Seth Stohs

What?? Why??

Narrator: Derek Falvey, your team has just won its first American League Central title since 2020. What are you going to do next? Falvey: Well, Narrator, we have eight regular-season games remaining. Then we have some difficult decisions as we put together our Wild Card Round roster. And then, if we win that series, and a few more series, and you ask me the same question at the end of October, then I might acknowledge that I will be traveling to some big theme park located in Florida or southern California. Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports On Friday night at Target Field, the Minnesota Twins clinched the AL Central division championship and a spot in the playoffs for the first time since the Covid-shortened 2020 season. Yes, there are eight more games to play, but c'mon, it's OK to start talking playoffs now, right? And to do so, let's first consider the roster. You should do this exercise with me as you read through this article. I think it will show how many difficult decisions that the front office, Rocco Baldelli and the staff create their roster. And, while some of the choices may not be difficult, it is also interesting to see how many players will likely at least be considered (or even kept around in case of injury, or to potentially be part of a following round. So, go grab a sheet of paper and a writing utensil. Now, Round 1, aka the Wild Card round, starts on Tuesday October 3rd. Our roster drops back down to 26 players instead of the 28 players that could be on the September rosters. The Wild Card round is a Best of Three series and all games will be played at Target Field. Sure, it is theoretically possible to pass all three AL West teams and jump to the #2 seed (and get a first-round bye), but it is very unlikely. In addition, that may not be decided until the very last day of the season, and we will want to have a roster established for the Wild Card scenario. If the season ended following games played on Friday night, the Twins would be playing the Houston Astros. However, over the next nine days, lots can happen and the Twins could play the Astros, Blue Jays, Rangers, or Mariners. While it is feasible that the makeup of the roster, and probably specifically the bullpen, might change slightly based on opponent, we generally just want to put the best roster out there, the roster that can win at least one, and preferably two Wild Card games. Alright, at the top of your sheet of paper, you will want to write "Pitchers" on the top left of the page and "Hitters" on the top right of the page. If you want, you can make a little line to the right of both words. The first decision you must make is the composition of your 26-man roster for Round 1. Remember that the roster can be altered for a potential Round 2. (Side note: Wouldn't it be great if the Twins played in a Round 2? I would like that!) So the question becomes, how many pitchers do the Twins need in a three-game series? Personally, I would prefer to have a 10-man pitching staff for this series (3 starters, 7 relievers), but I am also going to try to think about what the Twins might do, and I think that they may go with 11 pitchers, just in case. So, at the top-left of my page, I will have: Pitchers __11__, and on the top-right, I will have Hitters __15__. Your page might look a little different. Alright, now let's get to the specifics, starting with the pitching. The Pitchers (11) Pitching wins, right? So let's start there. Unlike previous playoff teams, the 2023 pitching staff has actually been a strength. On your paper, under the Pitchers column, write "Starting Pitchers (3)" and "Relief Pitchers (8)." You may have seven relievers, or you might has nine relievers. You should have three starting pitchers. Starting Pitchers (3): Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda Sonny Gray could legitimately finish second in AL Cy Young voting this season, and Pablo Lopez has been racking up strikeouts like Twins fans haven’t seen since Johan Santana. They are the easy choices for Game 1 and Game 2. The question, of course, is who would make the Game 3 start if it is necessary. Many believe that Joe Ryan has solidified himself as the third starter with how he has returned after his mid-season struggles. You won't get a big argument from me. I'm comfortable with Ryan too. But Kenta Maeda deserves more than a cursory look. The fact that Maeda was successful pitching out of the Dodgers bullpen in postseasons in the past should not play a factor in the decision. In fact, I think that a logical analyst could probably even make the case for Bailey Ober in that spot. In reality, you could call it a coin flip between Maeda and Ryan - I would pick Maeda - with the other joining the bullpen as a long relief option. Unfortunately, the third pitcher likely finds himself off of the Round 1 roster, yet he could also find himself starting a Game 1 in the second round, depending on the scheduling. Bullpen (8): Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, Louie Varland, Emilio Pagan, Chris Paddack, Brock Stewart, Joe Ryan While he has begun to make games interesting of late, Jhoan Duran remains one of baseball’s best closers. Griffin Jax and Emilio Pagan have been there all year, and most of the time, they have been successful. Caleb Thielbar had a couple of extended stints on the IL, but he has come on strong at the end. Louie Varland has a chance to be a long-term starter in a strong rotation, but right now, he has the opportunity to come in and air it out for an inning or two. Certainly he can be the X-Factor out of the Twins bullpen! He’s been able to do that the last few weeks with the Twins. Joe Ryan gets the final spot. The team could choose to piggyback him with Maeda, or just have him ready if any of the starters need to be removed in the third or fourth inning for any reason. The interesting choices, if they go with an eight-man bullpen, remain. And, of course, lots can still happen before the end of next weekend. The Twins could go conservative. That would likely mean going with Josh Winder and Kody Funderburk. Both are still very early in their big-league careers, and both have had some successes that say they could have long big-league careers. Both would be reasonable choices. However, if it was me, I’d say go big or go home. To me, that means big arms. To me, that means taking Chris Paddack and Brock Stewart off of their rehab assignments, off of the 60-Day Injured List, and place them onto the Twins roster. Stewart has made three rehab appearances with the Saints, has shown a fastball in the upper-90s, and looks ready. Paddack hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since April of 2022 and had his second Tommy John surgery. He has been rehabbing all last season and this season, hoping to be able to help the team at the end of the season in whatever role. He has made one rehab start at Fort Myers and another at Wichita. He has tossed three strong innings in St. Paul as well. Most impressive, he’s throwing 96-98 mph, just as hard or a little harder than before the surgery. On one level, it doesn’t feel fair to the guys who have been on the active roster throughout the year. On the other side, Paddack has been working. He’s been doing his job. He has been on the team and doing what he has needed for himself and the team. If Paddack being on the roster gives the Twins a better chance for a win, then that should be the choice. Jorge Alcala hitting 97 and 98 mph in St. Paul on Friday night certainly gets his name into the conversation as well. Stick Around for Round 2, or for Emergency: Jorge Alcala, Dylan Floro, Kody Funderburk, Brent Headrick, Josh Winder, Dallas Keuchel, Bailey Ober. If there is a Round 2, I would think Ober should be included, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Hitters (15) In this Round 1 prediction, we went with 11 pitchers, we can place 15 hitters on the Round 1 roster. Under the Hitters column on your sheet of paper, break it down into Catchers, Infielders, Outfielders, and Designated Hitters. I have 15 hitters on the roster, so I included three players currently on the Injured List but who all should be ready for this series. You may not want to do the same. Catchers (2): Ryan Jeffers, Christian Vazquez Pretty easy choice here. While the playing time breakdown has shifted some throughout the season, these two have been ready to go day in and day out. Kyle Farmer can remain the emergency catcher. Infielders (6): Alex Kirilloff, Donovan Solano, Jorge Polanco, Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Kyle Farmer. Hopefully Carlos Correa will get back and play in a game before the end of the season. Hopefully Royce Lewis’s hamstring will be ready to go for Game 1. Platoons are good. Putting players in the best position to succeed is good. Jorge Polanco should play second base every game. Correa will play shortstop. If healthy, Royce Lewis will play third base. There will be a platoon of Alex Kirilloff and Donovan Solano at first base. Farmer can be a bench bat, and would also be the insurance for Correa at short and Lewis at third base. Willi Castro could also Outfielders (5): Matt Wallner, Michael A. Taylor, Max Kepler, Willi Castro, Andrew Stevenson. Against a right-hander, I would expect to see a lineup with Matt Wallner in left, Willi Castro in center, and Max Kepler in right field. Against a lefty, it’s probably a little more uncertain. I would suggest Castro in left, Taylor in center and then Kepler in right field. Stevenson would primarily be used for pinch running and potentially late-inning defense. Taylor and Castro can be pinch runners on days they don’t start. Designated Hitters (2): Edouard Julien, Byron Buxton. Of course Julien can play second base, but in the playoffs, the switch-hitting Jorge Polanco should play there every day. So Julien should get the majority of the DH at-bats. If they face a left-hander, I have no problem with Buxton starting at DH given Julien's extreme struggles versus southpaws. In the same way that Kirilloff and Solano are a tag-team at first base, Julien and Buxton should be the tag-team at DH. In addition, I have no problem taking a chance with Buxton in a pinch-hitting role too. Stick Around for Round 2 or for an Emergency: Jair Camargo (catcher), Joey Gallo, Nick Gordon, Trevor Larnach, Jordan Luplow. So, what do you think about this potential Round 1, 26-man Twins roster? If you were in charge, how might your roster look different? Where are the question marks? Can this team with this roster give the Twins and their fans a playoff win for the first time in forever? View full article

How can you have McLain ahead of Spencer Steer??

The Arraez story is cool, but he's been back to Venezuela fairly recently... The Brusdar Graterol situation is much more emotional... He hadn't seen his mom in 7 years, and she was finally able to come to the States this week to see him pitch for the first time.

I agree... and even Wichita, they were not eliminated until the final day of the season, which is incredible considering how bad they played in the first half. But they really turned in on in the second half and played great down the stretch.

The minor league seasons are running down, but on Wednesday night, the Cedar Rapids Kernels wrapped up an incredible season. They won their division in the first half and again in the second half, and it all culminated with the first Midwest League Championship for the Kernels in 29 years! Image courtesy of Jeff Johnson Just four more games to go in the Twins minor league season. The Saints will play four more home games. The rest of the affiliates seasons are done. However, the Cedar Rapids Kernels season ended on Wednesday night in the best way a season can end... with a championship!! Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Before Wednesday’s morning game in Cincinnati, the Twins placed shortstop Carlos Correa on the Injured List. To take his spot on the Twins roster, the team called up outfielder Trevor Larnach. AWARDS Before they played their games on Wednesday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels learned that several of their players were recognized for their work in the Midwest League. Former Twins draft pick, prospect, infielder and outfielder Brian Dinkelman was named the league’s Manager of the Year. The Kernels had the best record in the league at 82-50. This is his fourth season as the Kernels’ manager after spending several seasons as the team’s hitting coach. Outfielder Kala’i Rosario led the Midwest League with 21 home runs and 94 RBI. He was named a league All-Star and the Midwest League’s MVP. His 94 RBI were 21 more than second on the list. He ranked among the Top 10 in the league in Slugging Percentage (.467), OPS (.831), Hits (112), Doubles (27), and Walks (75). In addition, he had 13 outfield assists from his right field position. This is the second straight year in which a member of the Kernels was named the league’s MVP. Last season, you may recall, Christian Encarnacion-Strand won the award. In addition to Rosario, the Kernels had three more players make the postseason All Star team. Outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez was named as the designated hitter. He hit .240/.400/.463 with 16 homers. He had 92 walks which was tied for best in the league. Infielder Tanner Schobel was named the All Star third baseman. He played 77 games for the Kernels before his promotion to Wichita. He was leading the league in home runs when he was promoted and still ranked in the top five in several other categories. Finally, Miguel Rodriguez was named the most dominant reliever. He also was promoted to Wichita but not until early August. He had a 2.85 ERA. He had 42 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 41 innings. He also had 14 Saves. On Tuesday, Fort Myers catcher/outfielder Ricardo Olivar was named to the Florida State League All Star team. In 100 games, the 22-year-old from Venezuela hit .285/.403/.452 (.855) with 28 doubles, 10 homers, 58 RBI and 59 walks. In nearly 650 innings split between catcher and the outfield, he had just four errors on the season. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Toledo 3 Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson started on Wednesday night for the Saints against the Tigers top affiliate. He gave up a run in the top of the first and two in the third inning, but he kept battling and completed 5 2/3 innings. He gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out four batters. Austin Brice recorded four outs. He gave up two hits, but no runs. Finally Cole Sands worked two scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out two batters. The Saints tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning when Brooks Lee’s eighth Saints double scored Austin Martin, who had doubled to lead off the inning. Down 3-1, the Saints mounted a rally in the bottom of the fourth inning. The inning started with walks by Gilberto Celestino and Anthony Prato. That brought Chris Williams to the plate and along with giving the Saints a lead, he also made a little Saints history. His 21st home run of the year placed him ahead of Brent Rooker who had 20 homers for the Saints in 2021, their first year as a Twins affiliate. Two batters later, Brooks Lee launched his fifth home run since joining the Saints to give the team a 5-3 lead. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the team got a little insurance. Lee led off with a walk. Yunior Severino was then hit by a pitch. After a ground out advanced both runners, DaShawn Keirsey singled to drive in Lee with the team’s sixth run. The Saints have just four more games remaining, but for those of you near the Twin Cities, all four games are at CHS Field. Check out a game or four this weekend. Click here to order tickets. And… be sure to watch The Saint of Second Chances on Netflix. Great documentary on former Saints owner Mike Veeck, his family’s history in the game, and how the Saints opportunity may have been the best thing for him. KERNELS NUGGETS MWL Championship Game 2 Cedar Rapids 4, Great Lakes 2 Box Score The teams got through four-and-a-half innings on Tuesday night before the rains came and the game was suspended. Righty Andrew Morris started the game and gave up one run on three hits over five innings. He had seven strikeouts with no walks. On Wednesday, the game continued. The Kernels immediately tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Carson McCusker singled in Luke Keaschall. In the top of the sixth, Mike Paredes came in and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in just a third of an inning. None of the singles were hit hard, but they were very well placed. John Klein came in for his first Kernels appearance in Cedar Rapids. He gave up one run on three hits over 2 2/3 innings. He had five strikeouts. AJ Labas worked a scoreless ninth inning. Down 4-1 going to the bottom of the ninth, the Kernels mounted an intriguing comeback. The inning started with back-to-back walks to Jose Salas and Carson McCusker. Noah Miller followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-2. The Loons manager, Daniel Nava, went to his closer, lefty Benony Robles. The southpaw got Emmanuel Rodriguez to strike out on three pitches. Kala’i Rosario came to the plate with chants of “MVP! MVP!” ringing through the stadium. He fell behind 1-2 but was able to work a walk to load the bases with one out. Unfortunately, an infield fly and a strikeout ended the game and sent this series to a winner-take-all Game 3. MWL Championship Series Game 3 Cedar Rapids 7, Great Lakes 6 Box Score Because of the suspended game, Game 3 was reduced to just a seven inning game. Despite jumping out to a big lead early, this game wasn’t decided until that 21st out landed in Emmanuel Rodriguez’s glove. The Kernels won their first Midwest League championship since 1994! In the bottom of the first inning, the Kernels got singles from Noah Miller and Kala’i Rosario. Miller scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Andrew Cossetti to give the team the 1-0 lead. Starting pitcher Cory Lewis had his second straight 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, and the Kernels supported him in grand style in the bottom of the inning. Luke Keaschall and Noah Cardenas started the inning with walks. After a strikeout, Carson McCusker walked to load the bases. Following a pitching change, there was another strikeout. But Emmanuel Rodriguez came to the plate and launched his third home run of this three-game series, a grand slam to give the Kernels a 5-0 lead after two innings. Lewis gave up a leadoff single in the third inning, but the runner was quickly erased on a Miller-to-Keaschall-to-Ortega double play. So through three innings, Lewis faced nine batters. Lewis gave up a run in the fourth inning on a walk and later a single. However, the fifth inning did not go well for him. After a leadoff single, he got a fly out and a force out. Things were looking good. However, back-to-back singles gave the Loons a second run and ended Lewis’s game. Gabriel Yanez came with runners on the corners. Catcher Dalton Rushing, the top prospect in the Dodgers organization and a Top 50 prospect in the game, greeted him with a two-run double which cut the Kernels lead to 5-4. The Kernels responded well in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rodriguez led off with a walk, and Rosario followed with a single. A wild pitch advanced runners to second and third base. After one out, Jorel Ortega walked to load the bases. Luke Keaschall followed by working a walk that scored Rodriguez. Noah Cardenas then flew out to left field, deep enough to allow Rosario to score a second insurance run and make it 7-4 Kernels. Yanez remained in the game for the sixth inning. He got a groundout and a strikeout before giving up a double. Manager Brian Dinkelman went to his closer, John Stankiewicz, hoping for a four-out save. The right-hander recorded a strikeout to end the threat. The Kernels coaxed three more walks in the bottom of the sixth but were unable to add on. On to the top of the seventh inning, three outs from a championship… but it couldn’t just be easy, right? Stankiewicz started the inning with an infield pop out. However, the next batter was hit by a pitch. However, a ground ball to short meant a force out at second but no out at first base. That brought Rushing to the plate again. And, as you would expect, he launched a long home run to cut the Kernels lead to 7-6. Fortunately, after falling behind the next batter 2-0, Stankiewicz got a flyout to Emmanuel Rodriguez. He made the catch, and the celebration ensued! TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, 2B(8), HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K Pitcher of the Day – John Klein (Cedar Rapids) - 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 45 pitches, 32 strikes (71.1%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B(8), HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - Game 2 (1-for-4, BB, 3 K), Game 3 (1-for-2, 2 BB, HR(3), 2 R, 4 RBI) #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(11), R, 2 K #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - Game 2 (2-for-4, R, K), Game 3 (0-for-1, 2 BB, R, RBI) #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - Game 2 (0-for-4, BB, K), Game 3 (2-for-3, BB, R, SB, K). #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, BB, 2B(2), HBP #15 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 95 pitches, 61 strikes (64.2%) #19 - Cory Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - Game 3 (4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 69 pitches, 45 strikes (65.2%)) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Toledo @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (5-9, 5.31 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 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All anyone has to do is look at the chart and realize that in that instance, the move makes sense (2 outs in the 9th, down a run). Julien likely will get a lot of plate appearances in 2024 from March through July or August and see where the numbers are. Same with Kirilloff and Wallner. Doesn't mean every game vs a lefty, but more often. I'm all about development and prospects and stuff, but it's mid-September and this is a playoff team, about to win the division. I have no problem with moves made to give the Twins a better chance at a win.

I'm 99.9999% sure that Baldelli wasn't sending a message to Julien for a previous at bat. Simply, the message was we are going to give ourselves a better chance to win. And, if I recall, Vazquez was the only guy left on the bench.

This @TwinsData twitter chart explains this completely... I get it. I want young guys to be given the opportunity to show they can hit lefties, but to this point, they haven't, and they haven't to some really, really bad numbers. Definitely not even close to a fire-able offense...

Another day. Another Yunior Severino home run. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photos of Yunior Severino), Ed Bailey (photo of Pierson Ohl) Seemingly every day, Yunior Severino has continued to mash and hit home run after home run. Find out below how impressive his current streak is, and how unique his season has been in Twins minor-league history. And while it may not be as historically significant, you'll want to see the run that Wind Surge starter Pierson Ohl is on too. The Saints got a nice start from a prospect who appears to have turned around his season. The Wind Surge played another one-run game. And, it was a travel day for the Kernels as they head back home hoping to keep their season alive on Thursday night. All that and much more in Wednesday's Minor League Report. Here are the records of the Twins and their active affiliates through games on Wednesday. Minnesota Twins: 76-70 St. Paul Saints: 80-59 Wichita Wind Surge: 62-71 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 82-50 regular season (0-1 in playoffs) Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Before the games on Sunday, the Twins activated Jorge Polanco from the Bereavement List. To make room, OF Gilberto Celestino was optioned having not played during his short stint with the big club. . SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Louisville 3 (10 innings) Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson started on Wednesday afternoon for the Saints in Des Moines. He gave up one run on three hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out five batters. His ERA this season is now down to 4.92. Now, that may not sound great, but when the calendar turned to July, he was 0-5 with an ERA of 7.47 over 11 starts and 47 innings. However, since then, He is 6-1 with an ERA of 2.95 over 12 games (10 starts) and 61 innings. It has been gradual, but it’s great to see that improvement. Andrew Bechtold came on in relief for the sixth inning. He gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning. However, both outs he recorded were on strikeouts. He has made 18 appearances out of the bullpen since trying to take up pitching on the fly. Blessed with a big arm that is capable of hitting the upper-90s with a fastball, it is worth a shot, and it will be interesting to see if he’s shown enough potential to invest another season in that transition. Bechtold can be a free agent at season’s end. If that happens, it will be interesting to see how he is utilized moving forward. So, it’s important to take his numbers - which haven’t been good - into proper perspective, understanding he hasn’t pitched since high school (10 years ago) and he’s doing it in Triple-A against a lot of veteran players. In 16 innings, he has an ERA of 11.81 and a WHIP at 2.63. He has 14 strikes, but 21 walks, in those 16 innings. But he is 2-1 if you’re interested in Win-Loss record for relievers. Michael Boyle came on and faced four batters. He got all four of them out, two on strikeouts. Jordan Balazovic gave up a hit and struck out one batter in a scoreless inning. The Saints took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Michael Helman scored on a Wild Pitch. The Saints took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth when Hernan Perez hit his 10th home run of the season. The Saints cut their deficit to 4-3 in the top of the seventh inning when Yunior Severino hit his 10th Saints homer and his 34th homer overall. He has homered in three straight games and in five of the past seven games. Only seven players in Twins minor-league history (62 seasons) have hit more home runs in a season than Severino. And he’s got nine games remaining to move up the lists. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Midland 2 Box Score Pierson Ohl continues to roll. The right-hander from Grand Canyon tossed 5 1/3 innings of scoreless ball in this game. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out five batters. He also hit two batters. Early in June, Ohl was promoted to Wichita. In his first three Double-A starts, he went 0-2 with an ERA of 6.61 and opponents hit .297 against him. Since then, he has gone 7-1 with a 1.78 ERA in 13 games (11 starts). His WHIP has been 0.89, and opponents have hit just .198 off of him. He’s got 62 strikeouts and just 12 walks in 70 2/3 innings. Isaac Mattson got out of the sixth inning and then gave up a single run in the seventh inning on a solo homer. Sean Mooney came into a 1-1 tie in the top of the eighth inning. He recorded one out and gave up only an unearned run on two walks. Miguel Rodriguez came into the game with the bases loaded and one out. He got the final two outs of the eighth inning and allowed just one inherited runner to score. He then pitched a scoreless ninth inning. He had three strikeouts. The Surge did score the first run of the game in the second inning. Ben Ross drove in Alex Isola with a single. That was about it for the offense. They had just six hits, and Alex Isola went 3-for-4 in the game and is now hitting .280 on the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids vs. Peoria The Kernels have their backs to the wall in Round 1 of the Midwest League playoffs. Fortunately, the team will find their backs on the walls at their home stadium in Cedar Rapids. And, if they find a way to win Game 2, then Game 3 will be at home as well. They are sending righty Cory Lewis to the mound on Thursday night. He’s arguably been the best pitcher in the Twins organization this season. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, HR(10/34), R, RBI, K Pitcher of the Day – Pierson Ohl (Wichita) - 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 5 K, 83 pitches, 53 strikes (63.9%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 0-for-4 #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-4 #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, HR(10/34), R, RBI, 1 K #15 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 84 pitches, 53 strikes (63.1%) #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 16 pitches, 11 strikes (68.8%) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (5-8, 5.10 ERA) Midland @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (4-10, 5.55 ERA) Playoffs: Game 2: Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - Cory Lewis (9-4, 2.49 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 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Danny De Andrade was not in the Mussels lineup today. Maybe he's moving up to the Kernels.

Sunday marked the final day of our Twins Daily minor league reports showcasing the team's four full-season affiliates. The Mighty Mussels' season is complete. Find out how they ended their season, and how the other Twins affiliates played on Sunday, and how many could reach the playoffs still. And yes, a couple of the 2023 draft picks had big games again! It's that time of year again. On Sunday, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels and the Cedar Rapids Kernels regular seasons came to an end. The Kernels will begin their playoff run on Tuesday after winning their division titles in the first and second half. Wichita has one more week remaining in their regular season, and they are very much still in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Saints still have a couple of weeks remaining. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Sunday. Check out the records of the Twins and their affiliates. Minnesota Twins: 73-66 St. Paul Saints: 79-58 Wichita Wind Surge: 62-69 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 82-50 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 67-64 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Before the games on Sunday, the Twins placed Jorge Polanco on the Bereavement List. They called up OF Gilberto Celestino to take his roster spot. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Louisville 3 (10 innings) Box Score The Saints and Bats needed one extra inning to decide a winner in this game. St. Paul got a first-inning run when Brooks Lee knocked his fourth Saints home run. In the fourth frame, Yunior Severino hit his eighth Saints home run (and 32 homers overall). Blayne Enlow started things for the Saints on Sunday. He gave up one run on two hits (one homer). Patrick Murphy came in and provided five scoreless innings. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out two batters. Jordan Balazovic gave up one hit and walked two batters and got two outs in the eighth inning. Cole Sands came in with two on and two out and got the final out of the inning. He gave up one run in the bottom of the ninth inning to send it to extra innings. After the Saints went scoreless in the top of the 10th inning, Sands gave up the unearned run in the bottom of the inning to take the loss. Trevor Larnach hit his 12th and 13th doubles with the Saints. He was the lone batter to have more than one hit. Chris Williams went 1-for-3 with a walk and his 13th double. The Saints have two weeks remaining in their schedule. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Corpus Christi 2 Box Score The offenses were quiet through the first eight innings. As the game turned to the ninth, the Wind Surge scored two runs in the top of the inning and held on for the one-run win. The Wind Surge got on the board in the sixth inning when Alerick Soularie hit his 10th home run of the season to tie the game at 1-1. Fast-forward to the top of the ninth inning. With one out, Alex Isola walked, and Ben Ross ran for him. Seth Gray singled to right which allowed Ross to advance to third base. Jake Rucker followed with his 20th double of the season to drive in Ross and push Gray to third base. Willie Joe Garry singled to score Gray and give one extra insurance run. Jaylen Nowlin started and gave up one run on two hits and two walks and two hit batters in 2 1/3 innings. Isaac Mattson struck out three batters over the next 2 2/3 innings. He gave up just one hit. Curtis Taylor struck out four batters over the following 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Miguel Rodriguez got the final out of the eighth inning on a strikeout. He also struck out three batters in the ninth inning. He did give up two singles in the ninth, and an unearned run scored on an error, but he came up big with two strikeouts to end the game. Rucker went 3-for-4 with two doubles. Yoyner Fajardo went 3-for-4 with his 23rd double and seventh triple. Gray went 2-for-4. The Wind Surge have one more week of regular season play. They are currently just ½ game out of a playoff spot in their division. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 8 Box Score The Kernels regular season came to an end with an overall record of 82-50 and titles in the first half and the second half. They will start their playoff run on Tuesday. 2023 draft pick Luke Keaschall led the Kernels offense. He went 3-for-5 including his first High-A home runs. He had a solo homer off of a rehabbing Brewers pitcher, lefty Aaron Ashby, in the first inning. Then in the fifth frame, he hit a two-run homer. Carson McCusker added his seventh Kernels home run. He also had seven home runs in his short time in Fort Myers. Jose Salas went 2-for-4 with his 13th double. Noah Miller went 2-for-5. Misael Urbina hit his 18th double. Alejandro Hidalgo started and gave up two runs on three hits and three walks over two innings. He had one strikeout. Jackson Hicks came in and gave up three runs on five hits. He recorded three outs. AJ Labas worked an inning and gave up three runs on two hits and three walks. He also threw two wild pitches. Matt Swain saved the bullpen a bit by working three scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and hit one batter. Jarret Whorff pitched a scoreless eighth. The Kernels will travel to Peoria for Game 1 on Tuesday. Then they will have Wednesday off. Game 2 will be Thursday in Cedar Rapids, and if a Game 3 is necessary, the Kernels will host that game on Friday. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Bradenton 5 Box Score The Mighty Mussels season comes to an end with a loss and a record of 67-64. They will not make the playoffs this year, so their season is done. It’s possible a couple of these players will join the Kernels for their playoff run. Manager Brian Meyer went with Johnny Wholestaff in this season finale. Ben Ethridge started and gave up one run on three hits and a walk in three innings. He struck out three batters. He issued a walk to start the top of the fourth inning. He left with an injury and Develson Aria came in and got just one out. However, the lefty walked two batters and hit a batter. Zach Veen came in with the bases loaded and allowed two of the inherited runners to score. Veen recorded five outs without being charged with his own run. He had two walks. Down 3-0, a Nate Baez single drove in Ricardo Olivar in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it 3-1. Then two innings later, Walker Jenkins drilled a triple down the right field line to drive in Jay Harry with the team’s second run. Jenkins then scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Olivar. Nolan Santos walked two over two scoreless innings. Ty Langenberg came on for the eighth inning. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. He got the first two outs in the top of the ninth frame, but with the bases loaded, he was replaced by catcher Kyle Schmidt came in and got a ground out for the final out. Jenkins went 2-for-5 in the game with his third triple. Assuming that is his final game of his debut season, he ends it by hitting .362/.417/.571 (.988) with five doubles, four triples and three home runs. In his 12 games with theMighty Mussels, he hit .392/.446/.608 (1.054) with two doubles, three triples, and a homer. Nate Baez went 2-for-4 with a walk. Kyle Schmidt - along with slamming the door on a Marauders ninth inning rally - had three walks in the game as a batter. Ricardo Olivar went 1-for-3 with a walk and his 28th double. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 2-HR(2), 2 R, 3 RBI Pitcher of the Day – Patrick Murphy (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, BB, 2 K, 68 pitches, 49 strikes (72.1%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, HR(4), R, RBI #2 - Walker Jenkins (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-5, 3B(3) R, RBI, 2 K #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, 2 K #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-4 #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 2-HR(2), 2 R, 3 RBI #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 3 K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, HR(8/32), R, RBI, 1 K #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K, 17 pitches, 5 strikes (29.4%) TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Iowa (6:38 PM CST) - TBD Midland @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - TBD Playoffs: Game 1: Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

The Saints won in grand fashion with another impressive power performance. Wichita still has a chance to get to the playoffs. Cedar Rapids just keeps rolling. And the Mighty Mussels have won 13 of their past 16 games and ensured their ninth winning season in the past ten seasons. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints On Tuesday, Brooks Lee his a grand slam for the Saints. It was the team's 12th grand slam of the season which is more than any other team in professional baseball right now. On Wednesday, the Saints combined to hit five more homers including a 13th grand slam. And its timing couldn't have been better. It wasn't the only grand slam in the Twins minor leagues on Wednesday. Check out the records of the Twins and their affiliates: Minnesota Twins: 73-66 St. Paul Saints: 77-56 Wichita Wind Surge: 60-67 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 82-46 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 66-61 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins had RHP Chris Paddack make his first rehab appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery early in the 2022 season. In addition, the Mussels put RHP Juan Mercedes on the Development List and activated LHP Develson Aria. photo by William Parmeter (Chris Paddack) SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 13, Louisville 8 Box Score The Saints scored one run from the second inning through the eighth inning. Yet somehow they scored 13 runs in the game.. Two big innings and some big home runs helped the Saints to their 77th win of the season. The Saints jumped to a big lead right away with five runs in the top of the first inning. Michael Helman led off the game with a home run, a sign of things to come. After one out, Brooks Lee singled and scored on Trevor Larnach’s 13th Saints homer to give them a 3-0 lead. Kyle Garlick was hit by a pitch. That was followed by Yunior Severino’s seventh Saints homer, and 31st homer overall. 5-0 Saints. As noted, the Saints offense didn’t do much again until the ninth inning. The lone exception was Austin Martin’s sixth home run which came in the fourth inning. So let’s jump to the pitching. David Festa started and gave up two runs on three hits over 4 2/3 innings. He had six strikeouts. However, he also had six strikeouts and six walks which drove up the pitch count. Michael Boyle walked two and struck out one over the next 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Alex Scherff came on and threw a scoreless seventh inning. However, he gave up one run in the bottom of the eighth inning before leaving the game with one out and two runners on base. Ronny Henriquez came into the game with a 6-3 lead. However, he allowed both of the inherited runners to score, and three more runs before getting the third out of the eighth inning. The Saints came to bat in the ninth inning down 8-6. #OldFriend Alan Busenitz, who has spent a couple of stints in the big leagues with the Reds this season, came in for the Bats. He spent parts of 2017 and 2018 with the Twins. He spent four seasons pitching for Rakuten in Japan. He returned to the States this year. With that as the backdrop, the Saints put together a huge inning. Busenitz struck out the first batters. However, Austin Martin and Gilberto Celestino singled to put runners on first and third. DaShawn Keirsey came in to pinch hit and walked to load the bases. Michael Helman singled to score Martin. Busenitz’s night was done, and Silvino Bracho came in. Alex Kirilloff came up and drove in two runs with a single to right field to give the Saints a 9-8 lead. Brooks Lee followed with a walk to load the bases again. That brought Trevor Larnach up, and he crushed the first grand slam of his professional career to give the Saints the 13-8 lead. The grand slam was the Saints’ 13th this season. Henriquez came back out for the bottom of the ninth inning. He walked the first batter but responded by coaxing a double play ball. After a two-out double, he was able to record the final out of the game. Larnach led the way with his two home runs and six RBI. Austin Martin went 2-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. Michael Helman went 2-for-5 with his fifth homer. Alex Kirilloff went 2-for-5. Gilberto Celestino went 2-for-4. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Corpus Christi 10 Box Score The Wind Surge fell behind 5-0 through four innings. Sean Mooney made the start as an “opener” of sorts for Wichita. He walked one and struck out two batters in a scoreless first inning. Carlos Luna came in and was charged with five runs on six hits and a walk over 2 2/3 innings. He had three strikeouts and allowed three home runs. Down 5-0, the Wind Surge put together a burst. With one out, Ben Ross and Jake Rucker hit back-to-back singles. After a ground out advanced them with a ground out. With two outs, there was a pitching change. Aaron Sabato walked to load the bases, and Seth Gray’s eighth homer of the season cut their deficit to 5-4. Unfortunately, the Gray grand slam was the end of the Wind Surge scoring for the evening. Taylor Floyd gave up two runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings. He had three strikeouts. Lefty Aaron Rozek recorded two outs. He gave up three runs on three hits (including two homers). Isaac Mattson came in and struck out five batters over two perfect innings. Ben Ross went 2-for-4 with a walk. Yoyner Fajardo hit his sixth triple. Aaron Sabato had a single and two walks. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 1 Box Score The Kernels jumped ahead 3-0 after two innings and it held up as they recorded their 82nd win of the year. Cedar Rapids got some help from their hosts in Appleton. Noah Miller reached first base on an error. After an Emmanuel Rodriguez single, a passed ball put runners on second and third. Soon after, Miller scored on a wild pitch. That was it, though. The second inning started completely the opposite. Rehabbing lefty Aaron Ashby got a groundout and a strikeout to start the inning before issuing a walk. That ended his appearance and Brewer Fanatic’s starting pitcher of the month of August, Cameron Wagoner, entered. After a Keoni Cavaco single and a Noah Miller walk loaded the bases, Emmanuel Rodriguez drilled a two-run single up the middle to give the Kernels a 3-0 lead. That was it for the Kernels’ scoring until the top of the ninth inning when Jose Salas hit his fourth homer of the season. The Kernels had five hits with Rodriguez having two of them. He also stole his 20th base of the season. Noah Miller hit his fifth triple and a walk. The offense did their part, but the pitching staff was the big story on Wednesday afternoon. Cory Lewis was fantastic. He improved to 5-1 on the season thanks to five shutout innings. He gave up just one hit. He walked two and struck out three to drop his ERA with the Kernels to 2.32. Mike Paredes came in and got one out before giving up a single to Brock Wilken. Then the rains came. The game was delayed for just over 100 minutes. When the game continued, Ricardo Velez came in. He gave up a hit to allow the Paredes runner to score, but he gave up just two hits over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He walked none and struck out one. Jarret Whorff got the final four outs, two on strikeouts, to record his third save. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Bradenton 5 Box Score The game went back and forth throughout the game. Fortunately, the Mussels scored last and held on. It was 3-3 through four innings, and then it was 5-5 through seven innings. But first, the Mussels were able to use a guy with 21 career wins in the big leagues as their starting pitcher. Chris Paddack came to the Twins on Opening Day 2022. After just a handful of starts, his elbow blew out and soon after, he had his second Tommy John surgery. On Wednesday night in Fort Myers, he returned to the mound for his first rehab appearance. The raw numbers won’t jump out to anyone. In 2 2/3 innings, he gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts. Most impressive, at least to me, was that he was able to (or allowed to) throw 52 pitches. No real surprise that just 27 of those pitches were strikes. But, the stuff looks good. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Down 3-0 going to the bottom of the fourth inning, Danny De Andrade and Rubel Cespedes started the inning with walks. Nate Baez followed with a three-run homer to tie the game. Then in the bottom of the fifth, the innings started with singles by Jay Harry and Walker Jenkins. Jenkins stole second. Soon after, Harry scored on a wild pitch. Jenkins scored on a groundout by De Andrade to make it 5-3. However, the Marauders tied it with two runs in the top of the seventh frame. When Paddack was done, Jack Noble came in as the ‘Bulk’ pitcher and worked the next 5 1/3 innings. He gave up three runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out five batters. He was really only hurt by two home run balls. In the bottom of the eighth, the Mussels started with Rubel Cespedes and Nate Baez walks. Maddux Houghton pinch-ran for Cespedes. Alec Sayre grounded back to the pitcher who got the out at second but Sayre beat the throw to first. Houghton advanced to third base. That brought up catcher Kyle Schmidt came up and grounded to shortstop. They recorded the out at second but Schmidt’s hustle beat the throw and allowed Houghton to score the go-ahead run. With the one-run lead, lefty Samuel Perez came in and worked a one-two-three ninth inning to record his second save of the year. Jay Harry went 2-for-4. Walker Jenkins was 2-for-4 with his second stolen base.. Nate Baez’s home run was his second of the season. He also walked twice. Rubel Cespedes was 1-for-1 with three walks and stole his third base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Trevor Larnach (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, 2-HR(14), 2 R, 6 RBI, K. Pitcher of the Day – Cory Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 69 pitches, 45 strikes (61.1%) Blooper of the Day - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - Great catch, but forgetting how many outs there are is always funny the next day when it gets on blooper reels. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, 2 R, K #2 - Walker Jenkins (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, R, SB(2) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2 RBI, K, SB(20) #6 - David Festa (St. Paul) - 4 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 6 K, 91 pitches, 43 strikes (47.3%) #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, HBP, HR(6), 2 R, RBI #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4 #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 3 K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, HR(7, 31), R, 2 RBI, 3 K #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, R, RBI #19 - Cory Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 69 pitches, 45 strikes (65.2%) WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Louisville (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (5-6, 5.29 ERA) Wichita @ Corpus Christi (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (7-3, 2.95 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (2-1, 3.58 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP John Klein (2-1, 2.97 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

I'd have to go look, but I don't think I ever ranked Lewis lower than #1 in any prospect ranking... The athleticism and talent were always off the board. Was always just a matter of health.

Gotta love reading prospect comps... You never see Walker Jenkins get comped to Rich Becker or Mike Restovich or Joe Benson or... or... or...

He was taken in the minor-league Rule 5 draft. 1.) The Twins aren't going to put him on their 40-man roster, so he will be eligible for the MLB Rule 5. 2.) So, if he's not on the Triple-A roster, he would again be eligible for the minor-league Rule 5. 3.) He signed with the Pirates in 2018, so I don't think he becomes an MILB free agent yet.

What a night in the Twins organization! The Twins had a comeback win in Texas. The Saints and the Surge provided their fans with bonus baseball, and one won on a walkoff. The Kernels and the Mussels have been red hot and continued that trend thanks to some huge offensive performances by several top prospects. Enjoy tonight's Twins Minor League Report! And... I've got seven candidates for Hitter of the Day! Help us decide. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey It’s been an interesting few days, and it’s been awhile since I’ve updated these standings. The Twins minor-league affiliates have been playing really well of late. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Friday. Check out the records of the Twins and their affiliates Minnesota Twins: 70-65 (5-3 in past eight games) St. Paul Saints: 75-54 (5-3 in past eight games) Wichita Wind Surge: 59-64 (6-2 in past eight games) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 79-45 (7-1 in past eight games) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 64-59 (7-0 in past seven games) Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. But before we get to the Twins minor league report, Congratulations to former Twins prospect and big leaguer Devin Smeltzer on his seven-inning no-hitter tonight for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp! TRANSACTIONS Friday marked the first day of September. For baseball fans, and prospect hounds, it is a special day. Or, at least it used to be. Now that rosters only expand by two players, it’s just not as much fun, and it isn’t a big deal. However, the Twins made it a big deal for two players on the Saints roster. LHP Brent Headrick was called up to take a spot in the bullpen. The other spot is a bit of a surprise and yet, incredibly deserved. The Twins selected the contract of veteran outfielder Andrew Stevenson who has clearly been the Saints most valuable player all season long. While he is left-handed, he can help the Twins in several ways. First, he has a good, professional approach at the plate. He takes walks. He’s got some pop in his bat, and he’s got great speed. If you’re been reading these minor league reports throughout the year, you can’t be completely surprised by the addition of Andrew Stevenson. His name appears in the daily game recaps nearly every day. In 106 games with the Saints, he hit .317/.395/.522 (.916) with 23 doubles, seven triples, and 16 home runs. He also had 44 stolen bases and was caught just five times. It will be interesting to see how the Twins use their 40-man roster and that shuttle between St. Paul and Minneapolis over the final month of the season. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Columbus 8 (11 innings) Box Score The Saints jumped to an early lead against an #OldFriend. Unfortunately, the bullpen gave up three runs in the eighth to tie the game. To extra innings, we go. We start with the positive in this one. Former Twins prospect Chris Vallimont made the start for the Clippers. In the first inning, the Saints took the first lead. DaShawn Keirsey singled and stole a base before a two-out, Trevor Larnach single drove him in. With one out in the second inning, Yunior Severino singled. It was followed by a double off the bat of Hernan Perez. After Jair Camargo walked, Gilberto Celestino doubled to drive in two runs. Trevor Larnach and Kyle Garlick started off the bottom of the third inning by hitting their 12th Saints homers. Vallimont got Severino to ground out before he was removed from the game. Unfortunately, that was when the bats went quiet. Hunter McMahon came in for his Triple-A debut. He tossed two scoreless innings. However, he went back out for the 10th inning and got two outs but gave up two runs. Having thrown 44 pitches, his night was done. Because of all of the roster changes, Toby Gardenhire brought in catcher Tony Wolters to pitch. He gave up a double to score the third run charged to McMahon. The Saints went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 11th inning. They finished the game 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. Hernan Perez went 2-for-3 with two walks and hit sixth and seventh doubles. Trevor Larnach was 2-for-4 with his 12th homer. DaShawn Keirsey went 2-for-5 with a walk and his fifth steal since joining the Saints and 36th overall. Alex Kirilloff didn’t play on Friday night after starting the two previous games. Byron Buxton batted third and was the DH. He was 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, San Antonio 0 (10 innings) Box Score Let’s jump straight to extra innings. Frankly, nothing really happened through the first nine innings, except some terrific pitching (which we’ll get to in just a minute). Aaron Sabato made the final out in the bottom of the ninth. So when the Surge came to the plate in a tie game in the bottom of the 10th frame, Sabato was set to be the Manfred Man at second base. Instead, Ramon Borrego sent speedster Will Holland in as a pinch runner. Unfortunately, the first two batters of the inning popped out in the infield without advancing Holland at all. It looked like the game was heading to the 11th inning. However, Willie Joe Garry, Jr launched the first pitch over the wall to end the game and give the Surge the win. Following the game, Garry Jr told Twins Daily, "Coming into the box, all I was thinking was 'Be on Time.' They beat me early in the game with some fastballs so I just wanted to catch something out front. He went breaking balls early to the few batters he faced before me, so I sat soft first pitch in hopes that he left something up in the zone." He was right. He got the breaking ball up, and he hit it well. "I haven't hit much on-field BP here, so I'm still not sure how the ball plays late in the game in this part, but I felt like I got enough of it to let the guys know it's time to go home." His mind was running in one focus as he was running from base to base. "Rounding the bases, I didn't think about much other than the fact that we got back in the Win column. The standings are close, so every game matters right now. I was just happy to help us get the win." Marco Raya has certainly struggled since joining the Wind Surge. In this game, he gave up two hits over four scoreless innings. He had two strikeouts and no walks. Taylor Floyd came into the game and got four outs. Then lefty Aaron Rozek pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Miguel Rodriguez pitched a perfect top of the 10th to be credited with the Win. It was a terrific night for the staff as they gave up just four hits and a walk over 10 scoreless innings. It was also a terrific game for their defense as they combined for just five strikeouts. The Kernels had seven hits in the game. Aside from Garry’s fourth homer, Tanner Schobel hit his sixth double since joining the team. Pat Winkel was the lone player to reach twice, with a single and a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 11, Lake County 7 Box Score The Kernels used a six-run fourth inning to take control of this game. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning, the Kernels got back-to-back doubles from Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kala’i Rosario to get on the board. They added a second run in the third inning. Keoni Cavaco led off with a walk before Ben Ross doubled to score him. Down 5-2 going into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Kernels mounted their big inning. Jorel Ortega led off with a single and then stole second base. With one out, Carson McCusker drove him in with a single. Then, Jeferson Morales’s sixth home run tied the game at 5-5. Cavaco followed with a single and scored on Ben Ross’s 19th home run of the season. In a near-replay of the first inning, Emmanuel Rodriguez tripled and then scored on another Rosario double. The Kernels ended the inning with an 8-5 lead. Jose Salas single-handedly scored a run for the Kernels in the fifth inning. He stole second base. Then he stole third base and scored on a throwing error by the catcher. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Cedar Rapids got some needed insurance. The Kernels used a couple of errors to increase their lead to 11-5. Lake County scored two in the ninth inning, but there was no need for stress. Alejandro Hidalgo started and gave up three runs on five hits and three walks in three innings. Jarret Whorff came on and got two runs on one hit (a homer). He had three walks and three strikeouts. Matthew Swain came in and tossed two scoreless innings. A.J. Labas gave up two runs on four hits over the final two innings. He had three strikeouts. The Kernels got several strong performances. Emmanuel Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with his 12th and 13th doubles, and his eighth triple. Kala’i Rosario went 3-for-5 with his 26th and 27th doubles and three RBI. Ben Ross was 2-for-5 with his 25th double and his 19th home run. He had three RBI. Keoni Cavaco went 2-for-2 with two walks. He scored three runs. Jorel Ortega went 2-for-5 and stole his 10th base since joining the Kernels. After his back-to-back steals, Jose Salas now has 22 stolen bases this year. The Kernels won the division title in the first half and have a big lead in the second half as well. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers and Clearwater missed two straight days of game thanks to a hurricane. One of the games was simply canceled. On Friday, the two teams played a doubleheader, two seven-inning games. Fort Myers 11, Clearwater 5 Game 1 Box Score The Mussels jumped out to an early start and got big games from a couple of 2023 draft picks on their way to a Game 1 win. Jay Harry (6th round, Penn State) got things started with a leadoff double. Walker Jenkins (1st round) followed with an RBI single. Ricardo Olivar and Danny De Andrade followed with singles, the latter scoring the Twins second run. In copycat fashion, Rubel Cespedes singled in the third run. After that, the mode of run scoring changed, but they did add on. Alec Sayre walked. Then after the inning’s first out, Dillon Tatum challenged a called strike and was successful. Instead of a strikeout, he walked to score the fourth run. Then with two outs, Harry came up a second time and walked with the bases loaded to “drive in” the fifth run. The Mussels added runs in four of the remaining six innings to keep the pressure on which is good because the Threshers scored in four of their seven innings. Miguelangel Boadas started and worked the first three innings. He gave up two runs on three hits. He walked three and struck out three batters. Danny Moreno had a walk and a strikeout in a scoreless inning. Matt Gabbert worked the final three innings. He gave up three runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out three batters. Back to those 2023 draft picks. Jay Harry led off and played shortstop. In the game, he went 4-for-4 with a walk, his sixth double, and his first professional home run. Jenkins followed that homer with his first home run since joining the Mussels last week. Jenkins was 3-for-5. Both scored two runs. Harry had four RBI to Jenkins’ two. Kamron Willman added two hits, including a triple, in the game. He added his first stolen base. Alec Sayre walked three times and stole two bases. Fort Myers 3, Clearwater 1 Game 2 Box Score There was a little less offense in the second game. However, Walker Jenkins had two of the Mussels’ eight hits. The Mussels got a double from Yohander Martinez to drive in their first run. Danny De Andrade with the second run. Their third run scored on a sacrifice fly to score Nate Baez with the third run. However, that proved to be more than enough for 6-5, 21-year-old, Brooklyn Park native John Klein. The right-hander went all seven innings and needed just 90 pitches. He gave up one run in the first inning, but that was it. He gave up three hits, walked two, hit one and struck out four batters. While the Mussels have been playing well and have won seven games in a row, their elimination number is just one right now. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – John Klein (Fort Myers) - 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 90 pitches, 55 strikes (61.1%) Co-Hitter of the Day – Jay Harry (Fort Myers): 4-for-4, BB, 2B(6), HR(1), 2 R, 4 RBI Co-Hitter of the Day - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers): 5-for-9, HR(1), 2 R, 2 RBI Co-Hitter of the Day - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2-2B(13), 3B(8), 3 R Co-Hitter of the Day - Kala'i Rosario (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2-2B(27), 3 RBI. Co-Hitter of the Day - Keoni Cavaco (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-2, 2 BB, 3 R Co-Hitter of the Day - Willie Joe Garry (Wichita): Extra-innings, walk-off homer. Co-Hitter of the Day - Hernan Perez (St. Paul): 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2-2B(7), R, SB(9) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #2 - Walker Jenkins (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 3-for-5, HR(1), 2 R, 2 RBI; Game 2: 2-for-4 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 2-2B(13), 3B(8), 3 R #4 - Marco Raya (Wichita) - 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 48 pitches, 35 strikes (72.9%) #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-6, 3 K #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B(6), K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 2-2B(27), 3 RBI #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R, K #15 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 94 pitches, 62 strikes (66.0%) #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 2 WP, 44 pitches, 21 strikes (47.7%) #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - Game 1: 1-for-4, BB, R, RBI, K, SB(18); Game 2: 1-for-4, RBI, K, SB(19) #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 2-for-4, BB, 2 R. SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Columbus @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (4-7, 4.95 ERA) San Antonio @ Wichita (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (7-3, 3.06 ERA) Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (6-5, 4.23 ERA) vs LHP Steven Hajjar (#OldFriend) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Jose Olivares (2-4, 6.37 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

I was just going to write this... The Guardians can certainly block any players they don't want going to the Twins...

Fair comparison? No. Could he be that good? No. Defense at third base adequate? Not compared to Royce Lewis. Severino's played 2B and 3B and he's started playing some 1B with the Saints. I think he's finally put himself into a situation where the Twins have to add him to their 40-man roster (after not the last two offseasons).