Steve Lein

Morris would be toward the top of my list for pitchers to transition into the bullpen. While I agree there was some "unlucky" in his outings this year, he was also very hittable at times and things went bad quickly when they did. His WHIP was outstanding in 2024, but backed up considerably in 2025 at the higher levels. I view him very similarly to how I did Louie Varland, for an off-hand comparison.

Probably a waste of his overall athleticism, but I personally wouldn't rule it out based only on that, either.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Photo of Hunter Hoopes) Game Results: Monday, 10/14 | Scottsdale 9, Peoria 5 Wednesday, 10/15 | Glendale 6, Peoria 4 Thursday, 10/16 | Peoria 6, Mesa 2 Friday, 10/17 | Peoria 11, Salt River 4 Saturday, 10/18 | Salt River 7, Peoria 5 (7 innings) Sunday, 10/19 | Mesa 12, Peoria 6 After finishing week one with a 3-1 record, the Peoria Javelinas looked to continue their early success as a team in week two, but the wins were harder to come by. They lost the first two games of the week to fall to .500, before bouncing back with a pair of convincing wins by a combined score of 17-6. But as is common out in the desert, that was followed by another two-game losing streak. They finished week two with an even 5-5 record. They're now tied for third in the standings, first in ERA as a pitching staff (4.75), and fourth in OPS (.767) out of the six teams. Before getting to the Twins prospects, take a look at the top performers of the week according to MLB.com and get to know a few of the standouts that are your favorite prospect’s competition out in Arizona. While none of the Twins players show up on that list, one of them has collected at least one hit in each of his games so far; another came up with a timely knock in multiple clutch situations; and one pitcher put together a dominating multi-inning relief appearance. OF Hendry Mendez Week (2 games): 3-for-7, R, 2B (1), RBI, BB, K Overall: .300/.391/.500 While Mendez only got action in two games during the week, he continued his successes of Week 1 by extending his AFL hitting streak to his first five games. He made one start in right field, and one in left. In Wednesday’s loss to Glendale, Mendez batted third in the lineup. His single in the bottom of the third put a runner in scoring position who would later score to make it 3-1 in favor of Peoria. For unknown reasons, Mendez would end up being pinch-hit for in the bottom of the fifth, so he finished 1-for-2. His only other action of the week came in Friday’s win over Salt River. Taking over the leadoff spot, Mendez picked up two hits and a walk in five plate appearances, including his first AFL double. His RBI single in the fifth made the score 8-3 Javelinas. IF Billy Amick Week (3 games): 0-for-9, BB, 3 K Overall: .000/.300/.000 Amick is still looking for his first hit in AFL play and has continued to split his time at the infield corners, playing two games at first and one at third in Week 2. He batted at the bottom of the Peoria lineup. In addition to the one walk he drew in Friday’s win, Amick was also hit by pitches multiple times. So despite the “0-fer” in his three games, he did reach base three times in 12 total plate appearances. While I’m sure this has been a frustrating first two weeks for the slugger, things can turn around quickly in this small-sample-size season. No reason to write anything off yet. IF Brandon Winokur Week (4 games): 3-for-16, R, 4 RBI, BB, 2 K, SB (1) Overall: .207/.281/.207 Winokur made the start in four of the Javelinas' six games on the week, spending three of them at shortstop and one of them at third base. He’s been batting in the back half of the lineup, but finished the week hitting fifth on Sunday. While the three hits in 16 at-bats on the week don’t scream greatness, Winokur did make them count in the clutch. He racked up four RBIs with them. In Tuesday’s loss against Scottsdale, his two-out single in the bottom of the first made the score 5-4 Scorpions. In Friday’s win over Salt River, another two-out single scored Mendez (who had led off with his double) and Cam Collier to put the Javelinas up 4-0. In addition to those big hits, Winokur stole his first base of the season, but also committed three errors on defense during the week. LHP Zander Sechrist Week (2 appearances): 3 IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K Overall: 0-0, 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .143 BAA, 2 BB, 4 K (4 IP) Sechrist pitched in two games last week, making his first appearance in the seventh inning on Wednesday with his team down 6-3. He held up his end of the bargain, pitching two scoreless innings, including a 1-2-3 seventh. His two-out walk in the eighth was his only baserunner allowed, while 12 of his 21 pitches went for strikes (57%). In Sunday’s loss to Mesa, Sechrist again came on for the seventh inning, with his team down 10-6. He got a pair of groundouts before a single and a walk got him into some trouble, but struck out the final hitter he faced to keep his week scoreless. Just like his first appearance, 12 of his 21 pitches in this one went for strikes (57%), while topping out at 87.6 MPH with the “unorthodox” pitching arsenal that made him a legend at Tennessee. RHP Miguelangel Boadas Week (1 appearance): 3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K Overall: 0-0, 3.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, .238 BAA, 5 BB, 5 K (6 IP) Boadas again worked as the “bulk” reliever in his lone appearance on the week, which came in Saturday’s loss to the Salt River Rafters. With the game tied 1-1, Boadas came on in the top of the third and would finish the fifth. In addition to three walks in his three innings, he also hit a pair of batters and allowed lone runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but the score was 5-3 going into the sixth. On the bright side, he did strike out top prospect Charlie Condon and induced a pair of double-play balls. Of his 44 total pitches, 25 went for strikes (57%). He induced seven swings and misses, and topped out at 96 MPH with his fastball. RHP Dylan Questad Week (1 appearance): 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 BB, K Overall: 0-1, 16.20 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, .167 BAA, 4 BB, K (1 2/3 IP) Questad came on for the final inning of Peoria’s matchup with Salt River on Saturday, with his team up 5-3. He got the first two outs, including a strikeout, before catastrophe happened. Twelve of his next 16 pitches went for balls, and the bases were suddenly loaded for the Rafters. With the game on the line, Questad was removed while responsible for all of them. They would all score, as two consecutive singles put the Rafters in front, and they’d add another insurance run to make the final in the game’s seven innings. RHP Jakob Hall Week (2 appearances): 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB, K Overall: 0-0, 13.50 ERA, 1.88 WHIP, .364 BAA (2 2/3 IP) Hall’s first appearance of the week came out of nowhere, as he was the reliever summoned after starting pitcher Luis De Leon suffered an injury in the fifth inning of Thursday’s win over Mesa. Coming on cold and with runners on first and second, Hall gave up a sac fly to score Mesa’s first run of the game, but then picked up a groundout to escape any other damage. In Sunday’s blowout loss to Mesa, Hall came on for the fourth inning and worked around a one-out walk to deliver a scoreless frame. Back out for the fifth, it didn’t go nearly as well. Back-to-back singles to start it off were followed by a three-run home run to put the Javelinas down by five and end Hall’s outing. In an inning plus, he was charged with three earned runs on three hits and one walk, while striking out one. RHP Hunter Hoopes Week (1 appearance): 2 IP, BB, 4 K Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, .000 BAA, 2 BB, 5 K (3 IP) Hoopes was called upon for just one appearance on the week, but it was a multi-inning outing. With Peoria up 8-4 on Friday, Hoopes came on to begin the bottom of the seventh and capsized the Rafters for his two frames. He issued a one-out walk in the seventh, but followed it up by striking out the next two hitters to end his first inning. It was much of the same in the eighth, minus a free pass, as he retired all three hitters—including another two strikeouts—to punctuate his outing. Of his 31 pitches, 20 went for strikes (65%), with six of those being the swinging variety. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects playing in the AFL this week! View full article

I'm a veteran of this! Been doing this for 10+ years at Twins Daily, and many years elsewhere before then. I am a huge fan of the league! But that plays a bit into your question as well. Mendez is the closest to the majors, and I believe would be Rule 5 eligible this year, but is almost certain to be protected I would think. The Twins have definitely adopted a different approach to who they send to the league over the last few years, and specifically with the Falvey regime. The top prospects close to the majors used to always be sent. Byron Buxton, Mitch Garver (twice), Max Kepler (twice), Royce Lewis... 5 years ago I would have thought Walker Jenkins would have been a lock after his 2025 season, but no longer. That being said, I like the group of hitters that is there this year. The pitchers also have a chance to make a name for themselves, and make up some innings in some cases. There are definitely a lot of teams who still act this way and treat the league as a bit of a proving ground. I mentioned a few of them. That said, I would definitely say teams across the league have an aversion to sending such pitchers. Andrew Painter was in the league last year, but he was also needing to make up innings when finally healthy.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge Game Results: Monday, 10/6 | Peoria 4, Scottsdale 3 Wednesday, 10/8 | Peoria 8, Mesa 6 (10 innings) Thursday, 10/9 | Surprise 7, Peoria 2 Friday, 10/10 | Salt River 1, Peoria 15 Saturday, 10/11 | All games postponed Sunday, 10/12 | All games cancelled Minnesota Twins prospects are playing for the Peoria Javelinas during the 2025 Arizona Fall League season, alongside fellow prospects from the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, and San Diego Padres organizations. St. Paul Saints hitting (and first base) coach Danny Marcuzzo is also part of the coaching staff. Along with Brandon Winokur, other top prospects on the Javelina’s roster from these teams include outfielder Jonny Farmelo (Mariners), outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. (Orioles), catcher Alfredo Dunn (Reds), and catcher/first baseman Lamar King Jr. (Padres). Farmelo (#65) and Dunn (#42) reside in MLB.com’s top 100. Other big names in the circuit for the 2025 season include shortstop Kevin McGonigle of the Detroit Tigers (#2), shortstop Sebastian Walcott of the Texas Rangers (#6), and outfielder Josue De Paula of the Los Angeles Dodgers (#13). So, like nearly every year, there is plenty of hitting talent ready to step into batters' boxes out in the desert. The Javelinas got off to a solid start, finishing 3-1 in their four games during the first week, good for second in the overall standings. They kicked off the entire AFL campaign last Monday, by defeating the Scottsdale Scorpions 7-1 thanks in part to the first home run in the league coming off the bat of a Twins prospect. They also took down the Mesa Solar Sox in extra innings before losing their first game on Thursday against the Surprise Saguaros, but rebounded in a big way to blow out the Salt River Rafters on Friday. In quirks of mother nature, the weekend's games were either postponed or cancelled, as Hurricane Priscilla turned into tropical storm level rains as it made landfall and passed over parts of southern California, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. While none of the Twins prospects got mentioned as “top performers” in Week 1, there were moments from a pair of hitters and nearly all of their pitching prospects took part in shutting down the Rafters to close the week. OF Hendry Mendez Week (3 games): 3-for-13, 5 R, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 BB, K, SB (1) Overall: .231/.333/.462 (.795 OPS) Mendez got the week started for the Javelinas in a big way, hitting the first home run from anyone during the AFL season in his first at-bat, to tie their Monday matchup against Scottsdale at 1-1 in the top of the second inning. In his three games on the week, Mendez spent two of them in left field, and one of them in right, batting sixth in the lineup in the opener, then cleanup in his final two games. He collected a hit in each of those three games on the week, and along with that AFL opening salvo scored three runs, including a steal of home on a double-swipe, in Friday’s 15-1 blowout win over Salt River. He finished that one 1-for-4, also drawing a pair of walks and reaching base on an error that also gave him credit for an RBI. IF Billy Amick Week (2 games): 0-for-5, 2 BB, 5 K Overall: .000/.375/.000 (.375 OPS) Amick would probably like to forget his first week out in the desert, as each of his outs in two games came on strikeouts, but his second game was much better than the first despite that stat-line quirk. In Monday’s league opener he batted fourth and played third base, but finished 0-for-4 with the dreaded golden sombrero. In Thursday’s loss to the Saguaros he played first base and batted eighth in the lineup, finishing 0-for-1 with a pair of walks compared to just one K. IF Brandon Winokur Week (3 games): 3-for-13, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 K Overall: .231/.333/.231 (.564 OPS) Like Amick, Winokur also had a rude introduction to competition in the AFL, finishing Monday’s win 0-for-4 with a regular sombrero, but rebounded in his next two games with three hits in nine at-bats while also walking twice. He played shortstop in two games and third base in the other, while batting sixth or seventh in the lineup. In Wednesday’s extra-inning win over Mesa, his single in the top of the 10th loaded the bases, and he eventually came home from third on a sac fly that made it 8-5 in favor of Peoria. His best game of the week came on Friday, as he finished 2-for-4 with two walks and matched Mendez by scoring three runs himself. Mariners top prospect Jonny Farmelo drove in him and two others with a bases clearing triple in the fifth that made the score 15-0. LHP Zander Sechrist Week (1 appearance): 1 IP, H, ER, 2 K Overall: 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .250 BAA, 2 K (1 IP) Sechrist was the first Twins pitcher to make an appearance on the week, as the first reliever summoned in Thursday’s tilt against Surprise. He was greeted quite rudely, as the third pitch of his outing was blasted out to right field by a fellow lefty, in Wuilfredo Antunez of the Cleveland Guardians. He didn’t let it affect him though, as he struck out the next two batters looking and got the other to ground out to finish strong. Of his 20 pitches, 15 went for strikes (75%) including a pair of swings and misses. RHP Miguelangel Boadas Week (1 appearance): 3 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .100 BAA, 2 BB, 3 K (3 IP) Boadas kicked off a train of four Twins pitchers who would close out the final six innings of their blowout of Salt River on Friday. He pitched the bulk of the game, finishing a team leading three innings, beginning with the top of the fourth. With his team already in front 7-0, he worked around a one-out walk and two-out double with a pair of strikeouts to keep the Rafters off the scoreboard. After his teammates extended that lead to 11-0 he pitched a clean fifth, walking one before closing out his outing with a one-two-three sixth, including a three-pitch and swinging strikeout of 2024’s third overall draft pick, Charlie Condon of the Colorado Rockies. Boades needed just 35 pitches to finish his three innings, with 20 of them going for strikes (57%), including six swings and misses, topping out at 96.2 MPH with his fastball. RHP Dylan Questad Week (1 appearance): 1 IP, H, BB Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, .250 BAA, BB (1 IP) Questad was the second Twins pitcher in Friday’s big win, coming on for the seventh against the bottom of the Rafters lineup. He got two quick outs before a walk and a single put a runner in scoring position, but induced a fly-ball to end his outing in scoreless fashion. He threw 26 pitches in the frame, with 14 going for strikes (54%), including a pair of swings and misses. RHP Jakob Hall Week (1 appearance): 1 IP, H, ER Overall: 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .250 BAA (1 IP) Hall was the next pitcher up in the top of the eighth, and with his team up by 15 runs was surely advised to just throw strikes. Unfortunately for him, the Rafters coaches probably told their hitters that would be the case, and the first pitch of his appearance was right down the middle, and subsequently taken deep for the Rafters lone run of the game. He remained committed to the plan however, retiring the next three hitters and needing just 10 pitches (six for strikes) to do so in his appearance. RHP Hunter Hoopes Week (1 appearance): 1 IP, BB, K Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .000 BAA, BB, K (1 IP) Twins Daily’s #4 MiLB Relief Pitcher of the Year came on to finish the Rafters off in the ninth on Friday to close out the Javelinas first week of the AFL season. His first four pitches resulted in two outs, including a strikeout, before he issued a two-out walk for his lone baserunner allowed in his AFL debut. He ended Salt River's misery by getting the final man to fly out to Mendez in left field, and put an exclamation point on week 1 of the AFL season. Hoopes threw 12 pitches, with seven of them going for strikes (59%) and his strikeout was the swinging variety on a 93 MPH fastball at the top of the zone. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects playing in the AFL this week! View full article

After watching this for multiple years in the minors, I am all for it. I am 100% against full robot umpires, as I think that takes some of the soul out of the game, but love the challenge stuff. It's entertaining for players, fans, and broadcasts. It is also very quick. I'd say the graphic is up within 5 seconds of challenging. There was a Saints game I went to last year, where in the final few innings both teams were challenging everything because the umpire was so bad. And they were able to, because the calls kept getting overturned. There was like 8 challenges in one inning between the teams, and only one was correct. It was hilarious. The fans and teams were just laughing at the ump, and you could tell he started to be embarrassed.

You are most welcome!!! As always, thanks for reading!!!

TRANSACTIONS With most of the affiliates season’s over, there were no transactions in the Twins system over the last two days. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Memphis 7 Box Score The last time Saints starter Andrew Morris had given up more than two runs in a game, is all the while back on June 12th. In his seven games since (including five starts), Morris has pitched to a 2.42 ERA with 32 K’s in 26 total innings. You can add another five innings with just a lone earned run to that streak as Morris continued to be excellent in this one. He retired the first nine he faced in this one before a leadoff single in the fourth finally gave the Redbirds a baserunner. A stolen base and a couple of fly balls got them their first run of the game to pull within one. The Saints were ahead at that point as DaShawn Keirsey Jr. led off the game with a double, and came around to score after singles from Gabriel Gonzalez and Kyler Fedko in the first. They added a second run in the fourth when Kyler Fedko and Jonah Bride each doubled. In the top of the sixth the Saints seemed to break it open. Walker Jenkins got it started with a one-out single, stole second bases, and then advanced to third on the error throw. Fedko and Payton Eeles followed with walks to load the bases, before Bride brought in the first run of the inning with an RBI single. Jose Miranda followed with a grounder toward third but the throw went awry allowing two to score for a 5-1 lead. Morris finished a scoreless fifth inning to end his outing. The Redbirds got just the one run against him, on just one hit and one walk. He struck out two and 48 of his 76 pitches went for strikes (63%). Big left-hander Christian MacLeod came on to start the sixth inning, but it quickly went pear-shaped. A leadoff walk and pair singles loaded the bases before he got an out on an RBI groundout. A sac fly made it 5-3, before Blaze Jordan clubbed his 27th home run of the season to tie it at five. A double and second home run followed for a 7-5 Memphis lead before MacLeod got out of the inning. In the top of the eighth Jenkins reached base as the leadoff man on an error, and Fedko followed with a single to put the tying runs on base. A wild pitch and a stolen base put them both in scoring position, but only Jenkins made it home on a grounder from Bride to make the final of 7-6. Jarret Whorff finished the final two innings for the Saints bullpen, allowing one hit and striking out two. On the hitting front Gonzalez (2-for-5, R, K), Fedko (3-for-3, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 SB), and Bride (2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI) each had a pair of hits. Jenkins finished 1-for-4 out of the third spot in the lineup, scored two runs, and stole his third base with the Saints. KERNELS NUGGETS Midwest League Championship Series Game 2: West Michigan 3, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score After going with Garrett Horn in game one against the Whitecaps, the Kernels sent out right-hander Ty Langenberg to keep their championship hopes alive. Langenberg pitched the entire season in the Midwest League, making 21 starts and pitching over 100 innings. He faced West Michigan once during the regular season, taking the loss in a 3-2 game where he pitched into the seventh inning. He had to do a bit of work in every of his innings in this one, as the Whitecaps had runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings. West Michigan used a leadoff walk and a single in the third to put up their biggest threat. But thanks to a big strikeout and a double-play ball, Langenberg limited the damage to just a single run. In the top of the fifth he gave up a leadoff single, then the baserunner stole West Michigan’s fourth base of the game to put another runner in scoring position. Langeberg retired the next two hitters, but with that runner on third the Kernels went to the bullpen and Brennen Oxford, who struck out the final batter of the inning to keep the score 1-0. Langenberg finished 4 2/3 innings, allowing the one earned run on five hits and three walks, while striking out four. He threw 81 pitches, with 51 of them going for strikes (63%). The Kernels offense got a good start to the game from Kyle DeBarge, who led off the bottom of the first with a triple. Unfortunately, a grounder from Eduardo Tait two batters later ended with him being thrown out at home. A leadoff double from Poncho Ruiz ended with the same scoreless result, as Cedar Rapids couldn’t string any hits together early. Spencer Bengard came on from the bullpen to start the sixth inning, and he quickly retired the first two hitters, including a strikeout. But the next batter clubbed a triple over the head of Misael Urbina in left field to give the Whitecaps another threat. A walk put a second runner on bases, before an RBI double was sent into right-center field. It took a bit for the ball to get back to the infield, so the trailing runner got sent home as well, where an awkward relay throw and athletic tag play from Ruiz was ruled as an out to end the inning. But West Michigan still had a 2-0 lead. In the bottom half the Kernels finally put some things together. A one-out single from Tait, a two-out single from Danny De Andrade, and a walk to Urbina loaded the bases and chased the Whitecaps starter from the game. Unfortunately, the home team still didn’t get the clutch hit as Caden Kendle went down swinging. Bengard retired the side in order in the seventh, but found himself in trouble again in the eighth after a single and double to start the frame. He struck out his third batter before the Kernels went to the bullpen and Ruddy Gomez. Gomez also got a strikeout on his first batter, but the strikeout pitch was buried in the dirt and got past Ruiz, allowing the Whitecaps third run of the game to score. Gomez got out of the inning without any more damage, but the Kernels had work to do. In the bottom of the eighth Billy Amick and De Andrade got the rally started that they needed, opening with back-to-back singles to bring a tying run to the plate. A groundout moved them both into scoring position before Kendle was hit-by-a-pitch to load the bases. A wild-pitch finally got the Kernels on the scoreboard and they had life with one out. A walk from Ruiz again loaded the bases for Jaime Ferrer, but his grounder turned into a double-play to end the inning, and any of the Kernels chances. Gomez struck out two in a one-two-three top of the ninth, but the same fate awaited the top of the order for the home team in the bottom-half, and they fell 3-1 to the Midwest League Champion, West Michigan Whitecaps of the Detroit Tigers organization. The Kernels had their opportunities to force a deciding game, but as a team finished 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and left 11 men on base in the contest. De Andrade (2-for-4) and Ruiz (2-for-3, 2B) each had two hits. While they weren’t able to hoist the trophy in the end, it’s no small feat to reach the Championship Series and challenge a team that finished with a winning percentage over .700 on the season, which equated to a 20.5 game lead over the Kernels in the standings. The Whitecaps led the league in runs per game (almost one run more per game than the Kernels, who finished third), OPS from their lineup (Kernels were second), and ERA (over a full run better). Congrats to Cedar Rapids on another great season! TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris, St. Paul Saints (5 IP, H, ER, BB, 2 K) Hitter of the Day – Kyler Fedko, St. Paul Saints (3-for-3, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 SB) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they performed on Tuesday. #1 – Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 1-for-4, 2 R, SB (3) (played CF) #4 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, 2 K (played DH) #10 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 2-for-5, R, K (played DH) #12 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, BB, 2 K (played SS) #16 – Andrew Morris (St. Paul): 5 IP, H, ER, BB, 2 K #17 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 3B, BB, 2 K (played 2B) #19 – Kyler Fedko (St. Paul): 3-for-3, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 SB (10) (played LF) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Memphis (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP John Klein (0-4, 5.82 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games, and the end of the season for the Cedar Rapids Kernels! 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The Arizona Fall League rosters for 2025 are out. Twins prospects are playing on the Peoria Javelina's roster this year: https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/2025-arizona-fall-league-rosters?t=arizona-fall-league-coverage After a couple very disappointing years as far as who's been sent, I'm pleasantly surprised this go 'round. Pitching in the AFL is always lacking as far as "Top prospects" go unless there are innings being made up (Andrew Painter did pitch in the league last year), but there are some arms that have shown glimpses for the Twins: RHP Miguelangel Boadas RHP Jakob Hall RHP Hunter Hoopes RHP Dylan Questad LHP Zander Sechrist The "big" names are the position players: 3B Billy Amick IF Brandon Winokur OF Hendry Mendez The AFL Season begins on October 6th with Peoria facing Scottsdale in the kickoff game.

Not that this doesn't still happen a...vast majority...of the time with prospects ready to be major leaguers, but there actually was a rule change in the last CBA that has helped to incentive teams to not do it with guys they might consider "can't miss" and are ready for the majors to start a new season (debatable on if this is or will be the case with Jenkins). It's called the "Prospect Promotion Incentive" and is meant "to encourage teams to promote their best young players to the big leagues as early as possible" by dangling a draft pick to be awarded based on the prospects performance (FAQ: https://www.mlb.com/news/prospect-promotion-incentive-faq). It is still pretty hard to qualify for, as a "prospect" has to accrue a full year of service time and factor into a major league award (i.e.: Rookie of the Year, MVP, Cy Young). If they don't as a rookie, but still accrue a full year of service, they remain eligible to earn a PPI draft pick by factoring into the major awards before becoming arbitration eligible. Bobby Witt Jr. did this for the Royals. Julio Rodriguez, Corbin Carrol, and Gunnar Henderson are the other three players that have. Could Walker Jenkins be the next? Some of the leading contenders for Rookie of the Year in 2025 are probably Nick Kurtz in the AL, and Isaac Collins and Drake Baldwin in the NL. Kurtz would not be eligible to earn a PPI draft pick because the Athletics kept him down for service time, but I think Collins and Baldwin would be.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Sam Armstrong) TRANSACTIONS Over in St. Paul, the Saints activated OF Emmanuel Rodriguez from the 7-day injured list and his rehab assignment. RHP Noah Davis was also activated, while RHP Brooks Kriske was outrighted to St. Paul from the Twins. With the Wind Surge, catcher Ian Daugherty was promoted from Fort Myers. In advance of their Midwest League Playoff series, the Cedar Rapids Kernels activated OF Caden Kendle from the 7-day injured list and transferred RHP Julio Bonilla to the Development List. Despite their season being over, the DSL Twins joined in on the transaction action, activating RHP Fernando Hernandez from the restricted list. SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 2, St. Paul 1 Box Score The Saints got a quality start from right-hander Andrew Morris, who lowered his ERA to 3.80 on the season, but hits were hard to come by for both teams, with the Clippers pitching matching his efforts. He gave up both of the Columbus runs, but they were of the unearned variety in the second inning after an error from Tanner Schobel at second base. After a leadoff double in the third, Morris retired nine in a row to keep the Saints within one in the middle innings. He finished six frames, allowing three hits and two walks, while striking out two. The Saints lineup scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the second. Emmanuel Rodriguez drew a leadoff walk in his first at-bat back with the Saints. A wild pitch and two groundouts later he was able to score to make it 2-1. There were obviously nothing but zeroes over the final seven innings, as each team mustered only three apiece, and they combined to go 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Relievers Aaron Rozek (2 2/3 IP, 3 BB, 3 K) and Erasmo Ramirez (1/3 IP) finished off the final three innings for the Saints. Gabriel Gonzalez had two of the Saints three hits, finishing 2-for-4 with two strikeouts. Jonah Bride picked up their other single. Will Holland drew two walks to turn the lineup over to Jenkins, who went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in his CHS Field debut. The Saints have now infamously lost 10 in a row, with the franchise record of 11 staring them down. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Corpus Christi 0 Box Score The Wichita Wind Surge began their final series of the regular season on Tuesday against the Corpus Christi Hooks. They still have a chance at securing a Texas League playoff spot, as they sit two games back of the Tulsa Drillers for second place in the North Division. The Springfield Cardinals won the first half, so despite leading the division comfortably in the second half as well, the playoff spot will go to the second place finisher. Right-hander Sam Armstrong took to the mound for this one, and he held the Hooks scoreless over his five innings. He allowed just two hits, walked two, and struck out three to lower his ERA since coming over to the Wind Surge to 3.93. In his last three starts he’s thrown 16 innings, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits and four walks, while striking out 14. Those two earned runs also came in the first inning of the first game in that sequence, so his last 15 innings with the Wind Surge have been of the scoreless variety. His offense put him in line for the win in this one by scoring in three of the first six innings. Ricardo Olivar delivered the first run of the game in the third with an RBI single. An error in the fifth allowed their second run to scamper home before the Wind Surge's power came out in the sixth. Ben Ross led off the inning with his 13th home run on the season. Three batters later, Maddux Houghton launched his second of the year to put them in front 4-0 Logan Whitaker came on from the bullpen for the sixth and seventh innings, and did a perfect Armstrong imitation. His only baserunner was a walk, and he struck out two to lower his ERA below 2.00 with Wichita. Mike Paredes finished the shutout with two scoreless innings of his own. He allowed no hits, walked one, and struck out two to close it out. The Wind Surge offense only outhit the Hooks 5-2 on the game and also struck out fifteen times as a team, but took advantage with some timely stolen bases and the two homers to push them to the victory. Kala’i Rosario finished 0-for-4 but also stole two bases, giving him 28 on the season. Harry Genth went 1-for-2, scored two runs, and stole his fourth base out of the nine-hole. Elsewhere in the Texas League, the Arkansas Travelers fell to the Tulsa Drillers in 13 innings by a score of 4-3. The Wind Surge remain two games behind the Drillers with five games to play. KERNELS NUGGETS Midwest League Playoffs, Game 1: Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 7 Box Score The Cedar Rapids Kernels punched their ticket to the Midwest League playoffs by winning the West Division in the first half with a 40-26 record. Their opponents, the Beloit Sky Carp won the second half with a 38-27 record while the Kernels finished 32-34. Getting the game one starting nod for the Kernels, was righty Jose Olivares who was coming off a one-hit, six-inning effort his last time out, where he also set a career high for strikeouts with 10. He was on point again early in this one. He allowed a leadoff double in the bottom of the first but got a double-play and a pop-out to escape. There was a two-out single and a walk in the second, but he picked up his second strikeout to end the frame. In the third there was a single, but another strikeout to keep the game 0-0 through three. In the bottom of the fourth he made his first big mistake, leaving a pitch over the middle of the plate that was sent over the fence in right field by Beloit’s Wilfredo Lara for a 1-0 lead. Olivares did strike out all three other hitters in the inning, but the Sky Carp had struck first. In the top of the fifth the Kernels finally answered despite chances in every inning to that point. Kyle DeBarge led off the inning with a walk, their seventh free pass so far. As he does, he would steal second base to put himself in scoring position, and Danny De Andrade drove him in with a two-out single to tie it at one. In the bottom half, Olivares got two outs, but three walks also loaded the bases to end his start. Chase Chaney came on in relief and it almost turned into a disaster. DeBarge misplayed a ball at second, allowing one run to score, but Marek Houston was in the right spot to get to it and fire it home to catch the third out before he could score. Olivares finished 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and four walks, while striking out seven. 53 of his 85 pitches went for strikes (63%), including 15 swings and misses. Chase Chaney got the final out of the fifth and the first two of the sixth before disaster struck. A pair of singles, then two walks scored the first run of the inning and loaded the bases. Then two more singles finished a four-run two-out rally to give Beloit a 6-1 lead. Paulshawn Pasqualotto got a grounder to stop the bleeding, but the Kernels lineup would have a lot more work to do. Pasqualotto would get the first two outs of the seventh, but a single and a pair of walks loaded the bases again to end his appearance. Ruddy Gomez then came on and walked his first batter making it 7-1, before striking out the next to end the inning. Pasqualotto was charged with one earned run on one hit, two walks, and struck out two. Jacob Kising pitched the eighth, striking out one. The Kernels weren’t able to muster any comeback attempt, and their last 10 hitters of the game were retired by the Sky Carp bullpen. They were outhit 9-4 in the game and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, leaving nine men on base. Houston (1-for-4, BB, 2 K), DeBarge (1-for-2, R, 2 BB, K), De Andrade (1-for-4, RBI, K) and Misael Urbina (1-for-4) collected the hits, all singles. The Sky Carp lead the three-game Division series 1-0, and they will head to Cedar Rapids for the final two games (if necessary). TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Sam Armstrong, Wichita Wind Surge (W, 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K) Hitter of the Day – Harry Genth, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they performed on Tuesday. #1 – Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 0-for-4, 2 K (played CF) #2 – Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): game in progress #4 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-2, 2 BB (played C) #5 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 0-for-3, R, BB, 3 K (played RF) #10 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2 K (DH) #12 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, BB, 2 K (played SS) #16 – Andrew Morris (St. Paul): W, 6 IP, 2 R (0 earned), 2 BB, 2 K #17 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, K, SB #19 – Kyler Fedko (St. Paul): 0-for-3, BB, 2 K (played 1B) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Columbus @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - RHP John Klein (0-3, 5.60 ERA) Wichita @ Corpus Christi (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (2-2, 2.92 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

I wouldn't call him smooth to this extent. I've always seen him as an "out of control runner," mainly due to the speed at which he can move. This is how he's gotten himself into so much trouble, and injuries, in the outfield. He can get to basically anything, but there have always been plays he had no business even attempting because of it. I think maniacal is a good explanation of that trait, and this is one of the prime examples of what I'm talking about: https://www.mlb.com/news/byron-buxton-slams-into-wall-leaves-game

He definitely has kind of done a 180 on what was his "hitting profile" when drafted. I think it's great for his development! And while I agree with the under-rated comment to an extent, you may be pleasantly surprised by this link: https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/3b/

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Kala'i Rosario) While a former prospect who came into the majors hot a few years ago claimed Twins Daily’s Minor League Hitter of the Month award in July, he has since found himself back in the majors after the drastic Twins trade deadline. As the calendar turned to August, it was some of those new prospects (and veterans) who staked their claim to the award mentions this month. While we will go into some further depth on the top four, first let's talk about a few honorable mentions. Honorable Mentions: Walker Jenkins was recently promoted to the St. Paul Saints and just had a bit of a breakout performance at his new level. To get there, he ended his final 21 games with Wichita on a tear, posting a 1.121 OPS including five doubles and five home runs. Multiple teammates at his new assignment also had strong months, as Payton Eeles (.415 OBP), DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (.500 SLUG), and Gabriel Gonzalez (.308 AVG) put up stand-out numbers. Down in the Dominican Summer League Joyner Perez, Darwin Almanzar, and Jamesson Val also closed out their seasons with OPS’s above .900 on the month. So, there were several strong contenders for this award in August, but let's see who rose above them all to take the top spots. 4. Enrique Jimenez, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels Stats: .298/.459/.632 (1.091), 11 R, 2 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 17 BB, 19 K, SB (16 games) Acquired in the trade of Chris Paddack to the Detroit Tigers, Jimenez is a 19-year-old switch-hitting catcher who began his season in the Rookie Leagues. Upon his arrival at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers, the Twins immediately bumped him to the Mighty Mussels, and he’s been one of the best hitters in the Florida State League since. His six home runs are tied for third on the team in just 19 games, while team leader Yasser Mercedes has 10 homers in 90+ games. Almost 90% of his plate appearances have come against older pitchers this year, and he could creep into top 20 Twins prospect lists heading into the 2026 season if he doesn’t slow down. 3. Jhonny Pereda, St. Paul Saints Stats: .348/.516/.630 (1.146), 10 R, 5 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 15 BB, 12 K (14 games) The Twins claimed Pereda off waivers from the Oakland Athletics back in July and while he has spent a few days on the MLB roster, he has only played with the Saints since then. He started as part of their catcher rotation but as his bat heated up in early August, he started getting a bulk of the work in the middle of the month. In his first 8 games with St. Paul, he hit .393/.500/.679, then drove in four with a pair of late doubles against the Round Rock Express on 8/23. While Pereda has yet to get any serious run at the major league level, he has hit .295/.392/.418 in 253 career games in Triple-A. 2. Kyler Fedko, St. Paul Saints Stats: .300/.377/.550 (.927), 21 R, 7 2B, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 12 BB, 27 K, 7 SB (25 games) The soon-to-be 26-year-old outfielder led Double-A in home runs with 20 before being promoted to St. Paul to start the month of August. He hasn’t missed a beat in the International league, posting his second highest monthly OPS on the year with a .927 mark in his first 25 games. He’s added six home runs to his Twins minor league leading total with 26 on the year. In his first 12 games with the Saints, Fedko did nothing but hit, batting .370/.455/.674 with five doubles and three homers. He punctuated his excellent debut at the new level with a 5-for-5, multi-home run, explosion on 8/19. Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month: 1. Kala’i Rosario, Wichita Wind Surge Stats: .305/.421/.714 (1.135), 27 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR, 23 RBI, 20 BB, 30 K, 4 SB (27 games) Rosario took a 95-octane-soaked-flaming-torch-of-a-bat to the Texas League during the month of August. He comfortably led the circuit in homers on the month with 11, was second in RBI with 23, and trailed only Arizona Diamondbacks top 100 prospect Ryan Waldschmidt in OPS by .008 points. His 25 home runs and 81 RBI on the season (as of 9/2) with Wichita also leads the league. While the strikeouts may remain high (27.4% of plate appearances), his 69 walks (13.1%) also rank second overall, and he’s shown improvement as the year has gone on. His strikeout rate was 43.5% in April but checked in at 23.8% this past month. The former Midwest League MVP has had a resurgent season, and the month of August was on another level, eclipsing his prior month-best OPS on the year by nearly .200 points. 11 of his 27 games on the month had multiple hits, including a two-home run, six RBI outburst last Thursday against Arkansas where he walked it off with a grand slam to put an exclamation point on his summer with the Wind Surge. It is certain he will be in St. Paul to begin the 2026 season, but there remains a good chance he gets a taste of Triple-A to end the 2025 campaign as well. Who would have made it onto your ballot? What else was exciting about the hitters talked about above or anyone else in the Twins farm system in the last month? View full article

Yup, he started the year at #3 on that same list, hence why I mentioned the falls. That was the highest I remember him being on any list. Keith Law started him at #5, and in the midseason update was #11. Fangraphs had him at #17 and is now #28. Just a couple of examples of why I say I could expect him to be "borderline top 10." But also, that is kind of semantics, as I do think he can start 2026 where he did 2025 and get more helium to rise to where you state.

I wouldn't be so sure Jenkins is going to be in the top 5 anywhere. He had a decent fall from early season lists this year (where he was borderline top 10) after being injured and taking a while to really start hitting with any authority when he came back. He's the only player with a ⬇️ arrow on the first page of Fangraph's "the board" (at #28). While I think those drops are influenced a bit for the wrong reasons at this point—and he came on really good in Wichita for about a month before his promotion—it will take a bit more time for those lists to catch back up. In his first 19 games of July his OPS was only .744, and that's the player that he looked like (his OBP and SLUG were the same, while Wichita as a team leads the Texas League with a .786 OPS). In his next 21 games before the promotion to St. Paul he pumped that OPS to 1.121 (!), and that's also definitely what he looked like. So him being really good this year is only a recent development, IMO. If he ends this year hitting well with the Saints he can probably get back to where he started the year, and I personally would be pretty happy with that!

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Jake Rucker) With the major league squad, RHP Mick Abel was optioned back to the St. Paul Saints while the Twins recalled OF DaShawn Keirsey Jr, RHP Noah Davis, and RHP Travis Adams. For the Cedar Rapids Kernels OF Caden Kendle was placed on the 7-day injured list and, in his place, IF Billy Amick was activated from it. Down in the Florida State League SS Yilber Herrera was assigned back to the FCL Twins. They then were assigned 2025 draftees RHP Michael Hilker, RHP Merit Jones, SS Bruin Agbayani, and SS Quintin Young to bolster their roster. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Louisville 9 Box Score Lefty Kendry Rojas took the bump for the Saints on Tuesday in their series opener with the Mets, but he is going to want to forget this one pretty quickly. He was only able to record one out, throwing 40 pitches (22 for strikes) in the first that ended with Louisville up 7-1. He was charged with those seven earned runs on seven hits and two walks. His lone out came on a strikeout of Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Darren McCaughan cleaned up the mess in the first and finished two more scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and walked two in 2 2/3 innings, striking out four. The Saints did strike first in the top of the first when Payton Eeles led off with a double. Kyler Fedko brought him in three batters later with an RBI single. Fedko drove in their second run of the game in the third on another single. The Bats added two more in the bottom of the fourth against Christian MacLeod, but he was able to complete three innings in relief. He allowed five hits, one walk, and struck out three. Cody Laweryson finished off the final two innings, allowing no runs on one hit and one walk, while striking out three. The Saints did make it close in the end, scoring three in the sixth and one in each of the eighth and ninth frames. In the sixth it was a double from Carson McCusker, an error, and three walks that allowed them to close the lead to four. In the eighth Jose Miranda led off with a double and scored on an Eeles groundout. Walker Jenkins led off the ninth with his first triple as a member of the Saints. He scored on a McCusker single. The Saints did get the tying run on base, but Miranda went down swinging to end the game. The Saints got multi-hit efforts from Fedko (2-for-5, 2 RBI), McCusker (2-for-5, R, 2B, RBI, K), and Miranda (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, K). Jenkins batted third playing center field and had three hits in his five at-bats. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 2, Wichita 12 Box Score The Wind Surge battered the Drillers with an eight-run third inning to pick up their seventh win in a row and pull within one game of a playoff spot in the Texas League. Starting on the mound for Wichita at home was Ryan Gallagher, and backed by that big inning picked up his fourth win of the season. He finished five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk. He struck out eight and 59 of his 84 pitches went for strikes (70.2%). With Tulsa up 1-0 in the bottom of the third, the Wind Surge sent 11 men to the plate that culminated in a grand slam from Jake Rucker to put them up by seven. There were two singles, two errors, and four walks that contributed the tally. Ben Ross added an RBI double in the fifth, and Kaelen Culpepper his 10th home run of the season for the Wind Surge in the sixth to make it 10-2. Kala’i Rosario got into the fun in the eighth, launching his 25th home run of the season, a Wind Surge franchise record, to make the final score. The bullpen trio of Darren Bowen (2 IP, H, 4 BB, 2 K), Logan Whitaker (IP, 2 H, K), and Hunter Hoopes (IP, K) kept the Drillers in check for the rest of the game after Gallagher’s fine start. The Wind Surge were outhit 9-6, but took advantage of eight walks from Tulsa pitchers and the big inning to win this one handily. Rosario had two hits in five at-bats, scored two runs, and drove in three. Culpepper scored three runs out of the leadoff spot, finishing 1-for-4 with the homer, a pair of walks, and stole his ninth base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 1 Box Score Kernels pitching owned the night on Tuesday, as the good guys outhit the hosting squad 10-2 on the game. Jose Olivares made the start, and was excellent for the first six innings. After a pair of errors and a double in the first that led to the River Bandits lone run, he retired the next seven before a two-out walk in the third. He allowed his second walk of the game in the fifth, but struck out the side in the sixth to end his dominance with an exclamation point. His 10 strikeouts on the game set a new career high, and of his 85 pitches, 59 went for strikes (69%), including a whopping 21 swings and misses. He evened his record at 6-6 on the season. After the defensive miscues in the bottom of the first, the Kernels had Olivares back in the top of the second. Danny De Andrade delivered a one-out double to put a runner in scoring position. Rayne Doncon brought him in with an RBI single. With two outs, Jefferson Valladares delivered a single to move Doncon up a base, and Marek Houston’s grounder to short was misplayed for a run-scoring error and 2-1 lead that would hold up for all the final seven-plus innings. That was because reliever Matt Gabbert didn’t miss a beat following Olivares to begin the seventh. He retired his first seven before a one-out single in the ninth. Just like Olivares, he responded by bearing down and striking out the final two hitters of the contest. He picked up his first save of the season with Cedar Rapids, with his three scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and struck out five, including nine more swings and misses on his 33 total pitches (27 for strikes). Doncon led the way with three hits in four at-bats and scored a run. Jaime Ferrer added a double to the effort. Eduardo Tait and Houston each picked up a hit. Valladares finished 2-for-4. MUSSEL MATTERS St. Lucie 11, Fort Myers 6 Box Score After five innings the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels led this one 6-4, but the St. Lucie Mets had other plans for the rest of the game. The Hammond Stadium faithful were treated to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as Enrique Jimenez launched his sixth home run in just 19 games with the team. This number is even more noteworthy, as team leader Yasser Mercedes has 10 homers in 92 games on the season. In the bottom of the fourth the Fort Myers offense pushed across three runs after Jimenez led off with a single. Eduardo Beltre was hit by a pitch and Ryan Sprock drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Mercedes provided a sac fly to score their second run of the game, before JP Smith II sent a two-RBI single into left field for the one run lead. Starting pitcher Michael Ross got the home team through five innings and left with the score 6-4 Mighty Mussels. He was charged with those four runs (three earned) on four hits and a pair of walks. He struck out one. Dylan Questad came on to start the sixth inning, and a leadoff triple followed by an RBI double snowballed into a 6-6 tie after six. Questad gave up one more run in the seventh and began the eighth, but wasn’t able to record another out. When it was all said and done Questad had given up six runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks, while striking out three. Brent Francisco got them through the eighth, but allowed a pair of inherited runners to score and one of his own to make the final score. He struck out three. Xavier Kolhosser got the ninth, walking one and striking out one. Jimenez (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB) and Smith II (2-for-4, 2 RBI) each had two hits in the loss. 2025’s second round draft pick, Quintin Young made his professional debut at shortstop, batting second. He finished 0-for-4 with a walk and scored three runs, but also struck out three times. Bruin Agbayani batted leadoff and played second base, finishing 2-for-5 with a run scored. While the home team hit .500 (2-for-4) with runners in scoring position, they managed far less opportunities than the Mets (5-for-20) as they allowed 11 stolen bases to the opposition. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jose Olivares, Cedar Rapids Kernels (W, 6 IP, H, R, 2 BB, 10 K) Hitter of the Day – Kala’i Rosario, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-5, 2 R, HR (25), 3 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they performed on Tuesday. #1 – Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 3-for-5, R, 3B #3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 1-for-3, 3 R, HR (10), RBI, 2 BB, SB (9) #5 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, 2 K #9 – Kendry Rojas (St. Paul): 1/3 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, K #11 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 0-for-5, RBI #13 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, K #14 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, 2 K #17 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, K, SB (64) #19 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, BB, K #20 – Hendry Mendez (Wichita): 0-for-5, R, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (11:05 AM CDT) - RHP Andrew Morris (4-4, 4.12 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Sam Armstrong (1-1, 5.40 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM CDT) - LHP Garrett Horn (0-1, 2.87 ERA) St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Eli Jones (2-10, 5.44 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Walker Jenkins Contact, plate discipline, athleticism and 5-tool potential keep Jenkins as the undisputed #1. He has fallen some on national lists due to injury absences, but he has had a fantastic season, and just got promoted to triple-A as a 20-year old. Those lists likely catch up and put him back in the top 15 area. He has been showing a bit more power recently, which had been a note I'd pointed out in the past.Eduardo Tait Newcomer has shown his power in the form of exit velocities since coming over, and a strong arm at the catcher position, but there are questions on if he will be able to stick there.Luke Keaschall Last time he's going to appear on this list. Just keeps making things happen.Kaelen Culpepper May have hit a bit of a wall during a long season, but was gangbusters for most of the 2025 campaign. Has shown pop and looks good at SS or 3B. Emmanuel Rodriguez Needs to stay healthy or is only going to start falling on this list even further. Tools are there. Big power, excellent outfield defense. Definition of a glass-cannon unfortunately.Connor Prielipp Getting his feet wet now in triple-A. Command issues coming back from his injuries continues to show up in games, but so does the good stuff. No point in him auditioning in the bullpen the rest of this year, just finish healthy!Dasan Hill Big velocity from a young lefty, but still needs to hone his control. Common issue for HS draft hurlers so he just needs to pitch at this point.Mick Abel I love Abel's stuff, but it might play better from the bullpen if he's unable to harness command of those pitches. He's reminding me a lot of Jhoan Duran, and I think that same transition is a good possibility to happen.Kendry Rojas Lots of potential in this lefty, but similar issues in that he needs to get innings and harness some control. Is in triple-A and would be one of my top picks to send to the AFL, but doubt that happens.Gabriel Gonzalez Tore up the Texas league and is now getting used to triple-A. He may only be a DH, but the potential of his bat to carry him there is present with a bit more development.Charlee Soto I don't like to drop guys too far for missing time to injury, but the fact of the matter here is several people above him have balled out and others have joined the organization while he's been on the sidelines, so fall he does (from #4 back in April for me). Can hit 100 MPH as a starter, so there's nothing for him to feel bad about here. Easily can climb back up when he gets back on the mound.Marek Houston So far has done what should be expected of an advanced college hitter coming into the lower levels of the farm system. Now in Cedar Rapids needs to finish strong, but defense has been as advertised thus far.Brandon Winokur Big time athlete in a big body. Stats won't jump off page, but if he can put it all together the big league comparison could be O'neil Cruz.Riley Quick Would be surprised at this point to see him pitch in the minors this season, but Quick has the starters frame and four-pitch mix with a fastball up to 99 post-surgery.Marco Raya Needs to pitch with confidence. Believe he's bullpen bound (and should be) but his stuff should play well there.Andrew Morris Could get an audition as the Twins go through pitchers on the 40-man roster to end the season. Another guy I could see benefitting by switching to the bullpen.Kyle DeBarge 62 steals in 67 attempts on the season, an unheard of number for Twins prospects. There's no power here, but can offset that a little with his speed.Quentin Young There's a huge arm and huge power in this bat, but will have to wait to see it in action.CJ Culpepper Has gotten ramped back up to 5 inning outings after starting the year on the injured list. Results have been solid in double-A despite increased walks and less strikeouts than his track record. Would be another strong candidate on the pitching side to go to the AFL.Payton Eeles I'm picking my favorite here of several options (Ryan Gallagher, Billy Amick, Ricardo Olivar, Eduardo Beltre, James Ellwanger, Khadim Diaw). I will be annoyed if Eeles does not get a chance with the Twins in September. Has been the same guy for the Saints from 2024 for over a month now coming back from knee surgery. He's not a standout anywhere, but can basically play anywhere and battles in the batters box.

Walker Jenkins Contact, plate discipline, athleticism and 5-tool potential keep Jenkins as the undisputed #1. He has fallen some on national lists due to injury absences, but he has had a fantastic season, and just got promoted to triple-A as a 20-year old. Those lists likely catch up and put him back in the top 15 area. He has been showing a bit more power recently, which had been a note I'd pointed out in the past.Eduardo Tait Newcomer has shown his power in the form of exit velocities since coming over, and a strong arm at the catcher position, but there are questions on if he will be able to stick there.Luke Keaschall Last time he's going to appear on this list. Just keeps making things happen.Kaelen Culpepper May have hit a bit of a wall during a long season, but was gangbusters for most of the 2025 campaign. Has shown pop and looks good at SS or 3B. Emmanuel Rodriguez Needs to stay healthy or is only going to start falling on this list even further. Tools are there. Big power, excellent outfield defense. Definition of a glass-cannon unfortunately.Connor Prielipp Getting his feet wet now in triple-A. Command issues coming back from his injuries continues to show up in games, but so does the good stuff. No point in him auditioning in the bullpen the rest of this year, just finish healthy!Dasan Hill Big velocity from a young lefty, but still needs to hone his control. Common issue for HS draft hurlers so he just needs to pitch at this point.Mick Abel I love Abel's stuff, but it might play better from the bullpen if he's unable to harness command of those pitches. He's reminding me a lot of Jhoan Duran, and I think that same transition is a good possibility to happen.Kendry Rojas Lots of potential in this lefty, but similar issues in that he needs to get innings and harness some control. Is in triple-A and would be one of my top picks to send to the AFL, but doubt that happens.Gabriel Gonzalez Tore up the Texas league and is now getting used to triple-A. He may only be a DH, but the potential of his bat to carry him there is present with a bit more development.Charlee Soto I don't like to drop guys too far for missing time to injury, but the fact of the matter here is several people above him have balled out and others have joined the organization while he's been on the sidelines, so fall he does (from #4 back in April for me). Can hit 100 MPH as a starter, so there's nothing for him to feel bad about here. Easily can climb back up when he gets back on the mound.Marek Houston So far has done what should be expected of an advanced college hitter coming into the lower levels of the farm system. Now in Cedar Rapids needs to finish strong, but defense has been as advertised thus far.Brandon Winokur Big time athlete in a big body. Stats won't jump off page, but if he can put it all together the big league comparison could be O'neil Cruz.Riley Quick Would be surprised at this point to see him pitch in the minors this season, but Quick has the starters frame and four-pitch mix with a fastball up to 99 post-surgery.Marco Raya Needs to pitch with confidence. Believe he's bullpen bound (and should be) but his stuff should play well there.Andrew Morris Could get an audition as the Twins go through pitchers on the 40-man roster to end the season. Another guy I could see benefitting by switching to the bullpen.Kyle DeBarge 62 steals in 67 attempts on the season, an unheard of number for Twins prospects. There's no power here, but can offset that a little with his speed.Quentin Young There's a huge arm and huge power in this bat, but will have to wait to see it in action.CJ Culpepper Has gotten ramped back up to 5 inning outings after starting the year on the injured list. Results have been solid in double-A despite increased walks and less strikeouts than his track record. Would be another strong candidate on the pitching side to go to the AFL.Payton Eeles I'm picking my favorite here of several options (Ryan Gallagher, Billy Amick, Ricardo Olivar, Eduardo Beltre, James Ellwanger, Khadim Diaw). I will be annoyed if Eeles does not get a chance with the Twins in September. Has been the same guy for the Saints from 2024 for over a month now coming back from knee surgery. He's not a standout anywhere, but can basically play anywhere and battles in the batters box.