Seth Stohs

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Rubel Cespedes) The draft is starting, and there were some really interesting games in the Twins minor leagues. TRANSACTIONS The Twins sent Zebby Matthews to St. Paul to start his rehab assignment. Fort Myers catcher Rafael Escalante was activated from the Injured List and then released. DRAFT The 2025 draft started on Sunday evening with the first three rounds. Here are the players drafted by the Twins. Hopefully the guys who will be signing in the next couple of weeks and we'll start tracking. 1st Round (16): SS Marek Houston, Wake Forest - talented fielding shortstop, good athlete, really increased his power in 2025. Comp Balance (36): RHP Riley Quick, Alabama - 6-6, 260 pounds, averaged nearly 98 mph with his fastball. Had SEC offers out of high school for baseball and football. 2nd Round (54): SS Quentin Young, Oak Christian School (California) - 6-6 shortstop, nephew of Delmon and Dmitri Young. 3rd Round (88): RHP James Ellwanger, Dallas Baptist - throws really hard. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Iowa 8 Box Score There was no score in this game as a couple of intriguing young starters faced off. For the I-Cubs, Ben Brown gave up just two hits over five shutout innings. He had five strikeouts and no walks. Zebby Matthews made his first rehab start, and it went well. He gave up just one hit over four scoreless innings. He walked none and had an impressive nine strikeouts. At that point the game started for the hitters, the I-Cubs hitters in particular. Jose Urena came on to start the fifth inning. He gave up four runs on four hits and three walks over two innings. Kody Funderburk gave up one run on three hits and a walk over his two innings. Jarret Whorff gave up three runs on five hits in the top of the ninth inning. Down 4-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Payton Eeles put the Saints on the scoreboard with an opposite field, solo home run. Eeles had two of the Saints six hits. In the bottom of the eighth, Noah Cardenas hit his fifth homer since joining the Saints last month. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, San Antonio 7 Box Score Two batters into this game into the bottom of the first inning and the Surge had a lead. Walker Jenkins led off with a walk and scored on Gabriel Gonzalez’s 17th double. John Klein started for Wichita. He began by putting three zeroes on the board. Unfortunately, he was hit around a bit and gave up a home run in a four-run fourth inning. He gave up four runs on four hits over four innings. Jaylen Nowlin came on and gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the fifth inning. The Surge cut the deficit to 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning on a two-run shot by Rubel Cespedes, his sixth homer of the season. Mike Paredes came on for the sixth inning. He worked three innings and gave up two runs, both on solo homers. Jacob Wosinski pitched a scoreless ninth inning. He had three strikeouts. Cespedes and Gonzalez were both 2-for-4. Kyler Fedko added his 12th double. Walker Jenkins went 0-for-3, but he walked twice. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Peoria 8 (10) Box Score Peoria’s bats got going early in this game. Slowly the Kernels tried to work their way back. Was it too little too late? Alejandro Hidalgo started. He was charged with three runs on two hits and three walks in just two-thirds of an inning. He had already reached 36 pitches. Jeremy Lee came on. He was charged with five runs (just 2 earned) on three hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings. Next on the mound was Tanner Hall. He gave the Kernels 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and had one strikeout. Nick Trabacchi was brought in to start the sixth inning. He tossed two scoreless innings and had three strikeouts. Down 8-0 going to the fifth inning, the Kernels started their comeback. Andy Lugo led off with a single. Caden Kendle came on and hit his sixth home run of the season. Maddux Houghton walked and stole second base. He scored on a Luke Napleton single up the middle. Jump to the top of the seventh and the Kernels doubled their pleasure and added two more runs. With one out, Danny De Andrade hit his 18th double. Two batters later, Jaime Ferrer’s 11th double drove in the team’s fourth run. Andy Lugo followed with his sixth double to drive in Ferrer and make it an 8-5 game. The top of the eighth started with a walk by Houghton. Napleton was then hit by a pitch. Billy Amick walked to lead the bases, and Danny De Andrade worked a walk to make it 8-6. Brandon Winokur followed with an infield single that made it 8-7. Jaime Ferrer hit into a double play, but it scored the game-tying run. Hunter Hoopes was perfect over two innings and had four strikeouts. To extra innings, we go. In the top of the 10th inning, Napleton was the Manfred Man. Billy Amick grounded to short. The throw was made to third base, but Napleton was safe on an error. De Andrade flew out, and Napleton was thrown out at the plate for a double play. Rally over? Not quite. Amick went to second on the throw, so when Winokur followed with a single, he scored the go-ahead run. He went to second on a wild pitch. Ferrer singled and Winokur scored. The Kernels took a 10-8 lead to the bottom of the 10th inning. The leadoff man grounded out to first base off of Kade Bragg with the Manfred Man advancing to third. After a walk, Bragg recorded a strikeout for the second out. Then, almost inexplicably, they attempted a steal, but Ferrer threw him out to end the game. Winokur went 3-for-6 with his 17th double. Lugo was 3-for-5 with a walk. Ferrer went 2-for-6 with his 11th double. De Andrade doubled for the 18th time this season and walked twice. Billy Amick, Kyle Hess and Maddux Houghton each walked twice. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Clearwater 7 Box Score Mussels pitchers gave up runs early and often, and their bats were unable to get anything rolling on Sunday. Michael Ross made the start. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on six hits and three walks over four innings). He had four strikeouts. Jakob Hill came in and gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and a walk. He had one strikeout. Ivran Romero and Darren Oxford each pitched a scoreless inning. The Mussels got runners on base. They had seven hits and walked five times. All nine batters got on base at least once. The top three in the lineup each walked once. The bottom six hitters each had at least one hit. The last two hitters, Angel Del Rosario and Yohander Martinez, each contributed a single, a walk, and a stolen base. It was Del Rosario’s 31st steal of the season. Unfortunately, they went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. Daniel Perez had two hits in the game. The lone extra-base hit was a double by Byron Chourio, his second of the season. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-6, 2B(17), R, 2 RBI, 2 K Pitcher of the Day Zebby Matthews (St. Paul): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K, 56 pitches, 38 strikes (67.9%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Sunday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 0-for-3, 2 BB, R (played CF) #9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-6, 2B(17), R, 2 RBI, 2 K (played 3B) #12 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 BB, 2 R, K (played 1B) #13 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2B(17) (played LF) #18 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R, K (Catcher) #19 - Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 BB, 2B(18), R, RBI, K #20 - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, HR(1), R, RBI K (played 2B) MONDAY SCHEDULE FCL Braves @ FCL Twins (10:00 AM) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Tigers (10:00 AM) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 47-49 St. Paul Saints: 42-49 Wichita Wind Surge: 46-41 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 51-35 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 36-49 FCL Twins: 32-16 DSL Twins: 10-20 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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Image courtesy of William Parmeter, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (photo of Dasan Hill) The Twins and all six of their affiliates played on Saturday. Before we start, here are a few notes: - Congratulations to Travis Adams on recording his first MLB Win on Saturday. He worked four innings in the middle of the Twins 12-4 win over the Pirates and gave up two runs (1 earned). - Kaelen Culpepper represented the Minnesota Twins organization on Saturday afternoon in the Futures Game in Atlanta. He went 0-for-1 in the game and played second base. - Sunday night is the start of the 2025 MLB Draft. Be sure to check in with Twins Daily throughout the day as rumors are discussed, and then when the draft begins, we'll be writing about the Twins selections. And, by the end of Monday night, we will have another 20 or so players to Get to Know! TRANSACTIONS The Saints placed RHP Cody Laweryson on the 7-Day Injured List with a right forearm strain. Not Twins-related, but former, long-term Twins minor leaguer Jeferson Morales signed with Saraperos de Saltillo in the Mexican League. On Friday night, he played his first game for them. He went 4-for-4 with a double, a homer, and five RBI. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Iowa 9 Box Score The Saints and I-Cubs kept exchanging two and three run innings. The Saints took a 10-5 lead into the ninth inning. They gave up four runs but barely held on for a one-run win. Emmanuel Rodriguez came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the first inning. He hit a hard grounder down the first base line. The first baseman dove and deflected it toward the infield tarp down the right field line. By the time it was retrieved, two runs had scored. . Jonathon Long hit a three-run homer in the top of the third to give the I-Cubs a one-run lead. However, in the bottom of the third, Carson McCusker and Jonah Bride hit back-to-back homers to reclaim the lead. Later in the inning, Emmanuel Rodriguez left an at-bat early with injury and was removed from the game. The Saints added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two on, Will Holland, who replaced Rodriguez, hit a three-run homer to give the Saints a 7-3 lead. The Cubs scored two runs in the sixth inning to make it 7-5, but again the Saints responded quickly. In the bottom of the sixth, the inning started with a walk by Anthony Prato and singles by Payton Eeles and Mickey Gasper to load the bases. Edouard Julien walked to make it 8-5. Jonah Bride doubled in two runs and gave the team a 10-5 lead. Recently-claimed Connor Gillispie started and gave up three runs on three hits and three walks in five innings. Trent Baker gave up two runs on four hits and three walks in two innings. He had three strikeouts. Erasmus Ramirez worked a scoreless eighth frame, but over his two innings, he was charged with four runs (3 earned) on three hits and a walk. Julien went 2-for-3 with two walks. Carson McCusker went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 18th home run. Jonah Bride was 2-for-3 with two walks, his second double and his first Saints home run. Will Holland’s fifth homer drove in three runs. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, San Antonio 4 Box Score There was a strong pitcher’s duel in Kansas on Saturday night. Through seven innings, the game was tied at 1-1. The Missions scored three runs in the eighth inning to take control and held on to top the Surge. C.J. Culpepper continues to be worked into the rotation slowly. On Saturday, he tossed two scoreless, hitless innings. He walked one and had three strikeouts. Ricky Castro came in and gave up one run on five hits over the next 5 2/3 innings. He had three strikeouts and no walks. John Stankiewicz gave up one run on one hit over the next 1 2/3 innings. Cole Percival (aka, Son of Troy) gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Walker Jenkins drove in Nate Baez with a sacrifice fly to tie the ballgame at 1-1. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Jenkins drove in Jose Salas with a double, his fourth of the season, to make it 4-2, but that was as close as the Wind Surge got. Jenkins drove in the team’s two runs. Gabriel Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with his 16th double. Salas walked twice. Kyler Fedko and Ricardo Olivar each had a single and a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 2 Box Score The Kernels scored three runs in the first inning, added on in the middle, and held on at the end to win again on Saturday. With one out in the top of the first inning, Caden Kendle singled and went to second on a Brandon Winokur walk. Kendle scored on a single by Poncho Ruiz. Winokur scored on a sacrifice fly by Misael Urbina. Andy Lugo drove in Ruiz with a triple that made it 3-0. In the third inning, Brandon Winokur launched his 12th home run of the season to make it 4-0. In the fourth frame, Jaime Ferrer doubles. He scored on a Justin Connell single. 5-0 Kernels, but was it enough? Let’s see if the pitching was able to hold on. Ty Langenberg put together the best start of his season. Over six innings, he gave up two runs on three hits. He had one walk, hit a batter and had seven strikeouts. Logan Whitaker gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. Paulshawn Pasqualotto gave up one hit and no runs in the ninth inning to close the door. Caden Kendle led the offense. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and his 16th double. He came to the plate for a fifth plate appearance in the ninth but didn’t like a call and was ejected by the home plate umpire. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Clearwater 2 Box Score The Mussels got off to a fast start on Saturday night with a three-run first inning. They added one throughout and got a very solid pitching performances from young Dasan Hill and Jason Doktorczyk. Let’s start with the pitching. Lefty Dasan Hill was very solid on this night. He gave up an unearned run on two hits over 4 2/3 innings. He had six strikeouts and didn’t issue a walk. His fastball consistently touched 96 mph. Doktorczyk got the final out of the fifth inning. In 4 1/3 innings, he gave up one run on two hits. He walked one and had four strikeouts. With one out in the top of the first inning, Bryan Acuna singled. Byron Chourio walked. Caleb McNeely homered to dead center to give the team a quick 3-0 lead. It marked his third homer since joining the team last month. Yasser Mercedes led off the third inning with a walk. He stole second, his 26th steal of the season. He advanced to third on a wild pitch. McNeely followed with a solid single to right to drive in Mercedes and make it 4-0. McNeely began the top of the sixth inning with a walk. He went to second when Blaze O’Saben walked. Both runners advanced on a passed ball. Angel Del Rosario singled off of the shortstop's glove to drive in McNeely. Jose Rodriguez then singled to drive in O’Saben. A few pitches later, Del Rosario scored the seventh run on a wild pitch. COMPLEX CHRONICLES Game 1: FCL Twins 7, FCL Red Sox 4 Box Score In the first game, the Twins got strong pitching early and late, and a couple of crooked numbers in the middle innings to take the win. Former shortstop Hendry Chivilli had his best pitching performance of the year. He tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and one walk, and he had four strikeouts. The Twins scored four runs in the top of the third inning. First, Yilber Herrera singled to drive in Yandro Hernandez. With two outs and the bases loaded, Irvin Nunez walked in a run. Luis Fragoza followed with a single that scored Ramiro Dominguez and Daiber De Los Santos to make it 4-0. In the fourth, Eduardo Beltre hit a two-run homer to make it 6-0. Juan Cota came in and was charged with four runs (3 earned) on three hits. Over two innings, he had a strikeout and walked four batters. Through six innings, the Twins held a 6-4 lead. In the top of the seventh inning, the Twins added an insurance run. With no one on and two outs, Fragoza singled, and soon after, scored on a Yandro Hernandez single. Anderson Ramos came in to protect the lead and tossed two scoreless innings to record his sixth save. He walked one and had two strikeouts. Beltre led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with his fifth home run. He scored two runs and drove in two runs. Fragoza went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI. Hernandez went 2-for-3 with a walk. He scored two runs and drove in another. Game 2: FCL Twins 1, FCL Red Sox 3 Box Score The second game saw solid pitching, but the offense didn’t help as much as needed. Xavier Kolhosser started and gave up an unearned run on two hits and two walks over the first two innings. Miguel Cordero came in for the middle innings and was fantastic. He faced nine batters and got all of them out including three on strikeouts. Will Armbruester gave up two runs on four hits over the final two innings. He had two strikeouts. The Twins batters combined for four hits and seven walks. Their lone run came in the bottom of the seventh inning. Yandro Hernandez walked, and after a pitching change, Eduardo Beltre came in as a pinch-hitter. He hit his ninth double of the season to drive in Hernandez and cut the deficit to just 2-1. With the tying run on second, Twins hitters followed with two pop ups and a strikeout without tying the game. Ramiro Mendoza and Isaac Pena each had a single and a walk. Hernandez walked twice. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 11, DSL Tigers 4 Box Score Watch Game When Rainer Marin gave up four runs in the first inning, there was a bit of “Here we go again!” Instead, he went three more innings without allowing a run. Then Aaron Carranza tossed two scoreless innings, and Nelson Cafe completed the final inning with another zero on the board. In the meantime, the Twins scored 11 unanswered runs to win a lopsided game of their own. The bottom of the third frame started with a run on two walks and two errors. Haritzon Castillo broke up the no-hitter with a two-run single to center to make it 4-3. There was a pitching change. After a fly out, Yovanny Duran singled and Pablo Castillo walked. Jamesson Val followed with an RBI single that tied the game. Next, Cristian Bonifacio singled to drive in Duran. After a force out, Teilon Serrano was hit by a pitch to drive in the sixth run. The Twins added a run in the fourth inning. Jhomnardo Reyes hit his sixth triple of the season, and Duran drove him in with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-4. They added on in the fifth inning. Val led off with a walk and scored on Bonifacio’s second home run of the season. Jose Barrios singled and advanced to third base on two wild pitches. After Haritzon Castillo walked and stole second, Reyes doubled to drive in both of them and make it 11-4. The Twins scored their 11 runs on eight hits, 10 walks and two hit batters. Reyes again led the way. He went 2-for-4 with his fourth double and sixth triple and two RBI. Bonifacio was 2-for-3 with his second homer and three RBI. Val and Barrios each hit a single and walked twice. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Edouardo Beltre (FCL Twins): 4-for-5, 2B(9), HR(5), 2 R, 3 RBI Honorable Mention: Jhomnardo Reyes (DSL Twins): 2-for-4, 2B(4), 3B(6), R, 2 RBI Cristian Bonifacio (DSL Twins): 2-for-4, HR(2), 1 R, 3 RBI, K Caleb McNeely (Fort Myers): 2-for-4, BB, HR(3), 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 K, SB(13) Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita): 3-for-5, 2B(16) Edouard Julien (St. Paul): 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI, K. Jonah Bride (St. Paul): 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(2), HR(1), R, 3 RBI, K. Pitcher of the Day Dasan Hill (Fort Myers): 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 80 pitches, 53 strikes (66.3%) Honorable Mention Ty Langenberg (Cedar Rapids): 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 88 pitches, 58 strikes (65.9%) Miguel Cordero (FCL Twins): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (9 up, 9 down) Hendry Chivilli (DSL Twins): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 40 pitches, 26 strikes (65.0%) 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) - 1-for-4, 2B(4), SF, 2 RBI, K (played CF) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, 2 RBI, K (left in 3rd with injury) #4 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 0-for-1 in the Futures Game (played 2B) #6 - Dasan Hill (Fort Myers) - 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 80 pitches, 53 strikes (66.3%) #9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, HR(12), 2 R, RBI, K (played SS) #10 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, BB, K, SB(46) (played 2B) #13 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 3-for-5, 2B(16) (played RF) #14 - C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 28 pitches, 20 strikes (71.4%) #15 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - Game 1: 3-for-4, HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, Game 2: 1-for-1, PH 2B(9), RBI. #18 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB (DHd) #20 - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, K (played SS) SUNDAY PITCHING PROBABLES Pittsburgh @ Minnesota (1:10 PM CT) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.08 ERA) Iowa @ St. Paul (2:07 PM CT) - RHP Jose Urena (0-1, 2.31 ERA) San Antonio @ Wichita (1:05 PM CT) - RHP John Klein (6-4, 3.25 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (2:05 PM) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo (0-2, 4.94 ERA) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (11:00 AM) - RHP Michael Ross (2-3, 3.61 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 47-48 St. Paul Saints: 42-48 Wichita Wind Surge: 46-40 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 50-35 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 36-48 FCL Twins: 32-16 DSL Twins: 10-20 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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Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photos of Marco Raya and Pierson Ohl) What an interesting day in the Twins minor leagues. There was a tremendous pitching performance (or two) in St. Paul. Wichita fell behind early, but they nearly fought all the way back. The Kernels also fell behind early, and a big inning led them to a big win. Between those two teams, there were five three-hit games. And it might be wise for Twins fans to start learning how to spell and pronounce the name Jhomnardo. TRANSACTIONS The Twins put FCL Twins’ RHP Mitch Mueller on the 60-Day Injured List. DSL Twins OF Carlos Taveras was also placed on the 60-Day IL. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Iowa 1 Box Score 2-1 is not the kind of score you see often, especially at CHS Field. Based on the first couple of months of this season, it certainly isn’t what you would expect in a Marco Raya start. Raya has really turned things around in his season and is pitching with much more confidence. On this night, he earned his first Win of the season. He gave up just one run on three hits. In six innings, he had one walk and seven strikeouts. Because he was throwing so well, he reached 80 pitches. In his past six starts, he has given up seven earned runs over 30 2/3 innings (2.05 ERA). He’s given up 20 hits, walked 13 batters, and struck out 28 batters. Despite the high walk total, his WHIP is still a very solid 1.08. He has completed five innings in five of those six starts and this was his second straight game completing six innings. The only run he allowed came on an Owen Caissie homer. Equally impressive was the relief performance of Pierson Ohl. The 25-year-old, former 14th-round pick, recorded his first Saints save in about as difficult a situation to record a save. He tossed three scoreless innings in a one-run game. Following the game, Ohl told Twins Daily the key to his success, “Changing speeds and getting ahead. Going 0-1 makes all the difference in the world, especially at this level. These hitters are great, so giving myself any advantage is huge. Keeping the changeup in the bottom of the zone and mixing in my other stuff at the right time.” The Grand Canyon grad was quick to credit his backstop. “It was my first time throwing to Mickey (Gasper) back there, and I could feel his confidence, and it’s contagious.” In his three weeks with the Saints, he has been working in the Travis Adams’ role. He’s made two starts and three relief appearances. He’s completed four innings twice and gone at least two innings in each outing. Ohl said, “The Twins could be onto something with this new role. Time will tell, but for now, it’s been great.” As for offense, there wasn’t much. Hats off to Chris Katchmar of the I-Cubs. He gave up a solo homer to Edouard Julien in the first inning. Julien went 2-for-3 in the game. It marked his eighth homer with the Saints this season. In the fifth inning, Jonah Bride led off with a double. He advanced to third on a deep fly ball by Jose Miranda. After Anthony Prato, Italian god of hit-by-pitches, was, well, hit by a pitch for the 15th time already this season. He was hit nine times a season ago with the Saints, and six more times in his 2023 half-season with the Saints. Anyway, Will Holland drove a ball to center field and Bride easily scored the go-ahead run. It was the third straight win in three attempts this week for the Saints. They’ll look to keep it going this weekend. Head out to CHS Field to see a couple of pretty solid teams. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, San Antonio 8 Box Score The Wind Surge fell behind early. They kept trying to come back but came up just short. Before the game, manager Brian Dinkelman spoke about Culpepper, the Futures Game and more. Darren Bowen made the start for Wichita. He gave up four runs in the second inning, and then two more in the fourth inning, his final inning. He gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks. Joel Cesar came in and gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits over three solid innings. Jacob Wosinski gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning, and Tanner Andrews gave up three hits in a scoreless inning. The Surge got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning. Kala’i Rosario walked and went to second on a single by Kyler Fedko. On a double steal, Rosario stole third base and scored on a throwing error. It was Rosario’s 19th stolen base of the season. It was Fedko’s 22nd stolen base, and moments later he stole his 23rd base, taking third. Down 8-1 going to the bottom of the sixth inning, Gabriel Gonzalez led off with his second Surge homer. With one out, Fedko singled again and scored on a Ricardo Olivar double. With two outs, Olivar scored on a Nate Baez single which cut the deficit to 8-4. That’s where the score stood until the bottom of the ninth inning. With one out, Jose Salas launched his first Double-A homer. Kaelen Culpepper followed with his third homer with the Surge. But that’s as close as the team got. Culpepper led the offense. He went 3-for-5 with a homer. He is now hitting .368 since being promoted to Wichita. Fedko was 3-for-4 with two stolen bases. Baez went 2-for-4. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Peoria 4 Box Score The Kernels fell behind early, but a huge fifth inning led to a big win in Peoria. Jose Olivares had a rough first inning. Three batters into the game, he gave up a single and two walks. The first run scored on a ground out. The second run scored on a balk, and the third run scored on another ground out. I believe that more important than the stats, it was great to see Olivares make some adjustments and get through five innings without giving up another run. He gave up just two hits and had three walks. He also struck out four batters. He allowed the Kernels offense to do what they really like to do, put big numbers on the scoreboard. That’s just what they did. Through four innings, the Kernels had just three singles and a hit batter. No runs. Then came the top of the fifth inning. Caden Kendle tripled. Maddux Houghton singled. Kendle scored. Kyle DeBarge singled. Billy Amick singled. Houghton scored. Danny De Andrade singled. DeBarge scored. Poncho Ruiz walked. Brandon Winokur singled. Amick and De Andrade scored. Double play. Jaime Ferrer tripled. Winokur scored. Kendle flew out. That’s a quality six runs on seven hits and a walk. And more importantly, they didn’t stand pat. In the seventh, Kyle Hess walked and scored on a Ferrer double. Ferrer then scored on a single by Kendle. Brandon Winokur added one more insurance run in the top of the ninth inning with his 11th home run. The bullpen did their part too. Kade Bragg struck out four batters, and walked one, over two scoreless, hitless innings. Hunter Hoopes struck out two batters in his hitless inning. Nick Trabacchi got the bottom of the ninth and gave up one run on two hits to end the game. Winokur was hit by a pitch and went 3-for-4 with his 11th homer. Amick was 3-for-5. Ferrer went 3-for-5 with his ninth double and second triple. DeBarge went 2-for-5. De Andrade went 2-for-5. Kendle was 2-for-5 with his second triple. The Kernels had 17 hits and two walks. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Clearwater 7 Box Score Eli Jones took the mound for the Mussels. The 2024 draft pick went five innings. He was charged with four runs (2 earned) on three hits. He walked one and had five strikeouts. Matt Gabbert came on and gave up two runs on four hits over his two innings. He had two strikeouts. Tyler Stasiowski gave up a run on a solo homer in the eighth innings. The Mussels had five hits and walked six times in the game. In the second inning, Byron Chourio scored on a Yohander Martinez double. The next time the Mussels scored came in the sixth inning. Martinez hit a fly ball to center, deep enough to drive in Caleb McNeely. Two batters later, Jose Rodriguez coaxed a walk to drive in Bryan Acuna. At that time, the Mussels were down just 4-3. In the top of the seventh, the Mussels tied the game at four when Acuna grounded out but drove in Yasser Mercedes. Unfortunately, that was it for Fort Myers scoring The Threshers scored two in the home half of the seventh inning. Then in the 8th inning, Dante Nori (son of Wolves lead assistant coach Micah Nori) hit his second home run of the season. Nori was the first-round pick of the Phillies, 27th overall, in 2024 out of high school in Michigan. The 20-year-old outfielder went 2-for-4 with his 14th doubles, second homer, three runs scored and two RBI. He also stole his 20th base of the season. He is hitting .261 with a .703 OPS. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 5, FCL Rays 2 Box Score The FCL Twins started their day by completing a victory started two days earlier against the Rays. The Twins led 8-7 in the 8th inning when the game was suspended. They wound up winning that game 9-8. The Twins also grabbed the win in the regularly-scheduled game thanks to some strong pitching. Melvin Rodriguez is making a strong case for being the first back-to-back Twins Daily Short-Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He earned the award last season when he pitched in the DSL, and he’s made a strong transition to the States in 2025. On Thursday afternoon, he gave up two runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and had five strikeouts. He improved to 4-1 with a 3.13 ERA. Anderson Ramos followed with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and had one strikeout. He earned his fifth save of the season. The Twins got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning when Irvin Nunez hit his first home run of the season. The team then added three runs in the fifth frame. Merphy Hernandez led off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Isaac Pena. Yilber Herrera and Edouard Beltre walked and moved up a base on a wild pitch. Jayson Bass drove in both runners with his first triple of the season. The Twins got an insurance run in the sixth inning. Ricardo Paez walked, stole second. Went to third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch. Jayson Bass led the offense. He went 2-for-3 with the triple and two RBI. He is now hitting .300 on the season with an .850 OPS. Hernandez hit his first triple as well, and he added two stolen bases. Nunez went 1-for-2 with a walk and the homer. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 3, DSL Rangers 13 Box Score Watch Game The Twins squad in the Dominican has been playing better of late and even pitching better. Thursday was not a good example of that. The Rangers jumped ahead with a five-run first inning, and they had innings in which they scored three and four runs to take a commanding lead and win. Eli Urena started and didn’t get through the first frame. He was charged with four runs (1 earned) on no hits and the one out he recorded came on a strikeout. The unfortunate thing was the four walks, and two wild pitches, and an error mixed in doesn’t help either. Jensi Infante came in and gave up only an unearned run over the next 2 2/3 innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and had a strikeout. Aside from allowing all three of his inherited runners to score, it was a good outing. Eliezer Lucena came in and tossed three innings. He was charged with four runs (3 earned) on seven hits and two walks, but he had three strikeouts. He was hurt by three wild pitches too. Juan Quinones was next. He gave up four runs on four hits and two walks in just 2/3 of an inning. Greidi Pina came in with two runners on and didn’t allow either to score. He went two scoreless innings and gave up one hit and two walks. Jamesson Val gave up one hit before recording the final out. 17-year-old Jhomnardo Reyes led the offense. He had two triples over four at-bats in the game and now has five on the season. Another 17-year-old, Yovanny Duran, continued his impressive run. He drove in a run with his third double. In seven games played in July so far, he has at least one hit in all seven games (and an eight-game hitting streak). In July, he is 13-for-25 (.520) with two doubles. He has walked twice and struck out just once. Six of his 12 stolen bases have come in July. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-4, HBP, HR(11), 2 R, 3 RBI Jaime Ferrer (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2B(9), 3B(2), R, 2 RBI, K. Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 3-for-5, HR(3), R, RBI, K Kyler Fedko (Wichita): 3-for-4, 2 SB(23). Jhomnardo Reyes (DSL Twins): 2-for-4, 2-3B(5), R, RBI, 2 K. Pitcher of the Day Marco Raya (St. Paul): Win, 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K, 80 pitches, 49 strikes (61.3%) Pierson Ohl (St. Paul): Save, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 41 strikes, 28 strikes (68.3%) 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) - 0-for-4, BB, K (played CF) #4 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 3-for-5, HR(3), R, RBI, K (played 2B) #9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, HBP, HR(11), 2 R, 3 RBI (played SS) #10 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R (played 2B) #11 - Marco Raya (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K, 80 pitches, 49 strikes (61.3%) #12 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K (DHd) #13 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 1-for-5, HR(2), R, RBI, 2 K. (played LF) #15 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - 0-for-2, BB, R, K #18 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B(10), R, RBI, 2 K. (caught) #19 - Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K. (played 3B) #20 - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, K (played SS) FRIDAY PITCHING PROBABLES Pittsburgh @ Minnesota (7:10 PM CT) - RHP Joe Ryan (8-4, 2.76 ERA) vs RHP Paul Skenes (4-7, 1.94 ERA) Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CT) - RHP Randy Dobnak (1-5, 6.56 ERA) San Antonio @ Wichita (7:05 PM CT) - LHP Christian MacLeod (0-1, 2.06 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (DH @ 4:30 PM) - Cole Peschl (3-1, 3.47 ERA), Chase Chaney (5-2, 3.57 ERA) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM) - RHP Christian Becerra (1-1, 2.84 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (DH @ 10:00 AM) - TBD, TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Phillies (10:00 AM) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 45-48 St. Paul Saints: 41-47 Wichita Wind Surge: 46-38 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 47-35 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 34-48 FCL Twins: 30-15 DSL Twins: 9-19 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Thursday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (image of Christian MacLeod) Like their big-league counterparts, the Twins minor leaguers really struggled on Saturday once runners were on base. They got lots of runners on base, but were unable to do anything once they were there. RESULTS St. Paul 3, Gwinnett 1 Wichita 2, Tulsa 3 Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities (Postponed) Fort Myers 3, Bradenton 5 Game 1: FCL Twins 4, FCL Red Sox 1 Game 2: FCL Twins 6, FCL Red Sox 5 DSL Twins 6, DSL 5 (8 innings) TRANSACTIONS Travis Adams was officially promoted to the Twins and made his MLB debut. The corresponding move was optioning Kody Funderburk. Jonah Bride was activated by the Saints and played in his first game with the Twins Triple-A squad. The organization signed lefty Yordi Jose a couple of days ago. He was assigned to the DSL Twins. STARTING PITCHERS Randy Dobnak (St. Paul): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 K. Christian MacLeod (Wichita): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. (Cedar Rapids): Game Postponed (Dasan Hill (Fort Myers): 3 2/3 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 K Game 1: Anthony Narvaez (FCL Twins): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Game 2: Hendry Chivilli (FCL Twins) - 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Rainer Marin (DSL Twins) - 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K HOME RUNS St. Paul: Edouard Julien (7) FCL: Daiber De Los Santos (4) FCL: Rafael Escalante (1) MULTI-HIT GAMES St. Paul: Carson McCusker - 3-for-4, 2-2B(16), RBI Fort Myers: Angel Del Rosario - 2-for-4, 3B(3), R, 2 RBI, FCL Game 1: Ramiro Dominguez - 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, K, 2-SB(11) FCL Game 2: Luis Fragoza - 2-for-4, R, RBI, SB(11) Daiber De Los Santos - 2-for-4, HR(4), 2 R, 2 RBI Rafael Escalante - 2-for-3, HR(1), R, 2 RBI Yovanny Duran (DSL) - 2-for-2, 2 BB, 2 RBI, R Gerardo Cardona (DSL) - 2-for-2, BB, 2B(1), 2 RBI PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Carson McCusker (St. Paul): 3-for-4, 2-2B(16), RBI It’s been a struggle for McCusker since he returned from his two weeks with the big-league club, but he had a strong game on Saturday. Before Saturday’s three-hit game, he was 17-for-105 (.162) with three doubles and six home runs over 29 games. Hopefully the three-hit game, including a couple of doubles and a couple of hard-hit balls, will get him going again. Pitcher of the Day Christian MacLeod (Wichita): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 73 pitches, 44 strikes (60.3%) The southpaw from Mississippi State was really good again on Saturday, but he’s really pitched well throughout the season for Wichita. His season began a couple of weeks late. After two outings with four scoreless innings for Fort Myers, he tossed six scoreless innings over his first two outings and six innings for Wichita. In fact, he gave up zero earned runs in seven of his first eight starts. He has four more starts with one earned run allowed. It’s no surprise that MacLeod has a nice 2.06 ERA over his 10 starts and 35 innings. In addition, he started with four scoreless innings in Fort Myers (rehab). He also made one start for the Saints. He gave up only an unearned run on one hit over 3 2/3 innings. He continues to work back from Tommy John surgery and coupled with the Twins strategy with several pitchers of having them throw three to four innings or 50-70 starts. It’s a strategy. It’s part of the plan. That said, five innings on Saturday was his season high. 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) - 1-for-4, BB, R, K (played CF) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - Rehab in Fort Myers, 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 K. #6 - Dasan Hill (Fort Myers) - 3 2/3 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 79 pitches, 51 strikes (64.6%) #13 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 HBP, (played LF) #15 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - Game 1: 1-for-3, 2B(8), Game 2: 1-for-4, R, 2 K, SB(14) (DHd both games) #20 - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 0-for-5, K CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 45-46 (tied for 2nd in AL Central, 11.5 games behind Detroit.) St. Paul Saints: 38-46 Wichita Wind Surge: 44-36 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 45-34 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 32-46 FCL Twins: 28-14 DSL Twins: 8-17 SUNDAY PITCHING PROBABLES Tampa Bay @ Minnesota (1:10 PM CT) - RHP Joe Ryan (8-4, 2.75 ERA) St. Paul @ Gwinnett (12:05 PM CT) - Connor Gillispie (3-0, 4.91 ERA, first start in Twins organization.) Tulsa @ Wichita (1:05 PM CT) - RHP John Klein (6-4, 3.00 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) - Ty Langenberg (1-4, 5.96 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (11:05 AM) - RHP Jason Doktorczyk (2-4, 4.83 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Saturday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! And just for fun, here is a benches-clearing brawl in a minor-league game recently. SAINTS SENTINEL The Saints went just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position on Saturday. They left 11 runners on base. WIND SURGE WISDOM Kyler Fedko had an RBI on Saturday, giving him 51 on the season. Fedko leads the Texas League leader in RBI and Home Runs (17). His 21 stolen bases rank fifth in the league. He is tied for the league lead in Total Bases (128). His 28 Extra Base Hits ranks second, behind teammate Kala'i Rosario's 29. Ben Ross extended his on-base streak to 14 games. Gabriel Gonzalez is at 13 games. Jaylin Nowlen has given up zero earned runs over his past six appearances and 11 innings. On Saturday, the Surge went just 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left 14 runners on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Brandon Winokur leads the Midwest League in At-Bats (298) and Plate Appearances (338). Kyle DeBarge has now been caught three times, but his 45 stolen bases are 10 more than anyone else in the Midwest League. He is also Top 10 in the league in Runs and RBI. It's been a really terrific redemption season for Danny De Andrade. He was 19 when the Kernels season started in 2024. Less than two months into the season, he was injured and never returned. He hasn't played shortstop, but he has been really strong defensively at second base and third base. He also is tied for third in the Midwest League in Extra Base Hits with 30. He is top 10 in the league with 17 doubles and is tied for the league lead with six triples. MUSSEL MATTERS Like the Saints and Wind Surge,, the Mussels struggled with driving in runs. They went 1-for-10 with Runners in Scoring Position and left nine on base. Please provide feedback on this minor league report format, particularly compared to the previously-used one. I have my thoughts, but your thoughts are more important. View full article

Image courtesy of William Parmeter, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (photo of Jose Rodriguez) I've been out for two weeks, 10 days of a nice vacation, and computer issues since I've been back. So, I apologize for the late posting os today's minor-league report. Fortunately, there were a few position performances on Thursday. CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 41-46 (tied for 2nd in AL Central, 12.5 games behind Detroit.) St. Paul Saints: 37-45 (7th place in the International League West Division, 10.5 games behind Indianapolis) Wichita Wind Surge: 43-35 (2nd in Texas League North, 5.0 games behind Springfield.) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-34 (2nd place in the Midwest League’s West Division, 3.0 games behind Quad Cities.) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 32-44 (6th place in the Florida State League’s West Division, 15.5 games behind Lakeland.) FCL Twins: 26-14 (1st in FCL South, 3.0 games ahead of the FCL Orioles. DSL Twins: 6-16 (7th place in DSL West) TRANSACTIONS Jonah Bride cleared waivers and was outrighted to St. Paul. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Gwinnett 7 Box Score The struggles continue for Cory Lewis this season. On Thursday, he gave up three runs on three hits over four innings. He struck out four, but he walked five batters. He has thrown more knuckleballs this season than he had in the past which certainly could be a cause. Trent Baker came on in relief and gave up three runs on five hits. In three innings, he walked one and struck out five batters. Kyle Bischoff pitched the eighth inning. He was charged with an unearned run on one hit. Down 2-0 after one inning, the Saints scored two in the top of the second inning. Anthony Prato singled and stole second. With two outs, he scored on a Will Holland single. The speedster stole second and went to third on a slow roller down the third base line by Noah Cardenas. Payton Eeles followed with a double to left field, but it only scored Holland and evened the score at two. In the third inning, the Saints scored two more to take a 4-2 lead. Carson McCusker led off the inning with a walk. He stole second. With two outs, Aaron Sabato drilled a home run, his third with the Saints. That was it for the Saints offense. The Strippers just pecked away, scoring in four of their final five innings on offense. Eeles led the offense, recording three hits and an RBI in the game. His double was his second since rejoining the team. Prato had two hits and stole his 12th and 13th bases. Cardenas went 2-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 10, Tulsa 6 (10 innings) Box Score A six-run 10th inning helped the Surge to a big win in Oklahoma on Thursday night. Wichita took the 1-0 lead in the top of the second innings. Ricardo Olivar walked and stole second base. He advanced to third on a Nate Baez single. With two outs, the Surge went with a double steal. Baez stole second and Olivar stole home. The Surge scored a single run in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. In the fifth frame, Kaelen Culpepper singled to drive in Jose Salas, who had walked and stole second. The Drillers scored three in the bottom of the fifth to take a brief lead. In the top of the sixth, Kyler Fedko walked, stole second and third. After Olivar walked and stole second, Ben Ross hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 3-3. In the top of the 7th, Jorel Ortega led off with a double. He went to third on a ‘productive out, (grounding to second base) by Culpepper. Ortega scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 4-4 which is how things remained until the top of the 10th inning. Ortega began as the Manfred Man, standing on second. Culpepper singled to left. Gonzalez walked. Walker singled to drive in Ortega. Fedko walked which drove in Culpepper. Olivar and Ben Ross each walked to drive in runs. Jose Salas was hit by a pitch to drive in a run. The sixth and final run of the inning scored on a ground out. Joel Cesar came on for the 10th inning. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits but held the big lead. Connor Prielipp started and tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and had six strikeouts. He also hit a batter. Ricky Castro came in and gave up three runs on four hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Jacob Wosinski gave up one run on one hit and one walk in 1 1/3 innings. He struck out… you guessed it, one batter. Tanner Andrews tossed two scoreless innings, and Cole Percival struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth frame. Kaelen Culpepper went 2-for-6 and stole a base. Ortega also had two hits including his seventh double. Olivar went 0-for-2, but he walked three times and had three of the team’s nine stolen bases in the game. Kyler Fedko, who walked twice, also had two stolen bases, putting him at 20 for the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 4 Box Score Through three innings (and five innings), the Kernels found themselves down by a score of 4-0. In the top of the sixth, Caden Kendle led off with a double. Kyle DeBarge pushed him to third base with a single to right. DeBarge then stole his 44th base. Both runners scored on a Billy Amick double to cut the deficit in half at 4-2. That’s how the score remained until the top of the ninth. With one out, Andy Lugo tripled. Kyle Hess struck out but the catcher had to make the throw to first base which allowed Lugo to score from third base and again cut the deficit in half, this time to 4-3. But that was as close as the Kernels got. The Kernels had seven hits and three walks. DeBarge went 2-for-3 with a walk. Amick went 1-for-3 with a walk. His double was his eighth. Kendle’s double was his 13th. Jose Olivares started and gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits and two walks in just three innings. Jacob Kisting tossed two scoreless relief innings, and Kade Bragg had three strikeouts over three perfect innings. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Bradenton 2 Box Score The Mussels scored nine runs on 10 hits, but they were also helped by eight walks, a hit batter, and three Bradenton errors. That said, this was a 2-2 game until the sixth inning. Jose Rodriguez put the Mussels on the board in the second on an RBI double scoring Blaze O’Saben. Rodriguez late scored on an error. Jump to the sixth inning. Recently-released Jack Noble is pitching for the Marauders. He gave up a solo home run to Yasser Mercedes to give Fort Myers a 3-2 lead. They broke things open with a three-run seventh inning. With one out, Dameury Pena walked and stole second. Bryan Acuna walked. Then Daniel Pena walked to load the bases. Mercedes drove in one run with a sacrifice fly. Caleb McNeely followed with a two-run double that made it 6-2. The Mussels added a single run in the eighth inning on Jose Rodriguez’s seventh home run of the season. In the ninth, they added a run on an Angel Del Rosario single. Later in the inning, Dameury Pena was the third consecutive Mussel batter to walk which drove in the ninth run. Dylan Questad was the beneficiary of the offensive support. He gave up two runs on three hits over five innings. He had five walks and five strikeouts. Ivran Romero and Brennen Oxford each threw two scoreless innings. Romero had four strikeouts and Oxford struck out three batters. Dameury Pena went 2-for-4 with two walks. He also had four stolen bases to give him 13 on the season. Mercedes went 2-for-4 with his fifth homer. Rodriguez was also 2-for-4 with his eighth double, seventh homer, and he had an outfield assist in the game. Del Rosario went 2-for-5. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins, FCL Orioles (DH) Box Score Rains caused the FCL games to be postponed. They hope to make up the games in mid-July. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 7, DSL Cardinals 12 Box Score After five innings, the Twins found themselves trailing by a score of 12-1. They didn’t giver up, but they weren’t able to get with tying the game with two swings either. Elie Urena started and gave up two runs on zero hits in 2/3 of an inning. He had five walks and threw three wild pitches. Marlon Mirabal came on with the bases loaded and kept it from going beyond two runs. He went 2 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on four hits and two walks. Brandy Ceballos gave up six runs (5 earned) on four hits and three walks. He struck out four batters. Greidi Pina and Jensi Infante each threw a scoreless inning. Pina had three strikeouts. The Twins scored four runs in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth, but the efforts came up well short. Yovanny Duran led the offense. He went 4-for-5 with his second double. Teilon Serrano was 2-for-4 with a walk, his fourth double, and three runs scored. Haritzon Castillo’s fourth double of the season scored two of the three runs he drove in. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Jose Rodriguez (Fort Myers): 2-for-4, 2B(8), HR (7), R, 4 RBI Pitcher of the Day Kade Bragg (Cedar Rapids): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 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) - 1-for-5, R, RBI (DHd) #4 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 2-for-6, R, RBI, SB(3) (played SS) #5 - Connor Prielipp (Wichita) - 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, HBP, 6 K, 62 pitches, 39 strikes (62.9%) #9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K (started SS) #10 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, BB, R, K, SB(44) (played 2B) #12 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(8), 2 RBI, K #13 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 0-for-4, BB, R (played RF) #17 - Cory Lewis (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, 80 pitches, 42 strikes (52.5%) #18 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0-for-2, 3 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI, 3-SB(8) #19 - Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K #20 - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 3-for-5, 2B(2), RBI. FRIDAY PITCHING PROBABLES Tampa Bay @ Minnesota (3:10 PM CT) - RHP Chris Paddack (3-7, 4.70 ERA) St. Paul @ Gwinnett (6:05 PM CT) - Marco Raya (0-4, 7.15 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (6:35 PM CT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-0, 0.84 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - Cole Peschl (2-1, 3.86 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM) - Eli Jones (2-7, 5.65 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (11:00 AM) - TBD DSL Yankees @ DSL Twins (DH at 9:00 AM) - TBD, TBD 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

Truth.

Klein, in my opinion, is legit. Definitely one to watch. He's got the size and he's got the stuff. He's been working mostly as the piggyback, 3-4 inning guy and done well. #OneofUs Fedko has hit everywhere. He hit in high school. He hit at UConn. While he struggled in 2024, it was more about playing time (consistency). This year, he didn't play a ton the first week... Then he started playing, crushing baseballs and they haven't really had him out of the lineup my since then. Solid defensive player. His younger brother also played at UConn and is playing independent ball now.

Walker JenkinsLuke KeaschallEmmanuel RodriguezKaelen CulpepperDasan HillCharlee SotoAndrew MorrisBrandon WinokurConnor PrielippKyle DeBargeKhadim DiawGabriel GonzalezMarco RayaEduardo BeltreDanny De AndradeBilly AmickRicardo OlivarSantiago CastellanosDaiber De Los SantosJose Olivares Not much change in the top 10, but a lot of movement - a youth movement, maybe - in the 11-20 range. I can't imagine anyone else will have Diaw quite this high. Castellanos and Oliveros are flame-throwers. My highest ranked player that wasn't an option to be ranked was Carlos Taveras.

Walker JenkinsLuke KeaschallEmmanuel RodriguezKaelen CulpepperDasan HillCharlee SotoAndrew MorrisBrandon WinokurConnor PrielippKyle DeBargeKhadim DiawGabriel GonzalezMarco RayaEduardo BeltreDanny De AndradeBilly AmickRicardo OlivarSantiago CastellanosDaiber De Los SantosJose Olivares Not much change in the top 10, but a lot of movement - a youth movement, maybe - in the 11-20 range. I can't imagine anyone else will have Diaw quite this high. Castellanos and Oliveros are flame-throwers. My highest ranked player that wasn't an option to be ranked was Carlos Taveras.

It's a rehab assignment.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Ben Ross) For a day in which three of four affiliates lost their game, and there were a ton of runs scored, there were some solid individual performances. There were promotions and players returning from injury. CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 36-35 (2nd in AL Central, 9.0 games behind Detroit.) St. Paul Saints: 31-36 (6th place in the International League West Division, 9.0 games behind Nashville.) Wichita Wind Surge: 34-29 (2nd in Texas League North, 4.0 games behind Springfield.) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 37-26 (2nd place in the Midwest League’s West Division, 1.0 games behind Quad Cities.) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 27-35 (6th place in the Florida State League’s West Division, 9.0 games behind Lakeland.) FCL Twins: 19-11 (Tied for 1st in FCL South with the FCL Rays. DSL Twins: 2-8 TRANSACTIONS The Twins placed Royce Lewis on the Injured List. They called up OF DaShawn Keirsey to take his roster spot. The Saints activated RHP Cory Lewis, 1B Yunior Severino, and SS/OF Will Holland. We mentioned on Saturday that Tanner Schobel left the Saints game after being hit by a pitch in the ninth inning. Turns out, Schobel fractured his forearm and is now on the 7-Day Injured List. In addition, RHP Jacob Bosiokovic was released by the Twins. RHPs Joel Garcia and Will Armbruester were promoted from the FCL to the Mighty Mussels. OF Jose Rodriguez was placed on the Temporary Inactive List by Fort Myers. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Indianapolis 7 Box Score The Saints are thrilled to be leaving Indianapolis. They played seven games there this week and managed just one win. Cory Lewis returned from the IL and made the start. He gave up two runs (both in the first inning) on three hits in three innings. He walked two and had five strikeouts. Cody Laweryson came on in relief. He was charged with an unearned run on two hits over two innings. He had four strikeouts without issuing a walk. Richard Lovelady had one strikeout in one scoreless inning. The game was tied 3-3 going to the bottom of the eighth inning, but Ryan Jensen gave up four runs on four hits and a walk in his 1 1/3 innings. Jarret Whorff came on and got the final two outs. The Saints were down 2-0 going to the fifth inning. With Aaron Sabato on base, Noah Cardenas hit his first Triple-A home run to tie the game. Down 3-2 going to the eighth inning, Carson McCusker was on second base. He scored the tying run on a double by Anthony Prato, his fifth of the year.. McCusker went 2-for-4 with his 13th double. Sabato went 1-for-2 with two walks. Payton Eeles also walked twice. Yunior Severino returned to the lineup and hit his fifth double. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Corpus Christi 4 Box Score A three-run sixth inning gave the Wind Surge the lead, and they were able to hang on. In the second inning, Nate Baez tripled to lead off the inning. He scored on a ground out by Ben Ross. Down 3-1, Ricardo Olivar’s eighth home run of the season cut the deficit in half. With the score still at 3-2 going to the bottom of the sixth inning, the Surge scored three runs. Gabriel Gonzalez led off with his sixth double since joining Wichita. He stole third base. With one out, Olivar walked. With two outs, Ben Ross drilled his fifth home run of the season to give the team a 5-3 lead. Lefty Aaron Rozek started and gave up three runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out five batters. That gave him 207, most in Wind Surge history. Tanner Andrews made his first appearance in the Twins organization. He gave up one hit and had a strikeout. Jaylen Nowlin gave up one run on one hit and a walk in the seventh inning. Mike Paredes came on for the final two innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out two batters to record his first save. Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a double and stolen base. Nate Baez went 2-for-4 with a triple. Ben Ross led the way. He went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 4 Box Score Down 4-1 going to the bottom of the eighth, the Kernels scored one run in the eight and one run in the ninth, but in the end, they fell just short on the scoreboard. Hard-throwing Jose Olivares started. He gave up one run on two hits in four innings. He had four walks and six strikeouts. Kade Bragg gave up one run on three hits and a walk over two innings. He struck out three batters. Paulshawn Pasqualotto got the next two innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. He also had three strikeouts. Wilker Reyes had two walks and a strikeout in his inning. Things were tough at the start for the Kernels. In the bottom of the first, Kyle DeBarge was called out on strikes. He disagreed with that umpire decision. In the top of the second, Olivares got a pop up to third base. Soon after, DeBarge was ejected by the first base umpire. Losing such an important bat that early in the game obviously doesn’t help the team. In the bottom of the second inning, Danny De Andrade led off and was hit by a pitch. Jaime Ferrer singled to center with De Andrade going to third. Andy Lugo drove him in on a fielder’s choice. In the bottom of the eighth, Poncho Ruiz led off with a single and went to third on a Misael Urbina double. Ruiz scored on a ground out by Kaelen Culpepper. The bottom of the ninth began just like the second, with De Andrade being hit by a pitch. Ferrer bunted him to second. Lugo hit his second double to drive in a run and cut the deficit to 4-3. Both the eighth and ninth innings ended with a Kernels runner on second. In the game, the Kernels were just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base. Lugo led the way. He went 2-for-4 with a double. He also stole his first base in Cedar Rapids. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Dunedin 3 (5 innings) Box Score These teams were supposed to play a doubleheader on Sunday. Instead, they were happy to get through five innings so that the first game counted. The second game was simply cancelled as the season’s first half runs down. The Mussels were shut out and had just six hits. Walker Jenkins went 2-for-3. Bryan Acuna went 2-for-2. Acuna stole his second base since joining the team early in the week. Dylan Questad started and worked the first 3 2/3 innings. He was charged with three runs (2 earned) on two hits and four walks. He struck out four batters. Josh Bortka gave up a hit and a walk and recorded three outs. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Ben Ross (Wichita): 2-for-4, HR (5), R, 4 RBI Pitcher of the Day Mike Paredes (Wichita): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. (First Save) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Sunday. Reminder: You can vote and rank your top 20 Twins prospects and help us update the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects. Click here. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - rehab in FM, 2-for-3 (DHd) #6 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, RBI (played SS) #9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K (started CF, move to 3B) #11 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-1, K, ejected (played 2B) #12 - Cory Lewis (St. Paul) - Activated, 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, HBP, 5 K, WP, 66 pitches, 36 strikes (54.5%) #14 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 3-for-4, 2B(6), R, SB(3), (played LF) #19 - Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2B(13), R (played RF) #20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, HR(8), R, RBI (DHd) MONDAY'S SCHEDULE FCL Twins @ FCL Orioles (11:00 AM CT) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Yankees(10:00 AM CT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Sunday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

Image courtesy of David Malamut (photo of Tanner Hall) This report is a little later than normal. I attended the 2025 Great American Think-Off in New York Mills tonight. The question debated was "Is there only one truth, or are there many truths?" Deep stuff, but that was a lot of fun! I even included a deep question or two in the below that you can debate in the comments... or just ask questions. CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 36-34 (2nd in AL Central, 9.0 games behind Detroit.) St. Paul Saints: 31-35 (6th place in the International League West Division, 8.0 games behind Nashville.) Wichita Wind Surge: 33-29 (2nd in Texas League North, 3.5 games behind Springfield.) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 37-25 (Tied 1st place in the Midwest League’s West Division with Quad Cities.) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 27-34 (6th place in the Florida State League’s West Division, 8.0 games behind Lakeland.) FCL Twins: 19-11 (1st in FCL South, 0.5 games ahead of the FCL Rays. DSL Twins: 2-8 TRANSACTIONS RHP C.J. Culpepper was activated from the Wind Surge’s 60-Day Injured List and made the start in Wichita. RHP Julio Bonilla has been on the Mighty Mussels 60-Day Injured List all season. On Saturday, he began a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. Infielder Billy Amick began a rehab assignment in the FCL as well. Hopefully he can get back to the Kernels soon. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Indianapolis 4 Box Score After two innings, the Saints were on pace to score nine runs in the game. In the top of the first inning, Mickey Gasper scored on a double off the bat of Carson McCusker. In the second, Gasper drove in Anthony Prato with a single. Unfortunately, in between Jack Suwinski hit a two-run home run. So, after two innings, the game was on pace to be 9-9 at the end of nine innings. Indianapolis ended with just four runs total. However, the Saints did not score the rest of the game and fell 4-2. In one way, I guess that’s OK. I mean, if we continue the logic that each team would continue to score just one run per inning, the game would never end. It would have infinite innings and I don’t think that’s good for anyone in the long-term, or the short-term. The options were. 1.) St. Paul wins. 2.) Indianapolis wins. 3.) the game would go to infinity with a score of infinity-infinity. This option could involve intervention after, say, 36 innings or so. The league could call the game a tie so that it ends and a new game could start. So the question is… Obviously Option #1 would be preferred. But of the other two options, which would be preferred? Certainly a tie would be better than a loss, but what would it do to the pitching staff throughout the organization? Would there even be any pitchers (including position players) left to pitch? This might be a case where it’s better to lose the battle to help the possibility of winning the war. OK, back to this game. Darren McCaughan started and gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk over the first five innings. Travis Adams came on and tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and had three strikeouts. Gasper led the offense with two of the team’s five hits. Edouard Julien went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. Tanner Schobel walked and was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning. He left the game for a pinch runner. Prato added his first triple. McCusker’s double was his 12th of the season. Since returning from his two-week stint with the Twins, McCusker has gone 5-for-45. He’s hitting .111/.245/.267 (.512). WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Corpus Christi 1 Box Score In his return to the Wind Surge rotation after spending the season’s first two-and-a-half months on the Injured List. He did well. He worked the first three innings and gave up no runs on three hits. He walked none and had four strikeouts. Cole Percival (aka, Son of Troy) was asked to pitch the next two innings. He gave up one run on four hits. Pierson Ohl worked out of the bullpen again and tossed the final four innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none and had five strikeouts. He got the Win and is now 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA this season. In his last five outings, he has given up two earned runs in 18 innings (1.00 ERA). Corpus Christi scored first with their run scoring in the top of the fourth inning. The Wind Surge responded in the bottom half with a run. With runners on first and third, Rubel Cespedes drove in Ricardo Olivar with a fielder’s choice. The score remained 1-1 until the bottom of the seventh. Jorel Ortega led off the inning with a solar homer. He now has seven long balls on the season. The Surge added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs, Ortega lined a single to left that drove in Ben Ross. Ortega led the offense on Saturday. Batting ninth, he went 3-for-4 with his fifth double, seventh home run, and two RBI. He also stole his sixth base. Gabriel Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a walk. It was his seventh multi-hit game since joining the Surge about a month ago. Ben Ross went 2-for-4. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Peoria 0 Box Score In Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader, Chase Chaney delivered a complete game shutout. Tanner Hall won’t get credit for the complete game or a shutout, but he also worked seven scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked four batters, hit a batter and struck out four. Two more innings still had to be played for this game to be complete. Jacob Kisting came on and maintained the shutout. He gave up two hits, walked none, and he had three strikeouts. Along with great pitching, the Kernels took an early lead and later had a big inning to make it an (relatively) easy win. The Kenrels started with a run in the first inning. Kaelen Culpepper was hit by a pitch and went to second on a wild pitch. He scored on a double by Kyle DeBarge. Let’s jump to the fourth inning, Jaime Ferrer singled to left to lead off the inning. Newcomer Andy Lugo lined a double to left but Ferrer was thrown out at home. Kyle Hess walked. Misael Urbina tripled to drive in both runners and give the Kernels a 3-0 lead. Then came the fifth inning. Kyle DeBarge led off with a walk and stole second. Brandon Winokur walked, and DeBarge stole another base. Winokur followed with a stolen base. Danny De Andrade got on base on a fielder’s choice. Winokur was thrown out between second and third. Ferrer followed with a two-run single. Following walks by Hess and Poncho Ruiz to load the bases, Ferrer scored on a wild pitch. Urbina walked to reload the bases. Hess scored on a passed ball. Culpepper was hit by a pitch to reload the bases. DeBarge walked to drive in Ruiz with the fifth run of the inning. That was it for the scoring. The Kernels held on for the 8-0 win. Ferrer went 3-for-5. Lugo went 2-for-4 in his Kernels debut with a double. DeBarge went 1-for-3 with two walks and stole his 34th and 35 bases. Urban had a walk and his second triple. Ruiz had a walk and his third double. Hess walked twice. Culpepper had a walk and was twice hit by a pitch. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 7 Dunedin 8 (11 innings) Box Score It was Dasan Day in Dunedin on Saturday. The southpaw didn’t have his best start, but his offense kept the team in the game. The game went to extra innings. The Mussels scored two runs in the top of the 11th, but the Blue Jays scored three in the bottom half to walk it off. Dasan Hill made the start. He went 3 1/3 innings and was charged with three runs (1 earned) on two hits and a career-high four walks. He had three strikeouts. His season ERA is now at 1.65. Tyler Stasiowski came on and gave up one run on three hits over the next 2 2/3 innings. Ivran Romero gave up one run on two hits over two innings. Ruddy Gomez pitched scoreless innings in the ninth and 10th innings. However, he was charged with all three runs. Two were earned, and of course the Manfred Man scored an unearned run. He gave up a total of three hits. He walked two and had four strikeouts. But he wasn’t on the mound when the winning run scored. Zander Sechrist came in and threw one pitch. A single scored the winning run. The Mussels scored four runs in the fifth inning to temporarily take a one-run lead. The inning started with a single by Caleb McNeeley. He went to second on a wild pitch. Jefferson Valladares walked. With one out, McNeely and Valladares were successful on a double steal. Blaze O’Saben walked to load the bases. After a pitching change, Byron Chourio singled to center. McNeely scored, but Valladares was thrown out at home. Walker Jenkins reached on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error allowed O’Saben to score. Dameury Pena drove a single to right to score Chourio. Jenkins then scored on a Wild Pitch. Bryan Acuna and Yohander Martinez walked to reload the bases. In the seventh inning, Acuna scored on a Martinez single. In the top of the 11th, Chourio began the inning at second base. Angel Del Rosario hit a bunt single. There was an error on the throw to first that allowed Byron Chourio to score. With two outs, Del Rosario stole his 24th base. Martinez was hit by a pitch. McNeely singled in Del Rosario. Then came the bottom of the 11th. Byron Chourio went 3-for-5 with a walk and his eighth stolen bases. Martinez went 2-for-4 with a walk. McNeely went 2-fo-5 with a walk. Bryan Acuna had a single and two walks. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 13, FCL Red Sox 5 Box Score Rehabbing Mercedes Post Triple-Double and Homers Yes, he has struggled in his transition to Low-A, but it is performances like this that remind us just how talented he is and what his ceiling could be. Here is how his day went: 1st PA (1st Inning): Double, SB, Run 2nd PA (2nd inning): Home Run, 2 RBI, Run 3rd PA (4th Inning): Double, Run 4th PA (6th inning): Walk, 5th PA (7th inning): Double, 2 RBI, 6th PA (9th inning): Pop Out. Mercedes went 4-for-5 with a walk, three doubles, a homer, three runs scored and four RBI, and a stolen base. Fellow rehabber Billy Amick went 1-for-3 with three walks in his first game in over a month. Daiber De Los Santos went 2-for-4 with two walks, his sixth double, his second home run, and three RBI. Ricardo Paez was 2-for-5. Yandro Hernandez hit his third double, and Ramiro Dominguez hit his eighth double and stole his sixth base. Juan Cota made the start. In 2 1/3 innings, he gave up four runs (all in the third) on five hits and a walk. He struck out three batters. Anderson Ramos faced eight batters and got all eight out. He had four strikeouts. Julio Bonilla is currently on the 60-Day IL and made his first rehab appearance. He gave up one hit and struck out two in a scoreless inning. Andrew Huffman struck out two batters in a scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked a batter. Sebastian Pulido gave up one run on one hit (a solo homer), but hae also had three strikeouts. It was a good day for a division-leading FCL Twins squad. They scored 13 runs on 12 hits. They also walked 11 times and were hit by two pitches. They scored 13 runs despite going just 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 4, DSL Marlins 15 Box Score The Twins fell behind early, and then they gave up more runs often on Saturday morning. Rainer Marin started and gave up four runs on two hits and two walks. He got two outs, one was a strikeout. Eliezer Lucena came on and worked the next 3 1/3 innings. He gave up five runs on three hits and three walks. He struck out three batters. Brandy Ceballos gave up four unearned runs on three hits and a walk over his two innings. Finally, Jesus Gomez gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and one walk. All but Ceballos hit a batter too. The offense put up three runs in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Santiago Leon walked. After a pitching change, Jhomnardo Reyes singled, and Leon advanced to third on a throwing error. Reyes stole second. Leon scored on a wild pitch, and when the catcher’s throw got past the pitcher, Reyes scored too. Carlos Taveras walked and stole second. Darwin Almanzar doubles to bring home Taveras and cut the Miami lead to 9-3. In the fourth inning, Pablo Castillo was hit by a pitch. He moved to second base on a ground out. Diaz singled to third base, and then a wild pitch put runners on second and third. Teilon Serrano toward second base to drive in Castillo. Serrano and Diaz each had two hits. Taveras walked twice. Almanzar’s double was his second of the season. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Let’s try this a little differently today… Here are five candidates for hitter of the day and pitcher of the day. In the comments below, leave your vote for both. Hitter of the Day Jorel Ortega (Wichita): 3-for-4, 2B(5), HR (7), R, 2 RBI, SB(6) Jaime Ferrer (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, R, 2 RBI, SB(1) Byron Chourio (Fort Myers): 3-for-5, BB, 2 R, RBI, SB(8). Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins-Rehab): 4-for-5, BB, 3-2B, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, SB). Daiber De Los Santos (FCL Twins): 2-for-4, 2 BB, 2B(6), HR(2), R, 3 RBI, K Pitcher of the Day Tanner Hall (Cedar Rapids): 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K. Travis Adams (St. Paul): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Pierson Ohl (Wichita): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K CJ Culpepper (Wichita): 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K. Anderson Ramos (FCL Twins): 2 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. Reminder: You can vote and rank your top 20 Twins prospects and help us update the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects. Click here. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - rehab in FM, 0-for-4, B, R, 2 K (played CF) #6 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, BB, 2-HBP, R (played SS) #9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, K, SB(15), (played CF, OF Assist) #10 - Dasan Hill (Fort Myers) - 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 66 pitches, 33 strikes (50.0%) #11 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2B(12), 2 BB, R, 2 RBI, 2-SB(35), (played 2B) #13 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) - Rehab in FCL (1-for-3, 3 BB, 3 R, K) #14 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 2-for-4, BB (played RF) #15 - C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - Activated from IL. 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K. 48 pitches, 30 strikes (62.5%) #17 - Tanner Schobel (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, BB, HBP, 2 K (played 3B) #18 - Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - rehab in FCL (4-for-5, 3-2B, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, SB) #19 - Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2B(12), RBI, 3 K (played RF) #20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, R (catcher) SUNDAY PITCHING PROBABLES Minnesota @ Houston (1:10 PM CT) - LHP Brandon Walter (2-5, 3.53 ERA) St. Paul @ Indianapolis (12:35 PM CT) - TBD Corpus Christi @ Wichita (1:05 PM CT) - TBD Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM CT) - RHP Jose Olivares (1-2, 5.16 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (DH @ 11:00 AM CT) - RHP Dylan Questad (1-3, 5.35 ERA), TBD Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Saturday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Kala'i Rosario) Because of rain outs, there were nine games scheduled in the Twins minor leagues on Thursday. More rain caused Fort Myers to play about one inning, so those two games will results in doubleheaders later this week. For the leagues that play a first-half and a second-half, there a couple of Twins affiliates that are likely doing a little bit of scoreboard watching. Check out which affiliates are competing for a playoff spot right now. The Twins signed another player from an independent league, and the team that he was signed from currently has three former Minnesota Twins on their roster. It's a fun jaunt down memory lane. Today's report has a bit of variety. One team was swept, and one of the losses was a shutout. A Twins minor league pitcher tossed a seven-inning shutout. One team got some great pitching and an ugly big inning for a win. A young prospect hit a homer that, because of rain, essentially became the game-winner. And, the Rockies juggernaut beat the Twins in a close game on Thursday afternoon in the Dominican. Enjoy today's minor-league report. But when you're done, be sure to spend five to 10 minutes ranking your Top 20 Minnesota Twins prospects. It's fun to see the results when we get a bunch of participation. Click here to rank your Top 20! CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 36-32 (2nd in AL Central, 8.0 games behind Detroit.) St. Paul Saints: 31-33 (6th place in the International League West Division, 6.5 games behind Nashville.) Wichita Wind Surge: 31-29 (Tied 2nd in Texas League North, 3.5 games behind Springfield.) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 35-25 (Tied 1st place in the Midwest League’s West Division with Quad Cities.) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 27-31 (Tied with Bradenton for 5th place in the Florida State League’s West Division, 5.5 games behind Lakeland.) FCL Twins: 17-11 (1st in FCL South, 0.5 games ahead of the FCL Rays. DSL Twins: 1-7 TRANSACTIONS The Twins traded Jorge Alcala to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for infielder Andy Lugo. Lugo was assigned to the Cedar Rapids Kernels. The Twins continued to work the independent leagues to give players an opportunity or another opportunity. On Thursday, they signed RHP Tanner Andrews to a minor-league deal and assigned him to the Wind Surge. The 29-year-old had pitched in 15 games for the Staten Island FerryHawks where he teams with Pablo Sandoval and a couple of former Twins in Adalberto Mejia, Mark Contreras and Drew Maggi. Recently the Twins signed LHP Brennen Oxford from the team and sent him to the Mighty Mussels. In his 15 games, he is 2-0 with three saves. In 13 2/3 innings, he has given up just five hits, walked two, and he has 25 strikeouts. A little more on Andrews, he pitched for Purdue from 2015-2018. That summer, he was the 10th round pick of the Miami Marlins. He spent four seasons with the Marlins. In 2022, he joined the Giants organization and has pitched at Triple-A Sacramento the past two seasons. As you would expect, the numbers in the PCL were not great, but he did stay healthy. SAINTS SENTINEL Game 1: St. Paul 2, Indianapolis 6 Box Score Morris Roughed Up by Pirates (Prospects) Andrew Morris may soon surface with the Twins if they need another starter in the near future. Maybe that’s why he was pushed to 97 pitches in this game. He gave up three runs in the first inning (on a Jack Suwinski homer), but then threw three zeroes on the board. He was charged with one run in the fifth as well. He left the game with two outs in the sixth inning and two runners on base. Jacob Bosiokovic came in and before getting a strikeout to end the inning, walked three batters and allowed both inherited runners to score. So the final line for Morris includes six runs on five hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings. He did have seven strikeouts The Saints were kept scoreless until the fifth inning. Anthony Prato led off with a walk. After an out, Prato scored on a double by Tanner Schobel. Then in the top of the sixth, Edouard Julien led off with a single. He went to second on a one-out single by DaShawn Keirsey. Prato lined a single to center, but Julien was thrown out at home. However, Keirsey scored when Jeferson Morales reached on a fielding error. The Saints had six hits and two walks. Prato reached all three times, twice via a walk and once on a single. Schobel and Julien were both 2-for-3 with their fourth Saints double. Payton Eeles was hit by a pitch twice in this game. Game 2: St. Paul 0, Indianapolis 5 Box Score Saints Blanked by Indianapolis Fellows The Saints did little on offense in Game 1, but Drake Fellows and two relievers shut out the Saints offense. They managed just three hits and three walks. They struck out 10 times. So, let’s start with the pitching. Randy Dobnak got the start. He was charged with four runs (3 earned) on four hits (including a home run) and two walks. He struck out four batters. Jarret Whorff followed and gave up only an unearned run over three innings. He gave up two hits. Ryan Jensen pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Both relievers had two strikeouts and no walks. Payton Eeles had a single. Tanner Schobel hit a single. DaShawn Keirsey hit his fourth double since joining the Saints recently. Jose Miranda walked twice, and Diego Cartaya walked once. That is the complete Saints offensive report, well, I did already mention the 10 strikeouts too, right? They were also 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Corpus Christi 1 Box Score Four-Run Fourth Frame Fuels Surge to a Win in Texas The credit in this game has to go to the Wind Surge pitching. Five pitchers combined to give up just one run on four hits over nine innings. A big inning pushed the team to a win. Minnesotan John Klein made the start in this game. In four innings, he gave up one run on three hits. He walked one and had four strikeouts. Lefty Jaylen Nowlin came in and tossed two scoreless innings. He issued one walk and had four strikeouts. Michael Martinez tossed two scoreless innings, and John Stankiewicz and Cole Percival combined to toss a scoreless ninth inning and preserve the win. The Surge scored four runs in the fourth inning, but it wasn’t pretty. Kala’i Rosario walked and stole second. Rubel Cespedes singled him to third. Ricardo Olivar walked to load the bases. Andrew Cossetti drove in the team’s first run, but taking one for the team. Tyler Dearden followed with a single to left that drove in two more runs. Following a Ben Ross single, the fourth run scored on a double play ball. The fifth inning insurance run wasn’t any prettier. With two outs, Cespedes walked. Olivar had an infield single, and Cespedes scored on a throwing error. Not exciting, but they all count the same. Dearden led the offense. He had two of the team’s five base hits and drove in two runs. Wichita also had six walks. Rosario walked twice. Cespedes singled and walked twice. By the way, Rosario stole his 12th base of the season. That matches the total number of stolen bases he had over the past three years. He had seven in 2022 in Fort Myers. He had just two steals when he was the Midwest League MVP in 2023 with the Kernels. Last year, he had three steals with the Wind Surge. Rosario also increased his on-base streak to 16 games on Thursday. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1: Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 0 Box Score Chaney Throws Complete Game Shutout Right-hander Chase Chaney delivered a dominant complete-game effort, tossing seven scoreless innings in Cedar Rapids’ 3–0 victory over Peoria. Chaney allowed just three hits, walked two, and struck out five to improve to 4–1 with a 3.19 ERA on the season. Designated hitter for Game 1 was Brandon Winokur, and he provided the biggest swing of the game, launching his seventh home run in the fourth inning. Winokur has 37 RBIs and a .706 OPS. Jaime Ferrer drove in runs with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly, raising his RBI total to 12. Left fielder Jay Thomason sparked the offense with two hits (a single and a double) and two stolen bases, and he scored twice. Thomason now has three stolen bases since joining the Kernels on June 4th. Kaelen Culpepper also recorded a multi-hit game, 2-for- 3, pushing his average to .305 with an .892 OPS. Defensively, the Kernels turned a double play and committed no errors. They were efficient offensively, converting one of three opportunities with runners in scoring position and stranding just four. Chaney faced only three batters over the minimum in the seven inning complete game shutout. . Cedar Rapids continues to lead with strong pitching performances and steady contributions from the middle of the order. Game 2: Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 4 Box Score Late Push Not Enough in Kernels’ Loss Cedar Rapids dropped a tight 4–3 contest to Peoria despite a late-inning rally and strong relief work. Starter Jeremy Lee was charged with four runs (two earned) in 2 2/3 innings, giving up a two-run homer to Miguel Villarroel and an RBI single later in the third. He walked three and struck out one batter. Jaime Ferrer doubled and walked, while Kyle Hess delivered a triple and an RBI single in a 2-for-2 effort before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning. Misael Urbina added his third home run of the season, a solo shot in the fifth frame. Urbina reached base twice and raised his OPS to .789. Cedar Rapids’ bullpen was solid. Samuel Perez and Wilker Reyes combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and one hit allowed. At the plate, the Kernels went just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base. Danny De Andrade and Justin Connell also scored runs for the Kernels, who pulled within one after a wild pitch in the top of the sixth. However, the offense couldn’t capitalize in the final innings. The loss moves Lee to 4–3 with a 6.82 ERA. MUSSEL MATTERS Game 1: Fort Myers 0, Dunedin 1 (Game Suspended bottom 1) Box Score I’m sure they meant well, thinking maybe they could get one of the two games of their doubleheader in before the rains came. But not. Four Mussels came to the plate. Three got out, but Walker Jenkins got hit by a pitch. The game will continue where it left off, with Blue Jays runners on second and third and two outs in the bottom of the first inning. Game 2 will (hopefully) be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday, June 15th. And if you happen to be traveling to Fort Myers in a week or so, you might be able to get a Walker Jenkins bobblehead. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 4, FCL Pirates 3 (6 innings) Box Score Beltre Blast Gives Twins Win and First Place in the Division The FCL Twins continued on their winning ways. After falling behind early, the Twins scored later, and then the game ended a little early due to the weather. Melvin Rodriguez made the start. He gave up three first-inning runs, but responded by posting four zeroes on the scoreboard. In his five innings, he gave up the three runs on six hits and no walks. He also had five strikeouts. Newcomer Sam Rochard worked the sixth inning. He gave up one hit and struck out three in his first appearance. The 24-year-old is getting some work before he likely heads to a full-season affiliate. The Twins hitters went scoreless through the first four innings. The fifth inning started out with two strikeouts. Daiber De Los Santos ripped a double and scored on a single by Irvin Nunez. Still down 3-1, the Twins started the bottom of the sixth inning with a single by Isaac Pena. A bunt advanced him to second, and then he stole third base. Yandro Hernandez walked. Pena scored on a fielder’s choice by the rehabbing Yasser Mercedes who hustled to avoid an inning-ending double play. He proceeded to steal second base. And then Eduardo Beltre followed with his second home run of the season to give the Twins a 4-3 lead. That is when the rains came and after a delay, the Twins had another win. Mercedes went 2-for 4. De Los Santos went 2-for-4 with his fourth double of the season. Nunez went 2-for-2 with a walk and his third double. Ramiro Dominguez walked and added his seventh double. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 5, DSL Rockies 7 Box Score Twins Use Efficient Offense, but Fall Short to the Soaring Rockies Sure, the MLB version of the Colorado Rockies is off to an historically bad start, but their DSL affiliate is now 6-1 after taking the late lead from the 1-7 DSL Twins. The Twins offense was pretty efficient. They scored their five runs on just three hits and four walks. Down 4-0 through four innings, Darwin Almanzar’s first pro homer put the team on the scoreboard. The Twins were especially efficient in the top of the seventh. With the bases loaded, Jhomnardo Reyes hit a single to right field to drive in three runs. Reyes got caught in a rundown that involved enough throws to allow all three runs to score and tie the game at 4-4. That was the team’s lone at-bat with runners in scoring position. Reyes is 17 years old and with this 1-for-4 game, he is still hitting .435 with an OPS over 1.215. In the top of the eighth, the Twins took the lead when Jamesson Val scored on a sacrifice fly by Gerardo Cardona. It was short-lived though as the Rockies scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the 7-5 that carried through the ninth inning. Jensi Infante started and toss two scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and had two strikeouts. Eli Urena came on for the third inning. He recorded one out but walked four batters. Three of them eventually scored, two while Aaron Carranza finished out that inning. Carranza was charged with one run of his own over his 2 2/3 innings. He had three strikeouts. Finally Marlon Mirabal worked the final three innings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk. He did record four strikeouts. Haritzon Castillo was the lone Twins batter to have both a single and a walk in the game. He is also hitting .435 with an OPS of 1.263. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Tanner Schobel (St. Paul): 3-for-6, 2B(4), RBI, 2 K Pitcher of the Day Chase Chaney (Cedar Rapids): 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 90 pitches, 58 strikes (64.4%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday. Reminder: You can vote and rank your top 20 Twins prospects and help us update the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects. Click here. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - rehab in FM, 0-for-0, HBP (DHd) #6 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1 (2-for-3, played SS), Game 2 (0-for-4, K, DHd) #8 - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - Game 1: 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 97 pitches, 62 strikes (63.9%) #9 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1 (1-for-3, HR(7), R, RBI, K, DHd), Game 2 (0-for-3, K, played SS). #11 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1 (0-for-3, played 2B), Game 2 (0-for-3, BB, 2 K, played 2B) #14 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K (DHd) #16 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - 1-for-4, HR(2), R, 2 RBI, K. #17 - Tanner Schobel (St. Paul) - Game 1: 2-for-3, 2B(4), RBI, K, (played 3B) Game 2: 1-for-3, K (played SS) #18 - Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - rehab in FCL (2-for-4, R, RBI, K, SB, CS) #19 - Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - Game 1: 0-for-3, K (DHd), Game 2: 0-for-3, 2 K (played RF) #20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, R (catcher) FRIDAY PITCHING PROBABLES Minnesota @ Houston (6:10 PM CT) - RHP Chris Paddack (2-5, 3.53 ERA) St. Paul @ Indianapolis (6:05 PM CT) - RHP Trent Baker (first Saints start) Corpus Christi @ Wichita (7:05 PM CT) - RHP Ricky Castro (0-3, 6.31 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CT) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo (0-1, 5.71 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (DH @ 3:00 PM CT) - TBD for suspended game, Game 2: RHP Adrian Bohorquez (1-3, 9.68 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CT) - TBD DSL Phillies @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Thursday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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Image courtesy of © Dennis Lee-Imagn Images Following the Twins 6-2 win at Target Field over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night, Jorge Alcala was called into manager Rocco Baldelli's office. He was told he had been traded. He went back out to the locker room and exchanged hugs with teammates. Earlier in the day on Wednesday, it was announced that the Twins had claimed lefty reliever Joey Wentz off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He will join the Twins before their Thursday afternoon game with the Rangers, taking the 26-man roster spot of Alcala. Pablo Lopez was moved to the 60-Day Injured List. In return the Twins will receive 21-year-old utility man Andy Lugo. In 44 games for High-A Greenville this season, he is hitting .265/.327/.430 (.758) with 11 doubles and four homers. He has played 21 games at first base, 16 at third base, and four games in left field. Presumably, he will remain at the High-A level and join the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Immediately Lugo will become one of the best bat-flippers in the Twins organization. He got some great height on this effort. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== How do we summarize Jorge Alcala's time with the Twins? No doubt, it was a rollercoaster, filled with some remarkably high highs, and each coupled with a remarkably low-low. Alcala came to the Twins organization with outfielder Gilberto Celestino from the Astros in exchange for reliever Ryan Pressly days before the 2018 trade deadline. Pressly was one of the most successful Rule 5 picks in Twins history, but he had his ups and downs for a few seasons before putting together some advanced statistical metrics that got a lot of teams excited. He went on to Houston and became one of the most dominant late-inning relievers in baseball. Twice an All-Star, he was on the mound when the Astros won the 2022 World Series title. Celestino was a highly-touted prospect still in the rookie leagues. He had signed as a 16-year-old for a seven-figure bonus a couple of years earlier. He got rushed to the Twins, made some great defensively plays, and struggled mightily with the bat. At the time of the trade, Jorge Alcala was touted as a hard-throwing starting pitcher at Double-A. He was also lean and prone to issuing too many walks. The Twins gave him about a season of starts to see what they had, and they ultimately decided that he would be best working out of the bullpen. Clearly this was a wise move. He could air things out for one or two innings at a time. His time as a starter allowed him to develop a slider. He threw a changeup, but it never really developed fully which made him a two-pitch pitcher. But as we have seen ever since his two-game debut at the end of the 2019 season, those were, at times, two really, really good pitches. Blessed with a fastball that sat consistently in the upper-90s, Alcala frequently hit 100 mph in games over the past few years. And while his slider wasn't always consistent for him, when it was on, it could be a devastating swing-and-miss pitch. While he was seemingly always the guy that the front office would send down to Triple-A when there was a need, he typically came back and had a very dominant streak. Unfortunately, he also dealt with a lot of shoulder issues earlier in his career which slowed his development to some degree. He missed most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He was solid in 2024, even reliable for an extended time frame, but then came the game against Texas where it literally seemed like a safe lead was gone in a matter of about eight pitches when he came into the ball game. Since that moment, he just has not been able to find it. "It" might be release point, or grip, or balance, or mojo, or any number of things. In 22 appearances this year, he was 0-2 with an 8.88 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. In 24 1/3 innings, he had 28 strikeouts, but he also walked 15 batters and opponents made a lot of hard contact against him among their 29 hits. He went from being the next guy behind Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Cole Sands, to being used in low-leverage situations, to almost not being usable. And, when the Twins put him on their Opening Day roster, it wasn't long before they could not option him due to service time. Hoping that a change of scenery or a new voice will help, he was dealt to the Boston Red Sox, a team that definitely needs bullpen arms. And I don't think many Twins fans will be surprised if Alcala finds himself. He showed with the Twins just how good he can be. I think Twins fans would be happy for Alcala if he's able to turn it around. Meanwhile, one of his good friends, lefty Jovani Moran was traded to the Red Sox in the offseason for Mickey Gasper. He missed all of the 2024 season after having Tommy John Surgery. He is rehabbing now. He pitched a couple of games in the FCL, and he is currently getting some innings in with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. Moran, like Alcala, has certainly shown he can be a quality MLB reliever. The Red Sox have Aroldis Chapman closing games this year. Justin Slaten was very good, but he's on the IL with shoulder inflammation. They have called up guys from Triple-A Worcester, and shuttled them up and down for awhile now. Former Twin Liam Hendriks has struggled in his return from Tommy John and is currently on the IL. So is another former Twins pitcher, Nick Burdi. While they have some intriguing starters, their bullpen could use the good Jorge Alcala. The Red Sox pitching coach is former big-leaguer Andrew Bailey. Peter Fatse, their hitting coach, was with the Twins as a minor-league hitting coordinator when Alcala was in the Twins upper levels. Former Twins pitcher Craig Breslow is the Chief Baseball Officer. The Sox "stole" Justin Willard from the Twins organization. He had been the Twins assistant minor-league pitching coordinator. Now he is the Red Sox Director of Pitching (for all levels). In addition, Kyle Boddy is a Special Advisor to the CBO, and he's well respected for his pitching knowledge. In other words, maybe Alcala is going to a situation that is perfect for him and he'll regain the form we know he can. Or maybe not. Ultimately, the Twins were going to DFA him, and the Red Sox didn't want to have to hope that he got to them on the waiver wire. He wouldn't have. Alcala's got an arm that would be intriguing to a lot of teams, especially those who aren't playing for 2025 anymore. The Twins got a minor-league hitter, a 21-year-old who is at least intriguing. It'll be fun to watch him develop. What are your thoughts on the Jorge Alcala/Andy Lugo trade? Leave a comment below. View full article

I wonder if Ford had an opt-out. And, with Toby trying to get playing time for Jose Miranda, Ed Julien and Mickey Gasper, they're certainly the priority. But, with St. Paul's ability to make hitters look really good, Sabato could really put up some numbers there.

Now that is some good research! Maybe they've got it planned where Walker Jenkins and CJ Culpepper get back to Wichita at the same time, and Kaelen Culpepper gets promoted the same day. Culpepper_roll.mp4