Seth Stohs

Mac Horvath honed his baseball skills in Rochester, Minnesota, where he became one of the better players in the state. He played at the University of North Carolina the past three years and become a very solid all-around player. It is quite possible that Horvath will hear his name on TV on Day 1 of the 2023 MLB Draft on Sunday. Get to know about the former Rochester Century student-athlete and let's support Minnesotans in professional baseball. Image courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications Mac Horvath grew up in southern Minnesota. Once he started playing in high school, he became one of the best players in the state of Minnesota. He went to Rochester Century through his junior season, and Perfect Game had him ranked #2 in the state behind only Burnsville's Max Carlson. Horvath attended the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, for his senior year. He received baseball instruction from top coaches, strength and conditioning, and even mental health coaching there. In the afternoons, they take their high school classes. It's a place that frequently hosts college recruiters and professional scouts. For Horvath, there was another good reason to go to IMG. "After being injured for a good chunk of the season my Sophomore and Junior years of high school, it only made sense to go to IMG and kind of get back that time I had missed to prepare me for college and pro ball." He joined the Rochester Century varsity team as a freshman and was part of a strong team. "That year, we were the Number 1 team going into our section tournament." He primarily played shortstop, but he had a huge fastball and found a ton of success on the mound too. In fact, he committed early to the University of North Carolina as a two-way player. He said, "I enjoyed pitching a lot. (However), playing every day is something I really wanted to do." For Mac, the decision to go to North Carolina became relatively easy after visiting the campus. "The program and culture there are incredible, and I just had that feeling of home when I was visiting there." He was joined by fellow Minnesotan Max Carlson with the Tar Heels. There has seemingly been a pipeline of top Minnesota players heading to Chapel Hill to play ball. Michael Busch went to Simley High School in Inver Grove Heights. He played for North Carolina from 2017 to 2019, when the Dodgers made him their first-round pick. He made his MLB debut earlier this season and has played 15 games in the big leagues. And hey, I bet you didn't know that the legendary Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, who famously became a doctor in the northern Minnesota town of Chisholm, played baseball at UNC. His brother Frank later became the president of the college and, after that, became a US Senator. According to his Baseball-Reference page, Graham is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Rochester. Rochester. Oh yes, let's get back to the star of our article today, North Carolina draft prospect from Rochester, Mac Horvath. Things didn't just get handed to him when he got to Carolina. He didn't immediately become a star. There is always some adjustment needed. He told Twins Daily, "I was the starting third baseman Opening Day my freshman year and through the next seven or so games struggled offensively pretty badly. I was taken out of the lineup, and I think the biggest change was just being confident in myself at all times and not letting a bad at-bat get to me and carry it into the next AB or game." As a freshman, he played 46 games and hit .227/.311/.387 (.698) with four doubles and five home runs. He found success that summer playing back at home for the Rochester Honkers of the Northwoods League. He played another 35 games and hit .287/.437/.434 (.871) with six doubles and four homers. When he returned to Chapel Hill for his sophomore season, he was a little more mature, physically and mentally prepared for the Division I college game. He played 63 games and hit .268/.390/.557 (.947) with 15 doubles and 18 home runs. In addition, he began using his impressive speed. He stole 19 bases in 22 attempts. He played 18 games in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2022. As a junior this spring, he put together some monster offensive numbers. In 60 games, he hit .305/.418/.711 (1.129) with 21 doubles and 24 home runs. He was 25-for-29 in stolen base attempts. And he's put himself into being a potential Day 1 pick when the MLB Draft starts on Sunday night. He hit for average. He was patient. He showed tremendous power and speed. How does he describe himself as a hitter? "I would say a patient power hitter with speed." I'd say that summarizes it quite well. And about his stolen base prowess the past two seasons, he said it is an integral part of his all-around game. "Speed is a big part of my game and something you can't teach. So I try to use it to my advantage to help the team." In high school, he primarily played shortstop. He primarily played third base in his first two seasons at North Carolina. He was the Tar Heels' primary right fielder, but he says he feels comfortable around the diamond. Horvath noted, "I feel comfortable at third base and every outfield spot, but when I think of myself in the big leagues, I see myself as center fielder." When a player of the caliber of Mac Horvath is draft-eligible, scouts are present frequently, especially at a big school like North Carolina. It can be challenging for many young players, trying to focus on the game and the team while thoughts of conversations with scouts and what might come of it are roaming in the back of their minds. It can be overwhelming, but Horvath continued to thrive and improve throughout the process. "I have enjoyed the process 100%. I didn't focus on it or talk to any scouts during the season. I talked to a good amount of the teams at the MLB Draft Combine." The MLB Draft Combine is a relatively new concept over the past couple of seasons, but it is a place where potential draft picks go and have the opportunity to work out, hit, throw, run, and talk to personnel from the big league clubs. "It was a very cool experience getting to meet up with players that I knew and getting to know some new guys as well. Meeting with a lot of the clubs was a fun experience, and just getting to know those people on a more personal level." So now, the past few weeks, it has just been time spent as he awaits the draft. He's enjoyed his time back home in Minnesota, though. "I have been taking it a little easier from the baseball side of things and spending time with my friends and hanging out by the pool." At this time, they have not finalized plans for where they will be or what they will be doing on Sunday night during the draft, but regardless, he'll be around many of the people who have helped him get to this point in his career. Specifically, he noted, "My Dad (Tony Horvath), my Mom (Marcia Carrigan), Jeff Milene, all of the UNC coaching staff, and Guye Senjem." So, where might Mac Horvath get drafted, and by which team? He said, "(I'm) excited to find out." What are evaluators saying? Twins Daily's JD Cameron's Consensus Big Board ranks him as the 74th-ranked draft-eligible player. Of Horvath, he writes, "The North Carolina outfielder has one of the more intriguing power/speed combinations of any college hitter and has improved every year for the Tar Heels." Cameron continued, "At the plate, it's a power-over-hit approach, and his strikeout rate is a concern, despite strong on-base numbers. Horvath has at least above-average speed and solid defensive chops. He's played third base and in the outfield for North Carolina, taking advantage of a great throwing arm in either spot. He'd be a great fit in right field long-term." Finally, Cameron summarized, "He's been consistently under-ranked all season, and I'd put money on him being closer to a top 40 pick." Baseball America has him ranked #67. They grade his Tools at: Hit (40), Power (55), Run (65), Field (50), and Arm (60). I've read reports that he could go anywhere from the back end of the first round to very early on Day 2 (third round). Horvath's earliest memories of playing ball are familiar to many of us. He remembers "playing wiffle ball in the backyard with my brothers or by myself." Growing up in Rochester, he noted that they did go to "a decent amount of Twins games; however, I am a Cubs fan. "Well, the Cubs pick 13th and then with the 68th pick, so be sure to follow the draft at North Side Baseball too! However, he also said that his favorite Twins players growing up were Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier. When looking at drafts from the last 10-15 years, when the Twins have drafted very late in the first round or early in the second round, they have taken several college hitters, including fellow Tar Heels Levi Michael and Aaron Sabato. But also included in that category would be Matt Wallner, Brent Rooker, and Ryan Jeffers. So what would it mean to Horvath and his family if the Twins used one of their Day 1 draft picks to select him? "That would be incredible, and to think I could be playing at Target Field, where it's just an hour's drive for my family to be there, it would definitely be special." —---------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to Mac Horvath, Tar Heel pitcher and Burnsville High School grad Max Carlson could be drafted this year. There are two Minnesota Gophers on JD Cameron's Consensus Big Board, pitcher George Klassen and outfielder Brett Bateman. Seth Halvorsen has had a long and winding road since the Twins drafted him out of Heritage Christian Academy in 2018. After three years at Missouri and two seasons at Tennessee, could he hear his name again? The 2023 Mr. Baseball Award recipient in Minnesota was Benilde St. Margaret High School outfielder Easton Breyfogle. Potentially, a team could select him on Day 2. If not, he'll head to college at the University of Arizona. Best wishes to each of these players from Minnesota. A big thank you to one of the best hitters in college baseball in 2023, UNC outfielder and Rochester native Mac Horvath, for taking the time to answer some questions. Be sure to keep refreshing Twins Daily over the next four or five days for lots and lots of draft coverage. View full article

Also, Wicks was a Top 10 pick overall in 2021. Likewise, Brooks Lee was a Top 10 pick in the draft in 2022. Do we think he'll be up at Triple-A by this time next year? Some context needs to go into that. But from that 2021 draft, Christian Encarnacion-Strand is already at AAA (and would be there, at least, with the Twins). Cade Povich (3), Travis Adams (6), Jake Rucker (7), Patrick Winkel (8), Ernie Yake (10), David Festa (13), Pierson Ohl (14). This old narrative that the Twins are slow in promoting players is no longer even close to being accurate anymore. With hitters or pitchers. But people have to understand the context of where players are drafted.

2022 pick Dalton Shuffield played 14 games there last year and hit .271/.314/.542 (.855) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers. 2021 pick Mikey Perez played one game and got one pinch hit at-bat and hit a game-winning, three-run homer. 2021 pick Ernie Yake played in 6 games. Both are currently on the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels roster (Shuffield on the IL). Yake has played a game with the Saints this year too.

Yeah, he's played there 4-5 times in the last two weeks after pretty much never playing there before. But a good idea for him and the Twins.

The Twins had two 2022 draft picks in AAA in 2022. They had a 2021 draft pick in AAA in 2021.

I like how we all think that a consensus top 12 pick is just a terrible pick. It's the MLB draft, the guys projected to go at the top aren't all success stories, and overlooked players are in every draft. 1.) Gonzalez could become a better MLB player than any of those top 5 cuz that's just how baseball works, and 2.) to be able to acquire 2-3 players that rank higher than normal slot value guys might prove valuable too. I like the strategy a lot. If Sean Johnson and the Twins cross-checkers and the area scout aren't convicted that Jenkins (or whoever is left) is going to be a great player, then they should take someone else and work the system.

Schobel's been good. Enlow had a rough first start in St. Paul, and last night wasn't great (but he still got through 5)... the two games in between were terrific. I don't think he's hurt his stock at all. In fact, he's probably raised it back up a little bit.

There wasn't a lot of offense, but there were a lot of close games. Find out which affiliates won, and which hitters and pitchers came up big for their teams on Wednesday. Image courtesy of Steve Buhr (photo of Jaylen Nowlin) The Twins got a great start from Pablo Lopez. Jose Salas had a couple of key hits in a Kernels run. Hopefully Byron Chourio had a great day and got a little better on a non-game day in the FCL. Here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Wednesday. St. Paul Saints: 49-33 Wichita Wind Surge: 32-44 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 47-30 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 39-38 FCL Twins: 10-12 DSL Twins: 6-15 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins concluded the rehab assignment of RHP Cole Sands. In bringing him back up, Josh Winder was optioned to St. Paul. The Twins released RHP Connor Sadzeck. He had been pitching with the Saints. RHP Chad Donato was activated by the Wind Surge. RHP Pierson Ohl has been moved to the Wichita Development List. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Iowa 3 Box Score This was a bit of a back-and-forth, low-scoring game in Des Moines. The Saints fell behind 1-0 in the second, but they tied it up in the fourth inning. Iowa re-took the lead 2-1 after five innings. The Saints tied it again in the top of the seventh. Unfortunately, the Cubs scored their third run in the bottom of the seventh inning and held on for the 3-2 win. After a record-setting performance last week in St. Paul against Gwinnett, the Saints lineup was a bit quiet on Wednesday. In fact, they had just four hits, though they walked five times. Kyle Garlick put the Saints on the board with his seventh double. It scored Matt Wallner who hit his 20th Saints double of the season in this game. The game was tied again in the seventh inning when Anthony Prato drove in Chris Williams with a sacrifice fly. Williams had left off the inning with his second triple of the season. Veteran Aaron Sanchez was on the mound in this one for St. Paul. He was charged with two runs on six hits and a walk over the first five innings. He struck out five batters. Andrew Bechtold came in for his third relief pitching appearance. He had a 1-2-3 sixth inning. He recorded an infield pop out, a strikeout and a groundout in the inning. Austin Schulfer entered the game in the seventh inning. He gave up the go-ahead run on two walks and a hit. Austin Brice worked a perfect ninth inning. It marked the second straight one-run loss for the Saints. They are two games over .500 in such games. Unfortunately, the Iowa Cubs are now 19-3 in one-run contests. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Tulsa 4 Box Score The Surge fell behind 4-0 after just two innings. That was all. Unfortunately, the Wichita offense wasn’t able to do much against the Drillers on Wednesday. Carlos Luna gave up four runs (2 earned) on just four hits over four innings. He walked one batter and had seven strikeouts. Alex Scherff came on and struck out four batters over two scoreless innings. Isaac Mattson then had a walk and a strikeout over the final two, scoreless innings. Unfortunately, the Wind Surge were only able to muster two hits in the game. Alex Isola hit his 13th double and was walked once. Jake Rucker had the other hit. Seth Gray reached base twice via walks. DaShawn Keirsey scored the team’s lone run in the ninth inning on a wild pitch after reaching via an error. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 2 Box Score Speaking of close, one-run games, the Kernels have continued to find ways to win games, and that was the case on Wednesday. The story of the game was the performance of lefty Jaylen Nowlin. He started and gave up two runs on two hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out 10 batters in the game. As if usually key for him (and most pitchers), throwing strikes is very important. Of his 76 pitches in this one, 51 of them were strikes (67%). Nowlin’s blemish came in the fifth inning when he gave up a two-run homer that put the River Bandits ahead 2-1. Fortunately, the Kernels responded with two runs over their own in the bottom of the fifth and then the bullpens took over and kept the score at 3-2 for the home team. The Kernels scored their first run in the third inning when Noah Cardenas scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth, Jose Salas drilled a first-pitch homer to tie the game. Later, Ben Ross singled to score Jeferson Morales with the go-ahead (and winning) run). Malik Barrington replaced Nowlin to start the seventh inning. He gave up two hits over two scoreless innings. He had four strikeouts and no walks. Miguel Rodriguez came in and tossed a perfect ninth inning for his 10th Save of the season. Salas led the way with his first triple of the season to go with his third home run of the year. He also had a sacrifice bunt in the game. Doubles were hit by Cardenas (13th) and Morales (5th). MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Jupiter 3 (10) Box Score And yes, another one-run game on Wednesday night. This one had the added bonus of an extra inning. The score was tied 2-2 heading to the 10th frame. The Mussels began the top of the inning with Kamron Willman pinch running at second base for Gregory Duran. Mikey Perez laid down a nice sacrifice bunt, but a throwing error allowed not only Willman to score, but Perez was able to advance to third base. After an out, Maddux Houghton drove in Perez with a double. In the bottom of the inning, the Hammerheads had two singles and one run. But fortunately for the Mussels, it wasn’t enough and Fort Myers got another win. Ben Ethridge dropped his season ERA to 2.49 after giving up two runs (1 earned) on five hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out two batters. Gabriel Yanez came on and struck out five batters over three, one-hit innings. Ricardo Velez pitched a scoreless ninth and held onto the lead in the 10th to record his first Win. Dillon Tatum led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with a walk. Gregory Duran went 2-for-5. Ricardo Olivar went 1-for-3 with two walks. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitters of the Day – Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-2, SH, 3B(1), HR(3), R, RBI. Pitcher of the Day – Jaylen Nowlin (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, BB, 10 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. (Note - our next prospect rankings update will come after the draft.) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, HBP, 3 K. #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 1-for-2, BB, HR(6), R, RBI, K. #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(20), R #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, K. (2B, batted second) #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-2, SH, 3B(1), HR(3), R, RBI. #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Iowa (6:38 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-1, 6.57 ERA) Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Chad Donato (1-5, 10.73 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (4-4, 4.02 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30 PM CST) - LHP Jarret Whorff (2-0, 1.63 ERA) FCL Orioles @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Rockies @ DSL Twins (10:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

It is rare the full-season minor-league affiliates play on Mondays. They did this week. Find out about a couple of exciting transactions, and six ballgames. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Yoyner Fajardo) A couple of top Twins prospects were movin’ on up on Monday. The Saints offense was playing in a bizarro world through the first five innings on Sunday, but a couple of big leaguers powered them to another win, their sixth straight. The organization’s home run leader is now in Wichita. Cedar Rapids finished a series filled with nothing but one-run games in Peoria. Here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Monday. St. Paul Saints: 49-31 Wichita Wind Surge: 32-42 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 45-30 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 37-38 FCL Twins: 10-11 DSL Twins: 6-15 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Austin Martin was activated from the 7-day injured list and joined the Saints. RHP Marco Raya has been assigned to the Wichita Wind Surge. To make room, Jose Bravo has been placed on the Wind Surge Development List. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Gwinnett 4 Box Score Things were looking a little bleak on Monday night in St. Paul. The team had scored ten or more runs in five consecutive games. In this game, the Saints did not have a hit through the first five innings and found themselves down 4-0. However, Alex De Goti led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a single which was followed by a bunt single by Andrew Stevenson. After a strikeout and a fielder’s choice, Trevor Larnach singled in De Goti to put the Saints on the board. Kyle Garlick followed with his eighth homer, a three-run shot that tied the game at four. That’s how the score remained until the bottom of the eighth. With no one on and two outs, Matt Wallner walked. It was followed by a long home run off the bat of Trevor Larnach. A no-doubter. Louie Varland made his second start of the week. He gave up three runs on seven hits over five innings. He walked none and struck out five batters. He also kept the ball in the ballpark. Cody Laweryson came on to start the sixth inning,and he gave up a leadoff homer. He got Jesus Aguilar out, but then the rains came. It began again about an hour later with Michael Boyle on the mound. He gave up two hits and two walks over 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out three batters. Kody Funderburk came on and struck out two batters over two perfect innings to take the Win. The Saints had just six hits in the game. Trevor Larnach and Kyle Garlick were both 2-for-4 with three RBI each. In his Triple-A debut, Austin Martin played second base and batted second. He went 0-for-3 with a walk. He was also caught stealing. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, NW Arkansas 7 Box Score This game went back-and-forth with teams exchanging runs. Through seven innings, the game was tied 2-2. Lefty Aaron Rozek was on the mound for the Surge. He gave up two runs on five hits. Both runs scored on solo homers. He walked one and struck out three batters. Hunter McMahon came on and tossed scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh innings. However, he was charged with three runs on two hits and a walk (intentional). Francis Peguero came in and allowed an inherited runner to score the third run of the inning. Down 5-2 going to the bottom of the eighth, Wichita’s offense “Surged” ahead and scored four runs to take a 6-5 lead. With one out, DaShawn Keirsey, Brooks Lee and Alex Isola hit back-to-back-to-back singles to score the first run. Will Holland came in to pinch run for Isola, but I’m pretty sure Isola could have jogged around the bases along with Lee on Yunior Severino’s three-run blast that gave the Wind Surge the 6-5 lead. To the ninth inning… Peguero was able to get the first two batters out. Unfortunately, he gave up a double which was quickly followed by a two-run homer by Tyler Tolbert that gave NW Arkansas the 7-6 lead. After another double, Alex Scherff came on and got a strikeout to end the half-inning. The Wind Surge tried to put together one more comeback in the bottom of the ninth. Jake Rucker readed on an error and stole second base. Yoyner Fajardo walked. But then #OldFriend Steven Cruz got a strikeout and two infield pop outs to end the game. Severino had a walk to go with his 17th home run. In the third inning, Fajardo hit his third homer of the season. Aaron Sabato hit his ninth double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 3 Box Score In this series with a lot of close, low-scoring game, it’s only appropriate that the final game was a one-run game in extra innings. The only negative was that the Kernels came up on the short end this time. This time, it was the Kernels who had to mount a comeback. They were down 2-0 heading into the ninth inning. Tanner Schobel led off the inning with a double. With one out, Kala’i Rosario drove in Schobel with a single. Noah Miller pinch ran for Rosario. Two batters later, Jose Salas singled to score Miller and tie the game at two a piece. It sent the game to extra innings. Back to the mound. Lefty Christian MacLeod gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out seven batters. Niklas Rimmel came on with the bases loaded and got out of the inning without another run scoring. He struck out two batters over 1 1/3 perfect innings. Lefty John Wilson struck out two batters over two perfect innings. In the 10th inning, three Kernels batters each struck out. Miguel Rodriguez came into the game for the Kernels. He has been terrific this season. After a fly out, the Kernels decided to walk a batter to set up a potential inning-ending double play. Unfortunately, the man who knows the strike zone best, Alex Iadisernia, singled to center which scored the winning run for Peoria. Overall, the offense was pretty quiet. They had six hits in total, just three before the ninth inning, and three walks. No one had more than one hit. Schobel’s double was his eighth of the season. Jorel Ortega added his third double since joining the Kernels. Earlier, I pointed out that this series was a matchup of two very closely-matched teams. Here’s how close: Game 1: Cedar Rapids 7, Peoria 6 Game 2: Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 3 Game 3: Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 1 Game 4: Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 1 Game 5: Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 3 Game 6: Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 3 Wins: Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 3 Runs: Cedar Rapids 17, Peoria 17 MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Lakeland 5 Box Score Rains have wreaked havoc on a few Mussels games of late. In this game, Jose Olivares was only able to complete two innings before the rains caused a long rain delay. He gave up a run on three hits. Tigers prospect Jackson Jobe started for Lakeland. He gave up two hits in a scoreless first inning but the rains came before he could work a second frame. Lefty Wilker Reyes gave up two hits and two walks, but he struck out two batters over three shutout innings. Develson Aria came out of the bullpen and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings. He struck out… You guessed it, two. Johnathan Lavallee gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits and two walks over two innings. Zach Veen recorded the final two outs, one on a strikeout. It wasn’t a pretty game. The Mussels had three errors in the game. They also had seven hits and walked nine times. Unfortunately, they went just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners on base. Frustrating when you look back, and the score and see a one-run loss. Dylan Neuse went 2-for-3 with two walks and stole his 10th base. Gregory Duran and Kamron Willman both walked twice. Danny De Andrade drove in two runs. He had a single and a walk. Dillon Tatum also had a single and a walk. Recently-signed Carson McCusker went 2-for-5, but he helped keep the game close by throwing out two runners at the plate. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 2, FCL Braves 7 (6) Box Score The game had to be cut short after six innings because of lightning rolling into the Fort Myers area. Most likely, the Twins would have found a way to make up the five-run deficit over the final three innings and won, but that’s OK. Jose Rodriguez had two of the team’s six hits including his fifth double of the season. Jankel Ortiz came on as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning and hit his first professional home run. Andres Centeno had a single and a walk in the game. Cesar Lares made the start and it didn’t go well for the southpaw. In just 2/3 of an inning, he gave up four runs on four hits and two walks. Both outs he recorded were on strikeouts (gotta find the positives, right?). He also had two balks and a wild pitch before Yon Landaeta came in with two runners on and got out of that inning without any further damage. However, in the second inning, he was charged with three runs (2 earned) on five walks. He recorded just one out before Juan Mercedes came on with the bases loaded and somehow managed to allow only one inherited runner to score. Mercedes was quite good. In 4 1/3 innings, he gave up no runs and no hits. He walked one and struck out six batters. Miguel Olivares came on and got a strikeout to end the sixth inning. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 2, DSL Cardinals 6 Box Score A couple of two-run homers led the Cardinals to a win against the Twins on Monday. Eduardo Soriano started for the Twins. He was charged with two unearned runs over four innings. He gave up six hits and struck out six batters without issuing a walk. Gerardo Abrego came on and gave up two runs on three hits in the fifth inning. He gave up a home run to Bracewell Taveras. Reynel Garcia worked the next three innings. He gave up a two-run homer to Hancel Almonte, but nothing more (though he did walk three batters. Oscar Paredes then struck out three batters in a scoreless ninth inning. Dameury Pena led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with his sixth double and the team’s lone RBI. Jayson Bass was also 2-for-4. He stole his 10th base of the year. Ariel Castro went 1-for-1 with three walks. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitters of the Day – Trevor Larnach (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, 2B(13), HR(12), R, 3 RBI Pitcher of the Day – John Wilson (Cedar Rapids), Kody Funderburk (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 6 batters faced. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. (Note - our next prospect rankings update will come after the draft.) #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB, R. #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 1-for-2, HR(5), R, RBI. #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) -0-for-3, 2 R, BB, K. #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, K, CS(1) #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, RBI, K, E(10). #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - R #14 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 6 pitches, 4 strikes. #15 - Brent Headrick (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (W, 2-0), 12 pitches, 12 strikes. #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 2-for-3, 2B(5), R. #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, HR(17), 2 R, 3 RBI. TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Iowa (7:08 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (4-3, 4.62 ERA) Wichita @ Tulsa (6:35 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (2-2, 5.24 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (1-1, 6.33 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:00 PM CST) - RHP Andrew Morris (2-1, 3.48 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (9:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Nationals (10:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Monday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

JP Massey (Gophers, Pirates) and Drew Gilbert (Stillwater, Twins draft in 2019, Astros) will be participating in the Futures Game next weekend.

Zack Muckenhirn traded by the Mets to the Mariners...

Kyle Jones was also drafted in 2022 out of college (like Lewis and Culpepper). He's been at Cedar Rapids the whole season. So, yes, Lewis has been tremendous for four starts, it's OK to let them get 8-10 starts at any given level before a promotion because they're not all going to be great starts. And if they are... that's great! And they're even more ready for that promotion. Severino... I do think that there can be room in the St. Paul defense to get him there sometime in the 2nd half, so I think that's possible. Maybe even Schobel jumps up to Double-A at that time.

I would doubt that he's better than Jake Cave. Cave's got so much more MLB time for a reason. That said, Stevenson is a nice player, a solid defensively outfielder who hits alright. I just wouldn't put him ahead of Cave.

Thank you... I think... And, from all of my journalism classes that I've taken in my life, I learned that once in a while, you have to just leave something out to make sure that your readers are fully engaged. So, that's why I skipped #2. Is this a real journalism strategy, @Nick Nelson and @Theo Tollefson? I've actually never taken a single journalism class.

The arm strength seems to be the area of concern as he's had some shoulder issues going back to college. But, I've watched him a few times, and I think he receives the ball fine. He has been the catcher for both of Dallas Keuchel's starts so far and he sets up well and such. I don't know how he ranks at the things that we can see. He also correctly challenged three pitches that were called balls and got them overturned.

Sorry y'all, when I pasted in the video, it just went right over the #2 thing. We see this once in awhile, and there's an easy fix, I just missed it. Sorry y'all!

Yesterday, we shared the articles of the Twins Minor League Pitchers (Starter and Reliever) of the Month. Today, we take a look at the hitters throughout the organization that had a big month of June. Granted, the choice of Chris Williams as the Hitter of the Month was easy. However, it is incredible how many minor leaguers had an OPS over .900, and over 1.000. Click into the article to see some incredible performers. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Before jumping into the top five hitters of the month, here are some of the honorable mentions. I’ll be honest. I’ve been following the Twins minor leagues and done these types of monthly reports for more than 15 years. I honestly can’t remember a month when there were this many strong candidates for the monthly hitter award. Many months, an OPS of .900 would make you a strong candidate to win the award. This month, there were seven players with an OPS over 1.000 that were considered. Six more had an OPS over .900. What a great month for hitters in the Twins minor leagues! Unfortunately, it was one of the worst hitting months for the big league hitters. HONORABLE MENTIONS C Jair Camargo - St. Paul Saints - 20-63, .317/.353/.714 (1.067) with 4 doubles, 7 home runs, 4 BB, 16 K. OF Alerick Soularie - Wichita Wind Surge - 14-66, .390/.510/.634 (1.144) with 1 double, 3 home runs, 7 BB, 9 K. 1B Aaron Sabato - Wichita Wind Surge - 18-76, .237/.389/.487 (.876) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 19 BB, 29 K. OF Emmanuel Rodriguez - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 23-83, .277/.425/.518 (.943) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 22 BB, 26 K. OF Kala’i Rosario - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 20-83, .241/.370/.530 (.900) with 3 doubles, 7 home runs, 17 BB, 25 K. IF Rubel Cespedes - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 26-89, .292/.393/.562 (.955) with 9 doubles, 5 home runs, 15 BB, 19 K. OF Andres Centeno - FCL Twins - 16-51, .314/.426/.490 (.916) with 1 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 9 BB, 23 K IF Harold Grant - FCL Twins - 15-45, .333/.404/.489 (.893) with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 6 BB, 12 K IF Isaac Pena - FCL Twins - 19-64, .297/.423/.422 (.845) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 14 BB, 12 K. IF Yilber Herrera - DSL Twins - 13-47, .277/.455/.611 (.966) with 8 doubles, 1 home run, 16 BB, 10 K. IF Dameury Pena - DSL Twins - 21-56, .375/.435/.482 (.917) with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 5 BB, 5 K. OF Jayson Bass - DSL Twins - 22-63, .349/.447/.429 (.876) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 11 BB, 14 K. THE TOP FIVE HITTERS Number 5 - Cedar Rapids Kernels - IF Tanner Schobel - 30-93, .323/.400/.613 (1.013), 2 doubles, 2 triples, 7 home runs, 11 BB, 16 K. Last July, the Twins made Tanner Schobel their second round draft pick out of Virginia Tech. In his junior season, he played in 59 games and hit .362/.445/.689 (1.134) with 18 doubles, 19 homers, and 74 RBI as the team’s shortstop. In his minor-league career, he has split his time between second base and third base. This year, he’s playing a little over 60% of his innings at the hot corner. Schobel has primarily batted out of the leadoff spot for the Kernels and has been able to provide early power for his offense. He had eight multi-hit games including three, three-hit games and one four-hit game. He ended the month on a nine-game hitting streak and had a stretch where he had five home runs in five games. For the season, the 22-year-old is now hitting .285/.362/.469 (.832) with seven doubles, four triples, and 11 home runs. He also has been successful on nine of ten stolen base attempts. Number 4 - St. Paul Saints - OF Matt Wallner - 31-97, .320/.432/.588 (1.020), 9 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 13 BB, 28 K. I’m not sure if Twins fans are aware of this, but Matt Wallner has been pretty good at hitting baseballs in June. He ended May with a handful of games in the big leagues. He went 7-for-11, including 6-for-6 with two walks and a homer in his final two games. However, he was optioned to St. Paul. Did he mope? Nope! Instead, he continued to mash. He hit for average, took his walks, struck out less than he has in the past, and still provided power near the top of the lineup. He returned to the Saints and had a double, triple and home run in his first game. He had eight hits over his first three games back. The Forest Lake native had 11 multi-hit games including three-hit games in the final two games of June. Ultimately, it’s just a matter of time before Wallner again finds himself in the Target Field outfield. Number 3 - Wichita Wind Surge - OF DaShawn Keirsey, Jr - 31-87, .356/.414/.609 (1.023), 3 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 9 BB, 15 K. Keirsey is one of the more athletic and toolsy players in the Twins organization. He is the fastest player in the system. Along with the above stats, the former fourth-round draft pick from the University of Utah, went 7-for-7 on stolen base attempts last month. He can hit for average. He showed in June his power potential. He can hit at the top of the order and play an elite level of defense in center field. The key for Keirsey is being on the field. He stayed healthy in 2022, and he has remained healthy this season. In 66 games, he has hit .317/.368/.490 (.858) with 12 doubles, three triples, and nine home runs. He also has been successful on 26 of 30 steal attempts. He’s more than ready to move up to St. Paul. Number 2 - St. Paul Saints - OF Andrew Stevenson - 36-91, .396/.466/.659 (1.125), 6 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs, 10 BB, 16 K. The Twins signed Stevenson to a minor-league contract in early March. He had spent his entire professional career with the Washington Nationals. They selected him in the second round in 2015. He made his big-league debut two years later. In total, he hit .248 over 248 games with the Nationals between 2017 and 2021. He spent the full 2022 season at Triple-A Rochester. The Twins decided that they needed a left-handed hitting outfielder to play in St. Paul and added him. Stevenson has become the team’s primary leadoff hitter and did it all in June. He hits for average, takes his walks, and has extra base power. In 65 games this year, he is hitting .321/.396/.502 (.898) with 14 doubles, five triples, and seven home runs. He also has 28 steals in 31 attempts. And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: St. Paul Saints- C/1B Chris Williams - 25-71, .352/.478/.789 (1.267), 1 double, 10 home runs, 17 BB, 26 K. If you’ve been paying attention to the Twins Minor League Reports here at Twins Daily in July, this choice for Hitter of the Month will come as no surprise to you. Many will point you to his three-homer game on June 13th in Louisville. However, by that time, he had hits in all nine games that he played during the month. He already had two homers, and he already had two, four-RBI games. But that Tuesday night game in Louisville was special. He hit three homers and drove in seven runs. The Saints played an afternoon game the next day, and he hit two more homers and drove in four runs. On Thursday, he added one more homer. He didn’t need doubles and triples in June. he just hit the ball well beyond the fencing in the outfield and got to jog around the bases. The 26-year-old former eighth-round pick out of Clemson led the Twins minor leagues in Home Runs, RBI, On-Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage, OPS. He was also third in batting average and walks. Overall, in 52 games, he has hit .286/.401/.600 (1.001) with eight doubles, a triples, and 15 home runs. He had mostly played at first base, but he has started six games behind the plate, and he’s done some DHing too. If the Twins have a need for a first baseman or DH, or even a second (or third) catcher, Williams has put himself into serious consideration for a call up. He’s earned it. Now it’s just about getting an opportunity. We want to congratulate Saints catcher and first baseman Chris Williams, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for June 2023. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions. View full article

The Twins won. The Saints offense continues to dominate. CJ Culpepper and Jack Noble made their first starts for new teams. Three-hit games. Extra-inning homers. Quality Starts. Another strong day in the Twins minor leagues. Proceed. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Yunior Severino) and Steve Buhr, Twins Daily (photo of Ben Ross) First things first... a quick shout out to the social media teams of the St. Paul Saints and Wichita Wind Surge. They do a great job of posting video tweets of highlights from their teams shortly after they happen. They allow those who don't have MILB dot TV to see video of the prospects. And, we definitely like to share those tweets here. So, Thank You Saints and Surge Social Media teams!! The Twins got an incredible start from Bailey Ober and a home run from Joey Gallo and picked up their second straight win in Baltimore. A quick look at the Twins bullpen shows that they have decided that relying on their pitching development and pipeline for outs late in games is what they need to do. On Saturday, it was Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran, two home-grown arms, that maintained Ober's shutout. They stood by Jovani Moran, a seventh-round pick in 2015 from Puerto Rico, this spring. And they have started using Jordan Balazovic in some big moments. Brent Headrick has been used in long relief. Cole Sands is on as rehab assignment. And Josh Winder has had a couple of solid outings since he has been back. Here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Saturday. St. Paul Saints: 47-31 Wichita Wind Surge: 32-40 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 45-28 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 37-36 FCL Twins: 10-10 DSL Twins: 6-14 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS LHP Josh Mitchell began his rehab assignment with the FCL Twins on Saturday. Since the Twins selected him in the minor-league Rule 5 draft in December 2020, he has needed to have Tommy John surgery twice. The southpaw was touching triple digits at times when healthy, so we certainly wish him the best in his return. RHP Miguelangel Boadas was activated from the Injured List for Fort Myers. In less than encouraging news, Royce Lewis had to leave Saturday’s Twins game with an oblique strain. The team announced immediately after the game that he would need to be placed on the Injured List. While nothing has been announced officially, Jose Miranda was removed from the Saints lineup on Saturday and presumably will join the Twins in Baltimore on Sunday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Gwinnett 6 Box Score When the Saints scored their fourth run of the sixth inning, they reached double digits in runs scored for the fourth consecutive game. Dallas Keuchel made his second Saints start, his first at CHS Field. A quick look at his line score shows that he threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked four and struck out three batters. He needed 25 pitches to get through the first inning and 23 pitches in the second inning. He was just a handful of pitches shy of the number he threw in his first Saints start. He had a quick third inning and finished the fourth inning with 75 pitches. He had a walk and then a strikeout in his 86th pitch of the day, and Toby Gardenhire came to take him out. More on Dallas Keuchel: The 35-year-old whose wife is on Seasons 2, 3 and 4 of Succession threw 32 sinkers and topped out at 88.0 mph. His average sinker was 86.9 mph. He threw 24 cutters. He hit 85.2 mph and averaged 84.0 mph on average. He threw 23 changeups, the fastest was at 80.9 mph and averaged 78.9 mph. He also threw seven sliders. In total, he got 33 swings and eight whiffs (24%). And just three balls were hit hard, each on the ground. Lefty Michael Boyle came on and got the final two outs of the fifth frame. Then Cole Sands came in and struck out five batters over two scoreless innings in his rehab outing. Connor Sadzeck came into a 10-0 game in the eighth inning. He gave up four runs on four hits (including two homers) and a walk. Kody Funderburk came on to get a strikeout to end the inning. He went out for the ninth and made it interesting. He gave up two runs on one hit and two walks. But, he was able to finish the game, with some help from the umpires. Now, let’s talk Hitters. The Saints got on the board with a Chris Williams sacrifice fly that scored Trevor Larnach. In the fifth frame, Anthony Prato and Elliot Soto hit back to back homers. Kyle Garlick and Larnach had back-to-back singles before Jair Camargo drove in the inning’s third run with a ground rule double. Chris Williams followed with a double of his own to drive in two more runs and give the Saints a 6-0 lead. The following inning, Gilberto Celestino singled in Prato. It was followed by a Garlick single that scored Soto. Finally, Larnach doubled high off the right-center field wall to score two more runs and put the Saints in double digits. Kyle Garlick went 3-for-5 with his sixth double. He made a rare start at first base. Trevor Larnach was also 3-for-5 with his fifth double and two RBI. Jair Camargo, on his 24th birthday, went 2-for-5 with his eighth and ninth doubles. Matt Wallner went 2-for-5. Elliot Soto went 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season. Anthony Prato went 2-for-3 with a walk, and his third homer with the Saints. Prato has been an incredible story this year. Finally healthy, he had a breakout in 2022 between Cedar Rapids and Wichita. He began the 2023 season with the Wind Surge and in 43 games, he hit .171 with five extra base hits and an OPS of .553. In fact, when he was promoted to the Saints, he was on an 0-for-22 stretch. In 17 games with the Saints, he has hit .362/.493/.638 (.1.131) with seven doubles, three homers, and 13 walks to just 11 strikeouts. He is also 5-for-5 in steal attempts. Finally, check out the center field defense from Gilberto Celestino. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, NW Arkansas 4 Box Score The Wind Surge fell behind 3-1 early, but a three-run fourth inning and two more runs in the fifth frame were enough to win their fourth straight game. Wichita got a little help throughout their lineup. The first eight batters in the lineup each had one hit. Yunior Severino got the scoring started in this game when he hit his 16th homer of the season in the bottom of the first inning. In the bottom of the fourth, Seth Gray walked with the bases loaded to score Aaron Sabato. Then Brooks Lee singled to score Jake Rucker and Alerick Soularie to give the Surge a 4-3 lead. An inning later, Aaron Sabato hit a two-run homer to push the lead to 6-3. Sabato’s home run was his fourth of the season. David Banuelos hit his third double, and Seth Gray drilled his second triple of the season. Jose Bravo made the start. He gave up three runs on four hits (two homers) over five innings. He struck out three and issued no walks. After Bravo gave up a leadoff single in the sixth, lefty Denny Bentley came on and gave up a single before getting two outs, one on a strikeout before Regi Grace came on with two runners on base. Grace got the final out with no further damage. In the seventh inning, Regi Grace struck out the side. In the eighth inning, he gave up a double, followed by a single. However, Grace picked the runner off at first and then struck out the next two batters to end the inning. Francis Peguero came on for the ninth inning. He gave up a leadoff single, but then got the next three batters out to record his first save. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 2 Box Score This game was certainly a pitcher’s duel. The Kernels scored one run in the first inning, and Peoria scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to send it to extra innings. As they continue to do, the Kernels found another way to win a ballgame. Ben Ross hit his 13th double of the season in the bottom of the first inning to score Tanner Schobel. Then he came to the plate to lead off the top of the 10th inning with Kala’i Rosario acting as the Manfred Man on second base. Ross drilled his 12th home run to drive in two runs. He went 2-for-5 in the game, but those two hits and six total bases and three runs batted in were pretty large. C.J. Culpepper made his first Midwest League start and was fantastic. The right-hander worked the first six innings. He gave up no runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out two batters. Mike Paredes came on and worked the final four innings. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits over four innings. He struck out four batters and didn’t issue a walk to improve to 4-1 on the season. It’s not that the Kernels offense didn’t show up. They had 11 hits and walked seven times in the game. Unfortunately, they went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. Andrew Cossetti went 3-for-5. Noah Miller went 2-for-4 with a walk. Tanner Schobel went 1-for-3 with two walks. Emmanuel Rodriguez went 0-for-1, but he walked four times as well. In addition to the walks, Rodriguez had a nice day in center field. With runners on first and third and nobody out in the bottom of the fifth, Jeremy Rivas hit a fly ball to center. Rodriguez made the catch and threw a strike to Cossetti to nail the runner at home. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Lakeland 6 Box Score The game started almost two hours late, but it was a good game after all. Down 6-0 during the seventh-inning stretch, the Mussels mounted a comeback but fell just short to take the loss. Jack Noble made his first start for Ft. Myers. In five innings, he gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits, two hit batters, and two walks. He had one strikeout. Danny Moreno came in and allowed an inherited runner to score and three runs of his own over the next two innings. Jackson Hicks walked two and struck out three over two hitless, scoreless innings. The Mussels had five hits in the game and walked five times. In fact, when they scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, they got a sacrifice fly before two runners scored on wild pitches. In the eighth, Francis Florentino singled in Danny De Andrade for the fourth run, but that was it for the game. With some recent injuries, the Twins have had to fill the Ft. Myers roster with some players from the independent leagues. Florentino went 1-for-3 in this game. He signed last week from the United Shores Professional Baseball League. Kamron Willman played second base. He’s already had a walkoff hit for the team. He signed out of the Pioneer League. And Carson McCusker , a former Brewers draft pick, signed this week from the Frontier League. He made his debut in the organization and was hitting fourth in this game. He went 1-for-4. The Twins are scouting players all over the country and beyond. Austin Martin led off and played left field. He went 0-for-5 in this contest. Kyle Schmidt went 2-for-4, and Rubel Cespedes walked twice. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 4, Red Sox 7 Box Score After playing two games on Friday at JetBlue, the Twins and Red Sox played their Saturday game on Bill Smith Field in the CenturyLink Sports Fields. John Klein started and gave up four runs on seven hits (including two homers) and two walks in 3 2/3 innings. Jeferson Lopez stranded two runners in the fourth, but then gave up three runs on two hits (including one homer) and two walks in the fifth inning. Josh Mitchell came on for his first rehab appearance. He gave up a hit but struck out two batters in a scoreless sixth inning. Pierce Banks struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning. Down 7-0 going into the final half inning (bottom of the seventh), catcher Daniel Pena ripped a grand slam. It was his third homer of the season. It was his second hit of the game. Andres Centeno walked twice. Bryan Acuna went 1-for-2 with a walk. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 3, DSL Angels 13 Box Score The Twins scored their three runs over the first three innings, and then it was all Angels who broke things open with a seven-run seventh inning. Yency De Jesus started and gave up four runs on six hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters. Jose Ojo got four outs without allowing a run. Jose Vasquez gave up eight runs on five hits and four walks over just 1 2/3 innings. He also hit two batters, had two balks, and threw a wild pitch. Jose Betancourt came on and worked the final 2 1/3 innings. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk. The Twins had nine hits and four walks, but they went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 stranded. Carlos Silva had a single and a walk. The Twins had four walks, one each from Denyerbe Gervis, Dameury Pena, Moises Lopez, and Junior Del Valle. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitters of the Day – Ben Ross (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, 2B(13), HR(12), R, 3 RBI Pitcher of the Day – CJ Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 71 pitches, 43 strikes (60.6%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. (Note - our next prospect rankings update will come after the draft.) #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-5, 2-RBI, K. #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-for-2, K (left game, oblique injury, will be ILd) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-1, 4 BB, K, 2 OF Assists. #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, K #11 - Austin Martin (Rehab Ft. Myers) - 0-for-5, K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, K, CS(8) #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, BB #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-for-3, BB, K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, HR(16), R, RBI, 2 K. SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Gwinnett @ St. Paul (2:07 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-5, 7.47 ERA) NW Arkansas @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (2-6, 6.17 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (3-0, 0.60 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (5:00 PM CST) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-2, 4.38 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

We go with the real rules, the Rookie designation. That is: 130 at bats for hitters and 50 innings for pitchers. And there there is a service time one too... maybe 45days or something. That's basically how relieves get past 'prospect' status

Very true... though if the 5th overall pick in the draft isn't either #1 or #2, that would be shocking.