Seth Stohs

On Wednesday afternoon, I did my regular weekly Twins Talk segment with Dave Overlund on WJON radio in St. Cloud. Instead of talking more about a struggling Twins team, we had a really fun time doing a Twins Fantasy Draft. I'd love to hear your thoughts on our teams. Who would win? Click the link in the tweet below and you can listen to the segment. For this draft, we selected the following: SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, DH It's always so much fun looking back at the history of the Twins. 60+ seasons. So many great players. Hall of Famers. Twins Hall of Famers. All Stars. Find out who we selected for our teams and let us know what you think. I think I'll go with this lineup: Rod Carew 2B Joe Mauer C Kirby Puckett CF Tony Oliva RF Kent Hrbek 1B Bob Allison LF Justin Morneau DH Corey Koskie 3B Roy Smalley SS Jim Kaat SP

Let's find out. I'm not saying that Jax is 100% going to be a big-league starting pitcher, but five starts isn't enough to know. 10 starts isn't either.

But what??? I think we all agree he's likely not a top ace-like starter, but he's been pretty solid in his debut... He's exactly the type of pitcher who should continue to make starts.

Based on his 2021, it'd be hard to say he can't become an everyday player with continued development.

I just scrolled down to the comments to quote that... Love that line... And Smalley looks like such a tough guy!

I mean, yes, it was probably a 2 1/2 hour drive, but that's not terribly far. I mean, when he went to southern California as a free agent, that was definitely a long ways!!

Steer is solid at 3B and SS, but most would say he can be an everyday 2B. Martin's split his time between CF and SS.

Correct. Martin isn't getting called up. I would be surprised if anyone who doesn't need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason gets added. That included Martin, Cano, etc. With no Triple-A playoffs this year, that isn't a deterrent, but only a 28-man roster makes it tougher to add too many.

No Triple-A playoffs this year.

I'm guilty of this too, but I just haven't factored in the Florida State League effect on the Mighty Mussels this year. It absolutely still has a huge impact on players numbers. You can hit a ball squarely there and it might go nowhere. We all know that, but for whatever reason, this year I haven't considered it as much. Not sure if it's the affiliation changes or what. So yeah, I almost think that Sabato could take off by not playing in Florida. That said, contact is going to be the key for him. Can he catch up to fastballs? Can he make adjustments? How did the electronic strike zone effect players in Low-A? Also, will be nice for him to just start over with a new team, new stats, maybe not having the batting average that starts with a 1 for awhile will help.

I can't think of any reason to be concerned about win-loss records at any of the levels, for sure not in the FCL and DSL. Too many variables. Guys don't play every day. Catchers play half-games usually. Players often are just going through pro ball. Stats for players don't matter much in those lower levels... wins-losses mean far less.

He's been crushing the ball. He's 28. Time to move him up. That's all.

It's hard to believe that nearly four months of the minor league season are complete. And now there is just over a month to go. There have been several promotions of late. Several of the 2021 draft picks are making their professional debuts or their organizational debuts. Find out which teams are doing well, and which players are leading the way. Be sure to read Nick’s Twins Week in Review from yesterday, and then jump into the minor league week. Before we get started, let’s check out the FCL Twins game and the transactions from Monday. TRANSACTIONS There were several announced transactions on Monday’s minor league off day, and don’t be surprised if there are more tomorrow. OF BJ Boyd was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. 1B Aaron Sabato was promoted from Ft. Myers to Cedar Rapids. IF Christian Encarnacion-Strand, the Twins 4th round pick in the July draft, was assigned to Ft. Myers. IF Jake Rucker, the Twins 7th round pick in the July draft, was assigned to Ft. Myers. C Kole McKinnon returns to Ft. Myers after rehabbing in the FCL. OF Max Smith (Cedar Rapids) was released . C Allante Hall (FCL Twins) was released. RHP Hector Andrade (DSL Twins) was released. FCL Twins Talk FCL Twins 5, FCL Orioles 6 Box Score This game was shortened to seven innings due to the rains. Jackson Hicks made the start. He was charged with four runs on three hits and a walk over three innings. He struck out four batters. Ricardo Velez went the next two innings and gave up two runs on five hits. He struck out three batters. Cole Bellair struck out four batters over the final two innings. He didn’t give up a hit or issue a walk. Carlos Aguiar went 2-for-2 with a walk and his fourth home run. Emmanuel Rodriguez added his sixth homer of the season, and he threw out a runner trying to advance to third base. Kala’i Rosario had a two-run single. Noah Miller went 1-for-4. Zander Wiel went 1-for-3, and Gabe Snyder went 0-for-2 with a walk, as the first basemen continued their rehab on Monday. With that, let’s look at Week 16 in the Twins minor leagues: RESULTS Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (5-2, hosting Iowa), overall (53-43) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (5-1 @ Springfield), overall (57-39) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (4-2, hosting Wisconsin), overall (53-43) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (3-3 @ Dunedin), overall (47-44) Complex League FCL Twins: Week (3-3), overall (12-25) IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Here are the week’s Twins minor league-related articles. Twins Minor League Week in Review: Wind Surge Power TD Top Twins Prospect Rankings (Post Draft and Trade Deadline): Recap Hard Lessons Learned in Trevor Larnach’s Rookie Campaign Tuesday: We Will, We Will, Walk-Off You Scouting Twins Prospects: RHP Ben Gross Wednesday: Affiliates Blast Off Thursday: Oh, ho, ho, it’s Maggi(c)! Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton Highlight an Eventful Night at CHS Field Friday: Ryan Dazzles in Saints Debut Saturday: You Have the Right to be a Hitting Machine Miranda: 3 Ways to Get Him to Minneapolis Sunday: Wichita Bats Surge, Buck Go Boom Highlights We will start with the Twins choices for the organizational hitter and pitcher of the week, and then mention several other Twins prospects who had good Week 16 performances Twins Player of the Week: BJ “Bossman” Boyd, Wichita Wind Surge After spending seven seasons in the Oakland A’s organization, reaching Triple-A in 2018 at 24, BJ Boyd decided to go a different direction. In 2019, he headed to college and played football. He played well enough that he was getting several calls from Division I schools. Then the pandemic hit. This spring, he was sitting at home when the Twins called. He signed and was sent to Double-A Wichita in late May. He has been incredible since. In 66 games, the outfielder has hit .313/.369/.543 (.912) with 12 doubles, 15 homers and 60 RBI for the Wind Surge. And on Tuesday, he will return to Triple-A after earning his promotion. Twins Pitcher of the Week: Joe Ryan, St. Paul Saints He was a strong starting pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. Then he headed to Tokyo to pitch for Team USA. That’s where he found out he had been traded to the Twins in the Nelson Cruz trade. He responded by going 2-0 and helping Team USA to a silver medal at the Olympics! Then he came back, packed up, came to Minnesota and threw a couple of bullpens before making his first start in the Twins organization on Friday night in St. Paul. I think it’s fair to say that it went well. He struck out the first six batters he faced and nine batters in four innings. He gave up just one run, on a solo homer. Ryan was the Rays seventh-round pick in 2018 out of Cal State-Stanislaus. He appeared in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect rankings after he led minor league baseball with 183 strikeouts in 2019. That season, between two levels of A ball and Double-A, he went 9-4 with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. Before heading to Japan, he pitched in 12 games for Triple-A Durham and was 4-3 with a 3.63 ERA and 0.79 WHIP. In 57 innings, he had 10 walks and 75 strikeouts. Other Strong Performances this Week St. Paul Saints Drew Maggi continues to have a strong showing in 2021. Last week, he played in five games and hit .357/.526/.571 (1.098) with a homer and five RBI. He also stole three bases. Gilberto Celestino played in all six games and hit .294/.478/.588 (1.066) with two doubles and a homer. He also walked six times with just four strikeouts. Tomas Telis also played all six games. He hit .440/.462/.600 (1.062) with a double and a homer. Jimmy Kerrigan played in just three games but hit .364 with a homer. Ian Hamilton worked 5 1/3 innings over three games last week. He went 1-0 with a save. He gave up no runs on one hit. He walked one and struck out seven. Yennier Cano tossed 3 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings. He walked three and struck out four. Chris Nunn struck out four batters over 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Ryan Mason struck out six batters over 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Wichita Wind Surge Leobaldo Cabrera played in five games. He hit just .263 (5-for-19), but he hit a double and three homers, and drove in nine runs. He posted a 1.164 OPS. Spencer Steer played in just four of the games. He hit .389/.450/.667 (1.117) with two doubles and a homer. Tyler Beck gave up five hits and two walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out six batters. Jordan Balazovic struck out six batters over six shutout frames. More impressive that he didn’t give up any runs when he also gave up four hits and five walks. Jordan Gore recorded a Save and worked 2 2/3 scoreless, hitless innings. Cedar Rapids Kernels Michael Helman continued to show some surprising, and impressive power. Last week, he hit .261/.393/.783 (1.175) with four home runs. He also walked five times and stole two bases. Edouard Julien had a nice week. He hit .412/.615/.529 (1.145) with two doubles and nine walks. He also stole two bags. Matt Wallner played five games and hit .350/.458/.650 (1.108) with three doubles and a homer. No extra base hits, but Wander Javier hit .350 (7-for-20). Sawyer Gipson-Long made one start. In six innings, he gave up only an unearned run on three hits. He walked one and struck out eight. Louie Varland became the first Kernels starter to record an out in the 7th inning when he tossed seven full innings. He gave up one run on six hits. He struck out six batters without a walk. Ben Gross worked five innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits. He walked three and struck out six batters. Denny Bentley made his first two High-A appearances. He gave up two hits over four scoreless innings. He struck out five batters without issuing a walk. Zach Featherstone struck out six batters over 3 1/3 hitless innings. He walked one. Ryan Shreve struck out eight batters over 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up four hits and walked none. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Jesus Feliz has really come on of late. In six games last week, he hit .333/.481/.762 (1.243) with three home runs. He also walked five times and stole two bases. Patrick Winkel has a strong first full professional week. The catcher played four games and hit .400/.526/.600 (1.126) with a homer and four walks. Steven Cruz had a terrific week. He worked five innings over two outings. He gave up just an unearned run on two hits and a walk. He also struck out ten batters. Randy Dobnak’s rehab appearance was three perfect innings with five strikeouts. Casey Legumina gave up one run over four innings. He struck out seven batters. Juan Pichardo pitched twice and gave up one run over four hits in four innings. He struck out eight batters. FCL Twins Luis Gomez went 5-for-9 (.556) with three doubles in his four games. Carlos Aguiar went 5-for-13 (.385) with three homers and six RBI. Rubel Cespedes went 2-for-9 (.222) over three games this week, but both hits were home runs. Wander Valdez played in five games. He hit .333/.412/.600 (1.012) with a double and a home run. Kala’i Rosario hit .368 with two doubles, a homer and seven RBI. Wilker Reyes went 1-0. He gave up five hits but no runs over five scoreless innings. Giovahnney German threw four hitless, scoreless innings. He struck out three batters. (although he did walk six batters). Malik Barrington recorded a save in his professional debut. He gave up one hit over three scoreless innings. He struck out six batters. Lowlights We are talking about small samples for these six-game weeks, so it’s important not to make any big decisions or develop a full impression on a player from this small size. It’s just a reminder of the fact that baseball is hard, and all players have good and bad stretches. St. Paul Saints Ben Rortvedt has certainly had some moments since returning to the Saints. This past week, he went 1-for-13 (.077) with five strikeouts. Sherman Johnson went 1-for-10 (.100), and Drew Stankiewicz went 2-for 16 (.125), though he did have four walks and a homer. Robinson Leyer gave up five runs (4 earned) on four hits and two walks over two innings. Nick Vincent got DFAd by the Twins and then gave up five runs (4 earned) on four hits (2 homers) and a walk in 2 2/3 innings. Wichita Wind Surge Ernie de la Trinidad went 2-for-13 (.154) in his three games. Jermaine Palacios played all six games and went 3-for-19 (.158), though he had two doubles. Chris Vallimont made two starts last week. He gave up ten earned runs on ten hits (4 homers) and six walks in just nine innings. Cedar Rapids Kernels Gabriel Maciel played in four games and went 2-for-14 (.143). Seth Gray went 3-for-20 (.150) over five games. He did have a double and a homer and six RBI. Andrew Cabezas gave up six runs on six hits over 2 1/3 innings in his start. Tyler Watson gave up six runs on eight hits and a walk over 2 2/3 innings. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Will Holland played in five games and went 0-for-17. Misael Urbina went 3-for-24 (.125) over six games. Trending Storyline Here is a quick look at how Twins minor leaguers rank against all minor leaguers. Jose Miranda: Batting Average (.342, 5th), Slugging Percentage (.590, 10th), OPS (.995, 8th), Hits (135, 1st), Home Runs (25, 3rd), RBI (72, 11th), Runs (79, 2nd) Extra Base Hits (48, 8th), Total Bases (233, 1st). BJ Boyd: Batting Average (.319, 16th), Trey Cabbage: Home Runs (23, 10th), RBI (71, 15th) Spencer Steer: Home Runs (22, 18th), Runs (70, 17th), Austin Martin: On-Base Percentage (.429, 15th), Hit By Pitch (22, 3rd), Wander Javier: Triples (10, 2nd), Edouard Julien: Walks (90, 1st), Runs (75, 6th), Stolen Bases: (31, 19th), Number of Pitches (1820, 1st)... Aaron Sabato: Walks (73, 5th), Yunior Severino: Doubles (27, 13th), Ben Gross: ERA (3.16, 8th), WHIP (1.19, 18th), Winning Percentage (.833, 3rd), Drew Strotman: Winning Percentage (.700, 13th), PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our updated Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings. #1 - Royce Lewis (Wichita) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 17 games, .262/.444/.377 (.821) with 4 doubles, 1 home run, 10 RBI, 12 BB, 13 K. #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 15 GS, 71.0 IP, 70 H, 29 BB, 78 K, 3.42 ERA, 1.39 WHIP #4 - Simeon Woods-Richardson (Wichita) - Has not pitched since the Olympics. #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 5 G, 4 GS, 16.0 IP, 16 H, 13 BB, 22 K, 5.06 ERA, 1.81 WHIP (on IL with a right forearm strain) #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 95 games, .342/.405/.590 (.995) with 23 doubles, 25 homers, 72 RBI, 36 BB, 58 K #7 - Joe Ryan (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 4.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 9 K, 2.25 ERA, 0.50 WHIP #8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 5 GS, 21.0 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 43 K, 0.86 ERA, 0.67 WHIP #9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - Has yet to pitch. #10 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 54 games, .247/.305/.321 (.626) with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 23 RBI, 17 BB, 78 K, 5 SB #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - 14 GS, 72.0 IP, 55 H, 13 BB, 80 K, 2.63 ERA, 0.94 WHIP #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 44 games, .277/.354/.549 (.903) with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 11 homers, 35 RBI, 17 BB, 65 K. #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K), St. Paul (18 games, .281/.395/.531 (.926) with 4 doubles, 4 homers, 15 RBI, 11 BB, 15 K), Minnesota (22 games, .140/.183/.298 (.482) with 3 BB, 13 K) #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - 5 GS, 24.0 IP, 28 H, 10 BB, 18 K, 5.63 ERA, 1.58 WHIP. #15 - Noah Miller (FCL Twins) - 5 games, .222/.286/.222 (.508) with 2 BB, 8 K #16 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (58 games, .239/.368/.566 (.934) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 19 homers, 37 BB, 74 K), Minnesota (32 games, .200/.273/.408 (.681) with 7 doubles, 6 homers, 10 RBI, 8 BB, 41 K) #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP (underwent Tommy John surgery on June 9th) #18 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 82 games, .190/.289/.294 (583) with 9 doubles, 4 triples, 5 homer, 49 RBI, 41 BB, 65 K, 12 SB) #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 14 G, 13 GS, 55.1 IP, 41 H, 24BB, 75 K, 2.93 ERA, 1.18 WHIP #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 87 games, .262/.363/.515 (.878) with 14 doubles, 2 triples, 22 homers, 53 RBI, 46 BB, 78 K) LOOKING AHEAD Bradenton @ Ft. Myers: (Matt Mullenbach, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD): Cedar Rapids @ Beloit:(Louie Varland, Tyler Watson, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Cody Laweryson, Ben Gross, Louie Varland) Tulsa @ Wichita: (Austin Schulfer, Cole Sands, Jordan Balazovic, TBD, TBD, Austin Schulfer) St. Paul @ Toledo: (Beau Burrows, Joe Ryan, TBD, TBD, Drew Strotman, Beau Burrows): Feel free to ask any questions you like. View full article

No, it'll be 30 days of service time (or however many days here is up). He just needs to be added to the 40-man roster. When he's called up, he won't be optioned this year, so he'll go into spring training next year with 3 option years remaining and 30ish days of service time.

No, it's about playing time.

Because he hasn't played in a game in 2 months... get some ABs under his belt before being thrown into big league games.

Because of that, he was going to get a few bullpen first. I would guess next week.

He certainly seems to understand the need to work on those secondary pitches and be more consistent with them. I watched several of his innings last night. In one inning, he got a batter to 0-2 and then had a really nice slider just off the outside corner. A batter or so later, he threw another 0-2 slider, but it was over the middle of the plate and hit for a double. He worked out of that inning, but it shows 1.) He does have to continue to make progress on those pitches, and 2.) he's got really good stuff that could keep improving.

Yes, they are playing.

I doubt Severino gets added, but he's put himself in the discussion. Signing bonus is a factor, but not huge. Severino wasn't added last year. Javier hasn't been added yet (and probably won't be). Miller is intriguing but I'm not too sure yet the profile. If he becomes Nick Punto, it was a great draft pick. He has more power potential. If he becomes Span or Dozier-like thats a remarkable pick. Y'all, I had carpal tunnel surgery today, Had to be in Grand Forks before 9. Doing OK so far. Typing isn't easy, Ha! Bear with me.

per the above, he's starting for the Saints Friday.

The Wind Surge had a huge, powerful week, led by outfielder BJ Boyd who had six home runs. Check out what happened last week throughout the Twins minor league system. Be sure to read Nick’s Twins Week in Review from yesterday, and then jump into the minor league week. Before we get started, let’s check out the FCL Twins game and the transactions from Monday. TRANSACTIONS LHP Denny Bentley was promoted from Ft. Myers to Cedar Rapids. Ft. Myers added catcher Patrick Winkel (2021 9th round pick), outfielder Kyler Fedko (2021 12th round pick), second baseman Alerick Soularie (2020, 2nd round pick) and RHP Matt Mullenbach (signed as free agent earlier this year). FCL Twins Talk FCL Twins 1, FCL Pirates 5 Box Score Twins Competitive Balance pick Noah Miller made his professional debut today. He walked in his first plate appearance. He then got out twice before singling in his final at-bat of the day. He is a career-.300 hitter as a professional. In addition, eighth-round pick Noah Cardenas was added to the FCL roster. A rehabbing Zander Wiel went 0-for-2 and was hit by a pitch. Also rehabbing is Gabe Snyder. He went 2-for-4 with a double. Juan Mendez has been good for the FCL Twins to this point. On Monday, he gave up five runs on four hits and two walks and recorded just one out. Jackson Hicks came on and gave up three hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out six batters. Danny Moreno struck out three batters over three perfect innings. Rafael Feliz struck out the side in the final inning. With that, let’s look at Week 15 in the Twins minor leagues: RESULTS Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (4-2 @ Indianapolis), overall (48-41) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (3-3 @ Tulsa), overall (52-38) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (4-2 @ Peoria), overall (49-41) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (1-3 @ Bradenton), overall (44-41) Complex League FCL Twins: Week (2-3), overall (9-22) IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Here are the week’s Twins minor league-related articles. Twins Minor League Week in Review: Walkoff Wins of Change in Wichita TD Top Twins Prospect Rankings (Post Draft and Trade Deadline: 25-21 Tuesday: Balazovic Gets Back on Track TD Top Twins Prospect Rankings (Post Draft and Trade Deadline: 20-16 Wednesday: Who Didn’t Homer? TD Top Twins Prospect Rankings (Post Draft and Trade Deadline: 15-11 TD Interview: Mike McCarthy, St. Paul Saints Pitching Coach Trio Hinting at Twins Pitching Pipeline Thursday: Morales Dominates, Saints’ Bullpen Bears Down TD Top Twins Prospect Rankings (Post Draft and Trade Deadline: 10-6 Friday: Lewis Thorpe Appears on Verge of Twins Return TD Top Twins Prospect Rankings (Post Draft and Trade Deadline: 5-1 Saturday: Clean Sweep (But Not in a Good Way) Sunday: Smashing Sunday Twins 40-Man Roster Crunch? Perhaps Not Highlights We will start with the Twins choices for the organizational hitter and pitcher of the week, and then mention several other Twins prospects who had good Week 15 performances Twins Player of the Week: Yunior Severino, Cedar Rapids Kernels Severino has made a lot of money in baseball. He first received a seven-figure signing bonus with Atlanta. After Atlanta was found to be working illegally, Severino became a free agent and kept that signing bonus. Then the Twins gave him a bigger seven-figure signing bonus. He has fought some injuries in his time with the Twins, but after his recent promotion to the Kernels he has been very good. Last week, he played in six games and hit .480/.552/.720 (1.272) with three doubles and a home run. In 17 games with Cedar Rapids, he has hit .424/.493/.591 (1.084) with eight doubles and a home run. Twins Pitcher of the Week: Ben Gross, Cedar Rapids Kernels After three years at Princeton, Gross went to Duke for his senior season and became the Twins 10th round in 2019. In his start this week, he gave up two runs on six hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out 13 batters. Overall this season with Cedar Rapids, he has pitched in 15 games (14 starts) and is 5-1 with a 3.25 ERA. In 72 innings, he has walked 20 and struck out 92 batters. Other Strong Performances this Week St. Paul Saints As per usual, Jose Miranda had a highlight week. In six games, he hit .462/.517/.808 (1.325) with three doubles and two homers. Jimmy Kerrigan played in four games and hit .353/.353/.941 (1.294) with a double, three homers and eight RBI. Tomas Telis played five games and hit .375/.400/.667 (1.067) with a double and two homers. Glberto Celestino played five games and hit .316/.458/.579 (1.037) with two doubles and a home run. Kyle Barraclough pitched in three games and 3 1/3 innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out seven batters. After a bad start with the Twins, Beau Burrows struck out five batters in three scoreless innings for the Sains. Rafael Garza pitched three scoreless innings and had a save for St. Paul before coming up and tossing two scoreless for the Twins. A certain highlight was the return of lefty Lewis Thorpe who made a start and gave up one run on two hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings. Andrew Albers made two starts. In 13 innings, he gave up three earned runs (2.08 ERA). On Sunday, he tossed eight scoreless innings. Wichita Wind Surge Zach Neff gave up just one hit over 3 2/3 scoreless innings over two outings. Alex Phillips tossed 4 1/3 scoreless, no-hit innings. Bryan Sammons made a start and gave up a single and a walk over five scoreless innings. He struck out five. Austin Schulfer threw four innings in his start and struck out four batters. Cole Sands gave up two runs on five hits and a walk over 5 2/3 innings in his start. He struck out 10 batters. The Wind Surge lead the AA-Central division with 941 strikeouts, second most in all Double-A ball. The Wind Surge hitters combined for 21 home runs during the week and a league-leading 33 homers in 13 August games! BJ Boyd had a huge week! He has an 11 game hitting streak. In six games last week, he hit .385/.407/1.077 (1.484) with six homers and 12 RBI! Roy Morales played four games and hit .385/.467/.692 (1.159) with a double and a homer. Jermaine Palacios played all six games. He hit .348/.400/.652 (1.052) with a double and two homers. Leobaldo Cabrera played just three games. He went 4-for-9 (.444) with a double and two home runs. Trey Cabbage played all six games. He hit just .208, but he hit four home runs. Cedar Rapids Kernels The start of Matt Canterino on Sunday sure was exciting. In his first game back with the Kernels after about 10 weeks away with injury. He worked three innings and recorded eight strikeouts. He walked one. Of the ten batters he faced, he struck out eight! Cody Laweryson worked four scoreless innings and struck out six batters. He gave up just one hit. Zach Featherstone pitched three innings over two games. He had a save and struck out five batters over three scoreless innings. Melvi Acosta had a save and struck out four batters in four innings. Derek Molina (2 2/3 innings), Tyler Palm (2 innings) and Ryan Shreve (2 innings) each struck out four batters and didn’t allow a run. Breckin Williams struck out three batters over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Jefferson Morales played in four games and hit .500/.500/.813 (1.313) with two doubles and a homer. Four of his eight hits came in one game. Michael Helman played in five games and hit .313/.421/.625 (1.046) with two doubles and a home run. Edouard Julien played in all six games and hit .333/.517/.524 (1.041) with a double and a homer. He also had eight walks. Ft. Myers Might Mussels There were only four games, but Aaron Sabato had a really good week. On the week, he hit .294 (5-for-17). Those five hits? A double and four home runs, a slugging percentage of 1.059 (1.427 OPS). Aaron Rozek struck out six batters over four, two-hit innings. Sean Mooney made one start and tossed three perfect innings. He struck out six batters. Casey Legumina returned to the mound too, and gave up just one hit over three innings. He struck out three batters. Bobby Milacki gave up one run on three hits over four innings. He struck out six batters. FCL Twins Giovahnniey German was fantastic again. In his start, he tossed five no-hit, no-run innings. He walked three and struck out seven. Jackson Hicks worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and struck out six batters. Matt Mullenbach struck out four batters in three scoreless innings. Danny Moreno pitched twice, and he gave up a run on no hits, two walks and struck out four. Wander Valdez had a big week. In four games, he hit .429/.438/.643 (1.080) with a homer. Lowlights We are talking about small samples for these six-game weeks, so it’s important not to make any big decisions or develop a full impression on a player from this small size. It’s just a reminder of the fact that baseball is hard, and all players have good and bad stretches. St. Paul Saints Yennier Cano gave up three runs on six hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. Ryan Mason gave up four runs on two hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings. Keon Broxton went 0-for-10 in three games. He had seven strikeouts. Wichita Wind Surge Chris Vallimont had a rocky start. In 3 2/3 innings, he gave up six runs on five hits and three walks. Evan Sisk gave up five runs (4 earned) on five hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Jhonleider Salinas gave up three runs on a hit and three walks in one innings. Mitchell Osnowitz gave up two runs on four hits in 2/3 of an inning. Erik Manoah gave up three runs on two hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. Caleb Hamilton went 0-for-9. Austin Martin went 3-for-23 (.130) with a homer and a walk. Aaron Whitefield went 3-for-14 (.214). Cedar Rapids Kernels Osiris German gave up five runs on six hits, a walk and a hit batter in two innings. Tyler Watson was charged with five runs on six hits a hit batter and two walks over 2 1/3 innings. Wander Javier continues to struggle. In six games, he went 2-for-24 (.083) with a triple. He also struck out 13 times in 26 plate appearances. Seth Gray went 3-for-26 (.115) with a homer. He struck out 10 times. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Matthew Swain gave up four runs on two hits and four walks in just one innings. Landon Leach had a rough start. He gave up three runs over two innings. He gave up zero hits, walked three and hit five batters. Orlando Rodriguez gave up four runs on five hits, a walk and a hit batter in 2 2/3 innings. Charlie Mack has been quite good of late, but in four games, he went 1-for-17 (.059). Prospect Summery This Prospect Summary shows our Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings following the draft and trade deadline. #1 - Royce Lewis (Wichita) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 12 games, .256/.429/.372 (.801) with 2 doubles, 1 home run, 7 RBI, 7 BB, 9 K. #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 14 GS, 65.0 IP, 66 H, 24 BB, 72 K, 3.74 ERA, 1.38 WHIP #4 - Simeon Woods-Richardson (Wichita) - Has not pitched since Olympics. #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 5 G, 4 GS, 16.0 IP, 16 H, 13 BB, 22 K, 5.06 ERA, 1.81 WHIP (on IL with a right forearm strain) #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 88 games, .346/.409/.602 (1.011) with 22 doubles, 24 homers, 66 RBI, 33 BB, 54 K #7 - Joe Ryan (St. Paul) - Has not pitched since Olympics #8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 5 GS, 21.0 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 43 K, 0.86 ERA, 0.67 WHIP #9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - Has yet to pitch. #10 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 49 games, .245/.313/.328 (.641) with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 21 RBI, 17 BB, 66 K, 5 SB #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - 14 GS, 72.0 IP, 55 H, 13 BB, 80 K, 2.63 ERA, 0.94 WHIP #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 39 games, .268/.339/.536 (.875) with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 10 homers, 30 RBI, 13 BB, 60 K. #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K), St. Paul (12 games, .277/.358/.511 (.869) with 2 doubles, 3 homers, 11 RBI, 5 BB, 11 K), Minnesota (22 games, .140/.183/.298 (.482) with 3 BB, 13 K) #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - 3 GS, 14.1 IP, 13 H, 7 BB, 11 K, 6.28 ERA, 1.40 WHIP. #15 - Noah Miller (Complex) - Has yet to play. #16 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (58 games, .239/.368/.566 (.934) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 19 homers, 37 BB, 74 K), Minnesota (28 games, .198/.252/.423 (.676) with 7 doubles, 6 homers, 10 RBI, 6 BB, 36 K) #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP (underwent Tommy John surgery on June 9th) #18 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 76 games, .195/.293/.298 (590) with 9 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homer, 48 RBI, 37 BB, 61 K, 12 SB) #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 13 G, 12 GS, 54.0 IP, 38 H, 22 BB, 74 K, 2.83 ERA, 1.11 WHIP #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 83 games, .255/.358/.506 (.865) with 12 doubles, 2 triples, 21 homers, 50 RBI, 45 BB, 74 K) LOOKING AHEAD Ft. Myers @ Dunedin (Landon Leach, Aaron Rozek, Casey Legumina, Sean Mooney, TBD, Bobby Milacki): Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids:(Ben Gross, Louie Varland, TBD, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Matt Canterino, Cody Laweryson) Wichita @ Springfield: (Chris Vallmont, Tyler Beck, Austin Schulfer, Cole Sands, Jordan Balazovic, Chris Vallimont) Iowa @ St. Paul: (TBD, Lewis Thorpe, Beau Burrows, Joe Ryan, Andrew Albers, Drew Strotman): Feel free to ask any questions you like. View full article

That one game in 2019 really scared people away, apparently. It was a bad game, but still. He's got good K numbers. He's good vs Lefties. He just gets himself in trouble when he doesn't throw strikes. But, definitely worth considering.