled and Ben Ross walked before Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a three-run homer that gave the Saints an 8-5 lead. Julian Merryweather gave up one run on two hits over the final two innings to record his fifth save since coming back from injury. He had five strikeouts. Wallner went 2-for-3 with a walk, his 12th double and 23rd homer. Rosario went 2-for-4 with his first AAA double and his third Saints homer. Rodriguez’s homer was his eight with the Saints. He also walked. Cardenas homered for the 11th time this season. Ross walked twice, and Schobel had a single and a walk. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 8, Frisco 4 Box Score The Wind Surge had the opportunity to face a rehabbing-Jack Leiter on Thursday night. The Surge grabbed a four-run lead in the top of the third. With one out, Jaime Ferrer reached on an error. Marek Houston walked. Jake Rucker hit his ninth double to drive in two runs. Brandon Winokur followed with a homer to make it 4-0. In the fourth inning, Andrew Cossetti walked before Leiter was removed from the game. Kyle DeBarge and Jay Thomason singled to load the baseball. Houston came up and drove in two runs with a single to make it 6-1. Preston Johnson started and gave up two runs on two hits (both solo homers) over four innings. He walked one and had five strikeouts. Hunter Gregory gave up two runs on two walks in his inning. Through five innings, the Surge lead was down to 6-4. In the top of the sixth, Cossetti led off with a single. DeBarge walked. Jay Thomason singled to drive in Cossetti with the team’s seventh run. DeBarge scored on a double play to make it 8-4. Cory Lewis came in and shut the door. He gave up three hits over four shutout innings. He walked none and had four strikeouts. Brandon Winokur went 2-for-5 with his second triple and seventh Wichita home run. Cossettie, DeBarge and Thomason each went 2-for-3 with a walk. Marek Houston was 1-for-3 with two walks. He also stole his 24th and 25th bases. KERNEL NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 2 Box Score The Kernels grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third? How? Well, with one out Danny De Andrade was one third base, and Byron Chourio was on second base. Yasser Mercedes flew out to right field, deep enough that De Andrade scored. But it was close because a strong throw from right field was cut off by the first baseman who threw across the diamond to third base where a sliding Chourio was called out. However, De Andrade scored before the tag at third, so the team had a 1-0 lead. Adrian Bohorquez is on a roll!! The righty gave up one run on one hit (a solo home run) over five innings. He walked two and had seven strikeouts. Merit Jones came on and gave up one run on four hits over three runs. He struck out two batters. The Kernels had four hits and five walks. They were 0-for-5 with five runners left in scoring position. There were no multi-hit games or extra base hits. De Andrade had a single and a walk. JP Smith walked twice. Yasser Mercedes stole his 35th base with the Kernels. MIGHTY MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Palm Beach 1 Box Score Cristian Hernandez gave up one run on one hit over four innings. He hit two batters and had three strikeouts. Jake Covey struck out five batters over three shutout innings. He gave up one hit and walked one batter. Hendry Chivilli struck out two over two scoreless, one-hit innings. In the top of the second inning, Isaiah Lane (who, along with Colby Turner have been the top performers among the Twins 2026 draft picks) went to the opposite field for his first professional home run. In the fifth inning, Bryce Fowler and Hideki Prather reached base. Murphy Hernandez drilled his fourth home run of the season to give the Mussels a 4-1 lead. With two outs in the sixth, Jimmy Keenan and Bryce Fowler singled before Hideki Prather was hit by a pitch to lead the bases. That brought Hernandez to the plate. He lined a single to center to drive in two more runs and give his team a 6-1 lead. The Mussels added two more in the top of the ninth, Ramiro Dominguez and Yovanny Duran walked. Lane singled to drive in Dominguez, and then Lane stole second base. A throwing error allowed Duran to score the eighth run. Hernandez went 2-for-5 with his fourth homer and five RBI. Lane was 2-for-5 with his first pro homer and his third stolen base. Fowler was 2-for-2 with two walks. The Mussels combined for 16 strikeouts in the game. You don’t want to look at Quentin Young’s performance on Thursday. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 3-for-4. BB, 2-HR(15), 2 R, 3 RBI; Brandon Winokur (Wichita): 2-for-5, 3B(2), HR(7), R, 2 RBI. Merphy Hernandez (Fort Myers): 2-for-5, HR(4), R, 5 RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Cory Lewis (Wichita): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K Adrian Bohorquez (Cedar Rapids): 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - Game 1: 2-for-4, BB, 2 HR(9), 2 R, 3 RBI, K (batted first, played CF). #4 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI, 2 SB(25) (batted first, played SS) #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - Game 1: 1-for-4, BB, HR(7), 2 R, 3 RBI (batted fifth, DHd); Game 2: 1-for-3, BB, HR(8), R, 3 RBI, 2 K (batted second, played CF) #7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - Game 2: 0-for-4 (batted fifth, played LF) #8 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K (batted second, played Catcher) #9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - Game 1: 3-for-4, BB, 2 HR(15), 2 R, 3 RBI (batted sixth, played LF/1B); Game 2: 0-for-3, BB, R #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 3B(2), HR(7), R, 2 RBI (batted third, played CF) #18 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-5, 5 K (batted sixth, played DH) #19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, SF RBI, 2 K (batted first, played CF) UPCOMING PROBABLES Friday, August 21 St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 pm CT) - LHP Kendry Rojas (2-0, 3.27 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (1-4, 3.64 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (2-1, 2.38 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 pm CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 63-65 St. Paul Saints: 71-51 Wichita Wind Surge: 48-67 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-71 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 63-52 FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete) DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete) 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

45th!!! Wasn't he just playing in the American Legion World Series?!?!? :)

One September call up is likely to be an activated Austin Martin. Mendez has had a nice showing in 2026 in St. Paul. Wallner certainly is more deserving of the roster spot. They can certainly argue that they need to see and spend more time with E-Rod The other one will be a pitcher. It could be Joe Ryan, and if he's back before then, he could be whoever gets sent down when he's activated. I miss the days of calling up as many as they want. Teams would do a third catcher, a utility infielder, an extra outfielder and several relievers. You could add 1-2 good human interest stories. Those were the days.

He was part of the international signing class that included guys like Daiber De Los Santos and Eduardo Beltre. I think those were the two that got 7-digit signing bonuses. Merphy Hernandez was in that same class too.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Colby Turner) TRANSACTIONS Three straight days with no transactions in the organization. Hard to believe. I would expect we will hear a few interesting transactions on Monday. We know that Catcher Alex Jackson has been outrighted to St. Paul. I believe that he has the choice to go to St. Paul or become a free agent. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Iowa 1 Box Score Starting Pitcher: German Marquez: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 57 pitches, 33 strikes Multi-Hit Games: None. HR: Matt Wallner (22) Veteran German Marquez made his first start in the Twins organization. He started with three zeroes before giving up a run in the fourth inning. Matt Wallner provided the offense. He drove in a run on a ground out in the first inning. Then when he came to bat in the fourth inning, he launched a long home run, tying the franchise-record 22nd home run of the season. The Saints bullpen was incredible. Aaron Rozek walked three and struck out three over three scoreless innings. Garrett Acton walked one and struck one batter out over a scoreless, hitless inning. Marco Ray came on for the ninth inning. He gave up two hits, walked a batter and struck out one batter, but he kept the Cubs from scoring to earn his third Saints save. Walker Jenkins and Ben Ross each went 1-for-3 with a walk. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Corpus Christi 5 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Ty Langenberg: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 55 pitches, 37 strikes Multi-Hit Games: Caden Kendle (2-for-3, BB, 2B, RBI, K) 2B: Caden Kendle (9) The Wind Surge got on the scoreboard first in the second inning when Jaime Ferrer singled to drive in Garrett Spain. In the third inning, Jorel Ortega scored on Kendle’s ninth Surge double. However, the Hooks scored five runs over the next two innings and held on for the win. Hunter Gregory came into a 2-2 game in the fifth inning. He was charged with three unearned runs in the inning. Spencer Bengard gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. Jacob Webb and Kyle Bischoff each threw a shutout inning with two strikeouts. KERNEL NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Wisconsin 5 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Kolten Smith: 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 9 pitches, 7 strikes (77.8%) Multi-Hit Games: JP Smith (2-for-3, BB) 2B: Quinn McDaniel (8) HR: Danny De Andrade (12) Joey Chestnut was in Cedar Rapids on Sunday afternoon. Following the game, he dominated local media personalities with his ability to eat kolaches. The Rattlers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and held on to it throughout the game. The Kernels scored one in the ninth, but that clearly wasn’t enough. Ivran Romero came into the game after Smith departed. He went two innings and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. Yehizon Sanchez was next. He gave up two runs on two hits and four walks over 2 1/3 innings. He had four strikeouts. Mike McKenna gave up a hit and walked two batters over two scoreless innings. He struck out three batters. At that point, the Kernels were out of pitchers. Quinn McDaniel came into the game to start the eighth inning. That inning started with three consecutive walks to load the bases. However, he responded by getting an infield pop-out and a double play groundout to end the inning. He gave up one run in the ninth inning. His final line was two innings, one hit, one run, five walks, and no strikeouts. And I’m thinking his teammates and coaching staff were thrilled with that. Danny De Andrade hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to avoid a shutout. MIGHTY MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Clearwater 4 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Callan Fang: 4+ IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 75 pitches, 47 strikes (62.7%) Multi-Hit Games: Colby Turner (3-for-5, R, 4 RBI), Bryce Fowler (2-for-4, HBP, RBI), Hideki Prather (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R) 2B: Luis Fragoza (18), Quentin Young (12), Hideki Prather (1) Merphy Hernandez led off the home half of the first inning by being hit by a pitch. He stole second and went to third on a Colby Turner single. Hernandez scored on a balk. Turner went to third on a wild pitch. Fragoza walked. A successful double-steal saw Turner score to make it 2-1. Isaiah Lane walked. Aidan Teel drove in Fragoza with a single. Lane was caught stealing home. With two outs, Fowler drove in the fourth run, Teel, with a single. Fang gave up single runs in the first and third innings. He completed four innings. He faced three batters in the fifth inning without getting an out. He left with two runners on base and Jake Covey allowed one of the runners to score, but he got out of the fifth inning with the Mussels still leading 7-4. Covey tossed four scoreless relief innings to earn the win. Hendry Chivilli worked a scoreless ninth inning. The Mussels scored their nine runs on 12 hits, seven walks, and three hit batters. They added another eight stolen bases to their league-leading total. Along with the three who had multi-hit games, Luis Fragoza was 1-for-2 with two walks. Isaiah Lane walked twice. Teel, Young, and Charlie Scholvin each had one hit and one walk. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Colby Turner (Fort Myers): 3-for-5, R, 4 RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Jake Covey (Fort Myers): 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K, PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB (batted first, played CF) #3 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2B(1), K (batted ninth, played SS) #4 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-for-3, SH, CS(6), 2 E, (batted first, played SS) #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2K (batted third, played LF) #17 - RHP James Ellwanger (Ft. Myers) - 60 Day Injured List (right elbow sprain) #18 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(12), RBI (batted sixth, played DH) #19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, K, (batted first, played CF) UPCOMING PROBABLES Monday, August 17 DSL Twins @ DSL Marlins (10:00 am CT) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 60-65 St. Paul Saints: 69-50 Wichita Wind Surge: 45-67 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-68 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 62-50 FCL Twins: 33-26 DSL Twins: 17-34 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