Seth Stohs

Manuel Margot and Rayne Doncon.

Walker Jenkins has plenty to prove, but the first thing is he just needs to be healthy and play. That's all. There is no rush to move him up, and there shouldn't be. He's young, immensely talented, has a good head on his shoulders, etc. Soto may fall a little bit, but you can't teach all the stuff/tools he has, so he's going to stay highly ranked for awhile.

It was a very busy day in the Minnesota Twins minor-league system on Saturday. There were several positives in the organization; from Simeon Woods Richardson's fantastic start in Pittsburgh, to Davirik Fuenmayor's doubles in the Dominican, and more in between. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Eeles), Ed Bailey (photo of Rucker) The beauty of following the organization's minor-league system every day is that even when the Twins aren't playing well (they've lost five in a row and been very streaky all year), there's a chance that at least one of the six affiliates play well. And each of those teams have 24 to 30 players who can have a great day at any time. It's not just about the top prospects, and every individual has their own story. On Saturday, Fort Myers got a huge grand slam from Payton Eeles, a D2 standout who went to a top D1 school for a year, but was deemed undersized, so he had to go the independent route. He signed with the Twins just over a month ago and has been fantastic, and very appreciative. The Wind Surge got a big two homer game from Jake Rucker. He was the Twins seventh round pick in 2021 from an SEC powerhouse. Both players are 24 and flown a bit under the radar. Neither appears on a Twins Top 30 prospect list. Both are really good players and a reminder that all professional ballplayers are tremendous players and warrant a ton of respect. Also, player development is certainly not a linear path, and as long as a player still gets a uniform, they still have a chance. With that, let's take a look at what happened on Saturday in the minor-league ballparks. CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 33-31 St. Paul Saints: 27-34 Wichita Wind Surge: 23-33 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 31-24 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 28-28 FCL Twins: 14-12 DSL Twins: 1-3 TRANSACTIONS No minor-league transactions in the Twins farm system on Saturday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Syracuse 8 Box Score This game started with three scoreless innings. However, Syracuse scored five runs in the fourth inning and another in the fifth. Randy Dobnak gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits over 3 1/3 innings. He had six strikeouts without missing a walk. Nick Wittgren came into the game with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning and got the final two outs without further runs allowed. He went 2 2/3 innings and gave up one run on two hits. He had two strikeouts. Hobie Harris gave up two runs on five hits (including two home runs). He had four strikeouts. Jay Jackson pitched a clean ninth inning and had one strikeout. Down 8-0 going to the bottom of the seventh inning, Michael Helman and Diego A Castillo went back-to-back to put the Saints on the scoreboard. In the bottom of the eighth, Will Holland hit a solo home run. Holland went 2-for-3 with a walk and his fifth homer. Helman was 2-for-4 with his 10th double and ninth homer. Castillo was 2-for-3 with a walk and his third home run. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 7, NW Arkansas 2 Box Score Wichita jumped to an early lead in this game. With one out in the top of the first inning, Jake Rucker hit his third home run of the season. The game was tied after the fourth inning, but in the top of the fifth frame, the Wind Surge reclaimed the lead. With one out, Ben Ross walked. Luke Keaschall drove him in with a triple, and Rucker singled to drive in Keaschall. With a 3-1 lead through six innings, the Surge powered their way to a four-run inning. Keaschall walked, and Rucker hit his second homer of the night. Jeferson Morales doubled. Kala’i Rosario followed with his sixth home run of the season. Andrew Morris was on the mound for the first six innings and earned his first Double-A Win. He gave up one run on four hits. He walked one, hit one, and struck out eight batters. Regi Grace tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and had a strikeout. Austin Brice was charged with an unearned run on a hit and two walks in the ninth inning. Rucker led the way. He went 3-for-5 with his third and fourth home runs and four RBI. He also stole his third base. After the game, Rucker told Twins Daily, “I’ve only had like two other multi-homer games in my life.” Rucker is a 24-year-old Nashville native who was the Twins seventh-round draft pick in 2021 out of the University of Tennessee. Asked how many gloves he brings to the ballpark each day, he said, “I have my everyday infield glove, an outfield glove, and a first base mitt as well.” He continued, “I’ve played a lot of third base since college, but I’m probably a little more comfortable at second base since I’ve played most of my games there this year.” With the recent promotion of Luke Keaschall to the Wind Surge, Rucker will likely get more time at third base. That said, Keaschall has also started several games in center field, so Rucker will still get time at second base. Morales went 2-for-5 with his ninth and 10th doubles. Keaschall went 1-for-3 with a walk and a triple. Rosario’s home run was his sixth of the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Great Lakes 11 Box Score It’s almost hard to believe that the Kernels grabbed a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth inning. Great Lakes scored five runs in the fifth inning and four more in the bottom of the sixth inning and won handily. Kernels pitchers gave up 11 runs on 11 hits and six walks and a hit batter. In addition, they committed five errors in the game which certainly didn’t help the cause. Miguelangel Boadas gave up two runs on four hits over the first four innings. He had six strikeouts and no walks. Juan Mercedes came on and was charged with five runs (3 earned) on four hits. Juan Mendez came in and got two outs, but not before he was charged with three runs (2 earned) on two hits and two walks. Sheldon Reed came on and gave up an unearned run on one hit and two walks in 1 1/3 innings. Rafael Marcano got the final four outs without issuing another run. Misael Urbina went 2-for-3 with a walk. Agustin Ruiz went 2-for-4. Jose Salas went 1-for-3 with a walk. Jay Harry walked twice and stole his fourth base. Noah Miller has seemingly enjoyed hosting some of his friends and former teammates in his new city. Since going 0-for-4 on Tuesday, he is 7-for-18 with a double and a home run in the past four games. He has scored five runs and driven in four more. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Tampa 5 Box Score Sometimes one big inning is all it takes for a team. Down 4-1, a seven-run seventh inning gave the team an 8-4 lead that they held onto for the final innings. Fort Myers took the early lead. Payton Eeles led off the game with his third triple. He scored on a ground out by Walker Jenkins. Charlee Soto was on the mound to start for the Mussels. He gave up four runs on five hits over the first three innings. He walked two and struck out four. Two of the five hits were home runs. Ross Dunn came on and worked the next four innings. He gave up a solo home run in the seventh. He gave up one run on four hits to earn the win. Xander Hamilton recorded his fourth save of the season. He threw two scoreless, hitless innings. He had two walks and two strikeouts. Let’s get to the seventh inning. Rixon Wingrove singled to lead off the inning. Carlos Aguiar and Maddux Houghton walked to load the bases. Ryan McCarthy singled to score two runs. Yohander Martinez walked to reload the bases. After a pitching change, Payton Eeles got an 88 mph sinker and crushed it 106 mph at a 26-degree launch angle. 383 feet later, the ball landed beyond the wall for a grand slam. The Miracle led 7-4. Jenkins walked. After an out, Brandon Winokur was hit by a pitch. After a force out and a walk, the bases were again loaded. Maddux Houghton hit an infield single to score the team’s eighth run. Wingrove had a single and two walks. Winokur added his 13th double and stole his 12th base. Eeles went 2-for-5 with his third triple and third home run. Payton Eeles has been quite the find for the Twins pro scouting staff. After three years at a Division II school, he challenged himself and went to Division I Coastal Carolina. He put up massive numbers right away and was called a team leader. At just 5-7 and 180 pounds, the top-of-the-lineup spark plug went the independent ball direction, signing with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. On May 7th, he signed with the Twins and was assigned to the Mighty Mussels. In 28 games (and exactly 100 at-bats), Eeles has hit .350/.457/.560 (1.017) with six doubles, three triples, and three homers. He has 26 runs and 24 RBI. He’s also 12-for-15 in stolen base attempts. As he has everywhere else, he has taken advantage of the opportunity he has been given. Following Saturday night’s game, he told Twins Daily, “I absolutely love every day I’m here. It was a long journey to get here, filled with many rejections, doubts, and obstacles to climb through. However, I knew in the deepest part of me, my story wasn’t over.” As you might expect, he has persevered. He continued, “So, I put my head down, kept working, and consistently prayed to God for an opportunity. He delivered through the Twins, and I can’t thank them enough for giving me the shot.” And now, given that opportunity, he wants to reward the Twins' confidence. “I figured I’d pay them back by going out on the field and giving my all every day. It’s definitely a grind, but I get that little burst of energy when I need it, when I think about how far I’ve come, and the blessing of being able to play in affiliate ball. There are a lot of good players out there in indy ball that are hungry and deserving of a shot, just like I was.” So, Payton, which do you prefer? A.) A leadoff home run to give your team a quick start, or B.) a late-inning grand slam that alters the trajectory of the game for your team? Eeles’ response? “Both options are great. I hit a couple of lead off homers in college which was cool, but now experiencing a late-inning grand slam, I’d have to choose the latter. Here, on Saturday night in Tampa, I hit my first grand slam EVER. So, especially in that moment, when we needed it, makes it so much better.” COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Red Sox 5, FCL Twins 4 Box Score The Twins fell behind 2-0 after the first inning and then exchanged runs in the second and third. The Red Sox added one more in the sixth inning to take a 5-2 lead. The Twins scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but it wasn’t quite enough as they fell by a final of 5-4. Hendry Chivilli went 2-for-4 with his fifth double. Jayson Bass was 2-for-4 with his third double. Yasser Mercedes went 1-for-3 with a walk and his fifth double. Ariel Castro was 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. Juan Cota started for the Twins. He gave up two runs on three hits in the first inning. Alejandro Crisostomo went the next 1 2/3 innings. He gave up two runs on two hits. He struck out two batters. Ezequiel Ventura went the final 3 1/3 innings and gave up one run on four hits. He had four strikeouts. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Rangers Red 4, DSL Twins 2 Box Score The Twins fell behind 2-1 after one inning. Over the next four innings, the Rangers added two more runs and the Twins added just one more run. Starting for the Twins was Ramiro Villanueva. He pitched the first inning and gave up two runs on three hits. Santiago Rojas came in and gave up one run over the next three innings. He gave up one hit, hit one, walked three and struck out three batters. Leonardo Rondon was even better. He gave up one run on three hits, a walk and was hit by a pitch over four innings. He struck out four batters. Nestor Cafe came in and threw a scoreless inning despite giving up a hit, a walk and hitting a batter. The Twins had just four hits in the game but they added seven walks. All nine batters reached base at least once. Davirik Fuenmayor had two of the team’s four hits and both were doubles. He also was hit by a pitch and stole a base. Maybe you remember Fuenmayor, I mean, if you keep up with all rounds of the Little League World Series. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris (Wichita) - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 8 K, 90 pitches, 61 strikes (67.8%) Hitter of the Day – Jake Rucker (Wichita) - 3-for-5, 2 HR(4), 2 R, 4 RBI, SB(3) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) – 0-for-3, 2 BB, R, RBI, K #2 – Brooks Lee (St. Paul) – 1-4, K, E(2) #7 – Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) – 3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 65 pitches, 40 strikes (61.5%) #9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 1-for-3, BB, HBP, 3B(1), 2 R, RBI, #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, 2B(13), SB(12) #11 – Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) – 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 97 pitches, 69 strikes (71.1%) #12 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 1-for-5, HR(6), R, 2 RBI, 3 K #18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-for-2, 2 BB SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs Syracuse (2:07 PM CST) – RHP Scott Blewett (3-2, 2.28 ERA) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (2:05 PM CST) – RHP Zebby Matthews (1-1, 1.59 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Great Lakes (12:05 PM CST) – LHP Jordan Carr (2-1, 3.67 ERA) Fort Myers @ Tampa (11:00 AM CST) – RHP Spencer Bengard (2-0, 1.19 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games! 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Lenny Faedo... whose nephew has been a member of the Detroit Tigers pitching staff for the past several years. I'm often in awe of the first 10-15 years of the MLB Draft. It's obvious not a science and will never be perfect, but there were some awful first-round pick (and Faedo made it to the big leagues), many didn't come close.

Looking to salvage the final game of this three game series and the final game of the season series, the Twins issued too many free passes to Yankees hitters. The are now 2-4 on the current road trip and will face two of the Pirates top starters this weekend in Pittsburgh. Image courtesy of © Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Pablo Lopez - 4.0 IP, 4 H, 7 ER, 6 BB, 4 K (96 pitches, 54 strikes (56.3%), 13 whiffs) Home Runs: Carlos Correa (5), Christian Vazquez (2). Bottom 3 WPA: Pablo Lopez (-0.47), Kyle Farmer (-0.15), Max Kepler/Cole Sands (-0.05) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pablo Tries New Strategy There is no hiding it at this point. The 2024 season has been rather disappointing for Pablo Lopez. He entered the season with many thinking he was a Cy Young favorite. However, after his outing on Thursday night in Yankees Stadium, his ERA stands at 5.23. One might notice that Lopez tried a different strategy in this one. In the bottom of the first, he got a strikeout. Then he walked Juan Soto. He pitched to Aaron Judge but then walked Giancarlo Stanton. The strategy of taking the bat out of two of the Yankees top sluggers worked well that inning as Anthony Rizzo flew out to end a scoreless frame. He gave up a two-run homer to Yankees all-defense outfielder Trent Grisham in the second inning. But let’s jump to the third frame. Juan Soto led off with a walk. Lopez then walked Aaron Judge. Realizing that he put a zero on the board when he walked two of those three sluggers in the first inning, he walked Stanton to load the bases. The strategy of not letting those Big 3 beat them is filled in logic! He got a strikeout of Rizzo. Unfortunately, with the right side of the infield shifted way up the middle, Gleyber Torres waited back on a pitch and bounced it down the first base line to drive in two runs. After an Austin Wells sacrifice fly drove in Stanton, all three walks came back to score. In the fourth inning, Lopez got Soto to fly out, but then he walked Judge. Stanton singled which drove in Judge with the seventh run of the game. Having lost the first five games of the season matchup with the Yankees, it is a good idea to think differently, to make adjustments. In this case, walking two of the Big 3 led to zero runs. Walking all three of them to load the bases with nobody out had the result of all three scoring. And when walking just one of the three, the Yankees were limited to two runs. Unfortunately, Stanton drove in one of those runs. So, with a small sample size of one game, and three innings of opportunity, it is certainly too soon to declare the strategy a winner or a loser. Recommendation: I don’t know what other Twins Daily readers who watched this game think, but I’ve seen enough of the Walk The Big Three strategy. Encourage strikes, just careful, cautious strikes. … But For Real… A quick glimpse at some of the Statcast numbers from Lopez’s performance doesn’t really give any reason for concern. My first thought was to check the velocity. He averaged 94.6 mph with the fastball on Thursday night, down 0.1 mph from his average this season. He hit 96.7 mph. As far as Spin, his fastball, changeup and curveball each were within single digits of their averages. His sweeper spring was increased. The vertical and horizontal breaks were all within one or two inches of their season averages. He got 13 whiffs which isn’t terrible. As Lopez said after the game, there are games where he leaves the game shaking his head, wondering what he could have done differently to be better. Not in this game. “It was pretty obvious tonight.” Six walks and a hit batter. Very much uncharacteristic of Lopez, and therefore, this is a game that is easily flushed and moved on from. For years, a segment of Twins fans have called for "accountability." If this isn't it, I don't know what is. Speaking of Velocity Did you see the radar gun show 101 on one of Jorge Alcala’s four-seam fastballs? He had a few 100s to go with it. The 101 was actually 100.7. His average fastball in this game was 99.1 mph over 18 pitches, up 1.7 mph from his season average. His average slider was 91.8 mph, up 2.7 mph from its 89.1 mph average. In the game, he hit 100.7, 100.3, 100.1, and 100.0. But also Speaking of Velocity On the other side of the diamond, the Yankees started Marcus Stroman on the mound. He has been pitching very well, particularly of late. On this night, he threw 78 pitches. Only 11 of those pitches touched 90 mph. He threw just two four-seam fastballs, one at 89.3, the other at 88.8 mph. He threw 19 sinkers. They averaged 90.0 mph with a high of 91.0. He threw 21 cutters that averaged 88.1 mph, right on his season average. He threw 13 slurves (avg. 82.2), 12 Sliders (85.7 mph), and 11 splitters (83.6 mph). Now, you can probably assume that some pitchers were called the wrong thing. He throws a lot of cutters, sinkers, slurves, sliders and sinkers. The main point is that some forget that a pitcher can be very successful in this league without hitting the upper 90s. However, to do so, you have to do what Stroman has done most of his career and this season in particular. Nothing he throws is straight. All of his pitchers move like crazy in one and sometimes two directions. And, he tunnels very well, with all of his pitchers coming out of the same arm slot. I think he pitches very well to the situations as well. And, he rarely throws a pitch in the middle or upper parts of the strike zone, though with the movement, it’s still hard to square up. But when he knows he needs a ground ball, he works the bottom of the zone really well. Now Let's Talk Exit Velocity Carlos Correa has been rather solid this season. Clearly healthy and able to move more freely, he's been much more consistent at the plate too. In the first inning, he hit a ball 106 mph at a 24 degree launch angle. It went 383 feet and into the right-field bleachers. (But it was legit! It would have been a homer in 27 or 30 MLB ballparks.) In the fifth inning, with a runner on third, he hit a sacrifice fly deep enough to drive in a run. That ball was hit a 99 mph. In the eighth inning, he hit the hardest ball of the game but it ended in a force out. He hit that ball 110.4 mph. Of course, he also had a single that registered 66.3 mph of exit velocity. Again, just a reminder. Every pitching coach will tell you, hit the ball hard where it's pitched. Hit the ball hard and good things will happen. Every once in a while, a blooper will find a spot on the outfield grass to land safely, but the more often you hit the ball harder, the better your odds. If you want to talk about distance, the furthest-hit ball in Thursday night's game came off the bat of Christian Vazquez. His second home run of the season measured in at 404 feet. What’s Next? The Twins leave The Bronx and head to the Steel City to take on Derek Shelton and the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the Twins will face their staff ace and 2023 Diamond Award winner Mitch Keller, they will have a huge challenge with flame-thrower Jared Jones on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), they will miss baseball's top pitching prospect this series. Paul Skenes pitches after Jones in the rotation. Fri 5:40 pm: RHP Joe Ryan (4-4, 3.38 ERA) vs RHP Mitch Keller (7-3, 3.42 ERA) Sat 3:05 pm: RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (2-0, 3.05 ERA) vs RHP Quinn Priester (0-5, 4.83 ERA) Sun 12:35 pm: RHP Bailey Ober (5-4, 4.94 ERA) vs RHP Jared Jones (4-5, 3.25 ERA) Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SUN MON TUE WED THU TOT Alcalá 19 0 0 0 30 49 Staumont 0 0 0 20 19 39 Thielbar 9 0 16 0 12 37 Sands 0 0 18 0 16 34 Castillo 0 0 0 32 0 32 Okert 16 0 0 12 0 28 Durán 17 0 0 0 0 17 Jax 14 0 0 0 0 14 View full article

The Saints returned to action at CHS Field on Wednesday after Tuesday's game was postponed. Specifically, Brooks Lee and Edouard Julien made their returns to the Saints and each had an impact. Wichita got a terrific start. They had a top prospect return to their lineup... and then exit the game a bit later. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Over the past weekend, MLB Pipeline updated their Top 100 Prospect rankings because Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford surpassed prospect eligibility. Most prospects moved up a spot, and Twins right-hander David Festa jumped into the #100 spot. Their rankings now include: #7 Walker Jenkins, #14 Brooks Lee, #31 Emmanuel Rodriguez, #83 Gabriel Gonzalez, #100 David Festa. On Wednesday, Baseball America updated their Top 100 Prospect Rankings. Here is where the Twins players lined up. #7 Walker Jenkins, #16 Emmanuel Rodriguez, #45 Brooks Lee, #66 Luke Keaschall, and #100 Zebby Matthews. CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 32-26 St. Paul Saints: 26-31 Wichita Wind Surge: 20-32 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 31-21 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 26-27 FCL Twins: 14-9 DSL Twins: 0-2 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Wichita activated RHP Zebby Matthews from the Development List. Jaylen Nowlin took his place on the Development List. In Fort Myers, Danny Moreno was placed on the 7-Day IL. RHP Jose Olivares - who tossed five shutout innings on Tuesday, was placed on the SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Syracuse 1 Box Score The storyline for this game was the return of Brooks Lee to the St. Paul lineup. And understandably so. One of the Twins top prospects was one of the last cuts from spring training but back spasms kept him off the field for six or seven weeks. He has been playing in rehab games in Fort Myers the past couple of weeks. A rainout on Tuesday pushed his return back a day. Lee grounded out to second base in his first at-bat. In the sixth inning, he drove in Austin Martin with a single to left field. Lee wasn’t the only storyline to come out of this game though. And, it didn’t take too long to find another. Edouard Julien returned to the Saints after being optioned by the Twins on Sunday. He led off the bottom of the first inning with a long drive to left field for a home run. That was his lone hit of the game, though it should be pointed out that he had zero strikeouts in four at-bats. Another story happened on the mound. Right-hander Caleb Boushley continued to pitch fantastic for the Saints. He improved to 6-1 on the season with seven strong innings. He gave up one run on four hits. It came on a solo homer to Trayce Thompson. Boushley had eight strikeouts without issuing a walk. Michael Helman had the big hit for the Saints offense. In the sixth inning, the Saints had just taken the 2-1 lead on Lee’s RBI single. Helman came to the plate and blasted his eighth home run of the year, a three-run shot that made it a 5-1 ballgame. Matt Wallner and Austin Martin were both 1-for-3 with a walk in the game. Since he was sent back to St. Paul, Martin has played in 13 games and hit .310/.492/.405 (.897) with a double and a homer. What we have been paying closest attention to has been his walk-to-strikeout rate. Over that time frame, he has 15 walks and just three strikeouts. Wallner has also been very good of late. In his past eight games with the Saints, he is hitting .296/.424/.852 (1.276) with three doubles, four home runs, and 10 RBI. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, NW Arkansas 2 Box Score Emmanuel Rodriguez was again out of the Wind Surge lineup. He had not played since last Sunday with a hand/thumb issue. He singled in his first at-bat and then had a hustle double in the third inning. On the play, he dove headfirst into second base and … well, Tom has the video here. Travis Adams pitched very well. He gave up one run on four hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out three batters. Regi Grace came on and gave up only an unearned run over two innings. He walked two batters and struck out two batters. Austin Brice worked the final two innings. He struck out six batters. The lone blemish was that he hit a batter. The Wind Surge scored three runs in the third inning. Following Rodriguez’s leadoff double, he advanced to third on a wild pitch. Jeferson Morales singled to drive in the team’s first run and tie the game. Morales stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. He scored on Tanner Schobel’s ninth double. With two outs, Jake Rucker switched spots with Schobel with his ninth double of the season. They added another run in the fifth inning. Luke Keaschall doubled and scored on a two-out single by Carson McCusker. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Great Lakes 10 Box Score This game was really just a story of one, half-inning. Great Lakes took advantage of an error to put together a six-run third inning. Christian MacLeod started. After two scoreless innings, he was charged with six runs (2 earned) in the third inning. In all, he went 2 2/3 innings and allowed five hits and four walks. Juan Mendez got the final out of the third inning and then worked two more scoreless frames. He had five strikeouts. Rafael Marcano gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in his inning. Finally, Sheldon Reed gave up two runs on one hit and two walks over two innings. The Kernels offense didn’t do much. In the fifth inning, a Ricardo Olivar single drove in Agustin Ruiz. In the ninth inning, Jay Harry knocked a two-run homer. Harry was the team’s leadoff hitter. He went 2-for-3 with two walks and the homer was his fourth of the season. Kevin Maitan went 2-for-3 with a walk. Former Twins first-round pick Noah Miller led off for Great Lakes. He went 2-for-4 with a walk and a home run. The 21-year-old was the Twins Competitive Balance pick after the first round in the 2021 draft. After this game, he is now hitting .249/.336/.369 (.705) with eight doubles and six home runs. Last year with the Kernels, he hit .223/.309/.340 (.649) with 20 doubles, five triples and eight home runs. In March, he went to the Dodgers in exchange for OF Manuel Margot infielder Rayne Doncon who was recently promoted to the Kernels. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Tampa 3 Box Score The Mussels scored three runs in the first inning, three more in the second inning, and then scored a combined three runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Jair Camargo, making another rehab start, led the offense. He went 3-for-4 with a double. He also worked behind the plate in the game. Walker Jenkins went 2-for-4 with a walk in this game, his first two hits of the season. He had a double, scored two runs and drove in two runs. The Mussels also got some solid performances on the mound. Ty Langenberg gave up one run on four hits and two walks over five innings. He had four strikeouts. Danny Moreno was charged with two unearned runs in the sixth inning. Ricky Castro came on and struck out four batters over three scoreless innings to record his first Save. In the first inning, Byron Chourio led off by reaching on an error. Then Jenkins singled. Camargo drove in a run with a single. Then Brandon Winokur drove in two runs with another single. In the second inning, Isaac Pena walked and stole second. Yohander Martinez singled him in. Following a Chourio walk, Jenkins knocked in two runs with a double. Gregory Duran knocked his third home run of the season to give the Mussels a 7-3 lead in the eighth. They added two more in the ninth inning on a Rixon Wingrove single. COMPLEX CHRONICLES DSL Twins 1, DSL Nationals 2 Box Score The Dominican Summer League schedule began on Monday. In fact, these two teams started on Monday. However, after two-and-a-half innings, the rains came and it was delayed. They completed the game on Wednesday. Anderson Chacon got the start on Monday. He went two innings and gave up a hit and a walk, but no runs. Melvin Rodriguez took over when the game resumed. He gave up two runs on four hits over 3 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five batters. Anderson Ramos got the final two outs of the sixth inning, one on a strikeout. The Twins managed just four hits in the game. Romiro Dominguez, Yandro Hernandez, Luis Rodriguez, and Davirik Fuenmayor each had a single. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Jay Harry (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, 2 BB, HR(4), R, 2 RBI. Pitcher of the Day – Caleb Boushley (St. Paul) - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K, 78 pitches, 53 strikes (68.0%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, BB, 2B(1), 2 R, 2 RBI #2 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - Game 2: 1-for-3, BB, RBI (rehab in FM, DHd) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 2-for-2, 2B(12), R (left with injury) #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, R, SB(3) #9 - Luke Keaschall (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B(2), R #10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, BB, RBI, SB(11) #13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(9), R, RBI, K. (played 3B) #18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 2 K #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2 K (DHd) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Syracuse @ St. Paul (DH @ 5:07 PM CST) - RHP Adam Plutko (0-1, 4.26 ERA), RHP Louie Varland (2-4, 4.30 ERA) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (DH @ 4:05 PM CST) - RHP Jarret Whorff (0-2, 3.80 ERA), LHP Aaron Rozek (1-3, 1.43 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Great Lakes (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Darren Bowen (2-2, 4.74 ERA) Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Tanner Hall (0-0, 2.45 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Tigers 2 (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

On Monday, June 3rd, the DSL Twins season was set to get underway. They did get started, but the game was suspended by inclement weather. Here is a look at the roster on Opening Day. Obviously this is a long way from the big leagues, so it's harder to know a ton about the players. I'll try to provide a little bit, but hopefully this forum thread will be a place where we can learn a bunch about them via scouting reports, highlights, video or more. Several of this group were kids signed in January or since then... some from the previous year. Pitchers Nestor Cafe: 11/6/2005 RHP 6-4, Aaron Carranza: 7/11/2005, RHP, 6-2 Enyer Cepeda: 10/27/2006, RHP, 5-9 Anderson Chacon: 9/5/2005, RHP, 5-11 Manuel Compres: 7/9/2005, RHP 6-4 Eudy Garcia: 3/14/2005, RHP, 6-6 Cristian Hernandez: 1/8/2005, RHP, 6-1 Fabian Herrera: 6/5/2005, RHP, 6-4 Daniel Manzueta: 2/22/2006, RHP, 6-1 Sebastian Pulido: 3/9/2006, RHP, 6-2 Anderson Ramos: 4/24/2006, RHP, 6-1 Melvin Rodriguez: 2/27/2006: RHP, 6-2 Santiago Rojas: 4/8/2007, RHP, 6-0 Leonardo Rondon: 5/17/2007, RHP, 5-10 Yoel Roque: 1/21/2007, RHP, 6-2 Jeicol Surumay: 1/9/2006, RHP, 6-3 Ledwin Tavares: 3/1/05, RHP, 6-2 Jose Vasquez: 12/12/04, RHP, 6-4 Aiberson Ventura: 11/23/2005, RHP, 6-4 Ramiro Villanueva: 5/14/2006, RHP, 6-0 Catchers Victor Leal: 9/29/2006 Irvin Nunez: 2/21/2006 Carlos Silva: 3/1/2006 ($1.1 million signing bonus in 2023, #31 by Pipeline, #23 by BA) Infielders Daiber De Los Santos: 10/6/2006 (Signed for $1.9 million, #8 ranked by MLB Pipeline) Ramiro Dominguez: 3/26/2007 Alver Medina: 2/11/2007 Luis Rodriguez: 3/6/2007 Guillermo Sosa: 1/29/2007 Nestor Urbina: 6/13/2007 Ruben Velazquez: 7/24/2007 Outfielders Eduardo Beltre: 10/10/2006 (Signed for $1.5 Million, #39 ranked by MLP Pipeline) Luis Fragoza: 10/26/2006 Davirik Fuenmayor: 5/1/2007 Yandro Hernandez: 5/13/2005 Merphy Hernandez: 12/12/2006 Ricardo Perez: 4/14/2007

Yennier Cano?

My assumption (or, educated guess?) is that on Tuesday Royce will be back with the Twins, Lee will head back to St. Paul and Jenkins will join the Mussels. Based on absolutely nothing but timelines and such.

St. Paul and Wichita both fell short again in losses. Fort Myers got a sweep against Bradenton while the FCL Twins offense showed up ready to go. Who hit? Who pitched? Image courtesy of William Parmeter CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 32-26 St. Paul Saints: 24-31 Wichita Wind Surge: 19-30 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 30-19 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 23-27 FCL Twins: 13-7 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Saints catcher Jair Camargo began a rehab assignment in the FCL. The Cedar Rapids Kernels placed RHP C.J. Culpepper on the 7-Day Injured List with a right forearm strain. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Rochester 11 Box Score The Twins current and previous Triple-A affiliates went back and forth in this one right from the start. The Saints scored four in the top of the first inning, but the Red Wings responded with three in the bottom of the inning. They added single runs in the second and fourth frames before putting a five-spot on the board in the fifth inning. St. Paul scored four runs in the eighth inning, but the comeback fell short. In the top of the first inning, following walks to Austin Martin and Matt Wallner, Michael Helman doubled in Martin. Wallner scored on an infield single by Tony Kemp. Two batters later, Chris Williams drove in two runs with a single. Things were pretty quiet until the top of the eighth inning. After a single by Yoyner Fajardo and a walk by Anthony Prato, Martin drove in Fajardo with a single. Wallner followed with a three-run homer, his eighth since joining the Saints. What a day for Michael Helman! He went 4-for-5 with three doubles in the game. Martin went 2-for-4 with a walk. Fajardo went 2-for-4 with a walk. David Festa started and went the first four innings. He was charged with five runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out five batters. Jeff Brigham was charged with three runs in 2/3 of an inning. He had three walks. Scott Blewett gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. Ronny Henriquez worked the final two innings and gave up a run on one hit and one walk. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Springfield 8 Box Score Pierson Ohl has been really good of late for Wichita, but Saturday’s start didn’t go so well. However, he still was able to give his team six innings. He was charged with six runs on nine hits. He had one walk and one strikeouts. John Stankiewicz came in and gave up two runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. He had one strikeout. Austin Brice got the final four outs of the game. He had a walk, but the outs all came on strikeouts. The Wind Surge had just six hits and three walks in the game. Aaron Sabato went 2-for-4 with his second home run. Jorel Ortega had two walks. Andrew Cossetti hit his 10th double. Emmanuel Rodriguez was again out of the Wind Surge lineup. He had not played since last Sunday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Lake County 11 Box Score Lake County scored 10 runs in the top of the first. However, if you want a positive, after that half-inning, the Kernels outscored them 3-1. Jeremy Lee started for the Kernels. He faced seven batters. He gave up seven runs on three hits, two walks, and two hit batters. Already at 32 pitches (14 strikes), Jose Mercedes came into the game. He allowed an inherited runner to score and was charged with three more runs on four hits. He had four strikeouts. He needed 31 pitches to get through the first inning, so his day was done as well. Again, after that, things went OK. Jay Harry led off the bottom of the first inning with his third home run of the season. AJ Labas gave up one run over four innings. Juan Mendez struck out four batters over two scoreless innings. Sheldon Reed had two strikeouts over two scoreless innings. Facing #OldFriend Steven Hajjar, Nate Baez scored on a Rubel Cespedes single for the Kernels’ second run. In the eighth inning, Misael Urbina scored on a ground out by Kyle Hess. He had advanced to third base on an Agustin Ruiz double. Cespedes went 2-for-3 with two walks and his 12th double. Baez was 2-for-4. In the bottom of the ninth, Dalton Shuffield was called out on strikes and immediately ejected. MUSSEL MATTERS Game 1: Fort Myers 3, Bradenton 1 Box Score These teams had their Thursday game postponed due to weather. It was made up in the first game of Saturday’s double header. On the mound for the Mussels was lefty Ross Dunn. He gave up an unearned run in the first inning and then tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out four batters. Ricky Castro came in for his first outing in the Twins organization. The first batter he faced reached on catcher’s interference. After that, it was six-up, six-down. In fact, he was credited with his first Win in affiliated ball. If you want to talk about dominance, Nolan Santos came on for the final two innings and recorded his fourth save of the season. He faced six batters and struck out all six of them. When I chatted with Mussels play-by-play voice John Vittas said of Santos, the Twins 7th round pick a year ago from Bethune-Cookman, “Santos has the makings of four really good pitches. His fastball is probably the worst one. It’s only 91-92. But his offspeeds are as polished and consistent as I’ve ever seen at this level. He’s got a curveball, a slider, and a change that are easily distinguishable.” The Mussels’ offense didn’t do much in Game 1 on Saturday. They had just four hits. Fortunately, they were able to bunch a couple of hits, a walk, and a wild pitch with a couple of Marauder errors to score three runs. That accounted for all of the game’s run scoring. Matthew Clayton singled. Gregory Duran walked. Yohander Martinez singled to right field. On the play, Clayton and Duran scored thanks to a throwing error that also sent Martinez to third base. He later scored on a wild pitch. Of the four hits, Rixon Wingrove’s double was the lone extra base hit. Clayton had the final and walked once. Game 2: Fort Myers 8, Bradenton 3 Box Score Unlike Game 1, the Mussels bats were much better in Game 2. They had 10 hits and seven walks in the game. Of the six innings in which they batted, Fort Myers scored in five of them. Poncho Ruiz led the way. He went 3-for-4 with his 10th double and two RBI. He even stole his first base. Payton Eeles was great as the instigator in the leadoff spot. He went 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored and two RBI. He even stole two bases. Carlos Aguiar was 2-for-3 in the game with a double. Brandon Winokur was 1-for-2 and had two walks. Charlee Soto was on the mound to start the game. He was charged with three runs on seven hits over just 2 2/3 innings. He had no walks but two strikeouts. Two of the hits were home runs though. Paulshawn Pasqualotto earned his first win by tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out four batters. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 16, FCL Red Sox 6 Box Score In baseball, when your team scores crooked numbers, that is a good thing. On Saturday, that’s just what the FCL Twins did on Saturday. They scored three runs in the first inning and then added seven more in the second innings. They scored one run in the third inning, none in the fourth, and five runs in the fifth inning. In case you were wondering, 37105 is the Zip Code for Lee County, North Carolina, an area of small-ish communities between Raleigh and Fayetteville. All nine Twins starters had at least one hit. All but one starting hitter had at least one walk. Walker Jenkins continued his rehab. In this game, he went 3-for-4 with a walk. Jair Camargo batted second and DHd in his first rehab appearance. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and a double. He was also hit by a pitch. Javier Roman went 2-for-4 with a walk. Anderson Nova launched his first home run of the season, a grand slam in the five-run fifth frame. Harold Grant drove in three runs with a double. He and Yilber Herrera each had two walks in the game. Grant had two stolen bases, and Herrera had one. 16 runs. 16 hits. 10 walks. It’s probably not worth worrying (or even mentioning) that they left nine runners on base and went 6-for-18 with runners in scoring position. On the mound, Dylan Questad had probably his best start. The lanky right-hander gave up one hit over three scoreless innings. He walked three and struck out five batters. Liam Rocha came on and worked the next three innings. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits and two walks. He had two strikeouts. Alejandro Crisotomoro started the seventh inning and gave up two runs. He gave up one hit and walked three batters. In addition, he threw three wild pitches. But he struck out two batters. Wilker Reyes came in to get the final out of the game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Michael Helman (Saints) - 4-for-5, 3-2B(9), R, RBI, SB(8), K. Pitcher of the Day – Nolan Santos (Mighty Mussels) - 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 30 pitches, 19 strikes (63.3%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. #1 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - 3-for-4, BB, 3 R (full game, CF, rehab in FCL) #2 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - Game 2: 1-for-3, BB, RBI (rehab in FM, DHd) #4 - David Festa (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 83 pitches, 53 strikes (63.9%) #7 - Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) - Game 2 (2.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 49 pitches, 36 strikes) #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, BB, 2 R, RBI #9 - Luke Keaschall (Wichita) - 1-for-4. #10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - Game 1 (DNP), Game 2 (1-for-2, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI) #12 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K #13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R, K. #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2 K (DHd) SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Rochester (12:05 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (3-4, 5.06 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Andrew Morris (0-1, 3.38 ERA) Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (1-3, 6.38 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (11:05 AM CST) - RHP Spencer Bengard (2-0, 1.31 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

Love this idea. Should help Paddack work through the year and maintain effectiveness. Can help Festa by getting him through his MLB debut and a couple of starts in June rather than August or September. Paddack could miss two starts. If Festa's doing OK, maybe they continue it and put SWR on the IL for 15 days to keep him strong...

don't respond. Don't respond... Don't respond... Ahhhhh... Le'ts let him play the field for a couple straight games and get back into game mode.

So, how does Keaschall doing well make the two-year-old trade right? Unless they trade Keaschall for Nick Lodolo or something, not sure how it relates.

could be back with the Saints a week or so (sometime around June 3-10th). They certainly aren't going to rush him up from there. Lewis is going to be back. Miranda should stick. Julien's not going anywhere. Correa is at SS. I can't see Lee getting called up until probably August, if at all, unless there is a major injury or two. Austin Martin can play 2B, and if not, he can play LF and CF and Castro can play any of those spots. Keirsey deserves it, but now on IL for hopefully not much more than a week. Maybe if he was right-handed, he'd be an option to replace Margot, but they're not dropping Margot anytime soon. Severino - Both Santana and Kirilloff would have to be out, could platoon with Miranda. It used to always be a thing to guess a September call-up, especially on bad teams. But now that only 2 roster spots open up in September, they aren't going to just call anyone up to call anyone up. They'll just use the two spots to rotate guys like Funderburk, Alcala, Staumont, Castillo, Varland over the summer and in September. E-Rod isn't likely to debut this year. Raya? Probably not. Though I don't care anymore about his workloads. A guy can be valuable at any level if he can do well for four innings at a time. don't expect him to come up yet this year. Festa is a guy that I might call up shortly for 2-3 starts to let a guy like Paddack miss 2-3 starts, and allow the other pitchers or other guys can skip a start or even just give some other guys an extra day or two.

I don't think any of those are terribly surprising... The reduction in # of players in an organization's minor league system is definitely altering things. Not totally sure how yet. I think all these indy league guys they're signing are part of it. I also think that there have been so many prospect injuries and several of them are starting to come back too.

Not sure if you have seen the new minor league report, but Keirsey went on the IL with a left calf strain. Love the com that has been mentioned. If Austin Martin can become what Chris Taylor has been in his career (until this year), that is an absolute win!

I'd add this too... Rose is mentioned in the Hall. He is acknowledged as the all-time hits leader. There are plenty pieces of his memorabilia in the Hall of Fame. He shouldn't get into the Hall of Fame... but he should be (and is!) recognized for aspects of his career.

Eight Men Out is such a great movie, and if it's factual, and Jackson did take money, and he did agree to it, then he shouldn't be in the HOF. Likewise, Rose literally bet on his own team's games as a manager. Absolutely can impact the game. I've heard some talk about how Rose should be in the HOF now for a couple of reasons. The big reason given is because MLB is totally promoting the betting sites. Bally's. Daily Sports betting. It's becoming legal in more and more states. But again, all that has nothing to do with the fact that Rose broke the rule that everyone knew the punishment.

Also, love The Monkees so much. The TV show was great. All of their music is amazing... And, in that song, I loved how it started out with some of the most mundane day-to-day activities: Oh, I could hide 'neath the wings of the bluebird as she sings. The six o'clock alarm would never ring. But it rings, and I rise Wipe the sleep out of my eyes. My shaving razor's cold, and it stings. Seriously, a great, popular classic song with a verse thinking what I think every morning... I don't want to get out from under my blankets. The alarm clock (or now alarm photo) noise options are so annoying, so I dread it going off. But it does! Uggh, and after hitting snooze, I eventually do wake up (mostly cuz I have to let the dog out... which answers that music question too). Would much rather go to sleep. So tired! Now granted, I don't shave ever with a razor, but I can imagine it would be cold... and since I take so long in between, there are tons of cuts and nicks, which really sting!

Cheer up, sleepy @mikelink45, Oh what can it mean, to a day dream believer and a homecoming queen...

For Vlad Guerrero?? He's a solid player. Hasn't been a great player since his one great year. He's very solid, and could help, but $19.9 million this year and another raise next year? The only reason they should give up anything more than Gabriel Gonzalez (if they even have to do that) is to try to get Toronto to eat some of his salary this year and next.