Steve Lein

MLB.com recently released their updated Top 100 Prospects, as well as updated Top 30's for each team and Top 10's at each position. https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/2025-in-season-prospect-position-rankings?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage As far as the last one, here is where Twins prospects appear: Second Base: #5 - Luke Keaschall Third Base: #7 - Billy Amick Catcher: #5 - Eduardo Tait Outfielder: #3 - Walker Jenkins The most surprising of these is likely Billy Amick, as he ranks #18 on the Twins list. But this is explained in the link above as there are currently few pure third base prospects, and that many of them are likely currently playing shortstop. A bit disappointing to see there aren't any current pitchers from the Twins, but the recently acquired Mick Abel did rank #7 on the Right-handed pitchers list to end the 2024 season.

I'm sure he's doing plenty of stuff at the facility and other developmental work, but I'd guess he doesn't debut in the system with any affiliate until next year. The Twins have done that with a few of their recent college drafted pitchers, whether they had injuries to worry about or not.

I always tend to look at the league average numbers, which are pretty easy to find on Baseball-Reference. The International League, as an example, has something like a .765 average OPS this year, while in the Florida State League it's probably well under .700.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Kyler Fedko) TRANSACTIONS With the St. Paul Saints RHP John Stankiewicz was sent back down to the Wichita Wind Surge, and SS Tanner Schobel was sent on a rehab assignment with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. Down in Double-A, the Wind Surge activated RHP Tanner Andrews from the 7-day injured list, received OF Maddux Houghton from the Cedar Rapids Kernels, and placed RHP Kyle Bischoff on the 7-day IL. In the Midwest League, the Kernels activated 3B Rayne Doncon from the temporary inactive list and RHP Spencer Bengard from the 60-day injured list. In addition, 2025 first round pick SS Marek Houston was promoted from Fort Myers to play shortstop and lead off for the Kernels in his league debut. The Mighty Mussels received some reinforcements to start the week. OF Jacob McCombs and RHP Xavier Kolhosser were bumped up from the FCL Twins roster. OF Jayson Bass was moved down in a corresponding move. SAINTS SENTINEL Round Rock 4, St. Paul 11 Box Score For the first time in franchise history, the St. Paul Saints were facing a team from the Pacific Coast League. To coincide with that first, this one also saw the Triple-A debut of top left-handed pitching prospect, Connor Prielipp. He needed just nine pitches to retire the Express in order to start the game, and he punctuated it by striking out the last batter with a 98 MPH fastball for his first K. It would be a bit of a mixed bag from there, as Prielipp ended up with 81 pitches (53 strikes, including 10 swinging) in just 3 ⅓ total innings, but that number is also a career high. He was charged with two earned runs on three hits, and a career high four walks, but did strike out five. The 98 MPH fastball is where he topped out, averaged nearly 96, and got swings and misses on all three of his offerings. The Saints offense certainly had his back, as they scored six runs in the first two innings to put this one in the rearview mirror early, and it was mostly thanks to Kyler Fedko. His double in the first put runners in scoring position for DaShawn Keirsey, who drove them both in with an RBI single. In the bottom of the second his double bounced off and over the wall in left-center for an RBI after Payton Eeles drove in the first run of the inning with a single. Keirsey then delivered another RBI single that scored two thanks to an error to make it 6-1. From there, the power of the Saints showed up. Aaron Sabato obliterated a ball 433 feet to center field for a two-run shot in the fifth. Fedko then launched his 25th home run of the year over the bullpen in left-center in the sixth. Carson McCusker, on a bit of a home run drought, blasted one 429 feet in the seventh for his 20th of the season, one shy of the Saints record. After Prielipp’s debut was over, Jarret Whorff went the next 2 ⅓ innings to pick up the win. He walked one and struck out three. Aaron Rozek (1 IP, H, K), Noah Davis (1 IP, H, BB), and Trent Baker (1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, K) each pitched an inning of relief to close it out. Fedko finished this game 5-for-5 with two doubles, the home run, four runs scored, and two RBI. If not for the odd bounce to send his second double out of play, he probably would have hit for the cycle, and the five hits tied the Saints franchise record. In addition to his outburst, Keirsey (3-for-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI, K), and Patrick Winkel (2-for-4, R, 2B) each had multiple hits. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 10, Midland 4 Box Score In a battle of top prospects, Walker Jenkins and the Wind Surge face off against the just promoted Leo De Vries and the RockHounds this week. Give round one to Captain America… Well, actually we’ll give it to another Wind Surge player making his own Double-A debut… The Wind Surge jumped all over RockHounds starter James Gonzalez, starting with Jenkins, who hit the first pitch of the game on a line into right field for a single. Before the frame was over, Jenkins was hit by a pitch in his second at-bat against a new pitcher. Wichita sent 11 hitters to the plate in the opening frame, and in-between those two Jenkins at-bats Ben Ross hit a two-run homer, Jake Rucker a two-run double, and they had six total runs on the scoreboard. They added two more in the second after Maddux Houghton led off with a double. A Nate Baez single and walk to Andrew Cossetti loaded the bases. Ross scored the first run with a sac fly, and Rubel Cespedes followed with an RBI single. They extended their lead to 9-0 in the third after another Houghton double, and then three consecutive two-out walks. Right-hander Ricky Castro got the start and with all that run support, didn’t stay in the game long. He went the first 2 2/3 innings. The first two of which were scoreless, but ended up with two earned runs on three hits and two walks in his outing, striking out two. Jaylen Nowlin got the last out of the third and finished the fourth. He gave up one earned run on two hits and a walk. Jacob Wosinski (2 IP, 2 H, 3 K) and Mike Paredes (2 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, K) finished the game off from there. The Wind Surge added a run in the seventh after three straight singles from Jenkins, Kala’i Rosario, and Houghton to make the final score. Houghton finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored, two doubles, and an RBI in first taste of double-A, but did not even start the game. He entered after Hendry Mendez got tangled up at third base on a tag-up play, and had to exit. Jenkins (2-for-5, 2 R, K), Rosario (2-for-5, BB, 3 K), Baez (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB), and Cespedes (2-for-5, R, RBI, BB, 2) each had multiple hits. Leo De Vries finished 0-for-4 with a walk in his Double-A debut. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, South Bend 3 Box Score The Kernels got a strong effort from reigning Midwest League Pitcher of the Week, Ty Langenberg in this one. He completed seven innings, allowing just two earned runs on five hits and one walk, while striking out six. He threw 89 pitches, with 59 going for strikes (66%). Unfortunately for him and the Kernels, their offense wasn’t able to ever give him any breathing room. The Cubs plated one in the first on a double-play ball, then their second run against Langenberg in the sixth after a leadoff walk scored on a double. The Kernels tied the game at one in the top of the fourth with a minor two-out rally. Caden Kendle singled, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a throwing error. They took a 2-1 lead in the fifth after Marek Houston collected his first hit in the Midwest League. After his single he stole second base, then came home on an RBI knock from Eduardo Tait. But that was all the offense would get. Nick Trabacchi came on in relief of Langenberg to start the eighth and worked a one-two-three inning. Back out for the ninth, it immediately went the wrong way. He walked the first two hitters before a sac bunt put the winning run 90-feet away. A liner into right was caught, but the throw home was not in time and the Kernels were walked-off. Kendle led the way with two hits in four trips to the plate. He doubled, scored a run, drew a walk, and struck out once. Marek Houston finished his Midwest League debut 1-for-4 with a run scored, walk, stolen base, and pair of strikeouts. MUSSEL MATTERS Tampa @ Fort Myers (Postponed, rain) The series opening tilt between the Mighty Mussels and Tarpons at Hammond Stadium was postponed by persistent rain on the gulf coast of Florida on Tuesday. They will try to play a doubleheader tomorrow, with game one starting around 3:30 PM CDT in the afternoon. DOMINICAN DAILIES Monday: DSL Phillies Red 7, DSL Twins 8 Box Score The Twins rallied from a three-run deficit to take this one late as the bullpen kept them close enough over the final five innings. Omar Montano took the hill and went the first three innings. He was charged with three earned runs on five hits, while striking out three. Juan Figaro pitched the fourth inning and allowed two earned runs on one hit and four walks. Aaron Carranzo (1 IP, H, K), Agustin Campusano (1 IP, BB), Brandy Ceballos (1/3 IP, 2 R, 3 BB), Marlon Mirabel (2/3 IP, 2 H, BB), and Nestor Cafe (2 IP, BB, K) kept the Phillies in check enough the rest of the way. Joyner Perez tied the game at three in the third with a two-run single. Jose Barrios hit a solo home run in the fourth. Down by three in the seventh the Twins took advantage of an error and a double-steal to pull within one. In the bottom of the eighth Jamesson Val tied the game at seven with a triple, and another error put them up by one for good. Jhomnardo Reyes (2-for-4, 2B, K) was the only hitter with multiple knocks. Tuesday: DSL Mets Orange 9, DSL Twins 8 Box Score The Twins held a lead through most of this one, but weren’t able to hold on in the end as the Mets scored seven runs over the final four innings to come back. Right-hander Rey Pacheco got the start and went the first four-plus innings. He scattered two six hits to the tune of two earned runs, and struck out four in 4 2/3. Jensi Infante came in for the final out of the fifth and started the sixth as well. He only recorded one other out, allowing two earned runs on two hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning. Jeicol Surumay then came on, and went the next 1 2/3. He was charged with three earned runs on three hits and one walk, while striking out two. Still up by one to start the eighth, Jesus Gomez (1 IP, H ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and Yordi Jose (1 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K) weren’t able to close it out. The Twins took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third on a two-run single from Santiago Leon. They stretched their early lead to 5-1 in the fourth thanks to RBI singles from Dencer Diaz and Gerardo Cardona, as well as a wild pitch. Joyner Perez capped the Twins scoring in the sixth with a two-run double. Darwin Almanzar (2-for-5, R) and Diaz (2-for-5, 2 R, RBI) led the way with two hits apiece. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Ty Langenberg, Cedar Rapids Kernels (7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K) Hitter of the Day – Kyler Fedko, St. Paul Saints (5-for-5, 4 R, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI) 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 (Wichita): 2-for-5, 2 R, K #2 – Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): 1-for-4, 3 K #5 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, RBI, K #6 – Connor Prielipp (St. Paul): 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K #13 – Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 K, SB (1) #14 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, 2 K #17 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-5, 3 K #20 – Hendry Mendez (Wichita): 1-for-1 (had to leave game in top of the first) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Round Rock @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - LHP Kendry Rojas (1-1, 5.79 ERA) Wichita @ Midland (6:30 PM CDT) - RHP Darren Bowen (3-7, 5.33 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Jacob Kisting (2-3, 2.28 ERA) Tampa @ Fort Myers, Game 1 (3:30 PM CDT) - RHP Michael Ross (4-4, 3.00 ERA) Tampa @ Fort Myers, Game 2 (30 min after game 1) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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I think they are comparable. Eeles at least can throw at this point. Keaschall from what I've seen probably shouldn't even be playing the field yet because of his arm, but the Twins never really had a choice with that. Very true. Eeles does have a lower strikeout rate, higher walk rate than Keirsey. I think he battles in the batters box. Certainly wouldn't move Keaschall, but there are multiple guys I'd give him a look over, or at least treat as one of the interchangeable pieces they are right now. Mickey Gasper, Ryan Fitzgerald, James Outman. Julien, Martin... I don't think you lose anything giving him an opportunity to see if you do have a little lightning in that bottle.

Eeles OPS' in the last 28 days is .904. since the start of July he's hitting .308/.412/.420. He was coming back from a knee surgery, which is the explanation to all your complaints here about how he started. He has for over a month now been the same exact same guy he was for 64 games in triple-A last year. Eeles absolutely is a ballplayer, jump on board the train with me!

I can't produce a big enough groan... (facepalm)

Byron Buxton stole 55 bases in 125 games during the 2013 season with Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids. That was the highest I found!

There was a comment on the broadcast about how their lineup had a cumulative 10,000+ at-bats in the major leagues between them. 👀

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Kyler Fedko) TRANSACTIONS OF Carson McCusker and C Jhonny Pereda were optioned back to St. Paul from the Twins. RHP Cole Percival was moved from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day. Down in the Midwest League, top pitching prospect LHP Dasan Hill was promoted to the Kernels from Fort Myers. RHP Xander Hamilton and UT Jay Thomason were placed on the 7-day injured list. C Luis Hernandez was also promoted from the Mighty Mussels on Tuesday, and LHP Samuel Perez was placed on the IL. In Fort Myers, OF Angel Del Rosario was released. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Omaha 8 Box Score The Saints, or more specifically Kyler Fedko, wasted little time getting the scoring started in this one. Fedko batted second in the lineup and sent the third pitch of the game out of the stadium on a solo home run to center field. Taking the bump for the Saints for the second time in the Twins organization, was right-hander Taj Bradley. He gave up a pair of singles in the first, but struck out the other three hitters he faced. In the second he allowed another single, but struck out two more for five K’s out of his six outs. Unfortunately in the third, that contact got a bit louder. A leadoff double, single, and three-run homer put the Storm Chasers in front 3-1. In the top of the fight the Saints retook the lead behind a two-run homer from DaShawn Keirsey Jr., and solo shot from Jose Miranda two batters later to make it 4-3 good guys. Bradley was back out for the fifth after a one-two-three fourth inning, but allowed Omaha to tie it back up while responsible for two more runners before his night was done. John Klein came on in relief and allowed both those runners to score to put the Storm Chasers up by two. Bradley finished with a final line of 4 2/3 IP and six earned runs on eleven hits, while striking out six. Klein would go on to finish 3 1/3 innings, allowing just one hit (that scored the two runs charged to Bradley) and two walks, while punching out six of his own. In the top of the sixth after Omaha had taken the lead, the top of the Saints lineup again came through. Payton Eeles led off with a walk, and Fedko followed with his second home run of the game, and 23rd of the season to tie it at six. Still tied in the top of the eighth, the first three St. Paul hitters drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out, but they only managed one run on a James Outman grounder before a hot liner from Gabriel Gonzalez turned into a double-play ball to end the threat. Jarret Whorff came on for the save opportunity and despite showing a very good instinct for challenging pitches, getting three ball calls overturned to strikes that probably caught less than a half-inch in total of the strike zone, he wasn’t able to get those turned into enough outs. A leadoff double followed by a single tied the game at seven, and with two outs another single walked it off for the Storm Chasers. In addition to Fedko’s power outburst, the Saints got two hits from Miranda (2-for-5, R, HR, RBI) and doubles from Gonzalez and Patrick Winkel. Four of the nine hitters in the lineup also drew two walks, but as a team they finished just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Springfield 4 Box Score The teams combined for just nine hits on the game to open their series at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri on Tuesday, a place that is one of my personal favorite MiLB stadiums that I’ve had the pleasure to visit. The Wind Surge sent C.J. Culpepper to the bump and he had a mix of good and bad against the Cardinals lineup. He finished four innings, and allowed just two earned runs on two hits, but also walked three and struck out only one. Of his 73 pitches, just 39 went for strikes (53%) but still exited the game in a no-decision situation thanks to his lineup. Down 2-0 in the top of the third, Ben Ross delivered a leadoff double, and thanks to a wildly overthrown ball on a popout in foul territory behind first, was sent home for Wichita’s first run of the game. In the fourth a Kala’i Rosario walk was followed by a double from Jose Salas, before a Nate Baez groundout tied the game at two. Unfortunately, that would be all the Wind Surge could muster as their big bats were kept silent the rest of the way by Springfield pitching. Relievers Michael Martinez (1 IP, 2 BB), Darren Bowen (2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K), and Hunter Hoopes (1 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, K) kept the game close, but Wind Surge bats found only two hits from the fifth inning on. They finished 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position as a team, and left five men on base. Kaelen Culpepper finished 0-for-4 with a pair of K’s, while Walker Jenkins managed a single in four at-bats, striking out once. KERNELS NUGGETS Quad Cities 2, Cedar Rapids 5 Box Score Right-hander and rising prospect Adrian Bohorquez made his second start with the Cedar Rapids Kernels since being promoted from Fort Myers on Tuesday. While he was good in his first turn, he was close to excellent in his second. A one-two-three first, including a strikeout, paved the way for fellow new Kernels recruit Eduardo Tait to give the home team an early lead in the bottom half. Tait sent an 0-2 offering on a line at 108 MPH to leave the yard. Bohorquez cruised from there. Through the first five innings he sent seven River Bandits back to the dugout from the batters box, including erasing a leadoff triple in the second by retiring the next three hitters without a ball leaving the infield. The Cedar Rapids offense gave him more support in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a two-run Danny De Andrade homer, and an RBI triple from Maddux Houghton to score Kyle Hess who had doubled in front of him. The River Bandits finally got to Bohorquez in the sixth, scoring one after a leadoff single, one-out double, and a sac fly that made it 4-1. After the sac fly Bohorquez’s night was done. He finished 5 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits, no walks, and striking out seven in total. He picked up 15 swings and misses and threw 87 pitches, with 60 going for strikes (69%). The Kernes added another insurance run in the bottom of the seventh after Houghton led off with a walk, and Jefferson Valladares brought him in with a double. The bullpen locked it down enough after that as Nick Trabacchi (1 1/3 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 2 K) and Ruddy Gomez (2 IP, H, K) closed it out from there. Tait (2-for-4, R, HR, RBI, 2 K) and Kyle DeBarge (2-for-4, K, SB) each had multiple hits. DeBarge stole his 60th base of the season to hit an unheard of milestone for Twins prospects. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Daytona 7 Box Score The Mighty Mussels got a fantastic effort from starting pitcher Jason Doktorczyk who completed the first six innings, but what happened after that wasted everything he gave them. Fort Myers wasted no time getting this one going as Marek Houston led off the game with a single and Dameury Pena followed with one of his own, before Yasser Mercedes clubbed his 10th home run of the season to put them out front 3-0 early. It stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth inning, as Doktorczyk cruised through the first four innings, allowing only a single hit while striking out seven of the first 13 hitters he faced. He retired nine in a row to start the game, before giving up a double to lead off the bottom of the fourth. The Tortugas got on the board with a solo home run in the fifth, but that was all they would manage against the Mighty Mussels starter. He finished six innings, giving up one earned run on three hits and one walk, while striking out eight in total. In the top of the sixth the Fort Myers offense added three more runs to their total to take a 6-1 lead thanks to an RBI double from Houston and two-run single from Pena. But as soon as Doktorczyk left the game, the Tortugas came alive. Dylan Questad came on to start the seventh, but he would record only one out. Daytona got him for four earned runs on two hits and three walks before Zander Sechrist came on to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately for him, he also allowed two earned runs of his own in the eighth to take the loss. He gave up two hits, walked two, and struck out one. Houston (2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, K) and Pena (2-for-5, R, 2 RBI) each had multiple hits in the loss. DOMINICAN DAILIES Monday: DSL Twins 1, DSL Phillies Red 3 Box Score The Phillies scored two runs in the first inning against Twins starter Omar Montano, and that ended up being all they would need in the game. Montano finished four innings and fell to 0-6 on the season. He was charged with three runs (one earned) on four hits, while striking out three. His defense let him down a bit in the first and fourth innings where those runs were scored, as they committed three errors in the game. Relievers Juan Figaro (1 IP, H, 2 K) and Agustin Campusano (3 IP, H, 4 K) held the Phillies in check the rest of the way, but their lineup wasn’t able to muster much offense themselves. The Twins matched the Phillies six hits in the game, but finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. Catcher Aaron Salazar scored their lone run of the game in the top of the eighth inning after leading off with a walk and stealing second base. Yovanny Duran then singled into center to get them on the scoreboard. Jhomnardo Reyes added his sixth double of the season to the effort. Tuesday: DSL NYY Yankees 0, DSL Twins 9 Box Score While the major league Twins might have a problem with the team who may not be named, it doesn’t appear their curse stretches down into the Dominican Republic. Jhomnardo Reyes certainly didn’t have any issues. He finished 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and five RBI in this one. He also scored a run and stole his eighth base of the season. Santiago Leon (2-for-3, 4 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) and Joyner Perez (2-for-3, 2 RBI, BB, K) also had multiple hit days to lead the effort. Yovanny Duran also added a double, and Aaron Salazar finished 0-for-0 with three runs scored and four walks out of the nine-spot in the lineup. The Twins outhit the Yankees 10-3 as the Twins pitching staff dominated the Yankees, racking up 12 K’s while also allowing just three walks. Rey Pacheco got the start and the first three innings, allowing just one hit, walking two, and striking out four. Nestor Cafe allowed one hit and struck out one in his lone inning. Jeicol Surumay then took the bulk of the work to pick up his second win of the season. He walked one and struck out six in his four innings. Yordi Jose finished it out with a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out one. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Adrian Bohorquez, Cedar Rapids Kernels (W, 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, ER, 7 K) Hitter of the Day – Kyler Fedko, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB, 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 (Wichita): 1-for-4, K #2 – Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): 0-for-4, K #3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 0-for-4, 2 K #5 – Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, R, HR (2), RBI, 2 K #11 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-5, 2B #13 – Marek Houston (Fort Myers): 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, K #14 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, 2 K #17 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, K, SB (60) #18 – C.J. Culpepper (Wichita): 4 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, K #20 – Hendry Mendez (Wichita): 0-for-1 (was pinch hit for in the 4th) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CDT) - LHP Kendry Rojas (1-1, 5.40 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (7:05 PM CDT) - LHP Connor Prielipp (0-5, 3.39 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids, Game 1 (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (3-5, 4.81 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids, Game 2 (30 min after Game 1) - RHP Chase Chaney (6-3, 3.89 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dayton (5:35 PM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

This isn't completely true. It has certainly had fewer top guys in recent seasons (and hardly any such pitching), but they still get sent there... Just not by the Twins 😅 I believe there were 16 players from MLB Pipelines top 100 that were there last year. Andrew Painter was the only pitcher of note, who definitely needed to make up some innings. Leo De Vries, Ethan Salas, Jac Caglionone, and Nick Kurtz were a couple of the other names I remember.

My perspective on what heralded means is Wallner and Larnach were both 1st round draft picks out of big schools while Roden was a 3rd round pick out of a small one. Wallner at #7 for the Twins also means something a lot different at the time than Roden's similar placement in a far worse system. Edit: I learned my lesson on Fangraphs ratings of prospects based on OBP numbers for guys like Roden from Nate Roberts as a Twins prospect. Look him up. I loved him as a player. I love Payton Eeles right now for similar reasons. Injuries cut Roberts short, but that's the type of guy I see with them. But I am always happy to be proven wrong! I'm bullish on Eeles from what I've seen, so I hope you are right!

He's redundant with and much less heralded than Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner ever were. He's a better outfielder sure, but that means average, and he projects as a platoon bat much like they do, without the comparable power. He is two-years younger, I'll give him that, but he'll also be 26 next year. If he still qualified to be on it I'd probably have ranked him in the 11-14 range of top Twins prospects. I hope he turns into a regular, that would be great! But I think the reactions are generally lukewarm for good reason.

He might be an interesting case in the way you frame it. But, the difference with him is he has been dominating as a starter at times after they seemingly maxed out his repertoire (remember, he didn't even throw 90 coming up through the system). He has two 3 WAR seasons as a starter, which is firmly in playoff starter territory. He's finished top 5 in MLB for WHIP twice. I just don't think he's a very good candidate to do this with. If he's right, he's without question a starter. And a good one.

I don't disagree with you there!

While I am in general disappointed by the overall returns the Twins got in all the trades, I do see somewhat of a vision. The reality of acquiring a bunch of pitchers, is the Twins probably re-tooled their bullpen for 2026 and beyond in the process of dismantling their good one from this season. Look at the history: Brock Stewart: Washed out as a starter in LA due to injuries. Became a real weapon in the bullpen with MN, but still dealt with injuries. Louie Varland: Failed starter. Blossomed in short stints. Jhoan Duran: Failed starter. Blossomed in short stints. Griffin Jax: Failed starter. Blossomed in short stints. Cole Sands: Failed starter. Has improved in short stints. The point of all these examples (and there are even more of them), is it is actually far more common for bullpen arms to come from pitchers who were good enough to get a chance at starting coming up and moving onto the lesser role once in the majors or close, then it is for a pure relief prospect doing so by coming up through the system. So theoretically for the future, the Twins have a rotation of Ryan, Lopez, Ober, Zebby, Festa, and Abel/SWR/Bradley in reserve. Prielipp. From everyone internally at the moment, the bullpen might be: Abel/SWR/Bradley, Funderburk, Ohl, Raya, Sands, Morris, Adams, [fill-in-the-blank]. Prielipp. Prielipp, Rojas, Horn, Gallagher, Bradley, Lewis, MacLeod I could all see as ending up in the same type of transition as well. Just something to think about.

Dude was going to be the next Glen Perkins. Absolutely baffling deal purely on its face, but amplified by this perspective as well.

The 1B hitter/body prototype is Wallner or Larnach. In the minors it's Billy Amick, and dare I say, Walker Jenkins. Before you yell at me, I said "1B hitter/body prototype." The only one of those who could ever end up there on defense is Amick. I think Lee would be a monumental waste at 1B unless a lot of other things were different on the roster.

I also am not a fan of putting experienced college bats in the rookie leagues or low-A after being drafted, as they are already beyond that level of competition. But there also is something to be said about just letting them finish off a couple months of an already long baseball season they have gone through at the best facility the organization has to offer them. They're not playing in the majors this year, or even the next one probably, so I get it. That doesn't mean we can't still be disappointed about it. 🙂

This one is weird for me. I think he looks leaner this year than he did last season.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (Photo of Kaelen Culpepper) TRANSACTIONS The Minnesota Twins system continues to be full of transaction activity as the fallout of trading 10 players on your Major League roster continues to be felt days later. In perhaps the biggest news, IF Luke Keaschall completed his rehab assignment and was returned to the Minnesota Twins where he certainly made his presence felt in Detroit. The Twins also selected the contract of RHP Darren McCaughan. OF DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and RHP Noah Davis were optioned back to Triple-A. The Saints assigned LHP Gabriel Yanez back to Wichita and received RHP John Klein in his place. Klein is a graduate of Burnsville high school, so he should bring some fans in when he pitches. Down in the ICT the Wind Surge released RHP Joel Cesar and received RHP Eston Stull from Cedar Rapids. They also activated RHP Michael Martinez from the 7-day injured list and sent RHP Kyle Jones on a rehab assignment with Fort Myers. Jones had not pitched in a game in over a year. On Monday the Kernels activated C Khadim Diaw from the 60-day injured list and received helium pitching prospect RHP Adrian Bohorquez from the Mighty Mussels. In the Florida State League, RHP Joel Garcia was promoted from the FCL, and 2B Ryan Daniels was placed on the 7-day injured list with a hip impingement. SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 5, St. Paul 10 Box Score The Saints utilized two four-run innings and a four-hit night from one of their several new players (though not one from a trade…), to take game one of their series with the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday night at CHS Field. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second thanks to catcher Jhonny Pereda, who they claimed off waivers from the Athletics a few weeks ago. His first home run in a Saints uniform also scored Aaron Sabato, who had led off with a single. The home team tacked on four more in the fourth to take a 6-0 lead behind walks from Jonah Bride, Anthony Prato, and James Outman, as well as a single from Pereda to score one and keep the bases loaded. Kyler Fedko added a sac fly, Payton Eeles clubbed a ground-rule RBI double, and Gabriel Gonzalez an RBI single to account for all of those runs. Starter Aaron Rozek went the first four scoreless frames, scattering four hits and a walk, while striking out three. John Stankiewicz added two dominant innings of relief, striking out five of the seven hitters he faced. Cole Percival came on for the seventh and had some trouble finding the strike zone, leading to four runs allowed. He walked three and gave up two hits in 2/3 of an inning. Jarret Whorff cleaned up the rest of that mess, and finished the game with 2 1/3 scoreless. He gave up an unearned run, but no hits or walks, and struck out two. The Saints got all four of Percival’s runs back in the bottom of the seventh. Sabato reached on an error. Pereda delivered an RBI single. Prato added a single of his own as did Fedko to drive in their eighth run of the game. Eeles capped it off with a two-run single to make it 10-4 The Saints got multiple hits from Fedko (3-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 SB), Eeles (2-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB), Gonzalez (2-for-5, RBI, 2 K), and Prato (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K, SB). But Pereda led them all with a 4-for-4 night, falling a triple shy of the cycle. He had a double, home run, three RBI, and drew a walk. WIND SURGE WISDOM NW Arkansas 7, Wichita 8 Box Score Pitching for the Naturals in the series opener in the ICT, was the rehabbing Michael Lorenzen who had pitched just shy of 100 innings for the Kansas City Royals so far in 2025. This meant top prospects Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper were going to see some MLB pitching experience to get the night started. They looked like minor leaguers in the bottom of the first, as Lorenzen struck them both out swinging. But they also learned quickly. In the bottom of the second Culpepper got the scoring started with a three-run shot to left on a 1-0 breaking ball from Lorenzen. Jenkins followed by blasting a 1-0 fastball deep into the right field seats for back-to-back bombs. The Wind Surge also had an organizational debut on the mound from the recently acquired Sam Armstrong, who came over in the Willi Castro trade with the Chicago Cubs. He struck out the first batter he faced with his new team and began with three scoreless innings. In the top of the fourth the Naturals scored one, then tied the game at four in the fifth to finish his debut. He was charged with four earned runs on five hits and two walks in his five innings. He struck out six. In the bottom of the fifth Wichita got him off the hook after Jenkins led off with a single. Kala’i Rosario then sent a liner into right, and Jenkins tried to go first-to-third. The throw hit him on his slide and got away from the third baseman, allowing him to get back up and beat the rushed throw home for a 5-4 lead. Rosario then scored on a wild pitch to put the home team up by two. Michael Martinez came on in relief for the sixth inning, and gave up one earned run on two hits, while striking out one. The minor leagues preeminent win-vulture then came on for the seventh, in Mike Paredes, and you should never doubt his ability to tack on another win. Though he gave up the lead in the seventh, he stayed in to finish the game and in doing so improved his record to 11-0 on the season, which ties him for all the MiLB lead and set the Wind Surge franchise record. He was able to do so, as three consecutive singles to start the eighth from Hendry Mendez, Nate Baez, and Rubel Cespedes loaded the bases, a passed ball tied the game back up, and they took the lead on an RBI groundout from Jake Rucker. In the win Wichita got multi-hit efforts from Jenkins (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, 2 K) and Mendez (2-for-4, R, 2 K). Despite their eight runs they finished just 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position, leaving five men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, West Michigan 6 Box Score The Kernels were held to just three hits in this one and they were all singles, with two of them not coming until the top of the ninth inning. If you are looking for a silver lining, one of those singles in the ninth came from a new top prospect in the organization, as Eduardo Tait delivered a two-out single to right before the final out of the game was recorded. The other two hits came from Brandon Winokur and Kyle Hess. Tait also drew a walk among his four plate appearances. The only other perhaps notable thing on the offensive side of the ledger for Cedar Rapids, was Kyle DeBarge was caught stealing for only the fourth time on the season in 60 attempts. Starter Jacob Kisting went the first three innings and held the Whitecaps to just one run. He allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out three. Right-hander Matt Gabbert took on a “bulk” role and completed the next four innings, holding West Michigan scoreless in the middle frames. He gave up two hits and struck out two. Nick Trabacchi came on for the bottom of the eight with just a one run deficit, but it turned into the final six when he was done. He was charged with five earned runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out one. MUSSEL MATTERS Clearwater 7, Fort Myers 6 (10 innings) Box Score This matchup went back and forth throughout, with the Threshers scoring two in the first while the Mighty Mussels answered with one of their own and tied it up in the third. Christian Becerra got the starting nod in the series opener and completed the first four innings. He was charged with three earned runs on four hits and a walk, while striking out three. He left the game down by one but Fort Myers would tie it up at two in the bottom of the third. The home team got a leadoff single from Marek Houston in the bottom of the first, but was erased at second on a Dameury Pena grounder. Pena however, then stole second and third base, and scored on a Yasser Mercedes double to get them on the board. The 2025 first round pick led off the third with a single again, and Pena followed with a single of his own this time to move him into scoring position. Two batters later he came home on an Eduardo Beltre grounder to tie the game. Relievers Kyle Jones and Tyler Stasiowski each got an inning after Becerra's removal. Jones walked two and struck out one in a scoreless frame. Stasiowski gave up one run on three hits in the sixth to put the Threshers up 4-2. In the bottom half the Mighty Mussels tied it back up again. Enrique Jiminez drew a leadoff walk, and with two outs JP Smith II delivered his first home run as a professional to make it 4-4. Brent Francisco came on for the seventh inning and recorded the next five outs. He allowed two hits and struck out two. In the bottom of the seventh Houston again made his presence felt, this time by leading off the inning with a double the opposite way. He proceeded to steal third base and scored his second run of the game on an error to put the Mighty Mussels up 5-4. After two outs in the top of the eighth Julio Bonilla was brought in with runners on second and third, and got a groundout to end the inning. Back out for the ninth he got the first two outs, but then a single, walk, and RBI single tied the game back up at five and sent it to extras. Bonilla finished 1 1/3 innings and gave up one earned run on two hits and a walk. Anthony Narvaez got the top of the 10th, and a leadoff double put the Threshers up by one, and an RBI single that followed gave them a little breathing room. The first two hitters of the bottom half went down via strikeout, but the Mighty Mussels put up a fight with an RBI single from Ryan Sprock, and a walk to Shai Robinson that put the tying run in scoring position. Smith II went down swinging to end the game, however. Houston led the offense out of the leadoff spot finishing 3-for-5 with two runs scored, and a double. Smith added two hits in five plate appearances, including the home run. DOMINICAN DAILIES Monday: DSL Twins 7, DSL Miami 12 Box Score The Twins jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the top of the third inning, but the Miami squad responded with five runs in the bottom of the third, and four in the bottom of the sixth to win this one. Despite just five hits as a team, the Twins put up those seven runs thanks to home runs from Joyner Perez (two-run) and Jamesson Val (three-run), who actually entered the game for Perez to start the bottom of the second inning. They scored one run in the second inning thanks to a pair of errors, and their final run in the ninth after Yovanny Duran led off with a walk, stole his 22nd base of the season, and ended up on third after an errant throw. He came home on a groundout from Gerardo Cardona. Omar Montano started on the bump and was charged with five earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. He was clean for the first two until the Miami bats came alive in the third. He allowed five hits, walked one, and struck out one. Relievers Jensi Infante (2 2/3 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, K), Agustin Campusano (2 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, K), and Brandy Ceballos (1 IP, BB, K) finished off the rest of this one for the Twins. Tuesday: DSL Miami 3, DSL Twins 4 Box Score The Twins got some revenge on Tuesday, as Miami took an early 3-0 lead only to fall late thanks to a four-run inning from the home team who had been held hitless to that point. Starting pitcher Rey Pacheco gave up four singles in the top of the first that led to those three Miami runs but went on to retire the final 10 hitters he faced to finish four innings. He struck out three. The bullpen trio of Nestor Cafe (1 IP, 3 BB), Juan Figaro (1 IP, BB, K), and Jeicol Surumay (3 IP, 2 BB) held Miami hitless the rest of the way as well. Without yet recording a hit through seven innings, the Twins finally got their first knock in the bottom of the eighth when Jose Barrios led off with a double. Christian Bonifacio got them on the scoreboard two batters later with an RBI single before two walks, an error, and multiple wild pitches allowed the Twins to take the 4-3 lead and steal the win. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – John Stankiewicz, St. Paul Saints (W, 2 IP, H, 5 K) Hitter of the Day – Jhonny Pereda, St. Paul Saints (4-for-4, 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, BB) 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 (Wichita): 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (6), RBI, 2 K #2 – Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): 2-for-4, R, HR (1, first of career), 3 RBI #3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 1-for-5, HR (7), 3 RBI, 2 K #8 – Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 2-for-5, RBI, 2 K #10 – Marek Houston (Fort Myers): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, K, SB (2) #11 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4 #14 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, BB, K #17 – Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, K #19 – Eduardo Beltre (Fort Myers): 1-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB (1) #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 1-for-4, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Taj Bradley (1-0, 0.00 ERA) NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (0-1, 2.78 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ West Michigan (5:35 PM CDT) - RHP Adrian Bohorquez (0-0, -.-- ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Jason Doktorczyk (3-5, 5.25 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

This is exactly what I've been saying about Jenkins, almost exactly the comment about Mauer. There has been a bit of the change you are talking about. I've thought his swing looked lazy last year and early after his return this year. Like there was no effort behind it, purely contact oriented. Some might refer to that as having an "effortless swing," but where that became a term known to people in my generation was Ken Griffey Jr., and Jenkins absolutely was not driving the ball like he did. I definitely think Jenkins swing has gotten faster, but it is still very controlled. He hits a lot of balls well, but I would highly doubt he has high max exit velocity numbers at this point. He hit the homer yesterday pretty hard though, didn't have much of a launch angle and got out. All that said, the dude is 20-years old, and I think he actually looks pretty lean this year. There's certainly still power potential.