Tom Froemming

TRANSACTIONS Twins recalled CF DaShawn Keirsey Jr. from St. Paul. LHP Anthony Misiewicz sent on rehab assignment to St. Paul. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Memphis 3 Box Score Tonight’s game opened with a pop. Walker Jenkins led things off with a towering infield fly that somehow the entire Memphis infield lost in the lights. Though the ball only traveled 54 feet, it was scored a double for Jenkins. We’ll take it. The rehabbing Christian Vázquez stroked the very next pitch into center field for an RBI single, then Kyler Fedko drew a five-pitch walk. Jonah Bride fell behind 1-2 but ripped the next pitch into the bullpen in left-center field for a three-run homer. The Saints built a four-run lead before even recording an out. For a moment, it appeared Saints starter Connor Prielipp was going to return the favor. The Sconnie southpaw ran into trouble in the first frame but managed to escape after allowing two runs. From there forward, however, Prielipp was stingy and efficient. That allowed him to accomplish something for the first time in his pro career. The oft-injured Prielipp has been managed extremely carefully, but during his previous outing was allowed to complete five innings for the first time. He also logged 77 pitches, the second-most he had thrown this season. He went even deeper tonight. Prielipp completed six innings — logging a quality start — and threw 84 pitches, 66.7% of them for strikes. He yielded three runs on five hits while walking two batters and struck out four. He topped out at 96.1 mph and got seven of his eight swinging strikes on fastballs. What a way to end his year. There was already reason to be positive about Prielipp simply pitching through an entire season. He entered 2025 with 30 innings over the prior two seasons and managed to log 82 2/3 innings this year. There’s still a ways to climb, but that’s a significant jump year-over-year. While Prielipp was cruising, the lineup continued to tack on, scoring single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Bride and Fedko were menaces throughout. In addition to his three-run homer in the first inning, Bride also had a single, a sacrifice fly and a pair of walks. Fedko hit a double, drew three walks and stole his 37th base of the season. Tanner Schobel hit a home run and made a fine defensive play at second base. After the rehabbing Anthony Misiewicz pitched a scoreless seventh inning, Mike Paredes made his Triple-A debut and followed with a pair of scoreless frames of his own. The 25-year-old former 18th-round pick had a 2.43 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 103 2/3 innings for Wichita this season. There are just two more days of minor league action for the Twins system in 2025. Thanks for reading these Minor League Reports all season, we appreciate your support. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day: Connor Prielipp Hitter of the Day: Jonah Bride PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 1. Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 1-for-5, 2B, R, 3 K 6. Connor Prielipp (St. Paul): 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 84 pitches, 66.7% strikes 18. Kyler Fedko (St. Paul): 1-for-2, 2B, 3 BB, 2 R, SB (37), K TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul at Memphis, 3:05 pm CT: Kendry Rojas View full article

TRANSACTIONS St. Paul Saints activated RHP Cory Lewis and transferred LHP Aaron Rozek to the Development List. RHP Cody Laweryson will be promoted from Triple-A St. Paul up to the Twins to make his big league debut, per Theodore Tollefson. SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 4, St. Paul 3 Box Score What a mess. The Saints are seriously up against it right now. This is the 12th-straight loss for St. Paul, and it was ugly. Columbus did their best to help break the streak, issuing a mind-boggling 14 walks. The Saints lineup couldn’t take advantage, essentially saying “no thanks, you can have this one.” St. Paul combined to go 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 14 men on base. They had the game-tying run in scoring position with one out in the ninth inning but could not come back to tie it up. On a positive note, Saints starter Darren McCaughan struck out eight batters over 4 2/3 innings. He was cruising until the fifth inning, where he ran into trouble and made a mess the bullpen couldn’t clean up. McCaughan exited with the Saints still up 2-0, but Noah Davis gave up a grand slam. On the hitting side, Gabriel Gonzalez hit his fifth home run since joining the Saints and 14th overall of the season. Gonzalez also drew a pair of walks, because of course he did, Columbus was walking everybody. Both DaShawn Keirsey Je. and Noah Cardenas drew three walks each while Payton Eeles and Tanner Schobel also drew two walks. Today was manager Toby Gardenhire’s birthday, and I’m sure this type of performance was not on his wishlist. Ugly game. Ugly streak. Oof. WIND SURGE WISDOM Corpus Christi 2, Wichita 0 Box Score Chasing Tulsa for the final spot in the Texas League North playoffs, Wichita has little room for error in this, their final week of the regular season. That being the case, tonight’s result is a tough pill to swallow. The Wind Surge pitching staff brought it. The only two runs they yielded were unearned. Alejandro Hidalgo looked as good as he’s had in Double A, striking out seven batters over four innings while only allowing two hits and a pair of walks. The bullpen was also mostly on point. Unfortunately, the Corpus Cristi pitching staff silenced the Wind Surge lineup. They combined for just five hits and struck out 13 times in the shutout. Kala’i Rosario was a bright spot, as he hit a double, drew a walk and stole his 30th base of the season. He had only 16 stolen bases in 348 career games entering this season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 3 Box Score These minor league three-game playoff series leave little room for error. The Kernels dropped Tuesday’s Game 1 by the score of 7-1 and returned home to Cedar Rapids with their backs against the wall, facing elimination. Luckily, they were up for the challenge. Dasan Hill had a 10-pitch, 1-2-3 top of the first inning to set the tone. Eduardo Tait sparked a two-out rally in the bottom of the first and eventually scored the game’s first run on a Danny De Andrade single. That duo of dynamic Twins prospects Hill and Tait continued to carry the Kernels throughout the evening. Hill turned in a magnificent outing when his team needed it most. The 19-year-old carved through the Beloit lineup, striking out seven of the 19 hitters he faced. He completed five innings for the first time in his pro career and limited the Sky Carp to two runs on two hits and a pair of walks. Tait, who was the DH tonight, drew a walk in the third inning before delivering a two-run go-ahead double in the fifth. The Cedar Rapids bullpen was stellar. After Hill’s exit, Nick Trabacchi delivered a scoreless sixth inning, Spencer Bengard gave up a run over two frames while striking out three and Ruddy Gomez earned the save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning in which he struck out a pair of batters. Gomez had an incredible regular season after signing with the Twins out of indy ball. Over three different levels, he had a 1.58 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 57 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings between three levels during the regular season. The Kernels lineup combined to go 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position. They combined to draw six walks, including two from Billy Amick. It was a great team effort to not only avoid elimination but also establish momentum. Hill earned his first professional victory tonight. His record was 0-4 in the regular season. Great timing. The decisive Game 3 of this Midwest League Division Series is tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm CT. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day: Dasan Hill, Cedar Rapids Hitter of the Day: Eduardo Tait, Cedar Rapids PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 1. Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 0-for-4, BB, 3 K 3. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-3, 2 2Bs, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, K 7. Dasan Hill (Cedar Rapids): 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 76 pitches (61.8% strikes) 9. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-3, HR, 2 BB, R, RBI 11. Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 2B, R, RBI 14. Marco Raya (St. Paul): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 21 pitches (66.7% strikes) 16. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, 3 K 18. Kyler Fedko (St. Paul): 2-for-5, RBI, SB TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs. Columbus, 6:37 pm CT: Mick Abel Wichita at Corpus Christi, 7:05 pm CT: Ricky Castro Cedar Rapids vs. Beloit, 6:35 pm CT: TBD View full article

Today's video kicks off with some prospect highlights of Walker Jenkins and Ben Ross. Also included is Kaelen Culpepper being hit by a pitch that may put the final week of his season in jeopardy. To wrap things up, I revisited a couple takes I had from mid-August that appear to have some steam regarding Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray. View full video

FRIDAY’S RESULTS Louisville 5, St. Paul 4 (10 innings) Tulsa 6, Wichita 1 Cedar Rapids 7, Quad Cities 5 Fort Myers 4, St. Lucie 1 (7 innings) TRANSACTIONS OF DaShawn Keirsey Jr. optioned to St. Paul. C Jhonny Pereda recalled by the Twins from St. Paul. RHP Noah Davis sent outright to St. Paul. 3B Peyton Carr promoted from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids. Fort Myers activated OF Jacob McCombs from the IL. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day: Billy Amick, Cedar Rapids (4-for-5, 3 2B, 3 R). Power was Amick’s calling card in college. He boasted a .667 slugging percentage and hit 36 home runs in 120 career collegiate games. While he’s had a productive 2025 at the plate, it’s come with less firepower than was expected. Though his .305 batting average and .419 OBP were stellar, Amick hit just two home runs over his first 53 games of this season. Early last month, a shoulder injury sent him to the IL for the second time this season and it was easy to wonder if this was going to end up being a solid, but strange first full pro season for Amick. The 22-year-old was activated off the IL this week, and after a quiet first game back he has flexed his muscles. Yesterday, Amick swatted a pair of home runs, doubling his dinger total for the season. He kept it rolling tonight by hitting three doubles in what was the first four-hit night of his pro career. His Kernels teammates brought him around to score three runs in what was a tight, 7-5 victory. Though he remained productive despite the injury, it’s easy to look back and wonder if Amick’s shoulder issues sapped his power for much of this season. Either way, it’s exciting to see him finishing strong. Pitcher of the Day: Michael Carpenter, Fort Myers (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) Carpenter was among the more intriguing picks in the Twins’ 2024 draft class. After an unbelievable year at Madison Area Technical College, a Division II Junior College, he was set to transfer to East Carolina. Instead, the Twins selected him and signed him to the sixth-highest bonus of anyone in their 2024 class. Perhaps this was to be expected, but Carpenter has taken his lumps in his first full pro season. Not only is the jump from Madison Area Tech to full-season ball a big one, but Carpenter is also two years younger than the average FSL pitcher. He just celebrated his 21st birthday in late-July. Despite the challenges, there have been flashes and Carpenter has managed to stay healthy. It’s all led up to tonight, the best outing of his career to date. The southpaw led Fort Myers to a 4-1 victory by going five innings for the first time and tallying a career-high seven strikeouts. Carpenter surrendered just three hits — all singles — and walked one batter. The only run he surrendered was unearned. He topped out at 93.3 mph and worked with a five-pitch mix (sinker, slider, cutter, four-seamer, changeup). STARTING PITCHING LINES St. Paul: Mick Abel (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 70 pitches, 62.9% strikes) Wichita: Alejandro Hidalgo (2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 52 pitches (59.6% strikes) Cedar Rapids: Chase Chaney (4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 59 pitches, 61% strikes) Fort Myers: Michael Carpenter (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 73 pitches (69.9% strikes) HOME RUNS Cedar Rapids: Brandon Winokur (17), Jaime Ferrer (5) MULTI-HIT GAMES St. Paul: Gabriel Gonzalez (2-for-5, 2B), Walker Jenkins (2-for-4, BB), Tanner Schobel (2-for-5) Cedar Rapids: Billy Amick (4-for-5, 3 2B), Eduardo Tait (2-for-5, 2 2B) ADDITIONAL NOTES Walker Jenkins made a nice leaping catch before crashing into the wall in center field tonight. He also reached base safely three times and has hit .471/.526/.706 (1.232 OPS) in his first four games of September. Eduardo Tait won a battle in a tough left-on-left matchup against a sidearmer. Tait did chase a couple pitches out of the zone, but managed to lay off a pair of two-strike pitches to run the count full. He then barely made contact on a pitch that was in the right-hand batter’s box to stay alive, driving the ball straight down and having it hit him near the eye. After a look from the trainer, Tait collected himself and drilled a go-ahead two-run double. Brandon Winokur exited early after being hit on the wrist by a pitch while checking his swing. He initially managed to talk his way into staying in the game, but was pinch hit for prior to his next at-bat. Ricardo Olivar also suffered an injury while catching tonight. He had to exit in the top of the seventh and final inning tonight and was very slow to get back to the dugout despite having help from both the trainer and a teammate. Kyle DeBarge stole third tonight for his 65th swipe of the season. Payton Eeles was hit by two pitches tonight, giving him 15 HBPs in 88 games this season and 38 total in 199 career minor league games. I feel like that’s impressive for such a small target. Merit Jones, 2025 14th-round pick, made his pro debut for the Mighty Mussels tonight. He earned a save by covering the final two frames and topped out at 94.3 mph. Bruin Agbayani had a single, a walk and stole a base for Fort Myers. The 2025 sixth-round pick and son of Benny Agbayani is three-for-three in stolen base attempts over his first four pro games. He’s still adjusting to the pitch clock, though. Agbayani had a pair of pitch timer violation tonight. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 1. Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 2-for-4, BB, R, K 2. Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): 1-for-4 3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 0-for-4, K 4. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI 6. Mick Abel (St. Paul): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 70 pitches, 62.9% strikes 10. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 2-for-5 2B, RBI, K 13. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-1, HR (17), R, 2 RBI, HBP 17. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, HBP, SB (65), R 18. Quentin Young (Fort Myers): 0-for-3, 2 K 19. Kyler Fedko (St. Paul): 1-for-4, BB, R, K CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 62-79 St. Paul Saints: 58-76 Wichita Wind Surge: 71-59 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 72-58 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 52-72 FCL Twins: 39-20 (season over) DSL Twins: 24-32 (season over) TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul at Louisville, 6:15 pm CT: Connor Prielipp Wichita vs. Tulsa, 6:05 pm CT: Ricky Castro Cedar Rapids at Quad Cities, 5:30 pm CT: Ty Langenberg Fort Myers vs. St. Lucie, 5:05 pm CT: Joel Garcia View full article

Here's a pack of Twins prospect highlights featuring Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper, Ryan Gallagher, Quentin Young, Kala'i Rosario and Enrique Jimenez. Toward the end of the video, I also relay a channel update. View full video

Walker JenkinsKaelen CulpepperEmmanuel RodriguezLuke KeaschallEduardo TaitMarek HoustonCharlee SotoDasan HillKendry RojasMick AbelConnor PrielippAndrew MorrisMarco RayaRiley QuickGabriel GonzalezQuentin YoungBrandon WinokurKyle DeBargeHendry MendezCJ Culpepper

I love that he’s played a ton. I think he leads the system in games played. There’s so much attention paid to the guys who can’t stay healthy, but I don’t think we all (myself included) give enough love to the guys who stay on the field.

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Kala'i Rosario), William Parmeter (photo of Enrique Jimenez) TRANSACTIONS RHP David Festa joined St. Paul on a rehab assignment. RHP Erasmo Ramírez was outrighted to St. Paul. RHP Pierson Ohl was optioned to St. Paul. Cedar Rapids transferred RHP Cole Peschl, RHP Tanner Hall and C Khadim Diaw all from the 7-day IL to the 60-day IL. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Toledo 4 Box Score David Festa made his first rehab outing with the Saints and looked mostly great. He threw 2 2/3 no-hit innings, struck out five of the 11 batters he faced and topped out at 94.9 mph. As to be expected, there was a bit of rust, though. He walked three batters and only threw 60% of his pitches for strikes. Festa last pitched on July 21. He was dealing with right shoulder inflammation and received two anti-inflammatory injections. Assuming Festa rejoins the Twins before too much longer, it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out. The big club already has a six-man rotation at the moment (Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews, Mick Abel and Taj Bradley). On top of that, Pablo López is already two starts into his own rehab assignment with the Saints. This game was tied 4-4 entering the ninth inning. Aaron Sabato hit the first pitch of the top of the frame for a single with a 105 mph exit velocity, then Jose Miranda ripped a double at 104.9 mph that put two men in scoring position with no outs. Kyler Fedko wasn’t able to overcome a poor first strike call, eventually expanding the zone and going down chasing on a pitch that was in a similar spot to the missed call earlier in his at-bat. Luckily, Payton Eeles managed to pick up his teammate by hitting a sacrifice fly to center field that scored pinch runner Will Holland. The Saints took the lead, but it was the only run they could scratch across in what appeared to have the potential to be a big inning. Trent Baker was tasked with protecting the one-run lead. He gave up a one-out single, then that runner advanced to second on a wild pitch I thought looked more like a passed ball. The count ran full to the next batter, but Baker eventually won the battle and the hitter lined out. Baker fell behind the next hitter 2-0 but rallied back to strike him out to end the game. It ended on a 97.7 mph sinker down the batter swung through. Andrew Morris was excellent in four innings of relief for the Saints. He struck out eight of the 13 batters he faced, did not issue a walk and surrendered one run on one hit. Since returning from the IL, Morris has a 2.45 ERA, 0.55 WHIP and 13.1 K/9 in 11 innings while walking just one batter. Walker Jenkins recorded his first Triple-A hit, a double, and drew a walk. He also made a nice leaping catch at the wall in center field. Gabriel Gonzalez hit a two-run home run, his third in 18 games since joining the Saints. In addition to the go-ahead sac fly, Eeles also had a hit, a walk and stole his 20th base in 69 games with the Saints this season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 7, Arkansas 4 Box Score Kala’i Rosario, the 2023 Midwest League MVP, might need to make some more room in his trophy case. The 23-year-old entered tonight leading the Texas League in home runs, runs, walks and was second in RBIs. And that was before he went off tonight. In the third inning, Rosario hit a game-tying two-run homer into left-center. Per the broadcast, it was hit 421 feet and had an exit velocity of 109 mph. He wasn’t done. Arkansas broke the tie and tallied a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning. Wichita trailed 4-2 entering the bottom of the ninth, but put together a scrappy rally. Andrew Cossetti reached on a throwing error to lead things off, then Jake Rucker singled. After Ben Ross filed out, Jose Salas singled to load the bases. Maddux Houghton sent what looked like it might be a game-ending double play ball to the second baseman, but Arkansas shortstop Colt Emerson both missed the bag on the force at second and lost his balance and fell on the turn before he could get off his throw to first. Instead of two outs potentially being recorded, everybody was safe. Emerson, who also committed the inning-opening error, furiously argued with the umpire, but replays were clear he definitely did not touch second base and it did not appear Salas did anything illegal on the slide. After Kaelen Culpepper struck out, it all came down to Kala’i. He fell behind in the count 1-2, putting the Wind Surge down to their final strike. Rosario hit the next pitch into the bullpen for a walk-off grand slam, not only adding to his own MVP resume, but also helping keep his team's postseason dreams alive. There are some other Texas League hitters with more flashy rate stats than Rosario, but as we saw with his 2023 Midwest League MVP campaign, it’s often bulk performance and counting stats that carry a player’s case in these minor leagues award races. If he’s not the favorite, Rosario is at the very least in the thick of the race for that award. The Wind Surge are now just a game and a half back of Tulsa in the standings with 15 games to play. Springfield currently leads the Texas League North, but being the first-half winners they're already postseason bound, so the next best team in the second half will advance should Springfield maintain their lead. This was a gutsy win on an evening where things got off to a concerning start for Sam Armstrong. His first pitch hit a batter, his second pitch was hit for a two-run homer. The 24-year-old dialed in from there, throwing six shutout innings while allowing just three more hits and striking out seven batters. Armstrong, who came over in the Willi Castro trade, remained confident despite that ugly start and threw 69 percent of his pitches for strikes (49 of 71). He only issued one free pass. The seven strikeouts are the most he’s recorded in five outings since the trade and one off from his overall season high. KERNELS NUGGETS Beloit 3, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score The Kernels consistently put the ball in play tonight but had next to nothing to show for it. Despite only striking out five times, the lineup combined for six hits — all singles — and the only run they scored was the result of a fielding error. Cedar Rapids combined to go 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Garrett Horn, the lefty acquired in the Danny Coulombe deal, pitched four innings and surrendered two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five batters. He threw a season-high 81 pitches. Kernels manager Brian Meyer was ejected in the bottom of the ninth inning for arguing balls and strikes. The ump had a quick hook, tossing Meyer without him even having left his third base coaching box. Meyer took issue with a low strike called on a 0-0 pitch with one out. I’m not sure I’ve seen an ejection in that game situation before. It also may have been the least dramatic, least entertaining ejections I’ve ever witnessed. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5. Dunedin 2 Box Score Fort Myers had a 2-0 lead before the first out was recorded in this one. Eduardo Beltre led things off with a single he hit 101.9 mph, then Enrique Jimenez hit a home run that bounced off the top of the wall and out. There was much less doubt about Jimenez’s second homer. Despite that quick start, the Mussels couldn’t muster any more offense over the next five frames. Fort Myers carried a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh when Jimenez went deep for another two-run homer. He turned on this one, blasting it about 50 feet beyond the right field wall. This two-homer night just adds to the eye-opening first impression Jimenez has made. Some players have difficulties adjusting to a new org after being traded in the middle of a season, but he’s found another level. The 19-year-old catcher acquired in the Chris Paddack deal has a .302/.486/.642 batting line (1.128 OPS) in his first 16 games in the Twins system. On the mound, starter Eli Jones delivered four shutout innings for the second time this season and racked up five strikeouts. It hasn’t been the smoothest of transitions for pro ball for Jones, a seventh-round pick from 2024, but on a positive note he is approaching the 100-inning mark on the season. Crafty righty Brent Francsico provided 1 2/3 perfect innings of relief with three strikeouts. Sam Rochard struck out the side in the ninth inning to earn his first career save. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day: Sam Armstrong, Wichita (6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) Hitter of the Day: Kala’i Rosario, Wichita (2-for-5, 2 HRs, 2 R, 6 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 1. Walker Jenkins (St. Paul): 1-for-4, 2B, BB, web gem 3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 0-for-4, K 5. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, K 11. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, K 13. Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5 14. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, BB, R, K, SB (26) 15. Andrew Morris (St. Paul): 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 59 pitches, 64.4% strikes 20. Hendry Mendez (Wichita): 1-for-3. BB TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul at Toledo, 6:05 pm CT: John Klein Wichita vs. Arkansas, 7:05 pm CT: C.J. Culpepper Cedar Rapids vs. Beloit, 6:35 pm CT: Adrian Bohorquez Fort Myers at Dunedin, 5:30 pm CT: Michael Carpenter View full article

Image courtesy of David Malamut (photo of Garrett Horn) FRIDAY’S RESULTS Round Rock 5, St. Paul 3 Wichita 9, Midland 4 Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 2 Tampa 11, Fort Myers 2 TRANSACTIONS RHP Anthony Narvaez assigned to Fort Myers. Cedar Rapids IF Andy Lugo transferred to the 60-day IL. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day: Garrett Horn, Cedar Rapids (4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 69 pitches, 60.9% strikes) Garrett Horn, who was recently acquired from Texas in the Danny Coulombe trade, delivered four no-hit innings and struck out half of the batters he faced (eight strikeouts, 16 batters faced). Horn was particularly effective with his slider tonight, working that lower-80s breaking ball often in two-strike counts, and had some success elevating his fastball. Without the benefit of the Statcast data to back me up, I’d estimate he was sitting around 92 mph with his fastball while touching 95 mph (based on the velo readings available on the broadcast). Not only was Horn joining a new organization after the trade deadline, but he also jumped up a level. The 22-year-old lefty started the year with the Rangers’ complex league team but earned a promotion to Low-A in late June. He was checking all the boxes there, so the Twins bumped him up another level after acquiring him. Horn’s first outing with the Kernels was forgettable, but his second (and most recent) performance included flashes of why the Twins targeted him. In that outing, Horn surrendered one hit and one unearned run while striking out five batters over four innings. Backing that up with another strong outing tonight is encouraging to see from a player navigating through so much change. There’s always something to improve, however, and you don’t have to look too deep into tonight’s numbers to find where Horn needs work. He walked four of the 16 batters he faced and only threw about 60% of his pitches for strikes. On a more positive note, three of those four walks were issued in two-strike counts, so it’s not as if Horn ever completely lost command or was totally uncompetitive in those matchups. Hitter of the Day: Hendry Mendez, Wichita (1-for-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI, R) Another new face played a key role in a victory tonight: Hendry Mendez. With the Wind Surge trailing 4-1 in the top of the eighth inning, Walker Jenkins led off the frame with a four-pitch walk. Kala’i Rosario followed with an opposite-field single, and it appeared that perhaps the tides had turned on what had been a frustrating night offensively for Wichita. Then Mendez put an exclamation point on that turning of the tide by delivering a tidal wave of a swing. A 2-2 breaking ball was left up, Mendez turned on it and took an opportunity to admire his work. The Wichita lineup kept the waves rolling, and managed to tally five more runs, giving them an eight-run eighth inning. In addition to his leadoff walk, Jenkins also hit a two-run double to cap off the scoring in the inning. For Mendez, who was acquired in the Harrison Bader trade, it was his 10th home run of the season, second since joining the Twins org and his fourth off a left-handed pitcher this season. He has reverse platoon splits this season (.795 OPS vs. RHP, .889 OPS vs. LHP entering tonight). Mendez drew a seven-pitch walk in his first plate appearance tonight, but he also struck out three times. That’s unusual for him; it’s just his second three-strikeout game in 100 contests this season. He entered tonight with an impressively low 12.9 K% on the season (for context, the Texas League average this year is a 23.1 K%). STARTING PITCHING LINES St. Paul: Andrew Morris (3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 43 pitches, 74.4% strikes) Wichita: Sam Armstrong (4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 89 pitches, 62.9% strikes) Cedar Rapids: Garrett Horn (4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 69 pitches, 60.9% strikes) Fort Myers: Michael Carpenter (3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 K, 80 pitches, 57.5% strikes) HOME RUNS St. Paul: Payton Eeles (4), Kyler Fedko (6 with Saints, 26 overall) Wichita: Hendry Mendez (2 with Wichita, 10 overall) MULTI-HIT GAMES St. Paul: Payton Eeles (2-for-4, HR, BB), Kyler Fedko (2-for-4, HR, BB) Wichita: Kala’i Rosario (2-for-5, 2B), Maddux Houghton (2-for-4, 2B) Cedar Rapids: Misael Urbina (4-for-5, 2B), Kyle DeBarge (2-for-5), Brandon Winokur (2-for-5), Danny De Andrade (2-for-4, BB) ADDITIONAL NOTES Offense was tough to come by in general tonight, but the system’s efforts with runners in scoring position certainly didn’t help. The four affiliates combined to go 8-for-42 w/RISP, a .190 batting average. Andrew Morris made his third appearance since returning from the IL. Over that span, he’s surrendered two earned runs in seven innings while striking out eight batters and only issuing one walk for the Saints. Of his 102 pitches thrown since returning, 73 have been strikes. He topped out at 98.6 mph tonight. Speaking of Saints pitchers, John Klein followed Morris and was excellent tonight. The Brooklyn Park native was making his third appearance since being called up to Triple-A and worked 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball and struck out seven batters. Of Klein’s 13 swinging strikes, seven came on his four-seamer, which topped out at 96.3 mph. St. Paul was one out away from a 3-2 victory, but Cody Laweryson gave up a two-run homer before surrendering another run prior to recording that final out of the top of the ninth. Tonight, marked Misael Urbina’s 267th career game with Cedar Rapids. He celebrated the occasion by going 4-for-5 while driving in a pair of runs and scoring another to lead the Kernels to victory. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 1-for-3, 2B, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI, K 2. Luke Keaschall (Minnesota): 2-for-4, BB, RBI 3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 0-for-4, HBP, R 14. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, R, K, E 15. Andrew Morris (St. Paul): 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 43 pitches, 74.4% strikes 17. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, R, 3 K, CS 20. Hendry Mendez (Wichita): 1-for-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI, R, 3 K CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 59-69 St. Paul Saints: 55-67 Wichita Wind Surge: 62-56 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 66-52 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 46-69 FCL Twins: 39-20 (season over) DSL Twins: 24-32 (season over) TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs. Round Rock, 6:37 pm CT: Mick Abel Wichita at Midland, 7 pm CT: Ryan Gallagher Cedar Rapids at South Bend, 6:05 pm CT: Dasan Hill Fort Myers vs. Tampa, 5:05 pm CT: Christian Becerra View full article

FRIDAY’S RESULTS St. Paul 10, Omaha 2 Wichita 7, Springfield 2 Cedar Rapids vs. Quand Cities: Postponed (rain) Daytona 8, Fort Myers 7 DSL Tigers 2 7, DSL Twins 4 TRANSACTIONS RHP Simeon Woods Richardson sent on rehab assignment to St. Paul. He last pitched for the Twins on July 28 and underwent surgery requiring a parasite to be removed from his digestive tract. He pitched two shutout innings for the Saints tonight while striking out four of the eight batters he faced. RHP Leonardo Rondon was released from the FCL Twins. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day: Ryan Gallagher, Wichita (6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) Gallagher had a rough intro to the org, giving up six runs in his first start after the trade deadline, but he’s been excellent in back-to-back starts since. The 22-year-old right-hander who came over from the Cubs in the Willi Castro trade delivered a quality start for Wichita tonight. He went six innings for the ninth time this season, and the only two runs he surrendered were unearned. Gallagher didn’t dominate the Springfield lineup, striking out only three of the 22 batters he faced (13.6 K%), but he pounded the strike zone all night. Of his 79 pitches, Gallagher threw 56 strikes (70.9 strike%). Carrying a shutout into the sixth inning, Gallagher retired the leadoff man before shortstop Kaelen Culpepper committed a throwing error that allowed a man to reach. Gallagher managed to retire the next batter, but the third out was elusive. Springfield strung together an RBI single and a run-scoring double before Gallagher could record the final out. Over his last two outings, Gallagher has not yielded an earned run over 11 innings pitched. He’s struck out 10 batters and issued just one walk over that stretch. Hitter of the Day: Ben Ross, Wichita (3-for-5, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI, K) Ross’ first hit of the evening came in the top of the third inning. He singled into right field, but Andrew Cossetti couldn’t manage to score from second base, recording the final out of the inning at the plate. Ross clubbed his 10th home run of the season in the sixth inning, putting Wichita up 4-0. Up with runners on once again in the ninth inning, Ross hit a line drive to the warning track to plate two insurance runs. The 2022 fifth rounder is more known for his defense and defensive versatility, but when Ross is contributing at the plate this Wind Surge lineup is especially dangerous. Both Kaelen Culpepper and Hendry Mendez also reached safely three times tonight while Kala’i Rosario hit his 19th home run and stole his 25th base of the season. STARTING PITCHING LINES St. Paul: Simeon Woods Richardson (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 34 pitches, 58.8% strikes) Wichita: Ryan Gallagher (6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 79 pitches, 70.9% strikes) Fort Myers: Michael Carpenter (4 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 71 pitches, 66.2% strikes) DSL Twins: Juan Quinones (2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) HOME RUNS St. Paul: James Outman (3 w/STP, 23 total), Jonah Bride (2) Wichita: Kala’i Rosario (19), Ben Ross (10), Fort Myers: Enrique Jimenez, (2 w/FTM, 8 total) MULTI-HIT GAMES St. Paul: Johnny Pereda (3-for-3, BB), James Outman (2-for-5, HR), Carson McCusker (2-for-5, 2B), Jonah Bride (2-for-4, HR, BB) Wichita: Ben Ross (3-for-5, 2B, HR), Kaelen Culpepper (2-for-4, 2B, BB), Nate Baez (2-for-5) Fort Myers: JP Smith II (3-for-5), Marek Houston (2-for-5, 2B, SB), Dameury Pena (2-for-5), Yasser Mercedes (2-for-4, BB), Peyton Carr (2-for-3) DSL Twins: Yovanny Duran (2-for-4), Dencer Diaz (2-for-3) ADDITIONAL NOTES Andrew Morris made his second appearance since being activated off the IL for the Saints. He followed Woods Richardson and threw a pair of innings, giving up a run on three hits while also striking out three of the nine men he faced. Jose Miranda reached base four times for the Saints without recording a hit. He drew three walks and was hit by a pitch. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 2-for-4, 2B, BB, R 11. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 0-for-3, BB, HBP, R, K 13. Marek Houston (Fort Myers): 2-for-5, 2B, SB (3), 2 R, 2 RBI, K 15. Andrew Morris (St. Paul): 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 28 pitches 71.4% strikes) 20. Hendry Mendez (Wichita): 1-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R CURRENT W-L Records St. Paul Saints: 54-62 Wichita Wind Surge: 58-54 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 61-50 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-64 FCL Twins: 39-20 (season over) DSL Twins: 22-31 TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul at Omaha, 6:05 pm CT: Mick Abel Wichita at Springfield, 6:35 pm CT: Sam Armstrong Cedar Rapids vs. Quad Cities, 5 pm CT: Dasan Hill Cedar Rapids vs. Quad Cities, Game 2: TBD DSL Twins at DSL Nationals, 9 am CT: TBD View full article

Good callout, Ross has pitched well enough to deserve a closer look. I'm still not super familiar with him, but I've watched a bit of his last two outings. It's not surprising he's doing well in Fort Myers, he has above average feel for pitching for that level. It would be cool if he could get up to Cedar Rapids this year, but time is running out. Ross tops out at 94/93 and has five or six pitches. He was particularly confident with his changeup yesterday, throwing that in the zone a good amount, but I'm not sure what his best secondary is, to be honest. It's a nice foundation to try to build upon. He's not currently inside my top-50 Twins prospects, to be honest, but he's still a nice find in the 18th round and, again, I should probably give him another closer look. He's pitched well.

But I'd think if they were trying to make the new acquisitions look good that Outman, Bradley and Abel would all be up with the big club. Though I suppose it's possible they took that approach with Rojas/the guys in the Varland trade specifically. Who knows? On Tait, yes, he does have a good arm.

Not sure on the scholarship part, since if anything the Twins sent a lot of their trade acquisitions to a level lower than I would have guessed. Rojas is certainly the exception, though. I agree it seems more like he should be in Double A. I know he made one start there with Toronto, but he's also barely pitched above High A, and I'd say the Twins are typically on the less aggressive side in terms of promoting guys. But, Rojas didn't look out of place last night. His arm talent is evident, he needs to throw more strikes. I didn't get to watch a ton of that Cedar Rapids game, but Tait had a passed ball and base stealers were 3-for-3 against him. Well, him and Langenberg, who I don't think is quick to the plate. Based on the looks I've had at Tait behind the plate, I think you have to use your imagination. You have to begin every analysis with "well, he's still only 18, so ..." That being said, I've seen some other reports that are complimentary of his work back there, so maybe I've just seen his bad days or am looking at the glass half empty. Either way, he should definitely continue to develop at catcher, in my opinion. Stay on that path for now and see where it leads.

They’ve since added their thoughts, which I appreciate (and showed so with a like). I’m not sure if you’re putting words into their mouth, so I want to make it clear I’m addressing this concept you’re outlining directly and not necessarily aiming this at Nurse, since this isn’t coming from them. Twins Daily would be a pretty boring site if all we did was write about what already happened. Yes, it’s difficult to try to analyze how things might work out in the future — even the people whose job it is to do that aren’t all that good at it — but it’s fun to try and makes for some interesting conversations, like in this piece. Allow yourself to have a little fun. Embrace your worthless opinions! 😅

TRANSACTIONS RHP Darren McCaughan sent outright to Triple-A St. Paul. He was promoted to the MLB roster Monday and DFA’d Tuesday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Iowa 5 Box Score The new guys were having some fun for the Saints. Trade acquisition James Outman hit his first home run for the Saints, his 21st overall in Triple-A this season. While his teammates surely loved seeing his majestic blast, Outman’s home run trot earned him a call from the bullpen. For several seasons now, the tradition in St. Paul is that a hitter acknowledges the Saints bullpen as he rounds second base. If not, they can expect a call from the bullpen on the dugout phone. Well, on the broadcast, Saints excellent play-by-play man Sean Aronson confirmed Outman got a call. I’m sure Outman got a good laugh out of that introduction to Saints team culture. Something tells me he won’t have to wait long before he has another chance to acknowledge the bullpen. Kendry Rojas, another new trade acquisition, made his first start with the Saints, his second career Triple-A start and sixth overall start above Class A. The 22-year-old lefty mostly pitched well, but he couldn’t work around a fielding error and surrendered five unearned runs. With one out and a man on first, Rojas induced a tailor made double play ball. Instead of that ending the inning, Saints shortstop Will Holland booted it. To make matters worse, left fielder Kyler Fedko’s throw trying to get the runner advancing from first to third was wild and ended up going out of play. It’s not often you see two errors committed on the same play. Rojas responded by striking out top Cubs prospect Moisés Ballesteros for the second out. Instead of what would have been an impressive escape, Rojas walked the next batter, gave up a wall-banging RBI double and then a two-run home run. Rojas went five innings, gave up five hits and walked two batters. Of his 75 pitches, 47 were strikes (62.7%). He topped out at 96.3 mph but six of his 10 whiffs came on his changeup, which averaged 86.9 mph. Holland eventually made up for his error by hitting a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. put the Saints up with a two-out RBI triple in the fifth inning that scored Jonah Bride. It’s generally been a tough year for the Saints bullpen, but they were nails tonight. The trio of Kyle Bischoff (one inning), John Stankiewicz (two innings) and Noah Davis (one inning) protected a one-run lead over the final four innings to lock down the victory. Down 5-0 at one point, the Saints came back to win 6-5 and helped Kendry Rojas earn his first career win in Triple A. WIND SURGE WISDOM Northwest Arkansas 6, Wichita 4 Box Score Fun fact: Among the 811 minor league pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched so far this season entering tonight, Connor Prielipp was tied for the highest batting average on balls in play at .401. To put that into some context, the MLB average BABIP this season is .289. Tonight continued what’s been a somewhat confounding season for Prielipp. On the positive side, he struck out six of the 19 batters he faced (31.6 K%) and threw a season-high 72 pitches. But he only went 3 2/3 innings, gave up five hits (one of them a home run), walked two and hit a batter. I suppose the biggest thing is it’s August and Connor Prielipp is still pitching. The Wichita lineup produced some impressive individual performances, but they only yielded four runs. Jake Rucker, the No. 9 hitter, went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run (a solo shot). Kaelen Culpepper also had a three-hit night and stole his 23rd base of the season. Nate Baez was 2-for-4 with a home run and Kalai’ Rosario slugged his 16th homer. KERNELS NUGGETS West Michigan 3, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score Ty Langenberg pitched great but a couple of his throws that didn’t go to home plate cost the Kernels in this game. With runners at the corners in the fifth inning, Langenberg attempted a pickoff throw to first that got by first baseman, allowing a run to score. With the score knotted at 2-2 in the seventh inning, Langenberg threw to second base in more of an attempt to keep the runner honest than to actually get a pickoff, but it deflected off the runner’s back and into center field. In what ended up a 3-2 game, those two throwing errors loomed large, which was a shame because Langenberg pitched well. The Iowa product had his longest outing of the season, throwing 6 1/3 innings. He surrendered five hits and two walks while striking out five. He gave up three runs, though only one was earned. Langenberg entered July with a 7.98 ERA but has brought that down to 4.81 since. The Kernels lineup mustered five hits, all of them singles. Eduardo Tait, who was catching Langenberg, was the only Cedar Rapids batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-4. Kyle DeBarge stole his 57th base of the season. MUSSEL MATTERS Clearwater 7, Fort Myers 6 Box Score Eduardo Beltre blasted his first Low-A home run in this game. It’s been a trying year for the 18-year-old Dominican outfielder, but that he has his first homer in full-season ball before his 19th birthday is a nice accomplishment to hold onto. He hit three balls in excess of 100 mph exit velocities tonight. The Mussels built a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the bullpen immediately gave it away. The relief corps wasn’t the only unit that struggled, as the Fort Myers bats were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. That’s all especially tough to swallow in a one-run loss. Marek Houston, 2025 first-round pick, was 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout. In his first six games of pro ball, the Wake Forest product has hit .370/.414/.407 (.821 OPS). Michael Ross struck out five batters over five innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk in the process. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 7, DSL Rockies 4 Box Score A four-run top of the seventh inning made the difference for the DSL Twins, but starting pitcher Eliezer Lucena twirled a gem prior to the bats getting going. The 17-year-old right-hander out of Venezuela went five innings for the second-straight start and held the DSL Rockies to one run on six hits and three walks. He struck out three batters. Lucena has surrendered just one earned run over his last four starts (13 2/3 IP). The Twins bats weren’t able to take advantage of Lucena’s strong start, and they trailed 2-1 entering the top of the seventh inning. Darwin Almanzar drew a leadoff walk, but the next two Twins hitters were retired. Teilon Serrano then reached on an error that would prove to be incredibly costly for the Rockies. Santiago Leon hit a two-run triple, then Haritzon Castillo blasted a two-run homer and suddenly the Twins were up 5-2. Serrano later added a two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning to put an exclamation mark on the late-inning scoring barrage. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day: Ty Langenberg, Cedar Rapids (6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) Hitter of the Day: Jake Rucker, Wichita (3-for-4, HR, 2B, R, RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 0-for-4, BB 3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 3-for-4, BB, SB (8), K 5. Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, R, K 6. Connor Prielipp (Wichita): 3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 72 pitches (62.5% strikes) 9. Kendry Rojas (St. Paul): 5 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 75 pitches (62.7% strikes) 13. Marek Houston (Fort Myers): 1-for-4, BB, K 14. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-2, BB, HBP, R 17. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, BB, SB (57), 2 K 20. Hendry Mendez (Wichita): 0-for-4, 2 K TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs. Iowa, 7:07 pm CT: Marco Raya Wichita vs. Northwest Arkansas, 7:05 pm CT: Alejandro Hidalgo Cedar Rapids at West Michigan, 5:35 pm CT: Jose Olivares Fort Myers vs. Clearwater, 6:05 pm CT: Michael Carpenter DSL Twins vs. DSL Mariners, 10 am CT: TBD CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 54-60 St. Paul Saints: 49-60 Wichita Wind Surge: 56-49 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 59-45 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-58 FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs) DSL Twins: 19-28 View full article

If fine with someone critiquing my analysis, but you're not gonna add any of your own? Not even gonna say which one of those you thought was accurate? Not gonna provide an opinion on the current trades? Nuthin'? I might not always be right, but at least I have the guts to put an opinion out there.