Steve Lein

While a former top prospect has been rewriting the rules around grand slams in the majors, a current top prospect in Triple-A added to their team's baseball-leading-total on the season on Tuesday. It was also the first of his career as a professional. The Cedar Rapids Kernels also clinched the second half Midwest League division title with a win, after doing the same in the first half of the season. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee) TRANSACTIONS With the affiliates off on Monday, there were multiple transactions to catch up with on Tuesday: RHP Louie Varland was recalled by the Minnesota Twins to pitch out of their bullpen. In a corresponding move, RHP Cole Sands was sent back to the Saints. UT Michael Helman was assigned to the St. Paul Saints, making his return to Triple-A. Replacing Helman in Wichita, was IF Ben Ross from the Kernels. The Wind Surge activated RHP Isaac Mattson. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 11, Louisville 3 Box Score The Saints got on the board first in the second inning when DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Yunior Severino, and Austin Martin all drew walks to load the bases. Jair Camargo brought in one with a sac fly, but Hernan Perez then lined out to keep them to just one run. Right-hander Blayne Enlow got the starting nod for the Saints and was solid through the first three innings. He scattered four hits, allowed one earned run, and struck out three. In the top of the fourth inning, the good guys broke through with a two-out rally. Martin, Camargo, and Perez all drew walks to prompt a move to the bullpen for the Bats, and Michael Helman brought them all in with a double. Alex Kirilloff followed with a run-scoring single, and it was 5-1 St. Paul. They tacked on two more runs in the fifth when Trevor Larnach led off with a single. Two batters later, Severino launched his sixth home run with the Saints, and 30th of the season to make it 7-1. Hunter McMahon was the first reliever summoned from the Saints bullpen and pitched into the fifth inning. He allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out two. He gave way to Austin Schulfer who went the next 1 2/3 innings, allowing one walk and striking out one. Jordan Balazovic started the seventh and worked around a single and a walk for a scoreless frame. In the eighth, a walk was followed by an RBI double before he was lifted for Austin Brice. In 1 2/3 innings, Balazovic was charged with one earned run on two hits and three walks. Brice finished off the final 1 1/3 innings, giving up one run on one hit and a walk. He struck out two. With the score still 7-1 in the top of the eighth, the Saints put it even farther out of reach as the first four hitters of the inning reached base, with Brooks Lee putting an explanation point on the game by slugging a grand slam the opposite way. Kirilloff (3-for-5, R, 2B, RBI) and Trevor Larnach (2-for-5, R, 2B) led the way with multiple hits for the St. Paul offense. Every hitter in the lineup scored at least one run, and Helman (1-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, K), Lee (1-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI, BB, K), and Severino (1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K) each drove in multiple runners. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Corpus Christi 5 Box Score The Wind Surge were held to just five hits on Tuesday and were never able to mount a rally against the Hooks’ pitching, so not a whole lot to recap here. Their lone run came on Alex Isola’s 19th home run of the season in the fourth inning to give them a 1-0 lead, but it did not hold up. Starter Jaylen Nowlin was excellent in five innings, allowing just one earned run on two hits. He also walked three, but was able to work around them by punching out six. The bullpen duo of Francis Peguero (2 IP, 2 H, ER, K) and Denny Bentley (1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 K) was not able to keep that going however, allowing four runs over the final three innings. Yoyner Fajardo led the way out of the leadoff spot with two hits and a walk. As a team the Wind Surge were just 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position, and left only three men on base in a game that took just two hours to complete. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Wisconsin 3 Box Score The Kernels hit the ground running early in this one, with an Emmanuel Rodriguez triple being followed by a Kala’i Rosario home run for a 2-0 lead before their starting pitcher stepped on the mound. That was righty Andrew Morris, who was excellent in the month of August, going 5-0 with a 2.00 ERA in five starts. He wasn’t able to make it to the fifth in this one, but it also could have been a lot worse. In 3 2/3 innings he gave up eight hits (all singles) and walked three, but managed to allow only three runs. He also struck out three. When he left the game in the fourth inning, his team was still in the lead thanks to a three-run third inning from his lineup. Kyler Fedko led off with his sixth home run, before consecutive walks to Noah Miller and Rodriguez put more ducks on the pond. An error led to the second run of the inning, and a sac fly from Jorel Ortega capped it off. The Kernels added an insurance run in the fifth thanks to an RBI double from Miller to score Fedko, who had walked to start the inning. The Cedar Rapids bullpen took it from there, shutting down the Timber Rattlers the rest of the way after Morris’ departure. Gabriel Yanez picked up his first win with the Kernels by completing 2 1/3 innings. He gave up two hits and struck out three. Malik Barrington (2 IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K) and John Stankiewicz (S, 1 IP, H, K) held Wisconsin scoreless the rest of the way. Fedko led the way with multiple hits, collecting a double in addition to his home run, and also drew two walks. Rodriguez and Fedko each scored two runs. The Cedar Rapids Kernels are your second half, and undisputed full-season, Midwest League West Division Champions, with their record sitting at 81-46, the best in all of the minor leagues. MUSSEL MATTERS Bradenton 10, Fort Myers 5 Box Score Starting pitcher Juan Mercedes was ambushed for three runs in the first inning, but settled in pretty good from there. He was able to complete five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits (two home runs accounting for most of the damage) and two walks. He struck out three. The Mighty Mussels got consecutive singles to the second inning, but it took a throwing error from the catcher for them to get a run across to cut the lead to two. In the fourth Rubel Cespedes led off with his thirteenth home run of the season, making the score 4-2 Bradenton. Wilker Reyes came on from the bullpen for Fort Myers to start the sixth inning and delivered a scoreless frame. Back out for the seventh however, he ran into trouble and was lifted after giving up a bases loaded double, allowing two runs to score. In 1 2/3 innings, Reyes was charged with two earned runs on three hits, one walk, and a hit batter, while striking out one. In the bottom of the eighth the Fort Myers lineup finally broke through for a crooked number on the scoreboard, closing the lead to just one run. The big hit came from Walker Jenkins, who delivered a two-run triple that made it 6-4. He then scored the third run of the inning on a groundout from Ricardo Olivar. Zach Veen came on after Reyes’ exit and got the next six outs. He did not allow a hit, but two walks led to two earned runs in the ninth inning. the next pitcher, Juan Mendez, wasn’t much better as he gave up a three-run home run and three walks before being lifted himself. Danny Moreno finally stopped the bleeding by getting a ground ball, but the score was now 10-5. The Mighty Mussels then went down in order to end the game. Jay Harry (2-for-4, R, 2B) and Cespedes (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, 2 K) had multiple hits in the loss. Jenkins finished 1-for-2 with a run scored, a pair of walks, and is now batting .441 with a 1.192 OPS in eight games with Fort Myers. Oh, and he’s also struck out only once. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Jaylen Nowlin, Wichita Wind Surge (5 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 6 K) Hitter of the Day - Brooks Lee, St. Paul Saints (1-for-4, R, Grand Slam, 4 RBI, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out our full top 20 list here and how they performed on Tuesday below! #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, GS HR (3), 4 RBI, BB, K #2 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - 1-for-2, R, 3B (2), 2 RBI, 2 BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2 R, 3B (9), 2 BB, K #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, R, 2 BB #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2B (2) #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, HR (20), 3 RBI, BB, K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, R, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3 WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (5:35 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (1-0, 1.80 ERA) Wichita @ Corpus Christi (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Carlos Luna (2-8, 5.56 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (12:10 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (4-1, 2.53 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - RHP Chris Paddack (MLB Rehab Assignment) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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I'm not a fan of calling this type of behavior from the team a "classy" move. They can spin it as doing the guys a solid and perhaps letting them get into a playoff race, but it's actually the type of thing that will piss everyone else in the league off. This just might be the type of abuse of the rules that makes MLB shut the door completely on it.

He can remind you of Ramirez, sure! I wouldn't call it a fair comparison necessarily (Ramirez is a high expectation), but I can see similarities. Severino has been playing mostly 1B with the Saints, but some 2B, and 3B as well. Can fill in at some spots in a pinch. I thought he looked pretty good at first yesterday, made a nice pick. Fun stat, Severino ranks #7 in all of the minor leagues in home runs this season, with 29. The MiLB leader has 34.

Each of the Twins affiliates who played on Tuesday were in their home ballparks, and despite the hitting being hard to come by at each level, pitching and timely hitting ended up winning the day for each of them. The Saints went to extra innings, Wichita got a big blast from a returning prospect, and a new top prospect to the Kernels came up big in their win. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Michael Helman) TRANSACTIONS In Double-A, the Wichita Wind surge were assigned LHP Jordan Carr from Cedar Rapids. RHP Isaac Mattson and SS Ernie Yake were transferred to the development list. RHP Sean Mooney was activated from the 60-day injured list. Down in Fort Myers, RHP Jeremy Lee was assigned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins. On Monday, the Saints announced that RHP David Festa was being promoted from Wichita. RHP Alex Scherff went from the Saints to the Wind Surge. In addition, utility man Michael Helman was taken off of the 60-Day IL and assigned to Wichita. RHP Ricardo Velez and infielder Luke Keaschall were promoted to Cedar Rapids from Fort Myers. Of course, the big transaction was LHP Kody Funderburk having his contract selected by the Twins. He took RHP Oliver Ortega's spot on the 40-man roster. Ortega was moved to the 60-Day IL. Bailey Ober was optioned to St. Paul where he will get the chance to rest heading to September. The Twins released infielder Mikey Perez . He had been on the Kernels roster the past month or so. SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 4, St. Paul 5 (11 innings) Box Score At CHS Field in St. Paul, the Saints went to right-hander Blayne Enlow for the start. He finished the first two innings, but allowed a run in each for an early 2-0 Clippers lead. He allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out two. In the bottom of the second Yunior Severino got him off the hook however, launching his fifth home run with the Saints, and 29th of the season, to put them out front 3-2. Brooks Lee and Trevor Larnach had drawn walks in front of him. The score stayed that way until the ninth inning, as pitching took over for both teams. For the Saints, that was Patrick Murphy who started the season as a key setup man in the bullpen, but in his last five games has gone at least three innings. He completed five scoreless innings in this one, keeping Columbus in check through the seventh. He scattered three hits, walked three, and struck out five. Jordan Balazovic came on for the eighth and had a one-two-three inning. Back out for the ninth, he was struck by some bad luck. A leadoff single put the tying run on base, a weak grounder to second advanced the runner, then another weak grounder up the middle found a hole past a sliding Austin Martin’s glove and the game was tied at three. In extras, the Saints went to Austin Brice and the Clippers struck first with a run-scoring double to make it 4-3 in their favor. He picked up two strikeouts after that to keep the game within one. In the bottom half the Saints took advantage of a little league play on an Andrew Stevenson chopper to first to tie it. It clanked off the first baseman’s glove, he threw it away toward first base to allow Jair Camargo to score, and a throw home was offline allowing Stevenson to reach second. Lee and Larnach weren’t able to bring Stevenson home, and it went to the 11th inning. Brice picked up where he left off, striking out the first two hitters of the inning, and getting a grounder to give the Saints an easier shot at the win in the bottom half. Larnach started on second base and advanced to third on a grounder, before Severino delivered a sac fly to walk it off. Brice struck out five of the seven batters he faced in extra innings, picking up his third win of the season. Larnach led the way with two hits in four at-bats, also drawing a walk and scoring two runs. The Saints were outhit 11-to-5 on the game and were just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, but did just enough to pull out the win late. Willi Castro was 0-for-4 with a pair of K’s in his rehab appearance. Stevenson was 1-for-5 and stole his 43rd base. Martin finished 0-for-4 but drew a walk and stole his 14th base. Severino finished with four RBI and the game winner. WIND SURGE WISDOM San Antonio 2, Wichita 5 Box Score Wichita got on the scoreboard first in this one, putting up a crooked number in the third inning. Jake Rucker drew a walk to lead off and Willie Joe Garry Jr. followed with a one-out double. A fielder’s choice from Yoyner Fajardo led to an out at home, but Michael Helman announced his return to action with a three-run homer for the 3-0 lead. Regi Grace got the nod as an opener of sorts, his first start of the 2023 season, and went the first three-plus innings. He retired the first eight hitters he faced, before a single was sent into right field with two outs in the third. The runner tried to stretch it into a double however, and Garry Jr. cut him down at second base to keep Grace’s batters faced at the minimum through three. In the fourth inning Grace gave up a walk and recorded two more outs before reaching his pitch count. In 3 2/3 innings pitched, he allowed just one hit, walked one, and struck out four. 32 of his 48 pitches went for strikes (67%) and lowered his ERA to 3.23 with the Wind Surge. Jordan Carr came on as a piggy-back for his first outing after being promoted to Wichita, and promptly gave up a double. This allowed an inherited runner to score, but he went on to finish 3 1/3 innings himself. He allowed one run of his own on four hits, walked one, and struck out two. In the bottom of the fifth the Wind Surge got a run back thanks to a solo shot from Garry Jr. that made it 4-1 for the home team. They added another insurance run in the eighth when Fajardo led off with a single and stole his 47th base of the season, advancing to third on a throwing error on the play. Patrick Winkel then brought him in with a sac fly for a 5-2 lead. Aaron Rozek finished the final two scoreless innings, picking up his first save with the Wind Surge in the process. He allowed one hit and struck out three. Both teams had just six hits on the game, but the home runs for Wichita provided enough scoring. Garry Jr. was the only hitter with multiple knocks, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Fajardo scored two runs and stole two bases. Top 10 major league prospects, Ethan Salas and Jackson Merrill of the Missions and San Diego Padres organization, finished the game a combined 1-for-8, with Merrill striking out twice. Salas signed in January and turned 17 in June. He is the younger brother of Kernels infielder Jose Salas . KERNELS NUGGETS Lake County 1, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score The Kernels got a very solid, if unspectacular, start from right-hander Andrew Morris. In six innings he held the Captains to just one run on four hits. He struck out only two and walked three, working around traffic to win the battles all game. He improved to 5-1 in the Midwest League as his bullpen and a new hitter in the lineup took care of business. Cedar Rapids tied the game at one in the bottom of the fourth, with Luke Keaschall taking advantage of a pair of walks in front of him to drive in a run with a single in his first game as a Kernel. He struck again in the sixth, driving in Jorel Ortega with another single to give the home team a 2-1 lead. Mike Paredes came on for the seventh inning and worked two scoreless frames. He allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out three. Still up by one in the ninth, the Kernels went to Jarret Whorff to close it out. He struck out the first hitter he faced before giving up a single. The Captains got the tying run to third base, but Whorff got both hitters after the single to pick up his second save with Cedar Rapids. The Kernels had just six hits on the game, but Keaschall came through with runners in scoring position, collecting both their hits in 10 such at-bats. Emmanuel Rodriguez joined him in the multiple hit category, finishing 2-for-4 with a double. Noah Cardenas also added a double to the effort. Jeff Johnson of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids has been following and covering the Kernels for a long time, including all of the seasons since 2013 when the Twins spent their first season in Cedar Rapids. He notes that this 2023 team is one of the best in the city's vast baseball history. Please follow Jeff on Twitter/X at @jeje66, and check out his article on how good this team has been. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers @ Clearwater - Postponed. As Hurricane Idalia approaches the gulf coast, games in the Florida State League are being postponed and/or canceled. Tuesday’s matchup is currently scheduled to be made up on September 1st, while Wednesday’s contest has been canceled. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Austin Brice, St. Paul Saints (W, 2 IP, H, R, 5 K) Hitter of the Day - Yunior Severino, St. Paul Saints (1-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out our full top 20 list here and how they performed on Tuesday below! #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2B #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, BB, K, SB (14) #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-3, 2 K #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, 2 RBI #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI, 2 K #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 2 H, ER, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Columbus @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (Triple-A debut) San Antonio @ Wichita (6:35 PM CDT) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (3-0, 1.57 ERA) Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (4-1, 2.77 ERA) Fort Myers @ Clearwater - Canceled. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

Love this. I was one of the original "Passport Club" members for Insight Brewing, had my name up on the wall and everything (though that has since been taken down). Me and a group of friends each put up $250 before they opened in exchange for $1000 in tap room credit for each of us. Was awesome, and that credit lasted me awhile and I haven't seen any other deal that good with any other new place that's been opening! Tying that into Randy Dobnak, back when FuMan Bru was on tap at Insight my friends and I made a stop there for our weekly brewery trip. Randy and his family then made an appearance wearing their mustache t-shirts. I sent off a low-key Tweet to Randy and he said he'd come say hi if we picked up some of his beer to support their charity/cause. Of course we did, and being who he is, obliged to come and chat with a bunch of Twins fans. Love the dude as a person, and never forget he was basically the best pitcher in all of the minor leagues (results wise) for over a year, culminating with his MLB debut and earning a start in the postseason for the Twins. Kudos, Dobnak and family, for everything you do on and off the field in Twins Territory!

He's still outperforming the average slash in the triple-A hitter's environment overall, but in the last month (27 games) his OPS is .180 points above league average. In August it is .335+ above league average. In my opinion, he is a legitimate promotion candidate at this point, he has been fantastic. The only problem, as has been mentioned, is the Twins have all the IL guys that need to be added back soon, there just may not be room, which can be viewed as disappointing in his case.

It was a tough day to score runs throughout the Minnesota Twins farm system on Tuesday, but the top of the lineup in Fort Myers came through multiple times in their win. In triple-A, an undefeated pitcher finally found some bad luck in hot weather, and an 18-year old you may have heard of played his last game in the Florida Complex League. TRANSACTIONS The St. Paul Saints placed RHP Austin Schulfer on the 7-day injured list with a right hip impingement. In his place, they assigned RHP Francis Peguero from double-A. Down in Fort Myers, three pitchers the Twins drafted this year made the move from the FCL Twins to the Mighty Mussels. They were RHP Nolan Santos (7th round), RHP Ty Langenberg (11th round), and RHP Xander Hamilton (14th round). Wichita Wind Surge RHP Sean Mooney was also sent on a rehab assignment to the Mighty Mussels. In not yet official moves, the Twins also announced after today’s FCL game that 2023 first round pick Walker Jenkins was being promoted to the Mighty Mussels. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Omaha 14 Box Score On a super hot and muggy night in Omaha (think even hotter than MSP today), Nebraska Louie Varland was ambushed in the second inning, leading to his first loss of the season with the St. Paul Saints. It looked good in the early going for the visiting squad, as Andrew Stevenson led off the game with his 16th home run of the season. He was followed by Austin Martin’s fifth home with the Saints for back-to-back jobs to start the game. Varland sent the Storm Chasers down in order in the bottom of the first, but that would be as good as it would get for the Minnesota native. In the second, two walks, an error, a double, and a home run turned a 2-0 lead into a 5-2 deficit the Saints would not be able to come back from. Varland did push through to finish four innings, but was charged with seven runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks. He struck out three. The bullpen didn’t fare any better, as the trio of Austin Brice (1 IP, H, 2 ER, 3 BB), Francis Peguero (2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), and Ronny Henriquez (1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, K) all allowed multiple runs as well. The Storm Chasers pounded out 13 hits and drew nine walks compared to the Saints eight and three respectively, in their blowout win. The Saints scored their other two runs in the top of the fourth thanks to singles from Anthony Prato, Jair Camargo, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. for an RBI, before a wild pitch brought Camargo home. Stevenson (2-for-5, R, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 K), Martin (2-for-5, R, HR, RBI, K), and Prato (2-for-3, R, BB, K) led the way for the Saints on offense. Trevor Larnach was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. The Saints managed to strike out four times in the eighth inning as well, which is always fun to witness. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 0, Arkansas 5 Box Score The Wind Surge were unable to solve Traveler’s pitching on Tuesday, managing just seven hits with none of them going for extra bases. They also had just three at-bats with runners in scoring position, but their lone hit wasn’t enough to bring a run home. Starting pitcher Travis Adams kept his team in the game for the first 4 1/3 innings. He gave up just one run on four hits, two walks, and struck out five. Denny Bentley came on in the fifth and recorded the next three outs. He allowed a run of his own on two hits while striking out two. Curtis Taylor got them through the seventh inning still down just 2-0, retiring all five hitters he faced including two K’s. Arkansas got three insurance runs in the eighth off of Miguel Rodriguez. He struck out two in his lone inning but also surrendered four hits. Tanner Schobel and Seth Gray each had two hits in four at-bats to lead the lineup. Alex Isola, Dalton Shuffield, and Yoyner Fajardo collected the other three singles. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, South Bend 6 Box Score The Kernel’s Christian MacLeod took the bump in this one, and was solid for five innings, falling one inning short of a quality outing. He allowed three runs on six hits, walked one, and struck out four. He left the game down 3-1, as the Kernels were only able to score on a Misael Urbina solo home run in the third inning to that point. It was his fourth home run of the season. Reliever Jarret Whorff came on for the sixth and it didn’t go quite as well for him. In one-plus innings, he allowed three runs of his own on six hits, and the Kernels were down 6-1. Malik Barrington entered the game in the seventh, and allowed a few inherited runners to score, but otherwise finished the game for the visiting team. He allowed two hits and struck out four in two innings. Cedar Rapids scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but left too many runners on base to come all the way back. With one out and the bases loaded in the eighth, a sac fly from Noah Miller was all they could muster. In the ninth, a double from Jorel Ortega scored Ben Ross, who had walked to lead off the inning. Emmanuel Rodriguez was the only hitter with multiple knocks, going 2-for-4 on the night. Urbina added a walk to his home run. As a team they had just six hits total, and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. MUSSEL MATTERS Daytona 1, Fort Myers 7 Box Score While the Tortugas struck first against Mighty Mussels starter Ben Ethridge, the right-hander’s lineup had his back, delivering a stronger counter-punch in the bottom half of the first inning. Luke Keaschall got them going with a one-out triple, and Ricardo Olivar followed with a single to tie the game at one. Two batters later, Rubel Cespedes hit his 11th homer of the season, making it 3-1. After the minor blip in the first, Ethridge worked around baserunners for the rest of his five total innings. In all he was charged with just one earned run on six hits and four walks. He struck out three, with 52 of his 83 pitches going for strikes (63%). Fort Myers—or more specifically, Keaschall, Olivar, and Cespedes—tacked on two more runs in each of the third and fifth innings to extend their lead to 7-1. In the third Keaschall led off with a double, Olivar traded places with him for another RBI, and Cespedes later delivered a sac fly. In the fifth Keaschall drew a walk, Olivar was hit by a pitch, and Cespedes clubbed an RBI double. Danny De Andrade added a sac fly. Starting his rehab assignment from Wichita, righty Sean Mooney pitched the sixth inning for Fort Myers. He faced four batters, walking one and striking out two. Danny Moreno then pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowing one hit and one walk. He struck out two. Zach Veen finished off the game with a scoreless ninth inning, giving up one hit and striking out one. Both teams had eight total hits in the game, but the Mighty Mussels were 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position, compared to 2-for-10 for the Tortugas. Keaschall (2-for-2, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 BB), Olivar (2-for-3, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI), and Cespedes (2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI) obviously led the way. Alex Sayre also chipped in two hits in four at-bats. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Red Sox 1, FCL Twins 3 Box Score The Twins had just four hits in the game compared to the Red Sox’s seven, but they did get one hit with the bases loaded to score two, while the visitors went 0-12 with runners in scoring position. Anderson Nova’s two-run single in the fourth inning put the Twins on the scoreboard first, and a few walks later they had a 3-0 lead that would hold up. Byron Chourio drew two walks, one of them good for an RBI, and stole a base. Bryan Acuna and Wilfri Castro collected the other two hits, with Castro’s going for a double. Walker Jenkins singled, stole a base, and drew a walk in four plate appearances, which turned out to be his last game on the back fields in Fort Myers. Eduardo Soriano made the start and completed 5 2/3 innings. He scattered four hits, walked one, and struck out two. Relievers Julio Bonilla (2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) and Jeferson Lopez (1 IP) kept the Red Sox at bay the rest of the way. In other FCL news, pitcher Kyle Bischoff was named the FCL pitcher of the week. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Eduardo Soriano, FCL Twins (W, 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 K) Hitter of the Day - Rubel Cespedes, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2-for-3, R, 2B, HR (11), 4 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY We have again updated our top 20 prospect list. Check out the full list here and how they performed on Tuesday below! #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 0-for-4 #2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL) - 1-for-3, BB, K, SB (4) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4 #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, R, HR (5), RBI #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-for-4 #10 - Luke Keaschall (Fort Myers) - 2-for-2, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 BB #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 3 K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 2 K #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, RBI WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-5, 9.20 ERA) Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (2-3, 4.56 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Andrew Morris (3-1, 2.57 ERA) Daytona @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - RHP Jack Noble (0-2, 3.15 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

For some extra browsing, in addition to updating our own Top 20 prospect list (linked in article), MLBPipeline also released their newest top 100: https://www.mlb.com/prospects/top100/ Twins have 3 players in it: 16. Walker Jenkins 18. Brooks Lee 52. Emmanuel Rodriguez

Agree. I wouldn't call any of his pitches as "plus," but he is one of the better command/control guys with an elite SO/BB ratio. Locates everything he throws, so they play up some.

Without going in depth looking at it, I'd point to their pitching. The Wind Surge have been a top offense in the Texas League all season, but they've also had one of the worst pitching staffs. But David Festa has been a lot better in the second half. Pierson Ohl has been great for over a month. Carlos Luna had also been good enough to get a spot start in St. Paul last week. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and a half-game out of first in their division in the second half at 20-20.

Watched the whole game, I'm not underselling it. After the two doubles to start the game, the first of which was probably the weakest hit double I've ever seen, it was nothing but ground balls squeaking by the gloves of infielders, or being hit in such a way a play to get an out wasn't possible. By my count, he broke four bats, and of those three ended up as hits, which is just ridiculous. Brooks Lee also made one of the best SS plays I've seen this season on a slow chopper in the hole, backhand stab, strong throw across his body on the move. The runner just beat it. 🤷‍♂️ (on this front, Lee has looked better than I expected as a SS this season, I think he could absolutely stick there if needed) Randy is still having an issue of not being able to put guys away as good as he'd like (he's recently stated since his finger injury, his sinker isn't as good), but 9 times out of 10 if he pitches like he did yesterday he's going to have better results. I'm also not saying he's due to come to Minneapolis over other guys right now, but he could be a great long-man option if a need comes up.

I don't see any reason they wouldn't be in Fort Myers to start next year. I also don't think it's out of the question one or both of them get some run there to end this season. Alex Kirilloff started at low-A his first year after being drafted. Royce Lewis played 18 games there the season he was drafted. Martin has been looking like a guy recently. It's a great development if he keeps it up.

Fun anomaly in the statcast data from the Saints game yesterday: Martin's home run definitely was not the longest ball hit in baseball this season (Ohtani has a 493-footer on record), but it was a laser beam shot onto the berm in LF. Wonder what caused it to register like that!

In Tuesday’s action, a former major-league pitcher looked to continue his re-ascension in St. Paul, an up-and-comer shoved again for Wichita, and high school draft picks from earlier this summer stood out in Fort Myers. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Pierson Ohl) TRANSACTIONS After his brief promotion to Triple-A, RHP Carlos Luna was assigned back to the Wind Surge on Tuesday. C David Banuelos was activated from the injured list for Wichita, while C Frank Nigro was transferred to the development list. Down in Fort Myers, RHP Matt Gabbert was assigned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL, and C Dillon Tatum was also activated. RHP Johnathan Lavallee was released. SAINTS SENTINEL Indianapolis 8, St. Paul 5 Box Score Randy Dobnak has been on quite a run for the Saints lately, and he looked to continue that this week in a pair of starts against Indianapolis. To say it didn’t go his way in this one, would be an understatement, but it was not because he was bad. What I want you to focus on if you click that box score, is the fact he made it through four innings, and not that he allowed 11 hits in them. Because those 11 hits were mostly full of complete garbage that just found hole after hole or open grass. Even when he broke multiple hitter’s bats, they ended up going for hits. It was kind of upsetting. All that said, it still led to the Saints being down 7-1 after his outing was finally finished. Six of those went in the book as earned runs. He also walked three batters and struck out four. The Saints scratched across a run in the first inning. Andrew Stevenson led off the game by drawing a walk and stole his 39th base of the season. Kyle Garlick drove him in with a double. In the bottom of the sixth, Brooks Lee sent a liner past the center fielder, and ended up with his first triple with the Saints. Trevor Larnach drove him in with a sacrifice fly. In the eighth inning, Lee added another sacrifice fly that made it 8-3. Out of the bullpen, the Saints got two scoreless innings from Austin Brice after Dobnak’s exit. He walked one and struck out one. Cody Laweryson (2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, K), Kody Funderburk (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 K), and Austin Schulfer (1 IP, 1 H, K) completed the final three innings. In the bottom of the ninth, the Saints managed to get the tying run in the batter's box, but it wasn’t meant to be. Jair Camargo drew a one-out walk. Austin Martin sent his third home run with the Saints onto the berm in left field to make it 8-5. A pair of walks brought Lee to the plate, and he took a big hack to try and tie it up, but ended up grounding out to first before Trevor Larnach went down to end the game. The Saints cobbled together just five hits in the game. They were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and left only seven men on base. Stevenson reached base three times in five at-bats. Martin played in left field and had an outfield assist. WIND SURGE WISDOM Springfield 2, Wichita 5 Box Score Alex Isola and Patrick Winkel ambushed the Cardinals starter in the bottom of the first with back-to-back jacks for an early 2-0 lead. Isola’s blast was his third home run in his past four at-bats. Fresh off an eight-inning outing his last time out, starter Pierson Ohl was solid again in this one. He picked up his fifth win with a quality start. In six frames, he allowed two earned runs on just three hits and one walk. He punched out six. In three August outings, Ohl has a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings, going 3-0 and striking out 15 compared to just two walks. The Wind Surge added some insurance for their starter in the third inning with a two-out rally. The bash brothers from earlier, Isola and Winkel, started it by drawing a walk and knocking a single, respectively. Aaron Sabato then stepped in and launched his eighth home run of the season to make it 5-0 Wichita. Denny Bentley came on for the seventh inning and added two scoreless innings of relief. He allowed just one hit and struck out one. Miguel Rodriguez picked up his first save with a scoreless ninth. He worked around a pair of hits by striking out one. The three (Isola), four (Winkel), and five (Sabato) hitters for the Wind Surge combined to go 7-for-10 with all five runs scored, a double, three home runs, and all five RBI in this one. The rest of the lineup came up with just two hits in their 22 at-bats. Yoyner Fajardo stole his 41st base of the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 1, Cedar Rapids 4 Box Score The Kernels got strong pitching performances from Kyle Jones and Jarret Whorff to keep the Timber Rattlers at bay most of the game. Jones got the starting nod and went the first four innings. He allowed just two hits, walked three, and struck out three in four scoreless innings. Whorff went the next three frames to pick up the win. He gave up just one hit, one walk, and struck out three. Cedar Rapids took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning thanks to Jorel Ortega’s seventh home run in the Midwest League, and 13th overall of the season. The home team made it 3-0 in the fifth after Carson McCusker’s fourth Kernels home run and an RBI groundout from Ben Ross. The Kernels finished off their scoring in the eighth when Noah Cardenas drew a walk with the bases loaded. They could have broken the game open then, as there were no outs and all four hitters had reached base, but the next three went down in order. Malik Barrington picked up his second save by finishing the final two innings. He allowed one run on three hits and struck out three. In the leadoff spot, Noah Miller went 2-for-4 with a double and scored a run. Ross drew two walks and scored a run. In addition to his home run, Ortega also drew two walks. Emmanuel Rodriguez and Midwest League RBI leader Kala’i Rosario both finished 1-for-4. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Palm Beach 2 Box Score Starting pitcher Juan Mercedes delivered a solid five innings to pick up his second win of the season. He allowed no runs, scattered six hits, and struck out three in five scoreless innings. The Mighty Mussels took the lead in the top of the second thanks to Danny De Andrade, who led off with a single, stole second base, and scored on a single from Rubel Cespedes. They added a pair of runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to extend their lead to 5-0. Ricardo Olivar drove in two with a single in the fifth. Alec Sayre drove in one run with a bases loaded ground ball in the sixth, and Cespedes scored the second on a wild pitch. Wilker Reyes contributed three innings from the bullpen. He was charged with the Cardinals two runs on five hits, and struck out four. Ricardo Velez finished off the game with a scoreless ninth. He allowed one hit and struck out two. Fort Myers tacked on four runs in the ninth for an extra cushion. With the bases loaded, Nate Baez delivered a two-run single, and a third run scored on an error. Kyle Schmidt then drove in Baez to cap the scoring. Jay Harry (2-for-5, R, 2B, K), De Andrade (2-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2 SB), and Baez (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, K) each had multiple hits. Luke Keaschall added a double, a walk, and scored two runs in four at-bats. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 7, FCL Braves 11 Box Score The Braves jumped all over Twins pitching early, and put enough distance between them to hold off a comeback from the Twins. Starting pitcher Eduardo Soriano was only able to record three outs, pitching into the second inning but not recording an out. He surrendered five runs (four earned) on four hits, a walk, and struck out one. Julio Bonilla came on and recorded six outs, but didn’t fare much better on the scoreboard. He allowed four runs on three hits and four walks. He did strike out four. Down 9-0 heading into the sixth, the Twins finally broke through. An error and singles from Isaac Pena and Walker Jenkins loaded the bases for Brandon Winokur, and an RBI groundball got them on the board. Harold Grant then cashed in the other two runners with a single to make it 9-3. In the seventh. a pair of walks preceded a pair of doubles from Endy Rodriguez and Winokur that made it 9-6. In the top of the ninth Walker Jenkins blasted his second home run as a pro, a solo shot to give the Twins their final tally on the scoreboard. Relievers Sean Mooney (1 IP, 2 K), Jefferson Lopez (3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K), and Miguel Olivares (1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB) accounted for the rest of the innings from the pitching staff. Jenkins (2-for-5, 2 R, RBI), Winokur (2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, K), and Grant (2-for-5, 2 RBI, K) led the way on offense with multiple hits. Winokur also had an outfield assist. Anderson Nova added a double. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Angels 7, DSL Twins 1 (7 innings) Box Score Right fielder Jayson Bass went yard for the Twins in the bottom of the fourth inning, but that was basically it for the offense on the day. They collected just four hits as a team, were 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position, and left only two men on base for the game. They also didn’t draw a single walk. If there was a positive, they struck out only five times, so they were putting the ball in play. Carlos Silva, Ewing Matos, and Javier Roman each had a single to account for all of their hits. On the mound Leonardo Lugo got ambushed in the first two innings, but pushed through to finish three frames with a one-two-three third inning. He was charged with six runs (five earned) on eight hits and a pair of walks. He struck out one. Reynel Garcia added two scoreless and hitless innings in relief of Lugo, then Eider Machuca (1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K) and Oscar Paredes (1/3 IP) finished off the shortened seven inning contest. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Pierson Ohl, Wichita Wind Surge (W, 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) Hitter of the Day - Aaron Sabato, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-3, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY We have again updated our top 20 prospect list. Check out the full list here and how they performed on Tuesday below! #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, 3B, RBI, K #2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 2-for-5, 2 R, HR (2), RBI #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, K #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, HR (3), 2 RBI #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K #9 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, K #10 - Luke Keaschall (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 K #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2 SB (14) #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-for-5, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP Louie Varland (7-0, 4.03 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Travis Adams (2-8, 6.24 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Christian MacLeod (4-0, 3.86 ERA) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Ben Ethridge (2-5, 2.34 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Walker JenkinsBrooks LeeEmmanuel RodriguezMarco RayaDavid FestaCharlee SotoAustin MartinConnor PrielippTanner SchobelLuke KeaschallBrandon WinokurYasser MercedesSimeon Woods RichardsonJordan BalazovicBrent HeadrickKala'i RosarioYunior SeverinoCory LewisMatt CanterinoNoah Miller

Walker JenkinsBrooks LeeEmmanuel RodriguezMarco RayaDavid FestaCharlee SotoAustin MartinConnor PrielippTanner SchobelLuke KeaschallBrandon WinokurYasser MercedesSimeon Woods RichardsonJordan BalazovicBrent HeadrickKala'i RosarioYunior SeverinoCory LewisMatt CanterinoNoah Miller

Winokur is going to be an interesting one to follow. He's a big kid already, and he's only 18 so I suspect he's going to get even taller. I like that he plays SS and the athleticism is definitely there, but in terms of the position, he's pretty much already outgrown it (think Oneil Cruz on the Pirates, the tallest SS in major league history at 6'7"). So a few of things he has no control over working against him there, but he's playing in the outfield already too. Definitely a great start!

He's been like that the entire season. Can definitely point to it as a contributor to struggles this season. This start was actually one where he was doing enough right for it not to matter, until they put him out for the sixth inning. I was watching the entire game and thought 100% he was, or should have been, done after the fifth. In that 6th he hung a couple changeups that went for the home runs.

R & B of MSP?!

Yup, wasn't saying it was great, and the more balls you allow to be put into play, the worse. But saying everything was "well hit" against Keuchel just wasn't true. Again, 4 of the Diamondbacks hits didn't even exceed 65 MPH. This is definitely who Keuchel is, but he's also been in the past, and so far with the Twins, one who succeeds despite this deficiency. If the Twins get this Keuchel more than they don't, it's a success, in my opinion.

To be quite blunt, looking at velocity only on the batted balls like this and using the data to say stuff was well struck, is not the reality. A line drive at 90 MPH is much different than a ground ball at 90 MPH. One is going to look good, the other is going to look routine. Launch angles play a role too, and is why there is this thing called "barrels" associated with exit velocity/launch angle. You point out 13 hits that you classify as "well hit," when in actuality, only 6 would be classified as barrels, while at least 10 of them would go into the "poorly hit" category. I'm not saying giving up 6 barrels is great, but it's a lot better than you're making it out to be. He also gave up four singles that didn't leave the bat at higher than 65 MPH. As a comparison in this game, Zac Gallen, arguably the far better pitcher, also gave up 4 barrels on 14 balls in play. This is my way of telling you each pitcher gave up the exact same percentage of barrels on ball in play.

I think the ABS system is playing a role in the hitters, for sure. For example, the average OPS in the league in 2022 was .750. This year it is .801 (The bats lead the league at .881, Saints are at .827). On-Base-Percentage is also up universally by about 20 points (.358). For comparison, average OPS and OBP in the majors this season is .733 and .320, respectively. So an "average" triple-A hitter this season is basically putting up All-Star numbers for the majors with how it has worked out. Hope Manfred is paying attention. If he wants more offense/action, this very likely is the way. At least should highly consider using the challenge-system version.