Seth Stohs

Am I the only one who does this most days and often comes up with names by visualizing my baseball cards from like 1983-1994?

Louie Varland was back on the mound in St. Paul. Travis Adams had one of the best starts in the Twins minor leagues this year, and Alex Isola is on fire. Rough one for the Kernels, and late-season rain "wins" a lot of games in Florida in August. And, we have an updated Top 20 prospect ranking. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Travis Adams) 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! View full article

If anyone has any questions on my rankings, please feel free to ask. For me, Jenkins is the easy #1 prospect. It's more about him than Lee. I think Jenkins is much, much more athletic and has more power potential. I think most would agree that there is a big cutoff after the top three prospects. I think the next three pitchers are tied to each other, and I have them ranked solely on upside. Danny De Andrade is a stud. He's so young for the level and he's more than holding his own, and he can play SS. Rosario's another guy who has risen a ton. He didn't put up great numbers last year in Ft. Myers, which is no surprise. But of the group of very young, talented players with the Kernels, he's continued to show power. I know he's slumped of late a bit, but that's not surprising for a 20-year-old. I TRY not to let injuries affect my judgment on players, even pitchers with Tommy John. I sometimes forget that is my thought, but that's why Canterino and Prielipp are just outside the top 10 but close. Yasser's had injuries this year. He's been out for 2+ weeks now with a shoulder issue. But his potential is immense. And Winokur's is just as high. Long ways to go for both, but athleticism is crazy! After that, there's probably another break in terms of prospect level. At this point, how do we distinguish between and/or differentiate the 2022-drafted pitchers. How do we rank Kyle Jones, Cory Lewis, CJ Culpepper, Andrew Morris, and even Ben Ethridge to some degree. I'd probably lump Christian MacLeod into the same grouping. Yeah, he was a 2021 draft pick but missed 2022 with Tommy John. He's got serious potential. Which ones will rise and rise quickly? Which ones will not be able to stay healthy? Which end up in the bullpen? I know many really like Ben Ross, and it's easy to see why? Good size, great athlete, versatile. And he's got plenty of potential having not faced top competition in college. I had Schobel behind Ross at the start of the year. That looks silly now with what Schobel has done, but I'm still high on Ross. And, I think Keirsey is underrated. Should he be a top 20? I don't know. He's a little older, but an incredible athlete with an all-around game. But, several others have to be considered. Jair Camargo. Noah Cardenas. Andrew Cossetti. Ricardo Olivar, Nate Baez. There are four really solid prospects, but only Camargo probably would be considered for Top 20. Alex Isola isn't catching as much but he's got power too. Jorel Ortega deserves consideration. How do we account for the numbers Anthony Prato has put up in St. Paul while considering the numbers he had in Wichita. What does that mean? The further from the big leagues, the more it is about tools instead of stats. That's why I still think Bryan Acuna, Byron Chourio, Ariel Castro, Hendry Chivilli and their potential should be considered, maybe in the next 10. Then guys like Jayson Bass, Moises Lopez, and Dameury Pena have put up strong numbers at young ages in the DSL. Guys like Rafael Cruz, Gregory Duran have talent and youth. All that is to say, while the Twins only have three guys that come near the Top 100 prospect threshold, there is a lot of depth and there are a lot of very talented players that do have high ceilings.

Walker JenkinsBrooks LeeEmmanuel RodriguezCharlee SotoMarco RayaDavid FestaAustin MartinDanny De AndradeKala'i RosarioYasser MercedesMatt CanterinoConnor PrielippBrandon WinokurTanner SchobelCory LewisYunior SeverinoBen RossZebby MatthewsDaShawn Keirsey JrJose Rodriguez

Walker JenkinsBrooks LeeEmmanuel RodriguezCharlee SotoMarco RayaDavid FestaAustin MartinDanny De AndradeKala'i RosarioYasser MercedesMatt CanterinoConnor PrielippBrandon WinokurTanner SchobelCory LewisYunior SeverinoBen RossZebby MatthewsDaShawn Keirsey JrJose Rodriguez

I know there are some that don't enjoy reading some of Souhan's stuff. But I think this was a fantastic article, and I think something we all needed to read. He added, "When and how did Minnesotans become the cork-sniffers of the sports world?" Souhan isn't exactly one to sugar-coat things for the Twins. So this is a surprising article. And I think filled with truth. https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-twins-fans-need-dose-of-realism-pablo-lopez-sonny-gray-jim-souhan/600296873/

It's Monday. Brandon Winokur continues to rake early in his pro career. Wins have been difficult to come by this season for the DSL Twins, but the got two on Monday! Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Sunday. Minnesota Twins: 62-58 St. Paul Saints: 66-47 Wichita Wind Surge: 47-60 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 66-42 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 52-56 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 With Brent Headrick returning to the Saints, Carlos Luna has been returned to Wichita. Fort Myers placed infielder Kamron Willman on the injured list. RHP Pierce Banks was released by the Twins. He had been pitching in the FCL. RHP Orlando Rubio was released by the Twins. He has been in the Dominican Summer League. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 5, FCL Braves 13 Box Score Brandon Winokur just keeps raking in the FCL. In this game, he went 2-for-3. He was hit by a pitch, hit his third double and then hit his fourth home run. Unfortunately, the Twins fell behind early. When they came to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, they were already down 11-0. Jacob Wosinski started and ate this one. He gave up nine runs (just four earned) on seven hits and three walks. Three of the hits were home runs. He had six strikeouts. Yon Landaeta gave up four runs on six hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. Michigan State alum Kyle Bischoff finished the game with three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and struck out four batters. Anderson Nova went 2-for-4. Jose Rodriguez hit his 10th double of the season. Byron Chourio and Walker Jenkins each went 0-for-4 with a walk. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 6, DSL Reds 1 (completion of suspended game from last week) Box Score This game actually started a week ago. However, after one-and-a-half innings, lightning and storms caused the game to be suspended. Because they were scheduled to play again, they finished the suspended game and then played a second game. Juan Cota started the original game, and he was able to continue when the game resumed. In total, he gave up just one run on four hits over six innings. He struck out five batters and walked none. Jose Ojo came on and got a three-inning save. He gave up just one hit and had one strikeout. Before the rains came, Yilber Herrera had led off the game with his second triple of the season. Denyerbe Gervis followed with a sacrifice fly. The game was tied at one through five innings. In the top of the sixth, Herrera led off with a single but was thrown out trying to turn a single into a double. Gervis then walked and advanced to third base on a Jayson Bass single. He then scored on a Moises Lopez single. Bass scored on a sacrifice fly by Ewing Matos. Lopez provided insurance in the eighth inning as well. Gervis and Bass walked before Lopez uncoiled on a three-run homer that concluded the scoring. Lopez went 2-for-3 with a walk. The homer was his fourth of the season. He had four RBI. Bass went 2-for-4 with a walk. DSL Twins 8, DSL Reds 6 Box Score In the regularly-scheduled game, the Twins scored four runs in the first inning and then four more runs in the fourth inning. That proved to be just enough in the seven-inning game. The first inning began with singles from Ariel Castro and Hendry Chivilli. Dameury Pena reached on an error by the center fielder which allowed both runners to score. Pena advanced to third base on a line-drive single by Moises Lopez. A single by Junior Del Valle drove in Pena from third base. Finally, Juan Hernandez knocked in Del Valle with a double. Jose Vasquez started on the mound. He gave up two runs on three hits and three walks. Jose Betancourt came in and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in one inning. He also threw three wild pitches. Christopher Dishmey gave up two runs on three hits and a walkover two innings. He had three strikeouts. Because of that, the Twins found themselves down 6-4 going to the bottom of the fourth. Juan Hernandez and Jesus Peraza began the inning with back-to-back singles. Angel Trinidad was hit by a pitch to load the bases. He had to leave the game, replaced by Jayson Bass. After a pitching change, Castro struck out. However, Hendry Chivilli crushed a grand slam to give the Twins their 8-6 lead. Alejandro Crisostomo tossed two scoreless innings to finish the win and earn his second save. He gave up just one hit and had one strikeout. Chivilli led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with his second homer of the season and four driven in. Lopez stayed hot. He went 2-for-3 with his sixth double. Juan Hernandez went 2-for-3 and his double was his third of the year. Jesus Peraza went 2-for-3. Ariel Castro went 2-for-4. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Moises Lopez (DSL Twins) - 4-for-6, BB, 2B(6), HR(4), R, 4 RBI, 2K Pitcher of the Day – Juan Cota (DSL Twins) - 6 IP, 4 H, R, 0 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. The rankings will again be updated soon. You can help us by providing your rankings in this fun-to-use tool. #2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 0-for-4, BB, R, K #13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 2-for-3, HBP, 2B(3), HR(4), 2 R, 2 RBI, #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-for-4, 2B(10), R, RBI, TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Indianapolis @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (4-5, 4.14 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (4-3, 3.50 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - TBD vs Minnesotan Nate Peterson. Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (4:00 PM CST) - TBD FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (5:05 PM CST) - TBD DSL Angels @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Monday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

cautious optimism maybe? The key is he's healthy again. He's in a good place mentally. He's getting back to knowing who he is as a hitter.

The Saints game was shortened by rain, but the Wind Surge played a little extra to make up for it. The Kernels did what the Kernels have done all season. With apologies to LL Cool J, the best word for it is a "comeback." And, the Mighty Mussels' pitchers walked 15 batters in nine innings and still doubled-up the Marauders from Bradenton. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of David Festa) I will be the first to tell you that age-related-to-level of competition ultimately isn't terribly important as it relates to a player potentially helping a big-league team. We all know of many examples of players who didn't debut in the big leagues at 26, 28, or even 33 years old. And while in many cases that may hurt their chances of having enough longevity to get to the Hall of Fame, that player can still be an impact player for several years. On the other hand, age-to-level of competition tends to be a huge factor in prospect rankings, and understandably so. It is the outliers that move more quickly and get challenged at higher levels. If you were to just look at Marco Raya's season stats and compare him to other starting pitchers at Cedar Rapids or Wichita, they don't compare well. However, the fact that Raya turned 21 a week ago and is five years younger than the average player in the league matter. First, I will share the youngest Twins players, and then under each affiliate's section, I'll post the youngest players as well. For the two rookie-level leagues, I split them into pitchers and hitters. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Sunday. Minnesota Twins: 62-58 St. Paul Saints: 66-47 Wichita Wind Surge: 47-60 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 66-42 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 52-56 FCL Twins: 21-26 DSL Twins: 12-33 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS No transactions on Sunday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Louisville 8 (6 innings-rain) Box Score The rains came and this game shut down early. But enough happened in 2/3 of a game, that after a short rain delay, they called it a full game. The Saints started with a six-run first inning. Unfortunately, the Bats scored two in the top of the second and then had a six-run inning of their own. Then things went quiet until the rains came. Carlos Luna made his first Saints start. The first inning went well. He got a fly out and then struck out the next two batters. With one out in the bottom of the first, Royce Lewis singled, scored second, and then scored on a single by Brooks Lee. After a ground out for the inning’s second out, Anthony Prato singled in Lee. After stealing second base, Jair Camargo walked. Gilberto Celestino drove in Prato with a single. Austin Martin stayed hot and hit a three-run homer. After DaShawn Keirsey singled, the Bats brought in former Twins prospect Casey Legumina who got a strikeout to end the inning. The Twins 10th-round pick in 2019 struck out three more batters in the second inning. Unfortunately, Luna’s final line didn’t look great. In 2 2/3 innings, he gave up eight runs on seven hits and a walk. Two, three-run homers accounted for all six runs in the third inning. Ronny Henriquez came on and got the final out of the third inning and then worked two more innings. He gave up a total of just one hit and one walk, and he struck out four batters. Andrew Bechtold had a 1-2-3 sixth inning. Royce Lewis went 2-for-3, the only Saints player with more than one hit. He appears healthy and should be in a Twins uniform on Tuesday when the Tigers come to town. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 9, NW Arkansas 8 (10 innings) Box Score David Festa was on the mound to start this game. The hard-throwing righty went the first five innings. He gave up just one run on three hits. He walked three and struck out four batters. Alex Scherff came on to start the sixth inning. He gave up two runs on one hit and one walk and recorded just one out. Miguel Rodriguez came on and was charged with three unearned runs n two hits and two walks before getting third final out of the inning. Down 6-3, the Surge scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to reclaim the lead. Alex Isola came to the plate with the bases loaded and crushed a grand slam. It was his second homer of the game and 14th of the season. Two batters later, Patrick Winkel doubled to score Jake Rucker and make it 8-3. Francis Peguero worked a scoreless seventh inning but gave up one run in the eighth frame to make it 8-7. Isaac Mattson came in for the ninth and gave up a run to tie the game 8-8 and send the game to an extra inning. In the 10th inning, Winkel added another double which scored Isola with the go-ahead run. Mattson got the 10th inning and got three outs before even the Manfred Man was able to score which gave the Wind Surge a one-run lead. Alex Isola led the way for the offense. He went 3-for-5 with two homers and six RBI. Pat Winkel was 2-for-5 and hit his 13th and 14th doubles. Seth Gray was also 2-for-4. Jake Rucker hit his third triple. In addition, Yoyner Fajardo had a single and a walk. He also stole his 40th base of the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 2 Box Score Jorel Ortega’s sixth Kernels homer gave the team a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. They gave up two runs in the bottom of the second inning, but that was it. The Kernels staff pitched terrific, and the offense came through with big moments in the late innings to lead Davenport with the win. So let’s start with the pitching. C.J. Culpepper gave up two runs on three hits over five innings. He walked two and had seven strikeouts. Alejandro Hidalgo came on and worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out four batters .Jordan Carr gave up two hits, but he got the final four outs, two on strikeouts. Quad Cities pitching was also very good and the River Bandits held a 2-1 lead heading into the eighth inning. However, with one out in the top of the eighth inning, Carson McCusker took a 2-0 pitch and deposited over the left field wall to tie the game at 2-2. It was his third homer since joining the Kernels. With two outs in the top of the ninth and the score still tied, Noah Cardenas doubled to score Ortega and give the Kernels the lead. Andrew Cossetti singled to score Cardenas with an insurance run. The Kernels only had four hits in the game, but all four of them drove in a run. Jorel Ortega was the lone player to reach base twice, he had a walk to go with his homer. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 14, Bradenton 7 Box Score No surprise that a game like this took over three-and-a-half hours. There were a lot of runs (21), a lot of hits (19), a lot of walks (21) and 13 pitchers used. Fortunately, the Mighty Mussels doubled-up the Marauders on the scoreboard. Let’s get the pitching part out of the way first, as it really wasn’t too pretty. John Klein made the start. He gave up two runs on four hits (one homer) and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. He had four strikeouts. Gabriel Yanez gave up a run on one hit (a homer) and three walks in 1 1/3 innings. He added two strikeouts. Johnathan Lavallee gave up one run on three walks (no hits) and got two outs. Jackson Hicks gave up one run on three walks (no hits) and got two outs. Zach Veen came on and faced two batters. He got both of them out, one on a strikeout. Develson Aria came in to start the ninth and gave up two runs on one hit and, you guessed it, three walks in 2/3 of an inning. Sam Perez gave up a hit before recording a strikeout to end the game. If you weren’t keeping count through that paragraph, that’ seven runs on seven hits and FIFTEEN walks. Yikes. Fortunately, the Fort Myers bats really muscled up and had some big innings. They led the game 6-0 after two innings and 8-0 after four frames. They added a field goal in both the seventh and eighth innings. The big hit of the four-run second inning was a three-run homer by infielder Yohander Martinez. It was his second long ball of the season. In the seventh inning, he drove in another run with his third double of the year. In the ninth, Rubel Cespedes drilled his 10th home run, a two-run shot. Cespedes went 3-for-5 with four RBI. Yohander Martinez went 2-for-2 with a walk. He was hit by a pitch and hit a double and homer. Danny De Andrade went 2-for-3 with two walks in the game. The Mussels also stole seven bases in the game. Luke Keaschall had three steals. Maddux Houghton stole two bags. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Co-Hitter of the Day – Alex Isola (Wichita) - 3-for-5, 2-HR(14), 3 R, 6 RBI. Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Wichita) - 5 IP, 3 H, R, 3 BB, 4 K. 66 pitches, 41 strikes (62.1%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. The rankings will again be updated soon. You can help us by providing your rankings in this fun-to-use tool. #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, BB, R, RBI, K, SB(1) #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-for-4 #7 - David Festa (Wichita) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 66 pitches, 41 strikes (62.1%) #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, HR(2), 3 RBI, R, #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB, HBP, 2 R, K #12 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-2, BB, HBP, R, RBI, 3 SB(6) #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 3 K #17 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, BB #18 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K. (played 2B) MONDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES FCL Braves @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Phillies White @ DSL Twins (DH at 9:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

Probably not an accident. I would think that Keuchel would get another start next weekend against the Pirates. Varland's been struggling a lot prior to last night, so I don't think they need to rush into a decision.

We use the same criteria as rookie qualification, but as you may have seen in the forums, we are also now voting on the updated Top 20 prospect rankings, and he isn't eligible.

Darren Sharper was unavailable for comment.

I think he will keep doing both. Might as well. He can hit a bit. Has some power. Has the best arm for a position player in the system (along with Wallner, of course). It's definitely worth trying. But he did the catching thing to add versatility and the pitching thing was always possible. He's a free agent at the end of the year. So, I'm sure they'd like ot keep him around and see where it can go.

From the Dominican to Fort Myers to Iowa. From Cedar Rapids to Wichita. Then up to Minnesota where the Saints are just 10 miles from fulfilling their dreams at Target Field. At Twins Daily, we love promoting these great athletes who are reaching for the stars from the time they sign through their individual journeys in pro ball. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Maddux Houghton) In my opinion, the players in the Dominican Summer League don't get talked about enough. Understandably so. The league is comprised of players who are 16-22 years old (most of the "prospects" are 17-18), and they are six promotions from the big leagues. It is a long-term game, but the players still deserve to be discussed when they do well. That's what we want these reports to be. So along with their normal "Game Recap," I have also posted the hitting statistical leaders so you can see which players are performing there. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Wednesday. Minnesota Twins: 60-55 St. Paul Saints: 63-46 Wichita Wind Surge: 45-58 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 63-41 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 50-54 FCL Twins: 19-25 DSL Twins: 10-32 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS After getting a couple of games with the FCL Twins, Jose Salas returned to Cedar Rapids. Former Saints and Twins pitcher Aaron Sanchez, who was released about a month ago, signed a minor-league deal with the Diamondbacks. In more former Twins prospect news, it has been a wild couple of months for Chris Vallimont. The Twins DFAd him in the offseason, and he was claimed by the Orioles. On July 1st, his contract was purchased by the Orioles. Dream come True! He made his MLB debut and the next day he was optioned to Triple-A. The following day, he was DFAd by the O's. The Guardians acquired him and he went to Triple-A. Days ago, Vallimont was DFAd to make room for Ramon Laureano on the Cleveland 40-man roster. On Wednesday, he was outrighted to Columbus. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Louisville 3 Box Score Solid pitching and a big inning helped the Saints to a matinee win on Wednesday. Randy Dobnak got the call for St. Paul. He needed 86 pitches to get through four innings, but he gave up no runs and just two hits. He walked three and struck out four batters. Andrew Bechtold came in and pitched a scoreless fifth inning despite a hit and two walks. Austin Brice was charged with two runs on three hits in the sixth inning. But Jovani Moran pitched a scoreless, walkless seventh frame. Oliver Ortega earned his third Saints save with two innings of one-run ball. The Saints got solid contributions in this game from their newbies. Brooks Lee went 2-for-4 and had two RBI. DaShawn Keirsey went 2-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. He had an RBI, and he stole a base. Yunior Severino added a triple, high off of the wall in the team’s four-run fourth inning. He scored on a line-drive single by Keirsey for the first run of that inning. Jair Camargo took the next pitch and drilled a two-run homer to center field, his 17th long ball of the season. Later in the inning, Lee drove in Andrew Stevenson with a single as he had done in the first inning to get the Saints on the scoreboard. The Saints added an insurance run in the eighth inning when Austin Martin’s sacrifice fly to right field scored Keirsey. Stevenson went 1-for-2 with two walks, his seventh triple, and his 35th and 36th stolen bases. Congratulations to Andrew Bechtold on his first Win as a professional. —------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Again, a reminder that you should head to CHS Field on Friday for that game. You may have seen him on MLB Network and on MLB.com’s draft coverage. He certainly knows prospects. Jonathan Mayo will be at the ballpark that night signing copies of his new book, Smart, Wrong, and Lucky; The Origin Stories of Baseball’s Unexpected Stars. I got my copy on Amazon a few weeks ago, and I will tell you it is fantastic. In addition, Jonathan is a terrific person who clearly loves what he is doing and has a strong passion for writing about, talking about, and really promoting prospects and the minor leagues and the scouts who found them. Get to meet him at CHS Field on Friday (August 11th). And on Thursday night (TONIGHT!!), watch as Blayne Enlow takes on the rehabbing Hunter Greene in a matchup of Team USA teammates. In addition, Austin Martin and Royce Lewis were teammates with Greene when they were 14-15 years old. Royce Lewis (JSerra HS) and Hunter Greene (Notre Dame HS) were high school opponents and friends, and then Team USA teammates. Then in 2017, Lewis and Greene went 1-2 in the draft. Lots of reasons to head to CHS Field this week! Tickets Available! Click here. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, NW Arkansas 1 (5 innings) Box Score Since losing their top three hitters last week, the Wind Surge offense has struggled. But on this night, they scored just enough to win in this rain-shortened, five-inning game. In the second inning, the recently-promoted Dalton Shuffield hit a two-run homer. That was it for the Wichita offense. They had just four hits. Jake Rucker’s 15th double was the only other extra base hit. Tanner Schobel went 1-for-1 with a walk. Isaac Mattson started and tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up no hits, walked two and struck out one batter. Regi Grace came in for the final 2 2/3 innings. He gave up one run on two hits and two walks. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Quad Cities 4 Box Score Kyle Jones started and gave up three runs on five hits. In four innings, he walked four and struck out four batters. Jarret Whorff came on for his first High-A appearance. He gave up an unearned run on two hits over two innings. He struck out two batters and walked none. Mike Paredes tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four batters. Unfortunately, it was a rare day when the Kernels offense didn’t have a big game. In fact, they had just three hits and were shut out. Misael Urbina hit his third triple of the year. Ben Ross was the only Kernel hitter to get on base more than once. He had two walks. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 10, Bradenton 5 Box Score The Mighty Mussels scored a touchdown (with the extra point) in the first inning and held on the rest of the way. The inning started with a walk and two singles to load the bases. Rubel Cespedes drove in two runners with his 24th double. Jay Harry grounded out, but the third run scored. After a pitching change, Gregory Duran welcomed him with a single that drove in a fourth run. Then with two runners on, Maddux Houghton’s three-run homer made it 7-0. Jose Mercedes started and gave up three runs on five hits in just two innings. He walked two, hit two, and struck out four batters. Danny Moreno came in and gave up two runs on one hit in 1 2/3 innings. However, he walked four and struck out two batters. Juan Mendez got the next four outs and struck out two. Jackson Hicks then walked two and struck out three batters over two scoreless, hitless innings. Ricardo Velez and Zach Veen each tossed a scoreless inning. Maddux Houghton went 2-for-4 with a walk and his third homer and five RBI. Along with the first-inning three-run homer, he had a two-run single in the eighth frame. Oh, and he had an outfield assist too. Danny De Andrade went 2-for-5. Kamron Willman was 2-for-4 with a walk. 2023 draft picks Luke Keaschall and Jay Harry both went 1-for-3 with two walks. Alec Sayre had four walks in the game. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 10, DSL Reds 3 (7 innings) Box Score For about the 37th straight day, the DSL Twins’ game was shortened due to rain. OK, I think it’s just three straight days, but that’s plenty. This one was deemed a final when it ended in the 7th inning. The Reds took the early lead with three runs in the second inning, but the Twins clawed their way back. They scored in five of the six innings they came to bat including a big, five-run fifth inning that created comfortable separation. The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when Hendry Chivilli walked, stole second, and then scored on a Yilber Herrera double. They added nine more unanswered runs. The same duo combined to give the Twins their second run as well. In the third inning, Chivilli walked, stole second and went to third on an error. He scored on a Herrera sacrifice fly. Their second run in that third inning came when Junior Del Valle was caught in a run-down between first and second base. He remained un-tagged long enough for Dameury Pena to score. Ewing Matos scored the fourth-inning run on a triple by Juan Hernandez. The five-run fifth inning started with a walk and two singles. Del Valle drove in Herrera with a sacrifice fly. Then Ewing Matos doubled to plate Jayson Bass and Denyerbe Gervis. After a pitching change, Javier Roman doubled in another run. Juan Hernandez drove in the fifth run on a sacrifice fly. There was a lightning delay before the bottom of the sixth inning. When they returned, Herrera and Bass walked. Gervis singled to drive in the Twins 10th and final run. The game was called after the top of the seventh inning. Jose Vasquez started and gave up three runs in the first but followed it with two scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out two batters. Eider Machuca tossed two scoreless innings despite two walks and two hits. Luis Rincon worked 2/3 of an inning and gave up a hit and a walk. Jose Betancourt came on and got the final out of the sixth inning. Alejandro Crisostomo worked a perfect seventh inning. Gervis went 2-for-2. Matos went 2-for-4. Herrera was 1-for-1 with two walks. Here are the stats leaders of the DSL Twins: AVG: Dameury Pena (.414), Jayson Bass (.322), Junior Del Valle (.278) OBP: Dameury Pena (.476), Jayson Bass (.413), Jesus Peraza, Yilber Herrera (.389) SLG: Dameury Pena (.541), Moises Lopez (.435), Yilber Herrera (.412) OPS: Dameury Pena (1.017), Moises Lopez (.809), Yilber Herrera (.801) 2B: Yilber Herrera (11), Dameury Pena (8), Ewing Matos (6).. 3B: Ariel Castro, Moises Lopez, Dameury Pena (3) HR: Ariel Castro, Moises Lopez (3), Javier Roman (2). BB: Ariel Castro (24), Yilber Herrera (23), Moises Lopez (19) R: Ariel Castro (26), Jayson Bass, Yilber Herrera, Dameury Pena (22). RBI: Moises Lopez (26), Ariel Castro, Yilber Herrera (19) SB: Jayson Bass (12), Dameury Pena (11), Yilber Herrera, Moises Lopez (8) G: Jayson Bass (37), Ariel Castro, Moises Lopez (36), Yilber Herrera (35) PA: Ariel Castro (158), Jayson Bass (143), Moises Lopez (139), Yilber Herrera (126). TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Maddux Houghton (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-3, BB, HR(3), R, 5 RBI Pitcher of the Day – Michael Paredes (Cedar Rapids) - 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 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. #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2 RBI. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 3 K #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, HBP, R, K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, RBI, SF, SB(8) #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-1, BB. #12 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, R, K #15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, BB, K, WP, 39 pitches, 25 strikeouts (64.1%) #17 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 3B(1), R #18 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-5, 9.99 ERA) vs Hunter Greene. Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (2-7, 5.88 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM CST) - LHP Christian MacLeod (3-0,3.69 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Ben Ethridge (2-5, 2.18 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Giants Black (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

I would have loved to see the Twins get Max Meyer, but he had Tommy John last year at this time. But I think Pablo was the right guy. Young. great intangibles (from what he read and hear). Willing to sign the extension. Miami had just traded for Lazardo near last year's deadline and gave up a bunch, so they may not have wanted to deal him. Perez and Alcantara were definitely not available. They have a ton of pitching prospects that would have been good in a year or so too.

Twins top pick Walker Jenkins had a bit of a breakout game. And, there are a lot of exciting things happening at CHS Field. If you're able, you will definitely want to see some games there this week. Walker Jenkins is an incredibly exciting prospect for the Twins and he had a big day in the FCL today. But there are some exciting prospects who finally made their way to the Saints last week and will be playing their first games at CHS Field this week. In addition, the organization's most electric player begins his rehab with the Saints and may have an opportunity on Wednesday to face a high school opponent and Team USA teammate who is rehabbing as well. In addition, there are some really, really cool events planned for the fans at the stadium. And one of the premiere prospect gurus will be at CHS Field on Friday night to sign copies of his new book. So much more below, so check out today's Minor League Report. And check out @Jeremy Nygaard's Minor League Week in Review as well. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Monday. Minnesota Twins: 60-54 St. Paul Saints: 61-46 Wichita Wind Surge: 43-58 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 63-39 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 49-53 FCL Twins: 18-25 DSL Twins: 9-32 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Kernels closer Miguel Rodriguez was promoted to Double-A Wichita. LHP Jarret Whorff was promoted from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids. The Mighty Mussels have added RHP John Klein from the FCL Twins. RHP and 2022 Competitive Balance Pick Charlee Soto has been assigned to the FCL Twins. Infielder Cole Tate decided to retire. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul, Louisville The Saints are back at home for the next two weeks with another exciting week of event and ball games. Of course, I’m guessing the #1 reason to get to CHS Field just might be because Brooks Lee, Yunior Severino, and DaShawn Keirsey were promoted to the Saints last week and will be playing their first games at home. Oh, and Royce Lewis is set to begin his rehab assignment with the Saints. For sure, you'll want to see that pitching matchup on Wednesday. (also, be sure to "Like" Twins Daily on Facebook) But I want to encourage you to head to CHS Field on Friday for that game (and the others too, of course). You may have seen him on MLB Network, and on MLB.com’s draft coverage, he certainly knows prospects. Jonathan Mayo will be at the ballpark that night signing copies of his new book, Smart, Wrong, and Lucky; The Origin Stories of Baseball’s Unexpected Stars. I got my copy on Amazon a few weeks ago, and I will tell you it is fantastic. In addition, Jonathan is a terrific person who clearly loves what he is doing and has a strong passion for writing about, talking about, and really promoting prospects and the minor leagues and the scouts who found them. Get to meet him at CHS Field on Friday (August 11th). In addition, Harvey Kuenn III will be recognized for being named to the Roland Hemond Scouts Hall of Fame. And hey, there will be some really good baseball being played with some really intriguing players. Tuesday: Simeon Woods Richardson Wednesday: Randy Dobnak Thursday: Blayne Enlow vs. a rehabbing Hunter Greene (with a rehabbing Royce Lewis… that’s three Team USA teammates from their high school days) Friday: Louie Varland Saturday: TBD Sunday: Simeon Woods Richardson Tickets Available! Click here. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids , Quad Cities If you happen to be in eastern Iowa or western Illinois, head to the Quad Cities this week and check out one of the most photogenic stadiums in minor-league baseball, and see a really good, really young Kernels team take on the River Bandits. Here are the pitching probables: Tuesday: Zebby Matthews Wednesday: Kyle Jones Thursday: Christian MacLeod Friday: Andrew Morris Saturday: Cory Lewis Sunday: C.J. Culpepper COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 9, FCL Rays 7 Box Score Walker Jenkins had a pretty big role in the Twins win on Monday afternoon. It was quite the breakout. He came to the plate with two outs in the top of the first inning and rippled a double to left field. With no score, Jenkins came to the plate in the top of the third inning. The bases were loaded. Jenkins crushed the first home run of his professional career, a grand slam that gave the team a 4-0 lead. The Twins scored another four runs in the fourth inning to take an 8-0 lead. First, Isaac Pena singled in Wilfri Castro. Pena stole a base, and when Daniel Pena walked on a pitch that went to the backstop which brought in another run. Soon after, Jenkins walked to load the bases. That was followed by a Brandon Winokur walk that allowed Daniel Pena to score. Jose Salas scored on a wild pitch, the Twins eighth run of the game. In the ninth inning, Harold Grant scored the team’s ninth run on a wild pitch. When it was 8-0, one would have been surprised to know that it was a nice insurance run. Jacob Wosinski made the start. He was charged with two runs on four hits and two walks in four innings. He struck out five batters. Kyle Bischoff came on and was charged with four runs (2 earned) on three hits in 2 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out just one batter. Yon Landaeta came on and went the final 2 1/3 innings. He gave up an unearned run on one hit. He walked two and struck out two to record his third save. Along with his first pro homer, he added his second double. He was 2-for-5 with a walk. Jose Rodriguez went 2-for-4 and hit his ninth double. Isaac Pena was 2-for-3 with his third triple. He also stole his eighth base. Byron Chourio led off and reached three times via walk. Jose Salas was in a lineup for the first time since July 16th when the Kernels were playing in Cedar Rapids. He was first placed on the Kernels’ development list, but recently he was activated and assigned to the FCL Twins. Monday was his first game. He went 1-for-5 with a walk and two runs scored. He played second base and had an error. He just turned 20 years old. The average age of players in the FCL is 19.5. The average age in the Florida State League is 21.1. He was in Cedar Rapids and the average Midwest League player is 22.2. As you can see, this “reset” should not damper his ceiling in the eyes of fans. Maybe the Marlins pushed him way too fast a year ago by getting him to High-A so quickly. At the same time, it also lowers his potential floor. That said, I’m a big believer in taking that step back, just playing, working on things and then getting back. As we often say, “prospect development is rarely linear.” COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 1, DSL Phillies White 0 (suspended bottom 2) Box Score This game was over almost before it started. I mean, they got through about 1 1/2 innings before the rains came. Yilber Herrera led off the game with a triple and scored soon after on a sacrifice fly by Denyerbe Gervis. Juan Cota started for the Twins. He struck out every single batter he faced in the outing - I mean, all three of them. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 2-for-5, BB, 2B(2), HR(1), R, 4 RBI Pitcher of the Day – Yon Landaeta (FCL Twins) - 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Monday. #2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 2-for-5, BB, 2B(2), HR/GS(1), R, 4 RBI #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-for-0, PR #6 - Charlee Soto (FCL Twins) - assigned to FCL Twins #13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 0-for-3, 2 BB, RBI, 2 K #18 - Jose Salas (FCL Twins ) - 1-for-5, BB, 2 R, 2 K. #19 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 42 pitches, 28 strikes (66.7%) #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 2-for-4, BB, 2B(9), K. TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (3-5, 5.62 ERA) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (3-1,4.81 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Jose Olivares (2-3, 5.86 ERA) FCL Pirates @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Giants Orange @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Monday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

Keynan Middleton was traded by the White Sox to the Yankees at the deadline. The Yankees reporters got him talking about the mess that is going on with the Sox. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38147621 On Monday, Middleton returns to Chicago for a three-game series against his former team, happy to be in a new setting.

But... Ramirez made contact... Buh-dump-bump...

Unable to acquire a right-handed hitting outfielder at the trade deadline, the Twins claimed outfielder Jordan Luplow from the Blue Jays. Image courtesy of Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports Well, this move certainly won't excite the Twins fan base. However, looking for offense against left-handed pitching, Jordan Luplow certainly fits the bill. The 29-year-old was DFAd by the Blue Jays following Toronto's deadline day acquisitions. He had played just seven games with the Jays including three just before the deadline. To make room for Luplow on the 40-man roster, Brock Stewart was moved to the 60-Day Injured List. When he gets into a game with the Twins, it will mark his sixth big-league club that he has played for. He was originally a third-round draft pick by the Pirates in 2014 out of Fresno State. At 23, he made his MLB debut with 27 games in 2017. He played 37 games for the Pirates in 2018. Twins fans will likely mostly remember Jordan Luplow from his years with Cleveland. In parts of three seasons, he played in 150 games and hit .234/.348/.486 (834) with 25 doubles and 24 homers. Since then, he has become a journeyman. He's played for the Rays, the Diamondbacks, and the Blue Jays. In total, he has played in 329 big-league games and hit .213/.314/.428 (.742) with 37 doubles and 45 homers. In his career, he has hit just .199/.289/.354 (.644) with 16 doubles, three triples and 14 home runs off of right-handed pitching. However, against southpaws, he is a different player. He has hit .226/.337/.497 (.833). Not great numbers, by any means, but for a Twins team struggling mightily against lefties, the move is certainly understandable. He's not going to hit for batting average, but how many do at this point? He gets on base at a decent clip against lefties. He does have much more power and drives the ball against left-handers. In his career, he has mostly played the two corner outfield positions. He has also played 53 games at first base, mostly the last couple of years. He has played in 29 games against the Twins in his career, second only to the Detroit Tigers. In those games, he hit just .164 but did hit six home runs. Since 2018, he has played primarily in the big leagues. He has missed time with injury the last few years. In 48 games this year at Triple-A Buffalo, he hit .239/.341/.438 (.779). Against right-handers, he has a .653 OPS. Against lefties, his OPS is .914. If he spends the rest of the season with the Twins and they like him so much, he has one more arbitration season remaining, and he only signed for $1.4 million for 2023. This is definitely not a difference-maker, but it's a sneaky solid little pickup. Of course, the Twins still need to make a roster move to get Luplow onto the 26-man roster. That could be interesting. Share your thoughts below. View full article