Steve Lein

Houston also basically copied the hitting production of Culpepper in doing so. Just with the OPS driven by a higher batting average instead of slugging percentage. Not every hitter in the lineup needs to be a power guy. I think this is one of the Falvey regimes biggest failures, trying to get more home runs from everybody.

Command is always the last thing to get back to "normal" after Tommy John surgery, which is why I'm not putting a whole lot of stock into that being a big issue for Quick. Yet. Theoretically, if he makes improvements in that regard the further removed he is, all the other numbers improve. Maybe that ERA gets a full run shaven off, that walk rate gets under 10%, and that strikeout rate creeps higher. We've already seen this exact same scenario play out with Connor Prielipp. I think we'd all be happy with that from Quick.

Explains why I have never thought the scouting report on Jenkins' "arm" ever lived up to the hype (it being a strong "plus" arm)... Have often thought he looked like he was holding back on purpose, and never really trying to cut someone down when he should have had a chance to. I take this as good news. Both that he played through it like he has, and that this could help unlock more.

Lots of new talent was injected via the draft this (the last 9 of their 11 top 10 round picks), but we won't know more on them until next season yet, as the Twins typically don't put them on the mound in their draft season.

Hey, like half of them are 22 or younger! 😅 Always a mix in these. You get the older gentleman who've been around the block and put up great numbers, the young breakouts, and the top studs. Good set here I have to say!

All week, we have been handing out our Twins Daily Minor League Awards. This morning, take a look at our 2026 Twins Daily Minor-League All-Star selections. In the comments, let us know how we did. How would your ballot look? CATCHER: Khadim Diaw (23 years old), Cedar Rapids Kernels/Wichita Wind Surge 107 games, .306/.417/.452 (.868 OPS), 26 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 56 BB, 71 K, 14 SB Diaw was a unanimous selection among Twins Daily voters at the catcher position, and you don’t have to look much farther than his triple-slash-line to understand why. He hit for average, got on-base, and provided plenty of extra-base-hit power. The only caveat here from the catcher position is he split his time basically 50/50 between catcher and DH/CF, but his 50 games behind the dish also ranked fifth in the system. FIRST BASE: Aaron Sabato (27), St. Paul Saints 113 games, .273/.349/.528 (.877 OPS), 29 2B, 1 3B, 25 HR, 75 RBI, 41 BB, 119 K, 5 SB Another unanimous selection, as at a position of power, Sabato paced the entire Twins minor league system in home runs, tying only with Matt Wallner for the St. Paul Saints all-time, single-season record. He was rewarded with his MLB callup earlier this week after the Saints season concluded. SECOND BASE: Cody Morissette (26), Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints 74 games, .259/.342/.513 (.856 OPS), 16 2B, 17 HR, 52 RBI, 32 BB, 68 K, 8 SB Released from the Miami Marlins system in early June, Morissette joined the Twins as a free agent about a week later and turned into a steady power presence in the Saints lineup. His .513 slugging percentage rivaled the system's home run kings, Sabato and Wallner. THIRD BASE: Brandon Winokur (21), Cedar Rapids Kernels/Wichita Wind Surge 127 games, .252/.337/.427 (.764 OPS), 16 2B, 4 3B, 21 HR, 81 RBI, 58 BB, 162 K, 30 SB Winokur once again displayed the plethora of tools in his big frame by clubbing 20+ homers and stealing 20+ bases for a 20/20 season. He also led the system in RBI’s and ranked third in total bases. SHORSTOP: Marek Houston (22), Cedar Rapids Kernels/Wichita Wind Surge 116 games, .312/.392/.455 (.847 OPS), 28 2B, 2 3B, 12 HR, 60 RBI, 61 BB, 108 K, 50 SB Houston came out of the gates swinging a hot bat for the Kernels and earned a mid-season promotion to Wichita where he barely slowed down. Among hitters who played at least 70 games, his .312 batting average on the season ranked fourth in the system, while his 28 doubles ranked third among all hitters. His 50 stolen bases should not go unnoticed as well, as it helped him lead the system in runs scored. He did all this while being one of the top defensive players in the minors! LEFT FIELD: Caden Kendle (24), Cedar Rapids Kernels/Wichita Wind Surge (rehab w/FCL) 82 games, .330/.407/.572 (.979 OPS), 24 2B, 16 HR, 70 RBI, 34 BB, 69 K, 19 SB If not for missing a month-plus in the middle of the season, Kendle may have led the system in several counting categories. His breakout campaign will have to settle for the percentage ones, as he led in batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS. His enflamed bat earned a midseason promotion from Cedar Rapids to Wichita, where it then evolved into a Super Saiyan piece of lumber, as he hit .371/.430/.646 (1.076) in 45 games at Double-A. CENTER FIELD: Walker Jenkins (21), St. Paul Saints (rehab w/Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids) 73 games, .323/.417/.559 (.976 OPS), 18 2B, 3 3B, 14 HR, 31 RBI, 43 BB, 50 K, 17 SB Jenkins ended his summer with a flourish, hitting .411/.488/.795 (1.283 OPS) with 8 home runs in 18 August games for the Saints to earn his promotion to the big leagues. He raised his overall OPS over .100 points in that timeframe to put an emphatic stamp on his Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year season. RIGHT FIELD: Yasser Mercedes (21), Fort Myers Mighty Mussels/Cedar Rapids Kernels 109 games, .249/.343/.453 (.797 OPS), 27 2B, 3 3B, 18 HR, 72 RBI, 56 BB, 127 K, 52 SB Mercedes began the season by repeating the Florida State League but quickly lit the league on fire with a 1.081 OPS and six home runs in 21 games before being promoted to the Midwest League. While his numbers dipped considerably in High-A, they still included extra base power (23 2B, 12 HR) and a bunch of speed (41 stolen bases in 47 tries) as a table setter for the Kernels. DESIGNATED HITTER: Luis Fragoza (19), FCL Twins/Fort Myers Mighty Mussels/Cedar Rapids Kernels 83 games, .313/.408/.542 (.951 OPS), 23 2B, 14 HR, 53 RBI, 33 BB, 91 K, 24 SB Fragoza made his stateside debut during the 2025 season with the FCL Twins with forgettable numbers, then spent his offseason maturing and developing into a gale force that could not be contained in the state of Florida. After a quick refresher in the FCL to begin the year, he blasted an insane 14 home runs with 51 RBI for the Mighty Mussels in just 59 games to earn a promotion to Cedar Rapids in August. UTILITY: Ben Ross (25), Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints 121 games, .273/.379/.500 (.879 OPS), 30 2B, 3 3B, 20 HR, 71 RBI, 70 BB, 126 K, 20 SB After spending two straight seasons with the Wind Surge, Ross decided he had had enough of the Texas League in 2026, quickly bruising his way to Triple-A behind a 1.324 OPS in 16 games for Wichita. He continued that excellence for the Saints in enough fashion to post a 20/20 season and earn his call to the major leagues on September 1st. STARTING PITCHER: LHP Aaron Rozek (31), Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints 24 starts (34 total appearances), 124 2/3 IP, 4.19 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 104 K, 18.9 K%, 49 BB, 8.9 BB% Rozek continues to be a mainstay in the Twins system and for the St. Paul Saints. He’s spent portions of the last three seasons in St. Paul, and at 30+ years old continues to anchor their staff. Rozek led the system in innings pitched and took on whatever role the team needed, also appearing 10 times in relief. STARTING PITCHER: RHP Preston Johnson (26), Wichita Wind Surge 18 starts (24 total appearances), 88 2/3 IP, 4.26 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 106 K, 29.0 K%, 33 BB, 9.0 BB% Johnson came to the Twins system this year out of the independent leagues after spending three seasons in the Baltimore Orioles system, reaching Triple-A last year. He struck out 10.8/9IP with Wichita and had stretches of dominance. From August 4th through September 9th, he pitched to a 1.91 ERA in eight games and 33 innings, striking out 40 and walking just nine. STARTING PITCHER: RHP Adrian Bohorquez (21), Cedar Rapids Kernels/Wichita Wind Surge (rehab w/FCL Twins) 18 starts (19 total appearances), 59 2/3 IP, 3.02 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 69 K, 27.3 K%, 32 BB, 12.6 BB% Bohorquez had a bit of a rough start to the 2026 season, making just three starts with Cedar Rapids in which he had an ERA of 11.25 before hitting the injured list. When he returned, it was lights out for opposing lineups. Over his final 16 games to close the season with the Kernels and Wind Surge, he carried a 1.74 ERA and .520 OPS against, striking out 56 hitters and allowing just 29 hits in 51 2/3 innings. STARTING PITCHER: RHP Riley Quick (22), Fort Myers Mighty Mussels/Cedar Rapids Kernels/Wichita Wind Surge 23 starts, 81 2/3 IP, 4.74 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 110 K, 30.6 K%, 48 BB, 13.4 BB% Quick gets the final All-Star nod for starting pitchers as he is Twins Daily’s 2026 MiLB Pitcher of the Year. He began the season with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, and finished it with Wichita Wind Surge, never missing time after coming back from surgery. RELIEF PITCHER: RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto (25), Cedar Rapids Kernels/Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints 42 appearances, 70 IP, 3.73 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 95 K, 32.9 K%, 26 BB, 9.0 BB% Like Quick above, Pasqualotto made stops at three levels during the 2026 season, with his final six appearances coming for the St. Paul Saints. In 18 innings with Cedar Rapids, he struck out 30. In 41 1/3 with the Wind Surge, he tacked on 48 more. Then with St. Paul added 17 in 10 1/3 IP to close out his year. This all resulted in him leading the system with a 12.2K/9IP rate among pitchers with at least 60 innings on the season. RELIEF PITCHER: RHP Michael Hilker (22), Fort Myers Mighty Mussels/Cedar Rapids Kernels 41 appearances, 63 IP, 2.86 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 73 K, 26.9 K%, 27 BB, 10.0 BB% With the Mighty Mussels to begin the season, Hilker worked himself into a high-leverage and closing role very quickly, finishing the game in 18 of his 34 appearances in Single-A. His sub 3.00 ERA and 11.0K/9IP rate earned him a bump to the Kernels to end the season. He continued that trend there, with four of his seven appearances ending the game. Congrats to all of our 2026 Minor League All Stars, and may 2027 be even better! View full article

Like I said, I did not give Quick a vote, but I did Bohorquez. Was just providing some reasoning. Besides a couple weeks off for a brief respites, Quick did pitch the entire season. Bohorquez missed almost two months. When he got back he was very-very good, that's why he did get a vote from me.

You have a different definition of "ludicrous" than I do, haha. Bohorquez was very-very good for most of the season. But it was just so little of it. Quick also bests him in K%.

I have the impression the Twins have worked Mendez out at 1B a bit, and came to the conclusion it's not really an option. Happy to be wrong, but he should be playing there by now if it is an option, and they simply haven't done it. Love his bat, but the power probably needs to show up more based on where he can play on defense. My expectation is Lackey will start next season in Double-A. If everything goes well or great, there's the opportunity for promotion mid-summer, and then just a phone call away from taking over in the bigs. I'd put the odds on him debuting in 2027 at about 50/50. Outside of Drew Burress, he had the best brief debut of high 1st rounders in this years draft. I'm a believer in Houston after his season. For all the accolades Kaelen Culpepper received last year and in making it to the majors this season, Houston was just as good with the bat at the same stops in 2026 as Culpepper was in 2025. Just with a better average and less HR power driving the OPS. Quick looked the part, even if the results didn't necessarily show it. I chalk this solely up to the fact he's thrown so few innings since reaching college. Improvement next season puts him on the MLB radar very quickly. I also expect Gallagher to contribute, just not sure which role. It's a back-end starter or perhaps another bullpen convert. Think a poor-mans Griffin Jax as long as he keeps developing as far as them working themselves up the MiLB ladder.

Personally, I'm not going vault a guy to this award with only 59 2/3 innings unless there's something ludicrous in the stat line. He got a vote from me, but it was good enough for the honorable mentions and not the top 3. I also did not vote for Riley Quick (shrugs). But his season was extremely promising coming off all his missed time!

It was kind of a constant debate between Zebby and Morris on which should be a starter and which should go to the bullpen... I never understood why most put Zebby in the bullpen. Morris always looked more like the bullpen move to me, and I made that call well before he ever made the majors. (shrugs) Edit: I am also not against Zebby in the bullpen, but he was always the more likely SP option to my eyes between the two.

Those were the days!

Pitching in the AFL has been especially bad the last few seasons. There aren't any top arms that get sent there unless they already missed most of the season. Andrew Painter was there in 2024 after missing both the 2023 and 2024 regular season, and actually was pretty dominant. But that did not extend into the 2025 season, or 2026 for that matter. The highest ranked pitcher this season is Jarlin Susana from the Nationals, who will be on the Rafters roster. He was put on the IL in Spring Training and finally returned to the mound about a month ago. There are probably a few really good pure reliever types on rosters, but in general nobody is sending pitching any better than the Twins are anymore without big asterisks attached.

Would be nice to see him go the Ben Ross route for sure!

I think the Twins have two legitimate catching prospects, and they are Vahn Lackey and Eduardo Tait. One is much more likely to stick than the other, but they're the ones to watch. I'd like to see them try to turn Carson Tinney into a version of Pete Alonso at 1B. Opponents basically had green lights to run on Diaw and Jimenez, not sure they can stick. It is nice to see so many guys in that consideration though.

The minor-league season has come to a close for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, Cedar Rapids Kernels, and Wichita Wind Surge. The St. Paul Saints finish off their season this week on the road, still technically alive in playoff contention, but they need a lot of help. The “magic” number is two Saints losses or three wins from Washington's Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings, for them to be eliminated with six games to go (the Saints hold the tiebreaker over Rochester but also trail the Indianapolis Indians in the overall standings for the 2nd half playoff spot). Rochester faces the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays to close their season, the Buffalo Bisons. TRANSACTIONS There were no transactions in the Minnesota Twins organization on Tuesday in advance of the St. Paul Saints final series of the season against the Columbus Clippers. In other prospect news, the Arizona Fall League rosters have been announced, including eight representatives from the Twins, headlined by Yasser Mercedes. Stay tuned here at Twins Daily for coverage of all things AFL for the Twins Prospects and the Salt River Rafters when their season starts on October 3rd! SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 0, Columbus 1 Box Score German Marquez made the start for the Saints against the Clippers and put together perhaps his best start since signing with the Twins organization. He scattered three hits and three walks over his five innings, allowing just a lone earned run. That came in the bottom of the second after a leadoff double, a walk, and a one-out RBI single. He retired six in a row after that before allowing his last hit of the game in the fourth and faced the minimum in the fifth after inducing a double-play ball to complete his outing. He threw 42 of his 71 pitches for strikes (59%) and struck out three. The score was just 1-0 Columbus at that point as the St. Paul lineup struggled to string anything together either. Cody Morissette singled in the second and stole second base but was left stranded. Tanner Schobel and David Banuelos hit back-to-back singles to start the third and two-out walk from Matt Wallner loaded the bases, but Gabriel Gonzalez flew out to center field to end the threat. The Cleveland Guardian’s rehabber Shawn Armstrong pitched the top of the sixth inning and struck out two in a one-two-three frame. In the top of the seventh Morissette again contributed a single and advanced to scoring position on a passed ball, but Ben Ross and Schobel went down swinging to keep the visiting team off the scoreboard. Jack Anderson took over for Marquez to start the bottom of the sixth inning and worked around a pair of singles with a double-play grounder and a strikeout to keep it within one. In the bottom of the seventh he retired the Clippers in order, including a second strikeout. Down to their last two at-bats, Banuelos again got the Saints started the right way with a leadoff single in the eighth, but a pair of smart defensive plays by the Clippers third baseman kept him at first base and turned a 5-3 double-play himself on a bit of a shift where he was positioned as a traditional shortstop. Unfortunate, as Aaron Sabato followed with a single that could have been a chance at a hit with a runner in scoring position to tie the game. Matt Wallner sent a ball to the warning track the opposite way but was caught at the base of the wall to end the inning. Anderson was back out for the bottom of the eighth and kept it rolling. He again retired the Clippers one-two-three, giving the Saints lineup their final chance to overcome a one-run deficit. Again, they got the leadoff man on base, as Gabriel Gonzalez led off with a single. Kala’i Rosario was up next and hit one 106.6 MPH, but into the ground and turned into a double-play ball to bring them to their last out. Morissette worked another good at-bad, but his ground ball toward second on the seventh pitch was an easy throw to first to end the game at 1-0. The Saints outhit the Clippers 7-5, but the only extra-base hit of the game was a big one, giving the Clippers a leadoff man in scoring position, and they were able to get a hit in that situation, finishing 1-for-7. St. Paul went 0-for-7 and left six men on base. Morissette (2-for-4, K, SB) and Banuelos (2-for-3, K) both finished with a pair of singles, but as a team they drew just one walk and struck out 11 times. In slightly positive news, the Rochester Red Wings lost to Buffalo, but the Saints could be eliminated from playoff contention tomorrow. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jack Anderson, St. Paul Saints (3 IP, 2 H, 3 K) Hitter of the Day – Cody Morissette, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, K, SB) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (Minnesota): did not play #3 - SS Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota): 0-for-3, K #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (Minnesota): 2-for-3, 2B(1), RBI #9 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-4, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (3-6, 4.50 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s game! View full article

Not a decision to be made today, as one guy is already on his way to "proving it" in the majors, while the other has only "proven it" so far in Double-A. However, as someone who has watched them both plenty in the minors, Houston is unquestionably the better overall defender at short. Yes, Culpepper has a great arm, and it's the better of the two, but that's not the only place a difference can be made in how good of a defender you might be at the position (and it's not like Houston has a noodle arm, his is also good). Houston has as good if not better range. He has much softer hands, and his actions are the quicker and more fluid of the two. When you think about timing of fielding a ball, making a throw, and beating runners for the out, it's literal tenths of a second. While Culpepper's throw might travel the distance of the throw slightly faster, if Houston is getting to it a tenth of a second quicker, and releasing the ball a tenth of a second quicker, guess who's ball is reaching first base a tenth of a second quicker? I don't think arm strength should be a determining factor in any fashion in this debate. If Houston proves he's ready for the majors, he will move Culpepper off short. At this point in time (Culpepper could make further improvements) I don't think it's all that close of a call. Then there is the idea that the same argument can be made for Culpepper moving to second as is being argued here in regards to Houston.

Whatever adjustment/development he's had in the past year is certainly producing dividends. The power increase is very notable, but as a corner outfield prospect that was drafted as a senior from a big baseball college, he's kind of meeting expectations more than drastically exceeding them, I think. He's been on the fringe of my top 20 votes, and would likely be in them if I were making another vote today. This is certainly an extended run of elite performance though, so I also am by no means counting that out. K-rate is solid (my barometer is less K's than games played, and he's comfortably under that on the season), but the walk rate has lagged quite a bit in Double-A. He's getting by with hits, which I will not complain about, but those are less trustworthy as predictors as prospects advance toward the majors. At this point he'd be in the same type of future role and tier as guys like Kyler Fedko, Carson McCusker, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Kala'i Rosario. Might find a role, but being a corner-only guy limits the opportunity unless he keeps crashing through it. All that being said, he should probably run away with any "Breakout" prospect award. 😀

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Caden Kendle) TRANSACTIONS Minnesota Twins OF Austin Martin was sent on a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints. He slotted in as the designated hitter and batted second in the lineup to start their game. RHP Yehizon Sanchez was assigned to the Wichita Wind Surge from the Cedar Rapids Kernels to bolster their pitching staff. This will be his second stint with the Wind Surge this season, as he made four appearances with them in early June before being returned to the Kernels. SAINTS SENTINEL Syracuse 5, St. Paul 4 Box Score With the St. Paul Saints clinging to a faint playoff hope to begin their final home series of the season, they sent right-hander Ricky Castro to the mound Tuesday against the Syracuse Mets at CHS field on Tuesday night. The Mets didn’t waste any time against him. A leadoff walk and stolen base put the first batter of the game in scoring position, and the second drove him in with an RBI single and very early 1-0 deficit for the Saints. Castro responded with a one-two-three top of the second, but although he finished four innings total, allowed further damage in each of the third and fourth frames. In the third it was another RBI single, and in the fourth it was back-to-back homers from #OldFriend Billy Amick and Vidal Brujan that made it 4-0 Syracuse. Amick’s blast was his 36th on the season, which ranks top five in all of the minor leagues this season. The St. Paul lineup was finally able to muster a rally in the bottom of the fifth. After a nifty diving stop and shovel to start a double play in the top half, Tristan Gray started the bottom half with a single to right. After a pair of outs Emmanuel Rodriguez was hit by a pitch before the rehabbing Austin Martin sent a liner into center field for their first run of the game. Matt Wallner led off the bottom of the sixth by getting plunked by a pitch, and Aaron Sabato followed with a single to put multiple runners on. A wild pitch moved each of them up a base and then a pair of groundouts from Cody Morrissette and Gray each scored a run to close the Mets lead to one run. The Saints bullpen stabilized the middle innings after Castro’s exit, with C.J. Culpepper being the first arm summoned to start the fifth inning. Despite allowing a single and walking a pair of batters, he kept his inning clean by inducing an inning ending double-play ball shown above. Matt Bowman was next and was perfect over the next two frames, striking out four. Marco Raya added a scoreless eighth inning to keep the score at 4-3 going into the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Wallner sent a deep fly ball the other way toward the line and it was just too long of a run for the left-fielder, who wasn’t able to corral it, allowing him to walk into second base with a double. Two batters later Morissette did the same thing to the right-fielder, though he hit a liner instead of a fly ball that caromed off the glove and kept rolling toward the fence. Wallner came around to tie the game at four and put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Unfortunately, the Saints committed a gaffe in strategy in my opinion after that with a double-steal attempt. The Mets catcher kept a keen eye between the runners and opted to throw down Gray at second base easily to end the inning and the threat. In the top of the ninth the Saints sent out Julian Merryweather looking to continue the bullpen’s success. With one out Brujan drew a walk and then stole second base to give the Mets a chance. A two-out double brought then gave the Mets back a one run lead going into the final half inning. Jake Rucker led off by striking out, and the hot-home-run-hitting Kala’i Rosario was brought in to pinch hit for number nine hitter Noah Cardenas. He grounded out to the pitcher for out number two, bringing up Emmanuel Rodriguez as their last chance. He jumped on the first pitch down the middle of the plate, but chopped it to first baseman for the final out. Seven of the nine hitters in the Saints lineup collected a hit in this one, but because they totaled only seven hits, that means none of them had multiple knocks. Wallner led the way with a double, two runs scored, a walk, and was hit by a pitch. Morissette drove in two runs. Martin finished 1-for-4 with an RBI in the first game of his rehab. With 11 games left to play in the season, the Saints trail the top second-half International League team, the Rochester Red Wings, by three games. Only the first-half and second-half leaders receive playoff spots in the International League, with the winner of their three-game playoff series facing off against the Pacific Coast League counterparts in a Triple-A-winner-takes-all championship game to end the minor league season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Frisco 2, Wichita 8 Box Score Unlike their Triple-A teammates, the Wichita Wind Surge unfortunately are not in playoff contention in the Texas League. They finished last in their division in the first half of the season, and as it comes to a close are fighting to stay out of the position in the second half with their final series against the Frisco RoughRiders, who clinched a playoff spot in the first half. They sent the speed-knuckleballing Cory Lewis to the bump in game one, and he did his part over the first four innings. After allowing a leadoff single to end a no-hit bid before it even started, Lewis struck out the next two hitters he faced before getting a groundout to end the inning. He retired the side in order in the second, including two strikeouts, before serving up a two-run homer to top 10 prospect in baseball, Sebastian Walcott in the third. This gave the RoughRiders a brief 2-1 lead, but it was also the only runs they would get in the game. The Wind Surge struck first in the bottom of the opening frame thanks to the enflamed bat of Caden Kendle. His solo home run was his 10th with Wichita. After Frisco took the lead in the third, Kendle again sheathed his bat in fire before taking a swing for his 11th to put Wichita back in front for good 4-2. The offense tacked on three more in the fourth thanks to singles from Kyle DeBarge and Jaime Ferrer, followed by a double from Graham Brown and two-run single from Marek Houston. They added their eighth run in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single from Brown. After Lewis finished the first four innings Hunter Gregory pitched a scoreless fifth inning to be credited with the win. In this day’s “quirks of stat lines” entry, Gregory allowed two hits and walked two batters but did not allow a run as Walcott apparently attempted to steal home with the bases loaded…but didn’t. Right-hander Sam Armstrong came on for the sixth and finished out the game with an excellent four innings for his first save of the season. He scattered three singles and struck out five to close it out. Kendle (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, K), Brandon Winokur (2-for-4, K, 2 SB), DeBarge (2-for-4, 2 R), Ferrer (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB), and Brown (2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI) each had two hits in the win. KERNELS NUGGETS The Cedar Rapids Kernels endured a woeful 2026 campaign, finishing the season with a 48-82 overall record, easily the worst in the Midwest League. Over a 162-game season that is a 60-win pace. They fared much better in the first half of the season, finishing 31-33, but that means they didn’t even win 20 games in the second half. While their overall hitting ranked in the middle to lower-half of the Midwest League, it was their pitching that stood out the most as a contributor. Their 6.38 ERA as a team was worst in the circuit by 0.68 points and their .270 batting average against also ranked last. Among players with at least 200 at-bats, Eduardo Tait led the team with 22 home runs and 73 RBI on the season. Marek Houston paced the squad with a .325 batting average. .406 on-base-percentage, and .461 slugging percentage before he was promoted to Wichita. As far as pitchers with more than 40 innings on the season, Riley Quick’s 4.14 ERA led the way. Ivran Romero led the staff with 87 strikeouts in 77 1/3 innings. MUSSEL MATTERS The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels had a strong first half of the season, finishing 37-28, but that was only good for second in their division, so they missed out on clinching a playoff spot. In the second half they finished 31-32 and well out of contention. So, despite being one of four teams to finish the year with an overall record above .500, they miss out on the Florida State League playoffs. The Mighty Mussels offense ranked pretty highly among their FSL peers in team hitting categories, leading the league in stolen bases and on-base percentage. They ranked top three in runs, home runs, walks, batting average, and slugging percentage. The pitching staff also fared well in the league as a whole, posting a top three ERA, limiting walks, and allowing the fewest home runs in the league. With 200 at-bats as the baseline, the Mighty Mussels were led in home runs by JP Smith and Quentin Young with 15. Young had 54 RBI. Luis Fragoza led the way in batting average (.322) and slugging percentage (.607). Standouts on the pitching side included Merit Jones (5-1, 3.56 ERA, 102 K, 93 2/3 IP), Michael Hilker (6-2, 2.75 ERA, 64 K, 52 1/3 IP), and Reed Moring (1-1, 2.60 ERA, 56 K, 52 IP). TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Matt Bowman, St. Paul Saints (2 IP, 4 K) Hitter of the Day – Caden Kendle, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (Minnesota): 0-for-3, K #3 - SS Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota): 0-for-3, 2 K #4 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita): 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI, BB #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 0-for-4, K #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita): 2-for-4, K, 2 SB (10) #13 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita): 0-for-3, R WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - RHP German Marquez (0-2, 5.68 ERA) Frisco @ Wichita (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Preston Johnson (1-3, 3.86 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

Kernels having a weird week. Fall behind big, come back to take the lead each time, then lose it in the end. In true baseball fashion, wouldn't surprise me if their game today is 0-0 after nine 😅

Yeah that's kind of what I was getting at. Similar issue for most pitching prospects, and one likely exacerbated a bit by this fact. I love his stuff for sure!

Tinney showed off the canon on those two throws. He definitely has the arm. Not a two-homer night for lackey. 2 singles, 2 walks, and the homer. I liked him coming through in the eighth with the bases loaded, two outs, and a 3-2 count. I will note the Captains manager was ejected because of pitches #2 and #5 here... Quick definitely can have consistency issues, but I chalk that up to being a first year professional. What I liked to see in this one is he was able to reset himself and not let it fully snowball.