Seth Stohs

That is a tough question. I mean, ultimately, the goal is to add the true studs in the big league... But we've also seen that having depth and players who have experienced success and winning along the way etc. Nothing wrong with winning, but ultimately getting players ready to be big leaguers is all that matters.

The Twins lost their Wednesday afternoon contest to the Dodgers (as well as a couple of players to injury). The Saints, Wind Surge, and Kernels all lost, and they lost by a total of four runs. Worry not! The Mighty Mussels? They lost by six. Two of the Twins minor-league managers were ejected. Lots of hitters struck out. Three of the four starting pitchers struggled. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Yoyner Fajardo) As you all know, Wins and Losses are not as important in affiliated, minor-league baseball as player development. So, the fact that all four affiliates lost on Wednesday night doesn't matter at all in the big pitcher. Of course, you also like to think that part of the development process is learning how to win, and that development and improvement could lead to more Wins over time. There have been several days when all four affiliates have won. And, three of the four Twins affiliates have winning records. St. Paul Saints: 22-17 Wichita Wind Surge: 16-18 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 19-16 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 20-15 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS No transactions on Wednesday. However, three Twins players left their Wednesday afternoon game in Los Angeles. Nick Gordon has a fractured shin. Jorge Polanco has a “minor” hamstring strain. And, Joey Gallo left after being hit in the foot with a foul ball. In other words, the Twins have an off day on Thursday, but expect them to make some moves before their Friday night game in Anaheim, and you'll want to watch the Saints and Wind Surge lineups on Thursday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Columbus 4 Box Score The Saints fell behind 2-0 in the second inning. Both runs were unearned after a throwing error by starter Simeon Woods Richardson. The Clippers added a third run in the third inning. The Saints scored one in the fourth and one in the sixth inning to cut the lead to just one. Columbus scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. So when the Saints added one more run in the top of the seventh, it only cut the deficit to one, and that is where the score remained. Woods Richardson has had a tough start to his season. In this game, he went five innings and was charged with all four runs (two earned). He gave up six hits, walked four and struck out three batters. Connor Sadzeck, who has spent big-league time with the Rangers, Mariners and Brewers, came in and allowed an inherited runner to score. However, he worked two innings and gave up just one hit. Josh Winder pitched a scoreless eighth inning. He walked one and struck out one. He also had two pitch-clock violations. On the offensive side, the Saints got two hits from Andrew Stevenson, Jose Miranda, and Mark Contreras. Contreras, Chris Williams, and Andrew Bechtold each hit a double. Elliot Soto had to leave the game in the second inning because of injury. Manager Toby Gardenhire was told to leave the game in the fifth inning by the umpire for disagreeing with the call on a double play. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Arkansas 2 Box Score Carlos Luna made his sixth start of the season for the Wind Surge. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. Unfortunately, the runs scored in the fifth inning on a Connor Hoover two-run home run that put Arkansas ahead 2-1. Unfortunately, that was the end of the scoring in the game. Luna got one more out in the sixth inning before Alex Scherff came in to replace him. He gave up two hits, but he recorded five outs, four of them on strikeouts. Michael Boyle gave up four hits, but no runs in 1 1/3 innings. Hunter McMahon came on and walked two before getting the final two outs in the ninth. Wichita had plenty of opportunities in the game. They had nine hits and two walks, but they went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. Yoyner Fajardo continues to rake. The minor-league Rule 5 pick from the Pirates is now hitting .315 after going 2-for-4 with a walk in this game. He also stole his 13th base. Alex Isola went 2-for-4 and his fourth-inning, solo home run scored the lone run on the day. Pat Winkel had a single and a walk, and Seth Gray hit a double. As with the Saints game, the Wind Surge manager didn’t get to see the end of the game from the home-team’s dugout. He was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing a call at first base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 6 Box Score Pierson Ohl had his first tough start of the season for the Kernels. He gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits over four innings. However, it won’t surprise you to hear that he had five strikeouts and no walks. In 30 innings this season, he now had 31 strikeouts… and just two walks. John Stankiewicz worked two scoreless innings and gave up only one hit. Malik Barrington worked 1 1/3 innings. He gave up one run on three hits and two walks. Niklas Rimmel got the final five outs, two on strikeouts. He gave up just one hit. Kala’i Rosario had two of the team’s seven hits in the game including his 10th double. Misael Urbina and Jose Salas each had a double. Kyler Fedko mashed his first home run of the season. Tanner Schobel had a single and a walk. Unfortunately, the Kernels also had 14 strikeouts in the game. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 1, Lakeland 7 Box Score A short start with minimal offensive production is not a great means to victory in baseball at any level. The Mussels have been playing well of late, but not so much on this night. Lefty Develson Aria was on the mound to start and tossed a scoreless first inning. However, the southpaw gave up five runs on three hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Jackson Hicks came on and got out of that second inning, but he gave up two runs on two hits in the third frame. He recorded four outs, all four on strikeouts. The Mussels were down 7-0 after three innings, but if you’re looking for positives, the pitching over their final five innings was good. Danny Moreno, just added to the roster, tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked three, and struck out two batters. Then Juan Mendez struck out three batters over two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and one walk. Fort Myers managed just five hits in the game and walked twice. Dylan Neuse went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. They went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base. Fun with Statcast (Here are the reports on the four Mighty Mussels pitchers in this game. If not interested, scroll down to the Hitter and Pitcher of the Day.) Lefty Develson Aria wasn’t in the game long. He threw 47 pitches and 22 of them were four-seam fastballs. He got 12 swings on that pitch including seven whiffs. His fastball ranged between 91.4 mph and 94.2 mph. It averaged 93.2 mph. His next most-used pitch was his changeup, with 17 of them. The velocity on those pitches were between 87.9 mph and 91.1 mph with an average of 89.7. One of two things is going on there. First, it’s possible they were being recorded wrong and maybe should have been called ‘sinkers.’ However, if those were in-fact changeups, then one thing to work on is throwing that about 7-10 mph slower to keep the hitters off balance. He threw six sliders that averaged 80.3 mph. Jackson Hicks threw 23 pitchers, 14 of them were sliders. He got 12 swings on the slider including nine whiffs! The slider’s average velocity was 83.4 mph. He threw just five fastballs which averaged 90.7 mph. Danny Moreno is one of those names that we’ve seen in the Twins organization for quite some time. He signed with the Twins way back in July of 2017. He pitched in the DSL in 2018. He worked two games in the GCL in 2019 before the arm injuries started. He also pitched out of the GCL Twins’ bullpen in 2021 and 2022. Wednesday night was his first game of the year. So why keep the 23-year-old around? Well, 39 of his 57 pitches were designed as sinkers. Those pitches were clocked between 92.6 and 96.4, with an average of 94.6. He also threw some sliders, changeups and a slower curveball. Finally, Juan Mendez came in. Of his 36 pitches, 16 were four-seam fastballs, and 14 were sliders. Those fastballs were thrown between 95.1 mph and 98.5 mph. Three of the pitches were over 98.0 mph. He got just two whiffs on that pitch. However, he got whiffs on six of the 14 sliders he threw, especially good when he only got nine swings on it. The slider was between 81.9 and 84.4 mph. He also threw five cutters, which could have been sliders and called-out differently. The pitches act very similarly, but the velocity separation is really solid. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Danny Moreno (Fort Myers Mighty Mussels) - 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 2 K. 57 pitches, 30 strikes. Hitter of the Day – Alex Isola (Wichita Wind Surge) - 2-for-4, HR(5), R, RBI, 2 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul-on Rehab) - Scheduled Day Off. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 3 K. #4 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, K #7 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 3 K (87 pitches, 52 strikes) #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 4 K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2B(4), R, RBI. #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4. #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, K. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (1-0, 5.60 ERA) vs RHP Aaron Civale. Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (0-1, 3.56 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (1-3, 3.96 ERA) Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (1-2, 3.09 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! View full article

That could be... but Duran, Lopez and Thielbar (when healthy), along with Jax all have pretty solid control. The top guys.

The #MNTwins, of course, have the 4th or 5th best BB/9 rate in MLB...

I'm getting old. We need to do that again, although I no longer live close by. Those were some long lunch 'hours.' Ha! And, my assumption is that's a dream, but it's a fun one.

I just can't do it. Martin's upside is just so, so much higher. Miller started out well in CR this year, but now his average (like others) is under .200 as well. I still think Miller can be solid, but Martin stil could be really good, depending on what they do with his elbow.. even that only delays him, doesn't alter his upside.

I agree on all of that... not that I necessarily followed through in my rankings. I'm still bigger on upside, which I can't claim is the best method, or not... or that there even is a best way. To be somewhat transparent, here is my top 30. 1.) Lewis, 2.) Lee, 3.) Rodriguez, 4.) Julien, 5.) Prielipp, 6.) Mercedes, 7.) Canterino, 8.) Raya, 9.) Wallner, 10.) Festa, 11.) SWR, 12.) Martin, 13.) Miller, 14.) Salas, 15.) Headrick, 16.) De Andrade, 17.) Severino, 18.) Nowlin, 19.) Rodriguez, 20.) Hidalgo, 21.) Cruz, 22.) Rosario, 23.) Balazovic, 24.) Enlow, 25.) Helman, 26.) Ross, 27.) Olivar, 28.) Keirsey, 29.) Adams, 30.) Acuna.

He was the Twins Daily Short Season Minor League Hitter of the Year last year. An impressive bat and athlete... here is that report.

But, the Twins could claim him, put him on waivers right away, hope he clears and try to work out a deal with the Dodgers to be able to keep him and send him to Triple-A. If they could pull that off, it'd be great. Varland is intriguing. He's very similar to Trevor Megill. Has incredible two-pitch mix and can be successful, but consistency and command has been a struggle. He was actually doing a nice job with the Brewers until getting hit in the head by the comebacker.

We last updated the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects in February, our preseason Top 20. Now the players are about six or seven weeks, and 30-40 games into their 2023 seasons. It was time to update the rankings. This time, we did it a little different. Find out more, and were there any big changes? Image courtesy of Katherine Ramirez, Frisco RoughRiders When Twins Daily just started about a dozen years ago, I wrote the majority of minor league content and the first few Top Prospect rankings were basically me, along with Cody Christie and Jeremy Nygaard, sharing our rankings. Since then, we have been including as many Twins Daily writers who provide minor-league content (written or video). It obviously becomes much more of consensus ranking than a more limited group. With this prospect ranking, we are adding even more data points. Here’s how it works. I worked with our minor-league staff on our prospect rankings. I asked them to provide me with their Top 30 players and with that determine the Top 20 for the writers. In addition, Brock started a forum topic, asking Twins Daily readers to provide their Top 20 rankings. After several days, he then went into those rankings and consolidated them into the forum Top 20. Take the writer rankings. Take the forum community rankings. Give each 50% weight, and "Voila!" We have our new Top 20 Twins Prospects from Twins Daily. Some players have started well. Some players have struggled early. Several players have had or fought injuries. All of that may alter the rankings. So below, I will get to the updated Top 20 rankings, but here are some notes about those rankings. Who’s Out? First, Louie Varland is no longer in the rankings. While he is technically still a “prospect” today, as soon as he gets three more outs in the big leagues, he will hit the 50-inning mark, removing his prospect status. This is a great way to no longer make a prospect list! Three players at the back end of the previous rankings fell out of the Top 20. #17 Ronny Henriquez was hurt through spring training, then made about four rehab appearances and is now on the Saints roster. This one feels a bit out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Also, that he is most likely a relief pitcher likely pushes him down a couple of spots too. #18 Tanner Schobel was the team’s second-round pick last year out of Virginia Tech. He has made the jump to High-A Cedar Rapids where the 23-year-old is playing all over the infield and hitting about .240 with three homers. Finally, #20 Misael Urbina fell down a bit, just outside the Top 20. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting just over .160 in his first month-plus of High-A ball. Who’s In? #15 – Brent Headrick jumps into the Top 20 rankings after not being in the Top 30 this spring. Many were surprised that he was added to the 40-man roster last fall. Articles were written saying he may be a DFA candidate in spring training if a roster spot was needed. Instead, the 25-year-old lefty had a terrific showing in spring training. He was sent to St. Paul to start the season, despite spending just two months at Double-A Wichita last season. Early in the season, the Twins needed a long reliever and summoned Headrick. He impressed with three solid innings out of the bullpen in Fenway Park in his debut, recording a save in the process. He got the final out in a win over the Nationals. Then he had another extended outing in Yankees Stadium and fared well. With Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda out for the foreseeable future, we are not likely to see Headrick in a long-relief role anytime soon. It’s possible he, along with Simeon Woods Richardson, are the two candidates for spot starts for the time being. #17 – Blayne Enlow returns to the Top 20 with a strong start to his 2023 season. As you know, the former third-round pick needed Tommy John surgery in June of 2021. He was added to the 40-man roster following that season anyway. He worked his way back and after just one rehab appearance, he was pushed up to Double-A. Admittedly, he had some troubles, throwing strikes, being consistent, as is not unusual following surgery. He was removed from the 40-man this offseason, cleared waivers, and started this season back in Double-A for somewhat of a make or break season. Somewhat surprising, he returned to the starter role. It hasn’t been perfect, but he’s shown the increased velocity, the walks are down, and he is getting a lot of strikeouts. Enlow has spent a lot of time in the Twins Daily Top 10 Prospect rankings since being drafted in 2017. He’s incredibly driven and still has an opportunity to be a long-term big-league pitcher. #19 – Yunior Severino was an intriguing signing when he signed with the Twins for $2.5 million. You can read a lot more about him, especially if you want to hop on the Severino Hype Train, so I won’t get into a ton of detail here. However, over the past couple of seasons, he has really developed his powerful swing. His 10 home runs this season are four more than any other minor leaguer in the Twins minor leagues. He’s been eligible to be selected I the Rule 5 a couple of years already. It’s very possible he wouldn’t get through that process again. #20 – Michael Helman has had a tough season, if we are being honest, but his “stock” and respect in the organization and in the mind’s of many Twins fans has greatly improved. He earned an invitation to big-league spring training, but then he hurt his hamstring and missed that opportunity, along with the first month of the season. He returned to St. Paul and for a week, he was remarkable, but now he’s on the IL with a dislocated shoulder. How long will he be out? We shall see. But if healthy, if there is a need for a versatile, right-handed bench or platoon bat, Helman is a candidate. He has hit 19 and 20 homers, respectively, the past two seasons. He stole 40 bases last year. Over the past couple of seasons, he has played at least 20 games at seven position (4 infield and 4 outfield), and hey, he was a catcher in high school, and he has a strong arm and could probably pitch if needed too. No Change at the Top Probably no surprise, but the top three did not change at all. The ‘battle’ for #1 prospect between Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis was incredibly close, and it still was. However, Lee remained at #1 for both the writers and the community. There are those (like me), who will continue to have Lewis at #1 because of his potential, his make up, and the potential we saw in his 12 games with the Twins in 2022. For others, the back-to-back seasons with the ACL injuries, were too much to keep him at #1. Neither answer is right, and neither answer is wrong. But it certainly can be a fun discussion. And Twins fans, we should ultimately just be thankful to have both in the organization. And while he has been limited with an injury, and a strikeout machine when he has been healthy, we all still believe in Emmanuel Rodriguez’s upside, and he sticks at #3. Big Movers? There really weren’t a lot of players that moved up or down the list significantly, aside from the four new guys mentioned above. But of those that were on the list preseason and now, the player who moved up the most is RHP David Festa who moved up to #8 from #13. He has been solid for Wichita and has his best start recently. He is also sitting with a fastball between 96-98 mph. Jose Salas fell four spots. He is one of the ten youngest players in the Midwest League, and he (like several of the Twins young prospects in Cedar Rapids) has struggled to keep his batting average over about .160. New to the organization, we didn’t necessarily know where to rank him before the season. Now we have six weeks of data points that haven’t looked pretty. However, there is no question that the tools are there with the bat and with his speed. What does it mean? Connor Prielipp moved up two spots to #5. He made just a couple of starts in Cedar Rapids before being placed on the IL with some left arm concerns. The reports on him since have been positive, but that’s scary. Jordan Balazovic couldn’t have had a more difficult past season. He started 2022 hurt, and then really struggled all season with the Saints. Then came this spring training where, well, things didn’t go well. His season started a bit late and then he started the season in the bullpen. But something happened. He returned to form. Sure, there have been too many walks, but he’s been making starts and shown the ability to be really good, even dominant, for two or three innings. Maybe he extends that length, or maybe he becomes a 2-3 inning guy with great stuff. Austin Martin and Matt Canterino fell just one spot in the rankings. Simeon Woods Richardson has an ERA over seven, and he only fell a couple of spots. Marco Raya and Emmanuel Rodriguez each missed a month with injury. Rodriguez stayed at #3, and Raya fell to #6 (one spot behind Prielipp). It seems like guys that missed time stayed close to where they were, or even moved up, in part due to the reality that very few top prospects have actually played great to start the season. Yes, Varland has improved, but now he’s not eligible for the list. Edouard Julien has been quite good with the Saints and showed some of what he can be in his short time with the Twins. Matt Wallner continues to bash Triple-A pitching. But those were top guys already with not very many spots to move up. Who else has started the season making a strong impression? Solid Starts, but not quite Top 20 Andrew Cossetti got a few Top 30 votes by our writers, and he has had a huge start to his season. Severino has been fantastic. For Fort Myers, Jorel Ortega is playing very well, and Dalton Shuffield is hitting well for the Mighty Mussels. Noah Cardenas has been a bright spot in the Kernels’ lineup, and I would argue that Ben Ross and Kala’i Rosario should have moved up people’s lists, but to the borderline of the top 20. DaShawn Keirsey is again playing well in Wichita and already has 16 stolen bases. Yoyner Fajardo has hit very well, for average, with the Wind Surge. On the mound, a few of the 2022 draft picks have started out strong. That would include Kyle Jones, Cory Lewis, Zebby Matthews, and C.J. Culpepper are doing well. Pierson Ohl moved up a level and has 26 strikeouts with just two walks. Newcomer Alejandro Hidalgo is young for the Midwest League, but he’s got a 1.50 ERA with the Kernels. Jaylen Nowlin is still striking out a ton of batters, though he’s walking some as well. Out of the bullpen, Regi Grace has been fantastic all season. Kody Funderburk’s ERA and strikeout rate have been terrific, though his WHIP is quite high. Matthew Swain is really starting to dominate. 2022 Day 3 draft picks Ben Ethridge and Zach Veen both have ERAs of 1.20 and lower, and WHIPS under 1.00. Who’s Next? Well, as you would expect, I can only speak to which players are next in line on the writers’ “ballots,” just outside our consensus Twins Daily Top 20 prospects. At the top of that list is Fort Myers shortstop Danny De Andrade. He was a big international free agent signing a couple of years ago. He’s being challenged, but so far, he has at least held his own. Here are “The Next 10.” 21.) Danny De Andrade, Fort Myers 22.) Misael Urbina, Cedar Rapids 23.) Ronny Henriquez, St. Paul 24.) Tanner Schobel, Cedar Rapids 25.) Bryan Acuna, FCL 26.) Cole Sands, Minnesota 27.) Kala’I Rosario, Cedar Rapids 28.) Jaylen Nowlin, Cedar Rapids 29.) Alejandro Hidalgo, Cedar Rapids 30.) Byron Chourio, FCL Ask Away Be sure to dig around in the Twins Daily Prospect Tracker to learn more about each of the Top 20 prospects. But feel free to use the COMMENTS below to discuss these prospects. Who is ranked too high, and who is ranked too low? And be sure to ask us about our rankings or about any of the players. We will try to answer your questions, and hopefully get comments from our minor-league writers on their thoughts too. View full article

I added the Phil Cuzzi Ump Scorecard tweet to the bottom of the article but here it is too.

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