Seth Stohs

Winokur is doing exactly what he needs to be doing. He's playing every day and getting better. Looking at his statline, you can see that he's a guy that can fill up the stat box. Doubles, homers, stolen bases. And he's played CF and SS more than adequately... though he acknowledged the other day that he feels most comfortable at third base. If a high school kid gets drafted, starts his first full season in Low A and starts the second season in High-A and continues to progress, that's very encouraging. To expect anything more than that isn't really fair, especially for guys not taken in the first half of the first round.

It is crazy what playing for the Saints has done to some hitters' numbers. I'm sure we can all come up with a name or two each year. But Sabato's put in his time. He's clearly worked. I've noted since spring training that he's put himself in much better shape. He looks find around first base. And, the power and power potential are certainly there. I think he's done enough to get an opportunity. And yes, when Mick Abel is throwing strikes, he has some tremendous stuff

I got hit in the hand by a pitch on Thursday. He stayed in the game to run and played some defense, but he didn't bat again. His hand was pretty swollen. I would think that, as long as x-rays were negative, he'll be back in the lineup on Tuesday.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Aaron Sabato) A couple of weeks ago, I tweeted about going to a local convenience store. The cashier, the guy standing in line behind me, and the person in the working in the deli did not know who Janet Jackson is. I was in awe. While I find those types of scenarios hilarious when they happen to other people, but it made me feel really old. When trying to think of an introduction to this article, my first thought was The Festrunk Brothers, the "Wild and Crazy Guys" from the 1970s skit on Saturday Night Live. I didn't actually watch them in the '70s but am old enough to know who they are since I became an SNL fan in the early '90s. But I do apologize to those reading this who just don't get the reference because I'm old. Here we go... On Sunday afternoon, the Twins had an easy win against the Tigers. When it comes to the minor-league affiliates of the Twins and their games, all four of them were wild and crazy. They were regular-season games, but each was filled with dramatic swings, clutch performances, offenses that refused to give up. There were a couple of multi-homer games. There were late-inning rallies. TRANSACTIONS OF Alan Roden was transferred from the 7-Day to the 60-Day Injured List. That allowed the Twins to add LHP Genesis Cabrera to the 40-man roster. They did that because he was also called up to the 26-man roster. To make room for him there, the Twins optioned RHP Travis Adams. Kernels RHP Spencer Bengard, who last pitched in late May, began a rehab assignment with the Mighty Mussels on Sunday afternoon. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 11, Omaha 12 Box Score Sabato and Winkel Shine, but Saints Slip in Slugfest You will notice a theme as you go through these game recaps. Lead changes. Big innings. Wild plays. Quick responses. Games decided late. In this game, the Saints scored first, but Omaha responded in the bottom of the first. The Saints jumped ahead 5-1, but then Omaha made it 5-4, and the 5-6. Then the Saints scored three in the fifth inning to tie the game at 8-8. An inning later, St. Paul scored three runs in the top of the sixth to give them an 11-8 lead. That was where the game stayed until the bottom of the eighth when the Storm Chasers caught up and reclaimed the lead with a four-run inning. The Saints scored first when Payton Eeles scored from first on a dropped fly ball off the bat of Gabriel Gonzalez. In the second inning, Patrick Winkel lined a double off of the wall in right field. When the right fielder bobbled the ball, Jonah Bride raced home with the second run. The third inning began with back-to-back doubles by DaShawn Keirsey and Gabriel Gonzalez. With one out, Aaron Sabato hit a two-run homer that gave the Saints a 5-1 lead and ended John Gant’s start. Taj Bradley started and gave up five runs on five hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings. He had eight strikeouts but gave up two home runs. He gave up one in the first, three in the third inning, and one in the fourth inning. Noah Davis replaced him and immediately gave up a home run to Harold Castro. Aaron Sabato hit his second home run of the game with two outs in the top of the fifth which tied the game at 6-6. Then the Saints added another run on singles from Jonah Bride, Jose Miranda, Patrick Winkel (RBI), and Payton Eeles (RBI) to give the Saints the 8-6 lead Davis also worked the bottom of the fifth inning and gave up two more runs to tie the game again, this time at 8-8. In total, he gave up three runs on two hits (both homers) and a walk. Next up was Christian MacLeod. He gave up zero runs in the sixth and seventh innings. In the top of the sixth inning, Gabriel Gonzalez led off by being hit by a pitch. He left the game for a pinch runner, Will Holland. With one out, Sabato walked. Jonah Bride doubled to drive in Holland and give the Saints the 9-8 lead. With two outs, Winkel singled to right field to drive in two more runs and make it 11-8. MacLeod came back out for the bottom of the eighth, but it started with a walk. After a fly out, Harold Castro hit his second home run of the game. Jac Caglianone doubled, and that’s when Trent Baker came into the game. The first batter he faced was Carter Jensen who hit another home run. This one gave them Omaha the 12-11 lead. The Saints went 1-2-3 in the ninth inning. They scored 11 runs on 14 hits and nine walks. Two more batters were hit. Patrick Winkel went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, and three RBI. Sabato went 2-for-4 with a walk, two home runs, and three RBI. Eeles reached base his first five times, twice with singles and three times with walks. Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with his second double before leaving the game after being hit by a pitch. Bride went 2-for-4 with a walk and his sixth double. Jose Miranda went 2-for-5 with his 11th double. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 7, Springfield 4 Box Score Salas Homers Twice, Wichita Wins with Ninth-Inning Blitz The game was scoreless through three innings. Springfield took a one-run lead in the bottom of the fourth. The Wind Surge took a one-run lead in the top of the fifth, but the Cardinals reclaimed a one-run lead in the bottom of that inning. Wichita tied the game in the top of the sixth inning, but Springfield took back a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth. That’s where the score remained until the top of the ninth when the Wind Surge scored four runs to take the lead and the game. Down 1-0 through four, Ben Ross led off the top of the fifth inning with an infield single. Jose Salas came to the plate and launched his second Double-A homer to give the Surge the 2-1 lead. Down 3-2 through five innings, Salas homered again with two outs to tie the game at three. Jumping ahead to the top of the ninth, Wichita was down 4-3. With one out, Kaelen Culpepper singled. Kala’i Rosario singled him to second. Then Hendry Mendez singled off the pitcher to load the bases. At that point, the Surge doubled their pleasure. Nate Baez drove in two runs with a double to make it 5-4 Wichita. Rubel Cespedes followed with his 20th double of the season which drove in two more runs and gave the Wind Surge the lead they held onto in the bottom of the ninth. C.J. Culpepper started and tossed a season-high five innings. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk. He also hit two batters. He had three strikeouts and now has a 2.52 ERA. Gabriel Yanez came up and gave up one run on two hits over two innings. Michael Martinez pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Hunter Hoopes followed suit in the ninth to earn his first Surge Save. Wichita scored their seven runs on 10 hits and five walks. Eight of the nine batters had at least one hit. The top four in the lineup accounted for all five walks. Jose Salas was the lone Wichita batter with more than one hit. He went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI. Rosario went 1-for-3 with two walks. Culpepper and Mendez each had a single and a walk. Nate Baez hit a double and walked. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 3 Box Score DeBarge’s Four-Hit Day Leads Kernels to Win Like the Wind Surge game, this ballgame was scoreless through the first three innings. The Kernels grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth. The River Bandits tied the game in the top of the fifth. The Kernels scored two in the bottom of the fifth, but Quad Cities rescinded with two runs in the top of the sixth to make it 3-3. Cedar Rapids scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 6-3 lead. Quad Cities followed with three scoreless innings and the Kernels took the win. It always starts with starting pitching. Chase Chaney started the game with four scoreless innings. He had three hits, walked none and had four strikeouts. Matt Mikulski came on and got one out, but he walked two guys and hit another. Ivran Romero came in with the bases loaded and just one out in the fifth, but he allowed just one inherited runner to score. Romero also pitched the sixth. In that inning, he gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. Julio Bonilla came on and had three strikeouts over two, one-hit innings. Paulshawn Pasqualotto picked up his ninth save with a scoreless ninth inning. The Kernels got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Kyle Hess tripled and scored on a Jaime Ferrer double. Tied at one going to the bottom of the fifth, Caden Kendle got things going with a double. Kyle DeBarge followed with a double to give the Kernels the lead. Two batters later, DeBarge scored on a Brandon Winokur single that made it 3-1. Going to the bottom of the sixth, the game was again tied, this time at 3-3. The first two batters struck out. Jefferson Valladares was hit by a pitch. Kendle walked. A wild pitch put runners on second and third. DeBarge singled to left which drove in Valladares and Kendle. He advanced to second on the throw. Eduardo Tait followed with a single to center that drove in DeBarge with the team’s sixth run. DeBarge had a big game. He went 4-for-4 with his 22nd and 23rd doubles. He scored twice and drove in three runs. He also stole his 61st and 62nd bases of the season. Winokur went 2-for-4 and added his 23rd stolen base. Hess was 2-for-4 with his third triple of the season. Congratulations to Jon Jon on his 25 years with the Kernels!! MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Daytona 8 Box Score Mussels Ride the Rollercoaster; Tortugas Walk it Off in Ninth Like the other affiliates, the Mussels played a game that went back and forth, right from the start, and this one wasn’t decided until the final at-bat. Of course, when your team is on the road, having the winning run be a walk off is never a good thing. The Mussels got things going right away in this game. Marek Houston led off the game with his fourth double. He scored on a Dameury Pena single. Spencer Bengard made his first in-game appearance since late May, making a rehab start for the Mussels. He also started the game by allowing a double. But he struck out the next two batters. Unfortunately, he threw two wild pitches which allowed the runner to score before striking out his third batter of the inning. Bengard, who was the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2024, gave up one run on one hit over two innings. 18 of his 28 pitches were strikes, and he had four strikeouts. The Mussels scored the next two runs of the game. In the third inning, Houston singled, stole second, stole third, and scored on a single from Dameury Pena. Then in the fourth inning, Ryan Sprock led off with a walk. He went to second on a Yasser Mercedes single. Bryan Acuna walked to load the bases. After a pop out, Houston came to the plate and grounded out to second base, but Sprock scored and the other runners advanced. Christian Bacerra worked the third, fourth and fifth innings. He put two zeroes on the board, but then gave up three runs in the fifth inning which gave the Tortugas a 4-3 lead. In the top of the sixth, Ian Daugherty scored on a single by Enrique Jimenez to tie things up at 4-4. With one out in the eighth inning, JP Smith, Jimenez and Eduardo Beltre walked consecutively to load the bases. Ryan Sprock singled in two runs, and a third run scored on a wild pitch. The Mussels had a three-run lead. Based on other games in the organization on Sunday, you won’t be surprised to learn that Daytona responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the eighth. Jonathan Stevens worked two scoreless innings, the sixth and seventh frames. However, he came out for the eighth inning and gave up a bloop single, a walk, and a three-run homer that tied the game at 7-7. Will Armbruester came in and got the next three batters out. In the top of the ninth, the Mussels got two runners on base but were unable to score. Armbruester started the bottom of the ninth with a strikeout. But then he issued a walk, a stolen base, and another walk. Jakob Hall came into the game and gave up a single to center that drove in both runners and gave the Mussels their 66th loss of the season. Ryan Sprock went 3-for-4 with two walks. Houston went 2-for-5 with a walk and his fourth double. He also stole his fifth and sixth bases.. Dameury Pena went 2-for-4 with two walks and two RBI. He stole his 24th base. Yasser Mercedes went 2-for-4 with his 33rd steal. Ian Daugherty had a walk and his first double. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 4-for-4, 2-2B(23), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2-SB(62) Payton Eeles (St. Paul): 2-for-3, 3 BB, R, RBI, K Aaron Sabato (St. Paul): 2-for-4, BB, 2-HR(9), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K Patrick Winkel (St. Paul): 3-for-4, BB, 2B(6), 3 RBI Jose Salas (Wichita): 3-for-4, 2-HR(3), 2 R, 3 RBI, K Ryan Sprock (Fort Myers): 3-for-3, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI Pitcher of the Day Chase Chaney (Cedar Rapids): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 57 pitches, 37 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 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, R, CS(2) (played 2B) #3 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB, R, K (DHd) #5 - Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, RBI, K (DHd) #11 - Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI (played RF) #13 - Marek Houston (Fort Myers) - 2-for-5, BB, 2 R, RBI, K, 2-SB(6) (played SS) #14 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, RBI, SB(23) (played 3B) #17 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 4-for-4, 2-2B(23), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2-SB(62) (played SS) #18 - C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HBP, 69 pitches, 42 strikes (60.9%) #20 - Hendry Mendez (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB, R, K What’s Next? Monday: DSL Phillies @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CT) - TBD Tuesday: Oakland @ Minnesota (6:40 PM CT) - RHP Joe Ryan (12-5, 3.30 ERA) Round Rock @ St. Paul (6:05 PM CT) - Wichita @ Midland (6:30 PM CT) - Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CT) - Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CT) - DSL Mets@ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CT) - CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 58-66 St. Paul Saints: 54-64 Wichita Wind Surge: 60-54 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 64-50 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-66 FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs) DSL Twins: 23-31 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

Non-drafted free agent who put up monster numbers at Division III Haverford.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Mick Abel) Eduardo Tait and Enrique Jimenez are showing why the Twins were excited to receive them at the trade deadline. Wichita's starter showed a strong arm, and the Saints starter proved able on Saturday. Brandon Winokur continues to rake and check out what the DSL Twins did on Saturday. They all hit! TRANSACTIONS The Twins placed Alan Roden on the 15-Day Injured List. Taking his spot on the big-league roster is another trade deadline acquisition, James Outman. (On Sunday morning, Roden was placed on the 60-Day IL, ending his season. LHP Genesis Cabrera was added to the 40-man roster and called up. RHP Travis Adams was optioned to St. Paul.) The Saints announced that Twins Daily readers knew a couple of days ago, that Connor Prielipp has been promoted from Wichita. The Wind Surge placed infielder Jorel Ortega on the 7-Day injured list. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Omaha 4 Box Score Abel Strikes Out 11, but Saints Walked Off in Omaha. Mick Abel made his third Saints start and was really good. It appears that a lot of his success will depend on his ability to throw strikes. Yes, that is true for all pitchers. Walks will haunt, but Abel has such good ‘stuff’ that if he doesn’t hurt himself with wals, he can be tough to hit. On Saturday, Abel tossed six innings .He gave up two runs on two hits. Most important, he walked none and had a Saints franchise high 11 strikeouts. The Saints offense got on the board first. In the top of the third, Anthony Prato reached on an error and then scored on a Payton Eeles single. In the top of the fifth frame, Kyler Fedko hit a solo homer, his fourth with the Saints after hitting 20 for Wichita previously this season. In the bottom of the fifth, Abel gave up a leadoff double to Jac Caglianone. It was followed by a Carter Jensen two-run homer which tied the game Abel was able to respond by striking out the next three batters. The Saints responded in the top of the sixth frame. With two outs, Jonah Bride doubled and scored on a single by Noah Cardenas. Cory Lewis came in and put zeroes on the board in the seventh and eighth innings. However, in the ninth frame, Mark Canha led off with a walk. Caglianone also walked. Jensen popped a single to load the bases. After an infield pop up, Bobby Dalbeck singled to center to drive in the first two runners and end the game. Lewis gave up two runs on three hits and four walks over his 2 1/3 innings. He had two strikeouts. Just 26 of his 58 pitches were strikes. Fedko went 2-for-5 with a home run. Eeles was 2-for-4 with a walk. Jonah Bride went 2-for-4 with his fifth double. Cardenas went 2-for-4. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, Springfield 0 Box Score Sam Armstrong’s Arm was Very Strong Sam Armstrong put together his best start of the season, maybe even of his career, on Saturday night. He tossed seven scoreless innings. He gave up seven hits but didn’t hurt himself with any walks. He had just one strikeout, but he was very efficient, needing just 83 pitches to complete seven innings. Darren Bowen worked the final two innings. He gave up one hit and struck out one batter in completing the shutout. There was no score in the game until the top of the fifth inning when Rubel Cespedes knocked his ninth home run of the season. Jose Salas singled and stole second. With two outs, Kaelen Culpepper singled to center to drive in Salas and make it 2-0. In the sixth frame, Andrew Cossetti hit his 13th double. He went to third on a single by Nate Baez. After a pitching change, Ben Ross walked to load the bases. With two outs, Salas doubled to clear the bases and make it 5-0. Harry Genth led off the ninth inning with a walk. He stole second and went to third on defensive indifference. He scored on a Hendry Mendez single to conclude the game’s scoring. Salas went 2-for-4 with his sixth double and three huge RBI. Mendez was 2-for-5 KERNELS NUGGETS Doubles help Kernels Double Their Pleasure with Doubleheader Sweep Game 1: Cedar Rapids 9, Quad Cities 6 Box Score The Kernels jumped out to a lead with a four-run first inning. However, a four-run third inning by Quad Cities put the River Bandits on top 5-4. The Kernels offense responded well. They tied it with a run in the bottom of the third. They then scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth and added one more in the fifth for insurance. Caden Kendle led off the Kernels first inning with a single to center. Kyle DeBarge walked. After a pop up, the runners advanced on a wild pitch. Brandon Winokur doubled to drive in both runs. Danny De Andrade switched spots with him with a double of his own. He went to third on a single by Misael Urbina. After a fly out, Maddux Houghton singled toward second base. De Andrade scored on a throwing error, but Urbia was thrown out at home, but the team had their 4-0 lead. Down 5-4 in the third, Winokur led off with a single. He scored on De Andrade’s 24th double of the season. In the bottom of the fourth, Kyle DeBarge walked with two outs, and Eduardo Tait hit his third home run since joining the Kernels. Bradon Winokur followed with his 16th home run of the season to make it 8-5. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Urbina led off with a double. Two batters later, he scored on a Maddux Houghton single. Winokur went 3-for-3 with his 20th double and 16th home run and drove in three runs. De Andrade went 2-for-3 with his 23rd and 24th doubles, and two RBI. Urbina went 2-for-3 with his 13th double. Houghton was 2-for-3 and drove in two runs. Tait drove in two runs with his homer. Kyle DeBarge went 1-for-2 with two walks. Dasan Hill made his much-anticipated Kernels debut. In 2 2/3 innings, he gave up four runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out three batters. Jacob Kisting came on and gave up an inherited run but also two runs on four hits of his own over 3 1/3 innings. Brennan Oxford recorded his first save with a scoreless seventh. Game 2: Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 1 Box Score Garrett Horn was solid in his second Kernels start. The southpaw gave up only an unearned run on two hits and two walks in four innings. He had five strikeouts. Nick Trabacchi gave up two hits over two scoreless innings. Ruddy Gomez recorded the save with a perfect seventh inning. Down 1-0, Misael Urbina led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a single. Kyle Hess followed with another single. Poncho Ruiz followed with a bunt single to load the bases. Jaime Ferrer grounded out but Urbina scored the first run. Maddux Houghton drove in two runs with a single of his own. The Kernels added another run in the sixth when Kyle Hess drove in Danny De Andrade to make it 4-1. Hess went 2-for-3. Houghton was 2-for-2. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Daytona 9 Box Score Mussels Rally Late, Jimenez Stays Hot, but Daytona Holds On The Mussels fell behind early, and a five-run fifth inning by Daytona put the game out of reach. The Mussels put up a four-run eighth inning but it was far too little too late. Eli Jones started and gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks in four innings. Jones left the game with two runners on. Dylan Questad allowed both inherited runners to score. He was also charged with five more runs on four hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. Jones and Questad each hit a batter too. Tyler Stasiowski got the final four outs, two of them on strikeouts. Through seven innings, the Mussels had just three hits and walked twice. With one out in the eighth inning, Marek Houston, Dameury Pena, and JP Smith singled to load the bases. Enrique Jimenez followed with a grand slam, his third home run since joining the Mussels after the trade deadline. Also, his third straight game with a home run. He had spent the season playing for the Tigers FCL affiliate that lost to the FCL Twins in the semi-finals. Houston went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Dameury Pena went 2-for-4. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 23, DSL Nationals 1 Box Score Almanzar Drives in 7 Runs as Twins Erupt for 23 Runs in DSL Blowout Well… this was a pitchers duel for the first three innings. No runs to that point. However, the Twins scored in each of their final six innings. They were especially helped by a couple of snowmen. They posted an eight-run seventh inning and added eight more runs in the eighth innings to put the game completely out of reach. All nine starters had at least one hit. The top five batters had at least two hits. All nine batters had at least one walk. 23 runs on 16 hits and 14 walks. Third baseman Darwin Almanzar went 3-for-5 with a walk. He scored four runs. In the seventh inning, he hit a three-run homer. Then in the eighth inning, he came up with the bases loaded and hit a grand slam. That gives him six home runs on the season, and his seven RBI puts him at 41 for the season. He was the fifth hitter. Leadoff man Yovanny Duran went 3-for-6 with a walk and two doubles. Jhomnardo Reyes batted second. He went 2-for-4 with three walks and his ninth triple. Santiago Leon went 2-for-6 with a walk, his eighth double, and his first professional home run. Joyner Perez went 2-for-6 with a walk and his fifth double. Cristian Bonifacio went 1-for-3 with three walks. Jamesson Val was 1-for-3 with two walks. He was also hit by a pitch. Val added four stolen bases in the game, giving him 20 on the season. Duran had two steals on Saturday to give him 30 this season. Jose Barrios stole his 10th base, and Almanzar stole home for his fifth steal of the year. Jeromy Villoria, who turned 17 on Thursday, went the first three innings. He gave up no runs and just one hit. He walked two and struck out one. Jensi Infante gave up one hit his a scoreless fourth inning. Nestor Cafe struck out two batters in a scoreless fifth inning. Rainer Marin gave up one run on four hits and a walk in two innings. Yordi Jose struck out five batters over two scoreless innings. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Darwin Almanzar (FCL Twins): 3-for-5, BB, 2-HR(6), SB(10), 4 R, 7 RBI, K Pitcher of the Day Sam Armstrong (Wichita): 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 95 pitches, 64 strikes (67.4%) Mick Abel (St. Paul): 6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, 87 pitches, 57 strikes (65.5%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - 2-for-3, BB, 2 R (played 2B) #3 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K (played SS) #5 - Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1: 1-for-4, HR(3), R, 2 RBI, K (caught), 0-for-3 (DHd) #7 - Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids) - 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 63 pitches, 35 strikes (55.6%) #8 - Mick Abel (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, 87 pitches, 57 strikes (65.5%) #11 - Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, K (played LF) #13 - Marek Houston (Fort Myers) - 2-for-3, BB, R, SB(4) (played SS) #14 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1: 3-for-3, 2B(20), HR(16), 3 R, 3 RBI (played 3B). Game 2: 0-for-3, K. #17 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1: 1-for-2, 2 BB, 2 R (played SS); Game 2: 0-for-3, K (played 2B) #20 - Hendry Mendez (Wichita) - 2-for-5, RBI 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 (photo of Marco Raya) TRANSACTIONS For the first time in quite some time, there were no Twins minor-league transactions on Thursday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 14, Omaha 5 Box Score Saints Stampede Royals Affiliate with 14-Run Barrage Based by Raya’s Strong Start Marco Raya put together a quality start and got some serious run support down in Omaha. The Saints scored three runs before the Royals affiliate even came to the plate. They added another run in the top of the second. Raya gave up a double to Jac Caglianone to start the second which was followed by a two-run homer by Drew Waters. Harold Castro led off the bottom of the third inning with a homer that cut the Saints lead to 4-3. The Saints responded with 10 runs over the next three innings. The big hit in the four-run fourth inning was a two-run single by Aaron Sabato. Noah Cardenas scored on Will Holland’s seventh home run of the year in the fifth inning. DaShawn Keirsey Jr led off the sixth inning with his second homer since joining the Saints. Later in the inning, Payton Eeles hit a bases-clearing double to put the Saints up 14-3. Raya gave up three runs on five hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out five batters. Aaron Rozek gave up one run over the next two innings. He gave up one hit, walked two, and hit one batter. He had a strikeout. Genesis Cabrera made his first appearance in the Twins organization. In one innings, he gave up one run on two hits (including a Bobby Dalbec homer). All nine Saints hitters had at least one hit, and six of them had at least one walk. Payton Eeles led the way. He went 3-for-6 with his sixth double, two runs, and three RBI. He also stole his 17th bag. James Outman went 2-for-5 with a walk. Sabato also had three RBI. Outman, Keirsey, and Holland each drove in two runs. Holland led the team with three runs scored. Eeles, Kyler Fedko, Carson McCusker, and Cardenas each scored twice. Anthony Prato had a single and walked twice. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Springfield 8 Box Score Wind Surge Weather a Stormy Night: Culpepper Homers, Jenkins Injured in Tough Loss It was a rough night on several levels for the Wind Surge. The offense managed just one run on two hits (though they had five walks). Fortunately, one of the hits was Kaelen Culpepper’s ninth home run with the Wind Surge. It was his 18th overall this season. Alejandro Hidalgo started. He gave up six runs on seven hits (including four home runs) in 3 1/3 innings. He had three strikeouts. Mike Paredes gave up only an unearned run on two hits over 3 2/3 innings. He had four strikeouts. Jaylen Nowlin gave up a run on two hits and a walk in his inning. The worst news of the game was that after Culpepper’s third-inning home run, Walker Jenkins was hit by a tailing fastball right on top of his right hand. Clearly in pain, he went to first base, and after several tests by the trainer, he remained in the game. He even played some more defense. But I have to assume it swelled up like crazy so gripping a bat may not have been in the cards. Jorel Ortega pinch hit for him. I’d guess they treated it after he came out to try to reduce swelling. When the swelling goes down, I’m sure they’ll want to get it x-rayed. I’m guessing he’ll miss a few games, assuming nothing was broken. Kala’i Rosario went 0-for-1 and walked three times. He also stole his 24th base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 8 Box Score Kernels Can’t Overcome Early Deficit in Tough Loss The Kernels fell behind early. Jose Olivares started with two scoreless innings. He gave up three runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth before being replaced. He was charged with five runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out four batters. Matt Gabbert came on and gave up one run on two hits and a walk in 4 1/3 innings. He had three strikeouts. Paulshawn Pasqualotto gave up two runs on four hits in the ninth inning. Down 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Kernels got on the board. Jefferson Valladares led off with a walk. Caden Kendle singled him to second. With one out, Kyle DeBarge walked to load the bases. With two outs, Danny De Andrade walked and Valladares crossed home plate with the first run. Valladares homered in the bottom of the ninth, his second since joining the Kernels. De Andrade went 2-for-3 with a walk and his 22nd double of the season. Valladares was also 2-for-3 with a walk and a homer. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Daytona 6 Box Score Sprock Shines Early, Daugherty Hits First Pro Homer, but Tortugas Sink Mussels The Mussels got things going early with three runs in the second inning. Unfortunately, they only added one more run, and a four-run seventh inning by the home town Tortugas was enough for them to take the lead and hang on. Ryan Sprock led off the second inning with his first pro triple. He scored on an infield single by Bryan Acuna. Undrafted catcher Ian Daugherty came up with one out and launched his first professional home run, a two-run shot that made it 3-0. Daugherty went undrafted out of Oklahoma State, but the Twins acted very quickly in signing him very shortly after the draft’s completion. In the top of the sixth, Jayson Bass got things started with a one-out single to right field. Ryan Sprock connected for his first double to drive in the team’s fourth run of the game. Michael Ross made the start for Fort Myers. He was very good again. He gave up one run on five hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings. He had eight strikeouts. Sam Rochard came on and was charged with five runs (just one earned) on three hits. He walked two and had three strikeouts. Sprock went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, and a triple. Bryan Acuna was 2-for-4. JP Smith went 1-for-3 with a walk. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 0, DSL Rockies 5 Box Score Castellanos Returns to the Mound, but Offense Falters in Loss. Santiago Castellanos had not pitched in almost two weeks when he took the mound on Thursday. The now-17-year-old gave up a first-inning run. He went two innings and gave up one run on one hit. He walked one, hit two, and struck out three batters. Eliezer Lucena came on and worked the next four innings. He gave up three runs on five hits. He walked one and had two strikeouts. Aaron Carranza started the seventh inning. He had already given up a run on three hits when the game was called. The offense was shut down and had just four hits and three walks. Yovanny Duran went 1-for-2 with a walk. Darwin Almanzar knocked his 17th double. Jhomnardo Reyes walked twice. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Payton Eeles (St. Paul): 3-for-6, 2B(6), 2 R, 3 RBI, SB(17) Ryan Sprock (Fort Myers): 2-for-3, BB, 2B(1), 3B(1), R, RBI. Pitcher of the Day Michael Ross (Fort Myers): 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 95 pitches, 64 strikes (67.4%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 0-for-1, HBP, K (played RF) #2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - 1-for-5, RBI, SB(6) (played 2B) #3 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 1-for-4, HR(9), R, RBI, K (played SS) #5 - Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, BB, 2 K (catcher) #12 - Marco Raya (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 77 pitches, 50 strikes (64.9%) #13 - Marek Houston (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, BB, K (played SS) #14 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, BB, 3 K (played 3B) #17 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, BB, 2 K (played SS) FRIDAY PITCHING PROBABLES Detroit @ Minnesota (7:05 PM CT) - TBD St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CT) - RHP Andrew Morris (2-4, 4.27 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (6:35 PM CT) - RHP Ryan Gallagher (1-0, 5.40 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CT) - LHP Garrett Horn (0-0, 7.36 ERA) Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35 PM CT) - LHP Michael Carpenter (0-5, 3.89 ERA) DSL Tigers @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 57-64 St. Paul Saints: 53-62 Wichita Wind Surge: 57-54 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 61-50 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-63 FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs) DSL Twins: 22-30 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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Yes, we are aware that Matt's MILB report is duplicated in the comments section. I suppose I might be able to delete it, but I can't figure out why it did that, so I'm leaving it there until @Brock Beauchamphas a chance to look at it... just in case... Sorry for the inconvenience.

I mean, Gonzalez has like 2 weeks in Triple-A and at that time, no homers.... Outman has like 21 Triple-A homers this year and lots of big league time. It makes sense, but Gonzalez came through.

Huge difference between bunting for a hit and sacrifice bunting. He's a really good bunter for hits (or hit attempts).

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Gabriel Gonzalez) Since the calendar turned to August, wins have been hard to find for the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. Gabriel Gonzalez had a walkoff for the Saints on Saturday night. On Sunday at Target Field, the Twins topped the Royals in 11 innings when Luke Keaschall walked it off with an opposite field home run. TRANSACTIONS OF Misael Urbina was activated from the IL by Cedar Rapids. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Iowa 2 Box Score Clutch hits from Gabriel Gonzalez and James Outman, and strong bullpen work sealed the Saints win. Through three innings, there was no score. Jordan Wicks started for the I-Cubs, and Mick Abel threw for the Saints. Abel was not as sharp as he was in his Saints debut last weekend when he tossed five scoreless innings. He had to work in this one. However, he still limited damage. In his 4 1/3 innings, he gave up just one run on four hits and four walks. He had five strikeouts. As you would expect, he needed to throw a lot of pitches. He threw 83 pitches, and just 47 were strikes. The run he gave up in the fourth inning came on a wild pitch. The Saints got on the board and took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gabriel Gonzalez led off the inning by crushing his first Triple-A home run. DaShawn Keirsey Jr followed with a well-placed bunt single down the third base line. A throwing error by the pitcher sent the ball down the right field line allowing Kiersey to reach third base. Aaron Sabato hit a high fly ball to the warning track in left field. Keirsey scored easily. Aaron Rozek entered the game with one out and a runner on first base. He got two fielders choice ground balls to end that inning. Jonathan Long led off the top of the sixth inning with his 17th home run of the year to tie the game at 2-2. The southpaw went three innings and gave up just one run on three hits. In the bottom of the sixth, Kyler Fedko singled to left field and then stole second. James Outman drove him in with a double to give the Saints a 3-2 lead, one they held onto the rest of the game. Trent Davis came on with one out in the eighth inning. He got the next five outs, one on a strikeout, to earn his first save. Keirsey Jr went 2-for-3. Outman’s double was his second since joining the Saints. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, NW Arkansas 11 Box Score Surge fall despite early offense from Cossetti and Jenkins as the Naturals pulled away in the middle innings. The Wind Surge were able to face a rehabbing big leaguer on Sunday afternoon. Royals starter Michael Lorenzen tossed 5 2/3 innings. The Wind Surge actually did alright against him. In the second inning, Rubel Cespedes scored on an Andrew Cossetti double to the wall. Walker Jenkins led off the third inning with a single to center. He went to second on a wild pitch. Lorenzen tried to pick him off at second but threw it into center. Jenkins raced all the way home to score. Later in the inning, Nate Baez, Cespedes and Cossetti hit back-to-back singles which tied the game at 3-3. However, NW Arkansas scored three runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, plus single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Sam Armstrong started and was charged with six runs on five hits over four innings. He also hit three batters. Jacob Wosinski gave up three runs on two hits and two walks in the fifth inning. Jaylen Nowlin pitched the sixth inning and gave up one run on three walks and one hit. Next up was Kyle Bischoff who gave up one run on two hits and a walk in the seventh inning. Kade Bragg and Gabriel Yanez each threw a scoreless inning in relief. Andrew Cossetti went 2-for-3 with a walk, his 12th double, and two RBI. Walker Jenkins was 2-for-5. Rubel Cespedes was 2-for-3 with a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, West Michigan 4 Box Score Despite homers from Winokur and Houghton, Kernels Swept in West Michigan. It was a series that the Kernels will want to just forget. Not only did the Kernels lose all six games of the series, they were outscored 49-12. They have lost eight of nine games since the calendar turned to August. Maybe a little home cooking will help. The Kernels will be hosting Quad Cities in a seven-game series. They will be playing a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon, making up for a rain out a month ago. Sunday’s game was competitive. However, West Michigan manufactured two runs in the bottom of the eighth and held on in the ninth to complete the sweep. Needing pitchers to eat some innings, the Kernels couldn’t have asked for much more from their first two arms. Jacob Kisting started and gave up just one hit over the first three innings. He had three strikeouts. He was efficient and used just 33 pitches. Matt Gabbert came on and gave up two runs on three hits over four innings. He walked none and struck out three. Again, he was very efficient, needing just 38 innings to complete four innings. Unfortunately, a two-run Brett Callahan homer in the fifth inning proved big in a low-scoring game. The Kernels actually took the first lead. In the top of the fifth inning, Maddux Houghton hit his third Kernels home run to make it 1-0. The Whitecaps went ahead in the bottom of the inning on the Callahan homer. However, in the top of the sixth inning, Brandon Winokur crushed a solo home run to tie the game at 2-2. Lefty Brennan Oxford entered the game to start the bottom of the eighth. He gave up a single and a walk to start the inning. Seth Stephenson laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, and it paid off when Jack Penney singled to drive in both runs and give the Whitecaps a 4-2 lead. The Kernels managed just five hits. No singles. Brandon Winokur led the way. He went 2-for-4 and hit his 19th double and 15th home run. Maddux Houghton hit his third Kernels homer. Jefferson Valladares hit his first double with the Kernels. Misael Urbina returned from the IL and knocked his 12th double. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers, Clearwater (Canceled) With the second half reaching the final four or five weeks of the season, it becomes much more difficult to make up games. Therefore, a Sunday afternoon rain out is going to mean a cancellation rather than a postponement. The Mussels lost all five games to Clearwater this week, and they have lost six in a row. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, 2B(19), HR(15), R, RBI Pitcher of the Day Jacob Kisting (Cedar Rapids): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 33 pitches, 21 strikes (63.6%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 2-for-5, R (played CF) #2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - 3-for-5, 2B(6), GW-`HR(2), R, 2 RBI (played 2B) #5 - Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K (catcher) #7 - Dasan Hill (Fort Myers) - 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 65 pitches, 41 strikes (63.1%) #8 - Mick Abel (St. Paul) - 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R,4 BB, 5 K, 83 pitches, 47 strikes (56.6%) #11 - Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, BB, HR(1), R, RBI (played RF) #14 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2B(19), HR(15), R, RBI (played 3B) #20 - Hendry Mendez (Wichita) - 0-for-3, K (played LF) UPCOMING SCHEDULE Monday: Minnesota @ NY Yankees (6:05 PM CT) - RHP Zebby Matthews (3-3, 5.17 ERA) DSL Twins @ DSL Phillies (10:00 AM CT) - TBD (Monday) Tuesday: St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CT) - TBD Wichita @ Springfield (7:05 PM CT) - TBD Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CT) - TBD Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35 PM CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 56-61 St. Paul Saints: 51-61 Wichita Wind Surge: 57-51 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 59-48 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-60 FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs) DSL Twins: 20-28 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (Ryan Gallagher) A walk off on Joe Mauer Night in St. Paul. Three hits for the prospect with the Mauer-esque swing. The return of a top pitching prospect. A two-homer game in Wichita. A four-walk game. A six RBI game. So many interesting things happened throughout the Twins minor league system. And check out what 2025 second-round draft pick Quentin Young did in his first at-bat in the Bridge League yesterday. TRANSACTIONS The Twins placed outfielder Matt Wallner on the paternity list. His wife Sydnie gave birth to the couple’s first child early on Saturday morning. Carson McCusker was called up from St. Paul to take that roster spot. RHP Andrew Morris was activated from the IL by St. Paul. He made his first appearance since June 19. Ricardo Olivar was placed on the 7-Day injured list for Wichita. RHP Kyle Bischoff was sent from the Saints to Wichita. IF Yilber Herrera was assigned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL. Cedar Rapids placed RHP Eston Stull on the seven-day IL. LHP Wilker Reyes was also released from the Kernels roster. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Iowa 4 Box Score Mauer Magic and Ninth-Inning Heroics: Saints Walk Off in Style The game was delayed by a few minutes due to the Saints pre-game ceremony to celebrate Joe Mauer. There were bobbleheads handed out to fans ordering special tickets. Andrew Morris’s return was successful by most any account. In the first inning, he issued a one-out walk to Cubs top prospect Owen Caissie. He responded by getting his second strikeout of the inning, and Noah Cardenas threw him out trying to steal second to end the inning. In the second, he got a ground ball to shortstop. He then struck out Kevin Alcantara. The next batter ripped a groundball to the mound at 100 mph, but Morris fielded his position well and calmly threw to first for the out. Cory Lewis entered the game to start the third inning. Morris tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up no hits. He walked one and had three strikeouts. 21 of his 31 pitches were strikes. Lewis gave up two hits and four walks over his four innings. He gave up three runs, all on a home run by Alcantar. Darren McCaughan gave up one run on three hits over two innings. He gave up a solo homer to Owen Caissie. Noah Davis walked one but worked a scoreless ninth inning The Saints bats were pretty quiet until the final third of the game. They cut their deficit to 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh. DaShawn Keirsey scored on an Aaron Sabato double. In the bottom of the eighth, James Outman scored on a triple by Keirsey to make it a 4-2 game. That’s where the score remained for the bottom of the ninth. Gavin Hollowell came in for the Cubs. Jose Miranda led off with a walk. He went to third on a double by Anthony Prato. After a strikeout, Payton Eeles hit a high chopper toward second base. Miranda came in to score, and Eeles beat the throw to first base by a half-step. He stole second netase, and the throw went into center field which allowed Prato to score the tying run. After the second out, Outman was walked intentionally. He went to second on defensive indifference. That brought Gabriel Gonzalez to the plate. On an 0-1 pitch, Gonzalez launched a liner to dead center at just over 100 mph, well beyond the reach of the fielder. Eeles scored and the Saints were jubilant! Seven Saints batters had one hit. Prato hit his seventh double and walked twice. He also stole his 16th base. Miranda walked twice. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, NW Arkansas 3 Box Score Rucker's Power Surge and Gallagher's Gem Lead Wichita to Victory Ironically (or coincidentally), it was Carson McCusker bobblehead night in Wichita. In his first start with the Twins organization and with the Wind Surge, Ryan Gallagher gave up six runs on seven hits over five innings. It was just his third Double-A start having recently been promoted by the Cubs to their Double-A affiliate in Knoxville. Maybe the 22-year-old is a quick learner. On Saturday night, he was fantastic in his first home start in Wichita. Gallagher gave up five hits and hit one batter, but he tossed five scoreless innings. He walked none and had seven strikeouts. He was also blessed with some run support in this game. In the third inning, Walker Jenkins got things going with a one-out double. Kala’i Rosario followed with a walk. Next up was Hendry Mendez, and he hit a single to drive in Jenkins with the game’s first run. Nate Baez drove in Rosario with a sacrifice fly. The Wind Surge added on in the fourth inning. Ben Ross led off with a single. He scored on Jake Rucker’s fourth homer of the season. Jorel Ortega followed with a walk and stole second. He went to third on a groundout by Kaelen Culpepper. Jenkins singled to right to make it 5-0. Jake Rucker led off the sixth inning with his second homer of the game, his fifth of the season, to put the Wind Surge up 6-0. Logan Whitaker came in to replace Gallagher for Wichita. He pitched a scoreless sixth inning. He recorded two outs in the seventh but gave up two runs before Mike Paredes got the final out and ended the threat. Paredes got the final seven outs of the game, three on strikeouts. Rucker was 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI. Ben Ross went 2-for-3 with a walk. Walker Jenkins went 3-for-4 with a walk, and his ninth and 10th doubles. Kala’i Rosario went 0-for-1 with three walks. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, West Michigan 5 (10 innings) Box Score Kernels Explode in Fifth but Fall in Extras The Kernels lost 13-2 on Friday night, but they did a nice job of flushing that one and showing up ready to play. They played a good game, but they were unable to get that one more run. When the game went to extra innings, the Kernels were walked off. Cedar Rapids scored all four of their runs in the top of the fifth inning. Poncho Ruiz led off with a walk. He went to third on a Kyle Hess single. Hess stole second, and Jefferson Valladares walked to load the bases. With one out, Caden Kendle singled to drive in two runs. Eduardo Tait singled and drove in two more. Lefty Garrett Horn made his first start in the Twins organization, his first appearance since July 25th. The 22-year-old gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Xander Hamilton struck out two over the next 1 1/3 innings. Samuel Perez struck out three batters in 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Ruddy Gomez got out of the ninth inning unscathed. However, he gave up the winning run in the 10th. He got five total outs, four on strikeouts. Caden Kendle went 3-for-5 with two RBI. He also stole his 12th base of the season. Maddux Houghton was 2-for-5 with his third double. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Clearwater 7 Box Score Mercedes Sparks Rally, Stevens Debuts Strong in Mussels Loss It can sometimes take a lot of arms to get through nine innings, and on Saturday, that’s what the Mussels had to do. Lefty Dasan Hill started and gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and two walks. He had three strikeouts. Jakob Hall came in and got the final out of the fourth inning without any further damage. Kyle Jones came on for his second rehab appearance, and it didn’t go well, though he didn’t pitch all that poorly. His line was three runs in just two-thirds of an inning. However, having watched the inning, there were three errors on ground balls. And frankly, one of the two hits Jones allowed could have very easily been deemed an error too. Brent Francisco came in and got the final out of the fifth inning and worked a scoreless sixth inning. Next up was Jonathan Stevens, the Twins 16th round draft pick last month. He became the first pitcher from the 2025 Twins draft class to get into game action. Of course, the other pitchers drafted all pitched a lot of innings in college this year. Stevens did not. But he threw, and impressed, in the Cape Cod League and the Twins took a shot. He struck out two batters over two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked one batter. Julio Bonilla pitched the ninth and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. Down 5-0 going to the bottom of the fifth, the Mussels mounted a comeback attempt. Ian Daugherty started things with a walk. He went to second when Dameury Pena walked. That brought Yasser Mercedes to the plate, and he launched a long home run to the berm in left field. His ninth home run cut the deficit to 5-3. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, JP Smith hit his second Mussels home run. Fort Myers was down 5-4. That was as close as it got. Smith went 2-for-3 with a walk and is batting .400 with a 1.171 OPS. Yasser Mercedes was 2-for-5. Along with his ninth home run, he stole his 32nd base of the season. Enrique Jimenez went 1-for-3 with a walk. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 13, DSL Rangers 5 Box Score Almanzar Drives in Six as DSL Twins Run (and Walk) Wild We’ll just start with this. The Twins scored their 13 runs on eight hits and 13 walks. Thirteen! Just four Twins hitters recorded a hit while five of them had at least one walk. The Twins scored once in the first inning and were shut out in the second and third innings. They added runs in the final five innings they batted, totaling another 12 runs. Darwin Almanzar went 3-for-5 with two doubles and six RBI. Jamesson Val was 3-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and his third home run of the season. Now let’s get to the 13 walks. Santiago Leon went 0-for-1 but walked four times. Yovanny Duran was 1-for-2 with three walks. Joyner Perez was 0-for-2 but walked three times. Jhomnardo Reyes walked twice. Duran, Leon and Reyes each scored three times while Perez and Val scored twice. Duran stole three bases in the game to give him 27 on the season. The team had seven total steals. Geremy Villoria, who turns 17 next week, started and gave up two runs on five hits over three innings. He had two strikeouts. Brandy Ceballos worked the fourth inning and gave up three runs on two hits and two walks. Rainer Marin came on and struck out five batters over three scoreless innings. He allowed five hits and a walk. Jensi Infante threw two scoreless innings despite giving up a hit and two walks. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Danny Almanzar (DSL Twins): 3-for-5, 2-2B(16), 6 RBI Caden Kendle (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, R, 2 RBI, SB(12) Jake Rucker (Wichita): 2-for-4, 2 HR(5), 2 R, 3 RBI. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 3-for-4, BB, 2-2B(10), R, RBI Pitcher of the Day Ryan Gallagher (Wichita): 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K, 92 pitches, 59 strikes (64.1%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 3-for-4, BB, 2-2B(10), R, RBI (played RF) #2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, (played 2B) #3 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 0-for-5, K (played SS) #5 - Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 K (DHd) #7 - Dasan Hill (Fort Myers) - 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 65 pitches, 41 strikes (63.1%) #11 - Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, GW RBI, K #14 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, K (played 3B) #15 - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 31 pitches, 21 strikes (67.7%) #17 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5, 3 K #20 - Hendry Mendez (Wichita) - 1-for-4, RBI (played LF) SUNDAY PITCHING PROBABLES Kansas City @ Minnesota (12:05 PM CT) - Bullpen Game on Roku Iowa @ St. Paul (2:07 PM CT) - RHP Mick Abel (7-2, 2.16 ERA) NW Arkansas @ Wichita (1:05 PM CT) - RHP Sam Armstrong (0-0, 7.20 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ West Michigan (1:00 PM CT) - RHP Jacob Kisting (1-3, 2.11 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (11:05 AM CT) - RHP Joel Garcia (first Mussels start) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 55-61 St. Paul Saints: 50-61 Wichita Wind Surge: 57-50 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 59-47 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-60 FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs) DSL Twins: 20-28 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Kyler Fedko) On Friday, the DSL Twins got a nice, late-inning win. That was, by far, the best game in the organization, well, other than the Twins big win over the Royals in their return to Target Field. TRANSACTIONS The Twins placed catcher Christian Vazquez on the Injured List with a shoulder infection. We certainly wish him a successful recovery. Recently claimed Jhonny Pereda was called up from St. Paul. The 29-year-old from Venezuela. He has played in six games with the Saints. His last game played for St. Paul was on Tuesday night. He went 4-for-4 with a walk, a double and a home run. He had three runs and three RBI. The Minnesota Twins signed LHP Jake Murray, an undrafted free agent from the Campbell Camels He made 15 starts for them and went 4-2 with a 6.49 ERA. However, in 59 2/3 innings, he had 34 walks and hit 16 batters, but he also struck out 82 batters. He was assigned to the FCL Twins and will likely pitch in the Bridge League the rest of the summer unless there is a need in Fort Myers. He will turn 25 later this month. RHP Anthony Narvaez was assigned to the FCL Twins from the Mighty Mussels. Jonathan Stevens was assigned to the Mussels. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Iowa 10 Box Score As the game started, the great Joey Chestnut and Notorious BOB began eating the six-foot loaded hot dog at CHS Field, affectionately called the "Land of 10,000 Calories." The two finished it completely in 29 minutes! And if you are going to Saturday's Saints game, you can guarantee a special Joe Mauer bobblehead by purchasing a ticket here. Marco Raya made the start for the Saints. He gave up a single run in the second and third innings and then gave up three runs in the fourth inning. He gave up five (4 earned) on seven hits. He walked three and had two strikeouts. That’s where the pitching situation went a little weird. Lefty Christian MacLeod came in to start the fifth and really struggled with his control and command. He got two outs in the inning and gave up four runs on three walks and two hits. He threw 39 pitches and the team’s deficit reached eight runs. That meant a position player could pitch. But the Saints have a limited number of pitchers available. Anthony Prato came in from second base. MacLeod went out to right field. Gabriel Gonzalez came out of the game. Kyler Fedko was the DH, but he entered the game at first base which moved Jonah Bride to second base. Prato needed just five pitches to get the final out. Of course, it came on a fly out to the right fielder, Christian MacLeod. MacLeod returned to the mound to start the sixth inning. The first batter he faced was Carlos Perez who hit his 21st homer of the season. Kevin Alcantara singled to right field (now occupied by Fedko). However, MacLeod settled in. He got a double play ball and a fly out. The seventh inning started with a walk and a single, but again MacLeod responded. He struck out Cubs top prospect Owen Caissie. Rehabbing catcher Miguel Amaya flew out to left. He then struck out Jonathon Long to end the inning. MacLeod’s final line was five runs on five hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. He also went 0-for-1 and watched three pitches right down the middle of the plate. Jarret Whorff came in to pitch the eighth inning and tossed two scoreless innings. In the middle, he took a strike, then fouled off two pitches, took a ball and then flew out to right field. 0-for-1, but a nice effort. The Saints got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning on back-to-back, two-out doubles by James Outman and Kyler Fedko. In the sixth inning, Fedko walked and Payton Eeles was hit by a pitch. After the MacLeod strikeout, DaShawn Keirsey Jr singled to drive in Fedko, and Eeles scored on a fielding error. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Fedko absolutely crushed his first Saints home run. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Jonah Bride led off with a walk and went to third base on a double by Anthony Prato. He scored on a ground out by Will Holland. Fedko’s magical season continues to impress. He went 2-for-3 with a walk, his third double and his first Saints homer. Payton Eeles went 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch twice. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, NW Arkansas 9 Box Score With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Kala’i Rosario hit his 17th home run of the season. Alejandro Hidalgo put a zero on the board in the first inning. Unfortunately, he gave up five runs on three hits and three walks in the second inning. Michael Martinez walked one, hit one, and had one strikeout in a scoreless inning. Ricky Castro gave up four runs on six hits (including two homers). He had five strikeouts and no walks. Hunter Hoopes struck out four batters over the final two innings. He gave up no runs and one hit. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Rubel Cespedes walked with one out. Ben Ross followed with his ninth home run of the year which cut the deficit to 5-3. Going to the bottom of the seventh, the Wind Surge were down 9-3. Jake Rucker led off with a single and scored on Kaelen Culpepper’s eight Wichita home run. Rosario went 2-for-4 with a walk and the home run. Walker Jenkins went 2-for-4. Hendry Mendez was 1-for-3 and walked twice. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, West Michigan 13 Box Score The Kernels led 1-0 after one-half inning thanks to a Brandon Winokur single that drove in Kyle DeBarge. That was the high point of the game for Cedar Rapids. West Michigan took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third. They scored two more in the bottom of the fifth inning. And then an eight-run seventh inning for the Whitecaps put the game well out of reach. The Kernels scored a second run in the top of the ninth to cut their deficit to 13-2 when Jefferson Valladares hit his first Kernels homer. The Kernels had 10 hits in the game, but they went 1-for-10 and left 11 runners on base. Kyle DeBarge went 1-for-3 with two walks. He stole his 58th and 59th stolen bases. Maddux Houghton went 2-for-3 with a walk. He also stole two bases. Winokur went 3-for-4 and stole his 22nd base of the season. Jose Olivares started and gave up three runs on three hits. In three innings, he had four walks and struck out three batters. Chase Chaney came in and gave up five runs on five hits over 3 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three batters. Ivran Romero came in and gave up five runs on four hits and a walk. He recorded just one out. Matt Mikulski got the final out of the seventh inning, but not before walking three batters. Wilker Reyes struck out two batters in a perfect inning. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Clearwater 5 Box Score In a way, the Mussels played this game a little short-handed. First-round pick Marek Houston was in Minneapolis. Normally the top draft pick comes to Target Field to sign, but the Twins were out of town and Houston wanted to get started. He signed in Fort Myers, along with the other 2025 draft picks and non-drafted free agents. He has played in six games for Fort Myers. But on Friday night, Houston was brought to the Twin Cities and Target Field to meet front office personnel, players and coaches, take some batting practice with the team, and meet with the media. He spent time in the radio and TV booths as well. While not perfect, this was a really well-pitched game. Through seven innings, the Mussels were down 2-1. A three-run eighth inning for the Threshers provided plenty of run support and Fort Myers wasn’t able to mount a comeback. Lefty Michael Carpenter started for the Mussels and went the first four innings. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits and a walk. He struck out five batters. Eli Jones came on and worked the final five innings. He gave up three runs in the eighth, though just one run was earned. He gave up four hits, walked one and had four strikeouts. The Mussels got on the board with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Harry Genth and Dameury Pena started the inning with walks. Then they were successful on a double steal. With one out, JP Smith singled to center to drive in Genth with the first run. Down 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Eduardo Beltre led off with a double and then stole third. He scored on a ground out by Bryan Acuna. Acuna had three hits in the game, all singles. JP Smith, the Twins 17th-round pick last month had another three-hit game. He was 3-for-5 and has at least one hit in all five games he has played since going 0-for-4 in his first professional game. He ends the game hitting a robust .370 with two doubles, a triple, and a home run. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 7, DSL Mariners 5 Box Score It was a back-and-forth game in the DSL on Friday afternoon. The Twins jumped ahead and didn’t give up the lead. But when the Mariners tied it back up, the Twins showed resolve and jumped back ahead to secure the win. Juan Quinones made the start and tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked two, and had five strikeouts. The Twins grabbed the lead in the bottom of the third. With one out, Teilon Serrano reached on an error. Santiago Leon walked. A double steal with a throwing error allowed the first run to score. After the second out, Joyner Perez singled to drive in Leon with the second run. Yovanny Duran walked. Jose Barrios followed with a single that drove in Perez with the third run. Nestor Cafe came on for the Twins and gave up two runs in the top of the fourth inning. In total, he went two innings and gave up two runs on one hit and two walks. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Twins got those two runs back. With one out, Duran walked and stole second. Barrios reached on a fielder’s choice and then stole second base. Jamesson Val singled in Duran, and then he stole second while Barrios stole third. He scored on a throwing error to make it 5-2. Aaron Carranza came on to start the sixth inning, but he gave up three runs on two hits and three walks and recorded just two outs. Marlon Mirabal came in and got the final out without further damage, but the score was tied at five. Mirabal, a lefty from Cuba, signed with the Twins in December. He worked the final 3 1/3 innings and didn’t allow a run. He gave up four hits, walked one and had four strikeouts. Still tied in the bottom of the eighth, Jhomnardo Reyes led off with a pinch-hit walk. With one out, Darwin Almanzar reached on a fielding error which allowed Reyes to score the go-ahead run. Perez followed with a double to make it 7-5. Perez had two of the team’s four hits including his fourth double. Santiago Leon, Yovanny Duran and Cristian Bonifacio each had two walks. The team had 10 walks in the game. They also had eight stolen bases with Jamesson Val and Jose Barrios each stealing two bags. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Kyler Fedko (St. Paul): 2-for-3, BB, 2B(3), HR(1), 2 R, 2 RBI. Pitcher of the Day Marlon Mirabal (DSL Twins): 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 2-for-4, HBP, K (played DH) #2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2 RBI (played 2B) #3 - Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) - 1-for-5, HR(8), R, 2 RBI, 2 K (played SS) #5 - Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K #11 - Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-2 (played RF) #12 - Marco Raya (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 94 pitches, 60 strikes (63.8%) #13 - Marek Houston (Fort Myers) - Traveled to Minnesota, met Twins personnel and Twin Cities media. #14 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, RBI, SB(22) (played SS) #17 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2 BB, R, 2 SB(59) #20 - Hendry Mendez (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 BB (played LF) SATURDAY PITCHING PROBABLES Iowa @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CT) - TBD NW Arkansas @ Wichita (6:05 PM CT) - RHP Ryan Gallagher (0-0, 10.80 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ West Michigan (6:05 PM CT) - LHP Garrett Horn (1st start in Twins organization) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (5:05 PM CT) - LHP Dasan Hill (0-1, 2.79 ERA) DSL Rangers @ DSL Twins (9:00 AM CT) - TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 57-60 St. Paul Saints: 49-61 Wichita Wind Surge: 56-50 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 59-46 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-59 FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs) DSL Twins: 20-28 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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Image courtesy of © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Talk to a baseball fan over the age of 60, and they’ll tell you about pitchers just don’t work as long. “Back in my days, they had four-man rotations, and the goal was to go nine innings every time you took the mound.” For most of the past 30 years, MLB teams have moved to five-man rotations, and reaching 200 innings has become a badge of honor. In fact, most front offices and pitching staff just consider it a badge. More important in today’s game is going all out and using your pitches whether you get through three innings or seven innings. The last couple of seasons, the Twins have been working on a new strategy for pitching development for some pitchers. We saw it in 2024 with Marco Raya. We’ve seen it this year with several pitchers including Raya and Connor Prielipp. We’ve even seen it with a few pitchers who have been workhorses in the past. Twins rookie pitchers Travis Adams and Pierson Ohl worked through the minor leagues primarily as starting pitchers. In the progression, they each reached 127 innings in a season. The goal was always to add to that number, to go from 127 to 152 to 181. Honestly, at that point, the pitcher is averaging nearly six innings per start. From there, if you progress to 200 innings, great. There is nothing wrong with saving the bullpen arms when possible. The reality is that in today’s game (and likely has always been the case), that there are some starting pitchers who may not quite fit the mold of being able to go six to eight innings in starts very awesome. If they can, great. I mean, if Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan are starting, you plan for them giving you six innings and have no problem with them going seven or eight frames. But for some pitchers, they might have some really, really good stuff, but they just can’t maintain that stuff through 100 pitches. They can dominate for about 50 to 75 pitches. Should that pitcher automatically be pushed to a one or two inning spot? You can’t help but wonder how many pitchers were like that over the years. They just couldn’t cut it as a “regular” starter. There are many “failed” starters who have become some of the best relievers and closers in baseball history. Consider John Smoltz. He was a Cy Young caliber starting pitcher, and when he would be the Braves’ closer, he was as good as anyone in the game. When he spent a season as a starter, he helped Atlanta for 200 to 250 innings. When he was a closer, he helped Atlanta for 45 to 80 innings per year. What if he could have worked four innings every fourth or fifth day instead of the bullpen, one-inning guy? Instead of helping Atlanta for 60 innings in a season, he could have given them 120-130 innings. It’s with that mindset that I’d love to see the Twins test-drive a new model down the stretch; not as a gimmick, but as an honest evaluation tool. We’ve got 50-ish games left, and plenty of intriguing arms in the system. So let’s see what a modified rotation might look like with Joe Ryan and the Piggybacks. Here’s a few versions of how it might look: OPTION 1 : TWO-MAN STARTS Game 1: Joe Ryan (goes 5-8 innings) Game 2: Zebby Matthews (4-5 innings), Pierson Ohl (4-5 innings) Game 3: Bailey Ober (4-5 innings), Taj Bradley (4-5 innings) Game 4: Mick Abel (4-5 innings), Travis Adams (4-5 innings) Game 5: Marco Raya (4-5 innings), Simeon Woods Richardson (4-5 innings) Remaining BP: Cole Sands, Justin Topa, Kody Funderburk (Anthony Misiewicz), Jose Urena. With this, the goal should be for the starting pitcher to hopefully get through five innings, but really to get through at least four. The goal for the "piggybacker" should be to complete the rest of the game, though based on game situations, the high-leverage arms could come into those late innings as well. It will be good to have a couple of those high-leverage bullpen guys to close out a game in the ninth. It will be equally important to have a long man or two available in the bullpen as well. There is enough depth in Triple-A and even Double-A to fill slots. In doing this, it is absolutely crucial to set a tone with the team that this is about creating opportunities and giving more people a chance to work and get innings and try to make their case for a 2026 roster spot. The hitters need to know that this is about development and opportunity, but they are working under the same lens, trying to make an impression for 2026 and beyond. The goal is always to win as well and that will be the goal in every game. “We believe that each and every one of these pitchers has a big-league arm and a big-time, big-league future and that journey starts now.” I included Woods Richardson on here because I believe he will be back soon. We don’t know a whole lot about the timelines for Pablo Lopez or David Festa. Festa could fill one of those eight spots. Because of his veteran-ness, I would let Lopez determine if he wants to fill a spot in this type of plan, or if he would want to jump right back in that Joe Ryan (normal) role. He’s earned that opportunity. And so has Ober, of course, but this might really be good for him down the stretch. If Lopez comes back, the two ‘regular’ starters could be very similar. OPTION 2: TRADITIONAL HYBRIDS Game 1: Joe Ryan Game 2: Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews Game 3: Taj Bradley, Mick Abel Game 4: Pablo Lopez Game 5: Bailey Ober, Travis Adams Remaining BP: Cole Sands, Justin Topa, Kody Funderburk, Jose Urena, Pierson Ohl. Or how about this? OPTION 3: THREE-MAN TANDEMS Game 1: Joe Ryan Game 2, Simeon Woods Richardson, Pierson Ohl, Travis Adams (3 innings each) Game 3: Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober (4-5 innings each) Game 4: Taj Bradley, Kendry Rojas, Mick Abel (3 innings each) Game 5: Zebby Matthews, Remaining BP: Cole Sands, Justin Topa, Kody Funderburk There are other pitchers on the 40-man roster. Maybe a Kendry Rojas will be added to the roster and inserted into a few starts. The final bullpen spots can be updated every 10-12 days as needed based on usage. Honestly, it’s a lot of plug-and-play. It’s a lot of planning, and for that 50-game stretch, it may feel a little regimented. Why Do This Now? Because it matters. Because fans want to see what’s next. Because the front office needs data. Because payroll flexibility means young, controllable players matter. And because, frankly, Twins fans need something to believe in again. And these pitchers — Abel, Raya, Matthews, Bradley, SWR, Ohl, Rojas — they give us a reason to watch. They represent hope. They represent the next great Twins rotation. We already know Joe Ryan’s part of that. So is Ober. So is Pablo López. But who else? Let’s find out. Oh, and one more thing: giving these kids a shot might just help season ticket sales too. I’d bet the front office wouldn't mind giving their sales team something to get excited about this offseason. Let’s see the arms. Let’s see the future. Let's ride with Joe Ryan and the Piggybacks. View full article

Image courtesy of © Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images Last week, the Kansas City Royals promoted reliever Thomas Hatch to the big leagues. When he got into a game, it was hit first big-league appearance since September of 2023 with the Pirates. He pitched one inning and gave up two runs on two hits including a long home run. He was Designated for Assignment the next day. On Monday afternoon, the Twins announced that they had claimed Hatch from the Royals. He is expected to join the Twins on Tuesday at which point a spot on the 40-man roster and the 26-man roster will need to be opened up. That could be the same person. I assume it will be. Thomas Hatch is 30 years old. He spent the 2024 season pitching in Japan. In 2013, the Tulsa native was the 32nd round draft pick of the Rockies. Instead of signing, he stayed in-state and went to Oklahoma State. Three years later, the Chicago Cubs selected him in the third round of the 2016 draft. At the July trade deadline in 2019, the Cubs sent him to the Blue Jays for reliever David Phelps. Toronto added him to their 40-man roster after the 2019 season. During the Covid-shortened 2020 season, the Jays called up Hatch and he soon made his MLB debut. As a 25-year-old rookie, he posted a 2.73 ERA over 17 games. In 2021, he was limited to three big-league games and spent much of the season on the injured list with a right elbow impingement. He pitched just once for the Jays in 2022. In 2023, he pitched in six games for the Jays before he was DFAd. The Pirates claimed him, and he worked in 12 games for them over the remainder of the season. So, what does Thomas Hatch throw? He throws a sinker that averages about 94-95 mph. He also throws a cutter at about 90. He has a mid-80s slider/sweeper. Maybe that's something that the Twins will have him throw 50-60% of the time and see how that goes. There certainly is enough to be intrigued, but as is the case with any player claimed, they need to take advantage of the situation pretty quickly. Kody Clemens certainly did that, but other players claimed haven't, and the Twins at this stage in the season should be active at the edges of the 26- and 40-man rosters and hope a few guys stick. Earlier in the day, the Royals had named Hatch their minor league pitcher of the month for July. Who knows? Maybe Hatch and Darren McCaughan will piggyback Tuesday's game in Motown. The corresponding move has not yet been announced. That will happen on Tuesday. View full article

He missed like three months... no problem with letting him get some more time.