Steve Lein

The St. Paul Saints were scheduled for a doubleheader on the road on Tuesday, but David Festa sent the Columbus Clippers to the seafloor in game one before rain cut their battle short. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of David Festa) TRANSACTIONS LHP Aaron Rozek was assigned to the Wichita Wind Surge from the St. Paul Saints. Also in the Texas League with Wichita, OF Allan Cerda was transferred to the development list. The Cedar Rapids Kernels placed top pitching prospect RHP Charlee Soto on the 7-day injured list with a right triceps strain. Soto did not make an appearance for the Kernels last week and so far on the season had made three starts with a 1.38 ERA, 15 K’s, and just four walks in 13 total innings. Down in Florida RHP Adrian Bohorquez was assigned to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins roster. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Columbus 2 (7 innings) Box Score The Saints and Clippers were meant to play a doubleheader today, but the same rain that delayed the Twins game in Cleveland hit Columbus a bit harder, so they only got in one. In his first start after being sent back down to Triple-A right-hander David Festa was excellent. After striking out the first two hitters of the game, he allowed a bloop and a blast for an early 2-0 Columbus lead, but was locked in after that. He allowed just one other hit, and retired the last 11 hitters he faced. In total, he was charged with two earned runs on three hits, no walks, and punched out seven. He did so on just 68 pitches, with 49 going for strikes (72%), and included an astonishing 18 swings and misses. Pure dominance from the lanky righty. It took until the fourth inning for the Saints to put a run on the scoreboard, and they did so thanks to Carson McCusker. He launched his seventh home run of the season down the line the opposite way. Anthony Prato joined him with a solo blast leading off the fifth inning to tie the game at two. It was Prato’s second home run of the season. They took the lead for good in the sixth after a one-out single from McCusker put him on base for the big Mike Ford. He clubbed the team's third home run of the game to make it 4-2. That would be the final score as Richard Lovelady closed out the seven-inning contest with a one-two-three frame for his first save of the season, striking out the final hitter of the game. Festa improved to 2-1 in his three starts with the Saints. McCusker (2-for-3, 2 R, HR, RBI, K) and Prato (2-for-3, R, RBI) led the way with two hits apiece. Armando Alvarez added a double to the effort. Royce Lewis finished 0-for-3 as the designated hitter. The Saints were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left only three men on base, but thanks to the long ball they were able to take the series opener on the road. Per Sean Aronson of the Saints, Game 2 that was rained out will be made up later this week. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Frisco 4 Box Score Southpaw starting pitcher Christian MacLeod had yet to give up a run on the season in two games of a rehab assignment with Fort Myers, and his first start with Wichita a week ago. That is still a true statement after three shutout innings to start this one. MacLeod walked two consecutive batters in the second inning, but otherwise retired every other hitter he faced, going one-two-three in each of the first and third frames. He threw just 45 pitches as he’s still being eased in (26 for strikes), but also struck out two. The Wind Surge struck first in the top of the fourth after Ricardo Olivar led off with a double. Rubel Cespedes moved him to third on a groundout, and Kala’i Rosario brought him home with a sacrifice fly for the 1-0 lead. After MacLeod was done, Angel Macuare went the next two innings. He allowed one earned run on three hits and a walk in his two innings before giving way to Jarett Whorff to start the sixth. He went the next three innings, allowing a solo home run for his lone hit allowed, but also struck out three. In the top of the seventh the offense loaded the bases for Olivar, who delivered a two-run single to put Wichita back out front 3-1. They tacked on two additional insurance runs in the eighth when Ben Ross delivered an RBI double and came around to score himself on an RBI single from Kyler Fedko to make it 5-1. They needed each of those runs, as Whorff’s home run allowed came in the bottom of the eighth before Cody Laweryson had some trouble closing out the game in the ninth. A two-out two-run single brought the RoughRiders within one, but he clamped down to strike out the final hitter of the frame and pick up his third save of the season. Whorff picked up his first win to improve to 1-1 on the season. Olivar (2-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, K) was the only Wind Surge hitter with multiple hits. As a team they went 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS South Bend 4, Cedar Rapids 10 Box Score The Kernels struck early and late to take down the Cubs in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday night. They took a 4-0 lead after one thanks to a barrage of hits, including a big blast, to set the tone. Kyle DeBarge started the rally with a single. Brandon Winokur and Billy Amick followed with doubles to score the first two runs, before Danny De Andrade hit a two-run homer, his second of the season. Starter Ty Langenberg was solid for the first three scoreless innings, striking out four, but ran into trouble in the fourth. Before it was over he was out of the game and the scoreboard was tied at four. In all, Langenberg finished 3 2/3 innings and was charged with four earned runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out six. Cedar Rapids went back out front in the bottom of the fifth when Gabriel Gonzalez led off with a single. Two batters later Khadim Diaw brought him in with a double to make it 5-4. The offense tacked on five more runs in the seventh as they sent all nine hitters to the plate. Amick led off with a walk and trotted home on a Gonzalez homer. De Andrade continued the hitting with a triple off the wall in right, and scored on a single from Kevin Maitan. After a pitching change Kyle DeBarge snuck one past the third baseman for a two-run double to cap the scoring. After Langenberg’s exit the Bullpen trio of Gabriel Yanez (W, 1 1/3 IP, 2 BB, K), Logan Whitaker (2 IP, H, BB, 3 K), and Paulshawn Pasqualotto (2 IP, 2 H, BB) blanked the Cubs the rest of the way. DeBarge (2-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, K), Gonzalez (3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB), and De Andrade (3-for-5, 2 R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, K) had multiple hits to lead the onslaught. On defense the Kernels turned five double-plays on the night to end any South Bend rally’s before they started. MUSSEL MATTERS Jupiter 14, Fort Myers 1 Box Score The Mighty Mussels scored their lone run of this one in the bottom of the second inning. It came from the bat of Jay Thomason, who launched his Florida State League leading sixth home run of the year. Unfortunately, that was pretty much it for the Hammond Stadium faithful. They had just two other hits as a team, which were singles from Jose Salas (1-for-3, 2 K, SB) and Daniel Pena (1-for-3, K). Byron Chourio and Thomason each drew a pair of walks. There were only two at-bats with runners in scoring position and five men left on base for the game. Eli Jones made the start and pitched into the third inning. He was charged with three earned runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out two. Jacob Kisting stabilized it a bit into the sixth, allowing one earned run on three hits and striking out three in 2 2/3 innings. Hunter Hoopes got them through the seventh with 1 2/3 scoreless innings and the score 4-1 Hammerheads. Then it went pear-shaped in the eighth, as Jupiter batted around and scored eight runs to make it 12-1. Tyler Stasiowski (1/3 IP, 2 H, 5 ER, BB, 2 HBP) and Liam Rocha (H, 3 ER, 2 BB) were only able to record one out before the Mighty Mussels went to the position-player-pitching well. Outfielder Maddux Houghton got the final five outs, but was also tagged for a home run to make the 14-1 final. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – David Festa, St. Paul Saints (W, 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 7 K) Hitter of the Day – Danny De Andrade, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-5, 2 R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. #7 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, 2 K #8 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, R, 2B, BB, K #13 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, K #17 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K #18 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita): 0-for-2, R, RBI, BB, K #19 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR (2), 2 RBI, BB #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 2-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (5:35 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (1-1, 9.00 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Trent Baker (0-2, 3.24 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Chase Chaney (0-0, 7.20 ERA) Jupiter @ Fort Myers (11:05 AM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Tough to find a spot for McCusker with the OF and DH spots covered. I'd love to see it though. When he hit his home run yesterday it tied him for the International League lead.

Zebby Matthews was on the bump again at CHS Field on Tuesday, but his blazing fastball was just a blip on the craziness that happened in the system. There were grand slams (three of ‘em), a walk-off homer, and a cameo from Benny Hill in Wichita. Image courtesy of Jean Pfiefer (Go4twinkies on Instagram) - photo Kyle DeBarge and Kaelen Culpepper TRANSACTIONS In Triple-A with the Saints, the Minnesota Twins sent RHP Michael Tonkin on a rehab assignment to CHS Field, while LHP Brady Feigl was activated from the 7-day injured list. The Wichita Wind Surge activated LHP Christian MacLeod from the injured list, making room by sending RHP Chase Chaney to the Kernels. In addition to receiving Chaney from Double-A, Cedar Rapids activated SS Kaelen Culpepper from the 7-day injured list and he played shortstop and batted leadoff for the Kernels on Tuesday. Down in the Florida State League, UT Jose Salas began a rehab assignment with Fort Myers from Cedar Rapids. SAINTS SENTINEL Indianapolis 4, St. Paul 16 Box Score Zebby Matthews again kicked off a series at CHS Field on Tuesday afternoon, but it was the Saints lineup jumping all over former major leaguer and 8th overall draft pick, Carson Fulmer that provided the headlines in this one. Matthews allowed an unearned run in the top of the first as three singles combined with a fielding error on Armando Alvarez gave Indianapolis a 1-0 lead. It didn’t take long for St. Paul to get that run, and more, back in the bottom half. Ryan Fitzgerald led off with a single and Mickey Gasper drew a walk. With one out, Jeferson Morales delivered a single to load the bases before Yunior Severino drew a walk to tie the game at one. After Mike Ford went down on strikes, big Carson McCusker stepped in, and did this: With a 5-1 lead the Saints never looked back, but that was far from it when it came to scoring runs. Alvarez added a two-run homer in the third. Mickey Gasper a solo shot in the sixth. Then to top it all off Fitzgerald hit the Saints second grand slam of the game in the eighth as Indianapolis waved the white flag and brought in position player Alika Williams to pitch. Five St. Paul hitters collected multiple knocks on the day, with Morales (4-for-4, R, RBI, BB) and Fitzgerald (3-for-5, 3 R, GS HR, 5 RBI, BB) leading the way. Fitzgerald, Gasper, and Alvarez each scored three runs. As a team they went 9-for-18 with runners in scoring position, leaving only 8 of 25 overall runners on base for the game. As for Zebby, he wasn’t nearly as efficient as he had been in his prior three starts, but despite allowing seven singles and one walk in his 3 2/3 innings, did not allow an earned run and punched out four. His fastball topped out at 97.4 MPH and he picked up seven swings and misses between his cutter and slider. Of his 80 pitches, 55 of them went for strikes (nice…). Kyle Bischoff finished off the fourth inning with a strikeout and picked up his first win of the season. Michael Tonkin allowed three runs on three hits, including two home runs, in his lone inning of rehab work. Travis Adams then finished off the final four innings to pick up his second save. He allowed three hits and struck out four to lower his ERA to 2.08 on the season. Indianapolis and St. Paul square off with a double-header tomorrow, starting at 5:00 PM. Andrew Morris and Cory Lewis are the scheduled starters. Game 2 is a makeup of one of their postponements from opening weekend back on March 29th. WIND SURGE WISDOM Springfield 1, Wichita 12 Box Score The Wind Surge sent right-hander Ricky Castro to the mound, and he took advantage of an aggressive Cardinals lineup, needing just 57 pitches to get through his five innings. 42 of those went for strikes (74%) and he was charged with just one earned run on five hits, while striking out five. Five straight hitters from the end of the third into the fourth saw just one pitch each, and over those final three innings Springfield hitters made him throw just 29 pitches. This is an even more remarkable number as in that time they had four of their five hits against him. Kala’i Rosario tied the game at one in the bottom of the fourth by hitting his third home run of the season. Despite the low pitch count, Mike Paredes came out of the bullpen to start the sixth inning. He gave up one hit, walked one, and struck out one over the next three innings to keep the visitors off the scoreboard. Michael Martinez finished off the ninth with a scoreless appearance, allowing one hit. This game became a bit of a laugher in the eighth inning, as the Wind Surge sent nine runners across the plate, culminating with a Jorel Ortega grand slam. In case you were wondering, Ortega was not in the lineup to start this game. He only entered because Aaron Sabato was ejected earlier in this inning because of…I don’t actually know what. Well, I do, that being Sabato went down on strikes due to an automatic strike call, but all I can say is the umpire decided he was going to be the stereotype of an umpire in this instance. Then he rewarded himself by having to stand behind the catcher for ten more batters as the Cardinals pitchers couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn if they were standing next to it (also much of the reason why Sabato had an issue with a call the umpire made). There were three singles, five walks, a balk, three wild pitches, and a throwing error from the two pitchers in this inning (as well as a second play, that ended with the pitcher falling on his face, that could have had an error tacked on as well). They combined to throw 53 pitches in the inning, with just 21 of them landing for strikes (40%). I can’t stress enough how much of a gong-show this inning was, but I digress. When it finally ended it was 12-1 Wind Surge. Tanner Schobel (2-for-5, R), Ricardo Olivar (3-for-4, R, BB, K), and Rosario (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB, 2 K) each had multiple hits in the win. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 2, Cedar Rapids 4 Box Score The Kernels struck first in the bottom of the opening frame, thanks in large part to Kyle DeBarge clubbing a triple into right field. Two batters later Billy Amick sent a single into center to bring him home for an early 1-0 lead. It remained that way until the top of the fifth inning, as Cedar Rapids starter Jose Olivares kept the Timber Rattlers off the scoreboard for his three innings. He allowed just one hit, walked one, and struck out five. Spencer Bengard came out of the bullpen to begin the fourth inning and went the next four. He did get tagged for a two-run home run in the fifth that put Wisconsin out front, but otherwise put up zeroes. He was charged with those two earned runs on four hits, and struck out three. Gabriel Yanez (IP, K) and Paulshawn Pasqualotto (IP, H) kept the game close for the final two innings, giving the home team a chance in the bottom of the ninth. Kevin Maitan delivered a one-out double to put the tying run in scoring position. Two-batters later Kaelen Culpepper drew a two-out walk and brought DeBarge to the plate as their last hope. He didn’t waste it. DeBarge belted a 2-1 pitcher over the wall in left for a three-run, walk-off blast in Cedar Rapids. He finished the game a single shy of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a double, triple, and the walk-off homer. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Clearwater 3 Box Score Fresh off of shutting out the Bradenton Marauders in three games last week, the Mighty Mussels traveled up the gulf coast to face the Clearwater Threshers in this one. In his last appearance Dylan Questad contributed three innings to one of those efforts, a 1-0 victory on Wednesday in which he picked up a three-inning save. Getting the start in this one, Questad went the first five innings. The only real trouble he had came in the first inning, as he walked the leadoff man and allowed a two-run homer two batters later. After that blast he did not allow another hit, walked only one the rest of the way, and faced the minimum thanks to a double-play ball. He retired the last seven hitters he faced and finished with two earned runs on one hit and two walks, while striking out six. The game stayed 2-0 until the top of the fourth inning, when the rehabbing Jose Salas got their first hit in the game with a double. Yasser Mercedes followed with his first home run of the season to tie the game at two. Poncho Ruiz kept it going with a single, and Jose Rodriguez punctuated it all with the second two-run blast of the frame to make it 4-2 Fort Myers. They added on in the top of the sixth thanks to four walks, a two-run double from Daniel Pena, and a two-run single from Yohander Martinez to take an 8-2 lead. From there the bullpen trio of Hunter Hoopes (IP, H, BB, 3 K), Liam Rocha (2 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 K), and Tyler Stasiowski (IP, 2 H, K) kept the Threshers at bay. There were no hitters in the lineup who had multiple knocks, but Ruiz (1-for-3, 2 R, BB, K) and Rodriguez (1-for-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K) each scored two runs. The team was 4-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left only four men on base in the game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams, St. Paul Saints (S, 4 IP, 3 H, 4 K) Hitter of the Day – Kyle DeBarge, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3B, walk-off HR, 3 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. #2 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 2-for-6, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB (2) #3 – Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB #7 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, R, BB #8 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 2 K #13 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3B, HR (2), 3 RBI, K #15 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers): 1-for-5, R, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 K #17 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, RBI #18 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita): 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (3), RBI, BB, 2 K #19 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, K #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 3-for-4, R, BB, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (Game 1 - 5:00 PM CDT) - RHP Andrew Morris (0-1, 4.61 ERA) Indianapolis @ St. Paul (Game 2) - RHP Cory Lewis (1-0, 9.82 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (11:05 AM CDT) - TBD Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (0-1, 7.50 ERA) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (11:00 AM CDT) RHP Eli Jones (1-1, 3.14 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Said this in the comments of my Minors report on Tuesday, but I would not want to be relying on Keaschall in the field right now. You can see the arm still has a lot of recovery left to do, IMO. He is certainly a fun at-bat, though. Looks the part in the box, definitely super-athletic build. Go get 'em, kid!

I don't think I've even seen the surgery he had specifically called out. Tough to guess on a timeline without that information. I'm hoping he's back in June until I hear otherwise.

Zebby should absolutely go to the rotation in the majors right now, IMO. As for Keaschall, I love a debut more than anybody, but I'll note that you can tell Keaschall's arm isn't up to snuff yet. I'd be very wary playing him in the field on a major league roster for that reason at this point.

McCusker's double last night was absolutely smoked. The 112 MPH says a lot about that, but it also had a pretty low launch angle. Absolute missile. I think the center fielder fielded the bounce off the wall at least 30 feet from the wall.

While one major league pitcher began his rehab assignment down in the lowest level of the minors on Tuesday, another one continued to make his case that he and his blazing fastball no longer belong at any level of the minors with the Saints. Image courtesy of Eric Canha - Imagn Images (photo of Zebby Matthews) TRANSACTIONS Veteran RHP Tyler Beede was signed to a minor league contract by the Twins and placed on the Saints roster. UT Dalton Shuffield was moved up from Wichita. LHP Brady Feigl was sent on a rehab assignment to Fort Myers. The recently-demoted IF Jose Miranda, was also placed on the 7-day injured list with a hand strain before playing a game. Down in Wichita, 1B Aaron Sabato was activated from the 7-day injured list and served as the DH for the Wind Surge in his first game of the season. Fort Myers got some big-league reinforcement in the form of RHP Brock Stewart to begin his rehab assignment. SS Yohander Martinez was also assigned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins roster. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Iowa 1 Box Score Before we get into anything on this game, I’d like to send out a huge congrats to the St. Paul Saints own Sean Aronson, on his 2,000th game with the team! I can say without a doubt, it’s been a pleasure listening to him call these games since the team became an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, and well before then, too! Class act all around! Zebby Matthews again took the ball for the Saints in a series opener and, tell me if you’ve read this from me before, was absolutely dominant. In fact, he seemed to get better as the game went on if you look at it through a certain lens… He retired the first six Cubs of the game, including three strikeouts. A leadoff double in the third turned into the Cubs lone run against him, but he induced a double-play ball to limit the damage and did the same thing to stymie a minor threat in the fourth. In the fifth he appeared to take great offense that the first two hitters of the inning again reached base, one of them on an error, as he punched out three in a row to end his outing, and did it by throwing absolute rocket fuel. He threw 14 four-seamers in his final frame, with the lowest registering at 96.8 MPH on the (BaseballSavant) radar gun, and topping out at 99.5. 12 of those 14 fastballs registered as 98 or above on the broadcast. Matthews ended his outing with one earned run on four hits, one walk, and he struck out seven. Of his 71 pitches, 49 went for strikes (69%), including 10 swings and misses. So far on the season Zebby has thrown 15 innings, allowed just three earned runs (1.80 ERA) on nine hits, two walks (0.73 WHIP), and has struck out 20 (12.0K/9IP). The Saints took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning after Jair Camargo reached base on a one-out single. Armando Alvarez followed with a double to put them both in scoring position, before Carson McCusker burned the Cubs center fielder with a 111.8 MPH laser off the wall for a two-run double. Travis Adams once again entered the game in piggy-back fashion and would finish the game. He kept the Drillers off the bases for three innings and the Saints had nobody warming up in the bottom of the ninth. It was ride or die time for him in the ninth. A leadoff single gave the Drillers some life, but Adams shut that down with a strikeout and a groundout before a liner was sent toward the gap that could have spelled disaster. Instead, Jeferson Morales made his second run-saving catch at full sprint of the game, ending it in favor of the visiting team. The Saints improved to one game below .500 in the early going, at 6-7. Luke Keaschall (2-for-5, K, 2 SB) and Emmanuel Rodriguez (2-for-5, K) each had two hits from the top of the lineup. Ryan Fitzgerald added a triple to the effort. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 0, Tulsa 3 Box Score On the mound for the Wind Surge to start their series with the Los Angeles Dodgers Double-A affiliate, was right-hander Ricky Castro. He worked the first 3 2/3 scoreless innings, working up a high pitch count but allowing just two hits and two walks, while striking out four. John Klein came on in relief and took Wichita through the seventh. In his 3 1/3 he was charged with three runs (one earned) on four hits and struck out three. Michael Martinez worked a scoreless eighth to finish the game for the Wind Surge. There was not much offense for the good guys in this one, even though they were able to coax six walks out of Drillers pitchers. Combined with their five hits as a team, they had just four at-bats with runners in scoring position as they weren’t able to string anything together, and grounded into two double plays. They left nine men on base for the game. Aaron Sabato, in his first Wind Surge appearance of the season, picked up two hits and a walk in four plate appearances, including a double to lead the way. Ricardo Olivar also picked up two hits in four at-bats. Tanner Schobel drew two walks out of the leadoff spot. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Peoria 6 Box Score The Kernels wasted no time jumping out to an early lead on the road against the Chiefs. After Kyle DeBarge and Brandon Winokur each struck out to start the game, five straight hitters reached base. Billy Amick, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Khadim Diaw each singled to load the bases, before a walk to Danny De Andrade and a wild pitch allowed two runs to score. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t have another inning with more than one baserunner until the ninth, when Kevin Maitan led off with a single and Caden Kendle drew a walk. Starting pitcher Jeremy Lee was only able to pitch into the third inning, as Peoria took control of the game with a four-run frame. Lee was saddled with the loss after his 2 2/3 innings, where he allowed four earned runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out two. The Kernels bullpen kept things in relative check from then on. Wilker Reyes (2 1/3 IP, H, ER, BB, 2 K), Logan Whitaker (IP, 2 H), and Jacob Wosinski (2 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 K) combined for just one run allowed over the final five innings. Amick led the way with two hits, a run scored, and a walk in five trips to the plate. De Andrade (0-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, SB) and Kendle (0-for-2, 2 BB, K) each drew multiple free passes. The offense as a whole finished 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. MUSSEL MATTERS Bradenton 4, Fort Myers 9 Box Score The Mighty Mussels struck first in the bottom of the first inning, though they probably should have put up more than one run. Byron Chourio and Yasser Mercedes each drew a walk before Poncho Ruiz singled to load the bases. A one-out error allowed Chourio to score, but Mercedes was thrown out at home on the play and that would be all they’d get. Getting the start in this one was lefty Michael Carpenter, who the Twins drafted out of the junior college ranks of Madison, Wisconsin, in the 11th round of last year's draft. He pitched into the third, but after a pair of walks to start the inning was lifted for Liam Rocha. In his two-plus innings, Carpenter allowed one earned run on two hits, walked three, and struck out three. Rocha got the Mighty Mussels through the third, walking one and striking out one. In the bottom of the third the Fort Myers offense broke the game open. Mercedes led off with a single, Ruiz drew a walk, and Jose Rodriguez brought them both in with a triple. Two walks later, an RBI single from Miguel Briceno, and a wild pitch would make it 5-1 Mighty Mussels before it was over. In the top of the fourth, the powerful right arm of Brock Stewart was called upon for his first rehab appearance. He struck out the first two batters he faced, topping out at 96.7 mph with his fastball, before an error kept him from completing a full inning. Stewart threw 17 pitches, with 10 going for strikes, including four swinging. Kade Bragg came on to finish the fourth, and also pitched the fifth. He gave up a solo home run in the fifth but otherwise struck out three of the five hitters he faced. Fort Myers tacked on single runs in the fourth and fifth innings thanks to a wild pitch and RBI single from Byron Chourio. They added two more insurance runs in eight on a triple from Peyton Carr, and single from Daniel Pena. Joining Stewart with a rehab appearance was Brady Feigl. He walked one and struck out one in a scoreless sixth inning. Jacob Kisting then finished the game with a three-inning save, allowing two runs (zero earned) on three hits and a walk. He struck out two. Every batter in the Mighty Mussels lineup reached base in the game. The only one not recording a hit was nine-hitter Angel Del Rosario. Rodriguez (2-for-3, R, 3B, 2 RBI) and Carr (2-for-4, 2 R, 3B, 2 RBI, BB) each drove in two, while Ruiz (2-for-4, R, BB, 2 K) joined them with two hits. Jay Thomason added a double and a walk to the winning effort. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Zebby Matthews, St. Paul Saints (W, 5 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 7 K) Hitter of the Day – Peyton Carr, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2-for-4, 2 R, 3B, 2 RBI, BB) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. #2 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 2-for-5, K #3 – Luke Keaschall (St. Paul): 2-for-5, K, 2 SB (4) #8 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-5, K #13 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-5, 2 K #15 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers): 1-for-4, R, BB, K, SB (5) #17 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, R, BB #18 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita): 0-for-4, 2 K #19 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, R #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 2-for-4 WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 PM CDT) - RHP Andrew Morris (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Wichita @ Tulsa (11:00 AM CDT) - RHP Chase Chaney (0-0, 7.71 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (0-1, 7.71 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) LHP Christian MacLeod (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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I think he'd be the obvious choice given their days line up, but they could move Festa there, too. If you're giving me the choice, it would be Matthews without question. He is done with triple-A. Questad's outing should be good confidence boost for him. I'll be very curious to see any ups and downs with him this year!

The starting pitching was a bright spot in each game on Tuesday, but the efforts of Zebby Matthews in St. Paul and Dylan Questad in Fort Myers were wasted by their defense and the bullpens. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Dylan Questad) TRANSACTIONS After a quick stint in Fort Myers, IF Brooks Lee’s rehab assignment was transferred to the St. Paul Saints and he was in their starting lineup, playing second base on Tuesday. In his place, the Mighty Mussels received a replacement in the form of 1B Aaron Sabato, who was sent on a rehab assignment from the Wichita Wind Surge. SAINTS SENTINEL Omaha 3, St. Paul 0 Box Score Zebby Matthews took to the bump for the second time this season, and he was (perhaps) even more dominant in this one than his scoreless first go-round. Through the first two innings he allowed just one hit, a comebacker to him on the mound he couldn’t quite get his full glove on, with three strikeouts. Then he struck out the side in the third on just 11 pitches. In the fourth, he walked (gasp!) somebody a whole 40+ innings before he had walked anyone last year, but struck out another to keep the game scoreless. In the fifth, Zebby didn’t get the help from his defense he needed to keep his ERA unblemished. He allowed a one-out single before picking up his eighth K of the game for the innings second out, but then a pop-up into right snowballed the inning a bit. Yunior Severino either lost it in the lights, or badly misjudged it (he has played very little outfield before this season) and wasn’t able to recover enough to make the catch. The ball fell on the outfield grass for an RBI double and 1-0 Storm Chasers lead. The next hitter drove in a second run with a single before Matthews struck out another for his final out. Overall Matthews finished five innings and was (unceremoniously) charged with two earned runs on four hits, one walk, and struck out nine to tie his career high. He topped out at 98.8 MPH with his fastball and racked up twelve swings and misses on his 80 pitches. Jacob Bosiokovic worked the next two scoreless innings for the Saints, allowing one hit, two walks, and striking out three. Alex Speas gave up one run in the eighth on a single, a pair of walks, and a sac fly. He struck out one. There wasn’t a ton of offense in this one for the Saints, but Brooks Lee batted second in the lineup, played second base, and finished 1-for-3. Austin Martin picked up their only other hit, while Mike Ford, Severino, and Luke Keaschall each drew a walk to account for all five of their baserunners. They had just two at-bats with runners in scoring position the entire game. WIND SURGE WISDOM Midland 1, Wichita 3 Box Score The Wind Surge scored early and held on late to take down the RockHounds in their home opener at Equity Bank Park in front of nearly 6,000 fans. In the bottom of the second Wichita used three walks to load the bases before Jake Rucker got them on the scoreboard with a sac fly. Allan Cerda followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0. Tanner Schobel led off the third with a solo home run to make it 3-0, and that would turn out to be plenty for Darren Bowen and the Wind Surge pitching staff. Bowen got the starting nod and was fantastic in his five innings. He allowed just one run on three hits, walked none, and struck out five to pick up his first win of the season. He threw 70 pitches, with 49 of them going for strikes (70%). His lone run allowed came on a solo home run in the fourth, but finished his outing strong by striking out two in the fifth. Angel Macuare came on for the sixth and pitched into the seventh. After a two-out walk Jarret Whorff came on for the final out, and also pitched a scoreless eighth. Macuare allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out one in 1 2/3 innings. Whorff struck out two in his 1 1/3. Cody Laweryson came on for the ninth and set the RockHounds down in order to pick up the save. He struck out two. Ricardo Olivar led the offense with two hits in four trips to the plate out of the leadoff spot. Kala’i Rosario (1-for-4, 2 K, SB) and Rucker (1-for-2, RBI) had the other hits in the game for the home team. KERNELS NUGGETS Beloit 2, Cedar Rapids 3 Box Score The Kernels kicked off their 2025 home schedule against the Minnesota Twins former affiliate, the Beloit Snappers at Veterans Memorial Stadium in this one. Right-hander Jose Olivares made the start and pitched into the fifth inning. He mowed down the Snappers one-two-three in each of the second and fourth frames, as well as facing just three men in the first thanks to a double-play ball. In his 4 2/3 innings he allowed just one hit, walked three, and struck out six. Two of those walks came in the fifth inning after he struck out the first two hitters, and put an end to his outing after 66 pitches. Five of his final six outs came on strikeouts. When he left the game the Kernels had a 1-0 lead, as a double from Billy Amick in the fourth scored Kyle DeBarge from first to open the game’s scoring. That is Amick’s fifth extra-base hit in four games so far on the season. Juan Mercedes finished off the fifth inning before Spencer Bengard came on to start the sixth. Twins Daily’s 2024 MiLB Relief Pitcher of the year kept the Beloit offense off the board through the ninth, and in the meantime the Cedar Rapids offense extended their lead. Caden Kendle led off the sixth with a walk, Kaelen Culpepper followed with a single, and DeBarge drew another walk to load the bases for Amick. He delivered the rare two-RBI sac fly to put them out front 3-0 at the time. After three scoreless innings in which he struck out three and walked two, Bengard came back out in the ninth looking to close out the game. It probably was one inning too many, as he walked the first two batters of the inning, and then a one-out double put the Snappers on the scoreboard and ended his appearance. Jacob Wosinski came on to finish the game, and gave up a sac fly before picking up a strikeout to end the game and pick up the save. For his efforts, Bengard earned the win to improve to 2-0 on the young season. It is a bit of a quirky box score when you look close, as the Kernels were outhit 4-to-3, left only five men on base, and were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position on the game, but came out with the victory anyway. Catcher Khadim Diaw was the other batter to pick up a hit, and DeBarge drew two walks in front of Amick’s heroics. MUSSEL MATTERS Tampa 5, Fort Myers 3 Box Score The Minnesota Twins drafted right-hander Dylan Questad out of high school from Wisconsin in the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft. He had a bit of a learning experience playing with the FCL Twins last season, but you wouldn’t know it if this game was your introduction to him. Questad was excellent, working five scoreless innings and needing just 66 pitches, with 41 of them going for strikes (62%). He allowed just one hit, walked one, and struck out eight. After allowing a leadoff walk in the second, Questad retired the final 11 hitters he faced to put an emphatic bow on his full-season debut. When he exited, the Mighty Mussels were up 2-0 as Dameury Pena got them on the board in the second inning. With the bases loaded, he sent a liner into deep center that found the grass and bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double and two-run lead. The first man out of the bullpen was Zander Sechrist and he worked the next 3 1/3 innings. The first three of those were scoreless, but he ran into a bit of trouble in his fourth, partly due to an error. He was charged with three runs (two earned) on two hits, two walks, and struck out three. Liam Rocha came on to try and snuff out the rally, but wasn’t able to. Before it was over the Tarpons had a 5-2 lead and Rocha only recorded one out. Both inherited runners scored, and he was charged with two of his own before Devin Kirby came on and picked up a strikeout to stop the bleeding. The Mighty Mussels gave themselves a chance in the bottom of the ninth as multiple runners were put on via walks, before a wild-pitch strike-three to Yasser Mercedes made it 5-3 and put the tying run in scoring position. After a walk to Aaron Sabato loaded the bases, Jose Rodriguez wasn’t able to get them in as he grounded out to short to end the game. Pena (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI) and Poncho Ruiz (2-for-3, 2B, BB) each had two hits. Angel Del Rosario finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored, a triple, and a walk. The Mighty Mussels were unable to get any clutch hits, as they finished a paltry 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position, and left 11 men on base for the game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Dylan Questad, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (5 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 8 K) All starting pitchers on Tuesday: 19 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 5 BB, 28 K Hitter of the Day – Dameury Pena, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2-for-5, 2B, 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. #2 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 0-for-4 #3 – Luke Keaschall (St. Paul): 0-for-3, BB, K #7 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, R #8 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, 2 K #13 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-2, R, 2 BB #15 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers): 1-for-4, BB, 2 K #16 – Rayne Doncon (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, 3 K #17 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, 2B, SF, 3 RBI, 2 K #18 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita): 1-for-4, 2 K #19 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, 2 K #20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 2-for-4, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) - LHP Michael Carpenter (0-0, -.-- ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - LHP Ross Dunn (0-0, -.-- ERA) Midland @ Wichita (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Ricky Castro (0-0, -.-- ERA) Omaha @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - RHP Andrew Morris (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Did you not watch it at all last year? I think it's great, especially from a fan perspective! The general consensus is the challenge version is what players and teams prefer as well. At one Saints game last year I was at the umpire had an especially bad day. One inning had like 9 challenges between the two teams, and if that many are happening it means the ump was getting them all wrong. He was catching a lot of flack from the fans and the teams. Was kinda hilarious, and he got a big cheer when he finally got one right.

"Given the Saints’ stacked rotation, it seemed like someone was due to be the odd man out; Wednesday’s game may reveal Lewis to be that individual." Nothing to see here. The Saints had two games rained out on opening weekend, which means they're two days behind their pitching schedule. Travis Adams piggy-backed Matthews on Tuesday, now Lewis gets that deal with Morris in this one. With Raya going today they should be back on the normal schedule. Festa, Adams, and Zebby are the scheduled guys over the next 3 so the 6-man rotation is back on.

I've kinda been laughing at this so far this season. Since I am an engineer by trade, I take a large interest in the design of things, and since I played wood-bat baseball for 15+ years they were something I spent a lot of time researching. Composite bats were legal in our leagues and I thought they had noticeably more thump (also costed twice as much), but they are not legal in MLB. There are a few bat companies based in Minnesota (MaxBat is probably the most well-known one, and they are used in the majors), but as far as the "design of things" I took an interest in, there are many different bat "turn profiles" that are standard, and then not so standard "custom" ones that I think the "torpedoes" would fall into. This profile has a longer taper, this one gets to the diameter of the barrel quicker, handle is wider, no knob, axe grip, etc... All of them can have some wood "cupped" out of the end of the bat to shift the weight and center of gravity on the barrel (i.e.: the "sweet spot"). I tried out pretty much all of these until I found my favorite one, which is the "110" profile, which is a bit lighter with a long taper to the thickest part of the barrel. All this "torpedo" design is doing, is taking an extreme approach to the idea of "cupping" the barrel at the end of it. It isn't "adding" weight to the sweet spot or whatever, it's just moving and maybe expanding it a little. It's certainly not a new concept, in my opinion. https://www.baseballsavings.com/baseball-guide/wood-bat-turning-models/?srsltid=AfmBOop00WS8dFsVb3LhPjtuCC0vwoJFsRERdWuBMsUZ48wxaG43QCd_

He also challenged a strike 3 call that was well within the zone when the graphic came up. Gave me a chuckle. This team should be really good. A little lacking in offense to start the season maybe, but have a few studs and this pitching staff should be really, really good.

Definitely made some plays last night. There was also a long run sliding catch he made as well. I put the outfield assist tweet in there to highlight that he had a really good defensive game in left field.

He got hit with a pitch on the hands but that was early in the game. He was substituted in the 8th inning and was likely just because they were up 5-0.

The legend started to be written last season, when he made it all the way from the lakes of single-A to the oceans of the major leagues. Unfortunately for the Columbus Clippers on Tuesday, they ran into this kraken trapped in the great lake of triple-A who goes by the name of Zebby, and he sent their ship to the bottoms. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Zebby Matthews) TRANSACTIONS There were no roster moves in the organization on Tuesday, but the Cedar Rapids Kernels have announced their opening day roster. They, along with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels and Wichita Wind Surge kick off their seasons on Friday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Columbus 0 Box Score The Saints were only able to get in one of three games against Indianapolis last week, as rain and snow wreaked havoc on St. Paul over the weekend. They’re on the road in Columbus, Ohio this week to face the Clippers, so weather like that shouldn’t be as big of a factor. On the mound in the series opener on Tuesday was 2024 Twins and Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Zebby Matthews. But before he even took the mound the Saints offense spotted him to a 2-0 lead and knocked the Clippers starter out of the game in the process. Luke Keaschall reached base on a one-out error before Armando Alvarez and Mike Ford drew a pair of two-out walks to load the bases. Jair Camargo then sent a 111 MPH liner through the infield to bring in two runs and chase pitcher Will Dion who had already reached 33 pitches. Matthews made quick work of the Clippers in the bottom half, striking out the first two hitters he faced during the 2025 season, and setting them down one-two-three. He allowed a two-out single in the second inning, but then retired the next 10 hitters he faced to finish five shutout innings in dominating fashion. He needed just 57 pitches, with 37 going for strikes (65%) and picking up nine swings-and-misses. His four-seam fastball hit 99.2 MPH, while his cutter topped out at 94.7 and his slider at 90.6. From start to finish Matthews was in control of this one, and looked like a guy confident that he was going to shove. The Saints offense scored a run in each of the game’s first four innings to build a 5-0 lead. Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch in the second inning while the bases were loaded, Mike Ford launched the first Saints home run of the season in the third, and Armando Alvarez delivered an RBI single in the fourth. Travis Adams came on for the sixth inning to work as a piggy-backer to Matthews. Because of the two rain-outs over the weekend, this was likely the game Adams was originally scheduled to start.He finished the next 2 2/3 innings, allowing four hits but no runs, while striking out two. Anthony Misiewicz got the final out of the eighth inning and closed out the ninth in one-two-three fashion as well. He struck out three. The Saints bats went a little quiet after the first four innings, but those five runs were plenty. Austin Martin (2-for-5, BB, K) and Alvarez (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB, K) each had a pair of hits to lead the way. Keaschall finished 1-for-3, scored two runs, and drove in one. That’s two games in the books for the Saints vaunted pitching staff, and two shutouts. It will be up to Andrew Morris to continue that trend tomorrow night. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Zebby Matthews, St. Paul Saints (W, 5 IP, H, 4 K) Hitter of the Day - Armando Alvarez, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. #2 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 0-for-4, BB, 2 K #3 – Luke Keaschall (St. Paul): 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (5:15 PM CDT) - RHP Andrew Morris (0-0, -.-- ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

McCusker was one of the "Just Missed"!

I am crossing all the fingers I am capable of crossing that he holds up this season and we get to see that happen!

It's crazy, back in 2023 the Twins had 13(!) players make their MLB debut, and there were only 2 of them that I hadn't written about in this article. You're right that it probably means disaster if that many happen, but even if I don't get all the names accounted for or miss somebody, I like to paint with broad strokes to recognize guys that I've spent a lot of time following! To answer your question, I think I am most confident in: -Emmanuel Rodriguez -Luke Keaschall -Andrew Morris -Payton Eeles

During the 2024 Major League Baseball season, 255 players made their Major League debut for their respective teams, including seven from the Minnesota Twins. Who are the prospects who could become the Next Minnesota Twins to see Target Field in 2025? Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Emmanuel Rodriguez) Those Twins to debut in 2024 included position players Austin Martin, Jair Camargo, Brooks Lee, Michael Helman, and DaShawn Keirsey; and pitchers David Festa and Zebby Matthews. Because of his meteoric rise through the minors (after starting the year all the way back in Cedar Rapids), Matthews was the only one of those names not listed in this same entry before the start of the 2024 season. If you’re wondering, the only category below I could have fit him in would have been the “Dark Horses,” and he probably would have been the darkest horse I’ve ever mentioned. Coming into this season, by contrast, he’s put himself onto several top-100 prospect lists, and will likely be a large contributor to the Twins rotation. That is a huge credit to both him and the pitching development staff Derek Falvey and the organization have put together. Going into Opening Day, Festa figures into the same ready-to-help-the-rotation category as Matthews, while Martin and Keirsey may be in line for the final roster spots. Lee was poised to break camp in the starting lineup, but has since joined Royce Lewis on the IL, while Camargo will again serve as catching depth with the St. Paul Saints. After a long minors career with the Twins, Helman moved on to the St. Louis Cardinals. Unlike the past few seasons, the Twins have a lot of their top prospects at the upper levels of the minors, so when opportunities arrive this year (whether through injury, performance, or peculiar circumstances), the names that could be called up are likely to be exciting ones. So, who are some of the prospects who could make their MLB dreams come true in 2025, and become some of the Next Minnesota Twins? ON THE 40-MAN ROSTER: Since I started researching this article, this section has lost a couple of names, but does still include potential star power from an outfielder. Both Matt Canterino and Eiberson Castellano would have resided here, but Canterino is (again) out for the year after shoulder surgery, and Castellano has been returned to the Philadelphia Phillies. Emmanuel Rodriguez (22 years old on Opening Day), OF – Twins Daily’s #3 Prospect Rodriguez, like seemingly all Minnesota Twins top prospects (sigh), has dealt with many different injuries coming up through the minors, which have slowed him down. In 2024, that was a thumb injury that limited him to just 47 games. He's on the shelf to start the 2025 season with a sprained ankle, as well, but by the end of the year, he was up with the St. Paul Saints because of his immense talent. While he has played center field most of his career thus far and is certainly capable there, moving to a corner could help him settle into the majors. Right field also fits his profile, as he has a strong arm and his hitting talents are centered around patience and light-tower power. In those 47 games last season, he had 25 extra-base hits, including nine home runs, and drew a staggering 51 walks for a .280/.459/567 batting line. The only knock here is that it came with a nearly 30% strikeout rate, an issue many hope can be mitigated by a more conscientiously aggressive approach. Travis Adams (25), RHP (Adams made his MLB debut on 7/5 against the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a bullpen game. He had one bad inning, but worked as the bulk pitcher and finished four frames. He allowed five earned runs on nine hits while striking out one) Adams was a bit of a surprising addition to the 40-man roster during the offseason, but that doesn’t mean it was unearned. He made 19 starts with the Wichita Wind Surge and ended the year with three starts (four appearances) in Triple A. While with Wichita, consistency was his calling card. In 14 of those starts, he went at least 5 innings and allowed three or fewer runs. If you wanted anything close to a “Quality Start,” Adams was likely to give you one. In his final six games before being promoted to St. Paul, Adams went 1-1 with a 0.85 ERA and gave up just 15 hits in 31 2/3 innings. It also included 32 strikeouts, compared to just seven walks, and a lowly .390 opponents' OPS. He certainly earned that promotion. There are a lot of names in the pitching pipeline you might think of first before you get to Adams, but count him out at your own peril. The Twins believed in him enough to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and he should be in the Saints' rotation to start the season, just a Green Line trip away in an emergency. Diego Cartaya (23), C Just two years ago, Cartaya was a global top-20 prospect in baseball, as he combined prodigious power with strong on-base skills in the lower levels of the minors. He hit a bit of a wall in Double A, but reached Triple A with the Dodgers organization last year before coming to the Twins in a trade this offseason. He is probably a step up as a defender, compared to fellow backstop Camargo, so depending on the need for the major-league roster, could serve well in a pinch. He and Camargo will split time behind the dish with the Saints to start the year. Marco Raya (22), RHP – TD’s #6 Prospect Raya’s path through the minors to this point has been almost unheard of. I certainly can’t remember another pitching prospect who has been handled in this drastic a way by the Twins. I’ll reserve judgment, as he hasn’t even made it to the majors yet, but in my Top Prospect article from earlier in the offseason, this peculiarity is the crux of my own evaluations of him to this point. Can he throw enough innings (or pitches) to be a dependable starting pitcher? It’s time to find out. There will be a lot of starting pitching talent in St. Paul to begin the year, so unless the Saints utilize a six-man rotation (not a terrible idea), I’m not sure Raya will be there at the outset. However, he is on the 40-man roster while some of those other pitchers are not, so it could go either way. In Wichita, he would certainly front their rotation. Raya finished with a 2.09 ERA in his last eight starts there. TOP PROSPECTS: This is a section all Twins fans should get excited about. In addition to Raya and Rodriguez above, all four of these names reside in the Top 10 of our most recent Top Prospect ranking, and three of them are in the top five. There is a good chance that all four of these names will see Target Field this summer, and I’ll be pumped to watch all of them at CHS Field before then. Walker Jenkins (20), OF – TD’s #1 Prospect Perhaps the prospect of all prospects when the summer truly comes around, Jenkins begins 2025 as a global top-five player in the minor leagues. He is a true five-tool talent, and has hit .302/.400/.473 in 108 games as a pro thus far. He gave me quite the scare as I watched him injure himself with Fort Myers in the first game of the 2024 season, but he came back in June and hit himself to Double-A Wichita before it was over. As far as things to work on, I do think there is a lot more Joe Mauer in his swing than Justin Morneau at this point. That is, he has not yet shown himself to be a power threat, even though everything you hear about him says that it will show up. I’m taking Ryan Jeffers’s thoughts from the Winter Meltdown as gospel on this: “He is so freakishly talented…The sheer size of him, is just, you can’t fathom him only being 19 years old.” This also looks pretty effortless: He just turned 20 years old and has spent only a week at Double A, so there is no rush—unless his performance creates one. But if he wants to go the route of the Jacksons from last season (Chourio, Holliday, Merrill) and debut at 20, I’ll personally bring him from Wichita to St. Paul, then St. Paul to Target Field in my 2017 Mazda CX-5. It’s an IIHS Top Safety Pick and I’ve never been in an accident (knock on my wooden bat). The joke there, of course, is that he is also dealing with a sprained ankle this March, but the indications are he will be good to go to start the season. Buckle up! Luke Keaschall (22), IF/OF – TD’s #3 Prospect (Keaschall made his MLB debut on 4/18 against the Atlanta Braves. He drove in a run with a single in his first at-bat, and finished 2-for-4 with a double, run scored, and stolen base) Keaschall spent all of the 2024 season knowing that he would eventually be shut down for surgery on his elbow, but that didn’t stop him from boosting his stock into top-50 prospect territory along the way. He demolished the Midwest League to the tune of a 181 wRC+, then finished his final 59 games on the Wind Surge with a .832 OPS, .131 above the Texas League average. While the Twins will likely take it easy on him as far as playing defense to start the season, he's likely to be in St. Paul. A call-up for Keaschall is more likely in the back half of the season, but infield depth in the organization is pretty wide-open, and he also has the talents to hold down any spot in the outfield with his underrated speed. He's been caught just six times on 40 steal attempts in his career thus far. It's also hard to dislike or count out anyone with the attitude of “Wherever they want me to play, I like to hit.” Andrew Morris (23), RHP – TD’s #5 Prospect While Twins fans may know that what Matthews did last year was meteoric, they might be surprised to learn there was another pitcher (two, actually…) who did nearly the same thing. Enter Morris and his 2.37 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 133 innings, across the same three levels of the minors where Matthews put up 2.60 and 0.86 numbers. The WHIP difference can be attributed to the fact that Matthews never walked anybody, which Morris can't quite match—but he, too, has good control. Whereas Matthews lives on the “control” end of the spectrum when it comes to this stat, Morris may still come in higher on the “command” front. He throws the traditional four-pitch mix, but each offering is distinct, and he mixes in cutters and sinkers at differing velocities as well. The Twins utilized eight starting pitchers in an (overall) pretty healthy 2024 season from their starting rotation, and about the time they reach that number is where I can envision Morris coming in. That’s because there are still Festa, Matthews, and Adams joining him in the Saints rotation to start the season. Spot starts are not out of the question, either, but room would need to be made for Morris on the 40-man, whereas those other names don’t have this hurdle. Cory Lewis (24), RHP – TD’s #9 Prospect I’m not exaggerating when I say that Lewis probably has the most fun pitch to see in all of baseball. Yes, everybody knows that it's a knuckleball (that he only throws about 15% of the time), but his version is one-of-a-kind because of its velocity. Whereas the well-known knuckleballers like Tim Wakefield generally lobbed theirs in the high 60s to mid-70s, Lewis lives in the mid-80s with his. It is an unpredictably moving offering that can arrive before hitters reconcile that it is not spinning appropriately. I mean, look at it! That’s just pure entertainment for the pitcher, hitter, catcher, and fans! Also don’t forget that Lewis was Twins Daily’s Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2023, and didn’t get started in 2024 until late May, as he dealt with a shoulder issue in camp. After coming back and getting his legs (and shoulder) under him, from the start of August on, he pitched to the tune of a 1.64 ERA, struck out 51 hitters in 44 innings, and closed out his season with a start for the Saints. He could be another one of the cogs in a stacked rotation there to start the year. TRIPLE-A DEPTH: Most of the names above fall into the upper ranges of the Twins' prospect rankings and should see time in Triple A. That means, for this category, it’s a bit harder to find names (like DaShawn Keirsey) that have appeared here in the past. However, its lone entry is where my favorite prospect from the 2024 season is going to come in… Payton Eeles (25), IF …Which is this guy, and his pure lightning-in-a-bottle play from his 5’5” frame. That said, I almost feel bad for putting Eeles here in the “depth” category. If it weren’t for Luke Keaschall, he would have run away with the Twins Daily Hitter of the Year Award last year. It was truly an amazing accomplishment for a player who wasn’t even in the organization until after the season started, as the Twins signed him out of the Independent Leagues on May 7th. He proceeded to get on base at a clip closer to .500 than .400 at Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids, before an opportunity in St. Paul came calling. He never left, as over his 64 games there, he batted .299, continued to get on base over 40% of the time, and compiled an OPS .156 above the International League average. He also stole 41 bases and was playing all over the diamond with the Saints. It was a five-tool and jack-of-all-trades campaign from out of nowhere. Unfortunately, it will take a bit of time before we get to see him in 2025, as he just underwent surgery on his knee that will sideline him for a bit. Despite that, I expect big things to continue when he gets back on the field. DARK HORSES: Like Zebby Matthews of last season, this is the category for guys who could come out of nowhere and make a surprising debut. Maybe they’ve been injured, or perhaps they have a unique or specific talent that could pay dividends. Connor Prielipp (24), LHP – TD’s #10 Prospect Call it a case of “hopium” or whatever else you may like, but I am a Prielipp stan. Every pitch he has ever thrown has been electric, including some that you may have seen down in Florida this spring. The obvious problem there is it is year four in the system (he was drafted in 2022), and he has thrown only 30 professional innings. The positives are that 23 1/3 of those came at the end of 2024, after his latest elbow surgery, which added an internal brace. Perhaps that is what is needed for his arm to stand up to the ludicrousness of his pitching arsenal. It includes a mid-90s fastball, an elite spinning and devastating 90-MPH slider, and a changeup that had a 62% whiff rate last year. The comparison for “stuff” here approaches Johan Santana, and Prielipp is also left-handed. Santana is also the blueprint for the type of start to his career that Prielipp could benefit from, given his injury history, being a bullpen option early before blossoming into a starter long-term. Christian MacLeod (24), LHP There were so many pitching success stories in the minors for the Twins last year, that in my opinion, one of the best went largely unnoticed. That came from left-hander Christian MacLeod, who struck out 10.4 batters per nine innings at stops in Cedar Rapids, Wichita, and St. Paul, just like Matthews and Morris above. He was not the same level of control artist that they were, but the overall performance closely followed. He will be a top-of-the-rotation option in Wichita out of the gate. Kyle Bischoff (25), RHP One of the top performing relief pitchers in the system in 2024, Bischoff is coming off a season where he struck out 11.4 per nine frames in appearances with the Kernels, Wind Surge, and Saints. A lot would have to go wrong with the major-league bullpen for him to have a chance to crack through, but crazy things happen every season. DON’T FORGET ABOUT: This section is all about some of the prospects who may have been lost in the shuffle, at one point were highly regarded, or simply have paid their dues and are ready for their cup of coffee. Kala’i Rosario (22), OF – TD’s #19 Prospect The slugger out of Hawaii has shown both a propensity for power and strikeouts over his career. The 2023 Midwest League MVP repeated the Arizona Fall League in 2024 after missing time during the regular season with an elbow injury. Yunior Severino (25), 1B/DH Had the opportunity to test the free agent waters this offseason, but quickly returned to the Twins organization on a minor-league deal. Led all of the minor leagues in home runs in 2023. Jeferson Morales (25), UT Was a standout this spring with the Twins, playing in 20 games and batting .375/.459/.531. Has experience at second base, left field, and catcher and has mashed lefties over his career. These are just some of the prospects that I think fans could see wearing Twins uniforms for the first time at Target Field in 2025. When do you think any of them will debut? Who are you most excited about? And who are any of your favorites that I may have missed? Go Twins! View full article