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Just four more games to go in the Twins minor league season. The Saints will play four more home games. The rest of the affiliates seasons are done. However, the Cedar Rapids Kernels season ended on Wednesday night in the best way a season can end... with a championship!! Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Before Wednesday’s morning game in Cincinnati, the Twins placed shortstop Carlos Correa on the Injured List. To take his spot on the Twins roster, the team called up outfielder Trevor Larnach. AWARDS Before they played their games on Wednesday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels learned that several of their players were recognized for their work in the Midwest League. Former Twins draft pick, prospect, infielder and outfielder Brian Dinkelman was named the league’s Manager of the Year. The Kernels had the best record in the league at 82-50. This is his fourth season as the Kernels’ manager after spending several seasons as the team’s hitting coach. Outfielder Kala’i Rosario led the Midwest League with 21 home runs and 94 RBI. He was named a league All-Star and the Midwest League’s MVP. His 94 RBI were 21 more than second on the list. He ranked among the Top 10 in the league in Slugging Percentage (.467), OPS (.831), Hits (112), Doubles (27), and Walks (75). In addition, he had 13 outfield assists from his right field position. This is the second straight year in which a member of the Kernels was named the league’s MVP. Last season, you may recall, Christian Encarnacion-Strand won the award. In addition to Rosario, the Kernels had three more players make the postseason All Star team. Outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez was named as the designated hitter. He hit .240/.400/.463 with 16 homers. He had 92 walks which was tied for best in the league. Infielder Tanner Schobel was named the All Star third baseman. He played 77 games for the Kernels before his promotion to Wichita. He was leading the league in home runs when he was promoted and still ranked in the top five in several other categories. Finally, Miguel Rodriguez was named the most dominant reliever. He also was promoted to Wichita but not until early August. He had a 2.85 ERA. He had 42 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 41 innings. He also had 14 Saves. On Tuesday, Fort Myers catcher/outfielder Ricardo Olivar was named to the Florida State League All Star team. In 100 games, the 22-year-old from Venezuela hit .285/.403/.452 (.855) with 28 doubles, 10 homers, 58 RBI and 59 walks. In nearly 650 innings split between catcher and the outfield, he had just four errors on the season. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Toledo 3 Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson started on Wednesday night for the Saints against the Tigers top affiliate. He gave up a run in the top of the first and two in the third inning, but he kept battling and completed 5 2/3 innings. He gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out four batters. Austin Brice recorded four outs. He gave up two hits, but no runs. Finally Cole Sands worked two scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out two batters. The Saints tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning when Brooks Lee’s eighth Saints double scored Austin Martin, who had doubled to lead off the inning. Down 3-1, the Saints mounted a rally in the bottom of the fourth inning. The inning started with walks by Gilberto Celestino and Anthony Prato. That brought Chris Williams to the plate and along with giving the Saints a lead, he also made a little Saints history. His 21st home run of the year placed him ahead of Brent Rooker who had 20 homers for the Saints in 2021, their first year as a Twins affiliate. Two batters later, Brooks Lee launched his fifth home run since joining the Saints to give the team a 5-3 lead. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the team got a little insurance. Lee led off with a walk. Yunior Severino was then hit by a pitch. After a ground out advanced both runners, DaShawn Keirsey singled to drive in Lee with the team’s sixth run. The Saints have just four more games remaining, but for those of you near the Twin Cities, all four games are at CHS Field. Check out a game or four this weekend. Click here to order tickets. And… be sure to watch The Saint of Second Chances on Netflix. Great documentary on former Saints owner Mike Veeck, his family’s history in the game, and how the Saints opportunity may have been the best thing for him. KERNELS NUGGETS MWL Championship Game 2 Cedar Rapids 4, Great Lakes 2 Box Score The teams got through four-and-a-half innings on Tuesday night before the rains came and the game was suspended. Righty Andrew Morris started the game and gave up one run on three hits over five innings. He had seven strikeouts with no walks. On Wednesday, the game continued. The Kernels immediately tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Carson McCusker singled in Luke Keaschall. In the top of the sixth, Mike Paredes came in and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in just a third of an inning. None of the singles were hit hard, but they were very well placed. John Klein came in for his first Kernels appearance in Cedar Rapids. He gave up one run on three hits over 2 2/3 innings. He had five strikeouts. AJ Labas worked a scoreless ninth inning. Down 4-1 going to the bottom of the ninth, the Kernels mounted an intriguing comeback. The inning started with back-to-back walks to Jose Salas and Carson McCusker. Noah Miller followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-2. The Loons manager, Daniel Nava, went to his closer, lefty Benony Robles. The southpaw got Emmanuel Rodriguez to strike out on three pitches. Kala’i Rosario came to the plate with chants of “MVP! MVP!” ringing through the stadium. He fell behind 1-2 but was able to work a walk to load the bases with one out. Unfortunately, an infield fly and a strikeout ended the game and sent this series to a winner-take-all Game 3. MWL Championship Series Game 3 Cedar Rapids 7, Great Lakes 6 Box Score Because of the suspended game, Game 3 was reduced to just a seven inning game. Despite jumping out to a big lead early, this game wasn’t decided until that 21st out landed in Emmanuel Rodriguez’s glove. The Kernels won their first Midwest League championship since 1994! In the bottom of the first inning, the Kernels got singles from Noah Miller and Kala’i Rosario. Miller scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Andrew Cossetti to give the team the 1-0 lead. Starting pitcher Cory Lewis had his second straight 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, and the Kernels supported him in grand style in the bottom of the inning. Luke Keaschall and Noah Cardenas started the inning with walks. After a strikeout, Carson McCusker walked to load the bases. Following a pitching change, there was another strikeout. But Emmanuel Rodriguez came to the plate and launched his third home run of this three-game series, a grand slam to give the Kernels a 5-0 lead after two innings. Lewis gave up a leadoff single in the third inning, but the runner was quickly erased on a Miller-to-Keaschall-to-Ortega double play. So through three innings, Lewis faced nine batters. Lewis gave up a run in the fourth inning on a walk and later a single. However, the fifth inning did not go well for him. After a leadoff single, he got a fly out and a force out. Things were looking good. However, back-to-back singles gave the Loons a second run and ended Lewis’s game. Gabriel Yanez came with runners on the corners. Catcher Dalton Rushing, the top prospect in the Dodgers organization and a Top 50 prospect in the game, greeted him with a two-run double which cut the Kernels lead to 5-4. The Kernels responded well in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rodriguez led off with a walk, and Rosario followed with a single. A wild pitch advanced runners to second and third base. After one out, Jorel Ortega walked to load the bases. Luke Keaschall followed by working a walk that scored Rodriguez. Noah Cardenas then flew out to left field, deep enough to allow Rosario to score a second insurance run and make it 7-4 Kernels. Yanez remained in the game for the sixth inning. He got a groundout and a strikeout before giving up a double. Manager Brian Dinkelman went to his closer, John Stankiewicz, hoping for a four-out save. The right-hander recorded a strikeout to end the threat. The Kernels coaxed three more walks in the bottom of the sixth but were unable to add on. On to the top of the seventh inning, three outs from a championship… but it couldn’t just be easy, right? Stankiewicz started the inning with an infield pop out. However, the next batter was hit by a pitch. However, a ground ball to short meant a force out at second but no out at first base. That brought Rushing to the plate again. And, as you would expect, he launched a long home run to cut the Kernels lead to 7-6. Fortunately, after falling behind the next batter 2-0, Stankiewicz got a flyout to Emmanuel Rodriguez. He made the catch, and the celebration ensued! TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, 2B(8), HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K Pitcher of the Day – John Klein (Cedar Rapids) - 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 45 pitches, 32 strikes (71.1%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B(8), HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - Game 2 (1-for-4, BB, 3 K), Game 3 (1-for-2, 2 BB, HR(3), 2 R, 4 RBI) #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(11), R, 2 K #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - Game 2 (2-for-4, R, K), Game 3 (0-for-1, 2 BB, R, RBI) #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - Game 2 (0-for-4, BB, K), Game 3 (2-for-3, BB, R, SB, K). #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, BB, 2B(2), HBP #15 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 95 pitches, 61 strikes (64.2%) #19 - Cory Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - Game 3 (4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 69 pitches, 45 strikes (65.2%)) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Toledo @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (5-9, 5.31 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics!

Here we are: the final minor league weekly recap of the season. Read all about the Twins week in Nick’s Week in Review . WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints Overall: 37-32 (1-5 last week) in the second half; second in the IL West by 1.5 games; tied for seventh overall in the International League. Overview: The Saints ended their week on a five-game losing streak, which quickly eliminated the idea that they were going to make one last push for the playoffs. 🔥: It wasn't a pretty week for the Saints, but you can always count on Yunior Severino to hit some home runs (and strike out). Severino hit two more, bringing his season total to 34 (in 451 at-bats). In his first 1,189 minor league at-bats (five years), he hit 39. (He also struck out 10 times... and 164 times on the year). 🔥: Simeon Woods Richardson struck out five in five innings, allowing only one run on three hits and three walks. 🔥: Trevor Larnach led the Saints with seven hits (including a home run). Larnach got significantly more at-bats in the minors this year (258) than last year (44), though his big-league at-bats were almost exactly the same from last year to this year. He was able to stay mostly healthy, but he'll be 27 when he reports to spring training next year... so it's do or die time for Larnach. 🤔: Nick Gordon started rehabbing with the Saints. He struck out in two of his seven hitless at-bats. 🥶: Randy Dobnak struggled in his lone start, allowing six runs on nine hits. He struck out four over 5 2/3 innings. 🥶: DaShawn Keirsey , who has had a better season than anyone anticipated he would, went hitless this week (13 at-bats). His batting average dropped from .298 to .265 over the course of the week. Keirsey has batted only .188 in the month of September What's Next: The Saints season will end their season by hosting Toledo. Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Overall: 36-33 (2-4 last week) in the second half and finished two games behind Springfield in the division. Overview: Entering the final day of the regular season, there was a still a chance: a win and help. Wichita failed to get the win and their season was over. 🔥: Jake Rucker and Alex Isola led the Wind Surge offense with ten and nine hits, respectively. Both doubled and homered. 🔥: Pierson Ohl and Marco Raya had very good starts. Ohl allowed three hits, a walk and hit two batters in his start, but lasted 5 1/3 innings without giving up a run. Ohl struck out five. Raya gave up a hit and walk while striking out four in four innings. 😏: Chris Paddack struck out six in four innings as he works his way towards potentially joining the Twins for the playoffs. 🥶: Jaylen Nowlin had a poor ending to his season, allowing four runs on three hits (and two home runs) in three innings. Nowlin figures to start next season in Wichita's rotation and still has a chance at the big leagues, which is a victory in itself when you're a 19th round pick. 🥶: After his promotion to Wichita in mid-July, Tanner Schobel got off to a slow start - it took him until September to get his batting average over .200 - so his 5-for-22 week to end his season isn't a terrible outlier, but he also didn't take any walks or get an extra base hit. It was his first full professional season, so you'll take some struggles with the 126 games and 479 at-bats. High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels Overview: After losing the opener of the West Division Championship Series to Peoria, the Kernels returned home and won their next two games to advance to the Midwest League Championship Series. Then they used a comeback win to take a one-game lead on Great Lakes. 🔥: Noah Cardenas had a champion-type box score for the past week. He was 4-for-10 with a double, three runs scored and batted in. Most impressively, though, he drew seven walks and didn't strike out. While the big hit might get the highlights, it's the great plate appearances that help teams win big games. 🔥: C.J. "Big Game" Culpepper struck out eight and only allowed one run on four hits and a walk over five innings to earn a playoff win. 🤨: Maybe Jose Salas has just been holding it in until the games were really, really important. He may have only had three hits in 15 at-bats, but he managed to drive in six runs by homering and tripling. 🥶: Christian MacLeod allowed four runs on three hits and three walks (and a hit batter) while striking out three and recording only four outs. (Luckily, the offense came through in that game.) 🥶: Emmanuel Rodriguez has always used walks to beef up his OBP. This week he was 2-for-20 with no walks and nine strikeouts. (But maybe the freezing emoji is the wrong call because he hit two huge home runs on Sunday.) What's Next: One more win and the players will get a new piece of jewelry. Or two more losses and an offseason full of disappointment. PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week. The Prospect Tracker will be updated periodically throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. Season-long stats will be in parenthesis. 20. Brent Headrick, LHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.1 IP, HB, 4 K. (1.30 WHIP, .254 BAA). (1.44 WHIP, .267 BAA ), 19. Cory Lewis, RHP, Cedar Rapids: 0-0, 2.25 ERA, 4 IP, 4 H, ER, HB, 4 K (1.06 WHIP, .198 BAA). 18. Jose Rodriguez, OF, FCL Twins: (.262/.325/.412. .737 OPS) 17. Danny De Andrade, SS, Fort Myers: (.244/.354/.396. .750 OPS), played five games (90 total games) at shortstop and committed two errors in 18 chances (15 errors in 326 total chances). Previously played one game at third base and had no errors in four chances. 16. Jordan Balazovic, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 K. (1.70 WHIP, .267 BAA); Minnesota: (1.56 WHIP, .274 BAA). 15. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K (1.49 WHIP, .249 BAA); Minnesota: (1.56 WHIP, .274 BAA). 14. Yunior Severino, 3B, St. Paul: 4-18, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 10 K. (AA/AAA combined .275/.352/.550. .902 OPS). 13. Kala'i Rosario, OF, Cedar Rapids: 3-15, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 4 BB, 7 K. (.252/.364/.467. .831 OPS). 12. Yasser Mercedes, OF, FCL Twins: (.196/.248/.381. .629 OPS) 11. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids: Prielipp underwent season-ending elbow surgery. (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA) 10. Luke Keaschall, 2B, Cedar Rapids: 4-13, 2 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K. (rookie/l-A/h-A combined .288/.414/.477. .891 OPS), played four games (24 total) at second base and committed two errors in 22 chances (three errors in 83 total chances), played one game in centerfield (four games total) and committed no errors in no chances (no errors in two total chances), and played one game at third base (two total) and committed no errors in one chance (one error in three total chances). 9. Brandon Winokur, OF, FCL Twins: (.288/.338/.545. .883 OPS), played nine games at shortstop and committed two errors in 34 chances and played seven games at centerfield and committed no errors in 19 chances. 8. Tanner Schobel, INF, Wichita: 5-22, RBI, 3 K. (high-A/AA combined .265/.352/.424. .776 OPS), played four games (58 total) at second base and committed one error in 12 chances (10 errors in 224 total chances), played one game (59 total) at third base and committed no errors in no chances (four errors in 115 total chances), previously played five games at shortstop and committed no errors in 14 total chances. 7. Austin Martin, 2B/OF, St. Paul: 4-15, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, 8 BB, 3 K, 2 SB. (rehab/AAA combined .266/.389/.408. .797 OPS), played two games (38 total) at second base and committed no errors in 8 chances (four errors in 152 total chances), played two games (13 total) in left field and committed no errors in eight chance (no errors in 35 total chances). Previously played 11 games in centerfield and committed one error in 28 total chances. 6. David Festa, RHP, St. Paul: 0-1, 3.38 ERA, 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. (AAA/AA combined 1.39 WHIP, .246 BAA) 5. Charlee Soto, RHP: Did not pitch. 4. Marco Raya, RHP, Wichita: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, H, BB, 4 K. (AA/Hi-A combined 1.07 WHIP, .197 BAA) 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 3-13, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 7 BB, 6 K. (.240/.400/.463. .863 OPS) 2. Walker Jenkins, OF, Fort Myers: 6-19, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 K, SB, CS. (FCL/low-A combined .362/.417/.571. .988 OPS) 1. Brooks Lee, SS, St. Paul: 4-23, 2 2B, RBI, 7 R, 4 K. (AA/AAA combined .277/.349/.460. .809 OPS), played three games (106 total) at shortstop and committed no errors in 7 chances (18 errors in 437 total chances) and played one game (seven total) at third base and committed no errors in five chances (one error in 19 chances total chances). DESTINATION: The Show In this week's episode, Jeremy and JD tackle a variety of topics. Lots of Twins talk, especially regarding their 2023 draft class. Below is a quick out-take from the show. Click here to watch the full episode. You can find Destination: The Show on all major podcast platforms including Spotify, iTunes, iHeartRadio and Amazon Music. The show is available on Libsyn, our podcasting platform, in addition to YouTube.

SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 1, St. Paul 0 Box Score Having been eliminated from postseason contention on Saturday night, the Saints took the field for their final road game on Sunday. David Festa was on the mound, and rehabbing Twins utility man Nick Gordon was in left field. A shorter outing, Festa went 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits and a pair of walks. He struck out two. Iowa scored the game's first run in the second inning, but Festa escaped with the bases loaded before letting the inning become problematic. Shortening Festa's workload with the year ending, Brent Headrick took over in the third inning. He worked 3 1/3 innings of perfect baseball while striking out four. The Saints couldn't find a run in the ninth inning either, and they dropped Sunday's action, going scoreless on six hits. Brooks Lee was the only St. Paul batter to record a pair. They'll return home for a final series against Toledo. WIND SURGE WISDOM Midland 6, Wichita 4 Box Score Needing a victory and then a loss from Springfield to make the playoffs, Wichita turned to Jordan Carr for their final regular season game on Sunday. Carr went three innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk. He struck out one. After a scoreless first frame, Midland grabbed the first lead with a three-run homer in the top of the second inning. Midland added again in the third inning with an RBI single, and the Wind Surge were staring at a 4-0 deficit. The RockHounds added another pair of runs in the seventh inning, and things looked bleak for Wichita. Facing a six-run deficit with just three outs left, the Wind Surge needed a miracle. Alex Isola doubled home Will Holland before Jake Rucker traded places with him. Tanner Schobel stepped in with the bases loaded and just one out and singled home Patrick Wikel. With one out and down 6-3, Ben Ross had the opportunity to walk it off on a home run. The ball didn't leave the yard, but he continued the singles parade and brought home Rucker, leaving the bases still packed. Willie Joe Garry Jr. initially looked like he brought Aaron Sabato home on a fielder's choice, but Midland made the out. Holland flew out to left, and the comeback came just short. Schobel, Rucker, and Isola all grabbed a pair of hits in what ends up being Wichita's final game of the year. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Great Lakes 6 Box Score Kicking off the Midwest League Championship Series, the Kernels turned to Christian MacLeod on Sunday. It was a rough outing as he was lifted after getting four outs and giving up four runs. MacLeod gave up three hits and three walks while striking out three. Zebby Matthews then came on in relief. After getting behind 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Cedar Rapids answered and took their first lead in the second inning. With the bases loaded, Noah Cardenas walked and allowed Andrew Cossetti to cross the plate. Jose Salas then grounded into a double play, but Jorel Ortega scored in the process. Carson McCusker then brought Luke Keaschall home from third base and it was a 3-1 game. A Dalton Rushing home run in the bottom of the second inning sent MacLeod to the showers and put the Loons back up 4-3. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Rushing went deep for the second time Sunday and put the Loons up 6-3. Emmanuel Rodriguez answered for the Kernels in the top of the fifth inning, launching a solo shot to bring them back within two. The Loons threatened to add again in the fifth inning with runners on the corners and two outs. Matthews worked a necessary strikeout to get out of the inning, though. Jose Salas got into the box score when he launched a dinger and brought Cedar Rapids within one during the seventh inning. Looking for a tying run in the ninth inning, the Kernels were down to their final three outs. After Keaschall flew out to start the inning, Cardenas drew a walk. Jefferson Morales came on as a pinch hitter, then jogged to second base after Salas filled first following a hit by pitch. McCusker stepped in and launched a three-run blast to center, putting the Kernels on top. Their first lead since the second inning couldn't have come at a better time. Not done with the inning yet, Rodriguez stepped in following a Noah Miller single and launched his second home run. The two-run shot made it a 10-6 ballgame, giving the Kernels some well-deserved breathing room. Malik Barrington finished his 1 2/3 innings of relief scoreless, and Gabriel Yanez came on to get the final out. Rodriguez and McCusker recorded a pair of hits on Sunday, with their home runs being the difference. Cedar Rapids returns home with a chance to win the title on Tuesday night. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K Hitter of the Day – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR, 2 K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 2-4 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR, 2 K #6 - David Festa (St. Paul) - 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-4, RBI #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, R, BB, K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-4, 3 K #20 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ St. Paul (6:37PM CST) - TBD Great Lakes @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Andrew Morris Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games!

TRANSACTIONS With the affiliates off on Monday, there were multiple transactions to catch up with on Tuesday: RHP Louie Varland was recalled by the Minnesota Twins to pitch out of their bullpen. In a corresponding move, RHP Cole Sands was sent back to the Saints. UT Michael Helman was assigned to the St. Paul Saints, making his return to Triple-A. Replacing Helman in Wichita, was IF Ben Ross from the Kernels. The Wind Surge activated RHP Isaac Mattson. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 11, Louisville 3 Box Score The Saints got on the board first in the second inning when DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Yunior Severino, and Austin Martin all drew walks to load the bases. Jair Camargo brought in one with a sac fly, but Hernan Perez then lined out to keep them to just one run. Right-hander Blayne Enlow got the starting nod for the Saints and was solid through the first three innings. He scattered four hits, allowed one earned run, and struck out three. In the top of the fourth inning, the good guys broke through with a two-out rally. Martin, Camargo, and Perez all drew walks to prompt a move to the bullpen for the Bats, and Michael Helman brought them all in with a double. Alex Kirilloff followed with a run-scoring single, and it was 5-1 St. Paul. They tacked on two more runs in the fifth when Trevor Larnach led off with a single. Two batters later, Severino launched his sixth home run with the Saints, and 30th of the season to make it 7-1. Hunter McMahon was the first reliever summoned from the Saints bullpen and pitched into the fifth inning. He allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out two. He gave way to Austin Schulfer who went the next 1 2/3 innings, allowing one walk and striking out one. Jordan Balazovic started the seventh and worked around a single and a walk for a scoreless frame. In the eighth, a walk was followed by an RBI double before he was lifted for Austin Brice. In 1 2/3 innings, Balazovic was charged with one earned run on two hits and three walks. Brice finished off the final 1 1/3 innings, giving up one run on one hit and a walk. He struck out two. With the score still 7-1 in the top of the eighth, the Saints put it even farther out of reach as the first four hitters of the inning reached base, with Brooks Lee putting an explanation point on the game by slugging a grand slam the opposite way. Kirilloff (3-for-5, R, 2B, RBI) and Trevor Larnach (2-for-5, R, 2B) led the way with multiple hits for the St. Paul offense. Every hitter in the lineup scored at least one run, and Helman (1-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, K), Lee (1-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI, BB, K), and Severino (1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K) each drove in multiple runners. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Corpus Christi 5 Box Score The Wind Surge were held to just five hits on Tuesday and were never able to mount a rally against the Hooks’ pitching, so not a whole lot to recap here. Their lone run came on Alex Isola’s 19th home run of the season in the fourth inning to give them a 1-0 lead, but it did not hold up. Starter Jaylen Nowlin was excellent in five innings, allowing just one earned run on two hits. He also walked three, but was able to work around them by punching out six. The bullpen duo of Francis Peguero (2 IP, 2 H, ER, K) and Denny Bentley (1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 K) was not able to keep that going however, allowing four runs over the final three innings. Yoyner Fajardo led the way out of the leadoff spot with two hits and a walk. As a team the Wind Surge were just 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position, and left only three men on base in a game that took just two hours to complete. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Wisconsin 3 Box Score The Kernels hit the ground running early in this one, with an Emmanuel Rodriguez triple being followed by a Kala’i Rosario home run for a 2-0 lead before their starting pitcher stepped on the mound. That was righty Andrew Morris, who was excellent in the month of August, going 5-0 with a 2.00 ERA in five starts. He wasn’t able to make it to the fifth in this one, but it also could have been a lot worse. In 3 2/3 innings he gave up eight hits (all singles) and walked three, but managed to allow only three runs. He also struck out three. When he left the game in the fourth inning, his team was still in the lead thanks to a three-run third inning from his lineup. Kyler Fedko led off with his sixth home run, before consecutive walks to Noah Miller and Rodriguez put more ducks on the pond. An error led to the second run of the inning, and a sac fly from Jorel Ortega capped it off. The Kernels added an insurance run in the fifth thanks to an RBI double from Miller to score Fedko, who had walked to start the inning. The Cedar Rapids bullpen took it from there, shutting down the Timber Rattlers the rest of the way after Morris’ departure. Gabriel Yanez picked up his first win with the Kernels by completing 2 1/3 innings. He gave up two hits and struck out three. Malik Barrington (2 IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K) and John Stankiewicz (S, 1 IP, H, K) held Wisconsin scoreless the rest of the way. Fedko led the way with multiple hits, collecting a double in addition to his home run, and also drew two walks. Rodriguez and Fedko each scored two runs. The Cedar Rapids Kernels are your second half, and undisputed full-season, Midwest League West Division Champions, with their record sitting at 81-46, the best in all of the minor leagues. MUSSEL MATTERS Bradenton 10, Fort Myers 5 Box Score Starting pitcher Juan Mercedes was ambushed for three runs in the first inning, but settled in pretty good from there. He was able to complete five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits (two home runs accounting for most of the damage) and two walks. He struck out three. The Mighty Mussels got consecutive singles to the second inning, but it took a throwing error from the catcher for them to get a run across to cut the lead to two. In the fourth Rubel Cespedes led off with his thirteenth home run of the season, making the score 4-2 Bradenton. Wilker Reyes came on from the bullpen for Fort Myers to start the sixth inning and delivered a scoreless frame. Back out for the seventh however, he ran into trouble and was lifted after giving up a bases loaded double, allowing two runs to score. In 1 2/3 innings, Reyes was charged with two earned runs on three hits, one walk, and a hit batter, while striking out one. In the bottom of the eighth the Fort Myers lineup finally broke through for a crooked number on the scoreboard, closing the lead to just one run. The big hit came from Walker Jenkins, who delivered a two-run triple that made it 6-4. He then scored the third run of the inning on a groundout from Ricardo Olivar. Zach Veen came on after Reyes’ exit and got the next six outs. He did not allow a hit, but two walks led to two earned runs in the ninth inning. the next pitcher, Juan Mendez, wasn’t much better as he gave up a three-run home run and three walks before being lifted himself. Danny Moreno finally stopped the bleeding by getting a ground ball, but the score was now 10-5. The Mighty Mussels then went down in order to end the game. Jay Harry (2-for-4, R, 2B) and Cespedes (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, 2 K) had multiple hits in the loss. Jenkins finished 1-for-2 with a run scored, a pair of walks, and is now batting .441 with a 1.192 OPS in eight games with Fort Myers. Oh, and he’s also struck out only once. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Jaylen Nowlin, Wichita Wind Surge (5 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 6 K) Hitter of the Day - Brooks Lee, St. Paul Saints (1-for-4, R, Grand Slam, 4 RBI, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out our full top 20 list here and how they performed on Tuesday below! #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, GS HR (3), 4 RBI, BB, K #2 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - 1-for-2, R, 3B (2), 2 RBI, 2 BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2 R, 3B (9), 2 BB, K #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, R, 2 BB #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2B (2) #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, HR (20), 3 RBI, BB, K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, R, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3 WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (5:35 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (1-0, 1.80 ERA) Wichita @ Corpus Christi (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Carlos Luna (2-8, 5.56 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (12:10 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (4-1, 2.53 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - RHP Chris Paddack (MLB Rehab Assignment) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

TRANSACTIONS RHP Austin Schulfer activated from 7-day IL (St. Paul) RHP Alex Scherff transferred from AA Wichita to AAA St. Paul RHP Francis Peguero transferred from AAA St. Paul to AA Wichita Saints Sentinel St. Paul 1, Columbus 4 Box Score Randy Dobnak: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: Alex Kirilloff (4) Multi-hit games: DaShawn Keirsey Jr . (2-for-4) The Saints’ meek offense doomed them on Saturday. The bats couldn’t do much; in total, they collected just six hits, taking four walks while going 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. The only score came when Alex Kirilloff blasted a very Kirilloffian homer out to left field. It’s a shame, because Randy Dobnak pitched excellently, allowing a pair of solo homers across six stellar innings. Perhaps most important to the sinker-baller: he only walked one batter. He threw 62 of 92 pitches for strikes, earning five strikeouts for his troubles. Trevor Larnach reached base three times, singling and walking twice. Kyle Manzardo was the return for Cleveland when they dealt Aaron Civale to the Rays; he, the 60th best prospect in MLB, doubled twice and walked. Brayan Rocchio is ranked 49th and he singled while striking out twice. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 3, San Antonio 5 Box Score Pierson Ohl: 5 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Yoyner Fajardo (2-for-5, 2B), Michael Helman (2-for-5), Tanner Schobel (2-for-4), Alex Isola (2-for-4, 2B, R), Willie Joe Garry Jr. (2-for-4, RBI) The Wind Surge came up short against the Missions on Saturday. Pierson Ohl, fresh off being named our Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month, was on his game again. He was one out short of a quality start, but still made a massive impact, allowing just one lone run in his outing. He struck out just one. Perhaps he wanted his defense to get in on the fun as well. His bats had his back; Willie Joe Garry Jr. knocked in a run in the 2nd and Jake Rucker blasted a triple in the 6th to plate a second run. A wild pitch soon plated Rucker. But, fortune soon changed for Wichita, as Regi Grace and Jordan Carr threw the ball all-around the backstop, leading to four runs off a hit by pitch, three walks, and a back-breaking double. The Wind Surge attempted a comeback—Yoyner Fajardo led the effort with a pair of knocks—but could not mount anything worthwhile, eventually falling to San Antonio with a double play. The 9th prospect in MLB, Jackson Merrill, hit the critical double, but went hitless in his other at-bats. Number 5 prospect—17-year-old (that’s right) catcher Ethan Salas—started but left the game in the 3rd. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 3, Lake County 8 Box Score Kyle Jones: 5 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K HR: Emmanuel Rodriguez (16) Multi-hit games: Keoni Cavaco (2-for-5) The Kernels melted late, dropping a rare game on Saturday. Although Khalil Watson isn’t the prospect he once was when the Marlins drafted him, he still flexed his power chops in the 1st, blasting a two-run shot to give the Captains a lead. He ranks as Cleveland’s 16th prospect. In response, Emmanuel Rodriguez lasered a solo shot off technically old friend Steve Hajjar. Rodriguez has actually hit lefties better than righties in 2023 (.894 OPS vs a .847 OPS). Wait, wasn’t Hajjar dealt to the Reds? Yes, but he was announced as the PTBNL in the deal that sent OF Will Benson to Cincinnati. Starter Kyle Jones recovered well, striking out seven before exiting in the 6th; he allowed just one more run. Staring at the maw of the late-innings, the Kernels folded. Malik Barrington coughed up two runs and Jackson Hicks one-upped him, totaling five runs in the final two frames to place the game firmly out of reach. A late 9th inning rally loaded the bases and led to two runs, but Cedar Rapids could do no more, and Rodriguez’s final whiff ended the game for good. Kernels hitters walked 12 times on Saturday. Mussel Matters Ft. Myers 6, Clearwater 1 Box Score Jose Olivares: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: Nate Baez (1) Multi-hit games: Jay Harry (2-for-5, 2B, R), Ricardo Olivar (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI), Rubel Cespedes (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB), Alec Sayre (2-for-5) The Mighty Mussels smoked the Threshers on Saturday. Jose Olivares followed up his decent five inning start last week with… five more innings, improving his numbers almost across the board. He allowed a run in the 1st, but quickly settled down, allowing a few runners to reach base before escaping unmarked every time. He gave way to Ty Langenberg and Xander Hamilton—two 2023 draftees who combined for four scoreless frames. Fort Myers’ bats were potent as well. They plated two in the 3rd with a Ricardo Olivar double and a Rubel Cespedes single. They waited a little to score again—perhaps looking to build drama—before exploding with three in the 7th. All three runs scored on Nate Baez’s first homer of the season. He added a sacrifice fly in the 9th for good measure. Another 2023 draftee, Jay Harry, collected a pair of hits to push his Fort Myers slashline to .351/.440/.481. Walker Jenkins did not play after starting both games of Friday’s doubleheader—an act of mercy for Clearwater’s pitchers. Philadelphia’s first-round pick in 2023—shortstop Aidan Miller—singled and struck out in four at-bats. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Olivares Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nate Baez PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 0-4 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, HR, R, RBI, BB, 2 K #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-4, R, BB, 2 K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-4, 2 K #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-4, K #19 - Brent Headrick (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, W (3-0) SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Columbus @ St. Paul (5:07 PM) - RHP Patrick Murphy San Antonio @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Travis Adams Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) - LHP Christian MacLeod Fort Myers @ Clearwater (11:00 AM) - RHP Ben Ethridge

It’s been an interesting few days, and it’s been awhile since I’ve updated these standings. The Twins minor-league affiliates have been playing really well of late. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Friday. Check out the records of the Twins and their affiliates Minnesota Twins: 70-65 (5-3 in past eight games) St. Paul Saints: 75-54 (5-3 in past eight games) Wichita Wind Surge: 59-64 (6-2 in past eight games) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 79-45 (7-1 in past eight games) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 64-59 (7-0 in past seven games) Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. But before we get to the Twins minor league report, Congratulations to former Twins prospect and big leaguer Devin Smeltzer on his seven-inning no-hitter tonight for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp! TRANSACTIONS Friday marked the first day of September. For baseball fans, and prospect hounds, it is a special day. Or, at least it used to be. Now that rosters only expand by two players, it’s just not as much fun, and it isn’t a big deal. However, the Twins made it a big deal for two players on the Saints roster. LHP Brent Headrick was called up to take a spot in the bullpen. The other spot is a bit of a surprise and yet, incredibly deserved. The Twins selected the contract of veteran outfielder Andrew Stevenson who has clearly been the Saints most valuable player all season long. While he is left-handed, he can help the Twins in several ways. First, he has a good, professional approach at the plate. He takes walks. He’s got some pop in his bat, and he’s got great speed. If you’re been reading these minor league reports throughout the year, you can’t be completely surprised by the addition of Andrew Stevenson. His name appears in the daily game recaps nearly every day. In 106 games with the Saints, he hit .317/.395/.522 (.916) with 23 doubles, seven triples, and 16 home runs. He also had 44 stolen bases and was caught just five times. It will be interesting to see how the Twins use their 40-man roster and that shuttle between St. Paul and Minneapolis over the final month of the season. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Columbus 8 (11 innings) Box Score The Saints jumped to an early lead against an #OldFriend. Unfortunately, the bullpen gave up three runs in the eighth to tie the game. To extra innings, we go. We start with the positive in this one. Former Twins prospect Chris Vallimont made the start for the Clippers. In the first inning, the Saints took the first lead. DaShawn Keirsey singled and stole a base before a two-out, Trevor Larnach single drove him in. With one out in the second inning, Yunior Severino singled. It was followed by a double off the bat of Hernan Perez. After Jair Camargo walked, Gilberto Celestino doubled to drive in two runs. Trevor Larnach and Kyle Garlick started off the bottom of the third inning by hitting their 12th Saints homers. Vallimont got Severino to ground out before he was removed from the game. Unfortunately, that was when the bats went quiet. Hunter McMahon came in for his Triple-A debut. He tossed two scoreless innings. However, he went back out for the 10th inning and got two outs but gave up two runs. Having thrown 44 pitches, his night was done. Because of all of the roster changes, Toby Gardenhire brought in catcher Tony Wolters to pitch. He gave up a double to score the third run charged to McMahon. The Saints went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 11th inning. They finished the game 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. Hernan Perez went 2-for-3 with two walks and hit sixth and seventh doubles. Trevor Larnach was 2-for-4 with his 12th homer. DaShawn Keirsey went 2-for-5 with a walk and his fifth steal since joining the Saints and 36th overall. Alex Kirilloff didn’t play on Friday night after starting the two previous games. Byron Buxton batted third and was the DH. He was 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, San Antonio 0 (10 innings) Box Score Let’s jump straight to extra innings. Frankly, nothing really happened through the first nine innings, except some terrific pitching (which we’ll get to in just a minute). Aaron Sabato made the final out in the bottom of the ninth. So when the Surge came to the plate in a tie game in the bottom of the 10th frame, Sabato was set to be the Manfred Man at second base. Instead, Ramon Borrego sent speedster Will Holland in as a pinch runner. Unfortunately, the first two batters of the inning popped out in the infield without advancing Holland at all. It looked like the game was heading to the 11th inning. However, Willie Joe Garry, Jr launched the first pitch over the wall to end the game and give the Surge the win. Following the game, Garry Jr told Twins Daily, "Coming into the box, all I was thinking was 'Be on Time.' They beat me early in the game with some fastballs so I just wanted to catch something out front. He went breaking balls early to the few batters he faced before me, so I sat soft first pitch in hopes that he left something up in the zone." He was right. He got the breaking ball up, and he hit it well. "I haven't hit much on-field BP here, so I'm still not sure how the ball plays late in the game in this part, but I felt like I got enough of it to let the guys know it's time to go home." His mind was running in one focus as he was running from base to base. "Rounding the bases, I didn't think about much other than the fact that we got back in the Win column. The standings are close, so every game matters right now. I was just happy to help us get the win." Marco Raya has certainly struggled since joining the Wind Surge. In this game, he gave up two hits over four scoreless innings. He had two strikeouts and no walks. Taylor Floyd came into the game and got four outs. Then lefty Aaron Rozek pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Miguel Rodriguez pitched a perfect top of the 10th to be credited with the Win. It was a terrific night for the staff as they gave up just four hits and a walk over 10 scoreless innings. It was also a terrific game for their defense as they combined for just five strikeouts. The Kernels had seven hits in the game. Aside from Garry’s fourth homer, Tanner Schobel hit his sixth double since joining the team. Pat Winkel was the lone player to reach twice, with a single and a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 11, Lake County 7 Box Score The Kernels used a six-run fourth inning to take control of this game. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning, the Kernels got back-to-back doubles from Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kala’i Rosario to get on the board. They added a second run in the third inning. Keoni Cavaco led off with a walk before Ben Ross doubled to score him. Down 5-2 going into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Kernels mounted their big inning. Jorel Ortega led off with a single and then stole second base. With one out, Carson McCusker drove him in with a single. Then, Jeferson Morales’s sixth home run tied the game at 5-5. Cavaco followed with a single and scored on Ben Ross’s 19th home run of the season. In a near-replay of the first inning, Emmanuel Rodriguez tripled and then scored on another Rosario double. The Kernels ended the inning with an 8-5 lead. Jose Salas single-handedly scored a run for the Kernels in the fifth inning. He stole second base. Then he stole third base and scored on a throwing error by the catcher. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Cedar Rapids got some needed insurance. The Kernels used a couple of errors to increase their lead to 11-5. Lake County scored two in the ninth inning, but there was no need for stress. Alejandro Hidalgo started and gave up three runs on five hits and three walks in three innings. Jarret Whorff came on and got two runs on one hit (a homer). He had three walks and three strikeouts. Matthew Swain came in and tossed two scoreless innings. A.J. Labas gave up two runs on four hits over the final two innings. He had three strikeouts. The Kernels got several strong performances. Emmanuel Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with his 12th and 13th doubles, and his eighth triple. Kala’i Rosario went 3-for-5 with his 26th and 27th doubles and three RBI. Ben Ross was 2-for-5 with his 25th double and his 19th home run. He had three RBI. Keoni Cavaco went 2-for-2 with two walks. He scored three runs. Jorel Ortega went 2-for-5 and stole his 10th base since joining the Kernels. After his back-to-back steals, Jose Salas now has 22 stolen bases this year. The Kernels won the division title in the first half and have a big lead in the second half as well. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers and Clearwater missed two straight days of game thanks to a hurricane. One of the games was simply canceled. On Friday, the two teams played a doubleheader, two seven-inning games. Fort Myers 11, Clearwater 5 Game 1 Box Score The Mussels jumped out to an early start and got big games from a couple of 2023 draft picks on their way to a Game 1 win. Jay Harry (6th round, Penn State) got things started with a leadoff double. Walker Jenkins (1st round) followed with an RBI single. Ricardo Olivar and Danny De Andrade followed with singles, the latter scoring the Twins second run. In copycat fashion, Rubel Cespedes singled in the third run. After that, the mode of run scoring changed, but they did add on. Alec Sayre walked. Then after the inning’s first out, Dillon Tatum challenged a called strike and was successful. Instead of a strikeout, he walked to score the fourth run. Then with two outs, Harry came up a second time and walked with the bases loaded to “drive in” the fifth run. The Mussels added runs in four of the remaining six innings to keep the pressure on which is good because the Threshers scored in four of their seven innings. Miguelangel Boadas started and worked the first three innings. He gave up two runs on three hits. He walked three and struck out three batters. Danny Moreno had a walk and a strikeout in a scoreless inning. Matt Gabbert worked the final three innings. He gave up three runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out three batters. Back to those 2023 draft picks. Jay Harry led off and played shortstop. In the game, he went 4-for-4 with a walk, his sixth double, and his first professional home run. Jenkins followed that homer with his first home run since joining the Mussels last week. Jenkins was 3-for-5. Both scored two runs. Harry had four RBI to Jenkins’ two. Kamron Willman added two hits, including a triple, in the game. He added his first stolen base. Alec Sayre walked three times and stole two bases. Fort Myers 3, Clearwater 1 Game 2 Box Score There was a little less offense in the second game. However, Walker Jenkins had two of the Mussels’ eight hits. The Mussels got a double from Yohander Martinez to drive in their first run. Danny De Andrade with the second run. Their third run scored on a sacrifice fly to score Nate Baez with the third run. However, that proved to be more than enough for 6-5, 21-year-old, Brooklyn Park native John Klein. The right-hander went all seven innings and needed just 90 pitches. He gave up one run in the first inning, but that was it. He gave up three hits, walked two, hit one and struck out four batters. While the Mussels have been playing well and have won seven games in a row, their elimination number is just one right now. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – John Klein (Fort Myers) - 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 90 pitches, 55 strikes (61.1%) Co-Hitter of the Day – Jay Harry (Fort Myers): 4-for-4, BB, 2B(6), HR(1), 2 R, 4 RBI Co-Hitter of the Day - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers): 5-for-9, HR(1), 2 R, 2 RBI Co-Hitter of the Day - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2-2B(13), 3B(8), 3 R Co-Hitter of the Day - Kala'i Rosario (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2-2B(27), 3 RBI. Co-Hitter of the Day - Keoni Cavaco (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-2, 2 BB, 3 R Co-Hitter of the Day - Willie Joe Garry (Wichita): Extra-innings, walk-off homer. Co-Hitter of the Day - Hernan Perez (St. Paul): 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2-2B(7), R, SB(9) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #2 - Walker Jenkins (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 3-for-5, HR(1), 2 R, 2 RBI; Game 2: 2-for-4 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 2-2B(13), 3B(8), 3 R #4 - Marco Raya (Wichita) - 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 48 pitches, 35 strikes (72.9%) #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-6, 3 K #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B(6), K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 2-2B(27), 3 RBI #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R, K #15 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 94 pitches, 62 strikes (66.0%) #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 2 WP, 44 pitches, 21 strikes (47.7%) #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - Game 1: 1-for-4, BB, R, RBI, K, SB(18); Game 2: 1-for-4, RBI, K, SB(19) #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 2-for-4, BB, 2 R. SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Columbus @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (4-7, 4.95 ERA) San Antonio @ Wichita (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (7-3, 3.06 ERA) Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (6-5, 4.23 ERA) vs LHP Steven Hajjar (#OldFriend) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Jose Olivares (2-4, 6.37 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics!

TRANSACTIONS OF Byron Buxton begins rehab assignment with St. Paul 1B/OF Alex Kirilloff begins rehab assignment with St. Paul INF Kamron Willman reinstated from the development list by Fort Myers SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Columbus 1 Box Score Quite possibly the most anticipated Saints game of the 2023 regular season took place on Wednesday night. Not only was prospect David Festa making his Triple-A pitching debut, but Alex Kirilloff was in the lineup rehabbing, and he was joined by Byron Buxton playing centerfield. The outfield action was Buxton’s first in more than a full calendar year as he ramps back up to rejoin Minnesota. After getting top Guardians prospect Bryan Rocchio to ground out on a broken bat, Festa grabbed his first strikeout when he punched out rehabbing major leaguer, David Fry. Festa popped 97 mph multiple times in the first inning. He got Jonathan Rodriguez, another top 25 prospect for Cleveland, swinging to end the frame. Watching a strike to kick off the at bat, Buxton lined a single to left field and his rehab assignment started off with success. Kirilloff grounded out to the first baseman, on a ball that should’ve been a double play, and Austin Martin stepped in behind the big leaguers. Putting more traffic on against Jerad Eickhoff, Jair Camargo ripped a single to left and brought home Kyle Garlick for the game’s first run. The lineup turned over and leadoff hitter Andrew Stevenson continued his strong season with a single to drive in both Anthony Prato and Camargo to make the score 3-0. In the top of the third inning, Columbus got Festa for a homer before Fry bounced a double off the left center wall. Buxton had his first fielding opportunity, but needed to do little more than play the bounce and throw it back into the infield. Kyle Manzardo finished the inning by sending a lazy fly ball to Buxton, and the Twins centerfielder had his first putout since 2022. It didn’t take long for the Saints to get the run back. Coming to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, Camargo brought Kyle Garlick around on a single to push the lead back up to three. Buxton drew a walk in his third plate appearance and loaded the bases for Kirilloff with two outs in the fourth inning. He responded with a 105.5 mph single to bring Camargo home and make it a 5-1 game. Festa worked the fifth inning and struck out his seventh batter to end the frame. After throwing 91 pitches, his night was over. It was a strong Triple-A debut allowing just one run on four hits and a walk. Festa continued to sit around 95 mph late in the game, and navigated a very good Clippers lineup. A Brooks Lee double in the fifth inning came on a scary scene as Columbus left fielder Micah Pries went down in a heap tracking the ball. He was eventually carted off and replaced by Chris Roller. The Saints had second and third with no one out. Anthony Prato took his spot in the box and lined a ball back up the middle to score Martin and make it 6-1. Yunior Severino watched strike three on a pitch that just tickled the zone for the ABS system, and Camargo went down swinging leaving runners on first and third. Ronny Henriquez did a great job in relief of Festa on Wednesday night. Although he did walk a pair, the righty didn't allow a hit and struck out three during three scoreless innings of work. He remains on the 40-man roster and could be an option for Minnesota when rosters expand on Friday. Brent Headrick worked the ninth inning and secured Festa's win. Buxton finished going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, while Kirilloff went 1-for-5 with an RBI and pair of strikeouts. The Saints had 11 hits Wednesday and were led by Stevenson, Prato, and Camargo. WIND SURGE WISDOM San Antonio 9, Wichita 2 Box Score The Wind Surge went with Jaylen Nowlin for the start on Wednesday. Starting strong, he tailed in the middle innings and wound up allowing six runs on eight hits and a pair of walks. Nowlin also struck out two. San Antonio struck for four during the third inning. Three singles and a sacrifice fly did a number on Nowlin and put Wichita behind. The Missions plated another in the fourth inning and one in the fifth inning to take a comfortable 6-0 lead. Wichita got on the board in the seventh inning when Willie Joe Garry Jr. doubled home Alerick Soularie. With Dalton Shuffield standing on third and just one out, the Wind Surge had a threat. Michael Helman lofted a sacrifice fly to bring Shuffield in and it was a 6-2 game. San Antonio grabbed a run back against Miguel Rodriguez in the eighth inning, and the lead was again five. Facing Sean Mooney in the ninth inning, San Antonio grabbed another pair and pushed the tally to 9-2. Wichita had just five hits, with Soularie accounting for two. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Lake County 2 Box Score Cory Lewis was on the bump Wednesday night for the Kernels, and he was again looking like the star prospect he has been all year. Turning in five scoreless innings, Lewis scattered seven hits but issued no walks while striking out six. He lowered his ERA to 2.53 in the process. In case you missed the incredible slow-mo video of his knuckleball on Twitter, feast your eyes on this. Cedar Rapids jumped out to an early lead when Jorel Ortega blasted his eighth home run of the year. The two-run shot also scored Noah Cardenas. After Lewis’ strong start, John Stankiewicz and Malik Barrington gave back both in the seventh inning. Emmanuel Rodriguez crushed his seventh triple of the season during the eighth inning, and the three-bagger brought Noah Miller home with just one out. Unfortunately the Kernels couldn’t bring him home, and the one-run lead was the only breathing room for the ninth inning. Jackson Hicks came on looking for his first High-A save. Doing it in style, Hicks sat down big prospects Chase DeLauter and Kahlil Watson before ending it with Dayan Frias. Cedar Rapids recorded just five hits on Wednesday and Rodriguez was responsible for two of them. MUSSEL MATTERS Canceled Fort Myers and Clearwater will kick off their series tomorrow night after Hurricane Idalia disrupted action earlier this week. Thoughts are with everyone down in the southern tip of Twins Territory. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Cory Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 5.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Jair Camargo (St. Paul) - 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-3, 2B(5), BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, RBI, 2B(11), 3B(7), 2 K #6 - David Festa (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-3, BB, R #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-4, 2B(5), BB, K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, 2 BB, K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-4, K #19 - Cory Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 5.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K #20 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Columbus @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland San Antonio @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Carlos Luna Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!

TRANSACTIONS The St. Paul Saints placed RHP Austin Schulfer on the 7-day injured list with a right hip impingement. In his place, they assigned RHP Francis Peguero from double-A. Down in Fort Myers, three pitchers the Twins drafted this year made the move from the FCL Twins to the Mighty Mussels. They were RHP Nolan Santos (7th round), RHP Ty Langenberg (11th round), and RHP Xander Hamilton (14th round). Wichita Wind Surge RHP Sean Mooney was also sent on a rehab assignment to the Mighty Mussels. In not yet official moves, the Twins also announced after today’s FCL game that 2023 first round pick Walker Jenkins was being promoted to the Mighty Mussels. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Omaha 14 Box Score On a super hot and muggy night in Omaha (think even hotter than MSP today), Nebraska Louie Varland was ambushed in the second inning, leading to his first loss of the season with the St. Paul Saints. It looked good in the early going for the visiting squad, as Andrew Stevenson led off the game with his 16th home run of the season. He was followed by Austin Martin’s fifth home with the Saints for back-to-back jobs to start the game. Varland sent the Storm Chasers down in order in the bottom of the first, but that would be as good as it would get for the Minnesota native. In the second, two walks, an error, a double, and a home run turned a 2-0 lead into a 5-2 deficit the Saints would not be able to come back from. Varland did push through to finish four innings, but was charged with seven runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks. He struck out three. The bullpen didn’t fare any better, as the trio of Austin Brice (1 IP, H, 2 ER, 3 BB), Francis Peguero (2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), and Ronny Henriquez (1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, K) all allowed multiple runs as well. The Storm Chasers pounded out 13 hits and drew nine walks compared to the Saints eight and three respectively, in their blowout win. The Saints scored their other two runs in the top of the fourth thanks to singles from Anthony Prato, Jair Camargo, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. for an RBI, before a wild pitch brought Camargo home. Stevenson (2-for-5, R, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 K), Martin (2-for-5, R, HR, RBI, K), and Prato (2-for-3, R, BB, K) led the way for the Saints on offense. Trevor Larnach was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. The Saints managed to strike out four times in the eighth inning as well, which is always fun to witness. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 0, Arkansas 5 Box Score The Wind Surge were unable to solve Traveler’s pitching on Tuesday, managing just seven hits with none of them going for extra bases. They also had just three at-bats with runners in scoring position, but their lone hit wasn’t enough to bring a run home. Starting pitcher Travis Adams kept his team in the game for the first 4 1/3 innings. He gave up just one run on four hits, two walks, and struck out five. Denny Bentley came on in the fifth and recorded the next three outs. He allowed a run of his own on two hits while striking out two. Curtis Taylor got them through the seventh inning still down just 2-0, retiring all five hitters he faced including two K’s. Arkansas got three insurance runs in the eighth off of Miguel Rodriguez. He struck out two in his lone inning but also surrendered four hits. Tanner Schobel and Seth Gray each had two hits in four at-bats to lead the lineup. Alex Isola, Dalton Shuffield, and Yoyner Fajardo collected the other three singles. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, South Bend 6 Box Score The Kernel’s Christian MacLeod took the bump in this one, and was solid for five innings, falling one inning short of a quality outing. He allowed three runs on six hits, walked one, and struck out four. He left the game down 3-1, as the Kernels were only able to score on a Misael Urbina solo home run in the third inning to that point. It was his fourth home run of the season. Reliever Jarret Whorff came on for the sixth and it didn’t go quite as well for him. In one-plus innings, he allowed three runs of his own on six hits, and the Kernels were down 6-1. Malik Barrington entered the game in the seventh, and allowed a few inherited runners to score, but otherwise finished the game for the visiting team. He allowed two hits and struck out four in two innings. Cedar Rapids scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but left too many runners on base to come all the way back. With one out and the bases loaded in the eighth, a sac fly from Noah Miller was all they could muster. In the ninth, a double from Jorel Ortega scored Ben Ross, who had walked to lead off the inning. Emmanuel Rodriguez was the only hitter with multiple knocks, going 2-for-4 on the night. Urbina added a walk to his home run. As a team they had just six hits total, and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. MUSSEL MATTERS Daytona 1, Fort Myers 7 Box Score While the Tortugas struck first against Mighty Mussels starter Ben Ethridge, the right-hander’s lineup had his back, delivering a stronger counter-punch in the bottom half of the first inning. Luke Keaschall got them going with a one-out triple, and Ricardo Olivar followed with a single to tie the game at one. Two batters later, Rubel Cespedes hit his 11th homer of the season, making it 3-1. After the minor blip in the first, Ethridge worked around baserunners for the rest of his five total innings. In all he was charged with just one earned run on six hits and four walks. He struck out three, with 52 of his 83 pitches going for strikes (63%). Fort Myers—or more specifically, Keaschall, Olivar, and Cespedes—tacked on two more runs in each of the third and fifth innings to extend their lead to 7-1. In the third Keaschall led off with a double, Olivar traded places with him for another RBI, and Cespedes later delivered a sac fly. In the fifth Keaschall drew a walk, Olivar was hit by a pitch, and Cespedes clubbed an RBI double. Danny De Andrade added a sac fly. Starting his rehab assignment from Wichita, righty Sean Mooney pitched the sixth inning for Fort Myers. He faced four batters, walking one and striking out two. Danny Moreno then pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowing one hit and one walk. He struck out two. Zach Veen finished off the game with a scoreless ninth inning, giving up one hit and striking out one. Both teams had eight total hits in the game, but the Mighty Mussels were 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position, compared to 2-for-10 for the Tortugas. Keaschall (2-for-2, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 BB), Olivar (2-for-3, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI), and Cespedes (2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI) obviously led the way. Alex Sayre also chipped in two hits in four at-bats. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Red Sox 1, FCL Twins 3 Box Score The Twins had just four hits in the game compared to the Red Sox’s seven, but they did get one hit with the bases loaded to score two, while the visitors went 0-12 with runners in scoring position. Anderson Nova’s two-run single in the fourth inning put the Twins on the scoreboard first, and a few walks later they had a 3-0 lead that would hold up. Byron Chourio drew two walks, one of them good for an RBI, and stole a base. Bryan Acuna and Wilfri Castro collected the other two hits, with Castro’s going for a double. Walker Jenkins singled, stole a base, and drew a walk in four plate appearances, which turned out to be his last game on the back fields in Fort Myers. Eduardo Soriano made the start and completed 5 2/3 innings. He scattered four hits, walked one, and struck out two. Relievers Julio Bonilla (2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) and Jeferson Lopez (1 IP) kept the Red Sox at bay the rest of the way. In other FCL news, pitcher Kyle Bischoff was named the FCL pitcher of the week. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Eduardo Soriano, FCL Twins (W, 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 K) Hitter of the Day - Rubel Cespedes, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2-for-3, R, 2B, HR (11), 4 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY We have again updated our top 20 prospect list. Check out the full list here and how they performed on Tuesday below! #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 0-for-4 #2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL) - 1-for-3, BB, K, SB (4) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4 #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, R, HR (5), RBI #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-for-4 #10 - Luke Keaschall (Fort Myers) - 2-for-2, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 BB #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 3 K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 2 K #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, RBI WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-5, 9.20 ERA) Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (2-3, 4.56 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Andrew Morris (3-1, 2.57 ERA) Daytona @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - RHP Jack Noble (0-2, 3.15 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

Evaluating prospects has become ingrained in fans' evaluation of a team. It's easy to point at organizations like the Baltimore Orioles or Houston Astros that went into full rebuild mode to restock the farm system with the promise of better long-term outcomes. However, there are plenty of examples of teams who get caught in rebuild mode without ever having sustained success at the big-league level. Dreaming of the future can be fun for fans, but there are no guarantees that prospects will ever pan out. According to MLB.com, the Twins' farm system was moderately helped by jumping up to the fifth overall pick in MLB's first Draft Lottery. The 2023 MLB Draft was widely considered a five-player draft with a quintet of elite players sitting at the top of draft boards. Minnesota's farm system moved up two spots from 19th to 17th overall in MLB Pipeline's reranking of farm systems following the draft. Since 2021, this is the highest the Twins farm system has ranked, with the club's lowest ranking being 23rd (2022 midseason rank). Currently, the Twins have two prospects that rank among baseball's top 30, and an argument can be made for either to be the team's top overall prospect. Brooks Lee has remained at the top of the Twins Daily prospect rankings even after the team drafted Walker Jenkins with the fifth overall pick. Lee was recently promoted to Triple-A and has a chance to debut in the next calendar year, so it's expected for him to graduate from the team's prospect rankings by 2025. Instead, the team's top prospects project to be among baseball's best. Jonathan Mayo, one of MLB.com's prospect writers, believes the Twins will have two of baseball's top five prospects by 2025. Walker Jenkins is only a handful of games into his professional career, but many national outlets already rank him as a top-20 prospect. In his first nine professional games, he went 13-for-38 (.342 BA) with two doubles, one triple, and two home runs. Also, he's gone 3-for-4 in steal attempts and limited himself to six strikeouts. There is certainly a lot of pressure on high draft picks to perform in their first taste of professional baseball, and Jenkins has passed the first test. Emmanuel Rodriguez joins Lee and Jenkins in most national top-100 rankings and can potentially be a top-5 prospect by 2025. He's spent his age-20 season at High-A, where he has hit .228/.391/.443 (.834) with seven doubles, five triples, and 15 home runs in 81 games. After a slow start, Rodriguez has found his power stroke in August with four home runs and a .962 OPS in 12 games to start the month. For the second straight season, he is over two years younger than the average age of the competition at his level. In over 370 plate appearances, he has only faced a younger pitcher in two at-bats. The Twins have other prospects that will be among the team's top prospects by 2025. Marco Raya, one of the team's top pitching prospects, is pitching at Double-A in his age-20 season. Connor Prielipp will miss most of the 2024 season after having his second UCL procedure in three seasons on his left arm. He should be back to full strength by 2025 and working his way back into the team's top prospect conversation. Charlee Soto, the team's 2023 competitive balance pick, has yet to make his professional debut and might be the team's top pitching prospect by 2025. Brandon Winokur has been in the same FCL Twins line-ups with Jenkins and is off to a hot start. It will be interesting to see how these two players push each other as they club the organizational ladder. Few top Twins prospects have had a clear runway at the big-league level because injuries have impacted players, including Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, and Austin Martin. Prospect development only sometimes follows a linear path, and other hiccups can occur with a player's performance from top prospect to MLB contributor. Jenkins and Rodriguez have two of the highest ceilings of any prospects coming through the Twins system in quite some time, and it's exciting to project what the team's farm system can look like in two years. Will the Twins have two of baseball's top five prospects by 2025? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

The Twins were able to celebrate Joe Mauer's induction into the team's Hall of Fame by sweeping the Diamondbacks. You can read all about that and the Twins complete inactivity at the trade deadline in Nick’s Week in Review. And there was a lot that happened in the (still fully intact) system. WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints Overall: 18-15 (2-4 last week) in the second half; In second place in the IL West, trailing Louisville by one game. Overview: It was a down week, dropping out of a first place tie. The Saints, though, are still only 2.5 games outs in their attempt to win the second half title and qualify for the playoffs. 😍: It was a fun week for prospect-watching because the Twins promoted top prospect Brooks Lee, top 20 prospect Yunior Severino and borderline top 30 prospect DaShawn Kiersey. It's entirely conceivable to believe that Severino and Kiersey are doing well enough on their year-long audition to be added to the 40-man roster. The problem for both is that they play positions that have good depth in the organization. How do Severino and Miranda both fit as third basemen? Kiersey is two years older than Gilberto Celestino and, along with most of the other outfielders, bats lefthanded. But Celestino will be out of options going into next year, so it's possible that Kiersey could just replace him. 🔥: I was critical of Austin Martin in this very space last week and he turned around and had a very good week. He only had four hits on the week (in five games), but they came in only 13 at-bats because he also drew seven walks (versus only three strikeouts). He hit for two doubles and was three-of-four in stolen base attempts. He's not playing shortstop at all anymore, but he does add a dynamic right-handed alternative in left field and can also play second base. As the roster flotsam clears up this winter, it's entirely possible the Twins just replace the out-of-options Nick Gordon by giving his roster spot to Austin Martin. Aside from their handedness, they would provide the Twins with pretty similar skillsets. 🔥: Kody Funderburk is almost 27 years old, but it wouldn't be shocking if the Twins took a look at him in the big-league bullpen before the end of the year. He's a tall lefty who began the year at Wichita, but has thrown 43 2/3 innings and struck out 65 for the Saints. His numbers are extremely impressive. In his three games (five innings) this week, he allowed a single run on a hit and three walks. he struck out nine. Most impressively, though, Funderburk has absolutely destroyed right-handed batters (.183/.254/.209. .463 OPS). He hasn't allowed a home run this entire year. He's allowed only three doubles to right-handers in 115 at-bats. 🔥: Trevor Larnach led the team with nine hits and tied for the lead with three extra-base hits. He put up a 1.229 OPS despite not hitting a home run. He's been passed on the organizational depth chart by Matt Wallner and Max Kepler has been raking his way into "maybe the Twins should pick up his option for next year" territory. That would ticket Larnach for St. Paul again, where he would be on his final optional assignment. 🥶: Lee (1-13), Severino (1-8) and Kiersey (2-9) are all adjusting in their first handful of games at the highest minor-league level. 🥶: Blayne Enlow has really slowed down since his promotion to AAA, but he's nearly 80 innings on the year, exceeding his combined innings in the 2021 and 2022. Prior to COVID, Enlow had broken the 100 innings mark in 2019, but obviously didn't throw in games in 2020. Enlow gave up four hits and walked four in three innings allowing four runs (three earned). He struck out two. What's Next: The Saints, who own the best second-half home record (11-4) will welcome the Louisville Bats to CHS Field. Louisville is on a six-game winning streak and are the hottest team in the International League. Two giants colliding! Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Overall: 15-18 (4-2 last week) in the second half; 2.5 games behind NW Arkansas and in fourth place in the Texas League. Overview: Wichita sent their three best hitters to St. Paul, but still managed to take four wins in the series. 🔥: Dalton Shuffield has really bounced around since signing as a 10th-round pick in 2022. He got 48 AAA at-bats last year, but has mostly played in Fort Myers this year. He made a brief stop at Cedar Rapids before getting to Wichita and being productive in three games. His three home runs last week (in eight at-bats) were one more than he had in his previous 129 at-bats this season. 🔥: Yoyner Fajardo led the team with 12 hits, six runs and four doubles last week. He also hit two home runs and tied for the team lead with six runs batted in and four stolen bases. The 24-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder has a .811 OPS and 34 stolen bases. He doesn't have a typical corner-outfield profile, but he's definitely impressed. 🔥: Pierson Ohl put up another great start. He allowed only three hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out five. Through 46 AA innings, he's struck out 43 with only nine walks. His WHIP is 1.09 and he's actually pulling off the rare feat of making baseball look easier despite moving to a harder level. 🔥: Patrick Winkel had two doubles and two home runs among his seven hits in 16 at-bats. He also drew six walks for an impressive 1.529 OPS. 🥶: Tanner Schobel continues to struggle through 15 games at AA. He went 3-for-19 with two doubles this past week. With the heart of their lineup promoted, someone is going to have step up and eyes will be on Schobel. 🥶: Marco Raya was here last week after a dismal start. This one was even worse. He got pulled without recording an out. He gave up six runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk. It will be interesting to see how Raya is handled this week. The kid gloves have been on with him at almost every turn. What's Next: Heading to NW Arkansas, looking to close the gap in the league standings. High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels Overall: 23-13 (5-1 last week) in the second half, 2.0 games ahead of Peoria. The Kernels have clinched a postseason berth. Overview: A loss on Sunday prevented the Kernels from the six-game sweep. 🔥: Like Emmanuel Rodriguez's performances, I'm hot and cold on him. When it's bad, it's almost unbelievably bad. When it's good - like this past week - it's really, really good. He was 6-for-17 with three home runs. He walked five times and only struck out three times. He also stole two bases. 🔥: After struggling in his debut last week, Andrew Morris picked up a win, throwing six strong innings, allowing only one run on five hits. He struck out nine batters. 🔥: Cory Lewis didn't quite strike out a batter per inning (five in six innings), but he did only allow one run on three hits and a walk. 🔥: Two bullpen members deserve a mention: Jordan Carr pitched four near-perfect innings last week. He struck out three and allowed a single walk. He was in the starting rotation until around Memorial Day, but had a 1.45 WHIP and an opposing batting average of .295. Since the transition, Carr has not allowed an earned run (eight appearances, 23 innings) and has reduced his WHIP and opposing batting average in each appearance (down to 1.05 and .211). Miguel Rodriguez has also been very good. He's 14-for-14 in save opportunities. He's struck out 42 in 41 innings over 33 appearances. His WHIP is 1.05 and his opposing batting average is .212. Carr and Rodriguez are nice back-end for a playoff team. 🔥: Both Jorel Ortega (5-15, 2B, 3B, HR) and Noah Miller (6-18, 2B, HR) had weeks with an OPS over 1.000. 🥶: It's easier to overlook the Kala'i Rosario strikeouts when he's banging home runs. It's less easy when he's striking out 12 times in 21 a-bats. What's Next: The Kernels will head to last-place Quad Cities (12-24), but they'll need to stay hot to keep Peoria and their eight-game winning streak at bay. Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Overall: 15-21 (3-3 last week) in the second half, 10.0 games out of first place. Overview: A split with Dunedin! Reason to celebrate... but Dunedin is tied for last place with Fort Myers. 🔥: Luke Keaschall is by far the best prospect the Mighty Mussels have and he had a very good week with two doubles in his seven hits. He also stole two bases. 🔥: Jarret Whorff had a great start, allowing only one run on two hits in six innings while striking out nine. It's his best start since moving into the rotation in early July. 🔥: Ricardo Olivar tied for the team lead in hits with seven and also was one of three players to hit a home run. He also stole a base. 🔥: Ben Ethridge allowed three hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball. He struck out five. 🤔: Fort Myers just isn't a very good team this year. We're not going to pick too much on the guys that are struggling. Hopefully there are some more prospect reinforcements on the way to help. What's Next: Bradenton (23-13) will come to town. Rookie: FCL Twins Overall: 17-25 (1-4 last week) on the season. 10.5 games behind the FCL Pirates in the FCL South. 😍: Walker Jenkins is slowing getting back into the baseball thing... and I think he's going to be ok. 🔥: Brandon Winokur led the team with eight hits, six runs and four runs batted in his first few days playing professional baseball. Impressively, Winokur has been playing more shortstop than anything else. Drafted as an outfielder and projected to eventually fit in a corner, the Twins must think that there's a chance Winokur could stay in the dirt (most likely at third base). 🥶: The young international, newsworthy guys - Jose Rodriguez, Yasser Mercedes, Byron Chourio and Bryan Acuna - are all Top 30-type guys and still struggling. Chourio had the best week going 5-for-13. 🥶: Lots of crooked numbers on the pitching side of things and that's not ideal. No one threw more than two innings and had an ERA under 4.00 and only one had a WHIP under 1.40. Rookie: DSL Twins Overall: 9-32 (1-4 last week) on the season. 24.5 games back in the DSL South. 🔥: Yency De Jesus was really good two weeks ago and even better last week. He tied for the lead in innings pitched (5) and strikeouts (5), and led WHIP (0.40) while not allowing a run. 🔥: Dameury Pena led the team with five hits. Despite not hitting for any power, he still managed to get on base 54% of the time so his OPS was near 1.000. 😏: Hendry Chivilli is coming on. He collected four hits in 13 at-bats, including a triple. He is the highest-regarded prospect on this roster. 🥶: There's a reason this team isn't winning many games and a lot of that has to with poor pitching. PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week. The Prospect Tracker will be updated periodically throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. Season-long stats will be in parenthesis. 20. Jose Rodriguez, OF, FCL Twins: 4-21, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K, CS. (.252/.318/.404. .722 OPS) 19. Brent Headrick, RHP, Minnesota. St. Paul: 0-1, 13.50 ERA, 4 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 1 HB, 3 BB, 3 K. (1.42 WHIP, .271 BAA); currently pitching out of the Twins bullpen. 18. Jose Salas, INF, Cedar Rapids: currently on the Development List and appears on the FCL Twins roster but has not played. (.181/.268/.265. .533 OPS), previously played two games at shortstop and committed one error in seven chances (13 total; four errors in 43 chances total), played one game (14 total) at third base and committed no errors in one chance (three errors in 32 total chances). He played five games (40 total) at second base with no errors in 16 chances (three errors in 161 total chances). 17. Yunior Severino, 3B, St. Paul. Wichita/St. Paul: 2-14, RBI, R, 2 BB, 5 K. (AA/AAA combined .284/.360/.555. .910 OPS). 16. Kala'i Rosario, OF, Cedar Rapids: 3-21, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, 4 BB, 12 K. (.262/.377/.481. .858 OPS). 15. Jordan Balazovic, RHP, Minnesota. St. Paul: (1.60 WHIP, .261 BAA); currently pitching out of the Twins bullpen. 14. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 6 BB, 4 K (1.63 WHIP, .271 BAA); Minnesota: (1.85 WHIP, .313 BAA) 13. Brandon Winokur, OF, FCL Twins: 8-20, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 7 K. (.321/.367/.500. .867 OPS), played four games at shortstop and committed one error in 17 chances and played two games at centerfield and committed no errors in eight chances. 12. Luke Keaschall, 2B, Fort Myers: 7-15, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K. (rookie/l-A combined .364/.516/.455. .971 OPS), played five games at second base and committed one error in 12 chances and played one game at third base and committed one error in two chances. 11. Yasser Mercedes, OF, FCL Twins: 2-7, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 SB. (.196/.248/.381. .629 OPS) 10. Tanner Schobel, INF, Wichita: 3-19, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K, CS. (high-A/AA combined .268/.357/.456. .813 OPS), played four games (35 total) at second base and committed one error in seven chances (6 errors in 142 total chances), played two games (52 total) at third base and committed one error in four chances (four errors in 107 total chances). 9. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids: Announced that Prielipp will be undergoing season-ending elbow surgery. (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA) 8. Austin Martin , SS, St. Paul: 4-13, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 7 BB, 3 K, 3 SB, CS. (rehab/AAA combined .231/.344/.333. .677 OPS), played two games (four total) in left field and committed no errors in six chances (no errors in 10 total chances) and played three games (17 total) at second base and committed no errors in 11 chances (two errors in 72 total chances). Has also played three games in centerfield and committed no errors in seven chances(Not so sure we can call him a shortstop prospect anymore,) 7. David Festa, RHP, Wichita: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 HB, 3 BB, 9 K. (1.44 WHIP, .261 BAA) 6. Charlee Soto, RHP: Has not played in a professional game. 5. Matt Wallner, OF, Minnesota: St. Paul (.291/.403/.524. .927 OPS); currently with the Twins. 4. Marco Raya, RHP, Wichita: 0-1, INF ERA, 0.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 4 ER, HRA, BB, 2 K. (AA/Hi-A combined 1.10 WHIP, .216 BAA) 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 6-17, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB, 3 K, 2 SB, CS. (.228/.396/.452. .848 OPS) 2. Walker Jenkins, OF, FCL Twins: 4-8, 2B, RBI, SB, CS. (.500/.500/.625. 1.125 OPS) 1. Brooks Lee, SS, St. Paul. Wichita/St. Paul: 3-21, 2B, RBI, R, 4 K ,SB. (AA/AAA combined .285/.356/.461. .817 OPS), played 5 games (85 total) at shortstop and committed two errors in 14 chances (14 errors in 342 total chances). Lee has committed one error in three chances in one game at third base this season. PLAYERS OF THE WEEK HITTER - Yoyner Fajardo, Wichita. PITCHER - Kody Funderburk, St. Paul.

TRANSACTIONS OF Walker Jenkins assigned to FCL Twins SS Brooks Lee promoted to Triple-A St. Paul OF DaShawn Keirsey Jr. promoted to Triple-A St. Paul INF Yunior Severino promoted to Triple-A St. Paul INF Ernie Yake assigned to Double-A Wichita OF Willie Joe Garry Jr promoted to Double-A Wichita INF Dalton Shuffield promoted to Double-A Wichita SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 6, St. Paul 3 Box Score The big news for St. Paul was the promotion of Brooks Lee from Double-A Wichita. He wasn’t in the lineup for Thursday’s matinee action, but presumably will be tomorrow. It was Randy Dobnak’s turn on the mound, and he’s put together a great run of outings recently. Going five strong (no runs, no hits), Dobnak didn’t get an out in the sixth inning and was lifted following three hits. He was charged with three runs while walking four and striking out seven. Staying hot, Andrew Stevenson tripled for the sixth time this season, and then Anthony Prato’s 18th double brought him home and put the Saints on the board. Dobnak took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but then things unraveled. Columbus grabbed three straight hits, and when Mark Contreras threw to the cutoff man after the final one, Jair Camargo lazily played the throw, booting it, and allowing a run to score. Jose Tena doubled off of Ronny Henriquez to bring in both inherited runners, and St. Paul was now looking at a 3-1 deficit. In the seventh inning Austin Martin made a poor throw to catcher Tony Wolters, allowing a run to score, before a sacrifice fly plated another for the Clippers. Mounting a comeback in the eighth inning, Camargo blasted a two-run shot that was completely annihilated. After Gilberto Celestino walked, he was able to jog around the rest of the bases. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, and facing Guardians prospect George Valera, Michael Boyle walked in a run allowing his first run of the season. James Karinchak, still working to figure out his command issues on the farm for Cleveland, got the ninth against the Saints. He closed it out and the Saints fell 6-3 on Thursday. Camargo was the lone St. Paul hitter to record multiple hits. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 10, Wichita 0 Box Score Carlos Luna got the ball tonight for Wichita and went 4 1/3 innings allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits. He didn't give up a walk but struck out three. A pair of homers did him in. Jorbit Vivas launched a solo homer for Tulsa in the first inning to open the scoring. They added another in the third inning to make it 2-0 and tacked on a third during the fourth inning. Vivas plated another with a sacrifice fly during the fifth inning and Tulsa led 4-0. Josh Stowers made matter worse for the Wind Surge when he blasted a two-run homer in the sixth inning. For a team pilfered of talent today, things could have been going better. Vivas kept being a pest with a seventh inning single, and the score was now 7-0. Diego Cartaya added another on a single before Stowers did more damage and it was 10-0 deficit. Yoyner Fajardo did have a pair of hits out of the leadoff spot tonight, but those were two of the three Wichita hits. This was one to forget. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Lansing 5 Box Score Kyle Jones started tonight for Cedar Rapids and went five innings allowing four runs on eight hits. Two homers were the big bugaboo, but he did strike out three while walking none. After getting down 1-0 in the first inning, Cedar Rapids answered with runs of their own. Kala'i Rosario doubled for the 24th time scoring both Noah Miller and Emmanuel Rodriguez before Andrew Cossetti brought him in on a sac fly. The three runs were enough to win the inning and give the Kernels a 3-1 lead. A Carson McCusker third inning single drove in Cossetti and made it a 4-1 game. Emmanuel Rodriguez added another run in the fourth inning with his 14th homer of the season, and the addition was necessary as Lansing scored three in the top of the fifth. Brennan Milone homered in the sixth even to even the score, and the Kernels lead was gone. In the eighth inning Noah Miller roped his 11th double, driving in Kyler Fedko, and putting the Kernels back in front. Ben Ross then took a bases loaded walk to bring home Miller before the inning ended. Ross grabbed a pair of hits as did Noah Cardenas. A.J. Labas and Niklas Rimmel combined to work scoreless relief for Cedar Rapids. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 11, Dunedin 1 Box Score Juan Mercedes made the start Thursday for Fort Myers. He worked four innings of two-hit baseball allowing just a single unearned run. Mercedes also struck out four while scattering three walks. After getting behind in the first inning, Fort Myers took a second inning lead and never gave it back. Maddux Houghton singled to score Nate Baez before a balk during Jay Harry's at bat allowed Dylan Neuse to come home. In the third inning Neuse recorded his 13th double of the season to bring home Rafael Cruz, and then Kyle Schmidt singled home both Baez and Neuse. In the fifth inning Alec Sayre lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home Cruz again, and make it a 6-1 game. Another balk, this time with Yohander Martinez batting, allowed Sayre to cross the plate and make it 7-1. Ricardo Olivar singled in Houghton during the inning to add another run, and Baez walked on a wild pitch that allowed Olivar an opportunity to scamper home. In the ninth inning Martinez reached on an error that allowed Schmidt to score before Olivar drew a bases loaded walk driving in Sayre. For the second time today, the Twins system was part of an 11-1 game in Florida, but this time they were on the right side of it. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Rays 11, FCL Twins 1 Box Score It was an exciting day for the FCL Twins as they wrote 2023 first-round pick Walker Jenkins’ name in the lineup for the first time. Brayan Medina was on the bump to start the game, but allowed three runs on two hits before being removed from the game without recording an out. Jenkins batted third for the FCL Twins, and that slotted him in just ahead of fellow Twins draftee Brandon Winokur. In Jenkins’ first professional at bat, he ripped a double to left field. Pitching woes continued for the Twins, this time reliever Pierce Banks, as he allowed a five-spot in the fourth inning to make it a 9-0 game. The Twins did get on the board in the fourth inning when Endy Rodriguez singled home Winokur. They needed to get to work if a comeback was in the cards. Unfortunately the Rays added two more runs, making it an 11-1 lead. With 16 hits on the day, they had plenty of opportunities. Jenkins finished with two hits, on of which was a double, and a stolen base during his debut. He was the lone Twins batter to record a pair of hits on the afternoon. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Cardinals 6, DSL Twins 3 (F/7) Box Score The DSL Twins faced off against the same organization the big league club is playing later on Thursday. Yency De Jesus made the start and worked five strong innings of no-hit baseball. He allowed a pair of walks but struck out five. Moises Lopez opened the scoring in the first inning with a single that scored Jayson Bass. The Twins added another in the second inning on a solo shot by Ewing Matos, his first as a professional. In the third inning, Hendry Chivilli lofted a sacrifice fly allowing Ariel Castro an opportunity to cross the plate. Unfortunately, things got out of hand in the sixth inning and the Cardinals took the lead. Adding two more in the top of the seventh, the lead now was 6-3. No Twins hitters recorded multiple hits, and they couldn’t mount a comeback. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Randy Dobnak (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Day – Dylan Neuse (Fort Myers) - 3-4, 3 R, RBI, 2B(13), BB, K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - Did not play, but he was promoted to the Saints. #2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 2-4, 2B, SB(1) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-2, 2 R, RBI, BB, HR(14) #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-3, K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-1, 3 BB, K, SB(6) #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-2 #13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 1-3, R, BB, K #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B(24), 2 K #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-4 FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05PM CST) - LHP Blayne Enlow Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Christian MacLeod Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30PM CST) - RHP Ben Ethridge Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games!

It was really a good day overall in the Twins organizations. The Saints got a big win in Ohio. The Wind Surge got a tremendous pitching performance, and a great all-around game from their catcher. Two Top 20 prospects on the Kernels powered the Kernels to another win. A 2023 draft pick helped lead the Mussels to another win, and a lefty signed from the independent leagues tossed six great innings in his fifth pro start. And there was a rarity in the FCL game played on Wednesday, something you likely will never see again... a complete game from a 17-year-old. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Wednesday. Minnesota Twins: 55-54 St. Paul Saints: 60-43 Wichita Wind Surge: 41-56 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 60-38 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 47-51 FCL Twins: 17-22 DSL Twins: 9-30 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Lots of players were added to the FCL Twins roster for procedural purposes. When a player is signed, the organization has 15 days to add them to a roster. Several 2023 draft picks and non-drafted free agents were added to the FCL Twins roster on Wednesday. Some of them may start getting into game action soon. One name that you will notice has not been assigned is Walker Jenkins. He just signed a week ago, so they still have time to add him to the FCL Twins roster. Here is a look at the 2023 Twins draft picks, and players signed as undrafted free agents since then. 1st Round: OF Walker Jenkins (signed last week) Comp A: RHP Charlee Soto (will be assigned soon) 2nd Round: IF Luke Keaschall (assigned to FCL Twins on 7/27, promoted to Fort Myers on Monday) 3rd Round: OF Brandon Winokur (assigned to FCL Twins on 7/27) 4th Round: RHP Tanner Hall (assigned to FCL Twins) 5th Round: RHP Dylan Questad (assigned to FCL Twins) 6th Round: SS Jay Harry (assigned to FCL Twins on 7/27, promoted to Fort Myers on Monday) 7th Round: RHP Nolan Santos (assigned to FCL Twins) 8th Round: RHP Jace Stoffal (assigned to FCL Twins) 9th Round: RHP Jack Dougherty (assigned to FCL Twins) 10th Round: LHP Ross Dunn (assigned to FCL Twins) 11th Round: RHP Ty Langenberg (assigned to FCL Twins) 12th Round: RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto (assigned to FCL Twins) 13th Round: RHP Jeremy Lee (assigned to FCL Twins) 14th Round: RHP Xander Hamilton (assigned to FCL Twins) 15th Round: RHP Spencer Bengard (assigned to FCL Twins) 16th Round: RHP Anthony Silvas (assigned to FCL Twins) 17th Round: LHP Kade Bragg (assigned to FCL Twins) 18th Round: RHP Hector Garcia Jr (assigned to FCL Twins) 19th Round: 1B Sam Parker - Did not sign. Heading to Chipola which means he could be a draft-and-follow before next year’s draft. 20th Round: OF Ashton Larson - Did not sign. He’s headed to LSU. Undrafted Free Agents RHP Devin Kirby (assigned to FCL Twins) RHP Jacob King (assigned to FCL Twins) RHP Liam Rocha (assigned to FCL Twins) C Cole Elvis C Ildefonso Poncho Ruiz (assigned to FCL Twins on Monday) SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Columbus 3 Box Score Depending on how you choose to look at it, you could see Simeon Woods Richardson’s start through a positive or negative lens. On one level, he was charged with only an unearned run on just one hit in four innings. He had four strikeouts. However, he went just four innings because he walked six batters. So, how about we just say he did a very nice job of limiting any damage. The bullpen did a nice job too and the offense came up with enough big hits. Kody Funderburk came on and tossed a very strong 2 2/3 innings. He gave up no runs and no hits. He walked one and struck out five. Oliver Ortega got the next four outs, but he was charged with two unearned runs on just one hit. He had two strikeouts. Cole Sands struck out the side in the ninth for his first Save. The Saints got on the scoreboard first. Mark Contreras singled in Anthony Prato with the first run. It was followed by a Gilberto Celestino single that scored Trevor Larnach. The Clippers scored a run in the bottom of the inning. But Chris Williams responded in the top of the second with his 18th homer. The Saints added a run in the fourth when Austin Martin scored on an Ernie Yake double. In the fifth, they added their fifth (and final) run when Celestino “drove in” Trevor Larnach with a bases-loaded walk. Gilberto Celestino led the way. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI. Trevor Larnach walked twice. Austin Martin walked twice and then stole two bases. Anthony Prato added his 17th double. By the way, if you missed @Theo Tollefson's profile on Anthony Prato this week, please click here. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Tulsa 0 Box Score The Wind Surge received a fantastic start from Pierson Ohl on Wednesday night. The right-hander from Grand Canyon University tossed six shutout innings. He gave up just three hits, walked one and struck out five batters. Not a bad outing considering he didn't think he had his best stuff. Following the outing, he said, "In all honesty, the stuff I was working with didn't feel that great, but I was able to make a few high-quality pitches in big spots." From his perspective, the best seat in the house, Patrick Winkel played a role in Ohl's performance, but gives the credit to his pitcher. "Oh was great. he knew how he wanted to attack each hitter and execute his plans. That's the biggest thing. He wasn't falling behind and was putting his pitches where he wanted to. When he does that, he's really, really tough on hitters." Taylor Floyd came on and walked two, but gave up no runs, in 1 2/3 innings. Alex Scherff got the final four outs without any further damage. Wichita took the early lead in the first inning when DaShawn Keirsey singled in Brooks Lee. Lee had led off with a single and stole second base. Later in the inning, Keirsey stole his sixth base. Things stayed quiet until the bottom of the fourth inning when Patrick Winkel drilled his sixth homer of the season. An inning later, Alerick Soularie crushed his seventh home run to give the Surge a 3-0 lead. Soularie went 2-for-3 with the homer. He also stole his 11th bag. Keirsey went 2-for-4 with his 17th double. Winkel led the offense. He went 3-for-3 in the game with a walk, his ninth and tenth doubles, and his sixth homer. Plus, he caught a shutout. What a night! Winkel says that he has been working a lot on his swing and timing. "Trying to eliminate the soft contact has been a big focus. I feel confident, and I think the swing and approach is in a really god place. We have a great coaching staff and having their input has helped a ton as well." His battery mate (Ohl) noted, "Winkel and I have found a great connection this year, and we really love working together. He is very easy to throw to because he does his homework, and he's a guy you can trust back there. Almost feels like he's on the mound with me." KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Lansing 3 Box Score Emmanuel Rodriguez was not traded at the deadline, and on Wednesday, he put together a great game. This game was scoreless through the first three innings. Lancaster got on the board with two runs in the fourth and a solo homer in the fifth frame. Zebby Matthews was very solid. He was charged with those three runs over five innings. He gave up six hits in total and had five strikeouts with any walks. The Kernels powered their way back into the game in the bottom of the fifth. With Noah Miller on base, Rodriguez hit his 12th homer of the season. Kala’i Rosario followed with his 16th homer to tie the game and 3-3. The Kernels added a run in the sixth inning to take the lead. Jeferson Morales scored on a Kyler Fedko single. Then Rodriguez finished the night’s scoring with his second homer of the game and 13th of the season. The bullpen came up big for the Kernels Malik Barrington improved to 5-0 by tossing two scoreless, one-hit innings. Then Jordan Carr earned a two-inning save with two scoreless, hitless innings. Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kala’i Rosario each had two hits. Rosario added his 23rd double to go with his 16th home run. Rodriguez also threw out a baserunner trying to advance to third base. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Dunedin 2 Box Score The Mussels scored two runs in the first and again in the third inning to take a 4-1 lead. They added one more insurance run in the eighth inning and held on to a 5-2 win. Jarret Whorff made the start. The southpaw provided a very strong six innings of one-run ball. He gave up two hits, walked none and struck out a career-high nine batters. Wilker Reyes recorded four outs, two of them on strikeouts. Danny Moreno also got four outs, but he was charged with one run on one hit and two walks. He also had two strikeouts. Gabriel Yanez recorded his second save by striking out the one batter he faced to end the game. In the first inning, with a rehabbing-Hernan Perez at third base, Danny De Andrade grounded out but drove in the first run. Two batters later, a Nate Baez single drove in Luke Keaschall. In the third inning, Perez scored on Ricardo Olivar’s ninth home run. Olivar then scored the final run in the eighth inning on a wild pitch. In his second Mighty Mussels game, Keaschall went 2-for-3 with a walk with his second double. He also stole his second base in as many games. Ricardo Olivar went 2-for-3 with a walkalong with the home run. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA No Game Scheduled. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 0, DSL O’s 2 Box Score So the first thing you notice when looking through the DSL Twins box score is that a Twins pitcher tossed a complete game. Miguel Cordero, a 17-year-old from the Dominican Republic, is a really decent prospect. He pitched at the end of the DSL All-Star game on Sunday. How many pitches did he throw? It’s not like pitchers at this level are known for their control and limiting their pitch counts. The I saw it. This was the completion of a game that started on July 17th but was suspended by rain. Cordero started that game and worked until the game was suspended. Then on Wednesday, he came back and finished the rest of the game, and pitched well. In the game, he is credited with giving up two runs (1 earned) on nine hits in nine innings. He walked two and struck out seven batters. The two runs scored in the sixth inning which was in the transition. For the offense, well, there was no offense. Yilber Herrera had the team’s lone hit, a triple. I know I tweeted it on Sunday night, but the DSL All Star Game was on Sunday and three Twins prospects participated in the game. On Wednesday, the Twins Player Development account provided pictures. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Pat Winkel (Wichita) - 3-for-3, 2-2B(10), HR(6), BB, R, RBI Pitcher of the Day – Pierson Ohl (Wichita) - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 80 pitches, 49 strikes (61.3%). PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R, RBI, SB(6) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2-HR(13), 2 R, 3 RBI, K #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-for-3, BB, HR(6), R, 3 RBI, 2 K. #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, 2-SB(5). #12 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 3-for-4, 2B(2), R. #14 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 6 BB, 4 K, 76 pitches, 35 strikes (46.0%) #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B(23), HR(16), R, RBI, K #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Columbus (11:05 AM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (4-4, 4.26 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Carlos Luna (1-6, 5.50 ERA) Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (5-4,4.28 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Juan Mercedes (1-1, 11.12 ERA) FCL Rays @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Cardinals @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics!

Of course, the Nationals of 2019 were able to get it together before the end of July (but only to the tune of 57-51) and played very well down the stretch to finish 93-69. But the reality of that is that they still narrowly escaped a one-game playoff with the Brewers and went the distance with the Dodgers in the NLDS and the Astros in the World Series. Sure, they swept the Cardinals, but the difference between being the World Champion and not even being a memorable team was razor thin. And that can be the Twins this year. Literally, every team in the American League is doing their best anti-Nancy Kerrigan, "Why not me?!" "Why not now!?" The Rangers are good, but adding help like their ship is sinking. The Orioles are good, but they're average age is young enough to have like six fathers on the Yankees team. The Rays are slipping. The Astros. The Angels. The others in the American League East. They all think they can win the American League pennant and the way that the playoffs work in baseball; they're not wrong. So, back to the Twins. It's time to make the move. I'm not suggesting blowing it up for this year's team. I am, however, more than willing to accelerate the timeline of certain players. And by that I mean, turn a current prospect and their seven years of control into less years of control of a player who is ready to contribute right now. That big prospect is Emmanuel Rodriguez. I recorded a little five-minute video explaining why I'd trade him. I was on Twitter Sunday night posting about my fears of what he turns into. And I'm calling the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have two players that I'm mostly intrigued by: Reliever David Bednar and outfielder/first baseman Connor Joe. Would it be possible to pry both players away from them? I'm not sure. Bednar is 28 years old, but will enter arbitration for the first time this offseason. He's a luxury: a closer on a bad team. His numbers are relatively consistent over the last three years at 11.4-12.0 K/9, 2.7-2.8 BB/9, a WHIP between 0.97-1.10. There's always risk in trading for a reliever - ALWAYS! - but he's been really good since becoming a regular in Pittsburgh in 2021. This isn't Jorge Lopez. This is a significant step up. So much so that the price is going to be extremely high. Joe is even older. He will turn 31 in two weeks. But he's not even arbitration-eligible until following next season. The reason I'm buying Joe, though, is because of his ability to hit left-handed pitchers and play two positions of need (left field and first base). An .858 OPS against lefties is what the lineup needs and will continue to need as they churn through left-handed outfielders for the foreseeable future. The Pirates almost certainly ask for Brooks Lee - and they should - but I'd hold strong to Emmanuel Rodriguez being the headliner. They passed on Dylan Crews, here's the outfielder they need. Rodriguez would be too much to give up for Joe and not enough for Bednar, but you've at least closed the gap enough to have a conversation. What else would it take: I'd be shocked if it didn't take one of the AAA/MLB outfielders in Matt Wallner or Trevor Larnach. I'd let them take their pick. I'm sure it would take a young pitcher - like Louie Varland maybe. I wouldn't be overly inclined to trade Marco Raya, but if they want to take one of those 2022 drafted pitchers, ok. If they want two, I probably wouldn't walk away from the table either. They'd probably ask for a lottery ticket or two: Bryan Acuna carries extra value because his last name is Acuna and not Smith. Before you go too crazy, you'd have no issue trading Bryan Smith, born in Manchester, New Hampshire and struggling in the Florida Complex League. But he's Ronald's brother, born in Manchester, New Hampshire and struggling in the Florida Complex League, and the last one just netted Max Scherzer and $36 million. And there are a dozen others who you've maybe heard their name, but are six years away from hearing their name at Target Field... if they're lucky. It might also take more than that and that's fine. And it's made possible by headlining a deal with a Top 50 prospect who might never swing the bat enough to hit. Are Bednar and Joe enough to push the Twins over the top? Who knows. Would the Twins regret trading Rodriguez, Wallner, Varland, Acuna and some combination of others for them? Who knows on that either! But someone is going to come out on top in the American League Central and someone is going to win the American League Championship Series. Why not the Twins?

Don’t forget to read Nick’s Week in Review to catch up on the Twins week. The Twins are a league-best 8-2 since the All-Star break. But there's much more to be talking about as well. The draft wrapped up but the activity following the draft will start to ramp up this week with assignments. But, of course, the Twins still have business to do in regards to signing their first-round pick. You can catch up on all the draft news here. Additionally, the Trade Deadline is a week away too. TwinsDaily has you covered for that too! WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints Overall: 12-9 in the second half; 1.5 games behind Iowa. Overview: The Saints dropped four of six to Omaha, including the final three games. 🔥: Left-handed hitting outfielders continue to rake in the minors. This time it's Mark Contreras, who went 6-for-18 with two doubles and a home run. 🔥: Randy Dobnak made two starts, spanning 10 innings. He allowed only one run on five hits and three walks while striking out 11. 🔥: Not to be outdone by Contreras, Andrew Stevenson went 7-for-21 with a double and home run. 🔥: Louie Varland only struck out three in his six innings of work, but walked none and surrendered five hits. The two earned runs were the blemish but an overall strong start. 🥶: Blayne Enlow allowed seven runs on five hits and two walks. He only recorded four outs. 🥶: Gilberto Celestino went only 1-for-12 on the week. What's Next: St. Paul will play hose to Toledo this week. Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Overall: 9-12 in the second half; 3.5 games behind Arkansas. Overview: The Wind Surge lost four of six to Amarillo, ending two-game losing streaks with each of their wins. 🔥: Will Holland was 6-for-16 which is impressive enough, but four of his hits were of the extra-base variety (one double, one triple, two home runs). He also stole a base. 🔥: Marco Raya allowed a home run, but in four innings, he only allowed one other hit and struck out four. 🔥: Yunior Severino went a ridiculous 10-for-25 this week, with three doubles and a home run. He continues to strike out a lot, walking back to the dugout eight times over his last six games. 🔥: David Festa has had an uneven year at AA, but this was a successful week. In three innings, Festa yielded only two hits and a walk while striking out six. He definitely needs more seasoning, but seeing how his stuff plays out of the major league bullpen could be sorta fun. 🥶: Aaron Sabato went 2-for-19 with four walks and six strikeouts to post a .419 OPS. 🥶: Taylor Floyd appeared twice and retired four batters. He also allowed seven hits (including two home runs) that resulted in six runs. What's Next: Back home, Frisco will come visit Wichita. High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels Overall: 16-8 in the second half, 3.0 games ahead of Beloit and Peoria. Overview: It's been a continuation of a good month. After dropping the opener to Peoria, the Kernels take a five-game winning streak and first place in the standings into next week 🔥: We got to see a stretch of the good Emmanuel Rodriguez. He went 7-for-16 with a double, triple and home run. He drove in two and scored five runs. He drew six walks while striking out four. 🔥: C.J. Culpepper tossed five shutout innings. He struck out four. In 16 innings at High-A, Culpepper has allowed only nine hits and three walks with no earned runs. He's getting four times as many outs on the ground as he is in the error. 🔥: Noah Cardenas continues to impress. He collected six hits in 17 at-bats, including a double. 🔥: Both Zebby Matthews and Jaylen Nowlin pitched six innings and had a WHIP lower than one. They struck out six and seven, respectively. 🥶: Misael Urbina was 1-for-18. It's beyond time for a reset. 🥶: A.J. Labas gave up five hits and two runs in his only inning of work. What's Next: On the road for six games against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Overall: 11-13 in the second half, 6.0 games behind Clearwater. Overview: Fort Myers split with Bradenton, winning the last two games. 🔥: Ricardo Olivar led the Mighty Mussels with two home runs and six walks and tied for the lead with seven hits, three doubles, seven runs and five runs batted in. 🔥: Andrew Morris struck out eight in six innings and allowed only four hits and a walk. One of the two runs he allowed was unearned. Morris hasn't made it to high-A like many of his draft counterparts, but he's still have an impressive start to his pro career. This just happened: 🔥: Yohander Martinez was limited by his lack of power, but 6-for-16 was the best average (.375) on the team and his four walks helped him post a team-high OBP of .476. 🔥: Jose Oliveras walked four, which is too many in 4 2/3 innings. But he struck out eight and held opponents to a .125 batting average. 🥶: Kamron Willman struggled in his 14 at-bats, collecting only one hit. 🥶: Jarret Whorff struggled in his only start of the week. In 2 1/3 innings, he allowed six hits and issued four free passes. This resulted in five runs. What's Next: Fort Myers will return home to host Palm Beach. Rookie: FCL Twins Overall: 15-18, 10.0 games behind the FCL Pirates in the FCL South. 🔥: Endy Rodriquez led the team with six hits despite only getting 10 at-bats. He collected two doubles, a triple and a home run for a robust OPS of 1.936. 🔥: Brayan Medina pitched five innings in his start, allowing only three hits and two walks, but the result was two runs. His WHIP was 1.00 and his opposing batting average was .150. 🔥: Byron Chourio was almost perfect going 5-for-7 in the two games he played. 🥶: Jankel Ortiz, Andres Centeno and Alec Sayre all got double-digit at-bats and only had one hit a piece to show for it. 🥶: Pierce Banks (six hits, three walks and five runs) and John Klein (five hits, three walks and four runs) both struggled in this shortened week. Rookie: DSL Twins Overall: 7-25, 18.5 games back in the DSL South. 🔥: Ariel Castro led the lineup with five hits, including a home run, in 13 at-bats. He tied for the team lead with four RBIs and collected the team's lone stolen base. 🔥: Juan Cota had the best pitching performance of the week, allowing only one hit, a walk and an unearned run over four innings. He struck out six. Though he did hit two batters, the opposing batting average of .071 is impressive. 🔥: Moises Lopez had a double and home run among his four hits. Angel Trinidad had three doubles. 🥶: Christian Hernandez allowed three hits and four walks in three innings in the least impressive start of the week. 🥶: Hendry Chivilli is back in the lineup after being out of it since his two-hit debut, but he's been struggling. Only one hit (a double) in 11 at-bats. He did draw four walks, but struck out six times. PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week. The Prospect Tracker will be updated periodically throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. Season-long stats will be in parenthesis. 20. Jose Rodriguez, OF, FCL Twins: 4-15, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 5 K. (.270/.341/.426. .767 OPS) 19. Brent Headrick, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 3.00 ERA, 3 IP, H, ER, HB, 4 BB. (1.29 WHIP, .262 BAA). 18. Jose Salas, INF, Cedar Rapids: currently on the Development List. (.181/.268/.265. .533 OPS), previously played two games at shortstop and committed one error in seven chances (13 total; four errors in 43 chances total), played one game (14 total) at third base and committed no errors in one chance (three errors in 32 total chances). He played five games (40 total) at second base with no errors in 16 chances (three errors in 161 total chances). 17. Yunior Severino, 3B, Wichita: 10-25, 3 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 8 K, CS. (.285/.259/.525. .884 OPS). 16. Kala'i Rosario, OF, Cedar Rapids: 5-22, 2 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 K. (.271/.385/.477. .862 OPS). 15. Jordan Balazovic, RHP, Minnesota. St. Paul: (1.60 WHIP, .261 BAA); currently pitching out of the Twins bullpen. 14. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0, 3.60 ERA, 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 K (1.63 WHIP, .287 BAA); Minnesota: (1.85 WHIP, .313 BAA) 13. Brandon Winokur, OF: Has signed with the organization, but has not been assigned to a roster. 12. Luke Keaschall, 2B: Has signed with the organization, but has not been assigned to a roster. 11. Yasser Mercedes, OF, FCL Twins: 4-20, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 4 K, 2 SB. (.200/.244/.413. .657 OPS) 10. Tanner Schobel, INF, Wichita: 3-18, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K (high-A/AA combined .281/.364/.475. .839 OPS), played 3 games (28 total) at second base and committed no errors in 6 chances (5 errors in 123 total chances), played two games (48 total) at third base and committed no errors in one chance (three errors in 100 total chances). 9. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids: Announced that Prielipp will be undergoing season-ending elbow surgery. (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA) 8. Austin Martin , SS, St. Paul: 4-19, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K. (.164/.266/.218. .484 OPS), 7. David Festa, RHP, Wichita: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 K. (1.37 WHIP, .253 BAA) 6. Charlee Soto, RHP: Has signed with the organization, but has not been assigned to a roster. 5. Matt Wallner, OF, Minnesota: St. Paul (.291/.403/.524. .927 OPS); currently with the Twins. 4. Marco Raya, RHP, Wichita: 0-1, 2.25 ERA, 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, HRA, 4 K. (AA/Hi-A combined 0.92 WHIP, .176 BAA) 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 7-16, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, 6 BB, 4 K, SB, CS. (.228/.392/.434. .826 OPS) 2. Walker Jenkins, OF: Unsigned as of Sunday night. 1. Brooks Lee, SS, Wichita: 7-21, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K. (.283/.360/.472. .832 OPS), played 4 games (75 total) at shortstop and committed no errors in 16 chances (11 errors in 309 total chances). Lee has committed one error in three chances in one game at third base this season. PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Pitcher - Randy Dobnak. It's been a disappointing few years for Dobnak after exploding onto the scene and starting a playoff game for the Twins in 2019. Prior to the 2021 season, the Twins locked Dobnak up with a five-year extension which guaranteed him almost $10 million. He would spend the next handful of years in the Twins rotation and the "happily ever after" story would continue. Instead, Dobnak suffered a pulley injury to his right middle finger that derailed his career. Healthy again, Dobnak is starting to perform like the Randy of old and gives the organization some starter depth going into the late summer. Hitter - Emmanuel Rodriguez. He won't turn 21 until spring training next year, so even during the cold streaks it's too early to be alarmed. But during the hot streaks... woo boy. He's got all the tools, just too much swing-and-miss. He's this close to getting it straightened out and being a 21-year-old at AA knocking on the door for an opportunity in 2024. But right now it's more tease than something you can count on. And there was plenty of teasing over the last seven days.

TRANSACTIONS In triple-A, the St. Paul Saints placed SS Elliot Soto on the 7-day injured list with a right-thumb strain. In his place, SS Ernie Yake was promoted from the Wichita Wind Surge. With Yake moving upward in Wichita, the Wind Surge were assigned 2023 Cedar Rapids standout SS Tanner Schobel. The Kernels were involved in multiple moves on Tuesday, including transferring SS Jose Salas to the development list, receiving SS Mikey Perez from Fort Myers, and IF Keoni Cavaco from the FCL Twins. The Mighty Mussels sent OF Alec Sayre on a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. He batted leadoff with them on Tuesday as the designated hitter. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 0, Omaha 1 Box Score The Saints' Randy Dobnak delivered his best start of the 2023 season, finishing six one-hit innings against the Kansas City Royals' top affiliate. He walked two, struck out five, and recorded six groundouts compared to just two flyouts. If you recall his meteoric rise up the system in 2019, this is precisely the type of game he pitched, game-in and game-out. My fun stat from back in those days before he made his MLB debut was this: And he continued that trend all the way to the MLB playoffs that season. So forgive me if I’m a little giddy about this start from him after what he’s gone through the past few seasons. Unfortunately in this one, his competition was just as good. Storm Chasers' starter Anthony Veneziano went five shutout innings of his own, allowing just two hits and two walks to Saints hitters, while striking out seven. The St. Paul lineup got a single from Kyle Garlick and a walk from Trevor Larnach in the top of the first, and a one-out double from Austin Martin in the second, but only one other walk the rest of the game. Omaha’s pitchers retired the last 17 Saints hitter’s of the game. Dobnak was relieved by Michael Boyle to start the seventh, and he kept the game scoreless with a one-two-three inning. In the eighth the Saints went to righty Josh Winder and he got them to the ninth with the game still 0-0. In the bottom of the ninth, Winder gave up a leadoff double and it looked like the game was over on the next batter, but center fielder Mark Contreras fielded the single and gunned the runner out at home to preserve the tie, at least for a few more batters. He intentionally walked the next hitter to put a double-play in order, then picked up a strikeout for out number two, before another single into center didn’t have the same result as the first one, and the Storm Chasers' walked them off 1-0. Winder took the loss to move his record to 5-2 on the season with the Saints, and he was charged with one earned run on four hits and a walk in his 1 2/3 innings pitched, striking out two. Jorge Polanco was 0-for-4 and struck out three times as the DH, batting second in the second game of his rehab assignment. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 7, Amarillo 10 Box Score While the Wind Surge outhit the Sod Poodles 17-9 in the game, it was the long ball that the home team had the advantage that won out, out slugging them four to two. The ball was flying around and out of the Amarillo ballpark all night, getting no resistance from the dry 105 degree air. Wichita scored first in the top of the first, after Brooks Lee jumped on the first pitch of the game to line a single into center field. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. followed with a single of his own, before Alex Isola brought in Lee with a double down the third base line for a 1-0 lead later in the frame. The second inning started with some loud contact from Aaron Sabato, but his blast to center field hit off the wall for a double before he ran himself into an out at third base in the next at-bat. Carlos Luna made the start for the Wind Surge and that dry air reared its head from the second inning onward. He gave up a two-run homer in the second, a three-run bomb in the third, and a solo shot in the fourth before his outing came to an end. In all, Luna gave up eight earned runs on seven hits and a walk in his four innings, striking out five. Wichita’s offense did its best to keep pace early, as they added three runs in the third to take a 4-2 lead. Will Holland led off with a triple and was driven in by a single from Lee, before Keirsey Jr. clubbed his 12th homer of the season. After falling behind 7-4 after three, they closed the Amarillo lead to one in the fourth on Holland's fourth home run of the season, but from there, they couldn't capitalize on their opportunities. After starting with such promise, they finished just 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base for the game. Every hitter in the lineup collected at least one hit and six collecting multiple, with Holland leading the way from the nine-spot by going 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and two RBI, finishing a double shy of the cycle. Keirsey also had three hits in five at-bats, scoring two runs and driving in two. Yunior Severino had two doubles and a walk in five plate appearances, driving in one. The bullpen duo of Isaac Mattson (2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, K) and Francis Peguero (2 IP, K) finished the game for the Wind Surge. KERNELS NUGGETS Peoria 4, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score The Kernels got a quality effort from left-hander Jaylen Nowlin in this one, but his offense could not back him up. He finished six innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and zero walks while striking out seven. The only knock on Nowlin's outing was the bat of the Chief's number nine hitter, Darlin Moquete, who clubbed two solo home runs against him. In the sixth inning, Cedar Rapids cut the two-run lead in half thanks to Emmanuel Rodriguez's 11th home run, but that was all the lineup could muster. Noah Miller added his ninth double of the season to the effort, but as a team, the Kernels collected just three other hits, went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base for the game. After Nowlin was done, Malik Barrington (2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 K) and Matthew Swain (1 IP) finished the game for the pitching staff. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Bradenton 5 Box Score Right-hander Jack Noble made the start for the Mighty Mussels, and he was solid for his five innings. He allowed just one earned run on three hits and three walks while punching out four Marauders hitters. The lone run he gave up came on a solo home run on his first pitch of the game, so he recovered well after that. His lineup tied the game at one in the top of the fourth inning when the first three hitters singled, with Carlos Aguiar driving in Carson McCusker from second base. The first reliever summoned for Fort Myers was Wilker Reyes to start the sixth inning, and he proceeded to give up a two-run homer and the lead back to Bradenton 3-1. He gave up another run in the seventh but finished two innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out three. In the eighth inning, the Mighty Mussels could put another run on the board after Ricardo Olivar clubbed a one-out double and was driven in by a triple from Danny De Andrade to make the score 4-2. Zach Veen pitched the eighth inning to finish the game for Fort Myers and allowed an unearned run on one hit and one walk. Rebel Cespedes had two hits on the game to pace the offense. Gregory Duran reached base twice with a single and a walk in four plate appearances. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Rays 2, FCL Twins 4 Box Score The Twins got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the third inning when an RBI triple from Yasser Mercedes followed an Isaac Pena single. Jose Rodriguez then drove in Mercedes with a sac fly to make it 2-0. Daniel Pena put them ahead 4-0 in the sixth, following a Rodriguez walk and Harold Grant double with a two-RBI single. That was all the Twins needed, as their pitching staff was sharp throughout this one. Zarion Sharpe went the first 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and walking one. Kyle Bischoff went the next 1 1/3, walking one and striking out two before Eduardo Soriano did the heavy lifting. He finished the next 4 2/3 innings, allowing the Rays two runs (none earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out three. Yon Landaeta picked up his second save with 1 1/3 scoreless frames to close it out. He walked three and struck out four. The Penas -- Isaac and Daniel -- each had two hits in the game to lead the way. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Twins 11, DSL Giants Orange 20 Box Score Unlike their top-of-the-system brothers on Tuesday, the bottom of the system couldn't stop runs from causing the plate all game, as the teams combined for 31 runs on 24 hits and 16 walks, going 11-for-23 with runners in scoring position between them. That said, the Giants Orange squad got the better of the Twins, slugging four home runs compared to their two. The Twins lineup was led by Moises Lopez, who finished 4-for-5 with a double, home run, three runs scored, and four RBI. Ariel Castro (2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Ricardo Pena (2-for-3, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB), and Carlos Silva (2-for-5, 3 RBI) had multiple hits in the game. The Twins' pitching staff got knocked around all game, with only two innings with no runs scored by the Giants and just two of their six pitchers not being charged with one, though both those pitchers (Gerardo Abrego and Jose Betancourt) each pitched less than an inning. Starter Yency De Jesus did go 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs (four earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out five. His bugaboo was the long ball, as he surrendered three of the Giants' four home runs. Jose Vasquez had the most trouble, allowing seven earned runs on six hits and two walks while recording just one out. The DSL Twins will throw this one in the garbage and return on Thursday with fresh minds after a day off. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Randy Dobnak, St. Paul Saints (6 IP, H, 2 BB, 5 K) Hitter(s) of the Day - Will Holland, Wichita Wind Surge (3-for-3, 2 R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, BB) Moises Lopez, DSL Twins (4-for-5, 3 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, HR (11), RBI, BB, K #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - game in progress. #9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - game in progress. #10 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL) - 1-for-4, R, 3B, RBI, K #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, 2B #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4 #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) - 0-for-2, R, RBI, BB, K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, BB, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Louie Varland (3-0, 5.17 ERA) Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Chad Donato (1-5, 9.38 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (3-0, 1.52 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (11:00 AM CDT) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-2, 6.91 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

A couple notes: Neither the Twins Daily Rankings or the Big Board are my own lists, so I may move players up or down a little bit. But they help form the backbone of these thoughts. Current #1 Prospect: Brooks Lee The only draft prospects I would put above Lee are Dylan Crews, Paul Skenes and Wyatt Langford. I don't think there is much debate on that, as a matter of fact. Current #2 Prospect: Emmanuel Rodriguez (Royce Lewis has graduated from prospect status, the Twins Daily list just doesn't reflect that. It will be updated following the draft.) Rodriguez has not had a great year, but is still likely the Twins #2 prospect and, from a national perspective, is probably a borderline Top 100 prospect at this point. Just based on Rodriguez being around prospect #100 overall, you can immediately add a bunch of prospects ahead of him. The top two high schoolers (Walker Jenkins and Max Clark) for sure. Then the group of Kyle Teel, Tommy Troy, Chase Dollander, Arjun Nimmala, Noble Meyer and Rhett Lowder would all likely be Top 100-type guys. Personally, I'm lower on Troy than the Big Board and higher on the Meyer and Lowder. But that's about 10 (maybe 13-15) or so guys that would immediately jump into the Top 100 conversation and rank above or similarly to Rodriguez. Current #3 and #4 Prospects: Connor Prielipp and Marco Raya (Edouard Julien has graduated from prospect status, the Twins Daily list just doesn't reflect that. It will be updated following the draft.) This is where things get really interesting. Prielipp is high-upside, but has been dealing with arm issues for most of the year. Raya was recently promoted to Double-A, but the conversation would probably be more about Top 200-ish prospects when talking about Raya. I'd have a hard time not putting any first-round talent above both Prielipp and Raya at this point. Raya hasn't hurt himself, but Prielipp has fallen for simply not being available. For me, that cut-off point on the Big Board happens no earlier than Brock Wilken (#22) and there could be an argument for guys into the mid-30s. Current #5-10 Prospects: Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, Matt Wallner, Yasser Mercedes, Austin Martin. There's a drop off here. Certainly Matt Wallner isn't ranked accurately at this time. But would there be any Day 1 picks that most wouldn't confidently throw into this list? It's a mix of decent-floor, high-ceiling, proximity to the bigs and five promotions away. I look at names like Mac Horvath (#74), Tre' Morgan (#86), Cole Carrigg (#96) and have a hard time not thinking that a Top 100 Draft Prospect doesn't immediately jump into the back half of the Twins Top 10. Following those guidelines and using my 10-round Twins-only mock draft, my post-draft list would look something like this: 1) Brooks Lee (Top 50 global prospect) 2) Emmanuel Rodriguez (borderline Top 100) (If the Twins could float Noble Meyer to #34, I'd place him here, above Rodriguez and Gonzalez.) 3) Jacob Gonzalez (projected 5th pick; borderline Top 100) 4) Matt Wallner 5) Jack Hurley (projected 34th pick) 6) Marco Raya 7) Thomas White (projected 49th pick) 8) Connor Prielipp 9) Tanner Schobel 10) Sean Sullivan (projected 82nd pick) 11) David Festa 12) Zion Rose (projected 114th pick) I don't think the first five picks jumping into a team's Top 12 prospects should be the norm and it's actually kind of concerning, but the combination of graduations, poor performance and trades that sent out players that would rank high on this list (Christian Encarnacion-Strand is a borderline Top 100 prospect, Chase Petty would rank above Raya and Cade Povich would fit into that Prielipp/Sullivan/Festa group depending on how you value upside/proximity) paint a more understanding picture. Comparatively to 2022, the Twins Top 3 picks (Lee, Prielipp and Schobel) are all Top 10 prospects on the above list. They were all drafted in the Top 75 and the Twins lost a third round pick for signing Carlos Correa. This is all subjective and your rankings may look very different. Of course, it's impossible to put a list together without knowing who is actually on the list. But it's fair to think the fifth overall pick should be the team's best or second-best prospect. The other two Day 1 picks fit into the #3-7 range and the first pick on Day Two is a top 10 prospect. What do you think?

The Twins signed Emmanuel Rodriguez during the 2019 international signing period for $2.5 million. At the time, MLB.com called him the “next Eddie Rosario,” which may have conjured up some mixed feelings for Minnesota fans. As a 16-year-old, Rodriguez showcased many skills that were comparable to Eddie Rosario . His powerful swing could spray the ball around the field, and he had a strong outfield arm. He was considered one of the top international players during his signing period, and the Twins hoped his advanced approach would help him during his professional debut. Unfortunately, the pandemic meant he didn’t debut until the 2021 season in the FCL. In 37 games, he hit .214/.346/.524 (.870) with five doubles, two triples, and ten home runs. His 23 walks helped improve his overall on-base percentage, and he went 9-for-13 in stolen base opportunities. His biggest issue was that he struck out 56 times in 126 at-bats, which was more swing-and-miss than an organization wants from a young player. It was a decent debut, but he hadn’t placed himself among the team’s top prospects. Minnesota sent Rodriguez to the Florida State League in 2022, where he was over two years younger than the average age of the competition. In 47 games, he hit .272/.493/.552 (1.044) with five doubles, three triples, and nine home runs. He continued to show an advanced approach at the plate and drew more walks (57) than strikeouts (52). His numbers are even more impressive because he only faced younger pitchers in four plate appearances for the season. His season was cut short when he tore the meniscus in his right knee while sliding into a base. It was a disappointing end to a season that put him in the conversation as a top prospect. Entering the 2023 season, Emmanuel Rodriguez was among baseball’s Top-100 prospects, according to the three major national outlets. Baseball Prospectus (42nd) and Baseball America (46th) had him among the Top 50, while MLB.com ranked him 88th overall. At Twins Daily, Rodriguez ranked as the third-best prospect in the Twins organization behind Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis. Different outlets value certain traits when it comes to ranking minor league players. Some prefer a player who has proven himself in the upper levels of the minors, and others prefer to consider a player’s overall ceiling. Clearly, Rodriguez was a player that evaluators would watch closely throughout the 2023 campaign. Rodriguez had an interesting start to the season with Cedar Rapids. In his first seven games, he went 5-for-27 (.185 BA) with 17 strikeouts in 34 plate appearances. All five of his hits went for extra bases, including three home runs which resulted in a .953 OPS. He was placed on the Injured List (IL) with a strained left abdomen and didn’t appear in a game from April 15th to May 6th. There were struggles at the plate when he returned from the IL. In 20 games during May, he posted a .572 OPS with three extra-base hits and a 30-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Core muscle injuries can linger, which might have been one reason for Rodriguez’s struggles. Rodriguez began to find his offensive stroke as the calendar flipped to June. In the month's first 20 games, he hit .315/.452/.589 (1.041) with three doubles, one triple, and five home runs. He posted a significantly improved 19-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio while being a perfect six-for-six in stolen base attempts. The Kernels continue to use him in center field regularly, but he has also made four starts in right field for the first time in his professional career. Even with time on the IL, he has played in more games than any other professional season, and he’s started to showcase all five tools. Royce Lewis recently graduatd from prospect eligibility, putting Rodriguez in the conversation as the organization’s top prospect. Rodriguez must prove that his hot hitting in June is not a fluke and that he can continue to thrive while facing older pitching. By season’s end, he has an opportunity to be among baseball’s Top 25 prospects, but there is still work to be done in 2023. What impressions do you have regarding Emmanuel Rodriguez over the last two seasons? Would you rank him as the organization’s top overall prospect? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

Since it’s a unique time of the season, full-season affiliates don’t play again until Wednesday and because we didn’t have the same recap last Monday, this week’s report will look a little bit different. Next week’s will be back to the normal report. Stats will be from the last 15 days. Don’t forget to read Nick’s Week in Review to catch up on the Twins week. WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints Overall: 43-31 Overview: The Saints finished the season a half-game out in the International League West, but five games behind first-half IL champ Norfolk. Norfolk will advance to the IL best-of-three League Championship Series. The best second-half record - aside from Norfolk - will advance to play Norfolk. All teams start with a clean slate. 🔥: Chris Williams went on a run that was quite impressive. In his last two weeks, he’s hit eight home runs and driven in 18 runs, along with scoring 14 runs of his own. Only three teammates scored more runs than he had home runs. And only two teammates drove in more runs than he had home runs. He also managed nine walks, but did strike out 14 times. He’s seen a little time behind the plate this year, but has mostly played first base. 🔥: Randy Dobnak has battled injuries for quite some time, but his last three starts have been glimpses of the old Randy. In 12 innings, he’s struck out 13 while only walking one. Though he’s allowed 14 hits, he’s only allowed one earned run. 🔥: Andrew Stevenson’s been overshadowed by Williams, but has been on a nice run himself. Over his last 10 games, he has three home runs, two triples, a double and 12 singles. He’s also stolen four bases and has walked five times while only striking out four times. 🔥: Kody Funderburk ended out the first half with six performance spanning 7 1/3 innings. He struck out 12, walked two and only allowed a single run on four hits. 🔥: Matt Wallner has put up a .279/.439/.488 line while Jose Miranda hasn’t been as good at .268/.348/.439. 😉: Dallas Keuchel threw four innings of one-run ball in his organizational debut. 🥶: Aaron Sanchez struggled over his last three starts. He walked 13 and yielded 16 hits that resulted in 14 earned runs over 12 1/3 innings. 🥶: Trevor Larnach has struck out time 14 times in 30 at-bats since being sent down. His .639 OPS doesn’t have a great path to go anywhere but up. What's Next: The Saints will kick off their second half against Gwinnett on Wednesday. Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Overall: 28-40 Overview: Wichita finished with the lowest winning percentage in the Texas League. 🔥: DaShawn Keirsey slashed .319/.396/.596 over his last 12 games and 47 at-bats. He homered three times, stole three bases and both walked and struck out six times. He’s more than deserving of a promotion, but there’s a logjam of outfielders at St. Paul, so he’ll have to remain in Wichita until there’s room. 🔥: Aaron Rozek struck out 11 in 10 2/3 innings. He allowed only two runs on four hits and two walks (and two hit batters). 🔥: When Alerick Soularie is healthy, he’s very good. He hit three home runs and added a double in 32 at-bats the last two weeks. He also stole three bases with more walks (7) than strikeouts (5). 🤔: Regi Grace is something. He’s got serious stuff, but he walked four in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out seven. 🤔: Yunior Severino gets a lot of hits (12 in 43 at-bats), but also strikes out a ton (14 in 42 at-bats). 🤔: Pierson Ohl completed 12 innings in his two starts. He only allowed 10 hits and a walk for a WHIP of 0.92, but he struggled keeping the ball in the yard, surrendering three home runs and having an ERA of 5.25. 🥶: David Festa allowed seven runs on 10 hits and four walks in 11 1/3 innings. He did strike out 15 though. 🥶: Yoyner Fajardo’s season started with a bang, but he’s cooled off. In his last 10 games, he’s got an OPS of .512. What's Next: Wichita’s second-half will start at home against Northwest Arkansas. High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels Overall: 2-1 in the second half. Overview: The Kernels clinched a post-season berth on account of winning the Midwest League Western Division with a 40-26 record. 🔥: Emmanuel Rodriguez is the team’s top prospect and he’s starting to play like it. Sixteen hits in 46 at-bats over his last 12 games, including three doubles, a triple and three home runs. He drove in nine, scored 14 and stole four bases. He still struck out a lot (12 times), but drew nine walks. 🔥: Cory Lewis has made three starts since his promotion. In the last two weeks, he made two of those starts and allowed five hits and three walks in 10 innings. He struck out 12 and allowed a single earned run. 🔥: Kala’i Rosario continues to tear up High-A. Three more home runs, two more doubles, double-digit runs and RBI in his last 11 games… and more walks (12) than strikeouts (8). 😉: Newly-promoted Jorel Ortega only has 20 at-bats, but he has an OPS north of 1.000 so far. 🥶: Keoni Cavaco ended his half 1-for-11 and was placed on the Development List. 🥶: Jaylen Nowlin allowed 11 runs on 15 hits and seven walks in 8 2/3 innings. He struck out 11. What's Next: The Kernels will visit Peoria this week. Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Overall: 1-1 in the second half. Overview: Fort Myers finished 34-32 in the first half, but missed the playoffs by 10.5 games. 🔥: Rubel Cespedes has three home runs in his last 12 games. He also leads the team with nine RBI, five doubles and 13 total hits. 🔥: Ben Ethridge (12 2/3 innings, six hits, two walks, eight strikeouts), C.J. Culpepper (11 innings, six hits, three walks, 12 strikeouts), Andrew Morris (11 innings, six hits, three walks, eight strikeouts) all started multiple games and had WHIPs below 1.00 and opponent batting averages under .170. 🔥: Jorel Ortega (before promotion), Maddux Houghton and Danny De Andrade all had 10 hits over the last 12 games. 🥶: Rafael Cruz and Dylan Neuse both had sub-.200 batting averages over the last 12 games. 🥶: Develson Aria allowed seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings over two starts. What's Next: Fort Myers will host Lakeland. Rookie: FCL Twins Overall: 9-5, 1.5 games behind the FCL Pirates in the FCL South. Overview: Riding a four-game winning streak and being tied for least runs allowed are two signs of a good baseball team. It’s hard to look at individuals even over a two-week period because they’re given so much time off. Only three players played nine games, so we’ll focus on those three hitters. 🔥: Jose Rodriguez and Isaac Pena both had 11 hits and are hit .297 and .314, respectively. 🔥: Luis De Leon struck out 20 in 14 innings. He allowed nine hits and seven walks. 🤔: Bryan Acuna was brutal in his first handful of games but has rebounded nicely with eight hits in his last eight games. He did strike out 10 times though. Rookie: DSL Twins Overall: 5-10, 6-5 games back in the DSL South. Overview: Going .500 for 10 games is considerably better than the 0-5 start. The filter isn’t working properly, so I can only see full-season stats. 🔥: Dameury Pena has 18 hits in his first 12 games. He’s batting .391 and has four walks and four strikeouts. He’s listed as a second baseman. Is that enough to make a really early player comparison? 🔥: Yilber Herrera has walked 15 times already. He’s only struck out seven times and despite only having eight hits on the year, he’s scored 13 runs. 🔥: Miguel Cordero has 19 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings and WHIP of 1.11. 🥶: Cristian Hernandez has made three starts spanning 9 1/3 innings. He’s allowed 15 earned runs on 16 hits and eight walks. 🥶: Ariel Castro and Moises Lopez both have 22 strikeouts and sub-.200 batting averages. PROSPECT SUMMARY will return next week as will the PLAYERS OF THE WEEK as we will go in-depth with half-season awards later this week.

TRANSACTIONS Twins sign LHP Dallas Keuchel and assign him to Triple-A St. Paul. RHP Andrew Cabezas was released by Double-A Wichita RHP Issac Mattison was signed by Double-A Wichita INF Kamron Willman signed as UDFA and assigned to Single-A Fort Myers SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 6, St. Paul 0 Box Score Despite being without Jordan Balazovic, who was recently promoted to the Twins, St. Paul went with an opener in Cody Laweryson tonight. He was attempting to follow Randy Dobnak’s strong start last night, and went two innings while allowing just a single unearned run on a hit and two walks. The Saints gave up runs in the first, third, and fifth innings while failing to score on their own. Mustering just two hits, it was tough going for the lineup tonight. After allowing three more in the eighth inning, the 6-0 deficit all but sealed this one. Of note, infield prospect Andrew Bechtold did work as a reliever, throwing a scoreless inning while giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, Arkansas 6 (in progress) Box Score It was a David Festa start for the Wind Surge, and he gave Wichita five innings of work but yielded three runs on four hits and a pair of walks. Festa did strike out eight on the evening which was nice to see. Alex Isola started the scoring when he launched double number 11 to score Yunior Severino in the first inning. The second inning saw Brooks Lee drive in Will Holland with a ground out and Wichita was off and running. During the third inning Aaron Sabato singled home Jake Rucker before Alerick Soularie drew a bases loaded walk to plate Isola. Up 4-0 headed to the fourth inning, Wichita felt a decent cushion. The Travelers came back in the fourth inning scoring three to draw within one, but an Isola home run in the bottom half made it a 6-3 game. The sixth inning saw things get knotted up when Isiah Gilliam hit his 12th home run of the season, and with two aboard, it was a new ballgame. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Beloit 5 Box Score There haven’t been many bad Zebby Matthews outings this year, but this was probably one of the tougher ones for the Twins prospect. Working 3 2/3 innings, Matthews gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. He did strike out one, but two homers tagged him for damage. Beloit plated three runs during the third inning on a pair of longballs before the Kernels answered in the fourth inning. Emmanuel Rodriguez blasted his ninth dinger of the year before Misael Urbina doubled in Noah Cardenas to draw within one. An inning later Rodriguez recorded his second triple, scoring both Andrew Cossetti and Tanner Schobel to make it a 4-3 game. In the sixth inning Urbina launched his third homer of the season, and the insurance run was needed given Zach Zubia’s solo shot for the Sky Carp in the seventh inning. Jorel Ortega put the Kernels back ahead by a pair when he doubled for the first time at High-A, driving in Noah Miller, and making it a 6-4 game. Beloit answered with one in the ninth inning, but that wasn’t enough to extend the game. Rodriguez recorded three hits while Urbina and Ortega both grabbed a pair of their own. MUSSEL MATTERS Game 1: Fort Myers 2, Tampa 0 (F/7) Box Score Playing a twin bill today it was Andrew Morris starting game one for the Mighty Mussels. He worked five scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and a walk. He did strike out a pair and dropped his ERA to 3.48 on the season. Fort Myers scored both of their runs on poor defensive plays by the Tarpons. A fourth inning wild pitch allowed Danny De Andrade to score the game’s first run, and a passed ball later in the inning brought home Kyle Schmidt. That was enough to secure the win during a game that had just a combined five hits. De Andrade recorded a pair of his own during Game 1, and Mikey Perez grabbed thee walks. Game 2: Fort Myers 7, Tampa 6 (F/7) Box Score In the nightcap it was Jose Olivares working four innings. He didn’t fare well allowing five runs on six hits and a walk. The two strikeouts were noteworthy, but also overshadowed by a home run. Olivares now owns a 6.60 ERA this season. Rafael Cruz kicked off the scoring with a ground rule double in the first inning. Ricardo Olivar scored and put Fort Myers in the lead. Heading to the fifth inning the Mighty Mussels trailed 5-1, but Olivar blasted his sixth homer with Maddux Houghton on to make it a 5-3 game. After another Tampa run scored in the fifth, Danny De Andrade drove in Dillon Tatum with a sacrifice fly during the seventh. Rubel Cespedes then recorded his 12th double scoring Houghton again, and Olivar raced home on a passed ball. When the seventh inning ended, it was a new game knotted at six. In the ninth inning newly signed Kamron Willman made his mark with a single that scored Olivar and gave Fort Myers a 7-6 lead. Gabriel Yanez held on working 2 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball to record his third win of the season. Cespedes and Houghton both recorded a pair of hits and the Mighty Mussels grabbed two wins on the day. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 6, FCL Rays 0 Box Score Jack Noble was great again for the FCL Twins today. Working 5 2/3 scoreless, he gave up just three hits. Noble did work around four walks but struck out right on the day as well. He dropped his ERA to 1.72 in the process. Bryan Acuna gave the Twins their first scoring opportunity in the first inning when his ground out resulted in an error plating both Isaac Peña and Jose Rodriguez. Then in the sixth inning the Twins added again as a Peña ground out led to an Omari Daniel run. Alex Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch, and it was a four-run game headed to the seventh inning. Another wild pitch, this one in the eighth inning, allowed Daniel to score for the second time. Rodriguez then lifted a single to center that brought Fredy Michel in. The six runs were enough to hold up against the blanked Rays, and Rodriguez capped off his day going 4-for-4 with a walk. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Twins 12, DSL Cardinals 9 Box Score It wasn’t the cleanest game for Cristian Hernandez, but he started and his four runs (two earned) weren’t enough to sink the Twins. Star catcher Carlos Silva was back in the lineup today following a hit by pitch, but he was 0-for-4 on the day. Jayson Bass paced the lineup going 4-for-5 with a double, and Javier Roman had a two-hit day of his own while playing first base. Although Ariel Castro was just 1-for-6, he did score a run and drove in a pair. The Twins wound up winning by three runs after picking up the separating tallies during the 10th inning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jack Noble (FCL Twins) - 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-4, 2B, 3B, HR(9), R, 3 RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-4, RBI #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 2-4, RBI #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-4, 2B, 3B, HR(9), R, 3 RBI #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-1, K #8 - David Festa (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-3, BB, 2 K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, R, BB #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) - 4-4, R, RBI, BB #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-2, 2 R, BB FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Carlos Luna Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games!

TRANSACTIONS 2B Edouard Julien optioned to St. Paul as Jorge Polanco was activated from the IL> INF Dalton Shuffield placed on 7-day IL by Fort Myers (wrist sprain) SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 11, Buffalo 5 Box Score The Saints apparently live by the wake and rake ideology as they put up double-digit runs during a morning game today in New York. Cody Laweryson worked as an opener putting up two scoreless innings before giving way to Jordan Balazovic. Balazovic gave up three runs on four hits across two innings, but he struck out five and walked none. Looking to answer the Bisons earlier trio, St. Paul put up a five-spot in the fifth inning. Jair Camargo lifted a sacrifice fly to score Chris Williams before Andrew Stevenson singled in Andrew Bechtold. With the recently-promoted Seth Gray in third and Alex De Goti at second, Matt Wallner continued his hot hitting and played them both on a scorching single. Buffalo tied things with a pair of runs in the sixth inning, but the Saints weren’t done marching in. Wallner blasted yet another home run, a solo shot, for his seventh of the year. In the ninth inning, Mark Contreras drew a bases-loaded walk to score De Goti before Williams hit a grand slam to make it an 11-5 game. After rehabbing Twins reliever Caleb Thielbar worked a scoreless seventh inning striking out two, Josh Winder slammed the door. Working two scoreless innings, he struck out a pair. Wallner and Williams both had big days with multiple hits. Bechtold joined that pair as well. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 5, Wichita 4 Box Score Aaron Rozek took the ball for the Wind Surge. It was a tough start as he managed just 2 2/3 innings before bowing out after allowing four runs on six hits. He struck out three while walking just two on the evening. Wichita got off to a quick start with DaShawn Keirsey Jr. doubling in Brooks Lee in the first inning. Alex Isola then ripped his eighth home run of the season to drive in a pair and make it 3-0 good guys. By the fourth inning, Tulsa had plated four and took the lead. It was necessary for the Wind Surge to answer. Anthony Prato did just that in the bottom half when he grabbed his second double of the season to bring home Keirsey Jr. yet again. Prato was thrown out at third trying to stretch it for a triple. The Drillers retook the lead in the fifth inning and that’s where the difference in this one came. Keirsey Jr. and Isola were the lone Wichita batters to record a pair of hits. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 24, Lansing 5 Box Score Pierson Ohl started on the mound for Cedar Rapids, but I’m pretty sure the Kernels could’ve started Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, you, or I, and still won this game. Ohl was fine working 4 2/3 innings while giving up three runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out three. None of that really mattered considering how the game went. CEDAR RAPIDS SCORED TWENTY-FOUR RUNS. Ben Ross singled in Tanner Schobel during the first inning to kick things off before Noah Cardenas used a sacrifice fly to plate Kala’i Rosario. Cardenas then singled in the third inning to bring home Rosario again and make it a 3-0 game. That’s where things began to get out of hand. A wild pitch allowed Ross to score before a Jose Salas single brought in Cardenas. Jeferson Morales then singled to drive in Salas and Schobel capped the inning off with a three-run blast, his fifth of the season, to make it 9-0. After the Lugnuts answered with a third inning run of their own, Cedar Rapids added on again in the fifth inning. Ross doubled home both Keoni Cavaco and Emmanuel Rodriguez before yet another Cardenas hit allowed Ross to cross the plate. Up 12-1 headed to the bottom of the fifth, Lansing answered with three to get within a pair of grand slams. Fortunately for Cedar Rapids, Rosario had one of his own up his sleeve and sent his sixth homer of the year deep to clear the bases. Now 16-4, it was a laugher. After a seventh-inning run from Lansing made it 16-5, the Kernels ignored the mercy rule in the ninth. Ross hit his fifth homer of the year before Schobel was hit with the bases loaded to score Salas. Rodriguez then blasted a grand slam for his sixth dinger of the year, and Ross homered for the second time in the inning to make it a 24-5 rout. The Kernels recorded 20 hits on the night with Schobel, Rodriguez, and Cardenas all grabbing three of their own. Ross had a four hit game while Rosario and Morales each added a pair. This one was nothing short of incredible. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, St. Lucie 1 Box Score With C.J. Culpepper on the mound for Fort Myers tonight, the Mighty Mussels appeared in good hands from the jump. He worked five hitless innings allowing three walks while striking out six. Rubel Cespedes kicked off the scoring with his fifth double of the season, a second inning hit that scored Mikey Perez. Alec Sayre then singled to drive in Cespedes and Fort Myers was off and running. Rafael Cruz lifted a sacrifice fly to score Danny De Andrade in the third inning and make it a 3-0 game. After St. Lucie answered with a run of their own in the sixth inning, Carlos Aguiar blasted his eight homer of the year in the seventh inning. The two-run shot also brought home Jorel Ortega and pushed it to the final 5-1 tally. Cespedes was the only Mighty Mussels batter to record a pair of hits tonight, but Aguiar grabbed two RBI on his own. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – C.J. Culpepper (Fort Myers) - 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Ben Ross (Cedar Rapids) - 4-6, 4 R, 6 RBI, 2B, 2 HR(6) PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-4, R #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR(2) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-6, 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, HR(6) #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-5, R, 3 RBI, HR(7), 2 K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 0-4, 2 K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Buffalo (6:05PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak Tulsa @ Wichita (6:45PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (3:30PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (GM 2 follow) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games!

Baseball prospects can be some of the most volatile players to follow in all of sports. As young players moving up through various levels of competition in a short period of time, it can be expected to see extreme peaks and valleys, even for some of the most highly-touted prospects. While the Twins have certainly seen some promising starts for some of their top prospects (article coming soon…), there have been some disappointing starts as well. These three prospects have been off to the most disappointing starts of the 2023 season: Jose Salas, Cedar Rapids Kernels (A+) .154/.229/.214, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 36 K, 8 BB Twins Daily Prospect Rank: 12 Jose Salas was a borderline top-100 prospect that the Minnesota Twins picked up this offseason in the Pablo López/Luis Arraez swap after posting a .723 OPS across Low-A and High-A last in 2022 as a 19-year-old. While many were optimistic about the infielders bat, and his potential to turn into a top-notch prospect, the start to the 2023 season has been disastrous for the switch-hitter. In 135 plate appearances to start the season, Salas has posted an OPS of just .438 with just five extra base hits and a lowly 36/8 K/BB ratio. For these reasons, Twins Daily has dropped Salas from the eighth ranked prospect coming into the season down to 12. Salas has always excelled at getting on base throughout his young career as a prospect, but this season he has done anything but get on base with just a .230 on-base percentage through his first 34 games. Salas is still just 20 years old and has plenty of time to adjust to the pitching at the High-A level, but it’s been a disappointing start to the season to say the least. Simeon Woods Richardson, St. Paul Saints (AAA) 30 1/3 IP, 7.12 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 8.0 K/9 Twins Daily Prospect Rank: 7 Simeon Woods Richardson came into the season as one of the likeliest prospects to join the Minnesota Twins rotation with an injury and, depending on his performance, stay up with the rotation as a key piece moving forward. After posting a 2.21 ERA in seven starts with the Saints in 2022, SWR appeared ready to take the next step in 2023. Things haven’t quite gone according to plan for Woods Richardson this season, though. Other than a spot start with the Twins in April (it didn’t go well), SWR has spent his entire season in St. Paul where he has posted a 7.12 ERA in seven starts with a 1.93 K/BB ratio. One big reason for the poor performance for SWR this season has been a lack of control. After walking just three batters per nine innings across multiple levels of the minor leagues in 2022, he has been walking 4.2 batters per nine innings this season. If Woods Richardson can get his control back in order and start throwing like he did last season, he could still get another chance up with the Twins later this season. If not, the Twins might be looking at a bullpen role for the right hander down the road. Emmanuel Rodriguez, Cedar Rapids Kernels (A+) .171/.326/.408, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 40 K, 17 BB Twins Daily Prospect Rank: 3 Coming into the season, some considered Emmanuel Rodriguez to be the Minnesota Twins prospect with the highest ceiling and that he might just be the Twins’ top prospect by the end of the 2023 season. While both of those statements might still be true, it hasn’t been an awesome start to the 2023 season for the left-handed prospect. After posting a .870 and 1.044 OPS in 2021 and 2022, respectively, Rodriguez has posted just a .734 OPS through his first 21 games with the Cedar Rapids Kernels this season. While Rodriguez still has shown similar power numbers to each of the last two seasons (five home runs in 95 plate appearances after posting nine home runs in 199 plate appearances in 2022), his eye at the plate has been extremely discouraging thus far. This season, Rodriguez has 41 strikeouts compared to just 18 walks. By comparison, last year the left hander struck out 52 times compared to 57 walks. It’s possible that injury has something to do with E-Rod’s struggles in 2023. Since coming off of the injured list with an abdominal strain on May 6, Rodriguez has just a .582 OPS with 24 strikeouts and 13 walks. Do you have confidence that the players listed above will turn things around? What other prospects have been off to disappointing starts? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!

TRANSACTIONS Alex De Gotti reinstated from Development List for Triple-A Ryan LaMarre reinstated from Development List for Triple-A Elliot Soto placed on IL for Triple-A with right thigh strain Alerick Soularie placed on Temporary Inactive List SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 2, St. Paul 1 Box Score Brent Headrick took the ball tonight for the Saints, and having gotten work for the Twins already this season, his goal was to hold serve and show he belonged. Working six innings of two-run baseball, Headrick did just that. He gave up only four hits while walking none and striking out seven on the evening. Ronny Henriquez, who was recently optioned following a rehab assignment, worked two hitless innings with four strikeouts and didn’t allow a walk. After getting behind on a second inning double, the Saints answered with a Hernan Perez sac fly that drove in Andrew Stevenson. Making it a 2-1 game, that’s as close as the good guys would get. Rehabbing Royce Lewis went 0-for-3 with a strikeout on the evening. Only Edouard Julien was able to pick up a pair of hits. With Kyle Garlick kept off of the lineup card, it stands to reason he’ll be called up for Minnesota in place on Nick Gordon on Friday. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, Arkansas 2 Box Score Making another start for the Wind Surge, Blayne Enlow was again dominant. Lasting 5 1/3 innings, the right-hander allowed only a single run on six hits while punching out ten. The run came on a solo blast and he dropped his ERA to 3.28 in the process. Anthony Prato put Wichita on the board in the third inning with a two run blast that scored Will Holland. Robbie Tenerowicz made things interesting in the 4th inning with a solo blast, but from there the Wind Surge ran and hid. David Banuelos blasted his third homer of the season in the fifth inning to make it 3-1, and then he drew a bases loaded walk in the sixth inning to plate Alex Isola and make it 4-1. Jake Rucker lifted a seventh-inning sacrifice fly to make it 5-1 and Wichita was able to weather an eighth inning solo blast by Jonatan Clase. Banuelos was again involved in run production when his eight-inning double play pushed DaShawn Keirsey Jr. across the plate. Not necessarily needing the breathing room, it was 6-2 Wichita. Yunior Severino grabbed a pair of hits on the evening and his lone multi-hit effort was enough to get it done. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 4 Box Score The Kernels turned to Jaylen Nowlin tonight and he gave them six innings of solid work. Allowing just three runs on six hits, the Cedar Rapids starter issued no free passes while punching out four. All of the Peoria runs off of Nowling came in the first inning. Getting behind 3-0 in the opening frame, he had work to do. Buckling down, Nowlin allowed the offense to pick him up. In the bottom of the second inning Jose Salas singled in Kala’i Rosario to get on the scoreboard. Then Willie Joe Garry Jr. plated Noah Miller on a groundout before Jeferson Morales singled in Salas to bring Cedar Rapids even. Having scuffled since being activated from the injured list, Emmanuel Rodriguez made his presence known with a solo blast that put the good guys ahead. An inning later, in the bottom of the fourth inning, Tanner Schobel singled to drive in Morales and make it a 5-3 lead. Ben Ross scored on a sixth inning wild pitch, and while Cedar Rapids gave a run back in the seventh inning, they still led by enough to make this one predictable. Rodriguez grabbed a pair of hits on the evening and he was joined by Rosario in that column. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Lakeland 1 Box Score C.J. Culpepper started tonight’s game for the Mighty Mussels but he went just a single inning while allowing no baserunners and punching out one. Ricky Mineo then came in and pitched 2 2/3 innings while allowing just a single run on four hits. He struck out three and the one run came on a solo shot from Lakeland’s Mike Rothenberg. It took a bit for the Mighty Mussels to answer but Mikey Perez singled in Alec Sayre in the sixth inning to even things up. Perez then showed up again in the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly that plated Maddux Houghton and Fort Myers found themselves ahead. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 5.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K Hitter of the Day – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, R, RBI, HR(4), BB PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-3, BB, K #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 0-3, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, R, RBI, HR(4), BB #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 2-4, 2B, 2 K #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, RBI, K #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 3-4, K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, K #17 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 2.0 IP, 4 K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, RBI, BB FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05PM CST) - RHP Aaron Sanchez Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP David Festa Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games!

Everyone loves prospect rankings, and every time that a new list gets released it is always exciting to peruse the list and find out where the Minnesota Twins players landed. Mid-season lists are always extra interesting because players are graduating from the list throughout the year so new players are being added, and a new season of Minor League statistics are being taken into account which creates more movement than normal. In the latest iteration of MLB.com’s prospect rankings, four Minnesota Twins players made the top 100. Here’s where they landed: 25. Brooks Lee Moving up on the rankings list is Twins Daily’s number one ranked prospect, Brooks Lee. Coming into the 2023 season, Lee ranked 45th on MLB.com’s rankings. Lee started the 2023 season in AA-Wichita and has posted a respectable .737 OPS with 14 extra base hits. Lee figures to see time up with the Twins later this season, though he shouldn’t be asked to save the Minnesota Twins offense. 36. Royce Lewis Another positive mover on MLB’s prospect list for the Minnesota Twins is Royce Lewis who moved up from 45th on the preseason list to 36th on the latest update. Lewis has previously been as highly ranked as fifth on MLB’s rankings, but because of his injuries, he has had to climb his way back up the rankings. With Lewis’s return to the Majors imminent, his time on this rankings list shouldn’t be expected to last long. Royce Lewis ranks second on Twins Daily’s prospect rankings. 76. Emmanuel Rodriguez Yet another upward mover on MLB’s prospect list, Emmanuel Rodriguez has moved up from 88th on their preseason list to 76th on their latest update. After a lightning fast start to the season in which Rodriguez hit three home runs and knocked in 12 RBI, Rodriguez missed three weeks due to injury and is still looking to find his stride at the plate. At just 20 years old and still in High-A, it could still be a year or two until we see Rodriguez up with the Twins. Rodriguez currently ranks third on Twins Daily’s prospect rankings. 86. Edouard Julien The final Minnesota Twins player who cracked MLB’s latest rankings update is Edouard Julien, who Twins fans should be very familiar with after he made his big-league debut in April. Now back in St. Paul, Julien has shown a knack for crushing Triple-A pitching with a .907 OPS with the Saints. Julien will get called back up to the Twins in a matter of time, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he sticks there this time. Julien wasn’t on the preseason Top 100 list for MLB, but after some early season updates was recently ranked as high as number 96. Julien ranks fifth in Twins Daily’s prospect rankings. Other Observations A few other observations in MLB’s newly updated prospect list: The Minnesota Twins rank second in the American League Central with four prospects in the Top 100. The Twins rank behind the Cleveland Guardians who boast seven prospects on the list. The White Sox and Tigers each have two prospects in the Top 100 with the Royals only having one. The Minnesota Twins have the two highest ranked prospects in the American League Central in Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis at numbers 25 and 36, respectively. The next highest ranked prospect in the division is outfielder George Valera of the Cleveland Guardians, ranked 41st. There are three players on the Top 100 list that were born in Minnesota: Michael Busch (44, Dodgers, Simley HS), Max Meyer (54, Marlins, Woodbury HS) and Drew Gilbert (96, Astros, Stillwater HS). There are two players ranked in the Top 100 who are siblings of current Minnesota Twins prospects: Luisangel Acuña (58, Rangers) (brother of Twins prospect Bryan Acuña. And that Ronald Acuña guy...) and Ethan Salas (90, Padres) (brother of Twins prospect Jose Salas). Twins Daily will soon be updating our prospect rankings, so be sure to check back and see how our writers rank the prospects within the Twins organization, and how that changed since the preseason. Do you agree with MLB's rankings of the Twins prospects? Who do you think was ranked too high or too low? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!

TRANSACTIONS INF Alex De Gotti activated from Development List RHP Josh Winder optioned from Twins to AAA St. Paul RHP Jorge Alcala recalled by Twins INF Andrew Bechtold placed on temporary inactive list OF Emmanuel Rodriguez activated from 7-day IL OF Kyler Fedko placed on Development List Saints Sentinel St. Paul 10, Nashville 7 Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson: 3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: Chris Williams (2), Andrew Bechtold (3), Kyle Garlick (5), Jair Camargo (2) Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, BB), Kyle Farmer (3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI), Mark Contreras (2-for-5, R) Jair Camargo (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI) The Saints completed their regularly scheduled program on Saturday. Called early due to Mother Nature’s intervention, the Saints and Sounds re-took the field in the bottom of the third, hoping to squeeze in the rest of Friday’s match, and the seven innings constituting Saturday’s battle. That did not happen; the second game experienced the same issues as Friday’s, but they were able to finish what they started in the opening game. The slop evidently fueled St. Paul’s bats—messy and grueling it was, indeed—as they found life in the middle innings, following up a 5th inning three spot with four in the following frame. It was the kind of dynamic offense that would make any baseball fan happy: the Saints racked up walks, steals and extra-base hits in a glorious display capped by Kyle Garlick’s two-run shot in the 6th. They came back to add a cherry-on-top score in the 7th, just for fun. St. Paul’s pitching could also be described as sloppy, though, as each pitcher—each arm desperately hurled into the game to ensure a relatively healthy stable of pitchers—offered two walks in their outing. From Jose Bravo’s admirable three-inning escapade to Patrick Murphy’s game-ending appearance, command was not available. But they found a way to limit damage, and that was enough to allow the Saints to draw victory from the match. Kyle Farmer picked up three hits in the game, including a pair of doubles. Very recent old friend Trevor Megill pitched a scoreless inning for the Sounds. The Saints swiped four bases; Mark Contreras now has seven steals on the season. Sounds pitcher Robert Gasser was the best prospect represented by their squad; he allowed four runs over 3 ⅓ innings while striking out eight. In an unusual event, Andrew Bechtold hit a homer in a game he could not play in, as he was placed on the Development List today while his homer came yesterday. As mentioned earlier, game two was canceled and will be made up in an (alleged) doubleheader on Sunday. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 1, NW Arkansas 5 Box Score Blayne Enlow: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K HR: DaShawn Kiersey Jr. (4) Multi-hit games: Alex Isola (2-for-4) The Wind Surge couldn’t capitalize on an excellent pitching performance on Saturday. Blayne Enlow was masterful, brilliant. When hitters expected the fastball, he delivered them a squirrelly breaker, always finding a way to miss the barrel in his second 6 frame start of the season. He’s apparently jumped on the hype train and added a sweeper to his arsenal, potentially giving him another out-pitch weapon to use against batters. It sure seemed effective tonight. Wichita’s offense was less exciting. Naturals’ lefty Anthony Veneziano ceased any effort to score against him, scattering a smattering of singles across his six impressive innings. Only once did the Wing Surge reach second base against him. But they finally broke free against his teammate. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. sized up his new enemy and found him hittable—the following solo homer was inevitable. Yet, the surge ended as soon as it began, and Wichita scored no more runs while the Naturals ran away with the victory. Luca Tresh—NW Arkansas’ catcher—was their best prospect on Saturday. Ranked 16th in the Royals’ system by MLB.com, Tresh walked and scored in four plate appearances. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 1, South Bend 6 Box Score Jaylen Nowlin: 4 ⅓ IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: Ben Ross (3) Multi-hit games: Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, 2B) The Kernels offered little fight on Saturday. Almost entirely stymied by the Cubs’ pitching, Cedar Rapids turned in a dreadful hitting performance, earning just six hits and one walk over the 9-inning affair; Ben Ross’ last minute homer saved them from being shut out. Outside a disaster outing by Miguel Rodriguez, the Kernels’ pitchers performed fairly well. Jaylen Nowlin put forth a solid start, allowing a lone earned run over 4 ⅓ innings with five strikeouts and two walks—a free pass total much lower than usual. He also hit three batters, evening out his low walk total. Matt Mullenbach and Charlie Neuweiler did their jobs as well, combining for three frames of work and a single earned run. But Miguel Rodriguez’s outing… did not go well. He allowed five straight singles before eliciting a fly out and leaving the game via stage right. Better things will be on the horizon. Emmanuel Rodriguez made his return from the IL on Saturday; he walked and struck out twice. Cedar Rapids’ defense turned three double plays; they also allowed six stolen bases. No player from MLB.com’s top 30 prospect list for the Cubs played in Saturday’s game. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 2, Dunedin 3 (5 innings) Box Score C.J. Culpepper: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: Alec Sayre (2) Multi-hit games: Carlos Aguiar (2-for-2) The Mighty Mussels lost a quick game on Saturday. Called following the 5th for rain, the match wasn’t much of an offensive display for Fort Myers, as—outside of Carlo Agiuar’s two hits and Alec Sayre’s homer—the Mighty Mussels earned one knock and three free bases from a walk and two hit by pitches. C.J. Culpepper was mostly effective, but a flurry of singles in the 3rd flipped Fort Myers’ lead and stuck him with a tough loss he couldn’t recover from. He does technically earn the complete game for his work, re-emphasizing Monty Python’s message to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Fort Myers found the time to steal two bases on Saturday. Dunedin’s shortstop, Adrian Pinto, was their best prospect in the game according to MLB.com; he singled and scored in three at-bats. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Blayne Enlow Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kyle Farmer PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-4, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB, 2 K #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 2-4, 2B, 2 R, BB, K #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 3B, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Nashville @ St. Paul (12:07 PM) - RHP Aaron Sanchez Nashville @ St. Paul (30 minutes following game one) - TBD Wichita @ NW Arkansas (2:05 PM) - RHP David Festa Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (1:05 PM) - RHP Kyle Jones Dunedin @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM) - RHP Tomas Cleto

If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor leagues. TRANSACTIONS On Monday afternoon, the Kernels activated RHPs Marco Raya and Mike Paredes. They made no other corresponding moves. RESULTS Tuesday (4/11): E-Rod Walks it Off in Grand Fashion Wednesday (4/12): Ober Dominates, Lee and Rodriguez Homer Thursday (4/13): A Surprise Promotion and Olivar Goes Off Friday (4/14): Wichita Power Surge Leads to Win Saturday (4/15): Ben Ross and Emmanuel Rodriguez Rake in a Dismal Minor-League Day Sunday (4/16): Fort Myers Shines Brightest MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT Prospect Retrospective: Brent Headrick The Twins Most and Least Aggressive Prospect Assignments Prospect Retrospective: Edouard Julien TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/WB @ St. Paul (6:37PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ Tulsa (6:05PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35PM CST) - RHP Jaylen Nowlin (0-0, 4-91 ERA) Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints (Week: 4-2) Overall: 8-6, 1.5 games back in the International League West. Overview: Despite losing Louie Varland, Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner to the Twins, the Saints put together a winning week. They started off by winning the first four games against Indianapolis before dropping the final two. 🔥: Andrew Stevenson led the offensive charge with 10 hits, three stolen bases and a home run while playing in all six games. 🔥: Andrew Bechtold also played in every game and totaled six hits which included three doubles and a home run. 🔥: Brent Headrick shoved in his one start before promotion. He struck out eight in five innings, allowing a single run on four hits and a walk. 🔥: Mark Contreras stuff the stat sheet to the tune of eight hits in 25 at-bats, eight hits, five runs, two doubles, five walks and three stolen bases for a slash line of .421/.560/.526 (1.086). 🥶: Kyle Garlick was brought back to the Twins after striking out three times and failing to get a hit in 10 at-bats He didn't earn it with his recent performance, but the Twins needed an outfielder. What's Next: Home cooking against Scranton/WB (7-8). While the forecast may not be great, there are plenty of fun ballpark activities including fireworks on Friday night. Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge (Week: 3-3) Overall: 5-4, 2.0 games back in the Texas League North. Overview: Yoyner Fajardo continues to be an early-season surprise as he leads the team with 12 hits, four stolen bases and a .333 batting average while playing solid left field. Brooks Lee will be the draw (as long as he is on the team), you can see his week below. David Festa wasn't as great as his debut, but there's no reason to believe the Twins won't be able to use him in their future. 🔥: Yunior Severino only played three games, but got four hits in 12 at-bats and hit two home runs. He struck out in six of the at-bats he didn't get a hit, so there's still improvement needed, but you appreciate the at-bats that turn out well. 🤔: Carlos Luna is new to the organization, so when you strike out 10 in 5 2/3 innings in your organizational debut, you need to be recognized. But when you turn around and allow four hits and two runs while only recording two outs in your next outing, you don't get the fire emoji. 🥶: Will Holland got his first hit of the season but went 0-for-12 for the week (and is 1-for-20 on the season). He has game-changing speed... but it's really tough to use on the bath paths if you can't get on base. Holland was the college teammate of Edouard Julien (and Holland was the higher-regarded prospect.) What's Next: A trip to Tulsa (6-3). Only one game separates the two teams. Arkansas is currently in first place at 7-2. High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels (Week: 2-3) Overall: 5-3, 0.5 games back in the Midwest League West. Overview: This is going to be the easiest team to follow because it has so many prospects. If you don't see their names here, it's because you can see how they did for the week down in the Prospect Summary. 🔥: Kyle Jones might have taken the loss, but that's why "pitcher wins" are a silly stat. More on Jones below... way below. 🔥: Ben Ross was drafted with a reputation as a hitter. And that's what he's done. Nine hits in 20 at-bats this past week including two doubles and a home run. He strikes out too much, but you'll take the bad with the good, if the good is a 1.155 OPS. Drafted as a shortstop, his time there is going to be limited on this team as he's already been pushed to the infield corners. (Three times at third base; once at first base.) 🥶: The Twins acquired Alejandro Hidalgo for Gio Urshela and aggressively assigned the 19-year-old to High-A where he is the youngest pitcher on the staff. Hidalgo struggled in his start this week. He walked six and hit a batter while only recording five outs. He's always struggled with walks, but not that much. Maybe it was just too cold... yeah, that's what we're going with. 🥶: Kala'i Rosario was impressive in his changes with the Twins this spring training, but this week was not good. Only one hit in 17 at-bats. No walks, four strikeouts. The hit went for a double, so it wasn't a complete waste of a week. There are better days ahead for the young outfielder. 😭: Connor Prielipp didn't pitch this week. It's been reported that he's seeking a doctor's opinion on his surgically repaired left elbow after feeling discomfort during his debut. He will have more testing and evaluation over the next few weeks. What's Next: A home series against West Michigan (6-3) who sits in a tie atop the East Division. Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels (Week: 3-3) Overall: 5-4, three-way tie for first in the Florida State League West. Overview: There will likely always be a storyline here because even though the Mighty Mussels don't have top prospects, they have the newest guys in the organization and some are sure to impress. Oh, and rehab guys. There was plenty going on this week. 🔥: After struggling his debut, Cory Lewis got back on track with a eight-strikeout performance. A home run and a walk were blemishes, but a huge improvement over the week before. 🔥: Zebby Matthews has been a dude so far. It's not often you can outperform a five-inning, three-hit, seven-strikeout scoreless debut, but Zebby outdid himself by missing working five perfect innings with only a walk. Definitely a candidate for Pitcher of the Week, Matthews probably will move from Florida to hea.. er, Iowa if he keeps this up. 🔥: Carlos Aguiar has been lost in the mix of big-name international prospects over the last handful of years, but maybe this can be his breakout year. The all-around numbers aren't great, but he's already hit two home runs. You'd like to see him improve his eye and selectivity at the plate (he struck out 66 times versus only nine walks in low-A last year), so the ten strikeouts so far this year aren't great, but the three walks has his OBP over .300. 🥶: After Dalton Shuffield was drafted in the 10th round last year, he was aggressively moved from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids to St. Paul and performed admirably, posting a .917 OPS. He hasn't been bad by any means, but a 2-for-12 stretch with six strikeouts in his first full week in low-A this year isn't going to get him quickly promoted. He's been pounding the ball into the ground, which is unlike him... so things should straighten out with him eventually. 😏: Jorge Polanco has been a giant question mark, but now he's finally getting back around to playing in full games. Three hits in 13 at-bats isn't great for a big-leaguer at low-A, but it's about getting reps and being healthy. The offense in Minnesota needs a jolt... and Polanco may be able to provide that eventually... 😏: ...and if he can't, maybe Alex Kirilloff can. Kirilloff also has only three hits in 12 at-bats. But he's hit a home run and has drawn three walks to go with his three strikeouts. 😏: I've long felt that Josh Winder and Jhoan Duran would make a nasty back of the bullpen. Is that the path the Twins will go with the rehabbing Winder, who pitched 2 2/3 innings over two appearances? He struck out four and allowed three hits. What's Next: A home series against Jupiter (5-4) might help alleviate the logjam that is the FSL. Six of the 10 teams are currently 5-4. PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week. The Prospect Tracker will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. (Season-long stats will be in parenthesis.) 20. Misael Urbina, OF, Cedar Rapids: 2-16, 3B, RBI, R, BB, 7 K, CS. (.148/.258/.259. .517 OPS) 19. Jose Rodriguez, OF: Extended Spring Training 18. Tanner Schobel, 2B, Cedar Rapids: 5-16, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, 5 K. (.313/.353/.500. .853 OPS), played four games at second base and committed no errors in 12 chances (one in 23 chances total). 17. Ronny Henriquez, RHP: On Minnesota’s injured list with elbow inflammation. 16. Jordan Balazovic, RHP, St. Paul: 0-0 (0.00 ERA), 2.1 IP, H, 3 BB, 4 K. (1.91 WHIP, .182 BAA) 15. Matt Canterino, RHP: Still recovering from Tommy John surgery. 14. Noah Miller, SS, Cedar Rapids: 4-13, RBI, 5 R, 6 BB, K, SB. (.321/.441/.357. .798 OPS), played shortstop in three games (six total) and committed no errors in 8 chances (25 total); played one game at second base and committed no errors in three chances. 13. David Festa, RHP, Wichita: 0-0 (5.06 ERA), 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 6 K. (0.68 WHIP, .167 BAA) 12. Yasser Mercedes, OF: Extended Spring Training 11. Matt Wallner, OF, St. Paul: 2-7, 2B, 2 BB, 3 K. (.286/.500/.429. .929 OPS); Minnesota: 0-8, BB, 4K, CS (.000/.273/.000. .273 OPS) 10. Austin Martin, SS: Martin is still recovering from an arm injury. 9. Louie Varland, RHP, St. Paul: DNP. (1.00 WHIP, .222 BAA); Minnesota: 0-0 (.450 ERA), 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 HR, BB, 8 K (1.17 WHIP, .250 BAA) 8. Jose Salas, INF: 2-16, R, RBI, BB, 4 K, 3 SB, CS (.125/.160/.125. .285 OPS), played two games shortstop (no errors in six chances) and two games at third base (one error in two chances (seven total)). He previously played one game at second base (no errors in four chances) 7. Connor Prielipp, LHP, Cedar Rapids: Did not pitch. Was placed on IL with some elbow soreness. Hopefully, the next news will be good news. (1.75 WHIP, .294 BAA) 6. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, St. Paul: 0-1 (13.50 ERA), 3.1 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, HR, BB, 3 K. (2.43 WHIP, .412 BAA) 5. Edouard Julien, 2B, St. Paul: 1-2, 2B, RBI. (.290/.421/.548. .969 OPS); Minnesota: 2-17, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB, 5 K (.118/.167/.294. .461 OPS) 4. Marco Raya, RHP: Getting a late start to the season after some arm soreness. 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF, Cedar Rapids: 4-16, 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, 11 K. (.185/.324/.630. .954 OPS) 2. Royce Lewis, SS: Lewis is still recovering from his second ACL surgery. 1. Brooks Lee, SS, Wichita: 6-18, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 4 K. (.323/.382/.516. .898 OPS), played all five games (eight total) at shortstop and committed no errors in 25 chances (37 total). PLAYERS OF THE WEEK PITCHER - Kyle Jones, Cedar Rapids. Last year's 7th-round pick has had a great start to the season for the Kernels. With an aggressive placement at High-A. Jones has answered the bell. In his start against Quad Cities this week, Jones allowed only a single run on three hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out four. He was saddled with the loss, but the 23-year-old gets bonus points for being assigned to a harder environment than many of the other 2022 pitchers. HITTER - Emmanuel Rodriguez, Cedar Rapids. There is so much not going right for the 20-year-old - he's walking back to the dugout after striking out almost two and a half times per game - and he's not walking nearly as much as he did last year. But when E-Rod is touching the ball... well, touching is the wrong word. Because he's assaulting it. In four games, he hit three home runs (including a monster walk-off) and drove in ten runs. By the time teams see him for a second time, they're going to wish they didn't have to. Who would have been your picks? Any early season surprises or disappointments? Ask questions and discuss the Twins prospects in the COMMENTS below.