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There’s no denying that the Twins and Reds front office have found favor with one another. After dealing for Sonny Gray prior to the 2022 season, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine sent, Steve Hajjar, Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand to Cincinnati in exchange for Tyler Mahle. Heck, the two sides continued making moves this offseason when Casey Legumina was flipped for Kyle Farmer. It’s clear the two organizations see ways to help one another. Although Mahle was unable to provide much of a boost for Minnesota down the stretch as he dealt with a shoulder injury, the hope is that he enters Spring Training at 100% and ready to go. If that is the case, then there’s a lot of excitement to dream on should the Twins be able to unlock the talent. Over the previous three seasons coming into 2022, Mahle owned a 3.95 ERA with the Reds, and it was backed by a 3.84 FIP. His 10.2 K/9 was plenty exciting, and he was producing at that level despite allowing a 1.2 HR/9 playing in the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark. In over 400 innings with Cincinnati last season, his 4.40 ERA equated to a career best 3.60 FIP. Although the velocity dipped slightly to a 93 mph average, he maintained strong chase and whiff rates. Plenty of the excitement surrounding Mahle has long been tied to expected numbers. He has controlled hitters and found himself unlucky at times. That could be a byproduct of playing in a less-than-ideal stadium, or pitching in front of bad teams. Either way, there’s a path to unlocking more if the Twins can figure him out. In Mahle, Minnesota was looking for a pitcher under team control that they can work with and attempt to find another level. The former Reds starter isn’t a free agent until 2024, and this may be a decent time for the sides to hammer out an extension if they so choose. Although the shoulder issue popped up last season, Mahle threw 180 innings in 2021. Suggesting a pitcher can be an ace is tough. While each team has their best arm, there’s probably only 10 or so arms across the entirety of the game that earn the definition of true Ace. Even at his best, Mahle becoming peak Justin Verlander seems unlikely. He could, and maybe even should, outperform anyone on the Twins staff though and that then allows a more nuanced conversation to happen. We won’t see the best of Mahle until he’s healthy, but if the Twins spend the offseason making sure he is, then helping to unlock what the numbers say is there gets increasingly more exciting.

Jon Heyman was the first to report that the Twins had acquired RHP Tyler Mahle from Cincinnati for three top prospects, infielders Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and starting pitching prospect Steve Hajjar. The 6’3 210 pound right-handed pitcher has been a solid starter with the Cincinnati Reds. In his most-recent game, three days ago, he recorded his fifth win of the season. He pitched six innings and had seven strikeouts, just two days after coming off the IL. While he had to go on the IL due to shoulder issues right before the All-Star break. He made two starts before the deadline and his medicals must have been to the Twins' liking. Mahle is 27 years old and is under team control through the 2023 season. In 2022, he's 5-7 with a 4.40 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.25 WHIP and 114 strikeouts in 104 1/3 innings. He was 13-6 with a 3.75 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 180 innings last season and has resembled a mid-rotation workhorse for the last three seasons or so. Mahle was the lone starting pitcher added by the Twins at the deadline. They also added two, late-inning relievers at the deadline. What did the Twins give up? The Twins gave up three top-20 prospects to make the trade happen. Spencer Steer, a St. Paul favorite, will be a great asset to the Reds and is likely to be called up sooner than he would if he stayed with the Twins. He hit .269/.361/.528 with 20 home runs and just a 17.0 K% in 388 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. He is a very nice prospect, but as a third baseman. he is currently blocked by the likes of Jose Miranda, Gio Urshela and others. Steer has seen time at third base, second base, and even shortstop this season. Christian Encarnacion-Strand is a huge bat on the Wichita team. He was named the Midwest League's Hitter of the Month in two of the three months he was with Cedar Rapids. Overall, he hit .302/.374/.612 with 25 home runs and a 33.1 percent hard-hit rate in 390 plate appearances between High-A and Double-A. He is only 22-years-old and has seen time at third base, first base and designated hitter this season. The 2021 fifth-round draft pick's best position defensively is DH. Steven Hajjar is the only pitcher sent in the package to Cincinnati. Hajjar is a young left-handed pitcher. He was the Twins second-round draft pick in 2021 out of Michigan. He has spent this season with the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels where he has posted some outstanding numbers. Through 12 starts, he has logged a 2.47 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 71:22 K:BB in 43 2/3 innings. He has been limited by a couple of stints in the Injured List this year. His potential to move up in the Reds system looks good and could potentially start at High-A. The Twins front office has been making stealthy deadline-day moves and keeping fans on their toes. Do you think the Twins have made the right moves? What do you think of giving up three top-25 prospects for Mahle?

Minnesota is going to have some tough decisions to make this winter when it comes to protecting players from the Rule 5 Draft. Multiple top prospects will be added to the 40-man roster before the deadline, but there are only so many prospects a team can protect. One way to avoid some of these decisions is to include these players in trades before the deadline. Simeon Woods Richardson, SP Woods Richardson is no stranger to deadline deals as he has been part of two blockbuster trades in the past. He is also arguably one of the team's top pitching prospects after a breakout season at Double-A. The Twins will undoubtedly add him to the 40-man roster, but his stock has risen since last year's trade deadline. Can the Twins use him as a part of a trade for a veteran starting pitcher? Matt Canterino, SP Canterino has dominated the minor leagues when he has stayed healthy. However, he has been limited to fewer than 90 innings in three professional seasons. Teams looking to deal for prospects at the deadline might not be interested in someone who misses as much time as Canterino. Minnesota might also need to consider moving Canterino to a relief role to keep him healthy for the long term. Spencer Steer, INF Steer has been one of Minnesota's breakout prospects this season as he has an OPS over .900 at Double- and Triple-A. When looking at Minnesota's roster, it's easy to see why Steer might be a more easily tradable asset. He plays a lot of defensive time at second and third base, where the Twins have other players ahead of him on the depth chart. His defensive flexibility (over 100 innings at three infield positions) could be intriguing to other organizations. Matt Wallner, OF Wallner put his name on the national stage when he hit a powerful home run during the Futures Game. He has been destroying baseballs all season at Double-A, where he had 15 doubles and 21 home runs in 78 games. Minnesota promoted Wallner to Triple-A following his Futures Game heroics. He's clearly a right fielder who will also get some DH time, so does that have a lot of value on the trade market? Louie Varland, SP Varland surprised many by being named the TD 2021 Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. He posted a 2.10 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP and 142 strikeouts in 103 innings. Minnesota was aggressive with him and moved him to Double-A this season, where he is younger than the average age of the competition. In 2022, Varland continued to strike out more than ten batters per nine innings. Currently, he doesn't rank as one of the team's top-5 pitching prospects, which might make the team more likely to part with him. Edouard Julien, INF Minnesota selected Julien in the 2019 MLB Draft, so he didn't make his professional debut until last season in Fort Myers. In 112 games between Low- and High-A, Julien hit .267/.434/.480 (.914) with 28 doubles and 18 home runs. An eye-popping 110 walks helped his unbelievable OBP. This season at Double-A, he has continued to get on base over 40% of the time while playing exclusively at second base. His college experience and plate discipline might be intriguing to other organizations. Misael Urbina, OF Urbina was one of the top prospects in the 2018-19 international signing class as he got $2.75 million from the Twins. Minnesota was aggressive with him last season and sent him to Fort Myers, where he was over two years younger than the average age of the competition. He posted a .585 OPS but showed reasonable control of the strike zone with 54 walks. So far in 2022, Urbina has been limited to fewer than 20 games, so it seems unlikely that a team would take him in the Rule 5 Draft. Do you think any of these players will be included in trades before the deadline? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

TRANSACTIONS With Caleb Thielbar going in the IL, the Twins recalled RHP Yennier Cano. Minnesota Twins sign RHP Michael Feliz to a minor-league deal, assign him to St. Paul The Saints placed RHP Josh Winder on the 7-Day IL (right shoulder impingement syndrome) LHP Brent Headrick promoted to Wichita RHP Tyler Palm transferred to Cedar Rapids INF Daniel Ozoria transferred from Wichita to Fort Myers OF Emmanuel Rodriguez transferred from 7-day IL to 60-day IL RHP Logan Campbell transferred from 7-day IL to 60-day IL C Jair Camargo reinstated from 7-day IL INF Ernie Yake reinstated from 7-day IL C Roy Morales transferred from Wichita to St. Paul Saints Sentinel St. Paul 6, Indianapolis 7 Box Score Jordan Balazovic: 2 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K HR: Spencer Steer (12), Miguel Sano (3), Curtis Terry (9) Multi-hit games: Spencer Steer (2-for-5, HR, R, RBI), Jake Cave (2-for-5, R), Miguel Sanó (3-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI), Curtis Terry (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) The Saints lost on a walk-off Saturday. Jordan Balazovic could not exorcise his first-half demons; the righty allowed four runs while netting just eight outs. Triple-A has been a nightmare for the top prospect, as advanced batters have knocked Balazovic around to the tune of a 10.41 ERA. The top of St. Paul’s lineup had the good vibes going; all three batters recorded multiple hits, and half of the team’s runs came from this triumvirate. Spencer Steer kicked off the scoring quickly with a lead-off homer. Then Miguel Sanó blasted his own bomb in the 4th inning. Curtis Terry capped the firework show with his home run in the sixth frame. The bullpen held their own until the final frame; Dereck Rodríguez shouldered most of the burden, allowing one run over 3 1/3 innings. The arms only wobbled when it mattered the most, as Indianapolis hopped all over Wladimir Pinto in the 9th inning, plating a game-winning run with some help from a Sanó error. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 4, Tulsa 10 Box Score Louie Varland: 4 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: Jair Camargo (3), Chris Williams (17) Multi-hit games: Jair Camargo (2-for-4, HR, R, RBI), Anthony Prato (2-for-4, 2B, R) The Wind Surge lost handily on Saturday. Louie Varland could not win against Tulsa’s bats. He allowed eight hits and a relatively-low total of three runs over four innings. It appears the Dodgers’ typically elite minor league talent shone through once again. Wichita’s offense put up a fight, as both Jair Camargo and Chris Williams homered in the effort. Williams’ blast was expected—the catcher now has seven homers in his last seven games—while Camargo’s home run ballooned his Double-A OPS to 1.000. Leobaldo Cabrera, Edouard Julien, and Anthony Prato doubled on Saturday. Brent Headrick met his Double-A debut with a trip and a faceplant; the Drillers dropped 10 hits, and seven earned runs on the fresh lefty before he could net his eighth out. In his first inning, the fifth, he gave up homers to the first two batters he faced. He gave up some soft contact on a couple of singles after that, but with two outs, he served up a three-run homer. Hopefully, this outing is just the result of unruly nerves. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 8, Peoria 11 Box Score Cade Povich: 4 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 2 K HR: Yunior Severino (6), Jeferson Morales (5), Aaron Sabato (11) Multi-hit games: Seth Gray (3-for-5, 2 R, RBI), Yunior Severino (3-for-4, HR, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB) Cade Povich pitched one of his worst games as a young professional; it was a textbook clunker. The lefty allowed runs at a 2-1 pace compared to his innings. Hopefully, Povich can throw the memory of this start away and start fresh the next time he climbs the mound. Cedar Rapids’ bats were efficient, mirroring eight runs with eight hits; nearly the entire lineup contributed to the impressive showing, as six batters claimed hits on Saturday. Yunior Severino, sitting in the heart of the lineup, stole the show, knocking a homer and speeding for a triple in a three RBI effort. Wander Javier also tripled. The Chiefs pounced on multiple Cedar Rapids pitchers; Bradley Hanner and Derek Molina felt their wrath, allowing three runs each long after Povich exited the game. Molina suffered through three homers. He had given up just two homers in 24 previous outings (33 1/3 innings). Sabato blasted a two-run homer in the final frame to pull the game within four while ensuring that the team scored in all but two innings. Mussel Matters The Mighty Mussels started play on Saturday, but early rain pushed the game to tomorrow as part of a double-header; Keoni Cavaco hit a two-run homer in the first inning. Complex Chronicles FCL Twins 0, FCL Red Sox 3 Box Score Juan Nunez: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The FCL Twins were silenced on Saturday. Juan Nunez was a bright point; he did not allow a run over four innings while striking out six. Danny Moreno and Isaiah Rivera also had scoreless outings. FCL Twins hitters were flummoxed, with just three hits and four walks to their name; no knock went for extra bases. Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 6, DSL Brewers 2 Box Score Cesar Lares: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K HR: Yasser Mercedes (3) Multi-hit games: Yasser Mercedes (2-for-4, HR, R, 4 RBI), Isaac Pena (2-for-3, R, BB) The DSL Twins won easily on Saturday. Breakout arm Cesar Lares pitched wonderfully again; the lefty struck out seven batters on his way to nabbing 12 outs. Just one score blemishes his performance. Yasser Mercedes continued his impressive first impression, launching a game-breaking grand slam in the 4th inning; Mercedes already collected a single in the previous frame. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Cesar Lares Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sanó PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #6 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, HR, R, RBI, K #7 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 2 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K #8 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - Suspended game #10 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 4 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 2 K #11 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 4 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K #12 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-3, BB #15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-4, 2B, RBI, K #16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Wichita) - 0-4, 2 K #19 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - Suspended game SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (12:35 PM) - RHP Cole Sands Wichita @ Tulsa (1:05 PM) - RHP Daniel Gossett Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 PM) - RHP David Festa Clearwater @ Fort Myers (DH @ 11:00 AM) - RHP Travis Adams

Now, to be completely fair, the Minnesota Twins farm system has plenty of talent. While the group may not be topping charts across the league as a whole, there’s a glut of future Major Leaguers within the ranks. The larger question here is to what extent are Minnesota’s prospects coveted by other organizations, and what can they realistically bring in return. That question is not easy because so many of the Twins top prospects have recently graduated. Jose Mirnada is thriving at the Major League level. Alex Kirilloff looks healthy and competitive. Gilberto Celestino may be near his ceiling, but it’s clear he’s a capable big-league outfielder. Trevor Larnach is currently hurt, but has flashed being an impact bat. There shouldn’t be any desire to trade Royce Lewis, and Jhoan Duran may wind up as Minnesota’s best rookie. The top of the farm system is now being coached by Rocco Baldelli. After recently updating my top 30 prospects following day one of the Major League Baseball Draft, each of Minnesota’s three picks has found their way into the group. I can’t imagine a scenario in which any of them are considered in a package right now, and that’s before considering the complications limiting any of them being moved. At the top of the group, you find Austin Martin. Looking to increase his power potential, Martin has changed his swing and approach this season. What was once a high-average hitter is a guy posting a .691 OPS and no longer a shortstop. He’s far too young to suggest this is a bust, but the prospect luster around him when acquired in exchange for Jose Berrios has worn a bit. Simeon Woods-Richardson has taken over for Jordan Balazovic as Minnesota’s top pitching prospect, but he’s currently on the injured list and his rebound has been just to the tune of 53 innings this season. Matt Canterino looks like he could be a dominant reliever, but there has to be a better string of health there. Speaking of Balazovic, he’s looked completely lost at Triple-A and couldn’t be dealt at a time where his value looks any lower. Realistically speaking, the first two names that come to mind when constructing a trade package are Spencer Steer and Matt Wallner. The former is following a path similar to that of Miranda last season and has done incredibly well at both Double and Triple-A. Steer should absolutely be a name that the Twins start conversations with, but I don’t know that a recent addition to the back half of top 100 lists will be enough of a building block to land a big-name starter like Frankie Montas. In Wallner, Minnesota has a better version of what Brent Rooker could have been. Wallner is a massive power bat that has made strides when it comes to controlling the strike zone. It will be interesting to see if he can keep that up while remaining at Triple-A, but there’s a saving grace in the outfield. Wallner isn’t exactly Max Kepler out there, but his massive arm provides plenty of assist opportunity. The Twins didn’t work him as a pitcher in pro ball, but that could be a fallback option for an acquiring team if need be. Ultimately I think it’s evident that Minnesota has the pieces to acquire just about any amount of relief help they need. On the starting front though, especially the big-name talents, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which prospects alone are enough to get a deal done.

Looking at teams that could consider being sellers, I came up with 49 names as part of a Trade Deadline Manifesto. Any number of those players could be had, and there will be plenty of buyers looking to acquire their talents. Although Minnesota could use a bat, and now with the injury to Ryan Jeffers, some catching help, the focus should still be on the mound. Using Baseball Trade Values in an attempt to build some realistic packages, here’s a trio of options for Minnesota to consider. Working from a starter to a package and finally just bullpen help, you decide if the juice is worth the squeeze on any of these swaps. Minnesota Twins get: Frankie Montas Oakland Athletics get: Spencer Steer, Matt Canterino, Steven Hajjar, Marco Raya Arguably the most discussed name on the open market, Montas’ value is a complete question mark right now due to his health. If the shoulder isn’t serious, he’s going to be moved and Oakland should command a haul. He’s probably not quite the level of Luis Castillo, but that could help Minnesota’s chances to land him. Whatever you make of it, they are currently the betting favorite to do so per Bovada. Netting an ace like Montas, who is also under team control through 2023, isn’t going to come cheap. In this scenario, Minnesota would need to part with one of their Futures Game participants in Steer. Canterino is probably a reliever, but he could be an elite one at that. Hajjar is a former 2nd round pick, while Raya was a 4th round pick. Both have started their professional careers on a high note and the early returns look promising. It’s fair to suggest this may still not be enough and that makes the Twins give even greater. Minnesota Twins get: Jose Quintana, David Bednar Pittsburgh Pirates get: Matt Wallner, David Festa, Aaron Sabato This is a tricky swap given the amount of team control Bednar still has to his credit. He’s a reliever and is already 27-years-old, but he also has earned his first All-Star appearance and looks the part of among the best arms on the market. Quintana has thrived for the Pirates and has previously experienced success as a frontline starter. He’s a free agent at the end of the season, but could provide valuable innings down the stretch. With Ke’Bryan Hayes and O’Neil Cruz manning the left side of the infield, Pittsburgh may be more inclined to target Wallner from the Twins than Steer. Festa was a 13th round pick out of Seton Hall, but he’s posted a dominant 2.01 ERA across his first 80 2/3 professional innings. The hope for the Pirates on Sabato would be that a change of scenery could help him. He’s flopped hard as a big bat prospect that’s limited to anything beyond first base. This could be an area for additional value to be squeezed from this trade if they are able to make it work. Depending on the market for Bednar, this return could be entirely too light. Minnesota Twins get: Daniel Bard Colorado Rockies get: Kala’i Rosario, Steven Cruz This is the type of deal Minnesota should have plenty of ammunition for. They need help in the bullpen, so any amount of relievers on deals that expire this season make sense. Bard is 37-years-old and his journey back to the big leagues is well documented. The 2.02 ERA and 20 saves has him looking like one of the best closers on the market. Pairing Bard at the back of the bullpen with Jhoan Duran would be a nice come-up for Minnesota. Rosario might be a lot to give up for an aging reliever, but there’s also a ton of volatility with a hitter so young and so strikeout prone. The power is absolutely there, and that would play nicely in Colorado, but it’s hard to project if he’ll ever make enough contact for it to matter. Cruz has one of the biggest fastballs in Minnesota’s system, but command has been a problem. He’s 23-years-old and at Double-A, so there’s still time for someone to make it work. What do you think? Are you in on any of these trades? Is there a prospect that is completely hands off for you?

Transactions: Spencer Steer and Matt Wallner named to Futures Game roster. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Louisville 4 Box Score Star pitching prospect Jordan Balazovic got the start tonight for St. Paul. He went just two innings throwing 49 pitches. Balazovic gave up three runs on six hits while striking out three. This is now the fifth straight start in which Balazovic has been limited to less than 50 pitches. Tim Beckham, who has been red hot since joining the Saints, started the scoring with a solo blast in the top of the 1st inning. After giving up three runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning, St. Paul had work to do. Caleb Hamilton doubled home Michael Helman in the 6th inning to bring the good guys back within one, and then Helman drove in Jake Cave on an 8th inning sacrifice fly to tie it. Standing on third, Braden Bishop raced home after a passed ball and the Saints had regained the lead. Providing a bit of breathing room, Bishop singled in the top of the 9th inning to score Elliot Soto and give St. Paul a two-run lead. That was necessary as a Louisville solo shot in the 9th inning brought the lead back down to one. Beckham and Helman had two-hit nights for the Saints while Ronny Henriquez was great in relief working four scoreless innings and striking out four. WIND SURGE WISDOM Amarillo 6, Wichita 3 Box Score Sawyer Gipson-Long took the ball tonight for Wichita and worked four innings. Amarillo hit him around a bit as the Turbo Tubs starter gave up five runs on nine hits. Gipson-Long did avoid free passes while fanning four. Former Twins backstop Juan Centeno started the damage when he hit a solo shot in the 2nd inning. From there it would be 5-0 before Wichita got on the board. Playing as the Turbo Tubs tonight, Chris Williams erased the zero with his 10th homer of the season. Leobaldo Cabrera then singled to drive in Andrew Bechtold and make it a three-run game. After giving up a 7th inning solo shot, the Turbo Tubs found themselves behind by four runs and the only comeback they could muster was a wild pitch allowing Wallner to scamper home after a leadoff double in the 9th inning. Seven of the nine Wichita batters recorded hits tonight, but Cole Sturgeon and Matt Wallner were the only batters to have two. KERNELS NUGGETS Postponed The Kernels game was postponed tonight due to wet field conditions. It will be played as part of a double header on Saturday. MUSSEL MATTERS Tampa 3, Fort Myers 2 (F/6) Box Score Originally scheduled for a double header with two 7-inning games, the Mighty Mussels had another weather delay tonight that changed things to one 9-inning affair. Jaylen Nowlin drew the start for Fort Myers tonight and worked four innings of three-hit baseball. He did allow three runs but posted four strikeouts while walking two. The Mighty Mussels waited out a delay only to find themselves playing just six innings after all. Keoni Cavaco smacked his 5th dinger of the season, driving in Noah Cardenas, to make it 2-0 in the top of the 2nd inning. Unfortunately, that was the lone production for Fort Myers, and a three-run 5th inning for Tampa did them in. Five hits were scattered throughout the lineup tonight, but three of them went for extra bases with Kala’i Rosario recording a triple. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Orioles 6, FCL Twins 4 Box Score Miguel Sano played first base today for the FCL Twins and went 1-for-3 with a run scored. He also struck out once. Sano continues to progress through what’s expected to be a lengthy rehab assignment. Yonardy Soto, Ricardo Olivar, and Fredy Michel all had two-hit games. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 8, DSL Phillies Red 3 Box Score Yasser Mercedes had a three-hit game with a double while Isaac Pena was 4-for-5 in the contest. The Twins pounded out 16 hits and tagged each of the three different Phillies pitchers for multiple runs. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K Hitter of the Day – Michael Helman (St. Paul) - 2-4, R, RBI, 2B, 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: #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 2.0 IP,, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-4, BB, 2 K #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-3 #13 - Ronny Hendriquez (St. Paul) - 4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 2-4, 2B, R, BB, K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-4, BB, 3K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (6:05PM CST) - RHP Aaron Sanchez Amarillo @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - LHP Blayne Enlow Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Sean Mooney Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates and the two Complex Season affiliates back and playing.

The 2022 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game will be played at Dodgers Stadium on Saturday, July 16th at 6 pm central time. You can watch Twins prospects Spencer Steer and Matt Wallner live on Peacock and SiriusXM with MLB Network producing the telecast and re-airing the game at 7:30 pm that night. The two Twins representatives are the two hitters with the most home runs in the system. Wallner has hit 20 homers, and Steer has hit 19. It is a big deal for the players. Not only does it show that they are recognized by their own organization, but they are given the respect of the other organizations too. And finally, their names can become more well known to fans on a national level. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I'm so excited to get to experience." Steer said following the announcement. It is extra special for him for another reason. "It means so much to me that I get to go play a game so close to my hometown. This will be the first time a lot of my family have seen me play professionally, so I couldn't be more excited about that as well." Spencer Steer, 24, grew up in Long Beach (CA) and went to the University of Oregon to play college ball. The Twins drafted him in the 3rd round of the 2019 draft. He began the 2022 season at Double-A Wichita where he hit .307/.385/.591 (.976) with 13 doubles and eight homers. He was promoted to Triple-A St. Paul where he has now played 36 games. He has hit .243/.330/.533 (.862) with nine doubles and 11 home runs. Just so you don't have to look it up, combined, he has played in 71 games and hit .273/.356/.561 (.916) with 22 doubles, 19 homers and 58 RBI. One more reason for Steer's excitement? "It's awesome that I get to go play with Wallner, who is a great friend of mine." Wallner is a 24-year-old from Forest Lake (MN). He was the Mr. Baseball choice in Minnesota in 2016 and drafted in the 32nd round by the Twins, as a pitcher. He went to Southern Mississippi and became an All-American outfielder with immense power. The Twins drafted him with the 39th overall pick in 2019. He has been on fire this season. In 73 games at Double-A Wichita, he has hit .282/.422/.585 (1.007) with 13 doubles and 20 home runs. He also has 58 RBI. When the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospect rankings were updated on July 1st, Spencer Steer ranked #6 with Matt Wallner ranking #12. Below is an interview with Spencer Steer shortly after his promotion to St. Paul. Check it out! (Then below the interview you can see the players that Steer and Wallner join as Futures Game Twins representatives since the game's first year.) Past Twins in the Futures Game 1999: Michael Cuddyer, JC Romero, 2000: Luis Rivas, Brad Thomas, 2001: Grant Balfour 2002: Justin Morneau, Michael Restovich, 2003: JD Durbin, Joe Mauer, 2004: Jason Kubel, Justin Morneau, 2005: Travis Bowyer, Francisco Liriano, 2006: Trent Oeltjen, 2007: Matt Garza, Matt Tolbert, 2008: Luke Hughes, Denard Span, 2009: Rene Tosoni, 2010: Liam Hendriks, Ben Revere, Anthony Slama, 2011: Kyle Gibson, Liam Hendriks, 2012: Oswaldo Arcia, 2013: Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, 2014: Jose Berrios, Trevor May, Alex Meyer, Kennys Vargas (at Target Field) 2015: Jose Berrios, Max Kepler, 2016: JT Chargois, 2017: Nick Gordon, 2018: Alex Kirilloff, Lewis Thorpe, 2019: Jordan Balazovic, Royce Lewis, 2020: No Futures Game 2021: Josh Winder 2022: Spencer Steer, Matt Wallner

Depth is vital to any roster trying to stay in contention throughout a 162-game season. Organizations adopt a next-man-up mentality as injuries or poor performance push other players out of the picture. Minnesota has seen this occur multiple times this season, and another player might be ready to step into a second-half role. The Twins selected Spencer Steer in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of the University of Oregon. He immediately impacted the organization as he hit .280/.385/.424 (.809) in 64 games between rookie ball and Low-A. Defensively, he played over 120 innings at shortstop, third base, and second base, and it looked like the 2020 season was going to be vital for his development as a prospect. Unfortunately, no minor league games were played that season and Steer didn’t get a plate appearance in his age-22 season. As the 2021 season began, the Twins had Steer start the year at High-A, where he was slightly older than the average age of the competition. He posted a .915 OPS in 45 games before being called up to Double-A, where his OPS dropped by over 140 points. Steer accumulated 45 extra-base hits in 110 games which was quite the jump from the power numbers he posted during his collegiate career. Signs pointed to Steer adjusting as a professional, but few predicted what was coming in 2022. Steer headed back to Double-A to begin this season, and he destroyed the ball. In 35 games, he hit .307/.385/.591 (.976) with 22 extra-base hits and a 23-to-14 strikeout to walk ratio. Minnesota promoted him to Triple-A, and unlike the 2021 season, he didn’t miss a beat with the change in competition. Since joining the Saints, Steer has a .907 OPS with six doubles and 11 home runs in 28 games. He is 2.5 years younger than the average age of the competition at Triple-A, and he has faced older pitchers in 74% of his at-bats. His succeeding on the doorstep to the big leagues, so a call-up is not out of the question. Connecting back to Lewis, Steer is a powerful right-handed bat with the defensive flexibility to play multiple infield positions. Unlike Lewis, Steer has been playing multiple defensive positions throughout his professional career, so there isn’t a learning curve involved with his transition. During the 2022 season, Steer has played over 100 innings at every infield position besides first base. The Twins have other players ahead of Steer on the current depth chart, but one injury may result in the team needing a replacement. During the 2021 season, Twins fans watched as Jose Miranda had one of the best minor league seasons in franchise history. At Double- and Triple-A, he posted a .973 OPS with 30 doubles and 32 home runs in 127 games. It seemed like Miranda earned a late-season call-up, but he wasn’t on the 40-man roster, and the Twins didn’t see a reason to rush him. Steer faces the same hurdle as he isn’t on the 40-man roster, and the team isn’t required to move him quickly. Steer isn’t considered the same prospect type as Lewis, but that doesn’t mean he can’t help a contending team. There is a lot of baseball left to be played, and Steer has moved his name into the conversation as one of the organization’s best prospects. Do you think Steer will make his debut in 2022? Can he help fill the void left by Lewis? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

Transactions: None to report SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Buffalo 1 Box Score Top pitching prospect Jordan Balazovic got the start today for the Saints and worked three scoreless innings. He has put together shorter outings of late, but this one was a good one. He allowed just two hits and struck out three while walking none. Balazovic was lifted after 39 pitches. Roy Morales started the scoring for St. Paul when he singled in Spencer Steer in the top of the 3rd inning. After allowing Buffalo to knot things up in the 4th inning, the Saints came marching in during the 7th inning. A night after going 0-for-4, Steer blasted his 10th homer at Triple-A, a three run shot, to score both Michael Helman and Braden Bishop. Caleb Hamilton then lifted a dinger of his own to plate Jermaine Palacios and Morales, making it a 7-1 game. Steer and Morales were the lone Saints with multi-hit games on the evening. WIND SURGE WISDOM San Antonio 11, Wichita 4 (Resumption of Wednesday’s game) Box Score The Wind Surge resumed the first game tonight following a postponement in the 4th inning on Wednesday. It was played as a nine inning game with the originally schedule tilt being a seven-inning affair afterwards. Wichita 7, San Antonio 4 (F/7) Box Score Southpaw Blayne Enlow was on the bump for the shortened regularly scheduled game and he went 3 2/3 innings. Enlow gave up two runs on four hits while walking two and striking out three. The only damage against Enlow came on a 2nd inning homer. It took a few innings for Wichita to push a run across despite leading in the hit column, but Kevin Merrell tallied the first Wind Surge run when he singled in Cole Sturgeon during the bottom of the 4th inning. Just an inning later, Wichita got their first lead when Sturgeon singled in both Matt Wallner and Austin Martin. After seeing the lead evaporate in the 6th inning, Wichita buckled down and got back to work. With the bases loaded, Martin got plunked and drove in a run the hard way. Edouard Julien singled driving in both Daniel Ozoria and Wallner before a Sturgeon ground out brought in Martin. Pulling away and putting some distance behind them, Wichita was able to ride the three-run lead to a victory. KERNELS NUGGETS West Michigan 3, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score Tonight was Aaron Rozek's turn on the bump for Cedar Rapids and he twirled a good one. Throwing five innings of one hit ball, Rozek kept West Michigan scoreless while allowing just two walks and punching out four. He lowered his ERA to 3.35 on the year. Runs were tough to come by, and that made Will Holland's double in the 4th inning that much more impactful. Scoring both Seth Gray and Yunior Severino, the two runs were enough to fend off a comeback from the Whitecaps. Cedar Rapids tallied just six hits on the evening. The lack of production bit the Kernels when West Michigan pushed two across in the top of the 9th inning. With Cedar Rapids trailing for the first time, Aaron Sabato doubled to lead off their last at bat. Stranded at third base though, that's as close as the comeback attempt came. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Lakeland 4 Box Score Pierson Ohl took the ball tonight for the Mighty Mussels. He pitched six innings of one-run ball allowing just three hits and a walk. Ohl struck out eight and lowered his ERA to 4.70 on the season. Noah Cardenas started the scoring early with a 1st inning single allowing Noah Miller to cross the plate. Miller then followed suit in the 3rd inning when his single drove home Jake Rucker. After giving back a run on a 4th inning wild pitch, Fort Myers grabbed an insurance run in the 8th inning on a Rubel Cespedes single to score Cardenas. With the bases loaded, LaRon Smith drew a walk to score Cespedes, but that's where the scoring ended for the Mighty Mussels. Unfortunately Fort Myers watched their lead evaporate in the bottom of the 8th inning, and no team could push a run across in the 9th inning. Going to extras, Nelson Roberto launched his second homer of the season and gave the Mighty Mussels a two run lead as Cespedes began the inning on second. Things got dicey in the bottom half with Lakeland having runners on 2nd and 3rd and only one out but Matt Mullenbach came on to relieve Malik Barrington and slammed the door. Miller, Cespedes, Cardenas, and Smith all picked up two-hit nights. Smith recorded doubles for both of his. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 6, FCL Pirates 5 Box Score Elpidio Perez pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief work to end this game and got the win. He allowed two hits, no runs, and punched out four. Gregory Duran and Andres Centeno both had two hits for the Twins. Centeno launched his first homer of the season and Alex Rodriguez hit his first dinger as a professional. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 8, DSL Cubs Blue 3 Box Score Roger Duran got the win, improving to 3-0. He worked four innings of relief allowing just a single run. Harold Grant had a 2-for-3 night with a double after coming off the bench and taking over as the designated hitter. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Pierson Ohl (Ft. Myers) - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Spencer Steer - (St. Paul) - 2-4, 2B, HR(10), 2 R, 3 RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 2-3, R, K #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 0-2, BB, K #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 2-4, 2B, HR(10), 2 R, 3 RBI #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 2-5, R , RBI #14 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-1, 2 R, 3 BB #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-4, 2 RBI, K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Buffalo (6:05PM CST) - RHP Cole Sands San Antonio @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Casey Legumina West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Cade Povich Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates and the two Complex Season affiliates back and playing.

TRANSACTIONS No transactions across the organization today! SAINTS SENTINEL St Paul 11, Columbus 10 Box Score Despite losing Alex Kirilloff to the parent club a few days ago, the St. Paul offense didn't miss a beat on Sunday afternoon. A monster day at the plate, the Saints used 12 hits to plate 11 runs and sneak past the Clippers in a Father's Day shootout in Columbus. The scoring wasn't isolated; St. Paul scored in six of nine innings and touted multi-run frames in the first, second, third, fifth, and seventh innings. Even better, the scoring didn't come from one player. Led by a four-hit showing from Mark Contreras, seven Saints recorded hits and five tallied RBI on the day. Michael Helman and Mark Contreras got the party started in the top of the first with a pair of key hits to put the Saints on the board. With Caleb Hamilton on the pond, Helman laced a single to the first run of the game. Since being promoted to Triple-A at the end of May, Helman has been red hot, hitting safely in seven of his last eight games and touting a team-leading .423 batting average. Just two batters later, Contreras notched his first of four singles of the day to score Helman (who advanced to second on a fielding error) to put the Saints up 2-0. It was rinse and repeat for St. Paul in the second and third inning. Following John Andreoli walk and Elliot Soto double (9), Spencer Steer smothered a liner to center-field to score both runners and double the lead. Curtis Terry kicked off the third inning with a solo homer (7) to left and was followed by a pair of singles from Contreras and Jermaine Palacios. Contreras would eventually score thanks to a double-play groundout from Roy Morales. And while the RBI didn't count for Morales, he would score two runners in the fifth inning on a beautifully struck double that clipped the third-base bag. Given the run support, St. Paul starter Aaron Sanchez was solid on the day, pitching 4 1/3 innings of three-run (two earned), five-hit ball while striking out four and walking two. Austin Schulfer cleaned up the final two outs of the fifth inning and earned the win on the day for St. Paul. In what looked like a blowout, the Clippers mounted a massive seventh inning off of St. Paul reliever Jake Faria. In 1 2/3 innings, Faria allowed six runs on four hits, including a grand slam. Luckily for the Saints, Mark Contreras added an insurance run in the top of the eighth with an RBI single that scored Curtis Terry. Sunday's Father's Day win was especially special for Saints skipper Toby Gardenhire. On paternity leave for the birth of his first child Bodie, Sunday marked Gardenhire's 100th win as manager of the St. Paul Saints. Congrats to Toby on the feat but more importantly, to him and his wife Sarah and the birth of their first child! WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 3, Wichita 2 (10) Box Score Despite a solid pitching performance from the Wichita staff, the Wind Surge fell just short in an extra-inning heartbreaker to Tulsa. Wichita outhit the Drillers but failed to convert, leaving 12 men on base and going 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Cole Sturgeon and Edouard Julien both tallied multi-hit games and Sturgeon recorded one of Wichita's two RBI on the day. With two outs in the third, Sturgeon knocked a single to center field to score Matt Wallner from second and put the Surge on the board. Wichita plated its only other run in the sixth inning when Deshawn Keirsey Jr. scored from third on a groundout from Anthony Prato. Wichita starting pitcher Casey Legumina was solid through 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out two. Limiting the damage himself, the Surge bullpen did everything they could to follow Legumina's adequate outing. Andrew Cabezas pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts and was followed by 2 1/3 scoreless innings from Denny Bentley and Jordon Gore. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Dayton 3 Box Score Assigned from the FCL Twins to Cedar Rapids on Friday, there's a good chance most Twins fans don't know the name Frank Nigro. They should now. Knotted at three in the bottom of the ninth, Nigro punched a 2-2 pitch to right field to score Kennie Taylor and walk the Kernels off to a league-leading 41-22 record. In his first game with Cedar Rapids, Nigro's walk-off single would have sufficed just fine on its own. Yet on top of the game-winner, Nigro laced a single in the second inning and was one of two Cedar Rapids players to record a multi-hit game. The Kernels scored their first run in the first inning. Following an Alerick Soularie double (6), Yunior Severino reached out a fielding error that allowed Soularie to score from second. The Kernels would strike again in the second thanks to an RBI single from Kyler Mack that scored Kennie Tayor. After a few innings of silence, Alerick Soularie notched his second hit of the game in the seventh with an RBI single that scored Taylor. The Cedar Rapids pitching staff was stellar from the game's first pitch to its last. Starter Sean Mooney was dominant through five, striking out six while allowing just two runs on five hits. The combo of Bobby Milacki and Matthew Swain took the bulk of relief, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out a combined four batters through 3 2/3 innings. Ryan Shreve (W, 1-0) pitched the final out for the Kernels and earned his first win of the year. MUSSEL MATTERS CANCELLED Turns out it rains (a lot) in Florida. Due to inclement weather, Sunday's game was canceled. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day: Mark Contreras (St. Paul)- 4-for-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB Pitcher of the Day: Sean Mooney (Cedar Rapids)- 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 K, 2 BB PROSPECT SUMMARY Take a look at how our Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects did today! For a weekly recap of prospects and the entire farm system, check out Seth's Minor League Week in Review! Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 3 RBI, 3 K #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, 2 K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, K UP NEXT Mondays are off for minor leaguers, get prepared for a full slate of games on Tuesday!

TRANSACTIONS OF Braden Bishop signed to MiLB deal and assigned to St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 4, St. Paul 3 Box Score The bats started off hot for the Saints though they ultimately fizzled out after the third inning. Kyle Garlick (2-for-3, RBI) mashed a solo home run in the first inning and Caleb Hamilton (1-for-4) followed two batters later with an RBI double to give St. Paul a 2-0 lead in the opening frame. Spencer Steer (1-for-5, RBI) added another run in the third inning with a solo home run, his ninth in 21 Triple-A games. However, the Saints were unable to garner a single hit outside of the first five batters in the lineup and did not score after Steer’s jack. Cole Sands pitched admirably to open the game, striking out three and allowing only one earned run in four innings. J.C. Ramirez, Yennier Cano, and Juan Minaya all surrendered one run during their seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, respectively, which ultimately sank the Saints. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 2, Wichita 1 Box Score Cole Sturgeon's (1-for-4) solo home run was the only run the Wind Surge were able to muster against the Drillers on Saturday, despite connecting for seven hits, drawing four walks, and stealing three bases; they struck out 16 times collectively and left 16 runners on base. Daniel Gossett was tremendous to start the game, striking out five and allowing only three hits in five innings of scoreless ball. Osiris German was ultimately saddled with the loss after serving up a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Bryan Sammons and Jordan Gore each threw a scoreless inning in relief. Austin Martin was given a second-straight night off. He has not been in the lineup in four of the past six games. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Dayton 5 Box Score Five of the Kernels 10 hits against the Dragons went for extra bases as they cruised to their 40th win. Christian Encarnacion-Strand led all batters with three hits in five at-bats, including his 18th double of the season. Yunior Severino (1-for-5, 2 RBI) and Will Holland (1-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB) also smacked doubles. Wander Javier (2-for-5, 2 RBI) and Alerick Soularie (2-for-4, RBI) each launched solo home runs, their fifth and sixth, respectively. Cade Povich was lights out on the mound as he struck out 11 and allowed two earned runs across five innings of work. He now has 68 strikeouts in 48 innings to go along with a solid 3.38 ERA. Orlando and Miguel Rodriguez combined to strike out six and allow three runs across the game's final four innings. With the win, the Kernels clinched a playoff berth by winning the first-half division title, joining the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels as Twins affiliates that will be in their league's playoffs at the end of the season. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Bradenton 4 Box Score The Mighty Mussels hung on to take down the Marauders in Fort Myers on Saturday. Kala'i Rosario's (1-for-3, BB) two-run home run in the fourth inning was ultimately the deciding factor in the Mighty Mussels' win. Jake Rucker (2-for-4) and Luis Baez (2-for-3) each drove in an RBI. Marco Raya tossed the first 2 2/3 innings for Fort Myers, striking out five of the nine batters he faced. Matt Mullenbach, Niklas Rimmel, Regi Grace, and John Wilson combined to strikeout 10 batters, walk two, and give up four runs, three of them earned. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 6, FCL Red Sox 5 Box Score The baby Twins’ bats were scorching on Saturday, outhitting the Red Sox 14-7 with six—including Fredy Michel’s first home run of the season—going for extra bases. Ismael Perez led the Twins offense going 2-for-5 with a double, three RBI, and two runs scored. Jose Olivares started on the bump for the Twins, striking out six and surrendering two runs in four innings of work. Danny Moreno picked up a three-inning save, striking out two and along only one batter to reach base (via walk). DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL D-backs 6, DSL Twins 3 Box Score The Twins were held scoreless until the seventh inning when they plated all three of their runs. Jose Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with an RBI, all three hits being singles. Cesar Lares got the start and gave up five earned runs across 4 ⅓ innings, though he did strike out seven and only walk one. Anthony Narvaez tossed the final 1 ⅔, striking out one and surrendering one run. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – LHP Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids): 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K Hitter of the Day – Alerick Soularie (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, HR, RBI, BB, 2 R 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: #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, HR, RBI #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-for-1, 3 BB #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 3 K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (12:05 PM CST) - RHP Jake Faria (1-2, 6.48 ERA) Wichita @ Tulsa (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Casey Legumina (1-2, 6.59 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs. Dayton (2:05 PM CST) - RHP Sean Mooney (2-2, 2.23 ERA) Fort Myers vs Bradenton (12:00 PM CST) - TBD

These Minor League Week in Reviews are getting long. They are filled with how Twins minor leaguers, from the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, down to the 17 and 18-year-old kids playing in the Dominican Summer League. Who played really well? How did the teams perform. While wins and losses are secondary to player development, it is a part of the game that matters to the players. There were several transactions on Monday. Both Rookie League affiliates played on Monday morning. There has been a lot of Twins minor league coverage all week, so be sure to keep checking back. Of course, we also look at the current Top 20 Twins prospects, and we enjoy seeing them do well. But, we (or at least I am) are just as excited to hear that a player like Elliot Soto is being called up by the Twins. Fun stories! If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week. TRANSACTIONS With no Monday Minor League Report, here are the transactions from later on Sunday and on Monday: RHP Cole Sands was optioned to St. Paul. Infielder Elliot Soto’s contract was purchased and he joins the team in Seattle. To make room, RHP Cody Stashak was placed on the 60-Day IL. LHP Evan Sisk was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. RHP Jordan Gore was sent from St. Paul to Wichita, as was OF Cole Sturgeon. RHP Argenis Angulo placed on the Development List for Wichita. RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. C Jair Camargo activated from the Injured List. OF Kennie Taylor and C Kyle Schmidt sent from Wichita to Cedar Rapids. RESULTS Previous Week in Review (5/31-6/6):Another No-No, and Huge Offensive Performances Tuesday: Gipson-Long Shucks Cubs, Steer Stays Hot Wednesday: Encarnacion-Strand Continues to Mash, Emmanuel Rodriguez Injured Thursday: Festa Fancy in Start, Steer Walks it Off Friday: A Near Sweep Saturday: Kirilloff, Saints Power Their Way to Sixth Straight Win Sunday: Offensive Clinic from Cedar Rapids, Kirilloff Homers Again MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT (More Than) Three Questions With… Saints Infielder Spencer Steer (includes video) Is Austin Martin Minnesota’s Best Trade Chip? Partial ACL Tear Ends Lewis’s Season… Again! Passing on What He Has Learned Is Elliot Soto’s Drive With the 2022 Saints MONDAY’S SHORT-SEASON RESULTS We don’t have a Minor League Report on Mondays since the full-season affiliates don’t play on Mondays. But, often the FCL Twins and DSL Twins do play. Here are their box scores and highlights. FCL Twins 6, FCL Rays 11 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Juan Rojas (4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) Multi-Hit Games: Gregory Duran (2-for-3, BB, 2B, R, RBI, K 2B: Gregory Duran (2) Rehab Players: Daniel Robertson (0-for-2, K) Top Prospects: Danny De Andrade (0-for-3, HBP, K), Fredy Michel (1-for-3, 2 BB, K, 2 R, 1 RBI, SB). Summary: The GCL Twins fell behind 6-1 but clawed their way back to 6-5 going to the bottom of the eighth inning. That’s when the Rays scored five runs to put the game away. Just one of those five runs was earned as the Twins youngsters committed six errors in the game. DSL Twins 7, DSL Brewers (2) 6 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Julio Bonilla (4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) Multi-Hit Games: Denyerbe Gervis (2-for-2, 2B, R, RBI, SB), Isaac Pena (2-for-2, RBI), Junior Del Valle (2-for-3, R) 2B: Denyerbe Gervis (3) 3B: Yilber Herrera (1) Top Prospects: Bryan Acuna (0-3, HBP, R, 2 K) WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week: 6-0, hosting Rochester Season: 30-29 overall, 6th place out of ten teams in the International League West. They are 6.0 games behind Nashville. Despite the rough week, Rochester remains in first place, a half-game ahead of Lehigh Valley. The Saints were struggling, but it’s fair to say that they are playing much better now. They began the week at 24-29. The former Twins Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings, came to St. Paul leading the East division of the International League. The Saints swept the series and are now back over .500 at 30-29. In reality, the Saints completely dominated #OldFriend Matthew Lecroy’s squad. They outscored the Wings 48-23. They reached double-digits in runs scored three times. Aside from a walk-off win on Thursday, none of the other games were particularly close. The Red Wings still lead their division by 1/2 game. Mario Sanchez had a four-inning save this week. He gave up no runs and no hits. He walked one and struck out six batters. Joe Ryan made a rehab start on Thursday night. He struck out four batters over three scoreless, one-hit innings. He appears ready to make his next start with the Twins. Jake Petricka worked three scoreless, one-hit innings over two appearances. He walked one and struck out three batters. Tyler Thornburg threw two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He gave up one hit and struck out three batters. He also threw 2 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings in his Twins debut on Sunday afternoon. Jake Faria gave up one run on five hits in five innings in his start. He walked one and struck out two. Alex Kirilloff played in all six games. He went 9-for-24 and hit .375/.423/.792 (1.215) with a double, three homers and seven RBI. Tim Beckham played in four games. He went 9-for-17 and hit .529/.600/.765 (1.365) with a double, a homer, and nine RBI. He also had two stolen bases. Spencer Steer played in the Saints first three games this week. In that time, he went 5-for-13 and hit .385/.500/.923 (1.423) with a double and two home runs. On Thursday, he capped a four-run ninth inning with a two-run, walk-off homer. Jermaine Palacios returned to the Saints. In four games, he went 6-for-17, hitting .353/.389/.647 (1.036) with two doubles, a homer and four RBI. Michael Helman went 6-for-19 (.316) with two doubles. Mark Contreras went 6-for-20 (.300) with three doubles. Caleb Hamilton played in four games and went 4-for-12. He hit .333/.556/.583 (1.139) with a homer and two RBI. He also walked six times. In six games, Jake Cave went 8-for-23 and hit .348/.444/.609 (1.053) with a double, triple, homer, and five RBI. What’s Next? The Saints will be on the road the next two weeks. They will travel to Ohio and take on the Columbus Clippers this week. Pitching Probables (RHP Aaron Sanchez, RHP Ronny Henriquez, RHP Jordan Balazovic, RHP Derek Rodriguez, RHP Jake Faria, TBD) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Week: 2-4, @ Arkansas Season: 32-23 overall, 1st place in the Texas League North Division. They remain 1 1/2 game ahead of Tulsa (30-24) and 2.0 games ahead of Arkansas (31-26). The series began with 6-1 losses at the hands of Arkansas. After a rainout on Wednesday, they split a doubleheader Thursday. The Wind Surge were outscored 23-20 for the week. Only one game throughout the full week was decided by less than three runs. Here are some of the top performances for the Wind Surge this past week: Louie Varland had a terrific start this week. The Minnesota native tossed six scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked none, and struck out nine batters. Melvi Acosta gave up just one hit over 4 2/3 innings in two appearances. He walked two and struck out four batters. Lefty Evan Sisk struck out six batters over three scoreless, hitless innings. He walked two batters. New Surge relievers, Denny Bentley and Andrew Cabezas each worked two scoreless innings and struck out two batters over two games. Anthony Prato had a good start to his Wichita days. He went 5-for-18 and hit .278/.417/.389 (.806) with two doubles and three walks. Chris Williams went 5-for-22 (.227), but he had three doubles, a homer, and five RBI. Edouard Julien was 5-for-18 (.278), but he walked six times, giving him a .458 on-base percentage for the week. What’s Next? The Wind Surge will remain on the road. They will head to Tulsa to play a seven-game series. They will play a doubleheader on Wednesday, making up for a rainout from early May. Pitching Probables (RHP Casey Legumina, Wednesday DH (TBD, TBD), TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week: 4-2, @ South Bend Season: 37-20 overall, 1st place in the Midwest League West Division, 3.5 games ahead of Wisconsin (33-23). The Kernels dominated the series to the tune of a 37-16 run differential. They lost two close games and they won the other four games by an average of six runs. The Kernels were able to increase their lead in the division and put more space between themselves and third-place South Bend. David Festa continues his impressive, breakout season. In his start last week, the flamethrower struck out six batters over six scoreless innings. He gave up four hits and walked one batter. Lefty Aaron Rozek tossed four innings. He gave up no runs on two hits, one walk, one hit batter and struck out three batters. Sawyer Gipson-Long gave up one run on three hits (a solo homer). He walked one and struck out six batters. Cade Povich gave up one run on four hits over six innings on Sunday. He walked two and struck out five batters. Brent Headrick had another strong start. In 5 2/3 innings, he gave up one run on six hits. He walked one and struck out seven batters. Christian Encarnacion-Strand played all six games. He went 6-for-24 and hit .250/.333/.708 (1.041) with two doubles, three homers, and eight RBI. Dylan Neuse played four games and went 3-for-10 at the plate. He hit .300/.533/.600 (1.133) with a homer. He walked four times. Wander Javier went 6-for-17 in five games last week. He hit .353/.450/.529 (979) with a double, a triple, and four RBI. In six games, Seth Gray went 7-for-22 and hit .318/.400/.636 (1.036) with a double, two homers, and seven RBI. What’s Next? The Kernels will be home for the next two weeks. This week, they will be hosting Dayton. Dayton leads the Midwest League East Division with a 36-19 record and a 4 1/2 game lead over Great Lakes. Order Tickets here. Pitching Probables (RHP John Stankiewicz, RHP David Festa, LHP Brent Headrick, LHP Aaron Rozek, LHP Cade Povich, RHP Sean Mooney) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Week: 1-5, @ Daytona Season: 35-21 overall, 1st place in the Florida State League West, 6.0 games ahead of Clearwater (29-27). It was a tough week for the Mussels. Marco Raya Steve Hajjar was terrific but only went two innings in his start. Emmanuel Rodriguez injured his leg on Wednesday. He is going to be out for three-to-four months after having surgery. Keoni Cavaco played in just one game but is expected to return to action this week. They were outscored by the Tortugas 17-37. Carlos Aguiar began the week by playing one game with the FCL Twins. He had a double in a 1-for-3 game. He also walked once. In four games with the Mussels, he had a double, a triple, a homer, and two walks. Noah Cardenas played in six games. He went 3-for-12 (.250). He also walked six times and was on base 59% of the time and had a double too. Jaylen Nowlin made one start. He went three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out six batters. Sam Perez pitched twice, In three innings, he gave up one hit. He struck out two batters and didn’t walk anyone. Travis Adams struck out eight batters in five innings. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk. Malik Barrington struck out four batters over three scoreless innings over two outings. He finished both games he pitched and recorded a save. What’s Next? The Mighty Mussels head back to Hammond Stadium this week to take on the Bradenton Marauders (25-31). Pitching Probables (TBD, TBD,TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD) Rookie: Florida Complex League (FCL Twins) Week: 3-2 Season: 4-2 Alexander Pena is off to a fast start. In four games, he went 7-for-12. He hit .583/.600/.917 (1.517) with two doubles, a triple, and three home runs. Fredy Michel also played four games. He went 5-for-13 and hit .385/.500/.538 (1.038) with two doubles and an RBI. Gregory Duran played four games and went 3-for-10. He hit .300/.563/.500 (1.063) with two doubles. He also walked five times. Rehabbing Daniel Robertson went 4-for-12 over three games and hit .333/.429/667 (1.096) with a double, a homer and five RBI. He also walked twice. Jose Olivares worked four relief innings. He gave up an unearned run on three hits. He walked two and struck out four batters. Tomas Cleto recorded a Save in his outing. He tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four batters. Jon Olsen and Luis Rijo made their first rehab appearances since they had Tommy John surgery late last year. Rookie: Dominican Summer league (DSL Twins): Week: 4-1. Season: 4-2 Cesar Lares struck out eight batters over four scoreless, hitless innings in his professional debut. He walked three and hit a batter. Miguel Olivares struck out five and walked one batter over four scoreless innings. He gave up one hit. Roger Duran worked twice out of the bullpen. In five innings, he gave up one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out nine batters. Rafael Cruz played in four games and went 5-for-11. He hit .455/.538/.727 (1.265) with a double, a triple, and two RBI. Denyerbe Gervis went 6-for-12 in his four games and hit .500/.538/1.000 (1.538) with three doubles, a home run, and five RBI. Isaac Pena played in five games. He went 7-for-11 and is hitting .636/.583/.818 (1.401) with a triple and three RBI. Junior Del Valle went 5-for-8 in his four games played. He hit .625/.667/.875 (1.542) with two doubles. PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week and this season. The Prospect Tracker will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. #1 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - Did Not Play (Season: 34 G, .313/.405/.534 (.940), 12-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 30 R, 14 RBI, 18 BB, 32 K) #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - Did Not Play (.000), 0-2B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K (Season: 12 G, .300/.317/.550 (.867), 4-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 5 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 5 G, 1-for-14 (.071), 1-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K (Season: 51 G, .235/.360/.311 (.671), 8-2B, 2-3B, 1-HR, 37 R, 14 RBI, 25 BB, 34 K, 21 SB, 2 CS) #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - In MLB (Season: 21 G, .256/.295/.442 (.737), 10-2B, 2-HR, 10 R, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 14 K) #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 5 G, 6-for-17 (.353), 2-2B, 0-HR, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K (Season: 30 G, .226/.255/.415 (.670), 8-2B, 4-HR, 10 R, 15 RBI, 3 BB, 26 K) #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 2.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 1 K (Season: 6 GS, 19.0 IP, 22 R, 17 ER, 31 H, 12 BB, 18 K, 0-2, 8.05 ERA, 2.26 WHIP, 5.7 BB/9, 8.5 K/9) #5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K (Season: 11 GS, 53.0 IP, 21 R, 20 ER, 41 H, 19 BB, 53 K, 2-3, 3.40 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, 9.0 K/9) #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - Injured List (Season: 11 G, 10 GS, 34.1 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 17 H, 22 BB, 50 K, 0-1, 1.83 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 5.8 BB/9, 13.1 K/9) #7 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - (Season: 35 G, .307/.385/.591 (.976), 13-2B, 1-3B, 8-HR, 27 R, 30 RBI, 14 BB, 23 K) #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 3 G, 5-for-13 (.385), 1-2B, 2-HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K (Season: 16 G, .279/.380/.691 (1.071), 4-2B, 0-3B, 8-HR, 18 R, 19 RBI, 8 BB, 13 K) #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 2 G, 0-for-4 (.000), 0-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K (Season: 47 G, .272/.493/.552 (1.044), 5-2B, 3-3B, 9-HR, 35 R, 25 RBI, 57 BB, 52 K) #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 5 G, 2-for-17 (.118), 0-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K (Season: 50 G, .243/.375/.335 (.710), 7-2B, 2-3B, 2 HR, 33 R, 13 RBI, 37 BB, 58 K) #10 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch (Season: 8 G, 7 GS, 32.2 IP, 15 R, 12 ER, 26 H, 12 BB, 35 K, 3-1, 3.31 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, 9.6 K/9) #11 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K (Season: 9 GS, 43.0 IP, 20 R, 16 ER, 34 H, 15 BB, 57 K, 4-4, 3.35 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 11.9 K/9) #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 9 K (Season: 11 G, 10 GS, 58.1 IP, 24 R, 21 ER, 46 H, 24 BB, 71 K, 5-1, 3.24 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, 11.0 K/9) #13 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K (Season: 9 G, 6 GS, 34.0 IP, 29 R, 42 H, 14 BB, 36 K, 0-2, 7.68 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, 9.5 K/9) #14 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 G, 3.1 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K (Season: 5 G, 4 GS, 16.2 IP, 13 R, 10 ER, 19 H, 9 BB, 21 K, 0-1, 5.40 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 4.9 BB/9, 11.3 K/9) #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 6 G, 4-for-19 (.211), 1-2B, 1-3B, 0--HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 9 K (Season: 52 G, .266/.380/.511 (.891), 10-2B, 1-3B, 11-HR, 35 R, 41 RBI, 33 BB, 77 K) #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 6 G, 5-for-18 (.278), 1-2B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 6 BB, 9 K (Season: 35 G, .270/.424/.387 (.811), 5-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 19 R, 11 RBI, 31 BB, 37 K) #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch (Season: 6 G, 5 GS, 18.2 IP, 15 R, 23 H, 6 BB, 21 K, 0-4, 7.23 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 10.1 K/9) #17 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - 2 GS, 8.1 IP, 9 R, 13 H, 3 BB, 8 K (Season: 5 G, 3 GS, 16.1 IP, 12 ER, 14 H, 7 BB, 18 K, 0-3, 8.82 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, 9.1 K/9) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 6 G, 6-for-24 (.250), 2-2B, 0-3B, 3-HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K (Season: 55 G, .207/.364/.568 (.932), 15-2B, 3-3B, 13-HR, 37 R, 51 RBI, 21 BB, 62 K) #19 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 1 GS, 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K (Season: 9 GS, 35.1 IP, 10 R, 8 ER, 17 H, 19 BB, 59 K, 2-1, 2.04 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 4.8 BB/9, 15.0 K/9) #20 - David Festa (Ft. Myers) - (Season: 2 G, 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K, (Season: 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 0.0 BB/9, 13.5 K/9) #20 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K (Season: 4 G, 2 GS, 19.2 IP, 4 ER, 14 H, 4 BB, 22 K, 3-0, 1.83 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9, 10.1 K/9) PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Hitter of the Week: OF/1B Alex Kirilloff, St. Paul Saints Why is Alex Kirilloff such a great hitter? Let me count the ways. Last week, Kirilloff played in all six Saints wins. He went 9-for-24 and hit .475/.423/.792 (1.215) with a double, three homers, and seven RBI. He was the Twins choice for hitter of the week the previous, but we went with Spencer Steer. This week, the Twins went with Steer, and we are taking Kirilloff. Granted, he shouldn’t be in the minors. That wasn’t the plan. The plan was that his surgically-repaired wrist would be completely healed, and he would be hitting well in the middle of the Twins lineup. Instead, he went on the IL with some wrist pain, found out it wasn’t anything structural and was sent to St. Paul to basically get at-bats and regain confidence. In 25 games since he was optioned, he has hit .384/.465/.717 (1.182) with six doubles, nine homers, and 26 RBI. He also has 14 walks to go with 18 strikeouts. Seven of the home runs have come in the past nine games. And as soon as a position opens up and he can get very regular playing time, the former top pitch will turn to the big leagues. Pitcher of the Week: RHP Louie Varland, Wichita Wind Surge At 24, Varland is exactly one month younger than Alex Kirilloff. Their paths have been different, but they are both on the path to Target Field. Varland was a terrific pitcher at South St. Paul before joining his brother Gus at Concordia University in St. Paul. The Twins made him their15th round pick in 2019. He was the organization's minor league pitcher of the year last year, per the Twins and Twins Daily. This year, he has had outings on both sides of the spectrum. Generally speaking, it tends to be pretty directly tied to his control. Overall, he is 5-1 with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. In 58 1/3 innings, he has given up 46 hits (9 homers), walked 24, and struck out 71 batters. His fastball is sitting 94-96 mph and has touched 97 on occasions. His slider is generally a plus-pitch for him, and his changeup has had mixed results, but there have been several very good days. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the players and the teams in the COMMENTS below.

Elliot Soto has been in professional baseball for 13 seasons, and he has had only three games in Major League Baseball. Soto got his call with the Los Angeles Angels on September 25, 2020, against the freeway rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Soto’s debut was as a pinch-runner for teammate Luis Rengifo in the top of the seventh inning. By the time it was Soto’s turn to bat in the top of the ninth against Kenley Jansen, he was pinch hit for by Shohei Ohtani. Soto wouldn’t have to wait long to get that first at-bat as then-Angels manager Joe Maddon, wrote him in as the starting shortstop for the team the next day. Soto spoke on what it was like getting that call-up after a long decade spent in the minors. “It was really cool and was weird. It was different because of COVID, but it didn't feel real at first until I put the uniform on. It's just indescribable, really, because then you’re like, alright, you know, I'm here, I'm in the works. But then you just want to get back there and prove that you can play there and stay there.” Back in 2007, Soto was originally drafted out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the June amateur draft. Soto opted not to sign with the Twins at the time, but 15 years later, he’s come full circle to join the organization. Soto spoke on what he has enjoyed being a part of the Twins system after so many years after that first draft. “Most organizations are pretty similar. Some focus more on heavy workloads and stuff, but I think the thing that separates this organization is the mindset. They're a little bit more laid back. There are some teams that are more relaxed, and more personable, and some teams that are more centered on those workloads. This one's more towards the relaxed, which I think is better, in my opinion, because I think then you get the most out of your players.” Following his MLB debut as a pinch-runner, Soto played in the final two games of the 2020 season for the Angels and went 2-for-6 with a double and a walk. Soto has not returned to the Majors, but it has allowed for another opportunity to open for him; a team leader for the St. Paul Saints clubhouse. Many of Soto’s teammates this season including Spencer Steer, Kevin Merrell, and Royce Lewis have all described Soto as the leading veteran for the team. For Soto, the role of leadership was one that took time for him to reach and he attributed his former college teammate at Creighton and ambidextrous reliever Pat Venditte as a key mentor for his playing career. “I was no boy scout, I had some learning to do in college, Pat Venditte really helped me out. He helped me figure out what I needed to do to play in college and what it was to be a professional athlete. Watching him and how he works, and it was just like, even to this day or since I've seen him like he's out there. I played against him in 2019 and he’s out there working all day long. His work ethic is unbelievable,” said Soto. In addition to Venditte, Soto attributes his leadership success to some of his more recent teammates last season in the Dodgers' farm system. Those teammates he mentioned are former MLB catcher Tim Federowicz and utility infielder Andy Burns, who is currently playing with the Oklahoma City Dodgers. Soto spoke on how these recent teammates have helped shape his approach to playing and what he wants to pass on to his younger Saints teammates. “A lot of guys that I've been playing with recently showed me what it's like to be a real pro. Federowicz had a really good mindset. I played with him last year and Andy Burns with the Dodgers farm teams. Just the way that he [Burns] thought about things in so many different ways. You can pick up mental skills from them because I think at this point in my career, you're always getting better at your craft. In baseball, I think the mind is even more important than anything and a lot of guys have really unique things that they do. And if something works for you, it can change your game.” Learning as many things as he can from teammates' mental approaches to the game of baseball has become a key trait Soto wants to continue passing on to his current Saints teammates. “I've been lucky enough to have good teammates in the past that have given me tips or, you know, little tricks to just help you get through anything on and off the field. I just want to pass it on and that's who I want to be. I'm in my 30s now, and I want to spread the knowledge I have, especially when I like the people and I want them to play well. I view it as I'm closer to being on my way out and I want to see these guys on TV succeeding when I'm at home.” One of Soto’s current teammates that could be making that mark soon and joining the Minnesota Twins before the summer is over is Spencer Steer. Since joining the Saints in May, Steer has hit eight home runs, driven in 19 runs, posted a triple-slash .279/.380/.691, and posted a 1.071 OPS. Soto shared his thoughts on the talent he has seen in Steer and what he has been able to teach him over the short time he has been with the Saints. “He's an amazing player. When he got here, I was like, wow, okay, this kid is a real deal. Just the way he goes about playing, his demeanor, and the questions he asks. You can see that he's truly thinking about the game. He really wants to know more and then when you tell him something as a tip he's so incredibly appreciative, which makes you feel good. I just think that the type of person he has, like, he's going to have no problem going out to the next level and staying there.” On Three Questions With last week, Spencer Steer spoke about the impact Soto has has in his time with the Saints. "Elliot Soto has been a lot of fun to play alongside in the infield. He's really given me some good advice in the two weeks I've been here just about the mentality, playing the position, and also some footwork stuff." Steer is not the only Major League talent that Soto has spent a short time playing alongside that has made a lasting impact on him. Back when Soto was with the Iowa Cubs in 2014, he was playing with an MLB talent trying to still make something of a career at the age of 42; Manny Ramirez. Ramirez and Soto’s time as teammates only lasted about a month together. Even in that short time, Soto’s talent caught the eye of Ramirez and made a lasting impact on his career as Soto shared a couple of stories of their time together. “It was amazing. I wish it would have lasted longer. It was cool for me because one of the first days Manny saw me take grounders and really liked the way I played defense. So he came up to me and he was like, he calls everyone Nino, and he said, 'hey Nino, I like the way you move your hands. You got good hands. I want to hit with you before the game.' I said, Yeah, Absolutely! Every day, let's do it. So I got to work out with him before the games and just the way he worked and the stuff he did was amazing.” Having mentors in his career that are lifelong ball players that had a short time in the Majors like he did, to one of the most colorful and best hitters to ever play the game. Soto has a wealth of baseball knowledge and experience that he can share with his teammates now who are just one step away from making their MLB debuts like he did a couple of years ago.

SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Rochester 3 Box Score Minnesota Twins Opening Day starter Joe Ryan was making a rehab start tonight for St. Paul as he works his way back after a bout of Covid. He worked three innings allowing a single baserunner on a hit. Ryan punched out four. Rochester was looking for their first win of this series and they took a 2-0 lead on a homer in the 4th inning. Another run scored on a sacrifice fly in the 8th inning. John Andreoli clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning to score Jermain Palacios, and Alex Kirilloff singled as a pinch hitter. The winning run stepped up to the plate in the form of Spencer Steer. He took a ball, whiffed on the next pitch, and then sent his 8th home run at Triple-A over the center field wall. St. Paul walks off the former affiliate and are now 3-0 in this series. WIND SURGE WISDOM Game 1: Wichita 7, Arkansas 3 Box Score Playing a doubleheader today the Wind Surge went to Casey Legumina in game one. He turned in five strong innings allowing just three runs on six hits. Legumina didn’t walk anyone but recorded just a single strikeout. Matt Wallner wasted little time to extend his hitting streak to seven games. A first inning triple drove in Anthony Prato and put Wichita on the board. After getting behind in the bottom half, Wichita answered in the 4th inning. Chris Williams singled in Wallner before an Andrew Bechtold home run brought Williams in as well. After doubling up the Travelers total, the Wind Surge added two more in the 5th inning. Prato lifted a sacrifice fly to score Edouard Julien before Kyle Schmidt singled to drive in Austin Martin from third. It was his first hit with the Wind Surge. Arkansas tried to claw back adding one in the bottom half, but DaShawn Keirsey Jr. roped a solo shot, his second of the season, to make it 7-3 in the 6th inning. Evan Sisk turned in two perfect relief innings to slam the door while striking out three. Game 2: Arkansas 3, Wichita 0 Box Score Kody Funderburk got the start in the nightcap and worked three innings of two run baseball. He worked around six hits and a walk, but punched out six to keep his team in it. Arkansas scored the first run of the game on a solo shot in the 1st inning before a 3rd inning double pushed across another run. Joe Rizzo then launched his second dinger of the game, and ninth of the season in the 4th inning to make it 3-0. The Wind Surge, intent on making things interesting, scored on a bases loaded walk from Anthony Prato. As Leobaldo Cabrera came across, the bases remained loaded with no one out. Wichita left the sacks full though, and they went into the bottom of the 6th inning trailing by two. Wichita wouldn't get another run and they avoided being no-hit with Julien's double. KERNELS NUGGETS South Bend 2, Cedar Rapids 0 Box Score David Festa took the ball for Cedar Rapids and continued his dominant 2022 season. Working six innings, he allowed just four hits while striking out eight and walking only one. Both the Kernels and Cubs found themselves scoreless through seven innings. Unfortunately, South Bend added a pair of runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and Cedar Rapids was unable to answer. The Kernels tallied just three hits on the evening and dropped this one in lackluster fashion. MUSSEL MATTERS Daytona 10, Fort Myers 6 Box Score It was Jordan Carr making the start for the Mighty Mussels tonight and he lasted just four innings. Allowing five runs on seven hits, Carr walked no one and punched out four. This was an exciting matchup as former Twins prospect Chase Petty was on the mound for Daytona. He worked 3 2/3 innings giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits. Petty punched out five and walked two. Jake Rucker scored in the top of the first inning on an errant pickoff throw, but Fort Myers gave up the lead in the bottom half. Noah Miller drove in Luis Baez with a single in the 3rd inning to knot things at two. After a three run inning for the Tortugas in the 4th, Noah Cardenas added one back for the Mighty Mussels. He ripped a double, his fifth, to left field, scoring Rucker. A wild pitch then scored Cardenas from third before a bases loaded walk to Nelson Roberto plated Kala’i Rosario. All of a sudden things were even. In the 5th inning Daytona added in a big way, including a two-run double from Willians Astudillo’s brother WIlfred. Down 9-5 when the dust settled, another run in the 6th inning put Fort Myers down by five. Astudillo, a catcher like his turtle-named brother, allowed a passed ball in the 8th inning and Carlos Aguiar came home. That was it for the scoring though, and the Mighty Mussels seven hits were doubled up by Daytona. Rubel Cespedes had the lone two-hit night. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Rays 11, FCL Twins 7 Box Score Veteran Daniel Robertson continue his minor league rehab stint for Triple-A St. Paul with the FLC team today. He went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and tallied five RBI in total. Pitcher Wilker Reyes gave up three runs, all unearned, in 2 2/3 innings of relief work, but struck out six. Intriguing prospect Malfrin Sosa joined Robertson with a multi-hit game. The Twins were leading 7-4 going into the 7th inning but things went pear-shaped when they gave up three in the top half, and another four the following frame. DOMINICAN DAILIES No Game TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-5, R, 2 RBI, HR(8), 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 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-3, R, BB, 2 K #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 1-3, R #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-5, R, 2 RBI, HR(8), K #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-5, RBI, K #13 - Ronny Hendriquez (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-5, BB, 4 K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-6, 2B, BB, 3 K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-2, BB, K #20 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - RHP Josh Winder Wichita @ Arkansas (7:05PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05PM CST) - RHP Brent Headrick Fort Myers @ Daytona (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates and the two Complex Season affiliates back and playing.

Transactions: RHP Cole Sands recalled by Minnesota C Roy Morales placed on injured list by St. Paul INF Kevin Merrell placed on temporary inactive list by Wichita INF Ernie Yake placed on injured list by Wichita LHP Jordan Carr transferred to Fort Myers from FCL RHP Anthony Escobar reinstated from 60-day injured list for Fort Myers SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Rochester 6 Box Score Facing the former Twins Triple-A affiliate, Daniel Gossett was on the bump for St. Paul. He worked around traffic for five innings allowing just four runs (three earned) on eight hits. Gossett struck out two and walked one. Trailing 2-0 after the top half of the 1st inning, recently-healthy Tim Beckham got the run scoring going. A double to center drove in Spencer Steer before Jake Cave drove in Beckham with a single of his own. Allowing Rochester to regain the lead in the top of the 2nd inning, the Saints took over for the first time in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Steer launched his 7th dinger at Triple-A (in just 14 games) to knot things up. Then Mark Contreras followed up later with his 8th double to score Cave. Sick of the back and forth, following the Red Wings tying it in the 4th inning, Beckham got separation. His third homer, a grand slam, brought Caleb Hamilton, Steer, and Alex Kirilloff all across the plate. Cole Sturgeon wasn’t satisfied with the breathing room and his 5th inning single made it 9-4 when Contreras scored, before Jose Godoy plated Sturgeon on a single of his own. Still looking to claw back, the former affiliate got a two-run blast in the 7th inning to draw within four. Former Twins utility man Ildemaro Vargas scored on the play. That's where this one ended with the new good guys taking game one. Steer, Beckham, Contreras, and Hamilton all posted two-hit nights. WIND SURGE WISDOM Arkansas 5, Wichita 1 Box Score The Wind Surge turned to Bryan Sammons tonight as their starter. Unfortunately it was a tough outing with Sammons able to work just 2 1/3 innings while allowing four runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out two for Wichita. Arkansas got to Sammons in the 3rd inning and struck for four runs to put up a crooked number. Wichita couldn’t answer, and needed until the 5th inning to get on the board. Recently promoted Anthony Prato drove a single to left field allowing Daniel Ozoria to score. The Travelers got the run back on a 7th inning error by Edouard Julien and Wichita once again found themselves trailing by four. An 8th inning home run by the opposition pushed the deficit to five, and that’s where this one ended. Wichita managed just four hits on the evening. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, South Bend 1 Box Score Sawyer Gipson-Long was nails tonight for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, and he lowered the season ERA to a sparkling 1.99 with the strong effort. Working six innings, Gipson-Long allowed just a single run on three hits and a walk. He also picked up six punch outs. The lone run against him was a big fly. Cedar Rapids took an early lead on a Wander Javier single in the 2nd inning. After a throwing error by the catcher, Kyle Fedko was able to cross home plate. In the 3rd inning Seth Gray came up and did damage. A line drive to left scored both Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Aaron Sabato, in part thanks to yet another throwing error. The Kernels continued to take advantage of poor play from South Bend as a wild pitch gave Fedko the opportunity to spring home before a balk sent Gray strolling across the plate. When the inning closed, they led by a 5-0 tally. Giving one run back in the 4th inning, Fedko added back to the lead in the 5th inning. His fourth double at High-A drove in Sabato before Pat Winkel crushed his first homer of the year; a solo blast in the 6th inning. Gray was the lone batter to record two-hits on the night for Cedar Rapids, but both Fedko and Sabato drew two walks. Derek Molina and Ryan Shreve were great in relief allowing just one hit and striking out a pair, each, in three innings. MUSSEL MATTERS Daytona 5, Fort Myers 2 Box Score Steven Hajjar went tonight for the Mighty Mussels and put in two innings of perfection before giving way to the bullpen. He punched out two of the six batters he faced and the ERA now sits at 2.04 this season. Daytona got up 2-0 with a home run in the 4th inning, but Fort Myers was able to halve the deficit on Kala’i Rosario’s fifth home, a solo shot in the 5th inning. That’s where the bats went quiet for the Mighty Mussels though. Rosario contribute two hits, but only Noah Miller joined him in reaching base twice. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Pirates 12, FCL Twins 6 Box Score Daniel Robertson got in another rehab game for Triple-A St. Paul today. He was 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout. Danny De Andrade recorded a three-hit game with a double, and Alexander Pena had a four-hit day with a triple. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 6, DSL Houston Blue 1 Box Score Bryan Acuna was 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. He’s still looking for his first professional hit. Pitchers Miguel Olivares and Roger Duran combined to give up just three hits while striking out 10 and walking one. Rafael Cruz and Jesus Peraza both had two hits. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Sawyer Gipson-Long (Cedar Rapids) - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 2-4, 3 R, RBI, HR(7) 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 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-4 #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - Did Not Play #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 2-4, 3 R, RBI, HR(7) #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, BB, 2 K #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-3, BB, 2 K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-3, BB, K #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, BB, K #19 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - RHP Aaron Sanchez Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35PM CST) - RHP Matt Canterino Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05PM CST) - RHP John Stankiewicz Fort Myers @ Daytona (6:05 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates and the two Complex Season affiliates back and playing.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== On Tuesday night, Spencer Steer had two hits including his seventh home run since joining the Saints. In 14 games, he has gone 16-for-59 and is hitting .271/.368/.678 (1.046) with three doubles and seven home runs. That is after starting the season with 35 games in Wichita where he hit .307/.385/.591 (.976) with 13 doubles and eight home runs. “It’s pretty much the same game. The biggest difference that I’ve noticed is that almost everyone you’re surrounded by has had time in the big leagues. It’s pretty cool to play with all these guys who have played at the highest level, and then obviously face pitching that’s been at the highest level too. It’s been fun so far to kind of have myself be challenged and see how these guys go about their business. It’s been a fun transition so far.” data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== He watched veterans before and during batting practice to see how they prepare, how they get into a routine. He asks questions. Teammates discuss hitting, pitchers and more. He specifically talked about watching Tim Beckham who just joined the Saints last week after starting the season on the Injured List. He and Alex Kirilloff talk hitting. And veteran Elliot Soto, who has been in professional baseball for a dozen years and even had a three-game stint with the Angels in 2020, has talked to him about a variety of aspects of the game over the past two weeks. In 2021, Steer spent 45 games in Cedar Rapids and he walked 35 times and struck out just 32 times. He moved up to Double-A Wichita, and in 65 games, he walked 20 times and struck out 73 times. Jump ahead to 2022. He began the season with 35 games in Wichita. He had 14 walks to go with 23 strikeouts, a massive improvement. He said, “Going back to that levels and having that prior experience, and obviously failing at that level, and learning from what went wrong. And also learning more about my swing and trusting that I don’t have to do more. I can just focus on hitting the baseball and hitting it on the barrel. If you hit the ball consistently, good things are going to happen.” He summarized, “Just finding a way to put the bat on the ball, and then on the barrel as much as you can. As simple as that sounds, the more you can hit the ball on the barrel, the better off you’re going to be. I think it was that simple mind set.” He also mentioned “plate discipline” and “swinging less with two strikes” when pitchers are trying to expand the strike zone. “Just kind of simple stuff like that.” Side note - While Steer is making it look simple right now, it isn’t simple. It is actually very difficult. In a Twins Daily article from late in the 2019 season, just two months after the Twins made him their 3rd round pick, the 90th overall selection in that year’s draft, I chatted with Steer about the type of hitter he was and could become. He said, “At this level, I’m not the most powerful guy, but I think I can be a guy who drives in runs. For that reason you can stick me at the top of the order and I’ll find ways on base and draw a lot of walks. I think at this level, I’m more of a top of the order guy, but that can always change as I get older and put on more weight.” The 2020 minor-league season was canceled due to the pandemic, but Steer put in the time both in the batting cage and in the weight room. He returned in 2021 and in 110 total games, split between High-A Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita, he hit .254/.348/.484 (.833) with 18 doubles, three triples, and 24 home runs. Only Jose Miranda (30) and Trey Cabbage (27) hit more homers than Steer in the Twins minor leagues last year. In 2022, he leads the Twins minor league system with 16 doubles, 15 homers, and 46 RBI. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== He’s looking like a guy who can drive in runs! And he is quick to credit others as well. He mentioned that Bryce Berg for helping him with the mentality and approach in leverage situations and counts. He’d take two rounds of BP with nice and easy swings, and then the last two rounds “for lack of better words, swing out of my butt.” It was a concerted effort in batting practice that he has been able to incorporate into his approach and learning how to do that in batting practice and transitioning that into the game. He learned his swing. He worked to refine his approach. He’s stuck with it, and it’s continued to this year. Bryce Berg was the Cedar Rapids hitting coach in 2021. This year, he has been named the minor league hitting coordinator. He worked with Ryan Smith in Wichita in 2021 and with the Saints now. He credited the new Wind Surge hitting coach Derek Shomon for the work he put in, but also the communication between coaches at each level, making sure everyone is on the same page with each player’s individual path and plan. As we have seen with the Twins in 2022, having some position flexibility is important. Jose Miranda put in time at both corner infield positions. Luis Arraez and Nick Gordon have additional value because they can play all over. Royce Lewis illustrates perfectly the value of being able to play multiple positions so that when there is a need in the big leagues, he can be available. Spencer Steer has been playing multiple infield positions his whole career. At the University of Oregon, he played third base his first two years before spending more time at shortstop as a junior. In his three professional seasons, he has played 89 games at third base, 75 games at second base, and 41 games at shortstop. Looking specifically at 2022, he has played 22 games at third base, 13 games at second base, and 12 games at shortstop. He certainly understands the value of being versatile. He said, “The more positions you can play, the better because there’s just more opportunity going forward. If you can play the left side of the infield and the right side of the infield, I just think the more versatility you have, just opens up more doors for you. I feel comfortable at all three spots. I’ve been playing them all fairly consistently. That’s what I hope to do going forward.” He’s only been in St. Paul for a couple of weeks, but he’s seen many teammates already getting The Call to the big leagues. He is now just one step and one call away from the big league dream. “It hasn’t really hit me that it could happen at any time. You’re just doing what you can control and that’s going out there and playing well every day. That’s all you can control. It’s awesome to see guys get that call and that opportunity. It’s something that doesn’t get old, seeing your teammates getting that call to the big leagues.” Spencer Steer was a non-roster invite to big-league spring training. While there isn’t necessarily a clear path to a big-league spot in the 2022 season, Steer has done everything in his power, and with his power, to put himself in position to be called up if and when needed.

In the past, the beginning of the short-season, rookie leagues was right near the time of the MLB Draft. However, now that the draft has been pushed back to July, Opening Day of the short-season leagues came up in a hurry. On Monday, the Florida Complex League and the Dominican Summer League seasons began. At Twins Daily, we will be providing reports on those teams in our daily Minor League Reports. Below you can see how the two Twins affiliates played on Monday. If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week. TRANSACTIONS With no Monday Minor League Report, here are the transactions from later on Sunday and on Monday: RHP Ian Hamilton, RHP Jharel Cotton and OF Mark Contreras back to St. Paul. IF Daniel Robertson began rehab stint with FCL Twins. Twins signed RHP Aaron Sanchez to minor-league deal and assigned him to St. Paul. IF Ernie Yake was placed on the Wichita Injured List. RESULTS Previous Week in Review (5/24-5/30):Mighty Mussels Out-Muscle Marauders Tuesday: Another No-No in Ft. Myers and Stranger Things for St. Paul Wednesday: Offensive Fireworks in Cedar Rapids and Emmanuel Rodriguez is On Fire Thursday: Rodriguez Rakes as Mussels Mount Comeback Friday: Prato Paces the Kernels, Strong Pitching Turned In Saturday: Alerick Soularie Hits For the Cycle! Wind Surge Win in Walk-off! Sunday: Steer, Kirilloff, Hamilton Power Home Run Record for Saints MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT Prospect Retrospective: Jermaine Palacios Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - May 2022 Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month - May 2022 Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - May 2022 Reviewing the Jose Berrios Trade SHORT-SEASON RESULTS It was opening day in the short-season leagues on Monday as both the Dominican Summer League Twins and the Florida Complex League Twins played the first game of their seasons. We are going to include these teams in our daily Minor League Reports. FCL Twins 2, FCL Pirates 7 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Develson Aria (3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) Multi-Hit Games: Alexander Pena (2-for-2, R, 2 RBI), Ismael Perez (2-for-3, R, SB) 2B: Alexander Pena (1) HR: Alexander Pena (1) Rehab Players: Daniel Robertson (0-for-2, K) Top Prospects: Danny De Andrade (0-for-4), Fredy Michel (0-for-3, 1 BB, 2 K, SB). DSL Twins 5, DSL Rockies 6 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Julio Bonilla (3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) Multi-Hit Games: Anderson Nova (2-for-4, RBI, K), Daniel Pena (2-for-4, R, RBI, K), Javier Roman (2-for-2, HBP) XBH: None. Top Prospects: Bryan Acuna (0-4) WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week: 4-2, @ Iowa Season: 24-29 overall, 9th place out of ten teams in the International League West. They are 10 games behind Nashville. After putting up 49 runs in seven games the previous week, the Saints scored 57 runs in six games. Three times the Saints scored more than a dozen runs in a game. The Saints pitching staff gave up 50 runs in seven games the previous week. Last week, they gave up 41 runs in the six games. The Saints hit 18 home runs including a franchise-record seven homers on Sunday afternoon. Seven hitters had an OPS over .960. It was a good week for the Saints, and now they head home to take on the former Twins Triple-A affiliate, the best team in the whole International League. Get your tickets here! Alex Kirilloff was named the Twins Minor League Player of the Week and the International League Hitter of the Week. In four games, he went 8-for-17 and hit .471/.571/1.353 (1.924) with three doubles, four homers, and eight RBI. He walked four times with just three strikeouts. Caleb Hamilton played in three games and went 4-for-8. He hit .500/.667/1.375 (2.042) with a double, two home runs, and six RBI. He also had four walks. Tim Beckham finally made his way to St. Paul. He played in four games and went 8-for-17. He hit .471/.526/.882 (1.408) with a double, two homers, and seven RBI. Spencer Steer was one of two Saints to play in all six games. He went 7-for-30 and hit .233/.303/.700 (1.003) with two doubles, four homers, and 11 RBI. Jake Cave played in five games and went 8-for-22. He hit .364/.440/.682 (1.122) with two doubles, a triple, a homer, and three RBI. Elliot Soto went 4-for-16 in five games. He hit .250/.400/.563 (.963) with two doubles and a home run. He also walked four times. Michael Helman was the second Saint who played in all six games. He went 7-for-26 and hit .269/.367/.462 (.829) with two doubles, a home run and three RBI. The best start for a Saints pitcher last week came from Mario Sanchez. He gave up two runs on five hits over an impressive 7 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out two and deserves bonus points from the whole team and front office for getting through that many innings. Tyler Viza pitched in three games, and finished two of them. He gave up one run on two hits over five innings. He struck out six batters without a walk. Austin Schulfer worked 3 2/3 innings over two appearances. He allowed an unearned run on two hits. He walked two and struck out four batters. What’s Next? #OldFriend ALERT! The Rochester Red Wings, the long-time Twins Triple-A affiliate, will be making their first appearance at CHS FIeld to take on the Saints this week. The 35-19 Red Wings are managed by former Twins C/DH Matthew LeCroy. Pitching Probables (RHP Daniel Gossett, RHP Aaron Sanchez, RHP Ronny Henriquez, TBD, TBD, TBD) Double-A Wichita Wind Surge Week: 4-2, hosting Frisco Season: 30-19 overall, 1st place in the Texas League North Division. They remain just 1 1/2 game ahead of Tulsa (28-20). The Wind Surge continue to win and find different ways to do it. Sometimes they score. Sometimes they pitch. This week, the games were mostly low scoring, but Wichita had another winning week. Over the six games, they outscored Frisco 23-17. The pitching staff was fantastic. They gave up more than three runs only once during the week. Here are some of the top performances for the Wind Surge this past week: Matt Canterino tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked four and struck out four. Steven Cruz and Osiris German each pitched twice and worked 3 1/3 innings. German gave up just one hit and struck out five batters. Cruz gave up two unearned runs and struck out four batters. Kody Funderburk pitched twice, including one start. In six innings, he gave up just one run on four hits. He walked two and struck out six bases. Matt Wallner played in all six games. He went 8-for-22 and hit .364/.417/.545 (.962) with a double and a home run. He stole two bases. Jair Camargo played in three games before going on the IL. He went 3-for-12 (.250) with a double, two homers and five RBI. Likewise, Alex Isola went on the IL after just one game last week. He had a double and a homer, and he walked once. Chris Williams had just three hits and batted .188, but he had a double and two homers. 2021 draft pick Ernie Yake went 3-for-9 (.333) and hit two doubles, including a huge bases-clearing double on Sunday against Frisco. What’s Next? The Wind Surge travel to Arkansas for six games against the Mariners’ affiliate. The Travelers are 27-24 and in third place in the North Division. Pitching Probables (RHP Blayne Enlow, RHP Matt Canterino, RHP Casey Legumina, RHP Louie Varland, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Blayne Enlow) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels Week: 4-2, @ Lansing Season: 33-18 overall, 1st place in the Midwest League West Division, 2.0 games ahead of Wisconsin (31-20). They are 5.0 games ahead of South Bend (28-23). In the first half of the week, the Kernels went 1-2, though their win was by a score of 10-2. They went on to win the final three games of the series and scored eight or more runs in each game. Overall, they outscored the Lugnuts 39-28 and were able to increase their division lead by a game. Several Kernels’ hitters had big weeks. Pitching wasn’t quite as strong, but you just have to see what Sean Mooney did. Alerick Soularie has had a tough start to his 2022 season, but he had a big week last week. In five games, he went 6-for-17 and hit .353/.560/.882 (1.442) with a double, a triple, two homers, and six RBI. He also walked eight times. He hit for the cycle on Saturday. Aaron Sabato was named the Midwest League Hitter of the Week. He played in five games and went 8-for-16. He hit .500/.619/.813 (1.432) with two doubles, a homer, and five RBI. He also walked four times. Christian Encarnacion-Strand played in all six games. He went 8-for-27 and hit .296/.387/.704 (1.091) with five doubles, two homers, and four RBI. Yunior Severino returned to the field from the IL. In four games, he went 6-for-16 and hit .375/.474/.563 (.1.037) with a double and a triple. He also walked three times. Anthony Prato played in three games for the Kernels before being promoted to Wichita. In that time, he went 4-for-15 (.267) and had a double, triple, home run and four RBI. He also stole two bases. Sawyer Gipson-Long had the top start of the week for the Kernels. He gave up one run on three hits with two walks over six innings. He struck out three batters. Sean Mooney was the piggyback arm in one game. He tossed four shutout innings. He did not give up a hit. He walked one and struck out ten batters. Cody Laweryson also worked once out of the bullpen. In 2 2/3 scoreless innings, he gave up one hit, walked two and struck out three batters. What’s Next? The Kernels will travel to South Bend to take on the Cubs. Pitching Probables (RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long, RHP John Stankiewicz, RHP David Festa, LHP Brent Headrick, LHP Aaron Rozek, LHP Cade Povich) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Week: 4-2, hosting Tampa Season: 34-16 overall, 1st place in the Florida State League West, 8.0 games ahead of Clearwater (26-24). Ft. Myers was able to increase their lead in the division with a 4-2 week. The Mussel bats outscored the Tarpons 33-17 on the week. It was a terrific week for the pitchers as well, with the team’s second no-hitter of the season on Tuesday. And Emmanuel Rodriguez put together arguably the greatest week of production that I can recall! Emmanuel Rodriguez had a huge week. In five games, he went 7-for-12 and hit .583/.700/1.500 (2.200) with a double, two triples, two homers, and six RBI. He also had seven walks to go with just one strikeout! And he stole a base. No surprise he was named the Florida State League Hitter of the Week. Luis Baez played in five games. He went 4-for-9 and hit .444/.545/.444 (.989) with two walks. He also stole two bases. Kala’i Rosario played in five games and went 6-for-16. He hit .375/.474/.500 (.974) with two doubles and two walks. Mike Paredes was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week. In his start, he tossed six scoreless innings. He gave up no hits, walked two, and struck out five batters. Pierson Ohl made a start and threw three scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and walked two batters. All nine outs he recorded came on strikeouts. Ariel Jurado made his first start, a rehab appearance after having Tommy John surgery. He gave up no runs on one hit. He walked two and struck out four batters. Hunter McMahon pitched two games and three innings. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out seven batters. Juan Mendez pitched twice and threw two perfect innings. Five of the six outs came on strikeouts. Matt Swain made two appearances with the Mussels before his late-week promotion to Cedar Rapids. In two innings, he struck out four batters. Travis Adams gave up one run in five innings in his start. He struck out eight batters without issuing a walk. What’s Next? The Mighty Mussels make the long trek to Daytona (19-31) for a six-game series. Pitching Probables (LHP Steve Hajjar, TBD, LHP Jaylen Nowlin (vs Chase Petty), TBD, TBD, TBD) PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week. The Prospect Tracker will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. #1 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - Did Not Play (Season: 34 G, .313/.405/.534 (.940), 12-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 30 R, 14 RBI, 18 BB, 32 K) #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - Did Not Play (.000), 0-2B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K (Season: 12 G, .300/.317/.550 (.867), 4-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 5 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 6 G, 4-for-23 (.174), 0-2B, 1-3B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K (Season: 46 G, .247/.361/.324 (.685), 7-2B, 2-3B, 1-HR, 34 R, 14 RBI, 23 BB, 28 K, 21 SB, 2 CS) #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - In MLB (Season: 21 G, .256/.295/.442 (.737), 10-2B, 2-HR, 10 R, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 14 K) #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 5 G, 5-for-18 (.278), 1-2B, 2-HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 8 K (Season: 25 G, .202/.237/.405 (.641), 6-2B, 4-HR, 8 R, 11 RBI, 3 BB, 22 K) #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 3.1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 K (Season: 5 GS, 16.1 IP, 21 R, 16 ER, 27 H, 12 BB, 17 K, 0-2, 8.82 ERA, 2.39 WHIP, 6.6 BB/9, 9.4 K/9) #5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 2 GS, 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 8 K (Season: 10 GS, 48.0 IP, 17 R, 16 ER, 37 H, 17 BB, 50 K, 2-2, 3.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, 9.4 K/9) #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 1 GS, 3.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 4 BB, 4 K (Season: 11 G, 10 GS, 34.1 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 17 H, 22 BB, 50 K, 0-1, 1.83 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 5.8 BB/9, 13.1 K/9) #7 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - (Season: 35 G, .307/.385/.591 (.976), 13-2B, 1-3B, 8-HR, 27 R, 30 RBI, 14 BB, 23 K) #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 6 G, 7-for-30 (.233), 2-2B, 4-HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K (Season: 13 G, .255/.349/.636 (.986), 3-2B, 0-3B, 6-HR, 13 R, 15 RBI, 6 BB, 11 K) #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 5 G, 7-for-12 (.583), 1-2B, 2-3B, 2-HR, 6 RBI, 7 BB, 2 K (Season: 45 G, .280/.495/.568 (1.063), 5-2B, 3-3B, 9-HR, 35 R, 25 RBI, 54 BB, 51 K) #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 6 G, 1-for-22 (.045), 1-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K (Season: 45 G, .256/.387/.357 (.744), 7-2B, 2-3B, 2 HR, 33 R, 12 RBI, 34 BB, 51 K) #10 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 1 GS, 3.2 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K (Season: 8 G, 7 GS, 32.2 IP, 15 R, 12 ER, 26 H, 12 BB, 35 K, 3-1, 3.31 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, 9.6 K/9) #11 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 4.1 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 4 BB, 6 K (Season: 8 GS, 37.0 IP, 19 R, 17 ER, 30 H, 13 BB, 52 K, 3-4, 3.65 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, 12.6 K/9) #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 9 K (Season: 10 G, 9 GS, 52.1 IP, 24 R, 21 ER, 43 H, 24 BB, 62 K, 4-1, 3.61 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 4.1 BB/9, 10.7 K/9) #13 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 5 K (Season: 8 G, 6 GS, 29.0 IP, 26 R, 37 H, 13 BB, 30 K, 0-2, 8.07 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 4.0 BB/9, 9.3 K/9) #14 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 G, 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K (Season: 4 G, 3 GS, 13.1 IP, 10 R, 9 ER, 15 H, 7 BB, 19 K, 0-0, 6.08 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 4.7 BB/9, 12.8 K/9) #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 6 G, 8-for-22 (.364), 1-2B, 1-HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K (Season: 46 G, .273/.387/.527 (.914), 9-2B, 0-3B, 1-HR, 33 R, 39 RBI, 30 BB, 68 K) #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 5 G, 5-for-19 (.263), 0-2B, 1-HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K (Season: 29 G, .269/.417/.398 (.815), 4-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 17 R, 11 RBI, 25 BB, 28 K) #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch (Season: 6 G, 5 GS, 18.2 IP, 15 R, 23 H, 6 BB, 21 K, 0-4, 7.23 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 10.1 K/9) #17 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - 1 GS, 4.0 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 4 K (Season: 3 G, 1 GS, 8.0 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 4 BB, 10 K K, 0-1, 7.88 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 4.5 BB/9, 11.3 K/9) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 6 G, 8-for-27 (.296), 5-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K (Season: 49 G, .303/.368/.551 (.919), 13-2B, 3-3B, 10-HR, 33 R, 43 RBI, 19 BB, 55 K) #19 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 1 GS, 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K (Season: 1 G, 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K, (Season: 8 GS, 33.1 IP, 10 R, 8 ER, 17 H, 19 BB, 57 K, 2-1, 2.16 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 5.1 BB/9, 15.4 K/9) #20 - David Festa (Ft. Myers) - (Season: 2 G, 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K, (Season: 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 0.0 BB/9, 13.5 K/9) #20 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 5 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K (Season: 3 G, 1 GS, 13.2 IP, 4 ER, 10 H, 3 BB, 14 K, 3-0, 2.63 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9, 9.2 K/9) PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Hitter of the Week: Outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels This is the second consecutive, and third overall player of the week honor for Rodriguez this season. He was the choice for Hitter of the Month in April. He was solid again in May, and he has started June on fire. Two weeks ago, he went 0-for-12 for the week, but he walked 10 times, continuing to show his much-improved strike zone management. In the two weeks since then, he has played in ten games. He had gone 13-for-30 and hit .433/.591/1.000 (1.591) with a double, two triples, four home runs and 11 RBI. He has also walked 13 times and struck out ten times. Rodriguez played in five games last week at Hammond Stadium against Tampa. He went 7-for-12 and hit .583/.700/1.500 (2.200) with a doubles, two triples, two home runs, and six RBI. He also had seven walks to go with just two strikeouts. Those numbers are just crazy! Overall, he has played in 45 games for Ft. Myers in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. He has hit .280/.495/.568 (1.063) with five doubles, three triples, nine home runs, and 25 RBI. He is also 11-for-15 in stolen base attempts, and plays a solid center field. Rodriguez signed with the Twins in July 2019 for $2.5 million out of Santiago. He was unable to make his debut until 2021. Last year, in 37 FCL Twins games, he hit .214/346/.524 (.870) with five doubles, two triples, and 10 home runs. He also stole nine bases. Pitcher of the Week: RHP Mike Paredes, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Mike Paredes was the Twins 18th round draft pick in 2021 out of San Diego State University. He went to college about 10 miles from where he went to high school, San Diego High School where he was a strong two-way player. As a freshman, he worked mostly out of the bullpen and struck out 56 batters in 51 innings. He also went 1-for-2 with an RBI double. He made four starts in the shortened 2020 season. In 2021, he went 4-0. Upon signing, he pitched in two games for the FCL Twins. He gave up one run on one hit and one walk in four innings. He struck out six batters. This season, he began the season in the Ft. Myers bullpen. Gradually he got extended and then did some piggybacking before entering the team’s rotation. He has made four starts now. Overall, he is 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA. In 31 1/3 innings, he has walked just five batters while striking out 31 batters. In his start last week against Tampa, he struck out five batters over six scoreless, hitless innings. He walked two. Hunter McMahon got the final three outs to keep the no-hitter, the Mussels third no-no over the past nine months, and second this season. In his four starts, he has gradually worked more and more. In his first start, he threw three no-hit innings. In his second start, he threw four, one-hit innings. He went five innings in his third start (two runs on three hits). And, six innings of no-hit ball in his fourth start. What is next for the 21-year-old right-hander? Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the players and the teams in the COMMENTS below.

TRANSACTIONS St. Paul Saints RHP Ariel Jurado was assigned to Low-A Fort Myers on Minor League Rehab assignment SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 16, Iowa 7 Box score SP: JC Ramirez - 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K HR: Spencer Steer 3 HR (6), Alex Kirilloff 2 HR (6), Caleb Hamilton 2 HR (5), Tim Beckham (2) Multi-Hit Games: Steer (3-4, 5 R, 3 HR (6), 5 RBI (15), BB, HBP), Kirilloff (2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI (20), BB, 2 K), Beckham (2-5, 2 R, HR, RBI (7), BB, K), Michael Helman (3-4, 2 R, SB (1), BB, HBP), Hamilton (3-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI (19), BB, K) Putting the month of May behind them, the Saints chose a good day to opt for a bullpen game with pitching as the bats, more importantly, Spencer Steer, Alex Kirilloff, and catcher Caleb Hamilton, combined for seven home runs to give the Saints a 3-2 record for June. Steer’s first home run of the afternoon came right away as he worked a 2-2 count and then hammered a lead off home run to left field to make it a 1-0 game. Before the inning was over, Tim Beckham hit his second home run, a solo shot, to extend the lead to 2-0. In the top of the second, Hamilton hit his first home run of the afternoon, a two-run shot that scored Michael Helman and gave the Saints a 4-0 lead. Before the inning was over, Steer recorded his only RBI of the afternoon not from a home run. Steer hit a sacrifice groundout that scored John Andreoli to give the Saints a 5-0 lead. On the mound for the first two innings for the Saints was JC Ramirez. Ramirez was in for his 11th appearance, the second start, for the Saints and gave up three runs on three hits and two walks. Ramirez totaled 34 pitches in his 2 innings of work and left with the Saints still in the lead 5-3. The Saints would not score again until the top of the fourth, when Steer hit his second home run of the afternoon, this time to center field, to extend the lead to 6-3. In the bottom of the fifth, the Cubs would bring themselves within a run of tying the game as they scored two off of Tyler Thornburg, who made his first appearance with the Saints for the 2022 season. The two runs Thornburg allowed went unearned and the game was at a 6-5 score going into the top of the sixth. In the top of the sixth, Hamilton hit his second home run of the day, another solo shot, and later in the inning, Kirilloff hit his first of the afternoon, a two-run homer that scored Steer extending the lead to 9-5 over the Cubs. The final home run of the afternoon for Steer came in the top of the eighth with Elliot Soto on base and put the Saints up 12-6 at the time. The third and final home run of the afternoon for Steer was his first ever three home run game of his professional career. Kirilloff’s final homer was in the top of the ninth as he hit another two-run home run that brought home Steer for his fifth run of the game and put the Saints up 16-6. The Saints will return home for a six game series for their first ever match up against the Twins former Triple AAA affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings. First game of the series is Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:07 p.m. CT. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Frisco 3 Box Score SP: Simeon Woods Richardson - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K HR: Chris Williams (4) Multi-Hit Games: None Wichita completed a six-game homestand with the Frisco RoughRiders Sunday afternoon and pulled away with a series victory in their 5-3 win. Simeon Woods Richardson was on the mound for the Wind Surge Sunday afternoon making his ninth start of the season. The Twins second highest pitching prospect according to Twins Daily recovered from a shortened start against the RoughRiders on Tuesday, a game that ended up being suspended due to inclement weather. Woods Richardson completed five innings for the Wind Surge on Sunday and although he allowed eight base runners on six hits and two walks. Woods Richardson only allowed two runs, both earned, and struck out seven RoughRider batters. Woods Richardson improved his season ERA to an even 3.00 on the season and his strikeout total now stands at 50 in 48 innings. The RoughRiders did get the first two runs of the game in the top of the second and later the top of the third. Being down 2-0 in the bottom of the third, Wichita was able to score their first run thanks to an Anthony Prato sacrifice fly that scored Edouard Julien making it a 2-1 RoughRider lead. The Wind Surge were able to tie the game up in the bottom of the fourth thanks to first baseman Chris Williams fourth home run of the year. With the game still remained tied in the bottom of the sixth at 2-2. Ernie Yake found himself in a 2-2 count with the bases loaded. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Yake laced a ball down the right field line for a bases-clearing double that gave the Wind Surge the three runs they needed to complete their 5-3 victory. The Wind Surge begin their next series on the road Tuesday for their second road series against the Arkansas Travelers, the Seattle Mariners Double AA affiliate. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Lansing 3 Box Score SP: Aaron Rozek 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: Christian Encarnacion-Strand (10), Will Holland (4), Kennie Taylor (1), Aaron Sabato (7) Multi-Hit Games: Encarnacion-Strand (3-5, 3 R, 2 2B, HR, RBI (43), 2 K), Sabato (3-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI (32), K), Yunior Severino (2-4, R, BB), Jeferson Morales (2-5, 2B, RBI (18), 2 K), Taylor (2-3, R, HR, 2 RBI (3), BB, K) Cedar Rapids completed their road series in Lansing, Michigan with a banger on Sunday, crushing the Lugnuts in a 9-3 victory. Aaron Rozek was on the mound for the Kernels Sunday afternoon making his seventh start of the season. Rozek completed 4 innings for the Kernels but surrendered three runs on two home runs, a two-run home run from Lugnuts right fielder Lawrence Butler and a solo shot by center fielder Austin Beck. Aside from the home runs, Rozek only allowed two additional base runners on a single and a walk and struck out five batters in his 4 innings of work. The bats came swinging for the Kernels all afternoon. Leading the offense for the Kernels was prospect sensation Christian Encarnacion-Strand as he went 3-5 with three extra base hits including his tenth home run of the season at High-A. Kernels first baseman Aaron Sabato had one of his best games of the season at the plate, he was also 3-5 with a home run and three runs batted in. Having his best game of the season so far was Kernels right fiedler Kennie Taylor, who went 2-3 with his first home run of 2022 and drove in two runs. The Kernels victory over the Lugnuts on Sunday gave them a 4-2 series victory over Lansing and improved them to 33-18 overall on the season. The 33-18 record for the Kernels is the best in the Midwest Western division and only second to the Dayton Dragons, the Reds High-A affiliate, who have a 35-15 record on the season. Next series for the Kernels begins on the road against the South Bend Cubs on Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT. MUSSEL MATTERS Game 1 Fort Myers 5, Tampa 6 Box Score SP: Ariel Jurado 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: Emmanuel Rodriguez (9) Multi-Hit games: Rubel Cespedes (2-4, K) The Mighty Mussels played two on Sunday afternoon as the Mussels had a rescheduled rain out game with the Tampa Tarpons from June 3. The first game featured Ariel Jurado on the mound for his first rehab start with the Mussels. Jurado went 4 innings for the Mussels in game one showing signs of strength in his first game of 2022. Jurado allowed only three base runners off of two walks and one hit and struck out four Tarpon hitters without surrendering any runs. Fort Myers was the first to score in this game as it remained scoreless going into the bottom of the fourth inning. That first run came from an Emmanuel Rodriguez solo home run putting the Mighty Mussels up 1-0. The Mussels came up with three more runs their next time at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning. The first run came from a Nelson Roberto RBI single that scored Mikey Perez, that was followed up with an RBI triple to center field form Jake Rucker scoring Roberto and making the score 3-0 Mussels. Finally, Noah Miller laced a ground-rule double over the left field fence to score Rucker and give the Mussels a 4-0 lead. In the top of the sixth, the Tarpons began to mount their comeback against the Mussels as the Yankees number three overall prospect, Jasson Dominguez, hit a two-run home run for his sixth of the season making it a 4-2 ballgame. The Tarpons then added two more runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game up 4-4 and with the Mussels unable to pick up runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh, the game went to extras. The Tarpons completed their comeback as they scored two more runs in the top of the eighth making it a 6-4 game in their favor. Fort Myers responded with a singular run from a Mikey Perez sacrifice fly, but came up short in game one of the doubleheader losing 6-5. Game 2 Fort Myers 7, Tampa 1 Box Score SP: Pierson Ohl 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K HR: None Multi hit Games: Mikey Perez (2-3, R, 2 2B, 3 RBI (26), SB (20)), Luis Baez (2-3, 2 R, SB (6)) Fort Myers recovered in the second game of the doubleheader against the Tampa Tarpons as the bats came out the gate swinging in the bottom of the first. The Mighty Mussels put up five runs in the bottom of the first off of a walk, an error and four hits, the biggest hit coming from Mikey Perez’s RBI double that scored two. Perez wasn’t done performing when he had his second at-bat in the bottom of the second as he had another RBI double that only scored one but gave the Mighty Mussels a 6-0 lead. On the mound for the start for Fort Myers was Pierson Ohl. Ohl was making his eighth start for the Mighty Mussels and even though it was shortened, it was one of his most impressive yet as Ohl recorded all nine of his outs via strikeout while allowing five baserunners. Following an explosive first two innings of runs, the Mighty Mussels only scored one more insurance run in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a Jake Rucker single. Juan Mendez closed out the game in the top of the seventh for the Mussels to give them their 7-1 victory and a split doubleheader. The Mighty Mussels travel to Daytona Beach Tuesday for a six game series against the Reds Low-A affiliate the Daytona Tortugas with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Day – Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 3-4, 5 R, 3 HR (6), 5 RBI (15), BB, HBP 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 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-3, BB #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 2-5, RBI #5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 3-4, 5 R, 3 HR (6), 5 RBI (15), BB, HBP #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 1-2, R, HR, RBI, 2 BB Game 2: Did not play #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB Game 2: 0-4, R #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-2, R, SB (6), 2 BB #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-4, R, SB (6) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 3-5, 3 R, 2 2B, HR, RBI (43), 2 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, June 7. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). Rochester @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Daytona (6:05 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games

Previous 2022 Hitters of the Month - April: Christian Encarnacion-Strand We’ll take a look at the top five hitters of the month, but before diving into it, let’s start with an honorable mention. Honorable Mention - Will Holland - Cedar Rapids Kernels 19-71, .268/.350/.507 (.857), two doubles, three triples, and three home runs Holland was a 5th round pick from Auburn by the Twins during the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. This has been one of his better months as a professional, and he now has an .800 OPS for Cedar Rapids.. It would be good for Holland to parlay a hot start into an eventual promotion to Double-A Wichita. Top Five Hitters Number 5 - Wichita Wind Surge - C Alex Isola - 22-68, .324/.425/.500 (.925), three doubles, three home runs Isola was a late-round selection in 2019, grabbed by Minnesota in the 29th round. Making his Double-A debut after a solid 2021 playing at High-A Cedar Rapids, Isola got hot in May. He’s never been a high batting average guy, but the .297 batting average this season is more than nice to see. Isola has a good amount of power and strong plate discipline. With Minnesota needing catching depth at the highest levels, his emergence early this season could afford more opportunity as the season rolls on. Number 4 - Fort Myers Miracle - SS Noah Miller - 30-87, .345/.457/.517 (1.006), five doubles, two triples, two home runs A first-round pick for the Twins last season, Miller looks the part of a true shortstop. He’s held down the position well thus far during his professional career, and his bat broke out in a big way during May. Speed is part of Miller’s game and that was evidenced by the pair of triples. He’s probably not going to hit a ton of homers, but he draws a lot of walks and already has 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts this season. Number 3 - Fort Myers Miracle - INF Mikey Perez - 21-82, .256/.361/.524 (.885), seven doubles, five home runs Minnesota grabbed Perez in the 15th round of last year’s draft out of UCLA. His pro debut was a good one, but it consisted of just 10 games last season. After a slow start in April, Perez turned it on in a big way last month. The 12 extra-base hits in just 23 games are impressive, and for a guy that never really hit for power in college, a month with five home runs is a development the Twins have to be excited about. Number 2 - Wichita Wind Surge - OF Matt Wallner - 25-84, .298/.422/.595 (1.017) seven doubles, six home runs Wallner was a first-round pick for the Twins in 2019 after he had been a 32nd-round selection out of high school (as a pitcher) three years prior. Spending three years at Southern Mississippi was the smart route for him. He improved his stock immensely, and Wallner has flashed big tools. He’s got one of the best arms in the system and hits for some of the most power. There’s always been a considerable amount of swing-and-miss in his game, but Wallner is now showing a stronger sense of plate discipline as well. He’ll have plenty of months where he hits lots of dingers. If he has a June that looks like his May, he could push a ticket to St. Paul. And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: Wichita Wind Surge/St. Paul Saints - INF Spencer Steer - 28-90, .311/.388/.678 (1.066), six doubles, nine home runs At one point it, could’ve been argued that Steer was among the most underrated prospects in the Twins system, but I think we’ve blitzed by that point. He was rewarded with a promotion to Triple-A St. Paul recently and has continued to crush the ball there. Steer was a third-round pick in 2019 and has hit at every stop of the farm. The 24 dingers last season showed the work he put in while minor league baseball was canceled in 2020. He’s already got ten homers this season and two of them have come in his week with the Saints. Steer has an exceptional approach at the plate and is a well-balanced hitter. He has quickly become someone that the Twins can look at as a future fixture in their lineup. The Twins current middle infield is a bit crowded with superstars and top prospects, but at some of the most impactful positions on the diamond, that’s a great problem to have. Steer will be tested plenty at Triple-A, but being 24-years-old, he could factor in as part of the next wave. Minnesota has to be impressed with the career trajectory thus far, and a strong May has made 2022 an exciting start. We’d like to congratulate Spencer Steer, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for May 2022. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions below.

Of course, the big news has to be that the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels, coming home after a 5-1 road trip, got a combined no-hitter on Tuesday night. It is their second no-no of the season, and their third since last September. The Saints roster has been decimated by the Twins injuries and Covid situations (IL spots and upcoming Toronto series) that it has hurt the Saints roster immensely. They get it. Their job is to play players and have them ready when needed, but Tuesday was beyond that. The Saints started four catchers in the game, and ultimately, two of them played positions that they haven’t played before. When one of them was drilled by a line drive in foul territory, the team lost the DH and four pitchers came to the plate. Oh, by the way, the Saints won by 10 runs! Wichita’s game was suspended in the second inning. Cedar Rapids played a morning game in Lansing, and they may wish it had been rained out. But, Anthony Prato just keeps getting the job done. Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS With Carlos Correa placed on the Covid-IL, the Twins selected the contract of infielder Jermaine Palacios. RHP Jorge Alcala was set to begin a rehab assignment with the Mighty Mussels on Tuesday, but with a long rain delay, they pushed it back a day. IF/OF Michael Helman was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul Cole Sands was the Twins' 27th man for Tuesday’s doubleheader. He started Game 2 and was returned to the Saints. IF Tim Beckham was activated by the Saints, good news after watching him limp off the field on Sunday. The Twins acquired OF John Andreoli from the Phillies in a trade. Andreoli is a veteran with time in the big leagues with three organizations including the Padres in 2021. He played for the Rochester Red Wings in 2019's second half. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 13, Iowa 3 Box Score Jermaine Palacios was called up to the Twins. Alex Kirilloff, Mark Contreras, and Yennier Cano are traveling with the Twins as part of their ‘taxi squad.’ That put Toby Gardenhire in a tough position while trying to figure out a lineup for Tuesday night in Iowa. As the Saints Twitter pointed out, they started four catchers at various positions. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Caleb Hamilton started at third base. Roy Morales started in left field. David Banuelos started out as the DH but moved to second base. And, Jose Godoy was actually behind the plate. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Hamilton left the game and the Saints lost their DH. Dereck Rodriguez pinch ran and got one at-bat. JC Ramirez, Tyler Viza, and Austin Schulfer each got an at-bat too. Spencer Steer went 3-for-5 with a walk and two doubles and three RBI. Jake Cave went 3-for-6 with a double and two RBI. More catchers… David Banuelos went 2-for-3 with two walks and a two-run homer, and Jose Godoy added a three run homer. Jordan Balazovic started and was charged with three runs (2 earned) on five hits (including two homers) in 3 1/3 innings. He walked four and struck out five batters. JC Ramirez threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out three. Tyler Viza, Jharel Cotton, and Ian Hamilton each pitched a scoreless innings to close out the game. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita, Frisco (Suspended in the 2nd inning due to weather) data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== The Wind Surge returned from Corpus Christi to start a series against Frisco. Well, the series started, but in the second inning, the game was suspended by weather. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Lansing 6 Box Score In the third inning, Anthony Prato hit his seventh home run of the season to give the Kernels the first lead of the game, 1-0. From there on, however, it was all Lugnuts! Cade Povich made the start. He was charged with two runs on three hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked four and struck out six batters. Derek Molina came on and allowed both of Povich’s runs to score, plus two of his own before getting out of the fifth. He was charged with two runs on three hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Tyler Palm worked the final two innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. The Kernels had just four hits, and the Prato homer was the long extra base hit. The team actually struck out 15 times in the game. Alerick Soularie went 1-for-2 with two walks. Kyler Fedko also walked twice. In his first plate appearance, Aaron Sabato was hit on the arm with a pitch and removed for precautionary reasons. He should return to the line up in the next day or two. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Tampa 0 Box Score If you’re wanting to beat the Yankees… Low-A affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons, the best way to do that might be to not allow any runs. The Mighty Mussels did one better on Tuesday night. They didn’t give up a hit either! After a 2-hour and 16-minute rain delay, it was determined that the teams would play a seven-inning game. Mike Paredes made the start. He went the first six innings. He gave up no runs and no hits. He walked two and struck out five batters. Hunter McMahon pitched the seventh inning and struck out three batters to give the Mussels the second no-hitter of their season already. It is also the third no-hitter for Ft. Myers in less than nine months. Paredes, the team’s 18th round pick in 2021 out of San Diego State started the season in the Mussels bullpen. This was just his fifth start of the season. He hit career-highs in innings (6) and pitches (69). Paredes noted following the game, “I was just mixing pitches pretty well with (Dillon) Tatum behind the dish, putting down the right fingers at the right times and keeping them off balance.” McMahon got the final outs of the Mussels no-hitter earlier this season, and did so again on this night. He walked the first batter he faced, but then followed by striking out the next three batters. And Dillon Tatum has been the catcher in both games, which absolutely needs to be noted. Following the game, the backstop said, “We’ve been trying to get our guys to be aggressive in the zone with all of their stuff. Mike and Hunter both did a really good job of all of that. They have some good pop in the middle of the order. Hats off to them.” Pitching coach and former big-leaguers Carlos Hernandez is the one (along with manager Brian Meyer) who was there for all three no-hitters. After Tuesday’s game, he said, “We are always trying to push guys to attack the strike zone,” pitching coach Carlos Hernandez said. “It’s always fun to watch them do their thing. We are here to guide them, but at the end of the day, it’s them making their own decisions out there.” Paredes wanted to get the seventh inning, but as pitching coach Jared Gaynor said, “At this level, we’re about developing them to become big-league pitchers. It’s not worth pushing their pitch counts for the sake of throwing a no-hitter in Low-A,” He continued, “Our goal is for these guys to move up. We’re always worrying about their workload and where they’re building up. I know it’s tough to take a guy out with a no-hitter at 69 pitches, but with where he’s at at this stage of the season, it was the right time to take him out.” Oh, that’s right, the Mussels used hitters in this game too, and those hitters provided some run support to the tune of five runs. All five runs came in the fifth inning. Jake Rucker started things out with his eighth double which drove in Tatum and Dylan Neuse. Emmanuel Rodriguez followed with his fifth double which drove in Rucker. And Noah Cardenas followed with his fourth double which scored Rodriguez. Cardenas scored later on a wild pitch. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Mike Paredes (Ft. Myers) - 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day – Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 3-5, BB, 2-2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Shhhh… don’t tell anyone… you get a sneak peek… It’s June 1st, so today the Twins Daily Prospect Report is changing today. Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. Of note, Joe Ryan, Josh Winder and Jhoan Duran - All Top 10 Prospects in May - are no longer deemed “prospects” as they have passed those thresholds. #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-1 (played SS) - Game Suspended in 2nd) #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - Game 2: 0-for-3 #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K (87 pitches, 53 strikes) #5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (24 pitches, 11 strikes - Game Suspended in 2nd) #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 3-5, BB, 2-2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 K (played 2B/SS) #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-1, 2 BB, 2B(6), R, RBI #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, K #11 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K (84 pitches, 45 strikes) #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-1 - Game suspended in 2nd) #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-1 - Game suspended in 2nd) #17 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - 4 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K (91 pitches, 54 strikes) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 PM CST) - RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-2, 3.44 ERA) Frisco @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (0-0, 7.59 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (3-2, 2.15 ERA) Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - LHP Steve Hajjar (2-1, 2.17 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

All teams sign minor-league veterans each offseason, hoping they help the Triple-A team, but knowing more of them than they would have guessed will have to come up to the big leagues. The Twins are currently in a position to have to do that again this week with all the injuries, Covid, and a trip to Canada creating issues. On the positive side of that, we get stories like Jermaine Palacios who signed with the Twins way back in 2013. He made himself into a quality prospect and was traded to the Rays before the 2018 season in the Jake Odorizzi deal. He became a minor-league free agent after the 2020 season. Despite offers from other organizations, Palacios returned to the Twins. He spent 2021 in Wichita. He has been solid in a utility role in St. Paul this year. And on Tuesday, he is making his MLB debut at shortstop for the Twins in Detroit. What a story! If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week. TRANSACTIONS With no Monday Minor League Report, here are the transactions from later on Sunday and on Monday. Royce Lewis was placed on the IL. Jose Miranda was recalled from St. Paul. LHP Denny Bentley and C Jair Camargo were promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. OF Kennie Taylor was sent back to the Kernels. Cole Sands is the 27th man for the Twins today. Jermaine Palacios called up to the Twins. The Twins have signed John Andreoli and assigned him to the Saints. With Alex Kirilloff and Mark Contreras with the Twins on the taxi squad, the Saints need outfield help. Andreoli has MLB time with the Orioles and Mariners in 2018 and with the Padres in 2021. He was recently released by the Phillies organization. You may recall, the UConn alum played for the Rochester Red Wings in 2019. Michael Helman was also promoted from Wichita to St. Paul RESULTS Previous Week in Review (5/17-5/23):Steer Navigates Wichita, Sent to Saints Tuesday: Offenses Explode in Series Openers Wednesday: Cavaco Carries Mussels to Big Win Thursday: Stars Shine in St. Paul, Schmidt Goes Off in Florida Friday: Saints Walk it Off Saturday: Tons of Offense Sunday: Saints Walk Off, Wind Surge Split Series in Corpus Christi MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT Spencer Steer Closing in on the Twins Twins Prospects Being Slept On One Twins Pitching Prospect on the Rise All Arms on Deck: Should the Twins Accelerate Matt Canterino? Royce Lewis vs. Alex Kirilloff: Who’s Next in Line? Royce Lewis is Grateful to be Playing Again Everyday After Missing Two Seasons Royce Lewis Suffers a Bone Bruise in his Knee Schulfer Finally Promoted to St. Paul WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints Week: 4-3, hosting Indianapolis Season: 20-27 overall, 9th place out of ten teams in the International League West. They are 12 1/2 games behind Nashville. It was a rough couple of weeks on the road for the Saints. They came into last week having lost 11 games on their 12-game road trip. They returned to CHS Field for a seven-game series against the Pirates Triple-A affiliate. They actually lost the first two games of the series. But they won the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader and then their next two as well. A winning week is a good thing and hopefully can propel them going forward. The challenge is the big-league club has been decimated by injuries, Covid, and a trip to Canada this weekend which tears up the Saints’ roster. The Saints’ bats put up 49 runs in the seven games. The pitchers gave up 50 runs. Spencer Steer made a strong first impression in his first week in Triple-A. He played all seven games and went 7-for-25, hitting .280/.400/.550 (.950) with a double and two home runs. He walked four times (even once intentionally), and struck out just three times. Jermaine Palacios played in six games. He went 8-for-23 and hit .348/.400/.609 (1.009) with three doubles, a homer, and seven RBI. He walked twice and stole a base. Jake Cave played in six games. He went 8-for-27 and hit .296/.296/.630 (.926) with a double, a triple, two home runs, and eight RBI. He ended the week by providing a walk-off hit for the Saints. Ian Hamilton pitched in three games. He tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up just one hit. He hit one batter, walked none and struck out three batters. Jordan Gore worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings over three appearances. He gave up three hits and walked three batters, but was able to work out of it. Mario Sanchez gave up one run on four hits in six innings during his start last week. He struck out five batters without a walk. Cole Sands came off the IL last Tuesday and tossed three scoreless, one-hit innings. He was scheduled to start again on Sunday, but he was pulled from that start so that he can start Game 2 for the Twins in their doubleheader on Tuesday in Detroit. What’s Next? The Saints head down to Des Moines to take on the Iowa Cubs (23-24). Pitching Probables (RHP Jordan Balazovic, RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez, RHP Mario Sanchez, RHP Ronny Henriquez, RHP Dereck Rodriguez, TBD) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Week: 3-3, at Corpus Christi Season: 26-17 overall, 2nd place in the Texas League North Division. They remain just 1/2 game behind Tulsa (27-17). The Wind Surge made the long trek south to Corpus Christi and split the six-game series. Wichita scored 44 runs in the six games and gave up 42 runs. Two of their losses came in one-run games while just one of their wins did. They also had a two-run win. Here are some of the top performances for the Wind Surge this past week: Evan Sisk provided some great work out of the bullpen. Over three appearances, he threw five scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out seven batters. He had a Win and two Holds. Austin Schulfer made two more appearances for the Wind Surge. He gave up two hits over 2 1/3 scoreless innings before being promoted to St. Paul finally. But not before posting a 0.39 ERA for Wichita this season. Matt Canterino’s start this past week was a bit of a microcosm of his season to this point. He showed dominant stuff, striking out six batters over 2 1/3 innings. He gave up only an unearned run. He is wisely being limited with pitches and up-downs. This week, he fought his control with four walks. Kody Funderburk worked 4 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. He gave up one run on two hits. He walked two and struck out three batters. Chris Williams ended the week on a 12-game hitting streak. In four games last week, the catcher went 5-for-15 and hit .333/.444/.857 (1.311) with two doubles, two homers, and six RBI. He added three walks. Another week, another Matt Wallner sighting. The Forest Lake alum played in all six games. He went 7-for-22 and hit .318/.464/.773 (1.237 with a double, three home runs, and nine RBI. He also walked five times and had a stolen base for good measure. Leobaldo Cabrera played all six games. He went 6-for-23 and hit .261/.346/.522 (.868) with two homers and nine RBI. What’s Next? The Wind Surge return home for six games against Frisco. . . Pitching Probables (RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Blayne Enlow, RHP Matt Canterino, RHP Casey Legumina, RHP Louie Varland, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels Week: 3-3, hosting Wisconsin Season: 29-16 overall, 1st place in the Midwest League West Division, 1.0 games ahead of Wisconsin (28-17). They are two games ahead of South Bend (27-18) It was a highly competitive week of games between the top two teams in the division. The two teams split the six-game series. Only one of the games was decided by less than four runs. The Kernels had wins of 13-2 and 9-0 among the first three games. Cedar Rapids would win a game and take a two-game division lead, but the Rattlers followed with a win to bring it back to a one-game difference. The Kernels outscored Wisconsin 38-23. He is playing all over the diamond, but that is certainly not hurting Anthony Prato at the plate. In six games last week, he went 10-for-25 and hit .400/.483/.720 (1.203) with a double, two triples, and a home run. The table-setter at the top of the order walked four times and scored nine runs in the six-game series. Aaron Sabato brought back a bit of a leg kick and closed his stance a little, and the results were positive last week. In six games, he went 8-for-25 and hit .320/.393/.640 (1.033) with two doubles, two homers and eight RBI. Will Holland has had a very solid May. In five games last week, he went 6-for-18 and hit .333/.429/.500 (.929) with a double, a triple, and three RBI. He also went 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts. Aaron Rozek got the Kernels off to a good start for the week. The lefty tossed five shutout innings in his start. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out two batters. Sawyer Gipson-Long had a strong start on Thursday. He gave up just two hits over six scoreless innings. While he walked four, he also struck out seven batters. David Festa pitched four innings, piggybacking after Brent Headrick, on Saturday. He gave up just one run on a solo homer. Seven Kernels relievers pitched without allowing a run. Miguel Rodriguez and Andrew Cabezas tossed three scoreless, hitless innings. Bradley Hanner, Derek Molina, and Ryan Shreve each tossed two scoreless innings. What’s Next? The Kernels will travel to Lansing for six games this week. . Pitching Probables (LHP Cade Povich, RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long, RHP John Stankiewicz, RHPDavid Festa, LHP Brent Headrick, RHP Sean Mooney/LHP Aaron Rozek) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Week: 5-1, @ Bradenton Season: 30-14 overall, 1st place in the Florida State League West, 7.0 games ahead of Clearwater (23-21). Ft. Myers certainly flexed their Mussels last week on the road in Bradenton. They won the first five games of the series before a 4-2 loss on Sunday. They outscored the Marauders 45-15 during the week with their five wins being by an average of more than six runs. They scored nine or more runs four times, and there were some impressive performances from the hitters, and the pitchers too. For the second straight week, 2021 second-round pick Steve Hajjar did not allow a run. He gave up two hits and walked a batter over 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He had one walk and ten strikeouts. Pierson Ohl has improved each time he’s pitched this season. Last week, he gave up only one hit over five shutout innings. He walked one and struck out seven batters. Marco Raya gave up two runs (1 earned) over five innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Mike Paredes gave up two runs on three hits in five innings. He struck out seven batters without issuing a walk. Seven Mussels relievers did not allow an earned run last week. Matt Mullenbach returned to the roster. He gave up only an unearned run over four innings in two outings. Kyle Schmidt continues to do a nice job with the young, talented pitching staff, and he’s provided some pop every now and then too. In three games last week, he went 4-for-12 (.333) with a double, two homers and five RBI. Emmanuel Rodriguez played in five games. He went 6-for-18 and hit .333/.500/.667 (1.167) with two home runs and five RBI. He also walked six times. Keoni Cavaco had another strong week. The 20-year-old played in all six games. He went 8-for-24 and hit .333/.407/.625 (1.032) with two doubles, a triple, a homer, and seven RBI. Noah Miller played in five games. He went 6-for-20 and hit .400/.478/.600 (.978) with two doubles. He walked three times, and he stole three more bases. Kala’i Rosario went 6-for-19 and hit .316/.381/.579 (.960) with two doubles, a homer and five RBI. What’s Next? The Mighty Mussels will return home to take on Tampa. Never too early to start beating the Yankees! Pitching Probables (RHP Mike Paredes, LHP Steve Hajjar, RHP Marco Raya, LHP Jaylen Nowlin,, RHP Travis Adams, RHP Pierson Ohl) PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week. The Prospect Tracker will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. #1 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 6 G, 8-for-28 (.286), 0-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 7 K (Season: 34 G, .313/.405/.534 (.940), 12-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 30 R, 14 RBI, 18 BB, 32 K) #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1 G, 0-for-1 (.000), 0-2B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K (Season: 12 G, .300/.317/.550 (.867), 4-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 5 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 5 G, 6-for-23 (.261), 1-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K (Season: 40 G, .258/.377/.333 (.710), 7-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 31 R, 14 RBI, 22 BB, 25 K, 20 SB, 2 CS) #3 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - Covid IL (Season: 8 GS, 43.1 IP, 11 R, 29 H, 14 BB, 42 K, 5-2, 2.28 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 8.7 K/9) #4 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - In MLB (Season: 21 G, .256/.295/.442 (.737), 10-2B, 2-HR, 10 R, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 14 K) #4 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - Week: 4 G, 6-for-11 (.545), 2-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K (Season: 20 G, .183/.216/.338 (.554), 5-2B, 2-HR, 5 R, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 14 K) #5 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 3.1 IP, 5 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K (Season: 4 GS, 13.0 IP, 18 R, 14 ER, 22 H, 8 BB, 12 K, 0-2, 9.69 ERA, 2.31 WHIP, 5.5 BB/9, 8.3 K/9) #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 1 GS, 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 6 K (Season: 8 GS, 41.2 IP, 15 R, 14 ER, 29 H, 14 BB, 42 K, 2-2, 3.02 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9, 9.1 K/9) #7 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - Covid IL (Season: 7 G, 3 GS, 29.1 IP, 14 R, 12 ER, 27 H, 9 BB, 23 K, 2-2, 3.68 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 7.1 K/9) #8 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 2 G, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K (Season: 17 G, 22.1 IP, 6 R, 14 H, 4 BB, 32 K, 0-1, 4 Saves, 2.42 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 1.6 BB/9, 12.9 K/9) #9 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 1 GS, 2.1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 4 BB, 6 K (Season: 10 G, 9 GS, 30.2 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 14 H, 18 BB, 46 K, 0-1, 2.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 5.3 BB/9, 13.5 K/9) #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 5 G, 6-for-18 (.333), 0-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 5 RBI, 6 BB, 8 K (Season: 40 G, .250/.471/.475 (.946), 4-2B, 1-3B, 7-HR, 30 R, 19 RBI, 47 BB, 49 K) #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 5 G, 8-for-20 (.400), 2-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K (Season: 39 G, .288/.419/.397 (.816), 6-2B, 2-3B, 2 HR, 31 R, 11 RBI, 31 BB, 44 K) #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 2 GS, 9.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 9 BB, 10 K (Season: 9 G, 8 GS, 47.1 IP, 22 R, 19 ER, 38 H, 22 BB, 53 K, 4-1, 3.61 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 4.2 BB/9, 10.1 K/9) #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 3.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K (Season: 6 G, 5 GS, 18.2 IP, 15 R, 23 H, 6 BB, 21 K, 0-4, 7.23 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 10.1 K/9) #13 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - (Season: 2 G, 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K, 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 0.0 BB/9, 13.5 K/9) #14 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 8 K (Season: 7 G, 5 GS, 24.2 IP, 21 R, 27 H, 12 BB, 25 K, 0-2, 7.66 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 4.4 BB/9, 9.1 K/9) #15 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (Season: 7 G, 6 GS, 29.0 IP, 11 R, 8 ER, 23 H, 9 BB, 31 K, 3-1, 2.48 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 9.6 K/9) #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - (Season: 35 G, .307/.385/.558 (.976), 13-2B, 1-3B, 8-HR, 27 R, 30 RBI, 14 BB, 23 K) #16 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 7 G, 7-for-25 (.280), 1-2B, 2-HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K (Season: 7 G, .280/.400/.560 (.960), 1-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 5 R, 4 RBI, 14 BB, 23 K) #17 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 9 K (Season: 7 GS, 32.2 IP, 17 R, 13 ER, 27 H, 9 BB, 46 K, 3-3, 3.58 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 12.9 K/9) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 6 G, 5-for-24 (.208), 0-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K (Season: 43 G, .304/.365/.526 (.891), 8-2B, 3-3B, 8-HR, 26 R, 39 RBI, 16 BB, 48 K) #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1 G, 0-for-1 (.000), 0-2B, 0-HR, 0 BB, 0 K (Season: 24 G, .270/.434/.392 (.826), 4-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 14 R, 10 RBI, 23 BB, 21 K) #20 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 GS, 3.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 3 K (Season: 3 GS, 10.2 IP, 10 R, 9 ER, 13 H, 4 BB, 15 K, 0-0, 7.59 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 5.4 BB/9, 5.4 K/9) PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Hitter of the Week: Outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels This is the second player of the week honor for Rodriguez. He was the choice for Hitter of the Month in April, and he’s been solid again in May. A week ago he went 0-for-12 for the week, but he walked 10 times, continuing to show a much better strike zone management. And, the Florida State Leagues is typically not beneficial for hitters, but he has performed and shown his immense power. Rodriguez played in five games last week in Bradenton. He went 6-for-18 and hit .333/.500/.667 (1.167) for the week. In 40 games this season, he is hitting .250/.471/.475 (.946) with four doubles, a triple, and seven home runs. He has 49 strikeouts, but he also has 47 walks. And for good measure, he’s got ten stole bases. Rodriguez signed with the Twins in July 2019 for $2.5 million out of Santiago. He was unable to make his debut until 2021. Last year, in 37 FCL Twins games, he hit .214/346/.524 (.870) with five doubles, two triples, and 10 home runs. He also stole nine bases. Pitcher of the Week: RHP Pierson Ohl, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Pierson Ohl was the Twins 14th round draft pick in 2021 out of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. He had gone to a small high school in Simi Valley, California, and decided to join his brother Carson in college. As a junior last year, he went 10-2 with a 2.60 ERA over 16 games (15 starts). He had 103 strikeouts to go with just 12 walks in 100 1/3 innings. After signing, he pitched in one game in the FCL. He made his full-season debut in 2022 on the Mighty Mussels Opening Day roster. He has experienced ups and downs already. Twice In three of his seven starts, he has given up four or five runs. In his four other starts, he’s given up one run or less. Last Tuesday, he had the best start of the season. He tossed five scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out seven batters. Overall, Ohl is 2-2 with a 5.33 ERA. In 27 innings, he has walked just six and struck out 25 batters. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the players and the teams in the COMMENTS below.

Collegiate powerhouse Oregon featured Steer primarily at shortstop in his junior year, although he played at the hot corner some. In his final college season, he posted a .958 OPS with six homers across 56 games. He was drafted as a solid defender with a good bat that had the ceiling of a solid regular at the highest level. It was hard to be unimpressed by Steer in his professional debut. Across 64 games the infield posted an .809 OPS and made quick work of the Appalachian League before earning a promotion to Cedar Rapids. Shelved, like everyone else in 2020, Steer opened last season as a 23-year-old a bit above the average at the Single-A level. His .915 OPS there showed he was ready for more, and the Twins gave him 65 games at Double-A Wichita in the inaugural season for the new affiliate. Again getting close to the higher end of the average age at Double-A, Steer made quick work of another level. In 35 games this season he posted a .976 OPS and clubbed eight home runs. He often played up the middle with top prospect Austin Martin, and the two combined to play strong defense for the Wind Surge. Maybe most surprisingly for Steer’s game has been the development of power. He hit just 12 long balls in 163 college games and then had just four in his first 64 professional games. When coming back from the Covid shutdown, Steer flashed his hard work. 24 dingers split between Cedar Rapids and Wichita last season was six times his previous career-high. Already with eight this season, it doesn’t appear the power surge was a fluke. The Twins have used Steer all over the infield as a minor leaguer. He’s probably best cast at second or third base, but he’s adequate at shortstop too. Playing alongside another top prospect in St. Paul, Royce Lewis and Steer can certainly feed off of each other as was the case with the situation down in Kansas. It’s probably lofty to suggest that Steer has the pedigree to be a perennial All-Star or something of that sort, but there’s no denying he’s looked the part of a Major League regular at each stop throughout the system. Obviously, the Twins have a current answer at shortstop, and Lewis appears tabbed for the future. Gio Urshela doesn’t look like a mainstay, and while Jorge Polanco is penciled in at second, he’s always going to need days off. Having a depth piece like Steer is some nice found money in the prospect world. I don’t know that Steer has a calling card of sorts yet. Luis Arraez plays all over the place and has a bat that simply doesn’t slump. His plate discipline is unmatched and it makes him one of the toughest outs in the game. Nick Gordon also plays everywhere, but it’s his speed that separates him. Steer could wind up being a big bat off the bench with the pop he’s shown, or he could just be a solid all-around utility man. Not yet on the 40-man roster, Steer will need to earn one more promotion in order to make his dreams come true. The journey got a bit closer when he singled up the middle in his second at-bat for the Saints. He’ll show he belongs here in time too, and then comes the final step.

Transactions: RHP Ben Gross placed on Injured List by Wichita SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Indianapolis 1 Box Score St. Paul gave the ball to Mario Sanchez tonight and he was great. Working six innings, Sanchez allowed just one run on four hits while striking out five and walking none. Even without the offensive explosion, he’d have kept the good guys in it. Getting behind 1-0 on some poor throwing in the 1st inning, St. Paul charged back in the 4th inning. Alex Kirilloff flashed some much-needed power with a two-run homer to right-center that also brought in Royce Lewis. Tonight was Lewis' second game at the hot corner for St. Paul and he quickly saw the opportunity for a web gem. In the 5th inning the Saints continued to add and did so in a big way. First Lewis drove in Derek Fisher with a single. Then Kirilloff singled to right scoring Lewis, and Spencer Steer followed with his first Triple-A home run, a two-run blast plating Kirilloff. The Saints weren’t satisfied with their lead and Jose Godoy drove in a run with Jermaine Palacios scoring on his ground out in the 6th inning before Mark Contreras drove in Kirilloff with a single of his own. Now up by seven runs, St. Paul had seen plenty of production from their 10 hits tonight. Lewis, Kirilloff, and Steer all had multi-hit games tonight for St. Paul. WIND SURGE WISDOM Corpus Christi 9, Wichita 5 Box Score Twins pitching prospect Blayne Enlow was making his third start since returning from Tommy John surgery tonight. It was a rough one as he allowed five runs on five hits in just three innings. Although Enlow struck out three batters, he walked four and his season ERA is up to 7.59. Wichita jumped out to an early lead with Chris Williams launching a three-run blast in the top of the 1st inning. It was his second dinger of the year. Corpus Christi immediately answered with two of their own in the bottom half. Matt Wallner, who’s been going very well at the plate of late, launched his 9th home run in the 3rd inning. With Austin Martin on base, Wallner’s homer was a two-run blast and erased the two earlier Corpus Christi runs. Although Martin is going through it offensively, he did swipe his 19th base of the season tonight. Unfortunately that’s where the momentum shifted as the home team grabbed three runs in the bottom half of the third inning and then a two-run homer in the 5th inning put them on top for their first lead of the game. In the 7th inning Corpus Christi pushed across two more and the Wind Surge were looking at a four-run deficit. Scoring four runs on five hits was nice, but that wasn’t going to get it done for Wichita this evening. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Wisconsin 0 Box Score Sawyer Gipson-Long worked six innings tonight for the Kernels and he was sharp. Allowing no runs on just two hits, Gipson-Long worked around four walks and punched out seven. His season ERA drops to 2.15 with this performance. Neither team jumped out to an early lead, but Cedar Rapids was able to break the zeroes in the 5th inning. Recently promoted Kyler Fedko reached on a fielder’s choice with Jair Camargo scoring on a throwing error. Wander Javier then roped his 6th double of the season to score Seth Gray and Fedko before an Alerick Soularie ground out brought Javier home. Things again got quiet until the 7th inning when Aaron Sabato stepped in and grounded a single to center, scoring Anthony Prato. Cedar Rapids had a five-run lead and with Wisconsin generating just two hits on the night that seemed like plenty of breathing room. Still not content, the Kernels went back to work in the 8th inning. A Will Holland single plated Fedko again before a Prato single scored Alerick Soularie. Christian Encarnacion-Strand made his presence felt hustling down the line and giving Holland a chance to score on an errant throw. Then with two on, Sabato came through again and his 5th double of the season drove in Prato. Adding four more runs in, this one was over before Wisconsin would even get their last raps. Despite the run production, Prato was the only Cedar Rapids batter with a multi-hit effort on the evening. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Bradenton 0 Box Score Fort Myers turned to prospect Steven Hajjar tonight and he was nothing short of exceptional. Working 5 2/3 innings, Hajjar allowed just two hits and a walk. He punched out a whopping ten hitters and lowered his ERA to 2.17 on the season. Jumping on the board early, Fort Myers tallied their first run when Noah Cardenas put a ball in play to score Mikey Perez. Cardenas was doubled up on the grounder so no RBI was recorded, but it started the cascade in the run column. The 5th inning was highlighted in a big way when Kyle Schmidt went out deep to centerfield for a grand slam. Cardenas, Kala’i Rosario, and Dylan Neuse all touched home plate with him on the big fly. Two more came across in the 7th inning when a botched play at shortstop allowed both Emmanuel Rodriguez and Cardenas to scamper home. Rosario made sure the Mighty Mussels weren’t done when he pushed Keoni Cavaco across the plate on a force out. Following up his earlier grand slam, Schmidt added a solo shot in the 9th inning to push the lead back to seven. Giving up two runs to Bradenton in the bottom of the 8th inning, the six-run deficit was as close as they’d get. Tonight’s run production was a team effort as the lone batter for Fort Myers with two hits was Schmidt. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Kyle Schmidt (Ft. Myers) - 2-5, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 HR(4) Pitcher of the Day – Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 5.2 IP 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-3, R, BB, K #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 2-5, 2 R, RBI #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 2-4, R, 2B #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #5 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - Covid-IL #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch #7 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch #8 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch #9 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, 2 K #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - 1-2, RBI #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR(9) #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #14 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch #15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R, 3 K #16 - Ronny Hendriquez (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #17 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 3.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K #18 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR(1) #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - IL #20 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 5.2 IP 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez Wichita @ Corpus Christi (7:05PM CST) - RHP Matt Canterino Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP John Stankiewicz Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:300PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates back and playing.

Although the Twins have seen their farm system ranked among the lower half from most publications, that’s not to say there isn’t a significant amount of talent in the organization. The top of Minnesota’s prospect list may be a bit light after the first few names, but it seems the depth and opportunity for middle-tier names to produce could be immense. Looking at each of the four full-season minor league affiliates, here’s a name to watch throughout the rest of the summer. St. Paul Saints - Caleb Hamilton C/3B I liked Kevin Merrill in this spot originally given his previous draft position as a first-rounder, and the potential he could wind up being the depth Minnesota sought in Tim Beckham or Daniel Robertson. That said, he was sent back to Double-A despite a decent start so he'll need to work his way back up. With the Twins needing catching depth behind their big-league starters, it's nice to see Caleb Hamilton having somewhat of a breakout year. A 23rd-round pick back in 2016 out of Oregon State, Hamilton has just a .672 OPS over the course of his professional career. He did make a quick Triple-A cameo back in 2019 with Rochester, but he's found a home at St. Paul this season. It's a small sample size, but the .279 batting average over 20 games is easily a career-high. He doesn't have a ton of pop, but the .405 OBP is indicative of the best plate discipline he's shown over the course of his career. Splitting time at catcher and third base, his 44% caught stealing rate is something to note. Minnesota doesn't put a ton of emphasis on throwing out runners, but if Hamilton can control them and continue to hit, he may find his way onto the 40-man in a pinch. Wichita Wind Surge - Andrew Bechtold C/3B Before a rewrite, Spencer Steer was featured in this space. The infielder isn't generally considered at the top of the Twins prospect lists, but he recently received a promotion to Triple-A St. Paul and it's hardly unearned as he's been great. I'd like to think people know who Matt Wallner is, and are still checking on Austin Martin even with the slow start. Blayne Enlow is back from Tommy John and hoping to settle in, and Edouard Julien should be a well-known name. It came down to two 26-year-olds, Michael Helman and Andrew Bechtold, with the latter being chosen. Bechtold was selected in the 5th round of the 2017 draft. He was drafted as a third baseman but has begun to move behind the plate this season. Minnesota sent him to the Arizona Fall League last year, and he's come out strong to start 2022. His 18 homers were a career-best in 2021, and he appears poised to best that this season. Previously a big strikeout guy, he's also reigned in the plate discipline and is providing strong on-base numbers despite a lower average. The Twins catching depth is pretty minimal on the farm, but the position change could lead to Bechtold being a late bloomer. Cedar Rapids Kernels - David Festa RHP If you’ve followed the Twins Daily Minor League Report at all then the obvious name here is Christian Encarnacion-Strand. He was on the edge of the top 30 prospect lists coming into the season, but would be ranked substantially different at this point. He’s destroyed High-A pitching and probably needs a new challenge soon. Aaron Sabato is the former first-round pick, and Wander Javier used to have some steam. Instead, this is the first pitcher noted. David Festa doesn’t have a long list of career accomplishments, but he’s definitely starting to turn heads. Festa was a 13th round pick back in 2021 and has just 37 professional innings under his belt. After opening at Single-A Fort Myers to start 2022, he earned a quick promotion following five dominant starts. His Cedar Rapids debut came with six strikeouts and no walks, which really highlights much of the promise. To date in 2022, Festa owns a 1.57 ERA and a 39/6 K/BB across 28 2/3 innings. Having just turned 22-years-old, he’s going to be on the higher end of ages in the Midwest League soon, but he could push for time at Double-A Wichita before the year is over. The developmental arc for Festa is one worth monitoring, and this is the type of arm working out that makes organizations smile. Fort Myers - Emmanuel Rodriguez OF This might be cheating because some prospect lists had Rodriguez in or near the top 10 for Minnesota. While Keoni Cavaco and Noah Miller are the former high-round picks, and Steven Hajjar has looked the part, it’s Rodriguez who has been an enticing player since signing as an international free agent. At 18-years-old in the FCL last season Rodriguez posted an .870 OPS. He didn’t hit for average but drew walks and had plenty of pop. 10 homers as a teenager is always going to turn heads, and he hasn’t stopped doing that this season. Now playing in the full season Florida State League, Rodriguez owns a .907 OPS and has a whopping .466 OBP. His plate discipline is impressive and his ability to do damage makes him a constant threat at that plate. If this type of production continues throughout a full season, I’d be far from shocked to see him make massive moves on prospect lists prior to the 2023 season. Who are you most interested in hearing about outside of the top Twins prospects? Has there been a name that has impressed you the most in 2022?