Search the Community

TRANSACTIONS With OF Trevor Larnach heading to the IL with the Minnesota Twins, #OneOfUs OF Matt Wallner was recalled to the majors from the St. Paul Saints in his place. In an odd scheduling quirk, Wallner started (and finished) Tuesday’s game for the Saints, and was available for the Twins vs. San Francisco at Target Field (where he was hit by a pitch in a pinch-hit appearance). In double-A, the Wind Surge activated OF Alerick Soularie and 1B Aaron Sabato, while also transferring OF Armani Smith to the Development List. The Cedar Rapids Kernels released C Charles Mack, and in his place assigned early-season standout C Andrew Cossetti from Fort Myers. In a corresponding move with Cossetti’s promotion, C Frank Nigro was assigned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins roster. SAINTS SENTINEL Omaha 6, St. Paul 1 Box Score In a matinee affair at CHS Field in St. Paul, the Storm Chasers rode a pair of major league rehabbers to a 6-1 victory on Tuesday. Omaha starting pitcher Daniel Lynch has made 42 starts for the Kansas City Royals over the last two years (including a 1-3 record against the Twins in seven starts) but has not appeared in the majors yet this season as he returns from injury. He took his Twins organization frustrations out on the Saints this afternoon, spinning six innings of shutout baseball, allowing just three hits and striking out five. In opposition, St. Paul sent right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson to the hill, looking to get on track in his 2023 campaign. Unfortunately, he didn’t come close to matching his fellow major leaguer. He pitched into the fifth inning, but finished his day with four-plus innings pitched, allowing five earned runs on eight hits and two walks, while striking out three. After the outing, his triple-A ERA sits at 7.12 and you have to hope his stuff takes over sooner rather than later. On the offensive side, the rehabbing Drew Waters was also a menace to the Saints. He finished 4-for-5 with two doubles and three runs scored out of the leadoff spot, proving to be a catalyst for the Storm Chasers all game. The home team didn’t cross the plate until the ninth inning, when Matt Wallner led off with a single, moved to third on a Chris Williams double, and scored on a groundout off the bad of Andrew Bechtold. The Saints managed just six hits on the game, with Williams’ double being the only extra-base-hit. Ryan LaMarre finished 2-for-4, but as a team, St. Paul went just 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left only seven men on base for the game. After Woods Richardson’s four-plus innings, Patrick Murphy (2 IP, BB, 4 K), Kody Funderburk (1 1/3 IP, BB, 3 K), and Austin Schulfer (1 2/3 IP, 2 H, ER, K) finished out the game for the Saints pitching staff. In #OldFriend news, lefty Evan Sisk pitched two innings of relief for the Storm Chasers, allowing one hit, walking two, and striking out two of his former teammates. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Springfield 8 Box Score The Wichita Wind Surge visit Springfield, Missouri, this week, a town I have spent quite a bit of time in, to face the Cardinals at the underrated Hammons Field downtown. Unfortunately, they and starter Carlos Luna were greeted by the Texas League’s home run leader, Chandler Redmond, and the rest of the Cardinal faithful. Redmond clubbed two home runs in the contest, driving in four, to take down Wichita. Starter Carlos Luna went the first four innings, surrendering one of those homers and allowing four total earned runs on six hits, while striking out two. Hunter McMahon gave up one run on three hits in two innings. Lefty Michael Boyle was the next victim for Redmond, resulting in three earned runs on three hits and one walk in his lone inning. He struck out one. Osiris German finished off the game for the Wind Surge with a scoreless bottom of the eighth, striking out one. All three of Wichita’s runs came in the fourth inning as they closed the early Springfield lead to 4-3. Jake Rucker, Yunior Severino, and Alex Isola loaded the bases with singles to start the inning, and Anthony Prato drove in two with a single of his own before a sac fly from Alerick Soularie capped their scoring. Rucker finished 3-for-4 with a run scored, and Isola 2-for-4 with a double and run scored to lead the lineup. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 8, Cedar Rapids 4 Box Score In positive notes from this game, starter Pierson Ohl was able to finish 5 2/3 innings for the Kernels, though most of those came after he had already allowed five runs in the first two. From the third through the fifth, Ohl had seemed to settle in, taking advantage of the Timber Rattler's aggressive nature, but a pair of two-out walks in the sixth finally ended his night. Charlie Neuweiler came on from the bullpen and gave up a single, and both those runners then scored after a throwing error from outfielder Willie Joe Garry Jr. In all, Ohl was charged with seven runs (six earned) on nine hits and two walks, but did notch seven punch-outs. Neuweiler went on to finish 2 1/3 innings, retiring seven in a row, and allowed just the one hit, while striking out three. Matthew Swain came on for the ninth and gave up an unearned run after a pair of singles and an error, striking out two. Emmanuel Rodriguez tied the game at one in the bottom of the first with a solo home run, his fifth of the season. In the bottom of the sixth Noah Cardenas led off with a double and was driven in by Garry Jr. with a single. The Kernels added single runs in the seventh and ninth innings thanks to Kala’i Rosario, with an RBI single and solo home run, respectively. Despite being outhit 12-8, the Kernels had 14 at-bats with runners in scoring position compared to the Timber Rattler's five, but the visiting team picked up four hits compared to their two in those situations. Rosario (2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K) and Cardenas (2-for-4, R, 2B, BB) each had two hits in the game, while Tanner Schobel, Garry Jr. (2), Ben Ross, and Rosario picked up stolen bases. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 13, Dunedin 3 Box Score The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels blew out the Dunedin Blue Jays on Tuesday night behind a big fifth inning in which 14 batters stepped to the plate, and five of them hit home runs. Before we get to that, however, Dunedin had taken the lead against Fort Myers starter Develson Aria, who allowed three earned runs on two hits and a pair of walks, while striking out just one. The Mighty Mussels had two runs of their own to that point thanks to a solo home run from Carlos Aguiar to lead off the fourth, and a Dylan Neuse RBI single later in the frame. Aguiar’s first blast was a harbinger, both for his team, and himself. Because in the fifth inning, he and the squad flexed every mighty muscle they had. Jorel Ortega led off with a solo home run, his third of the season. After a Danny De Andrade single, Ricardo Olivar and Aguiar went yard back-to-back. Two batters later, Rafael Cruz hit his first home run of the year, a two-run shot. Three singles, a walk, and wild pitch later, Aguiar clubbed his third home run of the game, and second of the inning, a three-run shot to make it 13-3 in the visiting team's favor. After that outburst, the Fort Myers bullpen trio of Ricky Mineo (W, 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K), Danny Moreno (2 IP, H, 2 K), and Jackson Hicks (1 IP, H, BB, K) shut out the Blue Jays the rest of the way. Joining Aguiar (3-for-5, 3 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI) with multiple hits in the contest were Ortega (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB), Olivar (2-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K), Cruz (2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K) and Neuse (3-for-4, R, RBI, K). All hitters in the starting lineup except Rubel Cespedes reached base at least once and scored a run. Be sure to check out this one’s box score to catch it all. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Patrick Murphy, St. Paul Saints (2 IP, BB, 4 K) Hitter of the Day - Carlos Aguiar, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (3-for-5, 3 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI, BB) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab-St. Paul) - 0-for-4, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI, BB, K #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 2 K #7 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 4+ IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul / Minnesota) - 1-for-4, R, K / HBP (pinch-hit appearance) #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2 K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-3, R, BB, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - LHP Brent Headrick (1-1, 4.94 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Blayne Enlow (1-1, 3.28 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (2-3, 4.06 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (6:00 PM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS There were no transactions in the Twins minor leagues on Friday. However, we know that Bailey Ober will be starting for the Twins on Saturday, and for that to be OK, the Twins will have to put a player on the Injured List. If I were to guess… I’d take my chances that the player will be Kenta Maeda. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 1, Rochester 2 Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson fell to 0-3 on the season, but he really put together a terrific start. In fact, he carried a perfect game through four innings. He faced the minimum number of batters through five innings. In the sixth inning, a Derek Hill single broke up the no-hit bid. He advanced to third base on a single. Darren Baker bunted and Woods Richardson flipped it home but Hill was safe. The second run scored on a wild pitch. Richardson was charged with the two runs on three hits and two walks in seven innings. He had four strikeouts. Austin Schulfer tossed a perfect eighth inning. Unfortunately, Red Wings (Nationals) pitcher Cory Abbott also kept a no-hit bid into the sixth inning. Alex Kirilloff had a walk in the fourth inning to end the perfect game bid, and Elliot Soto broke up the no-hitter with a double in the sixth inning. Down 2-0 going into the ninth inning, the Red Wings mounted a bit of a comeback. Mark Contreras doubled in Kyle Garlick to cut the deficit to 2-1 with nobody out. Andrew Bechtold followed with a walk. Andrew Stevenson bunted the runners to second and third with one out. However, two strikeouts later and the Saints had a 2-1 loss. The Red Wings had five walks, but they also struck out 18 times in the game. Not much for base runners, but the team went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base in the game. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Springfield 9 Box Score Chad Donato is a 27-year-old pitcher that the Twins signed in the offseason to provide innings and maybe some mentorship. He was originally drafted by the Astros in 2016 out of West Virginia and spent the 2022 season at Triple-A Sugar Land where he went 4-8 but tossed 124 2/3 innings. Upon becoming a free agent, he signed with the Twins this offseason On Friday, he made his third start for the Wind Surge, and it didn’t go well. He went 3 2/3 innings and gave up six runs, two each in the first, third and fourth innings. He gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out two. Andrew Cabezas came off of the Development List on Thursday. On Friday, he struck out four batters over two scoreless innings. Hunter McMahon is off to a slow start this season. In this one, he gave up three runs (2 earned) on two walks in just 1 1/3 innings. He did strike out three batters. Michael Boyle came in and allowed both inherited runners to score. But he was able to complete the final two innings. Wichita pitchers have given up 30 runs over the past three games. The Wind Surge bats just weren’t able to get much going in the game. They had just six hits and walked just twice. Alex Isola went 2-for-4 in the game. Jake Rucker went 2-for-4 with an RBI double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, West Michigan 5 Box Score Marco Raya made the start for the Kernels in this game. The youngster completed the first three innings. He gave up three runs on three hits (including 2 homers) and a walk. He struck out two batters. Orlando Rodriguez came on and worked four innings out of the bullpen. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out five batters. Niklas Rimmel walked one and struck one out in a scoreless eighth inning. Regi Grace has had a nice breakout in the first month of this season for the Kernels. In this game, he had a perfect ninth and ended the game with a big strikeout to earn his first Save. Rimmel gets the Win because the Kernels scored three runs to take the lead in the eighth inning. Kala’i had an RBI double to tie the game. Then Tanner Schobel and Misael Urbina hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to give the Kernels the two-run lead. The first three runs of the game for the Kernels came off of the bat of Noah MIller. He had an RBI single in the second inning. Then in the fifth inning, he hit a two-run single. Miller went 2-for-5 with those three RBI. Ben Ross went 2-for-4 with a walk. He stole a base too. Noah Cardenas walked once and added his third double of the season. The Kernels gave up three home runs in the game. Two of them came off of the bat of the #12 overall pick in the 2022 draft, Jace Jung. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Daytona 2 Box Score Zebby Matthews, the Twins eighth round pick last summer out of Western Carolina, has started off his season 3-0 after another solid start on Friday night. In this game, he gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight batters. Jonathan Lavallee struck out three over 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief. Jackson Hicks struck out three batters over the final 1 2/3 innings to record his first save as a pro. The Mussels had plenty of baserunners that this game could have been a blowout. They had nine hits and six walks, but they were just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base. However, Dylan Neuse and Carlos Aguiar provided the big hits. In the second inning, Neuse gave the team a 1-0 lead with an RBI single. In the third inning, Aguiar drove in a run to make it 2-0 Fort Myers. The Tortugas got on the board with a run in the fourth inning. In the sixth frame, Neuse came up big again with another run-scoring hit to provide the team with just enough insurance since Dayton scored a run in the bottom of that inning to make it 3-2. Neuse went 2-for-3 with a walk in the game. He also stole his fifth bag of the season. Aguiar added a triple to his run-scoring double. Jorel Ortega went 2-for-4 with a walk. Rubel Cespedes went 2-for-4. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Hitter of the Day – Carlos Aguiar (Fort Myers) - 2-for-5, 2B (4), 3B (1), RBI. 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) - 0-for-4, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - IL (news came out on Friday that he is playing three games in Extended Spring Training games every other day. They hope to have him start a rehab assignment in May.) #4 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 50 pitches, 30 strikes. #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. 78 pitches, 55 strikes. #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K. #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, 3 RBI #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, R, RBI, HBP, SF. #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 K, SF. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Rochester (12:05 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (1-0, 5.94 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (2:05 PM CST) - RHP Carlos Luna (0-0, 4.09 ERA) West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (1-2, 2.70 ERA) Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Tomas Cleto (0-1, 2.57 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games!

TRANSACTIONS C David Bañuelos transferred from AAA St. Paul to AA Wichita Saints Sentinel St. Paul 11, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 6 Box Score Louie Varland: 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K HR: Ryan LaMarre (2), Hernán Pérez (3) Multi-hit games: None The Saints overcame a 4-0 deficit to easily win on Saturday. A week and a day after starting against the Yankees, Louie Varland faced their Triple-A team—and performed a little worse. He still struck out eight, but was also touched for five runs as a 4th inning hit parade soiled his afternoon. Statcast clocked one of his fastballs at 98.7 MPH. Fortunately for Varland, his bats ensured that he would not leave with a loss on his ledger. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s pitchers were wild all day, handing out walks like Costco samples, and the Saints exploited the free runners with glee. The 4th frame was their masterpiece, as—working with just a trio of extra-base hits—they scraped together a five-spot, surging ahead of the RailRiders with one effective attack. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tied the game quickly, but St. Paul piled on with three more two-run innings, eventually totaling 11 runs on the game—more than enough to best a RailRiders lineup stifled by the Saints’ bullpen. Jordan Balzovic was amongst the relief crew; he earned a 1-2-3 inning and lowered his season ERA to 1.59. It was a strange offensive day, as six of St. Paul’s seven hits went for extra bases and no player earned multiple hits. They also walked more than they struck out. Elijah Dunham was the best prospect for the RailRiders on Saturday. The 18th-ranked player in the Yankees farm system, Dunham doubled twice and walked while playing center field. Alex Kirilloff did not play in Saturday’s game and neither did Josh Winder, whose last appearance came on April 19th. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 4, Tulsa 3 Box Score Chad Donato: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: Will Holland (1), Jake Rucker (3) Multi-hit games: Jake Rucker (2-for-4, HR, R, RBI), Yunior Severino (2-for-4, R), DaShawn Kiersey Jr. (2-for-4, R), Will Holland (2-for-4, HR, R, RBI) Wichita scrapped by their opponents on Saturday. Chad Donato set the tone, working four quality innings—and recovering well after allowing a home run on the first pitch of his night. His only other blemish came via another homer in the 3rd inning. Wichita’s bats had their hands full with Emmet Sheehan on the mound. The tall righty worked four frames as well, striking out eight batters to double his counterpart; his earned run total was half, as well. But fortunately, Sheehan burned out early, and the Drillers defense handed the Wind Surge plenty of chances to make up the difference. Will Holland’s solo homer in the 2nd was no fluke, but when he grounded a ball to Tulsa third baseman Brandon Lewis and came up safe with Yunior Severino scoring, it was apparent that fortune was on his side. Brooks Lee’s strikeout-to-reach-base-to-score-another-run—somehow not the only one in the system on Friday—gave Wichita their first lead of the ballgame. The Drillers added another homer to their collection in the bottom of the innings, but all they did was set up the grand finale: a dramatic Jake Rucker 9th inning shot to hand Wichita a slim 4-3 advantage. They held on. With outstanding relief pitching allowing just one run over five frames, the Wind Surge claimed victory over the Drillers, giving them their seventh win of the year. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 1, Beloit 7 Box Score Orlando Rodriguez: 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jeferson Morales (2-for-3, R), Ernie Yake (2-for-3, 2B) The Kernels lost a decisive game on Saturday. With much of the action limited to two innings—particularly brutal 4th and 5th frames for the Kernels—this was a classic quick event; the entire game lasted less than two hours. Beloit starter Luis Palacios controlled Cedar Rapids’ offense, allowing just three singles while punching out six over seven strong innings. His win was well-deserved. The Kernels as a whole pitched better than their line suggests, only running into trouble when a Jose Salas error broke the dam in the 4th, plating the first of four runs that eventually drowned Cedar Rapids’ chance of winning. Iowa native Matt Mullenbach proved the most effective hurler of the day; he pitched a pair of scoreless frames with two strikeouts for his troubles. Charlie Neuweiler claimed an empty inning as well. Cedar Rapids’ bats were ineffective—tepid, if one were being mean. Outside of a strong back-end showing by Jeferson Morales and Ernie Yake, the lineup produced enough “1s” and “0s” to be mistaken as binary. Their lone run came in the 8th when Kala’i Rosario grounded out to plate Morales. The Sky Carp are led by Jacob Berry—a third baseman and the Marlins’ 2nd-best prospect according to MLB.com. He was drafted two spots before the Twins picked Brooks Lee. He singled and scored in four trips to the plate. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 9, Jupiter 7 Box Score Zebby Matthews: 4 2/3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: Carlos Aguiar (3), Dalton Shuffield (2) Multi-hit games: Dalton Shuffield (2-for-5, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI) Fort Myers won on a walk-off on Saturday. The Mighty Mussels struck first, handing starter Zebby Matthews an early 3-0 lead off of four 3rd inning walks and a double; Andrew Cossetti added a sacrifice fly for good measure. They went on to walk nine times in the game. For Matthews—already cruising early, extending his scoreless streak to 13 frames—the runs seemed all he needed to carry the win. Jupiter did score in the 4th, finally snapping his record, but it appeared that Fort Myers was in good shape to hold their advantage. What they didn’t predict, though, was a four-run 5th, with a lead-off triple and back-breaking three-run homer that flipped a solid-looking lead the other way; Jupiter now commanded a two-run hold. And the Mighty Mussels were up to the challenge. Again forcing starter Jacob Miller to be his own enemy, Fort Myers hitters walked three times in the 5th, forcing a fresh arm to relieve the ineffective Miller from his post. With a new arm to target, Carlos Aguiar took aim and deposited a ball beyond the fence, handing his team a new one-run lead. It lasted half an inning. Although, this time there was no response; both teams settled into an extended siege. The tie broke in the 10th, as Jupiter plated their Manfred Man and placed pressure onto the Mighty Mussels to force an ultimatum. They did—but not in the way the Hammerheads wanted, nor in any way that could have been predicted. A wild pitch advanced Danny De Andrade—already gifted second base—to third with one out. As Aguiar struck out swinging, the ball bounded past the catcher’s reach, coaxing De Andrade home as Aguiar scampered to first, somehow eliciting a positive outcome from his actions. With hilarity, Dalton Shuffield swung at the second pitch he saw and blasted a 402 foot walk-off homer to end the game. So it goes. Credit must go to Fort Myers’ bullpen as well: the collection of Gabreil Yanez, Juan Mendez, and Zach Veen worked 5 ⅓ innings with just one earned run. Mendez was especially crucial, firing off 96 MPH darts over his three scoreless frames; he struck out a trio. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Juan Mendez, Fort Myers Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Dalton Shuffield, Fort Myers PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-5, 2 K #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-4, 2B, BB, K #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) - 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K #9 - Louie Varland (St. Paul) - 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-3, R, 2 BB, K #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #20 - Miseal Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4 SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes-Barre @ St. Paul (2:07 PM) - TBD Wichita @ Tulsa (1:05 PM) - RHP Carlos Luna Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (1:05 PM) - RHP Pierson Ohl Jupiter @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM) - RHP Tomas Cleto

TRANSACTIONS RHP Jorge Alcala and INF Edouard Julien (Twins Daily’s #5 prospect) were optioned to the Saints Twins Daily’s #6 prospect RHP Simeon Woods Richardson recalled by the Minnesota Twins INF Jorge Polanco has completed his Major League rehab and returned to the Minnesota Twins INF Tyler White placed on the Saints Development List OF Alex Kirilloff and RHP Josh Winder continue to rehab with St. Paul Saints Sentinel St. Paul 10, Scranton-Wilkes/Barre 9 (11 innings) Box Score Starting pitcher Dereck Rodriguez had a rough first inning. He gave up two home runs. In the second inning, two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases. RailRiders (and former Saints) catcher Jose Godoy scored their third run of the night. After he settled in, he had a third and fourth scoreless inning, managing the damage, allowing the Saints bats to go to work. In the second inning, the Saints offense gave the fans early fireworks. With the bases loaded, walks from Alex Kirilloff and Kyle Garlick gave the Saints two runs. Twins Daily’s #11 prospect Matt Wallner followed Garlick and drove a deep grand slam to put the Saints up 6-3. Wallner went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double and the home run. The Saints pitching staff made the decision to replace Rodriguez. In four innings, Rodriguez gave up three earned runs. The bullpen was not able to stifle the RailRiders bats and allowed three runs to tie up the game in the sixth inning. The Saints answered back immediately with an Andrew Stevenson home run to get back out in front. Trevor Megill came in to finish the game, but the RailRiders came back and tied up the game taking the Saints into extra innings. SWB scored to go ahead of the Saints in the 11th on a home run from Godoy scoring Rodolfo Duran to pull ahead of the Saints. The Saints continued to battle. They began the bottom of the 11th inning with Alex De Goti on second base. Edouard Julien coaxed a walk. Chris Williams grounded into a force-out, but with one out, the Saints got the big hit they were looking for. The Saints won in walk-off fashion on a three-run home run from Kyle Garlick to end the game! Quick Note: Shortstop Elliot Soto was hit in the face with a fastball early in the game and immediately replaced by De Goti. No update yet on Soto’s condition. However, he was in the Saints dugout at the end of the game and participated in the Saints on-field celebration. Presumably, that's good news. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 5, Tulsa 6 Box Score The game started out with a solo home run for both teams. Dodgers outfield prospect Jonny DeLuca led off the bottom of the first inning with a homer off of lefty Aaron Rozek. When the Wind Surge came to bat in the second, outfielder Armani Smith (minor-league Rule 5 pick in December) answered with his first homer in the Twins organization. The Surge offense struggled to get on the board after the one run in the second inning. A majority of the batters were connecting with the ball and getting on base, but being stranded at the end of each inning from a defensive play of Tulsa. Aaron Rozek made his second start of the season and tossed four innings. His third inning started with a homer from Josh Stowers, the second he allowed of the night, but didn’t allow any further runs in his appearance. The Surge defense showed up huge, giving the offense a chance to try and pull ahead. Jordan Brink struck out two batters in a scoreless fifth frame. Jose Bravo came on and was charged with three runs on two hits and three walks over 2 1/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Alex Scherff recorded the final two outs of the eighth inning. Jake Rucker hit his second home run of the season in the fifth inning, giving the Surge the nudge they needed to get back into the game. Tulsa tied the game in the eighth inning putting the Surge in a position to close out the game at the top of the ninth, but Tulsa managed to get one more run on the board to win the game. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 4 Box Score The highlight of this game was the first start of the season for Twins Daily’s #4 prospect Marco Raya. He went 2 2/3 innings and was charged with two runs on one hit. He walked three batters, hit one, and struck out four. Reports from a couple of people who were at the game in southern Wisconsin indicate that, despite the cold temperatures, Raya was consistently hitting 97 mph on the radar gun. Lefty John Wilson finished the third inning and also pitched a scoreless fourth frame. 19-year-old Alejandro Hidalgo came on to start the fifth inning. He was really good. He was charged with two unearned runs on five hits over his four innings. He struck out four batters without issuing a walk. Noah Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a triple. Kala’i Rosario had an RBI double. Willie Joe Garry hit a double and his first home run in the game, but it wasn’t enough and the Kernels fell to 5-6 on the young season. Mussels Matters Fort Myers 13, Jupiter 2 Box Score Andrew Cossetti continued to be the talk of the town. He extended his hitting streak to five games with a line-drive single to center in the bottom of the second. Coming into the game, he led the Florida State League in home runs (4), RBI (16), Slugging (.806) and OPS (1.280). This is the second start of the season for Mussels RHP Jose Olivares. In his first appearance, Olivares pitched five innings and only allowed one run. As one of the pitchers who led the 2022 FCL Twins in strikeouts (39), he seemed to struggle with the strike zone tonight early in the game. In the fourth inning, He gave up a run in the fourth inning on a triple followed by a wild pitch The Mussels tied the game at one in the bottom of the fourth inning. Danny DeAndrade and Cossetti drew walks. Then on a double-steal, the catcher threw the ball into left field which allowed a run to score. The Mussels bats came to life in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Mussels scored five runs. The first came on a Dylan Neuse single. Jorel Ortega doubled in two runs, and DeAndrade singled in two more runs. The Mussels continued to put on a show scoring another seven runs over the next two innings. Cossetti, who was the victim of walks twice, got his bat on a ball in the seventh and hit a sharp line-drive double to left and scored De Andrade. Rubel Cespedes followed with a two-run double. Michael Helman singled in a run, and the final two runs came on a Jorel Ortega double. 2022 draft pick Ben Ethridge closed it out with three strikeouts over two scoreless innings. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jose Olivares (Fort Myers) - 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K Hitter of the Day –Kyle Garlick (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, 2 R, BB, 2K, 4 RBI. (including walkoff homer) PROSPECT SUMMARY The Twins Prospect Tracker is the best way to see how each of the Twins top prospects performed during their games; but in case you wanted a quick look, Here is how each of the top 20 performed today: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-for-5, R, BB, 1K #4 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - 2.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. 51 pitches, 28 strikes. #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 0-4, 1R, 2 BB, 2 K #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 3-4, 1R, 1 BB, 1K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-5, R, 2 K, E #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, RBI, SB(1), K #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, 2 BB, K, CS SATURDAY SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS: Scranton @ St. Paul (2:07PM CST) - RHP Sean Boyle (1-1, 4.97) vs RHP Louie Varland (1-0, 1.80) Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05PM CST) - RHP Chad Donato (0-1, 27.00) vs. RHP Emmett Sheehan(1-1, 3.09) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (3:05PM CST) - RHP Orlando Rodriguez will make his first start of the season. Jupiter @ Fort Myers (5:00PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (2-0, 0.00) vs RHP Jacob Miller (0-0, 0.00) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday's games!

TRANSACTIONS INF Brooks Lee promoted to Wichita C Dillon Datum placed on development list (Wichita) INF Wander Javier promoted to St. Paul INF Jake Rucker promoted to St. Paul C Roy Morales activated from IL (St. Paul) OF Matt Wallner contract selected by Minnesota RHP Louie Varland recalled by Minnesota (29th man) RHP Drew Strotman designated for assignment RHP Trevor Megill placed on COVID-IL list RHP Dereck Rodriguez contract selected from St. Paul. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 4, Louisville 3 Box Score Randy Dobnak: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K HR: Jake Rucker (1) Multi-hit games: Jake Rucker (2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI), Dalton Shuffield (2-for-3) St. Paul won on a walk-off Saturday. The new guys made bold impressions; Jake Rucker announced his presence with a two-run homer, while Wander Javier singled in a run in the 5th inning. With a runner on third in the 9th, Rucker connected with a fly-ball sent deep enough to score the winning run. Randy Dobnak—making his first start since his recent DFA—was erratic, walking three batters in a rust-filled outing. The sinkerballer still struck out four and didn’t allow a run—perhaps proving he still has something in the tank—but the Twins will likely desire to see more command in future starts. Trevor Larnach started in left field and played seven innings. Mike Siani—the Bats’ centerfielder and lead-off man—is the team’s best prospect; he homered and singled in five at-bats. Longtime major-leaguer, Stephen Piscotty, hit 6th for the Bats and DH’d. Wind Surge Wisdom Game One: Wichita 3, Midland 4 Box Score Cody Laweryson: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: Alex Isola (10) Multi-hit games: Alex Isola (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI) Wichita lost the first game of their doubleheader on Saturday. Cody Laweryson pitched effectively—although not dominantly—in his five innings of work, striking out five batters while allowing two runs. His Wichita ERA sits at 1.06. Alex Isola spearheaded the offensive performance; the catcher homered and singled, netting two runs in an otherwise dry day for Wind Surge batters. Anthony Prato’s 2nd inning double was the only other extra-base hit in the game. The issue? Wichita grounded into three double plays in the game; Yunior Severino accounted for two of them. Tyler Soderstrom is Midland’s top prospect according to MLB.com. The first baseman singled twice in three at-bats. Game Two: Wichita 1, Midland 9 Box Score Osiris German: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None Wichita lost a clunker in game two on Saturday. Midland sandwiched a one-run 4th inning with four-run frames before and afterward, ensuring that Wichita would face an uphill battle in their attempt to win; Hunter McMahon and Michael Boyle walked away with battered ERAs. The lone offensive bright spot came when Austin Martin doubled home a run in the 6th inning, but—fitting for a game like this—Midland threw him out trying to stretch the play to a triple. Brooks Lee went hitless with a strikeout in three at-bats during his AA debut. Soderstrom improved off his first game, homering and driving in three to cement his prospect status. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 1, Dunedin 3 Box Score Jordan Carr: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Tanner Schobel (2-for-4, RBI) Fort Myers lost on Saturday, ending their playoff run in the opening round. All arms were on deck; Fort Myers called upon four pitchers to help lead them, and their combined effort was impressive. Andrew Morris—a 2022 draft pick—lead the way with a trio of scoreless innings, holding the Blue Jays at bay during the crucial switch from the middle innings to the late frames. The staff allowed a high hit total—11, to be precise—but only three runs. The Achilles heel proved to be the offense, as the bats mustered just four hits in the match; Tanner Schobel alone accounted for half of them. Without an extra-base hit, the team could plate only a single run, forcing the pitchers to be perfect, which they were not. The Mighty Mussels’ season is now over. Josh Kasevich and Cade Doughty are Dunedin’s top prospects according to MLB.com; Doughty singled twice and both hitters nabbed an RBI. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy Dobnak Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jake Rucker PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-3, K #4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-6, 2B, RBI #7 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-4 #9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-3, HR, R, RBI, K (Major League debut) #12 - Louie Varland (Minnesota) - 5 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-5, BB, K #15 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 2 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, RBI #20 - Kala’i Rosario (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Louisville @ St. Paul (12:07 PM) - RHP Ronny Henriquez Wichita @ Midland (2:00 PM) - LHP Kody Funderburk

Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization. TRANSACTIONS The Twins sent OF Kyle Garlick on a rehab assignment to AAA St. Paul SAINTS (AAA) St. Paul 2, Iowa 4 Box Score The Saints did not start the day well for the Twins minor league affiliates as they fell 4-2 to the Iowa Cubs in an afternoon game. Jordan Balazovic took the ball for St. Paul in this one. Balazovic has had a rough year as he was 0-5 with a 9.26 ERA and a 7.41 FIP coming into today’s game. Balazovic’s first two innings were scoreless on Wednesday, and he was looking like he had maybe written the ship and turned it around. This all changed in the bottom of the third when Iowa put up two runs on four hits, including three straight two-out singles to produce the runs. Balazovic allowed John Hicks to hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, increasing Iowa’s lead to three runs. Balazovic now has allowed 16 home runs in 49 ⅔ innings for St. Paul this year, which equates to 2.9 HR per 9 innings. To put that number into perspective, Twins fan favorite, Emilio Pagan, has allowed 2.1 HR/9 this year. Despite the lead-off homer, Balazovic bounced back and struck out two batters to end the fourth and his outing. Balazovic went four innings, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three. The Saints got the deficit within one in the top of the seventh thanks to solo homers from Braden Bishop and Michael Helman. Iowa gave themselves some breathing room in the bottom of the eighth with a solo homer off of Jharel Cotton to increase the lead to two. Jermaine Palacios led off the ninth with a single to get the tying run to the plate, but nothing sufficed, and the Saints dropped the game 4-2. Kyle Garlick played in the first game of his rehab stint and went 1-for-4 with a single and two strikeouts. Helman, Bishop, Matt Wallner, and Mark Contreras all had two-hit games to lead the offense. Drew Strotman and Jovani Moran combined to throw three scoreless innings of relief to keep the Saints in the game. The Saints fall to 57-60 on the year with the loss. WIND SURGE (AA) Wichita 4, Frisco 0 Box Score The Wichita Wind Surge continued their incredible season and defeated Jack Leiter in a very well-played game on Wednesday night. Edouard Julien continued his incredible season by hitting his 16th homer of the year in the top of the first. Julien is now hitting .294 with a .944 OPS at Double-A this year. This gave Wichita starter Cody Laweryson a lead before he ever stepped on the mound. Laweryson never relinquished this early lead and was fantastic, throwing 4 ⅔ scoreless innings while striking out six, dropping his Double-A ERA to 0.92. The Wind Surge tacked on insurance runs in the sixth, seventh, and ninth innings. In the sixth, Jair Camargo walked, scoring Julien. In the seventh, Austin Martin doubled to score DaShawn Keirsey Jr. In the ninth, Will Holland hit his third Double-A homer to increase the lead to four. Francis Peguero, Ryan Horstman, Alex Phillips, and Steven Cruz combined to throw 4 ⅓ scoreless innings of relief to finish the game, striking out five. Peguero was credited with the win as Wichita moved to 66-49. Julien, Keirsey, and Alex Isola all had two hits to lead the offensive charge. On Thursday, Wichita will turn to Daniel Gossett who is fresh off a no-hitter. KERNELS (HIGH-A) Cedar Rapids 9, Lake County 10 Box Score Cedar Rapids dropped an extra-inning thriller to Lake County on Wednesday by a score of 10-9. The Kernels jumped out to an early lead, putting up five runs in the first inning. Mikey Perez led off with a single, advanced on an error, and was singled home by Brooks Lee. After Seth Gray walked, Jake Rucker smoked a double to score Lee and Gray. The next batter was Wander Javier, who hit his 11th homer of the year to give the Kernels a five run lead before they had recorded an out. The beneficiary of all this run support was Sean Mooney, who was making his first start since being activated from the injured list. Mooney just threw one inning and only faced three batters, getting two strikeouts and a flyout. After Mooney’s scoreless inning, Orlando Rodriguez came in as the bulk reliever for the Kernels. Rodriguez threw 4 ⅔ solid innings, allowing two runs while striking out four. After Orlando was done, the Kernels brought in Miguel Rodriguez who allowed three runs while just getting two outs as Lake County tied the game up at five in the bottom of the seventh. After not scoring from innings two through seven, the Kernels saw the game was tied and had to get it going. After Willie Joe Garry Jr. was hit by a pitch, Charles Mack smashed a two-run homer, his third of the year to give Cedar Rapids the lead. In the ninth, they added another insurance run thanks to a Mikey Perez homer. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Kernels had a three-run lead and the game was close to done. Well, three batters into the ninth Lake County had tied it up thanks to a three-run homer from Korey Holland. Garry Jr. tied it up in the top of the tenth with an RBI single but Lake County answered in the bottom half to send it to 11 innings. In the 11th, Cedar Rapids did not capitalize and Lake County did, walking off Cedar Rapids in 11 innings. Rucker led the offense with three hits, and Perez, Lee, and Dylan Neuse also chipped in with two hits a piece. Ryan Shreve was credited with the loss for Cedar Rapids as their record falls to 68-48. MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A) Fort Myers 7, Lakeland 6 Box Score After a four hour weather delay, Fort Myers delivered a walk-off victory in eight innings over the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Mike Paredes started on the hill for the Mighty Mussels. He went four innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out one batter. Fort Myers got on the board in the first inning when Tanner Schobel singled, scoring Noah Miller. In the bottom of the fourth, Rubel Cespedes scored Ben Ross with a single to cut the Fort Myers deficit to one run. Then the rain came. Four hours later, the two teams resumed. Four hours after he hit a single, Cespedes came in to score on a wild pitch. One batter later, Misael Urbina drove in Carlos Aguiar with a single to give the Mighty Mussels a lead. The Flying Tigers tied it up in the top of the fifth and the game remained 4-4 until the first extra inning they played (the 8th inning). Juan Mendez came in to pitch for Fort Myers and allowed two runs in the top half of the eighth. With three outs to play with, Fort Myers needed a rally. Kala’i Rosario led off, reaching on an error by the second baseman to score Cespedes, who started the inning on second base. After an Aguiar walk, Luis Baez hit a single to score Rosario and tie it up. On the play, Aguiar was thrown out at home and Baez advanced to third. Three pitches later, Baez scored on a wild pitch to walk it off for Fort Myers. Schobel and Ross each had two hits to lead the offense, and Mendez picked up the win to improve his record to 3-2. Fort Myers improves to 62-50 on the year with the win. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Cody Laweryson (Wichita) - 4 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B (15), HR (16), 2 R, RBI, 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: #2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-6, RBI #4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B (10), RBI, BB, 2 K #7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, 2B (12), R, BB #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, K #11 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B (15), HR (16), 2 R, RBI, K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 2-for-3, RBI, BB, SB (2) #20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, R, BB, 2 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (6:38 CST) - RHP Louie Varland (1-0, 1.64 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (7:05 CST) - RHP Daniel Gossett (2-1, 2.74 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Luis Rijo (0-2, 8.03 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (Doubleheader - first game starts at 3:30 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Thank you for reading, and Go Twins!

Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization. TRANSACTIONS The Twins activated RHP Sonny Gray from the 15-day IL The Twins optioned LHP Jovani Moran to AAA St. Paul The Twins sent OF Kyle Garlick on a rehab assignment to AAA St. Paul SAINTS (AAA) St. Paul 3, Columbus 4 Box Score The Saints took a tough loss to the Columbus Clippers on Wednesday by a score of 4-3. Ronny Henriquez made the start for the Saints and he kept the Saints in the game, going 4 and ⅔ innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five. Henriquez’s record drops to 0-3 on the year while his ERA is an unimpressive 7.45. The Saints got a run right away in the top of the first when Tim Beckham drove in Alex Kirilloff with a single. Beckham continues to be on a tear as he carries a 1.343 OPS through 13 games with the Saints. Henriquez was tagged for three runs in the second inning when the Clippers collected two singles and two doubles against him. The game remained 3-1 for quite a while thanks to Henriquez settling in and 1 and ⅓ innings of scoreless relief from Evan Sisk. Unfortunately, the Saints couldn’t figure out starter Aaron Civale who was making a rehab start. Civale went 4 and ⅔ innings, striking out seven and not allowing a run. The Clippers picked up an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh to push their lead to three. This run would prove to be huge as the Saints scored two runs in the top of the eighth off of sticky-stuff merchant James Karinchak thanks to RBI singles from Mark Contreras and Michael Helman. The Saints loaded the bases in the eighth but couldn’t score as Jose Godoy lined out to end the threat. Kyle Garlick grounded into a double play to end the game as he finished 0-for-5 on the day in the first game of his rehab assignment. The Saints fell to 31-30 on the year with the loss. Helman led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a double. WIND SURGE (AA) GAME 1: Wichita 7, Tulsa 4 Box Score In game one of a double-header with Tulsa, the Wichita Wind Surge won by a score of 7-4. TwinsDaily’s #12 prospect Louie Varland got the start for Wichita and was very solid once again. Varland threw five innings, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out four. Varland picked up his sixth win of the year and his ERA is down to 3.27. He has consistently been one of the Twins organization’s best pitchers and he would be deserving of a promotion to give him a new challenge at AAA. Game one of this double-header was the DaShawn Keirsey show. He started the scoring for the Wind Surge in the top of the second when he hit a sacrifice fly to score Matt Wallner. After Edouard Julien tied the game at two in the fifth with his fourth homer of the year and Andrew Bechtold scored on a wild pitch, Keirsey hit a solo-shot for his third homer of the year to give the Wind Surge a two-run lead. In the top of the seventh, Keirsey drove in Wallner with an RBI groundout to give Wichita a five-run lead going into the bottom of the seventh. Osiris German picked up the two-inning save for Wichita, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out three. The save was his second of the year. Keirsey finished 1-for-2 with three RBI and a walk. Leobaldo Cabrera reached base three times via a hit and two walks, and Wallner scored two runs to lead the offense. With the win, the Wind Surge improved to 33-24 on the year. GAME 2: Wichita 3, Tulsa 4 Box Score In game two of the double-header, the Wind Surge were not so lucky as Tulsa beat them to get the double-header split. Kody Funderburk took the mound for Wichita but could not improve on his 6-1 record as he took the loss in this one. Funderburk went 3 and ⅔ innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out three. Funderburk was tagged for two runs in the first inning when MLB’s #61 prospect Andy Pages took him deep for his tenth of the year. In the fourth inning, Tulsa got another run on an error to push the lead to three. The Wind Surge responded with one in the bottom of the fourth when Wallner scored on a Dennis Ortega groundout. After Tulsa scored another run in the sixth, Keirsey continued to swing a hot bat when he drove in two runs with a single. Wichita cut the deficit to one run and had runners on second and third but couldn’t capitalize. Steven Cruz and Jordan Gore each threw 1 and ⅓ innings of scoreless relief for Wichita, but it wasn’t enough as Wichita fell 4-3 to Tulsa. Wichita’s record fell to 33-25 with the loss. One interesting anecdote from this double-header was that Varland’s older brother Gus picked up the win in game two for Tulsa. Each Varland brother picked up a win in the double-header so the Varland family couldn’t have much to complain about. KERNELS (HIGH-A) Cedar Rapids 7, Dayton 2 Box Score Two of the best high-A teams faced off on Wednesday, as Cedar Rapids came into the matchup at 37-21 while Dayton came in at 37-20. Cedar Rapids came away victorious in a 7-2 victory. The Kernels sent TwinsDaily’s #20 prospect David Festa to the mound. Festa continued his excellence in his first full professional season, throwing five strong innings, allowing two runs, and not walking any batters while striking out five. Festa has not allowed more than three runs in any of his 11 outings this year, and his ERA is down to 2.19 while striking out 65 batters in 53 innings. Dayton took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second, but the Kernels answered in the bottom half when Wander Javier doubled in Dylan Neuse to cut the deficit in half. Yunior Severino came up huge for the Kernels on multiple occasions on Wednesday. In the bottom of the fourth, he smashed a solo home run to tie the game at two. Two innings later, he hit a two-run homer to give the Kernels the lead for good. A Patrick Winkel solo bomb immediately followed his blast to give the Kernels back-to-back home runs. In the bottom of the seventh, Severino singled in Kyler Fedko, who tripled, to increase the lead to five. The Kernels bullpen was fantastic Wednesday, throwing four scoreless innings and only giving up three hits. Bobby Milacki threw one and ⅔ innings, Miguel Rodriguez threw one and ⅔, and Tyler Palm got the final two outs of the game to secure the victory for the Kernels. Severino carried the offense as he went 4-for-4 with two runs, four RBI, and his first two home runs of the 2022 season. The Kernels improved their record to 38-21 with the win. MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A) GAME 1: Fort Myers 5, Bradenton 4 Box Score Fort Myers and Bradenton finished a game that was started Tuesday and postponed, and the Mighty Mussels came out on top by a score of 5-4. Before the game was postponed Tuesday, Jaylen Nowlin started on the mound for Fort Myers. He threw three innings of one-run baseball, striking out seven. Nowlin has now struck out 48 batters in 27 innings this year. Nowlin let up a homer in the top of the third to start the scoring, but Fort Myers responded with two runs in the bottom of the third despite not getting a hit. Noah Cardenas and Keoni Cavaco each drew bases-loaded walks to score runs. After the bottom of the third, the game was delayed due to lightning, and it would be picked up Wednesday. John Wilson started on Wednesday for the Mighty Mussels (started the fourth inning) and threw one and ⅔ innings, allowing three runs on two hits and three walks. Bradenton took a 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth, and the Mighty Mussels had some fighting to do. The game remained 4-2 until the bottom of the seventh, thanks to three innings of scoreless relief from Matt Mullenbach who allowed one hit and struck out four. In the bottom of the seventh, the Mighty Mussels loaded the bases on walks and Cavaco grounded into a force-out, scoring Luis Baez. Fort Myers stranded two runners on, though, as the score was now 4-3 going into the final two innings. Juan Mendez followed Mullenbach, throwing one and ⅓ innings of scoreless relief into the bottom of the ninth. Baez led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, and Jake Rucker followed with a walk-off two-run homer to give the Mighty Mussels the win. With the win, the Mighty Mussels improve to 36-21 on the season as the Twins system continues to dominate both levels of A-ball. GAME 2: Fort Myers 6, Bradenton 1 Box Score In game two of the double-header, Fort Myers pulled off a victory in less dramatic fashion than game one. Left-hander Jordan Carr took the mound to start for the Mighty Mussels eight days after being assigned to Fort Myers from the FCL Twins. After being hit around in his first start, Carr pitched way better in his second go-around as a starter on Wednesday, throwing five innings of one-run ball, only allowing four baserunners and striking out five. The game was locked in a 0-0 tie until the bottom of the fourth inning when Fort Myers rallied for four runs. After back-to-back singles from Noah Miller and Cardenas to open the inning, Mikey Perez singled in a run. Cardenas came around to score on a wild pitch, and singles from Kala’i Rosario and Baez scored runs for Fort Myers to give them a four run lead with three innings to play. In the bottom of the sixth, Rosario swung at the first pitch he saw and connected for a two-run homer, his sixth homer of the year to give the Mighty Mussels a 6-1 advantage. Regi Grace and Hunter McMahon each threw an inning of scoreless relief to shut the door on Bradenton, and the Mighty Mussels finished the day with a double-header sweep. Rubel Cespedes finished the game 2-for-2 with two runs scored and a walk, and Rosario went 2-for-3 with three RBI and the homer. With the win, the Mighty Mussels improved to 37-21 and clinched a first half division title and a spot in the Florida State League Playoffs. COMPLEX CHRONICLES There was no game for the FCL Twins on Wednesday. They will be back in action Thursday against the FCL Braves. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 13, DSL Yankees 4 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Ledwin Taveras (5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K) Multi-Hit Games: Junior Marino (3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI), Ricardo Pena (2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI) 2B: Marino (1) 3B: Rafael Cruz (2), Jose Rodriguez (1) HR: Pena (1) TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jordan Carr (Fort Myers) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day – Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - 4-for-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR (2) 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: #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, BB #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, 2 K #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-6, R, 2 BB #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K #13 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 R, 4 BB, 2B (11) #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-6, R, RBI, HR (4), BB, SB (8) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5, 3 K #20 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (11:05 AM CST) - RHP Josh Winder (0-0, 18.00 ERA) Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson (2-3, 3.40 ERA) Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (6-1, 1.86 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Thank you for reading, and Go Twins!

TRANSACTIONS Twins placed OF Trevor Larnach on the IL (right adductor strain) Twins recalled C Jose Godoy. OF Jake Cave was activated from the temporarily inactive list. C Roy Morales activated from the Development List and promoted to the Saints. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Iowa 10 Box Score SP: Cole Sands - 3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: David Banuelos (2) Multi-hit games: Mark Contreras (2-5, 2 2B, RBI (17), 2 K) The Saints played the final game of their 12-game homestead on Sunday with the conclusion of their series against the Iowa Cubs. On Saturday, the Saints crushed the Cubs in a 9-2 victory. On Sunday, they received the other end of the stick. The Cubs got to the Saints early in the top of the second scoring four runs on five hits and a walk off of starter Cole Sands. Sands had a better go in both the first and third innings giving up only one hit in each of those innings. The high number of strikeouts and a tiring second inning had Sands at 71 pitches through three innings, and six Saints relievers came in to finish out the game. At the plate, many of the Saints bats went cold aside from Mark Contreras who had two doubles and an RBI for the Saints on Sunday. The Saints lineup also featured the return of Jake Cave from the temporarily inactive list leading off for St. Paul and going 1-for-4 with a double and RBI. One of the newest additions to the Saints roster, second baseman Kevin Merrell, spoke on adjusting to the new clubhouse after his promotion from Wichita and which players he has gravitated to as mentors with the Saints. “There are so many guys in there with a ton of experience, and I just need to watch closely and see what I can pick up. It’s been an easy transition, there’s a lot of phenomenal dudes on this team,” said Merrell. Merrell is a former first-round draft pick by the Oakland Athletics in 2017 and went 33rd overall in the draft. Merrell has already found a teammate on the Saints he wants to learn as much as possible from, that teammate being Saints infielder Elliot Soto. Merrell explained, “He can talk to anybody. He’s super encouraging, and he’s very confident in what he does. I think that’s contagious for a lot of us. He’s played for a long time. He’s 32 or so, has a lot of experience, and I would say he stands out the most for me.” The Saints will start a two-week road trip on Tuesday with two different stops, the first being in Columbus, Ohio for a week-long match-up with the Clippers. WIND SURGE WISDOM Game 1 Wichita 4, Tulsa 7 Box Score Game 1 SP: Chris Vallimont - 3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None Game 2 Wichita 5, Tulsa 6 Box Score Game 2 SP: Casey Legumina - 2.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 5 K HR: Austin Martin (1), Michael Helman (4) Multi-hit games: Martin (2-4, R, HR, RBI (8)), Edouard Julien (2-3, R, 2 2B, RBI (10), K) The Wind Surge entered Sunday afternoon riding an eight-game win streak and had a doubleheader scheduled with the Tulsa Drillers to finish out their five-game series. Unfortunately for the WInd Surge, they were swept in the doubleheader. Chris Vallimont was on the mound for his sixth start of the season. Vallimont had a strong first inning recovering from a leadoff triple to Drillers shortstop Jacob Amaya. Amaya scored in the next at-bat on a sacrifice groundout. Vallimont continued to cool off in the second with a 1-2-3 inning, but the Drillers picked up three more runs in the third off of Vallimont which later knocked him out of the game. The Wind Surge bats were cold throughout Game 1 and although they tallied seven hits, no Wind Surge player was able to tally more than one hit. Wind Surge third baseman Spencer Steer managed to drive in two of their four runs in the game. ----------------------------------------------------------- Game 2 brought a better hitting game for the Wind Surge, but they still fell short in another loss against the Drillers. Game 2 was started by Casey Legumina who made his first start for the Wind Surge after three starts with Cedar Rapids to start 2022. Legumina gave up two walks in the top of the first inning but left the runners on base to get out of a jam. He continued that success in the second and retired the minimum in order. The third inning was where Legumina struggled the most, walking four batters and giving up two hits including a home run to Drillers left fielder James Outman. Austin Martin fans were able to rejoice at least in Game 2 as he hit his first home run of the season. Third baseman Michael Helman also had a home run in the sixth inning that brought Wichita within one run. The Wind Surge were unable to score more runs in the bottom of the seventh in order to tie the game and force it into extras. The Wind Surge begin their next series on the road against Northwest Arkansas Tuesday morning for another six-game series with the Naturals. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 1 Box Score SP: Sawyer Gipson-Long 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi hit games: Jair Camargo (2-5, K) The Kernels completed their final game against the River Bandits on Sunday taking a win to complete a 4-2 series victory of Quad Cities. The 2-1 victory for the Kernels was the smallest scoring game of the series as Anthony Prato and Wander Javier drove in the only two runs. Javier hit into a force out in the bottom of the 8th inning to score Aaron Sabato with the game-tying run. They went to extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Javier was on third base when Anthony Prato his a fly ball to right field, deep enough to end the game. Sawyer Gipson-Long had his best start of the season on Sunday. He had season highs in the start with innings pitched (5 1/3) and strikeouts (6). He also did not give up any runs or walks in the game. The Kernels will be on the road in Peoria to play another six-game series against the Chiefs. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Lakeland 1 Box Score SP: Steve Hajjar 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jake Rucker (3-4, 2 R, SB (6), RBI (6)), Mikey Perez (2-3, 2B, 3 RBI (7), 2 BB), Kyle Schmidt (2-5, 2B, 2 RBI (13), 2 BB, 2 K), Daniel Ozoria (2-4, R) The Mighty Mussels completed their series against the Lakeland Flying Tigers with a lopsided 9-1 victory which brought about a series split. The Mighty Mussels pitching was dominated by Steve Hajjar and Marco Raya. Hajjar started the game and threw three no-hit innings, walking four and striking out eight out of the nine outs. Raya came into the game in the top of the fifth. Although Raya gave up a home run in the top of the sixth, he only allowed one other base runner on a hit and struck out four to earn the win. The Mussels offense lit up all afternoon scoring nine runs on 11 hits without the help of a home run. Mussels third baseman Jake Rucker led the offense with a three-hit game. The Mussels will begin their next series at home on Tuesday night against Palm Beach for another six-game series against the Cardinals Low-A affiliate. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Sawyer Gipson-Long (Cedar Rapids) - 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Jake Rucker (Ft. Myers) - 3-4, 2 R, SB (6), RBI (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 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1-3 #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - Game 1, 0-2, R, 2 BB Game 2, 2-4, R, HR, SB, RBI #4 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 1-4, R, 2B, RBI (3) #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, R, 2 BB #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R, RBI (6), BB, K #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K #15 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - Game 1, 1-4, SB, 2 RBI (20) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, SB, BB, K #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - Game 1, 0-3, BB, K Game 2, 2-3, R, 2 2B, RBI (10) TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, May 10. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 PM CST) - Ronny Henriquez Wichita @ Northwest Arkansas (11:05 AM CST) - Ben Gross Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:05 PM CST) - TBD Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (5:30 PM CST) - David Festa Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games.