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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!

TRANSACTIONS C Kyle Schmidt Transferred from AA Wichita to Low-A Fort Myers C Frank Nigro transferred from Low-A Fort Myers to the FCL Twins C David Banuelos activated from IL at AA Wichita RHP Josh Winder optioned by the Twins to AAA St. Paul LHP Brent Headrick recalled by the Twins Saints Sentinel St. Paul 1, Louisville 12 Box Score Blayne Enlow: 3 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 5 K HR: Trevor Larnach (4) Multi-hit games: Tony Wolters (2-for-2) A disastrous 4th inning soiled the Saints’ night on Saturday. It all happened so fast. Blayne Enlow—freshly promoted and ready for his AAA debut—breezed through three opening frames, even finding time to punch out the great Joey Votto twice. Matt Reynolds may have blasted a solo homer, but life was smooth. Then the 4th inning happened. A pair of full-count walks set Enlow on edge and teetering; the following two-run single knocked him fully off his perch. From there the walks and hits cascaded, eventually ending with a crescendo when Jose Barrero crushed a three-run homer off the righty to end his night. The deficit proved far too great for the Saints—and they only received a tepid hitting effort anyways. Despite a lead-off double by Gilberto Celestino to begin the game, Bats starter Michael Mariot cruised through St. Paul’s lineup, only surrendering a Trevor Larnach solo shot during his eight innings on the mound. The homer extended St. Paul’s streak of homering in a game to 22, tied for the second-longest streak in baseball in 2023. The Bats’ best prospect, one Christian Encarnacion-Strand—you may know him—racked up three hits and walked, sending his AAA OPS to 1.119. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 4, Midland 7 Box Score Carlos Luna: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K HR: Pat Winkel (3), DaShawn Kiersey Jr. (8) Multi-hit games: None Wind Surge stumbled early, late in Saturday's loss. Usually, a first-inning homer begets a victory; this game was the exception. Pat Winkel barreled up a fastball at his shoulders, depositing the pitch over the wall in center to hand his team a quick 1-0 lead. The advantage held for one inning. Midland blasted their own homer before enjoying a Brooks Lee error allowing the chance at more runs; that runner stole second and eventually scored, putting Lee on poor terms with his starter. Carlos Luna allowed his second earned run the following frame when Lawrence Butler homered to extend Midland’s lead to two. And so it stayed—not large, capable of reaching with normal effort—until DaShawn Kiersey Jr. obliterated his eighth home run of the season. The ball landed 440 feet away. I waxed a little about Kiersey Jr. last week, and I’ll do it again this week: he’s been smoking AA this season. Is this an aberration—a 26-year-old crushing younger competition—or a true breakout from a talented outfielder? Only a promotion will tell. But it will be a promotion well deserved for the 4th-round pick out of Utah in 2018. Wichita’s hitting ceased with the homer, though, and a few runs allowed by Jose Bravo in the coming innings put the game too far out of reach for the Wind Surge; Will Holland’s 9th-inning RBI knock could only soften the blow. The aforementioned Butler is Midland’s best prospect, according to MLB.com; he added a double to total six bases in Saturday’s match. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 2, South Bend 10 Box Score Jaylen Nowlin: 2 ⅔ IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: Jeferson Morales (3), Willie Joe Garry Jr. (2) Multi-hit games: None The Kernels continued the streak of losing on Saturday, falling by eight runs to the Cubs. It was a disaster from the start. Jaylen Nowlin had two outs secured in the opening frame before releasing the pitch resulting in a sudden 2-0 disadvantage. He never recovered, allowing two more runs in the 3rd before exiting the ballgame, turning more than six innings of pitching duties over to Cedar Rapids’ bullpen. That weight—a punishing endeavor for any collection of arms—was far too mighty, and everyone paid the price. The only relief pitcher to walk away without extra earned runs attached to their name was Niklas Rimmel. He netted two outs. Cedar Rapids could not match the offensive effort, blasting a pair of homers in the 2nd before halting advances there; all they could offer following their home run outburst was two hits and three walks. Kevin Alcántara is the 70th-best prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, and he proved the ranking correct—if not a little low—with a monster five-hit outing, including a pair of homers. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 0, Bradenton 3 Box Score Ben Ethridge: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Alec Sayre (2-for-4), Yohander Martinez (3-for-4), Maddux Houghton (2-for-4) The Mighty Mussels wrapped up the full-season games by finalizing a straight sweep of the Twins’ system. Starter Ben Ethridge was solid, allowing a lone solo homer over his four otherwise quality innings of work—including a final striking out of the side in which he caught superstar prospect Termarr Johnson looking at strike three. The bats couldn’t support him, though. Despite out-hitting the Marauders eight to six, all of Fort Myers’ knocks were singles—poorly coordinated ones, at that—and runners across the frames experienced lonesome frustrations walking back to the dugout empty-handed. The shutout included a 6th inning play in which it appears Rubel Cespedes attempted a steal of home. He was unsuccessful. Bradenton blasted a second homer in the 7th, and so the game ended—with Fort Myers still seeking a hit with runners in scoring position and the Marauders satisfied with their victory. Johnson is the 20th-best prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com; he drew a walk in an otherwise silent night at the plate. Complex Chronicles Lightning postponed the FCL Twins’ game before it began; the match will be made up as a doubleheader on Friday, June 23rd. Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 3, DSL Giants Orange 10 Box Score Jose Vasquez: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Junior Del Valle (2-for-4, RBI) The DSL Twins imploded late, quickly losing nuts and bolts in the final frames to turn a tied match into a laugher. The common issues of DSL players—walks and defense—caused the fiasco: multiple 8th-inning throwing errors aided in expanding the deficit, while Twins pitchers walked eight batters. That’s how it goes when you’re dealing with literal teenagers. 17-year-old Moises Lopez tripled for the second time this season; Dameury Pena earned his fourth double and owns an OPS of 1.016. The Twins allowed five steals in the loss. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Carlos Luna Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – DaShawn Kiersey Jr. PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-4, 2 K #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-2, R, BB, 2 K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB #15 - Brent Headrick (Minnesota) - 2 ⅓ IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K #17 - Blayne Enlow (St. Paul) - 3 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 5 K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-3, BB, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (12:05 PM) - RHP Aaron Sanchez Wichita @ Midland (1:00 PM) - RHP Travis Adams South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) - RHP Kyle Jones Fort Myers @ Bradenton (11:00 AM) - TBD

SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 7, St. Paul 3 Box Score It was Randy Dobnak’s turn on the mound today to close out the series against the Columbus Clippers. Unfortunately the stuff wasn’t there and while he didn’t walk or strikeout anyone, Dobnak gave up five earned runs on five hits while only getting three outs. He was followed by Ronny Henriquez, and his two innings of work came with another two runs on a pair of walks and a base hit. Jose Miranda did start the scoring with a first inning sacrifice fly that scored Andrew Stevenson, but that was the only lead the Saints had. After the five-run outburst in the bottom half, and two more in the second inning, the seven runs were more than enough to withstand St. Paul’s two additional tallies. Jair Camargo hit his fourth home run of the season on a solo shot in the third inning, and Chris Williams went deep for the fifth time on a seventh inning longball. Royce Lewis did play third base and bat second in this one, but struck out three times in four at bats. Making his Twins organization debut, Austin Brice worked a scoreless inning of relief with a pair of strikeouts. Austin Schulfer continues to impress as well and lowered his ERA to 2.45 with a scoreless frame. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Arkansas 3 Box Score Grabbing a series split with Arkansas, it was Travis Adams who made the start. Working four innings allowing just one run on a solo shot, it was a nice start with four strikeouts and just a single walk. Andrew Cabezas got his first win of the season in relief. After a pair of Jonatan Clase home runs put Arkansas in the lead, the Wind Surge went to work in the fifth inning. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. singled in Anthony Prato before Brooks Lee plated Pat Winkel on a line drive. Winkel continued his good game with a sixth inning double that scored Pratop, and it gave the Wind Surge a 4-3 lead. Arkansas attempted to claw back in the ninth inning but Riley Unroe’s RBI single was the only run they could muster. Winkel’s two-hit effort was the deciding factor on the day. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 2 Box Score Alejandro Hidalgo looked to keep a strong season going but lost his command early. Working just 1 1/3 innings after allowing six base runners to reach via a walk, he did work around damage by allowing only two runs to cross. The Kernels bullpen responded with 7 2/3 innings of perfect baseball. They allowed no hits or walks while punching out eight. Responding to the first inning runs, Kala’i Rosario put Cedar Rapids on the board despite grounding into a double play. Ben Ross scored and the good guys were on the board. Rosario was recently named the Twins minor league hitter of the week. In the fifth inning Tanner Schobel crushed his fifth double of the season to drive in both Willie Joe Garry Jr. and Jeferson Morales. The Kernels had their first lead of the game. It was then Schobel again lifting a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning that scored Garry Jr. again and giving us the final tally of 4-2. Schobel and Garry Jr. both grabbed a pair of hits in the contest for Cedar Rapids. MUSSEL MATTERS Lakeland 6, Fort Myers 5 Box Score Zebby Matthews has been impressive this season for the Mighty Mussels and that followed suit today. Although he did give up four runs, only one was earned and he struck out nine while walking none. Matthews worked 4 2/3 innings before turning things over to the bullpen. Fort Myers scored first when Carlos Aguiar sent a sacrifice fly deep enough into right field for Andrew Cossetti to race home. That lead was wiped out in the bottom half, but Danny De Andrade put the Mighty Mussels back up 3-2 in the fifth inning. His sixth double scored both Maddux Houghton and Jorel Ortega. The back and forth continued with Lakeland retaking the lead 4-3 in the fifth inning, and extended it in the sixth winning with a solo shot. Aguiar then tripled for the sixth time this season in the seventh inning, which allowed both De Andrade and Cossetti to score and tie the game. A ninth inning solo home run from Sergio Tapia walked things off, and Fort Myers had to go home empty. De Andrade and Cossetti both recorded a pair of hits in the game. Cossetti picked up his first triple of the season. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Kernels Bullpen (Cedar Rapids) - 7.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Patrick Winkel (Wichita) - 2-3, 2B(5), R, 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) - 1-4, 2 R, K #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 0-4, 3 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-3, 3 K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 0-4, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (11:07AM CST) - TBD Wichita @ Springfield (6:355PM CST) - TBD Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - BTD Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games!

Patrick Winkel grew up in the New Haven, Connecticut, area. He attended Amity Regional High School in Woodridge. He quickly became one of the top players on his high school team. Winkel was an All-State player three times. His team won the state championship in his freshman and sophomore years. He was invited to participate in Perfect Game National and other regional and national events. He twice played in the Area Code games. College recruiters were watching him play early in his high school career. Of course, they were there to watch another player on his high school team. His older brother, Chris, was a star on the team and was recruited by several colleges. He made the decision to go to the University of Connecticut and played their five years. Patrick enjoyed meetings with college coaches when they were talking to his brother. In 2018, Pat Winkel was named the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year and received several other awards. He was named a First-Team All-American. That summer, the New York Yankees used their 31st-round pick to draft him. At that point, he knew he was heading to college. "It was a phone call. They said we're going to take you just to show you that we like you. We'll three years," said Winkel, who called it a "courtesy pick." He decided to join his brother in Storrs and play for the Huskies. He played in 13 games that summer for the Bristol Blues in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. It is a college league in New England that allowed incoming freshmen to play. He had a nice showing, hitting .320. As a freshman, Winkel played in 49 games and hit .318/.361/.486 (.846) with eight doubles and seven home runs. He spent that summer on Cape Cod playing some summer ball. Unfortunately, as he was set to begin the 2020 season, he was injured and needed Tommy John surgery. After several conversations, he decided to have the surgery before the season with the thought that he would be able to get some at-bats in fall ball and be ready for his junior season. The decision worked out perfectly as the season was cut short by Covid. "It gave me an opportunity to really focus on my rehab, and not feel like I was rushed to get back anywhere, to take it at the pace it was meant to be taken at." In 2021, he returned with no restrictions. He played in 53 games. He hit .279/.353/.515 (.868) with 13 doubles and 11 home runs. He was able to catch and showed off a very strong arm. When the draft came, Winkel heard his name called in the ninth round to the Minnesota Twins. He had eligibility to play two or even three more seasons at UConn, so it wasn't an easy decision for him to sign. It certainly wasn't automatic. The teams went back and forth a couple of times before reaching an agreement well above the slot value. Winkel noted, "It was not an easy decision. They had called me at one point and made an offer that I thought at that point, going back to college would be the best route. We expressed that to them. They were able to come back with a different one that was better, and with that one, we thought it was definitely the best option." Four rounds after drafting Winkel, the Twins drafted his college roommate, outfielder Kyler Fedko, in the 13th round. Also, the Twins had drafted Anthony Prato in the 7th round of the 2019 draft from UConn. Prato had a breakout season in 2022 between Cedar Rapids and Wichita. Prato had been a roommate in college for a couple of years with Patrick's brother Chris. He headed to Ft. Myers to sign and to go through a couple of weeks of, essentially, orientation, adjusting to pro ball, meeting everybody, and more. He also was able to get back into the flow of baseball before he ended the season playing in 21 games for the Mighty Mussels. His 2022 season began a little late because of a lower-back injury. In late May, he joined the Cedar Rapids Kernels. In 54 games, he hit .254/.330/.391 (.721) with nine doubles and six home runs. At one point, for a handful of games, Winkel, Fedko, and Prato were all on the Cedar Rapids roster. The Twins really like Pat Winkel and his abilities behind the plate and at the plate, and when healthy, he is definitely a prospect to watch over the next couple of years. This conversation was a solid 50 minutes, and it went in many directions: How does he see himself as a hitter, and what can he become? I mentioned in the teaser that I love talking to catchers. What are the things that make Winkel love being a catcher? He talked about his strengths and what he is working on behind the plate. He shares an interesting story about getting to call pitches in a college game, which is unusual, but it went well and he got to keep doing it the rest of the season. Learning the new catching stance. Will the new rules change how organizations teach catching and throwing? Spending time in spring training on the big-league side, catching some bullpens, and being able to watch Ryan Jeffers and talk to Hank Conger. There is a reference to a "Venn Diagram" (a first in Twins Spotlight history!). Find out what he enjoys doing away from baseball. This was a very enjoyable conversation, and I think you will enjoy it. For more from Twins Daily on Patrick Winkel, click here. If you're interested in watching Kyler Fedko's interview, click here.

Last winter, the Twins traded from a position of strength (catcher) for a position of need (shortstop). Ryan Jeffers was handed the keys as the team’s top catcher while the team traded Mitch Garver to the Rangers. Jeffers posted an 86 OPS+, but he was limited to 67 games due to a broken thumb. Following the World Series, Gary Sanchez and Sandy Leon will become free agents, so the Twins need someone else to join Jeffers at the big-league level. Could there be an internal option? Triple-A: Andrew Bechtold (ETA: 2023), David Banuelos (ETA: 2023) Bechtold is an intriguing prospect because of his defensive flexibility. During the 2022 season, he played over 390 innings at catcher and third base. Offensively, he hit .233/.329/.400 (.728) with 16 doubles and 19 home runs in 123 games between Double-A and Triple-A. He is Rule 5 eligible, so the Twins will need to add him to the 40-man roster to avoid the risk of losing him. Banuelos is in his fifth professional season and has played 85 games at Triple-A over the last two seasons. Minnesota acquired him in 2017 for $1 million in international bonus pool money. Defense is his calling card, as he has a .653 OPS in 85 Triple-A games. Like Bechtold, he is Rule 5 eligible, so the Twins need to add him to the 40-man roster before December’s draft. Double-A: Alex Isola (ETA: 2024), Kyle Schmidt (ETA: 2024) Minnesota took Isola in the 29th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, and he has consistently risen through the Twins system since then. In 2022, he was limited to 61 games as he split time between first base and catcher. With Wichita, he hit .286/.377/.471 (.848) with nine doubles and ten home runs. Minnesota sent him to the AFL to recoup some of his missing time this season, but he has seen limited catching innings. Schmidt was a 33rd-round pick in 2019, but his college experience helped him move through three levels for the second consecutive season. He caught over 260 innings in 2022 and made 15 starts at first base. In 56 games, he hit .207/.270/.306 (.576) with four doubles and five home runs. He never played more than 30 games at any level, so it will be interesting to see if the Twins let him get comfortable at one level in 2023. High-A: Pat Winkel (ETA: 2025), Andrew Cossetti (ETA: 2025) Even with college experience, Winkel was younger than the average age of the competition at his level for the second consecutive season. In his second professional season, he got on base over 33% of the time and combined for 15 extra-base hits in 54 games. All his defensive appearances came behind the plate, where he caught nearly 390 innings. He posted an .858 OPS in college, so the Twins hope to see more of that hitter in the future. Cossetti is an intriguing name from the 2022 draft class. Minnesota took Cossetti in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft from St. Joseph's University. After signing, he was limited to one appearance with the FCL Twins. It seems likely for him to get plenty of catching time in Cedar Rapids next season because of his college experience. Low-A: Noah Cardenas (ETA: 2025), Dillon Tatum (ETA: 2025), Nate Baez (ETA: 2026), Ricardo Olivar (ETA: 2026) Cardenas made his full-season debut in 2022 after being drafted in 2021. He played in 99 games for Fort Myers, where he hit .261/.421/.413 (.834) with 18 doubles and nine home runs. He walked (73 BB) more than he struck out (70 K), and caught over 460 innings. Throughout his college and professional career, he has shown a keen eye at the plate, which helps him get into favorable counts where his power can be utilized. Tatum spent most of 2022 in Fort Myers but got a brief taste of Double-A due to a catching need late in the season. He hit .177/.321/.300 (.621) with 15 extra-base hits in 74 games. As he moves up, he needs to make regular contact and cut back on his strikeout totals (93 K in 74 games). He is strong defensively behind the plate and caught two no-hitters this season, but there is always room for players of his ilk in an organization. Baez was a 12th-round pick in 2022 and only appeared in 19 games after signing with the Twins. In his final collegiate season, he posted a .965 OPS, so it will be interesting to see if his bat develops in the Twins’ system. Olivar played most of last season with FCL Twins, where he hit .349/.442/.605 (1.046) with 12 doubles, three triples, and five home runs. He can play catcher, second base, and all three outfield positions. His bat is good enough that the team tries to fit him in the line-up as much as possible. Catching depth is something to watch in any organization. The Twins have drafted multiple college catchers in recent years to add to that depth, but only some of those catchers offer a lot of upside. There are some very intriguing bats in the names mentioned above, and many catchers have some defensive flexibility which could prove valuable. However, none of the catching options look ready to fill a full-time role at the big-league level. Will the Twins turn to any of these options in 2023? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

TRANSACTIONS The Twins signed OF Billy Hamilton to a Minor League deal and assigned him to the Florida Complex League. Just days after the Twins released him, the team signed free agent RHP Michael Feliz to a minor-league contract and assigned him to St. Paul Saints. RHP Josh Winder was assigned to Low-A Fort Myers on Minor League Rehab. SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 2, St. Paul 1 Box Score SP: Louie Varland - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K HR: None Multi-Hit games: David Bañuelos (2-3, RBI (20), K) The Saints entered their third game against the Cubs in Des Moines Thursday night down 2-0 in the series. The team looked to North St. Paul native Louie Varland to lead the team to their first win since Sunday afternoon at home. St. Paul would strike first in the top of the second on a David Bañuelos RBI single that scored Nash Knight from second. That would be all the Saints needed while Varland remained on the mound. Varland dominated for the Saints in his third start since being called up to Triple AAA. He only allowed four base runners on three singles and a walk. Varland also retired nine consecutive batters before giving up his last hit of the night with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. He also struck out nine batters for the evening. The former Golden Eagle has yet to surrender a home run to an opposing batter since being called up to the Saints. In fact, Varland’s last home run surrendered came on July 29 against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Unfortunately for Varland, the Saints bats did not produce any runs following his removal from the game. The Cubs tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with a sacrifice fly off of Evan Sisk. Then in the bottom of the ninth with Brad Peacock on the mound, the Cubs designated hitter Matt Mervies walked-off the Saints with a solo homer in the 2-1 loss. The Saints start at 7:08 p.m. CT for their game Friday night against the Cubs with Ronny Henriquez on the mound for them. WIND SURGE WISDOM Frisco 2, Wichita 1 Box Score SP: Daniel Gossett - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-Hit games: Will Holland (2-3, R, 3B) The Wind Surge came into Thursday’s game having won the night before 4-0 against Frisco. Daniel Gossett made his first start since his no-hitter for the Wind Surge Thursday night and continued off the success he had that night. The bid for back-to-back no-hitters for Gossett ended in the first inning when he gave up a hit with two outs. That did not stop him from tossing a great outing. He went five innings and gave up only two additional hits and one run. He struck out two. Gossett’s command of the zone kept the Wind Surge in the game where the team's bats were silenced. Wichita scored the first run of the game on an RBI fielder's choice hit by Austin Martin in the top of the third. Frisco came along to tie the game off Gossett with a sacrifice fly out to center field. Martin’s RBI single accounted for the only run of the game for the Wind Surge. The game went into extra innings, but lefty Bryan Sammons walked consecutive batters in the bottom of the 10th inning to load the bases. Wichita dropped the game with a walk-off walk. The Wind Surge start their game against Frisco at 7:05 p.m. CT Friday night and left Kody Funderburk will make the start. KERNELS NUGGETS Lake County 8, Cedar Rapids 4 Box Score SP: Luis Rijo 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: Pat Winkel (6), Seth Gray (15) Multi-Hit games: Winkel (2-3, R, HR 2 RBI (28)) Cedar Rapids entered Thursday night dropping their first two games against the Lake County Captains and were hoping to keep themselves from a three-game losing streak with Luis Rijo on the mound. Unfortunately for the Kernels, the Captains got to Rijo early in the game. Rijo surrendered three runs (two earned) against the Captains, all in the bottom of the third inning. He was removed after giving up four straight hits with two outs in the inning. Derek Molina got the Kernels out of the inning. The Captains managed to create more damage against the Kernels relievers in the fifth adding two more runs, and then the sixth inning when they scored three more. The hitters for the Kernels were quiet until the seventh inning. They managed two runs thanks to catcher Pat Winkel’s two-run shot. They made a small comeback but were still down 8-2 following the inning. When the Kernels looked to be down and out of the game in the top of the ninth, Seth Gray hit a two-run homer. Even with the extra pop at the plate, the Kernels still dropped the game 8-4. The Kernels will play their next game against the Captains early Friday evening with a 5:35 CDT start time. David Festa will make the start for the Kernels. MUSSEL MATTERS Game 1 : Lakeland 6, Fort Myers 3 Box Score SP: Josh Winder 2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: Misael Urbina (5) Multi-Hit games: None The Mighty Mussels played two games against the Lakeland Flying Tigers Thursday and game one had Josh Winder on the mound for the start of his rehab assignment. Winder did not fare well in the two innings he pitched. He allowed four runs on three hits and two walks. The good news out of Winder’s bad rehab start is his fastball velocity averaged 92.7 mph while his max velocity hit 94.7 mph. The Mighty Mussels bats looked like their Major League big brothers as they only tallied two hits in the first game. One was a leadoff solo home run by center fielder Misael Urbina. Johnathan Lavallee came on to pitch following Winder’s removal from the game. Lavallee threw three innings and gave up two earned runs on a walk and two hits but struck out four in his relief outing. Game 2 : Lakeland 1, Ft. Myers 0 Box Score SP: Pierson Ohl 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-Hit games: None In Game 2. the Mussels had Pierson Ohl on the mound for his 17th start of the season. Ohl went four strong innings and allowed only one run on four hits. He struck out five. The Mussels bats only managed three hits while being shut out. Fort Myers has only one game against Lakeland on Friday which is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. CT. Marco Raya will make the start for the Mighty Mussels TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Louie Varland (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K Hitter of the Day – Pat Winkel (Cedar Rapids - 2-3, R, HR, 2 RBI (28) 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) - 1-4, R, K #4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-3, RBI (22), K #7 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 0-2, R, BB, K, Game 2: 0-3, BB #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-3, HBP, K #12 - Louie Varland (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-3, BB #18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - Game 2: 0-3, 3 K #20 - Kala'i Rosario (Fort Myers) - Game 2: 1-3 FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates play night games on Friday. Here are the start times and probables for their games. Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - Ronny Henriquez vs Matt Swarmer Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - LHP Kody Funderburk vs. RHP Zak Kent Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (5:35 PM CST) - David Festa vs TBD Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - Marco Raya vs TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday's games

Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization. TRANSACTIONS The Twins claimed RHP Jake Jewell off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians and optioned him to AAA St. Paul. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson was promoted from AA Wichita to AAA St. Paul The Saints placed C Roy Morales on the 7-day IL with a lower back strain LHP Aaron Rozek was promoted from High-A Cedar Rapids to AA Wichita The Wichita Wind Surge activated SS Austin Martin from the 7-day IL The Wichita Wind Surge transferred OF Leobaldo Cabrera to the development list LHP Jaylen Nowlin was promoted from Low-A Fort Myers to High-A Cedar Rapids SAINTS (AAA) St. Paul 6, Scranton 0 Box Score Is Jordan Balazovic back? The former Twins’ top pitching prospect has had an abysmal year but turned in four scoreless innings tonight for St. Paul, striking out four batters. The Saints got three early runs in the top of the second. After Chris Williams hit his first AAA double, Andrew Bechtold hit a 2-run single to score Williams and Caleb Hamilton. Later in the inning, Jermaine Palacios came through with a single to tack on an extra run. The game remained scoreless for a few more innings thanks to Balazovic and Evan Sisk, who was first out of the bullpen. Sisk threw 1 ⅔ innings while not allowing a hit and striking out two. Matt Wallner picked up his first triple as a Saint in the bottom of the seventh. This was Wallner’s only hit of the night as he went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts. The Saints added three more in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a catchers’ interference and a John Andreoli two-run single. Juan Minaya, Michael Feliz, and Drew Strotman all had scoreless outings in relief as the Saints quickly completed the shutout of Scranton 6-0. Sisk picked up the win, his second for the Saints. Andreoli and Michael Helman had two hits. Helman also stole his 17th base of the year. The Saints improve to 55-56. WIND SURGE (AA) Wichita 9, Tulsa 5 Box Score Wichita won a thrilling extra-inning game thanks to some late-game heroics from Aaron Sabato. Sabato, who was 3-for-25 with no extra-base hits going into his last at-bat on Wednesday, came up clutch. With the bases loaded and one out, Sabato took a 2-0 slider and hit it over the center field wall for a walk-off grand slam. The home run was Sabato’s 19th of the year between Cedar Rapids and Wichita, and hopefully, this breaks him out of his slump in AA so far Wichita took an early 4-1 lead through four innings, thanks to four good innings from Wichita starter Cody Laweryson who allowed one run and struck out four. Laweryson has been dominant in AA through 34 innings. He is 4-0 with 39 strikeouts and a 1.05 ERA. Alex Isola started the scoring with an RBI single in the first, and Cole Sturgeon followed with an RBI walk. In the fourth, Austin Martin drove in a run with a groundout, and Will Holland later came in to score on a wild pitch to give Wichita a 4-1 lead. Osiris German allowed three runs in 1 ⅔ innings out of the bullpen to bring the game to a tie. Will Holland came up clutch with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to give Wichita the lead back. Everything went smoothly until the ninth, when Casey Legumina allowed a leadoff homer to Ismael Alcantara to tie the game back up. After a scoreless bottom of the ninth, Legumina returned for the tenth. Legumina allowed the extra-inning runner to get to third with one out but stranded him thanks to a fielder's choice and a strikeout. In the bottom of the tenth, Holland drew a walk to open the inning. When DaShawn Keirsey moved up to third on a wild pitch, Tulsa opted to intentionally walk Edouard Julien to load the bases. After Austin Martin lined out, Aaron Sabato ended the game. Isola had the only multi-hit game for Wichita, but plenty of players had multi-walk games. Julien had four walks, Anthony Prato had three, and Sturgeon, Yunior Severino, and Keirsey had two. KERNELS (HIGH-A) Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 1 Box Score The Kernels won a pitchers’ duel on Wednesday thanks to a strong outing from starting pitcher Travis Adams. Adams had allowed 11 earned runs through 10 ⅓ innings in Cedar Rapids until Wednesday, when he turned in his best outing in High-A this far. Adams went five innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out eight. The game was tied at zero until the fourth inning, when Adams allowed his only run of the day on a single. This score held until the bottom of the sixth when Pat Winkel singled to center field, scoring Jake Rucker. After a strikeout, Wisconsin’s pitcher balked with two outs to score Seth Gray from third base. After taking the lead, the Kernel pitching locked down the game. Bobby Milacki entered the game in relief of Adams and threw two scoreless innings, picking up the win. After Milacki, Hunter McMahon threw scoreless eighth and ninth innings to lock down the save, his second of the year. McMahon has allowed only two earned runs in 29 ⅔ innings at Cedar Rapids this year. Winkel led the game offensively, going 3-for-4. Cedar Rapids improves to 65-45 with the victory and continues to be a force in High-A. MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A) Fort Myers 6, Palm Beach 5 Box Score Fort Myers won in an extra-inning thriller on Wednesday thanks to a game-winning RBI single in the top of the 11th by 2022 second-round pick Tanner Schobel. The scoring was very back-and-forth all game long. Palm Beach jumped to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first off of starting pitcher Malik Barrington. Fort Myers answered right away as Ben Ross hit a 2-run homer in the top of the second for his first professional home run. That was followed by a Kala’i Rosario single and a Rubel Cespedes double, adding another run to the lead. In the bottom of the third, Palm Beach added three runs to chase Barrington, who went 2 ⅔ innings, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks while striking out two opposing hitters. The game was scoreless for a few innings until the top of the seventh when Misael Urbina tied it up with his fourth homer. Ross drew a bases-loaded walk later in the inning to give Fort Myers a 5-4 lead. It was looking suitable for Fort Myers, who needed two more outs in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory when RJ Yeager hit a solo homer to tie it up and send it to extras. In the bottom of the tenth, Jackson Hicks induced a double play with two runners on base to send it to an extra frame, where Schobel would give Fort Myers the lead before Hicks stranded a runner at third with one out in the bottom of the eleventh to secure the win. Fort Myers had phenomenal relief pitching, as Hicks, Regi Grace, and John Wilson combined to throw 8 ⅓ innings while only allowing one run. Cespedes and Noah Cardenas each picked up two hits to lead the offense in the victory. Fort Myers improved to 59-47 with the win. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 4, DSL Brewers 6 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Orlando Rubio (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) Multi-Hit Games: Yilber Herrera (3-for-3), Isaac Pena (2-for-2) 2B: Herrera (6), Jose Rodriguez (14) TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Yilber Herrera (DSL Twins) - 3-for-3, R, 2B, 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: #2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K #4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-5, R, RBI, BB, K, 2 SB (24) #7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5, R, 2 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, 3B (1), R, 3 K #11 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-2, 2 R, 4 BB, K, SB (14) #15 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 ⅓ IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, RBI, BB #20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5, R, K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton @ St. Paul (7:07 CST) - RHP Louie Varland (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (2-1, 5.28 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Mike Paredes (7-4, 2.88 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Thank you for reading, and Go Twins!

TRANSACTIONS INF Christian Encarnacion-Strand Re-Instated from IL RHP Ryan Shreve was activated from IL at Cedar Rapids. LHP Aaron Rozek was activated from IL at Cedar Rapids. INF Austin Martin was placed on Wichita IL (left elbow) C Frank Nigro added to AA Wichita from AAA St. Paul Saints Sentinel St. Paul 4, Louisville 6 Box Score Cole Sands: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K HR: Jake Cave (11) Multi-hit games: Tim Beckham (2-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI) The Saints lost a messy game on Wednesday. The match started quietly; after 4 innings, the Saints held a 2-1 lead after Tim Beckham doubled home two runs to inflate rehabbing-big leaguer Justin Dunn’s ERA. Cole Sands was surgical in the early innings, cutting up and down the Bats’ lineup at will before his reign crumbled in the 5th inning. A barrage of doubles mixed with a single from technically old friend Taylor Motter shot Louisville’s run total up to four; Sands suddenly had a loss on his hands. The Saints stormed back. After the Bats tacked on another run in the 6th inning, Jake Cave Did the Darn Thing, swinging at a 3-0 pitch and blasting a Grand Slam to left field to give St. Paul a slight 6-5 edge. His on-base streak is now 48 games. Louisville did not acquiesce to the sudden deficit; a Stuart Fairchild homer knotted the game at 6. The game moved into extra innings, where the Bats won off of what appears to be a double fielding error from Michael Helman. St. Paul’s bats must have been smaller than usual; they struck out 17 times total, with five players facing the K multiple times. Let’s hope that Thursday is a more blessed day. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 2, Amarillo 4 Box Score Louie Varland: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-for-5), Andrew Bechtold (3-for-4, 2B, RBI) Louie Varland gritted out six effective innings in his start. The antiquated “quality start” deems an outing like his worthy of its title, so Varland will take that and run. The damage could have been less severe; two of his runs came from a 6th inning homer, indicating a “careful, Icarus” moment, to steal a term from another baseball site. Wichita’s bats were up to the task on Wednesday, but poor coordination resulted in just two runs off of 12 hits. In all but three innings, the Wind Surge had a man on base, and they often had multiple players ready to score on a moment’s notice, but they could only plate runs in the 1st and 3rd innings. Perhaps better luck would have altered this game in their favor; Wichita left 18 men stranded. Cody Laweryson continued his AA shutout streak, allowing one hit over two innings while striking out a pair. Jordan Gore struck out two in his single inning of work. Matt Wallner threw another baserunner out on Wednesday. Since minor league fielding stats are basically impossible to find, let’s say it was his 50th gunned down runner of the year; that’s how history works. (Editor/Seth Note: I don't want to mess with history, or a fun narrative, but it is Wallner's 8th assist of the season.) Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 5 Box Score Cade Povich: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 11 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Pat Winkel (3-for-4) The Kernels lost an atypical game on Wednesday. Cade Povich submitted his attempt at one of the weirder pitching lines you’ll see. His 11 strikeouts reflect domination, a complete ability to miss bats at an elite level; his seven hits and three earned runs represent mistakes the River Bandits jumped on. For helping win the game, the start was not the best; for showing promise as an overpowering arm, this is an incredible start. Cedar Rapids’ bats were locked out of hits, only securing five of them despite walking more times than they struck out (7 to 5); either their BABIP luck failed to materialize, or their batted balls were not ideal. Maybe they should have mimicked Pat Winkel, as he netted 60% of their total hits. Hunter McMahon and Bobby Milacki cleaned up an impressive 16 strikeout showing from the Kernels’ pitching staff on Wednesday. While Povich shouldered much of that effort, Milacki’s four strikeouts over two innings are also impressive. Despite only knocking in five hits, every batter in the Kernels lineup reached base; this was a deeply weird ballgame. The number 9 hitter (Jake Rucker) picked up three RBIs. Mussel Matters Rain washed away Fort Myers’ match against the Tampa Tarpons; the teams will play double-headers on the 7th. (Also in Ft. Myers, there were no games in the FCL on Wednesday) Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 6, DSL Cardinals 5 Box Score Ledwin Taveras: 5 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: Jose Rodriguez (5), Rafael Cruz (2) Multi-hit games: Rafael Cruz (2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI), Jesus Peraza (2-for-2, 2 RBI, BB) The DSL Twins won a game in which they committed six errors; you don’t see that every day. DSL games are notorious for being sloppy, but that error total is one of the higher totals you’ll ever see outside of tee-ball or drop-dead-drunk beer league softball. Ledwin Taveras led the way with solid innings of work, and his relievers—Oscar Paredes and Anthony Narvaez—combined for four frames without an earned run. The DSL Twins’ offensive output was even, with every batter in their starting lineup reaching base. Rafael Cruz stood out from the group, hitting both a homer and a double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Cade Povich, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Rafael Cruz, DSL Twins PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #6 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-4, R, BB, K #10 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 11 K #11 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-4, R, BB, 2 K #15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-5, 3 K #16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB, K #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (6:05 PM) - RHP Jordan Balazovic Amarillo @ Wichita (7:05 PM) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP David Festa Fort Myers @ Tampa (3:00 PM) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin Fort Myers @ Tampa (Game 2) - RHP Malik Barrington