Seth Stohs

Here are TD articles that Sabato has been tagged in... it's a starting point. Searched in Articles

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Sam Armstrong, wearing a Turbo Tubs uniform) On Saturday afternoon in Wichita, the Wind Surge management announced that following the 2026 season, the team will be rebranded as the Wichita Turbo Tubs. It isn't a completely new name. The team has used the name and unique uniforms for select games over the past four or five years. Wind Surge GM Matt Hamilton said, "This is more than a name change. It's a celebration of who we are and where we're headed. The community asked for this, and we have made the bold change!" He continued, "Baseball should be fun, memorable, and uniquely tied to our community. The Turbo Tubs captures that energy in a way that fans of all ages can rally behind." The decision makes no sense to me. I get that minor league teams have been switching names to strange names that make little sense. Who are some of your favorites? I like the Rocket City Trash Pandas and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. I bet some #OldFriends from the New Britain Rock Cats days are still working for the Hartford Yard Goats. If they hadn't moved to Wichita in 2021, the Twins Double-A affiliate would most likely be the Amarillo Sod Poodles. Personally, I don't get it. So, I'll let the Wichita media relations staff try to explain it, and what makes it so perfect for a team from Wichita. "The Turbo Tubs identity is a direct tribute to Wichita with distinct identifiers specific to the city. The wind sail and jet engines propel the porcelain bathtub onward, paying homage to the tub races once seen in the Arkansas River. The jet engine pays homage to the aerospace industry here in Wichita. The troll found along the water walk, near the Keeper of the Plains, takes charge as captain, bringing to life the fable tales heard by young and old throughout the community. The branding also includes a color palette of the one-of-a-kind sunsets uniquely present in the Midwest geographical region. The Tubs logo represents many things Wichitan’s love about this great city while incorporating the playful side of MiLB." What are your thoughts? And before we jump to the rest of today's minor league report, a reminder that the College World Series bracket is being filled. On Sunday, Troy University became the first team with 30 losses to earn a spot in Omaha. And how cool is this tradition at West Virginia who earned their first trip to Omaha. TRANSACTIONS With an afternoon game, the Twins announced early-ish on Saturday morning that James Outman has been DFAd, and Royce Lewis is back. Alan Roden began a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins on Saturday morning. Henry Kusiak was assigned to the Saints from the Mussels. Wichita moved RHP Jacob Wosinski to the Development List. The Twins signed RHP Zach Vennaro and assigned him to Wichita. The 6-6, 220 pound, 30-year-old has been working this season with pitching coach Frank Viola and the High Point Rockers. In 13 relief appearances this year, he has tossed 14 1/3 innings. He’s given up seven runs on 13 hits, but he’s got 19 strikeouts and just three walks. He has pitched for High Point since 2024. A native of Utica, New York, he first went to Monroe Community College before spending a season at the University of Mount Olive. He went undrafted in 2018, and in June of 2019, he signed with the Brewers. He spent 2021-2023 with Double-A Biloxi, though he did pitch in three games for Triple-A Nashville. After signing on Friday, Halton Hardy was assigned to the FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 6 Box Score They needed to work a little overtime, but the Saints ended a nice week hosting Indianapolis with an 11-inning win. They won four of five games in the series with one more to play. Aaron Rozek made the start and was again very solid. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits, two walks, and a hit batter. He struck out four batters. Alejandro Hidalgo struck out two batters over two perfect innings. Drew Smith walked one and had two strikeouts over 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Raul Brito worked the next 1 2/3 innings and gave up only a solo home run. Trent Baker came in and pitched the 10th and 11th innings. He pitched a scoreless 10th inning and gave up the unearned run in the top of the 11th. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Kyler Fedko launched the seventh pitch he saw to left center, 398 feet from home plate, to tie the game at 1-1. It was his 14th homer of the season. In the second, Aaron Sabato and Tanner Schobel singled. Noah Cardenas walked to load the bases. Kaelen Culpepper was hit in the left hand by a pitch, taking on a little pain for the RBI and the 2-1 lead. Indianapolis scored their second run in the top of the third. Then things went quiet. In fact, it remained 2-2 until the ninth inning. Esmerlyn Valdez led off the top of the ninth inning with his 12th home run of the season to give the Pirates affiliate the 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Aaron Sabato hit a double with one out. Ben Ross followed with a line drive to center to drive in Sabato with the tying run Cardenas was important in the 10th inning. In the top of the inning, he threw out the Manfred Man attempting to steal third base. In the bottom of the inning, his sacrifice bunt moved the Saints Manfred Man to third base. Unfortunately, they were unable to bring him in from there. In the top of the 11th, Termarr Johnson led off by singling in the go-ahead run to give them a 4-3 lead. Trent Baker came up big at the point with a strikeout and a double-play ball. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Kyler Fedko started the inning at second base. Matt Wallner led off with a double to tie the game at 4-4. Gabriel Gonzalez was asked to and successfully sacrificed himself to get Wallner to third. Aaron Sabato played hero again with a walk-off, two-run homer. Sabato went 3-for-5 with his 15th double, 11th home run and two RBI. Ben Ross was 2-for-4. Noah Cardenas walked twice, threw out one would-be base stealer and picked off two runners including one at third base. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, San Antonio 4 Box Score This was a good game of back-and-forth, until it wasn’t. San Antonio scored a run in the top of the first inning. With one out in the bottom of the first, Kyle DeBarge’s 12th double of the season drove in Kala’i Rosario to tie the game at 1-1. Sam Armstrong, acquired from the Cubs with Ryan Gallagher in the Willi Castro trade, made the start for the Surge. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk over five innings. He had two strikeouts. Spencer Bengard came on and gave up one run on four hits and a walk over two innings. He gave up a run in the top of the sixth. In the bottom of that inning, Rosario led off with a double. With one out, Billy Amick was jammed but strong enough to drop it in just the right spot to record an infield hit and move Rosario to third. With two outs, there was a pitching change. Andrew Cossetti came to the plate and lined a single to left to drive in Rosario and tie the game at 2-2. William Fleming gave up a run in the eighth inning. The Wind Surge went scoreless. Kyle Bischoff gave up one run on two hits and a walk in the top of the ninth. The Wind Surge went scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to fall 4-2. Wichita scored their two runs on just four hits and four walks. Kala’i Rosario went 1-for-2 with his third double and two walks. He scored both of the team’s runs. DeBarge’s RBI double was his 12th of the season. He also stole his 16th base. He was 1-for-3 with a walk. The Wind Surge have lost nine of their last 10 games. They are 3-13 in their past 16 games. They have lost three straight series. The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Be sure to check out one of our DiamondCentric sites, Padres Mission. Also, check out how many of these Missions players appear on the Padres Mission Top 20 Prospect Rankings. 22-year-old outfielder Braedon Karpathios went 2-for-2 with three walks. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 7, Wisconsin 6 (Six. Seven.) Box Score The Timber Rattlers roster is loaded with prospects, some pitchers but the lineup has a lot of potential big leaguers. Be sure to go to our sister site, Brewer Fanatic, and check out how many of their top prospects play for Wisconsin. Lefty Cesar Lares made his first career Midwest League start. He’s missed time the last couple of seasons with elbow issues and eventually had Tommy John surgery. He did well though. He gave up two runs on four hits over four innings. The reality is he gave up two runs on just two of those hits. 2024 top pick Braylon Payne led off the game with a homer, and 2025 top pick and MWL Home Run leader Andrew Fischer (both left-handed hitters) hit his 18th home run. Lares had five strikeouts and, maybe most importantly, zero walks! Down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Marek Houston led off with a walk. Eduardo Tait singled to left. With one out, a passed ball put runners on second and third, but then Khadim Diaw was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jay Thomason flew out to left, deep enough to drive in Houston with the team’s first run. Quinn McDaniel followed with a single to right to drive in Tait with the tying run. Fischer’s home run tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning. The bottom of the fourth inning started with two outs. Harry Genth was hit by a pitch. Houston singled him to second. Tait singled to right to drive in Genth. Brandon Winokur stepped to the plate and crushed a three-run shot to the deepest part of the ballpark and give the Kernels a 6-2 lead. (see below, he was joyous) Adam Falinski came in and tossed a scoreless fifth frame. However, he gave up a three-run homer to Eric Bitonti which tightened things at 6-5. In the bottom of the seventh, Winokur was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He moved to second base on a disengagement violation. He was still on second with two outs, but McDaniel picked up his teammates with a line drive, RBI single to right field for an insurance run. Xavier Kolhosser came on and had 1-2-3 innings in the seventh and eighth innings. He got the first out of the top of the ninth, but Luis Castillo knocked a solo home run to cut the lead to just 7-6. But Kolhosser responded by getting a pop out and a strikeout to end the game. Houston went 2-for-3 with two walks. Tait went 2-for-5. McDaniel went 2-for-4. The only other hit was Winokur’s three-run homer. Winokur and Diaw were also hit by pitches. Genth was hit twice by pitches. The Kernels have gone 8-13 in their past 21 games. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Lakeland 0 Box Score For the second time in three games, the Mussels pitching staff tossed a shutout in Lakeland. Merit Jones struck out six batters over the first four scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and walked on batter. Lefty Jake Murray tossed two shutout innings and gave up just one hit. Eric Hammond, fresh off the injured list, gave up just one hit and one walk over 2 2/3 innings. He left the game with one out remaining and two runners on base. Mike Hilker came on and got the final out, preserving the shutout. The Mussels scored what proved to be the winning run in the top of the first inning. Dameury Pena led off with his seventh double of the season. Ryan Sprock followed with a single. Pena scored on a double-play ball. With one out in the top of the fourth inning, Jayson Bass lined a single to right. Graham Brown then drilled a two-run home run to make it 3-0. The top of the sixth began with a Quentin Young walk. He stole second and went to third on a Brown single to left. With two outs, Irvin Nunez lined a two-run double off the tip of the diving center fielder’s glove. Graham Brown went 2-for-4 with his first home run in affiliated ball. He scored twice and drove in two runs. Dameury Pena went 2-for-5 with his seventh double. He also stole his 16th base. The Mussels have now won nine of their past 10 games. Before that stretch, they had lost five in a row. COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins 4, FCL Red Sox 8 Box Score The Twins scored four runs over their seven innings on Saturday morning. The Red Sox scored four runs in the second inning, and then four more runs in the fourth inning to take the win. The TWins took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Miguel Caraballo led off with a walk. The rehabbing Alan Roden followed with a walk. Following two strikeouts, the runners were successful on a double steal. Caraballo scored on a throwing error. Melvin Rodriguez got the start for the Twins, and he had a terrific start. In the first inning, he struck out the side on 13 pitches. Daiber De Los Santos led off the top of the second with a single. Darwin Almanzar took over at first base after hitting into a fielder’s choice. With two outs, Caraballo advanced Almanzar to third with a double. Showing good patience, Roden walked for a second time. With the bases loaded, Jhomnardo Reyes drove in two runs with a double. Melvin Rodriguez struck out three batters in the bottom of the second inning too. Of course, the inning started with three singles and after the first strikeout. The Red Sox scored on a double steal, a single, and a wild pitch to tie the game at 3-3. A Liosward Marin homer gave the Red Sox the 4-3 lead. Rodriguez threw a scoreless third inning with one strikeout. He began the fourth inning with two walks. Carter Holjes came into the game in relief with runners at first and third base. Holjes threw a wild pitch to make it 5-3. After a strikeout and a walk, Franklin Primera hit a three-run homer that made it 8-3. Rodriguez’s final line shows he gave up six runs on six hits. He walked three and had seven strikeouts in three innings. Holjes gave up two runs on two hits and two walks over two innings. He struck out three. Brad Rudis struck out one batter in a perfect inning. The Twins scored one more run in the top of the seventh. Two walks and a single loaded the bases, and with one out, Almanzar walked to drive in a run. The Twins scored their four runs on six hits and 12 walks. They had more chances but went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base. Pablo Castillo had two of the team’s six hits. Reyes went 1-for-4 with his two-run double. It was his fifth double of the season. Caraballo hit his sixth double and walked twice. He also stole his sixth base. Carlos Taveras and Teilon Serrano each walked twice. Alan Roden went 0-for-1 with three walks. He had a stolen base and played the whole game in right field. DSL Twins 5, FCL Angels 9 Box Score Well, I guess you can’t score 21 runs every day. Through four innings on Saturday, the Twins were kept scoreless. Sebastian Echavarria made his pro debut. He gave up one run in the first inning. He faced four batters in the top of the second inning. When he was removed from the game, he had already given up four runs. He struck out the final batter he faced, but it got by the catcher and he reached base. Manuel Meza came on in relief. He threw two wild pitches which scored the inherited runner and ended the Echavarria line. He was charged with five runs on two hits and three walks in one inning. He also hit two batters. Meza worked two innings and gave up three of his own runs on two hits and two walks. He had three wild pitches. He struck out two. Juan Quinones worked the final four innings. He gave up only an unearned run on five hits and three walks. He also had five strikeouts. The Twins got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning. Friday’s hero, Abel Sosa, walked. He went to second on a passed ball and to third on a single by Jeferson Abreu. Sosa scored on a double play groundout. The bottom of the sixth started with walks by Jendy Martinez and Daiyer Barboza. Jhon Gonzalez reached on an infield single to load the bases. Enmanuel Merlo came to the plate and drilled his first professional home run, a grand slam that turned the game from a 9-1 blowout to a 9-5 game where you still need another grand slam to tie it up. Merlo, as you recall, was the Twins top international signing in January. A consensus Top 40 in the international class, he received a $1.5 million bonus. Gonzalez had two of the team’s five hits. Merlo had the grand slam and one of the team’s eight walks. Martinez and Barboza were both 0-for-1 with three walks in the game. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Aaron Sabato (Saints): 3-for-5, 2B(15), HR(11), 3 R, 2 RBI. Marek Houston (Kernels): 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R Pitcher(s) of the Day Sam Armstrong (Wichita): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 52 pitches, 36 strikes (69.2%) Merit Jones (Mussels): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 64 pitches, 41 strikes (64.1%) Juan Quinones (DSL Twins): 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, HBP, RBI, K. (batted first, played SS) #5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, 2 R, RBI(batted second, played catcher). #7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, E(9) (batted first, played SS) #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 2 K, SH (batted fifth, played LF) #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, IBB, 2 K (batted second, played DH) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, R, SB(5) (batted fifth, played SS) #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, HBP, HR(7), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K (batted third, played 3B) #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, HBP (batted fourth, played CF) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(12), RBI, K, SB(16) (batted third, played SS) UPCOMING PROBABLES Sunday, June 7: (Six, Seven!!) Indianapolis @ St. Paul (3:07 pm CT) - RHP John Klein (1-1, 6.17 ERA) San Antonio @ Wichita (1:05 pm CT) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-1, 6.52 ERA), Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - LHP Garrett Horn (0-0, 1.50 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Lakeland (11:00 am CT) - RHP Ramiro Villanueva (0-1, 2.66 ERA) Monday, June 8: FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (11:00 am CT) - DSL Angels @ DSL Twins (10:00 am CT) - CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 30-35 (3rd place (of 5) in AL Central, 6.5 GB)) St. Paul Saints: 33-28 (4th place (of 10) in IL West Division, 4.0 GB)) Wichita Wind Surge: 22-32 (5th place (of 5) in TL North Division, 12.5 GB)) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 28-28 (4th place (of 6) in MWL West Division, 7.5 GB)) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 33-23 (2nd place (of 6) in FSL West Division, 2.0 GB)) FCL Twins: 12-13 (4th place (of 6) in FCL South Division, 4.5 GB)) DSL Twins: 1-4 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Kyler Fedko) TRANSACTIONS On Friday, the Twins signed another pitcher out of the independent leagues. Halton Hardy was pitching for the Gastonia Ghost Peppers in the Atlantic League. In 21 innings this season, the 24-year-old has 23 strikeouts to just four walks. An Athens, Georgia, native began his college career in 2021 at Division II Francis Marion. He pitched there for two years and was still there in 2023 when he missed the season with injury. In 2024, he transferred to Division I Kennesaw State and shifted from starter to reliever. That’s the role he’s carried into the professional ranks. In addition, Saints catcher Ricardo Olivar was moved from the 7-Day Injured List to the 60-Day Injured List after having knee surgery this week. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Indianapolis 8 Box Score Ricky Castro started for the Saints and gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk in just 2 2/3 innings. He had six strikeouts. C.J. Culpepper came on and gave up one run on two hits and two walks and 1 1/3 innings. Kody Funderburk gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in his inning (though, if you watched that inning, the defense was not helpful). Jake Higginbotham made his first Saints appearance. He gave up a homer to the first batter he faced, and then he struck out the next four batters. Grant Hartwig struck out three batters in 1 2/3 innings. Andrew Bash pitched a scoreless ninth inning. Kyler Fedko hit his 12th and 13th home runs of the 2026 season. An inning later, Kaelen Culpepper reclaimed the team’s home run lead by hitting his 14th homer. He was 2-for-4. The Saints went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position. The loss ended the team’s five-game winning streak. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 0, San Antonio 2 Box Score Jose Olivares made the start for the Wind Surge. He gave up one run on five hits in four innings. Darren Bowen gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. Hunter Gregory made his Twins org debut with a scoreless inning. Jaylen Nowlin gave up one run in his inning. Yehizon Sanchez gave up two hits and two walks but somehow did not give up a run in his inning. The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Be sure to check out one of our DiamondCentric sites, Padres Mission. Also, check out how many of these Missions players appear on the Padres Mission Top 20 Prospect Rankings. Miguel Mendez is one of their top pitching prospects. He tossed five scoreless inning on Friday night. The Wind Surge were shut out and had just three hits. They did walk seven times though. They were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base. Jaime Ferrer hit a double. Kala’i Rosario walked three times. This weeks’ fourth Salas-palooza event found the Wind Surge shortstop as the winner. Jose Salas went 1-for-1 with two walks and his third double. He also stole his 13th base. The younger brother, Ethan Salas, went 0-for-5 in the game. And he was the catcher when Jose stole his base. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 8, Wisconsin 3 Box Score The TimberRattlers roster is loaded with prospects, some pitchers but the lineup has a lot of potential big leaguers. Be sure to go to our sister site, Brewer Fanatic, and check out how many of their top prospects play for Wisconsin. Riley Quick set the tone for the Kernels in this game. The right-hander tossed the first four innings and gave up one run on two hits. He had six strikeouts and issued no walks. He threw strikes and worked efficiently. Brian Zeldin came on and tossed two innings of one-run ball. He gave up a solo home run. Yes, to Andrew Fischer. Nick Trabacchi gave up one run on one hit and a walk over three innings and was credited with the win. Marek Houston led the offense in this game. He went 3-for-5 with his fourth and fifth home runs and three RBI. He also stole his 15th base. The Kernels scored their eight runs on eight hits and nine walks. Quinn McDaniel went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Khadim Diaw was 1-for-2 with three walks. Brandon Winokur and Yasser Mercedes each walked twice. Winokur stole his 13th and 14th bases. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 9, Lakeland 7 Box Score Through six innings, the Mussels were behind 6-2. The Mussels scored three in the seventh inning and two runs in the eighth inning. Lakeland scored one in the bottom of the eighth and the game was tied at 7-7. Both teams went scoreless in the ninth inning. The Mussels scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning With two outs in the seventh inning, Dameury Pena doubled, Ramiro Dominguez singled, and then Enrique Jimenez hit a three-run home run. In the eighth inning, Luis Fragoza hit his fourth home run of the season, a two-run blast that gave the Mussels the 7-6 lead. In the top of the 10th, Henry Kusiak doubled to drive in Jayson Bass, the inning’s Manfred Man. Kusiak then scored on a Fragoza double. Reed Moring started and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk over five innings. Dylan Questad gave up three runs on three hits in 1/3 of an inning. Brent Francisco struck out two batters in 1 1/3 innings. Jonathan Stevens gave up an unearned run on two walks in his inning. Mike McKenna got four outs. Mitch Mueller recorded his third save with a perfect 10th inning. Luis Fragoza went 2-for-5 with his sixth double and fourth home run. Jimenez went 2-for-5 with his second home run and three RBI. Dameury Pena went 2-for-6 with his fifth and sixth doubles. Henry Kusiak was 1-for-3 with two walks and his fifth double. Ramiro Dominguez was 2-for-5. COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins 6, FCL Red Sox 1 Box Score A month into the season, Santiago Castellanos made his 2026 debut. He gave up one run on two walks in his inning. He had one strikeout. Santiago Rojas came in and struck out seven batters over four scoreless innings of one-hit ball. Jake Covey made his affiliated ball debut, his first appearance in a Twins uniform. He tossed two scoreless innings and gave up two hits, a walk and hit a batter. He had three strikeouts. The Twins had a five-run fourth inning to take control of this game. Ricardo Pena led off that inning with a walk. Yilber Herrera reached on an error. Ricardo Paez walked to load the bases. Daiber De Los Santos walked to bring in a run. Victor Leal walked to bring in a run. After a pitching change, there was a strikeout for the first out. Then Yovanny Duran walked to bring in a third run. Teilon Serrano then his a sacrifice fly. Finally, when Jhomnardo Reyes walked, and the sixth run scored on a wild pitch. Yilber Herrera went 2-for-3. He had two of the team’s three hits. Ricardo Pena had two of the team’s seven walks. DSL Twins 21, FCL Marlins 10 Box Score Each team got three possessions. Miami scored on a touchdown and added a field goal. Minnesota was able to score touchdowns each time they had the ball. Oh wait, this is baseball. This was not a pretty game. The TWins scored multiple runs in all six innings in which they batters. They scored three in the first, three in the second, two in the third, two in the fourth, eight in the fifth and three in the sixth. Frankly, the Marlins were throwing position players starting in the fifth inning. Adrian Martinez started and gave up three runs on two hits and two walks. He struck out three batters. Herkyn Taveras gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. Juan Collado gave up four runs on one hit and five walks. He had three strikeouts over two innings. Cristian Alvino gave up two hits in a scoreless seventh frame. Abel Sosa led the way. He went 4-for-4 with his first two home runs, four runs scored and seven RBI. Daiyer Barboza went 1-for-1 with three walks. Juan Holmann was 1-for-3 with two walks and his second home run. Jhon Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with two walks, four runs scored. Luis Suarez went 2-for-4 with three RBI. (Note: If you want to see the home runs, here is the checklist and timelines): Abel Sosa: 3:56:20 Juan Holmann: 4:16:55 Luis Suarez 4:28:50 Abel Sosa: 5:00:44 DSL Marlins vs DSL Twins 6/5/2026 - YouTube PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Abel Sosa (DSL Twins): 4-for-4, BB, 2 HR(2), 4 R, 7 RBI. Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2-HR(5), 2 R, 3 RBI, SB(15) Kyler Fedko (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2 HR(13), 2 R, 2 RBI Luis Fragoza (Fort Myers): 2-for-5, 2B(6), HR(4), R, 4 RBI Pitcher(s) of the Day Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids): 4 IP, 2H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 52 pitches, 38 strikes (73.7%) Santiago Rojas (FCL Twins): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (left shoulder) #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, HR(14), R, RBI. (batted first, played SS #3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (thumb) - Had surgery. #4 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, BB, R, K (batted second, played catcher). #6 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch. #7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 2-HR(5), 2 R, 3 RBI, SB(15) (batted first, played SS) #8 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 52 pitches, 38 strikes (73.1%) #9 - LHP Kendry Rojas (Minnesota) - Injured List. #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - Did Not Play #11 - RHP Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-4, BB, R (batted second, played LF) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Play. #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 K, 2 SB(14) (batted third, played 3B) #16 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 30 pitches, 16 strikes (53.3%) #18 - RHP James Ellwanger (Ft. Myers) - 60 Day Injured List (right elbow sprain) #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, 3 BB, R (batted fourth, played C) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - Did Not Play. UPCOMING PROBABLES Saturday, June 6: Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 pm CT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (0-0, 3.50 ERA) San Antonio @ Wichita (4:05 pm CT) - RHP Sam Armstrong (1-1, 5.31 ERA), Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - LHP Cesar Lares (first MWL start) Ft. Myers @ Lakeland (5:00 pm CT) - RHP Merit Jones (1-1, 3.32 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (9:00 am CT) - RHP Melvin Rodriguez (1-0, 6.55 ERA) DSL Angels @ DSL Twins (9:00 am CT) - RHP Sebastian Echavarria (1st pro start) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 29-35 (3rd place (of 5) in AL Central, 6.5 GB)) St. Paul Saints: 32-28 (4th place (of 10) in IL West Division, 5.0 GB)) Wichita Wind Surge: 22-31 (5th place (of 5) in TL North Division, 12.0 GB)) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 27-28 (4th place (of 6) in MWL West Division, 7.5 GB)) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 32-23 (2nd place (of 6) in FSL West Division, 3.0 GB)) FCL Twins: 12-12 (4th place (of 6) in FCL South Division, 4.5 GB)) DSL Twins: 1-3 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

I'm sure it's an incredibly low percentage that actually do... unless it's football, then the CTE stuff is real! And football players are a bit different from the get-go.

Image courtesy of Malamut Photography (photo of Eduardo Tait) TRANSACTIONS The Minnesota Twins signed veteran Austin Voth to a minor-league contract. He was DFAd recently by the Blue Jays. He cleared waivers and elected free agency. Just days later, he signed with the Twins. The 33-year-old was assigned to the Saints and started Thursday night’s game. The Twins also signed Jake Covey, a 24-year-old non-drafted free agent. He has made two starts for the Glacier Range Riders in Kalispell, Montana, this season. In 12 innings, he gave up two runs on 11 hits. He had two walks and 14 strikeouts. After high school, he went to New Mexico State for the 2021 season, but he redshirted that year. Then he spent two seasons at Orange Coast College. He pitched the 2024 and 2025 seasons at Concordia University - Irvine. He went undrafted in the 2025 draft. This is his first opportunity with a big-league organization. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Indianapolis 4 Box Score When Royce Lewis was optioned to St. Paul, his bat immediately heated up. The same can’t be said for fellow optionee, Matt Wallner. When the Saints ended their game in Louisville, Wallner had an 0-for-4 and was hitting .184/.305/.265 (.570). His past five games: Saturday: 2-for-5 Sunday: 2-for-5, HR Tuesday: 2-for-4, 2B Wednesday: 2-for-4, BB, HR Thursday: 3-for-5, 3-HR. After Thursday’s game, he is now hitting .278/.361/.556 (.917), numbers you might expect. Oh yeah, there was a game played too. Austin Voth started and gave up three runs in the top of the first inning. In the bottom of the first inning, Hendry Mendez signed with one out. He advanced to third base on a Royce Lewis double. Both scored ahead of Wallner who launched his first home run of the game. The game was tied at 3-3. In the bottom of the third, Wallner led off with his second home of the day and fourth of the Saints season. With two outs, Tanner Schobel doubled to drive in Gabriel Gonzalez to make it 4-3. Voth settled in. He gave up just the three first-inning runs on five hits and went 4 2/3 innings. He had four strikeouts without a walk. Marco Raya came in and got the final out of the fifth inning. He worked a perfect sixth frame too, and two of the four outs he recorded were on strikeouts. Then there was a 36-minute rain delay. John Klein came on and gave up one run on one hit and two walks in the seventh inning. He had two strikeouts. Leading 6-4 going to the bottom of the seventh inning, the Saints held a 6-4 lead. Matt Wallner led off with his third home run of the game and fifth of the season. Trent Baker came on and struck out four batters over two perfect innings to record his second save. Wallner was 3-for-4 with the three homers, three runs scored, and five RBI. Hendry Mendez was 2-for-4 with a walk. Royce Lewis was 1-for-3 with two walks and a double. Kyler Fedko was 2-for-4. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, San Antonio 5 Box Score Preston Johnson made his first Wichita start and gave up three runs on five hits over four innings. He walked two and struck out one batter. Nick Mikolajchak made his debut in the Twins organization. The 28-year-old gave up two runs on two hits and a walk over two innings. Both hits were home runs. Jarret Whorff had two strikeouts over two perfect innings. Kyle Bischoff worked a perfect ninth frame. The Wind Surge offense faced a rehabbing former major leaguer, Juan Brito. They scored one run in five innings against him. The run came on the first Double-A home run for Jaime Ferrer. The homer was one of the Surge’s six hits. Kalai’ Rosario went 1-for-3 with the team’s lone walk. Garrett Spain hit his ninth double, and Miguel Briceno hit his first Surge double. The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Be sure to check out one of our DiamondCentric sites, Padres Mission. Also, check out how many of these Missions players appear on the Padres Mission Top 20 Prospect Rankings. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 8 Box Score The TimberRattlers roster is loaded with prospects, some pitchers but the lineup has a lot of potential big leaguers. Be sure to go to our sister site, Brewer Fanatic, and check out how many of their top prospects play for Wisconsin. Rattlers starting pitcher Josh Knoth was the 33rd overall pick of the 2023 draft out of high school. He made 21 starts at Low A Myrtle Beach in 2024, but he missed the full 2025 season after having Tommy John surgery. He made three rehab starts in the ACL and on Thursday night, he made his third start with Wisconsin. He went two innings in the first one. He threw three innings in the second start. On Thursday, he gave up two runs on two hits over 3 2/3 innings. And, thankfully, Luis Pena was back in their lineup on Thursday after leaving the game due to illness on Tuesday. Scary after what he went through a month ago. And, why has 2025 top pick Andrew Fischer not been promoted to Biloxi. And, personal opinion, Josh Adamczewski is one of the most underrated prospects in baseball right now. After going 2-for-3 with a walk with his ninth homer and 10th stolen base. And 2024 top pick Braylon Payne has a .900+ OPS and is still just 19. The Kernels have a pretty solid offense, but through the first three games of this series, all Rattler wins, Cedar Rapids has been outscored 32-20. But if you’re in southern Minnesota or near the Twins Cities and are looking for something to do this weekend, make the drive down to Cedar Rapids and watch a couple of solid High-A teams compete. Now to the Kernels. Wisconsin scored four runs in the top of the first inning. The Kernels responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Brandon Winokur led off with a walk, and then Eduardo Tait hit his eighth home run of the season to cut the deficit in half. Wisconsin added two runs in the third and another in the fifth inning. So when the Kernels came to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, they were behind 7-2. Eduardo Tait led off that inning with his second home run of the game and ninth of the season. Khadim Diaw followed with a double. He went to third on a fly out and scored on a second fly out to make it 7-4 Wisconsin. In the bottom of the seventh, the Kernels cut the lead by one more run. Danny De Andrade led off with a double and then scored on a two-out triple by Brandon Winokur. Tait had two of the team’s eight hits and three of their five RBI. Jay Thomason went 2-for-3 with a walk. He also stole his 13th and 14th bases. Diaw’s double was his 13th, and De Andrade’s was his fourth. Winokur had a walk to go with his second triple of the season. Michael Ross started and gave up six runs on four hits and four walks in four innings. He actually walked the first three batters he faced, which is never good, so his line could have actually been worse. Christian Becerra gave up one run on two hits and a walk over two innings. He had three strikeouts. Sam Rochard struck out three batters over two scoreless innings. Eston Stull gave up one run on four walks in the ninth inning. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 11, Lakeland 0 Box Score The Mussels scored double-digit runs on Thursday, but we have to talk pitching first. Justin Mitrovich’s season started late, but since he has joined the Mussels and made his pro debut, he has been fantastic. In fact, he was the Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Month for May. In his five May starts, he worked a total of 15 2/3 innings. In his first start in June, Mitrovich tossed five scoreless innings and threw 71 pitches, easily his career high. He gave up two hits, walked two and had five strikeouts. It earned him his first professional Win as well. Mitrovich was the Twins ninth-round pick in 2025 out of Elon. Their 18th-round pick in 2025 was Matthew Dalquist. He pitched at UC-San Diego. He came on and earned his first pro save by tossing four shutout innings in relief. He began by getting the first 11 batters out. With two outs in the ninth, an error put a runner on base, but Dalquist got the next batter out to end the game. In his final May start, Dalquist tossed five shutout innings, so he’s pitching very well too. A lot went right for the Mussels at the plate. They scored their 11 runs on 15 hits and four walks. They had just three extra base hits and one stolen base. They scored three runs in the first inning and then had a seven-run second inning. They held the 10-0 lead until the top of the ninth when they added one run. They were 9-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left eight one base. Quentin Young led the way. He went 3-for-4 with his sixth double, his second triple, two runs and three RBI. Luis Fragoza was hit by a pitch and went 2-for-4 with his fifth double and three RBI. In 12 Mussels games, the 19-year-old is hitting .318/.388/.636 (1.024) with five doubles and three triples with 14 RBI.Ramiro Dominguez went 2-for-4 with a walk. Irvin Nunez went 2-for-4 with a walk. Bryan Acuna went 2-for-5. COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins 5, FCL Braves 1 Box Score Frederick Hiciano signed with the Twins on January 15th out of the Dominican Republic. He was added to the DSL Twins roster on May 27th, but apparently, they had a change of heart or saw him pitch and realized he was ready for the FCL. He was added to the FCL Twins roster on May 30th. He made his professional debut on Thursday. He tossed two scoreless, hitless, walkless innings and had one strikeout. Six batters faced. Six batters out. Next, Callan Fang made his second rehab start. The 2025 13th round pick from Harvard tossed two innings. He gave up an unearned run on one hit. He walked none and had four strikeouts. Nick McAuliffe worked the final three innings. He gave up no runs, no hits, no walks and struck out five batters. The one hit that the FCL Braves had was an infield single by Diego Tornes. Tornes stole second base and went to third on a throwing error. He scored the unearned run on a fielding error off the bat of Yamvier Carrero. Carrero stole second and went to third on a throwing error. However, Fang got a strikeout to end that inning. The Twins got on the scoreboard with a three-spot in the top of the third. With one out, Yilber Herrera singled and went to second on a wild pitch. Yovanny Duran and Miguel Caraballo walked to load the bases. Jhomnardo Reyes drove a single to left to drive in two runs. Caraballo scored on a wild pitch. The Twins held the 3-1 lead until the top of the sixth. Carlos Taveras led off with a single. He moved to second on a wild pitch. With one out, Darwin Almanzar was hit by a pitch. Victor Leal singled to right to drive in Taveras with the fourth run. With two outs, Herrera walked. Almanzar scored when the power had a throwing error. The Twins had five runs on six hits and six walks. Yovanny Duran, Miguel Caraballo, Jhomnardo Reyes, Victor Leal, and Yilber Herrera each had a single and a walk. Caraballo was also hit by a pitch. DSL Twins 3, FCL Rockies 11 Box Score Not a great day for the DSL Twins. Through four innings, they were behind 11-0. However, they won the final three innings 3-0. (Yes, I realize that doesn’t actually mean anything.) Fernando Hernandez made his professional debut. The 19-year-old gave up one run on one hit and one walk. He had one strikeout. 19-year-old Alam Soriano made his pro debut too. He gave up seven runs on three hits and four walks. In 1 2/3 innings, he had three strikeouts. Next up was the pro debut of 17-year-old Juan Germosen. He gave up three runs on one hit and five walks in 1 1/3 innings. He had one strikeout. Each of the first three pitchers threw a wild pitch. Soriano and Germosen each hit one batter. Yolcar Garcia, an 18-year-old right-hander, came on for his professional debut. In two innings, he faced just six batters. He gave up no runs, no hits and issued no walks. He had two strikeouts. As mentioned earlier, the Twins were behind 10-0 after four innings. In the top of the fifth, Daiyer Barboza walked with one out. He moved to second on a ground out and then third on a balk. Juan Holman walked, and then Barboza scored on another balk. With two outs in the top of the seventh, the Twins were down to their final out. Barboza recorded his first pro hit, and his first pro home run, both on the same swing. Jendy Martinez followed with a walk, and Juan Holmann drove him in with a double to center. Holmann was 2-for-2 with two walks and his second double. Barboza was 1-for-1 with two walks a homer and two runs scored. The only other hit the team had was a double by catcher Luis Duarte. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Matt Wallner (St. Paul): 3-for-5, 3-HR(5), 3 R, 5 RBI, K. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids: 2-for-5, 2-HR(9), 2 R, 3 RBI. Quentin Young (Fort Myers): 3-for-4, 2B(6), 3B(2), 2 R, 3 RBI, K Pitcher(s) of the Day Justin Mitrovich (Fort Myers): 5 IP, 2H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 71 pitches, 43 strikes (60.6%) Matthew Dalquist (Fort Myers): 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 48 pitches, 31 strikes (64.6%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, CS(2). (batted first, played 3B) #5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, 2-HR(9), 2 R, 3 RBI (batted second, played catcher). #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, R, K. (batted sixth, played DH) #12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 48 pitches, 32 strikes (66.7%) #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, BB, R (batted second, played LF) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 3-for-4, 2B(6), 3B(2), 2 R, 3 RBI, K (batted sixth, played 3B) #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, 3B(2), R, RBI, K (batted first, played SS) #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2B(13), R, K (batted third, DHd) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 1-for-4, K (batted third, played SS) UPCOMING PROBABLES Friday, June 5: Indianapolis @ St. Paul (7:07 pm CT) - RHP Ricky Castro (0-0, 4.32 ERA) vs Jose Urquidy (2-3, 4.78 ERA) San Antonio @ Wichita (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Jose Olivares (0-3, 6.55 ERA) fs RHP Miguel Mendez (1-1, 4.76 ERA), Padres #3 prospect (#2 pitching prospect) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Riley Quick (0-1, 4.41 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Lakeland (6:30 pm CT) - RHP Reed Moring (1-0, 1.95 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (11:00 am CT) - TBD DSL Marlins @ DSL Twins (10:00 am CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 29-35 (3rd place (of 5) in AL Central, 7.0 GB)) St. Paul Saints: 32-27 (4th place (of 10) in IL West Division, 5.0 GB)) Wichita Wind Surge: 22-30 (5th place (of 5) in TL North Division, 12.0 GB)) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 26-28 (4th place (of 6) in MWL West Division, 8.0 GB)) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 31-23 (2nd place (of 6) in FSL West Division, 3.0 GB)) FCL Twins: 11-12 (4th place (of 6) in FCL South Division, 4.5 GB)) DSL Twins: 0-3 (7th place (of 7) in DSL East Division, 2.0 GB)) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

It was in September of 2020, the Scott Erickson and his girlfriend Rebecca Grossman (wife of a prominent LA surgeon) made the decision to grab a couple of drinks. Then they decided to race their matching Mercedes-Benz SUVs at speeds between 70 and 80 miles per hour. Those decisions contributed to the deaths of Mark (11) and Jacob (8) Iskander. The boys were out walking with their mother and a younger sibling. Reports are that the mother grabbed the younger sibling and dove out of the way of Erickson's car. Grossman was driving the car that hit and killed the two boys. In criminal court in 2024, Grossman was sentenced to 15 years to life for two counts of second-degree murder. On Wednesday, a civil court, the jurors awarded the Iskander family $176 million. Not only were they negligent, but the jury said that both Erickson and Grossman acted with malice. That could lead to a punitive damages phase of the civil trial. And in that phase, they could be awarded significantly more than the $176 million from this phase. That phase begins this week as well. View full rumor

The Jays have had their share of injuries and pitching issues. Jose Berrios recently had Tommy John surgery. Shane Bieber, Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer, and Bowden Francis are all on the Injured List. They have been in need of both starting and relief pitching. In the last few days, Toronto has acquired Simeon Woods Richardson from the Twins for #OldFriend Cash Considerations. They also just signed Justin Topa who was released by the Twins last week. Austin Voth had been pitching at Triple-A Buffalo most of this season. He recently came up to the big-league club and worked six innings over two games before they DFAd him and he chose free agency. Voth, who will turn 34 at the end of the month, was a fifth-round pick of the Washington Nationals out of the University of Washington. He worked his way up the organizational ladder, and in 2018, he pitched in four games (12 1/3 innings) in the big leagues. He made eight starts (nine appearances) in 2019. He made 11 starts during the Covid-shortened 2020 season. In 2021, he was moved to the bullpen and pitched in 49 games. Midway through the 2022 season, he was DFAd by the Nationals and claimed by the Orioles. In 2024, he spent the season with his hometown Mariners and posted a 3.59 ERA. In 2025, he spent a season pitching for Chiba Lotte in Japan. The Twins front office continues to work the edges of their 40-man roster. Since spring training, they have been very busy on the waiver wire and continuing to add minor-league free agents with big-league time. Some have worked. Others did not. In the offseason, they signed veterans like Liam Hendriks, Dan Altavilla, and Matt Bowman. All three are now with other organizations. The Twins were able to sign veterans like Drew Smith, Jon Brebbia. Smith remains in St. Paul, but Brebbia was let go. Luis Garcia was claimed. Zak Kent and Christian Roa were too. Clearly Anthony Banda was going to make the team with his track record, and the Twins stood by him through early-season struggles. They brought back Cody Laweryson right as spring training started, and he made the opening day roster. With his unique release point, 97 mph fastball and intriguing sweeper, Justin Lawrence sure looks the part of big-league reliever. Garrett Acton looked good after the Twins claimed him, but he only worked in four games before being injured. And if we thought the Joe Ryan for two bad months of Nelson Cruz was a great trade for the Twins from the Rays, well, Yoendrys Gomez for Cash Considerations is looking pretty good so far too. Back to Austin Voth. He'll likely be used in different roles and different situations. He could be a spot starter (like Thursday night), an opener, a three-to-four innings guy twice per week, a traditional one-inning guy. Will he eventually get a shot with the Twins? Who knows? But the Twins absolutely should be frequently acquiring these types of players. If they can end the season with three of Banda, Laweryson, Lawrence, Acton and Gomez pitching well and in the plans for 2027, that's a Win. View full rumor

I don't have a problem with the organization still wanting Fedko to play all over the diamond every day. Could he come up and put up better offensive numbers that James Outman? Possible, though certainly not a guarantee. I certainly won't say that Outman's been anything but not good, but again, he's 29, strong defense, good base runner, fits his role. Fedko could do the role, but again, I'd rather he plays. Sabato had put up numbers in college that were pretty equivalent to those of Spencer Torkelson who went #1 overall that year. I haven't had him on a prospect list for years and still don't. But I think he could probably hold his own in the big leagues. Like Fedko, once they decide to sell, then Bell and others can traded or let go. Until then, just keep gaining confidence.

Prospect-wise, Ross is probably ahead of maybe Gray and Kreidler, only because he's younger. But he's in that category. However, he's only 24-25. His ability to play 4 infield spots and 2 or 3 outfield spots is huge... And, I think he can hit a bit too. Not because he's hitting in St. Paul. You and I could probably hit in St. Paul (note - I don't really think this). 1st round picks: Lee, Culpepper, Lewis, Houston 2nd round picks: Keaschall, Kreidler 13th round: Gray Ross was a 5th round pick out of D2 Notre Dame College. From a Starters: Lee, Culpepper, Lewis, Keaschall, maybe Houston Utility Guys: Kreidler, Gray. I think Ross can fit the role of a "super utility" type.

I think Morris has to be very close to 45 days, maybe even past it. Prielipp's maybe close. He's been up 31-32 days. He's at 33 1/3 innings. We'll have to vote again. (hard to guess. I know my rankings of the Top 20 looks quite a bit different from the Twins Daily one, especially the 12-20 range.)

We just learned yesterday that he'll be getting time at 1B and 2B. Also, do you/we want Royce Lewis to fill the James Outman, 5th outfielder role?

Agreed... Mendez has a chance to be a really good player and give a good feeling about the 2025 deadline, but there are several good players and good prospects. Aside from missing Varland, the Twins did really well with the trade deadline. And he netted Rojas and Roden (whose prospect status was well above Mendez's.) He just needs to be healthy.) To get two AA SPs for Willi Castro? Gallagher's already in AAA. So many nice pieces to the trade.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (Top L to R: Ricardo Olivar, Aaron Sabato, Kaelen Culpepper; Bottom L to R: Kyler Fedko, Ben Ross, Hendry Mendez) I have been writing up these monthly reports for a good 15-20 years, and I am almost 100% certain that what you'll see below, I have never seen before. The Saints offense has been tremendous this season. They are hitting homers at a record-setting pace and scoring a lot of runs. The nice thing is that most everyone is contributing. Guys coming up from Wichita or down from the big leagues are contributing. For now, let's just say that you'll see a few Saints players near the top of this list. But there were a lot of strong offensive performances this month. Below you will find the Top 5 hitters of the month, including our choice for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. But, because there were so many options, I wrote up "The Next Three" Hitters too. There are also eight Honorable Mentions. I'm curious what our readers think and how they would rank the top hitters of the month. There were even a few FCL Twins mentioned in the Honorable Mention section. You could certainly make an argument for one of them being in the Top 8 or 10, but that player had just 13 games played where others played as many as 27 games. What a great month for hitters in the Twins minor leagues! Let's get started. Leave feedback in the comments below. HONORABLE MENTIONS 1B/OF Jaime Ferrer - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Wichita Wind Surge 24 G, 21-88, .239/.337/.477 (.814), 1-2B, 1-3B, 6-HR, 20 RBI, 12 R, 10 BB, 25 K UT Jay Thomason - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 21 G, 15-65, .231/.375/.462 (.837), 2-2B, 2-3B, 3-HR, 9 RBI, 10 R, 15 BB, 21 K C/CF Khadim Diaw - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 26 G, 26-91, .286/.362/.440 (.802), 9-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 11 RBI, 18 R, 10BB, 16 K OF Jayson Bass - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 22 G, 17-70, .243/.375/.443 (.818), 4-2B, 2-3B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 12 R, 15 BB, 23 K. 2B Dameury Pena - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 24 G, 32-103, .311/.393/.350 (.743), 2-2B, 1-3B, - HR, 15 RBI, 17 R, 13 BB, 7 K C Miguel Caraballo - FCL Twins - 17 G, 13-48, .271/.400/.500 (.900), 5-2B, 2-HR, 8 RBI, 10 R, 9 BB, 17 K OF Yovanny Duran - FCL Twins - 17 G, 18-61, .295/.371/.508 (.879), 2-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 13 RBI, 14 R, 7 BB, 17 K OF Jhomnardo Reyes - FCL Twins - 13 G, 14-37, .378/.511/.892 (1.403), 3-2B, 2-3B, 4-HR, 15 RBI, 12 R, 9 BB, 7 K THE NEXT THREE HITTERS Number 8 - OF Yasser Mercedes (21) -Fort Myers Mighty Mussels/Cedar Rapids Kernels 24 G, 24-for-91, .264/.364/.495 (.859) with 7 double, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 21 R, 20 RBI, 15 BB, 23 K Mercedes has had a career filled with ups and downs, but so far 2024 has been a definite up! No one has ever questioned his athleticism and general talent level. But that hasn’t always translated statistically. While his season started late, Mercedes just looks different on the field. Maybe it’s body language, but he’s playing much more confidently. In 21 games for Fort Myers, he hit .321/.439/.642 (1.081) with four doubles, two triples and six home runs. He’s played in 16 games for Cedar Rapids and is hitting .203/.304/.373 (.677) with four doubles and two homers. More importantly, he doesn’t look overwhelmed. He also has a combined 19 stolen bases. Number 7 - 3B/SS/CF Brandon Winokur (21) - Cedar Rapids Kernels 26 G, 33-99, .333/.427/.495 (.922), 4-2B, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 16 R, 15 BB, 25 K. If only looking at OPS, this is the best month of the former third-round pick’s career. While he has played more third base in 2026, he’s still getting quite a bit of playing time in both center field and at shortstop. He struggled in April, but in May, he took off. Manager Brian Meyer moved him into the leadoff spot for a few games, and he seemed to respond well. He took better at-bats and carried that forward regardless of his spot in the lineup. Could a promotion be coming soon? Number 6 - OF Hendry Mendez (22) - Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints 23 G, 31-90, .344/.449/.489 (.938), 4-2B, 3-HR, 18 RBI, 17 R, 17 BB, 13 K. Mendez played two May games in Wichita. He has now played 21 games for the Saints and reached base in all of them. He hits for average. He’s a big guy with power potential. He has a very good eye and has consistently had more walks than strikeouts. THE TOP FIVE HITTERS Number 5 - C Ricardo Olivar (24) - Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints 21 G, 24-81, .296/.352/.642 (.994 OPS), 7-2B, 7-HR, 24 RBI, 14 R, 6 BB, 22 K. Olivar ended the 2024 season with a few weeks in Double-A. He spent the entire 2025 season in Wichita, and that’s where he began the 2026 season as well due to the depth above. In mid-May, Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers swung at a pitch and broke his hamate bone. He will be out for two months. The Twins called up Alex Jackson to the big-leagues, and Olivar finally got his promotion to the Saints. After not homering for his first 11 games this season in Wichita, he went on a run in which he hit 10 home runs in 13 games. The first five came in April, the next five in May. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his first Saints game. In his second game, he hit a bloop single to drive in a run. He then drove in runs in five straight games. In his third game, he had two hits. In his fourth game, he hit his first double. In his fifth game, he had a double and hit his first home run. In his sixth game, he hit another home run. At a new level, it has to be a good feeling to start out well and feel like you below. Number 4 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (23) - St. Paul Saints 25 G, 28-100, .280/.407/.540 (.947), 5-2B, 7-HR, 21 RBI, 26 R, 19 BB, 21 K. There was definitely some adjustment needed for Culpepper as he moved up to Triple-A in 2026. In March/April, he hit .234, but he did hit five home runs. He was much improved and much more consistent in June. He has done a nice job at the top of the Saints lineup. Not only does he know the strike zone pretty well (19 BB) and he puts the ball in play a lot, but he can give the team an early lead with a home run. With his offensive tool set, Culpepper can be an instigator, a catalyst at the top of the order. But he’s strong and can drive the ball to all fields. He can be a run producer. In addition, it’s no surprise that he played at a solid college program because he has strong instincts to go with strong fundamentals. The Twins are clearly creating a path for Culpepper. Generally speaking, it’s rarely as obvious as the Twins are making it. The first few weeks of the season, he would play three games at shortstop and one each at second base, third base, and DH. He hasn’t played second base since early May. He has not played third base since Royce Lewis was optioned. With that transaction also pushing Brooks Lee from shortstop to third base in the big leagues, there is an opening at shortstop for the Twins. It’s a position that can be filled in the short-term by Orlando Arcia and Ryan Kreidler, but it’s a position that every manager wants to have a guy they put in that spot 155-160 games per season. Is Culpepper ready for the big leagues right now? I don’t know. I certainly won’t say that he isn’t. I think he could come up now and hold his own. Personally, I’d like to see him spend another three or four weeks for St. Paul. Continue to do the things he did in May; play solid defense, take quality plate appearances, hit the ball hard, use the whole field. Honestly, just keep playing baseball. Remember, the goal is not to get players to the big leagues fast. It’s to have them ready to stay there when they get there. Number 3 - UT Ben Ross (24) - St. Paul Saints 27 G, 25-88, .284/.452/.523 (.975), 9-2B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 21 R, 24 BB, 27 K Ross backed up his April Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month with a strong first full month at Triple-A. Ross started the season with 16 games in Wichita before ending the month with four games with the Saints. Combined, he hit .365/.460/.676 (1.136) with eight doubles and five home runs. He had a little adjustment offensively to the higher level, but maybe the best thing is that for multiple reasons, he has had to be in the lineup every day. His last day off was the last day of April. He’s primarily played center field, followed closely by time at shortstop. He’s also played second base, third base and left field in his time with the Saints. But while his batting average expectedly dropped from .365 to .284, he was able to continue working walks and getting on base. His speed, athleticism, strong defense and ability to take quality plate appearances should continue to get playing time all over the diamond. Number 2 - OF Kyler Fedko (26) - St. Paul Saints 22 G, 29-87, .333/.433/.586 (1.019), 8-2B, 1-3B, 4-HR, 18 RBI, 23 R, 14 BB, 17 K. If you have only followed the Twins and their minor league system the past two seasons, you just might think that Kyler Fedko is the greatest hitter in Twins minor league history. In 2025, he spent about two-thirds of the season at Double-A Wichita and finished the season with 42 games in a Saints uniform. Combined, he hit .258/.367/.487 (.854) with 25 doubles, 28 homers, 82 RBI and 38 stolen bases. He earned an invitation to Twins big-league spring training and began the season with the Saints again. In April, playing time was inconsistent with Walker Jenkins and other “prospects” being eased back into the lineup. He hit just .222, but he ended the month with two doubles, a triple, and seven home runs. Since mid-April, he has been in the Saints lineup most every day. As shown above, he hit for average, took walks and got on base, and ended the month with 13 extra base hits. The 12th round pick in 2021 out of UConn continues to play solid all-around baseball on defense, on the base paths and at the plate. He continues to wait for an opportunity to get to the big leagues. The Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month of May is: 1B Aaron Sabato (26) - St. Paul Saints 25 G, 29-for-93, .312/.402/.699 (1.101), 10-2B, 1-3B, 8-HR, 22 RBI, 17 R, 13 BB, 27 K. April 23rd was a big day for Aaron Sabato. In the 3 1/2 weeks of the season prior to that date, he was playing about twice per week. Since that date, he has only been out of the Saints lineup twice. What happened on April 23rd? That’s the day that the Twins DFAd Eric Wagaman from the 40-man roster. He was claimed by the Mets. May 5th was a big day for Aaron Sabato. That’s the day that the Saints went to Las Vegas for a rare series against a Pacific Coast League team. On that day, he went 4-for-5 with a double, three home runs and seven RBI. The next night, he went 2-for-5 with another home run and two RBI. In the third game of the series, he was 2-for-4 with a double. On Friday, he went 0-for-3 but had two walks… and a stolen base. In the series' fifth game, he went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI. In his last game in Vegas, he went 0-for-4. A nice, great, powerful week, but then what? Was that it? Well, on May 12th, the Saints played two straight weeks at CHS Field. Sabato went hitless, but he walked twice, starting a 14-game on-base streak. He had at least one hit in 13 straight games. Within that stretch, he had eight doubles and three more home runs. In 38 total games this season, the former first-round pick is hitting .289/.366/.622 (.988) with 13 doubles, a triple, and 10 RBI. It will be very interesting to see what the Twins do with Sabato. If not on the 40-man roster following the World Series, he can become a minor-league free agent. If the Twins fall well out of contention, could they look to sell veterans again? Specifically, Josh Bell - playing on a one-year deal - would likely be dealt? Will the Twins brass decide to give him a couple of months in the big leagues to see how he responds? Will he hit for power? Will he put the ball in play? That’s for other people to figure out. My job, at least for this article, was simply to write about the top offensive performances in May. For me, Aaron Sabato was the easy choice. Congratulations to Saints first baseman Aaron Sabato, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for May of 2026. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions. How would you rank the top five hitters in the Twins organization in May? View full article

Image courtesy of Malamut Photography (photo of Marek Houston) TRANSACTIONS In a surprise Saturday morning move, the Twins announced that Simeon Woods Richardson was Designated for Assignment. Despite a rough start to his 2026 season, he is just 25 years old and has shown he can pitch in the big leagues over extended points in 2023 and 2024. Taking his spot with the Twins is RHP John Klein who had been scheduled to start for the Saints on Saturday. How did Brian Dinkelman adjust? RHP Mitch Mueller was promoted from Fort Myers to Wichita. Born in the Twin Cities, he grew up and went to high school in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He pitched one college season at Winona State. The Twins signed him in early May 2015. (Here is his first Double-A strikeout, against a rehabbing big leaguer). Cedar Rapids placed RHP Eston Stull on the 7-Day IL. Infielder Yilber Herrera returned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins. RHP Callan Fang, the Twins 13th round pick in 2025 out of Harvard, began a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. He’s been on the 60-Day Injured List all season. Fang went to Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, the same school that 16-year NFL star Troy Vincent, a former Walter Payton Man of the Year Award recipient, went to in the 1980s. Maybe a bit more relevant to this article and this website, Fang and Twins 2025 ninth-round draft pick Justin Mitrovich were both 2022 graduates of Pennsbury. Mitrovich is currently in the Mighty Mussels starting rotation. RHP Frederick Hiciano was assigned to the FCL Twins from the DSL Twins roster. The Twins also signed 17-year-old RHP Cristian Alvino. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Louisville 2 Box Score For the second straight game, the Saints scored seven runs. They just feel much better about that when the team gives up two runs like on Saturday rather than the 11 runs they gave up on Friday night in Louisville. The Bats scored single runs in the bottom of the first and the bottom of the second innings. The Saints had two runners reach base in the first two innings but didn’t score. That drought ended in the third. Kaelen Culpepper and Hendry Mendez started the inning with singles. With one out, Kyler Fedko knocked his 10th double to drive in Culpepper with the first run. With two outs, Gabriel Gonzalez singled to left to drive in Mendez and Fedko and give the Saints the 3-2 lead. Gonzalez now has an 11-game hitting streak during which he has hit .447. With one out in the top of the fifth inning, Matt Wallner singled. With two outs, Ben Ross singled. Following a pitching change, Ricardo Olivar hit his second home run in as many days to give the Saints a 6-2 lead. He took a 0-1 fastball and crushed it 107 mph. It landed about 430 feet from home plate. That was it for the scoring until the top of the ninth. Culpepper singled to lead off the inning. With one out, Royce Lewis doubled to left field at 108 mph to drive in the seventh run. Culpepper went 3-for-4 with a walk. Lewis and Wallner were both 2-for-5. Lewis’s double was his third. Marco Raya made his first start of the season. He gave up two runs on three hits over three innings. He had four strikeouts. Alejandro Hidalgo came in and had five strikeouts over three scoreless, one-hit innings. Raul Brito recorded the save with three scoreless innings. He walked one and had two strikeouts. WIND SURGE WISDOM Game 1: Wichita 3, Springfield 3 (Suspended after six innings) Box Score They were hoping to get two games in on Saturday. Instead, they got through six innings. The game was tied, and with just one inning to go (maybe), the field conditions became unplayable and the game was suspended. The hope is to play out the suspended game (a 7-inning game) and then play a nine-inning game after that. The missed game will be made up later in the season. A more complete rundown of this game will be available when it gets final. A couple of quick notes. First, in the top of the second, Andrew Cossetti’s third home run of the season drove in Kala’i Rosario and gave the Wind Surge a 2-0 lead. Through four innings, they found themselves down 3-2. In the top of the fifth inning, Jose Salas hit his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot that tied it up. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 2 Box Score Riley Quick was back on the mound for the Kernels on Saturday night. He gave up two runs in the first inning but then worked three more frames without letting the Bandits add on. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks, and he had three strikeouts. Early in the game, he was sitting 96-97 mph. Michael Ross came in and worked the next four innings. He gave up no runs and just one hit. He had four strikeouts and no walks. In fact, he faced the minimum of 12 batters in four innings. The second batter he faced singled, but he was erased on a double play ball. Eston Stull returned from the Injured List. He was given the ninth inning. He faced three batters and struck out all three of them to earn his third save. The Kernels faced one of the Royals top pitching prospects, lefty David Shields. He started with two scoreless innings despite multiple base runners in both frames. Marek Houston led off the bottom of the third inning with a single. He advanced to second with his 12th stolen base. With two outs, Yasser Mercedes doubled, his fourth, to right field to drive in the first Kernels run. Quinn McDaniel followed with a triple to the left center field gap to drive in the second run and tie the game. It’s his second triple since joining the Kernels las week. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Jay Thomason reached on an error. Danny De Andrade followed with a walk. A wild pitch moved runners to second and third with nobody out. After a strikeout, Houston flew out to right field, deep enough to drive in Thomason from third base and give the team a 3-2 lead. And that was it for the scoring in the game as both bullpens pitched well. Marek Houston went 3-for-3 with two stolen bases. The team had just seven total hits and three walks in the game. By the way, if you're into sports photography MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Jupiter 1 Box Score The Mussels got a fantastic start, took an early lead, added on a bit, and the bullpen came through late to help the team to a very nice win on Saturday. Matthew Dalquist started the game with five shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and had three strikeouts. He was also efficient, needing just 60 pitches (44 strikes, 73.3%). Consider that the first inning began with a ground rule double against him, and two batters later, they had runners on first and third with one out. He worked out of that situation. He gave up just one more hit and no more runners reached third base over his final four innings. The Mussels took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. JP Smith and Henry Kusiak started the inning with singles, and Jayson Bass walked to load the bases. Smith scored on an Irvin Nunez sacrifice fly. They added on in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Smith singled. After a pitching change, Kusiak got a 1-0 hanging curveball over the inner half of the plate and hit his first home run in affiliated ball to give the team a 3-0 lead. Dylan Questad pitched the sixth inning. He gave up one run on two walks. He had two strikeouts. Jonathan Stevens came in and gave up a hit and two walks, but no runs in 1 2/3 innings. Lefty Jake Murray recorded the final four outs. He walked one batter, but he had four strikeouts to earn the Save. There were a lot of baserunners for both teams, but not a lot of them crossed home plate. Jupiter went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They left nine on base. The Mussels, on the other hand, scored their four runs on 10 hits and 11 walks. They were also 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, but they left 15 runners on base. Dameury Pena went 2-for-2 with three walks. JP Smith went 3-for-4 with a walk. Henry Kusiak went 2-for-3 with two walks and his first home run. Luis Fragoza went 2-for-4. Irvin Nunez and Jayson Bass each walked twice. COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins 9, FCL Red Sox 10 Box Score Callan Fang made his first appearance in a regular game since he was drafted last July. In his first rehab appearance, he gave up two unearned runs on one hit, a hit batter, and two walks. He recorded two outs, one on a strikeout. Melvin Rodriguez came in and gave up five runs on one hit and four walks over two innings. He struck out three batters. Carter Holjes gave up one run on two hits and two walks over 1 1/3 innings. Brad Rudis struck out two batters over two scoreless innings. Nick McAuliffe struck out five batters over two innings. He gave up one run on two hits. Pablo Castillo gave up an unearned run (the Manfred Man) in the ninth inning on one hit. The FCL Twins committed six errors in this game. They also allowed four players to steal a combined 13 bases. Edwin Darville alone had five stolen bases. When the FCL Twins came to the plate for the bottom of the fourth inning, they were already behind 8-0. They got on the board when Teilon Serrano and Carlos Taveras started the inning with singles. Serrano scored on a double play ball. Just one run, but it was a start. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Jose Barrios walked with one out. He scored on a double by Yovanny Duran which cut the deficit to 8-2. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ricardo Paez led off with a walk. Darwin Almanzar doubled him to third. They scored on a wild pitch and then a passed ball. 8-4. With one out, Victor Leal walked and went to third base on a Jose Barrios double. Leal scored on a sacrifice fly by Duran. That made the score 8-5. In the top of the seventh, the Red Sox added a run to push the lead back to four runs. Paez and Almanzar walked. A strikeout and a flyout left the Twins one out from a loss. Barrios was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Yovanny Duran came to the plate and crushed his third home run of the season, a grand slam that tied the game at 9-9. The Twins went scoreless twice in extra innings. In the ninth inning, position player Pablo Castillo pitched. Yovanny Duran is a switch-hitting, 18-year-old outfielder from Venezuela. He went 2-for-3 with a walk, his second double, his third home run, and five RBI. Jose Barrios went 2-for-3 with a walk and his second double. He was also hit by a pitch. He stole his third base. Jhomnardo Reyes was 1-for-3 with two walks. Miguel Caraballo hit his fifth double. He also walked once and was hit by a pitch. Danny Almanzar hit his second double. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul): 3-for-4, BB, 2 R, K. Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-3, R, SF RBI, 2 SB(13) Dameury Pena (Fort Myers): 2-for-2, 3 BB. Henry Kusiak (Fort Myers): 2-for-3, 2 BB, HR(1), R, 2 RBI JP Smith II (Fort Myers): 3-for-4, BB, 2 R, K Yovanny Duran (FCL Twins): 2-for-3, BB, 2B(2), HR(3), 5 RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Matthew Dalquist (Fort Myers): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 60 pitches, 44 strikes (74.2%) Alejandro Hidalgo (St. Paul): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 31 pitches, 23 strikes (74.2%) Michael Ross (Cedar Rapids): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 48 pitches, 31 strikes (64.9%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 3-for-4, BB, 2 R, K. (batted first, played SS) #7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-3, R, RBI, 2 SB(13), PO (batted first, played SS) #8 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, HB, 3 K, 56 pitches, 35 strikes (62.5%) #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 K. (batted sixth, played 1B) #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, R, K (batted second, played DH) #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K (batted second, played 3B) #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB (batted third, played CF) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 0-for-3, game suspended (batted first, played SS) UPCOMING PROBABLES Sunday, May 31: St. Paul @ Louisville (12:05 pm CT) - RHP Mike Paredes (2-1, 3.38 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (suspended game + 9-inning game starting at 2:15 pm CT) - RHP Eli Jones (0-2, 4.20 ERA), Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 pm CT) - LHP Garrett Horn (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (11:05 am CT) - RHP Reed Moring (1-0, 1.42 ERA) Monday, June 1: FCL Rays @ FCL Twins (11:00 am CT) - TBD DSL Rangers Red @ DSL Twins (10:00 am CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 27-32 (3rd place (of 5) in AL Central, 6.5 GB)) St. Paul Saints: 28-27 (6th place (of 10) in IL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Wichita Wind Surge: 21-26 (4th place (of 5) in TL North Division, 8.5 GB)) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 25-25 (3rd place (of 6) in MWL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 28-22 (2nd place (of 6) in FSL West Division, 2.0 GB)) FCL Twins: 10-10 (3rd place (of 6) in FCL South Division, 3.5 GB)) DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

TD and national media said that the Saints roster was most exciting or prospect filled. That has nothing to do with wins and losses. Prospects are generally young for the level of competition... especially at AAA where there are teams that have a ton of veterans with MLB experience. Then Jenkins and E-Rod have been hurt. Zebby, Morris, Rojas, Prielipp and now Klein are in the big leagues.

Not much surprises me anymore, but this one was shocking. That's very surprising. Makes little sense, unless he requested it. I expect there'll be more tiers to this story.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Ricardo Olivar) TRANSACTIONS The Twins placed lefty Kendry Rojas on the 15-Day Injured List with left elbow inflammation. They also optioned Travis Adams to St. Paul. RHP Cody Laweryson completed his rehab stint and was activated from the IL. LHP Kody Funderburk has also been recalled. The Twins also signed a pair of right-handed pitchers. RHP Yolcar Garcia is 18 years old, and RHP Manuel Meza is already 19 years old. Both have been assigned to the DSL Twins roster. Their games begin on Monday down in Boca Chica. Fort Myers has added RHP Matt DesMarets to their roster. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Louisville 11 Box Score Two big innings by the Bats were the big difference in this game in Kentucky on Friday night. Lefty Aaron Rozek started. He was charged with five runs (4 earned) on seven hits. He walked none and had four strikeouts. He left with one out in the fourth inning. Grant Hartwig came on and struck out both batters on strikeouts. Ty Langenberg came in and gave up single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. He faced three batters in the seventh inning and didn’t record an out. Trent Baker came in with two runners on and nobody out. Both runners scored. So Langenberg’s final line was two innings, six hits, five runs, one walk and four strikeouts. Baker gave up a run of his own in the seventh as well, but that’s it over the final two innings. The Saints offense wasn’t the problem. In the top of the third, Ben Ross led off with a walk. He scored on a double off the bat of Ricardo Olivar to tie the game at 1-1. Tanner Schobel reached on an error. With one out Hendry Mendez singled to drive in Olivar. Mendez got picked off at first, but Royce Lewis doubled to right field to drive in Schobel with the third run of the inning. The Saints increased their lead in the top of the fourth inning. Gabriel Gonzalez led off with an infield single. The next two batters got out, but Ricardo Olivar picked them up. He launched his first Triple-A home run to give his team a 5-1 lead. Unfortunately, the Bats scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at five. The teams exchanged runs the next two innings. Kaelen Culpepper led off the top of the fifth inning with his 12th home run to take a 6-5 lead, but the Bats tied it in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs in the top of the sixth, Ben Ross hit his fourth home run since joining the Saints to give his team the 7-6 lead. The Bats scored the tying run in the bottom of the sixth inning. They put up four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take over the game and grab the win. Olivar led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with his second double and his first home run with the Saints. Ross went 1-for-2 with two walks and his ninth overall season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Springfield 6 Box Score After a rain out on Thursday night, the Wind Surge had the opportunity to face Cardinals top pitching prospect, lefty Liam Doyle. They have had some success against him in two previous outings. This time, the Surge scored two runs (1 earned) on two hits in 4 2/3 innings against Doyle. They struck out eight times but also worked four walks. Sam Armstrong took the ball for Wichita. He gave up three runs on two hits and four walks in two innings. He had two strikeouts. Darren Bowen came on next. He was charged with an unearned run on one hit in 2 2/3 innings. He had two walks and two strikeouts. Sam Ryan got the final out of the fifth inning and worked a scoreless sixth as well. William Fleming came in and gave up two unearned runs on two hits over the final two innings. Down 3-0 through two innings, the Wind Surge got on the board in the top of the third. Billy Amick worked a one-out walk. With two outs, Garrett Spain doubled in Amick with the first run. Spain scored on a passed ball and Wichita was down 3-2. By the eighth inning, the Surge were behind 6-2. Spain knocked his 11th home run of the season. Spain went 2-for-3 with the homer and his seventh double. What's more impressive? He was hit in the face with a 99-mph fastball in the first inning. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 11 Box Score While his final stat line won’t look good, Ivran Romero provided his Kernels teammates with exactly what they needed. Romero gave up three runs in the first inning and another in the second inning, but he settled down and put three zeroes on the board. He gave up four runs on six hits and a walk. He had five strikeouts. Unfortunately, when Romero was done, Nick Trabacchi was called upon to start the sixth inning. He gave up six runs on four hits and two walks. Yehizon Sanchez got the final out of the sixth inning and gave up a run in the seventh. Brian Zeldin struck out two batters over two scoreless, one-hit innings. The Kernels offense wasn’t bad. They scored at least one run in five of the first seven innings. In the first inning, Marek Houston led off with a single. Eduardo Tait walked, and Brandon Winokur singled to put the team on the scoreboard. Winokur led off the third inning with a double. Khadim Diaw singled him to third. Yasser Mercedes drove him in with a sacrifice fly. They almost scored another. Quinn McDaniel doubled, but Diaw was thrown out at home. In the fourth inning, Rayne Doncon led off with his sixth double. He went to third on a single by Danny De Andrade and scored on a sacrifice fly off of Tait’s bat. That cut the team’s deficit to just 4-3. However, the River Bandits scored six runs in the top of the sixth. Down 10-3, the Kernels scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the new deficit in half. Jay Thomason led off with a single. With two outs, Thomason scored on a Houston single. Houston stole second and scored on a Tait single. With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, McDaniel singled and stole second. Thomason walked, and then they were successful on a double steal. With two outs, De Andrade walked. After a pitching change, McDaniel scored on a Marek Houston walk. Houston was 2-for-4 with a walk. Tait was 1-for-3 with a walk. They both had two RBI. Winokur went 2-for-4 with a walk and his ninth double. McDaniel was also 2-for-4 and notched his first double. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 1 Box Score Both teams scored a run in the second inning. The Mussels scored on two walks, a double-steal and a sacrifice fly off the bat of JP Smith. The score remained at 1-1 until the seventh inning. Justin Mitrovich started and gave up one run on three hits. In four innings, he walked two and had four strikeouts. Matthew DesMarets came in and went 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two, hit one, and had two strikeouts. Brent Francisco got the final seven outs, two of them on strikeouts. He improved to 5-0 on the season. Tied 1-1, JP Smith led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk. With one out, Graham Brown walked. Luis Fragoza came up and doubled in Smith with the go-ahead run. Following a pitching change, Brown scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1. In the bottom of the eighth, Ryan Sprock led off with a walk. Ramiro Dominguez singled to shortstop and Sprock was thrown out trying to hustle to third base. Henry Kusiak walked. Both runners advanced on a double steal. Smith recorded another sacrifice fly to make it 4-1, and Kusiak scored on a Brown single for the game’s final run. The Mussels scored their five runs on only five hits. However, they were helped by 12 walks. Kusiak was 0-for-1, but he walked twice and stole two bases. Ryan Sprock also walked twice. Graham Brown went 2-for-3 with a walk and his first double. COMPLEX CHRONICLE FCL Twins 6, FCL Red Sox 8 Box Score Both teams had a two-run inning early in the game. The Twins had a big four-run inning in the sixth inning. Unfortunately, the Red Sox had a six-run inning in the bottom of the fifth, and the Twins were unable to catch all the way up. Lefty Cesar Lares made another rehab start. He gave up two runs on three hits over 3 2/3 innings. He had five strikeouts and maybe most important issued no walks. Santiago Rojas came in from the bullpen to get the final out of the fourth. However, in the fifth inning, he was charged with six runs (3 earned) on two hits and four walks. He came out with two outs, and Josh Walker came in. He allowed two inherited runners to score before getting the third out. But, he got three more outs in the sixth inning with no further damage. Down 2-0, Jhomnardo Reyes drove in Yilber Herrera and Jose Barrios to tie the game. Down 8-2 going into the top of the sixth, Teilon Serrano led off with a triple. He scored ahead of Reyes who hit his fourth home run of the season. The exit velo on the homer was 109 mph. Carlos Taveras walked and stole second. With two outs, he scored on a Herrera single to center. He advanced to third base on Pablo Castillo’s first double. Herrera scored on a Jose Barrios single. Jhomnardo Reyes led the offense again. He went 3-for-4 with his fourth homer and four RBI. Herrera went 2-for-3 with his sixth stolen base. Carlos Taveras played in his first game of the 2026 season. The highly-talented, highly-touted prospect went 2-for-3 with a walk. He also stole two bases. His first at-bat was a ground out, but it was 98 mph. In his second at-bat, he singled to center. He put that ball in play at 110 mph! After a walk, he hit a single at 94 mph. He is young for his signing class. He will turn 18 on Sunday. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Jhomnardo Reyes (FCL Twins): 3-for-4, HR(4), R, 4 RBI Ricardo Olivar (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2B(2), HR(1), 2 R, 3 RBI. Pitcher of the Day Brent Francisco (Ft. Myers): 2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 25 pitches, 20 strikes (80.0%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (left shoulder) #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, HR(12), R, RBI, K (batted first, played SS) #3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 7 Day Injured List (thumb) - Had surgery. #4 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, 2 RBI, 2 K (batted second, DHd) #6 - LHP Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch. #7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB(11) (batted first, played SS) #8 - RHP Riley Quick (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch. #9 - LHP Kendry Rojas (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. Placed on 15-Day IL. #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, 3 K. (batted fifth, played RF) #11 - RHP Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch. #13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, RBI, K (batted second, played LF) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K. (batted fifth, played SS) #15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, BB, 2B(9), R, RBI, K (batted second, played 3B) #16 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #18 - RHP James Ellwanger (Ft. Myers) - 60 Day Injured List (right elbow sprain) #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5 (batted fifth, played CF) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 1-for-5, 2 K (batted first, played SS) UPCOMING PROBABLES Saturday, May 30: St. Paul @ Louisville (6:15 pm CT) - RHP John Klein (1-1, 6.10 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (DH starting at 4:05 pm CT) - RHP Jose Olivares (0-3, 8.00 ERA), TBD Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Riley Quick (0-1, 4.38 ERA) Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (5:05 pm CT) - RHP Matthew Dalquist (0-1, 4.02 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (9:00 am CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 27-31 (3rd place (of 5) in AL Central Division, 6.5 GB)) St. Paul Saints: 27-27 (6th place (of 10) in IL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Wichita Wind Surge: 21-26 (4th place (of 5) in TL North Division, 8.0 GB)) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 24-25 (3rd place (of 6) in MWL West Division, 6.0 GB)) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 27-22 (2nd place (of 6) in FSL West Division, 2.0 GB)) FCL Twins: 10-9 (3rd place (of 6) in FCL South Division, 2.5 GB)) DSL Twins: 0-0 (season begins Monday, June 1) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article