Seth Stohs

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

St. Paul and Wichita both fell short again in losses. Fort Myers got a sweep against Bradenton while the FCL Twins offense showed up ready to go. Who hit? Who pitched? Image courtesy of William Parmeter CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 32-26 St. Paul Saints: 24-31 Wichita Wind Surge: 19-30 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 30-19 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 23-27 FCL Twins: 13-7 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Saints catcher Jair Camargo began a rehab assignment in the FCL. The Cedar Rapids Kernels placed RHP C.J. Culpepper on the 7-Day Injured List with a right forearm strain. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Rochester 11 Box Score The Twins current and previous Triple-A affiliates went back and forth in this one right from the start. The Saints scored four in the top of the first inning, but the Red Wings responded with three in the bottom of the inning. They added single runs in the second and fourth frames before putting a five-spot on the board in the fifth inning. St. Paul scored four runs in the eighth inning, but the comeback fell short. In the top of the first inning, following walks to Austin Martin and Matt Wallner, Michael Helman doubled in Martin. Wallner scored on an infield single by Tony Kemp. Two batters later, Chris Williams drove in two runs with a single. Things were pretty quiet until the top of the eighth inning. After a single by Yoyner Fajardo and a walk by Anthony Prato, Martin drove in Fajardo with a single. Wallner followed with a three-run homer, his eighth since joining the Saints. What a day for Michael Helman! He went 4-for-5 with three doubles in the game. Martin went 2-for-4 with a walk. Fajardo went 2-for-4 with a walk. David Festa started and went the first four innings. He was charged with five runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out five batters. Jeff Brigham was charged with three runs in 2/3 of an inning. He had three walks. Scott Blewett gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. Ronny Henriquez worked the final two innings and gave up a run on one hit and one walk. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Springfield 8 Box Score Pierson Ohl has been really good of late for Wichita, but Saturday’s start didn’t go so well. However, he still was able to give his team six innings. He was charged with six runs on nine hits. He had one walk and one strikeouts. John Stankiewicz came in and gave up two runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. He had one strikeout. Austin Brice got the final four outs of the game. He had a walk, but the outs all came on strikeouts. The Wind Surge had just six hits and three walks in the game. Aaron Sabato went 2-for-4 with his second home run. Jorel Ortega had two walks. Andrew Cossetti hit his 10th double. Emmanuel Rodriguez was again out of the Wind Surge lineup. He had not played since last Sunday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Lake County 11 Box Score Lake County scored 10 runs in the top of the first. However, if you want a positive, after that half-inning, the Kernels outscored them 3-1. Jeremy Lee started for the Kernels. He faced seven batters. He gave up seven runs on three hits, two walks, and two hit batters. Already at 32 pitches (14 strikes), Jose Mercedes came into the game. He allowed an inherited runner to score and was charged with three more runs on four hits. He had four strikeouts. He needed 31 pitches to get through the first inning, so his day was done as well. Again, after that, things went OK. Jay Harry led off the bottom of the first inning with his third home run of the season. AJ Labas gave up one run over four innings. Juan Mendez struck out four batters over two scoreless innings. Sheldon Reed had two strikeouts over two scoreless innings. Facing #OldFriend Steven Hajjar, Nate Baez scored on a Rubel Cespedes single for the Kernels’ second run. In the eighth inning, Misael Urbina scored on a ground out by Kyle Hess. He had advanced to third base on an Agustin Ruiz double. Cespedes went 2-for-3 with two walks and his 12th double. Baez was 2-for-4. In the bottom of the ninth, Dalton Shuffield was called out on strikes and immediately ejected. MUSSEL MATTERS Game 1: Fort Myers 3, Bradenton 1 Box Score These teams had their Thursday game postponed due to weather. It was made up in the first game of Saturday’s double header. On the mound for the Mussels was lefty Ross Dunn. He gave up an unearned run in the first inning and then tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out four batters. Ricky Castro came in for his first outing in the Twins organization. The first batter he faced reached on catcher’s interference. After that, it was six-up, six-down. In fact, he was credited with his first Win in affiliated ball. If you want to talk about dominance, Nolan Santos came on for the final two innings and recorded his fourth save of the season. He faced six batters and struck out all six of them. When I chatted with Mussels play-by-play voice John Vittas said of Santos, the Twins 7th round pick a year ago from Bethune-Cookman, “Santos has the makings of four really good pitches. His fastball is probably the worst one. It’s only 91-92. But his offspeeds are as polished and consistent as I’ve ever seen at this level. He’s got a curveball, a slider, and a change that are easily distinguishable.” The Mussels’ offense didn’t do much in Game 1 on Saturday. They had just four hits. Fortunately, they were able to bunch a couple of hits, a walk, and a wild pitch with a couple of Marauder errors to score three runs. That accounted for all of the game’s run scoring. Matthew Clayton singled. Gregory Duran walked. Yohander Martinez singled to right field. On the play, Clayton and Duran scored thanks to a throwing error that also sent Martinez to third base. He later scored on a wild pitch. Of the four hits, Rixon Wingrove’s double was the lone extra base hit. Clayton had the final and walked once. Game 2: Fort Myers 8, Bradenton 3 Box Score Unlike Game 1, the Mussels bats were much better in Game 2. They had 10 hits and seven walks in the game. Of the six innings in which they batted, Fort Myers scored in five of them. Poncho Ruiz led the way. He went 3-for-4 with his 10th double and two RBI. He even stole his first base. Payton Eeles was great as the instigator in the leadoff spot. He went 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored and two RBI. He even stole two bases. Carlos Aguiar was 2-for-3 in the game with a double. Brandon Winokur was 1-for-2 and had two walks. Charlee Soto was on the mound to start the game. He was charged with three runs on seven hits over just 2 2/3 innings. He had no walks but two strikeouts. Two of the hits were home runs though. Paulshawn Pasqualotto earned his first win by tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out four batters. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 16, FCL Red Sox 6 Box Score In baseball, when your team scores crooked numbers, that is a good thing. On Saturday, that’s just what the FCL Twins did on Saturday. They scored three runs in the first inning and then added seven more in the second innings. They scored one run in the third inning, none in the fourth, and five runs in the fifth inning. In case you were wondering, 37105 is the Zip Code for Lee County, North Carolina, an area of small-ish communities between Raleigh and Fayetteville. All nine Twins starters had at least one hit. All but one starting hitter had at least one walk. Walker Jenkins continued his rehab. In this game, he went 3-for-4 with a walk. Jair Camargo batted second and DHd in his first rehab appearance. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and a double. He was also hit by a pitch. Javier Roman went 2-for-4 with a walk. Anderson Nova launched his first home run of the season, a grand slam in the five-run fifth frame. Harold Grant drove in three runs with a double. He and Yilber Herrera each had two walks in the game. Grant had two stolen bases, and Herrera had one. 16 runs. 16 hits. 10 walks. It’s probably not worth worrying (or even mentioning) that they left nine runners on base and went 6-for-18 with runners in scoring position. On the mound, Dylan Questad had probably his best start. The lanky right-hander gave up one hit over three scoreless innings. He walked three and struck out five batters. Liam Rocha came on and worked the next three innings. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits and two walks. He had two strikeouts. Alejandro Crisotomoro started the seventh inning and gave up two runs. He gave up one hit and walked three batters. In addition, he threw three wild pitches. But he struck out two batters. Wilker Reyes came in to get the final out of the game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Michael Helman (Saints) - 4-for-5, 3-2B(9), R, RBI, SB(8), K. Pitcher of the Day – Nolan Santos (Mighty Mussels) - 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 30 pitches, 19 strikes (63.3%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. #1 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - 3-for-4, BB, 3 R (full game, CF, rehab in FCL) #2 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - Game 2: 1-for-3, BB, RBI (rehab in FM, DHd) #4 - David Festa (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 83 pitches, 53 strikes (63.9%) #7 - Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) - Game 2 (2.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 49 pitches, 36 strikes) #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, BB, 2 R, RBI #9 - Luke Keaschall (Wichita) - 1-for-4. #10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - Game 1 (DNP), Game 2 (1-for-2, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI) #12 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K #13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R, K. #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2 K (DHd) SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Rochester (12:05 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (3-4, 5.06 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Andrew Morris (0-1, 3.38 ERA) Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (1-3, 6.38 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (11:05 AM CST) - RHP Spencer Bengard (2-0, 1.31 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 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Love this idea. Should help Paddack work through the year and maintain effectiveness. Can help Festa by getting him through his MLB debut and a couple of starts in June rather than August or September. Paddack could miss two starts. If Festa's doing OK, maybe they continue it and put SWR on the IL for 15 days to keep him strong...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I don't think that's true. His ability to play all three outfield positions, plus play 1B, plus be an on-base machine that would have been fun to team with Luis Arraez at the top of the order. The Twins have had injuries to all three outfield positions and 1B since that time.

Without any sort of research, I would venture to guess that Jake Cave's career with the Twins organization is better than like 90% of players acquired for a lottery ticket from the DSL. The LaMonte Wade for Shaun Anderson trade was a FAR worse trade.

The Saints got an early lead and a very efficient pitching performance from their staff on Wednesday. Wichita found itself in a pitchers' duel, but a top prospect helped the team to a win in grand style. Cedar Rapids had some chances to make a big comeback but fell short. The same can be said in Fort Myers where the Mussels had great chances in each of the final three innings. Find out all that happened in the Twins minor league system on Wednesday. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge There were some big, huge home runs on Wednesday in the Twins minor leagues, but there was also some really good pitching. CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 28-23 St. Paul Saints: 24-28 Wichita Wind Surge: 19-27 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 28-18 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 20-27 FCL Twins: 11-6 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Saints placed OF DaShawn Keirsey on the 7-Day IL with a left calf strain. 2B/OF Yoyner Fajardo was activated from the development list. Wichita placed RHP Zebby Matthews on the Development List. The Twins signed 24-year-old RHP Ricky Garcia from the independent Joliet Slammers. An Illinois native, he spent three seasons at Purdue (2020-22) and then spent a year at Tulane. He went undrafted and pitched for Joliet in 2023. He had made three appearances with Joliet this year before signing with the Twins earlier this week. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Rochester 0 Box Score The Saints got off to a fast start, and they got a nice start, and some terrific bullpen work on Wednesday night in The Rochester. With one out in the first inning, Michael Helman singled. Matt Wallner followed with a walk. Clean-up hitter Yunior Severino then hit a three-run homer. Adam Plutko had a nice 3-0 lead before he even took the mound, but he did quite well too. The veteran tossed four scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out four batters. And, he did so on just 45 pitches. “Efficiency” or “Efficient” is a good word to describe the Saints pitchers in this game. Jeff Brigham made his first appearance since coming off of the IL. He needed 12 pitches to work a perfect fifth inning. Ronny Henriquez gave up two hits, walked one and struck out two batters over two scoreless innings. He did so on 29 pitches. Scott Blewett used 25 pitches to work the final two innings. Combined, the Saints pitchers needed just 111 pitches for a nine-inning shutout. In the sixth inning, Alex Isola hit a solo homer to make it 4-0. The following inning, Austin Martin and Wallner worked walks and Severino drove in Martin with the fifth run of the game. Severino led the way. He was 2-for-5 with four RBI. His home run was his eighth of the season. Isola’s home run was his fifth in a Saints uniform. Helman was also 2-for-5. Wallner had a double to go with two walks. Austin Martin walked twice in the game. In nine games since he was optioned to St. Paul, this was the first time he didn’t have at least one hit. Over those nine games, he is 10-for-29 (.345) with 11 walks to just one strikeout. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Springfield 2 Box Score This was quite the pitchers’ duel between Wind Surge lefty Jaylen Nowlin and Cardinals’ prospect Ian Bedell. Bedell game up just two hits and two walks and struck out nine batters through seven innings. Nowlin gave up two hits and walked three over 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He had two strikeouts. He also picked off a baserunner at first base. Austin Brice came in with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, but got the final out. He then worked a scoreless seventh inning despite giving up two hits. He had three strikeouts. Let’s jump to the bottom of the eighth inning. Springfield turned to former Twins pitching prospect Ryan Shreve. With one out, Kyler Fedko doubles. Luke Keaschall hit an infield single. After a strikeout for the inning’s second out, Tanner Schobel walked to load the bases. That brought up Kala’i Rosario who had yet to put a ball in play in the game. He struck out his first two at-bats before walking in his third plate appearance. The Hawaiian fell behind 0-2, but he took two close pitches just off the outside corner at the very bottom of the strike zone. With a 2-2 count, got what appears to be a slider that didn't slide. Rosario did not miss it. He crushed a long home run, a grand slam that turned a scoreless game into a four-run lead for the Surge. Jared Solomon pitched a scoreless top of the eighth and came out for the ninth inning. He started with a strikeout. Then a single… a walk… and another single drove in the first run. 4-1 Surge. The next batter singled to center to cut the lead to 4-2. Taylor Floyd came in and immediately threw a wild pitch. A stolen base put the tying run on second base. But Floyd came through with a strikeout and a soft ground ball toward the first base line that he fielded and tagged out the runner to end the game. The Wind Surge had five hits and three walks in the game. Fedko went 2-for-3 with his fifth double. He also had a great diving catch in center field earlier in the game. Rosario’s huge home run was his fourth of the season. Keaschall went 1-for-3 with a walk. Emmanuel Rodriguez missed his second straight game with what is being deemed a “minor injury.” He is said to be day-to-day. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Lake County 6 Box Score In his previous start, C.J. Culpepper threw six perfect innings. 18 up, 18 down. This start didn’t go as well for the right-hander. In the first innings, the leadoff batter singled. That was followed by another single. After a strikeout, he gave up another single to load the bases. The fifth batter, Jake Fox, followed with a two-run single. After a second strikeout, he got a pop out to end the inning. In the bottom of the first inning, the Kernels cut the lead in half. Jay Harry led off with a single. He stole second and scored on a Rubel Cespedes double. Culpepper responded in the second inning by striking out the three batters he faced. However, with one out in the third innings, he hit a batter and followed that with a walk. Fox reached on a fielder’s choice/error to load the bases. A two-run single by Jose Devers was followed with an RBI groundout that made it 5-1 Lake County. Culpepper got through the third inning but was replaced by Rafael Marcano in the fourth. The lefty Rule 5 pick gave up a hit and two walks but struck out two over two scoreless innings. A.J. Labas came in and tossed two scoreless innings as well. It took a bit, but the Kernels did try to make a comeback. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ricardo Olivar hit a solo home run, his sixth of the season to cut the deficit to 5-2. In the eighth inning, Dillon Tatum hit a one-out home run, his second of the season.That was followed by singles from Harry and Olivar. After a pitching change, Cespedes walked to load the bases. Agustin Ruiz grounded out to score Harry from third and make it a 5-4 game. That is as close as the game got. Jacob Wosinski pitched a scoreless eighth inning, but he gave up one run in the ninth for the final score of 6-4. Harry played center field and went 2-for-4. Olivar was 2-for-4 with the home run. Cespedes’s double was his 11th. Rayne Doncon hit his second Kernels double, his 15th overall this season. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Bradenton 3 Box Score When you hear the phrase “just one bad pitch,” it is used when a team loses because of a home run that was the difference in the game, and the cliche could be used in this scenario, if you wanted. Of course, it’s not a truth, especially in a game in which the Mussels pitches combined for seven walks. But one pitch was the difference in this game, in a way. We’ll get to that. In the third inning, Payton Eeles hit a solo home run to give the Mussels a 1-0 lead. The home run was majestic, launched at an angle of 43 degrees. 21-year-old Jose Olivares was on the mound to start for Fort Myers. He tossed four innings and gave up just one hit. He had four strikeouts but also three walks. Jack Noble threw two scoreless innings, but then the top of the seventh started with back-to-back singles. After a sacrifice bunt advanced runners to second and third, Braylon Bishop came to the plate. Noble fell behind 2-0 on a slider and a changeup… Then Bishop did what Bishop should have done with a 92-mph fastball right over the middle of the plate. He hit the ball 101.6 mph at a 34 degree launch angle and it landed well beyond the outfield fencing. Down 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Mussels attempted a comeback. Two walks and a wild pitch left runners on second and third with one out. After a strikeout, another walk loaded the bases, but a strikeout ended that threat. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the rehabbing Brooks Lee singled. He advanced to third base on a Brandon Winokur double. After a strikeout, Rixon Wingrove drove in Lee with a ground out to make it 3-2. Then in the bottom of the ninth, the Mussels had a runner on and one out. Eeles singled and Lee walked to load the bases with one out. Unfortunately, the game ended on a double hitter. Lefty Samuel Perez did a nice job out of the bullpen. He gave up one hit and walked one batter but tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He had five strikeouts. Eeles was 2-for-4 with a walk. The homer was his second. Lee DHd and went 2-for-4 with a walk. He also stole a base. Winokur’s doubles was his 12th of the season. Both teams had opportunities to do much more damage. Bradenton went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base. The Mussels were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base. The difference in the game was, to some degree, the one bad pitch. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Yunior Severino (Saints) - 2-for-5, HR(8), R, 4 RBI, 2 K. Pitcher of the Day – Jaylen Nowlin (Wind Surge) - 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, HBP, 2 K, 86 pitches, 44 strikes (51.2%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. #2 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, BB, R, SB(1) (DH, Rehab in FM) #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, 2 BB, R, #9 - Luke Keaschall (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, R, K, #10 - Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5, 2B(12), K #12 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, HR(4), R, 4 RBI, 2 K. #13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB, R #18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, HR(8), R, 4 RBI, 2 K. #19 - C.J. Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 5 K, 53 pitches, 39 strikes (73.6%) #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, HR(6), R, RBI, K THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Rochester (10:05 AM CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (2-2, 5.40 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (2-3, 5.14 ERA) Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Christian MacLeod (0-0, 2.89 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM CST) - LHP Cesar Lares (1-1, 2.31 ERA) FCL Orioles @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

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

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

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