Seth Stohs

He missed like three months... no problem with letting him get some more time.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Aaron Sabato) What an interesting day in the Twins minor leagues on Saturday. While the Twins offense continues to struggle, the Saints scored double digits again. The Wind Surge hitters powered their way to a 16-run game. Even the DSL Twins scored 15. The Kernels and Mussels just earned regular wins with normal amounts of runs. On Sunday, the attention may be turned to the mound where three of the new members of the Twins organization will make their Twins organization debut. TRANSACTIONS Bailey Ober was activated from the Injured List on Saturday morning. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Toledo 4 Box Score The Saints scored three runs in the first and second. Then they took an inning off before scoring a single run in the next four innings. And then they hung on for the 10-4 win. Luke Keaschall led off the game with a triple. With one out, Kyler Fedko was hit by a pitch. Payton Eeles drove in both runners with another triple. Gabriel Gonzalez drove in the third run with a sacrifice fly. The second inning began with a single. Johnny Pereda walked. Nine-hitter Aaron Sabato drilled a three-run homer to make it 6-0. In the fourth inning, Pereda tripled and scored on a Keaschall sacrifice fly. The fifth inning began with Fedko walking, stealing second, and going to third on a balk. Eeles was hit by a pitch. Fedko scored on a double play ground ball by Gonzalez. With two outs in the sixth inning, Aaron Sabato hit his second homer of the game. Fedko led off the seventh inning with his first Saints double. He went to third on a groundout and scored the 10th run on a single by Gonzalez. Trent Baker made the start for the Saints. He tossed four innings and issued one walk while striking out six batters. He gave up no runs, and no hits. Jarret Whorff came in and gave up one hit, one walk and hit one batter over two scoreless innings. He gave up the first hit to the Mudhens in the sixth inning. Kyle Bischoff gave up two runs on two hits and two walks over two innings. Cole Percival gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. Aaron Sabato went 2-for-4 with his sixth and seventh homers and drove in four runs. Keaschall went 2-for-3 with a walk and a triple. Fedko went 2-fo-3 with a walk, his first Triple-A double, his first Triple-A triple, and his first Triple-A stolen base. Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Eeles hit a triple and drove in two runs. Perada hit a triple and walked. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 16, Amarillo 11 Box Score In a game with 27 runs and 34 hits and six errors and six wild pitches and a hit batter, the Wind Surge scored in each of the first eight innings. The Sod Poodles scored in six of nine innings. A six-run sixth inning gave the Wind Surge a lead that they were able to hold onto. Wichita got off to a fast start in the first inning. Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins each singled. With one out, Ricardo Olivar drilled a three-run homer to give the team the lead. In the second inning, Ben Ross drilled a solo homer to make it 4-1. In the third inning, newcomer Hendry Mendez drove in Kala’i Rosario with a sacrifice fly. With one out in the third inning, Ross singled. He advanced on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt and then scored on a wild pitch. Next, Jose Salas singled. Culpepper and Jenkins walked to load the bases. Salas scored on a Kala’i Rosario fielder’s choice to make it 7-4. Mendez singled to start the fifth inning. He stole second and went to third on a throwing error. He scored on a Rubel Cespedes single to tie the game at 8-8. But the Wind Surge broke things open with a six-run sixth inning. With one out, Walker Jenkins singled. With two outs, he stole second. Andrew Cossetti walked. After a pitching change, Mendez singled to load the bass. Nate Baez cleared the bases with a double to make it 11-9. Rubel Cespedes doubled to drive in Baez. Finally, Ben Ross hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to make it 14-9. In the seventh inning, Andrew Cossetti homered to make it 15-10. In the eighth inning, Jenkins homers to make it 16-11. To the pitching. Alejandro Hidalgo made his first Double-A start and gave up four runs (2 earned) on three hits and three walks. He had four strikeouts. Jaylen Nowlin pitched one inning and gave up four runs on two hits and three walks. Darren Bowen came out of the bullpen and gave up three runs on six hits and a walk in 2 2/3 innings. Eston Stull got the next four outs, two on strikeouts. Hunter Hoopes pitched a quiet ninth. All 10 Wind Surge batters had at least one hit. Three players had two hits, and four hitters had three hits. The three hitters that had one hit also had one walk. Ben Ross was 3-for-5 with a walk, his seventh and eighth homers. He scored and drove in three runs. Jenkins went 3-for-5 with a walk and his fifth home run. In his first game in the Twins organization, Mendez went 3-for-5. Rubel Cespedes went 3- for-5. Richardo Olivar was 2-for-3 with his 12th homer and three RBI. Andrew Cossetti came in for him later in the game and he hit his 10th homer. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Lansing 3 Box Score The hometown Lugnuts scored a run in each of the first two innings. The Kernels scored two runs in the first and two runs in the second inning. From that point, the offense provided a little insurance and the pitching carried the day. In the first, Kyle DeBarge led off with a walk and stole second. In his first at-bat in the Twins organization, Eduardo Tait lined a single to center, hit too hard to score DeBarge from second. But, DeBarge scored soon after on a wild pitch. After Billy Amick walked, there was another wild pitch that allowed Tait to score. In the top of the second, Caden Kendle led off with his seventh home run of the season. It was followed by Poncho Ruiz’s first Kernels homer. Leading 4-3 in the top of the sixth, Brandon Winokur reached on an infield single and went to second on a throwing error. Danny De Andrade drove him in with a single to center. They added one more insurance run in the top of the ninth. With one out, Poncho Ruiz walked and went to third on a Maddux Houghton single. Kyle DeBarge flew out, but Ruiz was able to score. Jose Olivares was on the mound to start for the Kernels. He was charged with three runs on six hits. He walked three and had five strikeouts in five innings. Sam Perez came in and struck out four batters over two scoreless, one-hit innings. Paulshawn Pasqualotto threw the final two innings and allowed just one hit to record his eighth save. Winokur went 2-for-3 with a walk in the game. De Andrade was 2-for-4. DeBarge stole his 56th base. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Dunedin 2 (10 innings) Box Score Saturday was an intriguing match up between two of the top prep left-handed pitchers from the 2024 draft. The Twins used the 69th overall pick to select Dasan Hill from Grapevine High School in Texas. With the 95th overall, the Blue Jays took Johnny King out of Naples High School in Florida. Hill was committed to Dallas Baptist while King had committed to Miami. Hill got a $1,997,500 million bonus while King agreed to $1,247,500. Safe to say that both did well in the matchup. Johnny King tossed five scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and had seven strikeouts. Dasan Hill went four shutout innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none, and had three strikeouts. Let’s keep going. Johnny King threw 65 pitches, 38% sinkers. His sinker averaged 93.4 mph with a max of 94.5 mph. Hill threw just 45 pitches. One-third of those pitches (15) were sliders. 14 more pitches were changeups. He threw eight pitches that were called sinkers and eight more that were called 4-seam fastballs. The average sinker was 95.5 mph and the average four-seamer was 96.1 mph. His maximum velocity on a pitch was 96.8 mph. But yes, other people played in the game too. There was no score in the game through six innings. Eli Jones worked four innings and gave up just a seventh-inning run. He gave up five hits, walked one and had a strikeout. Enrique Jimenez led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a single. With one out, Shai Robinson walked. With two outs, Marek Houston singled to center to drive in Jimenez with the game-tying run. That was it until extra innings. Dylan Questad pitched a scoreless ninth inning, and then he gave up a single run (the unearned Manfred run). Ryan Sprock began the bottom of the 10th inning on second base. He advanced to third base when Robinson grounded out to second base (#ProductiveOut). Next, JP Smith was hit by a pitch. Dameury Pena ran for him. That brought Houston back to the plate, and he came through with a single to right which scored Sprock with the tying run. Pena advanced to third. Houston went to second on defensive indifference. The rehabbing Khadim Diaw stepped up and lined a single to left field to score Pena with the game winner! The Mussels managed their three runs on seven hits and three walks. Houston went 2-for-4 with a walk and his first stolen base. He also drove in the game-tying run twice in the game. Diaw had the game-winning RBI and was also hit by a pitch. JP Smith had a single and was hit by a pitch. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 15, DSL Giants 6 Box Score 16-year-old Geremy Villoria made his first start in the Twins organization on Saturday afternoon. He came over from the Phillies side of their shared Dominican complex in Boca Chica following the trade that sent Harrison Bader to the city of brotherly love. The first inning went 1-2-3 with a groundout, a strikeout and a pop up that Villoria caught all by himself. In the top of the second frame, Joyner Perez and Jhomnardo Reyes doubled, the latter driving in the former with the game’s first run. Darwin Almanzar was hit by a pitch. The bases were loaded after a Dencer Diaz single. Aaron Salazar came up and lined a double that cleared the bases and put the Twins up 4-0. Vilooria came back out for the second inning. Following a leadoff double in the bottom of the second, runners were on second and third after a play that involved a fielding error and a throwing error. A run scored on a ground out, but it was followed with a walk. A single pushed two runs across with the help of another throwing error. Another single, and another run happened before he got a ground out to end the inning. I normally don’t go into that much detail with how the opponent scores, but once in a while it’s a good reminder of what life in the DSL (and FCL sometimes too) can look like at times. Through six innings, the game was tied at 5-5. Then the Twins brought out the big lumber for the late innings. They scored four more runs in the seventh. Gerardo Cardona doubled and went to third base on a Teilon Serrano single. Santiago Leon singled to load the bases. Hartizon Castillo drove in a painful run as he was hit by a pitch. Joyner Perez walked to drive in a second run. After a pitching change and one out, Almanzar singled to drive in two runs and make it 9-5. Gerardo Cardona and Teilon Serrano walked to start the bottom of the eighth. Leon singled to drive in a run. A second run scored on a ground out. Perez walked and went to second on a passed ball. Jhomnardo Reyes hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Leon with the 12th run. Diaz walked, Salazar was hit by a pitch. Soon after Almanzar scored on a wild pitch. Next, Cardona was hit by a pitch to re-load the bases. A walk by Serrano drove in the 15th and, thankfully, final run of the game. Marlon Mirabel came on and got two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning when the game was called due to weather. Aaron Carranza gave up one run on one hit and three walks over three innings. Rainer Marin gave up an unearned run over two innings. The Twins scored 15 runs on 10 hits, eight walks and five hit batters. Almanzar went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored Serrano went 2-for-4 with two walks and two runs scored and two RBI. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Ben Ross (Wichita): 3-for-5, BB, 2 HR (8), 3 R, 3 RBI Pitcher of the Day Trent Baker (St. Paul): 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 6 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 3-for-5, BB, HR(5), 3 R, RBI (DHd) #2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - rehab SP: 2-for-3, BB, 3B(1), R, SF RBI (played 2B) #3 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 2-for-6, BB, R, 2 K (played SS) #6 - Dasan Hill (Fort Myers) - 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 45 pitches, 31 strikes (%) #8 - Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 2-for-4 (played RF) #10 - Marek Houston (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, BB, 2 RBI, K, SB(1) #11 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) -2-for-3, BB, K, CS(4). (Played SS) #14 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, R, SF RBI, K, SB(56). #16 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-0, BB (played 1B) #17 - Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - rehab FM: 1-for-4, GW RBI, HBP, K (DHd) #19 - Eduardo Beltre (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, 2 K (played RF) #20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 2-for-3, HR(12), R, 3 RBI (caught) SUNDAY PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Toledo (3:05 PM CT) - RHP Mick Abel (1st start in Twins organization), Wichita @ Amarillo (6:05 PM CT) - RHP Ryan Gallagher (1st start in Twins organization) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (12:05 PM CT) - LHP Garrett Horn (1st start in Twins organization) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (11:05 AM CT) - RHP Sam Rochard (1st Mussels start) DSL Rockies @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 51-59 St. Paul Saints: 47-58 Wichita Wind Surge: 53-48 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 59-41 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-54 FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs) DSL Twins: 17-27 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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That was about as smooth as it gets. Nothing to worry about there.

It was a rough day for Twins fans as the trade deadline. We all knew that the Twins were likely to be quite busy since they had so many players who were impending free agents. Understanding the prospect returns that high-leverage relievers were bringing back, if it had stopped with Jhoan Duran being traded, we all could have understand. But when Brock Stewart was traded for Josh Outman, I can't find any redeeming qualities about that trade. But when I saw the Louis Varland trade to the Blue Jays, it made me sink. First and foremost, Kendry Rojas is a lefty who just got promoted to Triple-A after a quick stint in Double-A. But, as this article's title mentions, thankfully we have the Twins minor leagues to follow so that we can work to tell ourselves that the future may be bright. There is certainly talent in the organization that we get to recognize each day. Check out what Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins did for the Wind Surge on Thursday. Marco Raya was strong again as well. TRADES What… A… Day! Here are the Twins Daily articles for all of their trades at the deadline. Chris Paddack, Randy Dobnak to Tigers Jhoan Duran to Phillies Harrison Bader to Phillies Brock Stewart to Dodgers Carlos Correa to Houston Danny Coulombe to Texas Willi Castro to Cubs Griffin Jax to Tampa Louis Varland to Toronto TRANSACTIONS LHP Kendry Rojas and OF James Outman were assigned to Triple-A St. Paul. RHPs Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong and OF Hendry Mendez were assigned to Double-A Wichita. C Eduardo Tait, LPH Garrett Horn, and Matt Mikulski were assigned to Cedar Rapids. RHP Geremy Villoria was assigned to DSL Twins. LHP Jaylen Nowlin returned to Wichita after spending one day with St. Paul. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 0, Toledo 2 Box Score Marco Raya was very good and was on the mound a lot, but the Saints forgot to bring their bats on Thursday. Raya completed six innings and tossed 93 pitches in this game. He gave up two runs on six hits and two walks. The blemish was a four-inning home run by Jace Jung. He had six strikeouts. Aaron Rozek came on in relief. After a scoreless seventh inning, he gave up five runs in the eighth inning. Through eight innings, the Saints hitters had five walks, and no hits. With one out in the top of the ninth, Luke Keaschall pinch hit for Austin Martin. On a 3-0 count, Keaschall lined a single to left field. Well, that got things going. Edouard Julien followed with a single to right field. Jonah Bride singled to right to drive in Keaschall. A wild pitch put the tying runner on second base. However, the next two batters struck out, and the Saints fell short. WIND SURGE WISDOM Game 1: Wichita 2, Amarillo 7 Box Score This was actually a fairly close game. Amarillo led 3-1 until the bottom of the fifth when they added four runs and turned it into a blowout. The Wind Surge had just seven hits and three walks in the game. Kaelen Culpepper, the leadoff man, went 4-for-4 with his sixth Double-A homer and two RBI. Batting second, Walker Jenkins went 2-for-3 with a walk. Both added a stolen base. The rest of the lineup went a combined 1-for-20 with two walks. C.J. Culpepper started and went the first three innings. He gave up three runs on four hits and three walks. Mike Paredes gave up four runs on four hits and a walk in three innings. Game 2: Wichita 2, Amarillo 3 Box Score John Klein made the start and tossed five scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, hit a batter, and had four strikeouts. Hunter Hoopes threw a scoreless sixth inning. Then in the seventh, he gave up a three-run, walkoff homer to Manuel Pena. The Surge got on the scoreboard in the third inning when Kaelen Culpepper doubled to drive in Jose Salas. In the sixth inning, Walker Jenkins knocked his fourth Wichita home run to make it 2-0. Like Game 1, it was just those top two hitters again. Culpepper was 1-for-3 with his fourth double. Jenkins was 2-for-3 with his eighth double and fourth homer. Jose Salas also doubled for the fourth time. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Lansing 4 Box Score A four-run sixth inning helped the Kernels to another win over Leo De Vries and the Fort Wayne, er, Lansing Lugnuts. Earlier in the morning, De Vries, a consensus top five prospect in baseball was the key component to the trade that sent Mason Miller from the A’s to the Padres. In the top of the third, Billy Amick doubled to drive in Caden Kendle with the game’s first run. Lansing scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. However, the Kernels reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth. Kyle Hess led off with his second triple of the season. Kendle followed with the sacrifice fly. Kyle DeBarge got things going again right away with a single and went to second on an error. He then stole third, his 55th base of the season, and scored on an Amick single. In the sixth inning, Jay Thomason singled to start the inning. Jaime Ferrer walked. After an out, Hess walked to load the bases. Kendle singled to drive in two runs and make it 5-2. DeBarge and Amick followed with RBI singles to make it 7-2. Ty Langenberg made the start. He went the first 5 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. He had two walks and four strikeouts. Nick Trabacchi faced eight batters and recorded seven outs, three on strikeouts. His only blemish was a hit batter. Sam Perez pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his third save. DeBarge and Amick were both 3-for-5 with a double. Amick drove in three runs and DeBarge drove in one run. Ferrer went 1-for-2 with two walks. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Bradenton 5 Box Score A four-run third inning for the Marauders was pretty much the difference in this game. Jason Doktorczyk started and gave up four runs (2 earned) on three hits and two walks and a hit batters in four innings. He struck out three. Brent Francisco made his first Mussel appearance and struck out two batters over two, one-hit innings. Tyler Stasiowski gave up a solo homer over his two innings. Down 4-1 going to the sixth inning, the Mussels mounted a rally. Dameury Pena reached on an error and went to second. Yasser Mercedes singled to drive in Pena and went to second on the throw. After a ground out, Mercedes stole 29th. Next, 19-year-old newbie Enrique Jimenez lined a single to left, his first hit in the Twins organization, to drive in Marcedes and make it 4-3. The Mussels had seven hits. Caleb McNeely went 2-for-4 DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 5, DSL Phillies 3 Box Score The Twins fell behind early. Through five innings, they were down 3-0. In the top of the sixth Cristian Bonifacio walked and went to second and then third on wild pitches. Teilon Serrano walked. He went to second on a wild pitch which also allowed Bonifacio to score. Santiago Leon was hit by a pitch. After a pitching change, a flyout pushed the two runners to second and third. Serrano scored on a wild pitch. Joyner Perez doubled to drive in Santiago and tie the game at 3-3. That is where the score remained until the ninth inning. Gerardo Cardona singled to lead off the inning. Jhomnardo Reyes pinch ran for him and advanced to second on a passed ball and third on a wild pitch. Darwin Almanzar doubles to drive in Reyes and give the Twins the 4-3 lead. With one out, Serrano singled to right to drive in the fifth run. Jesus Gomez started and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in three innings. He had two strikeouts. Eli Urena pitched the fourth inning and gave up one run on one walk. He had two strikeouts. Eliezer Lucena worked the final five innings. He gave up no runs on one hit and a walk while striking out three. The Twins had six hits and eight walks in the game. Joyner Perez was 1-for-2 with two walks. Almanzar’s double was his 13th of the season. Cristian Bonifacio went 1-for-2 with two walks and his fifth double. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 5-for-7, 2B(4), HR(6), R, 3 RBI, K, SB(5) Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 4-for-6, BB, 2B(8), HR(4), R, RBI, 2 K, SB(8) Pitcher of the Day Eliezer Lucena (DSL Twins): 5 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 3 K. John Klein (Wichita): 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, HBP, 4 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 4-for-6, BB, 2B(8), HR(4), R, RBI, 2 K, SB(8) (CF both games) #2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - 1-for-1, R (PH) #3 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 5-for-7, 2B(4), HR(6), R, 3 RBI, K, SB(5) (SS both games) #8 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 0-for-6, BB, 3 K. #9 - Marco Raya (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, HBP, WP, 6 K, 93 pitches, 55 strikes (59.1%) #11 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5, K (played SS) #14 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, R, 2B(19), RBI, K, SB(55) (played 2B) #15 - C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 57 pitches, 34 strikes (59.6%) #16 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 2B(12), 3 RBI (played 3B) #19 - Eduardo Beltre (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, 2 K (played CF) #20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-for-6, 3 K (DHd, then played LF) FRIDAY PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05 PM CT) - RHP Cory Lewis (3-4, 6.79 ERA), Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05 PM CT) - LHP Connor Prielipp (0-4, 2.94 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 PM CT) - TBD Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CT) - LHP Michael Carpenter (0-4, 4.66 ERA) DSL Rockies @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 51-57 St. Paul Saints: 46-57 Wichita Wind Surge: 52-47 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 58-40 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 43-54 FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs) DSL Twins: 16-26 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Thursday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images On Monday, the Twins officially entered trade deadline season by sending right-handed pitchers Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak to the Detroit Tigers. In return, the Twins received a 19-year-old catcher who has yet to spend a day with a full-season affiliate. His name is Enrique Jimenez. He appeared in the Top 20 of Detroit Tigers' top prospect rankings at Baseball America earlier this month, so it’s definitely worth doing some digging and learning some more about the newest member of the Twins organization. BACKGROUND and STATS Jiménez was born in Barcelona, Venezuela. He began working with a trainer when he was quite young. The Tigers were able to sign him on Jan. 15, 2023, for $1.25 million. Evaluating kids when they are 14, 15, and 16 years old is hard, but he appeared on Top 40 and Top 50 international prospect lists. The scouts’ job is to watch 13- to 17-year-old players and try to determine what they will look like when they are 22 or 23. Physically, mentally, emotionally, these kids change a lot over a decade. So, the rankings always have to be taken with a grain of salt. However, those rankings are known, and MLB organizations make million-dollar decisions with them. Jiménez ranked No. 32 by Baseball America and No. 23 by MLB Pipeline in the runup to his signing. Let’s compare that to where the 2023 Twins international signings ranked. BA ranked Cuban outfielder Ariel Castro 13th. Shortstop-turned-pitcher Hendry Chivilli ranked 15th. Catcher Carlos Silva, also from Venezuela, ranked 23rd. Castro ranked No. 11 at MLB Pipeline. Silva ranked No. 31. Chivilli ranked No. 38. In addition, talented young pitchers Adrian Bohorquez and Miguel Cordero signed with that class. This is really a good illustration of the difficulty that international signings present. Castro spent a season in the DSL and has spent the past two seasons in the FCL. Silva spent two summers in the DSL and came to the States this year to play in the FCL. Chivilli played one season of shortstop in the DSL and then a season in the FCL. He was moved to the mound and pitches for the FCL Twins in 2025. Jiménez split the 2023 season between the Tigers' two DSL teams. Combined, he hit .277/.388/.418, with 11 doubles, three triples and one home run in 46 games. In 2024, he came to the States and played 54 games in the FCL. He hit .242/.366/.376 with nine doubles, a triple, and three homers. It was a surprise to many that Jimenez remained in the FCL in 2025. In 48 games, he's hit .250/.339/.440 with 10 doubles, two triples, and six home runs. Over his three professional seasons, he has made 78 starts behind the plate and 42 starts at first base. He also DH'd eight times. SCOUTING REPORT All of that is background that will help tell his life’s story. And there are stats, but as we have tried to say for the last two decades, the further a player is from the big leagues, the less important the stats are. Is the player growing physically, mentally, and emotionally? What are his tools? Is he continuing to improve upon them, to the point where those tools are now skills? Don’t get me wrong. Jiménez’s stat lines have been just fine. They show, to some degree, where he is now as a player, but with four or five more years of development, what can he be? That’s where the scouting reports come in and become important. Of course, scouting reports are not a perfect science. Prospects' progressions are rarely linear. Player development is a multifarious mystery. Have I used enough disclaimers and cliches yet about prospects and scouting reports? Let’s get to Enrique Jiménez’s scouting report. Jiménez stands about 5-foot-9, maybe 5-foot-10 according to some who have seen him live. He’s stocky, like a fire hydrant. He is strong and a good athlete (especially when the phrase “for a catcher” is added). That has allowed him to get time at first base, which means more at-bats. A switch-hitter, Jimenez has pretty smooth swings from both sides. While he hasn’t had a lot of plate appearances against left-handers, he appears to have more power from the right side. To this point, he has not had much home-run power, but he is a line-drive hitter who could get a lot of doubles. His game power is likely to improve in time, with at-bats, and as he continues to gain strength. That said, it’s hard to envision him hitting more than 10-12 homers in a full season. To this point, Jiménez has shown a very good eye at the plate. In his three pro seasons, his walk rates have been 14.1%, 15.3%, and 12.0%. At the same time, his strikeout rates have been 17.6%, 24.0%, and 21.9%. Jiménez is said to have a very good eye, and a contact-first swing. The lone concern is that, at times, he walks the line between patient and passive. A quick look at his wOBA over his three seasons: they came in at .392, .362, and .376. Prefer wRC+? He’s been at 113, 110, and 119. Again, the numbers themselves are not what is important. However, the point that (over time) he could continue to put together quality plate appearances, get on base, and put the ball in play is supported by his performance so far. Jimenez is not going to compete in Fastest Twins Prospect competitions. He’s not fast now, and he’s not likely going to get faster in time. That said, he could potentially get some sneaky steals. At this stage of his young career, the positives in his game come from his defense. Scouts rave about his footwork and blocking. His arm appears to be about average, but again, with his receiving skills and footwork, he has done a very nice job of controlling the running game. The last two seasons, he has thrown out 38% and 30% of would-be base runners. Scouts, teammates, and coaches all like to talk about Jiménez’s high baseball IQ. It’s so important, especially for a catcher. They love how he calls a game, and how he works with pitchers to help them succeed. He was a key factor in the FCL Tigers winning the league championship in 2024 and making it to the playoffs again in 2025. In addition, every single scouting report speaks about his high character and how it stands out at his young age. He is referred to as a great leader. There’s no doubt in my mind that was a big factor in the Twins' decision to acquire Jiménez in the trade. It does lead one to further wonder why Detroit elected to have him repeat the Complex League, which is usually an extreme measure reserved for players whose games are especially raw or who aren't mature enough to move into full-season baseball. It's possible that, as a catcher, he was held back to spend more time shoring up his English and learning to do the ancillary, off-field jobs asked of that position in the modern game. Summary Notes While nothing about his stats jumps off the page, the general opinion around the scouting industry is that Jiménez has a high floor and is relatively likely to reach the big leagues. With his profile above, I can certainly agree with that. I can’t stop thinking that Jiménez’s upside is probably Christian Vázquez. Similar height and build, strength, offensive profile, defensive profile, and intangibles: leadership, quality teammate, works well with pitchers, high baseball IQ. Clearly, at this very young age, Jiménez’s strengths are more behind the plate than at the plate. That is the skill that will keep him moving up the organizational ladder. How will all of the tools play once the league goes to the electronic strike zone? Pitch framing is the only area that should be affected. Working with pitchers and calling a game will always be very important. But I think that, like Vázquez, there is plenty of offensive potential for him to get to the big leagues. I think the odds are highest that he spends most of his big-league time as a backup catcher, but like Vázquez, he could have a few years where he becomes the primary backstop and contributes plenty at the bottom of the lineup. MLB Pipeline ranked Jiménez as the Tigers' No. 14 prospect. After the trade, he was moved to the Twins page, and they ranked him as the Twins' No. 20 prospect. As I look through my personal Twins prospect rankings, I don’t think I would rank him any higher than 34-36, but I might be more attuned to many depth pieces in the Twins system than most. While that may make one think that I don’t like the trade or the return, that just isn’t true. I do think that if he turns into Christian Vázquez, that's a great return for two months of Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak. What are your thoughts on Jiménez and his potential? View full article

Martin played a lot at SS, and he's played a lot at 2B, LF and CF. Julien played DH, but his best position was always DH. His rookie season, he actually became an adequate 2B defensively. Miranda was never going to be a plus defender, but he's at least adequate at 3B and 1B. Not sure where else they would move him. They tried him at 2B when he was younger and more athletic/quick. Marek Houston isn't going to start in Cedar Rapids. He'll get a couple weeks in Fort Myers at least. DeAndrade is rarely playing SS this year, even after Culpepper moved up. He's played a lot at 3B, and a little at 2B. Kyle DeBarge was drafted as a SS too. He moved to 2B pretty much right away, but he's still getting time at SS once in a while. He's also played a bit in CF. Culpepper has played a bit of 2B. In my opinion, the best defensive SS in the Twins organization (MILB), defensively, is Ben Ross. He's been so good with the glove for Wichita the past two seasons at SS. But as soon as Culpepper got to Wichita, Ross has had to play 2B and 3B

Do we think that Eeles would be better than Correa? What prospects are there at Triple-A? (obviously Keaschall, but that's just a rehab). People would just complain if Julien came up, even though he more than deserves it. Martin should get at-bats, so I don't think they want him in that Keirsey role (and he wouldn't be as good at those specific traits - speed, base running, defense) as Keirsey. But definitely, there are going to be a lot of interesting decisions in the offseason (or before). There are a lot of fringy players around the 40-man roster, and maybe some difficult arbitration decisions too. And Adams is fine for that role. I'm sure he'll be optioned tonight/tomorrow since he threw 82 pitches today. He's up because Lopez and Festa and Ober are on the IL... and maybe because Morris is hurt too.

Why not? He's the best athlete on the team. He's playing SS more in the second half with Culpepper there in the first half. But he's still getting time at CF and even some time at 3B now. Keep putting him in those athletic spots and let him be an athlete. There isn't an organization that wouldn't keep doing what the Twins are doing.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo after the Luke Keaschall walkoff) "Don't Give Up. Don't Every Give Up." St. Paul Saints TRANSACTIONS Hard to believe, but there were no transactions in the Twins organization on Sunday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Worcester 9 Box Score On Sunday, it was Connor Gillispie who started. He gave up six runs on six hits and a walk over just two innings. Three of those hits left the ballpark. Jarret Whorff pitched the third inning and gave up one run on two hits and two walks. Randy Dobnak came on to start the fourth inning and his job was to eat as many innings as possible. He gave up two runs on five hits and four walks in four innings. Honestly, that line is pretty incredible when you consider that just 35 of his 77 pitches were strikes. Through six innings, the Saints had two runs on four hits, and Payton Eeles had three of the hits and both RBI. Then came the seventh inning and everything switched. In the top of the seventh, Dobnak gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases with nobody out. At that point, he struck out Jhostynxon Garcia. Kristian Campbell lined out, and then Vaughn Grissom flew out to end the inning. It’s strange to say, but keeping the Saints deficit to just seven was a momentum changer. The WooSox brought Austin Adams into the game. No, not the Austin Adams that pitched on the 2019 Twins Bomba Squad. The “other” Austin Adams. Payton Eeles led off with his fourth hit of the game. After one out, Jonah Bride walked. Ryan Fitzgerald doubled to drive in Eeles. Jose Miranda hit an infield single to drive in Bride and make it 9-4. Newcomer Jhonny Pereda walked to load the bases. Will Holland lined a single to left to make it 9-5. Adams’ day was done. Alex Hoppe came in to replace him. Austin Martin welcomed him to the game with a bases-clearing double that made it a 9-8 game. Erasmo Ramirez came into the game. He worked the final two innings, striking out four batters and keeping Worcester from adding to their run total. In the bottom of the eighth, Hoppe struck out the side. Old Friend Hobie Harris came on to try to get the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth. Jose Miranda led off the inning with a single to center. Anthony Prato pinch ran for him. With one out, Edouard Julien pinch hit for Will Holland. He singled to left with Prato advancing to third. Austin Martin grounded to second, but Vaughn Grissom’s throw to second was wild. Prato scored, but Julien went to third and Martin got to second. The game was tied. Luke Keaschall came up and singled to left to drive in Julien with the game-winning run. Eeles led the way with his 4-for-5 day. He also had two stolen bases. Jose Miranda went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .204. Martin hit the huge, three-run double and walked twice. He drove in four runs. Holland was 1-for-2 with two walks. Pereda and Bride each walked twice. Check out one of our sister sites, Talk Sox, for more on the Red Sox, and see who their top 20 prospects are (post Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer). WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, Frisco 4 Box Score I assume that it will be a rarity, especially in front of the home fans, but both Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper got the day off on Sunday. The Surge got things going right away in the first inning. With two outs, Kala’i Rosario singled, and Ricardo Olivar walked. Andrew Cossetti followed with his eighth home run of the season to give Wichita the early 3-0 lead. It was the longest home run hit in Wichita this season. It was measured at 462 feet. The RoughRiders got one back in the top of the second, but Wichita responded with a run in the bottom of the inning. Jose Salas led off with a single. With one out, he went to third on a Jake Rucker double. Kyler Fedko brought him in with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1. Darren Bowen made the start for the Wind Surge. He gave up one run on three hits over the first four innings. He had five strikeouts and no walks. John Stankiewicz gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. He had two strikeouts without any walks. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Cossetti provided a little insurance with a solo homer, his ninth of the season. It proved important. Aaron Rozek came in for the seventh inning. A strikeout was followed by a single and a walk. Then a shoulda-been double player grounder turned into an error to keep the inning going. A soft single to right scored two runs, and a third run scored on a wild pitch. Rozek got out of the inning with the team still leading 5-4. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Kala’i Rosario led off with his 13th home run of the season. With one out, Cossetti came to the plate and he got a hold of another one. Unfortunately, it was caught at the fence. Kade Bragg came in and struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth inning. Cole Percival struck out one in a scoreless ninth to record his third save since joining Wichita. Cossetti was 2-for-4 with the two homers and four RBI. Rosario was 2-for-4 with the solo homer. Salas had a single and a walk. He also stole his fifth base. It was a terrific home series for the Wind Surge as they won five of six games. Oh, and Andrew Cossetti gets the Defensive Play of the Day too. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Ft. Wayne 9 Box Score Jose Olivares started for the Kernels and gave up three runs on seven hits in five innings. He walked two and had three strikeouts. Olivares gave up single runs in the first, fourth, and fifth innings. Andy Lugo hit a second inning double to drive in Poncho Ruiz with the team’s first run. Going into the bottom of the sixth, the Kernels were down 3-1. Billy Amick led off that inning with a double. With one out, Poncho Ruiz singled to third. After a second out, Jaime Ferrer doubled to drive in a run. After a pitching change, Justin Connell hit a double to drive in two runs and give the Kernels a 4-3 lead. However, it was all TinCaps after that. Tanner Hall came on in relief. In 1 1/3 innings, he gave up four runs on four hits and three walks. Hunter Hoopes came into a bases-loaded situation but got two outs without allowing an inherited runner to score. He faced five batters and got all five out, three on strikeouts. Jeremy Lee came in for the ninth inning and gave up two runs on three hits. Ferrer went 3-for-4 with his 14th double. Ruiz was 2-for-4 with his 10th double. Billy Amick hit his 11th double and was hit by two pitches. Maddux Houghton's defense in center field is remarkable. He made a couple of great defensive plays. Play 1 and Play 2. Check out our new sister site, Padres Mission and see who their top 20 prospects are. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Lakeland 2 Box Score The Mussels got some pretty solid pitching throughout this game. Unfortunately, the bats weren’t able to complement them at all. Eli Jones started and went the first four innings. He gave up one run on two hits. He walked none and had four strikeotus. Matt Gabbert Pitched a scoreless fifth inning. Jakob Hall worked two scoreless innings Tyler Stasiowski came in and gave up one run on three hits and a walk. He also had a wild pitch. He recorded just one out and left the game with the bases loaded. Zander Sechrist came in and got the final two outs of the inning without any additional damage. He also pitched a scoreless ninth frame. The Mussels had just five hits and walked twice. Jay Thomason and Yohander Martinez each had a single and a walk. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Championship Series Game 1 (Best of 3) FCL Twins 1, FCL Blue Jays 2 Box Score The FCL Twins had 39 regular-season wins, best in the Florida Complex League. They beat the FCL Tigers on Saturday 4-3 to advance to the championship series. Game 1 was played in Dunedin. Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) will be in Fort Myers. This game was quite the pitchers’ duel. There was no score through the first six innings. Juan Cota, the Twins Daily Short-Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2023, made the start for the Twins and tossed five shutout innings. He gave up three hits and had one walk. He was efficient with his pitches, no strikeouts, but giving five innings means the team needed just two pitchers in the game. Teague Conrad came out of the bullpen and tossed scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh frames. On the other side, the Blue Jays starter was 19-year-old Sann Omosako, a right-hander from Brazil. He matched Cota by putting five zeroes on the board. The Twins had four hits and two walks off of him, but they couldn’t come up with the big hit in a big spot. Rehabbing former big-league All Star Joe Mantiply pitched a scoreless sixth inning for the Blue Jays. Mantiply was replaced by Brett Garcia in the top of the seventh. Irvin Nunez started the inning with a walk. He advanced to third base on a Yandro Hernandez double. After a groundout to the pitcher for the first out, Isaac Pena singled to center to drive in Nunez with the game’s first run. Unfortunately, they were unable to drive in Hernandez with a second run. Conrad stayed in the game for the eighth inning. It started a bit ominously as he hit the first batter. The next batter reached on a very slow roller to shortstop, an infield single. However, Conrad got a ground ball to third baseman Yilber Herrera who touched third and threw across the diamond to first to complete the double play. Could they get out of the jam? No. The next batter doubled to drive in the Jays first run and tie the game at 1-1. That was followed with a single to drive in the second run. Now holding the 2-1 lead, the Jays turned to Franly Urena. He struck out the side in efficient, dominant fashion. The Twins managed just six hits and three walks. Eduardo Beltre went 2-for-4. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Andrew Cossetti (Wichita): 2-for-4, 2 HR(9), 2 R, 4 RBI, K Pitcher of the Day Juan Cota (FCL Twins): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Sunday. #2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - 1-for-6, GW RBI, 2 K (DHd) #8 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K. #11 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K (played SS) #14 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5, K (played 2B) #16 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, 2 HBP, 2B(11), R, K (played 1B) #19 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - 2-for-4 (DHd) #20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB, R, K MONDAY PITCHING PROBABLES FCL Blue Jays @ FCL Twins (Best of 3, Game 2, 11:00) - TBD DSL Nationals @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 50-55 St. Paul Saints: 46-54 Wichita Wind Surge: 52-44 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 56-39 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 42-52 FCL Twins: 39-20 (playoffs, 1-1) DSL Twins: 15-24 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Sunday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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Good usage of receipts. The nice part about this site is we like varying opinions. That's a good thing. As it relates to these guys, I definitely thought that both could get MLB time this year, but: As for E-Rod, the Twins were going to start the season with Buxton, Wallner, Bader, Larnach... and Martin and Keirsey were going to be called up first. They wouldn't call up E-Rod to be a backup. Maybe if there was a major injury. As for Raya, he was behind Lopez, Ober, Ryan, SWR, Paddack, Zebby, Festa, and probably Morris, Lewis... and even a guy like McCaughan early in the year. In other words, if the point where Raya was going to be a key contributor, things would have had to go very wrong.

Nope.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of the FCL Twins) It makes me sad that the FCL season will be completely over for this year by end of day Tuesday. With the draft moving from early June to mid-July, there isn't TRANSACTIONS With Ryan Jeffers going on the paternity list, Mickey Gasper has been called back up to the Twins. The Twins announced on Saturday morning that they have officially signed Bruin Agbayani (6th round) and Jonathan Stevens (16th round). That means they signed all 21 of their 2025 draft picks. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 9, Worcester 5 Box Score A quick look at the final score, it'd be hard to believe that this game was tied 2-2 through the first six innings. Worcester took a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh, but it was (almost) all Saints after that. The Saints got on base first in the second innings. Payton Eeles led off with a single. With one out, Jonah Bride singled. Eeles scored on a single to left by Will Holland. With two outs, Austin Martin singled to drive in Eeles with the second run. Jose Urena started, and he tossed four scoreless innings on three hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts. He also hit a batter. Cory Lewis came in to start the fifth frame. In three innings, he gave up three runs (one run per inning) on five hits and three walks. He had three strikeouts. Trent Baker pitched a scoreless eighth inning. With a 9-3 lead going to the ninth, Michael Tonkin came in and gave up two runs on a hit batter and a home run. Down 3-2 at the 7th Inning Stretch, Noah Cardenas got things started by being hit by a pitch with one out. Austin Martin singled to right. Luke Keaschall, who played second base for the first time in his rehab stint, hustled to beat out a potential double play and keep the inning alive. Edouard Julien then crush a ball to the opposite field for his 11th home run and to give the Saints a 5-3 lead. In the eighth inning, Eeles led off by crushing a homer to right-center field. Later the same inning, Will Holland hit a slow roller toward third base. The ball was thrown away and went out to right field. Jonah Bride scored. Holland just kept running and when the right fielder had a throwing error, Holland came around to score the team's eighth run. Noah Cardenas followed with his sixth home run in 19 games and 55 at-bats since joining the Saints. Julien led the way. He went 2-for-4 with his seventh double, 11th homer, and three RBI. Eeles was 2-for-4 with his second homer. Martin was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Defensive Play of the Game Check out one of our sister sites, Talk Sox, for more on the Red Sox, and see who their top 20 prospects are (post Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer). WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Springfield 2 Box Score Connor Prielipp was on the mound again, and he was really solid. He reached 62 pitches and tossed the first 4 1/3 innings. He gave up no runs on three hits and a walk. He also struck out five batters. Joel Cesar pitched really well in relief. He got all five batters out that he faced, two on strikeouts. The Wind Surge grabbed the game's first lead with a run in the bottom of the third. Ben Ross scored on a fielding error to make it 1-0. Two innings later they doubled their lead when Jorel Ortega scored on a sacrifice fly by Walker Jenkins. 10-0 Mike Paredes came on for the seventh and gave up a solo homer to top Rangers prospect Sebastian Walcott which cut the Wichita lead in half. However, in the bottom of the seventh, the Surge responded by replacing that run. With one out, Kaelen Culpepper walked. He went to second base on a balk that Frisco manager Carlos Cardoza did not agree with and was tossed for it. Culpepper stole third base and when the catcher through the ball into left field, the shortstop scored the insurance run. It proved to be a run they needed as Paredes gave up another run in the eighth to make it 3-2. Paredes worked the ninth inning as well, didn't give up a run, and earned his second save of the season. Paredes gave up two runs on six hits in the outing. Wichita didn't have much offensive Surge in this game. In fact, they managed just three hits total. They were helped by four walks and two hit batters. Culpepper, leading off again, got on base with a walk, was hit by a pitch, and doubles for the second time with the Surge. The stolen base was his fourth. The two other Wichita hits were also doubles, Rubel Cespedes's 17th and Kyler Fedko's 14th. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Ft. Wayne 0 Box Score It has been a struggle of late for Alejandro Hidalgo. Two starts ago, he gave up three runs on two hits and three walks in just 2/3 of an inning. In his last start, he gave up seven runs on eight hits and a walk. However, in this game, he had a much-needed fantastic outing. The 22-year-old went 4 2/3 innings of shutout baseball and gave up three hits and two walks. 44 of his 66 pitches were strikes (66.7%). He also struck out five batters. Chase Chaney came on in relief and got the final out of the fifth inning and then worked four more innings to earn his sixth Kernels win of the season. He gave up just three hits, walked none and had four strikeouts. The Kernels got things going with a three-run second inning. The inning started with back-to-back walks. Justin Connell drove in Poncho Ruiz with a single for the game's first run. Maddux Houghton flew out deep enough to advance the runners to second and third. Luke Napleton drove in Andy Lugo with a ground out. Then Kyle DeBarge doubled to drive in Connell and give the team their third run. In the bottom of the fifth, DeBarge walked and stole his 52nd base. He advanced to third base when the throw went into center field. He scored on a Kyle Hess ground out. In the sixth frame, Billy Amick led off with a double. He scored on an Andy Lugo single to make it 5-0. They didn't really need it, but they added some insurance in the bottom of the eighth with two more runs. Ruiz was hit by a pitch and went to third on an Andy Lugo single. Ruiz scored on a fielding error. Houghton singled to load the bases, and Napleton drove in the seventh run with a sacrifice fly. DeBarge went 1-for-3 with two walks, a double and his 52nd steal. Lugo was 2-for-3 with a walk. Defensive Play of the Game... You don't run on Luke Napleton! Check out our new sister site, Padres Mission and see who their top 20 prospects are. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Lakeland 0 Box Score The team scored six runs, but when you give up zero runs, we are most-likely going to start with the pitching. In this game, the Mussels sent Michael Ross to the mound, and he was really good. The Twins 18th-round pick a year ago out of Samford gave up just one hit and walked one over six shutout frames. The walk and the single both happened in the top of the sixth. He got the first 15 batters of the game out. He had five strikeouts. As impressive, 49 of his 63 pitches were strikes. That's a 77.8% strike percentage. Manager Seth Feldman turned the game over to his bullpen. Lefty Brennen Oxford gave up two hits over his two scoreless innings. Ruddy Gomez struck out one batter to finish out the shutout. In the bottom of the third, the Mussels got on the board. Caleb McNeely started the inning with a single and stole second base. He scored when Yohander Martinez reached on a throwing error. In the fourth frame, Peyton Carr got things going with a one-out double. With two outs, Blaze O'Saben walked. McNeely then came through with a single to drive in Carr. It remained a 2-0 game until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Mussels put a big four-spot on the scoreboard. Martinez led off with a walk, and Jefferson Valladares singled. Dameury Pena reached on a fielder's choice and a throwing error. That brought Yasser Mercedes to the plate, and he reminded us of why we still love his tools and power-speed combo. The 20-year-old blasted a shot to the top of the berm in left field to put the game out of reach. Caleb McNeely went 2-for-4, scored a run and drove in a run. Jefferson Valladares went 2-for-4. Defensive Play of the Day... the Mighty Mussels turned a 5-4-3, around-the-horn Triple Play in the 8th inning on Saturday night. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 4. FCL Tigers 3 Box Score We’re just going to start at the end because things got a little crazy in Fort Myers. As the game went to the top of the ninth inning, the Twins held a 4-2 lead. After pitching some of their more experienced pitchers the first eight innings, they turned the game over to their “closer” Anderson Ramos. The 19-year-old entered the game with six saves. He had 38 strikeouts (and 17 walks) in his 28 1/3 innings. The inning started with a walk and a single. Another single drove in a run and made it 4-3. Ramos walked another batter to load the bases with still nobody out. Then came the biggest play of the game. Tigers prospect Javier Osorio hit a line drive to shortstop Ramiro Dominguez who threw to second baseman Irvin Nunez, who threw it to third baseman Yilber Herrera, who threw it to Ramos, who threw it to Dominguez, and threw it to Ramos to record the second out of an important double play. Still hanging on to the one-run lead and with a runner on first base, Ramos issued another walk. However, he struck out the next batter to end the game and send the Twins to the Best of Three championship series against the FCL Blue Jays. But how did we get to that point? Well, the Twins took the lead with a three-run second inning. That inning began with walks by Irvin Nunez and Merphy Hernandez. After a strikeout, Isaac Pena walked to lead the bases. Yilber Herrera followed with a line drive single that drove in two runs. After a pitching change, Edouardo Beltre doubled to drive in the third run. However, Herrera was thrown out at home. Sam Rochard started and threw the first four innings. He gave up zero runs on one hit and two walks. He also struck out five batters. The right-hander signed with the Twins in early June out of the independent Frontier League. He turned 25 earlier this week. Will Armbruester came in next. The 24-year-old signed with the Twins at the end of April out of the Frontier League as well. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk over two innings. He walked one and struck out two. Both runs came in the fifth inning. 24-year-old Brent Francisco worked a scoreless seventh inning despite a hit and a walk and a hit batter. He signed with the Twins from the independent Washington Wild Things on May 20th. Xander Hamilton walked one and had three strikeouts in a scoreless eighth frame. Hamilton was the TWins 14th round pick in 2023 out of Appalachian State. He pitched in five games in 2023. Last year, he pitched in 35 games for the Mighty Mussels and another seven games in Cedar Rapids. He had 70 strikeouts in 57 innings total, plus nine saves. Hamilton spent much of the 2025 season on the Injured List. And, here is Ramos’s interesting pitching line. He gave up one run on two hits and three walks in the ninth inning. The Twins offense struggled a bit outside of the three-run second inning. They managed just five hits but added eight walks. They had people on base, but went just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. Herrera went 1-for-2 and walked twice in addition to his two-run single. Dominguez went 2-for-4 with a double. Beltre doubled as well. Nunez and Hernandez each walked twice. Jayson Bass was the one hitter who had both a single and a walk. The FCL Blue Jays topped the FCL Astros 4-3 in 10 innings. The Twins and Jays will play Game 1 of their Best of 3 series on Sunday morning in Dunedin. They will play Game 2 in Fort Myers on Monday. If a Game 3 is needed, it will be played on Tuesday in Fort Myers. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 2, DSL Angels 8 Box Score The Twins gave up runs in each of the first four innings and then gave up a three-spot in the seventh inning. Rainer Marin fell to 0-3 on his season. He gave up one run in each of the first four innings. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits and a walk. Jensi Infante came in and allowed an inherited runner to score. He gave up one additional run on one hit, but he also hit two batters in his 1 1/3 innings. Aaron Carranza gave up three runs on two hits, two walks and a hit batter over 1 2/3 innings. Juan Figaro got the final four outs without allowing another run. The Twins scored single runs in the fourth and ninth innings. With one out in the top of the fourth, Jose Barrios was hit by a pitch. He stole second and with two outs scored on a Joyner Perez single. Jhomnardo Reyes tripled to lead off the ninth inning. He scored on a ground out by Darwin Almanzar. Reyes led the offense. He had two of the team’s five hits. It was his eighth triple of the year. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Edouard Julien (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2B(7), HR(11), R, K Yilber Herrera (FCL Twins): 1-for-2, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI, K Pitcher of the Day Michael Ross (Fort Myers): 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 63 pitches, 49 strikes (77.8%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 0-for-2, BB, SF, RBI, K (played CF) #2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - Rehab in St. Paul - 1-for-4, BB, R, 2-SB(8) (played 2B) #3 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 1-for-2, BB, HBP, 2B(4), R, SB(4) (played 2B) #5 - Connor Prielipp (Wichita) - 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 62 pitches, 44 strikes (71.0%) #14 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(17), R, RBI, SB(52) (played 2B) #16 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2B(10), R, 3 K (played 1B) #19 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - 1-for-5, 2B, RBI, K #20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K (DHd) SUNDAY PITCHING PROBABLES Worcester @ St. Paul (2:07 PM CT) - RHP Connor Gillispie (4-1, 6.35 ERA), Frisco @ Wichita (1:05 PM CT) - RHP Darren Bowen (2-5, 5.22 ERA) Fort Wayne @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM CT) - RHP Jose Olivares (4-3, 3.99 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (11:05 AM CT) - RHP Eli Jones (2-8, 5.94 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Blue Jays (Best of 3, Game 1, 11:00) - TBD DSL Twins - No Game Scheduled CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 52-54 St. Paul Saints: 45-54 Wichita Wind Surge: 51-44 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 56-38 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 42-51 FCL Twins: 39-20 (playoffs, 1-0) DSL Twins: 15-24 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Saturday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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Not yet. I think they're going to long-play his rehab, if possible. He only had 7 MLB games and then missed 2+ months. Definitely don't want to rush him back.

Lower tier for now, but definitely very intriguing. Needs more strikes, but I'm guessing he's getting more velocity and movement on his pitches, so it could take some time to harness it (and some never do)... But from a pure "stuff" standpoint, And frankly, listening to @Jamie Cameronand @Jeremy Nygaardspeak on the most recent Destination: The Show podcast. Bohorquez is borderline Top 20 for them. I update my personal Twins prospect rankings (Top 200ish) every month. Bohorquez is now #21 for me.

Thank you for catching all my DeBarge and El DeBarge references. I thought I was a big fan in the mid-80s (of El DeBarge), but I think it was just one really good son.

No change. Still fully expect both to sign. Probably just some logistical things, maybe travel schedule, etc?

They can also use the 5% overage if needed without penalty. They'll have to. But again, no doubt that they'll sign.

He's not too old for anything. He's probably 25. He missed 1 1/2 seasons due to Tommy John surgery, so the timetable has to look a little different.

Image courtesy of David Malamut (photos of Kyle DeBarge) The Twins and all four of their affiliates played on Saturday Lots of good content for you below. TRANSACTIONS On Wednesday morning, the Twins announced the RHP David Festa was being placed on the Injured List with shoulder inflammation. RHP Travis Adams was again added to the big-league roster to take the spot. A day after claiming catcher Jhonny Pereda off of waivers, the Twins released Diego Cartaya from the Saints roster. The 23-year-old from Venezuela was a consensus Top 100 prospect before the 2022 and 2023 seasons Before the 2023 season, Baseball Prospectus ranked him #19 overall, Baseball American ranked him #18 overall, and MLB Pipeline ranked him the #14 prospect in baseball. This offseason, the Dodgers were signing everyone again, as they are wont to do. On January 3, Cartaya became a roster casualty when the Dodgers DFAd him. Six days later, the Twins sent a DSL pitcher to the Dodgers and took a shot on a guy coming off of a rough age 22 season but just one year removed from being a Top 20 global prospect. As fans, I think we would encourage the front office to do the same thing the next time a similar situation happens. Cartaya started the season by going 2-for-25 (.080) with 18 strikeouts, and before April was complete, the Twins DFAd the backstop, he cleared waivers, and was outrighted to the Saints. In 13 games since coming off of the 40-man roster, he went 3-for-34 (.088) with 22 strikeouts. He has spent most of his time on the Development List which is unfortunate since Jair Camargo got injured early this season and had Tommy John surgery. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul, Worcester Box Score Postponed by Rain. The plan is to play two games on Thursday. It marked their 14th rainout of the season, tops in both minor-league baseball and MLB. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 0, Springfield 3 Box Score A reminder that baseball can be a very humbling sport. On Tuesday night, the Wind Surge scored 12 runs on 18 hits (including seven home runs). On Wednesday night, the Wind Surge were shutout and managed just three hits, all singles. They struck out 11 times. Rubel Cespedes went 1-for-2 with a walk. Kyler Fedko went 1-for-3 with a walk. Nate Baez had the other hit. Christian MacLeod started and had six strikeouts in four innings of work. He gave up two runs on three hits and a hit batter. MacLeod threw 50 strikes in 57 pitches, an impressive 70.2% Jaylen Nowlin came on and gave up one run on two hits and a walk. In 1 2/3 innings, he had three strikeouts. Aaron Rozek came on and kept an inherited runner from scoring. The southpaw tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and had three strikeouts. Unfortunately, this game marks the end of Gabriel Gonzalez’s 13-game hitting streak and 24-game on-base streak. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Ft. Wayne 4 Box Score The Kernels played a matinee game in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday. They fell behind early but stayed in striking distance so that they could walk it off in the bottom of the ninth. Tanner Hall started and gave up two runs on one hit and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. He hit a batter and had three strikeouts. Lefty Wilker Reyes went the next 2 1/3 innings and gave up one run on four hits. He had two strikeouts. Jeremy Lee worked the next two innings and gave up one run on three hits. He struck out three batters without walking anyone. Samuel Perez came on and tossed two scoreless innings… while the Kernels mounted their comeback. Down 3-0 going into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Kernels started their comeback. Caden Kendle led off the inning with a walk. Maddux Houghton singled to right and advanced to second on the throw to third base. Justin Connell walked to load the bases. Kyle DeBarge lined a single to left field to drive in two runs. Fast-forward to the bottom of the eighth. The Kernels were down 4-2. Billy Amick led off with a single to left. Brandon Winokur followed with his 18th double to drive in Amick and make it 4-3. However, they were unable to drive in Winokur from second base. Perez was terrific, keeping the Kernels in the game. Heading to the bottom of the ninth down by a run, it was Kendle who got things started with a leadoff double. Houghton walked. Poncho Ruiz grounded out, but the runners were able to advance to second and third with one out. The lineup turned back over to the top, and Kyle DeBarge stepped to the plate. He lined a single to right field that drove in Kendle with the tying run, and Houghton crossed the plate as the winning run. Things haven’t seemingly come as easy for DeBarge in the second half, but on this day, he went 3-for-4 and drove in four of the team’s five runs including that walk-off winner. Kendle went 1-for-3 with a walk and his 17th double. Jaime Ferrer donned the catcher’s gear behind the plate. After twice getting hit by pitches, he may have been thinking of just wearing the gear to the plate too. Justin Connell walked twice and stole a base. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 1, Lakeland 4 Box Score Christian Becerra started for the Mussels and gave up two unearned runs on two hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. He had four strikeouts. Matt Gabbert came in and gave up one run on three hits in 1 1/3 innings. Ruddy Gomez worked the final two innings. He gave up one run on two hits. He hit a batter and had four strikeouts. The Mussels did very little with their bats on Wednesday. The top player was “Mussels Batter #7.” Byron Chourio started the game in left field and batting seventh. He went 2-for-2 with a double. He was later pinch run for by Angel Del Rosario who went 1-for-1 with a triple. Later, Yohander Martinez came on and went 1-for-1 with a double and the lone RBI. That spot went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a triple and the RBI. The rest of the Mussels lineup combined to go 2-for-29 (.069). Rayne Doncon hit a double. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins, FCL Orioles Box Score Postponed by Rain. The plan is to play two games on Thursday. It is the final day of the FCL regular season. So why are they playing a doubleheader? Here are the top of the standings in the FCL South Division going into Thursday: FCL Twins 37-20 FCL Orioles 35-22 (2 games back). I wonder if the Twins won the first game if they would still play the second game. I would suspect that they still will have to play it. The playoffs are made up of four teams, the three division winners and one wild card team. In the East division, the Astros already claimed that title. In the North division, the Tigers hold a one-game lead over the Blue Jays with one more game to play. They don’t play each other. One of them will win the division. Going into Thursday, the Blue Jays and Orioles both have 35 wins. If the Twins lost both of the games, it’s possible that they would lose the tiebreaker to the Orioles. However, if they lose two games, they will have a record of 37-22. If the Jays win, they will have a record of 36-23. So, I believe that the Twins have clinched a playoff spot, it’s just a matter of if it’s as the Division winner and #1 seed (based on best record in the league) or they will be the wild card and be the #4 seed. (If you’re reading into this like me, it likely means that it is very likely that the Twins and Orioles will play a semi-final game on Saturday. Regardless, they will have Friday off and begin the playoffs on Saturday. If they win on Saturday, they would play the other semi-finals winner on Monday and again on Tuesday. If needed, a Game 3 would also take place on Tuesday. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 4 RBI, K (game-winner) Pitcher of the Day Aaron Rozek (Wichita): 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 34 pitches, 23 strikes (67.6%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. (By the way, we have a new Top 20 which will be unveiled here tomorrow.) #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 3 K (played CF). #4 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K (played 2B) #9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2B(18), RBI (played 3B) #10 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 4 RBI, GW RBI, K (played SS) #12 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, K (played 1B) #13 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K (played LF) #18 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-for-3 (catcher) #19 - Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K (played 2B) THURSDAY PITCHING PROBABLES The Minnesota Twins have an off day on Thursday before heading back to Target Field to take on the Washington Nationals this weekend and the Boston Red Sox early next week. Worcester @ St. Paul (DH at 5:07 PM CT) - RHP Darren McCaughan (5-3, 5.17 ERA), RHP Pierson Ohl (0-1, 3.44 ERA) Frisco @ Wichita (7:05 PM CT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-0, 1.62 ERA) Fort Wayne @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CT) - RHP Cole Peschl (4-1, 3.48 ERA) Fort Myers @ Lakeland (4:00 PM CT) - RHP Adrian Bohorquez (2-3, 5.13 ERA) FCL Orioles @ FCL Twins (DH @ 9:00 AM CT) - TBD DSL Rangers @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 49-53 St. Paul Saints: 44-51 Wichita Wind Surge: 48-44 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 54-37 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 39-51 FCL Twins: 37-20 DSL Twins: 14-22 DRAFT and NDFA PICKS On Wednesday morning, the Twins took the below photo of their 2025 draft class and non-drafted free agent signings. How many can you name? As of Wednesday night, the Twins had signed 19 of their 21 draft picks (and five non-drafted free agents). The two players who are yet to sign are Bruin Agbayani, their sixth-round pick out of high school in Hawaii. He's committed to Michigan. The other player is 17th round pick Jonathan Stevens, a guy who never did pitch at Alabama. He was cut a couple of times. He impressed at the Cape Cod League this summer. Two players that do have some leverage and who both are likely to sign for more than their slot values. I anticipate that both players will sign, but until they do, it's OK to be a little nervous. (Think you can pick Jason Reitz out of the group?) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Wednesday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article