Seth Stohs

Congratulations to the Cedar Rapids Kernels for officially earning another of their annual trips to the playoffs in the Midwest League. Beyond that, you'll want to see a strange innings for St. Paul, a comeback for Wichita, a big final-inning homer by a top 20 prospect in the DSL, and a five-hit game in the DSL. Read all about it in today's minor-league report. And Happy Blayne Enlow Day to those who celebrate. It was a full day in the Twins minor league system on Friday, but there were some really exciting games as well. It seems so early, but Cedar Rapids clinched another playoff spot and the Midwest League's first-half West Division title. The Saints needed extra innings but still crushed in Louisville, Likewise, the Wins Surge got some big hits late in the game. Fort Myers did not have a good game, but the FCL Twins had a strong showing and a top 20 prospect hit a pretty massive home run. And there was a five-hit game in the Dominican. Read all about it and more. Win-Loss Records St. Paul Saints: 39-27 Wichita Wind Surge: 26-34 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 36-25 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 32-29 FCL Twins: 5-4 DSL Twins: 2-7 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Following their game, the Twins announced that left Brent Headrick was being called up to the Twins. Josh Winder has been optioned to St. Paul. Cedar Rapids placed LHP Jordan Carr on the IL with left elbow inflammation. OF Willie Joe Garry was activated from the Cedar Rapids Injured List. RHP Ricky Mineo and C.J. Culpepper was activated from the Development List (which he was on for one day) . SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Louisville 3 (10 innings) Box Score Hard to imagine that this game was tied at 1-1 at the end of nine innings. However, the Saints scored seven runs in the top of the 10th to grab an “easy” extra-innings win. They are now 5-1 in extra-inning games. The Saints got on the scoreboard first with a Matt Wallner opposite field solo home run. And the Bats got their run in the fifth inning when Joey Votto was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Alright, let’s get to the good stuff, the top of the 10th inning. Elliot Soto began the inning as the Manfred Man. He advanced to third base on a ground out. Mark Contreras pinch-hit for the rehabbing Gilberto Celestino and drilled a triple which allowed Soto to walk in from third. Next, Trevor Larnach singled in Contreras. That was followed by a double by Jose Miranda. With runners on second and third, Matt Wallner was intentionally walked to load the bases. But that brought red-hot Chris Williams to the plate. He lined a single to left that drove in two more runs to make it 5-1 Saints. But that wasn’t it. With a new pitcher, Jair Camargo walked to reload the bases. Then Anthony Prato drove in two runs with a single to center. Then Soto singled to score Camargo and end the Saints scoring. They gave up two runs in the bottom of the 10th, but no worries. Kenta Maeda made another rehab start. He was charged with one run on two hits. In his 4 1/3 innings, he walked four and struck four batters out. Kody Funderburk got the next five outs, two on strikeouts. Austin Brice worked a scoreless inning. Patrick Murphy struck out two batters over the eighth and ninth innings. He recorded the Win and improved to 5-0 and has given up just one run over his past 21 2/3 innings. Alex Scherff gave up two runs (1 earned) in the 10th inning, but he also struck out three batters in his Triple-A debut. The Saints had 10 hits and eight walks in the game, but until the 10th inning, they struggled to score. Larnach and Prato went 2-for-5. Wallner was 1-2 with three walks and his eighth homer. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 8,Midland 5 Box Score This was really a back-and-forth game, but the Wind Surge scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to give them their margin of victory. The top of the Wichita lineup continued to produce. DaShawn Keirsey is now hitting .323 after going 2-for-5. Brooks Lee went 2-for-5 with his system-leading 23rd double. Yoyner Fajardo went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs, two in the ninth inning. David Festa made the start on the mound. He gave up four runs on six hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out seven batters. Hunter McMahon was fantastic. He got all eight batters he faced out, three on strikeouts. Francis Peguero gave up the game-tying run in the bottom of the eighth inning. With the lead, Regi Grace got the ninth inning and recorded his first Double-A save. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, South Bend 1 Box Score The Kernels got strong pitching from Marco Raya and Zebby Matthews, and just enough offense to win the game. Cedar Rapids has been a Twins affiliate since 2012, and every year they have made the playoffs. That streak will continue as the win clinched the first-half title for the Kernels. Congratulations to Brian Dinkelman, his staff and players. Raya made the start and again worked three innings. He gave up one run on two hits. He also struck out six batters without a walk. Coming off of his first bad appearance of the season, Matthews came in and tossed six shutout innings. He gave up five hits, struck out four and also did not walk a batter. He was credited with his first High-A Win. Down 1-0 going to the bottom of the fourth, Misael Urbina doubled to score Noah Miller and tie the game. Urbina then scored on a single by Jose Salas to give them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Noah Cardenas gave them a little insurance in the eighth inning when he singled to score Emmanuel Rodriguez for the team’s third run. Urbina led the way. He went 2-for-3 with his seventh and eighth doubles. Salas was also 2-for-3. Rodriguez walked and doubled in the game. Twins 2022 11th round pick Brandon Birdsell, who didn’t sign with the Twins, opting to spend another year at Texas Tech, took the loss in the game for the Cubs. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 1, Bradenton 6 Box Score The Mussels were unable to muster a run until they scored a single run in the top of the ninth inning, but that certainly wasn’t enough on this night. Fort Myers had just five hits in this game, and 2022 sixth-round pick Jorel Ortega had three of them, including his 22nd double. Rubel Cespedes added his ninth double of the seasons nd drove in the lone run. Jose Olivares gave up four runs on just two hits over 4 1/3 innings in the start. He was hurt by the four walks, but he also notched seven strikeouts. Danny Moreno came in to finish the fifth inning, but before he got two outs, he allowed an inherited runner and two more runs to score. Ricky Mineo returned to action and struck out two in a scoreless inning. Jackson Hicks finished with two scoreless innings. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 12, FCL Red Sox 11 (7 innings) Box Score Man, I heard this was a wild one! And to think, it only went seven innings. The Red Sox scored two in the second inning. They busted out for six in the fourth and three more in the fifth. After four innings, the Twins were down 8-3, but they scored four runs in the fifth, two in the sixth and three in the top of the seventh to take the lead. The hero? Jose Rodriguez hit a three-run homer to give the Twins the lead, and eventually the win. Let’s start with the good news, the offense. Anderson Nova went 2-for-2 with two walks and his first two doubles of the season. Jose Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a walk and his first home run of the year. Bryan Acuna went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Isaac Pena added a double. On the mound, Brayan Medina started. In 3 1/3 innings, he gave up seven runs (6 earned) on seven hits and two walks. He struck out one. Yon Landaeta got the final two outs of the fourth inning, but not before both of Medina’s runners scored and he gave up a run of his own. Cleiber Maldonado gave up three runs on three hits and a walk over 1 2/3 innings. Finally, Matt Gabbert came on and got the final for outs, three of them on strikeouts. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 12, DSL Brewers (1) 1 Box Score The Twins Dominican Complex team scored five in the first inning and then scored in six of the first seven innings to earn a lopsided win from the now 6-3 Brewers squad. The hitting star was infielder (DH in this game) Dameury Pena. He went 5-for-6 with two doubles and three RBI in the game. He is now hitting .467 (1.051) on the young season. Catcher Jesus Peraza went 3-for-5 with his first double of the season. Juan Hernandez went 2-for-5 with his first double as well. Ariel Castro led off and went 1-for-3 with a walk, a triple, three runs scored and two driven in. Miguel Cordero started and gave up just one hit over four scoreless innings. He walked four and struck out six batters. Joel Garcia gave up one run on three hits and two walks over three innings. He recorded the Win and struck out five batters. Juan Cota and Eider Machuca each struck out two batters in a scoreless inning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Zebby Matthews (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 5H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 71 pitches, 52 strikes. Hitter of the Day – Dameury Pena (DSL Twins) - 5-for-6, 2-2B(3), 2 R, 3 RBI, SB (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. #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B(23), R, RBI, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, BB, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(4), R. #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2 K #6 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 47 pitches, 31 strikes.. #8 - David Festa (Wichita) - 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 78 pitches, 51 strikes.. #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, 3 BB, K, 2 R, RBI #10 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 1-for-2, 2 R, SB(2). #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, RBI, CS #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, K #15 - Brent Headrick (Minnesota) - Called up to Twins after the game. #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 2-for-3, BB, HR(1), 2 R, 3 RBI. . SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Louisville (6:15 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (first AAA start) Wichita @ Midland (7:00 PM CST) - RHP Carlos Luna (1-3, 5.40 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (2-3, 4.11 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Ben Ethridge (0-3, 2.96 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (9:00AM CST) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Giants Orange (10:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games! View full article

I didn't feel like typing this again... so here is my tweet on the situation: And then after watching Gray's postgame interview:

Why would or should he do that? And last year, he got pulled early several times, but he was coming off an IL stint about 3 times and he admittedly wasn't ready when the season started. This year, as we knew, pitchers would have longer leashes. There have been several times for each of the starters that they let them go out for an extra inning.

I watched it thinking that if he listens back to it, he's going to really realize why Rocco took him out.

Umm... because he's so competitive, he absolutely would lie to his manager, and he's going to say that he's good to go. That's why I like Gray. Love the competitiveness. He gets it.

He worked through challenges pretty much every inning, as he acknowledges in this press conference. He had bases loaded an nobody out. Yes, he got out of it a couple of times and limited the damage, but he clearly wasn't on tonight. Love the competitiveness. Love the self-evaluation. Love that he wants to keep going. Love more that Rocco didn't back down. Gray is getting his innings in this year. He's got really nothing to complain about. This will - or at least should - be over by tomorrow.

Tony Wolters isn't on the 40-man roster either.

Olivar was back in the Mussels lineup last night.

He should.

Still evaluating how quickly he can start playing again before determining if they will reset his 20-day clock. It probably doesn't matter since he's not rehabbing to get to the Twins but instead, in time, to St. Paul... Injury was from a collision with the shortstop on a catch, so its not related to the elbow concerns... which are still a concern, of course.

Chris Williams is really good at hitting a ball a long way. The first baseman and the Saints have been an offensive juggernaut. And nice wins for the Wind Surge and Kernels too. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor leagues on Wednesday. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints The Twins completed their sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday afternoon. The St. Paul Saints continued to crush baseballs, especially first baseman Chris Williams. Wichita got a great start from a lefty from Minnesota. Cedar Rapids had another terrific start from a certain knuckleballer drafted in 2022. And, well, we won’t spend too much time talking about the Mighty Mussels game on Wednesday. And the Twins completed a trade with the Brewers while they were in town. STANDINGS St. Paul Saints: 38-26 Wichita Wind Surge: 25-33 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 34-25 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 31-28 FCL Twins: 3-4 DSL Twins: 1-6 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins optioned outfielder Trevor Larnach to St. Paul after the game on Wednesday afternoon. Presumably, he is making way for the return of Byron Buxton. In April, the Twins traded reliever Trevor Megill to the Brewers for a Player to be Named Later. On Wednesday, that player was named. The Twins received right-handed relief pitcher Taylor Floyd and assigned him to Double-A Wichita. He was that Brewers 10th-round pick out of Texas Tech. After a missed 2020 season, he spent most of 2021 at High-A Wisconsin before ending the season at Double-A Biloxi. Following the season, he went to the Arizona Fall League. He split the 2022 season pretty evenly between Wisconsin and Biloxi. This year, the 25-year-old has pitched in 23 2/3 innings over 15 appearances at Wisconsin. He has a 3.04 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He has 32 strikeouts to go with just seven walks. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 11, Louisville 3 Box Score On Tuesday night, the Saints scored 18 runs on 21 hits. On Wednesday morning, they played again and the offense continued. They had 11 runs on 13 hits and eight walks in this game. Speaking of positive things that continued from the night before… Chris Williams knocked three home runs on Tuesday night. In his first at-bat on Wednesday, he hit a two-run homer that gave the Saints a 3-0 lead. Then in the sixth inning, he hit another two-run homer. He now has 12 homers on the season (and five homers over the past two days!). In this game, he went 2-for-3 with two walks, two homers and four RBI. Jair Camargo also continues to play well. The catcher went 2-for-5 with fifth double and 10th home run and three RBI. Andrew Stevenson went 2-for-6 with his fourth homer. He also stole his 24th base. Alex De Goti had two hits. Anthony Prato went 2-for-4 with a walk, his third double and first Triple-A home run, a solo shot against former Twins reliever Alan Busenitz in the ninth inning. Gilberto Celestino continued his rehab as the team’s DH today. He went 1-for-5 with two RBI. Randy Dobnak got the start and pitched well. He gave up three runs in the bottom of the first inning, but they were all unearned. He went 5 1/3 innings and gave up nine hits and a walk, and he struck out seven batters. Kody Funderburk finished the sixth and the seventh innings. He got all five batters out, three of them on strikeouts. Austin Schulfer struck out four batters over the final two scoreless innings. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 8,Midland 1 Box Score The Wind Surge got a strong start and plenty of offense in a really well-played game. Aaron Rozek was the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month for May. He was tremendous in this game. The southpaw tossed six shutout innings and had five strikeouts. He gave up just one hit and one walk. Hunter McMahon and Alex Scherff each threw a scoreless inning. Jordan Brink gave up a solo homer in the ninth. Will Holland played centerfield. He went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, his third of the season. Brooks Lee had two doubles over his five at-bats and drove in two runs. Alerick Soularie went 2-for-3 with a walk. Aaron Sabato had two doubles on Tuesday night and another on Wednesday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, South Bend 2 Box Score Cory Lewis was great again in his second Kernels start. In this one, he gave up one run on two hits. He walked two and struck out nine batters. Over his two Kernels starters, he is 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA. In 10 innings, he’s given up one run on five hits. He has 17 strikeouts and just three walks. Alejandro Hidalgo gave up one hit over a scoreless innings. John Stankiewicz gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. Miguel Rodriguez was charged with an unearned run on one hit in the ninth inning. Fellow 2022 draft pick Andrew Cossetti was behind the plate again for the Lewis start. Not only did he catch another strong game, but he went 2-for-4 with his fourth double and second home runs since joining the Kernels. Emmanuel Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a walk. Ben Ross had the big hit of the game. In the fifth inning, he drilled a three-run homer. He now has 10 homers on the season. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Bradenton 18 Box Score Former Gophers pitcher J.P. Massey made the start for the Pirates Low-A affiliate on Wednesday afternoon. The 23-year-old was the Pirates’ seventh-round pick a year ago after four seasons with the Gophers. Coming into the game, he was 2-3 with a 2.84 ERA. In this one, he struggled with control. However, he worked five innings. He gave up four runs on four hits and four walks. He struck out five batters. He was certainly helped by some run support and is now 3-3 with an ERA at 3.28. This section was started with a paragraph on a prospect who isn’t in the Twins organization in large part because it was not a good game for Mussels pitchers. Miguelangel Boadas started and gave up six runs (4 earned) on five hits over three innings. He had four strikeouts and no walks. Front here, it didn’t get better. Gabriel Yanez gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in his inning. He had two strikeouts. Juan Mendez then went 1 1/3 innings. He gave up two runs on one hit and three walks. Johnathan Lavallee gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings. I think it’s fair to assume that if a team needs to have two position players pitch, the game didn’t go too well. Mikey Perez came in and was charged with three runs on four walks. He didn’t record any outs. Yohander Martinez came on and allowed two of three inherited runners to score, but he issued only one walk and recorded two strikeouts. The Mussels offense did well in the game, but we’re still going to talk about a Pirates prospect who had a big game for Bradenton on Wednesday afternoon. Termarr Johnson was the fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft out of high school in Atlanta. To say he had a big, breakout game is probably a huge understatement. He went 4-for-4 with two walks, two doubles, and a long home run. Coming into the game, Johnson was hitting .230/394/.349 (.743). After this game, he was hitting .254 and his OPS jumped to .824. Alright, now to the Mighty Mussels’ offense. Jorel Ortega went 2-for-6 with his 20th double and sixth home run .He drove in four runs. Frank Nigro went 2-for-3 with two walks and a double. Danny De Andrade went 1-for-3. He was hit by a pitch twice, and drilled his fourth home run of the season. The Mussels had 10 walks to go with nine hits in the game. Outfielders Alec Sayre and Luis Baez each walked twice, as did infielders-turned-pitchers Mikey Perez and Yohander Martinez. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Rozek (Wichita) - 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 83 pitches, 52 strikes. Hitter of the Day – Chris Williams (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 HR(12), 3 R, 4 RBI 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 (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2-2B(21), R, 2 RBI, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-for-2, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, BB, R, RBI. #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 1-for-3, BB, R, K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, K, 2-R #11 - Austin Martin (Rehab Ft. Myers) - hasn’t played since last Thursday. #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Louisville (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Cody Laweryson (2-1, 4.45 ERA) Wichita @ Midland (7:00 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (0-1, 10.38 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Christian MacLeod (1-0, 4.50 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 PM CST) - TBD FCL Braves @ FCL Twins (11:00AM CST) - TBD DSL Phillies Red @ DSL Twins (10:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! View full article

No full-season affiliates play on Mondays, but the Twins Complex league teams both started their second week of games on Monday. Find out how they did. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily The Twins lost their Wednesday afternoon conte St. Paul Saints: 36-26 Wichita Wind Surge: 23-33 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 32-25 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 30-27 FCL Twins: 3-3 DSL Twins: 0-6 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins optioned Kyle Garlick to the Saints. RHP Blayne Enlow and LHP Michael Boyle were promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. RHP Jose Bravo assigned to the Wind Surge from the Saints. The Wind Surge activated RHP Osiris German. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 2, FCL Pirates 9 Box Score Hosting the Pirates DSL squad, the Twins fell behind early. They gave up runs in five of the first innings and found themselves down 9-0 when they came to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Twins got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning when Jose Rodriguez drove in Omari Daniel with a sacrifice fly. They added another run the following inning when Daniel walked with the bases loaded to score Reynaldo Madrigal. Unfortunately, the Twins managed just three hits (all singles) and five walks in the game. Daniel Pena had a single and two walks. Lefty Cesar Lares started and was charged with seven runs (6 earned) on eight hits (2 homers), a hit batter, and a walk. He had four strikeouts in his 3 2/3 innings. Pierce Banks came on and gave up two runs on three hits and two walks over 2 1/3 innings. Finally, Juan Mercedes came on and struck out five batters over three shutout innings. He gave up one hit and walked one batter. The FCL Twins are now 3-3 on their season. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 0, DSL Mariners 8 Box Score The Twins Dominican Complex team also had a rough game on Monday. The game was quiet through the first two innings. Ledwin Taveras made the Monday start. Through the two scoreless innings, he had six strikeouts. He had two more strikeouts in the third inning. Unfortunately, in between them, the Mariners scored five runs. He struck out three batters in the fourth inning again, but he gave up two runs (1 earned) as well. So, yes, Taveras struck out 11 batters in four innings, but he was also charged with seven runs (6 earned) on six hits, three hit batters, and two walks. Eduardo Soriano gave up one run on two hits and a walk over three innings. He struck out four batters. Eider Machuca struck out four batters over the final two innings without giving up a run over a hit. The Twins managed just four hits, but they also walked six times in the game. Dameury Pena played second base and batted second. He went 2-for-4 in the game. Carlos Silva hit his second double of the young season, the lone extra base hit for the Twins in this game. Javier Roman walked twice. The DSL Twins fell to 0-6 with the loss. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Juan Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day – Daniel Pena (FCL Twins) - 1-for-2, 2 BB PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #10 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 0-for-4, #17 - Blayne Enlow (St. Paul) - promoted to St. Paul. #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-for-3, SF, RBI, 3 K TUEDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Louisville (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (3-4, 4.17 ERA) Wichita @ Midland (6:30 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (1-5, 6.55 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Mike Paredes (2-1, 2.49 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (2-3, 2.55 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (11:00AM CST) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Astros Orange (10:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Monday’s games, transactions... or just ask questions about the Twins minor-league system. View full article

Day 3 draft picks are never going to look exciting that day, but the Twins have really done a nice job with them. Consider Varland, Ober, Festa, Ohl, Nowlin, etc. Even Day 2 guys aren't terribly exciting since we really know so little about them. I don't worry too much about guys getting promoted from Low-A to High-A. Josh Winder went right from Low-A to AA. Pierson Ohl spent all of last season in Low-A, and after 8 games this year in Cedar Rapids, he was promoted to AA already. The key is getting them innings and having pitcher development personnel on the same page across the organization so that he can work on things regardless of where he's pitching.

But he is thin, and he has had a lot of minor arm issues in three years. So, he has been fragile. I think the plan makes a ton of sense.

"Pitch to Contact" got a bad name for some bad years... But in reality, Johan Santana was a pitch-to-contact guy too. He just had three pitches that he could command and they were also nasty that hitters weren't able to make contact with. Pitch to Contact with guys that don't have command of the zone isn't such a good thing.

Thursday was a busy day in the Twins organization. Not only were the two Complex Leagues, but the Saints were playing a doubleheader to make up for a postponed game in April. There were a couple of new level debuts on Thursday and another will take place on Friday in San Antonio. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of DaShawn Keirsey) Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Wichita placed C David Banuelos on the 7-Day IL. Ft. Myers placed OF Carlos Aguiar on the 7-Day IL. And Seth Gray appears to be in limbo… . SAINTS SENTINEL Game 1: St. Paul 3, Iowa 13 Box Score The Saints hosted a doubleheader at CHS Field on Thursday night. It was a makeup game from a ‘weathered-out’ game from early this season. The Iowa Cubs scored multiple runs in the first five innings, including a game-high four runs in the fourth inning and won this one in a laugher. Randy Dobnak took one for the team in this one. He was charged with nine runs (8 earned) on 11 hits, two walks, and a hit batter over three innings. Jose Bravo came on with two runners on in the fourth inning. He allowed both to score and then was charged with four more runs of his own over two innings. He gave up five hits (including two home runs), walked two and struck out three batters. Connor Sadzeck gave up a hit and walked two batters, but he provide the team with two scoreless innings. That was enough for a top pitching prospect like the Cubs’ Ben Brown, though the Saints batters certainly made him work. He gave up two runs on five hits and six walks in 4 ⅓ innings, though he recorded seven strikeouts. Edouard Julien had the other RBI for the Saints.. Jose Miranda seems to be getting some positive results the past few games. In this one, he went 2-for-3 with a walk and his third double (all this week). Matt Wallner added two hits as well. Jair Camargo continued his power streak. He went 2-for-4 with a solo homer. He now has nine on the season. He also drove in two of the team’s three runs. Game 2: St. Paul 7, Iowa 6 (8 innings) Box Score It was another rough start for Simeon Woods Richardson, but the Saints rallied, forced extra innings and won in a walkoff. Woods Richardson gave up single runs in the first three innings and then was charged with three more runs in the fourth inning when he left with the bases loaded, and all three runners scored with Austin Schulfer on the mound. So, in total, Woods Richardson gave up six runs on seven hits and four walks. He had three strikeouts. Schulfer came in and was credited with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and a walk in allowing the inherited runners to score. He struck out three batters. Oliver Ortega continues to impress. He struck out three batters over three scoreless, hitless innings which dropped his season ERA to just 1.50. In the second inning, Tony Wolters singled in Chris Williams to put the Saints on the board. The following inning, Mark Contreras took a bases-loaded walk. Wolters got the scoring started in a four-run fourth frame with his second home run. Elliot Soto scored when Andrew Stevenson stole his 21st base on a wild pitch. Next, Jose Miranda doubles in a run. Edouard Julien drove in Miranda with a sacrifice fly. Then in the eighth inning, with Alex De Goti on third base, Elliot Soto was at the plate. His bat was destroyed on an inside fastball, but the ball was placed in such a spot that the throw home was a little late. The Saints rejoiced. Andrew Stevenson went 3-for-4 with his 11th and 12th doubles. He also stole two bases. Tony Wolters went 3-for-4 including his second home run. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 10, San Antonio 3 Box Score The Wind Surge mounted a big, five-run second inning and kept adding on to hold off San Antonio. Oh, remember up above, our confusion on just where Seth Gray was on Thursday. Well, we don’t have any extra details, but we do know that he played for the Wind Surge in San Antonio. In fact, in the second inning, he got things going with an RBI single that scored Aaron Sabato for the game’s first run. DaShawn Keirsey then hit a ground-rule double that scored both Jake Rucker and Gray. After a pitching change, Brooks Lee drilled his 19th double of the season that drove in Will Holland and Keirsey. Keirsey is now hitting .306 on the season and showing more power than he has in the past. He's always been strong defensively, but is something he has really worked on. He said, "My focus has been more geared to my approach. I'm naturally aggressive in the box, so honing in on swinging at better pitches, along with some swing adjustments we've worked on over the last couple of years has produced some of those results." The Surge added a run in the fourth frame on Keirsey’s sixth home run of the season. They also added a single run in the sixth on a Yunior Severino double that scored Yoyner Fajardo. In the top of the seventh inning, Aaron Sabato hit an opposite-field homer, his first of the season. Later, Lee singled in two more runs to put double digits on the scoreboard for Wichita. Travis Adams made the start for Wichita. He went just 1 2/3 innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. He added two strikeouts, but he was already up to 47 pitches and more than 30 in the second inning alone. Michael Boyle came on and was perfect for 2 1/3 innings to record the win. Francis Peguero gave up a run over two innings. Regi Grace continues to impress with two more scoreless innings and three strikeouts. Jordan Brink struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth to end the game. Keirsey Jr ended the day going 3-for-6 with his 12th double and sixth homer. He also drove in three runs and scored two more. Keirsey has been leading off frequently of late. It's not new to him. "I led off most of my career at Utah, so it's something I'm familiar with. I've hit in a variety of spots in my professional career so far, but as far as comfort, no spot is more comfortable than another. Hitting is difficult anywhere in the lineup. Regardless of where I'm at (in the lineup), I focus on bringing the same mindset and approach at the plate." Lee went 2-for-5 with a walk but drove in four runs. Sabato went 2-for-3 with two walks and his first homer of the season. Rucker went 1-for-2 and walked three times. Gray went 2-for-5 and stole a base. Yes, for the Wind Surge. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Dayton 0 Box Score Cory Lewis made his first Kernels start since his promotion from Fort Myers this week. Let’s just say, it was successful. The 2022 draft pick tossed five shutout innings. He gave up just three hits, walked one and struck out eight batters. He threw 80 pitches and 56 of them were strikes. His catcher, Andrew Cossetti, said after the game that “Cory had the knuckleball working early, and when he can throw that for a strike, it makes all of his pitches better.” He continued, “He definitely didn’t let the moment get the best of him. He was calm and confident with all his pitches and was able to throw everything for a strike consistently.” Alejandro Hidalgo came out of the bullpen and threw three scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out six batters. Miguel Rodriguez struck out two batters in a one-hit ninth inning to hold the shutout. The Kernels offense provided an early lead and then added some late insurance runs. In the first inning, Emmanuel Rodriguez got the scoring going with a sacrifice fly that drove in Tanner Schobel. Ben Ross followed with a solo homer, his eight of the season. In the sixth inning, the Kernels got two more on a two-run blast off the bat of Andrew Cossetti. It marked his first home run in the Midwest League. Cossetti also singled in Misael Urbina with a single in the eighth inning, the final run of the night. The St. Joe’s alum went 2-for-4 with three RBI in the game and helped his pitching staff to a shutout. In between, Tanner Schobel hit his sixth home run of the year. The 2022 Competitive Balance pick led off and went 3-for-5 with his third triple and sixth homer. Six runs and three homers is obviously exciting, but the story of this game was Cory Lewis and his Midwest League debut. As Cossetti said, “I have to admit, I have a lot of fun catching him.” MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Clearwater 2 Box Score Speaking of great debuts, Miguelangel Boadas had a terrific first Florida State League start on Thursday. The 20-year-old right-hander from Venezuela went the first five innings. He was charged with one run on five hits. He only struck out one batter, but he didn’t issue any walks. He did hit a batter. Jarrett Whorff came on and gave up one run on three hits over three innings In reality, the solo home run allowed was the one hit that he would likely love to have back.. He also walked none, and he struck out four batters. Jackson Hicks struck out one in a perfect ninth inning. The Mussels got to face rehabbing lefty Bailey Falter for the first three innings in this game. They recorded just one hit and one walk off of him, but just two struck out. The hit came off the bat of a rehabbing Gilberto Celestino, a line-drive single to left. The other hit for the Mussels was from shortstop Danny DeAndrade. Fort Myers also had three walks. One was by Jorel Ortega who then stole his 17th base of the season. Austin Martin struck out in his first-inning at-bat. He batted second and played in left field as his rehab continues. However, with two outs in the top of the third, he made a catch and left the game due to injury. We’ll update as we find out more information. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 6, FCL Pirates 5 Box Score The Twins fell behind 4-1 after five innings and 5-2 after six innings. However, they scored two in the seventh and two more in the eighth inning to record a one-run, comeback win. However, let’s start on the mound. Brayan Medina, a 20-year-old right-hander from Venezuela acquired as the Player to be Named Later from the Padres in the Taylor Rogers trade, made the start for the Twins. He went the first four innings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk. He struck out four batters. Cleiber Maldonado came on and gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk. Pierce Banks got the final two outs of the sixth inning. Jacob Wosinski pitched the final three innings and did not allow any more runs. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out five batters. The 24-year-old righty stayed home and pitched two years at Grand Rapids (MI) Community College. In 2020, he worked in one game for Akron before the season was canceled. He had Tommy John surgery, so in 2021, he pitched in just five games. He returned for the 2022 season and pitched in 13 games. He spent the summer of 2022 and started this year with the Eastside Diamond Hoppers of the USPBL and signed with the Twins in late May. Wosinski is 6-8, about 220 pounds, and he throws his fastball into the mid-90s. Just-For-Fun Trivia: Can you name the recent Twins minor leaguer to play at Oakland University in Michigan. After five years in the Twins organization, said player is currently in the American Association. The hitters managed just five hits in this game. However, they also walked 11 times. Byron Chourio went 1-for-2 with three walks. Freddy Michel also walked three times, and Isaac Pena walked twice. Jose Rodriguez had the lone extra base hit, his first double of the season. Omari Daniel recorded his first professional hit, walked once and then stole two bases. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from the DOMINICAN DSL Twins 14, DSL Angels 16 Box Score The runs were plentiful at the Angels complex today in the Dominican. The Twins fell behind 13-3 through the first six innings. They scored five runs in the top of the seventh, but then the Angels scored three more runs in the bottom of the inning for a 16-8 score. The Twins added one in the eighth and almost came all the way back in the ninth with a five-run inning but fell just short. We will start with the positive, the offense. Outfielder Jayson Bass, who signed in February out of Mexico, went 3-for-4 with a walk, a triple, and three RBI. He also threw out a runner at home. Carlos Silva, the catcher who signed a seven-figure bonus in January, went 2-for-5 with a walk and three RBI. Ewing Matos went 2-for-4 with a walk. Second baseman Juan Zapata went 2-for-3 with two walks and his first double. Yilber Herrera, Ariel Castro, and Moises Lopez each walked twice. Alright… to the pitchers. Cristian Hernandez started and gave up four runs on six hits and a walk in three innings. He struck out six batters. Fabian Monsalve came in and gave up nine runs (7 earned) on six hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. Jose Ojo came in to get the final out of the sixth inning, but not before hitting one, walking two, and throwing three wild pitches allowing both inherited runners to score. Jose Betancourt gave up three runs on one hit, one hit batter, and five walks in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters. Junior Del Valle got the final out. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Cory Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K. Hitter of the Day – Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 3B(3), HR(6), 2 R, RBI, 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 (Wichita) - 2-for-5, BB, 2B (19), 4 RBI, BB, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 2 K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, RBI, SF #4 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - Game 1: 1-for-3, BB, RBI, K, E; Game 2: 0-for-2, BB, RBI, K #7 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 3 1/3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 92 pitches, 49 strikes. #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - Game 1: 2-for-4, 2 K; Game 2: 0-for-3, BB #10 - Yasser Mercedes (EST) - 0-for-4, RBI, 2 K. #11 - Austin Martin (Rehab Ft. Myers) - 0-for-1, K, played left field, injured in the third inning. #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4. #18 - Jose Rodriguez (EST) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(1), RBI, K, #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-for-5, BB, 2B(9), RBI, 2 K FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (3-1, 4.54 ERA) Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CST) - Pierson Ohl (1st Double-A game) Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya (0-0, 2.61 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Andrew Morris (1-1, 5.28 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (11:00AM CST) - TBD DSL Mets Blue @ DSL Twins (10:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! View full article

Sanchez isn't on the 40-man roster.

I get the up-the-middle thing, but I think playing 3B is so much more difficult than 2B. I do think Royce should continue to play some SS in case Correa is out for an extended period in the coming years. But with Correa at short... more depends on where Lee is more comfortable playing (2B or 3B)... and Polanco's status moving forward.

Fair enough, but we are talking about Royce Lewis, so yes, people are excited about it, and it's a fair article because Lewis is a top prospect, he is moving to 3B because of Correa. There are several interesting factors involved too (and discussed). There's no way to tell what the future holds. Will he stay healthy and keep producing? What are the hopes and plans for Miranda, etc.

He was moved up and has now made a start in Cedar Rapids. We need to not worry about age since the goal is to get guys ready to play in the big leagues and be ready when they get there. Yeah, age-to-level of competition is important in prospect rankings

I was going to say... he's a pretty solid defensive outfielder with more speed than you'd think. Not a Gold Glove type, but he can make the plays, and his arm... well, his arm is incredible. I'm not sure "Hit for Average" will happen without cutting down the strikeouts, but we'll see.