Seth Stohs

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

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

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Carson Tinney) TRANSACTIONS The Twins signed veteran RHP Ron Marinaccio to a minor league contract and assigned him to the Saints. The Reds recently DFAd him. He cleared waivers and elected free agency on Thursday. The Twins signed him on Saturday. He has pitched in 149 big-league games over the past five seasons. He spent three years with the Yankees. He pitched for the Padres some in 2025 and began the season with 33 appearances for San Diego. He then pitched four games for the Pirates and four games for the Reds. He will join the Twins bullpen depth in St. Paul, looking for another opportunity. The Saints also placed Kendry Rojas on the injured list with a strained right oblique. Catcher David Banuelos was placed on the temporary inactive list. Catcher Ian Daugherty was activated from the Saints development list. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 15, Columbus 11 Box Score After scoring just one run on Friday night, the Saints offense returned with a vengeance on Saturday. The pitching was certainly not great, but St. Paul had innings with four runs scored and six runs scored. The Saints got on the board first in the second inning with a familiar result. Tristan Gray hit a home run for the fourth day in a row. Walker Jenkins led off the third inning with a walk. After two strikeouts, he stole second. Emmanuel Rodriguez and Aaron Sabato walked to load the bases. Hendry Mendez responded with a two-run single to right field to make it 3-0. However, the Clippers scored five runs in the third and three runs in the fourth inning to grab an 8-3 lead. German Marquez started and tossed two scoreless innings before giving up five runs on five hits (including three homers) and a walk in the third inning. He walked three batters in a scoreless first inning. Ron Marinaccio made his organizational debut. In the fourth inning, he was charged with three runs on three hits (one homer) in the inning. But that Saints offense is potent. They scored six runs in the top of the fifth inning to reclaim the lead 9-8. The inning started with a Ben Ross double. With one out, Emmanuel Rodiguez hit his ninth home run with the Saints. With two on and two outs, Cody Morissette doubled to drive in Sabato and Gray. Noah Cardenas followed with his 12th home run of the season to give the Saints the 9-8 lead. Woo-Suk Go pitched a scoreless fifth, but when given a lead, he gave up two runs on a hit, a hit batter, and two walks in the sixth inning. Down 10-9 through six innings, Sabato led off the top of the seventh inning with a double. He moved to third on a groundout and then scored the 10th run on another grounder. Morissette and Cardenas walked to load the bases. After a pitching change, Walker Jenkins walked in the go-ahead run. The Saints kept adding on in the eighth. Rodriguez walked and stole second. Mendez walked. Tristan Gray hit into a fielder’s choice, but because of a throwing error, the bases were loaded. Morissett stepped to the plate and launched a grand slam to give his team a 15-10 lead. Marco Raya pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He gave up a solo home run and struck out three batters. Matt Bowman struck out three batters in a hitless, scoreless ninth inning. Morissette went 2-for-4 with a walk, his 14th double, his 11th home run, and six RBI. Walker Jenkins went 2-for-4, two walks and 15th stolen base. Aaron Sabato went 2-for-5 with a walk and his 27th double. Ross added his 22nd double and a walk. Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with three walks to go with his ninth home run and fifth stolen base. Cardenas walked in addition to his 12th home run of the season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 7, Frisco 5 Box Score The Surge scored three in the first and three in the second and then held on, keeping Frisco from completing the comeback. Jake Rucker led off the game with a walk and went to second on a throwing error. Caden Kendle followed with a walk. Brandon Winokur came up and drove in a run with his second Surge double. Kendle scored on a sacrifice fly by Garrett Spain. Andrew Cossetti walked. A Kyle DeBarge sacrifice fly to drive in Winokur with the third run. Jay Thomason led off the second inning with a single. He went to third on a Graham Brown double. With one out, Rucker launched his eighth home run to give them a 6-0 lead. Chris Vallimont started and gave up two runs on six hits. He had five strikeouts with no walks. Darren Bowen came on and gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters. Jacob Webb got four outs and gave up just one hit. Mitch Mueller struck out three batters over two, one-hit innings. In the fifth inning, Caden Kendle hit his eighth home run to add on some insurance. Kendle is now hitting .382 (1.122) walked and homered in the game. Rucker had a walk and his eighth home run. Winokur and Brown each hit their second Double-A doubles. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 11 Box Score Not a great game for the Kernels. They scored three runs despite just three hits and six walks. For the second straight start, Kolten Smith was unable to complete the first inning. He gave up three runs on one hit, one hit batter, and four walks. Both outs he recorded were on strikeouts. Ivran Romero came on and gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits over 2 1/3 innings. Cleiber Maldonado gave up one run on one hit and a walk over two innings. He struck out four batters. Mike McKenna gave up four runs on five hits (two homers). He had three strikeouts and walked none. Michael Hilker tossed two scoreless innings with just a walk and a strikeout. The Kernels got on the board in the top of the third innings when Eduardo Tait launched his 21st home run of the season. In the top of the fifth, Andy Lugo walked, Yasser Mercedes was hit by a pitch, and Eduardo Tait walked to load the bases. Lugo scored on a sacrifice fly by JP Smith. In the sixth inning, Luis Fragoza walked and went to second on a wild pitch. Tait went 1-for-2 with two walks and a homer. Luis Fragoza went 0-for-2 but walked twice and stole two bases. MIGHTY MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Palm Beach 2 Box Score Palm Beach took an early 2-0 lead through the first three innings. In the middle three innings, the Mussels scored two runs. Rains came after seven innings, so the seventh inning is where the game was decided. Callan Fang started and gave up one run on two walks over the first two innings. He gave up no hits and struck out three batters. Following a nearly 100-minute rain delay, Jackson Sleeper came into pitch. He gave up one run on a solo home run. Over 1 2/3 innings, he gave up just one hit and walked two while striking out two batters. Nick McAuliffe came on and worked 2 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings. He walked two and had three strikeouts. Brian Strange came in for the seventh inning. He gave up no runs and no hits. He walked one and had two strikeouts to earn his first professional save. With one out in the top of the fourth inning, Carson Tinney knocked a double. He went to third on a passed ball. Aidan Teel drove him in with a single to center. In the sixth inning, Colby Turner and Carson Tinney started things with a single. Teel reached on a fielders’ choice. Tinney stole third base, and Teel stole second. Tinney scored on a sacrifice fly by Isaiah Lane. The score was tied 2-2 going into the seventh inning. The first two Mussels batters got out. Murphy Hernandez singled and went to third on a throwing error. (Speed is awesome!) He scored on a Turner single to right. Carson Tinney came to the plate and launched a two-run homer to make it 5-2. Tinney went 3-for-3 with a walk, his second double, his sixth home run, three runs scored and two RBI. He also stole his first professional base. Turner and Hernandez both went 2-for-4. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Carson Tinney (Fort Myers): 3-for-3, BB, 2B(2), HR(6), 3 R, 2 RBI, SB(1). Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-2, 2 BB, HR(21), R, RBI. Cody Morissette (St. Paul): 2-for-4, BB, 2B(14), HR(11), 2 R, 6 RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Mitch Mueller (Wichita): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2 BB, R, RBI, SB(15) (batted first, played DH). #3 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, HR (2), R, RBI, (batted ninth, played SS) #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, 3 BB, HR(9), 3 R, 2 RBI, SB(5) (batted fourth, played CF) #7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, R, 2 RBI (batted sixth, played LF) #8 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, 2 BB, HR(21), R, RBI (batted second, played Catcher) #11 - C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) - 3-for-3, BB, 2B(2), HR(6), 3 R, 2 RBI, SB(1) (batted third, played Catcher) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B(2), R, RBI, K (batted third, played SS) #19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K (batted first, played DH) UPCOMING PROBABLES Sunday, August 23 St. Paul @ Columbus (12:05 pm CT) - RHP Ryan Gallagher (5-6, 6.56 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (7:05 pm CT) - RHP Sam Armstrong (7-8, 4.81 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 pm CT) - LHP Cesar Lares (0-6, 13.18 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:00 pm CT) - RHP Eric Hammond (1-4, 4.76 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 63-67 St. Paul Saints: 72-52 Wichita Wind Surge: 50-67 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-73 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 64-53 FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete) DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

Image courtesy of Charisma Jones (photo of Ty Langenberg) TRANSACTIONS William Fleming signed as a minor-league free agent days after the start of the minor-league season in early April. He went straight to Wichita and contributed to the Wind Surge bullpen. On Friday, he was released by the Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 1, Columbus 5 Box Score After the Saints swept the Clippers on Thursday, Columbus was able to claim the Friday game. The biggest story in this game, however, was that lefty Kendry Rojas left the game during the first plate appearance of the second inning. I went back to the game and watched it. I followed up with a three-part tweet. (Important: I am not a doctor, a trainer, a physical therapist, so take my thoughts with a bunch of grains of salt. I'm sure we will learn more tomorrow.) Part 1: “I just watched the Kendry Rojas injury tonight for St. Paul. Looked good the first three pitches of the 2nd inning. Then he got the sign, took a deep breath and grimaced, but he threw the pitch. Then another pitch. Then after another pitch, he dropped his glove, (more)” Part 2: “and eventually came off the field. At no point did it look like anything was wrong with his left arm which would be good. I couldn't see anything with his right arm. To me, it looked like his right-side oblique might be the issue. (more)" Part 3: “Depending on severity, an oblique injury (or hip?) could cost 4-6 weeks which would essentially end his season but still better than anything arm-related, probably. Honestly, I'm hoping it's nothing, something he just hadn't felt/experienced before. Hopefully!” So, Rojas completed a scoreless first inning and left the game during the first plate appearances of the second inning. Aaron Rozek was forced to get ready quickly. But he kept the game scoreless in the second and third innings. Overall, he gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters. C.J. Culpepper came on and gave up one run on a solar home run in 1 1/3 innings. Matt Bowman and Alejandro Hidalgo each worked a scoreless inning. After hitting nine home runs on Thursday, the Saints managed just one run on five hits and two walks on Friday night. Tristan Gray was the offense. He went 2-for-4, and his solo home run provided the only run for the team. It was his third straight day with a home run. Matt Wallner went 1-for-2 with two walks. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Frisco 1 Box Score Through seven innings, this ballgame was completely scoreless. Ty Langenberg started and tossed five shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked three, and he had four strikeouts. Paulshawn Pasqualotto tossed two scoreless innings and gave up just one hit. He struck out three batters. Then came the top of the eighth inning. Jake Rucker, Brandon Winokur, and Garrett Spain walked consecutively to lead the bases. Andrew Cossetti followed by taking a strike. On the second pitch, he got a crushable pitch, and guess what? He crushed it over the wall in left center field, beyond the berm, over the walkway and out of the stadium. Grand Slam. Surge lead 4-0! Spencer Bengard pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Kyle Bischoff got the ninth inning and gave up a run on two hits and a walk. The Surge scored their four runs on four hits and seven walks. Cossetti’s home run was his 16th of the season. Kyle DeBarge hit his 21st double and walked. Garrett Spain had a single and a walk. Jay Thomason had a single and was hit by a pitch which put his Double-A OPS at .805. Jake Rucker walked twice. Sure, the team was just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, but the “1” was pretty important. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 5 Box Score The game was delayed by almost two hours, but when things got started, the Kernels jumped out to an early lead. Byron Chourio led off the first inning with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. He scored on a JP Smith single to make it 1-0. With one out, Jayson Bass came up and drilled his third home run since joining the Kernels to make it 3-0. In the top of the second inning, Irvin Nunez led off with a walk. With one out, Chourio singled. Smith walked to load the bases. Nunez scored on a sacrifice fly by Yasser Mercedes to make it 4-0. Justin Mitriovich started and began the game by putting three zeroes on the board. He had six strikeouts through three perfect innings. However, he gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits and a walk and only got two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Yehizon Sanchez got the final out of the fourth inning. He worked two more innings and gave up one run on two hits and a walk. Christian Becerra walked one and had one strikeout over two hitless, scoreless innings. Unfortunately, after scoring four runs in the first two innings, the Kernels went scoreless the remainder of the game. The Kernels scored their four runs on five hits and seven walks. They went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base. No one had a multi-hit game. Bass hit his third home run, and Danny De Andrade hit his 16th double and walked. Chourio and Smith each had a walk and a single. MIGHTY MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Palm Beach 7 Box Score This was a good ol’ back-and-forth game. There were four lead changes and the game was tied four times. Unfortunately, it was the Cardinals who took the last lead with a two-run eighth inning. Matthew Dalquist gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters without walking any. Matthew Becker walked two over 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Brent Francisco worked 2 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. Adam Falinski got the final two outs, but not before an inherited runner and a run of his own to take the loss. The Mussels got on the scoreboard in the second inning. Isaiah Lane and Jimmy Keenan walked. Quentin Young singled to center to drive in Lane. With one out in the top of the third, Vahn Lackey launched his first professional home run. Two pitches later, second-round pick Carson Tinney hit his fifth professional home to tie the game at 3-3. Aidan Teel reached on an error and scored on a Ramiro Dominguez double to give them the 4-3 lead. In the top of the fifth inning, Tinney walked and went to third on a Teel double. He scored on a wild pitch. In the seventh frame, Tinney led off with a double and later scored on a Dominguez sacrifice fly. That gave the Mussels a 6-5 lead. But again, Palm Beach scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth and shut down the Mussels in the ninth. Tinney led the offense. He went 2-for-3 with a walk, his first double and his fifth home run. Lane was 1-for-2 with two walks. Dominguez’s double was his 25th of the year. Teel’s double was his fifth as a pro. And Quentin Young went 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Carson Tinney (Fort Myers): 2-for-3, BB, 2B(1), HR(5), 3 R, RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Ty Langenberg (Wichita): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, K, SB(14) (batted first, played CF). #2 - C Vahn Lackey (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5, HR(1), R, RBI, K (batted second, played catcher) #3 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, 2 K (batted ninth, played SS) #4 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 0-for-5, K (batted first, played SS) #7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, K (batted fourth, played DH) #9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4 (batted second, played 1B) #11 - C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B(1), HR(5), 3 R, RBI (batted third, played 1B) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 0-for-4, BB, R, K (batted third, played CF) #18 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-3, BB, RBI, 2 K (batted eighth, played SS) #19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, RBI, 2 K (batted third, played CF) UPCOMING PROBABLES Saturday, August 22 St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 pm CT) - RHP German Marquez (0-0, 2.25 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (7:05 pm CT) - RHP Chris Vallimont (2-3, 4.89 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 pm CT) - LHP Cesar Lares (0-6, 13.18 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:00 pm CT) - RHP Callan Fang (3-3, 4.33 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 63-66 St. Paul Saints: 71-52 Wichita Wind Surge: 49-67 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-72 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 63-53 FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete) DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I can't imagine bringing Rodriguez up at this point. He's had like 4 games at St. Paul after not having a great rehab. Give him another week of health and some production and then let him take Roden's spot, playing right field against right-handers and giving Buxton a day out of CF here and there. I'm find with Jenkins coming up as long as he'll pay 4-6 games per week. He did play a second game in left field this week. What's the move? Play him in LF every day? Larnach DH most every day? Caratini strictly a backup catcher. C: Jeffers, Caratini 1B: Lewis, Caratini 2B: Clemens, Kreidler 3B: Lee, Kreidler s SS: Culpepper, Kreidler LF: Larnach, Martin CF: Buxton/Kreidler/Keaschall RF: Roden/Keaschall DH: Bell/Larnach

Yes, they do that well. Caleb Durbin and Isaac Collins were top 3 in Rookie of the Year voting last year, and they traded both of them.

Such a great question, and something I've thought about a little bit, but it's likely a little bit of everything. International signings have been a huge part of it when you consider Chourio, Lara. They've been really good in trades. That William Contreras deal was amazing. Willie Adames was a great acquisition. They've drafted well, including taking a lot of high school kids and being very creative. The interesting long-term contracts for Chourio, Pratt, Lara. They have like 9 Top 100 worthy prospects... Andrew Fischer, their top pick in the 2025 draft, has 37 home runs this year between High-A and Double-A... and he's NOT in a top 100 list. They traded Corbin Burnes at the right time. They traded Freddy Peralta at the right time. They didn't even get back big returns for them, but they got out from under some big, long-term contracts. Signing flyers like Trevor Megill and turning him into an All Star is great. (The Twins kinda started that trend). Turning Aaron Ashby from a soft-throwing lefty starter to a late-inning reliever who touches triple digits. They also play really good defense. Gold Glove talent all around the outfield. Turang is tremendous. They don't hit for a ton of power, but they put together terrific at-bats. It'd be interesting to put this into a chart or something and compare to the Twins or other teams.

Yeah, he can play all three outfield spots. He's got good speed, not a burner. He's got a good arm. He's probably immensely underrated. He was a 5th round pick. It's not like he was a signing out of an indy league or something. There's a lot of talent there. Same thing with Ben Ross. We forget that he was also a 5th round pick.

Just trying to keep you all on your toes... I spend WAY too much time on these reports. Uggh!

Love it. I really think they're just trying to extend him just a little bit. They're really going to need some innings down the stretch.

There just aren't any moves to make. Wallner could come up for Martin if he's going to be out for a while. He could also switch places with Roden. Sabato probably deserves it, but they don't need a DH or 1B and doesn't make sense to have a pinch hitter only on this roster. Kendry Rojas is really good and could certainly be in the big leagues. I also understand them wanting him to go 4 or 5 innings instead of 2 or3 innings. Could switch out Ryan Kreidler for Ben Ross, but would that be an improvement? Not necessarily. The bullpen is kind of set at this point. Could drop Rogers, I guess, but would Orze, Raya, Bowman, Go, Anderson, Acton be an improvement?

Image courtesy of Lexi Ashcraft, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Jake Rucker) TRANSACTIONS Two straight days with no transactions in the organization? Inconceivable! SAINTS SENTINEL Game 1: St. Paul 6, Iowa 0 Box Score In the first game on Saturday afternoon, the Saints and the Cubs each had six hits. Yet when the seventh inning was complete, the Saints had a nice, 6-0 shoutout win. Lefty Kendry Rojas made his second start of the week for the Saints. He also started the Saints Field of Dreams game on Tuesday night. On Saturday, he threw four scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and had five strikeouts. What is the most important thing for Rojas in his development? Throwing strikes, right? On this night, 40 of his 52 pitches were strikes (76.9%). Jack Anderson came and had five strikeouts over three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked one. The starter for Iowa was North Side Baseball’s #16 prospect, RHP Grant Kipp. He worked three scoreless, hitless innings. He walked three and had four strikeouts. NSBB’s #4 Cubs Prospect is catcher Owen Ayers. He went 0-for-3 in this game. Veteran Hoby Milner came out of the Cubs bullpen in the fourth inning and started by hitting Emmanuel Rodriguez. Next, he gave up a single to Matt Wallner. With two outs, Tristan Gray singled to drive in Rodriguez with the game’s first run. Cody Morissette followed with an RBI double to make it 2-0. In the sixth inning, the Saints added a run when Tristan Gray stole second and an Ayers throwing error allowed Hendry Mendez to score from third. Then Morissette came to the plate again. This time, he crushed a long home run to give the Saints a 5-0 lead. The Saints added one more in the top of the seventh. Walker Jenkins walked and went to second on a Ben Ross single. Jenkins went to third base on a fly out and then scored on a Matt Wallner sacrifice fly. Morissette went 2-for-3 with his 13th double and 10th Saints home run. He drove in half of the Saints' runs. He was the lone Saints hitter with a multi-hit game or an extra base hit. Aaron Sabato had a single and a walk. Walker Jenkins walked twice. Game 2: St. Paul 5, Iowa 4 Box Score The second game started out a bit different. The Cubs scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning, but the Saints worked their way back with a couple of crooked numbers and came away with a doubleheader sweep in Des Moines. Trent Baker started for the Saints. He gave up four runs (1 earned) in four innings, all in the first inning. He gave up five hits (2 homers), walked none and had six strikeouts. The Saints started to cut into the deficit in the top of the third. Noah Cardenas was hit by a pitch and scored on a Ben Ross double. Emmanuel Rodriguez followed with a double of his own to make it 4-2. Woo-Suk Go walked two batters in a scoreless fifth inning. With two outs in the top of the sixth frame, Kala’i Rosarios singled. He went to second on an infield single by Cory Morissette. Tanner Schobel walked to load the bases. Noah Cardenas came through with a huge, clutch hit. He doubled to left field which cleared the bases and gave the Saints a 5-4 lead. Eric Orze and Julian Merryweather each had two outs in a scoreless inning to give the Saints the sweep. Aaron Sabato went 2-for-4, the lone multi-hit game for the Saints. Ross hit his 21st Saints double, and Rodriguez and Cardenas both doubled for the fourth time. Rodriguez also walked and stole a base. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, Corpus Christi 10 Box Score A six-run sixth inning for the Hooks was something that the Surge were unable to overcome. Cory Lewis made the start. He gave up two runs on two hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked three and had four strikeouts. Darren Bowen came on to get the final four outs of the fourth inning. He pitched a scoreless fifth inning. However, he gave up three runs in the sixth, and Jaylen Nowlin came in and gave up three more before the inning ended. Mitch Mueller struck out two batters in a one-hit inning. William Fleming gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits over the final two innings. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Wind Surge tied the game at 2-2, but it was an inning with a couple of big What Ifs. Brandon Winokur led off with a single, but he was caught stealing. Caden Kendle followed with a single. Garrett Spain hit the third straight single. Kendle advanced to third base, but Spain was thrown out at second base for the inning’s second out. Fortunately, Jake Rucker came through with a line drive home run that tied the game at two. When the Surge came up in the bottom of the eighth, they were behind 10-2. They sure attempted a comeback but fell well shy. Jaime Ferrer and Jay Thomason started the innings with singles. The next two batters got out, but Caden Kendle drove in Ferrer with a single. Spain then walked to load the bases. Jake Rucker came up again and came through again. He lined an opposite-field double to clear the bases and cut the deficit to 10-6, but that was as close as they got. Rucker went 2-for-3 with his eighth doubles, his seventh home run, and five RBI. Kendle was 2-for-4. Kyle DeBarge was 1-for-2 with two walks and his 27th stolen base. Andrew Cossetti and Garrett Spain each had a single and a walk. KERNEL NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 15 Box Score The Brewers organization is loaded, and even though the Rattlers roster is missing many of the top prospects that began the season in Wisconsin, but as this game shows, there are more terrific players on the way up. Another rough start for Cesar Lares in his return from Tommy John surgery. In this game, he went one inning and gave up three runs (1 earned) on one hit and three walks. He struck out three. He needed 38 pitches to get through the inning, so that was it for him. Christian Becerra came on and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Ross Dunn came in and got two outs. He was charged with three runs on four hits. Both outs were on strikeouts. Cleiber Maldonado walked one and struck out one in his inning. Cody Peschl gave up four runs on five hits (2 homers) and a walk. He struck out two. Brian Zeldin gave up three runs on two hits (1 homer). He walked two and had three strikeouts. It may not have made a difference since the Kernels were down, but they went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base. The Kernels had eight hits and four walks. Yasser Mercedes went 2-for-3 with a walk, his 19th stolen base, and his 34th stolen base. JP Smith went 1-for-2 with a walk and his fourth Kernels homer before being ejected after a strikeout in the sixth inning. Jose Salas hit his fifth double and was hit by a pitch. Irvin Nunez hit his first double with the Kernels. Quinn McDaniel and Miguel Briceno each had a single and a walk. None of the Brewer Fanatic Top 20 prospects played in this game. #2 Prospect Luis Pena and #16 Prospect Sawyer Strosnider didn’t even play in this game. MIGHTY MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Clearwater 8 Box Score The final score is not at all indicative to how this game played out. The score was 1-0 through seven innings. However, the Thrashers scored seven runs in the top of the eighth inning. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Luis Fragoza homered to give the team a 1-0 lead. The Mussels didn’t score again until the bottom of the eighth, after they were behind 8-1. With two outs, Fragoza walked and went to second on defensive indifference. Aidan Teel had an infield single which advanced Fragoza to third. Quentin Young walked to load the bases. Bryce Fowler followed with another walk to drive in the team’s second and final run. Ramiro Villanueva started and gave up one run on three hits over three innings. He had four strikeouts with no walks. Matt Dalquist tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked three and had three strikeouts. Nick McAuliffe pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Then came the eighth inning. McAuliffe faced three batters. All three reached base. Michael Hilker came on and combined they gave up seven runs in the inning. Melvin Rodriguez struck out two in a perfect ninth inning. Fragoza went 2-for-3 with a walk and his 14th home run. He also stole his 13th base. Fowler was 1-for-3 with a walk and his first pro double. Teel was 1-for-3 with a walk. Young walked twice. COMPLEX CHRONICLES DSL Twins 4, DSL Tigers 6 Box Score This was a fantastic game for the Twins… until it wasn’t. Adrian Martinez made the start and gave up one run on three hits and two walks and a hit batter over three innings. He had four strikeouts. The Twins got on the scoreboard in the third inning. Fabian Ulloa singled to start the inning. He stole second. Luis Suarez walked. With one out, Jendy Martinez singled to drive in Ulloa and tie the game at 1-1. The Twins scored twice more, both on wild pitches. The Twins added a fourth run in the fifth inning on a couple of walks and a balk. Sebastian Echevarria walked two and had two strikeouts over two scoreless, hitless innings. Juan Quinones pitched a scoreless sixth inning. He also started the top of the seventh. He gave up three runs and Wisarly Reinoso gave up two more and abruptly the Twins were losing 6-5. They were unable to score in the bottom of the inning to take the loss. Jendy Martinez went 2-for-3 with a walk. Fabian Ulloa was 2-for-3 and stole his seventh base. Jhon Gonzalez was 0-for-1, but he walked three times. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Jake Rucker (Wichita): 2-for-3, HBP, 2B(8), HR(7), R, 5 RBI Cody Morissette (St. Paul): Game 1: 2-for-3, 2B(13), HR(10), R, 3 RBI, Game 2: 1-for-3, R. Luis Fragoza (Fort Myers): 2-for-3, BB, HR (14), 2 R, RBI Pitcher(s) of the Day Kendry Rojas (St. Paul): 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 52 pitches, 40 strikes (76.9%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - Game 1: 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, K (batted first, played LF) #3 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2B(1), K (batted ninth, played SS) #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - Game 1: 0-for-3, HBP, R, K (batted third, played CF); Game 2: 1-for-3, BB, 2B(4), RBI, SB(3), K (batted second, DHd) #7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, K, R (batted sixth, played DH) #8 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K (batted third, played DH) #9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - Game 2: 0-for-3, BB (batted fourth, played RF) #11 - C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, K (batted second, played catcher) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 1-for-5 (batted second, played SS) #18 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K (batted fifth, played 3B) #19 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B(19), R, SB(34) (batted fourth, played CF) UPCOMING PROBABLES Sunday, August 16 St. Paul @ Iowa (1:08 pm CT) - RHP German Marquez (First Saints start) Corpus Christi @ Wichita (1:05 pm CT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (1-4, 3.58 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - RHP Kolten Smith (0-3, 3.32 ERA) Clearwater @ Ft. Myers (11:05 am CT) - RHP Callan Fang (3-3, 4.02 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 60-64 St. Paul Saints: 68-50 Wichita Wind Surge: 45-66 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-67 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 61-50 FCL Twins: 33-26 DSL Twins: 17-34 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article