Seth Stohs

Willie Mays is the greatest player ever to play the game...

Do we want Lee called up to fill the Kyle Farmer role, playing twice per week, mostly partial games? And, I like Eeles, great story so far... but hasn't it been one game. CR won. FM lost. But I'm not sure that is all about Eeles. He is a sparkplug though.

Ricardo Velez has been named the Minnesota Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month in both April and May this year. What does he throw? What has made him so successful this season? Seth caught up with the 25-year-old from Puerto Rico about the start to his season, going to college in Oklahoma, going to the USPBL, and finally signing with the Twins. View full video

I don't think there's anything to say formally who can or can't play there. But it is primarily for players signed from Spanish-speaking counties. 95% of the players there are from the DR or Venezuela, but they have players from other spanish-speaking countries. Looking back at players the Twins have signed from other places, I believe they're all gone to the FCL in Florida. Australia. Germany. South Africa. That's tough because players in the FCL are typically a little older, a little stronger and more advanced. High school draft picks are generally 18, compared to the international players who sign at 16 or 17, and they're listed at 6-1 and 145 pounds. It's a good transition level before going to the States. They take classes most afternoons, basic English

Saturday provided us with several impressive highlights. Randy Dobnak had his best start. Matt Wallner stayed hot. Zebby Matthews was on the mound again. Would he issue any walks? The Wind Surge were powered to a huge walkoff homer in extra innings. Kevin Maitan and Jay Harry led the Kernels, for whom good things came in threes. Spencer Bengard was treat for the Mighty Mussels. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge Twins Minor League Report (6/13): CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 38-32 St. Paul Saints: 32-35 Wichita Wind Surge: 26-36 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 35-26 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 30-30 FCL Twins: 14-12 DSL Twins: 4-5 TRANSACTIONS Kyle Jones was set to begin his rehab assignment in the FCL. However, the game was postponed. Sebastian Pulido, a RHP in the Dominican Summer League, was activated from the Restricted List. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Louisville 1 Box Score Randy Dobnak had easily his best start of the 2024 season. He’s been pitching well enough of late that it’s again fair to wonder aloud if he has a potential path back to the big leagues. On Saturday afternoon, “Dobber” gave up just two hits over six shutout innings. He walked one and had 10 strikeouts. Josh Winder came on and tossed two scoreless innings. Kody Funderburk got the ninth frame. He gave up a run on a hit and a hit batter. He had two strikeouts and earned his second save. Offensively, the Saints were again led by Matt Wallner. He put the Saints on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when he launched a 403-foot shot, at 109-mph to left-center field to make it a 1-0 lead. The Forest Lake native singled to lead off the top of the seventh inning and scored on a double by Jair Camargo. After a pitching change brought fellow 2019 Twins draft pick Casey Legumina into the game. He was greeted by a Tony Kemp sacrifice fly that drove in Yunior Severino with the third run. Wallner was 4-for-4 in the game and the homer was his 14th of the season. The Saints had just six hits in the game. Camargo’s double was his fifth of the season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, Midland 3 (11 innings) Box Score These teams were having so much fun in Wichita on Saturday night that they decided to play a couple of extra innings. The Surge broke through with three runs in the 11th to grab the win. Down 1-0 in the second inning, Luke Keaschall put the Wind Surge on the scoreboard with a double that drove in Jorel Ortega. Keaschall then scored on a Jake Rucker double. Midland reclaimed the lead with two runs in the top of the sixth, but a Jeferson Morales homer tied things at three in the bottom of the inning. That’s how the score remained until the 11th inning. Morales started the 11th inning as the Manfred Man on second base. With one out, Carson McCusker was hit by a pitch. That brought up Aaron Sabato who abruptly ended the ballgame with a three-run, walk-off homer. Sabato played hero, but the Surge gave up just three runs over 11 innings. Zebby Matthews started and gave up three runs on seven hits (including a home run) in six innings. He had seven strikeouts and - of course - no walks. The quick update? Matthews now has 70 strikeouts and just two walks over 58 1/3 innings. In that time, he has a combined 1.70 ERA (1.77 in AA, 1.59 in High-A). The team then got five innings of one-hit, shutout baseball from the bullpen. Miguel Rodriguez and Scott Engler each tossed two innings. Engler had four strikeouts. Jared Solomon walked two and struck out two in a scoreless 11th inning. Sabato and Morales were both 2-for-5 in the game. Morales’s homer was his fourth, and Sabato’s was his fifth of the season. Sabato also stole his fourth base this season. Keaschall went 2-for-4 with a walk and his sixth double since joining Wind Surge. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Lansing 6 Box Score The Kernels jumped ahead early in this game. They had a 4-0 lead after two innings. However, the Lugnuts scored five in the bottom of the fourth inning. However, the Kernels responded with three runs in the top of the fifth and the top of the eighth innings and held on for the 10-6. The Kernels scored one in the first inning. With two outs, Jay Harry doubled to drive in Ricardo Olivar with the first run. They scored three quick runs in the second inning. Kevin Maitan singled and scored on a Jose Salas triple. Nate Baez stayed hot and hit a two-run homer. Lefty Jordan Carr made the start for the Kernels. He tossed three scoreless innings to start the game. He got the first out in the fourth inning but then gave up four straight hits, a fielder’s choice and another hit to tie the game at 4-4. Michael Paredes came on and allowed an inherited runner to score before the end of the inning. The Kernels quickly responded in the top of the fifth inning, with patience. Rayne Doncon, Olivar and Agustin Ruiz walked. With two outs, Maitan cleared the bases with a double. Again, the Kernels came up big with two outs. This time in the eighth inning. Rubel Cespedes singled, and Olivar followed with another walk. Harry tripled to drive them both in and then scored on a Ruiz single. Aside from the inherited runner scoring, Paredes was charged with no runs on two hits over 2 1/3 innings. Kyle Bischoff tossed two scoreless frames. The ninth inning was covered by Juan Mendez who gave up a run on two hits. Maitan led the way with a 4-for-5 game. He hit his third triple and drove in three runs. Harry drove in three runs with his 12th double and first triple. Kyle Hess had two hits. Olivar went 1-for-3 with two walks. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 11, Lakeland 3 Box Score The Mussels jumped out to an early lead with five runs over the game’s first two innings and then put the game out of reach with a five-run bottom of the seventh. The team fell behind 2-0 after one-half inning. The Mussels manufactured a run and then used some power to add on. Payton Eeles led off and was hit by a pitch. With one out, he stole second and then advanced to third on a fly out. He scored the first run on a single by Poncho Ruiz. Rixon Wingrove followed with a long home run to the right center field gap to give them a 3-2 lead. With two outs in the second inning, Matthew Clayton was hit by a pitch and Eeles walked. Walker Jenkins then drove in two runs with a single. Honestly, it’s a play you have to see to believe. Charlee Soto made the start for Fort Myers and completed the first four innings, a season high. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on four hits and a walk. He had five strikeouts. Spencer Bengard came in and continued to pitch as he has all season. He completed the final five innings without giving up another run. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out five batters. With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Brandon Winokur was hit by a pitch. Ruiz and Wingrove followed with singles to lead the bases. A run scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Byron Chourio. Then with two outs, Carlos Aguiar doubled in two runs.Clayton, who was twice hit by a pitch in this game, followed with a two-run single. The Mussels added one more in the eighth inning. Winokur singled and scored on a Ruiz double. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins, FCL Red Sox Box Score This game was postponed due to inclement weather in Fort Myers. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader next Friday. It’s been a rough weather week in south Florida. Most of the games this week were postponed DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 4, DSL Diamondbacks 6 Box Score The Twins took the early lead in this one. In the bottom of the first inning, a Yandro Hernandez single drove in Merphy Hernandez. Santiago Rojas started the game with four scoreless innings. He hit a batter in the third inning and gave up an infield single in the fourth frame. In the fifth, he gave up a leadoff walk. The runner stole second and after two outs, he scored on another single. Nestor Cafe came in and issued a walk and a stolen base, followed by a single that scored the second run off of Rojas and another run. By the time the third out occurred, the Twins trailed by a score of 4-1. Rojas’s final line included giving up two runs on two hits. He walked one, hit one and struck out six batters. Cafe went 1 1/3 innings. He gave up four runs (2 earned) on just one hit. He walked four and had two strikeouts. Cafe started the seventh inning but walked both batters he faced. Fabian Herrera came in and after a wild pitch, he recorded back-to-back strikeouts. However, a bloop single scored both of Cafe’s runners. In the bottom of the sixth inning, an infield single by Davirik Fuenmayor drove in a run. Down 6-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, Daiber De Los Santos led off with a solo homer, the first of his pro career. The Twins kept fighting and scored a second run on an error. In fact, they had the tying run on second base when the game ended. Yandro Hernandez went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases. Murphy Hernandez was 2-for-3 with a walk and three stolen bases. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – a) Randy Dobnak (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, 100 pitches, 67 strikes (67.0%) b) Spencer Bengard (Fort Myers) - 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 74 pitches, 53 strikes (71.6%) Hitter of the Day – Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 4-for-4, HR(14), 2 R, RBI. Kevin Maitan (Cedar Rapids) - 4-for-5, 2B(3), R, 3 RBI, SB(2). PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, 2 RBI #2 – Brooks Lee (St. Paul) – 0-for-4, K #7 – Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) – 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 68 pitches, 46 strikes (67.6%) #9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 2-for-4, BB, 2B(6), R, RBI, SB(3). #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 2-for-3, 2 R, #14 – Zebby Matthews (Wichita) – 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 81 pitches, 60 strikes (74.1%) #18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, 2 BB, RBI #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-3, 2 BB, 3 R, RBI, K. SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs Louisville (12:05 PM CST) – RHP Caleb Boushley (6-1, 3.88 ERA) Midland @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) – LHP Jaylen Nowlin (4-6, 4.06 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Ty Langenberg (first Kernels start) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (DH @ 11:05 AM CST) – RHP Jose Olivares (1-0, 1.80 ERA), TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games View full article

Rain continued to be the winner in Southwest Florida, not allowing the Mighty Mussels to play for a second straight day. The Saints got a strong start from a former adversary. The Wind Surge hit three home runs, and last year's Minor League Pitcher of the Year made his Double-A debut after missing the first two months of the season with shoulder issues. Cedar Rapids' offense showed up in Michigan yet again. Ad, you're going to want to catch up on all of the day's transactions. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge Prospect and Player Development are not Linear! Prospect and Player Development are not Linear! Prospect and Player Development are not Linear! CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 36-32 St. Paul Saints: 29-35 Wichita Wind Surge: 24-35 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 34-24 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 28-29 FCL Twins: 14-12 DSL Twins: 3-3 TRANSACTIONS As we knew, Louie Varland was going to be optioned to St. Paul after his terrific spot start on Tuesday night at Target Field. The other side of that transaction is what might cause some surprise. The Twins re-purchased Jay Jackson’s contract from the Saints and called him up. To make room on the 40-man roster, RHP Diego Castillo was DFAd. Wichita had several transactions as well. First, LHP Jaylen Nowlin was activated from the Development List. RHP Travis Adams was moved to the Development list. And, outfielder Kala’i Rosario was placed on the 7-Day IL. In addition, Dalton Shuffield was transferred from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. Down in Fort Myers, RHP Jose Olivares was activated from the Development List. Unfortunately, LHP Kade Bragg, a 2023 draft pick, was moved from the 7-Day IL to the 60-Day IL. Later in the evening, we learned that Alex Kirilloff was optioned to St. Paul after Wednesday’s afternoon game. And even later, we learned that Austin Martin will be the player promoted to the Twins ahead of the series against Oakland. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Louisville 2 Box Score Leading 3-1 through six innings, the Saints busted it open with a four-run seventh inning to take a 7-1 lead that they were able to hang onto. The Saints grabbed an early run in the second inning. Tony Kemp tripled with one out and scored on a Diego A. Castillo single. In the third frame, Matt Wallner drove in two runs with his ninth Saints double. Adam Plutko made another start for the Saints. The 32-year-old with 140 big-league appearances (including 128 starts) pitched well. In 5 2/3 innings, he gave up one run on five hits. He had five strikeouts without issuing a walk. He started with five scoreless innings. In the sixth inning, he had two strikeouts that surrounded a single. That’s why Ryan Jensen came into the game and things quickly got a bit scary. Jensen gave up a single and then hit a batter to load the bases. He then walked in a run to make it 3-1. However, that was it as he got a groundout to end the threat. The Saints responded very well. Patrick Winkel led off the top of the seventh with a double. After a strikeout, Austin Martin walked. Another strikeout was followed by a walk by Michael Helman to load the bases. Wallner and Yunior Severino followed with back-to-back RBI walks. After a pitching change, Tony Kemp hit a two-run single to give the team a 7-1 lead. Jeff Brigham gave up a solo home run and three hits, but struck out three batters in the eighth inning. Josh Winder came on for the ninth and got out of the inning unscathed. Kemp led the way with a 3-for-5 day. He had a triple and two RBI. Castillo was 2-for-4. Wallner was 1-for-4 with a walk, double and three RBI. Winkel was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks. Helman was 1-for-3 with two walks. In case you were wondering, Edouard Julien went 1-for-3 with two walks and a triple off fellow 2019 Twins draft pick Casey Legumina. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 10, Midland 5 Box Score Reigning minor-league starting pitcher of the year Cory Lewis made his first Double-A start after a handful of rehab appearances. The right-hander worked four innings. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out five batters. Lefty Aaron Rozek came on in the fifth inning and pitched much better than his final line would tell us. After three scoreless innings, he gave up a run in the eighth. He then was charged with two more in the bottom of the ninth. In total, he went 4 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out four batters. Cody Laweryson came on and got the final out. Kyler Fedko got the scoring started in the second inning when he launched a line drive over the center field wall. In the third inning, Ben Ross hit a long homer over the wall in left field, his first long ball of the year. The power “Surge” continued in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jorel Ortega’s third homer of the season drove in Noah Cardenas and gave Wichita a 4-2 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, the team added on when Fedko scored on a Tanner Schobel sacrifice fly. In the seventh inning, Luke Keaschall singled to drive in Ross with the sixth run. With two outs in the inning, Carson McCusker drilled a hard grounder to third base. It was misplayed into two runs and the Surge had an 8-2 lead. The Surge scored two more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Ortega scored on a Keaschall ground out. Later Fedko was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Ben Ross led the offense. He went 3-for-4 with his seventh double and fourth home run. Keaschall was 2-for-4 with a walk. Jake Rucker went 2-for-5. Ortega went 2-for-4 with his third homer. Jeferson Morales went 1-for-3 with two walks. Fedko had a walk and was hit by a pitch to go with his second homer. He also stole a base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Lansing 3 Box Score The Kernels scored two in the first innings and then single runs in three of the next five innings. Lansing made things close late in the game, but the Kernels responded with two runs in the ninth to give them some breathing room. Things couldn’t have started any better for the Kernels. On the game’s very first pitch, Jay Harry launched his fifth home run of the season. Later in the inning, the Kernels had bases loaded and Agustin Ruiz grounded into a force out that scored Rubel Cespedes with the second run. In the top of the third, Ruiz drove in Cespedes again, this time with a sacrifice fly. Ruiz, who signed with the Twins as a minor-league free agent this past offseason, was just getting started. The “hits” portion of his game was yet to come. In the top of the fifth inning, he tripled to center and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nate Baez. Ruiz had a single in the sixth inning. Finally in the top of the ninth inning, his 13th double of the season drove in Kevin Maitan and Rayne Doncon for the Kernels final runs of the game. Ruiz finished the day 3-for-4 with four RBI. He was a home run shy of the cycle. Doncon was 2-for-4 with a walk. Kyle Hess had two doubles in four at-bats. Cespedes went 2-for-5. Christian MacLeod made the start for the Kernels. The lefty gave up two runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings. He had three walks, hit a batter and recorded six strikeouts. AJ Labas came on and got the next four batters out. Mike Paredes gave up one run over the next two innings. Ricardo Velez got the game’s final three outs. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers, Lakeland (DH PPD) Box Score On Monday, these teams were postponed by weather in Fort Myers. Things didn’t improve enough on Wednesday to play either game of a double header. The updated plan is to make up the two games. They hope to play one doubleheader on Thursday and another doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins Box Score No scheduled FCL games on Wednesdays. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins Box Score No scheduled DSL games on Wednesdays. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Adam Plutko (St. Paul) - 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 79 pitches, 56 strikes (70.9%) Hitter of the Day – Agustin Ruiz (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, 2B(13), 3B(1), SF, R, 4 RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday. #8 – Austin Martin (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R #9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 2-for-4, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB(2) (DHd) #13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 0-for-3, RBI, SF, 2 K. (played 3B) #15 – Cory Lewis (Wichita) – 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. 60 pitches, 38 strikes (63.3%) #18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, 2 BB, RBI #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-4, BB THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs Louisville (5:35 PM CST) – RHP Scott Blewett (3-2, 2.64 ERA) Midland @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) – RHP Pierson Ohl (3-4, 4.99 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Jacob Wosinski (0-1, 3.77 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (DH @ 3:35 PM CST) – LHP Cesar Lares (2-2, 3.02 ERA), RHP Spencer Bengard (2-0, 1.19 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (DH @ 9:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Yankees @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! View full article

Good day for a 5-hit game!!

My thoughts: 1.) Jenkins is the only truly untouchable (unless you get the Yankees to send Judge and Cole while eating the remainders of their contracts). 2.) Lee could be a part of getting you an ace-like pitcher. I think he's expendable, but I think Lee, E-Rod, Festa, Soto, Morris and Zebby all fit into that category at this point. Unless you get a controllable Ace, I'm not dealing any of them. 3.) Raya is pretty close to that same level. 4.) I'm not dealing Winokur at this point either. Or Keaschall. Again, unless overwhelmed. 5.) DeAndrade is a legit shortstop prospect. Olivar is a very legit catching prospect. Those two could get a very nice return, but from the Twins perspective, they should feel a clear winner in any trade involving these two. 6.) Nature of pitching, but I wouldn't deal Lewis, Prielipp or Culpepper (or Kyle Jones) when they're hurt or returning from being hurt. You won't get anything for four guys who do have big-league potential. I'd much rather get them healthy and see what you can get from them

He missed 7 games, came back last Wednesday, had a single and a double. On the double, he slid headfirst into second base and jammed his wrist/hand/thumb which was already bandaged/taped up pretty good. Came out after that half inning. Went on the IL.

No reason to rush him to Cedar Rapids. Granted, Cedar Rapids could probably use him. But I'd say let him just play for awhile. I'd say continue playing him four games per week for a couple of weeks, and then five for a couple of weeks, and then all six a couple of weeks. If he gets to Cedar Rapids in August, great. Honestly, if not, it doesn't really alter where he starts next next season. Be healthy. Work on quality ABs. The rest will take care of itself.

Manuel Margot and Rayne Doncon.

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

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

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

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

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

Yennier Cano?