Seth Stohs

Calvin Christoforo is in his second season as the radio voice of the Cedar Rapids Kernels. He saw the Kernels win their first Midwest League championship in 29 years last year, and his year's team is playing really well too. Get to know a little about Calvin and a bunch about some very talented prospects on the Kernels roster. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Ricardo Olivar, Danny De Andrade, Gabriel Gonzalez, Dillon Tatum) The Kernels are off to a fast 38-26. They enter this week's games with a 1/2 game lead over Wisconsin in the Midwest League's Western Division. It is a roster that is filled by several very talented players, and that is after pitchers Zebby Matthews and Andrew Morris were promoted in recent weeks to Wichita. And now on Monday, second baseman Luke Keaschall was promoted to the Wind Surge. This conversation - from Friday afternoon - is a lot of fun and gives a good idea of the kind of talent on this roster. Enjoy! 1:00: This is Calvin’s second season with the Kernels, and he witnessed the Kernels’ first Midwest League championship in 29 years, and the 2024 team is playing great too. 1:45: We discussed C.J. Culpepper’s six innings of perfect baseball, how he looked and performed. Gabriel Yanez completed two perfect innings. Ricardo Velez has been as good as any pitcher in the Midwest League or in the Twins farm system this year. 4:35: Calvin discusses his background, what he did in high school to prepare. He went to Syracuse, known as one of the best journalism and broadcast schools in the country. 6:45: Do you check before a series to see which prospects are coming to town? 9:00: The Cedar Rapids Experience. 10:10: Syracuse has a very good journalism and broadcast reputation. 11:30: What advice would you give to a high school kid who might be considering a career in broadcasting? Most have told us to get in front of a mic and get repetitions, but Calvin’s advice is to take it to the next level. Find out what that is here. 13:50: Luke Keaschall is really good at baseball. In 44 games with the Kernels this year, he hit .335/.457/.544 (1.001) with 12 doubles, seven homers (6 leading off the first inning). He walked more than he struck out (30-29), and he was 14-for-15 in stolen base attempts. 18:10: Rubel Cespedes was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month in April, and he’s still been solid since then. He’s especially been good at driving in runs when they’re out there. In 41 games this year, he is hitting .318/.406/.530 (.936) with 10 doubles, two triples, and six home runs. He also has 37 RBI. 21:10: Ricardo Olivar is generally considered the top catching prospect in the Twins organization. The 22-year-old Venezuelan is hitting .295/.401/.496 (.897) with nine doubles and five home runs. 24:10: Gabriel Gonzalez and Danny De Andrade are both on the Injured List, and both have a chance to advance when healthy. 26:30: Kevin Maitan added to the roster. Rayne Doncon was just promoted from Fort Myers as a 20-year-old. 30:00: Zebby Matthews made for Kernels starts. Andrew Morris made seven starts for Cedar Rapids. Now both are in Wichita, but Calvin discusses those two along with Cory Lewis and CJ Culpepper. 33:15: John Klein leads the Kernels in starts. The Minnesota native has been really good signing signing last year. Darren Bowen came over to the Twins from the Mariners in the Jorge Polanco deals this spring. His stuff can be electric. We discuss both of them. Feel free to discuss the team, the players, or anything else. View full article

Calvin Christoforo took over as the radio voice or the Cedar Rapids Kernels before the start of the 2023 season. Since then, he's watched the team win their first Midwest League championship in nearly three decades, and they are off to a good start this year. We talk to him about his path up to this point in his career. The Kernels 2024 roster includes several Top 20 prospects including Luke Keaschall, Ricardo Olivar, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Danny De Andrade. Rubel Cespedes has been one of their best hitters all spring. We discuss those guys, plus the starting pitchers. Zebby Matthews and Andrew Morris were each promoted to Double-A recently. CJ Culpepper tossed six perfect innings. So much Kernel news to talk about! View full video

Royce Lewis played. David Festa Dominated. DaShawn Keirsey continues to do DaShawn Keirsey things. Check out everything else that happened Saturday in the minor-league parks. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge What a fun day Saturday was for the Twins and their minor-league affiliates. The big-league club got a huge, late-inning homer from Alex Kirilloff to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 win. Cole Sands tossed two scoreless to keep the game in reach for the dramatics in the bottom of the eighth inning. Royce Lewis made his first rehab appearance for the Saints in Rochester. Brooks Lee and Walker Jenkins combined for five hits in their rehab game on Saturday. David Festa stole the show for the Saints with help from DaShawn Keirsey. and Will Holland. The Surge got a bit of pop at the top of their lineup. CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 28-23 St. Paul Saints: 22-26 Wichita Wind Surge: 17-26 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 27-16 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 18-26 FCL Twins: 11-4 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Again, the big news is that Royce Lewis was officially sent on a rehab assignment to the Saints. They play Saturday and Sunday in Buffalo, and after Monday’s day off, they start a six-game series in Rochester. Important to remember: For position players, they can be on official rehab for up to 20 days. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Buffalo 0 Box Score Maybe David Festa was already in the bullpen when the memo came out? He must have not been around the clubhouse when the memo came out that said, “Royce Lewis is making his first rehab appearance. Please do what you can to make that the focal point of this game today.” OK, there was no memo, and knowing Royce, he is just fine being a part of a nice Saints win and would credit Festa and others with some big games. But nevertheless, Royce is back and that is a great thing for the organization. In this game, he batted second and was the team’s DH. He hit a 105 mph single in his first at-bat. Soon after, he stole second base. It will be interesting to see how his body responds in the morning. He could play third base on Sunday if he’s feeling alright. In all, he went 1-for-4 with a strikeout. OK, now let’s get to David Festa. What an impressive night he had for the Saints. Spencer Horwitz led off for Buffalo. He flied out to DaShawn Keirsey in right field for the first out of the bottom of the first inning. Festa ended that inning with two strikeouts. Then he struck out the side in the bottom of the second inning. He struck out the first two batters of the bottom of the third before ending the inning with a ground out. The seven consecutive strikeouts is a Saints record. In total, Festa tossed five shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked one, and struck out eight batters. He has had eight or more strikeouts in three of his four starts in May. In 10 starts this year, he is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA. he has a 1.33 WHIP. In 39 innings, he now has an impressive 60 strikeouts. He has issued 17 walks. After Festa, Jordan Balazovic came into the game. He tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and a walk, and he struck out two batters. Ryan Jenson got the final three outs, two of them via the strikeout. The Saints jumped out to a quick lead. With one out, Lewis singled and stole second. DaShawn Keirsey followed with an RBI single. With two outs, he stole second, his 15th steal of the year. After a Matt Wallner walk, Keirsey scored on a throwing error to make it 2-0. The Saints added three more in the second inning. Will Holland led off with a single. With one out, Austin Martin singled to third on a strange play that left Holland at third base and Martin at second. After Lewis popped out for the second out, Keirsey drilled his seventh homer of the season, a three-run shot that gave the team a 5-0 lead. A couple of insurance runs never hurt. Chris Williams led off the bottom of the seventh with a double and scored on Will Holland’s fourth home run of the season. Keirsey led the way. He was 2-for-5 with the homer and four RBI. Holland was 2-for-4 with the two-run homer. Williams and Tony Kemp each went 2-for-4 with a double. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, San Antonio 4 Box Score Wind Surge manager Ramon Borrego switched up his lineup on Saturday. He moved slugging outfielder Kala’i Rosario. The 2023 Midwest League MVP responded by going 2-for-4. In fact, he really got things going for Wichita with a first-inning, leadoff home run, his third homer of the season. Maybe it’s just because Emmanuel Rodriguez and Tanner Schobel got the day off. Kyler Fedko also had two hits, including his fourth double of the season. On the mound for the Wind Surge on Saturday was Minnesota native Aaron Rozek. The lefty actually had a no-hitter through the first three innings before giving up two runs in the fourth inning. The southpaw is an absolute workhorse for the Surge, so he got through 5 2/3 innings. In all, he gave up three runs on five hits and a walk. He had four strikeouts. First out of the ‘pen was John Stankiewicz who stranded two runners in that sixth inning. In the seventh, he gave up a run on three hits. Michael Paredes and Regi Grace each struck out one batter in a perfect inning. The Wind Surge had chances. They went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 6 Box Score Darren Bowen had a tough first start of the season, his first start in a new organization. However, since then, he has been very good. In this game, he completed six innings. He was charged with two runs on five hits. He had six strikeouts and no walks. In the top of the sixth inning, Rubel cut the Kernels’ deficit in half with his sixth home run. An inning later, Agustin Ruiz doubled and scored on a bunt single by Jose Salas. With the game now tied at two, Sheldon Reed came in and struck out two batters in a scoreless inning. AJ Labas pitched the eighth and gave up four runs on four hits to take the loss. I’m not sure what Peoria’s eight hitter, William Sullivan, did, but he went 1-for-1 in this game and was hit by a pitch three times, once by each Kernels’ pitcher. Misael Urbina went 2-for-4, the only Kernel with a multi-hit game. Ruiz and Kevin Maitan each hit a double. I know what you’re thinking. No mention yet of Luke Keaschall. Well, he played second base on Saturday and went 1-for-3 with two walks. The Kernels went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Daytona Beach 9 Box Score This was definitely a back-and-forth game. There were five lead changes in the first four innings. Fort Myers fell behind and kept scoring but came up just short. Down 1-0 after one inning, a Gregory Duran two-run home run gave the Mussels a 2-1 lead. However, after two innings, they found themselves down 3-2. In the top of the third inning, Kyle Hess hit a two-run homer, and a few batters later, Maddux Houghton hit a two-run homer to make it 6-3 Mussels. Unfortunately, Daytona scored one run in the bottom of the third and three more in the bottom of the fourth to take a 7-6. In the seventh, they extended the lead to 9-6. The Mussels scored one in the eighth inning when Poncho Ruiz scored on a wild pitch. Then in the ninth inning, Payton Eeles doubled in Brandon Winokur, but the comeback came up just short. Hess went 2-for-5 with his fourth double and second home run. (Did you know that the 25-year-old is the cousin of former big leaguer Chris Heisey?) Houghton was 2-for-4 with his second homer. Eeles went 2-for-5 with his sixth double. Duran’s homer was his second of the season. Matthew Clayton added his second double. Left-hander Ross Dunn started. He gave up three runs on five hits. In two innings, he walked two and struck out two batters. Jack Noble gave up four runs on five hits over the next two innings. Sam Perez came on and gave the team three innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. He had five strikeouts. Nolan Santos struck out one in a scoreless inning. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 10, FCL Red Sox 8 Box Score If you have an eight-run inning, there’s a decent chance you’re going to win the game. On Saturday, the FCL Twins waited until the top of the seventh (and final) inning to have their eight-run inning. The FCL Red Sox scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Twins 2023 fifth-round pick Dylan Questad started, and he only got two outs. He gave up four hits and walked two batters. He had two strikeouts. He faced eight batters and with six of them either walking or striking out, the pitch count mounted too quickly. Liam Rocha came on with two runners on but those runners did not score. However, over the next three innings, Rocha was charged with three runs on three hits and three walks. He had five strikeouts. Alejandro Crisostomo gave up a run on a walk (and a balk and a wild pitch) in his inning. He had two strikeouts. Mitch Stone struck out two in his inning. Wilker Reyes picked up his second save with two strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh. The Twins were behind 7-0 when they came to bat in the top of the fifth inning. Amilcar Vasquez led off with a single to left. Moises Lopez and Brooks Lee walked to load the bases. After a Jenkins strikeout, a Wild Pitch scored the team’s first run. Yasser Mercedes walked to re-load the bases. Then Dameury Pena walked to score the second run. Going to the seventh (final) inning, the Twins were down 8-2. With one out, consecutive walks to Dameury Pena, Jayson Bass and Omari Daniel loaded the bases. Hendry Chivilli singled in one run. Vasquez then singled in one run. A Moises Lopez walk made it 8-5. Still one out, there was a pitching change. A balk brought in Chivilli. Brooks Lee singled to score a run and it was 8-7. Walker Jenkins came through with a game-tying single to right. Lee advanced to third, so Jenkins stole second. Mercedes worked another walk and on the fourth ball, a wild pitch allowed Lee to score the go-ahead run. Dameury Pena grounded to third, but Jenkins (who advanced to third on the wild pitch) was able to score. That’s an eight-run inning. Eight runs on four hits and five walks. In total, the Twins had 10 hits and 10 walks. They were 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Brooks Lee went 3-for-4 with a walk. Jenkins went 2-for-5. He also stole two bases. Amilcar Vasquez was 3-for-4 with a double, the team’s lone extra base hit. Moises Lopez was 0-for-1 but walked three times. Dameury Pena was 1-for-3 with two walks. Yasser Mercedes was 0-for-2 but walked twice and stole two bases. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - DaShawn Keirsey (Saints) - 2-for-4, HR(7), 2, 4 RBI, K, SB(15). Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Saints) - 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 80 pitches, 60 strikes (62.5%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the just-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. #1 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - 2-for-5, R, RBI, K, 2-SB (DH, FCL Rehab) #2 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 3-for-4, BB, R, RI, K (SS, FCL Rehab) #4 - David Festa (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 80 pitches, 50 strikes (62.5%) #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, R, #9 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, #10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 1-for-1, R (PH) #12 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 2-for-4, BB, HR(3), R, RBI, K #18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, K #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, K THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Buffalo (12:05 PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland (1-2, 4.57 ERA) San Antonio @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (2-2, 3.86 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Jeremy Lee (first Kernels start) Fort Myers @ Lakeland (11:00 AM CST) - RHP Charlee Soto (0-2, 6.97 ERA) FCL Twins - No Games on Sunday Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 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Triple-A. One step from the big leagues. Prospects and minor-league veterans combine, all looking to either reach the big leagues or get back to The Show. Sean Aronson has seen a lot of baseball in his quarter-century of covering baseball. We caught up with him to discuss a number of topics including many on the 2024 Saints roster. Image courtesy of Gray Wolfe Media, Twins Daily Sean Aronson became the voice of the St. Paul Saints in 2007. He had worked for the Fort Myers Miracle for four years before that. We caught up with Aronson and discussed his career and many of the prospects playing for the Saints. There are several veterans on the roster who could contribute to the Twins as needed. There are some younger players that could be part of a long-term future in the organization. 0:50: Sean had just finished calling two Saints games in Buffalo, New York. The resumed game had the Saints winning 18-3. They had 15 hits, 15 walks, and a hit batter. Fortunately, the regularly-scheduled game was just seven innings and a 5-1 score. 2:25: Austin Martin is an on-base machine. 4:45: What does DaShawn Keirsey need to do to get to the big leagues? If he was right-handed, would he already be up with the Twins? 7:55: Matt Wallner and Yunior Severino have both really struggled at the plate this season. Is it just about making contact and putting the ball in play? Sean’s answer is really interesting. There are two very different responses about the struggles of the two players. Here is the full 45 minute interview for you to enjoy. 12:15: Sean’s Background in Broadcasting. He grew up listening to legends such as Vin Scully and Chick Hearn. He knew when he was eight or nine years old that this is what he wanted to do. 14:46: What would you recommend a high school kid considering a career in sports broadcasting, and how has that changed over 25 years? He acknowledges he didn’t take a traditional route. 19:45: Twins have some great radio and TV voices. Sean took over for Kris Atteberry with the Saints. 22:15: Sean has called games in independent baseball, including Northern League and American Association championship teams. He’s covered High-A ball in Fort Myers. And now he’s in his fourth year covering the Saints as a Triple-A team in affiliated ball. How do the leagues and the talent-levels compare? 26:50: Gilberto Celestino’s Saints Saga. 28:35: Triple-A is such a unique level. You’ve got prospects, and you’ve got veterans hanging on and hoping for an opportunity for one more shot. Sean, being the Los Angeles guy that he is, explains Triple-A by comparing it to actors and actresses in a movie. 33:00: Chris Williams has always had good power, but how good is he defensively, and could we see him in the big leagues this season? 36:00: Update on Jair Camargo? 36:45: We have seen RHP Caleb Boushley called up and sent down twice already this season. Sean says there are at least two more veteran relievers that could contribute if called up. 39:45: Sean hosted a hot stove banquet in St. Paul with Derek Falvey and Rocco Baldelli. Aronson said that he believes the ABS Challenge system will be in MLB baseball within the next couple of seasons. We can only hope. Get out to CHS Field for a game on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and you will see the ABS Challenge system in action. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the ABS system is used and tells them umpire what every pitch is. Feel free to discuss any of Sean’s responses. So much good information on some of the most intriguing players on that St. Paul roster. These guys are just one call away from being on the Twins roster. View full article

Seth chatted with Saints broadcaster Sean Aronson after a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon. He has been with the Saints since 2007 and spend four seasons with the Fort Myers Miracle before that. Austin Martin had a record-breaking day for the Saints. What does DaShawn Keirsey need to do to get a call up? Matt Wallner and Yunior Severino have generally struggled this year, but Aronson thinks that those struggles could be for two different reasons, which is really interesting. The Saints pitching staff has some quality prospects in it, but the Twins have also sent them several veterans (who have also had their ups and downs). And, who are some names to remember as potential call ups to the Twins that we aren't talking about? View full video

Winokur is hitting .254/.321/.401 (.722) in the Florida State League as a 19.5 year old player. The average hitter in the FSL is hitting .230/.332/.343 (.675) with an average age of 21.0 years old. So, he's 10-11% better than league average batting average, about 3% below average on-base percentage, and about 17% better than league average slugging... and he's 1 1/2 - 2 years younger than the average player. Now, as we notice by his OPS going up 36 points in one day (a 2-for-4 with a double and homer), it also shows that in general, he's been a league average player in the FSL despite his youth. To be that young and hold your own at that level is more impressive than the numbers by themselves. And, I would add, he's doing that while moving around between SS, CF, 3B and RF (and some DH). He's got so much upside and potential.

Here was my official vote: Walker Jenkins Brooks Lee Emmanuel Rodriguez Austin Martin Gabriel Gonzalez David Festa Charlee Soto Luke Keaschall Marco Raya Zebby Matthews Kala'i Rosario Brandon Winokur Simeon Woods Richardson Danny De Andrade Andrew Morris Ricardo Olivar Cory Lewis CJ Culpepper Jose Rodriguez Jair Camargo

For me there really is one big difference, but I understand the point. If Keirsey was doing what he was doing at St. Paul now, but he was 23, he'd be a top ten prospect easily, but because he is 27, he's not. For me, the difference is just that Keirsey just keeps getting better and better. Considering his major college injury and missing fairly significant time his first couple of pro seasons (not to mention 2020), he continues to make strides at the plate. Adding some power. Getting on base. And no one can really question what he can do on defense. Honestly, if he was right-handed, he'd be up. It may be that simple. The fact that he's behind all the big league guys (including Kepler, Larnach and Kirilloff - and Margot and Buxton and Castro), and at AAA, he's behind Martin because of the 40-man roster. Plus Wallner at St. Paul.

The Top 20 Minnesota Twins Prospect rankings have been updated on our site. Thanks to all who voted. The big risers were a couple of pitchers putting up impressive numbers. Lots of injuries though. How do you feel about the updated vote? Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge Over the past couple of weeks, we have had open prospect voting for Twins Daily writers and for the community. The results of the rankings have now been updated on the site. Here is a brief summary. The last time that we had a vote for Twins Daily’s Top 20 Prospect rankings was in February. In many cases, there was minimal change from the end of the 2023 season. Players acquired or lost in a trade can create change. Maybe a solid prospect does something remarkable in the Winter Leagues. Or maybe a report comes out about a pitcher at Instructional League suddenly hitting 99 mph rather than 95. Or an injured player works his way back. With the mid-May voting, we now have six or seven weeks of 2024 performances by hitters and pitchers. Some players get off to fast starts. Others start out slow. There are injuries and promotions. In other words, we all have more data points for helping us better rank those players. You can find all kinds of stats online, which is great. But you can also watch games online and see the players or attend games at minor-league parks. With that, we did have the Twins Daily writers rank their top 20 prospects first, and then we opened it up to the community rankings. We truly do thank you for taking time to rank prospects. Those rankings were used in conjunction with the writers vote in a formula to give us the updated rankings you can see today. Let’s get to some of the interesting things we find within the updated rankings. GRADUATION: Kody Funderburk He wasn’t in the Top 20 prospect, but he received lots of votes last time. He has surpassed the service time limits. At about 40 innings, Simeon Woods Richardson is just a couple of solid starts from graduation as well. The only other “prospects” to spend time this year with the Twins are Austin Martin and Jair Camargo. Martin is at 76 at-bats, but since he has been a role player, he is likely to pass the service time threshold first. Camargo was only up for about a week, so he’s got plenty of “prospect-dom” remaining. BIGGEST RISERS: Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews Woods Richardson was a top 10 prospect from the time he joined the Twins organization in the Jose Berrios trade until he struggled mightily early in the 2023 season. He fell down to #20 at season’s end due to concerns about his control and lack of velocity. This year, he’s come back throwing harder, with a new arm angle, and much improved changeup and breaking balls. In addition, he has found success at times already this year in the big leagues which gets people excited. Of players who were not previously ranked, Zebby Matthews has made the biggest jump, up to #14 in this ranking. He had a very nice full-season debut in 2023, but in 2024, he has been really, really good. He made four starts in Cedar Rapids and now two starts in Wichita. Combined, he is 4-0 with a 1.31 ERA. In 34 1/3 innings, he has 43 strikeouts and is yet to issue a walk. By mid-season, he could easily be in the Top 10. BIGGEST DROP: Cory Lewis, C.J. Culpepper, Matt Canterino Out of site, out of mind, I guess. In 2023, Lewis was one of the biggest stories of the Twins minor-league system. He was the Twins (and Twins Daily) Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Unfortunately, his season was initially delayed by an arm injury that was deemed fairly minor. However, a few weeks ago, he was shifted from the 7-Day IL to the 60-Day IL. Apparently that was enough for him to fall from #8 to #15. C.J. Culpepper was intriguing enough that Baseball America ranked him as the Twins #10 prospect before the season. Culpepper pitched in 86 innings over 21 starts. He had 89 strikeouts to just 31 walks. He split the season between Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids. In 11 Mussels stars, he posted a 2.33 ERA. In 10 Kernels starts, he posted a 4.99 ERA. He has missed some time already this season. In five more Kernels starts, he has a 3.38 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings. These two (along with Kyle Jones who had an appendectomy in spring training and is also on the 60-Day IL) have been overshadowed this season by Matthews and Andrew Morris, but both are still legit big-league talents. Lewis has the mid-90s fastball with a knuckleball. Culpepper has six quality pitches. Twins fans were so excited about the return of Matt Canterino after missing so much time with elbow issues and recovering from Tommy John surgery. He ranked #17. He pitched well in limited spring training appearances. We knew he would get a chance to make starts, but maybe he could work out of the Twins bullpen in August and September. When the season started, it was announced that he was going on the 60-Day IL with a shoulder issue. You just can’t help but feel bad for him. That said, if he is able to come back in the next few weeks or even a month, he could be used in the bullpen still, but we just don’t know. He fell from #17 to ‘outside the top 25.” The Next Five: Andrew Morris (#21), Rayne Doncon (#22), Yasser Mercedes (#23), DaShawn Keirsey (#24), Rubel Cespedes (#25). I admit, I begged the committee to increase our Top 20 rankings to a Top 25 list, but I lost. However, this group of five is as interesting and as exciting as maybe any of the other groups of five, even including #1-5. Morris was just promoted to Double-A and made his first start there on Tuesday night. In seven Kernels starts, he went 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA. He had 43 strikeouts and seven walks in 37 2/3 innings. The former fourth-round pick is just 22. Doncon came to the Twins from the Dodgers in the Manuel Margot/Owen Miller trade. The 20-year-old started the season in Fort Myers. In 38 games, he hit .283/.374/.464 (.838) with 13 doubles and four homers. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids this week. Mercedes signed with the Twins in January of 2022 for $1.7 million. He hit .355 with a .975 OPS, 13 doubles, three triples, and four home runs. He also had 30 stolen bases. He struggled in his States debut last year, hitting just .196 with four doubles and four homers in 25 games. He also missed the final few weeks with injury. This season, he is now hitting .422/.480/.711 (1.191) with three doubles, two triples, two homers and seven steals in 12 games. Keirsey just turned 27, but he just continues to improve, and he’s been able to stay healthy. He has easily been the Saints best player this season. In 40 games, he has hit .282/.384/.513 (.897) with 10 doubles, four triples and six homers. He also has 11 steals. Not to mention that he’s certainly the best defensive center fielder in the organization (other than Buxton… probably). Cespedes was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month in April and has continued to produce in May. The 23-year-old corner infielder is hitting .331/.414/.544 (.958) with 10 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 36 RBI. The Big Story: Injuries If there is one big theme to the Twins farm system so far in 2024, it has to involve injuries. Looking at the updated rankings, #1 Walker Jenkins and #2 Brooks Lee have been out all year to this point. Jenkins hurt his hamstring early in Game 1. Lee had back spasms just before the season began. They both began their rehab time clocks in the FCL on Monday. #3 Emmanuel Rodriguez missed just over a week with a wrist issue. He didn’t go to the IL, but he missed seven or eight games. #5 Gabriel Gonzalez left a game with back spasms. He didn’t go on the IL until about 10 days later and he remains on the list. Then about two weeks later, Danny De Andrade sprained his ankle and went on the IL. #15 Cory Lewis has been out all season, which stinks after such a great professional debut a year ago. #17 Connor Prielipp had another elbow procedure done in the middle of last season and hasn’t pitched since. Matt Canterino pitched well in spring training and we were all excited to see him, but as the season began, we learned he was having some shoulder issues. I find it strange that Lewis and Canterino dropped seven or eight spots in our rankings while Prielipp moved up a spot. Again, thank you to all who ranked prospects this time around. We will re-rank again sometime around the draft. What do you think? Before or after? And, what do you think of the updated rankings? What sticks out to you? Here’s one more look at our rankings. For more on each player, click here. #1 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - FCL Rehab #2 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - FCL Rehab #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) #4 - David Festa (St. Paul) #5 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – IL #6 - Marco Raya (Wichita) #7 - Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) #9 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) #10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) #11 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) #12 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) #13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) #14 - Zebby Matthews (Wichita) #15 - Cory Lewis (Wichita) - IL #16 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) - IL #17 - Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) - IL #18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) #19 - C.J. Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) View full article

I think Meatloaf would agree that a 51:1 ratio is still pretty good. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Ty Langenberg) Birthday boy Zebby Matthews gave up one earned run and struck out eight batters, and yet he wasn't named the Pitcher of the Day. Payton Eeles and Kyler Fedko each had three-hit games, but someone else was named Hitter of the Day. Find out how the four full-season Twins affiliates played on Wednesday. Before we do that, take a look at the affiliates' updated re CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 26-23 St. Paul Saints: 19-25 Wichita Wind Surge: 16-24 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 25-15 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 18-23 FCL Twins: 8-4 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS In a rarity, there were no transactions made on Wednesday (at least officially). SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul, Buffalo (suspended, top of third) Box Score It was a very good start for the Saints in Buffalo on Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately, we won’t get to see how it finishes until Thursday. Just a few things to note. -The game will resume on Thursday morning with two outs in the top of the third inning. Matt Wallner will be on second base and Yunior Severino (who is 2-for-2 so far in this game) will be on first base. -Veteran Tony Kemp gave the Saints a 3-0 lead in the top of the second innings when his third home run since joining St. Paul. Severino and Chris Williams scored on the play. -Randy Dobnak started and pitched two innings. He gave up one hit and walked one batter. He also struck out two batters. -The game will resume on Thursday at 10:05 (central time). The regularly-scheduled game will be seven innings and will begin 30-minutes after the resumed game is completed. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, San Antonio 4 (10 innings) Box Score Zebby Matthews was on the mound again for the Wind Surge in this game. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits over six innings. He had one walk and struck out eight batters. He ended up with a no decision, but his Surge ERA is now 1.02. And yes, I can try to just pass by it, but you read it correctly. Zebby Matthews issued a walk for the first time this year. With the six innings, he now had 51 strikeouts and one walk overall this season in 40 1/3 innings. Ray-Patrick Didder walked to lead off the top of the fifth inning. That means that Matthews went 38 1/3 innings before that first walk. Amazing, truly! John Stankiewicz struck out two, and walked one batter over two scoreless, hitless innings. Wichita got on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Emmanuel Rodriguez led off with a walk. Tanner Schobel’s eighth double advanced E-Rod to third base. Next up was Noah Cardenas who doubled to score both runners. San Antonio tied it in the fourth, but in the bottom of the fifth, the Wind Surge reclaimed the lead. Kyler Fedko led off with a single. He advanced to third on a single by Rodriguez. Tanner Schobel hit a fly ball to center field, deep enough to drive in Fedko with the go-ahead run. Taylor Floyd came in for the ninth inning. He started things off with a walk, but that was followed by a force out for the first out. Floyd then issued another walk, but it was followed with a strikeout for the second out. However, Floyd hit a batter to load the bases. Ramon Borrego turned things over to veteran Jared Solomon. Unfortunately, he walked the first batter he faced which tied the game. He kept it tied by getting a ground out to end the ninth. As the inning came to a close, Solomon was ejected. The Kernels went scoreless in the bottom of the ninth inning. Regi Grace came into the game for the 10th inning. He got a pop out for the first out, but Cole Cummings dropped a soft bloop single into left field to score Clay Dungan with the go-ahead run. That was it for the scoring, but the Wind Surge had to score a run to keep the game going or score two runs to win. Schobel started the inning at second base. After a strikeout, Kala’i Rosario singled on a ground ball off of the pitcher. Unfortunately, a double play ended the game. Kyler Fedko went 3-for-4. Rosario was 2-for-4. Jeferson Morales was 2-for-4 with his seventh double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 3 Box Score Both teams scored a run in the first inning. Both teams scored a run in the fifth inning. Peoria messed up the plan when they scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to end the game. Luke Keaschall continued to rake and get things going right away. For the fourth time this season, he led off the first inning of a Kernels game with a home run. In this game, he went 3-for-5 and drove in both runs. In the fifth inning, he hit a single to drive in Nate Baez who had tripled. Baez was 2-for-4 in the game. Rayne Doncon added his first Kernels double. John Klein made the start for the Kernels. He gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters. Jacob Wosinski got five outs. He finished the sixth, the seventh and got one out in the eighth. Kyle Bischoff got the final two outs of the eighth inning without allowing any runs. However, in the bottom of the ninth inning, a double was followed by a walkoff single by William Sullivan. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Daytona Beach 1 Box Score The Mussels scored first and early, but not often. Fortunately, it was just enough to earn a win on Wednesday. In the top of the first inning, Payton Eeles singled and stole second base. Byron Chourio walked. Brandon Winokur flew out to left field, deep enough for Eeles to tag and advance to third base. Then came a double steal. Chourio stole second base and Eeles stole home for the first run. Chourio stole third base (his eighth of the season) and scored on a ground-rule double by Kyle Hess. That was it for the Mussels scoring. They had base runners but went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left six on base. Eeles led the way. He was 3-for-4 with his fourth double. He had three steals and now has six since joining the Mussels. Hess and Maddux Houghton each had a double. Fortunately, the Mussels got great pitching from a couple of 2023 Day 3 draft picks. Ty Langenberg started and gave up one run on five hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out a career-high nine batters. The Urbandale, Iowa, native has been getting better with each start. A suburb of Des Moines, Langenberg's family is likely looking forward to getting him back in-state. I’m sure those in Cedar Rapids are looking forward to him playing for the Kernels after he spent three years in Iowa City pitching for the Hawkeyes. Xander Hamilton has had some ups and downs already this season, but when he’s on, he can dominate. He faced nine batters over the final three innings, five on strikeouts to earn the save. 22 of his 27 pitchers were strikes. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, HR(6), R, 2 RBI, K. Pitcher of the Day – Ty Langenberg (Fort Myers) - 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K, 82 pitches, 57 strikes (69.5%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the just-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB, R #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-2 before game suspended #9 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, HR(6), R, 2 RBI, K #10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4. #11 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) - 4 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 77 pitches, 48 strikes (62.3%) #12 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 2-for-5, K #13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B(8), R, RBI, K #14 - Zebby Matthews (Wichita) - 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. 80 pitches, 55 strikes (68.8%) #18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-for-2, R before game suspended. #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, K (played LF) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Buffalo (10:05 AM CST) - Conclusion of Game 1, Game 2: RHP Adam Plutko (first Saints start) San Antonio @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (2-2, 4.76 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (1-0, 3.38 ERA) Fort Myers @ Lakeland (11:00 AM CST) - RHP Tanner Hall (0-0, 5.40 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (11:00 AM) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

He definitely has been that guy since signing. Remember after he was drafted, spent time at the end of the year with the Saints and did well. He was a 5-year college guy, drafted in the 10th round as a senior sign. He's mature and obviously knows a lot about the game and isn't going to be overwhelmed. Ernie Yake has been that guy too. He got released this spring. Might be tougher yet with catchers. They just need so many, especially in spring training and in the Extended Spring/FCL. Catcher is such a tough position physically, they like to have three at each level, but there are always a couple of guys that float all over. Kyle Schmidt has been that guy. He retired at the end of last season and really quickly ended up coaching in the Red Sox organization. Frank Nigro was that guy too, playing anywhere over the past 2-3 years, from St. Paul to the FCL and everywhere in between. Certainly not a glamorous position in the organization. Those guys have to be very respected. And they have to know their role and long-term chances, but they're also getting some great opportunities to get paid .

I like Willie. He's a great dude, works really hard and has a ton of athleticism and potential. But, when we consider his AA time last year, we need to put that into context. He spent the last month or so with the Wind Surge. Wichita needed some bodies to fill their roster. Cedar Rapids heading into the playoffs and they didn't want to take any of the regulars from that lineup. Garry wouldn't have played for the Kernels in the playoffs, so he moves up to AA to fill the spot.

Thank you so much to all of you who voted. Incredibly impressed by the tremendous turnout this round. We'll be taking this information and applying it to the prospect list in the coming days. Keep an eye out for it! The ranking you see below is from the Community. It will be consolidated with the votes of the Twins Daily minor-league writers that voted for the official rankings that you'll see on the Prospect List. Ranked ProspectsWalker JenkinsBrooks LeeEmmanuel RodriguezDavid FestaMarco RayaGabriel GonzalezCharlee SotoAustin MartinLuke KeaschallBrandon WinokurSimeon Woods RichardsonZebby MatthewsTanner SchobelKala'i RosarioDanny De AndradeCory LewisYasser MercedesCJ CulpepperConnor PrielippYunior Severino

MIranda has been healthy and I would say he's looked just fine at third base this year. I'm comfortable with Castro in LF, CF, 3B, SS... no worries there. And, it's impossible to believe that Martin has enough innings to be that low. Kinda destroys my confidence in these defensive stats. Not saying he's been good, but he's certainly not bad out there. If he had played short, maybe.

And, along with Wittgren, they've signed another Cleveland starter, Adam Plutko. He's working in Fort Myers to get ready for an assignment somewhere.

Adding Varland and Alcala to the bullpen would make a ton of sense, though I definitely get sticking with Varland as a starter. As for the SP mentioned: Mejia was nothing like the others. The Twins were in a different spot during those years and needed guys who could eat innings while other guys were developed. Now, instead of going to veterans with no upside but innings eaters, they are trusting the likes of Ryan, Ober, Varland, SWR, Festa, and eventually Raya (and some others like Matthews, Morris, Ohl, etc.). The Jackson signing was baffling to me right from the start (other than it being that Jharel Cotton role). Dyson was really good until that trade and he let people know he was hurt... and we found out he's a horrible person. Robles and Colome were solid pitchers. Barraclough was just like 99% of all minor-league free agent reliever signings. Every year, every team signs a few of them and hopes they don't have to use them too much and if they do, hopefully one turns out really good (like Brock Stewart, Caleb Thielbar when he came back to the org, etc.). I don't know who Barnes is. Totally blanking on relievers with that name.

Do you want him as the right-handed, fourth outfielder? Honestly, I think if Keirsey hit right-handed (or switch-hit), he'd be up now. But he's left-handed, just like Kepler and Larnach and Kirilloff and Wallner (and Castro is a switch-hitter). He deserves to be up with someone.

In general, it was a pretty disappointing day in the Twins organization, especially on offense. However, a couple of Kernels really put up some great at-bats on Saturday. And a lefty starter continues to be incredibly intriguing. There were some transactions to go with reports from six games. Find out all that happened in the Twins Minor League Report. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily As you likely noticed, on Friday night and Saturday, we had some rather annoying and frustrating website issues. Fortunately, we believe those have been resolved, and we won’t have any issues for a long time. Because of that, I’m going to encourage you to check out Friday’s Minor League Report because it was written and ready to post on Friday night but didn’t get published until Saturday afternoon. . CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 24-18 St. Paul Saints: 18-24 Wichita Wind Surge: 16-21 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 23-14 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 15-23 FCL Twins: 7-3 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins activated OF Byron Buxton from the Injured List and optioned OF Austin Martin to St. Paul. The Twins released RHP A.J. Alexy . Wichita activated RHP Travis Adams from the 7-Day IL. Fort Myers placed OF Jose Rodriguez on the 7-Day IL and activated infielder Yohander Martinez. SAINTS SENTINEL Resumed Game: St. Paul 4, Omaha 2 Box Score This game started on Friday night but in the middle of the fourth inning, it was tied 2-2 at that time so the game was suspended and started again on Saturday afternoon. On Friday, David Festa gave up two runs on four hits and two walks over four innings. He had four strikeouts. When play resumed on Saturday, Ronny Henriquez came in and struck out three batters over two scoreless, one-hit innings. Scott Blewett faced six batters over two perfect innings. He had two strikeouts. Jorge Alcala came on and threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his first Saints save of the season. The Saints got their two runs on Friday in the second inning when Tony Kemp hit his second homers since joining the team last month. Alex Isola scored on it. Isola reached on a double. With the score still tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Michael Helman’s sixth homer of the season scored DaShawn Keirsey ahead of him and gave the team a 4-2 lead. Helman played the hero. He had two of the team’s four hits including the game-winning homer. Keirsey reached base on a walk and was hit by a pitch. Game 2: St. Paul 2, Omaha 4 Box Score Earlier this week, we learned that the Twins signed veteran left-handed pitcher Caleb Baragar to a minor-league deal and assigned him to St. Paul. He made his first start in the regularly-scheduled game on Saturday. An error cost him a bit in a three-run second inning. He was charged with three runs (1 earned) on six hits over 3 2/3 innings. He had six strikeouts and no walks. Austin Schulfer came on and got the final out of the fourth inning, stranding two baserunners. Nick Wittgren gave up a hit and issued a walk in a scoreless sixth inning. Hobie Harris worked the seventh inning and gave up one run on a solo homer. Down 3-0, Chris Williams put the Saints on the board when he hit his third home run of the season. In the bottom of the third frame, Michael Helman hit a solo home run to make it 3-2. That was it for the Twins scoring. Again, they had just two runs, and Michael Helman had two of the team’s four total hits (including another homer). WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Tulsa 4 Box Score The Surge certainly put themselves in a good position to steal a win in Oklahoma, but the ninth-inning threat came up just short. The teams exchanged runs in the second inning. Jake Rucker drove in Kala’i Rosario with a line drive single to left field. Tulsa scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Wind Surge responded in the top of the seventh frame with two runs of their own. Jorel Ortega’s first home run of the season drove in Rucker and tied the game at 3-3. However, Tulsa added a run in the bottom of the seventh on a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-3. Yes, I will get to that final play… But first… Travis Adams came off of the IL to make the start. He gave up one run on three hits over three innings. He had two strikeouts and no walks. Regi Grace gave up two hits and a walk, but he struck out two batters over his two scoreless innings. Jarret Whorff came in for the sixth inning. A walk, an RBI double, and an RBI single gave Tulsa that 3-1 lead. Ortega tied it, and Whorff went back out for the seventh inning. The right-hander walked the bases loaded. Miguel Rodriguez came in. He walked the first batter he faced to force in the go-ahead run for Tulsa. But Rodriguez settled in. He got a ground out to third, an out recorded at home. He got a strikeout for the second out and a fly out for the third out. Holding them to one run here was a very impressive feat. Alright, let’s go to the bottom of the ninth. Resetting the table, the Wind Surge were down 4-3. Jake Rucker led off with a walk, and Alerick Soularie came on to pinch run. Ortega singled with Soularie going to third. Ortega moved up to second on the throw. Runners on second and third, no out, down a run. The pitcher left the game with an injury. Emmanuel Rodriguez pinch hit for Ben Ross. Unfortunately, he struck out. Carson McCusker pinch hit for Kyler Fedko, and he struck out. Finally, Jeferson Morales struck out to end the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Quad Cities 6 Box Score The Kernels jumped ahead early. Through four innings, they had a 6-0 lead. However, Quad Cities scored four runs in the top of the eighth and two runs in the top of the ninth to tie it. Of course, that allowed the Kernels to win in a walk off! Luke Keaschall gave the Kernels the very early lead with a home run to lead off the bottom of the first. With one out, Rubel Cespedes hit a triple and scored on a single to left by Jay Harry. The Kernels added two more in the third inning. Ricardo Olivar hit a one-out, solo home run to make it 3-0. With two outs, the Kernels got singles from Harry and Kevin Maitan. Misael Urbina followed with a single to center to drive in Harry with the fourth run. In the fourth frame, the Kernels powered their way to two more runs. With two outs, Keaschall hit another solo homer, his fifth of the season. Olivar followed with his second homer of the game and fifth home run of the season. Let’s jump over to the Kernels’ pitching on Saturday. Lefty Christian MacLeod made the start. He tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, issued a walk, hit a batter and had one strikeout. He reached the 50 pitch count, with 30 strikes. Jordan Carr came on and had a very nice appearance. He worked the next 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out five batters. That brings us to the eighth inning, the Kernels still holding that 6-0 lead. Sheldon Reed came into the game. He gave up four runs on three hits and a walk in 1/3 of an inning. Following a three-run homer off the bat of Kale Emshoff, Juan Mercedes came into the game. He got an infield pop out and a strikeout to end the eighth inning. Mercedes came back out for the ninth inning. He got two outs, but he gave up two singles. With two runners on, Brian Dinkelman went to his best bullpen arm, Ricardo Velez. He gave up a single to load the bases. Then Brett Squires then hit a two-run single to tie the game at 6-6. After a walk, Velez got the final out of the inning. That brings us to the bottom of the ninth inning. Rubel Cespedes lined a single to right. After a fly out The New Guy - aka Kevin Maitan - lined a triple to left field that drove in Cespedes with the winner. The Kernels scored their seven runs on 14 hits and three walks. Eight of the nine Kernels batters had at least one hit. The top five hitters each had at least two hits. Leadoff man Luke Keaschall led the way with a 3-for-5 day which included his fourth and fifth home runs. He also stole his 13th base. Olivar was 2-for-5 with his fourth and fifth homers of the year. Rubel Cespedes went 2-for-4 with a walk and his second triple. Jay Harry went 2-for-5 with a stolen base. Kevin Maitan went 2-for-5 with the walk-off triple. Check out David Malamut's photos from the Kernels game on Saturday. Follow him on X at @MWLArchives. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Lakeland 5 Box Score A four-run seventh inning for Lakeland made all the difference in this game. Other than that inning, the Mussels got some very good pitching. Frankly, the offense just didn’t do enough. So let's start with the pitching. Left Cesar Lares was on the mound and he was very, very good again. Lares went the first six innings. He was charged with an unearned run on five hits, two walks, and two hit batters. He had three strikeouts. Xander Hamilton came in to start the seventh inning, but he was charged with four runs on two hits and three walks without recording an out. He left the game with the bases loaded. Sam Perez came in and allowed two inherited runners to score, but otherwise gave up no runs on just one hit in his two innings. Byron Chourio had one of the team’s three hits and drove in a sixth-inning run with a ground out. In the seventh innings, Poncho Ruiz singled to center to drive in Brandon Winokur who worked two walks in this game. Gregory Duran had the other hit for Fort Myers. Rayne Doncon also had two walks in the game. In addition to lack of hits, the Mussels had three caught stealing. Because of that, the team was just 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left just two runners on base. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 1, FCL Red Sox 7 Box Score A five-run second inning by the Red Sox proved to be well more than enough to take down the FCL Twins on Saturday. 19-year-old Dylan Questad was the Twins fifth round pick a year ago out of high school in Wisconsin. On Saturday, he made his third professional appearance and his first start. He went 1 2/3 innings and gave up five runs on two hits and four walks. He had three strikeouts. He left the game with two runners on base. Liam Rocha came in and allowed both to score before getting that third out of the second inning. Rocha settled in and ended up giving up one run on five hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings. He had four strikeouts. Alejandro Crisostomo struck out four batters over two innings. He gave up one run on no hits. He walked two and hit a batter. Similar to several of the above games, the FCL Twins offense just did very little. Ricardo Pena had two of the team’s three hits. Dameury Pena had the other one. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 2-HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI. Pitcher of the Day – Cesar Lares (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 82 pitches, 52 strikes (63.4%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. Also, our Top 20 rankings will be updated on Monday, so be sure to check back and see how different it looks. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 0-for-1, K #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, CS #11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K #12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 2-HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, SB(13) #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(12), R #16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - Game 1: 0-for-4, 2K, Game 2: 0-for-3, K. #19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, 2-HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Omaha @ St. Paul (2:07 PM CST) - RHP Caleb Boushley (4-1, 4.54 ERA) (likely to change) Wichita @ Tulsa (1:00 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (2-2, 3.65 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Darren Bowen (2-2, 4.43 ERA) Fort Myers @ Lakeland (11:00 AM CST) - LHP Ross Dunn (0-3, 2.37 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article