Seth Stohs

Lefty Brandon Williamson will be called up and make his MLB debut for the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday in Colorado!

If Gallo goes on the IL, they would just call up Wallner since he's on the 40-man roster already and that would be simple.

The Twins finished their homestand with a strong series win over the Chicago Cubs. After scoring 11 runs on Saturday afternoon, the Twins scored 16 on Sunday and set a Target Field record with 29 runs in the three-game series. Along with big offense, the Twins got another strong start from Louie Varland. Image courtesy of Matt Blewitt, USA Today Box Score SP: Louie Varland: 6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (97 pitches, 64 strikes (66.0%) Home Runs: Larnach (4), Gallo (9), Taylor (5) Top/Bottom 3 WPA: Trevor Larnach (0.230), Louie Varland (0.159), Carlos Correa (0.138) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pregame Notes Happy Mothers Day to all the moms and grandmas and wives! I always enjoy how the Twins social media posts the team’s lineup on Mothers Day. Coming into the game, Twins starting pitchers led MLB in innings pitched with 227 1/3 innings. They also lead MLB in FIP (3.15), WHIP (1.06) and strikeouts (259). They are second in ERA (3.01) and batting average against (.220). Varland Victorious As mentioned above, the Twins starters lead MLB in rotation innings pitched. They are averaging 5.7 innings per outing. Last year, they averaged 4.8 innings to start. Louie Varland added to those totals with a really nice start on Sunday afternoon and earned his first win of the season. It just started out well with a nine-pitch first inning. Varland, as he does, worked really fast, mixing a big fastball with his cutter, slider and change up. He threw 48 fastballs among his 97 pitches and averaged 94.9 with it. He topped out at 96.5 mph. He threw 22 cutters, 14 changeups and 13 sliders. Cubs batters swung at 54 of his pitches and whiffed 16 times (22 foul balls). As important as all of that, Varland pitched just how you would hope with a big lead early. He worked fast. He threw strikes. While he got strikeouts, he wasn’t afraid of giving up some contact. Christopher Morel and Seiya Suzuki each hit a solo home run. Unfortunately, the final batter he faced walked on his 97th pitch and that was it for his day. He completed a career-high 6 1/3 innings. Emilio Pagan came on and gave up two singles that scored the third run charged to Varland. Early Offense Marcus Stroman has been quite good for the Cubs early this season. Coming into this game, he was just 2-3 despite a 2.28 ERA. He had completed at least six innings in seven of his eight starts. Against the Dodgers in late April, he gave up five earned runs on six hits and a walk in five innings. In this start, the Twins knocked him out after just 2 2/3 innings. He was charged with six runs on seven hits and two walks. Michael Rucker came on and allowed the inherited runner to score and two more runs. Now let’s get to the Twins side of things. Following Varland’s quick top of the first, the Twins got on the board right away in the bottom half. Alex Kirilloff got things started with a one-out single to center. Carlos Correa then doubled into the left field corner. Tommy Watkins aggressively sent Kirilloff home. He scored easily and the Twins had a 1-0 lead. The Twins then scored seven runs in the third inning. Trevor Larnach came to the plate with two runners on and two outs in a 1-0 game. After a back-and-forth battle with Stroman, Larnach got a slider in the middle of the plate and deposited it into the right field bleachers to give them a 4-0 lead. Kyle Farmer doubles. Nick Gordon doubled him in and then scored on a Christian Vazquez single to right. Joey Gallo ended the inning’s scoring with a long two-run homer. Correa’s Crusade Earlier in the homestand, the boo birds came out at Target Field, aimed in the direction of Carlos Correa. At the time, he was hitting .185 and really scuffling. Asked about the boos, he acknowledged them and said that he didn’t blame the fans for doing it. He said he hasn’t been playing well. Was he worried? No. Should Twins fans have been worried? Of course not. On Sunday, he went 2-for-5 with a double to raise his average to .207. Over the past five games, Correa has at least one hit in each game. He is 7-for-21 with two walks, four doubles, a homer, and eight RBI. Buxton Breaks Streak In the first inning, Byron Buxton singled. That ended an 0-for-26 stretch. He ended the game 2-for-5, so now he's in a 2-for-30 slump, but that's much better. It's a start, and his at-bats were much cleaner. Farmer Fond of Playing Everyday Kyle Farmer missed a month after being hit in the face with a Lucas Giolito fastball. He has started all five games since his return at third base. He has at least one hit in all five games, and is 7-for-18 (.389) in that stretch. He also looks very smooth at third base defensively. Late-Inning Offense The Twins have had some big innings early in games, but it was nice to have a huge inning late in a game too. Sure, it would have been great to have saved the big late-inning run production for a game later this week maybe. Emilio Pagan got a big strikeout of Christopher Morel to end the seventh inning with the Twins leading 8-3. In the bottom of the seventh, the Twins scored a run off of Julian Merryweather to get the run back. Then came the bottom of the eighth frame. #OldFriend Michael Fulmer came on. He gave up three runs and recorded just two outs. It was at that point when Cubs manager David Ross could go to a position player (based on the new league rules of when they can pitch). Miles Mastrobuoni was the choice. The first four batters he faced recorded hits. He gave up an RBI single to Kyle Farmer, a run-scoring double to Nick Gordon, an RBI single to Christian Vazquez, and a long, two-run homer for Michael A. Taylor. Gallo Exits Early In his final at-bat of the day, Joey Gallo grounded into a double play. After crossing first base, he slowed down and grabbed his right hamstring. While he tried to stay in the game, Rocco Baldelli immediately took him out and replaced him with Michael A. Taylor (who certainly took advantage of his one at-bat in the game). Everybody Contributes! All nine batters in the starting lineup had at least one hit. Six had at least two hits in the game. That's the kind of win that can really help bring a team together. They will need that this coming week. The Twins won two out of three against both the Padres and the Cubs on this homestand. They are now 14-8 at Target Field, and they're 6-6 in interleague play. This was just the third time in Twins history that they have had back-to-back 10-run games. The last time was April 24th and 25th, 1996. The Twins out-hit the Cubs significantly in this game. The Cubs are now 0-15 when they are out-hit by their opponent. What’s Next? It’s going to be one of those weeks where Twins fans will struggle to get up for work a few mornings. The Twins will be doin’ a little west coast swing. They start a three-game series on Monday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They will have a day off in LA on Thursday before playing three games against the Angels in Anaheim. Monday 9:10 pm: RHP Pablo Lopez (2-2, 3.47) vs. Noah Syndergaard (1-3, 6.12) Tuesday 9:10 pm: RHP Bailey Ober (2-0, 1.85) vs. Clayton Kershaw (6-2, 2.36) Wednesday 2:10 pm: RHP Sonny Gray (4-0, 1.39) vs. RHP Dustin May (4-1, 2.68) Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Chart WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Sands 0 0 0 54 0 54 Alcala 0 0 33 0 13 46 Jax 17 0 26 0 0 43 Lopez 17 15 0 0 9 41 Pagán 0 12 0 0 23 35 Stewart 9 25 0 0 0 34 Morán 0 0 9 24 0 33 Durán 17 0 0 0 0 17 View full article

Severino is definitely more offense than defense, but he was signed (twice!) as a shortstop and he can adequately play 3B and 2B, maybe even an average fielder at those spots. Offensively, the difference would be the walks, but other than that, they can both hit.

That is something that will happen a lot.

I noted in my Cedar Rapids roster preview before the season that there were several very, very young-for-level prospects being pushed to High-A, and understandably they have struggled. Urbina, Salas, Rodriguez, Miller. All have had tough starts. Kala'i Rosario seems to have broken out a bit. But all of those guys, and others, really could have started in Ft. Myers. That said, it will be fun to see which of them make some adjustments and finish strong. The team could be better in the second half, and Raya and Hidalgo will obviously be key in that too.

Sanchez is behind at least SWR, Balazovic and Headrick in the pecking order. If they need pitchers beyond those two, they're in trouble anyway. Dobnak may be ahead of Sanchez too, even though he's been a swing guy to this point.

Severino was in the low-20s or high-30s. He's probably been a little underrated for awhile, but definitely will be rising in our next prospect rankings update (coming soon), though probably not as much as we would like. I meant to point out that Funderburk hit 95 last night. So he's added 2-3 mph over the last couple of years. Fastball/Slider. That can play in the big leagues.

Correct... thank you!

There now: Varland, Larnach, Ryan, Ober, Jeffers, Kirilloff, Jax, Duran, Moran, Sands, Celestino Now: Headrick, Miranda, Wallner, Balazovic, Dobnak, Helman, Julien, Lewis, Funderburk, SWR, Henriquez, Schulfer, Winder, Contreras. Soon: Martin (if healthy), Lee, Camargo, Festa, Keirsey, Severino, Williams, Bechtold, By end of 2024: Canterino, Adams, probably some other arms that come out of nowhere. Obviously not all will succeed, not all will be fortunate and even get the opportunity, but while the minor-league prospect rating of the organization isn't real high, there is a lot of depth.

Royce Lewis was back on the field in Frisco on Saturday night, playing shortstop, while Brooks Lee played the hot corner. But the story was the continued offensive output from the Wichita offense, and specifically a power surge from a much-underrated prospect. Three of four full-season affiliates won on Saturday. Find out much, much more below. Image courtesy of Katherine Ramirez, Frisco RoughRiders Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions in the COMMENTS. I plan to check in frequently to answer as many questions as we get. TRANSACTIONS With Max Kepler going on the Injured List with a hamstring injury, the Twins recalled Trevor Larnach from St. Paul. RHP Dereck Rodriguez was optioned to St. Paul with Cole Sands being recalled by the Twins. 1B Tyler White was activated from the Development List. Wichita announced that RHP Tyler Beck has been released. OF Alerick Soularie has been activated from the IL. He had been hit by a pitch in the wrist. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 1, Indianapolis 3 Box Score In the bottom of the first inning, Matt Wallner hit his third home run for the Saints this season. Unfortunately, that was the only run for the Saints on Saturday afternoon. Aaron Sanchez made the start for the Saints. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings. He had two strikeouts. Kody Funderburk came out of the bullpen and recorded six outs, three of them came on strikeouts. He gave up no runs and no hits, though he walked one. Patrick Murphy and Oliver Ortega didn’t allow a run or a hit over the final 2 2/3 innings. Wallner had a good day at the plate. He went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, and the home run. Edouard Julien had a single and a walk out of the leadoff spot. Jose Miranda went 1-for-5. Hernan Perez added a triple. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 12, Frisco 3 Box Score The Wind Surge offense just continues to, well, surge. After scoring 16 runs on Wednesday and 13 runs on Friday, they scored a dozen runs on Saturday and won their fifth straight game. In the first five games of the series, the Wind Surge have outscored the RoughRiders 54-26. In this game, the offense was just very consistent throughout the game. They scored in six of the nine innings. They had 11 hits and 10 walks in the game. What you’re here for… Brooks Lee was back in the lineup, leading off and playing third base. He went 0-for-4 but walked twice. Royce Lewis played the first seven innings at shortstop and batted second. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and a double. He also added a stolen base. The two combined to score five of the team’s runs. Yunior Severino remains on fire. After hitting two home runs on Friday night, he went 3-for-4 with a walk and his 10th home run of the season. That is four home runs in five games so far this series. Jake Rucker went 2-for-4 with a double and five RBI. (So yes, the top four hitters in the lineup went a combined 7-for-15 with 10 runs scored and eight driven in.) Pat Winkel went 2-for-4 with a walk and did a very nice job behind the plate. Alerick Soularie returned from his wrist injury and went 1-for-3 with two walks. David Festa made the start for the Wind Surge and looked really good, frequently hitting 98 mph with his fastball. He was charged with one run on four hits and two walks over five innings. He had four strikeouts. Festa told Twins Daily what helped make him successful, “My fastball command was definitely better than previous outings, and (Pat) Winkel did a great job calling the game. We were both on the same page, and the defense was great behind me.” And Festa also enjoyed the opportunity to face big-league rehabber Corey Seager. In the first inning, Seager grounded out to second base. In the fourth frame, Seager popped up to the catcher. In the fifth inning, Festa walked the $325 million man. “Facing Corey Seager was awesome. An elite hitter like him, in a few big situations, was such a cool experience.” Seth Nordlin came on and gave up two runs on four hits and three walks over two innings. Jose Bravo walked one and struck out four batters over the final two, scoreless, innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 2 Box Score The Kernels clinched a series win in Davenport on Saturday night with a 4-2 win. Kyle Jones went the first four innings and gave up just one run on three hits. He walked two batters and struck out five batters. Niklas Rimmel came on and gave up one run on three walks over 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters. Malik Barrington entered the game with the bases loaded and allowed just one of the inherited runners to score. In total, he went 1 2/3 innings and gave up no runs on one hit and one walk. He struck out two batters. Miguel Rodriguez gets the save with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Following the game, Barrington told Twins Daily, “Honestly, I try not to think about the runners when it’s a bases-loaded situation. My mentality in that situation is to just attack the hitter because if I give up a hit there, then runners are scoring regardless.” He continued, “Anytime I can get out of a jam, especially in that scenario, is a big confidence boost, and it gets the team going as well. So in that scenario, I just think ‘never shy away from competition. It’s a do-or-die situation, so throw the best I have and trust that I will be successful.’” The Kernels took the lead right away in the first inning when a Tanner Schobel double scored Ben Ross. Then Misael Urbina singled in Schobel for the second run. Then in the fourth frame, Ernie Yake hit a triple that scored Kyler Fedko before he was singled in by Ross. Cedar Rapids had seven hits by seven different hitters. The two batters that didn’t get a hit combined for three walks. They had more opportunities to score but went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Tampa 2 Box Score The Mighty Mussels had a four-run fifth inning and held on late to record their fifth straight win against the Yankees affiliate. In that fifth frame, Andrew Cossetti “drove in” the first run with a bases-loaded walk. That was followed by a bases-clearing triple off the bat of Carlos Aguiar. Aguiar drove in the other run on a fielder’s choice in the seventh inning. It may not surprise you that the Mighty Mussels managed just three hits in this game and had 14 strikeouts. However, they had the patience to coax 10 walks. Cossetti hit his ninth double and walked three times. Danny De Andrade, Dalton Shuffield, and Alec Sayre each had two walks. The Mighty Mussels had a really good day on the mound. Lefty Wilker Reyes made his first start (fifth appearance) of the season. He gave up two hits and walked three batters, but he threw two scoreless innings with the help of three strikeouts. The 21-year-old topped out at 91.7 mph. Sam Perez improved to 3-1 with three innings of one-hit baseball. He had six strikeouts and didn’t issue a walk. Perez is an interesting prospect. He has experienced a lot of success in the low levels of the minor leagues. He was the Twins Daily Short-Season Pitcher of the Year in 2021. As you see in this game, he gets swings-and-misses. But the southpaw tops out at 83.3 mph. Statcast calls out 38 of his 48 pitches as change ups. However, the velocity range on the pitch are from 72.5 to 83.3 mph, so my assumption is that his fastball and his changeup are both called changeups. Right-hander Jackson Hicks gave up three hits but no runs over two scoreless innings. He had three strikeouts. The 25-year-old threw 32 pitches and 20 of them were 81-84 mph sliders. His fastball topped out at 91.8 mph, but he threw just 10 fastballs. Finally, Zach Veen, the third lefty of the day, came in for the final two innings. He pitched a scoreless eighth frame, but a leadoff error led to two unearned runs in the ninth inning. He struck out two batters and dropped his ERA to 1.20 this season. The 2022 draft pick threw 25 breaking balls among his 41 pitches. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Wichita Wind Surge) - 5 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K. 70 pitches, 43 strikes. Hitter of the Day – Matt Wallner (St. Paul Saints) -2-for-3, BB, 2B(7), HR(3), R, 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) - 0-for-4, 2 BB, 2 R, K, SB #2 - Royce Lewis (Wichita-on Rehab) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B, R, RBI #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, K, E(2) #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B(7), HR(3), R, RBI. #13 - David Festa (Wichita) - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 70 pitches, 43 strikes. #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, K, SB(6). #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(4), R, RBI, 3K. #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, RBI, 2K. SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Toledo @ St. Paul(2:07 PM CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-0, 2.45 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (4:05 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (1-4, 8.50 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (1:00 PM CST) - LHP Jordan Carr (0-1, 3.00 ERA) Tampa @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (3-1, 3.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games! View full article

Two wins. Two losses. Wichita played a morning game in Texas and had big innings on their way to 16 runs. Seven of nine in their lineup had multi-hit games. Two April Award winners in Fort Myers helped the Mighty Mussels to a win. We also saw lefty Christian MacLeod make his return to the mound after missing 2022 with Tommy John surgery. And, we are all excited for the top prospect who will be making his first rehab appearance with Wichita on Thursday! Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Will Holland) The Twins got a fun extra-innings win against the Padres on Wednesday night. In the minor leagues, a lot of good things happened, especially with the hitters in Wichita and Fort Myers. TRANSACTIONS Infielder Kyle Farmer was activated from the Injured List after missing about a month after being hit in the face by a Lucas Giolito fastball. To make room for Farmer, Jose Miranda was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul. (Discussion here) LHP Christian MacLeod started a rehab assignment with the Mighty Mussels on Wednesday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Indianapolis 4 Box Score The Saints had seven hits and four walks, but managed just two runs and fell to Indianapolis. Jose De Leon started and gave up three runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven batters without issuing a walk. Kody Funderburk came on and recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning, stranding an inherited runner. Ronny Henriquez came on and worked two innings in his first rehab appearance with the Saints. He gave up one run on three hits and two walks over two innings. Cole Sands gave up two hits, but no runs, in the ninth. Trevor Larnach went 2-for-3 with a walk and a double, and is now 4-for-8 with four RBI in his two games. He also played a little defense! Andrew Stevenson went 2-for-4 with a double. He stole his 11th base of the season. Edouard Julien went 1-for-3 with a walk and his eighth double. Jair Camargo hit a solo homer in the fifth inning. He now has three on the season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 16, Frisco 8 Box Score This was a game for the hitters. Big performances. Big innings. Eight out of nine Wind Surge hitters had at least one hit. Seven out of nine in the lineup had two or more hits. It might surprise you that leadoff man and top prospect Brooks Lee went 0-for-6. The Wind Surge scored four in the second inning, five in the third inning, and four runs in the sixth inning. Let’s just go through the lineup, starting with the second spot. DaShawn Keirsey went 3-for-5 with a walk and two doubles. Yunior Severino went 2-for-5 with a walk, his fifth double, and his seventh home run. Alex Isola went 2-for-4 with two walks and his third homer. Yoyner Fajardo’s hitting streak ended at 11 games on Tuesday night, so he started a new one. He went 3-for-5 with a walk and his fourth double. Jake Rucker went 1-for-4 with two walks. Will Holland went 2-for-2 with four walks. Armani Smith went 2-for-6. David Banuelos went 3-for-5 with his second homer and six RBI. Holland and Fajardo each had three RBI in the game. In addition, Fajardo stole his 11th and 12th bases while Holland stole his eighth and Smith stole his first. Chad Donato put together one of his better starts of the still-young season. He gave up two runs on six hits and four walks in four innings. Jose Bravo gave up three runs on three hits (2 homers) and a walk and only recorded one out. Osiris German went the next 2 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on six hits and a walk. Seth Nordlin got the final seven outs and gave up only one hit. Reminder: Royce Lewis is set to begin his 20 days of rehab with the Wind Surge. On Thursday in Frisco, he and the team will face Jack Leiter. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 12 Box Score The Kernels fell behind 3-0 after one, and a seven-run sixth inning put it well out of reach. Orlando Rodriguez started and gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits and three walks over four innings. He had five strikeouts. Malik Barrington gave up four runs on two hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Matt Mullenbach then was charged with four runs on six hits and a walk in one inning. Charlie Neuweiler got the final four outs, two on strikeouts. The Kernels had just five hits in the game, although they actually had five walks as well. Willie Joe Garry led the way. He went 2-for-2 with a double and a triple. Ernie Yake and Kala’i Rosario each walked twice. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Tampa 3 Box Score The Mighty Mussels put up a three-spot in the first inning, another in the fourth inning, and got some strong pitching along the way. However, the big news (from a big-picture perspective) was the return of lefty Christian MacLeod. The talented lefty, and son of former minor-league pitcher Kevin MacLeod, from Mississippi State was the Twins fifth-round pick in 2021. He had Tommy John surgery last March and has been working his way back since. He is on the Cedar Rapids roster, so technically this is a rehab start. Semantics. Certainly MacLeod wasn’t at his finest. He gave up one run on four walks over 1 1/3 innings. He struck out one batter. Just 19 of his 41 pitches were strikes, but none of that is as important as getting the first appearance out of the way and feeling healthy. His catcher, Andrew Cossetti, understood the struggles but was impressed with MacLeod. “I thought MacLeod battled today in his start. Anytime you’re making your first start in a while, it can be difficult to get in a rhythm, but he stayed strong in a tough situation and kept us in the game. I think that’s a tribute to his mentality as a competitor and a teammate.” Johnathan Lavallee went the next 2 2/3 innings. He gave up two runs on two hits> He struck out five batters. Then Zebby Matthews came out of the bullpen tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four batters. Jackson Hicks came in and got the final out. Cossetti has worked with Matthews several times already this season. The Twins Daily Hitter of the Month of April said of the Twins Daily Starting Pitcher of the Month of April, “Matthews just continues to dominate. He’s fun to catch because he has confidence throwing any pitch in any count. He continues to upgrade his arsenal day in and day out. Anytime he’s on the mound you know you’re going to be in the game.” In addition to his work behind the plate, Cossetti continues his assault on pitchers in the Florida State League, the 2012 11th round pick from St. Joseph’s went 2-for-3 with a walk tonight. In the first inning, he hit a two-run homer, his fifth of the season. It was followed immediately by the fourth homer of the season for Carlos Aguiar. Then in the seventh inning, Cossetti hit his second home run of the game to give the Mussels some insurance. Finding success takes a lot of work. After the game, Cossetti told Twins Daily, “I’ve been working a lot with the hitting coaches to create a better and more efficient bat path, and focusing on that process has definitely been bringing me success. I’m just trying to use my opportunity with the Mussels to become a more complete hitter and allow me to have more success in the future.” He continued, “I would call myself a power hitter. I’ve always been able to hit the ball out of the yard, and my goal is to continue to tap into more power. ” In between the Cossetti home runs, Jorel Ortega - who had four hits on Tuesday - hit a three-run homer. Ortega is now hitting .308 with a .942 OPS on the season. Aguiar went 2-for-4. Dillon Tatum went 2-for-4. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Zebby Matthews (Fort Myers Mighty Mussels) - 4 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K. 52 pitches, 34 strikes. Hitter of the Day – David Banuelos (Wichita Wind Surge) - 3-for-5, HR(3), R, 6 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) - 0-for-6, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - IL (Rehab begins Thursday in Wichita) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(8), R #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, R #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 2 K. #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K #17 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul-Rehab) - 2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 29 pitches, 13 Strikes. #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, K. #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-3, 6.35 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Carlos Luna (0-1, 5.89 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (DH at 5:00 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (2-1, 2.25 ERA), RHP Mike Paredes (0-0, 2.00 ERA). Tampa @ Fort Myers (5:45 PM CST) - LHP Develson Aria (0-0, 4.41 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! View full article

Popkins is safe, and should be. He's got Correa's support and that's key, but he's also very well respected around the league. Derek Shomon is safe, I would think. He only had two years in the organization before joining the club as the third batting coach this year. If anyone is susceptible, it's probably Rudy Hernandez. He's been a hitting coach in the big leagues for probably the last 7-8 years (I could, but won't, look it up). He was often given a lot of credit by Sano, Rosario, and others from the group 4-6 years ago. I'm sure he's not worse a coach now, but a lot of the guys he worked with in the minors and then in the majors are now elsewhere.

Yeah, his track record as a hitting coach is "pretty impressive."

Sean Poppen has had some moments, and some saves, in the big leagues. Caleb Hamilton getting to the big leagues is a major success. Balazovic will still get there. The draft also includes Matt Wallner and Brent Rooker who didn't sign (Wallner out of HS, Rooker after his third college season). Obviously good decisions by both. But getting this much talent to the big leagues shows a terrific eye for talent. I think most of us still believe that Kirilloff and Miranda are important pieces to the future, and Jax should be a reliable high-leverage arm for them for 3-4 more years, maybe longer.

Happy for Enlow, the six innings, the quality start, and the nine Ks are very much impressive. Fun to see he's fully healthy and performing!

It should be Miranda BECAUSE of the belief that he will be a core part of the Twins future. He's struggling. The strike zone judgment he had shown the lst two years is gone. He's trying to do too much with every swing. The defense was fine early, but now that's even a mess. He can use the time for a reset. Farmer has played plenty of third in his time. He'll be just fine there. And Miranda can clear his mind a bit, take a step back and then move forward.

De Leon's been a swing man all year, and if he were to get to the Twins, that's the role he would have. Balazovic is another guy that they would want to get 3-4 innings as a swing-man as well. Starting or relieving... doesn't really matter for St. Paul. Both would be swing guys, long relievers if they got called up. I'm just glad Balazovic is putting himself back in that conversation.

It was a day of close games throughout the Twins organization, and fortunately, three of four Twins full-season affiliates won on Wednesday. There was a little bit of everything in these games. Some quality starting pitching, so big moments for relievers, some good defense, some big offensive performances and some big-time, clutch hits. Find out more below. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Jordan Balazovic) Before we get started with the daily minor-league update, we're trying to come up with as many Minnesotans in pro baseball there are. Click here to see what players we have, and let us know in those comments if we missed someone. TRANSACTIONS While we knew it was coming, the Twins officially placed RHP Tyler Mahle on the Injured List and recalled RHP Louie Varland. RHP Ronny Henriquez was sent to Fort Myers to start his rehab assignment. RHP Alex Phillips was placed on the 7-Day IL by Wichita. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Nashville 3 Box Score While it wasn’t perfect, Jordan Balazovic made his first start of the season. He went 3 1/3 innings and was charged with one run on one hit. He walked three and struck out six batters. Things looked much better after three innings. He walked the first two batters he faced in the fourth frame before getting a ground out and handing things over to Jose De Leon who allowed one of the inherited runners to score. De Leon worked 3 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. He was charged with two runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out two batters. Jorge Alcala pitched the eighth inning and got the first two outs of the ninth frame. He walked leadoff man, Maple Grove’s Isaac Collins, to start the ninth. Then he struck out Monte Harrison and Blake Perkins. However, Eddy Alvarez walked, bringing up slugger Jon Singleton as the go-ahead run. Toby Gardenhire went to newly-promoted southpaw Kody Funderburk. On three pitches, the former two-way player at Dallas Baptist got a strikeout to end the threat and the game. Alcala gets the Win, and Funderburk recorded his first Triple-A save. Following the game, Funderburk told Twins Daily that tried to keep it simple in the big moment. "It was a really exciting experience to come into that situation. (I) just tried to focus on doing my job and getting the lefty out." The Saints took the lead in the third inning. Elliot Soto doubled, and Edouard Julien followed by switching places with him. Soon after, Alex Kirilloff singled in Julien and the Saints had the 2-0 lead. However, the Saints were down 3-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Kirilloff singled, and Kyle Garlick walked. Andrew Stevenson pinch ran for him. Matt Wallner came to the plate and came through with a two-run double. Soon after, Wallner took off for third base on a Lucas Erceg wild pitch. Catcher Payton Henry threw the ball away and Wallner scored with the fifth run of the game. Kyle Farmer went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in his second rehab game with the Saints. Kirilloff went 2-for-4. Michael Helman went 3-for-4 and is now hitting .348 since his return to St. Paul. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Northwest Arkansas 1 Box Score Last week, the Wind Surge gave up 53 runs over the final five games of the week against Springfield. So what the pitching staff did in this game is greatly appreciated. Lefty Aaron Rozek had his best game of the season. He gave up one run on four hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out two, but he walked none. The performance was good for him him, but it was also good for his younger brother! Back to Aaron Rozek's performance... after the game, he told Twins Daily a little bit about what was working for him. "Cutter was the go-to pitch tonight for sure. (I) was able to use that in any count. Think the biggest thing for me was being able to just go deeper into the game to allow our bullpen to relax a bit, and ultimately just giving our team a chance to win." The Burnsville native continued, regarding his early-season struggles and what he needed to focus on in the game on Wednesday. "No huge adjustments were made, just fine-tuning, I think. Being able to throw pitches in better locations... obviously not going to blow guys away with velocity, so have to move the ball around more than others would." Next, Tyler Beck worked 2 1/3 innings of one-hit ball and was credited with the Win to improve to 3-0. Alex Scherff recorded his second save of the season. He gave up a hit and a walk, and another batter reached on an error. However, Scherff got a double play - the Wind Surge’s third of the game - and ended the game with the score at 3-1. The Wind Surge tied the game at one in the second innings when Yoyner Fajardo singled to score Pat Winkel. Then in the seventh inning, the Wind Surge took the lead. Brooks Lee led off with a single. He advanced to second when DaShawn Keirsey reached on an error by the shortstop. However, the next two batters got out. Winkel walked to load the bases, and then Anthony Prato came through with a huge hit. He lined a single to center that scored Lee and Keirsey and gave the Wind Surge a lead that they didn’t relinquish. Lee led the way by reaching base four times. He was 3-for-4 with a walk and a double. Prato went 2-for-4 with a walk and clearly the biggest hit of the day. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, South Bend 5 Box Score The Kernels had an afternoon game in South Bend against the Cubs. The game was scoreless through the first five innings, but then the two teams combined for 14 runs over the final four innings, and fortunately, the Kernels scored nine of them. Let’s start with the pitching. Alejandro Hidalgo made the start. The 19-year-old acquired in the Gio Urshela trade struck out nine batters over 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up just three hits and one walk. The outing dropped his season ERA to just 1.29. Most important, since his Kernels/Twins debut when he gave up six walks in just 1 2/3 innings, he has just four walks in 12 1/3 innings over his next three outings. On the other side, Brandon Birdsell tossed five shutout innings for the Cubs. He gave up just three hits and two walks, and he struck out five Kernels. Why does the Birdsell name sound familiar? Maybe you follow Texas Tech baseball really closely? Or, maybe you remember that the Twins selected him in the 11th round of the 2021 draft and offered him as much as they had available above slot but within their allotted amount. Instead, he went back to school and the Cubs made him their fifth-round pick a year ago. He didn’t debut until this season. He has now made five starts for South Bend and is 1-0 with a 0.44 ERA. In 20 2/3 innings, he has given up one run on seven hits. He’s walked eight and struck out 18 batters. And then came the runs. The Kernels scored first with two runs in the sixth inning. Kala’i Rosario hit his first home run of the year, and it was followed by Jose Salas’s first home run as a member of the Twins organization. In the seventh frame, Charles Mack picked up his first hit of the season, a double that drove in Keoni Cavaco (who had reached on a double). John Wilson walked two but got the final two outs of the sixth inning while he maintained the shutout. Unfortunately, in the seventh inning, he faced three batters and all three singled. Niklas Rimmel came in and got the first out on a ground out. However, Scott McKeon tripled to drive in two runs to tie the game at three. Rimmel got the next two batters out without allowing McKeon to score. He then worked a perfect eighth frame. That sent us to the ninth inning, and the Kernels busted out. It started out simple enough. Cavaco walked. Ernie Yake came in to run for him. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third base, and scored the go-ahead run on a Mack sacrifice fly. Noah Miller struck out for the second out. Then the real fun began. Ben Ross and Tanner Schobel singled. Rosario singled to score Ross. Jose Salas walked to load the bases. Kyle Fedko drove a bases-clearing double to open things up. A wild pitch and a Willie Joe Garry single scored another run and the Kernels had a 9-2 lead. And they needed it. Miguel Rodriguez came in for the ninth and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk, but the Kernels held on to work to a 9-5 win. Rosario led the offense. He went 3-for-4 with the homer and two RBI. Tanner Schobel and Ben Ross each went 2-for-5. For the Northside Cubs readers, Scott McKeon went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Fabian Pertuz and Jacob Wetzel each had two hits. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 5 Box Score For six innings, the Mussels offense did nothing. Down 4-0 going to the seventh-inning stretch, Ft. Myers scored one run in the bottom of the seventh. A Dalton Shuffield single scored Ricardo Olivar. In the bottom of the eighth frame, a run double off the bat of Jorel Ortega scored Alec Sayre with the second run. Ortega advanced to third base on the play and scored when the Dunedin catcher tried to pick him off. The Blue Jays added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, but the Mussels made it very interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning. With one out, Shuffield walked. Dylan Neuse singled, and Mikey Perez walked to load the bases. Sayre struck out for the inning’s second out. But Twins Daily’s Minor League Hitter of the Month, Andrew Cossetti, came up and walked on five pitches that weren’t near the strike zone. After a pitching change, Ortega came up but struck out to end the game. Young Jose Olivares started and was charged with three runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out four batters. Ronny Henriquez came on for the sixth and gave up a run. He started the seventh inning and got two more outs before being replaced by AJ Labas who got out of the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth inning. Juan Mendez gave up the ninth inning insurance run when he walked two and gave up a hit. Henriquez looked solid in his first rehab appearance of the year. Sure, he gave up a run on a hit and two walks in 1 2/3 innings, but that isn’t terribly important. How he looked, how his pitches looked, and then how he responds tomorrow physically is what really is important to the process. His stuff sure looked like it did last year. His fastball sat between 94.4 and 96.3 mph. His slider was between 84.4 and 87.9 mph. His changeup was between 86.8 and 89.6 mph. His slider and changeup both got really good vertical movement, and his changeup had a nice horizontal drop. With how much time he has missed this spring, I would expect his rehab to be very close to the 30 day maximum, and even at that point, I would expect he would be activated and optioned to St. Paul to continue the work. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Alejandro Hidalgo (Cedar Rapids) - 5 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K. Hitter of the Day – Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, BB, HR(1), 2 R, 2 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(9), R, SB(2), E(3) #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B, R, RBI. #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, HR(1), 2 R, RBI, K. #9 - Louie Varland (Minnesota) - 4 2/3 innings, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 87 pitches, 59 strikes. #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2B(6), R, 2 RBI, 2 K. #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, SB, 2 K. #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 3 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 60 pitches, 32 strikes. #17 - Ronny Henriquez (Ft. Myers-Rehab) - 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 33 pitches, 22 Strikes. #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Nashville @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (0-0, 6.00 ERA) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Chad Donato (0-2, 12.54 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Orlando Rodriguez (2-1, 1.59 ERA) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (3-0, 3.10 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! View full article

What I like: Make up, IQ, Work Ethic. His delivery is very unique. Very few come from that much over the top. He has typically had really good control, and starting in 2022, his command was much improved. I really like his two other pitchers. I think the 12-6 curveball can be a plus-pitch, and the changeup is really good. It's the changeup that might be the best pitch. It also moves in on a right-hander. I still think that his upside is a solid #3-4 starter, but that's not a bad thing at all.

As the Nationals are calling up Bloomington Jefferson grad Jake Irvin to make his MLB debut today, I thought it would be great to start up a forum thread on Minnesotans in pro (affiliated) baseball. The list is actually rather impressive, especially of guys who graduated from a Minnesota high school between 2014 and 2018. So, I'll start out, but please add. And if others want to do the same for other states, great. RHP Louie Varland - Twins (North St. Paul) OF Matt Wallner - Twins (Forest Lake) LHP Caleb Thielbar - Twins (Randolph) LHP Sam Hentges - Guardians (Mounds View, Arden Hills) LHP Brad Hand - Rockies (Chaska) RHP Max Meyer - Marlins (Woodbury) RHP Nick Anderson - Braves (Brainerd) RHP Jake Irvin - Nationals (Bloomington Jefferson) - MLB debut 5/3/23 IF Michael Busch - Dodgers (Simley HS, Inver Grove Heights) RHP Gus Varland - Brewers (North St. Paul) RHP Mike Baumann - Orioles (Mahtomedi) RHP Sean Hjelle - Giants (Mahtomedi) C Anthony Bemboom - Orioles (Sauk Rapids) OF Alex Call - Nationals - Born in Burnsville (HS in River Falls) LHP Zack Muckenhirn - Mets (Delano) - promoted 5/2/23, traded by Mariners on 7/3/23. LHP Brandon Williamson - Reds (Martin County West, Sherburn) - promoted 5/15/23 IF Isaac Collins - Brewers (Maple Grove) LHP Aaron Rozek - Twins (Burnsville, MN-Mankato) OF Drew Gilbert - Astros (Stillwater) RHP Will Frisch - Cubs (Stillwater) RHP Logan Shore - Giants (Coon Rapids) - injured in spring training, hopes to be back in July (per Darren Wolfson) OF Tyler Reichenborn - Cardinals (Blaine) LHP Brody Rodning - Blue Jays (Sibley East, Gaylord) - released in July. RHP Sam Carlson - Mariners (Burnsville) RHP Aidan Maldonado - Brewers (Rosemount, Gophers) LHP Nate Peterson - Brewers (Lakeville North) RHP Adam Mazur - Padres (Woodbury) 2B Zack Raabe - Brewers (Forest Lake, Gophers) - Brian Raabe's son. RHP Brett Schulze - Phillies (Maple Grove, Gophers) UT/RP Nick Altermatt - White Sox (Wabasso, Minn St. Mankato) RHP Joey Stock - Red Sox (Cold Spring, St. John's) RHP John Klein - Twins (Brooklyn Park) RHP Dylan Tebrake - Mets (Cold Spring) OF Brett Bateman - Cubs (Gophers, Arden Hills - Mounds View HS) - 8th round 2023 RHP Seth Halvorsen - Rockies (Heritage Christian Academy, Maple Grove) - 7th round 2023 from Tennessee RHP Max Carlson - Red Sox (Burnsville HS) - 12th round 2023 from North Carolina 3B/OF Mac Horvath - Orioles (Rochester Century HS) - 2nd round 2023 from North Carolina Played at Minnesota colleges: UT Terrin Vavra - Orioles (Gophers) - Joe Vavra's son. LHP Lucas Gilbreath - Rockies (Gophers) LHP DJ Snelton - Yankees (Gophers) RHP Dalton Roach - Cardinals (Minn St. Mankato) RHP JP Massey - Pirates (Gophers) C Eli Wilson - Pirates (Gophers) - Dan Wilson's son. RHP Jackson Rose - Marlins (Gophers) LHP Matt Osterberg - Phillies (St. Cloud St.) RHP George Klassen - Phillies (Gophers) - 2023 draft BOLD = has played in MLB.