Seth Stohs

A Top 20 Twins prospect made his Triple-A debut with the Saints on Thursday night. He was strongly supported by the Saints offense and earned a win. Speaking of wins, help the Wichita Wind Surge to a win in a huge MILB award! Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Cory Lewis) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 80-73 (9 games to go) St. Paul Saints: 69-77 (3 games to go) Wichita Wind Surge: 58-80 (season complete) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-63 (season complete) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 66-59 (season complete) FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete) DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) TRANSACTIONS Randy Dobnak has rejoined the Saints active roster after accepting his outright assignment after being DFAd. To make room on the roster, RHP Andrew Morris was placed on the Development List. Morris made his final start of the 2024 season on Wednesday, so that is really just a formality. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Indianapolis 3 Box Score The big story from CHS Field on Thursday night was the Triple-A debut for right-hander Cory Lewis. He gave up two runs, one in the second inning and one in the fifth inning. He gave up seven hits, walked three and had two strikeouts. Lewis threw 86 pitches including 26 sliders, 26 four-seam fastballs, 15 changeups, 10 curveballs, and nine knuckleballs. He had just four Whiffs, all on his slider. His fastball velocity averaged 89.8 mph with a max of 91.5. His slider came in at an average of 81 mph. The changeup average was at 80.7 mph, about nine less than the fastball which is where one would like to be. The slow curveball came in at 79.1 mph on average. And, the pitch you’re most curious about, the knuckleball averaged 83.3 mph with a maximum of 85.8 mph. I think with Lewis’s pitch mix, it has to be somewhat difficult to differentiate the various pitches without seeing the data, the movement, the spin and the break. The one pitch that should be easiest to differentiate is the knuckleball. That is the fifth row in the above chart. As you can see, the spin on his knuckleball was between 114 and 419 RPM, an average of 243 on the nine pitches that were coded as a knuckleball. However, as you can see, that 213 wasn’t a slider, and that 153 wasn’t a slider. Those were obviously knuckleballs. Add those two pitches to the knuckleball category, and removed them from the other two categories and those averages will change significantly. So, the Twins minor-league staff has a little postgame work to do to just verify some of these numbers (as they always do). Lefty Aaron Rozek came on in relief and tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits. Rozek was terrific and only needed 24 pitches. He threw just one four-seam fastball. It was his fastest pitch at 89.6 mph. He threw nine cutters. Diego Castillo pitched the eighth inning, and as he tends to do, he struggled quite a bit. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks Jorge Alcala came in for the bottom of the ninth to hold onto a five-run lead. He gave up a leadoff single before getting a groundout and two strikeouts to end it. He was consistently touching triple digits with the fastball but the second strikeout came on a very nice slider. The Saints had a three-run, fifth inning, but as impressive, they scored in five of their eight innings at the plate. In the bottom of the first inning, Payton Eeles led off the game with his eighth home run since joining the Saints. The game was tied by Indianapolis in the top of the second. The Saints reclaimed the lead in the third when DaShawn Keirsey led off with a double and came in to score on a Michael Helman double. In the fourth inning, 2024 Killebrew Award recipient Chris Williams crushed his 15th home run of the season. Lewis gave up a run in the top of the fifth inning which cut the team’s lead to 3-2. But the Saints batters must have sensed Lewis’s will to get a win in his Triple-A debut. They added three runs in the bottom of the inning to provide some cushion. Keirsey led off with a single. With one out, Yunior Severino went to the opposite field for his 21st home run of the season. That homer tied him with Williams and Jair Camargo, both from 2023, for the franchise single-season home run record. He will have three games remaining to break that record. Diego A. Castillo Followed with a walk and moved to second on a ground out. After a pitching change, Patrick Winkel singled to drive in Castillo with the third run of the inning. The Saints maintained that 6-2 lead until the eighth inning when Indianapolis scored a run to make it 6-3. However, in the bottom of the inning, the Saints responded. Jeferson Morales led off with a walk. He stole second. Winkel flew out to left, deep enough to allow Morales to tag and advance to third base. Chris Williams walked. Then Eeles singled to right field to drive in Morales. Williams then led a double steal to move runners to second and third with one out. Austin Martin walked to load the bases. Keirsey followed with a line drive toward center that Jack Suwinski dove and caught, but Williams scored the team’s eighth run on the play. Eeles led off and went 2-for-4 with a walk, the home run, and two RBI. He also stole two bases to give him 16 with the Saints. Keirsey went 2-for -4 with his 21st double and two RBI. He also had an outfield assist from right field to third base that you’ll want to see. Williams went 1-for-2 with two walks and his 15th homer. He also joined the 5-15 club when he stole his fifth base of the season. Three more games remain in the Saints season. Head on out to CHS Field for some quality, Triple-A baseball and see some big leaguers and much more. Here’s the schedule, and where you can get your tickets. Friday, 6:37 pm: Teacher Appreciation Night with post-game fireworks. (You’ve got to love the theme for the fireworks display, the music will feature prom night ballads!) Saturday, 5:07 pm: Fan Appreciation Night with post-game Monster Food Truck Rally and Fireworks Super Show! Sunday, 12:07 pm: Last Game of the Season. WIND SURGE WISDOM The Twins affiliate in Wichita had a few alternate uniforms and team names. Most minor-league teams do. At MILB.com, the Wichita Chili Buns are up for the award for Best Alternate Identity. Vote for them here, and see what other names were also considered for the award. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, BB, HR(8), R, 2 RBI, K, 2 SB(16). Pitcher of the Day - Cory Lewis (St. Paul) – 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 85 pitches, 50 strikes (58.8%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday. #13 – Cory Lewis (St. Paul) – 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 85 pitches, 50 strikes (58.8%) FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) – RHP Marco Raya (first Triple-A start) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday night’s game! View full article

With just nine games remaining, the Twins are now tied with the red-hot Detroit Tigers. For the second straight game, the Guardians walked off the Twins in extra innings. That gave them three of four games in the series. Cleveland clinched a playoff berth, and the Twins head to Boston to try to turn things around. Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Simeon Woods Richardson - 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (72 pitches, 51 strikes (70.8% strikes)) Home Runs: None. Bottom 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (-0.305), Matt Wallner (-0.219), Carlos Correa (-0.209). Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Running, er, Throwing on Fumes As we have talked about, three-fifths of the Twins starting rotation are rookies. None of them have pitched this late into a season in their careers and they’re reaching innings counts they haven’t approached before. What does a pitcher running on fumes look like? On Thursday afternoon, Simeon Woods Richardson threw 72 pitches, but 29 of them were fastballs. This season, his average four-seam fastball has had a velocity of 93.2 mph. His average on Thursday was 91.3 mph, nearly two mph less than average. His slider was 1.8 mph short of his season average. His changeup was about 2.3 mph slower than his season average (maybe that’s a good thing, about a 10 mph difference from the fastball). His slider was down 0.2 mph, and his curveball actually was up 0.6 mph. Honestly, that makes his performance look even better. He had to work. He had to hit spots. He got about 2 inches more in vertical and horizontal break on the four-seamer. He used guile. And he gave his team a chance. Some High-Quality Cole Production Woods Richardson was removed with two outs and a runner on first base. Left Cole Irvin came in to face left-handed Kyle Manzardo. On a sort-of check swing, the Cleveland rookie got a 30.2 mph infield single, perfectly placed. However, Irvin got Jose Ramirez to ground out to end the inning. He came back out for the sixth inning. Josh Naylor led off with a ground ball single. Andres Gimenez hit what should have been a double play ball to short, but with second baseman Kyle Farmer playing way into the pull shift. A small bobble, the look to second, and Gimenez’s speed meant that he was credited with an infield single instead. Jhonkensy Noel played along. He took a low changeup and went down and blooped a 74.7 mph single into left center to load the bases with nobody out. Brayan Rocchio flied out deep enough to score Naylor with the tying run, but he struck out the next two batters to keep it tied. Irvin stayed in to start the seventh inning and got Angel Martinez on a ground out. When David Fry was announced as a pinch hitter for Manzardo, Rocco Baldelli turned to Cole Sands. The 2024 All Star blooped a single into shallow right field. However, he got two pop outs to end the inning. That’s 2 ⅓ solid innings from The Coles. Sands appears to just be getting stronger. In fact, if you look at his fastballs, splitters, sinkers and cutters, he only threw one pitch that was lower than his season average. Louie, Louie! Louie Varland came on for the eighth inning. It was the first time in his MLB career that he has worked in back-to-back games. Showing a fastball at 97-98 (97.5 average) and a cutter in the low-90s (91.5), he got a groundout and a fly out before blowing a fastball past pinch hitter Bo Naylor. Griffin Jax got the ninth inning and threw a scoreless inning. He worked in three of the four games this series. No Offense, but… The Twins offense continued to struggle. Against lefty starter Joe Cantillo, the Twins scored two runs (1 earned) on three hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. However, against the bullpen options of Nick Sandlin, Tim Herrin, Andrew Walters, Hunter Gaddis, Emmanuel Clase, and Eli Morgan (10th), the Twins had zero hits and just one walk over 6 2/3 innings. We can talk all we want about pitching and bullpen decisions, but if that’s all you’re going to do offensively, you’re not going to win many games. To Bunt or not To Bunt In the top of the 10th inning, Kyle Farmer was the Manfred Man. Matt Wallner was hit in the shoulder by a pitch. Then Willi Castro laid down a really good sacrifice bunt. That brought up Manuel Margot with runners on second and third and one out. Margot put together a strong plate appearance and coaxed a walk. However, Carlos Correa - who came through the night before in the same situation - popped out to first base, and then Byron Buxton lined out to right. Was it a good decision to have Castro bunt the runners over with Margot coming up? Would it have been better to have Castro hit away? Earlier in the season, I would prefer Castro hit. Right now, with the offense as bad as it has been, I'm comfortable with trying other things to make things happen. Other Notes More to come. What’s Next? At 6:10 on Friday night, the Twins begin a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. David Festa (2-6, 5.07 ERA) will take on recently-promoted right-hander Richard Fitts (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Saturday (3:10 pm): RHP Pablo Lopez (15-8, 3.84 ERA) vs RHP Kutter Crawford (8-15, 4.19 ERA) Sunday (12:35 pm): RHP Zebby Matthews (1-3, 6.30 ERA) vs RHP Nick Pivetta (5-11, 4.37 ERA) A reminder, you can keep up with the other perspective throughout the series through Twins Daily's newest venture (or adventure), Talk Sox. Playoffs?! Playoffs! The Twins have nine games to go, the Twins will not win the AL Central. I think we can say that confidently. With this loss, coupled with an off day by Detroit, the Twins and Tigers are now tied for the final wild card spot in the American League. It’s been a rough six weeks! The Twins have the tiebreaker over the Tigers, Mariners and Royals, but you can see why this upcoming series in Boston is so crucial. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Availability Chart View full article

573 homers. 1969 AL MVP. Played in 13 All Star games. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Harmon Killebrew was a great baseball player, but those who knew him will always talk about how kind he was and how much he did for people in the community. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Harmon Killebrew spent 22 seasons in the big leagues. After parts of seven seasons with the Washington Senators, he came to Minnesota with the organization before the 1961 season. He remained with the Twins through the 1974 season. He also played for the Royals in 1975, but he struggled and retired after the season. Between 1959 and 1969, Killebrew played the league in home runs six times. He led the league in RBI three times. A power hitter, he led the league in walks four times and walked more than 100 times seven times. He won the AL Cy Young Award in 1969 when he hit .276/.427/.584 (1.011) with 20 doubles, 49 home runs and 140 RBI. He walked a career-high 145 times and struck out just 84 times. He finished second in MVP voting in 1967, third in 1962, and fourth in 1963 and 1966. Along with other Twins greats, Killebrew led the Twins to the 1965 World Series. Killebrew was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1984. Hard to believe that was his fourth year on the Hall of Fame ballot. Following his career, he was involved in several endeavors. He spent time in the ‘80s as a color analyst on broadcasts. He was active in the Twins community and at events. Those that knew him will tell you that as great of a ballplayer as Killebrew was, he was an even better person. He grew up in Payette, Idaho. In 2011, at the age of 74, he passed away due to cancer. The Twins decided to continue the Killebrew legacy of community work by creating the Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service. Each season, the organization recognizes one player from each of the Twins four full-season affiliates. Each affiliate’s General Manager nominates players and lets the organization know what type of community work the players have done. Recently, the Twins announced their 2024 Killebrew Award winners. St. Paul Saints: C/1B/OF/DH Chris Williams Williams was the Twins eighth-round pick in the 2018 MLB draft out of Clemson University. That summer, he played in Elizabethton and was named the Twins Daily Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year. Since then, he has had a gradual rise through the Twins organization. He joined the Saints for the final third of the 2022 season. That year, he had 18 homers in 75 games in Wichita and added 10 more long balls in 42 games with the Saints. In 2023, he hit 21 homers with the Saints. This season, he has hit another 14 home runs for St. Paul. He passed Mark Contreras for the home run lead in Saints history since they became a Twins affiliate in 2021. The 27-year-old took part in a variety of community events. During the Twins Week of Service, he spent time at Crossroads Motessori School and played with the kids for recess. He talked to classes and encouraged all to participate. He was active with the Saints Reading Tree program. He joined author Nancy Carlson in presenting “Sometimes You Barf” to kids and their families before a home game. He also co-hosted the Children’s Minnesota Star Studio during a hospital visit with patients and families battling pediatric cancer. Wichita Wind Surge: IF Jake Rucker Jake Rucker was the Twins seventh-round draft pick in 2021 out of the University of Tennessee. After signing, he was quickly assigned to Fort Myers. In 2022, he started with with the Mussels but then ended the season at Cedar Rapids. He was able to spend the last couple of weeks with the Saints. He moved up to Wichita for the 2023 season. In 119 games, he hit .248/.323/.381 (.704) with 21 doubles, four triples and nine home runs. In 2024, he returned to the Wind Surge and in 121 games, he hit .261/.321/.372 (.693) with 23 doubles, one triple, and nine home runs. His biggest area of improvement was with putting the ball in play. After striking out 25.8% of the time in 2023, he reduced that number to 15.0% in 2024. Regarding the award, Rucker, who turned 25 early this week, recently told Twins Daily, “It means a lot because it shows that we are more than just baseball players. Giving back to the community is something we should all do, especially us players who have this platform of playing at a high level with a lot of people watching us.” The Wind Surge do a lot in their community. Rucker said, “I helped with all the baseball camps the Wind Surge and Twins hosted in Wichita as well as delivering canned goods and food to the local food bank.” However, he said that it wasn’t just him and credited others. “A lot of the guys on the team helped chime in with the funds for the food. This award is for them too and all their hard work and love for the community as well.” Cedar Rapids Kernels: RHP John Klein John Klein graduated from Osseo High School in the spring of 2020. Out of high school, he went to Iowa Central Community College. After not being selected in the 2022 MLB Draft, Klein signed with the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in August of 2022 and was assigned to the FCL Twins. In 2023, he made six starts in the FCL, six starts for Fort Myers, and one start for the Kernels. This season, he pitched in 22 games for the Kernels and made 20 starts. He went 8-3 with a 4.57 ERA, and in 100 1/3 innings, he had 90 strikeouts to just 38 walks. Overall, a very solid season for the 6-5, 22-year-old. It wasn’t just on the mound that Klein had an impact. He was busy working with a variety of people and groups around the Cedar Rapids area. Klein was active in the Kernels Home Run for Hunger campaign. He helped collect and deliver food for the HACAP Food Reservoir. He also was active in the Kernels kids camps. He told Twins Daily, “Thank you! I’m grateful to be able to use the platform I was blessed with to give back to the people who support my team and I. I pride myself on being the best role model I can be for people that look up to me. I remember being a young kid looking up to guys like Joe Mauer and Tim Tebow. Noticing how not only they are great ball players, but even better people.” Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: Maddux Houghton Maddux Houghton grew up and went to high school in Dalton, Georgia, a city in the northwest corner of the state. At Dalton High, he starred on the baseball diamond and the gridiron. He went to Lipscomb University. He took advantage of the bonus Covid year and played five seasons. He went undrafted. In January of 2023, Houghton signed with the Twins. He hit .216 over 99 games in 2023 for the Mussels. In the first half of this season, he was playing every day and played very well. In total, he played in 84 games for the Mussels and hit .254/.346/.363 (.709) with 12 doubles, two triples and four homers. Over the past two seasons, he had 42 stolen bases in 47 attempts. He was promoted to St. Paul twice when they just needed players. In five games, he went 3-for-13 (.231). Off the field, the Mussels noted that Houghton “enthusiastically participated in every available volunteer opportunity while conducting himself with professionalism and positivity.” Regarding the award, Houghton told Twins Daily, “Receiving the Harmon Killebrew Award for community service means a lot to me. Anytime your name is associated with the name of a Hall of Famer, that is extremely humbling and an incredible honor.” He continued, “As a Christ-follower, I try to do my best every day to share His love with others and bring positivity to the ballpark every day. Jesus was the ultimate servant leader, and that’s how I strive to live my life. To see that others recognized these qualities in me, was very special.” While a lot of community work is done away from the field, it starts at the ballpark. “First, I try to interact with the fans everyday, especially kids. I will never forget the feeling of excitement I got from going to a professional baseball game when I was younger. It was the coolest thing ever if one of the players acknowledged me, so I try to keep that in mind when I interact with people at the park. I also have enjoyed getting to build relationships with some of the season ticket holders, ushers, and Mussels front office staff. These people are vital to the success of an organization and sometimes don’t get the appreciation they deserve. I love the daily interactions with these people and the Mussels community.” “I helped as a group of us went to Franklin Park Elementary school and got them packed up to move into their new school building. Again, this was a great opportunity to be around and interact with the kids of the Fort Myers community. Finally, I worked at the D3Day Camp for children with disabilities, which is such an impactful camp. To see those kids run around and have the time of their lives playing baseball is such a special experience. That camp is a true joy every year.” As these guys pointed out, they aren’t the only players on these teams and rosters who do work in their communities. The Twins have their Week of Service each June where the big-league club and the affiliates do something almost every day, but the minor league affiliates keep the players busy with various programs in the cities they play. Working with food shelves, providing meals, reading or just spending time with kids. Congratulations to each of these players on their well-earned and well-deserved recipients of the Killebrew Award. View full article

The Saints took an early lead but giving up seven runs over the final three innings is never a great idea. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (Yunior Severino) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 80-72 St. Paul Saints: 69-76 Wichita Wind Surge: 58-80 (season complete) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-63 (season complete) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 66-59 (season complete) FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete) DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) TRANSACTIONS As expected, RHP Randy Dobnak passed through waivers and was outrighted to the Saints. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Indianapolis 10 Box Score Scoring first is usually a good thing. The Saints grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by Michael Helman that scored Austin Martin. In fact, at that point, the Saints Win Probability was at 70.4% Of course, the opponent, in this case the Pirates Triple-A affiliate from Indianapolis, had eight more innings to make up that one-run deficit. It didn’t take long. Andrew Morris made the start for the Saints. He went five innings, but he gave up three runs, all in the third inning. In all, he gave up six hits, walked two and had five strikeouts. The Saints cut their deficit to 3-2 with a fifth-inning run. Yunior Severino ripped a single, deflected by the shortstop and into center field. That allowed Helman to score. That was it for the Saints offense, and Indianapolis piled on at that point. Brent Headrick pitched a scoreless sixth inning, but an error led to a three-run seventh inning. Headrick got the first two outs, and Zack Weiss got the third out. Weiss then gave up three earned runs of his own in the eighth inning. Jaylen Nowlin gave up a solo homer in the top of the ninth to complete the scoring in this game. The recent big leaguers provided much of the Saints offense. Martin went 3-for-4. DaShawn Keirsey went 2-for-4. Helman had an RBI. Jeferson Morales went 1-for-2 with his sixth Saints double and two walks. Four more games in the Saints season. Head on out to CHS Field for some quality, Triple-A baseball and see some big leaguers and much more. Here’s the schedule, and where you can get your tickets. Thursday, 6:37 pm: It’s Fighting Saints Hockey Night. Friday, 6:37 pm: Teacher Appreciation Night with post-game fireworks. (You’ve got to love the theme for the fireworks display, the music will feature prom night ballads!) Saturday, 5:07 pm: Fan Appreciation Night with post-game Monster Food Truck Rally and Fireworks Super Show! Sunday, 12:07 pm: Last Game of the Season. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 3-for-4, CS(1). Pitcher of the Day - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 86 pitches, 56 strikes (65.1%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 0-for-4. #11 - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 86 pitches, 56 strikes (65.1%) THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) – RHP Cory Lewis (first Triple-A start) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s game! View full article

Irvin has certainly shown moments in his time in Baltimore. I would think he's a guy you keep on the 40-man roster, offer him arbitration and work on things with him with the goal of him making strides. Perfect world, the Twins could get him for 3 starts this season and two more arbitration years. People will note how he does in these three games that he'll pitch yet this year, but this is a potentially nice long-term move too. And his salary is low so if it doesn't go well, it's not detrimental.

The Saints and Wind Surge have both had difficult seasons, filled with ups and downs. Despite a couple more L's, each team provided some highlights and performances worth watching. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Pierson Ohl) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 78-70 St. Paul Saints: 68-74 Wichita Wind Surge: 55-80 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-63 (season complete) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 66-59 (season complete) FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete) DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) TRANSACTIONS The Twins activated SS Carlos Correa from the IL. To make room, DaShawn Keirsey was optioned to St. Paul. To make room for Keirsey, the Saints put UT Anthony Prato on the Development List. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Columbus 8 Box Score Travis Adams was on the hill to start for the Saints. He completed five innings and was charged with five runs. Jaylen Nowlin came on to start the sixth inning, his Triple-A debut. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on a hit, a walk and two hit batters. He recorded just two outs, so Kyle Bischoff came on and got the final out of that frame, but the team was now down 8-1. Brent Headrick struck out three batters over the final two innings. The Saints scored first in the top of the first inning. Payton Eeles led off with a double and went to third on an Austin Martin single. Eeles then scored when Keirsey grounded into a double play. With two outs in the top of the third, Eeles and Martin were hit by pitches. Keirsey followed with an RBI single. Then with one out in the top of the ninth, Jair Camargo and Diego A. Castillo hit back-to-back doubles. Payton Eeles went 2-for-4, was hit by a pitch and added his 10th Saints double. DaShawn Keirsey returned to the Saints and went 2-for-4 with an RBI. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Tulsa 3 Box Score It’s been a rocky, up-and-down season for righty Pierson Ohl. On Saturday, Ohl was the starter for the team's penultimate game of their 2024 season. The Grand Canyon grad tossed six scoreless and had five strikeouts to no walks. Mike Paredes came in and gave up one run over two innings. Miguel Rodriguez struck out three in the ninth inning, but he gave up two unearned runs in between to turn a 2-1 lead into a 3-2 deficit. Wichita got on the scoreboard first with a second-inning run. With one out, Aaron Sabato walked and Tanner Schobel singled him to second. A Jorel Ortega single loaded the bases. The speedy Sabato scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ben Ross. They added on in the bottom of the fifth frame. Kala’i Rosario was hit by a pitch. With one out, Alex Isola walked. After a pitching change, Andrew Cossetti walked to load the bases. Rosario scored when Sabato worked a walk. The Surge had just five hits in the game, but they also had seven walks and two batters were hit by pitches. Rosario had the lone extra base hit, his 19th double. Unfortunately, they were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2B(10), HBP, 2 R, K. Pitcher of the Day - Pierson Ohl (Wichita) - 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 63 pitches, 47 strikeouts (57.3%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) – 1-for-5, K, SB(1). #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 0-for-2 #15 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-for-4, HBP, 2B(19), R, 2 K. #17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, K, SB(13). SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (12:05 PM CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (11-6, 3.87 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) – RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-1, 6.19 ERA) - final Surge game of season. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games! View full article

What about Casey Legumina for Kyle Farmer??

The Saints are scoring plenty of runs. They're just giving up too many runs late in their games. The Wind Surge got a great start from the organization's top minor-league pitcher in 2023 is pitching very, very well again. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Cory Lewis) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 78-68 St. Paul Saints: 68-72 Wichita Wind Surge: 56-79 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-63 (season complete) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 66-59 (season complete) FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete) DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) TRANSACTIONS The Twins officially announced that Byron Buxton was being activated from the IL and Austin Martin was optioned to St. Paul. Probably no surprise, but Emmanuel Rodriguez was placed on the 7-Day Injured list with a thumb sprain, the same injury that cost him so much time this season. Most likely, he is done for the season. LHP Jaylen Nowlin was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. The Twins released LHP Caleb Baragar to make room. Per multiple reports, the Twins have released 2024 sixth-round draft pick Derek Bender. You can read much more about that here. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Columbus 8 Box Score The night after losing in a walkoff, the Saints lost their lead to the Clippers late in the game. The Saints jumped ahead early. Michael Helman hit a solo home run in the top of the first inning. He has hit 14 for the Saints this season. Andrew Morris started for the Saints. He gave up a run in the second and two more in the third. In all, he went five innings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits. He had three strikeouts and walked none. Down 3-1 through three innings, the Saints scored four runs in the fourth inning. With two outs, Carson McCusker doubled. After Jair Camargo walked, Jeferson Morales singled to make it 3-2. The game was tied when Camargo scored on a Rylan Bannon double. Anthony Prato then drove in two more runs with his 20th double of the season. The Saints made it 6-3 in the top of the sixth. McCusker led off with a walk. Camargo singled him to third. He scored on an infield single by Morales. Kyle Bischoff came in for the bottom of the sixth. He walked the leadoff man who stole second. He advanced to third on a groundout and then scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-4. Zack Weiss got the seventh inning, and he gave up a run on two hits and a walk to cut the lead to 6-5. McCusker led off the top of the eighth inning with another single. With one out, Morales was hit by a pitch. Bannon walked to load the bases. After a line out for the second out, Payton Eeles walked to score McCusker and make it 7-5. Nick Wittgren was brought out for the bottom of the eighth inning. He gave up three runs on two hits and a walk. The big hit was a two-out, three-run homer by Raynel Delgado that put the Clippers ahead 8-7. The Saints were unable to score in the top of the ninth and fell by one run again. Morales went 2-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. In 13 games with the Saints, he is now hitting .375 with five doubles and a triple. McCusker went 2-for-4 with a walk and double. He scored three runs. In his 16 games since joining the Saints, he is hitting .339 with four doubles, a triple and four home runs. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 0, Tulsa 5 Box Score Tanner Schobel had a single. Noah Cardenas had a walk, and he stole a base. That has been your Wind Surge offense report for the night. Cory Lewis has been pitching really well of late. In this game, he gave up one run on two hits. In six innings, he had two walks and struck out six batters. While his record fell to 2-6, his ERA fell to 2.59. Taylor Floyd came into the game and threw a scoreless seventh inning. However, he hit a batter, gave up a single and walked one to load the bases. With two outs, Jarret Whorff came in and gave up a slow-rolling infield single. Then a single to center scored two and made it 4-0. Noah Miller followed with another single to center to drive in the fifth run. A ground ball ended the inning, but Floyd was charged with four runs, and Whorff gave up one run of his own too. He pitched a scoreless ninth. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Jeferson Morales (St. Paul) - 2-for-2, BB, HBP, R, 2 RBI, SB(14). Pitcher of the Day - Cory Lewis (Wichita) - 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 85 pitches, 55 strikeouts (64.7%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) – 0-for-4, K. #11 - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 82 pitches, 62 strikes (75.6%) #13 – Cory Lewis (Wichita) – 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 85 pitches, 55 strikeouts (64.7%) #15 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K. #17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-3. FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Aaron Rozek (1-5, 6.20 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) – RHP Marco Raya (2-4, 4.52 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! View full article

According to ESPNs Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel, the Minnesota Twins have released 2024 sixth-round draft pick Derek Bender on Thursday. It might be one of the most wild stories you’ll hear. Image courtesy of William Parmeter Pitch Tipping has always been a thing in baseball. Teams and players, trying to gain an advantage, watch everything a pitcher does on the mound. Maybe a pitcher holds his glove slightly higher when he’s going to throw a curveball. Maybe he slightly slows his delivery on a changeup. You would be surprised at how minute a detail can give a team an advantage. Going back to 2015, the year Torii Hunter returned to the organization for one more season. Paul Molitor was the manager and the two were both seen as among the best in picking up tells from the pitchers. Often, Twins pitchers would go to Hunter or Molitor and have them watch some pitches to see if they might see something that the opponents could pick up on. For decades, it was a source of pride if a team could find a tell by a pitcher and share it with his teammates. Other times, the team will be able to figure out a catcher’s sign pattern and give tiny hints to the hitter from second base about what pitch is coming. Sometimes the first base coach can see it. There were always rumors inside the game that in the late 70s and early 80s, the White Sox used to use a center field camera and the scoreboard features (lights) to pass information from video watcher to batter. Of course, players from those teams, and their manager Tony LaRussa deny such claims. LaRussa went on to manage in Oakland with players who rarely found controversy. It became a controversial topic when the Astros won the World Series with the help of technology and garbage cans. What was different? The use of technology to obtain the information. That is what MLB has tried to crack down on. According to ESPNs Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel, the Twins cracked down on pitch tipping in the organization. They released 2024 draft pick Derek Bender about two months after selecting him for tipping pitches. If you aren’t aware, Bender is not a pitcher. He is a catcher, and according to the reports, he was flat-out telling opposing hitters what pitches were coming. If you recall, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels were playing in Lakeland last week against the Tigers Low-A affiliate. After games were rained out on Wednesday and Thursday, the Mussels needed to win three of the final four games to claim the second-half division title from Lakeland. They played a double-header last Friday. They lost a suspended game. In the second game, Bender was set to bat ninth and catcher Mussels starter, lefty Ross Dunn. Dunn, a 2023 draft pick, went just 1 2/3 innings in that game but the damage had been done. He gave up four runs in the second inning. He gave up five hits and walked a batter. In the first inning, he got a ground out, gave up a double in between two strikeouts. The second inning began with a long home run by Archer Brookman. Jackson Strong singled. After a force out, there was a walk. And then a hard-hit, line-drive double by David Smith drove in two runs. After a ground out, Jack Penney drove in the fourth run with another double. At that point, Dunn was removed from the game. Lakeland scored just two more runs over the course of the game. The Mussels managed just two hits in the entire game, so ultimately it didn’t really affect the outcome. But that alone isn’t proof of anything. Dunn ended his first pro season with an ERA of 6.46. He often gave up big innings. However, it was the Lakeland coaches who approached the Mussels coaching staff after the game and after their players were reporting that the Mussels catcher was flat-out telling them what pitches were coming. From ESPN: “Fort Myers coaches were notified by Lakeland coaches about Bender's pitch tipping after the game, sources said. Bender's willingness to tip pitches surprised Lakeland players, and there were no indications of wrongdoing from the Flying Tigers, sources said. Bender had told teammates he wanted the season to be over, according to sources.” Mussels manager Brian Meyer did not play Bender in the final two games. Instead, he was out in the bullpen. The Mussels won their final two games to go out on a good note, but this has to leave a sour taste in the mouths of a lot of teammates, coaches, and probably players around the game. The Twins drafted Bender in the sixth round of the 2024 draft out of Coastal Carolina. He became an everyday player there as a sophomore in 2023. In 62 games, he hit .341/.399/.635 (1.034) with 13 doubles, 19 homers and 83 RBI. That summer, he played for Bourne in the Cape Cod League. You may remember seeing this video. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== In 60 games this spring, Bender hit .320/.422/.520 (.942) with nine doubles, two triples, and 11 home runs. The Twins drafted him and quickly signed him with a $297,500 bonus (right at slot). He went to Fort Myers to begin his pro career. On August 7th, he made his pro debut and went 2-for-4 with a walk in Jupiter. Six days later, against Lakeland, he went 2-for-3 with his first professional home run, a three-run shot. A week later, in Tampa, he went 2-for-3 with a walk. He had two doubles and three RBI. Through his first 11 games, he hit .306/.405/.528 (.933) with two doubles and two home runs. However, over his final eight games, he was 1-for-24 (.042). Last week in Lakeland, he played in three games and went 0-for-7. There’s a reason that teams don’t worry too much about the small sample size of games that current year draft picks put up. Consider that the college kids have been going hard every day since mid-January, played a full 60 game college season, went through the draft combine and other ways to be ready, and then come in and play another series of games. And then many of them stick around for the Bridge League or Instructs. Add in the grueling heat in both Florida and Arizona, and the southwest Florida humidity, and frequent tropical storms and hurricanes. There is just a lot. Part of me wants to give Derek Bender the benefit of the doubt. I would love to hear his side of this story, whatever that may be. I did reach out to Bender and offered a place for him to tell his side, but as of publishing this article, there was no response. From the ESPN article, they reached out to him through his agency and got no comment, and obviously the Twins are going to try to keep it internal… as they should. Part of me wants to say that I understand burnout after a long season. It can be grueling, and frankly, players need their rest. That year is a lot. But others do it. Did Bender have a momentary lapse? Has he been wanting his season to end for a while? Maybe he doesn’t even like playing baseball all that much. Maybe he’s just always been so good at it that he felt obligated to keep going, and it gave him an opportunity in college, but now he’s ready to do something else. That’s OK. We don’t know. What isn’t OK, and obviously what he was released for is quitting on his team. Not only that, but actively helping them lose games. As a teammate, as much as I would want to understand, I would find it hard to have a guy around that you know has actively tried to make your team lose games. Could Bender play again? Probably. I know I tend to believe in second chances. He’s still a very young 21 year old. But if you were one of his teammates, could you ever trust him fully? Would that trust ever come back? Baseball is hard enough that you don’t want every error or every 0-for-4 game to come with additional questions about your effort. So, no, I don’t expect Derek Bender to ever return to the Twins organization. And with the coverage that this story has received, and that it will receive in coming days, I can’t imagine any other MLB team to give him an opportunity either. If he ever does want to get into baseball, it may have to be by going through the independent leagues (if they are even interested). That’s the route that two of his Coastal Carolina teammates had to go. Fellow 2023 Chanticleers, Payton Eeles and Nick Lucky, were signed by the Twins earlier this season. Lucky spent five years in Conway (SC). Since signing with the Twins, he has played in Fort Myers, Cedar Rapids and even a game in St. Paul. Eeles? Well, since signing with the Twins very early this year, he has hit .307 with a .919 OPS between Fort Myers (34 games), Cedar Rapids (13), and St. Paul (54). The Twins did the right thing in releasing Bender. Hopefully Bender won’t find himself regretting this and asking himself What If for the next couple of decades? View full article

1.) Because Baseball is Hard. 2.) They rushed him. Out of necessity, but he missed just over two months, and he didn't get a ton of time in St. Paul before he came up the first time. Same with this time off the IL. 3.) MLB Pitchers are good.

These minor league reports don't take as long to write with just two affiliates still playing. I miss the days of reporting on six Twins affiliates. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Alex Isola) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 78-68 St. Paul Saints: 68-71 Wichita Wind Surge: 56-78 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-63 (season complete) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 66-59 (season complete) FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete) DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) TRANSACTIONS The Twins activated catcher Christian Vazquez from the Paternity List and OF Manuel Margot from the Injured List. To make room, the team optioned catcher Jair Camargo and utilityman Michael Helman. Following the Twins win on Wednesday night against the Angels, it was announced that the Twins plan to activate OF Byron Buxton from the IL. OF Austin Martin was optioned to St. Paul after the game. Of note, DaShawn Keirsey remains on the roster. LHP Steven Okert was activated from the temporarily inactive list. OF Maddux Houghton was reassigned to the Mighty Mussels a day after being placed on the Saints roster. RHP Ricardo Velez was placed on the 7-Day Injured List. RHP Miguel Rodriguez was activated from the 7-Day IL. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Columbus 7 Box Score The Saints jumped to a big lead, but it slowly dwindled and they lost in a walkoff in Ohio. Caleb Boushley and Ryan Webb both put up three zeroes to start the game. However, in the top of the fourth inning, Carson McCusker’s fourth Saints home run gave the team a 1-0 lead. McCusker just hits the ball incredibly hard when he makes contact! St. Paul added four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Anthony Prato led off with a single. Payton Eeles followed with another single. Diego A. Castillo was next, and he hit his ninth home run of the season to give the team a 4-0 lead. With one out, Michael Helman walked. After a pitching change and a second out, Jeferson Morales and Rylan Bannon singled to score Helman and make it 5-0. Bousley threw a fourth zero on the board, but then in the fifth inning, he gave up three runs which cut the lead to 5-3. His final line showed that he gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings. Jeff Brigham got the final out of the fifth inning and had a perfect sixth inning as well. Three of the four outs he recorded were on strikeouts. The Clippers brought James Karinchak into the top of the seventh inning. McCusker singled and Morales walked. Then with two outs, Prato walked to load the bases. And then Eeles walked to score McCusker and give the Saints a 6-3 lead. Giovanny Gallegos came in for the bottom of the seventh and gave up a walk and a single but no runs. Hobie Harris got the bottom of the eighth. However, he gave up two groundball singles and a 403 foot home run to Micah Pries that tied the game at 6-6. He actually loaded up the bases on a single and two more walks but was able to keep it tied going to the ninth. The Saints went quietly in the top of the ninth. Diego Castillo was brought in to try to send it to extra innings. He got the first two outs, but Johnathan Rodriguez hit his 25th home run to end the game. At the top of the lineup, Eeles went 2-for-2 with three walks. He also stole his 14th base. Castillo went 2-for-4 with a walk and his ninth home run and 13th stolen base. McCusker went 2-for-5 with his 19th overall homer of the 2024 season. Morales went 2-for-4 with a walk and his fifth Saints double. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Tulsa 5 Box Score A five-run fourth inning by Tulsa was more than the Wind Surge could overcome. Christian MacLeod started the game with three scoreless innings. However, he ended up giving up five runs on six hits and three walks in four innings. He struck out two batters. Aside from that fourth frame, Wichita pitching was strong. Mike Paredes struck out three batters over two scoreless innings. John Stankiewicz struck out two batters over two scoreless innings. Miguel Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth. In the bottom of the fourth, Kala’i Rosario hit a solo homer, his eighth of the season. The score remained 5-1 until the bottom of the ninth inning. Rosario led off with a walk. With one out, Alex Isola doubled to drive him in. Aaron Sabato scored Isola with an RBI single to make it 5-3. But that’s as close as it got. Wichita had just five hits and two walks in the game. Sabato was 2-for-4. Rosario had a walk to go with his home run. Isola had a walk to go with his double. After playing several games against the Kernels for Great Lakes earlier this season, former Twins prospect Noah Miller played in his 32nd game for the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate in Tulsa. In this game, he had two doubles in four at-bats. Overall, he’s hitting .224/.258/.264 (.522) with five doubles in Tulsa. In 101 games for Great Lakes, he hit .251/.336/.332 (.668) with 14 doubles and six home runs. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 2-for-2, 3 BB, R, RBI, SB(14). Pitcher of the Day - Jeff Brigham (St. Paul) - 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. 19 pitches, 13 strikes (68.4%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) – 0-for-4. #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 2-for-4. 2B(4), 2 RBI #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0-for-1, K (left game in 2nd inning) #5 – Zebby Matthews (Minnesota) – 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 61 pitches, 40 strikes (65.6%) #15 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, HR(8), 2 R, RBI, 2 K. #17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 0-for-4, 4 K. THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (5:15 PM CST) – RHP Andrew Morris (1-0, 3.04 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) – RHP Cory Lewis (2-5, 2.70 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! View full article

Six more games, the challenge of a new level... but I don't think this tells us where he begins 2025. He could go back to Cedar Rapids for a bit, or he could start in Wichita.

The Saints had a big inning and held on. The Surge got great pitching but no offense in a pitchers' duel. There was an unlikely final score in Cedar Rapids in another pitchers' duel. Out of playoff contention, the Mussels returned to the Win column. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Doesn't it seem like the minor-league season just started? On Sunday, the Mighty Mussels and Kernels will play their final games of the 2024 season. The Wind Surge have one more week, so it will be interesting to see if any Kernels or Mussels head there to get another week of playing time. The Saints will have two more weeks of games. CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 76-66 St. Paul Saints: 66-70 Wichita Wind Surge: 55-76 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-62 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 65-59 FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete) DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) TRANSACTIONS Trevor Richards was placed on the Temporary Inactive List with the Saints. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Iowa 6 Box Score The Saints scored six runs in the second inning to take the lead. They added on a couple and found a way to hang on at the end. The second inning began with a Carson McCusker single. He was forced out at second on a Jair Camargo grounder. Chris Williams walked, and Patrick Winkel singled to drive in Camargo with the first run. Rylan Bannon drove in Williams with his 19th double. Payton Eeles reached on a fielder’s choice. Diego A. Castillo walked to load the bases. That was followed by an inside-the-park grand slam by Emmanuel Rodriguez. That’s a fun way to finish out a six-run inning. Aaron Rozek made the start for the Red Wings. He made it a Quality Start. He was charged with three runs on six hits and two walks over six innings. He had seven strikeouts on his way to his first Saints Win! Nick Wittgren gave up one run on three hits over two innings. He had four strikeouts and a walk. Hobie Harris gave up two runs in the ninth inning but got the third out with the Saints still winning. Payton Eeles hit his fifth Saints homer in the fourth inning to make it 7-1. In the sixth inning, Bannon hit a one-out triple and scored on an Eeles single. That gave them an 8-2 lead. Eeles led the way. He was 3-for-5 with his ninth double and fifth home run. He is hitting .302 with a .909 OPS. He also stole his 13th base. Bannon hit his 19th double and second triple. Williams was 1-for-2 with two walks. Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with two walks and his first Saints home run. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 0, Frisco 1 Box Score This game truly was a pitchers’ duel. Pierson Ohl was terrific, but he gave up a first-inning solo home run to Alejandro Osuna. He went 5 2/3 innings and gave up just one run on three hits. He had six strikeouts with no walks. Regi Grace came on and got four outs. Ricardo Velez got the final three outs. Unfortunately, the Wind Surge went scoreless and had just three hits and three walks. The 15 strikeouts by Wind Surge hitters didn’t help. Jacob deGrom started for the RoughRiders and gave up just one hit over four scoreless innings. He had five strikeouts. Kyler Fedko’s 14th double was the lone base runner the team got against deGrom. Alex Isola and Jake Rucker each hit a single. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 11, Wisconsin 0 Box Score This was quite the pitchers’ duel in eastern Iowa on Saturday night. Wisconsin starter Tyler Wehrle threw five scoreless innings. Connor Prielipp started for the Kernels. In three innings, he gave up zero runs, zero hits, and he walked zero. Of the 10 batters he faced, he recorded six strikeouts. Ricky Castro came in and tossed six scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked one, and he had eight strikeouts. In the bottom of the seventh, Kevin Maitan drove in Agustin Ruiz with his 13th double. That gave the Kernels a 1-0 lead which proved to be all they needed on this night. However, just for fun, they decided to put a 10-spot on the board in the bottom of the eighth which made it look much worse than it really was. Kaelen Culpepper and Rayne Doncon began the inning with singles. Nate Baez followed with a single to center that drove in Culpepper. After a line out, Kevin Maitan singled to load the bases. Jose Salas lined a single to right to make it 3-0 Kernels. Kyle Ness reached on an error. With the bases still loaded, Walker Jenkins singled to center to drive in three runs. Culpepper followed with a triple that scored Jenkins and made it 8-0. After Doncon reached on another fielding error, Baez launched a two-run home run to make it 10-0. Baez went 2-for4 with a walk. The homer was his 12th of the season. Maitan and Salas were both 2-for-4. Culpepper went 2-for-5 with his first triple. Jenkins was hit by a pitch and had a walk to go with his three-run single. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Lakeland 4 Box Score The Mussels remained in playoff contention until Friday night. They were able to hang on for a one-run win in their penultimate game of the season. The Mussels took the early lead with three runs in the top of the second inning. Jay Thomason led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a passed ball. He scored on a single by Caden Kendle. Back-to-back walks by Byron Chourio and Angel Del Rosario loaded the bases. Kyle DeBarge grounded to shortstop, but the ball was booted and made it 2-0. Khadim Diaw grounded back to the mound, there was a force out at second, but the Twins 3rd round pick beat the throw to first which allowed the third run to score. Adrian Bohorquez started and tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and had four strikeouts. Devin Kirby came in for the fourth inning and gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in the inning. Cleiber Maldonado tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and had two strikeouts. Jack Noble came on and gave up one run over the final three innings to record the save. He gave up four hits, but struck out five batters without issuing a walk. In the top of the sixth inning, the Mussels reclaimed the lead. With one out, DeBarge tripled and scored on a Brandon Winokur single. The added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning, which proved to be important. With one out, Daniel Pena reached on an error. Thomason doubled him to third, and Kendle drove him in. The Mussels scored their five runs on seven hits and nine walks (and two hit by pitches). Kendle was 2-for-5. Thomason hit his first career double and walked twice. Diaw walked once and was hit by a pitch. The team was just 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 3-for-5, 2B(9), HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, SB(13). Pitcher of the Day - Connor Prielipp/Ricky Castro (Cedar Rapids) - 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 14 K, 120 pitches, 89 strikes (74.2%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-3, BB, HBP, R, 3 RBI. #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 0-for-4. K (SS) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, HR(1), R, 4 RBI, K. #7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-5, K #9 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, 3B(1), 2 R, RBI, 2 K. #12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-3, BB, RBI, K. #15 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K. #16 - Kyle DeBarge (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5, 3B(3), R, RBI, 2 K. #17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 0-for-4, 3 K. #20 – Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) – 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. 45 pitches, 34 strikes (75.6%) SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (2:07 PM CST) – RHP Travis Adams (0-0, 5.40 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (6:05 PM CST) – RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-1, 8.25 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM CST) – RHP Tanner Hall (0-2, 6.28 ERA) - Final Game. Ft. Myers @ Lakeland (11:00 AM CST) – TBD - Final Game. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games! View full article

The Twins got a much-needed Win. The Saints game ended in a walkoff. Wichita put a couple of crooked numbers on the board and held on for a nice win. And the past two top draft picks helped the Kernels to a win over Wisconsin. Of course, the Mighty Mussels need wins if they want to make the playoffs. See if they were able to maintain an opportunity. And much more in Thursday's Twins Minor League Report. Image courtesy of David Malamut (@MWLArchives on X) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 76-64 St. Paul Saints: 65-69 Wichita Wind Surge: 55-74 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 66-61 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 64-57 FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete) DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) TRANSACTIONS It may have taken a little longer than many of us thought it should, but OF DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. has been called up to the Twins. OF Max Kepler went on the 10-Day Injured List. LHP Kody Funderburk was placed on the 60-Day IL to make room for Keirsey on the 40-man roster. Also, RHP Josh Winder was placed on the 7-Day IL. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Iowa 6 Box Score The Saints scored the first three runs of the game in the bottom of the first inning. In the bottom of the seventh, they added three more. In between, the Cubs scored six straight. Essentially that made this a two-inning game. With one out in the bottom of the first, Diego A. Castillo doubled and Emmanuel Rodriguez walked. Yunior Severino drove in Castillo with a single. With two outs, Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch. After a fielding error kept the inning alive, Rylan Bannon drove in Severino with a single. Caleb Boushley started. He went four innings and gave up two runs on six hits. He had three walks and five strikeouts. Jeff Brigham worked the next two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out two batters. Trevor Richards pitched the seventh inning. He gave up two runs on one hit (home run) and a walk. He had one strikeout. Down 6-3 during the 7th Inning Stretch, the Saints mounted their comeback. With one out, Payton Eeles was hit by a pitch. He moved up one base on a Castillo single. Rodriguez singled to right to load the bases. Severino came through again with a two-run single. With two outs and still down a run, Jair Camargo singled to score Rodriguez with the tying run. With the game now tied 6-6 to start the eighth inning, Toby Gardenhire turned to veteran Giovanny Gallegos. He was able to get Matt Shaw, Moises Ballesteros and Brennen Davis in order. The Saints missed an incredible opportunity. Patrick Winkel led off with a single. Anthony Prato ran for him. Chris Williams singled and Payton Eeles was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The Cubs turned things over to Frankie Scalzo. He struck out Castillo on six pitches. Then on a 2-0 sweeper, Rodriguez got jammed and softly hit into a double play. If you enjoy Win Probability, here’s how that inning looked. When the Twins had the bases loaded, they had a Win Probability of 86.8% Following the Castillo strikeout, that number dropped to 77.3% Following the double play, the odds were back to 50.0% Hobie Harris came in for the top of the ninth. He gave up a single and a walk, but got three strikeouts to keep the game tied. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Carson McCusker singled. Camargo was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Anthony Prato singled a single to center to drive in McCusker with the winning run. The Saints had 12 hits in the game. Only Eeles didn’t have a hit, though he was twice hit by a pitch. Castillo went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 22nd double. McCusker was 2-for-4 with a walk and his second Saints double. Severino was 2-for-5 and drove in three runs. Rodriguez and Camargo each had a single and a walk. Camargo was also hit by a pitch. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, Frisco 4 Box Score Wichita put up five runs in the top of the third, but was it enough? Christian MacLeod wasn’t quite on his game the way he has been the last couple of months. He gave up two runs in the first and two more runs in the third inning. However, he stayed tough and was able to give his team five innings. He gave up those four runs on five hits. He walked four and had four strikeouts. The top of the third began with a single by Jorel Ortega and a walk by Ben Ross. Following a flyout, Jake Rucker singled to right to put the Surge on the scoreboard. On a double-steal attempt, Ross scored the second run. Tanner Schobel then singled to center to drive in Rucker. Alex Isola followed with his first home run since returning to Wichita recently. Wichita maintained their 5-4 lead until the top of the eighth. Isola walked, and with one out, Andrew Cossetti walked. After a pitching change, Kyler Fedko singled to left to drive in Isola and give the Wind Surge an insurance run. Was the pitching able to hold that lead? MacLeod finished with two scoreless innings. John Stankiewicz gave up two hits over two scoreless innings. Jarret Whorff walked two but struck out three batters over two scoreless, hitless innings to record his first Wichita Save. And it might surprise you that it also earned MacLeod his first Wichita Win. Wichita had six hits, but they also took advantage of seven walks. Fedko was the lone hitter with two hits. He also had the only extra base hit, his 13th double. Isola had the homer along with two walks. Cossetti and Ross each walked twice in the game as well. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 3 Box Score The Kernels scored first in the bottom of the third. They took a 5-0 lead through five innings, but how did the second half of the game go? Did they hang on? Kaelen Culpepper led off the bottom of the third inning with a single and stole second base. Following an out, Rixon Wingrove hit his fifth Kernels home run to make it 2-0. With two outs in the fourth inning, Walker Jenkins doubled and went to third on a balk. He scored when Culpepper reached on an error. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Misael Urbina hit his fifth home run, a two-run shot to make it 5-0. Spencer Bengard made the start for the Kernels. He tossed four scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits and a walk while striking out three batters. Jacob Wosinski gave up one run on two hits and two walks over his two innings. Nolan Santos was charged with an unearned run over his two innings. He gave up no hits and a walk, and he had two strikeouts. Samuel Perez gave up a solo home run in the top of the ninth but that was hit. He recorded his first Kernels Save. Walker Jenkins led off and went 3-for-4 with a walk and his 12th double. He also stole two bases. Culpepper batted second and went 1-for-3 with two walks. He also reached on an error and stole a base. Wingrove and Urbina each went 1-for-3 with a walk and their fifth homer with Cedar Rapids this year. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Lakeland 0 (Game Suspended) Box Score Coming into this game, the Mussels needed to win three of the four remaining games to move past Lakeland and make the playoffs. So relative to the Florida State League playoffs, this is a pretty important game so they will try their best to play not only the remainder of this game, but also to play all four of the remaining games. Both teams went scoreless in the first inning. The Mussels scored two runs in the top of the second inning, but that’s when the game was delayed and eventually suspended. In fact, two Mussels hitters were hit by a pitch, so play clearly needed to be stopped. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, BB, 2B(12), R, 2 SB(8). Pitcher of the Day - Spencer Bengard (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 78 pitches, 49 strikes (62.8%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) – 3-for-4, BB, 2B(12), 2 SB(8). #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 0-for-1 (PH) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, 2 R, 2 K #9 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, SB(2). #12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – Game Suspended #15 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 0-for-5, 3 K. #16 - Kyle DeBarge (Fort Myers) - Game Suspended. #17 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K. FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) – RHP Andrew Morris (1-0, 3.15 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (7:05 PM CST) – RHP Marco Raya (2-4, 4.68 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) – RHP Darren Bowen (2-9, 5.94 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Lakeland (DH @ 4:00 PM CST) – RHP Jose Olivares (2-2, 2.93 ERA), TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! View full article

The Twins needed a win on Thursday afternoon. Pablo López and the bullpen delivered. The lineup powered their way to an early lead, and the team’s top horses held on. It was a big win, as the Twins head to Kansas City for a huge AL Central series starting this weekend. Image courtesy of © Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Pablo Lopez - 6 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (91 pitches, 62 strikes (68.1% strikes)) Home Runs: Edouard Julien (8), Matt Wallner (11). Top 3 WPA: Griffin Jax (.209), Jhoan Duran (.187), Edouard Julien (.160) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pregame Transactions The Twins announced that Max Kepler was heading to the 10-Day Injured List with his knee injury. He hasn’t played for several days and isn’t experiencing any improvement. In addition, along with his ejection in his rehab game on Wednesday night, Byron Buxton also had a setback in his return from the hip injury. That combination meant that the Twins selected the contract of, and called up, outfielder DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. Keirsey has been tremendous at the plate and in the field for the Saints this year and is very deserving of the opportunity. To make room on the 40-man roster for Keirsey, LHP Kody Funderburk was transferred to the 60-Day injured list. While technically a minor-league transaction, RHP Josh Winder was placed on the 7-Day IL by the Saints. Pregame Notes Since 2019, the Twins have gone 77-60 in September since Rocco Baldelli became manager. Skippers with more wins in September during that stretch include the Dodgers Dave Roberts (91), Atlanta’s Brian Snitker (81), Brewers/Cubs Craig Counsell (81), and Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash (78). Early Power from Offense Over the Twins’ previous nine games, 18 of their 29 runs had come in the seventh inning or later. While the Twins went scoreless in the first inning, they were able to put a crooked number on the scoreboard in the second inning. Jose Miranda led off with a single to left field. Carlos Santana followed with a line drive single to right field. That marked the seventh time he had reached base in his past 10 plate appearances. That brought Edouard Julien to the plate. On the first pitch, he saw a splitter that sat right in the middle of the plate at 91.5 mph. With his keen eyesight, Julien was able to see the rotation of the ball and the words “Hit Me Harder” written on the sweet spot. Julien took those words to heart, swung, and watched the ball travel 392 feet, well over the right field fence, at 105.3 mph and a 28 degree launch angle. The Twins led 3-0. With one out in the top of the third inning, Matt Wallner came to the plate. He saw a fastball at 96.2 mph for a ball. Taj Bradley tried to keep him off balance with a slow curveball at just 80.0 mph. On 2-0, Bradley likely hoped that showing the slow curve might make his fastball look a bit faster. He threw another fastball, this one at 97.2 mph. Wallner hit it at 105.3 mph with a bat speed of 80.7 mph and a 41 degree launch angle. It landed 357 feet from home plate, just into the bleachers and just beyond the reach of a leaping Jonny DeLuca. That gave the Twins a 4-0 lead. On a side note, that was the 30th overall home run of the season for Wallner. It was his 11th with the Twins, but he also had 19 in his time with the St. Paul Saints. A Happy Pablo Day Pablo Lopez made his 29th start of the season. He came into the game with a stretch of 20 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. He started Thursday’s game with two scoreless innings. However, with two outs in the bottom of the third, Junior Caminero drilled a line-drive single to right field with the bases loaded to drive in two runs. Lopez’s streak ended at 23 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings. The last time that number was achieved was in 2019, when Tyler Duffey went 24 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings out of the Twins bullpen between July 28 and September 25. Lopez followed the two-run third inning with a scoreless, 10-pitch inning in the fourth, and a scoreless, 14-pitch inning in the fifth in which he struck out three batters. He had a nine-pitch sixth inning. He was also throwing really hard. He had three pitches that registered over 98.0 mph. On the season, Lopez has averaged 94.9 mph on his four-seamer. On Thursday afternoon, he threw 38 four-seam fastballs. The slowest came in at 95.0 mph. The max velocity was 98.6 mph, and his average was 96.8 mph, just shy of two mph above his season average. Bats go Cold Through Middle Innings Rays starter Taj Bradley made some adjustments and figured things out with his catcher Logan Driscoll. The Twins went scoreless in the fourth through seventh innings. In the fourth, he got three easy ground outs. In the fifth inning, Austin Martin walked and went to second on a wild pitch, but a ground out and a strikeout ended that threat. It was two strikeouts and a groundout for the Twins in the top of the sixth inning. Then in the seventh, Ryan Jeffers singled to right but was erased on a tailor-made double play off the bat of Willi Castro. That was followed with another strikeout. He gave up the four runs early, but overall, Bradley went seven innings and gave up six hits. He had just one walk, and he struck out 10 batters. Wallner and the Wall With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Yandy Diaz lined a ball down the right field line to drive in DeLuca and cut the lead to 4-3. In an effort to hold Diaz to a single, Matt Wallner went full speed, fielded the ball, took a couple of steps and then toppled over the side wall in foul territory. On the field, it was called a ground rule double, but Rays manager Kevin Cash questioned whether Diaz should get an extra base and get third base. There was a replay, and it took a long time, but this is such a unique play that it’s going to take longer. The delay was 10 minutes and the umpire informed the crowd that the call was made correctly on the field. Diaz gets second base. Ultimately, a very confusing play with many potential interpretations was reviewed and it was called correctly. Unfortunately, the long delay meant that Pablo Lopez’s day was done with 91 pitches. Rocco Baldelli went to the mound and had a pretty extensive (one-way) conversation with Lopez before pointing to the bullpen and summoning Griffin Jax. Lopez looked disappointed but understanding with the decision. Going to the Big Guys in the Bullpen! In his previous start, Baldelli sprinted out to the mound to talk to Lopez when he was at a 100 pitches in a key spot in the game. In that case, he let him stay in. In this case, he went to the bullpen ace. Either option is a good option for the Twins. Jax came in, threw one pitch, and got an inning-ending ground out. He also struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth inning. Jax needed 13 pitches to get four outs. Jhoan Duran slammed the door with a 12-pitch bottom of the ninth for the save. How important were those last seven outs? Check out the Top 3 Twins players by Win Probability Added in this game. Other Notes The Twins scored the four early runs, but that is about it. They had just two hits after the third inning. In fact, they were just 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left just four on base. These two teams played seven times this season. The Rays won four of those games. Six of the seven games were decided by just one run! More to Come. What’s Next? The Twins head to Kansas City for a huge, late-season series against the Royals. On Friday night (on Apple TV+), Zebby Matthews (1-2, 7.41 ERA) will try to bounce back from his first rough outing. He will face left Cole Ragans (10-9, 3.46 ERA). The game begins at 7:10. On Saturday at 6:15 pm, Bailey Ober (12-6, 3.95 ERA) will try to overcome the issues that he has had with the Royals the last couple of seasons. He will face right-hander Alec Marsh (7-8, 4.70 ERA). On Sunday, Simeon Woods Richardson (5-3, 3.95 ERA) will hope to provide some innings. He faces veteran Michael Wacha (11-7, 3.50 ERA) in a 1:10 start. Postgame Interview Bullpen Availability Chart View full article