Seth Stohs

In the beginning of the Cardinals' deadline dealings, they began with Genesis Cabrera's exodus to Toronto.

100% When I'm looking at minor leaguers and prospect rankings and such, one of the first things I look at is doubles... Doubles can turn into homers, and if not, doubles are still a good thing.

Wait for Lewis to return, i assume. Lee has had a good week since returning from the All Star break. Before that, he was very solid, but not knocking at the Triple-A door. Certainly not the big-league door. This week, he's hit for more power, so at this point, seems he could move up to AAA anytime.

It wasn't easy, but the Twins got some big performances and found a way to another win in Seattle. Image courtesy of Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Kenta Maeda - 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K (80 pitches, 56 strikes (70.0%)) Home Runs: Edouard Julien (9), Max Kepler (14), Alex Kirilloff (7) Top 3 WPA: Max Kepler (0.355), Kenta Maeda (0.231), Edouard Julien (0.191) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) In Game 3 of their four-game series against the Mariners, the Twins found themselves in a highly-competitive game again. They got a fantastic start and added some power in the second half of the game to take back the lead and add on after losing their initial lead. Jhoan Duran thing made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning, but finished the job to secure another Twins win. King Kenta Kenta Maeda was very good in his first three starts after missing two months on the Injured List. His most recent start in Oakland was more of a struggle. He gave up three runs on four hits and four walks in just three innings. He added six strikeouts, so as you would expect, he used a lot of pitches. He needed 80 pitches to get through those three innings. On Wednesday in Seattle, he also threw 80 pitches, but this time he was much more efficient and in control of the game. He recorded an out in the seventh inning before leaving the game after giving up his third hit of the game. He was efficient, and yet he mixed and matched pitches and got tremendous movement on his pitches so he was able to record nine strikeouts. King Julien Edouard Julien is absolutely on fire right now. And he's doing so in the manner that we have seen him do it the last two seasons in the minor leagues. He has shown a fantastic eye at the plate. In the first inning, he worked a walk after falling behind in the count. And that is against Mariners All-Star Luis Castillo who came into the game with no walks in his past three starts and just one walk in his previous 25 innings. And Castillo was very good in this game. He struck out a season-high 11 batters which is also the most he has had in a game since joining the Mariners about this time last year. In his second plate appearance, Julien lined a single to right field (99.8 mph). And in his third plate appearance, he crushed a ball 415 feet. It left the bat at 107.8 mph. He came to the plate one more time and worked another walk after falling behind. In his past seven games, he has gone 15-for-23 with three doubles and three home runs. He has three walks to go with three strikeouts. In that time, he has raised his slash line from .256/.340/.464 (.804) - which is very solid - to .318/.394/.574 (.968). Mighty Max Speaking of players that have been really good of late, Max Kepler continues to hit well and provide power when needed. In this game, he had two hits including his 14th home run of the season. He had a little bit of a resurgence before the All-Star break but then went through another slump. However, he has returned from the break and been really good. He has hits in all six games on this West Coast trip. In this series against the Mariners, he is 6-for-13 with two doubles, two homers, and six RBI. The Correa Catch He's been hitting well, but in this game, Carlos Correa was 0-for-5. However, his defense at shortstop is tremendous. He seemingly makes all the routine plays, and every once in a while, we get to see this: Anti-Jacks Jax Allows First Homer of Season Griffin Jax came into the game with a runner on base and one out in the seventh inning. Maeda got one out in the inning but then gave up a single and was removed from the game. It marked the 42nd time that Jax had come into a game this season. He had not yet allowed a home run, so of course, the powerful Eugenio Suarez took a hanging slider and crushed it into the stands in left center field to tie the game. As Trevor Plouffe said in the booth, "That's baseball." How good has Jax been? Before giving up the homer to Suarez, he had not given up a run (earned or unearned) since May 23 when he gave up two unearned runs against the Giants. Since last giving up an earned run (May 19), he had worked in 19 1/3 innings over 20 appearances. He had just one walk to go with 18 strikeouts. Batters hit just .097/.111/.097 (.208) against him. The last homer that Jax allowed was on September 7, 2022, in Yankees Stadium. That was a two-run homer by Gleyber Torres in the sixth inning. You may recall, he entered the game following the MLB debut of Louie Varland. Now Griffin Jax can start a new streak. Pagan Dominates the Eighth I know how much Twins fans like to see Emilio Pagan come into late-and-close situations, but that's exactly what happened. He responded with a dominant eighth inning to hold a one-run lead. This was his 38th appearance of the season, and he has given up zero runs in 31 of those outings. Four times, he has given up one run. And yes, he has given up three or more runs in three games (three runs twice, and six runs once). K is for Kirilloff… Then Klutch Clinging to a one-run lead going into the ninth inning, Alex Kirilloff came to the plate. Strangely, the Mariners turned to Devin Sweet who made his major-league debut. With a runner on base, Kirilloff came into the ninth inning 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, one would think that Kirilloff would just want to put the ball in play to avoid a fifth strikeout in the game. Instead, he took two fastballs outside to get ahead 2-0 in the count. He then swung at a curveball that dropped just below the strike zone. He saw that curveball again, but this time it stayed above the knees and on the outer part of the plate. He swung and crushed another opposite field homer. He hit it 104.3 mph. Now that is a good way to end a four-strikeout game. And it proved to be important when Jhoan Duran started the bottom of the ninth inning with the first two batters reaching base. A three-run lead is much better than a one-run lead. Like others mentioned above, Alex Kirilloff has been hitting well on this road trip. He has hits in each of his past four games. In those games, he is 8-for-17 with a double, a triple, three homer runs and nine RBI. That's incredible even with the six strikeouts in that time too. In four games, Kirilloff has raised his slash line from .267/.368/.386 (.754) to .285/.377/.456 (.833). And it's so encouraging because he had gone a month without a home run before this road trip. Duran Makes Things Interesting Jhoan Duran recorded three saves in three days in Oakland. Fortunately, the team has been able to avoid using him in the first two games in Seattle. However, with a three-run lead, they put him into another save situation. If we're being honest, Duran almost looked a little sluggish early. His first three pitches where 99 mph "splitters." J.P. Crawford reached on an error, and then on an 0-2 pitch, Duran hit Julio Rodriguez with a fastball at 102.7. It's almost as if his closer mentality turned on right then and there. Over the final three batters faced, Duran threw nine more four-seam fastballs, and not one of them was as "slow" as that 102.7 mph pitch to Rodriguez. In the outing, he threw 11 four-seamers. The average was 103.6 mph. The 'slowest' was 102.7 mph, and he topped out at 104.8 mph. Nine of the 11 were at 103.0 or greater. Four pitches were at 104.0 or faster. Notes Old Friend Alert: Along with calling up Devin Sweet, the Mariners also recalled right-handed pitcher Prelander Berroa before the game. Both made the flight from Arkansas to Seattle. Both are making the jump from Double-A to the big leagues. Are you looking at that name, and just wondering where you've seen it before? That's because the 23-year-old Dominican signed with the Twins as a 16-year-old in 2016. At the trade deadline in 2019, Berroa was playing with the rookie-league Elizabethton Twins. He was sent to the Giants along with Kai-Wei Teng and Jaylin Davis in exchange for the infamous Sam Dyson. Berroa was traded to Seattle last May. He touches 100 mph with a fastball and now that he's a reliever, he's developed a very good slider. In 46 innings for Arkansas this spring, he has a 2.93 ERA and 69 strikeouts... but also 31 walks. In case you are wondering, Teng made 12 Double-A starts and has made four Triple-A starts in the Giants organization this year. In 68 1/3 innings, he has 89 strikeouts to go with 35 walks and 13 hit batters. Davis played in 26 games for the Giants between 2019 and 2021. He played in 12 games for the Red Sox in 2022. The 29-year-old has 13 doubles and 13 home runs in 74 games for the Mets Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse. My Oh Why postgame podcast. Chris Crawford has been a part of the baseball blogosphere for a long time, yes, even longer than me. Interesting to get the Mariners' fan's perspective on the game. What’s Next? The Minnesota Twins will finish their four-game series in Seattle on Thursday afternoon (2:40 pm central time). In an All Star matchup, the Twins will send former Mariner Pablo Lopez to the mound to face the Mariners’ George Kirby. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Durán 12 18 0 0 20 50 Ortega 19 0 27 0 0 46 Pagán 0 12 0 8 11 31 J. López 0 18 10 0 0 28 Jax 6 0 0 0 15 21 Sands 0 0 0 17 0 17 Balazovic 0 0 0 15 0 15 Morán 13 0 0 0 0 13 Updated Standings View full article

We have an updated Top 20 Twins Prospects rankings now available, and several from that list had big games. Check out all that happened in the Twins farm system on Wednesday. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Tanner Schobel) Before we start talking about Wednesday's games, here are the updated records for the Twins six affiliates. St. Paul Saints: 54-37 Wichita Wind Surge: 35-50 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 52-34 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 42-44 FCL Twins: 14-15 DSL Twins: 7-23 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS It’s unusual, but there were no transactions in the organization on Wednesday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 9, Omaha 4 Box Score The Saints scored in four of the first five innings, but the four-run fifth inning is what made this a rather relaxed win. Let’s start with the pitching though. Louie Varland was back on the mound to start this one. The St. Paul native gave up two runs on five hits over six innings. He had three strikes and did not issue a walk. Aaron Sanchez tossed two scoreless innings before giving up a two-run homer in the ninth. But he earned the three-inning save. The Saints got a run in the first inning on a Chris Williams double. In the second, Austin Martin walked with the bases loaded to give the team a 2-0 lead. In the fourth inning, it was a double by Andrew Stevenson that scored Ernie Yake. Then came the fifth inning. With a 3-1 lead, Mark Contreras ripped a two-run homer. It was his ninth blast of the year. Incredibly, Austin Martin had another bases-loaded walk which was followed by a wild pitch to score Alex De Goti. The 7-1 lead was a great thing. In the top of the ninth, Martin came to the plate with runners on second and third, and he added his third RBI, this time on a sacrifice fly. A couple batters later, it was Williams that had a bases loaded walk to score the Saints ninth run. Williams went 2-for-3 with two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and his ninth double. He also stole a base for the third time this year. Andrew Stevenson went 3-for-4 with his 15th double. He was also hit by a pitch twice (so was Anthony Prato). He stole his 32nd base of the year. Martin added a third walk in the game as well. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Amarillo 7 Box Score Going into the seventh inning, this game was tied at two. The Wind Surge scored three runs, but the Sod Poodles countered with four runs in the bottom of the inning. They added a single run in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Surge loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth, but a pop out and a ground out later, the game was complete. Brooks Lee remained hot. In this game, he went 3-for-4 with a walk, his league-leading 30th double, and his 10th home run. Tanner Schobel made his Double-A debut. His first at-bat came in the first inning with an RBI single. He went 2-for-4 in the game with two RBI. DaShawn Keirsey walked twice in the game. Chad Donato started and gave up two runs on five hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out five batters. Curtis Taylor came in and struck out the side in the sixth frame. Taylor Floyd came in to start the seventh inning. However, he gave up four runs on four hits (including a three-run homer). He got one out on a strikeout but he was replaced by Hunter McMahon who got the final two outs of the seventh and pitched the eighth inning as well. He was charged with a run on two hits and a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Peoria 6 Box Score Let’s start at the end. This was a back-and-forth game, but as the Kernels came in to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, they were down by a score of 6-5 to Peoria. Mikey Perez led off the inning with a walk and with one out advanced to second on a wild pitch. Noah Miller then walked. That brought up Emmanuel Rodriguez who put together a picturesque swing and drilled a liner over the shortstop and into the left-center field gap. Perez scored the tying run, and Miller advanced to third. Rodriguez dove headfirst into second with a double. That brought Kala’i Rosario to the plate. He got jammed on a fastball, but because the infield was in, it dropped just beyond the second baseman which allowed Miller to score the game-winning run. And then the Kernels rejoiced. The Kernels got things going on the scoreboard in the second inning on a strange play. With the bases loaded, Andrew Cossetti drilled a single to left field. Jorel Ortega scored. Noah Cardenas scored on an error by the left fielder. Then when the pitcher backed up the ball, he made a throw that went quite errant and allowed Cossetti to score as well. A Little League Home Run! Cory Lewis made the afternoon start for the Kernels. The righty gave up three runs on three hits and two walks over five innings. He had two strikeouts. Mike Paredes came on and worked the next three innings. He was charged with three runs (2 earned) on three hits. He had five strikeouts without any walks. John Stankiewicz tossed a scoreless top of the ninth inning to take the Win. Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with two walks and the clutch double, his sixth of the year. Cossetti went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Bradenton 9 Box Score The Mighty Mussels took advantage of some wildness early in the game to grab a 4-0 lead after one-and-a-half innings. Unfortunately Ft. Myers was equally - ok, even more - wild as the Marauders. Miguelangel Boadas started and gave up three runs on two hits, four walks, and two hit batters in just 2 1/3 innings. Of the seven outs he recorded, five of them came on strikeouts. Samuel Perez came in and stranded an inherited runner. He worked two innings and was charged with three unearned runs on just one hit and one walk. Danny Moreno came in with two runners on and both scored. He gave up another run of his own before getting the final two outs of the fifth inning. Gabriel Yanez came in and gave up a solar homer over his 1 2/3 innings of work. Develson Aria got the final four outs, but not before he gave up one more run. Perez, Moreno and Aria each hit a batter as well. Ricardo Olivar was the team’s leadoff hitter. He went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 16th double of the season. Yohander Martinez went 2-for-2 with two walks in the game. Danny De Andrade went 2-for-5. Dylan Neuse drove in two runs on his 10th double of the year. Carson McCusker walked three times, including once with the bases loaded. Rubel Cespedes walked twice, also once with the bases loaded. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitters of the Day – Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-for-4, BB, 2B(30), HR(10), 3 R, RBI. Pitcher of the Day – Louie Varland (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K. 95 pitches, 65 strikes (68.4%) 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 Top 20 Prospect Rankings have been updated. Click the above link to see who moved up or down, and where the 2023 draft picks slot in.) #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-for-4, BB, 2B(30), HR(10), 3 R, RBI #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for3, 2 BB, 2B(6), RBI. #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-for-2, BB, K. #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, 3 BB, 3 RBI, SF #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-for-4, HBP, 2 RBI #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, K, GW RBI #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K. E(11) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Omaha (7:05 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (3-1, 3.81 ERA) Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (2-2, 5.03 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Jose Olivares (2-3, 6.71 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Giants Black @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

Walker JenkinsBrooks LeeEmmanuel RodriguezMarco RayaCharlee SotoMatt WallnerAustin MartinDavid FestaYasser MercedesDanny De AndradeKala'i RosarioYunior SeverinoBrandon WinokurTanner SchobelBrent HeadrickMatt CanterinoJose SalasConnor PrielippBen RossJose Rodriguez I have Dylan Questad at #18 and he wasn't available on the list. This is a very cool tool. I really enjoy it. I think Tanner Hall is the only other one in my Top 30.

I'm not sure that's even possible. That is an example of a trade for now, understanding the Petty has a big upside and could be great in a few years. The reality is the Gray has been good for the most part. He deserved being an All Star this year. He did his part. How the Twins do in a season or in the 80% of games that Gray doesn't pitch in have to be a factor.

They wouldn't have drafted them if they didn't know they could sign him. Especially Soto. No question that they had an agreement before they picked him.

Prato is a prospect who has worked his way up the system. Shuffield is not.

I don't think so, unless it's the reason he's returned to swinging at pitcher's pitches.

it's his shoulder again. No timelines given.

They've got Solano and Farmer and Castro to play 3B. They're just bringing up another bat.

Friday was a very busy day throughout the Twin entire system. Big innings defined the day for most of the offense Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Marco Raya) The Minnesota Twins got tor runs off the batted of Here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Friday. St. Paul Saints: 52-35 Wichita Wind Surge: 34-47 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 50-32 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 42-40 FCL Twins: 12-15 DSL Twins: 7-20 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Following the Twins win in Oakland, Dan Hayes tweeted that Jose Miranda will be going on the injured list. Matt Wallner will join the team in Oakland. Lefties Zach Neff and Josh Mitchell were deemed recovered from their Tommy John surgeries. They pitched in a couple of rehab games… and on Thursday, the Twins released them. Right-hander Juan Mercedes was promoted from the FCL Twins to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. John Klein was sent back to the FCL. RHP Eduardo Soriano was promoted from the DSL to the FCL Twins. In fun, former Twins prospect transactions, 2015 fourth-round pick Trey Cabbage was called up to the Angels and activated before Friday night’s game. In the game, he hit for second baseman Michael Stefanic SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Durham 8 Box Score The Saints open up their “second half” at CHS Field. They fell behind early but quickly caught up and went ahead only to give up five in the ninth to fall to the Bulls. Louie Varland made the start. He was charged with three unearned runs on eight hits over the first four innings. He struck out seven batters without issuing a walk. Josh Winder came on and struck out three batters over 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Michael Boyle had a walk and a strikeout and recorded three outs. Patrick Murphy got the final out of the eighth inning. Then he came out for the ninth and gave up five runs on four hits and a walk. Austin Brice came on with two runners on base and allowed both to score. Anthony Prato got St. Paul on the board in the second with a two-run homer, his fifth since joining the Saints. In the third frame, Andrew Stevenson’s 10th homer tied the game at 3-3. Stevenson gave the team the 4-3 season with a single that drove in Prato. Gilberto Celestino gave the Twins another run in the seventh inning with a ground out that scored Stevenson. Stevenson went 3-for-5 in the game from the leadoff spot. Jair Camargo had two hits. Prato his his ninth double and fifth homer during his five weeks with the Saints. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Springfield 4 Box Score Like the Saints, the Wind Surge got a lead going into the late innings. Unfortunately, a big-inning was enough to give the team a loss. The Wind Surge powered their way to an early lead. Patrick Winkel drilled his fourth homer of the season in the second inning. In the fifth frame, DaShawn Keirsey hit his 10th home run. Aaron Sabato made it a 3-0 lead with a single that scored Yunior Severino. Highly-regarded Marco Raya made his second Double-A start and it went quite well. In 3 2/3 innings, he gave up no runs. He gave up just one hit and one walk, and he struck out four batters. He was more efficient with his pitches and was able to almost get through the fourth inning. He threw 51 pitches in the game. Isaac Mattson came on and walked two batters but no runners crossed the plate before he got the final out. David Festa returned to the team after his scoreless inning in Saturday’s Futures Game in Seattle. He got back in the action with two perfect innings. Three of the six outs came on strikeouts. However, Regi Grace came in for the seventh inning. He’s been the best reliever in the organization all season and really had his first rough outing of the year. He gave up four runs on four hits and a walk and recorded just one out. Denny Bentley came on and allowed an inherited runner to score, but he was able to provide five outs without any additional runs scoring. Alex Scherff struck out two batters in a one-hit ninth. Keirsey and Winkel each went 2-for-4 in the game with the home run. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 15, Beloit 2 Box Score The Kernels went to their old stomping grounds (well, the Twins old Midwest League affiliate grounds) and used a couple of big innings to record an easy win in the new stadium. Jorel Ortega put the Kernels on the scoreboard with a solo homer, his second since joining the team. He also kicked off a big, eight-run fourth inning when he singled with the bases loaded to score Kala’i Rosario. Misael Urbina walked to score Noah Cardenas. Jose Salas drove in Noah Miller on a fielder’s choice. Willie Joe Garry’s single then drove in Ortega to make it 5-0. Leadoff man Tanner Schobel kept things going with a two-run double to give the Kernels a 7-0 lead. Emmanuel Rodriguez followed with a triple and then scored on a Rosario sacrifice fly that made it 9-0 after four innings. Beloit hit a couple of solo homers in the bottom of the fifth frame, so that Kernels wanted to get that back… and more. In the top of the sixth, Rosario singled in Rodriguez with the 10th run. Then Noah Miller drove in Rosario with a single. Jorel Ortega’s second homer of the night (and third in his short time with the Kernels). The three-run shot made it 14-2. The Kernels added one more in the seventh inning as well. Zebby Matthews was one out from qualifying for the Win. He gave up two solo homers in the fifth inning, the only runs he gave up in 4 2/3 innings. (56 of his 80 pitches (70%) were strikes.) He struck out five and didn’t issue a walk. Malik Barrington “vultured” the Win to improve to 4-0. That said, he struck out three batters over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked one batter. Finally, John Wilson struck out two batters over two scoreless innings to close the door. The Kernels got contributions from everyone. Misael Urbina was the only player without a hit, but he had a bases-loaded walk. Noah Miller was the lone player with just one hit. Seven hitters had at least two hits Jorel Ortega, the team’s sixth-round pick a year ago, finished the game going 4-for-5 with the two home runs. He scored three runs and drove in five runs. Emmanuel Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with a walk and his third triple. He also stole his 11th base. Rosario went 2-for-4 with a walk. Noah Cardenas went 2-for-5 with a walk and his 14th double. Jose Salas was also 2-for-5. Willie Joe Garry was 2-for-4 with a walk. Tanner Schobel went 2-for-6 with his ninth double. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Clearwater 2 Box Score Ft. Myers took the early lead and then had a big-inning late and held on for the win. Right-hander Ben Ethridge, the Twins 15th-round pick in 2022 from Southern Miss, finally earned his first Win of the season and as a professional. Coming into the night, he was 0-4 despite an ERA of just 2.49 and a WHIP at 1.06. After beginning the season in the bullpen, this was his sixth consecutive appearance as a start. I could argue that his Friday night start was his best yet, but he’s had a few good starts. In this game, he tossed five shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked one and struck out two batters. He dropped his season ERA to 2.23. Wilker Reyes struck out four batters over the next two innings. He gave up no hits and no runs and walked two batters. Ricardo Velez pitched a scoreless eighth inning but gave up a two-run homer in the ninth. The Twins signed Carson McCusker recently after spending three seasons with Tri-City in the Frontier League. That was after four seasons at Oklahoma State. In the first inning, he gave the Mussels a 2-0 lead with his fifth home run in his 10th game. He went 3-for-4 and is now hitting .439 with a 1.270 OPS. The Mussels grabbed some insurance runs in the eighth inning, turning a 2-0 lead to a 6-0 lead. Rubel Cespedes hit his 19th double which scored two runs. Rafael Cruz drove Cespedes in with a single. Ricardo Olivar concluded the scoring by knocking in Cruz with the fourth run of the inning. Danny De Andrade went 2-for-5 with his 11th and 12th doubles. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 9 FCL Red Sox 8 Box Score In a day filled with big innings, it was very true in the FCL game on Friday. The Twins had a four-run second inning and kept piling on runs including two runs in the top of the ninth. That gave them a 9-2 lead, but the Red Sox countered with six runs in the bottom of the ninth. Thankfully the Twins stopped the bleeding just in time. In this game, it was all about the offense. Yasser Mercedes is a top ten Twins prospects according to Twins Daily and other places. But he got off to a very slow start in his Stateside debut. Coming into Friday’s game, Mercedes was hitting just .157/.228/.255 (.483) with two doubles and a homer. He had played in just 13 games. In this game, we were reminded of the talent that he has. He went 4-for-5 with his second and third home runs. He stole his fourth base. He scored three runs and drive in four runs. After this game, he is still hitting just .214 with a .685 OPS. Not great, but adding .200 points of OPS in one day is a good start. Keoni Cavaco was sent back to the FCL Twins after hitting below .200 with the Kernels in the first half. It appears to be an opportunity for a restart for Cavaco, a chance to play against a lower level of competition, hopefully experience some success, gain some confidence, work on some things, and then see where it goes. In his second FCL game, he had a single, double and triple over five at-bats. He scored two runs and drove in three runs. Harold Grant went 2-for-5 and his two-run homer in the ninth inning proved to be more important than originally thought. It was his second homer. Brayan Medina made the start. In 4 2/3 innings, he gave up two runs on three hits. He walked four batters and struck out three batters. Cleiber Maldonado then struck out five batters over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Lopez came on and worked a scoreless eighth inning. However, in the ninth frame, he gave up six runs on five hits and two walks. Yon Landaeta came on with two runners on base and both scored. However, he struck out two batters and was able to get the third out before the Red Sox were able to tie it up. The Twins scored runs in four of the first five innings. Normally that, and the nine runs that came with it, would be considered good. And it is. However, when the pitchers give up runs in each of the five innings, and 17 runs in those innings, it isn’t great. Jeicol Surumay started. In 1 2/3 innings, he gave up four runs (3 earned) on three hits and three walks. Cristian Hernandez came on and was charged with eight runs (5 earned) on eight hits and three walks over 2 1/3 innings. Eider Machuca came on and gave up five runs (4 earned) on three hits and a walk and recorded just one out (despite two strikeouts!). Jose Ojo came and allowed one inherited runner to score. But he got five outs without any more runs crossing the plate. The best news to come out of this game was the return of Hendry Chivilli. He hadn’t played since opening day, June 5. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Dameury Pena went 2-for-2 Ariel Castro went 2-for-4. Yilber Herrera was 1-for-3 with a walk. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitters of the Day – Jorel Ortega (Cedar Rapids) - 4-for-5, 2 HR(3), 3 R, 5 RBI. Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 4-for-5, 2 HR(3), 3 R, 4 RBI, SB(4). Pitcher of the Day – Ben Ethridge (Fort Myers) - 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K. 77 pitches, 46 strikes (59.7%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. (Note - our next prospect rankings update will come after the draft.) #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-4 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 3B(3), 2 R, RBI, BB, 2 K, SB(11). #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 2-for-3, 2B(11), RBI, K. #6 - Marco Raya (Wichita) - 3 2/3 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 4 K, 51 pitches, 34 strikes (66.7%). #8 - David Festa (Wichita) - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 25 pitches, 16 strikes (64.0%). #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB,K. E(5). #10 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 4-for-5, 2 HR(3), 3 R, 4 RBI, SB(4). #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, K, SB(1) (2B, batted second) #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, RBI, K. #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, BB, 2 R, RBI, BB, 3 K. #14 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. 17 pitches, 11 strikes (64.7%) #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-for-5, K. #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B(12), R, 2 K.. SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Durham @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (3-1, 4.05 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (1-2, 4.73 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (4-4, 4.53 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30 PM CST) - LHP Jarrett Whorff (2-0, 1.71 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (9:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Guardians Red @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 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With the 2023 MLB Draft now complete, Seth and Jeremy discussed the 21 Minnesota Twins picks. From Walker Jenkins, the 5th overall pick in the draft on Sunday night to Ashton Larson in the 20th round and 19 picks in between. They discussed the players but also the themes from the draft, such as 12 straight college pitchers at one point. Starting the draft with four high school players in their top five picks. Scouting all over the country, high school, college and junior college, Division I, Division II and Division III. View full video

I made that some comp in my mind and sent it to someone... That person then chastised me for comping a draft pick to a Hall of Famer. Ha! But I still like it!

I'm sure everything was done right... There are several others who have had to have a second shortly after returning. It's unfortunate, of course. And now they can do the newer version of UCL surgery (modified TJ). I know Josh Mitchell is coming back from his second TJ surgery in the past couple of years.

It's looking like another Tommy John, from what I've heard.

I love the HS picks. Says a lot about Falvey/Levine/Johnson/Scouts, etc... Who knows if they'll even be around when these kids get to the big leagues, but they're going with the young'ns, and that's awesome. Wickonur is tall, tons of power! Like it!

Baseball is really hard. Getting to the big leagues means that you're incredibly amazing at the game and it's an incredible accomplishment by an organization. but it's not easy, so while we end up expecting so much from the 1st and 2nd round picks, they need to develop at their own pace, and play a lot, and learn from everything, and then we hope.

First, thank you so much for the kind words. Second, while I am very excited about at least 2 of their 3 picks, we should hope that they are excited about these early picks and believe they can all make the big leagues. Of course, they need to sign them and then the work begins of slowly moving up the ladder and development.

Day 1 of the draft is always a lot of fun. When your favorite team has a top-five pick, it's even better. The Minnesota Twins had three of the first 49 picks in the draft. In other words, after a tough afternoon at the ballpark, Sunday was a fun night for Twins fans. Image courtesy of Stephen Brashear, USA Today "It's been a long wait to be able to acquire and draft a player like Walker (Jenkins). It was a thrilling night, and we're super excited to be able to select him," Twins Director of Scouting Sean Johnson said at the end of a long first day of the draft. The general thought heading into the MLB Draft was that there were five elite talents. At that point, there were still a lot of excellent players, but those five were clearly at the top. Rumors, or even conversations, hinting that the Twins might draft a college bat if only a high school player remained from that top five. The strategy is logical. Pick a guy a few spots above where he would likely be picked and sign him for under the slot value. Then, use the saved money to go well above the slot on a player or two in the second or third rounds. A source I trust told me that was never really considered. Of course, it's always necessary to have contingency plans and think through what could happen. Michael Cuddyer has been very active with USA Baseball since his retirement, giving back to an organization that helped his development as a young player. Cuddyer coached the North Carolina native when he was 15 years old and in years since then. Denny Hocking was the manager of Team USA a year ago and coached Jenkins as well. He tweeted, "Twins got a great one in Walker. The fan base is going to fall in love with him." Doug Mientkiewicz tweeted, "Congrats Twins! You just got an ABSOLUTE STUD! Walker Jenkins is the best kid you will ever be around!! Plays with heart and he gets it! You just got a number one pick overall in any other draft!!" The Twins area scout for North Carolina is Ty Dawson. Of Jenkins, Sean Johnson said, "He's a five-tool player. We love his swing. We think he's got a chance for real power. He's a big kid, but he moves pretty well. He can really throw, and we think that he can really defend. You can't ask for much more than that when you're looking for a high school prospect. He's just a well-rounded player and a phenomenal person off the field. We asked a lot of people, and really no one had anything negative to say about Walker, his personality, his character, and his family. Just a great group of people and an awesome kid." Johnson added, "Just to have the opportunity to select a player like that who can do it all and impact the game on both sides is rare and something our group didn't want to pass up on. Another person who is incredibly impressed after spending time with Walker Jenkins is the Twins second draft pick of the night, Charlee Soto. Both players were participating in a Team USA event. Soto said, "I met him last summer at PDP (Player Development Pipeline). Unfortunately, he got injured there and couldn't finish it. He got injured and went to the hospital, but the next day he was at the field to support us. He was always supportive. He was always a leader. He was always getting us stuff in the dugout. He was a very, very humble kid, and I can't wait to get to work with him because I know we're going to bring a lot to Minnesota." In addition to Jenkins, Soto will have another friend in the Twins organization. He knows 2022 draft pick Omari Daniel. "I talk to him every now and then. He loves the process. He's developing every single day. He's told me a lot. Having someone inside the organization helps me a lot." Several players received invitations to attend the draft in Seattle. Asked why it was important for him to be in Seattle, he noted, "Last year, I played in a high school all-star game, and I actually attended the draft in LA. So, seeing all of those guys walk up on the stage after they got drafted, it just showed me that I want to be there one day. I want to be at the draft in person. I saw all the fans that were there cheering. That's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. When I got that email invite, I instantly said 'Yes.'" Charlee Soto stands 6-5. He's already got a big fastball in the mid-90s and has even touched triple-digits. He's worked on a slider and a circle changeup as well. Hocking mentioned to me after Day 1 of the draft was complete that Soto just missed making the National Team last summer. He "didn't feel he threw enough strikes at the time." (Hocking's added comment to me on the Twins first pick, "Walker Jenkins is amazing.”) Johnson said they saw Jenkins a lot in 2022 at events such as the East Coast Pro Challenge, Team USA, etc. "Really sound delivery. He's got three nice pitches now. Obviously, the velocity's there. He's been up to the upper-90s already. He's got a fantastic slider. He's got a really good feel for a changeup, and he throws strikes. Put all those things together, and we think he's got a chance to be a major-league starter. (He's an) awesome kid. (I) Got a chance to spend some time with him at the Combine. He came to a workout we had in Ft. Myers before the Combine. So we've had a lot of different punch points with Charlee. We were super excited that he made it down to our pick, and we're really glad to select him." "I look a lot at Gerrit Cole. Just the way he pitches, the way he does things. I feel like he pitches so calmly, so (passionately). And also, being born in Philly, I looked a lot at Roy Halladay. He was a great arm as well. I was always watching him on YouTube. Anywhere I could, I watched him and learned a lot from those two guys." Born in Philadelphia, the Soto family moved to Kissimmee, Florida, when he was young. He has been to the Twins facilities in Ft. Myers. That's where some of the Team USA trials took place. He said he was impressed by the weight rooms, the facilities, and the cafeteria. He graduated recently from Reborn Christian Academy, and faith is something he says has helped him along the way, particularly in recent days. "Today, I was leaving everything in God's hands because I knew he was going to choose the best route for me, and He did. Being a part of the Twins organization, He put that for me. He was the man in control. I was stressing a little bit, but I wasn't stressing a whole lot because I knew he had big plans for me." A friend of his recently moved to Minnesota. On Saturday, he sent Soto a photo of him in a boat in the middle of the lake and asked him when he was going to join him. "I think it was a sign that I just didn't see." The Twins area scout for central Florida is Brett Dowdy. He and other Twins evaluators saw a lot of Soto over the past couple of years, but he took significant steps forward this spring. Johnson noted, "Early in the spring, our guys were buzzing about how good he was and just how much they loved his pitches, his mound presence, and his ability to manage the game. That was all really positive signals for a group. He was a guy we kind of had circled with our second pick. We didn't know if he would make it, obviously, but we were certainly hopeful going into the night." After drafting two high-ceiling high school players with their first two picks, the Twins went to the college ranks for their second-round pick. Luke Keaschall was the 49th overall pick. He spent two seasons at the University of San Francisco, hitting over .300 in both years and developing his game. He then transferred to Arizona State this past year. In 55 games, he hit .353/.443/.725 (1.168) with 25 doubles and 18 home runs. He also was 18-for-20 in stolen base attempts. Johnson on Keaschall "A wrestling background in high school. A guy who did really well at the University of San Francisco, and then we got to see him a lot more this spring at Arizona State. We were really drawn to him. He's just a dynamic athlete. I think he's got a chance to play a lot of different positions. Offensively, he controls the strike zone. I think he had 18 home runs this spring. He takes good at-bats and has a chance to play all over the diamond. We'll figure out where he fits in eventually. And a terrific kid. One of our favorites that we connected with at the Combine. We think the makeup is a separator. It's special, which is rare. Most guys are more in the middle. We really fell in love with Luke." The "Four Corners" area scout for the Twins is Chandler Wagoner. Arguably, the night's best moment came after the Twins third pick. Television cameras finally showed the Twins draft room. In it, there was a jersey with the name Radcliff on it. All of the scouts were wearing a white visor, just like the one Mike Radcliff wore to ballparks all over the country, all over the globe. It was a really nice, emotional moment and was important to many in the organization. Johnson said they were hoping it would happen earlier in the night, but they were thrilled it happened. "We wanted to have the jersey in the shot, and we all came up with the idea. It was for our scouting brethren. The scouts that knew Mike well, they always saw him in a visor. That was his look pretty much every game he went to. That was our way of paying tribute to him so that other people in the industry would understand right away. We finally got the shot. It was a beautiful moment." Johnson tried to recall his thoughts on Jenkins and the other picks. "The last time we saw him together was at the Perfect Game All-American Game in Phoenix in late August. That's when he put the highest 'follow' he could on Walker. I remember reading that report when it came in. Maybe this is Mike saying this is who he wants if he's not here when the draft gets here. He was a big Walker Jenkins fan; I'll say that. And he saw Charlee Soto as well. He was right in line with how we thought about him. He thought he was a first-day talent. I know he's smiling. We thought about him a lot after we took Walker Jenkins." The scouts headed to their hotel rooms after the draft was complete. Hopefully, they can all get some good rest. But more work will be done on Monday afternoon when the draft resumes. Starting at 1:00 central time, teams will make their Rounds 3 through 10 picks. "We'll resume in the morning before we get going. We'll just kind of stare at the board and kind of map out a plan for the next few rounds. (Day 2) is seemingly always the most hectic day because you're constantly pivoting, as your board falls apart, to different scenarios and ideas. Signabilities change overnight and into tomorrow. We collect as much information as we can on where agents are with players and how to proceed after that. We'll get going a few hours before the draft starts and try to prepare as best we can." There is reason for excitement about the Twins first day of the draft. All three players are exciting, as you would hope from Top 50 picks. Be sure to stop by Twins Daily all afternoon to find out who the next seven players will become members of the Twins organization. Discuss in the comments below what you think of the Twins choices, what you might have done differently and more. View full article