Tom Froemming

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.

The Minnesota Twins minor league system looks drastically different than even just one month ago. In addition to the 2025 MLB Draft, the trade deadline also took place. In all, 16 new names entered my top-50 Twins prospect list -- names like Eduardo Tait, Marek Houston, Kendry Rojas, Mick Able, Riley Quick, Quentin Young and Alan Roden. Along with the list, there are some highlights included of these new trade acquisitions. It's a challenge to try to get to know this many players in this amount of time, so let me know what you think. View full video

I think I still have one of these buttons lying around somewhere. The current state of the org definitely brings backs some memories of around that era.

Probably because he has a 31.6 K% and 6.8 BB% in his brief time in Triple-A with not enough production to offset that concern. It's fun that he's played his way back onto the radar, but he's right where he belongs at the moment.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS Toledo 3, St. Paul 2 Amarillo 3, Wichita 1 Lansing 10, Cedar Rapids 7 Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 0 DSL Rockies 11, DSL Twins 9 TRANSACTIONS There were so many transactions Friday that it needed to be its own article. More than 40 players across the system were involved in a transaction, one way or another. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day: Michael Carpenter, Fort Myers (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) Carpenter gave up a double to the second batter he faced tonight, but that was it. The second inning started out with new acquisition Enrique Jimenez (who came over from Detroit in the Chris Paddack trade) committing an error at first base. He made up for it immediately, though, as he started a 3-6-3 double play, combining with 2025 first-round pick Marek Houston on the twin killing. Houston played shortstop and hit leadoff, going 1-for-4 with a single, a run and an RBI. He also started an inning-ending double play in the fifth. Carpenter put together 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth frames, ending his night on a high note with back-to-back strikeouts. The lefty was slider-heavy tonight, featuring that offering on 22 of his 52 pitches. He also threw 19 sinkers, eight changeups and three four-seamers, topping out at 94.1 mph. The Twins nabbed Carpenter in the 11th round of last year’s draft but paid him the sixth-biggest bonus of the class to lure him away from transferring to East Carolina after an insanely successful junior college career. Michael Ross followed Carpenter and was also excellent over the final five innings, finishing out the combined shutout. Ross, the Twins 18th-rounder from last year’s class, only yielded four hits and walked one batter while striking out four. He has a 2.93 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 61 1/3 innings this season. He topped out at 94.5 mph tonight. Hitter of the Day: Khadim Diaw, Fort Myers (1-for-2, HR, BB, R, 3 RBI) The big blow in support of all that great Mussels pitching was a Khadim Diaw three-run homer in the first game of his rehab assignment. He played catcher for seven innings and, in addition to the home run, also drew a walk. Diaw suffered a fractured thumb and missed all of June and July. Prior to going down with the injury, Diaw was looking like a breakout prospect of 2025, hitting .302/.455/.431 (.886 OPS) in 38 games with Cedar Rapids. After hitting one home run in his first 51 professional games, Diaw now has four homers in his last 12 games played. That Diaw was right back behind the plate in his first rehab game was a pleasant surprise. I would have guessed they would have opted to ease him in by either slotting him in at DH or outfield. Hopefully he’ll be back with High-A Cedar Rapids before too long. STARTING PITCHING LINES John Stankiewicz (St. Paul): 1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 38 pitches (47.4% strikes) Connor Prielipp (Wichita): 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 65 pitches (60.0% strikes) Matt Gabbert (Cedar Rapids): 2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 59 pitches (57.6% strikes) Michael Carpenter (Fort Myers): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 52 pitches (67.3% strikes) Santiago Castellanos (DSL): 2 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HOME RUNS Wichita: Kala’i Rosario (14) Fort Myers: Khadim Diaw (1st with FTM, 4th overall) DSL: Joyner Perez (2), Dencer Diaz (1) MULTI-HIT GAMES St. Paul: Aaron Sabato (2-for-4) Wichita: Rubel Cespedes (2-for-4) Cedar Rapids: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-4, BB) DSL: Dencer Diaz (2-for-4, HR), Darwin Almanzar (2-for-4, 2B), Jose Barrios (2-for-4). ADDITIONAL NOTES Cory Lewis was the follower for St. Paul today. Though he only surrendered one run over 3 2/3 innings and struck out five batters, he also issued six walks. He’s up to 49 walks in 59 1/3 innings this year (7.4 BB/9). Gabriel Gonzalez and Kyler Fedko each got a hit in their respective Triple-A debuts with the Saints tonight. Lefty reliever Gabriel Yanez, who has spent the majority of this season in High-A, delivered three innings of shutout ball with five strikeouts and no walks for the Saints. In addition to Marek Houston, 2025 draftees Ryan Sprock, Shai Robinson and JP Smith II also made their professional debuts with the Mighty Mussels. Sprock, taken in the eighth round, went 1-for-3 with a walk. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 0-for-4 2. Luke Keaschall (rehabbing with St. Paul): 1-for-2, BB, HBP, 2 SB (11) 3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 0-for-4 5. Connor Prielipp (Wichita): 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K 8. Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-4, K 10. Marek Houston (Fort Myers): 1-for-4, R, RBI, 2 K in professional debut 11. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 K 14. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, BB, 2 R 16. Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-2, 2 BB, HBP, 2 R, RBI 17. Khadim Diaw (rehabbing with Fort Myers): 1-for-2, HR, BB, R, 3 RBI 19. Eduardo Beltre (Fort Myers): 0-for-3, BB CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 51-58 St. Paul Saints: 46-58 Wichita Wind Surge: 52-48 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 58-41 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 44-54 FCL Twins: 39-20 (season over) DSL Twins: 16-27 TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul at Toledo, 6:05 pm CT: Trent Baker Wichita at Amarillo, 7:05 pm CT: Alejandro Hidalgo Cedar Rapids at Lansing, 6:05 pm CT: Jose Olivares Fort Myers vs. Dunedin, 5:05 pm CT: Dasan Hill DSL Twins at DSL Giants Black, 9 am CT: TBD View full article

Image courtesy of William Parmeter If there’s a silver lining to the Twins deadline fire sale, it’s that space opened up for dozens of players across the organization to be promoted. These promotions result in better pay, better lifestyle off the field and opportunities to impress on the field for these players. Joining the Twins in Cleveland were new trade acquisition Alan Roden, a corner outfielder formerly with the Blue Jays, along with seven others who were called up from Triple-A St. Paul: Right-handed pitchers Travis Adams, Pierson Ohl, Erasmo Ramirez and José Ureña along with infielders Ryan Fitzgerald and Edouard Julien plus outfielder/second baseman Austin Martin. It may not be the most head-turning crop of names, but it’s possible some of these guys make the most out of another opportunity in the big leagues. All that movement created space across the entire minor league system. A quartet of new trade acquisitions were assigned to St. Paul, but it seems likely we’ll see most of them on the Twins before long. That group includes right-handed pitchers Taj Bradley and Mick Abel, outfielder James Outman and left-handed pitcher Kendry Rojas, who is the only one of those four yet to make his Major League debut. In fact, Rojas only has five total appearances above High-A to his credit, so his assignment to St. Paul can be considered aggressive. There were also players within the org promoted to Triple-A: Left-handed pitchers Christian MacLeod and Gabriel Yanez along with outfielders Gabriel Gonzalez and Kyler Fedko. Gonzalez and Fedko are a couple of the feel-good stories of the system this year, as both have bounced back from forgettable 2024 seasons to be in the running for top Twins minor league hitter honors. Down in Wichita, the new names to the org joining the Double-A roster include right-handed pitchers Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong, as well as outfielder Hendry Mendez. Also, former indy ball signing Eston Stull, a right-handed pitcher, was promoted to the Wind Surge from High-A and lefty Jaylen Nowlin re-joined the club after a stint with the Saints. Catcher Eduardo Tait, prized prospect of the deadline haul, joined Cedar Rapids. Other newly acquired pieces in High-A include left-handers Garrett Horn and Matt Mikulski. Also, right-handed pitcher Ivan Romero was promoted up to the Kernels from Fort Myers. Perhaps the most fun transaction of the day had little to do with the deadline activity. Shortstop Marek Houston, the Twins 2025 first-round pick, joined the Mighty Mussels to make his professional debut. Fellow 2025 draftees joining Houston in Fort Myers include eighth-round third baseman Ryan Sprock, 10th-round shortstop Shai Robinson, 11th-round second baseman Ryan Daniels and 17th-round third baseman JP Smith. Also, right-handed pitcher Will Armbruester was promoted up from the FCL, and undrafted free agent catcher Luis Hernandez joined Fort Myers. There was also good news regarding another player on the soon-to-be-updated Twins Daily top-20 prospect list: Catcher/outfielder Khadim Diaw. He began a rehab assignment with the Mighty Mussels. The 2024 third-round pick missed all of June and July. It wasn’t all positive news, unfortunately, as amid this rush of activity there was a trio of players demoted from Fort Myers to the inactive FCL roster (Daniel Pena, Javier Roman and Caleb McNeely), a pair of Kernels landed the Injured List (Tanner Hall and Andy Lugo), Rayne Doncon was placed on the Temporary Inactive List, Jefferson Villadares was put on the Development List and Luke Napleton and Blaze O’Saben were released. That’s over 40 players across the organization who were involved in a transaction Friday. View full article

When it was all said and done, the Minnesota Twins traded away 10 players from their MLB roster: Chris Paddack, Jhoan Duran, Harrison Bader, Brock Stewart, Danny Coulombe, Carlos Correa, Louis Varland, Ty France, Griffin Jax and Willi Castro. I'll talk more about the players they brought back via those trades, but today I just want to react to the news and take a look at what's left at the Major League level. View full video

The Minnesota Twins traded away star closer Jhoan Duran on Wednesday. They acquired Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait from the Phillies. Here are my thoughts on the trade and some info on the two new pieces coming over, including a few highlights. View full video

FRIDAY’S RESULTS Worcester 5, St. Paul 3 Wichita 3, Frisco 0 (5 innings) Cedar Rapids 4, Fort Wayne 3 (10 innings) Fort Myers 8, Lakeland 6 DSL Twins 14, DSL Miami 5 TRANSACTIONS With LHP Anthony Misiewicz placed on the Twins injured list, LHP Kody Funderburk was recalled by the Twins from St. Paul. RHP Cole Peschl was placed on the Kernels’ 7-Day IL. 3B Jay Thomason joined Fort Myers on a rehab assignment. RHP Matt Barr, LHP Matthew Becker, 2B Ryan Daniels and RHP Matthew Dalquist were assigned to the FCL Twins. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day: Kyle DeBarge, Cedar Rapids (2-for-5, walk-off single, SB) Cedar Rapids entered the bottom of the 10th inning trailing by a run, but luck was on their side. Leadoff man Andy Lugo sent a lazy dribbler up the middle that the Fort Wayne second baseman lost his footing while fielding. The infield single put runners at the corners with no outs. That same second baseman then had a potential double play ball hit to him that he booted for an error. The Kernels' bonus runner scored to tie the game, and they had two runners in scoring position with no outs. Despite first base being open, Fort Wayne decided to pitch to DeBarge. He ripped the second pitch of the at-bat through a drawn-in infield for a walk-off single. Hitting Honorable Mention: Jay Thomason, Fort Myers (1-for-1, HR, 3 BB, 2 SB) Thomason wrapped up a rough handful of games rehabbing with the FCL Twins and absolutely exploded in his first rehab game with the Mighty Mussels tonight. In addition to blasting a two-run homer, Thomason also drew three walks and stole two bases. He’s working his way back to Cedar Rapids, but Thomason has left quite a mark in Fort Myers this year, hitting .297/.465/.585 (1.050 OPS) with eight homers and 19 steals in just 38 games with the Mighty Mussels in 2025. Pitcher of the Day: Ty Langenberg, Cedar Rapids (6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) Langenberg gave up singles on the first two pitches he threw tonight, followed by a stolen base to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Langenberg buckled down and struck out the next three batters to end the threat and set the tone for the evening. More trouble came in the fourth inning, however, as Langenberg walked the leadoff man. A couple of one-out singles later and Fort Worth had scratched across the first run of the game. Langenberg responded once again, retiring eight of the next nine men he faced while racking up three more strikeouts along the way. Despite the strong outing in which he surrendered just the one run over six innings, the Urbandale, Iowa-product exited with the game in a 1-1 tie. Langenberg had a strong first full pro season in 2025 but stumbled out of the gates this year. He opened this campaign with a 7.79 ERA over his first nine games (32 1/3 innings). The 23-year-old right-hander has turned the corner since, as Langenberg has posted a 2.61 ERA over his last seven outings. While some of the other numbers don’t pop as much as the ERA — he’s posted 31 strikeouts against 17 walks during this positive stretch — tonight’s effort suggests there may be more improvement coming. Here’s hoping Langenberg can keep it rolling and finish 2025 strong. Pitching Honorable Mention: Bailey Ober, St. Paul (5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) Ober has been sharp in both of his rehab starts with the Saints, though his velocity isn’t showing signs of climbing back to 2024 levels. He had a clean, efficient start but topped out at 91.6 mph and sat 90.5 mph with his four-seamer. While that’s not too far off the 91.7 mph mark, he averaged with that pitch last season, I’m sure the Twins would love to see him closer to that range. While we’re on the subject of high-profile Saints rehabbers, I should call out that Luke Keaschall had a scheduled day off Friday. STARTING PITCHING LINES Bailey Ober (St. Paul): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 65 pitches (69.2% strikes) John Klein (Wichita): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 71 pitches (64.8% strikes) Ty Langenberg (Cedar Rapids): 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 92 pitches (64.1% strikes) Jason Doktorczyk (Fort Myers): 4 1/3 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 90 pitches (60% strikes) Santiago Castellanos (DSL): 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HOME RUNS St. Paul: Edouard Julien (10), Aaron Sabato (5th with STP, 14th of 2025) Wichita: Ben Ross (6) Cedar Rapids: Andy Lugo (3rd with CR, 7th of 2025), Justin Connell (2) Fort Myers: Jay Thomason (8th with FTM, 9th of 2025), Jose Rodriguez (8) MULTI-HIT GAMES St. Paul: Edouard Julien (3-for-4, 2B, HR), Payton Eeles (3-for-4, SB), Aaron Sabato (2-for-4, HR) Cedar Rapids: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-5, SB), Andy Lugo (2-for-4, HR) Fort Myers: Yasser Mercedes (3-for-5, 2B) DSL: Santiago Leon (2-for-4, 2B, BB, SB), Yovanny Duran (2-for-5, BB), Jose Barrios (2-for-6, SB) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 1. Walker Jenkins (Wichita): 1-for-2, 2 B, K 3. Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita): 1-for-3, K 8. Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita): 0-for-2 9. Marco Raya (St. Paul): 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 59 pitches (57.6% strikes) 11. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, 3 K 14. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, RBI, SB (51), 2 K 16. Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-3, BB 20. Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 1-for-1, BB CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 50-53 St. Paul Saints: 44-54 Wichita Wind Surge: 50-44 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 55-38 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 41-51 FCL Twins: 39-20 (regular season over, clinched postseason appearance) DSL Twins: 15-23 SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs. Worcester, 6:37 pm CT: José Ureña Wichita vs. Frisco, 6:05 pm CT: Connor Prielipp Cedar Rapids vs. Fort Wayne, 6:35 pm CT: Alejandro Hidalgo Fort Myers vs. Lakeland, 5:05 pm CT: Dasan Hill FCL Twins vs. FCL Tigers, 11 am CT: TBD (FCL Semifinals Game 1) DSL Twins at DSL Angels, 9 am CT: TBD View full article