Seth Stohs

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!

The baseball world appeared shocked to learn that the LA Angels placed several of their veteran players - several acquired at the trade deadline - on waivers. A quick look at a few readily available bits of information show why it makes sense for them to do it. In addition, many other non-contenders have placed veterans on waivers too. Of course, this is a Minnesota Twins-related site, so the question has to be "Should the Twins place a claim on any of these players?" The trade deadline this year was on August 1st. The Angels had a decision to make. Make a push in Shohei Ohtani's final season under contract, or trade him. They, almost inexplicably decided to not only not trade Ohtani, but they became buyers. August is now coming to an end. The Angels are now 63-70, 12 games behind the Mariners, Rangers and Astros in the AL West and nearly the same out of a Wild Card spot. Mike Trout was hurt again and place on the IL... again. And worse, Ohtani now has a torn UCL which will likely require him to have a second Tommy John surgery. So, according to Jeff Passan, the Angels placed veteran starter Lucas Giolito, relievers Reynaldo Rodriguez and Matt Moore, and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randall Grichuk on waivers. At about the same time, the Yankees placed center fielder Harrison Bader on waivers. It is likely that many players whose availability hasn't been leaked publicly are also on the waiver wire. Those teams are completely out of contention. While many want to spin it as salary relief, and it most certainly is, I consider it a pretty classy move by those teams. While players can no longer be traded after the one trade deadline, players can be claimed. And, if a player is on an organization's roster before September 1st, that player is eligible to be on their new team's playoff roster. By placing players on the roster on Tuesday, the waiver timetable means that they will be rewarded to their team winning the claim before the September 1st deadline. So, the Angels can save $1.7 million if someone claims Lucas Giolito. But Giolito can suddenly find himself back in a pennant race. The team that wins the claim gets to add Giolito to their roster. It's kind of a win-win-win for everyone. The waiver order starts with the worse overall team in baseball. If they don't claim him, the team with the second-worst record can win the claim, and so on. Of course, these claims are done blindly, not knowing which other organizations have claimed players. MLB will let the teams know who 'wins' the claims. The Question So, that brings us back to the question from earlier. Should the Twins be active participants in claiming the players now available? The Answer The short answer is, of course, yes. The slightly longer answer is Absolutely Yes. But it isn't that easy. The team shouldn't just claim everyone. If they win the claim, that player jumps onto the team's 40-man roster which necessitates other moves. The Twins still have guys that could go on the 60-Day Injured List. And yes, there are some players that could be DFAd. What are the Twins needs? This really hasn't changed since the trade deadline four weeks ago. At that time, the Twins needed a right-handed hitting outfield bat, and bullpen help. They did claim Jordan Luplow on waivers a couple of weeks ago, and he has done a solid job for the Twins in his platoon role. But would Hunter Renfroe or Randall Grichuk be an improvement over Luplow? Certainly. Renfroe would cost around $2.0 million the rest of the season, and Grichuk would be closer to $1.7 million. Add Harrison Bader to that conversation as he is able to play center field well which may matter, depending on how Buxton responds to playing out there in his rehab starting tonight. And, the bullpen... it was a need a month ago, and it's an even bigger need now. While Emilio Pagan and Caleb Thielbar have been good, and Jhoan Duran remains strong, Griffin Jax has struggled in August. The young guys filling three or more spots at the back of the bullpen have had ups and downs. Jordan Balazovic looked good for awhile, but he really struggled and was eventually sent down. Josh Winder has had a tough year, but his two most recent outings have been three scoreless innings each. Cole Sands has been fine, but they haven't found a lot of situations for him. Jovani Moran walked his way over to St. Paul, and Kody Funderburk did a very nice job in his major-league debut this week. But there is no question that adding Reynaldo Lopez (about $600,000 remaining) or Matt Moore (around $1,200,000 remaining), or even Jose Cisnero (around $400,000 remaining), should improve that bullpen depth. I mean, if they wanted, they could claim Lucas Giolito (around $1.7 million remaining) and either have him start or see what he is capable of working one or two innings a couple of times a week. That's the role we have been envisioning for Louie Varland, right? Summary At least, in theory, the Twins roster will soon add Willi Castro, Alex Kirilloff and Byron Buxton. Bailey Ober will certainly come back up. Players like Trevor Larnach and Austin Martin are in St. Paul. The roster will be strengthened, but the Twins also have a unique opportunity to add contributors to their roster at this time, players who could fill roles that, even with the returning players, would fit the team's needs. In addition, the Twins have one of the lowest winning percentages among playoff teams and teams competing for wild card spots. They would presumably have their pick of players. This is a legitimate opportunity to make a couple of significant improvements to the roster at a time when other contenders can't counter with a trade. Matt Trueblood has a couple of articles worth reading on the Angels situation: 1.) He ranks the Angels pitching options according to how much they make sense for the Brewers, but some of the same logic could be used for the Twins too. 2.) He thinks that the Cubs should just claim all of the waived Angels, but that there is one that stands out as a prize for them. Would the same pitcher rank atop the Twins wish list? What would I do? First, how cool would it be to actually be able to make these decisions... and how much stress would it be to get it right? However, I think the Twins should claim at least two relievers. Reynaldo Lopez, Jose Cisnero would make the big league bullpen deeper. Matt Moore would give the team a second veteran lefty in the bullpen. I also think they should decide on one of the three outfielders. Grichuk and Bader can play center field. Bader's got youth on his side among the group. Renfroe certainly fits the Twins mold with huge power and the ability to swing and miss a lot. I think they should put in claims for all three of those relievers and hope they wind up with two of them, any two. The Twins should place a claim on one of the right-handed hitting outfielders, whoever ranks highest on their list, and hope. What would you do? Your turn. How active do you think the Twins should be in placing waiver claims these next days?

Kyle Garlick signed a guaranteed contract to avoid arbitration before this season. Near the end of spring training, he was DFAd and outrighted to the Saints. He has played 14 games with the Twins, and when he was DFAd a second time, he decided to remain in the organization. Last week, the Twins claimed outfielder Jordan Luplow whose skill set is incredibly similar to Garlick's. On Wednesday night, Garlick reminds us that he doesn't want to be (and shouldn't be) forgotten. The short-season affiliates’ seasons came to an end on Tuesday. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Wednesday. Minnesota Twins: 65-62 St. Paul Saints: 70-51 Wichita Wind Surge: 53-62 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 72-44 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 57-59 FCL Twins: 25-29 (season complete) DSL Twins: 14-37 (season complete) Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS -As we learned on Tuesday night, 2023 first-round pick, outfielder Walker Jenkins, was promoted to Low-A Fort Myers on Wednesday. He is expected to be in the lineup on Thursday. -Lefty Develson Aria and infielder Kamron Willman were transferred to the Development List of Fort Myers. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Omaha 4 Box Score Kyle Garlick had five hits to help lead the Saints to a two-run win in Nebraska. The Saints got off to a fast start. Andrew Stevenson started the game with a double and advanced to third on a throwing error. Austin Martin walked and then stole second base. Garlick ripped a single to center to score Stevenson. Brooks Lee followed with a single that drove in Martin with the second run. Garlick scored on a ground out. In the fifth inning, the Saints added another run. Anthony Prato doubled Garlick, who singled, to third base. Garlick scored on a Trevor Larnach sacrifice fly. That gave the Saints a 4-1 lead. Omaha came back and tied the game at 4-4 after eight frames. However, the Saints responded in the top of the ninth. With one out, Stevenson got on with a bunt single and his 41st stolen base advanced him to second base. After a pop out, Kyle Garlick came through again with an RBI double. Brooks Lee blooped a single to right field to drive Garlick in with the sixth run. Kyle Garlick went 5-for-5 with his 17th double. Andrew Stevenson went 3-for-5 with his 23rd double. Brooks Lee went 2-for-5. Anthony Prato went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 21st double. Blayne Enlow served as the Opener. He gave up a hit, walked one, and struck out three batters in two scoreless innings. Patrick Murphy came on and worked the next five innings. He was charged with two runs on three hits (two solo homers). He struck out nine batters. Kody Funderburk came on for the eighth inning and gave up a two-run homer that tied the game at four. However, he worked a scoreless ninth inning. So he had a blown save but then improved to 4-1. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Arkansas 1 Box Score The Wind Surge scored in four different innings, and they received some great pitching throughout this game to score a really nice win. David Festa’s season in Double-A has been filled with ups and downs, but his start on Wednesday night was definitely a positive. The Twins representative in the Futures Game this year gave up one run on just two hits over five innings. He had seven strikeouts without any walks. At that point, the bullpen came on and three pitchers each recorded four outs and kept Arkansas off the scoreboard. Lefty Aaron Rozek and right-hander Taylor Floyd each had two strikeouts. Alex Scherff struck out three batters and earned his fourth save. This is your Alex Isola Appreciation paragraph. On Wednesday, Isola went 3-for-4 with three RBI. He has now hit in 10 of his past 11 games. He has had seven multi-hit games including five games with three hits. In those 11 games, he is 22-for-42 and has hit .524/.580/.929 (1.509) with two doubles, five homers, and 16 RBI. He has seven strikeouts and just six walks. Isola got the Wichita scoring started in the first inning when he drove in Seth Gray with a single. The Surge’s second run came on a wild pitch. In the seventh inning, Isola drove in Tanner Schobel with a single to make it 3-1. The Wind Surge added two insurance runs in the ninth inning. The first came when Yoyner Fajardo scored on a wild pitch. And, of course, it was Isola who drove in the team’s final run with another single to score Gray. So, Alex Isola went 3-for-5. Seth Gray was 2-for-4 with a walk. Jake Rucker went 2-for-5. Tanner Schobel walked three times. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, South Bend 4 Box Score The Kernels bats were back on Wednesday night. They had three innings in which they scored more than one run. However, let’s start on the mound. Andrew Morris improved to 4-1 since joining the Kernels. He gave up three runs on nine hits and a walk. He had a walk with two strikeouts. Jordan Carr gave up one run on two hits (one was a solo homer) over three innings. He had three strikeouts to drop his season ERA to 1.48. John Stankiewicz worked a perfect ninth inning to shut the door. The Kernels fell behind 3-0 after two innings. In the top of the third, Emmanuel Rodriguez drove in two runs with his eighth double. It’s been a tough year for the recently-turned-20 Jose Salas. He came into the season hitting just .167 this season with the Kernels. Recently, his 17-year-old brother Ethan, who signed with the Padres in January, was promoted to Double-A. Jose Salas remains a solid prospect. He is very young for the High-A level, and he is a prospect that fans should not give up on. In this game, he went 3-for-4 with his 10th and 11th doubles, and he also stole his 18th base. It would sure be nice for him to end the season strong. Kyler Fedko went 2-for-3 with a walk and his fifth double. He stole his fourth base. Noah Miller went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 17th double. As you know, we have a sister site called North Side Baseball which covers the Chicago Cubs organization. South Bend is the High-A affiliate of the Cubs. Here is a quick look at how the North Side Baseball Cubs Top 20 Prospects in this game did in this game. #3 Matthew Shaw - 1-for-3, HBP #5 Kevin Alcantara - 1-for-4, K #11 Moises Ballesteros - 1-for-4, K #12 James Triantos - 2-for-4, 2 RBI MUSSEL MATTERS Daytona 3, Fort Myers 1 Box Score There was a pitchers duel in Fort Myers on Wednesday nights. Through seven innings, the score was tied at 1-1. Unfortunately, the Tortugas scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Jack Noble got the start and gave up one run on five hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out two batters. Sam Perez came on and struck out three batters over two scoreless, hitless innings. Juan Mendez pitched the final two innings and gave up those runs. He gave up four hits, walked two, and struck out five batters. The Mussels had seven hits and walked four times. Danny De Andrade went 2-for-4. He also stole his 16th base. Rafael Cruz was also 2-for-4 and drove in the Mussels’ lone run. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Kyle Garlick (St. Paul) - 5-for-5, 2B(17), 3 R, 2 RBI. Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 72 pitches, 48 strikes (66.7%) 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-5, 2 RBI, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(8), 2 RBI, 2K #6 - David Festa (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 B, 7 K, 72 pitches, 48 strikes (66.7%) #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, 2 BB, R, SB(10) #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-2, 3 BB, R, #10 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-4, 3 K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2B(25), 3 K, OF Assist. #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, R, K, SB(16) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (4-2, 5.01 ERA) Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (2-0, 2.08 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (4-1, 2.42 ERA) Daytona @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-2, 9.72 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics!

It’s Monday which means that we only had the short-season teams in action. Both teams have struggled a bit to put numbers in the Win column this year, so the playoffs are out of their reaches. However, for both teams the prospect got innings and got plate appearances. Some unknown players have played well enough that we will want to consider getting to know more about them in the offseason and following more closely next season. Unfortunately, the DSL and FCL Twins seasons come to an end after their games on Tuesday. It’s likely a couple of players will join the Mighty Mussels for the rest of their season. Their final game is scheduled for Sunday, September 10th. It’s even possible a player or two jumps up to play with the Kernels through their playoff run. Their first-round Division Series is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, September 12th. They’ll be on the road for Game 1 before playing Game 2 (and potentially Game 3) in Cedar Rapids. Wichita won’t make the playoffs. Their season ends on Sunday, September 17th. Finally, the Saints final game is scheduled for Sunday, September 24th. Obviously they will need to play later in the season so that the Twins can continue to move guys up and down throughout their final month. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Monday. Minnesota Twins: 65-60 St. Paul Saints: 69-50 Wichita Wind Surge: 52-61 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 71-43 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 56-58 FCL Twins: 24-29 DSL Twins: 14-37 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS RHP Francis Peguero was promoted from Wichita to the Saints. LHP John Wilson and RHP Niklas Rimmel were released by the Twins. They had both been doing solid work out of the Cedar Rapids bullpen. LHP Gabriel Yanez and RHP Jackson Hicks were promoted from Fort Myers to the Kernels. . SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul (69-50) @ Omaha (52-63) Pitching Probables Tuesday: RHP Louie Varland (7-0, 3.79 ERA) Wednesday: RHP Blayne Enlow (2-5, 9.20 ERA) Thursday: LHP Brent Headrick (4-2, 5.01 ERA) Friday: RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (4-6, 5.44 ERA) Saturday: RHP Randy Dobnak (4-6, 4.79 ERA) Sunday: RHP Louie Varland (7-0, 3.79 ERA) WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita (52-61) @ Arkansas (63-50) Pitching Probables Tuesday: RHP Travis Adams (3-8, 5.86 ERA) Wednesday: TBD Thursday: TBD Friday: TBD Saturday: TBD Sunday: TBD KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids (71-43) @ South Bend (49-63) Pitching Probables Tuesday: LHP Christian MacLeod (4-1, 4.39 ERA) Wednesday: RHP Andrew Morris (3-1, 2.57 ERA) Thursday: RHP Cory Lewis (4-1, 2.42 ERA) Friday: RHP C.J. Culpepper (2-0, 2.81 ERA) Saturday: RHP Zebby Matthews (3-2, 4.84 ERA) Sunday: RHP Kyle Jones (5-5, 4.41 ERA) MUSSEL MATTERS Daytona (50-61) @ Fort Myers (56-58) Pitching Probables Tuesday: RHP Ben Ethridge (2-5, 2.89 ERA) Wednesday: RHP Jack Noble (0-2, 3.15 ERA) Thursday: RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-2, 9.72 ERA) Friday: RHP John Klein (1-1, 4.67 ERA) Saturday: RHP Jose Olivares (2-4, 6.43 ERA) Sunday: TBD COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 10, FCL Orioles (7) Box Score Have a day, Daniel Pena! It’s always fun to see young players get an opportunity to move up from the DSL to the FCL. And while they don’t get enough recognition for success, we try to give them their due. Raise your hand if you had heard about FCL Twins catcher Daniel Pena before you read this paragraph. Now put a finger down if you knew he was 1.) 18 years old, 2.) a catcher, and 3.) from Venezuela. On Monday, he powered the FCL Twins to a win. He hit two home runs and is now hitting .278/.376/.474 (.850). He has four doubles, five homers, and maybe more impressive, he has 15 walks to go with 14 strikeouts. Jose Rodriguez played first base and went 2-for-4 with a walk. Cole Elvis went 2-for-5. Anderson Nova went 2-for-4 with a walk as well. Jankel Ortiz went 1-for-3 with two walks and a double. He scored three runs. Walker Jenkins played his first game at a position other than DH. He played in center field. He went 1-for-4 with a walk. He drove in two runs. Jacob Wosinski made the start. He gave up four runs on six hits in three innings. He had five walks and struck out four batters. Carlos Gutierrez went the next 3 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on two hits and two walks. He had an impressive nine strikeouts. Yon Landaeta walked three and gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. He had two strikeouts. Miguel Olivares got one out, a strikeout, to end the game and record his second save. The two teams were supposed to play two games but the second game was canceled. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 7, DSL Yankees Bombers 8 Box Score It’s always important to remember that the further a player is from the big leagues, the less important their actual stats are to a player’s potential or ceiling. The Dominican Summer League is six promotions from the big leagues, the lowest level in affiliated baseball. Why is that important to remember? Well, in January, the Twins signed three players to seven-figure signing bonuses. Ariel Castro (OF): .206/.323/.375 (.698) with seven doubles, four triples, four home runs. Hendry Chivilli (IF): .173/.278/.284 (.562) with one double, one triple, two homers. Carlos Silva (Catcher): .196/.328/.277 (.605) with six doubles, one home run. While those numbers aren’t good without any context, but the fact is that they are high profile, very athletic and top prospects. Sometimes just as fun as following those players and understanding the above concept is the reality that a lot of times, an unheralded prospect will spend a year or two in the DSL, advance a year at a time, fighting the odds and making their way to the big leagues. Luis Arraez is a good example of that player. Which players could fit that profile from the 2023 DSL Twins roster? How about: Jayson Bass (OF): .308/.406/.378 (.784) with five doubles, a triple and a homer. (22 BB, 24 K) Dameury Pena (IF): .382/.453/.496 (.949) with eight doubles, three triples. (14 BB, 13 K) It’s also possible that it is someone else completely. Anyway, to Monday’s game: The Twins fell behind early. Through five innings, the Yankees led 8-1. The Twins scored four in the top of the sixth inning and then two runs in the eighth frame to cut it to 8-7. They were unable to add just one more. Juan Cota started and was charged with four runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk. In four innings, he had seven strikeouts. Reynel Garcia came in and gave up four runs on four hits and two walks in just 1/3 of an inning. Christopher Dishmey came on and got two strikeouts to end the fifth inning. Jose Vasquez threw the final three innings. He gave up no runs and no hits. He walked one and struck out five batters. Ewing Matos went 3-for-4 with his eighth double. Ariel Castro went 2-for-5 with his fourth home run and three RBI. Yilber Herrera walked three times and stole two bases which gives him 10 on the season. . TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Daniel Pena (FCL Twins) - 2-for-5, 2-HR(5), 2 R, 5 RBI Pitcher of the Day – Jose Vasquez (DSL Twins) - 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K 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 (FCL Twins) - 1-for-4, BB, 2 RBI. #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 2-for-4, BB, 2 R. MONDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Indianapolis @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-5, 9.85 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - LHP Aaron Rozek (2-3, 6.11 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CST) - LHP Christian MacLeod (4-1, 4.39 ERA) Dayton @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Ben Ethridge (2-5, 2.89 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (9:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Angels (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Monday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics!

Before we get to the Wednesday game recaps, you may have noticed on Tuesday that the Twins Daily Prospect Rankings have been updated. A few quick notes on the updated rankings: Matt Wallner has graduated from 'prospect' status as he surpassed the 130 at-bat threshold this week. No change at the top. Brooks Lee moved up to St. Paul and has remained atop our rankings. Walker Jenkins stayed at #2, and Emmanuel Rodriguez stayed at #3. Several players moved up a rung or so due to Wallner's graduation. Brandon Winokur and Luke Keaschall have made strong first impressions and are now in the organization's top ten prospects. Fort Myers shortstop Danny De Andrade jumps into the Top 20 at #17. He is one of the youngest players in the Florida State League and has more than held his own. The other next player in the Top 20 is 2022 draft pick and Kernels starting pitcher Cory Lewis. The pitcher with the knuckleball is much more than that one pitch, and he has found success in his promotion to the Kernels. The biggest drop in the rankings is Simeon Woods Richardson. He has had a tough 2023 season with the Saints, but he has actually been pretty solid in the past month. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games played on Wednesday. Minnesota Twins: 63-59 St. Paul Saints: 66-49 Wichita Wind Surge: 49-60 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-43 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 53-56 FCL Twins: 21-27 DSL Twins: 14-33 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS There were no transactions in the Twins organization on Wednesday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Indianapolis 4 Box Score In his previous start, Louie Varland had his best start of the season. He wasn’t quite to that level in this game, but he posted another Quality Start. In 6 2/3 innings, he gave up three runs (just one earned) on six hits. He walked three and struck out five batters. Jovani Moran got the final out of the seventh inning and worked a scoreless eighth frame. He gave up one hit and walked two batters. Of course, that lack of command is why he was returned to St. Paul recently and what has kept him from becoming a consistently-dominant reliever. He needed 35 pitches to get four outs, and just 19 were strikes. Oliver Ortega came on for the ninth inning of a 3-3 game. He gave up an unearned run on two hits and an intentional walk. The Saints got on the scoreboard in the third inning. DaShawn Keirsey led off the inning with a single and went to third base on a double off the bat of Hernan Perez. Keirsey scored on an Andrew Stevenson single. Perez scored on a Brooks Lee double play. Then down a run in the sixth inning, Gilberto Celestino hit a one-out double. Walks by Yunior Severino and Austin Martin loaded the bases for Chris Williams. Williams hit a sacrifice fly to score Celestino and tie the game. Andrew Stevenson again led the Saints offense. The leadoff man went 3-for-4 with his 20th and 21st doubles and an RBI. The big difference in this game was the four errors committed by the Saints, three by better-than-average outfielders. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Springfield 1 Box Score Let’s jump straight to the big story of the day. Travis Adams came into the game with a 2-8 record and an ERA of 6.24. Selected as a starting pitcher with incredible control, Adams worked hard and in 2022 was touching 97 mph. He gave up four or more runs in five of his 20 starts coming into the night, but he didn’t complete the fifth inning very often (seven times). He had one game in which he went six innings and gave up just one run. On this night, Adams was absolutely on his game. In fact, Adams had a no-hitter through six innings in this game. He only had two strikeouts, but he got nine ground outs and four pop outs to infielders. He had three walks and two strikeouts. Of his outing, Adams said, "I just continued to get weak contact like I have been really all season. Struggled getting first-pitch strikes throughout the game, so just kind of battled and executed some good pitches to get that weak contact." He's been putting in a lot of work over the past months. "The splitter has been a pitch I've worked on for the last couple of months, and it worked good for most of the game... until the home run." Adams said with a chuckle. He continued, "The curveball was effective, as well, throwing it hard tonight. Fastball later in the count helped me a lot tonight to get swing and misses and soft contact jamming guys." Thomas Saggese led off the top of the seventh inning by knocking his 20th homer of the season on an 0-2 pitch. Adams responded by getting the next two batters out. After a two-out single, Taylor Floyd came in and gave up a single, but he got the third out before another run scored. Hunter McMahon and Francis Peguero each pitched a scoreless inning to close out a 5-1 win. Adams was given some early run support as well. Yoyner Fajardo tripled to start the bottom of the first. Tanner Schobel knocked him in with a sacrifice fly. In the second inning, Willie Joe Garry’s first Wind Surge double drove in Jake Rucker and Alerick Soularie. In the third inning, Alex Isola hit his 16th homer of the season (and fourth in his past three games). Isola led the way with a 3-for-4 day. He now has a five-game hitting streak. He is now 10-for-17 with a double and four home runs. He also has five walks with just two strikeouts. Yoyner Fajardo went 2-for-4 with his fifth triple. Alerick Soularie added his third double. Brooks Lee was a doubles machine in Wichita and added his first Triple-A double in the ninth inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Wisconsin 9 Box Score Christian MacLeod made the start for the Kernels. He gave up two runs through the first four innings. He left the game down 3-0 in the fifth inning with two runners on base. Niklas Rimmel came in and walked three batters which allowed both of MacLeod’s runners to score. So MacLeod was ultimately charged with five runs on six hits and two walks in four innings. He struck out four. Rimmel didn’t give up any runs of his own and recorded the three outs. Michael Paredes came on to start the sixth inning. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits and got just two outs. Matthew Swain came on with two runners on and stranded them. He went 1 2/3 innings and gave up no runs on one hit. He walked three and struck out two batters. John Wilson gave up a hit and walked two over 1 2/3 scoreless innings. The Kernels offense was pretty well silenced by the Timber Rattlers Cameron Wagoner and Stiven Cruz. Wagoner gave up one run over the first five innings. Andrew Cossetti hit a solo homer in the fourth inning. It was his sixth homer since joining the Kernels. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Jefferson Morales hit his fifth homer of the season. Andrew Cossetti finished 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch to go with the homer. Keoni Cavaco went 2-for-4, the only Kernels batter with more than one hit. If you’re in Cedar Rapids, this would be a fun series to watch. The Brewers affiliate just promoted 18-year-old Luis Lara to Wisconsin. Their 2023 first and third round picks, Brock Wilken and Mike Boeve, were recently promoted to the Rattlers. Robert Moore and Ben Metzinger both went 2-for-2 with three walks in this game. Moore is a Top 20 prospect. In addition, a rehabbing Jesse Winker made the trip to Iowa. And if anyone is able to take photos of Kernels or Timber Rattler players, please send me a message. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Palm Beach 5 (game suspended Top 5) Box Score With two outs in the top of the fifth inning and Maddux Houghton at the plate, the rain came. There was a delay before the game was suspended. It will be completed before the regularly-scheduled game on Thursday. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA No Game Scheduled. The regular season for the Florida Complex League concludes in a week. It will be interesting to see how many players are pushed up to Ft. Myers, or maybe even Cedar Rapids, to keep their seasons going. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA The Twins and Nationals were supposed to make up a game from July 4th, but it was instead canceled. Time is running out on the schedule. The season ends in a week. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Alex Isola (Wichita) - 3-for-4, HR(16), R, RBI Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Wichita) - 6.2 IP, 2 H, R, 3 BB, 2 K. 89 pitches, 51 strikes (57.3%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. The rankings were just updated on Tuesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2B(1), K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2K #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, K, #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-3, SF, RBI, K #10 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-2, BB, 2B(4), 2 R, SF, RBI, #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 3 K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, 2 K #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 0-for-2, RBI THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Indianapolis @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-5, 9.85 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - LHP Aaron Rozek (2-3, 6.11 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Andrew Morris (2-1, 2.81 ERA) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (2:45 PM CST) - RHP Jack Noble (0-2, 3.26 ERA) FCL Orioles @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Phillies White (9:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics!