Steve Lein

I actually couldn't care less about his side of the story. If you didn't want to play anymore, let someone else who does and don't screw over the rest of your teammates. He's lucky there's not a story about the team having an internal brawl over this, at least not yet...

"#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0-for-1, K (left game in 2nd inning) " Could tell he re-injured his hand again. 😕 Is now confirmed it's back to the IL with a right-thumb sprain.

Personally, I think they've already waited too long on moving Nowlin to the bullpen. I agree the stuff is definitely there, but he needs to eliminate a pitch or two to reach that consistency we all want to see, I think. He has improved that some this year, but it is still always the walks that get him. That can be somewhat minimized in the bullpen if he's also striking out a bunch of guys, and I definitely think the stuff will play up. Rodriguez I hope goes on to play in the Arizona Fall League. I think he would benefit a lot from it, even if he's technically now at Triple-A (he played less than 40 games at Double-A). I think Jenkins is a great candidate for that, too. I'm personally hoping for a banner year there after the last one, hah! I would think of McCusker and Eeles, if they both come back to the organization, as a start to next years batch of Quadruple-A players. Both are great finds for the system! I love watching Eeles play and McCusker is a unit.

No. Joe Mauer and Byron Buxton for sure have had that distinction. Royce may have appeared there at some publications. Liriano was pretty high at one point. That's who I can come up with off the top of my head. I think Funderburk will definitely be seen with the Twins again.

You are correct. However, this is our Top Prospect list, which was last updated in early August. We have not ever made changes to this list on the fly for graduating players. Perhaps this is a suggestion for us? Probably a little more complicated for us and our writers to implement than you think.

Yes, they did. I had to double-check to make sure it wasn't the same guy 😁

The top Minnesota Twins prospect made his debut at a new level, while a couple of affiliate’s players enjoyed their first week off since back in March. The St. Paul Saints got contributions from up and down their lineup against a team fighting for a playoff spot. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Walker Jenkins) TRANSACTIONS In addition to the promotions announced yesterday to the Wichita Wind Surge that included top prospect OF Walker Jenkins and RHP Jacob Wosinski, there were a few moves in Triple-A in advance of Tuesday’s game in Columbus, Ohio. The Minnesota Twins sent LHP Kody Funderburk on a rehab assignment with the Saints. OF Maddux Houghton was also assigned to St. Paul from the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. RHP Kyle Bischoff was assigned from the Wind Surge. The seasons of the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are over, and for the first time since 2018, the Kernels won’t be in the Midwest League playoffs. The Kernels finished the second half 30-36, eight games back of the West Division winning Quad Cities River Bandits of the Kansas City Royals organization. They finished the first half of the season in second place at 37-27, four games behind the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Mighty Mussels finished their second half 35-25, just a half-game behind the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Detroit Tigers Single-A affiliate, who took four of six games against Fort Myers last week to clinch the division. Fort Myers finished the first half with a 31-34 record, which was good for fourth place in the division. Their last playoff appearance was in 2022. Onto Tuesday’s games! SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Columbus 4 Box Score Taking the mound for the second time with the Saints since being placed on the injured list all the way back in April, was lefty Brent Headrick. He allowed a walk in the first inning, but erased it with a double-play ball for a scoreless inning. In the second he allowed a leadoff single, and two batters later a two-run home run for an early 2-0 Clippers lead. Headrick was back out for the third, but reached his pitch count after two batters and was relieved by Ryan Jensen. In all, Headrick threw 2 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits and two walks. He threw 49 pitches, with 27 going for strikes (55%). The Saints got a one-out triple from Jeferson Morales in their second inning, but weren’t able to string anything together to bring him in. They made up for that, and then some, in the third. Diego Castillo got them on the scoreboard with a one-out solo home run to center, his eighth of the season. Yunior Severino followed with a single in front of consecutive walks to Emmanuel Rodriguez and Carson McCusker to load the bases. Chris Williams then tied the game at two with an RBI single. Morales then hit a liner at third base that was misplayed, allowing Rodriguez to score to take the lead, but the Clippers did record a force out at second. Rylan Bannon then delivered a double to make it 4-2, before Anthony Prato traded places with him to drive in two more and put the Saints out front by four. Payton Eeles then committed a cardinal sin, grounding out to first to end the inning, meaning he unfortunately made the first and final out of the frame in the same manner. I think we can forgive him. St. Paul’s lineup added a single run in the fourth after Severino clubbed his 19th double of the season. A hard single from McCusker drove him in, putting them out front 7-2. Out of the bullpen, Jensen recorded the final out of the third then gave way to the rehabbing Kody Funderburk for the fourth. Funderburk pitched a one-two-three inning, picking up a strikeout on his final hitter. Then Randy Dobnak took over the rest of the way. Over the final five innings Dobnak allowed two earned runs on four hits and a pair of walks. He struck out four. He retired the side in order in two of his innings, and allowed just a walk in another. Of his 76 pitches, 47 went for strikes (62%) and he improved his Triple-A record to 12-6 on the season. The Saints got multiple hits from Castillo (2-for-5, R, HR, RBI, K, SB), Severino (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, K), and Morales (2-for-4, R, 3B, RBI, K). Six different hitters scored a run, and six different hitters had an RBI in the win. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 5, Wichita 4 Box Score Lefty Jaylen Nowlin toed the rubber for the Wind Surge on Tuesday, and delivered a strong outing, but the biggest storyline here was the Double-A debut of soon-to-be number one prospect in all of baseball, Walker Jenkins. He was in the leadoff spot playing center field, and in his first at-bat took a cut at the first pitch he saw…and popped it up to the third baseman. It was a really high pop-up, if that matters. One of those “had the height…” ones. In his second at-bat, he swung and missed at a couple of changeups, but laid off everything else and drew a walk. Nowlin completed the first five innings, being charged with two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks, while striking out five. The Drillers scored single runs in each of the third and fourth innings while Nowlin was on the mound. In the third he was ambushed with a home run on the first pitch of the frame. In the fourth, a pair of leadoff walks preceded a two-out error from Nowlin that allowed a run to score. Of his 84 pitches in the game, 51 went for strikes (61%), including 12 swinging. Wichita matched Tulsa in each of the third and fourth frames, with single runs of their own. Their first run came after Jorel Ortega was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a passed ball, and scored on a single from Ben Ross. They tied the game back up at two in the fourth after Andrew Cossetti and Kyler Fedko each drew two-out walks. Ortega then brought in the run with an RBI single. Ross followed with a single that loaded the bases for Jenkins, but he would ground out to end the inning. The Wind Surge took a 3-2 lead in the sixth after Cossetti led off the inning with a booming double to left. Unfortunately, he got caught in no-man's land on a chopper back to the pitcher, and was tagged out. But he did give Kyler Fedko enough time to take his place at second base. After a fly out, Ross clubbed another double to score Fedko before Jenkins again grounded out to end the threat. The recently-promoted Jacob Wosinksi made his Double-A debut after Nowlin was done, pitching the sixth and seventh innings. He worked around a two-out single and a walk in the sixth, then delivered a one-two-three seventh, including a pair of strikeouts. Regi Grace came on for the eighth with the 3-2 lead, but after it was done the Wind Surge were down 5-3. A leadoff walk led to a two-run homer, and another walk would come around to score on a single after that. He struck out one. The Drillers brought in the 100 MPH throwing Juan Morillo to start the eighth inning, and the Wind Surge threatened with singles from Cossetti and Kyler Fedko, but a double-play ball shut it down just as quick as it started. Cody Laweryson pitched a one-two-three top of the ninth, keeping Wichita within two with the top of the lineup and Jenkins getting one more chance. While Jenkins couldn’t quite do enough with a 100 MPH fastball, grounding out to third, Kala’i Rosario turned one of the same pitches into a 110 MPH solo home run, pulling them within one. Unfortunately Jake Rucker flew out to end the game. It wasn’t flashy at the plate for Jenkins in his Double-A debut by any means, as he finished 0-for-4 with a walk and will look for his first hit tomorrow. Ross led the way out of the nine-hole, finishing 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Rucker added a double to the effort. As a team the Wind Surge finished 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Jaylen Nowlin, Wichita Wind Surge (5 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 5 K) Hitter of the Day - Ben Ross, Wichita Wind Surge (3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. #1 – Walker Jenkins (Wichita) – 0-for-4, BB #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 0-for-4, K #3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) – 1-for-4, R, BB, K #15 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 1-for-5, R, HR (7), RBI, 3 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (5:15 PM CDT) - RHP Caleb Boushley (9-5, 4.95 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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To put this OPS number into context, the average age in the FSL this year is exactly 21.0 (Winokur is 100 days shy of 20.0), and the average OPS is .679. This line rates as non-adjusted 127 OPS+, and that .774 mark ranks 4th in the circuit among qualifiers.

The doubles number with Cedar Rapids has certainly climbed pretty quickly the last couple of weeks! In those last 17 games mentioned in that tweet, he has 12 XBH (8 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR), 8 walks, and just 11 Ks. I think beginning at Wichita next year is a little less than 50% likely at this point (he's just played so few games). If he goes to the Arizona Fall League (which I'm crossing fingers for!), that might creep it to over 50% likely for me.

There were only two games in the Minnesota Twins farm system on Tuesday, and both teams struggled to score runs. One of them did have a fantastic pitching effort, but would it be enough? A slugger in Fort Myers also reached a franchise milestone before rain cut their game short. Image courtesy of William Parmeter, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (photo of Brandon Winokur) TRANSACTIONS In Triple-A RHP Jarret Whorff was assigned back to the Wichita Wind Surge as RHP Caleb Boushley was outrighted to the St. Paul Saints from the major-league club. Down in Cedar Rapids SS Rayne Doncon was activated from the 7-day injured list, and C Matthew Clayton was transferred to the Development List. OF Jose Rodriguez was activated from the temporary inactive list for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. The St. Paul Saints and Wichita Wind Surge enjoyed Tuesday off, but are both back in action on Wednesday. The Saints face off against the Iowa Cubs at CHS Field, while the Wind Surge head to Frisco, TX to face the RoughRiders. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 2, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score The Kernels got a fantastic start from right-hander Ty Langenberg at home against the Timber Rattlers. He went five shutout innings, taking a no-hitter into the fifth. He retired twelve of the first thirteen hitters he faced, then erased a leadoff walk in the fifth with a double-play ball before surrendering a single. He followed that up with his seventh strikeout of the game to punctuate his night. Of his 80 pitches, 56 went for strikes (70%), including 11 swinging. Despite his efforts he’d end up with a no decision as left the game with the score still tied at zero, as Wisconsin’s Stiven Cruz matched him as well as he could for those five innings. In the sixth, Cedar Rapids was finally able to break through with a two-out rally. Rubel Cespedes drilled his 21st double of the season to put a runner in scoring position, and Nate Baez followed with a single that included a fielding error, allowing them to go out front 1-0. Samuel Perez came out of the bullpen in the sixth inning and continued to keep the Timber Rattlers off the scoreboard for his two innings. He allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out two. Nolan Santos came on for the eighth and got the leadoff man to ground out, before allowing a single to put the tying run on base. The next hitter, unfortunately, took him deep for the 2-1 lead. Santos retired the final five hitters he faced to give his team a chance in the ninth. Rixon Wingrove led off the bottom of the ninth by driving a ball to left field that landed for a single, but looking to play hero and get himself into scoring position he ended up being thrown out at second trying to stretch it. The next two hitters went down swinging to end the game in the loss column. Wingrove was the only Kernels hitter with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 on the night. Walker Jenkins, Cespedes, and Jose Salas added doubles to the effort. Gabriel Gonzalez (1-for-4, K) and Kaelen Culpepper (1-for-3, BB) each had a single. In good news for the day, Walker Jenkins was named the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Week. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Lakeland 5 (6 innings) Box Score The Mighty Mussels and Flying Tigers began their six-game series on Tuesday with a second half West Division championship, and playoff spot, on the line. Rain was also in the forecast, and it would end up cutting this one short in the sixth inning. On the mound for Fort Myers was left-hander Cesar Lares. He worked a one-two-three opening frame, including two strikeouts, but in the second his defense let him down a bit. He hit the first batter of the inning, but recorded two outs on the next two hitters before a double scored the first run of the game. Then consecutive batters reached on throwing errors from third baseman Nick Lucky that made it 2-0 Lakeland. Lares was able to pick up another strikeout to get out of the inning with limited damage. He would go on to pitch into the fourth inning, but a single run in the third and then two more in the fourth put an end to his outing after 3 2/3 innings. He was charged with all five runs (four earned) on four hits and a pair of walks. He struck out five. Tyler Stasiowski pitched the final 1 1/3 innings, allowing no hits, walking one, and striking out one. The Mighty Mussels offense put up single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, but were denied any further comeback attempt by the rain. In the fourth, down 3-0, Brandon Winokur connected for his 14th homer of the season. To say he got all of it would be an understatement. Winokur is the first player since 2014 to hit that many bombs in a season for the franchise. In the top of the sixth, Caden Kendle (single), Winokur (walk) and Khadim Diaw (single) loaded the bases with one out. They were only able to score one on an RBI groundout from Jaime Ferrer to make it 5-2 before the tarp came on the field for good. Winokur was the only batter to reach base twice. As a team they were 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left only four men on base. With the loss, the Mighty Mussels lead over the Flying Tigers is just 0.5 games, which means the rest of the series will function as a “best of” five games to determine the West Division winner. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Ty Langenberg, Cedar Rapids Kernels (5 IP, H, 2 BB, 7 K) Hitter of the Day - Brandon Winokur, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (1-for-2, R, HR, RBI, BB) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. #1 – Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-4, 2B #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 0-for-4, 3 K #6 – David Festa (Minnesota) – L, 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 7 K #7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-4, K #9 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-3, BB #12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-2, R, HR (14), RBI, BB #16 – Kyle DeBarge (Fort Myers) – 1-for-3, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - TBD Wichita @ Frisco (7:05 PM CDT) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (5-6, 4.90 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP John Klein (8-3, 4.92 ERA) Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Charlee Soto (1-6, 5.04 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Yes, I have come to see the hitting as being AA or above level in the league, whereas the pitching is more A+. I really think either Lewis or Culpepper are pretty probable to go this year. We'll see!

I mentioned last week that if Lewis were to be sent, he would likley be one of the highest profile pitchers there. The two top 100 pitchers there last year were Ricky Tiedemann and Jackson Jobe, who were both making up missed time.

I've written specifically about this league for nearly 15 years now, I know it better than most. There have been recent changes that make it a lot less likely than it used to be that AAA and AA players go there, but it is and has always been a place where some guys get sent as an input to a team's decision on whether they add them to the 40-man roster or not in the offseason. Those types usually aren't from A-ball. https://www.mlb.com/news/arizona-fall-league-40-man-roster-rule-5-draft-2022 Before 2019, almost every single player there was from Double-or-Triple-A, and you needed an exemption to get anyone from A-ball. Last year, of the Twins seven players, only two came from Double-A. The year before that, 5 of them did. Back in 2016, as an example, the Twins got an extra exemption and Nick Gordon and Jon Curtiss were able to be sent out of Fort Myers (then A+). Mitch Garver and Tanner English were out of Triple-A. Stephen Gonsalves, Mason Melotakis, and Randy Rosario were all Double-A. https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/twins-minor-league/afl-preview-gonsalves-and-gordon-highlight-twins-contingent-r5143/ On the Jenkins front, MLB Pipeline's crew did a recent article on top prospects they wanted to see in the AFL this year. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo went through their picks. Callis wants all the elite hitting position players from the 2024 draft there (I agree!). They both gave a "yes" to predictions on Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez. https://www.mlb.com/pirates/news/players-we-want-to-see-in-the-arizona-fall-league-2024

The Twins have sent players to the AFL multiple times, so it's not out of the question for Rosario! Off the top of my head some guys I want to watch play there this year would be: Emmanuel Rodriguez Connor Prielipp Cory Lewis Tanner Schobel Marco Raya Payton Eeles Jaylen Nowlin Regi Grace I'm probably missing a bunch of names if I were to do my research, and I wouldn't say many of these names are actually all that likely, but hopefully the list is better than last year, which I'm selfishly saying! A lot depends on what positions the Twins get priority for (I would hope they're going for SP to get Lewis there), and at least 3 of the 7 will be relief pitchers, so we'll see!

Minnesota Twins affiliates went 3-1 on Tuesday night, with only the weather standing in the way of a comeback from the Cedar Rapids Kernels. A 2023 minor league MVP made his return to the lineup in a big way, and thanks to his efforts another slugger walked it off in Fort Myers. Another starting pitcher in Double-A also continued an impressive streak. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Following the Winokur walkoff) TRANSACTIONS The Minnesota Twins selected the contract of RHP Caleb Boushley from the St. Paul Saints. The Wichita Wind Surge sent OF Kala’i Rosario on a rehab assignment with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. Down in Florida, there was a bunch of roster shuffling. The Mighty Mussels placed RHP Julio Bonilla on the 7-day injured list, and OF Jose Rodriguez on the temporarily inactive list. They also added 2024 draftees RHP Christian Becerra and RHP Logan Whitaker in addition to undrafted RHP Tyler Stasiowski. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Omaha 2 Box Score If you just went by the scoreboard, the Saints put an end to this one in the first inning. They batted around to open the game, taking a 5-0 lead before their defense ever took the field against perhaps the best team in all of the minor leagues this season. They didn’t exactly hit the crap out of the ball in doing so, either. It was more like death by a thousand cuts. Payton Eeles led off with a single. Brooks Lee went down on strikes. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. beat out an infield single. Yunior Severino loaded the bases with a single of his own. Michael Helman drove in the first run of the game with another single. Diego Castillo drew a bases loaded walk. Jair Camargo lifted a sac fly. Rylan Bannon then drove in two with a single before Eeles grounded out to end the inning. Add it all up and you have a five-run lead that would be enough for the rest of the game. St. Paul went with a bullpen game as Caleb Boushley was pitching for the Twins on Tuesday, with four relievers all throwing at least two innings. Ryan Jensen got the start as the opener and went the first two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and struck out three. Zack Weiss got the next two innings, being credited with the win after giving up one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out three. Nick Wittgren went the next three, surrendering the second Storm Chasers run on two hits and a walk. He also struck out three. Josh Winder finished off the final two innings, allowing one hit and striking out three of his own. The Saints lineup added a single run in the fifth, and two in the sixth to pad their lead. In the fifth it was consecutive singles from Keirsey Jr. and Severino before an RBI groundout from Castillo. Carson McCusker led off the sixth inning with his first triple-A home run. Keirsey Jr. later added an RBI single. Brooks Lee finished 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in his third rehab game. Keirsey Jr. (3-for-5, 2 R, RBI, K), Severino (2-for-5, R, 2 K), and Helman (2-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K) had multiple hits from the middle of the lineup to lead the way. WIND SURGE WISDOM Springfield 3, Wichita 4 Box Score On the mound for Wichita on Tuesday was right-hander Travis Adams, looking to continue his run of five consecutive starts without allowing more than one earned run. In his last outing he allowed just one hit and struck out ten in six innings. While this one wasn’t that good, he kept that streak going with flying colors. In his five innings he did not allow a run, gave up just three hits and walked two, and struck out three. He had thrown just 66 pitches, with 43 of them going for strikes (65%). While he was doing that, his lineup was building him a lead as well. In the bottom of the first it was a two-out rally to get the scoring started. After Tanner Schobel and Ben Ross both struck out to open the game, Alex Isola delivered a single for their first baserunner. Aaron Sabato followed with a walk before Andrew Cossetti clubbed a two-run double for the early 2-to-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth Tyler Dearden reached with a one-out double and came around to score on an error off the bat of Jorel Ortega, who ended up on second base. Schobel then traded spots with him with a double of his own that made it 4-0 Wind Surge. Pierson Ohl came on for the sixth and finished out the rest of the game. It got a little interesting as he allowed three runs in the middle of his four innings, but he buckled down and set the Cardinals down in order in the ninth to lock up the victory. Ohl was charged with three earned runs on five hits in his four innings. He struck out two. The Wind Surge got multiple hits from Schobel (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K) and Isola (2-for-4, R), while Cossetti led the way by driving in two. Ortega also clubbed a double. In his last six games during the streak mentioned above, Travis Adams has thrown 31 2/3 innings, allowing just four earned runs on 15 hits and seven walks (0.69 WHIP) with 32 K’s, which has been good for a 0.85 ERA. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Lake County 5 (6 innings) Box Score Bad weather moved into the Eastlake, Ohio area on Tuesday, but before that the Kernels and the Captains got into the sixth inning so this one was able to become official. Right-hander Tanner Hall was making his third start with the Kernels, and pitched into the fifth inning in this one. He allowed a single run in the first, and two in each of the second and fifth innings. In the latter he recorded one out before his outing came to an end. In those 4 1/3 frames, he was charged with five earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks. He struck out four. Down 3-1 in the top of the fourth, the Kernels got on the scoreboard thanks to top prospect Walker Jenkins. He mashed a 2-1 pitch the other way for his second home run of the season in the Midwest League. In the top of the fifth Jose Salas joined him with a long-ball of his own to bring Cedar Rapids within one, but that was as close as they’d get. Lefty Gabriel Yanez recorded the final two outs of the fifth, allowing one inherited runner to score on a wild pitch for a 5-2 Captains lead. The Kernels then went down one-two-three in the sixth before the rain and lightning came calling. The Kernels had just four hits in the game. Kyle Hess added a double so three-fourths of those went for extra bases, they just never had anyone else on the bases when they happened. They were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left only two men on base for the game. 2024 number one overall draft pick, Travis Bazzana, led off for the Captains and was 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored. MUSSEL MATTERS Clearwater 7, Fort Myers 9 (10 innings) Box Score The Mighty Mussels built a big lead early to back starter Cesar Lares in this one. It started with a one-out double from Khadim Diaw in the bottom of the second. A single from Jaime Ferrer moved him to third, before Daniel Pena put the first run of the game on the scoreboard with a sac fly. In the third, the rehabbing Kala’i Rosario made his presence felt, launching a two-run shot to make it 3-0. Not to be outdone, Billy Amick followed with a back-to-back solo shot of his own. The offense added another run in the fourth thanks to a double steal from Brandon Winokur and Angel Del Rosario to make it 5-0. Then things went south. Up to that point Lares had faced the minimum number of Threshers batters. He had allowed just one hit, a single, but promptly picked that runner off at first. But in the fifth, an error on the first batter threw off the vibe. A hit-by-pitch and single followed to score Clearwater’s first run. A one-out walk loaded the bases and was followed by an RBI single. After getting the second out, another single brought in two more and in the blink of an eye Fort Myers had just a one-run lead. Lares was lifted for Juan Mercedes who gave up an RBI single of his own and the game was tied. Lares went a total of 4 2/3 innings. He was charged with five runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk, while striking out three. The lineup did retake the lead in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Del Rosario, but the Threshers had some momentum. Logan Whitaker, the Twins 19th round pick this year out of High Point University (one of my favorite Twins prospects ever went to High Point…any idea who that was?) came on for the sixth to make his professional debut. He was promptly greeted with a double, but followed that up with his first strikeout. The next batter singled to move the runner to third, and then an errant pickoff throw led to a run scored. Whitaker would go two innings, allowing an unearned run in each, and finished his time with the score 7-6 Threshers. He allowed three hits and struck out two. In the bottom of the eighth Fort Myers got another huge blast from Rosario, who obviously was itching to make an impression after missing nearly three months. His second bomb of the game tied it back up at seven, and would push into extra innings. After Whitaker was done pitching, the Mighty Mussels went to left-hander Wilker Reyes. He held Clearwater down for three innings, including the tenth, by retiring nine of the ten hitters he faced. He allowed just one hit and struck out two. Winokur led off the bottom of the tenth with a runner on second base, and didn’t wait to put an end to this one. He jumped on the first pitch he saw and walked it off with his thirteenth home run of the season. Fort Myers had 14 hits as a team in this one, with Winokur (2-for-6, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI), Rosario (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Diaw (3-for-5, R, 2B, K), Ferrer (2-for-4, R, K), and Del Rosario (3-for-5, R, RBI) each collecting multiple. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Travis Adams, Wichita Wind Surge (W, 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K) Hitter of the Day - Kala’i Rosario, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (rehab, 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. #1 – Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-3, R, HR (2), RBI, K #2 – Brooks Lee (Rehab w/St. Paul) – 0-for-4, 2 K #7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-3 #9 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-2, HBP, SB (1) #12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 2-for-6, 2 R, walk-off HR (13), 2 RBI #15 – Kala’i Rosario (Rehab w/Fort Myers) – 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 HR (2), 3 RBI, 2 BB #17 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Louie Varland (4-8, 5.06 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-0, 11.81 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (11:05 AM CDT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (4-2, 4.78 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Charlee Soto (1-5, 4.86 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

I don't think the Twins are "down" on him. They just already have a bunch of guys that can play outfield defense. He is left-handed, and not close to other left-handed hitters they employ, IMO, so there is no platoon advantage to be gained. He's also 27 years old. I also find this split for him very interesting in this conversation: The average OPS in the International League for 2024 is ~.765.

As your resident AFL "correspondent," Lewis is at the top of my list to go to the AFL this season. He would likely be one of the highest profile pitchers there if he does. Only 2 top 100 pitchers went there last season (Ricky Tiedemann & Jackson Jobe), and they were both making up some innings.

The Minnesota Twins 2023 Minor League Pitcher of the Year continued his recent run of dominance in double-A. Down in the Dominican Republic the Twins season came to an end with a victory, and the Twins first round pick in July made his debut with Cedar Rapids. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Cory Lewis) TRANSACTIONS In the only transaction of the day, RHP Anthony Narvaez was assigned to Fort Myers from the FCL Twins, and made the start for the Mighty Mussels. SAINTS SENTINEL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 9, St. Paul 4 Box Score The Saints sent lefty Aaron Rozek to the mound to open their series with the RailRiders, and he gutted it out through four innings. They jumped on him for four runs in the top of the first inning, courtesy of a grand slam from Carlos Narvaez, who made his MLB debut with the Yankees in July. The RailRiders tacked on single runs in the second and third innings to take a 6-0 lead, but Rozek was able to finish his day with a scoreless fourth. In all, he was charged with six runs (five earned) on six hits and four walks. He struck out three. Nick Wittgren went the next two innings, and he wasn’t able to get out unscathed either. He allowed one in the fifth and two in the sixth, allowing five hits in total and striking out two. Down 9-to-0 in the bottom of the seventh, the Saints finally got something going. Yunior Severino led off the inning with a double and Jair Camargo followed with an infield single. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. then cashed them all in with his 13th home run of the season. They scored their fourth and final run in the eighth, when Payton Eeles led off with a triple, and Michael Helman followed with an RBI single. Relievers Jeff Brigham (1 IP, H, BB, K), Diego Castillo (1 IP, BB), and Ryan Jensen (1 IP, K) finished it out for the Saints with three scoreless innings. Camargo (2-for-4, R, 2B) and Keirsey Jr. (3-for-3, R, HR, 3 RBI) led the way with multiple hits. As a team the saints were 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left only three men on base. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 0, Midland 3 Box Score It was a pretty quick and hot game in Midland, TX on Tuesday, as this one clocked in at just over two hours in 100 degree weather. Both teams combined for a total of nine hits, with the RockHounds doubling up the Wind Surge 6-to-3. Wichita got a fantastic start from quasi-knuckleballer Cory Lewis (fun fact: he throws his knuckleball in the mid-80’s, which I think is just insane), who held Midland to just one run on five hits in his six innings. Of particular note to me, is he didn’t walk anybody, as that’s been a bit of an issue this year after his season got started a bit late. Of his 79 pitches, 55 went for strikes (69.6%), including 15 swinging while racking up seven strikeouts. His lone run allowed came in the fourth inning, after a single and double got it started. A sac fly scored the run, but his defense also caught the other runner at third for a double-play. He then retired the final six hitters he faced in the game, including punctuating his outing with his seventh strikeout. This was his third straight game with at least seven punch outs, and he’s allowed just two earned runs in his last four turns and 21 1/3 innings pitched. In that time he’s given up just 16 hits, walked eight, and struck out 28. His ERA is 0.83, and WHIP 1.11 in that same timeframe, so it’s safe to say he’s back. Unfortunately his offense couldn’t get anything going, and his record fell to 1-3 in double-A despite his sub 3.00 ERA. The Wind Surge offense threatened in each of the first two innings, but their final 16 batters of the game were retired by RockHounds pitching. The offense finished 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and left just six men on base. Ben Ross had the only extra-base hit, a double in the second. Jake Rucker and Jeferson Morales collected the other two singles. Reliever Miguel Rodriguez was charged with the other two runs, as he wasn’t able to get out of the seventh after walking four batters and collecting only one out. Kyle Bischoff finished out the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and walking one. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Dayton 4 Box Score Perhaps the biggest story for Cedar Rapids in this one, was 2024 1st round pick Kaelen Culpepper joining 2023 first round pick Walker Jenkins atop the Kernels batting order. Hate to disappoint, but they combined to go 0-for-8 on the game, but Culpepper did draw two walks while Jenkins drove in their lone run of the game. It started out as a pitchers duel, with Ricky Castro matching the Dragons hurler for the first four innings. After giving up a single to start the game, Castro retired the next 12 hitters, getting to the fifth with the scoreboard still showing zeroes for both teams. But the fifth was another story. Four consecutive singles to start the inning sent it downhill, with the last of those including a throwing error on Culpepper that allowed three runs to score. An error on a steal attempt then made it 4-0 before Castro was able to escape. In all, he finished five innings and was charged with four runs (three earned) on five hits, while striking out five. The Kernels finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh, when Poncho Ruiz and Misael Urbina hit back-to-back singles to start the frame. Culpepper drew a one-out walk to load the bases for Jenkins, but his grounder to first to score Ruiz was all they were able to get. Jordan Carr came on from the bullpen and pitched the final three innings for Cedar Rapids. He gave up just one hit and struck out two. Jose Salas doubled in the ninth to try and get a rally started for the visitors, but Culpepper and Jenkins both were retired to end the game. The lineup actually outhit the Dragons 9-to-6, but weren’t able to string them together or get them when they counted, as they also finished 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base. That was compared to Dayton who was 2-for-5 and left only two men on. Sometimes that’s just how it goes. Gabriel Gonzalez (2-for-4, 2 2B), Nate Baez (2-for-4), and Rubel Cespedes (2-for-4) each had two hits. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Tampa 6 Box Score Right-hander Anthony Narvaez got the call and the start for the Mighty Mussels on Tuesday, and went the first two innings. It was a bit rough, as he was charged with four earned runs on four hits, including two home runs, and three walks. He also struck out three. All that damage came in the second inning, after he worked around a walk with a pair of strikeouts in the first. The Fort Myers lineup did actually score first in this one though, as Kyle DeBarge led off the game with a walk and Brandon Winokur followed with a single. They then executed a double-steal putting them both in scoring position. Billy Amick then reached base on a fielder’s choice to load the bases with nobody out, before Khadim Diaw drove in DeBarge with a single. Unfortunately, that was all they’d be able to get in the first. In the top of the third Diaw again delivered an RBI single to score Winokur who had led off the inning with a walk and that ended the Tarpons’ starting pitcher’s day early as well. The score would remain 4-to-2 until the sixth inning, as Fort Myers got three scoreless innings from Samuel Perez. The only batter to reach base against him was on a hit-by-pitch, and he struck out three. The Mighty Mussels closed it to 4-3 in the top of the sixth, when Derek Bender sent his first double of the year into center field to score Jaime Ferrer. But the pitching gave that run right back in the bottom half. Jack Noble came on for Perez, and got hit with a two-out home run to push the Tarpons lead back to two. Noble came back out and delivered a scoreless, and immaculate, seventh inning, needing nine pitches to strike out three. He finished with one run allowed on three hits, and four strikeouts in his two innings. In the top of the eighth the lineup finally broke through for a crooked number, and it was a big one. Diaw led off with another single, and one out later Jay Thomason drew a walk. After a flyout Bender sent his second double of the game to right field to score them both and tie it at five. Caden Kendle followed by trading spots with him to take the lead, before DeBarge drove him in with a single for the 7-5 lead. Wilker Reyes came on from the bullpen for the bottom half and worked around a walk and a single to keep the lead at two. Back out for the ninth Reyes got a strikeout to start the inning, but the ball got away from catcher Daniel Pena and put a runner on base. After a balk and two outs that runner was able to score to make it 7-6, but Reyes was the beneficiary of an automatic strike three call on a batter pitch timer violation to end the game. Over two innings to pick up his second save with Fort Myers, Reyes allowed one run on one hit and one walk, and struck out three. The Mighty Mussels collected eighth hits and seven walks as a team, finishing 6-for-18 with runners in scoring position to come out victorious. Diaw (3-for-4, R, RBI, BB) and Bender (2-for-3, R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K) each had multiple hits. DeBarge finished 1-for-4 with a run scored, RBI, walk, and two stolen bases, giving him 10 in 12 games and he has yet to be caught. Winokur also stole two bases, giving him 20 on the season. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Angels 4, DSL Twins 7 Box Score In their final DSL game of the season, the Twins took on a playoff team in the Angels, looking to reach the 30-win plateau on the season. They fell behind early, as the Angels took advantage of some walks from starter Santiago Rojas in the first two innings, taking a 2-0 lead. Rojas was charged with two earned runs on three hits and four walks in his two frames. He struck out one. In the bottom of the second got both of those runs back, however. Victor Leal reached on a one-out error to get it started. Two batters later, Carlos Silva also reached on an error to put runners on first and second. An Alver Medina walk loaded the bases for Merphy Hernandez, who delivered a two-out, two-run single to knot it up. Eudy Garcia took the mound to start the third inning, and gave those runs right back to the Angels. A leadoff triple led to a pair of runs scoring to make it 4-2, but Garcia got some help again in the bottom half. Daiber De Los Santos led off with a single, and came around to score on a Yandro Hernandez triple, his second of the season. Ramiro Dominguez then brought him in with a sac fly to again tie the game. Garcia then went one-two-three in the top of the fourth before the home team took the lead for good in the bottom half. Garcia surrendered two earned runs, four hits, and struck out one in his two innings. The Twins scored their final three runs in the fourth, with Luis Fragoza starting the inning with a single. Alver Medina added a single of his own and ended up on second base. Merphy Hernandez then brought them both in with a triple, his sixth of the season. De Los Santos followed with an RBI single to make it 7-4, and the Twins pitching staff locked it down from there. Anderson Ramos went the next four innings, allowing three hits and striking out six. Sebastian Pulido picked up his first save with a one-two-three ninth. De Los Santos had a perfect day, as he seemingly was on a quest to end the year with an above .300 batting average. He went 5-for-5 with a run scored, drew a walk, stole a base, and drove in one. The Hernandez’s each finished with two hits, with Merphy going 2-for-4 with a run scored, triple, and four RBI; and Yandro finishing 2-for-5 with a run scored, triple, and an RBI of his own. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Cory Lewis, Wichita Wind Surge (6 IP, 5 H, ER, 0 BB, 7 K) Hitter of the Day - Daiber De Los Santos, DSL Twins (5-for-5, R, BB, RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. #1 – Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-5, RBI, 2 K #7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-4, 2 2B #9 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-3, 2 BB, K #12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, R, BB, K, 2 SB (20) #13 – Cory Lewis (Wichita) – 6 IP, 5 H, ER, 0 BB, 7 K #16 – Kyle DeBarge (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, R, RBI, BB, K, 2 SB (10) #17 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 0-for-3, BB, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP Louie Varland (4-8, 4.91 ERA) Wichita @ Midland (6:30 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-0, 10.13 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Tanner Hall (0-1, 5.79 ERA) Fort Myers @ Tampa, Game 1 (3:00 PM CDT) - RHP Charlee Soto (1-4, 4.74 ERA) Tampa @ Fort Myers, Game 2 - LHP Cesar Lares (3-3, 4.37 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

Right?! Man, with how he was going and the Buxton hip stuff now, E-Rod might have been a guy being considered to come up now.

Looking into the statcast data, there were some long fly balls (one out was farther than the home run he gave up), and the batted-ball data looks high as far as exit velocity goes (7 of 18 balls in play 95+ MPH), but I wouldn't say he was getting lucky or anything while I watched. In that run of retiring 14 of 15 to get through the sixth it looked like dominance to me.