Seth Stohs

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.

The June schedule is now complete. It is hard to believe that three months of the season are already complete. The draft is just over a week away, and there are just a little over two months to go. The Saints reached double digits again. Big innings really helped both Wichita and Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints The Twins offense showed up in Baltimore, ending a three-game losing streak. The Saints used another double-digit run scoring game with an interesting pitching performance. Wichita had a big first inning and held on for another win. Cedar Rapids just continues to find ways to win games, and they did so again on Friday. Things didn't go well for the Mussels, particularly their starting pitcher, but a rehabbing prospect had a strong game. The FCL Twins split a game at JetBlue Park, and the DSL Twins used a strong start and some power to win. It was a good day in the organization. Keep reading to find out more specifics, and please feel free to fill up the Comments section with questions for me. I'll be happy to answer as many as I can. Here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Friday. St. Paul Saints: 46-31 Wichita Wind Surge: 31-40 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 44-28 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 37-35 FCL Twins: 10-9 DSL Twins: 6-13 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins sent LHP Zach Neff to a rehab in the FCL on Saturday. Catcher Duncan Hewitt was assigned to the FCL Twins. OF Carson McCusker was assigned to the Mighty Mussels. LHP Denny Bentley was activated from the Wichita injured list. RHP Alex Phillips was released by the Twins. . SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Gwinnett 3 Box Score The Saints scored early, and then the game went quiet, but then they added six runs in the sixth inning and later to have an easy win. But let’s start with Blayne Enlow. The right-hander tossed five innings of no-hit, no-run ball. He struck out three batters. The only negative was that he walked five batters. Just 44 of his 85 pitches went for strikes. It was his second straight solid outing following his rough Triple-A debut. Aaron Sanchez came on and gave up two runs on three hits and four walks over three innings. He struck out three. Finally Cody Laweryson gave up a solo homer in the ninth inning. It will likely surprise no one that Matt Wallner led the offense. He went 3-for-5 with his 19th double and third triple. Jair Camargo went 3-for-4 with his seventh double. Kyle Garlick went 2-for-4 with a walk and his fifth double. Anthony Prato had two singles. Gilberto Celestino went 1-for-2 with three walks. Andrew Stevenson had one hit and one walk. He also stole his 27th and 28th bases. The top eight hitters in the Saints lineup had at least one hit. Six different players drove in runs. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, NW Arkansas 4 Box Score The Wind Surge scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and really held on from there. The lead was cut to 4-3 in the fifth. Wichita added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning which proved necessary because NW Arkansas scored one in the top of the ninth. In the first inning, Patrick Winkel singled to center to drive in Brooks Lee. Soon after, Aaron Sabato singled in Winkel. Seth Gray singled in Sabato eventually. Yoyner Fajardo scored the fourth run courtesy of a passed ball. No one had a huge game, but the Wind Surge got contributions from almost everyone. In the bottom of the eighth frame, Yunior Severino singled to center to drive in DaShawn Keirsey with what proved to be a very important run. The top seven batters had at least one hit. Fajardo went 2-for-4, the only multi-hit game for Wichita. Brooks Lee hit his 25th double, and that was the team’s lone extra base hit. No surprise. Keirsey stole his 26th base, and Fajardo stole his 22nd bag of the year. On the mound, it was Carlos Luna who made the start. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters. Alex Scherff came on with the bases loaded and allowed two inherited runners to score before getting the third out of the fifth inning. He worked a scoreless sixth inning. Taylor Floyd struck out three batters over 1 2/3 one-hit innings. Jordan Brink got the final out of the eighth inning. He gave up a solo homer in the ninth, but that was it, and he recorded his fifth save of the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 1 Box Score Marco Raya gave up an unearned run on four hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings. He had four strikeouts. 35 of his 53 pitches were strikeouts. Kyle Jones came on and left two runners stranded to get out of the third inning. He went five more innings as well. Combined, he tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out five batters. Malik Barrington gave up two hits but no runs in the ninth inning to record his first save of the season. The Kernels only had five hits and three walks in the game. But it was just enough. In the top of the seventh inning, Jorel Ortega singled to score Tanner Schobel with the game-tying run. Next up was Noah Miller who singled to right that scored Ben Ross with the go-ahead, and eventually winning run. The Kernels had no extra base hits. No one had more than one hit. The only player to reach twice was Noah Cardenas with two walks. But as they have done all year, the Kernels just found another way to win a game. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Lakeland 7 Box Score Fair to say that Develson Aria’s 2023 season has been rather inconsistent. He’s either been really good and looked almost dominant, or he has had a forgettable performance. This game fits into the latter category. The southpaw faced six batters. He gave up a single and five walks. Four eventually came around to score. Without getting an out, he threw 31 pitches and just 10 of them were strikes. Jarret Whorff came on and completed four innings. He was charged with an unearned run on one hit and one walk. He struck out four batters. Wilker Reyes gave up one run on four hits over 2 1/3 innings. He struck out five batters. Zach Veen gave up a run on a hit and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Johnathan Lavallee gave up two hits over 1 1/3 scoreless innings, though an inherited runner scored. Austin Martin’s rehab continued. He batted second and DHd in this game. He went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and he stole a base. Ricardo Olivar led off. He went 1-for-3 with two walks and his 10th double. Kamron Willman had the other hit and drove in the other run. Maddux Houghton walked twice and stole his 10th base. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA Game 1: FCL Twins 6, Red Sox 1 Box Score In the first game of this doubleheader, the Red Sox were the home team. The Twins scored five runs in the second inning and that was all they really needed thanks to some really strong pitching. And that’s where we will start. Brayan Medina gave up only an unearned run on three hits over the first six innings. He struck out three and didn’t hurt himself with any walks. He did hit one batter. Zach Neff came on and worked a perfect inning including one strikeout. In that second frame, Andres Centeno started the scoring with his second homer of the season. Omari Daniel drove in Bryan Acuna and Anderson Nova on a bases-loaded ground-rule double. Isaac Pena grounded out to shortstop, but both Frank Nigro and Daniel scored on an error. Pena grounded out to third base in the sixth inning to drive in the team’s sixth run. Nova was the lone Twins batter with multiple hits. He was 2-for-3 and hit his third double. Game 2: FCL Twins 2, Red Sox 8 Box Score Despite the second game also being played at JetBlue Park, the Twins were the home team. They actually took a 1-0 lead after one, but then the Sox scored six runs in the second and that was about it. Matt Gabbert made the start. He was charged with those six, second-inning runs. He completed four innings and gave up ‘just’ those six runs on 11 hits and a walk. He struck out four batters. Cleiber Maldonado came on and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in two innings. Yon Landaeta struck out two batters in a scoreless seventh frame. The Twins managed just two hits in the second game. Andres Centeno had a single and a walk. Jankel Ortiz had a single and a walk and scored one of the two runs. Nova had two walks, and he had an outfield assist. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 10, DSL Yankees 7 Box Score The Twins jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first. They increased that lead to 8-0 with a four-run fourth. The Yankees tried to come back, but the Twins added single runs in the eighth and the ninth innings. After a sacrifice fly by Jayson Bass scored Ariel Castro with the game’s first run, Carlos Silva singled to score Dameury Pena. Moises Lopez then launched his first home run of the season to give them a 4-0 lead. In the fourth frame, it was Castro who doubled to score Juan Hernandez and Angel Trinidad. Yilber Herrera then hit his first homer, another two-run shot. Miguel Cordero earned his first Win of the season with five solid innings. He gave up two runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out five batters. Juan Cota came on and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Joel Garcia came in and went the final 2 1/3 innings. He gave up two runs on two solo homers. He had five strikeouts. Herrera went 2-for-3 with the homer and two RBI. Dameury Pena went 2-for-4 with a walk. In addition to his home run, Lopez also walked twice. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitters of the Day – Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 3-for-5, 2B(19), 3B(3), 3 R, 2 RBI, K. Co-Pitcher of the Day – Blayne Enlow (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 3 K, 85 pitches, 44 strikes (62.5%). Co-Pitcher of the Day – Kyle Jones (Cedar Rapids) - 5 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 64 pitches, 40 strikes (62.5%). Co-Pitcher of the Day – Brayan Medina (FCL Twins) - 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 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.) #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(25), BB, K. #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 3-for-5, RBI, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K. #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-for-2, 2 K #6 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 53 pitches, 35 strikes (66.0%) #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 3-for-5, 2B(19), 3B(3), 3 R, 2 RBI, K. #11 - Austin Martin (Rehab Ft. Myers) - 3-for-5, RBI, SB(1) #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, K, SB(14), CS(7) #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, RBI, 3 K #14 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 9 pitches, 6 strikes (66.7%). #17 - Blayne Enlow (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 3 K, 85 pitches, 44 strikes (51.8%) #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-for-6, R, BB, 5 K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K. SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Gwinnett @ St. Paul (6:07 PM CST) - LHP Dallas Keuchel (0-0, 2.25 ERA) NW Arkansas @ Wichita (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Jose Bravo (2-3, 6.46 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (first MWL start) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (5:00 PM CST) - RHP Jack Noble (first FSL start) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (9:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Angels @ DSL Twins (10:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

This is great. Thank you for sharing your experience... and some photos!

The Twins were shutout by the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday afternoon and scored just three runs in the three-game series. The Twins full-season minor-league affiliates got one extra day off this week, and when they returned on Wednesday, all three teams scored at least a dozen runs. There were great performances for all three teams, and Jair Camargo had his biggest hit of the season. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photos of Jair Camargo) While the Minnesota Twins offense completely sputtered in Atlanta this week, their three minor-league affiliates that returned to action on Wednesday all scored at least a dozen runs. Like the big-league schedule, the minor league affiliates are now in their second halves. So, they got an extra day, but it's really not that simple. It was an extra day off, but instead of playing Tuesday through Sunday this week, the series will be played Wednesday through Monday. They won't get a day off at all next week as they will all play on Tuesday, July 4th. So again, the big-league club has been struggling, but thankfully we've got the minor leagues to talk about too... and I'm sure you're enjoying the great 2023 MLB Draft coverage that @Jeremy Nygaard and @Jamie Cameron have been providing. Finally, before we get started, if you missed yesterday's First-Half Awards article, click here to see who we voted the top hitter, starting pitcher, and relief pitcher in the Twins minor leagues in the first half. And if you missed the interview with DaShawn Keirsey, Jr, click here. Here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Wednesday. St. Paul Saints: 44-31 Wichita Wind Surge: 29-40 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 42-27 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 36-34 FCL Twins: 9-7 DSL Twins: 5-12 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins had RHP Cole Sands begin his rehab assignment with the Saints. RHP Ronny Henriquez was also activated from the 7-Day IL and back in the Saints bullpen. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 12, Gwinnett 9 Box Score It wasn’t a great game for the Saints as they began their season’s second half, but in the end, it couldn’t have ended any better. Louie Varland was the Saints starter in a matinee game at CHS Field. It would be fair to say that it didn’t go really well. The St. Paul native was charged with six runs on six hits (including two homers) and five walks. He had four strikeouts. Just 52 of his 95 pitches were strikes (54.7%). However, when he left the game, the Saints were ahead 8-6 that’s to a five-run third inning. Left Michael Boyle came on and got four outs. Then Cole Sands tossed a perfect inning. Patrick Murphy came on and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in the eighth inning and suddenly the Saints were down 9-8. Fortunately, Kody Funderburk struck out two batters in the top of the ninth inning to set things up. But let's go back to the beginning. The Saints took the early lead when Jose Miranda crushed his third Saints home run. However, in the top of the second, Gwinnett scored four runs. But the Saints came back with two in the bottom of the season thanks to a single from Anthony Prato and a fielder’s choice off the bat of Elliot Soto. In the top of the third, Braden Shewmake hit a solo homer to make it 5-3. The Saints responded with a five-run third inning. The scoring started with a bases-loaded walk by Chris Williams. Jair Camargo then drove a two-run single. Prato drove in Williams with a force out before Soto singled in Prato to give the Saints the 8-5 lead. Alright, let’s jump back to the ninth inning. Matt Wallner led off with a groundout. Kyle Garlick singled, but Gilberto Celestino grounded out for the inning’s second out. However, Trevor Larnach and Andrew Bechtold walked to load the bases and bring up Camargo. On the first pitch, Camargo crushed his third grand slam of the season to give the Saints a 12-9, walkoff win. The ball left his bat at 109.6 mph and traveled 442 feet. Jair Camargo went 2-for-5 in the game and drove in six big runs. The home run was his 12th of the season. Kyle Garlick and Gilberto Celestino both went 2-5 as well. Trevor Larnach was 0-for-2 but walked three times. Chris Williams was 1-for-2 and walked twice. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 15, NW Arkansas 8 Box Score An extra day off at home was maybe just what the Wind Surge needed as their offense broke out in this one, scoring 15 runs with 18 hits. All nine Wichita batters had at least one hit. Seven of the nine had two hits in the game, and Brooks Lee led the way with three hits and a walk in the game. The team scored in five of the first six innings, but it was an eight-run fifth inning that broke it open. David Festa made the start and was charged three runs on five hits over four innings. He had four strikeouts. Francis Peguero tossed a scoreless fifth inning. Regi Grace gave up three runs on three hits (including two homers) and a walk in 2 1/3 innings. Alex Phillips gave up two runs on five hits, but he got the final five outs. The game time temperature in Wichita was 102 degrees, and there was a 15 mph wind blowing out to left field. The Wind Surge bats were hot, in at least some part due to the wind. Lee went 3-for-4 with a walk and his 24th double. He hit his sixth home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning. Alex Isola went 2-for-5 with his 12th double. Aaron Sabato hit his eighth double and his first triple. DaShawn Keirsey went 2-for-4. Will Holland hit his sixth and seventh doubles and walked. He also stole two bases to give him a dozen on the year. Yoyner Fajardo went 2-for-4 and stole his 21st bag of the season. David Banuelos batted ninth and went 2-for-4 with a walk and his sixth home run since joining the Wind Surge. Yunior Severino drilled his 14th and 15th home runs of the season and drove in four runs. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Peoria The Kernels traveled to Peoria to start a new series. However, due to poor air quality, the game was postponed. It will be made up on Thursday as part of a doubleheader, starting at 5:00. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 16, Lakeland 2 Box Score Apparently the extra day off was just what all three of the Twins full-season affiliates that played on Wednesday needed. St. Paul scored 12 runs. Wichita scored 15 runs, and Fort Myers was on top of the leaderboard with 16 runs scored. As an aside, you may have heard that the Twins offense was shutout on Wednesday in Atlanta. Maybe they all need a two-day break! Anyway, this is the minor-league report. Let’s keep it positive. Back to the Mighty Mussels… you might be surprised to learn that the score of this game was 2-2 going into the bottom of the sixth. That’s when Fort Myers put up an 11-spot in that inning. Gregory Duran has only been up with the Mussels for three weeks. He had a breakout game on Wednesday. He went 3-for-3 with two walks, his fourth double, and his second home run. He scored four runs and drove in five runs. He batted eighth for Fort Myers in this game. The nine hitter, Maddux Houghton, went 4-for-5 with his second double and third triple. He scored twice and knocked in four runs. That is some pretty strong offensive performance from the bottom of the lineup. They were helped because sixth hitter, Kyle Schmidt, went 1-for-3 and walked twice and scored twice. Seven hitting, Dylan Neuse, went 1-for-2 with two walks and three runs scored. Ricardo Olivar was leading off. He went 2-for-4 with a walk and his ninth double. Danny De Andrade batted second and went 2-for-6 with his ninth double and his sixth home run. He drove in four runs and scored twice. Andrew Morris made the start for Fort Myers. He was charged with one run on three hits in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Unfortunately, a nearly two hour rain delay ended his outing. Samuel Perez improved to 4-1 thanks to tossing 3 1/3 innings in which he gave up only an unearned run on three hits. The soft-tosser struck out five batters and issued no walks. Danny Moreno threw two scoreless innings and Johnathan Lavallee struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Samuel Perez (Fort Myers) - 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Hitters of the Day – Gregory Duran (Fort Myers) - 3-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(4), HR(2), 4 R, 5 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) - 3-for-4, BB, 2B(24), HR(6), 2 R, 4 RBI. #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 3 K #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-for-1 #8 - David Festa (Wichita) - 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 69 pitches, 47 strikes. #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R, K. #14 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 18 pitches, 12 strikes. #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2-HR(15), 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 K. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Gwinnett (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (3-3, 5.02 ERA) vs RHP Dereck Rodriguez NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (0-2, 6.61 ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (DH starting at 5:00 PM CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (2-4, 5.15 ERA), TBD Lakeland @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Ben Ethridge (0-4, 2.97 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Giants Black @ 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

More background on the voting... Regarding the Starting Pitchers, Cory Lewis was the #1 choice for 6 of the 7 voters. Didn't show up in the top four of the other voter. Raya got the other #1 vote. On the reliever side, Grace received four first-place votes. The other first-place votes went to Murphy, John Stankiewicz and Miguel Rodriguez. Looking at Murphy's numbers... too many walks, but lots of Ks. Might need a shot, like Stewart got.

Just FYI - From a point perspective, Brooks Lee would have been next on the list (6th). Of the 7 "ballots," he only appeared on one. Yunior Severino was next. Keirsey and Cespedes after that. Williams was first on 3 ballots, and second on 3 more. Wallner, Cossetti, Rosario and Lee each had one first place vote.

Heading into Wednesday afternoon's game in Atlanta, the Twins have played 81 games. Officially, the season is now in its second half. So are the minor league teams. Today we’ll discuss who the top hitters and pitchers have been in the Twins minor leagues in the first half. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photos of Regi Grace, Chris Williams, Cory Lewis) The All-Star festivities are still over a week from now. David Festa will represent the Twins organization in Seattle for the Futures Game. Three of four Twins affiliates are over .500 at this point. Cedar Rapids won the Midwest League West Division first half title and earned a playoff berth. Several prospects have taken a step back, due to performance or injury. Others have had a breakout seasons so far. There have been MLB debuts. The Twins have signed several players to minor league deals, and there have been a lot of releases. The Florida State League and Dominican Summer League Twins have introduced us to more prospects to get to know. The 2023 draft is about 10 days away, and we will get to know another 15-21 players. But what we want to do here today is acknowledge some of the top performers through half of the season (full-season affiliates). At the end of the year, we will again announce our Minor League Hitter, Starting Pitcher, Relief Pitcher of the Year and name our Twins minor league All Stars. The players written about below are halfway there, but will they be the same candidates for the year-end awards? It certainly is possible, or more players may emerge in the second half. Let’s get to it. Seven Twins Daily minor-league writers voted on these first half awards. Each ranked their top 5 hitters, top 4 starting pitchers, and top 3 relief pitchers. Votes were tallied and below are the results. Top First Half Relief Pitcher Regi Grace, RP, 23 Cedar Rapids Kernels/Wichita Wind Surge 23 G, 32 2/3 IP, 2-2, 6 Saves, 1.38 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, 11.0 K/9 The Twins drafted Regi Grace in the 10th round of the 2018 draft out of high school in Mississippi. Grace has become a reminder to all of us that players and people develop at different paces. He spent 2018, 2019 and began 2021 in the Florida Complex League before ending that season with the Mussels. He was moved to the bullpen in 2022. He pitched in 56 2/3 innings over 33 games and posted a 4.45 ERA. He ended the season with three games in Cedar Rapids. In the first half of 2023, Grace has been the top minor league reliever. He began the season in Cedar Rapids and in 17 games and 23 1/3 innings. He had 2-2 went five saves. He had a 1.16 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. He walked five and struck out 30 batters. After a slow rise in his first five professional seasons, Grace was promoted to Double-A Wichita by mid-May. He has made six appearances and has a 1.93 ERA. He didn’t give up a run in his first five outings. #2: RHP Patrick Murphy, 28, St. Paul Saints: 24 G, 33 1/3 IP, 5-0, 1.62 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 5.7 BB/9, 11.1 K/9 #3: LHP Kody Funderburk, 26, Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints: 25 G, 34 2/3 IP, 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 4.4 BB/9, 13.5 K/9. Top First Half Starting Pitcher Cory Lewis, SP, 22 Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels/Cedar Rapids Kernels 12 GS, 54 1/3 IP, 7-3, 2.15 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 12.4 K/9 Just under a year ago, the Minnesota Twins made Cory Lewis their ninth-round draft pick out of UC-Santa Barbara. Over his two seasons in the Big West, he went 16-5 with ERAs of 3.38 ERA and 3.57. He became a popular draft prospect because of the fact that he throws a knuckleball as part of his regular pitch mix. After signing, he didn’t pitch in 2022. He began the 2023 season in Ft. Myers. He went 4-3 with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP over nine starts. In 39 1/3 innings, he gave up 26 hits, walked 15 and struck out 55 batters. He earned his promotion to Cedar Rapids where he has made three starts. He is 3-0 with a 0.60 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP over 15 innings. He has walked four and struck out 20 batters. #2: RHP Marco Raya, 20, Cedar Rapids Kernels: 10 GS, 31 IP, 0-1, 3.19 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 1.7 BB/9, 10.2 K/9. #3: RHP C.J. Culpepper , 21, Fort Myers Mussels: 11 GS, 46 1/3 IP, 4-3, 2.33 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 10.3 K/9. #4: RHP Blayne Enlow, 24, Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints: 13 G, 11 GS, 61 1/3 IP, 4-2, 4.11 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 10.9 K/9 #5: RHP Zebby Matthews, 23, Fort Myers Mussels/Cedar Rapids Kernels: 12 G, 10 GS, 55 IP, 4-2, 3.76 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 1.0 BB/9, 10.6 K/9 Top First Half Hitter Chris Williams, 1B, 26 St. Paul Saints 49 G, 200 PA, 48-for-168, .286/.392/.607 (.999) with seven doubles, a triple, 15 homers, 45 RBI. 29 BB, 65 K. When the Twins drafted Chris Williams out of Clemson in the eighth round of the 2018 draft, it was because 1.) he was a senior sign, and 2.) he had shown massive power in college, and 3.) despite shoulder issues, there was some thought that he could become a catcher. At Clemson, he hit 40 home runs n three seasons, including 32 homers over his final two seasons. After signing, he was sent to Elizabethton and was named the Twins Daily Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year. He split 2019 between Low-A Cedar Rapids and High-A Fort Myers. After the missed 2020 season, he began the 2021 season at High-A Cedar Rapids where he hit .100 over 17 games. He was moved up to Double-A Wichita where he started making much better contact because he was playing more. Williams really broke out last year. In 75 games at Wichita, he hit .277 with 16 doubles and 18 homers. He ended the season with 42 games at St. Paul and added five doubles and 10 home runs. In 117 total games, he hit .246/.343/.500 (.843) with 21 doubles, 28 homers, and 89 RBI. In April, he hit .229 with one homer. In May, he hit .241 with four homers. However, since the start of June, he has been amazing. He has played in 18 games and has at least one hit in 16 of them. He is hitting .364/.469/833 (1.302) with 10 homers. He hit three homers in a game on a Tuesday, then hit two more on Wednesday, and then another on that Thursday. He’s been on fire, and our voters have made him the top Twins minor league hitter in the first half. #2: OF Matt Wallner, 25, St. Paul Saints: 55 G, 247 PA, 60-for-203, .296/.413/.537 (.950) with 18 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, and 38 RBI. 32 BB, 75 K. #3: C/1B Andrew Cossetti, 23, Ft. Myers Mussels/Cedar Rapids Kernels: 53 G, 216 PA, 51-for-173, .295/.421/.555 (.976) with 16 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, and 40 RBI. 30 BB. 37 K. #4: OF Kala’i Rosario, 20, Cedar Rapids Kernels: 62 G, 273 PA, 64-for-229, .280/.396/.515 (.911) with 14 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, and 46 RBI. 41 BB. 71 K. #5: 2B Jorel Ortega, 22, Ft. Myers Mussels, Cedar Rapids Kernels: 65 G, 294 PA, 72-for-294, .289/.398/.494 (.892), with 24 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 44 RBI. 42 BB. 64 K. 17 SB. View full article

They've played Ross at SS ... three times. Probably pretty similar. I just like the small college thing and think that he's got more room to grow... and he's already good.

I’m sure some lengthy research project could be done to determine which Minnesota Twins minor leaguer is the most underrated. That sounds like a lot of work. So I’m just going to say it and let you debate it. DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., is the most underrated prospect in the Twins system. I chatted with him this week and discussed his season, his toolbox and more. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge Toward the end of his sophomore season at the University of Utah, DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., was standing in center field in a game against Arizona State. The batter crushed a ball to dead center. Keirsey turned and sprinted, eye on the ball trying to outrun it. He was so intent on catching the ball that he ran full speed into the wall. He went down, writhing in pain. An ambulance came onto the field. Keirsey was places on the stretcher and gave the crowd the thumbs up. He had dislocated his hip and needed surgery and a lot of rehab. Almost inexplicably, he was able to return in time for his junior season, and he hadn’t missed a beat. In 50 games, he hit .386/.440/.609 (1.049) with 23 doubles, five triples, and four home runs. There were likely still question marks, but in the fourth round of the 2018 draft, the Twins selected Keirsey (rhymes with jersey) and gave him an opportunity. That summer, he hit .301 at Elizabethton. In 2019, he got hurt a couple of times in Cedar Rapids and was limited to just 36 games. It was impossible to get any sort of routine going. After the lost 2020 season, Keirsey returned to the Kernels, though they were now the High-A affiliate. Again, injuries limited him to just 45 games. The Twins kept pushing the toolsy, athletic outfielder anyway. In 2022, he moved up another level, to the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge. He was able to stay healthy for most of the season, and he performed much better. In 121 games, he hit .271/.329/395 (.724) with 26 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs. Just as impressive, he stole 42 bases in 49 attempts. With so many outfielders, and specifically left-handed hitting outfielders between the Twins and the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, Keirsey returned to the Wind Surge in 2023. He could have been disappointed, or even moped. Instead, he continued the process and has really shown a lot of progress. Through 63 games this season, he is hitting .312/.367/.494 (.861) with 12 doubles, three triples, and he’s already got nine home runs. He has been successful in 24 of 28 stolen base attempts. All the while, he has played great centerfield defense. He has made some spectacular diving plays but often catching balls that others might have to dive for look easy. In our conversation (see the video above), we spent time discussing each of his five tools In a way, I kind of ranked them to get his thoughts. Speed: Keirsey can fly, and that can be seen on the base paths and in the outfield. It can also be seen on the base paths where he’s obviously been given the green light. Defense: I lumped #2 and #3 together in my rankings, but here I’ll put his defense as the next strong tool. Again, not everyone can play defense well in centerfield, and Keirsey is very good. And, as you can hear from the interview, he’s working on a few things that can help him improve his first step. Hit: Fully healthy and finally getting consistent at-bats has really helped him improve upon his offensive statistics. While he may not hit .327 or .386 like he did in his final two seasons at Utah, he could hit for a batting average in the upper .200s. Hit for Power: Listed at 6-0 and 195 pounds, Keirsey doesn’t necessarily look the part of power hitter. However, he has nine homers in a half of a season this year and is just figuring some things out with the bat. He likely won’t be a 30-homer hitter, but with his other skills, if he can provide double-digit homers, he can be quite valuable. Arm: In honesty, it’s the most difficult tool to evaluate from a fans’ perspective. I’ve seen him show off a strong and accurate throw at times, but he also acknowledges that it may be his fifth tool at this stage, but it’s something he continues to work on. Sixth Tool? Plate Discipline: Keirsey tends to be an aggressive hitter, and he will strike out. This is also an area he’s working on. Recently, Wind Surge manager Ramon Borrego has been hitting Keirsey leadoff with Brooks Lee behind him. Keirsey says that as a leadoff man, at least in the first plate appearance, he usually is pretty patient knowing he can help his teammates that way. The Mental Game: Keirsey has been through a lot in life and with all of the injuries, but he has become quite strong mentally and isn’t afraid to discuss and acknowledge how he’s doing. This is such an important thing for, well, everyone, but certainly for athletes as well. While I have ranked Keirsey in my personal Top 30 Twins prospects, he is yet to appear among Twins Daily’s top prospects. Already 26, that may continue to be the case, but with his tools and ability to play centerfield, he just might get an opportunity at some point. And I would say that’s all he’s asking for. For much more Twins Daily content on DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., click here. To watch DaShawn’s Twins Spotlight episode from March 2021, click here. View full article