Seth Stohs

Three of the Twins four full-season affiliates enter this week in first place in their division. This past week, there were some dominant offensive performances and also several impressive pitching performances. The numbers put up by this week's players of the week are incredible. Find out how the teams did, and which Twins minor leaguers had a great week on the field. The Twins have won 14 of their past 17 games. Some of the organization's top prospects have found their way to the big leagues and contributed. All the while, three affiliates find themselves in first place. As we all know, Player Development is the most important aspect of minor league baseball. However, "winning" is not a bad thing either. Learning how to win and contribute to a team are part of the development process as well. Nothing wrong with learning how to win and making that a priority. Disclaimer (kind of): Be sure to use these weekly reports for what they are. A look at the week. We want to highlight deserving prospects. They have earned it. Celebrate the successes throughout the whole season. If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week. TRANSACTIONS There have been no official transactions from later on Sunday and on Monday. RESULTS Previous Week in Review (4/26-5/2): Prospect Movement, Strong Performances, and Wins Tuesday: Dreary Tuesday on the Farm Wednesday: Headrick Fans Ten, Bats Burst in Lowertown Thursday: Stankiewicz Stays Hot, Miller Mussels Up Friday: Promotion Season is Here Saturday: Top Pitching Prospects Galore Sunday: Kernels Win in a Walk-off, Martin Homers on Mothers Day MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT The Next Twins Prospect Promotion Is It Time to Start Worrying About Austin Martin? Twins Promote Top Prospect Royce Lewis Prospect Retrospective: Royce Lewis Three Questions With… Mighty Mussels OF Kyler Fedko (Video) WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week: 3-3, hosting Iowa Season: 15-13 overall, 3rd place in the International League West. They are 4 1/2 games behind Nashville (20-9) and Columbus (18-12). The Saints split their six games last week against the Iowa Cubs. The Cubs came to St. Paul with former Twins Stephen Gonsalves, Luke Farrell, John Hicks, Ildemaro Vargas, and Andrelton Simmons made his first rehab appearances for the Cubs too. Each team won three games. The Saints outscored the Cubs 31-29. Yet none of the games was settled by less than three runs. When the week started, and really up until the weekend, the Saints roster included Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff, but both were called up on Friday. Jose Godoy was called up Sunday after playing four games in St. Paul. Mark Contreras played in all six games. He went 8-for-21 and hit .381/.500/.714 (1.214) with two doubles, a triple, and a home run. He also walked four times. 32-year-old veteran Elliot Soto played all six games too. He went 6-for-21 and hit .286/.423/.524 (.947) with a triple and a home run. He also walked five times. Curtis Terry had a nice week. In six games, he went 5-for-18 and hit .278/.500/.444 (.944) with three doubles. He also had eight walks to go with just two strikeouts. Great to see Jordan Balazovic back after starting the season on the Injured List with a knee injury. He made one rehab appearance in Ft. Myers and then started for the Saints on Saturday. He went 3 2/3 scoreless innings despite giving up five hits and two walks. He struck out four batters. Yennier Cano pitched in three innings over three games. He didn’t give up a run. He allowed just one hit, walked two and struck out four batters. JC Ramirez came out of the bullpen after Balazovic’s start. He gave up just one hit and walked one batter over 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out four batters. Daniel Gossett threw three scoreless, hitless innings in a relief appearance. He walked one and struck out four. Devin Smeltzer has been that stalwart of the Saints’ staff all season. He finally had a rough start. He gave up six runs on eight hits over two innings in his start. What’s Next? The Saints travel to Columbus to take on the Clippers for the week. Pitching Probables (RHP Ronny Henriquez, RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez, RHP Jake Faria, RHP Jordan Balazovic, TBD, TBD) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Week: 3-2, hosting Tulsa Season: 16-10 overall, 1st place in the Texas League North Division with Tulsa. They are 1.0 game ahead of Tulsa (15-11). It was billed as the week when Louie and Gus Varland would make history as brothers pitching against each other in a minor-league game. They were supposed to match up on Tuesday and again on Sunday. Instead, the teams were rained out on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. They played doubleheaders on Friday and Sunday. The Varlands pitched against each other on Friday. The offense scored just over six runs per game. Here are some of the top performances for the Wind Surge this past week: Let’s start on the mound. Matt Canterino made another start. Previously he had been working three innings. This week, he went four shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two, and struck out four batters. There were several really strong bullpen performances. Atop that list is Austin Schulfer who finished two games last week. In 2 1/3 innings, he gave up just one hit and struck out four batters. Bryan Sammons came out of the bullpen and gave up only a solo homer over three innings. He struck out three batters. Matt Wallner backed up last week’s player of the week performance with an even better week. In five games, he went 8-for-16 and hit .500/.579/1.063 (1.642) with three doubles, two homers and eight RBI. He also walked three times. Spencer Steer had a good week too. In five games, he went 8-for-20 and hit .400/.381/.900 (1.281) with a double, three homers and eight RBI. Edouard Julien played in four games and went 6-for-12. He hit .500/.563/.667 (1.230) with two doubles. He also had three walks and stole two bases. Michael Helman played in all five games. He went 6-for-15 and hit .400/.471/.600 (1.071) with a homer and two walks. He had three stolen bases. Andrew Bechtold played in three games. He went 3-for-10 (.300) with a double and a home run. Leobaldo Cabrera went just 2-for-12 (.167) in five games. Well, hey, a week ago, we wrote that he started the season 0-for-32. In the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday, he got out the first two at-bats, but in the sixth inning, he hit a solid single to center, ending the hitless string at 34. Two hits are a start! What’s Next? The Wind Surge will travel to NW Arkansas. Pitching Probables (RHP Ben Gross, RHP Matt Canterino, RHP Louie Varland, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Chris Vallimont, RHP Casey Legumina) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week: 4-2, hosting Quad Cities Season: 19-8 overall, 1st place in the Midwest League West Division, 2.0 games ahead of Wisconsin (17-10). The Kernels have found a lot of ways to win games. Last week, they needed strong pitching and got it. They won four of the six games, but they only outscored Quad Cities 21-15. Offense has been a struggle for the Kernels the past couple of weeks. Five Kernels bullpen arms did not allow a run last week. Bradley Hanner worked twice and gave up just one hit and one walk over four innings. He struck out six batters. Andrew Cabezas had five strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings in two perfect appearances. John Stankiewicz made his High-A debut last week out of the bullpen. In five scoreless innings, he gave up only one hit and no walks. He struck out seven batters. In 26 2/3 innings, he has 38 strikeouts to go with just five walks. Brent Headrick went six shutout innings in his start. He struck out ten batters and one gave up one hit and one walk. On Sunday, Sawyer Gipson-Long worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and struck out six batters without a walk. Cade Povich moved quickly past his first rough start. This past week, he gave up an unearned run on four hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out eight batters. Cody Laweryson also made his first start of the season. He went four shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked none, and struck out four batters. Jeferson Morales went 5-for-10 (.500) in the three games he played. He had a double and a walk. Anthony Prato played in all six games. He went 6-for-22 and hit .273/.346/.636 (.982) with a triple, two homers, and five RBI. He also walked twice. On Sunday, he had a walk-off sacrifice fly. Aaron Sabato also had two homers and five RBI on the week. Alerick Soularie’s struggles continued. On the week, he went 0-for-15 and is now hitting just .137 in his first 21 games of the season. What’s Next? The Kernels will be traveling to Peoria to take on the Chiefs. Pitching Probables (LHP Brent Headrick, RHP Sean Mooney, LHP Aaron Rozek, LHP Cade Povich, RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long, RHP Cody Laweryson) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Week: 3-3, at Lakeland Season: 14-10 overall, 1st place in the Florida State League West, but just 1/2 game ahead of Bradenton (15-12) and 1.0 game ahead of Clearwater (13-11). The Florida State League is typically not known for much offense. While the Mussels scored a combined four runs over their first two games last week, they scored 32 runs over the final four games. The team gave up 26 runs on the week. However, 12 of those came in just one game. The best start of the week for Ft. Myers came from RHP Pierson Ohl. He was charged with one run on four hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out four batters. Nine Mighty Mussels starters worked last week without giving up an earned run. Regi Grace, Hunter McMahon, Juan Mendez, Matthew Swain, and John Wilson each worked twice and worked between 2 2/3 innings and four innings. Steven Hajjar had an interesting start. In three innings, he did not give up a run or a hit. He struck out eight batters (in nine outs). But he also walked four batters. The worst start of the week came from Blayne Enlow. He gave up seven runs (3 earned) on five hits and a walk in just 1 2/3 innings. Sure, that’s a minimal negative, but it was Enlow’s first rehab start since he had Tommy John surgery last year. He got through it, and he felt good on Sunday. The better news? He is expected to make his next start for Wichita. Offensively, Noah Miller had a great week! In six games, he went 11-for-23 and hit .478/.556/.783 (1.339) with two doubles, a triple, a home run, and four walks. He also stole three bases. Jake Rucker also played in six games. He went 10-for-22 and hit .455/.500/.682 (1.182) with three doubles and a triple. He also walked four times and stole three bases. Daniel Ozoria played in five games and went 7-for-17 (.412) with two steals. Mikey Perez had four hits last week including one double and one home run. He added three walks. What’s Next? The Mighty Mussels will return to Hammond Stadium to take on the Palm Beach Cardinals. Pitching Probables (RHP David Festa, RHP Travis Adams, RHP Pierson Ohl, RHP Mike Paredes, RHP Marco Raya, LHP Steven Hajjar) PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week (April 26 - May 1). You may have noticed that the Prospect Tracker has been updated, and will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. #1 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 3 G, 3-for-12 (.250), 2-2B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K (Season: 24 G, .310/.430/.563 (.993), 11-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 21 R, 11 RBI, 17 BB, 20 K) #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 3 G, 3-for-10 (.300), 1-2B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K (Season: 3 G, .300/.300/.400 (.700), 1-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 5 G, 4-for-17 (.235), 0-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 0 K (Season: 25 G, .242/.376/.337 (.713), 6-2B, 0-3B, 1-HR, 22 R, 8 RBI, 15 BB, 16 K, 14 SB, 0 CS) #3 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - 1 GS, 4.2 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K (Season: 5 GS, 27.2 IP, 5 R, 16 H, 7 BB, 28 K, 3-1, 1.63 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9, 9.1 K/9) #4 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 5 G, 6-for-18 (.333), 2-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1K (Season: 21 G, .256/.295/.442 (.737), 10-2B, 2-HR, 10 R, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 14 K) #4 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - Week: 6 G, 4-for-22 (..182), 2-2B, 1-HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K (Season: 7 G, .154/.214/.346 (.560), 2-2B, 1-HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K) #5 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - Week/Season: 1 GS, 3.2 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K. #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K (Season: 5 GS, 27.0 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 12 H, 8 BB, 24 K, 2-0, 1.33 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, 8.0 K/9) #7 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 8 K (Season: 5 G, 2 GS, 22.1 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 12 H, 4 BB, 20 K, 2-0, 1.61 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 1.6 BB/9, 8.1 K/9) #8 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 2 G, 2.2 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K (Season: 10 G, 14.2 IP, 6 R, 10 H, 3 BB, 24 K, 0-1, 2 Saves, 3.68 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9, 14.7 K/9) #9 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 1 GS, 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K (Season: 6 GS, 16.2 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 11 BB, 22 K, 0-1, 1.62 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 5.9 BB/9, 11.9 K/9) #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 5 G, 3-for-16 (.188) , 0-2B, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 9 BB, 6 K (Season: 22 G, .229/.450/.486 (.936), 3-2B, 5-HR, 17 R, 9 RBI, 27 BB, 28 K) #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 6 G, 11-for-23 (.478), 2-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 4 BB, 6 K (Season: 23 G, .287/.426/.379 (.805), 3-2B, 1-3B, 1 HR, 14 R, 6 RBI, 19 BB, 28 K) #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K (Season: 5 G, 4 GS, 25.2 IP, 12 R, 9 ER, 18 H, 11 BB, 28 K, 3-1, 3.16 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, 9.8 K/9) #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 6 K (Season: 5 G, 4 GS, 15.2 IP, 15 R, 22 H, 5 BB, 18 K, 0-4, 8.62 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 10.3 K/9) #13 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - Season: 1 G, 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K #14 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 3.1 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 K (Season: 3 G, 2 GS, 9.0 IP, 5 R, 9 H, 6 BB, 9 K, 0-1, 5.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 6.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9) #15 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 2 G, 1 GS, 4.2 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, (Season: 4 G, 3 GS, 15.0 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 11 H, 3 BB, 19 K, 2-1, 2.40 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9, 11.4 K/9) #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 5 G, 8-for-20 (.400), 1-2B, 3-HR, 8 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K (Season: 25 G, .320/.395/.570 (.965), 11-2B, 1-3B, 4-HR, 19 R, 21 RBI, 10 BB, 19 K) #17 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 8 K (Season: 4GS, 19.0 IP, 9 R, 7 ER, 18 H, 5 BB, 31 K, 2-1, 3.32 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9, 14.7 K/9) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 5 G, 4-for-18 (.222), 1-2B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K (Season: 25 G, .364/.423/.586 (1.009), 5-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 16 R, 25 RBI, 11 BB, 28 K) #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 4 G, 6-for-12 (.500), 2-2B, 0-HR, 3 BB, 4 K (Season: 17 G, .281/.394/.439 (.833), 4-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 11 R, 10 RBI, 12 BB, 15 K) #20 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - IL (elbow): Rehab start with Ft. Myers. 1.2 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Hitter of the Week: Outfielder Matt Wallner, Wichita Wind Surge Noah Miller was the Twins' choice for player of the week, and he had a big week. The 2021 first-round pick hit .478 with two doubles, a triple, and a home run. He posted a tremendous OPS of 1.339. However, Matt Wallner hit .500/.579/1.063 (1.642) with three doubles and two home runs in his five games. That 1.642 OPS is about as good as you can get. It has been a tale of two, two-week stretches for former first-round pick and Forest Lake alum, and that’s why we have to remember that it is a long season, and talent is talent. Matt Wallner is immensely talented. Experts will often say that Double-A is where a lot of players really struggle. If that’s the case, Matt Wallner figured some things out really quickly, and for the second straight week, he is the Twins Daily Hitter of the Week. First 2 weeks (4/8 - 4/24): 12 G, 5-for-45, .111/.222/.178 (.400), 0-2B, 1-HR, 13.0% BB%, 44.4% K% Past 2 weeks (4/26 - 5/8): 11 G, 15-for-35, .429/.535/.971 (1.506), 4-2B, 5-HR, 18.6% BB%, 27.9% K% Baseball is all about adjustments, and it’s pretty impressive that it appears Wallner has been able to adjust quickly. Few, if any, have as much power potential as Wallner. Pitcher of the Week: LHP Brent Headrick, Cedar Rapids Kernels Headrick was a solid candidate for his award last week after he tossed five shutout innings against Beloit. He had given up just three hits, walked none, and struck out seven batters. He was even better this past week in his start against Quad Cities. He threw six more scoreless innings. He gave up only one hit, walked one, and struck out ten batters. Overall, the 24-year-old has made five starts for the Kernels this year. He is 3-1 with a 1.90 ERA. in 23 2/3 innings, he has given up just ten hits, walked five, and struck out 38 batters. Those numbers result in a miniscule 0.63 WHIP and an impressive 14.5 K/9. Headrick was the Twins' ninth-round pick in 2019 out of Illinois State where he pitched for former Twins catcher Steve Holm. As a junior, he had gone 9-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 16 starts. He pitched in just three games for Elizabethton that summer. Like most, he missed the entire 2020 season. In 2021, he pitched in 15 games and made 14 starts. He went 3-5 with Ft. Myers with a 3.82 ERA. But this year, the southpaw has pitched at a new level. View full article

Chris Paddack had a short start, but the Twins bullpen continued to be incredible. They threw six zeroes on the board to close out the win on Sunday. Jorge Polanco had the big hit in the third inning. The Twins won their ninth straight game at Target Field. The A's lost their ninth straight game. Box Score SP: Chris Paddack: 2 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (55 pitches, 41 strikes (74.5%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Emilio Pagan (0.150), Jorge Polanco (0.146), Gilberto Celestino (0.124) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pregame Notes Injuries and ‘day-to-day’ nagging injuries are adding up, and that continued on Sunday. In the morning, the team announced that outfielder Trevor Larnach was being placed on the Injured List with a right adductor strain. To take his place, the Twins recalled catcher Jose Godoy. In 22 games this year, Larnach has hit .313/.365/.448 (.813) with nine doubles. He has been hitting most everything hard. Hopefully it’s just a 10-day injury and he can get back into the lineup shortly. It’s also fair to ask why Godoy would be brought up? Sure. However, he is the only hitter on the 40-man roster, and it would make no sense to take someone off the 40-man roster, add someone else, when it's likely a couple of hitters will be playing again on Tuesday. Paddack Leaves with Injury Chris Paddack started the game strong. He struck out the first two batters, but after a couple of soft singles, Chad Pinder lined a single that gave the A’s a 1-0 lead. In the second inning, he had a strikeout, a weak line out, and a ground out. He started the third inning with a strikeout as well. But after Sheldon Neuse hit a single and Sean Murphy doubled, trainer Michael Salazar was summoned to the mound. After a couple of questions, Paddack was removed from the game without even attempting a practice throw off the mound. With two runners on, Cody Stashak came into the game. He gave up a single that scored both inherited runners before getting out of the inning. Obviously, we can hope for the best. Paddack has looked really good so far this season. On Sunday, he was sitting 93-95 mph and had a pitch hit 95.8 mph. His breaking ball has been much improved and his changeup remains a really good pitch. In the middle innings, we learned that he was removed from the game with “right elbow inflammation.” That’s pretty vague, and with his history of elbow issues, they will certainly continue to evaluate and do all the needed imaging. Twins starting pitching has been good to this point in the season, much better than expected. They really have had seven starting pitchers on their roster. Sonny Gray just returned from a hamstring injury. Bailey Ober is on the IL with a groin injury. Dylan Bundy is on the Covid-IL. The Twins have good starting pitching depth, but that’s only true until it isn’t. Get ‘em Back The best way to respond after a tough top of the third inning, not only falling behind 3-1 but also losing their starting pitcher is to put up some runs. The Twins did just that in the bottom of the third inning. With runners on first and third and one out, Jose Miranda doubled down the left-field line to score one run. Then came Jorge Polanco, and he dropped a 72.5 mph single in front of the left fielder. Miranda read it well and scored from second to give the Twins a 4-3 lead. Polanco now has a nine-game hitting streak. Celebrating Celestino A year ago, Gilberto Celestino had barely played above Low-A ball when the Twins were desperate in the outfield and called him up because he was on the 40-man roster. Celestino had ended the 2019 season with eight games in High-A Ft. Myers. He missed the entire 2020 season, though he was at the alternate site. Then he began the 2021 season with 21 games at Double-A Wichita before being called up. No surprise that he struggled. In 23 games last year with the Twins, he hit just .136/.177/.288 (.466). He was set to begin the 2022 season in St. Paul, but he ended up on the Opening Day roster, playing little. He was sent to the Saints, but after just two games, he was needed at Target Field again. And he has been a major contributor. On Sunday, he had three more hits and ended the day hitting .324/.390/.405 (.796) with three doubles. He has at least one hit in eight of his past nine games. Over that time, he is 11-for-27 (.407). With the Twins being cautious with Byron Buxton, Celestino has been given opportunities in center field, and he has done well out there too. Bullpen Big Again While Stashak allowed his inherited runners to score, he was very good. He gave up just one hit over 2 2/3 innings. Caleb Thielbar came in for the sixth inning. He walked the leadoff batter but then struck out the next three hitters. Joe Smith faced three batters in a scoreless seventh frame. Tyler Duffey needed nine pitches to close out the eighth inning. And, Emilio Pagan came in for the ninth inning. Of course, runners got to second and third, but he did not allow a run and recorded the save. When you sweep a series by scores of 2-1, 1-0, and 4-3, the bullpen has to perform under stress, and they have certainly done that! The Defense of Lewis Royce Lewis made all the plays this weekend at shortstop. On Sunday, he made a play early in the game, deep in the hole, and threw a perfect, one-hop throw across the diamond to Alex Kirilloff for an out. It's such a smart play, and one we have seen Carlos Correa make a couple of times already this season. In the eighth inning, the leadoff batter hit a slow roller toward short. Lewis charged, bare-handed it, and uncoiled a perfect throw to first for a big out. From what we have seen, both this weekend and in the first month at St. Paul, Royce Lewis can play shortstop in the big leagues. He won't always be perfect. There will be errors, but it's good to know that he can stick there. Lewis had one hit in all three games this weekend. He went 3-for-10 (.300). Do you know when the last time that a Twins' hitter had a hit in each of his first three games? In May of 2019, Luis Arraez did it. What’s Next? The Twins will enjoy a day off at home on Monday. The Twins have been playing well, but the aches and pains are catching up so a day off is really needed. On Tuesday, the Astros will come to town for a three-game series. Tuesday: Joe Ryan (3-1, 1.63 ERA) vs TBA Wednesday: Chris Archer (0-0, 3.26 ERA) vs TBA Thursday: Josh Winder (2-0, 1.61 ERA) vs TBA Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Pagán 0 0 28 0 28 56 Coulombe 26 0 0 12 0 38 Thielbar 0 18 0 0 20 38 Jax 0 15 0 19 0 34 Stashak 0 0 0 0 34 34 Duran 0 0 0 31 0 31 Duffey 0 0 11 0 9 20 Smith 0 0 6 0 12 18 View full article

Very happy for Canterino. When I chatted with him briefly earlier in the week, he gets the plan and he's on board. He also thought he was going to have a couple more 3 innings outings, so good to see them letting him go 4. Miller was barely hitting .200 before this, so it is good to see him put a couple of strong games together, even if just for his confidence. What he has been doing is playing strong defense. And he has done a nice job taking walks. Martin is 'very fast.' Julien more has 'good speed.' I still believe Martin can be a 15 homer type of guys, and Julien can be a 20-25 home guy. I mean, basing it on prospect rankings, even with Martin sliding, he's still the significantly higher-ranked prospect. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean he'll actually be the better big leaguer, but I think it's very much likely.

The Royce interview on MLB Network was fantastic. Here's another interesting stat...

Seth chats with Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels outfielder Kyler Fedko about starring in high school baseball and basketball, choosing and playing at UConn, getting drafted, beginning his professional career and more. View full video

An everyday slot opened up for him... The key for Lewis this is year to try to stay healthy and to play a lot, nearly every day. If that is at St. Paul, great... Now that's at Target Field..

So excited!! Royce is such a good guy. He's uber-talented, but he also believes in himself. That he is off to such a terrific start in St. Paul after missing two years speaks to his work ethic, confidence and ability!!

Well, him and Kirilloff, who presumably will take Arraez's roster spot.

Ozoria last year. Encarnacion last year. Yake last year. Must be a short-term thing, though if the Saints lose their SS tomorrow, they'll need to make a move.

Former San Diego Padres manager Jayce Tingler will take the reigns for the Minnesota Twins tonight in Baltimore and for at least the next several games. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli tested positive for Covid earlier on Thursday. Later in the afternoon, Tingler announced that Luis Arraez and Dylan Bundy have also tested postiive for Covid. A year ago, the Twins were doing a little West Coast swing. While in Anaheim, several players including Max Kepler, Kyle Garlick, and Caleb Thielbar tested positive for Covid. The Twins were in the early part of a delayed season that was already going south quickly. Losing players and the stress of that situation only contributed to the Twins early-season demise in 2021. Obviously the hope this time around is that the affected players (and manager) are feeling alright and can return to the game in quick fashion, hopefully within a week. That said, we may not have heard the end of this. Players have been testing today, and with more positive tests, it is likely that they will continue to test in the coming days. We know that Covid's incubation period can be several days, so the Twins could find more positives for the next few days as well. Max Kepler has felt under the weather for a couple of days. He left Wednesday night's game early. He has taken a few Covid tests and they have been negative to this point. GM Thad Levine said other players are also feeling a little under the weather. We shall see where this takes us, but it could be a very interesting weekend for the Twins. The Twins entered play on Thursday with a 15-10 record and a 3 1/2 game lead over the White Sox and Guardians in the AL Central. Levine told reporters in Baltimore, "This is why you built out a lot of versatility and experience in your coaching staff and go get several people on our bench who have had managerial experience whether it be in the big leagues or winter leagues or in the minor league," That is equally important when considering how the Twins built their roster, with several players able to play multiple positions. Speculation is that the Twins personnel may have contracted Covid while in Tampa as several members of the Rays coaching staff are also currently out for the same reason. Bundy and Arraez were both placed on the Covid-IL. Per MLB Trade Rumors: "As per the 2022 version of the league’s COVID protocols, Arraez and Bundy will miss at least the next 10 days, though they may make an earlier return if they meet three criteria — two negative PCR tests, at least 24 hours without a fever, and approval from a team doctor and a MLB/MLBPA joint committee of two other physicians." With that in mind, the Twins will likely need to add a couple of players to their active roster on Friday. To replace Luis Arraez, the team will likely want a 40-man roster guy who could play multiple positions if needed. They will also want to add a pitcher to replace Bundy. Sonny Gray is making a start for the Saints this weekend. Josh Winder, Chris Paddack and Joe Ryan are scheduled to start for the Twins this weekend at Target Field against the A's. So the Twins could go with a long reliever or a starter. It will be interesting to see what direction the team goes with a pitcher. It would seem that Alex Kirilloff would be the hitter to return. We will continue to update this as more information becomes available. View full article

Winder is supposed to be there. Balazovic is supposed to be there. Sands is and will be there. Smeltzer's still a guy. I think adding veterans like Dereck Rodriguez are good, and they got a couple of them too. SWR should be up there sometime, maybe second half. So yeah, that pitching probable list isn't terribly exciting, but some of that is because the big league staff is using them.

Three thought responses: 1.) Yes, potential to be a great summer. 2.) Having watched quite a few Wallner at bats, things weren't pretty those first two weeks. I think he would agree with that. Looked a little uncomfortable and off balance. But something clicked. He looked great this last week. Some solid hits to the opposite field always seem to help guys stay back and stay down on the ball better. 3.) SWR has a good chance to move up. And, he absolutely looks more confident on the mound, and that's good. He's exciting, to be sure. The walks are still a concern, just not as much as last year post-Olympics, but something he'll need to keep working on.

We have a Sunday minor league report... There are no minor league games on Monday (July 4th and some AAA games in September being exceptions).

Amazing that the season is already into its second month. The Twins are playing great of late, winning 10 of their last 11 games. Over the past two weeks, the Wichita Wind Surge have gone 10-2. The other affiliates are over .500 too. Some of the top-hitting prospects had big weeks. And no fewer than five pitchers were deserving of pitcher of the week honors, while multiple top prospects could have earned Hitter of the Week honors. The Twins started the 2022 season by winning just four of their first 12 games. Since then, they have won 10 of 11 games and now have a 14-9 record. From a team perspective, a two-week struggle can quickly turn around. The same is true of individual players, hitters, or pitchers. Pitching once per week, a starting pitcher could have two rough innings that make the ERA look bad. But that doesn’t mean it’s a lost season for that pitcher. The sample size of one week is just that, a one-week glimpse of the most recent small sample size. One of the Twins' top-hitting prospects had a rough first two weeks of the season. He had a huge week in Week 3. So be sure to use these weekly reports for what they are; a look at the week. We want to highlight deserving prospects. They have earned it. Celebrate the successes throughout the whole season. If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week. Please note that the hyperlinks on player names will show you past articles in which that player has been tagged. Click around and see how much some of these players have been written about over the years. TRANSACTIONS With no Monday Minor League Report, here are the transactions from later on Sunday and Monday. Following Sunday’s game, RHP Cole Sands and C Jose Godoy were optioned to bring the Twins roster from 28 to 26. 1B Miguel Sano and OF Kyle Garlick were placed on the IL. Taking their roster spots are IF Jose Miranda and LHP Jovani Moran. The Twins released RHP Brandon Lawson from the Wichita roster. LHP Zach Featherstone was transferred to the Development List. RHPs Osiris German and Casey Legumina were promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. RHP Orlando Rodriguez joined the Kernels from the Florida Complex. RESULTS Previous Week in Review: Pitching, Pitching Everywhere Pitching Tuesday: Kirilloff Rehabs, Pitching Staff’s Stifle Wednesday: Miranda is Heating Up, Lewis with the Walk-Off Thursday: Mack Attack Keeps Rolling Friday: Pitching, Defense Shine, Runs at a Premium Saturday: Rain, Rain Go Away Sunday: Rain, Rain, Go Away, Let the Twins Affiliates Play MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT Kirilloff, Smeltzer Hope to Rejoin Twins Soon Kernels Mack and Legumina Start Hot in April Cold What the Twins Can Expect from Jose Miranda Prospect Retrospective: Cole Sands Prospect Retrospective: Jose Miranda Three Questions With… RHP John Stankiewicz (Video) Three Questions With… C Jair Camargo (Video) TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE AWARDS FOR APRIL Hitter of the Month: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Cedar Rapids Kernels Starting Pitcher of the Month: John Stankiewicz, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Relief Pitcher of the Month: Tyler Viza, Wichita Wind Surge WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week: 2-3 vs. Nashville Season: 12-10 overall, 5th place in the International League West. They are 3 1/2 games behind Nashville (16-7). The Saints came into the week trailing only Nashville in the division. The Saints won the first two games of the series, 4-1 and 3-2. Nashville won the next game, and then there were games suspended, finished, suspended again, and then Sunday’s game was postponed too. For no reason other than that, Jose Miranda got called up to the big leagues; we’ll start with the Saints’ hitters. It was a good week for the slugging infielder, even before he learned he was headed to the big leagues. He played in five games and went 6-for-20. He hit .333/.350/.611 (.961) with two doubles and a homer. Royce Lewis was again the star of the week. The shortstop played in five games and went 7-for-22. He hit .438/.591/.750 (1.341) with two doubles and a home run. In addition, he had six walks to just three strikeouts. He came to the plate four times in one game and walked each time. For good measure, he was 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts. Nine Saints pitchers worked out of the bullpen last week without giving up a run. Jharel Cotton was the only pitcher in that group who threw twice. He worked 2 1/3 innings. Lefty Devin Smeltzer had the best Saints start of the week. He gave up one run on three hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out three batters. You might be able to argue that Dereck Rodriguez was even better in his start. He went just 4 2/3 innings and gave up one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out six batters. It was a rough week for a few Saints, though it’s just, though, a rough outing or two. Even just one rough inning can make a week’s stats look rough. Ronny Henriquez made his first Triple-A start and struggled. He was charged with four runs on three hits (two homers) and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. Drew Strotman worked twice last week and gave up seven runs on three hits and six walks in three innings. Jake Faria made a start and gave up six runs on seven hits and three walks in two innings. What’s Next? The Saints come home to host the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate of the, you guessed it, Chicago Cubs.. (Go to SaintsBaseball.com for tickets!) Pitching Probables (LHP Devin Smeltzer, RHP Ronny Henriquez, RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez, RHP Jake Faria, RHP Mario Sanchez, RHP Dereck Rodriguez) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Week: 5-1 at Arkansas Season: 13-8 overall, tied for 1st place in the Texas League North Division with Tulsa. They are 2.0 games behind Tulsa. Last week, the Wind Surge scored 52 runs on their way to a 5-1 week. They scored “just” 29 runs this past week but had another strong 5-1 week. They lost the first game of the series in Arkansas 10-4. Over the five other games, they gave up just 12 more runs. For the Wind Surge pitching staff, they continued to have a lot of solid performances. Matt Canterino made one start last week. He went three innings. He gave up no runs, no hits, walked one, and struck out four batters. He had twice thrown three scoreless, hitless innings in the previous three weeks. So, he’s got a quality streak of nine straight hitless innings. From what I've heard, he will likely remain at three innings for a few more starts before bumping up to four innings and then see where that takes him. Louie Varland had a strong start. He gave up just three hits and a walk over 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He struck out four batters. Simeon Woods Richardson completed a 0.00 ERA month. The right-hander tossed five more scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked three, and struck out four batters. That pushed him to 21 2/3 innings on the season, and he has allowed just one unearned run. Tyler Viza came out of the bullpen twice. He tossed five scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits, walked two, and struck out six batters. Steven Klimek, Alex Scherff, Austin Schulfer, and Evan Sisk also pitched twice and didn’t allow a run. On the other side, Chris Vallimont made two starts. Combined, he gave up nine earned runs on 13 hits and six walks in 7 1/3 innings. While he is scheduled to make another start this coming week, you have to think that he may be moved to the bullpen at some point if things don’t turn around. The stuff is still good. His arm is strong. He has good innings, but the bad has often turned really bad. The offensive production was down from a fantastic previous week, but three guys carried a large chunk of the offense last week. Matt Wallner led the offense. In six games, he went 7-for-19 and hit .368/.500/.895 (1.395) with a double and three home runs. He also walked five times. (https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1520586633946542080) Outfielder Cole Sturgeon played in four games and went 4-for-12. He hit .333/.471/.833 (1.304) with two home runs. He also walked three times. Finally, Alex Isola went 4-13 over four games last week. He hit .308/.438/.846 (1.284) with a double, two home runs, and three walks. No one else had an OPS over .637. In his four games, Andrew Bechtold, who had a great previous week, went 0-for-13, who had a tremendous previous week, went 0-for-13. Kevin Merrill was 1-for-13 (.077). Finally, Leobaldo Cabrera went 0-for-10 with six strikeouts (and two walks). That puts him at 0-for-32 to start the season. 14 strikeouts in 36 at-bats, but certainly some bad luck mixed in. Last year, he played 52 games for Wichita and hit .235/.335/.482 (.817) with seven doubles, a triple, and 11 home runs. And, while the below video was from the previous week, I have to post something positive about him, right? What’s Next? Matt Wallner, Louie Varland, and the Wind Surge will be hosting Minnesotans Gus Varland, Michael Busch, and the Tulsa Drillers this week. Pitching Probables (RHP Louie Varland, RHP Matt Canterino, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Chris Vallimont, RHP Ben Gross, RHP Louie Varland) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels Week: 3-3 at Beloit Season: 15-6 overall, 1st place in the Midwest League West Division, 3.0 games ahead of Wisconsin and Peoria. The Kernels won the first three games last week in Beloit. In those games, the Kernels outscored the Sky Carp 8-1. Then they lost the final three games and were outscored 9-23. Yet, they were able to increase their lead in the division by two games. The starters from those first three games were very good. Lefty Brent Headrick threw five scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, but he struck out seven batters without walking. Sean Mooney also had a strong start. He struck out eight batters over five scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and walked two batters. Casey Legumina went five innings in his start. He had eight strikeouts over five scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and walked one. He was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Week by the Twins. Will he be the same for Twins Daily too? See below. Cody Laweryson also pitched well in his first start of the season, though he was limited to just three innings. Not only did he not allow a hit, but he didn’t give up a run either. He walked two and struck out three batters. Melvi Acosta, Andrew Cabezas, Osiris German, Bobby Milacki, and Derek Molina combined to work 12 innings without giving up an earned run. On the other side, a couple of pitchers who received consideration for pitcher of the month struggled in their final appearance of the month. Cade Povich gave up six runs on eight hits (two homers) and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. Aaron Rozek has been fantastic since joining the Twins last summer. For the first time this season, he came out of the bullpen. In 2 2/3 innings, he was charged with four runs on six hits (two walks) and a walk. The Kernels had just one hitter who had an OPS over. 800 for the week. Jair Camargo played in three games. He went 4-for-12, hitting .333/.385/.417 (.802) with a double and a walk. Next up was our Minor League Hitter of the Month, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who hit .300 (6-for-20). He had six singles and six walks during the week. On the other side, Willie Joe Garry went 1-for-16 (.063) with two walks over five games. Also, Aaron Sabato played all six games. He went 2-for-21 (.095), though the hits were a double and a home run. He also walked four times. What’s Next? The Kernels will be hosting Quad Cities at Perfect Game Field this week. Pitching Probables (RHP Cody Laweryson, LHP Brent Headrick, RHP Sean Mooney, LHP Aaron Rozek, LHP Cade Povich, RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Week: 1-2, hosting Clearwater Season: 11-7 overall, 2nd place in the Florida State League West, but just 1/2 game behind Bradenton. Rain was the winner in Ft. Myers. The teams played the first three games as scheduled. Then Friday’s game was postponed. They scheduled a doubleheader for Saturday, and that was postponed. Then they played on Sunday. In fact, they completed ten innings, but the score was still tied at 4-4 when the rains came again, so that game was suspended too. The sample size of any week can be enough to get a person talked about and excited. It should also never be a big deal that a guy has a rough week (meaning several) over the course of a year. Two Mighty Mussels played all three games this week, Kyler Fedko (2-for-10, 1 BB, 3 K) and Emmanuel Rodriguez (1-for-9, 2 BB, 5 K). Catcher Noah Cardenas went 3-for-7 (.429) with a triple. Mikey Perez went 2-for-6 with a double and a walk. John Stankiewicz had another great start. He went 5 2/3 innings. He gave up an unearned run on five hits. He walked one and struck out three batters. Plus, he was named the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month and earned his promotion to Cedar Rapids. What’s Next? The Mighty Mussels are headed north for the week to take on Lakeland. The pitching matchups are below. You’ll notice the TBD for Saturday. I doubt Sonny Gray would get a second rehab start, but it’s possible Jordan Balazovic could get this start after making his first rehab appearance on Sunday following Gray. Pitching Probables (RHP Marco Raya, RHP David Festa, RHP Travis Adams, RHP Pierson Ohl, TBD, LHP Steven Hajjar) PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week (April 26 - May 1). You may have noticed that the Prospect Tracker has been updated and will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. #1 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 5 G, 7-for-16 (.438), 2-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 6 BB, 3 K (Season: 21 G, .320/.441/.587 (1.028), 9-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 17 R, 11 RBI, 15 BB, 18 K) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 5 G, 3-for-17 (.176), 1-2B, 0-HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K (Season: 20 G, .244/.375/.321 (.696), 6-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 17 R, 6 RBI, 12 BB, 16 K, 12 SB, 4 CS) #3 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - 1 GS, 7 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 9 K (Season: 4 GS, 23 IP, 3 R, 10 H, 6 BB, 25 K, 3-1, 1.17 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9, 9.8 K/9) #4 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 5 G, 6-for-18 (.333), 2-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1K (Season: 21 G, .256/.295/.442 (.737), 10-2B, 2-HR, 10 R, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 14 K) #4 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - Week/Season: 1 G, 0-for-4 (.000), 0-2B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K #5 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 rehab appearance in Ft. Myers. 1 G, 2.0 IP, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 K #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K (Season: 4 GS, 21.2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 7 H, 7 BB, 18 K, 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 7.5 K/9) #7 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 7 K (Season: 4 G, 1 GS, 16.1 IP, 4 R, 9 H, 4 BB, 12 K, 1-0, 2.20 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 2.2 BB/9, 6.6 K/9) #8 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 2 G, 3.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K (Season: 8 G, 12.0 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 2 BB, 19 K, 0-0, 1 Save, 3.00 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9, 14.3 K/9) #9 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 1 GS, 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K (Season: 5 GS, 12.2 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 9 BB, 18 K, 0-1, 2.13 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 6.4 BB/9, 12.8 K/9) #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 3 G, 1-for-9 (.111) , 0-2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K (Season: 17 G, .241/.440/.574 (1.014), 3-2B, 5-HR, 13 R, 8 RBI, 18 BB, 22 K) #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 2 G, 1-for-6 (.167), 0-2B, 0-HR 1 BB, 2 K (Season: 17 G, .219/.383/.234 (.617), 1-2B, 9 R, 1 RBI, 15 BB, 22 K) #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5.1 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K (Season: 4 G, 3 GS, 20.2 IP, 10 R, 7 ER, 14 H, 9 BB, 22 K, 2-1, 3.05 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, 9.6 K/9) #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 2 G, 1 GS, 2.2 IP, 10 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 0 K (Season: 4 G, 3 GS, 12.2 IP, 11 R, 14 H, 4 BB, 12 K, 0-3, 7.82 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 8.5 K/9) #13 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - Week/Season: 1 G, 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K #14 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 2.2 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 4 BB, 1 K (Season: 2 G, 1 GS, 5.2 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 5 BB, 5 K, 0-1, 6.35 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 7.9 BB/9, 7.9 K/9) #15 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - Was on IL last week (wisdom teeth), (Season: 2 GS, 10.1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 14 K, 1-0, 1.74 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 0.9 BB/9, 12.2 K/9) #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 5 G, 5-for-21 (.238), 2-2B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K (Season: 20 G, .300/.398/.488 (.885), 10-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 15 R, 13 RBI, 10 BB, 14 K) #17 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 K (Season: 3 GS, 14.0 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 14 H, 4 BB, 23 K, 1-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, 14.8 K/9) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 6 G, 6-for-20 (.300), 0-2B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 6 BB, 4 K (Season: 20 G, .395/.444/.654 (1.099), 4-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 14 R, 24 RBI, 8 BB, 22 K) #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 6 G, 3-for-23 (.130), 6 BB, 7 K (Season: 13 G, .222/.346/.378 (.723), 2-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 7 R, 5 RBI, 9 BB, 11 K) #20 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - IL (elbow): still on plan to be making starts in May. PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Hitter of the Week: Outfielder Matt Wallner, Wichita Wind Surge Top prospect Royce Lewis certainly deserves consideration this week. Fellow Wind Surge outfielder Cole Sturgeon had a huge week too. However, this week, the player of the week is Matt Wallner. Coming into the week, Wallner struggled to a .111/.222/.178 (.400) with five hits and one home run. However, even with an 0-for-4 on Sunday, he ended the week by hitting .368/.500/.895 (1.395) with a double and three home runs. Such a strong week boosted his overall numbers to .188/.308/.391 (.698) with one double and four home runs. Still not great, but definitely, a big step in the right direction and, hopefully, maybe likely, will spur him toward a big season. The Twins drafted Wallner as a pitcher in the 32nd round of the 2016 draft after his senior season at Forest Lake High School, where he was Mr. Baseball that year. Instead of signing, he went to Southern Mississippi and quickly became an All-American, power-hitting outfielder. In 2019, the Twins selected him with the 39th overall pick. In 66 games last year at Cedar Rapids, he hit .264/.350/.508 (.858) with 14 doubles and 15 home runs. He missed two months with a broken hamate bone. He went to the Arizona Fall League, and in 18 games, he hit .303/.405/.606 (1.011) with two doubles and six home runs. The key to success for Wallner will be found in his ability to make contact. Right now, he’s got 32 strikeouts in 78 plate appearances this year (41%). Last week, he had five walks and eight strikeouts in 24 plate appearances (33% K-Rate). Still not great, but a step in the right direction. Pitcher of the Week: Casey Legumina, Cedar Rapids Kernels There were several strong pitching performances this week in the minor leagues. You could make a strong case for Louie Varland or Simeon Woods Richardson in Wichita. If we consider “prospects,” Josh Winder and Joe Ryan certainly should be considered, but we aren't considering big-league pitching performances in the minor league report. We can even argue over Cedar Rapids starting pitchers drafted in 2019: Brent Headrick: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 0.60 WHIP, .175 BAA Sean Mooney: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 0.60 WHIP, .063 BAA Casey Legumina: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.40 WHIP, .067 BAA In this case, we will agree with the Twins and name Casey Legumina the Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Week. All of these pitchers deserve to be recognized. Casey Legumina was the Twins 8th round pick in 2019 out of Gonzaga University. It was the third time he had been drafted. He had Tommy John surgery during that 2019 season, so he didn’t pitch that year and spent the Covid season rehabbing and getting stronger. He made his professional debut in 2021. After going 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA in 14 games (8 starts), he finished the season with one start in Cedar Rapids and a playoff start. He has made three starts for the Kernels so far this year and is now 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA. In 13 1/3 innings, he has walked four and struck out 16 batters. On Monday, he was promoted to Double-A Wichita. View full article

I think I would be a big nervous making my MLB debut too. And yes, being on the 40-man roster is absolutely what got him the call. The fact that he could be optioned right after the game without worrying about 40-man roster implications was great. That he was able to get into a fairly low-leverage winning situation was fantastic.

FB 92-94. He has a really, really good curveball. Changeup is OK too. Honestly, the comp to Tyler Duffey is pretty good. Similar fastball velo, and a plus breaking ball used at different speeds.

I think his family is from like Tallahassee, so I don't think it took them too long, or too much planning.

Sometimes he gets three, and once in awhile four.

100% agree... Keep him playing, let him experience success... let him slump and work through that... more ABs, more ABs. more Grounders...