Seth Stohs

The Minnesota Twins got contributions up and down their lineup in this game and ended with a much-needed laugher. Chris Paddack was the beneficiary of the offensive support. The Twins ran away with this game to win their sixth game in a row and moved to .500. Image courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Chris Paddack - 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (95 pitches, 60 strikes (63.2%), 9 whiffs) Home Runs: Carlos Santana (3), Max Kepler (1), Ryan Jeffers (5) Top 3 WPA: Carlos Santana (0.284), Edouard Julien (0.146), Max Kepler (0.109) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Chris Paddack Stuff On Saturday night, Chris Paddack made his fifth start of the season. To say that the results have been up and down would be putting it lightly. Obviously his nine earned runs start against the very good Orioles offense is one side of the spectrum. On the other side is his 10 strikeout, seven scoreless innings performance against the White Sox. Even within this start against the Angels, we saw good and bad. I would say that he threw too many very hittable strikes on pitcher's counts. He seemed to get the first two outs fairly quickly but then struggled to get that third out. But he also came up with some really big pitches to end threats as well. There was some discussion about his velocity being down nearly two mph on his various pitches. The “Spin” rates were down as well. I’m not ready to be overly worried about this yet. He is just five starts into the season after missing most of the two previous seasons, so I would think there will be some ups and downs, both in terms of “Stuff” and “Results.” Twins Daily's winning "Make It Official!" game recaps are sponsored by Official Fried Chicken, which you can find in center field of Target Field. With a name like "Official," we know we have to be the best in the game every day, and from your first bite, you'll know that's a promise we make good on. Everybody Hits, Sometimes. The Twins offense started the season incredibly slow. They really haven’t had a game like they did on Saturday night in Anaheim. Everybody hit. All nine starters had at least one hit. Edouard Julien had three hits. Six Twins starters had two hits. Six of the starters had at least one walk. 17 hits and seven walks. That’s a lot of base runners! I don’t think we even need to complain about leaving eight on base. Before the game, he spoke with his best buddy, Trevor Plouffe. What a Week! When the Twins arrived at Target Field last Monday afternoon, they were just 7-13 on the season. There were injuries. There were veterans simply not contributing. What a difference a week can make! Or… what a difference a week can make when you play a couple of teams with bad pitching! The Twins have gone 6-0 against the White Sox and Angels. (Of note, facing Reid Detmers is another story! That guy is really good!) Back to .500 at 13-13! With that in mind, here are some fun numbers. Sure, it’s a small sample size, but seven Twins hitters have an OPS of over 1.000 in that stretch. Edouard Julien: .474/.565/1.105 (1.670), 3 doubles, 3 homers, 3 walks, 7 RBI. Trevor Larnach: .467/.556/.800 (1.356), 2 doubles, 1 homer, 3 walks, 4 RBI. Ryan Jeffers: .400/.520/.750 (1.270), 1 double, 2 homers, 2 walks, 4 RBI. Carlos Santana: .304/.385/.783 (1.168), 2 doubles, 3 homers, 2 walks, 8 RBI. Max Kepler: .421/.476/.684 (1.160), 2 doubles, 1 homer, 2 walks, 7 RBI. Byron Buxton: .385/.429/.692 (1.121), 1 double, 1 homer, 0 walks, 2 RBI. Willi Castro: .385/.385/.654 (1.039), 4 doubles, 1 homer, 0 walks, 6 RBI. “The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn't still be a farmer.” A century ago, Will Rogers became famous in vaudeville, acting during the transition from silent films to ‘talkies.’ A native of Oklahoma, he always showed pride in his state, ranching, farming. He became known as a political humorist, a philosopher, and starred in newspapers and on radio. He was incredibly famous and has many quotes that are still out there. This is one of them. The above Rogers’ quote feels fitting. Coming into Saturday night’s game, Farmer was hitting .064/.200/.085 (.285) with a double. He had just three hits in 47 at-bats over 20 games played. On Saturday night, Farmer went 2-for-3 with two walks and a double. He also made some nice plays at third base. Trying to stay optimistic through the slump Farmer is in has to be incredibly challenging. We know Farmer has really struggled with it, even telling media recently he would shower in his uniform if he thought it would help. Even now, Farmer is hitting .100/.250/.140 (.390) on the season, still quite the slump. But the quality of his plate appearances on Saturday night were much improved. The two walks don’t help the batting average, but they do help tell him that he is getting closer. In the third inning, he came up with runners on second and third. Coming through with a big double had to feel really good. Farmer scored two runs in this game which gives him 200 for his career. Santana Completes Impressive AB with Huge Homer In the top of the third inning, he came up with runners on base, and drilled a double to score Max Kepler and move Willi Castro to third. That pushed the Twins Win Probability from 78.6% to 88.3% While the Twins were scoring runs, so were the Angels. They scored two runs in the bottom of the third to cut the Twins lead to 7-4. As a fan, watching from home, it was just an uncomfortable feeling knowing that the lead was just three with 18 more outs to get. Santana came to the plate with two outs in the top of the fourth frame. There were also two runners on base. Jose Cisnero fell behind Santana 3-1, but Santana has struggled early this season with velocity, especially when the pitchers are able to mix and match well. A slider made it 3-2, both strikes were swing and miss. Then Cisnero got tough. He was able to foul off a fastball at 96. Then he did a great job just fouling off a 89.5 mph changeup with 35 inch drop! Then, on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, he got a fastball and crushed it way into the right field bleachers. It was a great at-bat for Santana. He has now homered in three straight games. But it was a great at-bat in terms of working the strike zone, fouling off a couple of tough pitches, and finally getting a pitch he could do something with. A three-run lead became a 10-4 Twins lead. Hicks Pitches! Aaron Hicks was the Twins top draft pick in 2008 out of high school in southern California. At that time of the draft, there were clearly several teams that wanted to draft him in the first round as a pitcher. He wanted to be a hitter, an everyday player. And frankly, the Twins have had a lot of success in developing great athletes like Aaron Hicks. It would have been fun to see him pitch when he was younger and was known to have a mid-90s fastball. Unfortunately, in the ninth inning of this game, Hicks did the position player pitching thing and just tossed 60 mph lobs over the plate. Granted, he wasn't attempting to see how slow he could pitch like others do, but he even had one pitch reach 80 mph, and it didn't look like he was overexerting to get there. I was the first time in his career that he pitched. He worked one inning and faced six batters. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. One of the hits was a long home run for Ryan Jeffers. Hicks is still playing under his seven year, $70 million contract that he signed with the Yankees before the 2019 season. He will be paid $9.5 million in 2024 and 2025. The Angels signed him at the end of January and will be paying him the league minimum of $740,000 with the Yankees on the hook for the other $8.76 million. And he will get paid $9.5 million in 2025 too. Last night, Hicks went 1-for-3 with a walk. It was his first start since last Sunday. Coming into the game, he was hitting .140/.218/.200 (.418). He is now hitting .151/.237/.208 (.445) with one home run. He has struck out 20 times in 59 plate appearances (33.9%). Fellow former Twin Miguel Sano did not play on Saturday. In 21 games for the Angels this season, he is hitting .262/.352/.361 (.713) with three doubles and a homer. He has 27 strikeouts in 71 plate appearances (38.0%). Utilityman Ehire Adrianza was promoted to the Angels big-league club a week ago. He has played in three games and gone 1-for-7 so far. What’s Next? The Twins will finish their three-game series in Anaheim by sending Pablo Lopez to the mound. He’ll face lefty Reid Detmers who has been terrific this season. Sun 3:07 pm: RHP Pablo Lopez (1-2, 4.39 ERA) vs LHP Reid Detmers (3-1, 2.12 ERA) Mon 6:40 pm: RHP Joe Ryan (1-1, 3.45 ERA) vs LHP Garrett Crochet (1-4, 6.37 ERA) Tues 6:40 pm: RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (1-0, 2.45 ERA) vs RHP Michael Soroka (0-3, 6.83 ERA) Wed 1:10 pm: RHP Bailey Ober (2-1, 4.21 ERA) vs RHP Chris Flexen (1-3, 5.11 ERA) The Twins will finally get a day off again on Thursday. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Availability TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Jackson 41 0 0 0 29 70 Funderburk 15 0 0 0 38 53 Bowman 0 6 0 35 0 41 Sands 18 0 13 0 0 31 Stewart 0 11 20 0 0 31 Okert 11 0 10 0 0 21 Thielbar 0 0 13 7 0 20 Jax 0 9 9 0 0 18 View full article

It was a full day in the Twins minor leagues on Saturday. The Saints and Kernels each played afternoon doubleheaders. The Wind Surge and Mighty Mussels each put some big crooked numbers on the board to help them to wins. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Willie Joe Garry) We are still incredibly early in the season. Over the rest of the week, there will be several pitchers making their first starts of the season for their Twins’ affiliate, but there are already lots of storylines to follow. While we don’t really have any reason to look at the standings for a couple of months, I’ll include it anyway. CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 13-13 St. Paul Saints: 10-15 Wichita Wind Surge: 7-13 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 10-10 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 8-12 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Following their game on Friday night, the Saints placed Will Holland on the 7-Day Injured List. On Saturday morning, they announced that Michael Helman was being activated from the IL in between games. Aaron Sabato began a rehab assignment with the Mighty Mussels on Saturday. SAINTS SENTINEL Game 1: St. Paul 2, Rochester 3 Box Score Twin Cities weather on Friday night forced a postponement, but the weather was just fine for the Saints and Red Wings to play two games on Saturday afternoon. Louie Varland started and gave up only one run on four hits and a walk. He had five strikeouts. A first-hand report from Twins Daily’s Nick Nelson at CHS Field indicates that the first inning was a bit rough, but he got out of it and was much better the next four innings. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== That said, he did get a little help from DaShawn Keirsey who, in the fourth inning came up with the play of the day, robbing Travis Blankenhorn of a homer. The Saints tied up the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Alex Isola singled in Jair Camargo. At that point, Isola had the only two hits for the Saints. Jhoan Duran looked tremendous in his second rehab outing. He struck out two of the three batters that he faced and worked with a fastball 100-102 mph. So, the game remained tied until the top of the seventh. Ronny Henriquez gave up two runs on four hits. In the bottom of the inning, Isola doubled for his third hit of the game. The next two batters got out. Anthony Prato lined a single and Isola went to third. DaShawn Keirsey singled to score Isola and cut the deficit to just one. Unfortunately, a flyout ended the inning and the game. Game 2: St. Paul 7, Rochester 8 Box Score The second game was a bit different than the first. Yet, there were nearly as many zeroes on the scoreboard. This game had a few big innings that made it look more offensive than it may have been. The Saints took the early lead in the bottom of the second when Chris Williams lined a single up the middle to score Matt Wallner. Randy Dobnak started the game by putting three zeroes on the board. However, he gave up four runs in the fourth inning and three runs in the fifth inning. In total, he was charged with seven runs (5 earned) on seven hits and a walk over five innings. The big hit he allowed was the final hit he allowed, a two-run homer to #OldFriend Travis Blankenhorn (who ended the game with a .301 average and a 1.038 OPS). However, down 7-1 going to the bottom of the fifth frame, the Saints mounted a pretty impressive comeback. It started with a Tony Kemp walk. He advanced to third on Patrick Winkel’s double. Diego A. Castillo singled to drive in Kemp. Yoyner Fajardo knocked a double to drive in Winkel. Anthony Prato walked. After a pitching change, Castillo scored on a sacrifice fly by DaShawn Keirsey. Michael Helman came up with two on base and launched his second homer of the season, a three-run blast that evened the score at 7-7. Josh Staumont came in for the sixth. His outing started out with a double and a single. With runners on first and third, he got a big strikeout. But Darren Baker his a sacrifice fly to put the Red Wings back on top. Over two innings, Staumont gave up one run on three hits. He had no walks and struck out three batters. The Saints were unable to counter over the final two innings. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, San Antonio 3 Box Score Jaylen Nowlin remains a very intriguing pitching prospect. Whether he is able to remain a starting pitcher or eventually is moved to the bullpen, he is certainly one to watch. In this game, the lefty gave up two runs on six hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out three. He has really good stuff but occasional bouts of wildness. Of his 76 pitches, he threw just 42 strikes. Hunter McMahon came on and gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. Miguel Rodriguez gave up one run on two hits in his innings. Jared Solomon recorded the save. He had a hit batter and two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth frame. The Surge got on the board first when Ben Ross drove in Carson McCusker on a sacrifice fly. After the Missions tied the score in the fourth, the Surge put two on the board in the top of the fifth inning. Jorel Ortega scored on Tanner Schobel’s first triple of the season. Then Schobel scored on a ground-rule double off the bat of Andrew Cossetti. The Missions scored one in the bottom of the fifth. With just a one-run lead through six frames, the Surge put another two-spot on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh. With Ortega on third and Schobel on second, Jeferson Morales hit a sacrifice fly to score Ortega. Soon after, Schobel scored on a wild pitch. The Missions did score one in the bottom of the eighth, but that was it. The Surge won on the road again. Morales went 2-for-4. Jake Rucker was 2-for-4 with his fourth double. Ortega was 2-for-4 with his second double. Tanner Schobel hit his first triple and walked once. Rucker, Ortega, and Schobel each had a stolen base. For the third straight game, Emmanuel Rodriguez did not play. He left the game on Wednesday night after a head-first slide on a successful stolen base. He came out of the game (hand/wrist) and has been “day-to-day” since. With the standard day off on Monday, I would expect that E-Rod won’t play on Sunday and be back in the lineup on Tuesday. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1: Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 9 (8 innings) Box Score Hard to believe that this was a 2-2 ballgame going into extra innings. C.J. Culpepper started the first game on Saturday afternoon for the Kernels. He struggled a bit in the first inning. It started with a triple and a walk. In all, two runs scored, but it could have been worse. Culpepper was on the edge of being removed from the game, but he ended that first inning with 28 pitches. Fortunately, Culpepper really settled in after that. His final line shows that he gave up two runs on two hits and three walks over five innings. He had five strikeouts. After the first inning, Culpepper faced just 12 batters over the next four innings. He gave up a walk, and that runner was erased by a double play. Gabriel Yanez gave up three hits over two scoreless innings. He had two strikeouts. In the bottom of the third inning, Misael Urbina launched a long home run to left to cut the deficit in half. Then in the bottom of the sixth frame, Gabriel Gonzalez hit a triple over the center fielder’s head. Rubel Cespedes followed with a single to center to tie the game. Both teams went scoreless in the seventh inning, so the game went to overtime! Jacob Wosinski came on to start the eighth inning for the Kernels. Coming into the game, he had allowed only an unearned run on six hits and three walks over 10 1/3 innings. I have to say that because this outing did not go well for him. Two batters into the inning, Yiddi Cappe launched a three-run homer. Then Wosinski gave up a single and a walk before Josh Zamora lined another three-run homer which gave the Sky Carp an 8-2 lead. After a strikeout, Wosinski gave up a double. Then after a ground out, he gave up a triple to make it 9-2. At that point, Keoni Cavaco came in for the second time within the past week. He got a groundout to end the inning. The Kernels got RBI doubles from Agustin Ruiz and Rubel Cespedes to cut the deficit to 9-4, but that’s where it ended. Cespedes continues to rake with two hits and two RBI. He’s hitting .375 with a 1.116 OPS and leads the team with 21 RBI. Game 2: Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 8 Box Score The Kernels bats put together two big innings in Game 2 to give Darren Bowen his first win in the Twins organization. Bowen came to the Twins in early February from the Mariners in the Jorge Polanco trade. He worked five innings in this game. He was charged with one run on three hits. He walked three and struck out four batters. Ricardo Velez threw two scoreless innings to complete the game and earn his fourth save. Velez came into the game in the sixth inning, looking to hold a 3-1 lead. Then the Kernels put up six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Velez a more-relaxed save. Let’s start with the three-run second inning. Willie Joe Garry came up with the bases loaded and lined a single to left field. It drove in Jay Harry and Agustin Ruiz. Keoni Cavaco grounded to short. Garry was out at second, but Cavaco beat the throw to first, allowing the third run to score. Garry got it going for the Kernels in the sixth inning too. His single to right field drove in Nate Baez. Soon after, Gabriel Gonzalez hit a double to left that scored Garry and Luke Keaschall. Ricardo Olivar followed with a double to score Gonzalez with the seventh run. Jay Harry singled to drive in Olivar with the fifth run of the inning and their eighth run of the game. Willie Joe Garry led the way. He went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs. He also stole two bases. Olivar went 2-for-4 with his sixth double. Jay Harry went 2-for-4. Keaschall, Gonzalez and Baez each had a hit and a walk. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Palm Beach 6 Box Score The Mighty Mussels scored five runs in the first innings and held on for the win. Maddux Houghton led the first inning off with a single and stole second. Rehabbing Aaron Sabato walked. Rayne Doncon singled to load the bases. Brandon Winokur lined a single to left that drove in Houghton and Sabato. Doncon went to third base on a throwing error. So, Winokur stole second. Jose Rodriguez drove in the third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly. Gregory Duran doubled to score Winokur. Wilfri Castro switched places with Duran for the inning’s fifth and final run. The Cardinals scored three runs in the top of the third, but the Mussels responded with one in the bottom of the inning. Castro drove in Winokur with the sixth run. Palm Beach scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. The Mussels responded with two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Jose Rodriguez drove in both Houghton and Doncon with his seventh double. Paulshawn Pasqualotto started and worked the first four innings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on nine hits and a walk. He had two strikeouts. Lefty Sam Perez gave up one run on five hits over two innings. Danny Moreno gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits and a walk over 2 1/3 innings. Juan Bonilla got the final two outs to record his second save. Houghton led off and went 3-for-4 with a walk and his fifth double. He stole his fourth base. Winokur was 3-for-4 with his fifth double and his fifth stolen base. Ohh! And he also threw out a runner at home. Doncon went 2-for-4. Duran was 2-for-4 with his first double. Castro went 2-for-3 with a walk and his second double. In his first rehab game, Sabato batted second and DHd. He went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, 2B(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, SB(5). Pitcher of the Day – Darren Bowen (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K, HBP, 84 strikes, 49 pitches (58.3%). PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-4, 3B(1), R. Game 2: 1-for-3, BB, 2B(8), R, RBI, BB, K. #7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) - 1-for-5, 2B(6), R, K #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 3-for-4, 2B(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, SB(5). (played CF, outfield assist) #11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB, 3B(1), 2 R, RBI, K, SB(2). #12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 0-for-4. (played CF), Game 2: 1-for-2, BB, HBP, R (played 2B) #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K. #14 - C.J. Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 78 pitches, 44 strikes. #15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 0-for-3, HBP. Game 2: 0-for-4, 2 K. #16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – Game 1: 0-for-3, K. Game 2: DNP. #19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-3, BB (caught), Game 2: 2-for-4, 2B(6), R, RBI, 2 K (DHd) SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Rochester @ St. Paul (2:07 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (1.72 ERA) Wichita @ San Antonio (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Nick Wittgren (0-0, -.-- ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM CST) - TBD Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (11:05 AM CST) - RHP Ty Langenberg (0-1, 6.30 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

Because of the guaranteed contract they gave him, I can't imagine they would lose Jay Jackson if they DFAd him and tried to outright him to St. Paul. Similar to the Jharel Cotton situation a year or two ago. That's a possibility.

That is a really, really good point. He's not just not walking guys to avoid contact. He's going right after hitters and they still aren't hitting him. I think a couple more starts and he could move up to Wichita. It'll be interesting to see if the same remains true there.

It was a busy night in the Twins farm system. There was a double header. There was a shutout. There was a huge comeback. A long streak came to an end. There was a grand slam. A top pitching prospect continued to throw a lot of strikes and hand out free bases. Another starter made a case to be a depth piece for the big league club. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Jose Rodriguez) It was an interesting night in the Twins organization on Thursday. The Saints got a tremendous pitching performance from their pitching staff. The Wind Surge ended their road losing streak. The Kernels played two games against Beloit, and Zebby Matthews was the starter in one of them. And, what happened in Fort Myers. Well, that's why they play the games! CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 11-13 St. Paul Saints: 10-13 Wichita Wind Surge: 5-13 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 9-9 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 7-11 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS We posted it in the minor league report yesterday, but it became official on Thursday morning. The Twins optioned RHP Ronny Henriquez and recalled RHP Simeon Woods Richardson from St. Paul. The Twins also sent RHP Justin Topa to the Saints to start a rehab assignment. Fort Myers activated LHP Ross Dunn from the development list. RHP Jeremy Lee was placed on the 7-Day IL. In addition, the Mussels announced that RHPs Ricky Mineo and Jack Dougherty were transferred from the 7-Day IL to the 60-Day IL. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Rochester 0 Box Score There have been conversations, and several articles, talking about the Twins lack of starting pitching depth. On Thursday night, veteran right-hander Caleb Boushley pointed out on the mound that he would like to have his name considered as well. The Wisconsin native finally got an opportunity on the final weekend of 2023 to pitch for the Brewers. He worked 2 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, in extra innings, and earned the Win in his lone MLB experience. On Thursday, Boushley improved to 3-1 with six shutout innings. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out four batters. His season ERA dropped to 4.00. He got a little help from his defense too, including this crazy double-play. Justin Topa came in for the seventh inning, making his first rehab appearance. He faced four batters and got three strikeouts. The other batter reached on an error. Jordan Balazovic and Diego Castillo each worked a scoreless inning to close out the shutout. The Saints got on the board in the bottom of the first inning. DaShawn Keirsey walked and went to second on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. With two outs, Matt Wallner lined a single to left to drive in the run. Yunior Severino hit his third homer of the season to give the Saints a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning. In the seventh inning, the Saints added one more. With two outs, Keirsey drove a double to right field that scored Tanner Morris with the third and final run. The Saints had just six hits in the game. Severino had two of them. Keirsey led the way. He was 1-for-1 with his RBI double, and he walked three times. He also stole his eighth base of the season. For the Matt LeCroy -led Red Wings, Dusty Baker’s son Darren led off and went 2-for-4. Top prospect James Woods was also 2-for-4. Former Twins infielder Travis Blankenhorn went 0-for-4. He is now hitting .313 with a 1.027 OPS this season. Burnsville-born Alex Call also went 0-for-4 in this one. The River Falls grad likely had a few people in the stands at CHS Field. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 9, San Antonio 2 Box Score The Wind Surge got off to a fast start and got some good pitching to make this an easy, relaxing win... on the road. The win ends their eight-game road losing streak. In the top of the second inning, Kala’i Rosario and Carson McCusker started the inning with singles. Jorel Ortega followed with a double that scored both runs. After two outs, Jake Rucker lined a single to center to drive in Ortega with the inning’s third run. The fifth inning started with singles by Rucker, Tanner Schobel, and Noah Cardenas. The third drove in Rucker with the team’s fourth run. Andrew Cossetti didn’t want a single, so he drove a double to score Schobel. Rosario added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-0. Cossetti scored the seventh run on an error. Pierson Ohl was in 2023-form early. He put four zeroes on the board to start the game before giving up two runs in the fifth frame. His final line was two runs on four hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three batters. John Stankiewicz came in and had three strikeouts over two perfect innings. Miguel Rodriguez and Jared Solomon each pitched perfect innings to shut the door. The Surge got those two runs back right away in the top of the sixth inning. A walk, an error, and another walk is how the inning started. With the bases loaded, Kyler Fedko scored on a Cardenas ground out. Cossetti singled to center to drive in Rucker with the team’s ninth and final run of the night. The starting pitcher for the San Antonio Missions, the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, was Adam Mazur. Born in St. Paul, Mazur went to Woodbury high school where he was a teammate of Marlins’ starting pitcher and former Gopher great Max Meyer. Mazur spent two seasons at South Dakota State, where he went a combined 3-9 with an ERA over 5.50 in 16 starts. However, he had a nice showing in the Cape Cod League and transferred to the University of Iowa. In 15 starts there, he went 7-3 with a 3.07 ERA. He was the Padres second-round draft pick in 2022. In this game, he was charged with seven runs (6 earned ) on nine hits over 4 1/3 innings. He had eight strikeouts and no walks. Even with the rough start, he is 1-1 on the season with an ERA of 3.10 and a WHIP of 0.93. In 20 1/3 innings, he has 24 strikeouts and just two walks. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1: Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2 Box Score Zebby Matthews was strong yet again. He went 5 2/3 innings and gave up just one run on five hits, a solo homer. He had seven strikeouts and no walks. Kyle Bischoff came in and gave up one run on four hits and a walk and recorded just three outs. Ricardo Velez came on and got a strikeout to end the game and earn his third save. Matthews threw 86 pitches, and 60 of them were strikes (69.8%). He improved to 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA. In three starts, he has worked 15 2/3 innings. He has 19 strikeouts and is yet to issue a walk. In addition, he was hitting 96 and 97 mph with his fastball again in this game. The Kernels took the early lead in the bottom of the first inning when Ricardo Olivar’s fifth double drove in Luke Keaschall. A Sky Carp homer in the third inning tied the score. In the fourth inning, Jay Harry grounded out to first base, but it was enough to drive in Rubel Cespedes from third base. Gabriel Gonzalez hit his first Kernels’ home run, a two-run shot that made it a 4-1 lead for Cedar Rapids. Keaschall scored two of the Kernels' runs. He was 1-for-2 with a walk and his fifth double. He also stole his ninth base. Keaschall recently joined Kernels radio voice Calvin Christoforo on the new episode of the All Ears Podcast. Game 2: Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 8 Box Score The second game didn’t go as well for the home team. Well, the host team, that is. Beloit actually played the game as the home team. It was a make-up game for a rained-out game on the season’s first weekend in Beloit. The Sky Carp scored four runs in the second and added one more in the third frame. They added three more in the bottom of the fifth inning to take an 8-0 lead. In the top of the sixth inning, the Kernels got on the board when catcher Dillon Tatum drove his first home run of the season. Miguelangel Boadas started this game. He gave up four runs (1 earned) on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. He had three strikeouts. He didn’t help himself by hitting three batters. AJ Labas came in and went 2 1/3 innings. He gave up one run on one hit, a solo homer. Jordan Carr worked two innings. He was charged with three runs on five hits and a hit batter. The Kernels had just three hits and a walk. Tatum had the homer. Rubel Cespedes hit his sixth double. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Palm Beach 13 (10 innings) Box Score Every year, there are a couple of games like this. They generally happen in the lower levels of the minor leagues. They’re frustrating, but they are a part of a long season and can probably help re-focus a team as much as anything. The Mighty Mussels got off to a fast start. In the bottom of the first inning, Jose Rodriguez came up with the bases loaded and drilled his second home run of the season. The grand slam gave the team a 4-0 lead. Then in the third inning, Rayne Doncon continued the scoring with his second home run to make it 5-0. Soon after, Poncho Ruiz drove in two runs with a double. That was followed by RBI singles from Omari Daniel and Maddux Houghton. After three innings, the Mussels led 9-0. Of course, they had to get 18 more outs before they could call it a win, and therein lies the problem. Palm Beach scored two runs in the fourth inning, but the score remained 9-2 until the eighth inning. At that point, the Mussels only needed six more outs to complete what could have been an easy win. Palm Beach scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning, but heading to the ninth, the Mussels still led 9-4. Three outs to go! But let’s catch up on the Mussels pitching. Lefty Cesar Lares was charged with two unearned runs on seven hits and a walk over the first five innings. He had five strikeouts. Kyle Bloor came on for his pro debut and tossed two scoreless innings. Wilker Reyes came one and gave up two runs (1 earned) in the eighth inning. Now we’re caught up, 9-4 Mussels with three outs to go. Reyes remained in the game. The first batter reached on Catcher’s Interference. Then there was a single and a walk loaded the bases. Then an error allowed a run to score and the bases stayed loaded. 9-5. Kade Bragg came into the game. He started by walking a batter to make it 9-6. Following a strikeout, a single made it 9-7. But Bragg got a ground ball. They got the force out at second base, but an error on the throw to first allowed two runs on score and the game was tied 9-9. Bragg got a fly out to end the inning, but the game was headed to extra innings (after the Mussels went scoreless in the bottom of the ninth). Xander Hamilton (yes, his name is Xander Hamilton. There’s a million things he hasn’t done… Oh, sorry!) came in to pitch the top of the 10th for the Mussels. With the Manfred Man on second, Hamilton walked the leadoff man. And then the next guy. Palm Beach took the 10-9 lead when he walked his third straight batter. That became an 11-9 lead when Hamilton walked his fourth batter in a row. After a strikeout, a Wild Pitch made it 12-9. With runners on second and third, Hamilton got an infield pop out for the second out. However, another wild pitch made it 13-9. A line out ended the inning. The Mussels went scoreless in the bottom of the 10th. Again, that’s a tough loss. The Mussels quit hitting (or at least scoring runs) after the third inning. They also had five errors as a group. There were wild pitches and passed balls. Jose Rodriguez led the offense. He went 3-for-5 with the grand slam. Poncho Ruiz was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Jose Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 3-for-5, HR(2), 2 R, 4 RBI, K. Pitcher of the Day – Caleb Boushley (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 4 K, HBP, 81 strikes, 57 pitches (70.4%). PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday night. #4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-3, HR(1), R, 2 RBI. Game 2: 0-for-2, BB, K, RBI. #7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 2 K (played CF) #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4, BB, R, 2 K. #11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, R, 2 K. #12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-2, BB, 2B(5), 2 R, K, SB(9). Game 2: 0-for-3. #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2B(5), R, RBI SF, 2 K. #15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 0-for-1, 2 BB, Game 2: DNP. #16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 2-for-4, HR(3), R, RBI #19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1: 1-for-3, 2B(5), RBI. Game 2: DNP. #20 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) - 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. 94 pitches, 66 strikes (70.2%), 11 whiffs) FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Rochester @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya (0-0, 2.00 ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-0, 3.68 ERA) Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Charlee Soto (0-0, 2.70 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

No, but he has a chance to be a solid contributor. He was before his injuries.

The Twins were able to complete the four-game sweep of the lowly Chicago White Sox at Target Field and Thursday afternoon. A good start, strong bullpen work, and five home runs were part of the equation in this one! The Twins won all four games of this series. The White Sox have won just three of their 25 games so far this season. Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Simeon Woods Richardson - 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (94 pitches, 66 strikes (70.2%), 11 whiffs) Home Runs: Edouard Julien 2 (7), Ryan Jeffers (4), Carlos Santana (1), Jose Miranda (2). Top 3 WPA: Edouard Julien (0.206), Ryan Jeffers (0.133), Caleb Thielbar (0.095) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Simeon Woods Richardson Stuff Woods Richardson knew earlier in the week that he would be taking the rotation spot of Louie Varland. The Twins decided to have him start on Thursday afternoon against the White Sox to give Bailey Ober an extra day before he makes a start on Friday. This outing was not as good as his first outing of the season. That would be a pretty lofty standard to expect. On this day, he was hurt by some long at-bats and some weak-contact hits. He needed 25 or more pitches in both the second and fourth innings. That really pushed his pitch count up. He was at 80 pitches through four innings. He was asked to start the fifth inning and was able to complete it with a 1-2-3 inning. “SWR” is fun to watch on the mound because he has four pitches, and he uses all of them. He had a career-high six strikeouts, three of those came on his slider. His fastball averaged just over 93 mph throughout his game and topped out at 94.7 mph, continuing the trend we have seen early this season. His changeup was an effective pitch, sitting nearly 10 mph slower than his fastball. He also threw several slow curve balls. Usually it was as a get-me-over strike, but as you can see here, he got a strikeout on it as well. Exit Velocity = Hit the Ball Hard It’s always funny to me when I hear people say something like, “All hitters care about is exit velocity.” We’ve all heard it. Well, yeah, isn’t that what we’re taught from the earliest days of baseball. Remember in Little League, the coach would say, “Hit the ball hard somewhere.” In high school, the coaches will say, “Get a good pitch and hit it hard.” Regardless of the league, a batter wants to get a good pitch, square it up, and hit it really hard. In general, the harder you hit a ball, the better the odds of getting a hit and being productive. Exit Velocity is simply the measure of how hard a ball is hit. So yes, we should want our hitters to have the goal of hitting the ball hard. Likewise, we want our pitchers to avoid hard contact. In the first inning on Thursday, after a couple of 90 mph flyouts, Trevor Larnach recorded the Twins first hit, on a 67.1 mph soft liner beyond the shortstop’s reach. Sox starter Mike Soroka didn’t allow another Twins hit until the bottom of the fifth inning when Jose Miranda hit a soft liner at 82.2 mph over the shortstop’s head. Arguably the biggest play of the game happened in the first inning. With runners at the corners and two outs, Max Kepler lined out on a diving play by Sox second baseman Nicky Lopez to end the inning. The liner left Kepler’s bat at 115.4 mph. Also in between the two soft singles, Alex Kirilloff grounded out on a ball he hit 101.2 mph. Willi Castro flew out at 99.9 mph. Larnach crushed a ball, 106.8 mph, that Kevin Pillar tracked down in center. “All of a sudden, the bats woke up.” As noted above, the Twins were starting to make more and more hard contact against Soroka. Cole Sands pitched a scoreless top of the sixth inning, and then, as Justin Morneau said, “All of a sudden, the bats woke up.” Edouard Julien led off the bottom of the sixth inning by taking fellow Canadian Soroka deep over the scoreboard in right-center. 105 mph on the homer. As the Twins dugout was still congratulating Julien, Ryan Jeffers went down below the zone and crushed a slow curveball 112 mph into the bleachers in left field. The White Sox brought in lefty Tanner Banks. Rocco Baldelli stuck with his lefties. Larnach singled up the middle at 75.3 mph. Next, Max Kepler tried to check his swing but made contact. He couldn’t have rolled the ball down the third base line any more perfectly. A 42.2 mph ‘excuse-me’ single. Willi Castro came to the plate and lined a single to left at 92 mph to score Larnach with the go-ahead run. Julien Finds the Jet Stream In the bottom of the seventh inning, Julien came to the plate and on a fastball up in the zone, he got under the ball and launched a ball high into the sky. He hit the ball 102.7 mph at a 40-degree angle. It must have hit the right jet stream and kept going and going and going. It landed just beyond the fence, 378 feet from home plate. It is the second time already this season that Julien has had a multi-homer game. His seven home runs move him past Astros star Jose Altuve for most home runs by a second baseman so far this season. Twins Daily's winning "Make It Official!" game recaps are sponsored by Official Fried Chicken, which you can find in center field of Target Field. With a name like "Official," we know we have to be the best in the game every day, and from your first bite, you'll know that's a promise we make good on. Back-to-Back Again! With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Carlos Santana came to the plate. He got a slider that really didn’t slide, it just spun. Santana took a hack and launched it 105 mph over the wall in right-center for his first home run of the season. I’m sure it was a huge relief as he rounded the bases. Jose Miranda followed by hitting a fly ball at 98 mph just beyond the fence in left-center. The Expected Batting Average on the Miranda homer was just .220 despite being a home run in 23 out of 30 ballparks. It was a little different than Santana’s which would have been a homer in all 30 MLB ballparks (yet somehow only had an expected batting average of .880). Bonus Stuff - The Twins have now won 11 of the last 12 games they've played against the White Sox. It is the first time that they have completed a four-game series against the Sox since late September 2018. - Cole Sands pitched a scoreless sixth inning. It was his seventh consecutive appearance without allowing a run. Over that stretch, he has 14 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. - Sands was credited with the Win. It is his first career MLB Win. - Griffin Jax earned his career-high fourth Save of the season. - Despite the first two batters getting on in the eighth inning, Brock Stewart pitched an 11th straight scoreless appearance to start the season. The last run he gave up in the big leagues was on May 29th at Houston. - In his last 21 games at Target Field, Trevor Larnach is 21-for-61 (.344) with seven doubles, a triple and three home runs. - Jose Miranda went 2-for-4 in this game. He had started the season 0-for-16 at Target Field. - The White Sox lost their seventh straight game, their new seasons long streak. They had lost three games in Philadelphia before coming to Minnesota. - The White Sox have lost nine straight games in Minnesota. That is their longest such streak since the Twins have been in Minnesota. - The White Sox lead MLB with 38 home runs allowed. What’s Next? The Twins will head west for a three-game weekend series against the Angels. Then they will spend Monday through Wednesday in Chicago taking on the White Sox before their next scheduled off day, next Thursday. Here are the scheduled starters for the weekend in Anaheim. Fri 8:38 pm: RHP Bailey Ober (1-1, 4.91 ERA) vs LHP Patrick Sandoval (1-3, 6.75 ERA) Sat 8:38 pm: RHP Chris Paddack (1-1, 5.57 ERA) vs RHP Jose Soriano (0-3, 3.43 ERA) Sun 3:07 pm CT: RHP Pablo Lopez (1-2, 4.39 ERA) vs LHP Reid Detmers (3-1, 2.12 ERA) The Twins will then play three games in Chicago against the White Sox Postgame Interviews SUN MON TUE WED THU TOT Jackson 32 0 41 0 0 73 Sands 23 0 18 0 13 54 Bowman 30 0 0 6 0 36 Thielbar 22 0 0 0 13 35 Stewart 0 0 0 11 20 31 Okert 0 0 11 0 10 21 Jax 0 0 0 9 9 18 Funderburk 0 0 15 0 0 15 View full article

Age to level of competition is only important in prospect rankings. It is especially unimportant with minor league relief pitchers. Wosinski is another guy they pulled out of the USPBL.

The Wind Surge fell to 0-8 on the road so far this season with a loss in San Antonio. A bigger story, however, is that after a seventh-inning stolen base, Emmanuel Rodriguez left that game with an unknown injury. Hopefully it's just precaution, but certainly something to watch in the coming days. Anthony Prato and Jair Camargo starred for the Saints. The Kernels got a nice win thanks to terrific pitching and some big doubles. The Mussels got a huge double, but it wasn't enough. Find out all you need to know from the Twins minor leagues on Wednesday. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 10-13 St. Paul Saints: 9-13 Wichita Wind Surge: 4-13 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 8-8 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 7-10 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS RHP Ty Langenberg was activated by the Mighty Mussels. LHP Ross Dunn was placed on their development list. Wichita RHP MIchael Paredes began a rehab assignment with Fort Myers. Following the Twins win against the White Sox, the Twins announced officially that RHP Simeon Woods Richardson will be called up and start on Thursday afternoon. To make room, RHP Ronny Henriquez has been optioned to St. Paul. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Rochester 7 Box Score This week, the Saints are hosting the Rochester Red Wings, the affiliate they called home for nearly two decades before minor-league’s 2021 realignment. The Saints took the first game, but the Red Wings responded by taking Game 2 on Wednesday night. The Saints sent 32-year-old veteran Joe Gunkel to the mound to start this one. Gunkel has been playing in Japan since 2020. In this game, he was charged with seven runs on nine hits and a walk in 4 1/3 innings. He had two strikeouts. The Red Wings scored three times in both the second and fourth innings. Scott Blewett came on in relief and gave up one hit and two walks over the next 2 2/3 innings. He had two strikeouts. Ryan Jensen struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth inning. Josh Staumont had a quiet ninth frame. It was a tale of two lineups for the Saints. The top three batters in the lineup combined to go 8-for-12 with three walks, four runs and four RBI. Batters four through nine combined to go 1-for-22 with three walks, eight strikeouts and one run. Anthony Prato was the leadoff hitter. He went 3-for-3 with two walks. All three of his hits were doubles, and he scored three runs. DaShawn Keirsey batted second. He went 2-for-4 with a walk. Batting third was Jair Camargo. He went 3-for-5 in the game. He had an RBI double that short-hopped the fence in right-center field. He then had an RBI single to right field. Later in the game, he crushed a long, two-run homer into the Saints bullpen. Camargo also stole a base. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, San Antonio 9 Box Score The Wind Surge sent Travis Adams to the mound. He worked five innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on six hits. He had one walk and three strikeouts. Scott Engler came in and gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits in one innings. He also hit two batters. Rafael Marcano replaced Engler with a runner on base in the seventh. He got two outs, but walked two batters. He left the game with the bases loaded. Hunter McMahon came in and allowed all three runners to score. The five-run seventh for San Antonio. McMahon tossed a scoreless eighth inning. The Wind Surge took the early lead in this game. Carson McCusker singled to score Andrew Cossetti with the first run. Then Tanner Schobel singled to drive in McCusker and Jorel Ortega and make it 3-0. Through four innings, the Surge led 3-2. In the fifth frame, a Jeferson Morales single scored Tanner Schobel. Then Emmanuel Rodriguez scored on a force out by Kala’i Rosario. Down 9-5 going into the ninth, the Wind Surge added a sixth run, but the comeback fell short. Jake Rucker grounded into a force out that scored Alerick Soularie. Schobel went 2-for-5 with his third double. Morales went 2-for-5. McCusker was 2-for-5 as well. Rosario hit his fourth double. Cossetti hit his first triple of the season. Wichita had eight walks. Rodriguez, Ortega, and Ben Ross each walked twice. The Wind Surge fall to 0-8 in road games this season. Emmanuel Rodriguez left the game after his stolen base in the top of the seventh inning. No update on an injury at this time. Hopefully just being cautious. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 1 Box Score The Kernels got a strong start and effective bullpen work to secure the win in this game. Brooklyn Park native John Klein started and gave up one run on three hits over five innings. He had one walk and six strikeouts. The lone run he allowed was a solo homer to Beloit’s Brett Roberts. The Kernels took an early 2-0 lead in the third inning. Agustin Ruiz hit his first home run in the Twins organization to make it 1-0. Soon after, Gabriel Gonzalez drove in Luke Keaschall with a double. It was that same combination that gave the Kernels an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gonzalez hit his second double of the game, seventh of the season, to again drive Keaschall in and make it 3-1 Kernels. Juan Mercedes struck out three batters over two scoreless, one-hit innings. Jacob Wosinski struck out three batters over the final two innings of scoreless, one-hit ball. Gonzalez led the offense. He went 3-for-4 with the two doubles and two RBI. Keaschall went 2-for-4. He stole two bases to give him eight on the season. Jay Harry went 2-for-4 with his fifth double. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Palm Beach 5 Box Score Jeremy Lee, the Twins 13th-round pick last summer out of South Alabama, made the start for the Mussels. He was charged with two runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out six batters but walked none. Aaron Holiday, the 13th round pick of the A’s in 2021 out of Old Dominion, came on and got the final two outs of that fifth frame. He signed with the Twins at the end of March. The 23-year-old was hitting 95 on the radar gun in this game. Mike Paredes made his first appearance of the season in a rehab capacity. He worked two innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits. He had three strikeouts without a walk. Danny Moreno worked the final two innings. He gave up a run on three hits. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Rafael Cruz came up with the bases loaded. His third double of the season drove in Angel Del Rosario, Gregory Duran, and Jose Rodriguez all scored to give the Mussels the 3-2 lead. O’neil’s brother is hitting just .224 on the season, but he has at least one hit in 10 of the 12 games he has started. The Mussels had just five hits in the game. Cruz and Brandon Winokur each had a double. Catcher Matthew Clayton had two hits. Clayton is an interesting story. A Team USA player in high school, he went to college at Nevada-Reno where he played for five seasons. Following his 2023 season, he spent the summer playing for Glacier in the independent Pioneer League. He signed with the Twins in January. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Anthony Prato (St. Paul) - 3-for-3, 2 BB, 3-2B(4) Pitcher of the Day – John Klein (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, BB, 6 K, HBP, 78 strikes, 50 pitches. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, SB(9), left after SB (injury). #4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 3-for-4, 2-2B(7), 2 RBI, K #7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) - 1-for-2, 2B(5), R, K #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, 2B(4), K #11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B(3), R, 2 RBI, 2 K #12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 SB(8) #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(4), RBI #15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-3, BB, 3 K #16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-for-5, 3 K. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Rochester @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - RHP Caleb Boushley (2-1, 5.14 ERA) Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (0-2, 6.00 ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (DH at 6:05 PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (2-0, 2.70 ERA), RHP Miguelangel Boadus (1-1, 5.06 ERA) Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05 AM CST) - LHP Cesar Lares (0-0, 3.12 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

In case you missed it, here are a bunch of the Twins players with their dog stories and photos.

This stuff is fantastic... I know it isn't always conversation-inducing, but I sure appreciate it. From today: 3.) The Omaha Omahogs. HA! 2.) Minnesotans dominated Cy Young!! 1.) The 1991 Twins started their season 2-9, you say?

It was reported by Gleeman in The Athletic this morning.

Well, he was a pitcher with a 1.80 ERA until he faced the Twins offense tonight!

I think defensively they are really high on Patrick Winkel, and he's doing most of the catching at AAA now that Camargo is up. I've heard really good things about Noah Cardenas behind the plate. Olivar is a decent catcher. I wouldn't say he's a plus catcher at this point by any means, but he's improving. I do think he's a good athlete, but I wouldn't he's got a lot of speed. He's built similar to Camargo. He's a stocky dude, very strong. I fully admit, I hadn't seen him in person until last week in Cedar Rapids. There is reading scouting reports and watching box scores and seeing stuff like him playing in CF... Then you see him in person and realize... no, he's not a CF option in the big leagues, except in an emergency. He's OK in left. I saw him make a great play, but he's out there to keep his bat in the lineup. Offensively, from watching three games, I think he's got a very good approach at the plate. Knows the zone pretty well. Took four walks in three games, puts the ball in play, and there is definitely some power potential there.

If that's still the case in 6 weeks, absolutely. It's been two weeks. . I'm sure they'd love to get him a half-season in Double A before the end of the season. He (and Olivar) were R5 eligible last offseason and with strong seasons this year could be must-adds after this season.

Yeah, I would think that Camargo would be the other half of the move. The unfortunate thing about that would be if Jeffers loses DH ABs. Kepler in RF. Larnach/Martin in LF. Martin in CF twice a week. And yes, the internet can provide all kinds of fun knowledge and lead us down rabbit holes.

Winokur has been playing most of the innings at short. Doncon has been at thired base much of the time. But they're all going to play a few positions just because that's smart.

What is this based on? They have a minor-league catching coordinator. They have two pitching coaches at each level and three catchers. And most of the affiliates have a former catcher on staff.

Lots of runs scored. Lots of runs given up. Several multi-hit games. A couple of really strong pitching performances mixed in too. Check out how the Twins minor-league affiliates did on Saturday, and how some of the top prospects performed on the field. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Rayne Doncon) We are three weeks into the season already, and it's fun to see which players have stepped up and which are off to slow starts. On Saturday, there was an intriguing pitching matchup in Fort Myers, pitting two top pitching prospects from the 2023 draft. Cedar Rapids offense showed up, but the pitching and defense had some rough innings. Wichita had a nice, clean win. The Saints got help up and down the order on their way to an easy win. Current W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 7-12 St. Paul Saints: 8-11 Wichita Wind Surge: 3-11 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 6-7 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 6-8 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS OF Carlos Aguiar was placed on the Mussels injured list with a strained intercostal. Taking his spot on the Fort Myers roster was Omari Daniel. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 12, Indianapolis 1 Box Score Through three innings, the Saints were down 1-0 in Indianapolis. Then over the next five innings, they scored two, two, five, zero, and three runs. Alfonso, Virginia, in case you were wondering. In the fourth inning, Yoyner Fajardo singled to score two runs and give the Saints the lead. Tony Kemp came up in the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded. He lined a single to right field that scored Max Kepler and DaShawn Keirsey. The Saints loaded the bases again in the sixth frame. Chris Williams and Alex Isola each walked in a run. Then Will Holland doubled to clear the bases just missing a grand slam by thismuch!. The Saints concluded their scoring in the eighth inning. Kemp scored on a Wild Pitch. Then Yoyner Fajardo’s third home of the year scored the final two runs. Kepler went 3-for-5 with a walk. Fajardo went 2-for-5 with a homer and drove in three runs. Alex Isola was 2-for-3 with two walks and three RBI. Anthony Prato went 2-for 4 with a walk and a triple. He was also hit by a pitch. Caleb Boushley was the recipient of all of the run support, though he probably would have been OK if they spread it out over a couple of his starts. In this game, he gave up only an unearned run on three hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out eight batters. Josh Staumont struck out three in a scoreless seventh. Ryan Jensen pitched a scoreless eighth inning before giving up three meaningless runs in the ninth. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 7, Tulsa 3 Box Score The Wind Surge took a 3-1 lead after one inning. Slowly, the Drillers fought back and in the top of the sixth frame they tied it 3-3. The Surge responded well by reclaiming the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. After a couple of zeroes, Wichita added two more in the bottom of the eighth inning to give them the 7-3 lead. AJ Alexy made the start. The right-hander tossed four innings. He was charged with two runs (1 earned) on two hits in four innings. He walked three and struck out two batters. Hunter McMahon came on and gave up one run on three hits over two innings. Scott Engler gave up two hits and struck two batters out over two scoreless innings. Miguel Rodriguez struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning. Emmanuel Rodriguez got things started with a leadoff double. He stole second base and scored when Tanner Schobel singled. Jeferson Morales doubled in Schobel. Carson McCusker drove in Morales with a single, the third run of the first inning. With the game tied in the bottom of the sixth inning, Jake Rucker singled in Alerick Soularie and Rodriguez. Then the team added on in the bottom of the eighth. McCusker singled in Noah Cardenas and Morales took third base. Soon after, McCusker was caught stealing second, but not before Morales stole home. Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with two walks and his fourth double. He also stole his seventh and eighth bases. Schobel went 2-for-3 with two walks. Morales was 2-for-5. McCusker was 2-for-4 with a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Wisconsin 14 Box Score C.J. Culpepper was on the mound to start on Saturday in Appleton. He put two zeroes on the board, and then… Dahlonega is the country seat of Lumpkin County, Georgia. A town of approximately 7,500 citizens, it was originally named Talonega. However, after a gold rush in about 1830, the Georgia General Assembly changed the name. Dalonige is a Cherokee-language word that means “yellow” or “gold.” The area is known as “the heart of North Georgia Wine Country.” There are many vineyards and five licensed wineries. So, if you’re looking for a vacation spot, Dahlonega is approximately 65 miles north of Atlanta. While there you can spend time in the Amicalola Falls State Park. You could go way down yonder on the Chattahoochee River and do some hiking on the Crown Mountain. The zip code of Dahlonega, Georgia is 30533, and that is what the Wisconsin line of the scoreboard looked like between the second and sixth innings. They scored three runs in the second, fifth and sixth innings, and a five-spot in the fourth inning. Culpepper gave up five runs (just two earned) on five hits over 3 1/3 innings. He walked four and struck out three batters. He left the game with two runners on and Juan Mercedes came in and allowed both inherited runners to score. He then was charged with six runs (5 earned) on seven hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Kyle Bischoff gave up three runs in the sixth inning. Ricardo Velez came on and struck out three batters over two perfect innings. The Kernels scored eight runs in the game, usually enough to put a tally in the Win column, but not on this day. They had a big, five-run third inning. Rubel Cespedes singled to score Agustin Ruiz with the first run. Danny De Andrade came up with the bases loaded and drilled a double to clear the bases and give the Kernels the 4-3 lead. Jay Harry followed with a single to score De Andrade. Down 11-6 through five innings, the Kernels kept putting pressure on the T-Rats. Gabriel Gonzalez doubled to score Luke Keaschall, and he then scored on a Cespedes single to cut the deficit to 11-8, but that’s as close as it got. De Andrade led the offense. He had two doubles in five at-bats. He also stole a base. Ricardo Olivar went 2-for-4 with a walk and two doubles. Cespedes had two RBI singles in five at-bats. Luke Keaschall went 1-for-3 with two walks and a double. He is now hitting .318 with a 1.019 OPS this season. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Jupiter 3 Box Score The pitching matchup was certainly intriguing. Two of the top prep pitchers from the 2023 draft met in Fort Myers. Jupiter starter Noble Meyer was the Marlins’ first-round pick, 10th overall, out of Portland’s Jesuit High School. In this game, his third start of the season, he went 4 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs on five hits. He had two walks and three strikeouts. 53 of his 85 pitches were strikes. The Twins used their Competitive Balance-A pick, 34th overall, to select Charlee Soto out of Reborn Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Florida. Soto was charged with two runs (1 earned) on four hits over three innings. He walked three and struck out five batters. He threw 36 of his 62 pitches for strikes. Meyer’s average fastball sat at 94.1 mph. For Soto, his average was 94.5. The max velocity for Soto was 97.1 mph and 96.6 mph for Meyer. Danny Moreno came in and gave up one run on two hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters. Nolan Santos came on and got out all seven batters he faced to earn a Win. Julio Bonilla worked a perfect ninth frame for the save. Rayne Doncon led the offense on Saturday. He went 3-for-4 with his seventh double. He is hitting .362 with an OPS at 1.015. Brandon Winokur went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs. His seventh-inning double scored Doncon to give the Mussels the lead. Gregory Duran followed by knocking in Winokur with a single, his second RBI of the day. Maddux Houghton went 1-for-3 with a walk. He’s hitting .500 with a 1.396 OPS. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Rayne Doncon (Fort Myers) - 3-for-4, 2B(7), 2 R. Pitcher of the Day – Caleb Boushley (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 61 strikes, 91 pitches. 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) - IL #2 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - IL #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(4), 2-2B(8), R, K. #4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-5, 2B(4), R, RBI #5 - Marco Raya (Wichita) - #6 - David Festa (St. Paul) - #7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2B(4), 2 R, #8 - Cory Lewis (Wichita) - IL #9 - Charlee Soto (Fort Myers) - 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 36 strikes, 62 strikes. #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 2-for-4, 2B(3), R, 2 RBI, #11 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(2), R, RBI, K #12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, 2 BB, 2B(4), R, K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - #14 - C.J. Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 3 1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, HBP, 35 strikes, 65 pitches, #15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-5, 2-2B(4), 2 R, 3 RBI, K, SB(2). #16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – #17 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - IL #18 - Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) - IL #19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-4, BB, 2-2B(4), R, K #20 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - DNP SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Pau @ Indianapolis (12:35 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (1-1, 3.65 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (0-1, 5.40 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (1:10 PM CST) - RHP Darren Bowen (0-0, 19.29 ERA) Jupiter @ Fort Myers (11:05 AM CST) - Paulshawn Pasqualotto (0-0, 2.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article