Steve Lein

As your resident "AFL-reporter," this years list is a little bit of a "down" year as far as name recognition goes, but Rosario and Cossetti coming from A-ball shouldn't be overlooked. That's a big feather in their caps and says more than you think about their perceived potentials from inside the Twins organization. I'd expect Ethridge and Carr to potentially makes some starts, probably around 15-20 total innings. Veen, Barrington, and Labas should all pitch around 10 innings. Sabato will be interesting to me. I'd like to see him be a bit more aggressive and see what happens.

It's a fair opinion on him rehabbing, but these stats are a bit misleading. I watched him pitch with Wichita last week and St. Paul last night. He's throwing a ton of strikes (72% in those two games), and getting swings and misses in bunches (17 total in those 7 innings, or 16.5%, which matches his strikeout rate like it should so not a mirage). The velocity is up from where he's been in the shorter bursts. I definitely think he can be a weapon. Especially if the Twins have to pull a starter early, he can potentially lengthen the bullpen to their studs.

Curious why you have this opinion? He has been fantastic in his rehab, and was excellent last night. Fastball velocity is great, changeup basically unhittable. I think he could be a great ace in the hole for the bullpen. My intent in that first sentence about him was not to diminish his outing, because it was again fantastic!

Game 2 of the Midwest League Championship Series between the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Great Lakes Loons wasn’t able to be completed on Tuesday night, but it was a great game until the rain moved in. The Saints game in St. Paul saw a plethora of rehabbers play a role, including a couple fantastic outings from rehabbing pitchers you may be interested in. Image courtesy of William Parmeter, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (photo of Andrew Morris) TRANSACTIONS The Saints had an active day in transactions, with a bunch of major league rehabbers joining the team across the river in St. Paul. RHP Chris Paddack, RHP Jorge Alcala, and LF Joey Gallo were all sent on rehab assignments with Saints. RHP Carlos Luna was transferred to the development list. RHP Curtis Taylor was promoted from the Wichita Wind Surge to the Saints. SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 2, St. Paul 4 Box Score With the plethora of major league rehabbers joining the roster, the St. Paul Saints went with a bullpen game of sorts on Tuesday. The entire staff of seven who made an appearance was basically lights out against the Mud Hens. Hunter McMahon served as the opener and delivered a scoreless inning, working around one hit and two walks by inducing an inning-ending double-play. That would be a theme for the night, as the Saints completed four of them in total, while Toledo added three more. Austin Schulfer was the next man up and walked one and struck out one in a scoreless second inning. In the bottom half of the frame the Saints got their scoring started. Yunior Severino led off with a walk, and two-batters later Jair Camargo clubbed his 20th home run of the season for a 2-0 lead. The home team then turned the ball over to their first rehabber, in right-hander Chris Paddack. It didn’t go so well after a strikeout to his first batter, as a walk and two singles loaded the bases with one out, but Paddack bore down and struck out the next two hitters to keep the Mud Hens scoreless in the third. He went on to retire the final eight hitters he faced, picking up another strikeout in each inning to finish with five in his outing. Overall he allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out five while topping out above 98 MPH with his fastball. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Saints extended their lead to 4-0 when DaShawn Keirsey Jr. led off with a single, rehabber Nick Gordon was hit by a pitch, and rehabber Joey Gallo delivered an RBI single. Trevor Larnach followed with a single of his own to complete their two-run inning and add insurance. After Paddack’s exit Michael Boyle (1 IP, 2 K) delivered a scoreless inning before giving way to Brock Stewart. Stewart ratcheted his fastball up to 99 MPH in his inning of work, walking one in striking out one in another scoreless frame for the pitching staff. Another rehabber, Jorge Alcala then did the same in the eighth, giving up one hit but inducing another double-play ball. In the ninth, Jordan Balazovic allowed two walks to start the inning, but got a big double-play grounder himself to keep this one from going sideways. It could have done that, because the next batter slugged a two-run homer for Toledo’s only runs of the game. Balazovic struck out the final hitter to close out the win. Nick Gordon (2-for-3, R, 2B, K) and Trevor Larnach (3-for-4, RBI, K) led the way with multiple hits. Joey Gallo finished 1-for-3 with a walk, RBI, and no strikeouts. Yunior Severino drew two walks and scored a run. KERNELS NUGGETS Great Lakes 1, Cedar Rapids 0 (Suspended in the 5th inning - Rain) Box Score Well, I’m not going to be able to crown the Cedar Rapids Kernels the Midwest League Champions tonight, as their game with the Great Lakes Loons was suspended in the fifth inning. The Kernels came into the game with a 1-0 lead in the three-game series, and sent right-handed pitcher Andrew Morris to the mound. He was excellent in his five innings before the suspension, with his only blemish being a solo home run in the fourth inning. He set the Loons down in order in each of the first and third innings, needing just five pitches in the third to do so. He finished with the one run allowed on three hits, no walks, and struck out seven. Both teams have just three hits to this point, with Emmanuel Rodriguez, Jorel Ortega, and Luke Keaschall all delivering singles. Rodriguez also stole a base but the Kernels are only 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position thus far. Game two of this championship series will resume tomorrow at 5:30 PM, with the Kernels up to bat in the bottom of the fifth, and Luke Keaschall due up. If Cedar Rapids is unable to make a comeback, game three will be a seven inning contest after this one’s completion. Right-hander Cory Lewis is the scheduled starter for game three, but there could be some shuffling of that due to this suspension. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Andrew Morris, Cedar Rapids Kernels (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 K) Hitter of the Day - Jair Camargo, St. Paul Saints (1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out our full top 20 list here and how they performed on Tuesday below! #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 0-for-4 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, K (game suspended) #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-3 #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-1 (game suspended) #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2 (game suspended) #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, K #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 IP, H, 2 BB, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ St. Paul (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (6-6, 4.92 ERA) Great Lakes @ Cedar Rapids, Game 3 (if necessary) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-0, 2.25 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

Agree. The entire format is different in Triple-A than any other level. Most likely because of the roster changes at MLB level and how triple-A is now utilized (players have to be rostered in triple-A before promoted to big leagues, you can't call up your entire 40-man in September, etc...) Each league (International and Pacific Coast) just plays a single League Championship Series (3 games), then those winners face off in a single game to crown the Triple-A National Champion.

The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels season may be over, but the rest of the Twins full-season affiliates are still in action. That includes the Cedar Rapids Kernels, who began their West Division playoff series against the Peoria Chiefs on Tuesday. A slugger in triple-A also added to his tremendous home run total on the season, while the Wind Surge fans enjoyed some pitching from rehabbing major league players. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge TRANSACTIONS RHP Carlos Luna was assigned to the St. Paul Saints from Wichita, and in his place RHP Alex Scherff was sent back down to the Wind Surge. The Minnesota Twins sent RHPs Jorge Alcala and Chris Paddack on a rehab assignment with Wichita. The Twins signed 17-year-old Venezuelan catcher Irvin Nunez. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Iowa 1 Box Score The St. Paul Saints trail the International League second-half leaders, the Durham Bulls, by four games heading into their penultimate week of play. While they lead the West division by one-and-a-half games, only the first- and second-half league winners advance to the postseason in Triple-A play. The Saints wasted little time putting runs on the board, scoring one in the top of the first and two in the second for an early 3-0 lead. In the first, Trevor Larnach drew a two-out walk before Austin Martin drove him in with a double down the left field line. In the second Yunior Severino led off with his 33rd home run of the season, which is good for second in all of the minor leagues. Later in the frame, Jair Camargo clubbed his first triple of the season, and two batters later Michael Helman drove him in with a single. St. Paul went with a bullpen game on Tuesday, with Hunter McMahon working as the opener. He pitched the first two scoreless innings, allowing two hits, walking two, and striking out two. Austin Schulfer then pitched into the fourth inning. In 1 2/3 innings, he gave up one run on three hits and a walk. He struck out two and picked up his sixth win of the season. In the fourth the Saints tacked on an insurance run thanks in part to an error on the Cubs defense. Camargo reached on that error and then stole his first base of the season to get into scoring position. Helman brought him home again with another single and a 4-1 lead. Gotta love those “firsts” on the season for the sturdy backstop in this one! Austin Brice went the next 2 1/3 from the bullpen, getting the Saints through the sixth inning. He allowed just one hit and struck out three. Ronny Henriquez went the next two innings, retiring all six hitters he faced, including a pair of strikeouts. Cole Sands finished out the victory with a scoreless ninth for his third save of the season. He walked one and struck out two. Helman (2-for-5, 2 RBI, SB) and Larnach (2-for-4, R, BB, K, SB) led the way with two hits apiece. Brooks Lee finished 0-for-5. WIND SURGE WISDOM Midland 5, Wichita 2 Box Score After pitching 2 2/3 innings for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels last week, the rehabbing Chris Paddack made the start for Wichita on Tuesday night. He set the RockHounds down in order in each of the first two innings, collecting three strikeouts along the way. After a pair of strikeouts around a single in the third inning, a wild pitch put a runner in scoring position, and another single brought him home for a 1-0 Midland lead. The leadoff man took him deep to start the fourth, but Paddack made it through down 2-0. In four innings, Paddack was charged with two earned runs on four hits and zero walks. He struck out six in total while pounding the strike zone, with 44 of his 58 pitches going for strikes (76%), including nine swinging. The Wind Surge threatened in the bottom of the second with runners on the corners and nobody out, but the pair of strikeouts and a groundout that followed led to no runs on the scoreboard. Another major league rehabber, Jorge Alcala, came on to start the fifth inning, but he did not make it out of it. The first batter lined a single into center field, stole second base, then advanced to third on a balk. After a groundout, Alcala served up a homer for a 4-0 Midland lead before a second groundout finished his outing after 16 pitches. Taylor Floyd got the final out of the fifth and added a scoreless sixth. In 1 1/3 innings, he allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out three. Regi Grace (2 IP, H, R, BB, 3 K) and Francis Peguero (1 IP, H, BB) finished the final three innings for Wichita, keeping it close to give their lineup a chance. That lineup scored their first run of the game in the sixth inning, when singles from Patrick Winkel, Alex Isola, and Aaron Sabato loaded the bases with one out. Ben Ross delivered a sac fly to make it 4-1 at the time, but they couldn’t get a big knock to make it any closer. In the bottom of the ninth they again showed some spark, with Willie Joe Garry Jr., Alerick Soularie, and Yoyner Fajardo hitting consecutive one out singles to make it 5-2. But just as quick as the rally started, it was ended by a double-play ball to end the game. The Wind Surge outhit the RockHounds 11-10 on the game, but each of those 11 knocks were all singles, while the visitors had three go for extra-bases, including a pair of home runs. Fajardo (2-for-5, RBI), Isola (2-for-3, BB, K), and Rucker (2-for-4) all collected two singles to pace the offense. Sabato finished 1-for-3 with a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 4 (Chiefs lead series 1-0) Box Score After finishing the regular season with a Midwest League-leading record of 82-50, and winning both the first and second half West Division titles, the Cedar Rapids Kernels drew the Peoria Chiefs as their Division Series opponents. The Chiefs finished six games back of the Kernels in the second-half, and 13 games back overall on the season, with a record of 69-63. Right-hander Andrew Morris got the starting nod for the Kernels and retired six in a row after allowing a double to his first hitter of the game. Cedar Rapids loaded the bases with one out in the second inning, but were only able to score one on a Jose Salas fielder's choice for an early lead. To start the third inning Morris gave up a solo home run to tie the game at one, then three consecutive singles in the fourth led to a 2-1 lead for the Chiefs. After retiring the first two hitters in the fifth, an infield single was followed by another homer, and it was 4-1 Peoria. Morris finished five total innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and a walk. He struck out five. After Morris’ exit, the Kernels relief duo of Mike Paredes and John Stankiewicz was lights out. Paredes went two innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four. Stankiewicz set the Chiefs down in order in the eighth, needing just eight pitches to do so. Down 4-1 in the top of the eighth inning, the Kernels finally were able to close the gap, and it took the Midwest League home run king to do so. After a Noah Miller single to put a man on base, Kala’i Rosario launched a two-run homer to dead center that traveled 416 feet to make it 4-3. In the ninth, the Kernels got their chances. Luke Keaschall and Noah Cardenas started the inning with a pair of walks. Jose Salas was then given the task of bunting them over, which was a questionable choice at that point, as just one of the nine pitches to that point was a strike. Unfortunately he not only failed to do so, but also seemed to swap the momentum. The first pitch was in the dirt, but he stabbed an attempt at it anyway. Then the next pitch he nearly bunted into a double play to the catcher, but it was ruled foul. He then watched strike three go by for the innings first out. Kyler Fedko went down swinging next, and it was up to leadoff man Noah Miller. His grounder to third base looked like it would end the game, but almost inexplicably the third baseman went for the tag instead of stepping on third base. In the fray, the ball popped out of his glove for an error, and the bases were loaded for Emmanuel Rodriguez. On a 1-1 count, Rodriguez made contact, chopping one toward first base. He hustled out of the box but the throw to the pitcher at first just beat him. The Kernels head back to Cedar Rapids down 1-0 in the series, needing to win both games at home to advance in the playoffs. Of note for this series, is that the Chiefs and Kernels played a total of 21 times during the regular season, and 12 of those matchups were decided by one run. Another three had just two runs between them, so the final score shouldn’t be surprising to either squad. The Kernels will send right-hander Cory Lewis to the mound looking to even the series at home on Thursday. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Mike Paredes, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2 IP, H, 4 K) Hitter of the Day - Yunior Severino, St. Paul Saints (1-for-2, R, HR, 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) - 0-for-5, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5, 3 K #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, RBI, BB, K #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-5, K #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-1, 2 BB #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, R, HR (9), RBI, BB, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 PM CDT) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (6-6, 5.07 ERA) Midland @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (7-3, 2.87 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

OPS is definitely up in triple-A. The average across the league is basically .800, whereas it was .750 last year.

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!