Seth Stohs

Martin hurt his index finger diving for a ball. He's been kinda day-to-day the whole time, but from what I've heard today he should be good to go at this point. He may get a little time here and there still, but for the most part, he should be back.

This is the first year we have been doing the DSL Twins box scores and games to try to help with that.

How many stolen base attempts are their in a game? I think blocking is important but both are pretty solid at that. Jeffers is solid, at least. How many pitches does a catcher catch during a game?

Certainly. Drafted as an infielder, he can play all over. He has become a really good defensive outfielder and has always been a good defensive infielder. Definitely something clicked for him offensively last year in Cedar Rapids, along with better strike zone knowledge and strength, and approach.

De Andrade got $2.2 million, and Fredy Michel (La Flor then) got $1.1 million. Raya hadn't pitched for about two weeks. I'm sure it's all part of the plan to get him through this season. Povich has been really solid at Cedar Rapids. The Twins pushed him and he is more than holding his own. Hajjar could be good too. He just has to be healthy.

Are we thinking his career success and domination in the minors and majors were completely based on Spider Tak?

Sisk's numbers are his number, and they have been quite good. He probably could fit into the plans. That said, he's obviously now behind Thielbar, Coulombe, Moran at this point, so I'm not sure that he gets up there this year. But, never know.

Rijo started once last week for the FCL Twins. Will probably do another rehab game or two and then get back to Cedar Rapids. McLeod only had TJ surgery in March. But that should put him on track to pitch soon after opening day.

Assuming you mean former Twins minor league pitcher and then minor league pitching coach Henry Bonilla, I would guess no relation. Michel got a nice signing bonus. He did OK last year in the DSL... He and De Andrade might ideally move up together as long as they can.

There are two lines for several of the prospects. Separates how they did with different teams. Sisk has been really good. Not sure he'd be an option this year, especially with the limit on # of pitchers on a 26-man roster. Thielbar's been good. Coulombe is a big leaguer. Moran has a ton of potential. But he has certainly put himself next in line as a lefty out of the bullpen.. As for Soto,.. I don't know if he's got any connection to the Twins front office. He's been around a long time, knows a lot of people. I think he could be a coach if he wants, but if that's the case, he should have a lot of options.

I really think that the guys that would have moved up from the FCL to Ft. Myers have already done that recently (Roberto, Aguiar, Cespedes, etc.). I don't know enough about the pitchers, but with the Twins draft strategy, may just wait for the draft and send a couple of college pitchers there. John Lavallee might be the only 2021 college draft pick that isn't in FM yet, so I think he is a possibility.

It was another extremely busy week of action in the Twins minor league system. We've got you covered with some stats, but also catch you up on a couple of key injury concerns. From the Saints sending a message to the Rochester Red Wings that they are now the Twins Triple-A affiliate, to Wichita, to Cedar Rapids, and down to the Dominican Republic. Find out what's going on in the Twins minor leagues. These Minor League Week in Reviews are getting long. They are filled with how Twins minor leaguers, from the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, down to the 17 and 18-year-old kids playing in the Dominican Summer League. Who played really well? How did the teams perform. While wins and losses are secondary to player development, it is a part of the game that matters to the players. There were several transactions on Monday. Both Rookie League affiliates played on Monday morning. There has been a lot of Twins minor league coverage all week, so be sure to keep checking back. Of course, we also look at the current Top 20 Twins prospects, and we enjoy seeing them do well. But, we (or at least I am) are just as excited to hear that a player like Elliot Soto is being called up by the Twins. Fun stories! If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week. TRANSACTIONS With no Monday Minor League Report, here are the transactions from later on Sunday and on Monday: RHP Cole Sands was optioned to St. Paul. Infielder Elliot Soto’s contract was purchased and he joins the team in Seattle. To make room, RHP Cody Stashak was placed on the 60-Day IL. LHP Evan Sisk was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. RHP Jordan Gore was sent from St. Paul to Wichita, as was OF Cole Sturgeon. RHP Argenis Angulo placed on the Development List for Wichita. RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. C Jair Camargo activated from the Injured List. OF Kennie Taylor and C Kyle Schmidt sent from Wichita to Cedar Rapids. RESULTS Previous Week in Review (5/31-6/6):Another No-No, and Huge Offensive Performances Tuesday: Gipson-Long Shucks Cubs, Steer Stays Hot Wednesday: Encarnacion-Strand Continues to Mash, Emmanuel Rodriguez Injured Thursday: Festa Fancy in Start, Steer Walks it Off Friday: A Near Sweep Saturday: Kirilloff, Saints Power Their Way to Sixth Straight Win Sunday: Offensive Clinic from Cedar Rapids, Kirilloff Homers Again MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT (More Than) Three Questions With… Saints Infielder Spencer Steer (includes video) Is Austin Martin Minnesota’s Best Trade Chip? Partial ACL Tear Ends Lewis’s Season… Again! Passing on What He Has Learned Is Elliot Soto’s Drive With the 2022 Saints MONDAY’S SHORT-SEASON RESULTS We don’t have a Minor League Report on Mondays since the full-season affiliates don’t play on Mondays. But, often the FCL Twins and DSL Twins do play. Here are their box scores and highlights. FCL Twins 6, FCL Rays 11 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Juan Rojas (4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) Multi-Hit Games: Gregory Duran (2-for-3, BB, 2B, R, RBI, K 2B: Gregory Duran (2) Rehab Players: Daniel Robertson (0-for-2, K) Top Prospects: Danny De Andrade (0-for-3, HBP, K), Fredy Michel (1-for-3, 2 BB, K, 2 R, 1 RBI, SB). Summary: The GCL Twins fell behind 6-1 but clawed their way back to 6-5 going to the bottom of the eighth inning. That’s when the Rays scored five runs to put the game away. Just one of those five runs was earned as the Twins youngsters committed six errors in the game. DSL Twins 7, DSL Brewers (2) 6 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Julio Bonilla (4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) Multi-Hit Games: Denyerbe Gervis (2-for-2, 2B, R, RBI, SB), Isaac Pena (2-for-2, RBI), Junior Del Valle (2-for-3, R) 2B: Denyerbe Gervis (3) 3B: Yilber Herrera (1) Top Prospects: Bryan Acuna (0-3, HBP, R, 2 K) WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week: 6-0, hosting Rochester Season: 30-29 overall, 6th place out of ten teams in the International League West. They are 6.0 games behind Nashville. Despite the rough week, Rochester remains in first place, a half-game ahead of Lehigh Valley. The Saints were struggling, but it’s fair to say that they are playing much better now. They began the week at 24-29. The former Twins Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings, came to St. Paul leading the East division of the International League. The Saints swept the series and are now back over .500 at 30-29. In reality, the Saints completely dominated #OldFriend Matthew Lecroy’s squad. They outscored the Wings 48-23. They reached double-digits in runs scored three times. Aside from a walk-off win on Thursday, none of the other games were particularly close. The Red Wings still lead their division by 1/2 game. Mario Sanchez had a four-inning save this week. He gave up no runs and no hits. He walked one and struck out six batters. Joe Ryan made a rehab start on Thursday night. He struck out four batters over three scoreless, one-hit innings. He appears ready to make his next start with the Twins. Jake Petricka worked three scoreless, one-hit innings over two appearances. He walked one and struck out three batters. Tyler Thornburg threw two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He gave up one hit and struck out three batters. He also threw 2 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings in his Twins debut on Sunday afternoon. Jake Faria gave up one run on five hits in five innings in his start. He walked one and struck out two. Alex Kirilloff played in all six games. He went 9-for-24 and hit .375/.423/.792 (1.215) with a double, three homers and seven RBI. Tim Beckham played in four games. He went 9-for-17 and hit .529/.600/.765 (1.365) with a double, a homer, and nine RBI. He also had two stolen bases. Spencer Steer played in the Saints first three games this week. In that time, he went 5-for-13 and hit .385/.500/.923 (1.423) with a double and two home runs. On Thursday, he capped a four-run ninth inning with a two-run, walk-off homer. Jermaine Palacios returned to the Saints. In four games, he went 6-for-17, hitting .353/.389/.647 (1.036) with two doubles, a homer and four RBI. Michael Helman went 6-for-19 (.316) with two doubles. Mark Contreras went 6-for-20 (.300) with three doubles. Caleb Hamilton played in four games and went 4-for-12. He hit .333/.556/.583 (1.139) with a homer and two RBI. He also walked six times. In six games, Jake Cave went 8-for-23 and hit .348/.444/.609 (1.053) with a double, triple, homer, and five RBI. What’s Next? The Saints will be on the road the next two weeks. They will travel to Ohio and take on the Columbus Clippers this week. Pitching Probables (RHP Aaron Sanchez, RHP Ronny Henriquez, RHP Jordan Balazovic, RHP Derek Rodriguez, RHP Jake Faria, TBD) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Week: 2-4, @ Arkansas Season: 32-23 overall, 1st place in the Texas League North Division. They remain 1 1/2 game ahead of Tulsa (30-24) and 2.0 games ahead of Arkansas (31-26). The series began with 6-1 losses at the hands of Arkansas. After a rainout on Wednesday, they split a doubleheader Thursday. The Wind Surge were outscored 23-20 for the week. Only one game throughout the full week was decided by less than three runs. Here are some of the top performances for the Wind Surge this past week: Louie Varland had a terrific start this week. The Minnesota native tossed six scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked none, and struck out nine batters. Melvi Acosta gave up just one hit over 4 2/3 innings in two appearances. He walked two and struck out four batters. Lefty Evan Sisk struck out six batters over three scoreless, hitless innings. He walked two batters. New Surge relievers, Denny Bentley and Andrew Cabezas each worked two scoreless innings and struck out two batters over two games. Anthony Prato had a good start to his Wichita days. He went 5-for-18 and hit .278/.417/.389 (.806) with two doubles and three walks. Chris Williams went 5-for-22 (.227), but he had three doubles, a homer, and five RBI. Edouard Julien was 5-for-18 (.278), but he walked six times, giving him a .458 on-base percentage for the week. What’s Next? The Wind Surge will remain on the road. They will head to Tulsa to play a seven-game series. They will play a doubleheader on Wednesday, making up for a rainout from early May. Pitching Probables (RHP Casey Legumina, Wednesday DH (TBD, TBD), TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week: 4-2, @ South Bend Season: 37-20 overall, 1st place in the Midwest League West Division, 3.5 games ahead of Wisconsin (33-23). The Kernels dominated the series to the tune of a 37-16 run differential. They lost two close games and they won the other four games by an average of six runs. The Kernels were able to increase their lead in the division and put more space between themselves and third-place South Bend. David Festa continues his impressive, breakout season. In his start last week, the flamethrower struck out six batters over six scoreless innings. He gave up four hits and walked one batter. Lefty Aaron Rozek tossed four innings. He gave up no runs on two hits, one walk, one hit batter and struck out three batters. Sawyer Gipson-Long gave up one run on three hits (a solo homer). He walked one and struck out six batters. Cade Povich gave up one run on four hits over six innings on Sunday. He walked two and struck out five batters. Brent Headrick had another strong start. In 5 2/3 innings, he gave up one run on six hits. He walked one and struck out seven batters. Christian Encarnacion-Strand played all six games. He went 6-for-24 and hit .250/.333/.708 (1.041) with two doubles, three homers, and eight RBI. Dylan Neuse played four games and went 3-for-10 at the plate. He hit .300/.533/.600 (1.133) with a homer. He walked four times. Wander Javier went 6-for-17 in five games last week. He hit .353/.450/.529 (979) with a double, a triple, and four RBI. In six games, Seth Gray went 7-for-22 and hit .318/.400/.636 (1.036) with a double, two homers, and seven RBI. What’s Next? The Kernels will be home for the next two weeks. This week, they will be hosting Dayton. Dayton leads the Midwest League East Division with a 36-19 record and a 4 1/2 game lead over Great Lakes. Order Tickets here. Pitching Probables (RHP John Stankiewicz, RHP David Festa, LHP Brent Headrick, LHP Aaron Rozek, LHP Cade Povich, RHP Sean Mooney) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Week: 1-5, @ Daytona Season: 35-21 overall, 1st place in the Florida State League West, 6.0 games ahead of Clearwater (29-27). It was a tough week for the Mussels. Marco Raya Steve Hajjar was terrific but only went two innings in his start. Emmanuel Rodriguez injured his leg on Wednesday. He is going to be out for three-to-four months after having surgery. Keoni Cavaco played in just one game but is expected to return to action this week. They were outscored by the Tortugas 17-37. Carlos Aguiar began the week by playing one game with the FCL Twins. He had a double in a 1-for-3 game. He also walked once. In four games with the Mussels, he had a double, a triple, a homer, and two walks. Noah Cardenas played in six games. He went 3-for-12 (.250). He also walked six times and was on base 59% of the time and had a double too. Jaylen Nowlin made one start. He went three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out six batters. Sam Perez pitched twice, In three innings, he gave up one hit. He struck out two batters and didn’t walk anyone. Travis Adams struck out eight batters in five innings. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk. Malik Barrington struck out four batters over three scoreless innings over two outings. He finished both games he pitched and recorded a save. What’s Next? The Mighty Mussels head back to Hammond Stadium this week to take on the Bradenton Marauders (25-31). Pitching Probables (TBD, TBD,TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD) Rookie: Florida Complex League (FCL Twins) Week: 3-2 Season: 4-2 Alexander Pena is off to a fast start. In four games, he went 7-for-12. He hit .583/.600/.917 (1.517) with two doubles, a triple, and three home runs. Fredy Michel also played four games. He went 5-for-13 and hit .385/.500/.538 (1.038) with two doubles and an RBI. Gregory Duran played four games and went 3-for-10. He hit .300/.563/.500 (1.063) with two doubles. He also walked five times. Rehabbing Daniel Robertson went 4-for-12 over three games and hit .333/.429/667 (1.096) with a double, a homer and five RBI. He also walked twice. Jose Olivares worked four relief innings. He gave up an unearned run on three hits. He walked two and struck out four batters. Tomas Cleto recorded a Save in his outing. He tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four batters. Jon Olsen and Luis Rijo made their first rehab appearances since they had Tommy John surgery late last year. Rookie: Dominican Summer league (DSL Twins): Week: 4-1. Season: 4-2 Cesar Lares struck out eight batters over four scoreless, hitless innings in his professional debut. He walked three and hit a batter. Miguel Olivares struck out five and walked one batter over four scoreless innings. He gave up one hit. Roger Duran worked twice out of the bullpen. In five innings, he gave up one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out nine batters. Rafael Cruz played in four games and went 5-for-11. He hit .455/.538/.727 (1.265) with a double, a triple, and two RBI. Denyerbe Gervis went 6-for-12 in his four games and hit .500/.538/1.000 (1.538) with three doubles, a home run, and five RBI. Isaac Pena played in five games. He went 7-for-11 and is hitting .636/.583/.818 (1.401) with a triple and three RBI. Junior Del Valle went 5-for-8 in his four games played. He hit .625/.667/.875 (1.542) with two doubles. PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week and this season. The Prospect Tracker will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. #1 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - Did Not Play (Season: 34 G, .313/.405/.534 (.940), 12-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 30 R, 14 RBI, 18 BB, 32 K) #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - Did Not Play (.000), 0-2B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K (Season: 12 G, .300/.317/.550 (.867), 4-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 5 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 5 G, 1-for-14 (.071), 1-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K (Season: 51 G, .235/.360/.311 (.671), 8-2B, 2-3B, 1-HR, 37 R, 14 RBI, 25 BB, 34 K, 21 SB, 2 CS) #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - In MLB (Season: 21 G, .256/.295/.442 (.737), 10-2B, 2-HR, 10 R, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 14 K) #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 5 G, 6-for-17 (.353), 2-2B, 0-HR, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K (Season: 30 G, .226/.255/.415 (.670), 8-2B, 4-HR, 10 R, 15 RBI, 3 BB, 26 K) #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 2.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 1 K (Season: 6 GS, 19.0 IP, 22 R, 17 ER, 31 H, 12 BB, 18 K, 0-2, 8.05 ERA, 2.26 WHIP, 5.7 BB/9, 8.5 K/9) #5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K (Season: 11 GS, 53.0 IP, 21 R, 20 ER, 41 H, 19 BB, 53 K, 2-3, 3.40 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, 9.0 K/9) #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - Injured List (Season: 11 G, 10 GS, 34.1 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 17 H, 22 BB, 50 K, 0-1, 1.83 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 5.8 BB/9, 13.1 K/9) #7 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - (Season: 35 G, .307/.385/.591 (.976), 13-2B, 1-3B, 8-HR, 27 R, 30 RBI, 14 BB, 23 K) #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 3 G, 5-for-13 (.385), 1-2B, 2-HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K (Season: 16 G, .279/.380/.691 (1.071), 4-2B, 0-3B, 8-HR, 18 R, 19 RBI, 8 BB, 13 K) #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 2 G, 0-for-4 (.000), 0-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K (Season: 47 G, .272/.493/.552 (1.044), 5-2B, 3-3B, 9-HR, 35 R, 25 RBI, 57 BB, 52 K) #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 5 G, 2-for-17 (.118), 0-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K (Season: 50 G, .243/.375/.335 (.710), 7-2B, 2-3B, 2 HR, 33 R, 13 RBI, 37 BB, 58 K) #10 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch (Season: 8 G, 7 GS, 32.2 IP, 15 R, 12 ER, 26 H, 12 BB, 35 K, 3-1, 3.31 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, 9.6 K/9) #11 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K (Season: 9 GS, 43.0 IP, 20 R, 16 ER, 34 H, 15 BB, 57 K, 4-4, 3.35 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 11.9 K/9) #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 9 K (Season: 11 G, 10 GS, 58.1 IP, 24 R, 21 ER, 46 H, 24 BB, 71 K, 5-1, 3.24 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, 11.0 K/9) #13 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K (Season: 9 G, 6 GS, 34.0 IP, 29 R, 42 H, 14 BB, 36 K, 0-2, 7.68 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, 9.5 K/9) #14 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 G, 3.1 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K (Season: 5 G, 4 GS, 16.2 IP, 13 R, 10 ER, 19 H, 9 BB, 21 K, 0-1, 5.40 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 4.9 BB/9, 11.3 K/9) #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 6 G, 4-for-19 (.211), 1-2B, 1-3B, 0--HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 9 K (Season: 52 G, .266/.380/.511 (.891), 10-2B, 1-3B, 11-HR, 35 R, 41 RBI, 33 BB, 77 K) #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 6 G, 5-for-18 (.278), 1-2B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 6 BB, 9 K (Season: 35 G, .270/.424/.387 (.811), 5-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 19 R, 11 RBI, 31 BB, 37 K) #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch (Season: 6 G, 5 GS, 18.2 IP, 15 R, 23 H, 6 BB, 21 K, 0-4, 7.23 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 10.1 K/9) #17 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - 2 GS, 8.1 IP, 9 R, 13 H, 3 BB, 8 K (Season: 5 G, 3 GS, 16.1 IP, 12 ER, 14 H, 7 BB, 18 K, 0-3, 8.82 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, 9.1 K/9) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 6 G, 6-for-24 (.250), 2-2B, 0-3B, 3-HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K (Season: 55 G, .207/.364/.568 (.932), 15-2B, 3-3B, 13-HR, 37 R, 51 RBI, 21 BB, 62 K) #19 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 1 GS, 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K (Season: 9 GS, 35.1 IP, 10 R, 8 ER, 17 H, 19 BB, 59 K, 2-1, 2.04 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 4.8 BB/9, 15.0 K/9) #20 - David Festa (Ft. Myers) - (Season: 2 G, 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K, (Season: 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 0.0 BB/9, 13.5 K/9) #20 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K (Season: 4 G, 2 GS, 19.2 IP, 4 ER, 14 H, 4 BB, 22 K, 3-0, 1.83 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9, 10.1 K/9) PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Hitter of the Week: OF/1B Alex Kirilloff, St. Paul Saints Why is Alex Kirilloff such a great hitter? Let me count the ways. Last week, Kirilloff played in all six Saints wins. He went 9-for-24 and hit .475/.423/.792 (1.215) with a double, three homers, and seven RBI. He was the Twins choice for hitter of the week the previous, but we went with Spencer Steer. This week, the Twins went with Steer, and we are taking Kirilloff. Granted, he shouldn’t be in the minors. That wasn’t the plan. The plan was that his surgically-repaired wrist would be completely healed, and he would be hitting well in the middle of the Twins lineup. Instead, he went on the IL with some wrist pain, found out it wasn’t anything structural and was sent to St. Paul to basically get at-bats and regain confidence. In 25 games since he was optioned, he has hit .384/.465/.717 (1.182) with six doubles, nine homers, and 26 RBI. He also has 14 walks to go with 18 strikeouts. Seven of the home runs have come in the past nine games. And as soon as a position opens up and he can get very regular playing time, the former top pitch will turn to the big leagues. Pitcher of the Week: RHP Louie Varland, Wichita Wind Surge At 24, Varland is exactly one month younger than Alex Kirilloff. Their paths have been different, but they are both on the path to Target Field. Varland was a terrific pitcher at South St. Paul before joining his brother Gus at Concordia University in St. Paul. The Twins made him their15th round pick in 2019. He was the organization's minor league pitcher of the year last year, per the Twins and Twins Daily. This year, he has had outings on both sides of the spectrum. Generally speaking, it tends to be pretty directly tied to his control. Overall, he is 5-1 with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. In 58 1/3 innings, he has given up 46 hits (9 homers), walked 24, and struck out 71 batters. His fastball is sitting 94-96 mph and has touched 97 on occasions. His slider is generally a plus-pitch for him, and his changeup has had mixed results, but there have been several very good days. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the players and the teams in the COMMENTS below. View full article

Tyler Smarslok is perfect as the Saints manager! Steer is away for personal reasons. Nothing bad at all.

11th round from Texas A&M in 2018. Been around quite a bit. Something definitely clicked for him about two months into the 2021 season in Cedar Rapids. And, he can play all over the field. Year Age AgeDif Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB 2017 21 0.9 Brazos Valley TXCL Smr 35 163 142 24 43 3 2 4 14 14 2 11 12 .303 .359 .437 .795 62 3 4 3 0 2018 22 1.3 Texas A&M SEC NCAA 62 293 249 61 92 17 2 6 36 12 2 28 31 .370 .451 .526 .978 131 9 10 5 1 2018 22 2 Teams 2 Lgs A-Rk MIN 39 164 147 28 53 6 2 4 22 10 6 9 18 .361 .409 .510 .919 75 2 5 0 3 0 2018 22 0.6 Cedar Rapids MIDW A MIN 27 118 107 20 38 6 1 2 15 4 5 6 14 .355 .398 .486 .884 52 2 3 0 2 0 2018 22 1.7 Elizabethton APPY Rk MIN 12 46 40 8 15 0 1 2 7 6 1 3 4 .375 .435 .575 1.010 23 0 2 0 1 0 2019 23 0.6 Fort Myers FLOR A+ MIN 82 306 284 26 56 13 1 3 25 3 3 17 40 .197 .243 .282 .524 80 5 1 1 3 0 2021 25 2.5 Cedar Rapids HAC A+ MIN 111 453 398 71 98 21 4 19 57 21 5 51 87 .246 .336 .462 .798 184 6 3 0 1 1 2021 25 2.3 Scottsdale AZFL Fal 16 62 51 10 11 2 0 0 3 7 0 9 6 .216 .355 .255 .610 13 1 2 0 0 0 2022 26 2 Teams 2 Lgs AA-AAA MIN 50 214 186 44 51 10 2 7 26 13 1 26 36 .274 .365 .462 .827 86 3 1 0 1 0 2022 26 -0.5 St. Paul IL AAA MIN 11 48 42 10 11 4 0 1 6 3 1 5 4 .262 .354 .429 .783 18 0 1 0 0 0 2022 26 1.8 Wichita TL AA MIN 39 166 144 34 40 6 2 6 20 10 0 21 32 .278 .368 .472 .840 68 3 0 0 1 0

Alex Kirilloff is doing his best to get a call back to the Twins soon. The Saints are playing well and hitting a lot of homers. Rains won the day in Florida as the Mighty Mussels were rained out, and the FCL Twins game was suspended in the first inning due to weather. Cedar Rapids and Wichita are both working hard to try to stay in first place in their division. After a really poor three-week stretch, the St. Paul Saints are now one of the hottest teams in Triple-A baseball. They are powering their way to a lot of wins. It’s been fun, I’m sure for the several players and coaches on the Saints roster who spent time with the Red Wings while they were a Twins affiliate. Manager Matthew LeCroy and left-handed pitcher Sam Clay are former members of the Twins organization that are with the Nationals organization now. There were several transactions on Saturday. The Twins beat the Rays, assuring a series win, but also assuring a winning record in their much-ballyhooed nine-game stretch against the Blue Jays, the Yankees and the Rays. Their young players continue to play well. Jose Miranda and Trevor Larnach have really hit. Gilberto Celestino continues to hit well over .300. Nick Gordon has proven versatile. Now, Nick Gordon did leave Saturday’s game with some sort of discomfort. Could he be an IL candidate? If so, would the Twins call up Alex Kirilloff? He has hit .379/.464/.695 (1.158) with six doubles and eight homers in 24 games since his demotion. Or, since Gordon is currently the backup to Carlos Correa at shortstop, and Correa is still getting time off, could Jermaine Palacios be added and play a utility role? He would need to be added to the 40-man roster, but Chi Chi Gonzalez was DFAd after Saturday’s game. Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins selected the contract of RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez. SS Royce Lewis was placed on the 60-Day Injured List. RHP Yennier Cano was optioned to the Saints. Following the game, the Twins DFAd Gonzalez. OF Derek Fisher was released. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 11, Rochester 7 Box Score The Saints won for the sixth straight time on Saturday night. They have won the first five games against the previous Twins Triple-A affiliate, the Red Wings. Just two weeks ago, the Saints were ten games under .500. With the win, they are now 29-29. On this night, St. Paul had a season-high 17 hits including seven that went for extra bases. Tim Beckham led the way. He went 4-for-5 and is hitting .500 through his first eight games with the Saints. Alex Kirilloff continues to rake. He went 3-for-5 and hit his seventh and eighth homers with the Saints. Above you saw his numbers over 24 games since his demotion. However, looking at just his eight games, he is .438/.514/1.094 (1.607) with three doubles, six homers, and 12 RBI in his past eight games. He also has at least one hit in 12 of his past 13 games. Michael Helman also had three hits. He was 3-for-5 with a double. Jermaine Palacios was 2-for-4 with a walk and his tenth double. Curtis Terry went 2-for-4 with his 13th double. Caleb Hamilton’s sixth home run gave the Saints a 6-4 lead in the fourth inning. It came off of former Twins prospect Sam Clay. Jordan Balazovic started. He gave up one run on four hits over 2 2/3 innings. He struck out one batter and walked none. Jordan Gore came on and gave up a double and a home run. Dereck Rodriguez came on and gave up three runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four batters. Wladimir Pinto gave up one run on two hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning. Ian Hamilton got the final four outs to record the save. He gave up two hits, but struck out two batters. With three homers on Saturday, the Saints have 26 already during the month of June. That is more than any other minor-league or major-league team. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Arkansas 5 Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson started for the Wind Surge on Saturday. He had a rough first inning. He gave up four runs on three hits and a walk. He also had a wild pitch and a balk, and the big hit was a two-run homer for Cade Marlowe. But minor-league baseball is all about development, and Woods Richardson showed a lot after the early struggles. He got a strikeout to end the first inning. Then he had 1-2-3 innings in the second and third frames. He gave up a two-out single in the fourth, but that’s it. In the fifth inning, he gave up a leadoff single, but got a double-play before getting the third out. Overall, he gave up four runs on four hits and two walks in five innings. He had three strikeouts. Denny Bentley struck out two in a scoreless sixth inning. Andrew Cabezas struck out one in a perfect seventh inning. Steven Cruz gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the eighth inning. He struck out two batters. Offense was difficult to come by for the Wind Surge on Saturday. On his 25th birthday, Dennis Ortega went 2-for-4 with his eighth double of the season. DaShawn Keirsey’s 11th double of the season drove in the team’s two runs in the seventh inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, South Bend 4 Box Score The Kernels got a good start from Aaron Rozek, and the offense got people on base but were unable to sustain due to 16 strikeouts. Rozek, the lefty from Burnsville High School and Minnesota State-Mankato made his eighth start of the year for the Kernels. He gave up only two hits and one walk over four scoreless innings. He struck out three batters. Sean Mooney came on as the piggyback in the fifth inning. Coming into the outing, he had a 1.67 ERA. On this night, he gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits. He struck out four batters without issuing a walk. Wander Javier reached base four times. He went 2-for-2 with his seventh double, a walk and was also hit by a pitch. Seth Gray went 2-for-4. His eighth double came in the ninth inning and scored Yunior Severino to cut the deficit to 4-3. With one out, Javier walked, and the Kernels had the tying and go-ahead runners on base. Unfortunately, that’s where they remained as the next two batters struck out. Aaron Sabato homered for the second straight night, his ninth of the season. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers, Daytona The game in Daytona was postponed by rain. The two teams will finish their series at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Sunday afternoon. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 2, FCL Red Sox 0 (Suspended in 1st inning) Box Score Starting Pitcher: Brayan Medina (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K) Multi-Hit Games: None. XBH: None. Rehab Players: Daniel Robertson (0-for-1) Top Prospects: Danny De Andrade (1-for-1, R), Fredy Michel (1-for-1, 1 R). The Red Sox youngsters made the six-mile drive down Daniels Parkway. They went 1-2-3 in the top of the first inning. The Twins came to the plate. Daniel Robertson grounded out. Fredy Michel singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Danny De Andrade singled to center. Michael advanced to third base, and De Andrade advanced to second on the throw. Alexander Pena then singled to left to score both runners. And then the rains came. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 6, DSL Giants 0 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Cesar Lares (4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K) Winning Pitcher: Roger Duran (2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K) Multi-Hit Games: Isaac Pena (2-for-3, R, 3B) 2B: Daniel Pena (2), Denyerbe Gervis (2) 3B: Isaac Pena (1) HR: Jose Rodriguez (1) Top Prospects: Bryan Acuna (1-for-3, BB, R, K, SB) TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Rozek (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (48 pitches, 31 strikes) Hitter of the Day – Alex Kirilloff (St. Paul) - 3-5, 2-HR (8), 3 R, 2 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 Saturday. #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 3 K (played CF) #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, 2B (8), RBI #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K (46 pitches, 35 strikes) #5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K (69 pitches, 44 strikes #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB, 3 K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 3 K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ St. Paul (2:07 PM CST) - RHP Jake Faria (0-2, 7.12 ERA) Wichita @ Arkansas (1:35 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (0-0, 6.08 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (1:05 PM CST) - LHP Cade Povich (3-4, 3.65 ERA) Fort Myers @ Daytona (DH at 2:30 PM CST) - TBD, TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games! View full article

The Twins announced on Friday afternoon that a partial tear was found on Royce Lewis's right ACL in an MRI he took on Thursday. He is headed for a second ACL surgery and will likely be out for 12 months. It's just not fair! Why can't we have nice things? When did this start anyway? Joe Mauer was hurt in his second game, hurting his knee sliding on the Metrodome turf. That was April 2004. Since then, Jason Kubel missed over a year when he tore up his knee playing in the Arizona Fall League. Miguel Sano and Alex Kirilloff had Tommy John surgery when they were in the minor leagues. Of course, several pitchers have lost development time due to Tommy John, including Francisco Liriano, maybe the best pitcher over any two-month stretch in Twins history, is the toughest example. The list goes on and on, and we haven't even mentioned the concussions that altered the career trajectories of Mauer, Justin Morneau, Denard Span, and others. And Byron Buxton. Like Buxton, Royce Lewis works incredibly hard. He is well-liked by everyone around him, especially their teammates. They want to play. They want to play well. They want to win. But unfortunately, staying on the field Players get hurt. That's part of the game. We know that. But it certainly seems the Twins have had way more of their fair share. Lewis told reporters, "It sucks!" The initial report was a bone bruise, but there was so much swelling, another MRI was needed. Encouraged to get a second opinion, Lewis saw the MRI. "I love my teammates, and I'd love to be out there as much as I can, but I don't want to be out there halfway." He also said that this time, they will also take steps to brace the knee so it has a little less give to make any further similar injuries less likely. "It basically tightens your right side and makes it more stable." Maybe the most frustrating part is he doesn't know exactly how it happened. "All I remember was I was about to make a really cool play," he said, laughing. "You can just tell when you're about to make a catch. Lewis is expected to miss 12 months again after the complete reconstruction of his ACL again. "Yeah, I'm not afraid of the surgery. That's for sure. The first time, if I told you I wasn't, I was definitely hiding it." "It's just another pause in my life here." Lewis hit over .300 in his 11 games with the Twins. He showed off his power, speed, arm, and defense in his short stint. Lewis knows he can and will come back, and be able to play in the big leagues. The Catch? "Yeah, I just mistimed my jump. I'm not familiar with the outfield, in general. So that's probably why. I'm very happy I made the catch, though." But he certainly is taking lessons from the incident. "So, yeah, I'm afraid of the wall." But he definitely does not regret playing the outfield. "I'm a baseball player. I want to help my team and compete. It's unfortunate I got hurt. It's a freak injury. Nothing we could have done. Truly wouldn't have done anything different." His manager, Rocco Baldelli, feels the same way. The organization had a need, and Lewis had some experience in center field, including a couple years ago in the Arizona Fall League. "On my end, and on the organization's end, I don't think we would say we regret any part it. I regret that he has to go through this right now." Baldelli, who struggled with his own health issues throughout his playing career, is impressed with what he sees from Lewis, even as he faces this frustration head on. "He's handling is as well as I think any young person could handle something like this. Or anyone at all. He is, as we know, a very upbeat and positive individual," Needless to say, the mood was pretty somber in the Twins clubhouse as the news was digested. "It's one of those things that it's almost hard to wrap your head around, that fact that this is going to happen again," Baldelli reflected. "But I fully expect him to come back and do exactly what he did this time around. I see no reason why he won't. And he's one of the best young players in baseball." View full article

When players move up levels, the game speeds up, and the competition gets stronger. Through his first two weeks at Triple-A St. Paul, Spencer Steer is defying that logic. The game appears to be coming to him at a proper pace, and despite facing a lot of pitchers that have big-league experience, Steer has quickly adjusted to his new team. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== On Tuesday night, Spencer Steer had two hits including his seventh home run since joining the Saints. In 14 games, he has gone 16-for-59 and is hitting .271/.368/.678 (1.046) with three doubles and seven home runs. That is after starting the season with 35 games in Wichita where he hit .307/.385/.591 (.976) with 13 doubles and eight home runs. “It’s pretty much the same game. The biggest difference that I’ve noticed is that almost everyone you’re surrounded by has had time in the big leagues. It’s pretty cool to play with all these guys who have played at the highest level, and then obviously face pitching that’s been at the highest level too. It’s been fun so far to kind of have myself be challenged and see how these guys go about their business. It’s been a fun transition so far.” data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== He watched veterans before and during batting practice to see how they prepare, how they get into a routine. He asks questions. Teammates discuss hitting, pitchers and more. He specifically talked about watching Tim Beckham who just joined the Saints last week after starting the season on the Injured List. He and Alex Kirilloff talk hitting. And veteran Elliot Soto, who has been in professional baseball for a dozen years and even had a three-game stint with the Angels in 2020, has talked to him about a variety of aspects of the game over the past two weeks. In 2021, Steer spent 45 games in Cedar Rapids and he walked 35 times and struck out just 32 times. He moved up to Double-A Wichita, and in 65 games, he walked 20 times and struck out 73 times. Jump ahead to 2022. He began the season with 35 games in Wichita. He had 14 walks to go with 23 strikeouts, a massive improvement. He said, “Going back to that levels and having that prior experience, and obviously failing at that level, and learning from what went wrong. And also learning more about my swing and trusting that I don’t have to do more. I can just focus on hitting the baseball and hitting it on the barrel. If you hit the ball consistently, good things are going to happen.” He summarized, “Just finding a way to put the bat on the ball, and then on the barrel as much as you can. As simple as that sounds, the more you can hit the ball on the barrel, the better off you’re going to be. I think it was that simple mind set.” He also mentioned “plate discipline” and “swinging less with two strikes” when pitchers are trying to expand the strike zone. “Just kind of simple stuff like that.” Side note - While Steer is making it look simple right now, it isn’t simple. It is actually very difficult. In a Twins Daily article from late in the 2019 season, just two months after the Twins made him their 3rd round pick, the 90th overall selection in that year’s draft, I chatted with Steer about the type of hitter he was and could become. He said, “At this level, I’m not the most powerful guy, but I think I can be a guy who drives in runs. For that reason you can stick me at the top of the order and I’ll find ways on base and draw a lot of walks. I think at this level, I’m more of a top of the order guy, but that can always change as I get older and put on more weight.” The 2020 minor-league season was canceled due to the pandemic, but Steer put in the time both in the batting cage and in the weight room. He returned in 2021 and in 110 total games, split between High-A Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita, he hit .254/.348/.484 (.833) with 18 doubles, three triples, and 24 home runs. Only Jose Miranda (30) and Trey Cabbage (27) hit more homers than Steer in the Twins minor leagues last year. In 2022, he leads the Twins minor league system with 16 doubles, 15 homers, and 46 RBI. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== He’s looking like a guy who can drive in runs! And he is quick to credit others as well. He mentioned that Bryce Berg for helping him with the mentality and approach in leverage situations and counts. He’d take two rounds of BP with nice and easy swings, and then the last two rounds “for lack of better words, swing out of my butt.” It was a concerted effort in batting practice that he has been able to incorporate into his approach and learning how to do that in batting practice and transitioning that into the game. He learned his swing. He worked to refine his approach. He’s stuck with it, and it’s continued to this year. Bryce Berg was the Cedar Rapids hitting coach in 2021. This year, he has been named the minor league hitting coordinator. He worked with Ryan Smith in Wichita in 2021 and with the Saints now. He credited the new Wind Surge hitting coach Derek Shomon for the work he put in, but also the communication between coaches at each level, making sure everyone is on the same page with each player’s individual path and plan. As we have seen with the Twins in 2022, having some position flexibility is important. Jose Miranda put in time at both corner infield positions. Luis Arraez and Nick Gordon have additional value because they can play all over. Royce Lewis illustrates perfectly the value of being able to play multiple positions so that when there is a need in the big leagues, he can be available. Spencer Steer has been playing multiple infield positions his whole career. At the University of Oregon, he played third base his first two years before spending more time at shortstop as a junior. In his three professional seasons, he has played 89 games at third base, 75 games at second base, and 41 games at shortstop. Looking specifically at 2022, he has played 22 games at third base, 13 games at second base, and 12 games at shortstop. He certainly understands the value of being versatile. He said, “The more positions you can play, the better because there’s just more opportunity going forward. If you can play the left side of the infield and the right side of the infield, I just think the more versatility you have, just opens up more doors for you. I feel comfortable at all three spots. I’ve been playing them all fairly consistently. That’s what I hope to do going forward.” He’s only been in St. Paul for a couple of weeks, but he’s seen many teammates already getting The Call to the big leagues. He is now just one step and one call away from the big league dream. “It hasn’t really hit me that it could happen at any time. You’re just doing what you can control and that’s going out there and playing well every day. That’s all you can control. It’s awesome to see guys get that call and that opportunity. It’s something that doesn’t get old, seeing your teammates getting that call to the big leagues.” Spencer Steer was a non-roster invite to big-league spring training. While there isn’t necessarily a clear path to a big-league spot in the 2022 season, Steer has done everything in his power, and with his power, to put himself in position to be called up if and when needed. View full article

Seth chatted with Twins infielder prospect Spencer Steer about his transition to Triple-A, his approach at the plate, his power at the plate, and his ability to play each position around the infield. View full video

I am a big believer that ultimately athleticism and talent with baseball IQ wins out, so I have really little concern about him long-term. But yeah, it would be nice and more fun to talk about if he was putting up bigger numbers. It also just reminds me of Levi Michael... and no, I'm not putting them into the same bucket... Michael was a back-end of the first-round guy compared to Austin Martin who is a top of the first-round guy. But Michael went right to High A and struggled, and I've always wondered if they had just let him progress "normally"... (in that case, 3 weeks in E-Town, jump up to Low-A for the rest of that draft season, and then slowly get to High A... I never understand the push to move guys up and skip levels. It's fun when it works and the player can succeed, but there are probably more that don't than do... There are lots of examples of guys that panned out by being rushed. But I bet there are also a lot of Levi Michael's in other organizations too that we just don't know. I don't get why Toronto felt the need to push him (and Simeon Woods Richardson) so quickly to AA last year. Made little sense. It's like back during the Johan trade... The Mets prospects were almost all guys who were pushed too quickly. Kevin Mulvey went right from college to AA. Gomez was very young for the big leagues and clearly not ready. Fernando Martinez was the name people wanted at that time because he was so young but he got pushed and never made it. Guerra was in High A as a 19-year-old. Why? What good did it do them short or long term.