Steve Lein

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.

There's a few who had some success like this last year, but have had some bumps or injuries this year. Cory Lewis was their MiLB Pitcher of the Year in 2023, but he's only made 9 starts this year with Wichita. Walks have been a bit high but he has been trending up recently: I'll also be very interested to see if Connor Prielipp can stay healthy, and whom from this years draft class comes out of the gates throwing 2-5 MPH harder next season. Maybe Marco Raya will have some reins taken off. C.J. Culpepper and Christian MacLeod have also been very good.

While Zebby Matthews was stealing the major-league headlines in the Minnesota Twins organization on Tuesday, another up-and-coming pitching prospect took his place in the rotation with the Saints and made minor-league headlines in his own debut. Hits were hard to come by in a few of the other games for Twins affiliates, but the first career home run of one player led his team to victory. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Andrew Morris) TRANSACTIONS The Minnesota Twins officially selected the contract of RHP Zebby Matthews from the St. Paul Saints, and he made his MLB debut at Target Field Tuesday evening. Though he didn’t make the cut for my preseason debut prediction list, he is the fifth Twins player to make their MLB debut so far this season. To take his place on the Triple-A roster, RHP Andrew Morris was promoted to the Saints from Wichita. One could argue Morris has been just as good as Matthews so far this season and both of them have been huge risers this season on our Top 20 prospect list. LHP Christian MacLeod made one start with the Saints, but was sent back to the Wind Surge on Tuesday. In Double-A, RHP Kyle Jones was transferred to the 60-day injured list, RHP Cody Laweryson was placed on the Development List, and RHP C.J. Culpepper was promoted from Cedar Rapids. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 5 Box Score While his fellow pitching prospect that started the year in the Cedar Rapids Kernels rotation was making his MLB debut at Target Field, Andrew Morris hit the road in Indianapolis to make his Triple-A debut for the St. Paul Saints. Morris also passed with flying colors at his new level. He gave a quality effort, finishing six innings and allowing just two hits and one walk. The one blemish was a solo home run, and he struck out two batters. Of his 81 pitches, 57 went for strikes (70.4%), and he topped out at 96 MPH. After that home run in the second, Morris retired 14 of the final 15 hitters he faced. While he was on the mound, the Saints built a 4-1 lead with most of that damage coming in the fourth inning. Michael Helman led off with a single. Edouard Julien followed with a walk. Jair Camargo then brought in their first run of the game with a double. A sac fly from Diego Castillo brought in their second run, before a ground ball from Patrick Winkel turned into a double play, but also let Camargo score to make it 3-1. They added one more in the fifth after Rylan Bannon led off with a walk. Payton Eeles followed with an infield single that also had a throwing error that allowed Bannon to take third. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. then brought him in with an RBI single. Unfortunately for Morris, reliever Jeff Brigham didn’t have his best stuff in the seventh as three consecutive walks put the go-ahead run in the batter's box. After a strikeout the first pitch of the next at bat was blasted for a grand slam to put the Saints down by one. Brigham finished the seventh, striking out two in total. Giovanny Gallegos pitched a one-two-three eighth to give the Saints their final chance. After a two-out walk to Winkel, the Saints pinch ran Anthony Prato, and he ended up on third base after a steal, but Bannon grounded out to the pitcher to end the game. St. Paul outhit Indianapolis 5-3 on the game, but the opposition got the big one when it counted. Camargo’s double was the Saints only extra-base hit. Keirsey Jr., Bernard, and Eeles each reached base twice. WIND SURGE WISDOM Arkansas 8, Wichita 3 Box Score The Wind Surge fell behind early and weren’t able to claw their way back in Tuesday night’s series-opening game against the Travelers. Taylor Floyd took the bump for Wichita, making his first start as a professional, and was unceremoniously ambushed in the first inning. A leadoff walk, single, and two doubles put Arkansas up 3-0 before the home team had their first at-bat. They did their best to answer as Tanner Schobel and Jeferson Morales hit back-to-back singles to start it off. Two outs later, Andrew Cossetti delivered a big triple to make it 3-2. Floyd wasn’t able to make it through another inning, however, as his outing was ended after a two-run double made it 5-2. He was credited with five earned runs on five hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings. Jarret Whorff came on in relief and did his best to stabilize it through the fifth. He was charged with one earned run on three hits and two walks in his 3 2/3 innings. He struck out five. Wichita added a single run in the bottom of the sixth after Carson McCusker led off the inning with a triple. Cossetti followed with a sac fly to drive him in and make it 6-3, but that’s as close as they would get. John Stankiewicz allowed two runs (one earned) in his two innings of relief. He gave up two hits and struck out two. Kyle Bischoff finished the final two innings, giving up one hit, walking two, and striking out five. Schobel had two hits in four at-bats out of the leadoff spot, taking over for Luke Keaschall who underwent Tommy John surgery now so he’d be ready to go for spring training next season. The triples from McCusker and Cossetti were the only extra-base hits, and Cossetti drove in all three of the Wind Surge’s runs. KERNELS NUGGETS South Bend 4, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score Darren Bowen got the starting nod for the Kernels on Tuesday night against the Cubs and he finished the first four innings. He allowed single runs in the first and the third, allowing four hits and two walks in total, while striking out two. Cedar Rapids tied the game at one in the bottom of the second thanks to Rixon Wingrove’s first home run in a Kernels uniform. But that was going to be it from the offense on the night as the team tallied just five hits total, went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. After Bowen’s outing was done the bullpen trio of Jacob Wosinski (2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K), Rafael Marcano (2 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K), and Juan Mendez (IP, K) finished it out. Wingrove (2-for-4, R, HR, RBI, 2 K) and Rubel Cespedes (2-for-4) had four of the team's five hits, with Nick Lucky chipping in the other single. Walker Jenkins finished 0-for-4 with a strikeout and is still looking to find his groove in the Midwest League. Don’t get down about that however, as he also just moved up to #4 in MLB Pipeline’s latest update to their Top 100. MUSSEL MATTERS Lakeland 2, Fort Myers 6 Box Score The Mighty Mussels jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning, as a 2024 draft pick delivered the first big fly of his career. Khadim Diaw got it started with a one-out single. One out later, Daniel Pena was hit by a pitch to put multiple runners on, and sixth-round pick Derek Bender launched a three-run homer. They remained in complete control for the rest of the game, as they got a scoreless effort from their starting pitcher, Cesar Lares. He went the first five innings, scattering seven hits (all singles) with no walks, and striking out two, and inducing a pair of double-play balls. The home team extended their lead with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, which was started by a leadoff walk from Caden Kendle. Kaelen Culpepper and Kyle DeBarge each followed with a double, with DeBarge’s driving in two. After advancing to third, DeBarge scored on an errant pickoff throw to make it 6-0. Cleiber Maldonado came on to start the sixth inning and went two scoreless. He allowed one hit and struck out four. Paulshawn Pasqualotto gave up a pair of runs in the eighth, but it was nearly enough for the Flying Tigers. Jack Noble finished it off by striking out the side in the ninth. Bender led the way with two hits in three at bats, with his homer and three RBI pacing the lineup. Billy Amick drew two walks and struck out twice in four plate appearances. DeBarge stole his sixth base in six games with the Mighty Mussels. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Twins 6, DSL Rangers Red 4 Box Score The Twins lineup gave them an early lead, scoring five of their six runs in the first three innings. Merphy Hernandez led off the game with a single, and promptly scored the first run of the game on an RBI double from Daiber De Los Santos. He then stole third base and was able to make it 2-0 on a groundout. In the second inning Nestor Urbina drew a leadoff walk, and Carlos Silva brought them both in with a two-run homer, his first of the season. Then in the third Ramiro Dominguez scored their fifth run of the game after drawing a walk, advancing to second on a hit-by-pitch, and coming home on an RBI single from Silva. Right-hander Santiago Rojas made the start for the Twins and pitched into the fourth inning. Though he gave up some runs, the Twins stayed in front the entire time he was out there. In 3 1/3 innings, Rojas was charged with four earned runs on five hits and four walks, while striking out two. Anderson Ramos went the next 3 1/3 frames and held the Rangers in check. He allowed one hit, walked two, and struck out six to pick up his fifth win. Aiberson Ventura finished the last 2 1/3 for his first save. He allowed one hit and struck out three. The Twins added an insurance run in the seventh when Eduardo Beltre delivered an RBI double. De Los Santos (2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 K, 2 SB), Beltre (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K, SB), and Silva (2-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, SB) each collected two hits in the game to lead the way. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Andrew Morris, St. Paul Saints (6 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 2 K) Hitter of the Day - Derek Bender, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2-for-3, R, HR(1), 3 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 (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-4, K #5 – Zebby Matthews (Minnesota) – MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT: W, 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K #7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-4 #9 – Kaelen Culpepper (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, R, 2B, K #11 – Andrew Morris (St. Paul) – 6 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 2 K #12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4, K #16 – Kyle DeBarge (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB #17 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 2-for-4, R, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Indianapolis (12:35 PM CDT) - LHP Caleb Baragar (0-1, 4.11 ERA) Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - TBD South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Ricky Castro (0-2, 5.25 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Charlee Soto (1-4, 5.15 ERA) DSL Mets Blue @ DSL Twins (9:00 AM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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While I get this opinion, it is kind of the misunderstanding of what control vs. command is, and why it is mentioned in this article. Control is throwing strikes. Command is consistently hitting the same spots, living on corners, etc... BaseballSavant is awesome to visualize this stuff. I'm still terrible at using this functionality, but you can get graphs of pitches that have been tracked in the minors for Zebby, which shows the following: What I see in this graph, is he throws everything for strikes, but is not necessarily consistent. Likes fastballs up in the zone, cutters inside and "cutting" a bit below them. Tries to bury sliders away but hangs quite a few. Lives on edges with his changeup and curveball. Compare this with say, George Kirby, who is quite heralded for his command: The difference in these, for me, is you can clearly identify the areas Kirby lives in with each of his pitches. Each color is without a doubt, focused. I do not think you see that to nearly this level in Zebby's graph (Which is not a knock. As I said, Kirby is an elite command pitcher. It's a bit of an unfair comparison but I'm just trying to show the difference) You can create heat maps for each pitch on this as well to narrow it down. This is a comparison of their "sliders": I think these show a very good contrast of what "Control" vs "Command" is. Zebby is definitely more the former, but I would also agree that this is certainly not a bad thing. (edit: someone should also probably tell me how to not make these visuals embed so large 🤣)

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In the minors on Tuesday one former top prospect continued a lengthy streak in triple-A. The Wichita Wind Surge got a strong pitching performance and a multi-home run effort in an extra-inning win. Walker Jenkins also added to his list of firsts with Cedar Rapids, but most impressively the new draftees made their presence felt with the Mighty Mussels. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge TRANSACTIONS In Triple-A, The Minnesota Twins signed free agent RHP Giovanny Gallegos and assigned him to the Saints. The Twins also sent IF Kyle Farmer to CHS Field to begin a rehab assignment. A lot of roster movement has happened down in Fort Myers in the past two days as recent draft picks started being assigned to the rosters of the Mighty Mussels and FCL Twins. On Tuesday those official moves were 3B Jay Thomason, OF Caden Kendle, and C Derek Bender being assigned to the Mighty Mussels. SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 7, St. Paul 4 Box Score Right-hander Adam Plutko was coming off his longest outing of the season with the Saints in his last start, but ended up with his shortest in this one. The Clippers put together four singles and a double in an extended top of the first, putting an end to this one for Plutko after 43 pitches. He was charged with four earned runs, walked nobody, and struck out nobody in his lone inning. Ryan Jensen came on for the second and went the next two innings. He gave up two earned runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out three. Nick Wittgren went the next three, allowing four hits, one earned run, and striking out three. The Saints finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh, against the major-league rehabbing Sam Hentges of the Cleveland Guardians. Rylan Bannon was hit by a pitch in front of a Wynton Bernard single. Another hit batter (Anthony Prato) led to a bases-loaded walk from Edouard Julien that made it 7-1 Clippers. Julien’s walk made it the 32nd straight game with the Saints where he has reached base. Saints relievers Matt Bowman (2 IP, H, BB, 2 K) and Hobie Harris (1 IP, K) kept the visitors off the scoreboard for the final three innings. In the bottom of the ninth the Saints finally showed some life. Alex Isola drew a walk. Prato followed with a double. Edouard Julien then launched his sixth Saints home run of the season off the batter’s eye in center field, making it 7-4 with one out. Payton Eeles then hit a single before the Saints rally came to an end. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. was the only Saints hitter with multiple knocks, finishing 2-for-4 with a triple. The rehabbing Kyle Farmer played second base and finished 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts from the second spot in the batting order. As a team the Saints were just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Corpus Christi 4 (10 innings) Box Score The Wind Surge got on the scoreboard first in the opening frame, as Ricardo Olivar and Carson McCusker put together a mini two-out rally with a single and RBI double respectively, for a 1-0 lead. Starting pitcher Christian MacLeod did most of the heavy lifting from there, putting together five strong innings. He scattered just three hits and one walk, while striking out eight Hooks hitters. He threw 82 pitches in the game, with 57 going for strikes (70%), including a solid 12 swinging. He left the game with a 3-1 lead, as Wichita added more run support in the top of the fourth. Tanner Schobel clubbed a solo home run. Noah Cardenas followed with a double and was driven in by a single from Jorel Ortega. Schobel added his second home run of the game in the sixth, putting the Wind Surge up by three. Unfortunately for MacLeod, reliever Cody Laweryson wasn’t able to keep runners off the base paths in the sixth. He ended up charged with three runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning, knotting up the game at four. John Stankiewicz got the final out with no further damage. The score remained tied for the rest of regulation, as Mason Fox (1+ IP, H, 4 BB, K) and Taylor Floyd (3 IP, 2 K) kept the Hooks from taking advantage of any baserunners. In the top of the 10th, Ortega wasted little time as his RBI single as the first batter of the inning put the Wind Surge back in front 5-4. They may have been able to add to that lead for Floyd, but both Ortega and Luke Keaschall, after a single of his own, were thrown out trying to steal second base. Floyd picked up the win with a one-two-three bottom of the tenth, striking out the final two hitters of the game to punctuate the victory. Both Schobel (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI) and Ortega (2-for-4, 2 RBI, K, SB) had multiple hits in the win. Jake Rucker added a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 7 Box Score Top prospect Walker Jenkins got the Kernels going to lead off the game, knocking his first double in the Midwest League. Two batters later Rubel Cespedes traded spots with a double of his own for the game’s first run. Poncho Ruiz followed with an RBI single, and Cedar Rapids had an early 2-0 lead. Jeremy Lee was on the bump for the good guys, and he worked the first five innings. After a one-two-three bottom of the first, Lee gave up a pair of singles in the second inning that would turn into the Chiefs first run of the game. In the top of the fourth, the Kernels offense got that one back and more. Nick Lucky drew a one-out walk, and moved to third on a Misael Urbina single. Jenkins then came up with two outs and delivered his second double of the game, driving in both runners to make it 4-1. Lee got bit by singles again in the bottom of the frame, with three of those and a sac fly making it 4-3. He finished a scoreless fifth and was charged three earned runs on five hits. He struck out three. Gabriel Yanez came on for the sixth and worked two scoreless, hitless innings. Back out for the eighth he allowed a leadoff single and a change was made. Nolan Santos proceeded to give up three straight hits and a wild pitch that put Peoria out front 6-5. Yanez was charged with one earned run in two-plus innings. He gave up one hit and struck out one. Santos got hit with the loss and blown save, allowing three earned runs on four hits in his lone inning. His defense did let him down some, as a lazy fly ball into short center field ended up failing between three defenders, and a subsequent throw home was cut off when it likely would have beat the runner by quite a bit. In the top of the ninth, Gabriel Gonzalez led off with a single, bringing the tying run to the plate. Cespedes hit one hard to the right side, but a diving play got him at first, and Gonzalez thought the ball got through, and ended up being caught between second and third for the second out. Kevin Maitan then went down on strikes to end the game. The Kernels got multiple hits from Jenkins (2-for-5, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K), Gonzalez (2-for-5, K), Ruiz (2-for-4, R, RBI) and Urbina (2-for-3, R, RBI, BB, K), but weren’t able to string together enough of their 11 hits as a team. Nate Baez added a double to the effort. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Jupiter 7 Box Score The Mighty Mussels got an influx of new talent for this week’s series with the Hammerheads, and they came up big as a group to help push them to a victory after a brief rain delay on Tuesday. Before that happened though, starting pitcher Cesar Lares was ambushed by Jupiter for three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Lares would go on to finish 3 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits and three walks, while striking out three. In the top of the second the first of the new guys made his presence felt. Third round draft pick Khadim Diaw got the inning started with a single. After a walk to Yasser Mercedes, Rixon Wingrove brought them all in with his eighth home run of the season, tying it at three. In the top of the fourth it was the 33rd overall pick in June’s draft, Kyle DeBarge, who tied the game at four with an RBI single. In the fifth, second round pick Billy Amick led off with a single. Later in the inning he and Diaw would come around to score on a wild pitch and sac fly off the bat of fourth round pick Jaime Ferrer. DeBarge struck again with an RBI triple in the sixth to put them ahead by one, before fifth round selection Caden Kendle brought him in with a single. Diaw followed with an RBI single as well and the Mussels had a 9-6 lead. Relievers Ben Ethridge (2/3 IP, H, 2 ER, 2 BB), Jack Noble (2 2/3 IP, H, BB, 4 K), Samuel Perez (1 IP, H, ER, BB), and Xander Hamilton (1 IP, H, BB, K) finished off the game for Fort Myers with 5 1/3 total innings. 17th round pick Jay Thomason also chipped in two hits, making his own mark among everyone playing their first game from the most recent draft class. Amick, Mercedes, and Kendle all had doubles. Diaw and Mercedes each stole a base. Wingrove’s three-run homer led the day in the RBI department. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Twins 3, DSL NYY Bombers 4 Box Score Twins starting pitcher Santiago Rojas faced the minimum through his first three innings, allowing only a walk that got erased on double-play. But the Bombers squad finally got to him in the fourth. After a pair of walks, a couple hits, and the game’s first run, Rojas’ day was finished. He completed 3 1/3 innings, and ended up charged with two earned runs on two hits and three walks. He struck out three. The Twins lineup finally came through in the top of the fifth with three runs of their own to take the lead. Ramiro Dominguez led off with a double. Ricardo Paez brought him home with an RBI single. Later in the frame a strikeout should have ended the inning, but it turned into a wild pitch that allowed Paez to score and Luis Rodriguez to reach first. Rodriguez then stole second and third base. After a walk to Merphy Hernandez, a throwing error on his own steal attempt put the Twins in front. Anderson Ramos was the Twins reliever summoned back in the fourth inning, and he would end up finishing the game. He allowed one inherited runner to score in that fourth inning, but delivered a scoreless fifth after the Twins had taken the lead. A two-out walk in the sixth spelled disaster, however. Two singles and an error from the Twins catcher put the Yankees back out front, and the Twins went down in order in their final at-bat. Ramos worked 2 2/3 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks, while striking out three. The Twins managed just three hits as a team, with Dominguez collecting two of them. They finished 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and left only three men on base in the game. Hernandez stole his 27th base of the season. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Christian MacLeod, Wichita Wind Surge (5 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 8 K) Hitter of the Day - New Guys, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (10-for-25, 6 R, 2 2B, 3B, 5 RBI) Tanner Schobel, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 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) – 2-for-5, R, 2 2B (2), 2 RBI, K #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 1-for-3, 2B (2), K #4 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 1-for-5, K #7 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-5, K #12 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-for-2 (was pinch hit for in the fourth inning) #14 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) – 1-for-4, R, 2B (1), BB, K, SB (3) #16 – Kyle DeBarge (Fort Myers) – 2-for-5, R, 3B (1), 2 RBI #17 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR (7), 2 RBI WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Columbus @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - TBD Wichita @ Corpus Christi (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Andrew Morris (5-3, 2.14 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Darren Bowen (2-6, 6.17 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Charlee Soto (0-4, 5.64 ERA) DSL Twins @ DSL NYY Yankees (9:00 AM CDT) - completion of game suspended on 7/22. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

His promotion to the Kernels was just announced! Jarrett Whorff also sent to Wichita.

The Saints twitter account is one of the best there is, day in and day out!

I don't believe there is any direct connection (I haven't seen any mention anywhere, which I think there would be) other than they are both from the Dominican Republic, near Santo Domingo. But I could be completely wrong.

Some top prospects were promoted to new levels over the weekend, including the top prospect in Walker Jenkins, who wasn’t being challenged much recently in the Florida State League (.314/.463/.471 in the last 28 days). There was also a walk-off win in one game, and a bonkers number of strikeouts in another. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Jair Camargo) TRANSACTIONS He’s back! The Twins selected the contract of RHP Randy Dobnak on Tuesday, bringing him back to the majors for the first time since the 2021 season. He’s been looking a lot like the guy who went from Low-A to the big leagues back in 2019 lately. (I also think he’s just one of the coolest dudes on the planet.) SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Iowa 4 Box Score The Saints took an early lead down in Des Moines, thanks to singles from Edouard Julien, Yunior Severino, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in the top of the first. Keirsey’s drove both of them in for a 2-0 lead before their starter ever took the mound. On this day, that was Caleb Boushley, who did his best to scatter a bunch of hits over his 4 2/3 innings. A pair of doubles in the second brought the Cubs within one, before a pair of home runs in the fight put them up 3-2 and ended his night. In all, Boushley was charged with three earned runs on nine hits in his time, while striking out four. Thankfully, his lineup had his back in the top of the sixth. Jair Camargo launched the second pitch of the inning over the fence in left field to tie it at three. It was his seventh home run of the season. After a pair of strikeouts, Patrick Winkel followed suit with a home run of his own to put them in front 4-3. The Saints bullpen held it down for the next three innings. Ryan Jensen went 1 1/3 scoreless and hitless, striking out three. Justin Topa struck out two in a one-two-three seventh. Looking for an insurance run, Camargo delivered again in the eight, hitting his second home run in his last two at-bats to make it 5-3 Saints. Reliever Matt Bowman followed Topa by setting the Cubs down in order with two strikeouts of his own in the eighth. In the bottom of the ninth the Cubs did get one run back on an RBI single from an #OldFriend in Gilberto Celestino, but Josh Winder also nabbed a liner back at him and struck out the final hitter of the game to pick up his fourth save with the Saints this season. Camargo (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, K), Keirsey Jr. (2-for-4, 2 RBI), and Winkel (2-for-4, R, HR, RBI, K) each had two hits for St. Paul. Julien finished 1-for-4 with a run scored and three strikeouts. Severino went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base. WIND SURGE WISDOM NW Arkansas 4, Wichita 3 Box Score For the first six innings of this one, the Wind Surge couldn’t find a hit. Naturals starter Tyson Guerrero had their number, as a walk to Aaron Sabato in the second inning was the only baserunner they were able to muster (and Sabato then got picked off). Finally, with one out in the seventh, Jake Rucker delivered an infield single on a slow-roller to third. Basically, the one type of hit besides a bunt I’d be furious to lose a no-hitter on if I was a pitcher. Guerrero would finish the seventh, allowing just one hit, walking two, and striking out four. But all was not lost, as Wichita’s starter Travis Adams was nearly as good. He matched Guerrero in the run column of the scoreboard for the first five innings. He ended up finishing six frames, allowing just one earned run as he scattered six hits and struck out four. Mason Fox pitched a scoreless seventh, walking one, before the Naturals broke it open some against Ricardo Velez in the eighth. He was charged with three earned runs as he walked two, and then gave up a three-run bomb to make it 4-0. Scott Engler then worked a scoreless ninth with a pair of strikeouts. Wichita's lineup didn’t accept their fate in the bottom of the ninth, however. Luke Keaschall drew a walk to lead off. Rucker and Ricardo Olivar, in his Double-A debut and batting third in the lineup, followed with singles to score their first run of the game. An error then loaded the bases and Jeferson Morales took advantage by drawing a walk to make it 4-2. That put the tying run in scoring position and prompted a pitching change. A double-play ball off the bat of Sabato made it 4-3 with the tying run 90-feet away, but Tanner Schobel grounded out to end the game. As a team the Wind Surge went just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and left only four men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Great Lakes 3, Cedar Rapids 4 Box Score Despite receiving #1 prospect Walker Jenkins to their roster in advance of Tuesday’s series opener with the Loons, the Kernels also had trouble collecting hits like their double-A brothers for most of this game. Heading into the bottom of the ninth, they had just two, and were down 3-0. John Klein made the start for Cedar Rapids and went the first 4 1/3 innings. After three walks and a sac fly to #OldFriend Noah Miller in the fifth, he was removed in favor of Jarret Whorff. In total, Klein was charged with three earned runs on three hits, four walks, and struck out four. While the Kernels had trouble finding those hits early on, they did pose some threats, getting runners in scoring position in each of the second and third innings. They also only struck out twice on the game, with both of those not occurring until the bottom of the eighth inning. Thanks to the relief efforts of Whorff (1 2/3 IP, K), Rafael Marcano (2 IP, K), and A.J. Labas (1 IP, H), the Kernels lineup still had some spunk left in the bottom of the ninth. Rayne Doncon got them in business with a one-out double. Kevin Maitan followed with his seventh home run of the season to put them on the scoreboard, down by one. Nate Baez kept it going with a single before a wild-pitch put the tying run in scoring position. Misael Urbina then traded spots with a double to tie the game, bringing Jose Salas to the plate. He jumped on the first pitch of the at-bat and sent a liner into center, walking it off for the good guys! The Kernels exploded for five of their seven hits on the game in the final inning, making sure they didn’t waste the fantastic effort from their pitchers, who surrendered just four hits of their own on the game. Baez led the way with a 2-for-3 effort, scoring a run, driving in one, and reaching base on a walk. Walker Jenkins finished 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his Midwest League debut, playing center field, but did reach base when he was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning. MUSSEL MATTERS St. Lucie 4, Fort Myers 0 Box Score If you are into strikeouts, this might be your favorite game ever. The Mighty Mussels sent righty Paulshawn Pasqualotto to the mound Tuesday night to make his second start in a row, but it didn’t go as well as the last one, in which he finished four innings. He threw 34 total pitches, but only was able to record two outs. Thus, he was done after only 2/3 of an inning. He was charged with two earned runs on two hits and three walks. He did contribute to the fun of this game though, by striking out one. That was all St. Lucie could muster in that first frame though, would Fort Myers be able to overcome it? The short answer is no. The lineup actually outhit the Mets six to five, but their opposition was 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position while they went 0-for-12, and left 11 men on base. Poncho Ruiz and Rixon Wingrove contributed doubles to the effort, but neither ever made it to third base. The home team loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, but weren’t able to push a run across, mainly because they couldn't put the bat on the ball. In fact, there was only one inning where the Mighty Mussels didn’t strike out at least twice, and they went down on K’s 19 times total, which I’m somewhat surprised is only a season high. However, their own pitching staff also set down a season high 16 Mets, as Wilker Reyes, Jack Noble, Tomas Cleto, and Juan Mercedes combined to throw 8 1/3 innings of stellar relief. Combined they allowed just three hits, two runs (both attributed to Mercedes in the ninth), two walks, and 15 K’s. Reyes had five in his 2 1/3 innings. Noble six in his three. I’d be surprised if you could find a game at any level that has had more than 35 strikeouts total this season. In case you hate math, that equated to 65% of the outs that were recorded in the game, and nearly half the games total plate appearances. Yohander Martinez was the only Mighty Mussels player to not walk back to the dugout from the batter's box at any point. He finished 1-for-2 with two walks out of the nine-hole in the lineup. Yasser Mercedes went 1-for-4 with a stolen base. I’ll let you guess what happened in his three other at-bats. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Twins 10, DSL Miami 4 Box Score The Twins struck for three runs in the opening frame as Merphy Hernandez and Daiber De Los Santos each drew a walk. After a strikeout Victor Leal launched his third home run of the season, putting them up 3-0. Starting pitcher Santiago Rojas had a rough first inning himself, allowing four singles and a home run of his own that tied the game at three. If not for a baserunning error on the last of those singles, it could have been worse. But Rojas settled in from there, retiring the side in his next two innings, and putting up zeroes to finish his four frames. In all, he was charged with three earned runs on six hits and two walks, striking out five. In the top of the fifth, the Twins took the lead after Luis Fragoza’s first home run of the year, a two-run shot to make it 5-3. They tacked on two more in the seventh after a double steal, and Irvin Nunez RBI double. After Rojas' game was done, the next four innings came from right-hander Anderson Ramos. He gave up one earned run on two hits and one walk, while striking out four. Aaron Carranza finished off the ninth with a scoreless frame, surrendering one hit, one walk, and striking out one. The Twins capped off the game’s scoring with three more in the top of the ninth. The first came on an RBI fielder’s choice from Ricardo Perez. The second on an RBI single from Luis Rodriguez, and the third on a bases loaded walk from Eduardo Beltre. The Twins as a team stole eight bases and drew 12 walks, leading to the run explosion. Leal (2-for-6, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI) and Ramiro Dominguez (2-for-3, R, 2 BB, K) each had two hits. Fragoza finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBI, a walk, and three stolen bases. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Jack Noble, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (3 IP, H, 6 K) Hitter of the Day - Jair Camargo, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR (8), 2 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 – Walker Jenkins (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-3, HBP, K #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 1-for-2, BB #4 – David Festa (Minnesota) – L, 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K #5 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-3, BB, K #8 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) – 0-for-2 #9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 0-for-3, R, BB, K #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4, 2 K #13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 0-for-4 #18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 1-for-4, R, 2 K, SB (2) #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) – 1-for-3, R, RBI, BB WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 PM CDT) - RHP Ronny Henriquez (1-2, 3.69 ERA) NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - LHP Christian MacLeod (0-1, 5.79 ERA) Great Lakes @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Jeremy Lee (1-3, 3.55 ERA) St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Spencer Bengard (7-2, 1.64 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games View full article

Because he is being called up today to pitch for the Twins! 😁

It was a big day on the farm for the Minnesota Twins affiliates. One of the parent club’s best players began a rehab assignment, a 17-year-old drove in seven runners on the day, and a few familiar names made impacts for the opposing team in Triple-A. Oh, and the Mighty Mussels threw a no-hitter as a pitching staff, yet almost lost. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Royce Lewis) TRANSACTIONS In good news for the parent club fans, IF Royce Lewis was sent on a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints on Tuesday. He played third base and batted second in the lineup. Down in Florida, the Mighty Mussels released OF Ryan McCarthy, activated RHP Devin Kirby, and got RHP Kyle Bloor back from the injured list. They also received RHP Justin Topa for his rehab assignment. Fort Myers also sent RHP Jacob King to the FCL for a rehab assignment. In the Complex League, the Twins released OF Anderson Nova, C Giovanny Rivero, and 2B Harold Grant. SAINTS SENTINEL Omaha 3, St. Paul 1 Box Score The Saints got a fantastic start from Louie Varland at CHS Field, as he completed six dominant innings. He allowed just two hits, walked one, and struck out seven Storm Chasers, including five in a row at one point. He probably could have gone longer too, as he was at just 76 pitches (54 for strikes) when his game was done. Since allowing 11 earned runs upon his most recent return to triple-A, Varland has allowed just two earned runs in his last 19 1/3 innings over four starts. His ERA in that time is 0.93, and he has struck out 21. Also of note, was the return of Royce Lewis to the playing field, as he began his rehab assignment with the Saints. He finished 0-for-3 and struck out twice and was subbed out in the eighth inning. The Saints took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning after Alex Isola led off the inning with a double. With two outs, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. was able to bring him in with a single. There wasn’t much else for offense in the game for St. Paul, much to Varland’s dismay. They collected just three other hits, all singles, and weren’t able to bring anyone else in with their chances. They finished 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Keirsey and Isola each had two of those five total hits, and Payton Eeles reached base twice with a single and a walk. The rest of the lineup finished 0-for-20 with eight strikeouts. After Varland was lifted, the Storm Chaser started to find some life. Caleb Baragar pitched a scoreless seventh inning, but had to work around a single and a walk. After an #OldFriend appearance from Tyler Duffey, Josh Winder was called on for the eighth. He gave up a pinch hit solo home run to Twins spring training invite, Brian O’Keefe to tie it at one before a single and a double threatened to break it open. But he recovered and struck out the next two to keep it tied. Jeff Brigham was brought on for the ninth and bookended a walk with a pair of strikeouts, before he too gave up a home run for a 3-1 Omaha lead. All three of his outs came on K’s, but the damage was done. The Saints did threaten in the bottom half, loading the bases with two outs, but it was another #OldFriend in Evan Sisk who was called upon to get left-hander Eeles for the final out, and he did, inducing a grounder to first base. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Amarillo 12 Box Score Left-hander Jaylen Nowlin made the start for the Wind Surge, pitching into the sixth inning. He gave up one run in the first after a two-out triple and a balk. He worked around some baserunners in the next three innings, but kept the Sod Poodles off the scoreboard. The Wind Surge were able to tie the game at one in the top of the fourth thanks to a Ben Ross home run, his seventh of the season. Nowlin gave that run back in the fifth by allowing a home run, but escaped anything else thanks to a couple strikeouts and a runner being thrown out at home. Wichita took their first lead of the game in the top of the sixth when Jorel Ortega launched his seventh home run of the year, scoring Noah Cardenas to make 3-2 Wind Surge. Manager Ramon Borrego probably should have seen the signs the inning before, but allowed Nowlin to come back out for the sixth. A walk and a single sandwiched around a flyout put an end to his outing. Ricardo Velez came on with one out and wasn’t able to get the remaining two. Two more runs were charged to Nowlin, and he became the victim of three of his own. Scott Engler had to get the final out, but allowed a three-run homer himself, putting the Wind Surge down 9-3 when it was all said and done. Nowlin pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed four earned runs on eight hits and a pair of walks. He struck out seven. Relievers Jared Solomon (1 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 K) and Kyle Bischoff (1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER) finished off the final two innings, but weren’t able to get out unscathed, either. Eight of the nine batters in the Wichita lineup had a hit, but eight was also their total for the game. Kyler Fedko and Carson McCusker added doubles to the effort. As a team they finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base for the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Quad Cities 8 Box Score The Kernels built a large lead in this one, and then did almost everything they could to lose it on the road against the River Bandits. In the top of the first the Cedar Rapids lineup took advantage of some walks for a 3-0 lead. Ricardo Olivar and Gabriel Gonzalez drew them, then Kevin Maitan drove in the first run of the game with a double. Rubel Cespedes followed with an RBI single. Jay Harry capped the inning with a sac fly. Ty Langenberg took the mound for the Kernels and went the first four innings. He was charged with three earned runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out five. Cedar Rapids added three more runs in the fourth. Misael Urbina drew a leadoff walk. Jose Salas reached base on a bunt attempt and an error moved them both up a base. Rayne Doncon delivered a two-RBI double. A few batters later, Maitan's second double of the game drove in Doncon for a 6-2 lead. In relief of Langenberg, Rafael Marcano went the next two innings. He was charged with one earned run on a pair of walks, while striking out one. It was another three-run inning for Cedar Rapids in the sixth. This time it was courtesy of a three-run homer from Rubel Cespedes, his 11th of the season. With the 9-4 lead, after six, the Kernels bullpen made it hard on themselves. A.J. Labas (1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB) and Gabriel Yanez (2 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K) allowed Quad Cities to get within one. In the bottom of the ninth they were able to load the bases with two outs, and a wild-pitch put the tying run 90-feet away, and the winning run right behind it. But Yanez was able to get a flyout to put an end to their comeback attempt. Maitan (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K) and Cespedes (2-for-4, R, 4 RBI, BB, 2 K, SB) led the way with multiple hits. Five of the Kernels nine hits went for extra-bases. In notable occurrences, Gabriel Gonzalez finished 0-for-2, but drew three walks and scored a run. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Dunedin 1 (6 innings) Box Score The Mighty Mussels game against the Blue Jays in Dunedin on Tuesday was cut short by rain, but the victory will still be remembered in the history books. That’s because it was also their fifth no-hitter as a team in the last four seasons. Pitchers Ross Dunn, the rehabbing Justin Topa, and Wilker Reyes combined for the six no-hit innings, and Byron Chourio’s two out, two-run double came just in the nick of time to put them in front. Dunn went the first three innings, and was actually charged with an unearned run. That’s because in the bottom of the second a two-out walk was followed by an error that allowed a run to score, putting the Blue Jays in front 1-0. It remained that way as Topa made his first appearance of his rehab assignment. He walked one and struck out one in his lone inning. Reyes then retired all six hitters he faced, including three on strikeouts before the lightning and rain made it official. In the top of the sixth Fort Myers finally took the lead with a two-out rally. Angel Del Rosario got it started with a single, and Walker Jenkins followed with a double to put them both into scoring position. Chourio then traded places with Jenkins and put them in front 2-1. Thank goodness, as it sure would have been weird to lose a no-hitter effort, even if it was a shortened game. All three of the Mighty Mussels hits came in that sixth inning, so it was almost a combined no-hit effort from both teams. In fact, Blue Jays starter Ryan Watson was perfect for 17 hitters before Del Rosario got him with that single. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Orioles 4, FCL Twins 6 Box Score Making the start for the FCL squad was the rehabbing Jacob King, making his first appearance since August 19th of last season. He struck out the first hitter he faced, but that was as good as it would get in his return to the mound. The next two batters drew a walk, before an RBI single scored the first run of the game for the Orioles. Another walk and a fielder’s choice later King’s return to the mound was over. The Twins lineup had no issues bouncing back in the bottom of the first. Dameury Pena led off with a single, Yasser Mercedes drew a walk, and Bryan Acuna loaded the bases with a single of his own. Jayson Bass grounded into a fielder’s choice, but a throwing error on the play allowed two runs to score. A wild pitch would score another run before Ariel Castro capped off the four run inning with an RBI single. Four consecutive singles from Acuna, Bass, Javier Roman, and Castro in the second scored another run for a 5-1 Twins lead. After King’s exit in the first, the Twins got 3 1/3 innings from Juan Cota. He allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks, while striking out two. Miguel Cordero (2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB) and Cleiber Maldonado (S, 1 IP, H, K) finished the final three innings. The Twins added an insurance run in the sixth when Yasser Mercedes led off with a double, and Bass traded places with him two batters later. Acuna (2-for-4, 2 R, K), Bass (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI) and Castro (2-for-4, RBI, K) each had multiple hits to lead the offense. DOMINICAN DAILY Game 1: DSL Twins 7, DSL Rangers Red 8 (8 innings) Box Score The Twins and Rangers Red team’s went into “extra” innings in the first game of their doubleheader Tuesday morning. The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two against Twins starter Yoel Roque. In all, Roque pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits and five walks. He struck out one. The Twins lineup bailed him out in the top of third however, putting up four runs of their own to take the lead. Back-to-back doubles from Nestor Urbina and Merphy Hernandez got that scoring started, before Eduardo Beltre ended it with a three-run home run, his fifth of the year. Reliever Jose Vasquez got the Twins through the fifth inning without allowing a run. In his 2 2/3 he allowed two hits and struck out six. Fabian Herrera came on for the sixth inning and went one-two-three to keep his team out front. The Twins added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh to make it 7-3 going into the Rangers last at-bat. Urbina delivered a single and Hernandez drew a walk to put two men on base, and like he did earlier in the game Beltre brought them in with another three-run blast. Herrera was back out to finish this one, but it got away from his defense. A leadoff single was followed by a pop out and strikeout, but an error allowed a run to score and extended the inning. A double to make it 7-5 was followed up with a game-tying home run that then extended the game. Herrera was charged with four unearned runs on three hits and two strikeouts in his 1 2/3 innings. Daniel Manzueta got them out of the inning with the score now tied at seven. The Twins went down in order in the top of the eighth, and it didn’t take long for the Rangers to walk them off in the bottom half. The leadoff man singled to center to score the ghost runner, and the Rangers completed their comeback in game one. Beltre was a one-man wrecking crew for the Twins, finishing 3-for-4 with his two home runs, and six RBI. His six total home runs ranks tied for fourth in the DSL. Urbina had two hits in three at-bats and scored two runs. Game 2: DSL Rangers Red 0, DSL Twins 3 Box Score The day’s second game was a makeup of a rainout back on July 19th. Santiago Rojas made the start for the Twins and delivered four scoreless innings. He allowed two hits, walked three, and struck out three. The lineup got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning. Daiber De Los Santos reached base on an error to lead it off. Eduardo Beltre then drove him in with a double. After a pair of walks, Luis Rodriguez delivered a sac fly for the 2-0 lead. In the fifth Nestor Urbina hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot to put the Twins up 3-0. After Rojas, right-hander Anderson Ramos pitched three scoreless, and hitless, innings of his own, striking out four to pick up the win. Beltre again led the way for the Twins with two hits in three at-bats. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (6 IP, 0 H, R, 3 BB, 6 K) Extra shout-out to Louie Varland, St. Paul Saints (6 IP, 2 H, BB, 7 K) Hitter of the Day - Eduardo Beltre, DSL Twins (5-for-7, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 – Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) – 1-for-3, R, 2B #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 0-for-3, BB, K #5 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 0-for-2, R, 3 BB, K #8 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) – 0-for-4, K #9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 1-for-4, BB, K #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-for-3 #11 – Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) – 6 IP, 3 H, BB, 5 K #13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 0-for-3, BB #18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-for-4, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (3-3, 4.03 ERA) scratched. Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Travis Adams (4-6, 4.86 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM CDT) - RHP John Klein (6-2, 4.59 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games View full article

No, he did not get "rocked." One iffy inning against a good hitting team (they led the league in avg./OBP, and had the fewest strikeouts) where his pitch count got ran into the high 30's, which means any pitcher's game is over. If not for a squibbed grounder against a shifted infield (I mentioned in the comments of the MiLB report that night it was one of the worst swings I'd ever seen), he'd have been fine. He did walk two guys (in one inning!), though... 😉

While you are/were taking in the Major League All Star Game tonight, there were a couple of minor league games still being played down on the farm. A lights out starting pitcher in the system also got bumped to just a step away from the big leagues, after dominating so far this season at Cedar Rapids and Wichita. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Zebby Matthews) TRANSACTIONS Perhaps the biggest news coming out in Twins Territory today, was that RHP Zebby Matthews was promoted from Wichita to the St. Paul Saints. On the year thus far, he holds a 1.85 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and has struckout 91 hitters compared to just six walks in 78 total innings. In other Triple-A moves, the Twins traded cash considerations to the New York Mets for the services of 3B Rylan Bannon, and he was assigned to the Saints. RHP Caleb Boushley was outrighted back to Triple-A from the Twins. Down in Fort Myers, the Mighty Mussels placed RHP Julio Bonilla on the 7-day injured list. In the Complex League, RHP Hunter Hoopes was assigned to the Twins roster. While all of the full-season affiliates get the same days off as the major leaguers for the All Star Game festivities, both short season teams were still in action on Tuesday. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Braves 13, FCL Twins 3 Box Score Twins starting pitcher Juan Cota worked around a leadoff double with a pair of strikeouts in the first inning, before unraveling in the second. The Braves took advantage of two hit batters, two walks, two singles, two doubles, and a sac fly to take a 7-0 lead. Cota recorded two outs in the frame, finishing with 1 2/3 innings pitched. All seven runs were earned. The Twins scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the second after Hendry Chivilli led off with a single. He was able to get 90-feet away on a groundout to the next batter, and came home on another grounder from Amilcar Vasquez. Kyle Bloor came on in relief for Cota and finished the third inning. In his 1 1/3, he allowed three hits, but no runs. Miguel Cordero went the next three innings, with the Braves eventually getting to him too. He was charged with six earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks, while striking out two. Alejandro Crisostomo finished off the game for the Twins with a scoreless seventh, though he did load the bases with a pair of singles and a walk. He struck out two. The Twins lineup added single runs in the third and fourth innings to make the final. A Jayson Bass groundout with the bases loaded in the third made it 7-2. Omari Daniel launched his first home run in the fourth. As a team the Twins finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Bryan Acuna (2-for-3, BB, K) and Daniel (2-for-3, 2 R, HR, RBI) led the way with two hits each. Bass added his sixth double of the season. Yasser Mercedes finished 1-for-4. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Marlins 5, DSL Twins 1 Box Score This game remained scoreless until the fifth inning, as both team’s starting pitchers had excellent outings. For the Twins, that was right-hander Anderson Chacon. In his five innings, he allowed just one earned run on three hits. He walked none and struck out three. He retired the first seven hitters of the game before allowing a single in the third, then retired seven more in a row before a single and double broke up his shutout. In comparison, Estarlin Francisco of the Marlins allowed only one hit, a triple to Merphy Hernandez in the second, and otherwise cruised through his five innings. Nestor Cafe came into the game to start the sixth, and the Marlins were relieved as they greeted him for a pair of runs in each of the next two frames. In all, Cafe pitched 1 1/3 innings, being charged with four earned runs on two hits and three walks. He struck out one. Sebastian Pulido (1 2/3 IP, 2 H) and Fabian Herrera (1 IP, K) finished off the final two-plus innings for the Twins. The lineup scored their only run of the game in the sixth inning after Francisco’s exit for the Marlins. Nestor Urbina drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later Daiber De Los Santos brought him in with an RBI single. The early triple from Hernandez, his first of the season, and Santos’ single were the Twins' only two hits of the game. As a team they also drew two walks and struck out only six times. They were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, leaving only three men on base for the game. Eduardo Beltre and Urbina drew the two walks. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Anderson Chacon, DSL Twins (L, 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 K) Hitter of the Day - Omari Daniel, FCL Twins (2-for-3, 2 R, HR (1), RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY #9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – Taking the place of Brooks Lee on the American League roster in the Future’s Game on Saturday, Keaschall entered the game at second base in the fifth inning. His lone at-bat came against St. Louis Cardinals #2 prospect (per MLB.com) Quinn Mathews, who ranked second in the NCAA in strikeouts last year to #1 overall pick, and starter for the National League in the All Star Game tonight, Paul Skenes. Mathews got Keaschall swinging. Despite that (wink), Keaschall was still named the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Week. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

The pitch count would be the cause for ending his outing.

Probably because he was 24/25 reaching double-A and eligible for minor league free agency. Not much more to it than that I wouldn't think. Was a late round draftee out of High School they were able to sign for about round 9 money. I love these observations for him, though. He is probably a lot more AA/AAA player than A+. I would expect him to be moved up relatively soon.

Another signing out of the Independent Leagues, which I must say, the Twins are doing really well with to bolster their system this year (Eeles went straight from Cedar Rapids to St. Paul). Deardon was in the Red Sox system from 2017 until last year, reaching double-A for the bulk of his time there, and had a cup of coffee at triple-A. Was very good in the Atlantic League, ranking top 10 in batting average (.361), slugging (.634), and OPS (1.044), with 12 home runs in 55 games. Is also one of the youngest guys you'll find on those leaderboards.

He got ran up to 37 pitches in the third inning. He's fine otherwise. Couple long at-bats and an error contributed. Twins for several years now have auto-removed any pitcher who throws 30+ pitches in any inning.