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Headlined by rookies Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien, and Matt Wallner, the Minnesota Twins just underwent one of the most exponential youth movements in franchise history. These young players, mixed with stars like Carlos Correa and Pablo López, have seemingly ushered the Twins into a new era of baseball, one free of the burden that was the ever-looming Sisyphean 18-game playoff losing streak. Unfortunately, the sense of renewal and optimism that has reigned over Twins Territory since defeating the Toronto Blue Jays on October 4th has spiraled into yet another Pohlad-induced angst, as it was shared that the team is expected to undergo payroll cuts heading into the 2024 season. Expensive veteran contributors like Sonny Gray ($13.3 million), Joey Gallo ($11 million), Michael A. Taylor ($4.6 million), and Donovan Solano ($2.1 million) are likely to depart from the Twins this offseason. Instead of replacing them with similarly priced veterans through trade or the free agent market, the front office, hindered by payroll constraints, may opt for inexpensive internal options. While we are in the early stages of the offseason and have yet to learn what the front office's plans are to replace these veteran players' production for the upcoming 2024 season, a handful of young internal candidates may be called upon. Although replacing the production of more key contributors like Gray, Taylor, and Solano will be difficult, a likely candidate to replace Gallo's production has already emerged in 24-year-old power-hitting utility player Yunior Severino. Like Gallo, it is vital to emphasize power when discussing Severino, as he finished the 2023 season tied with Astros prospect Shay Whitcomb for the most home runs in Minor League Baseball with 35. Severino accomplished this feat by hitting 24 home runs with the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge and 11 home runs with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints after being promoted on August 3rd. Beyond his immense power, Severino possesses a versatile defensive profile similar to the one Gallo provided in 2023. During his time between Double-A Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul, Severino played 184 2/3 innings at second base, 556 1/3 at third base, 125 1/3 at first base, and was the designated hitter for 20 games. To put this into perspective, Gallo played 315 innings in left field, 46 1/3 innings in centerfield, 53 innings in right field, and 322 innings at first base, and was the designated hitter for one game during the 2023 regular season. Severino isn't a viable defensive Major League outfielder, so the Twins will need to look elsewhere to cover the 414 1/3 outfield innings Gallo provided. Regardless, Severino could easily find himself replacing the 322 innings Gallo provided at first, if not more, while serving as at least an emergency option at third. In theory, Severino, a switch-hitter, could increase his value and perception of flexibility more than Gallo, who hits exclusively left-handed, ever could. Gallo often found himself part of left-handed heavy platoon employments whenever the Twins would face a right-handed starting pitcher. Typically, switch-hitters like Severino are platoon-proof, but earning that distinction depends on whether the respective player can adequately hit pitchers of both handedness. Here are Severino's splits in Double-A and Triple-A during the 2023 season: Double-A Wichita Wind Surge Versus Left-Handed Pitching - .290/.355/.551 (.906) - 76 PA, 20 hits, three doubles, five home runs, five walks, 27 strikeouts Versus Right-Handed Pitching - .287/.368/.562 (.930) - 299 PA, 76 hits, 12 doubles, 19 home runs, 31 walks, 90 strikeouts Triple-A St. Paul Saints Versus Left-Handed Pitching - .286/.400/.429 (.829) - 25 PA, six hits, zero doubles, one home run, four walks, eight strikeouts Versus Right-Handed Pitching - .223/.305/.527 (.832) - 128 PA, 25 hits, two doubles, ten home runs, 11 walks, 48 strikeouts Despite a fairly significant drop-off in performance when facing right-handed pitching between Double and Triple-A, Severino still handled them exceptionally well, hitting 29 of his 35 home runs while generating a .881 OPS in 427 plate appearances against them. Severino manufactured incredible offensive numbers at both levels, which is why the Twins elected to add him to their 40-man roster to protect him from MiLB free agency and the Rule 5 Draft. If Severino hadn't been added to the 40-man roster, it is near-guarantee that a team would have selected him in the Rule 5 Draft as he is an MLB-caliber player. With Severino on the Twins' 40-man roster for the upcoming season, he will inevitably make his Major League debut in 2024. And with payroll cuts playing a prominent role in the Twins' decision-making process this season, it isn't far-fetched to expect Severino to be a key contributor for the Twins in 2024. Whether Severino can hit for power more efficiently than the current version of Gallo, who seemingly became an automatic strikeout toward the end of his tenure with the Twins, is yet to be determined. Regardless, it is reasonable to expect Severino to be an improvement. The Twins front office places a premium on power when analyzing which players to add and subtract from the 26-man roster, which is Severino's greatest strength. Severino did possess a roughly 33.9% K% to 9.7% BB% between Double and Triple-A, which is concerning but, at the same time, feasible. As long as Severino keeps his K% around 33.9% and does not skyrocket to the mid-40s, where Gallo lived most of the 2023 season, it is reasonable to think Severino could provide an upgrade for an AL Central Title-pursuing team. Assuming Severino's strikeout rate hovers around the lower 30s while effectively hitting for power from both sides of the plate, there is a significant chance he can put more than 0.7 fWAR, which Gallo generated during the 2023 season. Severino, being five years younger and roughly $10 million cheaper than Gallo, presents a unique opportunity for the Twins to immediately improve in a hyperspecific area of roster construction while saving an immense amount of money, which is the Pohlad family and, in turn, front office's main goal this offseason. With the Twins set to make relatively drastic payroll cuts this upcoming offseason, they will need to rely more on their young internal options than in past seasons. Though this is a daunting proposition, it could also be a silver lining, and the Twins could end up unearthing a viable power-hitting corner infielder who could provide more value than the $11 million risk they took in Gallo in 2023. Should the Twins put their faith in Severino to replace Gallo's production in 2024? Is giving him the opportunity too risky? Comment below.

Pump the brakes on Brooks Lee. For that matter, the same applies to Austin Martin, Yunior Severino, Jair Camargo, Chris Williams, and DaShawn Keirsey. Lee is the third baseman of the future, hopefully. Martin, Severino, Camargo, Williams, and Keirsey will all likely appear in games for the Twins at some point during 2024, but we don’t need to put the cart before the horse. The Twins have a number of decisions to make with an already crowded infield, a questionable mix at first base, a backup catcher making $10 million in both 2024 and 2025, a hole in centerfield, and an unclear budget for making additions. Many of the aforementioned names could be written in as key contributors in those spots. However, none of those players are beating down the hatches. Lee has 60 games at AAA with a mediocre August and a solid September. Martin similarly has 59 games and one outstanding month in St. Paul. Severino and Keirsey have even less than that. Williams and Camargo are both in their mid-20s coming off great offensive years, but they still haven’t gotten a single plate appearance in MLB. None should be the answer to any question at the beginning of 2024. It would put the Twins in a very difficult spot. If Martin or Keirsey are your personal long-term answer in center field, you’re welcome to that. You might see Camargo as a long-term backup catcher, replacing Vazquez. Forcing that to happen in March is a problem. The recent success of rookies Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien, and Matt Wallner has been incredible, but it’s important not to expect that level of production to be the norm, even for prospects at the top of organizational rankings. It’s not normal. Their success was exceptional. They themselves may struggle to find the same level of success going forward. So often prospects, even those who are hyped and go on to have great careers, struggle in their early stints. Names like Torii Hunter or Michael Cuddyer come to mind, struggling for years to find their footings before becoming mainstays in the Twins lineup for a decade. Other prospects don’t manage to get their footing at all, such as more recent examples like Stephen Gonsalves, Alex Meyer, Oswaldo Arcia, or Joe Benson. It’s difficult to project success, even in players at the upper levels of the minor leagues. Both Jose Miranda and Trevor Larnach have shown flashes of being very good players, but they have also gone through extended stretches that cast a cloud over their long-term outlook—and both were Opening Day starter in 2023. If that’s not the organization showing a reliance on them, I’m not sure what is. Fortunately, Miranda and Larnach were able to be replaced by Lewis and Wallner, respectively, but it would be foolish to assume that that outcome was always a given. What if the team didn’t open the season with Lewis and Wallner in reserve as alternative options? What if they were going to sink or swim with Miranda and Larnach? They would have been in trouble. Likewise, starting 2024 with upper minors depth in key roles is asking for the same. The Twins clearly have a philosophy in this type of situation, and it’s probably the right one—they want depth. That’s exposed in the acquisitions of players like Michael A. Taylor, Joey Gallo, and Donovan Solano. Granted, not all of these types of acquisitions are beneficial, but that’s kind of the point. They want options. Do those options sometimes block our favorite prospects on the depth chart? Sure. But it also allows those prospects to be a short-term backup plan, protecting them and the team. Blocking prospects is the cost of bringing in big league depth. Beginning the year with some sort of big leaguer in those roles ensures better talent is in the organization. Those same big leaguers wouldn’t take a minor league deal to serve as a backup to the prospects. The decision is effectively between bringing in an MLB veteran and having a top prospect as a backup or having a top prospect with a minor league veteran as a backup plan. One of those plans has a better rate of success. It’s risky business trusting a big league role to someone who’s never seen an MLB pitch, and it can go wrong in any number of ways, be it performance or injury. Sure, the MLB veteran could struggle or get injured too, but it’s much more comforting to be able to turn to a top prospect than a career minor leaguer in that event. If any of the aforementioned players do break camp with the team, it’s not the end of the world. They all have the potential to be competent pieces at minimum. It just shouldn’t be what any of us are clamoring for. They’ll be here when it’s time. Right now, the Twins have a division to win.

If the reports hold that the Twins are attempting to cut payroll from over $150m in 2023 to $125-140, the expectations for activity this offseason can be lowered significantly. The downside of this is obvious. The Twins likely can’t afford to bring in a proven slugger like Rhys Hoskins for first base. Safer Sonny Gray replacements, such as Eduardo Rodriguez or Aaron Nola, can be all but written off. There will be plenty of negativity around this news, and it’s all warranted. However, the payroll reduction will create opportunities for some players within the organization, likely the sole positive of pulling back on spending. Austin Martin With center field as one of the primary needs this offseason, Martin could be part of the solution. It would be great to sign Kevin Kiermaier or bring back Michael A. Taylor, but these names may price themselves out of the Twins' plans due to requiring multiple years or a one-year deal at a premium. Willi Castro became a passable center fielder in 2023, and they still hope that Byron Buxton will return to the field at some point. Austin Martin would be the fallback option, undoubtedly getting a big chance to stick in 2024 if everything stays the same. Martin slashed .263/.386/.405 in St. Paul last season, and the Twins are high on his ability to handle center. He stole 16 bases in 59 games, and his six homers were the most he’s hit in a season in professional ball. Martin’s skill set would be a great complement to the Twins' lineup with his ability to get on base and lack of strikeouts, and he could even become a platoon leadoff hitter against lefties if everything breaks right. Yunior Severino Even after Alex Kirilloff’s shoulder injury proved less significant than initially thought, the Twins likely need more confidence in the former top prospect’s ability to lock down first base for 2024. A right-handed option to platoon is a reasonable ask to insulate the position. Such a role may be less of a priority with limited funds available. Severino has little to prove after leading the minors with 35 homers in 2023. He got off to a rough start in his Triple-A debut but finished with a slash line of .233/.320/.511, and the Twins saw enough to add him to the 40-man roster after the season. Severino is a strikeout-prone light tower power hitter with a defensive profile likely to slot in best at first base. His ability to switch hit makes up for some of his lack of versatility, and he could carve out a career for himself as an all-or-nothing slugger capable of being a legitimate offensive weapon when he’s running hot. At 24 years old, Severino’s time may come in 2024, as the first call-up should Alex Kirilloff miss more time. Jair Camargo To combat the financial limitations, the Twins may not only spend less but look to shed salary from places they can afford to add elsewhere adequately. Should they decide to do so, Christian Vazquez becomes a prime candidate to ship out to another team. After not appearing in a single postseason game, it’s obvious Vazquez is the backup to Ryan Jeffers, and his total collapse offensively in 2023 makes him more replaceable despite his still great defense. Camargo profiles as a perfect backup catcher: He spent all of 2023 in St. Paul, hitting .259/.323/.503 with 21 homers in 90 games, he has received solid reviews on his defense and pitch calling, and his raw power gives him enough of a floor to be an asset to an MLB squad for several years. Camargo would likely debut in 2024 regardless after being added to the 40-man. Trading away an MLB catcher may push him onto the Opening Day roster. The Twins have internal options should they slash payroll, as in addition to the listed names above, they have several other young players on their way. Deshaun Kiersey Jr. may create a strong career for himself in center field. Several pitchers, such as David Festa, could see an earlier debut should the Twins shop in the bargain bin to replace Sonny Gray. At least with the deflating news comes the excitement of young players potentially debuting. Are there any other internal options that stand to benefit from the payroll decrease? Let us know below!

It feels like ancient history now, since the Atlanta Braves have come to be viewed as a model franchise, but six years ago they were embroiled in deep controversy. After it was learned the Braves were circumventing league rules around signing international amateur prospects, general manager John Coppolela received a lifetime ban from MLB and 13 minor-league players were released, free to sign with any club. Among them was Yunior Severino, an 18-year-old who had signed with Atlanta for $1.8 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2016. At the time, he was a smallish second baseman coming off a modestly impressive pro debut. Considered one of the best talents to become available in the sudden purge of Atlanta's system, Severino was in high demand before signing with the Twins for $2.5 million. Severino progressed gradually through the Twins system, starting at Elizabethton in 2018 and advancing all the way to St. Paul by the end of this past season. Like many prospects, his development was slowed by the lost COVID season. As Severino matured physically, he started transitioning from second base to third, and by late 2023 was often playing first base or DH. His future in the big leagues likely resides at one of those positions. But on the flip side, as Severino's growing frame has led to a drop in defensive value, it's also led to a massive spike in power. In 2021, between two levels of A-ball, Severino slugged .430 in 98 games. Prior to that point he'd hit 12 total homers in parts of three minor-league seasons. In 2022, Severino burst out of the gates at Cedar Rapids with 11 homers and a .572 SLG in 58 games. He moved up to Class-AA Wichita and added eight more homers while slugging .497 in the final 38 games. This season, between Double-A and Triple-A, the switch-hitter took his prodigious power game to new levels, launching 35 bombs and slugging .546 between the Wind Surge and Saints. It does bear noting that the Triple-A hitting environment was extremely favorable this year. To wit: his .511 slugging percentage after moving up ranked 61st among players with 100+ PA in the International League. His .832 OPS translated to a wRC+ of 100, exactly average. Nonetheless, it's easy to see the appeal of Severino for the Twins in their current situation: a productive power bat with remaining upside, and a potentially inexpensive solution at a position of need. The Twins are planning with a level of uncertainty at first base for 2024. Derek Falvey has been open in stating that it's a position he intends to address via trade or free agency this offseason. Interestingly, the addition of Severino to the 40-man roster will be somewhat restricting in terms of the front office's ability to make additions, so it's very conceivable he could be viewed as a short-term factor in the club's outlook. A 24-year-old switch-hitter who can mash from both sides and just led all the minors in homers? Sounds like a quality piece to have on hand. If Alex Kirilloff is slow to come back from his latest surgery, the Twins could theoretically give Severino a shot in the spring to take over as interim first baseman. Or they could position him as top-line depth at the position. The trouble with relying on Severino to fill a major role is that he represents an offensive profile the Twins might be trying to distance themselves from this offseason. He is very much an all-or-nothing slugger in the same vein as Joey Gallo. Severino's 36.6% K-rate with St. Paul ranked fifth among International League (AAA) hitters, and his 31.2% K-rate with Wichita ranked seventh out of 54 qualified hitters in the Texas League (AA). Unlike Gallo, Severino doesn't offset all the whiffs with a healthy dose of walks. He's just an undisciplined hitter with a big uppercut swing who is looking to hit the ball over the fence every time he steps to the plate. More than a quarter of Severino's hits in 2023 (27.5%) were home runs. Planning around Severino as a part of the mix in 2024 would mean leaning even harder into the power-and-strikeouts identity that defined the Twins this past year, to the frustration of many. It would also mean giving a chance to the prospect they gambled on a half-decade ago as he finally evolves into the kind of feared hitter the Twins envisioned at the time.

We cover the Rule 5 draft and more in the twelfth episode of Destination: The Show. 0:00 Intro 4:00 Craig Counsell to the Cubs 10:14 Kala'i Rosario wins the AFL Home Run Derby 14:32 Rule 5 - what is it? 18:35 What happens when a player is drafted? 21:00 How common is it to find a great player? 25:50 What teams are looking for? 27:30 Brewers Overview - main options 33:15 Other possible Milwaukee adds 36:37 Cubs Overview 48:50 Twins Overview You can support the show by downloading it from wherever you get your podcasts, leaving us a positive review and five star rating at iTunes or Spotify, retweeting show related content on Twitter, and subscribing to the Twins Daily YouTube page. You can follow us @DTS_POD1, @J_D_Cameron, @Jeremynygaard, and @TheodoreTollef1 on Twitter. Send us your prospect and draft related questions for our next episode. Find Destination: The Show on all major podcast platforms including Spotify, iTunes, iHeartRadio and Amazon Music. The show is available on Libsyn, our podcasting platform, in addition to YouTube.

It’s hard to imagine how the Twins’ season would have played out without the team’s trio of rookie players. Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien, and Matt Wallner immediately impacted the roster and helped the club win its third division title in the last five seasons. This trio of rookies all had an OPS+ of 130 or higher while establishing themselves at baseball’s highest level. There have been few times in baseball history where a rookie trio has compiled better totals than Minnesota’s rookies last season. From a team construction standpoint, it would be in the team’s best interest if their prospect pipeline could continue to produce big-league talent, but that can’t always be the case. There are signs of other prospects joining the Twins next season and producing at a high level. Here’s a look at three players who could be Minnesota’s next great rookie trio. Brooks Lee, SS/3B TD Top Prospect Ranking: 2 The Twins have been aggressive with Lee since taking him with the 8th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. In his professional debut, he played at three levels and finished the season at Double-A, where the Wind Surge were on the way to the Texas League Championship Series. In 2023, Lee started the year at Double-A, hitting .292/.365/.476 (.841) with 31 doubles and 11 home runs in 87 games. He was promoted to Triple-A for the stretch run and posted a .731 OPS at a level where he was nearly 4.5 years younger than the average age of the competition. His bat has been his best tool since the Twins drafted him, but there are long-term questions about where he fits on the defensive spectrum. He’s played primarily shortstop in his pro career, but many evaluators feel he will shift to third base as he continues to add muscle to his frame. For the long term, the Twins could employ an infield with Lee at third and shift Lewis over to second base. 2024 Outlook: Lee will start next season in St. Paul, but he projects to make his big-league debut at some point next season. He’s one of the most advanced hitters to come through the Twins’ system in quite some time, and many national outlets will rank him highly on their top-100 lists this winter. Austin Martin, UTL TD Top Prospect Ranking: 7 Martin’s time in the Twins organization has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. Minnesota added Martin as one of the key prospects in the Jose Berrios trade with Toronto. At the time of the trade, he was considered one of baseball’s top 25 prospects. In 2022, he struggled with a .683 OPS at Double-A while dealing with some injuries. The Twins sent him to the Arizona Fall League following the season, and he destroyed the baseball by hitting .374/.454/.482 (.936) with seven extra-base hits in 21 games. Based on this performance, there were high hopes for him entering the 2023 season. Martin suffered a sprained ligament in his right elbow during spring training, and there was a chance he’d need to undergo Tommy John surgery. Instead, he rehabbed the injury and returned to the field in July. In 59 games, he hit .263/.387/.405 (.791) with 11 doubles and six home runs. His days at shortstop are likely behind him, but his athleticism allows him to play center field and second base regularly. 2024 Outlook: The Twins must continue to get Martin back on track so he can make a meaningful impact at the big-league level. Byron Buxton’s future in center field seems like a long shot, so Martin might be able to play a role at an essential up-the-middle defensive position. Yunior Severino, 2B/3B TD Top Prospect Ranking: 12 Severino had a tremendous season on his way to being named the TD Minor League Hitter of the Year. In 120 games, he hit .272/.352/.546 (.898) with 17 doubles and 35 home runs between Double- and Triple-A. The Twins player development team has worked hard with Severino to make more consistent contact, and he seemed to put it all together at the organization’s two highest minor league levels. Next year, he will be 24 and still young to be playing at Triple-A, so there is hope for him to make continued improvements in the years ahead. The Twins will need to add him to the 40-man roster this winter to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, which seems straightforward. Severino has continued to add to his defensive flexibility by playing 125 innings or more at three different infield positions (1B, 2B, 3B). This defensive versatility should help to make him an option when an injury impacts the team’s roster next season. 2024 Outlook: Other prospects will rate higher than Severino on national prospect lists, but he still has an opportunity to be an above-average player at the big-league level. There are other prospects ahead of him on the team’s depth chart, but look for him to debut in the second half of 2024. What kind of impact can these players have on the 2024 roster? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

We have been handing out proverbial hardware this week at Twins Daily. Dameury Pena is our Short-Season Hitter of the Year. Juan Cota is our Short-Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Kody Funderburk was named the Minor League Reliever of the Year. Cory Lewis is the choice for Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. Today, we announce our Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. You might agree with our choice when you're done reading this article, but hopefully, you will see many excellent options. There were several solid offensive performances this season by players up and down the organizational ladder. Does this year's winner fit well into our list of previous winners? Certainly. PREVIOUS WINNERS 2012 - Oswaldo Arcia 2013 - Miguel Sano 2014 - Mitch Garver 2015 - Max Kepler 2016 - Daniel Palka 2017 - Mitch Garver 2018 - Alex Kirilloff 2019 - Trevor Larnach 2021 - Jose Miranda 2022 - Matt Wallner Here are the guys that rounded out the Hitter of the Year ballots: Honorable Mentions 2B/OF Austin Martin, 24, St. Paul - 59 G, 54-205, .263/.387/.405 (.791), 11-2B, 6-HR, 28 RBI, 36 BB, 43 K. C/OF Ricardo Olivar, 22, Fort Myers - 100 G, 106-372, .285/.403/.452 (.855), 28-2B, 2-3B, 10-HR, 58 RBI, 59 BB, 93 K. IF Jorel Ortega, 22, Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids - 120 G, 117-456, .257/.361/.445 (.807), 34-2B, 5-3B, 14-HR, 75 RBI, 69 BB, 133 K. IF/OF Anthony Prato, 25, Wichita/St. Paul - 115 G, 92-361, .255/.402/.435 (.847), 25-2B, 2-3B, 12-HR, 60 RBI, 79 BB, 104 K. C/1B Chris Williams, 26, St. Paul - 95 G, 73-309, .236/.352/.495 (.846), 13-2B, 2-3B, 21-HR, 75 RBI, 51 BB, 122 K. Others Receiving Votes Kyle Garlick, Trevor Larnach, Alex Isola, Noah Cardenas, Yoyner Fajardo, Rubel Cespedes. Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year Here are the top seven players for the Twins Daily Hitter of the Year, leading up to the choice for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. 7. OF DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., 26, Wichita / St. Paul 130 G, 144-490, .294/.366/.455 (.821), 18-2B, 8-3B, 15-HR, 61 RBI, 50 BB, 124 K. Keirsey was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2018 out of the University of Utah. After he missed time with injuries in 2019 and 2021, he has been one of the organization's more exciting and underrated prospects. His combination of speed with some power is very intriguing. He can be a top-of-the-order type of Hitter or hit anywhere in the lineup. He takes pitches, knows the strike zone, gets on base, and once there, he can steal bases. After stealing 42 bases in 2022, he stole 39 bags in 2023. Defensively, he has excellent speed and range and can play all three outfield positions. 6. SS Brooks Lee, 22, Wichita / St. Paul 125 G, 138-501, .275/.347/.461 (.808), 39-2B, 3-3B, 16-HR, 84 RBI, 56 BB, 91 K For many, Brooks Lee was the best pure hitter in the 2022 draft, and somehow, he was available for the Twins with the eighth overall pick. He signed fairly quickly, and after four games in the FCL games, he played in 25 games for Cedar Rapids and the final two games in Wichita, where he was also on the Wind Surge playoff roster. He spent most of 2023 with the Surge and played well. In 87 games, he hit .292/.365/.476 (.841). He hit 11 homers, and his 31 doubles led the league at the time of his promotion. He ended the season with 38 games in St. Paul. He hit just .237/.304/.428 (.731), but he added eight doubles, three triples, and five home runs. Lee strikes me as someone whose tools and athleticism won't jump off the charts. He may not stand out if you were to watch one game. But his at-bats will be good, and he will make all of the plays at shortstop. And at the end of the year, he will be hitting .280ish, get on base about 35% of the time, hit a ton of doubles and up to 20 homers, and have a high fielding percentage. When drafted, we knew his floor was high. Then he put up these solid numbers as a 22-year-old in his first full professional season, and it's fair to say that his ceiling also continues to move up. 5. OF Emmanuel Rodriguez, 20, Cedar Rapids 99 G, 85-455, .240/.400/.463 (.863), 13-2B, 9-3B, 16-HR, 55 RBI, 92 BB, 134 K Like Lee, Rodriguez is a consensus top-50 prospect in baseball, and for a good reason. He originally signed as a top international free agent in 2019. Unfortunately, he was unable to make his pro debut until 2021. In the GCL, he began to show his immense power potential with 10 home runs in 37 games. He spent the 2022 season in Fort Myers, where he hit nine home runs in just 47 games before a season-ending knee injury. There were some question marks coming into this season, but E-Rod was pushed to Cedar Rapids and continued his rise. He missed some time early in the season with an injury, and he wasn't consistent throughout the year, but the power was there. And considerable speed continued to be a big part of his game. Along with his 38 extra base hits, he had 20 stolen bases in 25 attempts. Defensively, he does a nice job in center field and has good range. Rodriguez certainly profiles as a modern player. He is unlikely to hit for a very high average. However, he will take a ton of walks and hit for plenty of power. The key will be to keep his strikeout rate as low as possible because good things happen when he puts the ball in play. He has a flair for the dramatic. In the Midwest League championship series, he hit two home runs in Game 1 to help the Kernels to a comeback win. Then, in the decisive Game 3, hit a big grand slam to put the Kernels ahead early and held on to win the league's championship. 4. OF Kala'i Rosario, 21, Cedar Rapids 118 G, 112-445, .252/.364/.467 (.832), 27-2B, 3-3B, 21-RBI, 94 RBI, 75 BB, 157 K Rosario was the Twins fifth-round pick in 2020 out of high school in Hawaii. The previous summer, he and Red Sox prospect Blaze Jordan put on shows in home run contests nationwide. Of course, Rosario's pro debut didn't start until 2021. In the GCL that year, he hit .277 with 10 doubles, four triples, and five homers on his way to the Twins Daily Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year. In 2022, he moved up to the Mighty Mussels. In 109 games, he hit .239/.320/.408 (.727) with 21 doubles, three triples, and 12 home runs. Not huge numbers, but he held his own for a 19-year-old in the pitcher-friendly atmosphere. The Twins were aggressive with him in 2023, and he proved them right. In 118 games in Cedar Rapids, he hit .252/.364/.467 (.832) with 27 doubles and three triples. His 21 homers and 94 RBI led the Midwest League and earned him the league's MVP award. No surprise Rosario will have to work hard to cut down the strikeouts as he continues to grow and develop. He will get some extra opportunities in the Arizona Fall League over the next six weeks. Will the Twins add him to their 40-man roster in November? That will be an interesting decision. 3. OF Andrew Stevenson, 29, St. Paul 106 G, 132-416, .317/.395/.522 (.916), 23-2B, 7-3B, 16-HR, 57 RBI, 42 BB, 97 K Stevenson was the second-round pick of the Nationals in 2015 out of LSU. Just over two years later, he made his big-league debut. Between 2017 and 2020, he played in 139 games for the Nationals. Then, in 2021, he played in 109 games for the Nationals. He spent the full 2022 season with Matthew Lecroy at the Rochester Red Wings. The Twins signed him on a minor-league deal in early March and sent him to the Saints. While he provided a potentially young team with a veteran presence and some depth, I can't imagine they believed he would put up the tremendous numbers he did. He hit for average. He has on-base, leadoff batter skills. He has some extra base hit power with his 23 doubles, seven triples, and 16 home runs. He had 44 steals in 49 chances. What a great season, he 100% earned and deserved his call to the Twins in late August. He can be a pinch-runner and late-inning defensive replacement in the big leagues. He also takes the kind of plate appearances that he can be a fourth or fifth outfielder. 2. C/1B Andrew Cossetti, 23, Fort Myers / Cedar Rapids 95 G, .287/.426/.534 (.960), 23-2B, 4-3B, 15-HR, 63 RBI, 64 BB, 79 K Cossetti grew up in the northwest suburbs of Philadelphia and stayed home for college by attending St. Joseph's University. He spent four seasons playing in the A10. He played 47 games as a freshman and 10 games before the Covid shutdown of the 2020 season. In 2021, he hit .318 (1.170) with 16 homers. Then in 2022, he hit .327 (1.167) with 19 home runs in 54 games. After that season, he played 28 games in the MLB Draft League and hit .410 (1.112) with 13 extra base hits. The Twins used their first pick on Day 3 of the 2022 draft. He played in just one FCL Twins game after signing. He began the 2023 season in Ft. Myers and started fast. In 35 games, he hit .330/.462/.607 (1.069) with 11 doubles and six home runs. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids, and after a slow start, he hit .262/.406/.492 (.898) with 12 doubles, three triples, and nine home runs over 60 games. Considering the power potential Cossetti has shown, his 79 strikeouts in 392 plate appearances (20.2%) is very solid. Defensively, he is a work in progress behind the plate, but he knows what he needs to work on and will do so in the Arizona Fall League. He made 44 starts this season as a catcher and 20 at first base. 1. IF Yunior Severino, 23, Wichita / St. Paul 120 G, 127-467, .272/.352/.546 (.898), 17-2B, 3-3B, 35-HR, 84 RBI, 51 BB, 173 K Severino was a high-profile international signing by the Atlanta Braves in 2016. When the Braves were found to have violated rules, Severino and others were deemed free agents. The Twins swooped in and signed him to a second seven-digit signing bonus. He has been moved up consistently by the Twins since the lost 2020 season. It has been a consistent improvement from year to year. In 2021, he hit eight homers. He hit 19 homers in 2022 between High-A and Double-A. This year, he tied for the minor-league lead with 35 home runs. "Anytime you tie for first in the minor leagues in home runs, you're deserving of Minor League Hitter of the Year consideration," said Twins Director of Player Development Drew MacPhail. He continued, "Yunior's calling card is his massive raw power and ability to hit the ball hard - which he did an awesome job of translating into games this year." It is hard to believe that it has been over seven years since Severino signed, yet he is still just 23. He is still growing physically and in his knowledge of the game. A big part of his power development may sound simple, but it's huge. He kept the ball off the ground. He hit many more line drives, and 35 fly balls became home runs. MacPhail said, "(That was) an issue he's worked hard at over the course of his career." For the Twins player development team, from the front office to the coaches and coordinators, it has to be a lot of fun and a source of pride to work with a kid over the years and see the work rewarded. Now the question becomes, will he be added to the team's 40-man roster this fall? He'd be a quick addition as soon as the Twins playoff run ends, hopefully after a third World Series title. The next question is a lot more complicated. Where will he play? MacPhail noted, "What won't go mentioned, but equally impressive, is the work and dedication Yunior put into his defense this year." So, we are going to mention it here. In 2023, he made 64 starts at third base and 21 at second base. He also made 14 starts at first base after joining the Saints. The infield has plenty of options on a potential Twins' 2024 roster that already includes Alex Kirilloff, Edouard Julien, Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, and Jorge Polanco (who has two options remaining). Add in Severino, Brooks Lee, and Austin Martin; it is a good "problem." Congratulations to Yunior Severino on his fantastic 2023 season. He earned himself the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year award. In addition, join us in congratulating the others written about today. Also, with our Top 7, the Honorable Mentions and the others that received votes deserved recognition. To read much more Twins Daily content on each of these players, click on their names below. Yunior Severino, Andrew Cossetti, Andrew Stevenson, Kala’i Rosario, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Brooks Lee, DaShawn Keirsey, Austin Martin, Ricardo Olivar, Jorel Ortega, Anthony Prato, Chris Williams, Kyle Garlick, Trevor Larnach, Alex Isola, Noah Cardenas, Yoyner Fajardo, Rubel Cespedes.

TRANSACTIONS OF Jordan Luplow recalled from St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Toledo 6 Box Score Lefty Blayne Enlow took the mound Friday night for the Saints last weeknight game of the year. Byron Buxton and Joey Gallo got the night off while Nick Gordon batted second and played second base. Enlow’s final start of the season was just a short three inning outing. He allowed three runs on two hits while striking out four. The lefty out a bow on his season, showing good command with no walks. St. Paul answered the three-run shot in the second inning with a big crooked number. Anthony Prato homered for the ninth time this season, and the two-run blast brought home Hernan Perez. Austin Martin then plated DaShawn Keirsey Jr. on a sacrifice fly. Michael Helman then stepped in with the bases loaded and launched the Saints 14th grand slam of the season. Chris Williams, Tony Wolters, and Nick Gordon all came home making it a 7-3 contest. In the bottom of the third inning, Prato hit his second dinger of the night, and the solo-shot made it an 8-0 game. Not to have his power outdone, Yunior Severino homered in the fourth inning. His 11th big fly at Triple-A pushed the score to 10-3. Brock Stewart worked a scoreless inning of relief striking out two, while Jorge Alcala pitched two scoreless innings and struck out four. Austin Schulfer took over for the next two and was perfect with a pair of strikeouts. Still up 10-3, it was Michael Boyle on to finish out the ninth inning. He allowed a pair of runners and then a big fly to bring them home. Still up 10-6, the lead was enough to hold up. Helman and Prato both had a pair of hits. Gordon was 0-for-3 on the night with a run scored. The 14th grand slam for St. Paul tied the modern era record by a professional team in a season dating back to 2005. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – St. Paul Middle Relief - 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Anthony Prato (St. Paul) - 2-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR(10), BB, K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR(11), K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ St. Paul (6:37PM CST) - RHP Patrick Murphy Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’ game!

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

Seemingly every day, Yunior Severino has continued to mash and hit home run after home run. Find out below how impressive his current streak is, and how unique his season has been in Twins minor-league history. And while it may not be as historically significant, you'll want to see the run that Wind Surge starter Pierson Ohl is on too. The Saints got a nice start from a prospect who appears to have turned around his season. The Wind Surge played another one-run game. And, it was a travel day for the Kernels as they head back home hoping to keep their season alive on Thursday night. All that and much more in Wednesday's Minor League Report. Here are the records of the Twins and their active affiliates through games on Wednesday. Minnesota Twins: 76-70 St. Paul Saints: 80-59 Wichita Wind Surge: 62-71 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 82-50 regular season (0-1 in playoffs) Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Before the games on Sunday, the Twins activated Jorge Polanco from the Bereavement List. To make room, OF Gilberto Celestino was optioned having not played during his short stint with the big club. . SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Louisville 3 (10 innings) Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson started on Wednesday afternoon for the Saints in Des Moines. He gave up one run on three hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out five batters. His ERA this season is now down to 4.92. Now, that may not sound great, but when the calendar turned to July, he was 0-5 with an ERA of 7.47 over 11 starts and 47 innings. However, since then, He is 6-1 with an ERA of 2.95 over 12 games (10 starts) and 61 innings. It has been gradual, but it’s great to see that improvement. Andrew Bechtold came on in relief for the sixth inning. He gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning. However, both outs he recorded were on strikeouts. He has made 18 appearances out of the bullpen since trying to take up pitching on the fly. Blessed with a big arm that is capable of hitting the upper-90s with a fastball, it is worth a shot, and it will be interesting to see if he’s shown enough potential to invest another season in that transition. Bechtold can be a free agent at season’s end. If that happens, it will be interesting to see how he is utilized moving forward. So, it’s important to take his numbers - which haven’t been good - into proper perspective, understanding he hasn’t pitched since high school (10 years ago) and he’s doing it in Triple-A against a lot of veteran players. In 16 innings, he has an ERA of 11.81 and a WHIP at 2.63. He has 14 strikes, but 21 walks, in those 16 innings. But he is 2-1 if you’re interested in Win-Loss record for relievers. Michael Boyle came on and faced four batters. He got all four of them out, two on strikeouts. Jordan Balazovic gave up a hit and struck out one batter in a scoreless inning. The Saints took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Michael Helman scored on a Wild Pitch. The Saints took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth when Hernan Perez hit his 10th home run of the season. The Saints cut their deficit to 4-3 in the top of the seventh inning when Yunior Severino hit his 10th Saints homer and his 34th homer overall. He has homered in three straight games and in five of the past seven games. Only seven players in Twins minor-league history (62 seasons) have hit more home runs in a season than Severino. And he’s got nine games remaining to move up the lists. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Midland 2 Box Score Pierson Ohl continues to roll. The right-hander from Grand Canyon tossed 5 1/3 innings of scoreless ball in this game. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out five batters. He also hit two batters. Early in June, Ohl was promoted to Wichita. In his first three Double-A starts, he went 0-2 with an ERA of 6.61 and opponents hit .297 against him. Since then, he has gone 7-1 with a 1.78 ERA in 13 games (11 starts). His WHIP has been 0.89, and opponents have hit just .198 off of him. He’s got 62 strikeouts and just 12 walks in 70 2/3 innings. Isaac Mattson got out of the sixth inning and then gave up a single run in the seventh inning on a solo homer. Sean Mooney came into a 1-1 tie in the top of the eighth inning. He recorded one out and gave up only an unearned run on two walks. Miguel Rodriguez came into the game with the bases loaded and one out. He got the final two outs of the eighth inning and allowed just one inherited runner to score. He then pitched a scoreless ninth inning. He had three strikeouts. The Surge did score the first run of the game in the second inning. Ben Ross drove in Alex Isola with a single. That was about it for the offense. They had just six hits, and Alex Isola went 3-for-4 in the game and is now hitting .280 on the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids vs. Peoria The Kernels have their backs to the wall in Round 1 of the Midwest League playoffs. Fortunately, the team will find their backs on the walls at their home stadium in Cedar Rapids. And, if they find a way to win Game 2, then Game 3 will be at home as well. They are sending righty Cory Lewis to the mound on Thursday night. He’s arguably been the best pitcher in the Twins organization this season. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, HR(10/34), R, RBI, K Pitcher of the Day – Pierson Ohl (Wichita) - 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 5 K, 83 pitches, 53 strikes (63.9%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 0-for-4 #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-4 #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, HR(10/34), R, RBI, 1 K #15 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 84 pitches, 53 strikes (63.1%) #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 16 pitches, 11 strikes (68.8%) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (5-8, 5.10 ERA) Midland @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (4-10, 5.55 ERA) Playoffs: Game 2: Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - Cory Lewis (9-4, 2.49 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics!

TRANSACTIONS RHP Carlos Luna was assigned to the St. Paul Saints from Wichita, and in his place RHP Alex Scherff was sent back down to the Wind Surge. The Minnesota Twins sent RHPs Jorge Alcala and Chris Paddack on a rehab assignment with Wichita. The Twins signed 17-year-old Venezuelan catcher Irvin Nunez. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Iowa 1 Box Score The St. Paul Saints trail the International League second-half leaders, the Durham Bulls, by four games heading into their penultimate week of play. While they lead the West division by one-and-a-half games, only the first- and second-half league winners advance to the postseason in Triple-A play. The Saints wasted little time putting runs on the board, scoring one in the top of the first and two in the second for an early 3-0 lead. In the first, Trevor Larnach drew a two-out walk before Austin Martin drove him in with a double down the left field line. In the second Yunior Severino led off with his 33rd home run of the season, which is good for second in all of the minor leagues. Later in the frame, Jair Camargo clubbed his first triple of the season, and two batters later Michael Helman drove him in with a single. St. Paul went with a bullpen game on Tuesday, with Hunter McMahon working as the opener. He pitched the first two scoreless innings, allowing two hits, walking two, and striking out two. Austin Schulfer then pitched into the fourth inning. In 1 2/3 innings, he gave up one run on three hits and a walk. He struck out two and picked up his sixth win of the season. In the fourth the Saints tacked on an insurance run thanks in part to an error on the Cubs defense. Camargo reached on that error and then stole his first base of the season to get into scoring position. Helman brought him home again with another single and a 4-1 lead. Gotta love those “firsts” on the season for the sturdy backstop in this one! Austin Brice went the next 2 1/3 from the bullpen, getting the Saints through the sixth inning. He allowed just one hit and struck out three. Ronny Henriquez went the next two innings, retiring all six hitters he faced, including a pair of strikeouts. Cole Sands finished out the victory with a scoreless ninth for his third save of the season. He walked one and struck out two. Helman (2-for-5, 2 RBI, SB) and Larnach (2-for-4, R, BB, K, SB) led the way with two hits apiece. Brooks Lee finished 0-for-5. WIND SURGE WISDOM Midland 5, Wichita 2 Box Score After pitching 2 2/3 innings for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels last week, the rehabbing Chris Paddack made the start for Wichita on Tuesday night. He set the RockHounds down in order in each of the first two innings, collecting three strikeouts along the way. After a pair of strikeouts around a single in the third inning, a wild pitch put a runner in scoring position, and another single brought him home for a 1-0 Midland lead. The leadoff man took him deep to start the fourth, but Paddack made it through down 2-0. In four innings, Paddack was charged with two earned runs on four hits and zero walks. He struck out six in total while pounding the strike zone, with 44 of his 58 pitches going for strikes (76%), including nine swinging. The Wind Surge threatened in the bottom of the second with runners on the corners and nobody out, but the pair of strikeouts and a groundout that followed led to no runs on the scoreboard. Another major league rehabber, Jorge Alcala, came on to start the fifth inning, but he did not make it out of it. The first batter lined a single into center field, stole second base, then advanced to third on a balk. After a groundout, Alcala served up a homer for a 4-0 Midland lead before a second groundout finished his outing after 16 pitches. Taylor Floyd got the final out of the fifth and added a scoreless sixth. In 1 1/3 innings, he allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out three. Regi Grace (2 IP, H, R, BB, 3 K) and Francis Peguero (1 IP, H, BB) finished the final three innings for Wichita, keeping it close to give their lineup a chance. That lineup scored their first run of the game in the sixth inning, when singles from Patrick Winkel, Alex Isola, and Aaron Sabato loaded the bases with one out. Ben Ross delivered a sac fly to make it 4-1 at the time, but they couldn’t get a big knock to make it any closer. In the bottom of the ninth they again showed some spark, with Willie Joe Garry Jr., Alerick Soularie, and Yoyner Fajardo hitting consecutive one out singles to make it 5-2. But just as quick as the rally started, it was ended by a double-play ball to end the game. The Wind Surge outhit the RockHounds 11-10 on the game, but each of those 11 knocks were all singles, while the visitors had three go for extra-bases, including a pair of home runs. Fajardo (2-for-5, RBI), Isola (2-for-3, BB, K), and Rucker (2-for-4) all collected two singles to pace the offense. Sabato finished 1-for-3 with a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 4 (Chiefs lead series 1-0) Box Score After finishing the regular season with a Midwest League-leading record of 82-50, and winning both the first and second half West Division titles, the Cedar Rapids Kernels drew the Peoria Chiefs as their Division Series opponents. The Chiefs finished six games back of the Kernels in the second-half, and 13 games back overall on the season, with a record of 69-63. Right-hander Andrew Morris got the starting nod for the Kernels and retired six in a row after allowing a double to his first hitter of the game. Cedar Rapids loaded the bases with one out in the second inning, but were only able to score one on a Jose Salas fielder's choice for an early lead. To start the third inning Morris gave up a solo home run to tie the game at one, then three consecutive singles in the fourth led to a 2-1 lead for the Chiefs. After retiring the first two hitters in the fifth, an infield single was followed by another homer, and it was 4-1 Peoria. Morris finished five total innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and a walk. He struck out five. After Morris’ exit, the Kernels relief duo of Mike Paredes and John Stankiewicz was lights out. Paredes went two innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four. Stankiewicz set the Chiefs down in order in the eighth, needing just eight pitches to do so. Down 4-1 in the top of the eighth inning, the Kernels finally were able to close the gap, and it took the Midwest League home run king to do so. After a Noah Miller single to put a man on base, Kala’i Rosario launched a two-run homer to dead center that traveled 416 feet to make it 4-3. In the ninth, the Kernels got their chances. Luke Keaschall and Noah Cardenas started the inning with a pair of walks. Jose Salas was then given the task of bunting them over, which was a questionable choice at that point, as just one of the nine pitches to that point was a strike. Unfortunately he not only failed to do so, but also seemed to swap the momentum. The first pitch was in the dirt, but he stabbed an attempt at it anyway. Then the next pitch he nearly bunted into a double play to the catcher, but it was ruled foul. He then watched strike three go by for the innings first out. Kyler Fedko went down swinging next, and it was up to leadoff man Noah Miller. His grounder to third base looked like it would end the game, but almost inexplicably the third baseman went for the tag instead of stepping on third base. In the fray, the ball popped out of his glove for an error, and the bases were loaded for Emmanuel Rodriguez. On a 1-1 count, Rodriguez made contact, chopping one toward first base. He hustled out of the box but the throw to the pitcher at first just beat him. The Kernels head back to Cedar Rapids down 1-0 in the series, needing to win both games at home to advance in the playoffs. Of note for this series, is that the Chiefs and Kernels played a total of 21 times during the regular season, and 12 of those matchups were decided by one run. Another three had just two runs between them, so the final score shouldn’t be surprising to either squad. The Kernels will send right-hander Cory Lewis to the mound looking to even the series at home on Thursday. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Mike Paredes, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2 IP, H, 4 K) Hitter of the Day - Yunior Severino, St. Paul Saints (1-for-2, R, HR, RBI, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out our full top 20 list here and how they performed on Tuesday below! #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 0-for-5, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5, 3 K #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, RBI, BB, K #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-5, K #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-1, 2 BB #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, R, HR (9), RBI, BB, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 PM CDT) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (6-6, 5.07 ERA) Midland @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (7-3, 2.87 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

TRANSACTIONS RHP Alex Scherff placed on temporary inactive list by St. Paul RHP John Klein promoted from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids The Twins released RHP Chad Donato from Wichita's roster SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Louisville 3 Box Score St. Paul turned to Simeon Woods Richardson on Thursday night, and he was nothing short of lights out. He worked six innings and allowed just a single run on four hits and a walk. The run didn’t come until the sixth inning, and he punched out five on the evening. It didn’t take long for the electric Saints lineup to produce. Kyle Garlick launched a two-run homer that brought in Trevor Larnach and put St. Paul ahead. Gilberto Celestino nabbed a homer the hard way, an inside-the-park variety, that brought home Jair Camargo in the second inning. Up 4-0, Woods Richardson had a comfortable lead. For the second time on the night, Garlick spiced things up with a homer. The two-run shot was his 14th of the year, and again plated Larnach in the process. Hernan Perez then singled with both Yunior Severino and Anthony Prato on base, driving both in, and making it an 8-0 ballgame. In the sixth inning, Prato ripped an RBI single to score Larnach for the third time. With the bases loaded, Celestino drew a walk to drive Garlick in and make it a 10-0 game. Louisville recorded their first run in the sixth inning, and then plated a pair in the eighth inning, but it wasn’t nearly enough to make this one a game. While Austin Martin didn't make his mark with the bat tonight, he certainly made his presence felt with the glove. The Saints recorded a whopping 14 hits on Thursday with Larnach, Garlick, Severino, Prato, and Camargo all recording a pair each. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Corpus Christi 1 Box Score The Wind Surge gave the ball to Pierson Ohl on Thursday night and he worked 5 1/3 innings allowing one run on four hits. Ohl also gave up a walk while striking out four. His one mistake came on a home run that Chad Stevens sent to left field. Wichita jumped out to an early advantage when Seth Gray crushed his ninth home run of the season. A second inning solo shot represented the game’s first run. Corpus Christi responded with a solo shot of their own in the bottom half and the game stayed tied until the ninth inning. Needing some separation to avoid extras, Wichita made things happen in the ninth inning. Willie Joe Garry Jr. stole second base, and when catcher C.J. Stubbs sailed the throw, he came around the score. The costly miscue put Corpus Christi behind by a run with only three runs to work with. Picking up six hits on the night, no one recorded more than one hit for Wichita. The late run was enough to win it. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 11, Cedar Rapids 6 Box Score C.J. Culpepper made the start on Thursday night for the Kernels, and unfortunately it was a tough outing for him. He lasted just two innings while allowing seven runs on seven hits. Culpepper also walked two and struck out just one. Despite a very good season, this wasn’t an outing to hang his hat on. Trailing 7-0 by the third inning, the Kernels didn’t fold and looked to bounce back. Jefferson Morales doubled home Misael Urbina to put Cedar Rapids on the board. In the fourth inning Luke Keaschall added another when he singled home Jorel Ortega. Then in the fifth inning, Kala’i Rosario kept up his hot-hitting while blasting his 21st dinger of the season. The three-run shot also scored Noah Miller and Emmanuel Rodriguez while bringing the Kernels within two. Wisconsin added a pair of runs back in the fifth inning to push it back to a four-run lead. Adding another pair in the seventh inning, it was an 11-5 game and Cedar Rapids found themselves staring at a sizeable deficit once again. Attempting to mount a comeback, the Kernels gained a run back when Rodriguez drew a bases loaded walk in the eighth inning to score Keaschall. They couldn't capitalize with other runners on base however. Unable to add in the ninth inning, the Kernels dropped the contest by five. The Kernels had just five hits Thursday night, and while Rosario posted three RBI, no one added multiple hits. MUSSEL MATTERS Bradenton 9, Fort Myers 5(F/7) Box Score With inclement weather in the area, the start of Thursday night’s tilt for the Marauders and Mighty Mussels was delayed. After finally getting underway, Miguelangel Boadas took the ball for Fort Myers. In the first inning, Nate Baez doubled with Jay Harry scoring and the Mighty Mussels were on the board first. Yohander Martinez added another with a single during the third inning that scored Danny De Andrade. Leading 2-0, the Mighty Mussels gave both back in the fourth inning and saw the Marauders tie the contest. Bradenton jumped on top of Fort Myers with three runs in the fifth inning. The Mighty Mussels weren't ok with playing from behind and immediately stormed back. De Andrade doubled home Ricardo Olivar before Baez traded places with him on a double of his own. Martinez then singled to drive in Baez and make it a tie ballgame. The Marauders loaded the bases in the top of the seventh inning and rather than emerge unscathed, the Mighty Mussels gave up a grand slam. The 9-5 lead was going to be difficult to overcome with just three outs left. Fort Myers couldn't mount a late comeback and that was enough to do them in. With both squads recording ten hits on the evening, Fort Myers saw two each come from De Andrade, Baez, and Martinez. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day – Kyle Garlick (St. Paul) - 2-3, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR(14), 2 BB PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, R, RBI, 3 BB #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-6, 2 K #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-3, BB, K #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, RBI, BB, K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, R, 3 RBI, HR(21), BB, K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-6, R, 2 K #15 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B(20) FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (6:15PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak Wichita @ Corpus Christi (7:05PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40 CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Matt Gabbert Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games!

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

TRANSACTIONS In Double-A, the Wichita Wind surge were assigned LHP Jordan Carr from Cedar Rapids. RHP Isaac Mattson and SS Ernie Yake were transferred to the development list. RHP Sean Mooney was activated from the 60-day injured list. Down in Fort Myers, RHP Jeremy Lee was assigned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins. On Monday, the Saints announced that RHP David Festa was being promoted from Wichita. RHP Alex Scherff went from the Saints to the Wind Surge. In addition, utility man Michael Helman was taken off of the 60-Day IL and assigned to Wichita. RHP Ricardo Velez and infielder Luke Keaschall were promoted to Cedar Rapids from Fort Myers. Of course, the big transaction was LHP Kody Funderburk having his contract selected by the Twins. He took RHP Oliver Ortega's spot on the 40-man roster. Ortega was moved to the 60-Day IL. Bailey Ober was optioned to St. Paul where he will get the chance to rest heading to September. The Twins released infielder Mikey Perez . He had been on the Kernels roster the past month or so. SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 4, St. Paul 5 (11 innings) Box Score At CHS Field in St. Paul, the Saints went to right-hander Blayne Enlow for the start. He finished the first two innings, but allowed a run in each for an early 2-0 Clippers lead. He allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out two. In the bottom of the second Yunior Severino got him off the hook however, launching his fifth home run with the Saints, and 29th of the season, to put them out front 3-2. Brooks Lee and Trevor Larnach had drawn walks in front of him. The score stayed that way until the ninth inning, as pitching took over for both teams. For the Saints, that was Patrick Murphy who started the season as a key setup man in the bullpen, but in his last five games has gone at least three innings. He completed five scoreless innings in this one, keeping Columbus in check through the seventh. He scattered three hits, walked three, and struck out five. Jordan Balazovic came on for the eighth and had a one-two-three inning. Back out for the ninth, he was struck by some bad luck. A leadoff single put the tying run on base, a weak grounder to second advanced the runner, then another weak grounder up the middle found a hole past a sliding Austin Martin’s glove and the game was tied at three. In extras, the Saints went to Austin Brice and the Clippers struck first with a run-scoring double to make it 4-3 in their favor. He picked up two strikeouts after that to keep the game within one. In the bottom half the Saints took advantage of a little league play on an Andrew Stevenson chopper to first to tie it. It clanked off the first baseman’s glove, he threw it away toward first base to allow Jair Camargo to score, and a throw home was offline allowing Stevenson to reach second. Lee and Larnach weren’t able to bring Stevenson home, and it went to the 11th inning. Brice picked up where he left off, striking out the first two hitters of the inning, and getting a grounder to give the Saints an easier shot at the win in the bottom half. Larnach started on second base and advanced to third on a grounder, before Severino delivered a sac fly to walk it off. Brice struck out five of the seven batters he faced in extra innings, picking up his third win of the season. Larnach led the way with two hits in four at-bats, also drawing a walk and scoring two runs. The Saints were outhit 11-to-5 on the game and were just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, but did just enough to pull out the win late. Willi Castro was 0-for-4 with a pair of K’s in his rehab appearance. Stevenson was 1-for-5 and stole his 43rd base. Martin finished 0-for-4 but drew a walk and stole his 14th base. Severino finished with four RBI and the game winner. WIND SURGE WISDOM San Antonio 2, Wichita 5 Box Score Wichita got on the scoreboard first in this one, putting up a crooked number in the third inning. Jake Rucker drew a walk to lead off and Willie Joe Garry Jr. followed with a one-out double. A fielder’s choice from Yoyner Fajardo led to an out at home, but Michael Helman announced his return to action with a three-run homer for the 3-0 lead. Regi Grace got the nod as an opener of sorts, his first start of the 2023 season, and went the first three-plus innings. He retired the first eight hitters he faced, before a single was sent into right field with two outs in the third. The runner tried to stretch it into a double however, and Garry Jr. cut him down at second base to keep Grace’s batters faced at the minimum through three. In the fourth inning Grace gave up a walk and recorded two more outs before reaching his pitch count. In 3 2/3 innings pitched, he allowed just one hit, walked one, and struck out four. 32 of his 48 pitches went for strikes (67%) and lowered his ERA to 3.23 with the Wind Surge. Jordan Carr came on as a piggy-back for his first outing after being promoted to Wichita, and promptly gave up a double. This allowed an inherited runner to score, but he went on to finish 3 1/3 innings himself. He allowed one run of his own on four hits, walked one, and struck out two. In the bottom of the fifth the Wind Surge got a run back thanks to a solo shot from Garry Jr. that made it 4-1 for the home team. They added another insurance run in the eighth when Fajardo led off with a single and stole his 47th base of the season, advancing to third on a throwing error on the play. Patrick Winkel then brought him in with a sac fly for a 5-2 lead. Aaron Rozek finished the final two scoreless innings, picking up his first save with the Wind Surge in the process. He allowed one hit and struck out three. Both teams had just six hits on the game, but the home runs for Wichita provided enough scoring. Garry Jr. was the only hitter with multiple knocks, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Fajardo scored two runs and stole two bases. Top 10 major league prospects, Ethan Salas and Jackson Merrill of the Missions and San Diego Padres organization, finished the game a combined 1-for-8, with Merrill striking out twice. Salas signed in January and turned 17 in June. He is the younger brother of Kernels infielder Jose Salas . KERNELS NUGGETS Lake County 1, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score The Kernels got a very solid, if unspectacular, start from right-hander Andrew Morris. In six innings he held the Captains to just one run on four hits. He struck out only two and walked three, working around traffic to win the battles all game. He improved to 5-1 in the Midwest League as his bullpen and a new hitter in the lineup took care of business. Cedar Rapids tied the game at one in the bottom of the fourth, with Luke Keaschall taking advantage of a pair of walks in front of him to drive in a run with a single in his first game as a Kernel. He struck again in the sixth, driving in Jorel Ortega with another single to give the home team a 2-1 lead. Mike Paredes came on for the seventh inning and worked two scoreless frames. He allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out three. Still up by one in the ninth, the Kernels went to Jarret Whorff to close it out. He struck out the first hitter he faced before giving up a single. The Captains got the tying run to third base, but Whorff got both hitters after the single to pick up his second save with Cedar Rapids. The Kernels had just six hits on the game, but Keaschall came through with runners in scoring position, collecting both their hits in 10 such at-bats. Emmanuel Rodriguez joined him in the multiple hit category, finishing 2-for-4 with a double. Noah Cardenas also added a double to the effort. Jeff Johnson of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids has been following and covering the Kernels for a long time, including all of the seasons since 2013 when the Twins spent their first season in Cedar Rapids. He notes that this 2023 team is one of the best in the city's vast baseball history. Please follow Jeff on Twitter/X at @jeje66, and check out his article on how good this team has been. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers @ Clearwater - Postponed. As Hurricane Idalia approaches the gulf coast, games in the Florida State League are being postponed and/or canceled. Tuesday’s matchup is currently scheduled to be made up on September 1st, while Wednesday’s contest has been canceled. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Austin Brice, St. Paul Saints (W, 2 IP, H, R, 5 K) Hitter of the Day - Yunior Severino, St. Paul Saints (1-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out our full top 20 list here and how they performed on Tuesday below! #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2B #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, BB, K, SB (14) #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-3, 2 K #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, 2 RBI #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI, 2 K #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 2 H, ER, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Columbus @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (Triple-A debut) San Antonio @ Wichita (6:35 PM CDT) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (3-0, 1.57 ERA) Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (4-1, 2.77 ERA) Fort Myers @ Clearwater - Canceled. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

TRANSACTIONS RHP Oliver Ortega recalled by Minnesota RHP Jordan Balazovic optioned to St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Indianapolis 6 Box Score Randy Dobnak made a Sunday start for the Saints and went 2 1/3 allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits, two walks, and three strikeouts. St. Paul scored in the first inning on a Trevor Larnach sacrifice fly that brought home Andrew Stevenson. They added another in the second inning on Yunior Severino’s third Triple-A homer. Running into trouble during the third inning, the Saints saw Indianapolis put up a five-spot. Severino then answered with his second dinger of the game, another solo blast, in the fourth inning. The sixth inning saw St. Paul regain the lead. Severino singled home DaShawn Keirsey Jr. Before Gilberto Celestino tripled home Jair Camargo and Severino. Stevenson then singled allowing Celestino to score and the four-run frame gave them a two-run lead. Although the Saints gave up an eighth inning run, they kept the lead in the ninth inning. Severino led the charge with three hits, accounting for half from St. Paul's total. Kody Funderburk continues to throw well for St. Paul as he struck out one across 1 1/3 innings and picked up his fifth save. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 12, Springfield 1 Box Score It was a good day to start for the Wind Surge as the offense exploded for 12 runs on 16 hits. Pierson Ohl was on the bump and turned in five innings of one-run baseball. He gave up just two hits while striking out three. Springfield scored their only run in the top of the first inning, and then Wichita took over. Tanner Schobel singled home Ernie Yake in the third inning to kick things off. Alex Isola followed with a single to score Yoyner Fajardo and Schobel before Jake Rucker went deep with a two-run big fly. Yake launched his first homer in the fourth inning, and David Banuelos doubled in Patrick Winkel and Isola. Doubling again in the eighth inning, Banuelos brought home Schobel and Winkel before Rucker traded places scoring Isola and Banuelos. The laugher saw Rucker, Yake, and Isola each record three hits. Schobel and Banuelos each had a pair of their own as well. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 1 Box Score Zebby Matthews started Sunday for Cedar Rapids. He twirled 4 ⅔ of one-run ball. Matthews scattered five hits and two walks while striking out five as well. Cedar Rapids scored first when Ben Ross drove in Carson McCusker on a sacrifice fly. Kala’i Rosario launched his 18th homer of the season, bringing Jefferson Morales and Noah Miller home, to make it a 4-0 game. Wisconsin answered with only one run and the Kernels cruised to a victory. Miller contributed two of the four Cedar Rapids hits Sunday afternoon. Mike Paredes improved to 6-1 with the victory. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 13, Palm Beach 8 Box Score Jose Olivares took the ball for the Mighty Mussels on Sunday morning and lasted just 1 1/3 innings. The short start came with four runs allowed on three hits, two of which left the yard. Olivares also walked three while striking out two. Danny De Andrade blasted his tenth homer of the year to kick off scoring during the first inning. In the top of the second inning, Dillon Tatum singled home Yohander Martinez before Jay Harry drove in Alec Sayre with a single of his own. Fort Myers got behind with Olivares’ tough inning coming in the bottom of the second. The Mighty Mussels answered in the fourth inning when Gregory Duran brought in Sayre with a ground out, and Maddux Houghton raced home on a wild pitch. It wasn’t until the seventh inning that Fort Myers scored again. Rubel Cespedes ripped a double to score Tatum and Jay Harry before Sayre’s single brought De Andrade home. The Mighty Mussels gave two back in the bottom half but still led 9-6. Martinez singled in the eighth inning to score Harry and De Andrade. Sayre then singled in Cespedes and Houghton doubled home Martinez. Fort Myers had doubled up Palm Beach by a 13-6 tally. The Cardinals got two of their own in the ninth inning, but it wasn’t enough to erase the deficit. Harry and Sayre both had three-hit games while Martinez and Houghton each had a pair. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Pierson Ohl (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Hitter of the Day – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 3-4, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR(4) 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: #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-5, 2 R, RBI #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, 3 RBI, HR(18) #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 3-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR(4) #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 1-4, 3 R, RBI, HR(10), K #20 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05PM CST) - TBD Dayton @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games!

Young players are wild cards. Sometimes they pop right up, like Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner, and become instant contributors. Sometimes they flop, like Jose Miranda (though a healthy shoulder could certainly improve things). But the energy that a young star can provide to a lagging team is immeasurable, especially in the postseason. Jeremy Pena and Bryson Stott proved that last year in their team’s respective runs. Sometimes a young guy plays a bit part that changes the scope of how a team operates, like Terrance Gore as pinch runner extraordinaire for the Royals’ World Series teams, or David Price in the bullpen for the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays. Do the Twins have anyone that can provide the sort of youthful magnetism that sparks runs through the playoffs? Yeah, there’s a few. Austin Martin Martin has created some potential call-up buzz with his hot start to August. He offers elite speed, controls the strike zone and hits right-handed, all strengths the major-league team seems to lack. If he played for, say, the Rays or Orioles, his skillset wouldn’t matter nearly as much. Those teams have plenty of dynamic young players who can hit lefties and spark a rally. He also doesn’t have power, and frankly, that may only help the Twins. Since the departure of Luis Arraez, they could use a guy the opposing pitcher knows is not trying to go bridge with every swing (something I wrote about previously). In the playoffs, that can be terrifying when a single in the right moment can swing the outcome of a game. Similarly, if Martin reaches base late in the game (his OBP is currently .381 for the Saints) that can create high anxiety for a pitcher, especially if they struggle to hold runners on. The team is certainly keeping a close eye on his progress to see if they want to bite the bullet and add Martin to the 40-man and active roster before rosters expand. DaShawn Keirsey A late-blooming outfielder, Keirsey played well this year for the Wind Surge before being called up to St. Paul less than two weeks ago. He is a major speed threat (33 steals in 2023) who plays a strong center field and can pop the occasional home run. A lefty, he could be a platoon-mate for Michael A. Taylor, much like Nick Gordon before his injury. He’s 26, so the Twins should see what they have in Keirsey before they have to make a 40-man decision on him this offseason. Chris Williams Williams has major power from the right side of the plate, plays first base and can play catcher as well. He tends to go on major home run heaters, and a well-timed one could be a boon to an offense lacking in both right-handed bats and first basemen. He has posted a .919 OPS for the Saints this year and, like Keirsey, would have to be added to the 40-man this offseason or else be exposed to the Rule 5 draft (as they both have the last two years). Andrew Stevenson The speedster has played left and center field for the Saints after being picked up off waivers from Washington after playing parts of five seasons in the big leagues with the Nationals. He has an .895 OPS this year, with 38 steals and 14 home runs. He could be a lightning-in-a-bottle-type who plays with the sort of urgency you can only get from a 29-year-old trying to prove he belongs. However, he hits left-handed and is better suited for left-field, so he wouldn’t make sense without an injury or two to the current crop of Twins lefty corner bats. Brooks Lee Lee is still adjusting to Triple-A. He looks the part of an impact bat and has since before he was drafted eighth overall in 2022. He offers pop from both sides of the plate and controls the strike zone. He has a line-drive swing that looked like it would lead to a lot of doubles coming out of college. Potentially more of those liners will turn into home runs as he fills out (and he has). Where the Twins could put him is a big question mark, and they may internally think he’s better off adjusting to Triple-A and playing every day for the time being unless a major infield injury occurs. It would be exciting to see a polished young bat like his in a postseason lineup facing a guy without a full scouting report on him yet. Yunior Severino Severino is a poor man’s Lee, but he’s a little older (24 in October) and has more current power in his profile. He has played both second base and third base, and he can switch-hit. His numbers have improved each of the last three years as he has moved up the system, culminating in a .913 OPS this year with 25 homers (all but one in Wichita). He has also been playing some first base recently, meaning the Twins may be looking at him if Joey Gallo continues to struggle and Alex Kirilloff isn’t able to return from his shoulder injury. Kody Funderburk Funderburk is a left-handed reliever, and the Twins currently only have one in their pen in 36-year-old Caleb Thielbar. It may be worth seeing if Funderburk, 26, can contribute in the big leagues. He has struck out 36% of batters thus far in 2023. His walk rate is a little high (11.2%), but he isn’t Jovani Moran. Surprising a playoff opponent with a lefty they have never faced could be an advantage in a short series. Roster Implications None of these guys are on the 40-man roster, so adding them to the active roster would require some difficult decisions. It is possible. If the team were to add, say, two players to the 40-man, they could move Jose Miranda and Jorge Alcala to the 60-day IL. They could also outright Oliver Ortega, who had a nice run but doesn’t look like an impact arm long-term. Adding players to the active roster is trickier. Gallo is a DFA candidate if his recent adjustments are a mirage, while Kyle Farmer has just one more year of arbitration and hasn’t done the thing he’s most skilled at (crushing lefties) this year. The presence of Donovan Solano and Royce Lewis make him, arguably, redundant, though he is beloved in the clubhouse. Willi Castro and Jordan Luplow both have options, as well. I would hazard a guess that at least one of the players currently on the 26-man roster will succumb to some sort of injury in the coming weeks. But this team shouldn’t wait. Players need to be on the 40-man before rosters expand to be eligible for the playoffs (although they can be creative with injury replacements), and trotting out a lineup that features Luplow and Castro at the top of it as they did in Philadelphia this weekend borders on unserious. Getting a speed threat who hits better than Castro would be nice. Getting a first baseman who can show a little fight behind in the count would help, as well (sorry Joey). And one more reliever who isn’t composed mostly of home run induced scar tissue would be lovely (I still appreciate you, EP). Also available are old friends Gilberto Celestino, Trevor Larnach, and Randy Dobnak, as well as Triple-A stalwarts Jair Camargo and Anthony Prato. All represent quite an improvement on the options the team had last year, when we were mulling the addition of Michael Helman (currently injured), and no one else. What do you think? Should the team continue to trust its veteran depth pieces or shock the system with some of its young talent stockpile? Sound off in the comments!

TRANSACTIONS INF Hernan Perez activated off IL by St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 7, St. Paul 0 Box Score After being promoted yesterday, Brooks Lee, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., and Yunior Severino all made their Triple-A debuts for St. Paul on Friday night. Blayne Enlow was on the bump. It was a tough start as he lasted just three innings and gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits and four walks. Enlow struck out two. Lee started at shortstop and batted second in this game. In his first Triple-A at-bat, he singled. Keirsey Jr. followed his lead with a single back up the middle. Unfortunately by the sixth inning, the Saints were trailing 6-0. In the seventh inning, the Clippers added another. Severino went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his Triple-A debut. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 14, Wichita 7 Box Score If Friday is the worst start of Marco Raya’s career that would be good. He didn’t record an out and allowed six runs, four earned, on four hits. Raya also walked one with no strikeouts. The Drillers put up a nine-spot to open the first inning and had Wichita way behind the eight ball. The Wind Surge responded with three of their own on an Alerick Soularie walk and a Willie Joe Garry Jr. single, his first Double-A hit. The former brought home Yoyner Fajardo with the latter bringing in Tanner Schobel. The Wind Surge watched that effort evaporate as they gave up three more runs in the second inning. Wichita responded with two in the bottom half on a Schobel double that scored Fajardo and a Patrick Winkel single drove in Schobel. They gave up a run in the fourth and in the seventh inning to extend the deficit, but added one of their own in the eighth and ninth innings. Soularie took a bases-loaded walk, scoring Fajardo in the eighth before Fajardo grounded out to score Garry Jr. in the ninth. Fajardo recorded three hits, and Schobel added a pair of his own. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Lansing 5 Box Score Christian MacLeod was on the bump Friday for Cedar Rapids and turned in five solid innings. He gave up three runs on six hits, but walked just one and struck out three. After giving up a run in the third inning, the Kernels answered back with three of their own in the bottom half. Mikey Perez came home on a wild pitch before Noah Cardenas singled ing Kala’i Rosario and Jorel Ortega. The Lugnuts tied it in the fourth inning, but Cedar Rapids regained the lead during the fifth inning. Ortega tripled to bring home Rosario, and Andrew Cossetti followed with a double to drive him in. Keoni Cavaco then drew a walk on a wild pitch that allowed Cossetti to cross the plate. After giving back a pair in the sixth inning and making things close, the Kernels pulled away during the seventh inning. Misael Urbina singled home Cardenas before Ben Ross reached on a fielder’s choice with Urbina crossing the plate. The 8-5 lead was enough to hold up. Ortega recorded three hits on the day with Cardenas and Urbina both grabbing a pair on their own. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Dunedin 0 Box Score Ben Ethridge made the start Friday night for the Mighty Mussels and worked 5 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball. He gave up only three hits and walked two while striking out five. Ethridge lowered his ERA to 2.18 on the season. Scoreless through five innings, Fort Myers changed things in the sixth inning. Rubel Cespedes doubled for the 23rd time which drove home Luke Keaschall and Nate Baez. Cespedes then crossed the plate thanks to a Dunedin throwing error. Looking to add to their lead in the ninth, Dylan Neuse singled in Maddux Houghton. Then Danny De Andrade singled to bring Neuse home and make it a five-run game Jackson Hicks finished the game with a two inning save, his third save of the season. Cespedes had three hits. Baez had a pair of his own. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Red Sox 7, FCL Twins 5 Box Score Walker Jenkins got the day off after making his professional debut on Thursday. Carlos Gutierrez took the ball for the Twins on Friday and turned in five innings of three-run baseball. He allowed four hits, walked three, and struck out seven batters. Down 3-0 through four innings, the Twins got on the board in the fifth inning. Byron Chourio reached on an error which allowed Jankel Ortiz to cross the plate. After allowing a three-spot in the top of the sixth inning, the Twins scored three of their own during the bottom half. Harold Grant crushed his third home run of the year which drove in Brandon Winokur and Jose Rodriguez to make it a 6-4 game. The Red Sox added another run in the top of the seventh inning, but Minnesota responded with Ortiz scoring on an Isaac Pena sacrifice fly. Bryan Acuna walked to lead off the ninth inning, and Pena drew a two-out walk to bring up the winning run. However, the Twins came up just short. Chourio was the lone batter to record two hits. DOMINICAN DAILY The Twins were scheduled to play the DSL Guardians Red squad today but action was suspended due to weather. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Ben Ethridge (Fort Myers) - 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day – Jorel Ortega (Cedar Rapids) - 3-5, 2 R, RBI, 3B PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-4, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5 #4 - Marco Raya (Wichita) - 0.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 BB #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-2, 2 K, BB #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-5, 2 R, RBI, 2B, BB, 2 K #12 - Luke Keaschall (Fort Myers) - 1-5, R, 2 K #13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 1-5, 2B, R, 2 K #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K #17 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-3, K #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-3, R, BB, K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland Tulsa @ Wichita (6:05PM CST) - RHP Jaylen Nowlin Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Andrew Morris Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30PM CST) - RHP Jack Noble Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games!

As was the case last month for the Minnesota Twins, their offensive output was not ideal. There’s not much expectation these prospects could replicate this level of production at the highest level immediately, but there were a few slash lines that the Twins wish they were seeing in Rocco Baldelli’s lineup. Before getting into the top five, here are a few honorable mentions. HONORABLE MENTIONS Kyle Garlick - St. Paul Saints - 22-57, .386/.487/.719(1.206), 7 2B, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 12 BB, 24 K Andrew Stevenson - St. Paul Saints - 28-83, .337/.409/.578(.987), 5 2B, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 7 BB, 24 K Noah Cardenas - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 23-60, .383/.441/.567(1.008), 5 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 7 BB, 17 K Ben Ross - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 17-63, .270/.343/.524(.867), 7 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 4 BB, 19 K Carson McCusker - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 28-95, .295/.350/.537(.886), 2 2B, 7 HR, 8 BB, 35 K Ricardo Olivar - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 21-80, .263/.422/.488(.909), 10 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 16 BB, 12 K Jankel Ortiz - FCL Twins - 7-28, .250/.405/.429(.834), 3B, HR, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 9 K Isaac Pena - FCL Twins - 12-37, .324/.405/.405(.810), 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 9 K Dameury Pena - DSL Twins - 20-43, .465/.511/.651(1.162), 4 2B, 2 3B, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 2 K THE TOP FIVE HITTERS Number 5 - Wichita Wind Surge - OF DaShawn Keirsey Jr. - 25-95, .263/.340/.463(.803), 3 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 11 BB, 36 K The Twins selected Keirsey Jr. as a fourth-round pick back during the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. He has been somewhat of a slow-burn type of prospect, and repeating Double-A Wichita for the second straight season, he has put things together in a big way. July was a great month for the outfielder, and he’d probably already be in St. Paul if the top of the Twins system wasn’t so outfield heavy. The power has come on in a big way this year, and 13 homers on the season is one shy of doubling his output last season. Keirsey Jr. should soon get a chance to prove it at the highest level of the farm system, and he’ll have the opportunity to factor in as a fourth outfielder type. Number 4 - Cedar Rapids Kernels - C/1B Andrew Cossetti - 19-52, .365/.485/.615(1.100), 5 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 11 BB, 10 K Playing in his first professional season after being selected in the 11th round of the draft last year, Cossetti has shown extremely well in two spots. He earned an early-season promotion from Fort Myers, and has continued to hit for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. He now owns a .923 OPS at High-A, and that’s while coming out of the gates a bit slow. At 23 years old, he is a bit senior for the level, but he’s been exceptional at the plate hitting for power while showing a high level of discipline. Minnesota’s system is not currently ripe with catching talent, so Cossetti should continue to force his own opportunities with this level of play. Number 3 - St. Paul Saints - IF Anthony Prato - 21-61, .344/.494/.738(1.232), 9 2B, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 16 BB, 17 K The Saints needed an infielder when Prato was promoted earlier this season, and he may have been bored doing Double-A for a second straight season. With just a .553 OPS through 43 games for Wichita, it’s hard to suggest he earned the move up. In reaching St. Paul though, he’s validated the move and has a whopping 1.151 OPS through 37 games. Prato has looked the part of a very strong defensive third baseman, and he’s hitting the cover off the baseball. While he isn’t on the Twins 40-man roster at this point, it’s worth wondering if he’s starting to creep in on the opportunities that would have been ticketed for Jose Miranda. Number 2 - Wichita Wind Surge - SS Brooks Lee - 31-85, .365/.433/.600(1.033), 5 2B, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 10 BB, 10 K Since the Twins selected Lee last year with the eighth overall pick all he has done is hit. His .846 OPS at Double-A Wichita this season has been impressive, and he’s tapped into some nice power having launched 11 longballs this season. July was a great month for the top prospect, and he’s all but certain to reach Triple-A in August. Brooks Lee will have an outside chance to make the Opening Day roster for the Twins next spring, but a better bet is that he factors in at second or third base sometime next summer. Minnesota will continue to hope for this sustained level of production, and nothing we’ve seen from him yet has suggested it will slow. And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: Wichita Wind Surge - IF Yunior Severino - 26-76, .342/.432/.750(1.182), 4 2B, 9 HR, 19 RBI, 10 BB, 21 K The former Atlanta Braves prospect has broken out in a way national outlets always hoped he would. Tied to Kevin Maitan as the cream of that international crop, Severino is launching baseballs for the Wind Surge. This month he had hits in 17 of 20 games played, and he homered in five straight contests. After hitting 19 round-trippers last season, he has already surpassed that number in fewer games during 2023. The bugaboo to Severino’s game is his swing-and-miss tendencies. Racking up a 91/39 K/BB last year, focusing on controlling the zone a bit more was a must in 2023. This season he has a 114/34 K/BB, and having already seen the pitching at Double-A, a better adjustment would have been nice. He’ll still probably see a late season promotion to Triple-A, but the strikeout numbers have to get in check. Minnesota would love to have another option for a power bat at the corner infield spots, and Severino has played plenty of third base. Wichita has used him at second base sporadically this season as well, but opportunity on the big league roster could come elsewhere. We want to congratulate Wind Surge infielder Yunior Severino, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for July 2023. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions.

TRANSACTIONS INF Jose Salas reinstated from development list, transferred to FCL Twins RHP John Klein transferred from FCL Twins to Low-A Fort Myers INF Kamron Willman placed on development list (Fort Myers) RHP Cole Sands reported and active (St. Paul) C Mark Kolozsvary transferred to development list (St. Paul) OF Ryan LaMarre released Saints Sentinel St. Paul 3, Toledo 7 Box Score Randy Dobnak: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Anthony Prato (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, BB, K), Trevor Larnach (2-for-3, R, BB) The Saints were pummeled on Saturday. Randy Dobnak was cromulent; the former major-leaguer finished off five innings, but not before surrendering three runs—two coming from a 4th inning homer. He avoided the brunt of the offensive focus, though, as Blayne Enlow was battered even harder, allowing four earned runs over 2 ⅔ frames before mercifully exiting the game in favor of Kody Funderburk. It’s a shame, because St. Paul once led this game, if for just a short while. Gilberto Celestino beckoned two home in the 1st on a single, and Kyle Garlick brought home a third score off a third inning sacrifice fly. The scoring ended, though. Balls found gloves, and the Saints couldn’t take full advantage of six free passes, as their rallies were curt and fruitless. There were still some notable performances: Anthony Prato continued to rake with two hits and a walk, improving his AAA OPS to 1.122, while Jair Camargo walked three times—the first time he had done so in a game since April 6th. Colt Keith, ranked as the 38th-best prospect in MLB, struck out twice in five trips to the plate. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 7, Frisco 6 Box Score Travis Adams: 4 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 1 K HR: Yunior Severino (23, 24) Multi-hit games: Yunior Severino (2-for-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB) The Wind Surge won on a walk-off on Saturday. Yunior Severino is in the spotlight, and no one else can possibly take it from him. After setting Wichita’s season home run record the other day, Severino evidently felt unsatisfied, hungry; he blasted a pair of homers to give him even more records to claim. The first bomb—a 413 foot blast in the fifth—made it his fifth straight game with a homer; his second gave him his fifth multi-homer game of the season. That’s also a Wichita record. It’s July. Severino’s power was well-needed, because Travis Adams had nothing. Frisco jumped on him for inning-starting extra-base hits three times, eventually bouncing him from the game in the fourth when he walked the bases loaded following a double. Denny Bentley nearly escaped the mess, but he ended up allowing all three inherited baserunners to score. Aaron Rozek shut things down, though. Utilized as a reliever after struggling as a starter, the Burnsville lefty established the law, holding Frisco scoreless over three dominant innings, giving Wichita’s bats the support they needed to come back. He struck out five. The Wind Surge pushed forward in the ninth, as not one, but two hit by pitches sent a man to second base. Will Holland placed the sac bunt, but the RoughRiders’ pitcher—perhaps wanting to be the hero—tried to nail Seth Gray at third. He didn’t. Firing wildly, the ball rattled around in left field’s foul territory long enough to plate the winning run. Texas’ best prospect—the sixth-finest in MLB, outfielder Owen Carter—walked once in five plate appearances. The RoughRiders are named after the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, notable for their effort in the Spanish-American war of 1898. They were more notable, though, for their commander, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s bravery in the war turned him into a political icon in the states—and he would become President just three years following the war. Kernels Nuggets Game One: Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 4 (10 Innings) Box Score Kyle Jones: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Andrew Cossetti (2-for-4, RBI) The Kernels lost their first game on Saturday, a match paused yesterday for dangerous weather. It went quickly; after finishing eight-and-a-half innings on Friday, the two teams were close to figuring out the winner. The Kernels threatened in the 10th—loading the bases off a pair of walks—but Jorel Ortega struck out, leaving the game in the hand of A.J. Labas. He issued two intentional walks in the frame, finally coaxing a matchup against Eduardo Garcia. A fielder’s choice won it. Game Two: Cedar Rapids 11, Wisconsin 3 Box Score Christian MacLeod: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: Kala’i Rosario (15) Multi-hit games: Noah Miller (2-for-5, R, RBI, BB), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB), Jorel Ortega (2-for-3, 2 B, R, 2 RBI, BB) The Kernels pounded the Timber Rattlers in game two. It started early and never fell off; Jorel Ortega doubled home a run with Ben Ross singling home another one to kick off the first. Ortega may have been thrown out at home to halt the scoring at two, but that didn’t stop the Kernels, as they went on to have three more multi-run innings before the game ended. It was a sweet harmony, with Noah Miller and Emmanuel Rodriguez setting up Kala’i Rosario and Ortega with chances to score runs, and the sluggers doing exactly that. Rosario even left six men on base and still ended up with four RBIs—that’s a fruitful offensive explosion. And it was more than Christian MacLeod needed; the lefty coughed up three runs in the first, but settled down immediately, shutting down the Timber Rattlers four for innings following his gaff. Wisconsin lead-off man Robert Moore is Milwaukee’s eighth-best prospect; he singled and walked twice. Mussel Matters Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 9 Box Score John Klein: 2 2/3 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 0 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Ricardo Olivar (2-for-4, 2 2B, R), Gregory Duran (2-for-4, K) The Mighty Mussels were blown out on Saturday. Starter John Klein didn’t have it. The Brooklyn Park native made his first Low-A outing since a brief start on July 9th, and he probably wishes it were briefer; the Cardinals jumped all over him in the second and third, eventually totaling seven earned runs on his watch. The runs were more than Fort Myers’ hitters could handle; they put together two runs in the fourth, but that was all they could do, as the team could only get one hit with a runner in scoring position. Ricardo Olivar had an impressive individual performance, though, doubling twice to give him 20 on the season. Fort Myers’ bullpen—Wilker Reyes, Jackson Hicks, and Ricardo Velez—pieced together an excellent effort to support their starter; they combined for eight punchouts and just one earned run over 6 1/3 innings. Catcher Leonardo Bernal—going 2-for-4 with a walk—is the Cardinals’ seventh-best prospect. Complex Chronicles FCL Twins 2, FCL Red Sox 8 Box Score Carlos Gutierrez: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Daniel Pena (2-for-4, R) The FCL Twins also lost a resumed game on Saturday. Pitchers Matt Gabbert and Julio Bonilla were effective, perhaps both a little lucky and unlucky following the rain. They allowed just one combined earned run, but also allowed 10 hits over five frames, striking out eight to deliver the game to its conclusion. Recent draft picks Luke Keaschall and Brandon Winokur covered the middle infield on Saturday; they went hitless with three strikeouts in seven at-bats. Rehabbing former big leaguers Bradley Zimmer and Dan Altavilla appeared for the FCL Red Sox. Zimmer—once a top prospect for Cleveland—collected three hits, while Altavilla earned the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Dominican Dailies The DSL Twins did not play on Saturday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Rozek Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Yunior Severino PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 3B, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-3, BB, K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-4, K #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-3, BB, 2 K #12 - Luke Keaschall (FCL Twins) - 0-3, BB, K #13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 0-4, 2 K #15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, K #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-3, 2B, R, BB, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ St. Paul (2:07 PM) - RHP Louie Varland Frisco @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (1:10 PM) - RHP Andrew Morris Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM) - RHP Jack Noble

TRANSACTIONS C Nate Baez activated from 60-day IL by Fort Myers C Dillon Tatum placed on development list by Fort Myers SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Toledo 2 Box Score Friday saw Dallas Keuchel take the ball in what we can assume will be his final start with the St. Paul Saints as his August 1 opt-out date looms. He was opposed by former Twins prospect, Sawyer Gipson-Long, who Minnesota sent to the Tigers last year in the Michael Fulmer trade. Trevor Larnach was also back in the Saints lineup after being optioned to make room for Byron Buxton. He batted third and started in right field. In the third inning, with Tigers top prospect Colt Keith up, Keuchel spiked a pitch that got away from catcher Jair Camargo just enough to allow the runner to cross home. Keith then reached on a single, but Keuchel got Tyler Nevin to end the inning. After Camargo singled in the fourth inning, Austin Martin stepped in and yanked a pitch down the left field line. It stayed inside of the pole and was deposited into the Toledo bullpen putting St. Paul up 2-1. Tigers prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy did get Keuchel for a homer to center in the fifth inning, but the damage was limited to one. Mark Contreras stepped in and took the first pitch of the sixth inning out to right center field, putting the Saints back on top. Martin then beat out a check-swing single for his third hit of the night before Chris Williams drew a walk. Ernie Yake stepped in and blasted a three-run shot to right field, and St. Paul was up 6-2. With the big lead, Keuchel’s night was done. He ends his sixth start for the Saints owning a 1.13 ERA and toting a 28/12 K/BB. Rehabbing Twins reliever Caleb Thielbar took over to work the seventh inning. For good measure, St. Paul added again in the eighth inning, and it was Yake launching his second homer of the night. This one was a solo shot to make it a 7-2 game. Gilberto Celestino took a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded to drive home Andrew Stevenson and make it an 8-2 lead. Oliver Ortega slammed the door during his second inning of work, striking out five of the six batters he saw, and the fireworks could be joyous. Both Martin and Yake had three-hit nights for the Saints. Talking after the game tonight, Keuchel felt good about his outing saying, "My in-zone pitches were better than they have been, and I felt good about how I have been trending. I've pushed myself this week in the bullpen with how hot it was." After a longer middle inning allowing some traffic, Keuchel buckled down. "As my body has felt better, I've been trying to move quicker. It just so happened I was moving too quick for my own good and a lot of borderline, non-competitive pitches got me in situations I don't want to be in. I knew if I could go back and fill up the middle of the zone I was going to be fine." Knowing that this is his last start for the Saints, Keuchel said, "I know my opt-out is on Tuesday. Derek (Falvey) and the organization have been very transparent with me. A lot of teams that need help still are figuring out moves in the big leagues. This is a place that I want to be, and I'd still like to be up with Minnesota. I have provided what I needed to do, and shown myself what I am still capable of doing." Keuchel is able to be traded by the Twins as he does not have 10-5 rights, and doesn't have a no-trade clause with a minor-league deal. He isn't focused on being on the farm either. "I still think I have velocity in the tank I haven't shown. I don't really need to show a flash of 91 mph at this point. I'd rather pitch, show myself I can do it, and let that play out. My numbers kind of speak for themselves. One way or another, I don't think there's any possibility of me coming back and playing for a minor league team." With the Saints out on the road next week, Keuchel will throw a bullpen in St. Paul on Sunday and is going to go about like he's pitching on Wednesday. He doesn't anticipate traveling with the team, and awaits whether a ticket to St. Louis needs to be booked. "There's still deals that are going to be made. I'm going to enjoy some golf and keep working on my craft." Working in what he anticipates being his final rehab assignment, Thielbar said he expects to rejoin the Twins in St. Louis. "It felt great tonight, velocity and stuff were there. Command was good. I was happy compared to the other night." Having been through this process once before this year, Thielbar noted his mechanics were a bit different last time he came back. "I focused on staying on my back leg a little bit too much, and I ended up starting to stride a bit open. I think that put a bit more pressure on that area than it was used to. I don't think it will be an issue again." Unfortunately, oblique issues just pop up, and Thielbar noted there has been a ton of them in the league this year, including teammate Royce Lewis . "I don't know why that has happened, unfortunate that it happened twice to me, but I think I got the root problem figured out. I'm hopeful with how slow we've taken it this time." WIND SURGE WISDOM Frisco 10, Wichita 7 Box Score Wichita turned to Marco Raya on Friday night, and he couldn’t make it through the third inning. Raya gave up eight runs on six hits and a walk in just 2 1/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Wichita got on the board first. Tanner Schobel crushed his first Double-A home run. His two-run shot in the second inning scored Patrick Winkel and put the Wind Surge on top. Aaron Sabato followed with his own two-run shot, scoring Alex Isola, and doubling the lead. Raya ran into some trouble during the third inning. After giving up two runs and having the bases loaded, Raya walked in a run before another four crossed for Frisco. Carlos Luna allowed an inherited runner to score before giving up one of his own. What was once a 4-0 lead became a 9-4 deficit, and the Wind Surge had work to do. After giving up another run during the top of the eighth inning, Wichita finally was able to answer with one of their own. Yunior Severino stayed hot and blasted his 22nd of the season. Schobel led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk, and Yoyner Fajardo singled. Jake Rucker singled them both home to draw closer. It wasn't quite enough as they fell three short. Sabato had a pair of hits on the evening. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 3 (Susp/9) Box Score Kyle Jones took the pill for Cedar Rapids Friday and worked five innings of two run baseball (one earned), while scattering five hits. He did walk three but struck out four. Trailing 1-0 through three innings, Andrew Cossetti put the Kernels on the board with a single, scoring both Noah Miller and Jorel Ortega in the fourth inning. Wisconsin responded with a tying run in the bottom half, things were again even. A sixth inning wild pitch gave Emmanuel Rodriguez the opportunity to race home and regain the lead, but it was short-lived when Cossetti sailed a throw into centerfield on a steal attempt. Wisconsin again had knotted things, this time at three, in the seventh inning. Neither team having added, and entering the bottom of the ninth inning, lightning decided to make an appearance and delayed the game. With weather not moving out of the area, this one would be called for the evening. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Palm Beach 5 Box Score It was Juan Mercedes making the start Friday night for the Mighty Mussels. He has struggled on the bump for Fort Myers this season, and Palm Beach got to him early again. Working just three innings on the evening, Mercedes allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and four walks. He struck out two. After giving up a run in the top of the first inning, the Mighty Mussels answered and even things in the bottom half. Carson McCusker grounded out to drive in Hernan Perez and both teams were off and running. Palm Beach added in the second, third, and sixth innings to make it 5-1. Fort Myers got back on the board during their own half of the sixth inning when Maddux Houghton drove in Rubel Cespedes with a sacrifice fly. Fort Myers added again in the eighth inning, Gregory Duran scored McCusker on a ground out before Houghton singled in Alec Sayre to make it a one-run ballgame. Perez then struck out swinging, but the ball got away allowing Houghton to score and tie the game. Sayre singled in the ninth inning, and with two outs, Duran ripped his 10th double allowing him to come around and score. Fort Myers finished the comeback with a walkoff. Sayre recorded a pair of hits on the night. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Red Sox 4, FCL Twins 1 (Susp/4) Box Score For the second straight day a trio of new draftees got into FCL action. Luke Keaschall and Jay Harry played second and third respectively, while Brandon Winokur got his first start in the field, playing shortstop. Carlos Gutierrez gave up four runs on six hits and a pair of walks before rain suspended action. The Twins pitcher struck out five and allowed a homer during his outing. The lone Twins run Friday came on an Anderson Nova ground out that scored Jose Rodriguez. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Colorado 10, DSL Twins 4 Box Score The Twins did get on the board first on Friday, and while they matched Colorado with a run apiece in the second and third innings, they added one in each of the third and fourth to take a lead. Unfortunately that two-run advantage was wiped away and the Twins didn’t find another chance to score the rest of the day. Hendry Chivilli, their second top prospect from the international free agency class, clubbed his first professional home run. Junior Del Valle, Javier Roman, and Dameury Pena all had a pair of hits on the day. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Dallas Keuchel (St. Paul) - 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Ernie Yake (St. Paul) - 3-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR(2) PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-5 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, R, 2B, BB, 2 K #4 - Marco Raya (Wichita) - 2.1 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 1 BB, 2 K #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-5, 2 K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR(1) #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-2, R, 2 RBI, HR(1), 2 BB #12 - Luke Keaschall (FCL Twins) - 0-2, K #13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 0-2, 2 K #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-4, R, RBI, HR(22), K #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-2, R SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak Frisco @ Wichita (6:05PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40PM CST) - RHP Christian MacLeod Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (5:00PM CST) - RHP Ben Ethridge Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games!

TRANSACTIONS OF Trevor Larnach optioned to Triple-A St. Paul UT Hernan Perez assigned to Single-A Fort Myers on minor league rehab assignment SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 5, St. Paul 3 Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson took his turn Thursday for the Saints on Irish heritage night. He didn’t last five innings, but the 4 1/3 innings were quality allowing just a single run on two hits. Walks were a bugaboo as he racked up five of them, but the Saints starter kept damage at bay with six strikeouts to his credit. Trailing by one entering the third inning, Kyle Garlick stepped in for St. Paul and lifted a sacrifice fly to score Ernie Yake. That run knotted things up, and they would stay that way until the seventh inning. Austin Schulfer was looking to wriggle out of a bases loaded spot, but instead gave up a two-run single and the Saints found themselves in another deficit. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, facing former Twins reliever Matt Wisler, Anthony Prato crushed a double off the left field wall driving in both Alex De Goti and Andrew Stevenson to even things back at three. Toledo added a run during their portion of the eighth inning, and then a tough play with the infield drawn in saw Chris Williams get no outs and another run score. He missed tagging the base at first, and made an errant throw to the plate attempting to cut down the run. St. Paul needed to come back from two runs behind with just three outs remaining. Yake stepped in needing to get things going, and it was clear Jair Camargo, Austin Martin, and Trevor Larnach were all unavailable as Toby Gardenhire didn't insert a pinch hitter. With the rain falling significantly, Stevenson singled to bring Prato up with a chance to tie the game. He drew a walk with fans behind the plate showing off their chests in the rain, and Garlick stepped in having a chance to win it. Coming through yet again, Garlick ripped a double to right field scoring Stevenson and putting the tying run just 90 feet away. Contreras popped out to right field, and that's where the rally ended. Prato and Yake both recorded a pair of hits on the evening. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Frisco 1 Box Score It was Pierson Ohl’s night for Wichita. He worked five innings of one-run ball. Ohl gave up three hits but walked just one and struck out five on the evening. Patrick Winkel opened the scoring during the first inning when his ground out allowed Brooks Lee to score from his leadoff walk. They did give the run back during the top of the second inning, but recaptured the lead during their half of the third inning. Yunior Severino crushed his 21st home run of the year, and third in three games, to score DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and make it a 3-1 ballgame. The fifth inning saw the Wind Surge add again when Jake Rucker ripped his 14th double of the season to score Winkel and push the lead to three. Alex Scherff came on for the final two innings and shut down Frisco allowing a single hit and giving up zero free passes. He punched out four to preserve the lead. Keirsey Jr. and Severino both finished with a pair of hits. Brooks Lee did grab one on the evening, and his days with Wichita are numbered. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 4, Cedar Rapids 3 (F/10) Box Score The Kernels went with Zebby Matthews for the start Thursday, and he worked six strong innings. Allowing just two runs on five hits, Matthews punched out seven on the evening and didn’t allow a single free pass. The Kernels were up against the Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff tonight who is working through a rehab assignment. He allowed one run on four hits while striking out three across four innings. After getting behind by a run in the second inning, the Kernels answered when Noah Miller singled home Misael Urbina to draw even. Wisconsin answered in the bottom half, but that lead wouldn’t hold. Again, it was Miller, this time with a fifth inning double to score Keoni Cavaco and even things up. Both sides remained tied through nine innings and extras were necessary. Because why not, it was again Miller in the 10th inning with a single to plate Cavaco for the second time, and the Kernels had their first lead of the night. Miguel Rodriguez walked the leadoff batter for Wisconsin, and a Robert Moore single scored two for the Timber Rattlers, walking off Cedar Rapids. Miller had three hits on the night with Jorel Ortega adding two of his own. MUSSEL MATTERS Palm Beach 9, Fort Myers 4 Box Score The Mighty Mussels turned to Jarret Whorff on Thursday. He worked four innings of three run baseball. Palm Beach scored on three hits and five walks, despite punching out five times during his outing. Giving up two runs in the third inning, Fort Myers responded with a pair of their own during the fourth inning. Rafael Cruz singled to drive in the rehabbing Hernan Perez, and Dylan Neuse cracked his fourth triple allowing Cruz to score. The game didn’t stay tied long after the Cardinals put up a three-spot in the fifth inning. Trying to mount a comeback, the Mighty Mussels started with one as Perez lofted a sacrifice fly to score Alec Sayre and make it a 5-3 game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Fort Myers couldn’t tack on more however, and a four-run eighth inning made it a laugher. One last gasp in the ninth inning saw Neuse drive in Cruz, but the 9-4 lead was enough for Palm Beach to hold on. Cruz and Maddux Houghton were the only Mighty Mussels to record a pair of hits on the night. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Braves 7, FCL Twins 5 Box Score Thursday was a big day for 2023 Twins draft picks. The first three of them, Luke Keaschall, Jay Harry, and Brandon Winokur all made their professional debuts. Brayan Medina was on the bump Thursday for the FCL club and worked five innings of three-run baseball. He cruised through the first four before allowing two hits, and three walks to bite him. Medina did strike out three on the day. Looking to make a comeback in the sixth inning, it was the draftees that did some of the heavy lifting. After Daniel Pena singled to score Isaac Pena, Nate Baez grounded out and drove home Luke Keaschall on the play. Keaschall reached with a walk before stealing both second and third to set up the run. Jay Harry then walked before Brandon Winokur stepped in and launched his first professional home run, putting the Twins ahead 4-3. With the new draftees getting into just their first game, both Keaschall and Harry were lifted after the top of the sixth inning for Jankel Ortiz and Bryan Acuna. Unfortunately the Braves put up a four-spot in the seventh inning to regain the lead and they held it for good. Winokur did reach on a dropped third strike during the ninth inning, and Yasser Mercedes grounded out to bring him home. No one recorded multiple-hits, but each player making their pro debut made an impression. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Dodgers Mega 9, DSL Twins 7 (F/6) Box Score Cristian Hernandez drew the start on Thursday and gave up just a single run through his first three innings. The wheels fell off a bit when he was unable to finish the fourth inning. Working 3 2/3 on the day, Hernandez gave up four runs on three hits and five walks. He did strike out five. Trailing 5-0 through five and a half innings, the Twins put up a four spot in their half. Unfortunately that one-run deficit wouldn’t hold as the Dodgers put up for more to open the sixth inning and stretch their advantage again. The Twins responded with three of their own in the sixth inning, but that still left them two short and the sides decided to wrap this one up there. The Twins spread out their six hits with no one recording more than one. Each of them were singles and opportunity passed them by going 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position while leaving 12 on base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Zebby Matthews (Cedar Rapids) - 6.0, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Day – Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR(21), K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-3, R, 2 BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, BB, K #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-3, BB #11 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 0-4, RBI, K #12 - Luke Keaschall (FCL Twins) - 0-2, R, BB, K, 2 SB #13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 1-3, R, 2 RBI, HR(1), K #14 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 4.1 IP, 2 H, R, ER, 5 BB, 6 K #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, 4 K #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR(21), K #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-4, K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - LHP Dallas Keuchel Frisco @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Juan Mercedes Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games!

TRANSACTIONS RHP Juan Mendez reinstated from the 7 day IL by Fort Myers SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Omaha 5 Box Score Brent Headrick was on the bump tonight for the Saints and he turned in somewhat of a mixed bag. Despite allowing just a single run on one hit, he also had no strikeouts and issued four free passes. Rehabbing Twins infielder Jorge Polanco made an appearance in the field, playing second base, and he batted in the two-hole. Omaha got ahead in the second inning when former Twins infielder Jermaine Palacios drove in Brewer Hicklen. He then doubled the lead with his ninth homer of the season, a fifth inning solo shot. Trevor Larnach put the Saints on the board in the sixth inning with his eighth homer of the year, and that power is something Minnesota would like to see more of. During the seventh inning St. Paul took the lead, adding again with some power. Andrew Bechtold’s ninth homer scored Jair Camargo before Kyle Garlick doubled home both Alex De Goti and Austin Martin. Now up 5-2, the Saints were in a good position. After allowing a run to Omaha in the eighth inning, St. Paul responded with Garlick’s second double of the game. The ninth inning two-bagger brought home recently promoted Ernie Yake and made it a 6-3 game. Omaha answered with two runs in the ninth despite having two outs, but Patrick Murphy slammed the door before the tying run could be scored. Martin had two hits on the night as did Garlick. Polanco went 0-for-3, with a walk. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Amarillo 1 Box Score David Festa went tonight for the Wind Surge, and despite lasting only three innings, he was great. The Twins prospect allowed only two hits and gave up a single walk while striking out six on the evening. Getting on the board first, Wichita loaded the bases in the first inning and Aaron Sabato drew a walk allowing Yunior Severino to stroll across the plate. In the seventh inning Severino launched his 18th homer of the season, and the eighth inning saw Jake Rucker send a two-run shot to left center, bringing home Yoyner Fajardo as well. Up 4-0, Wichita was on cruise control. Denny Bentley and Regi Grace both worked scoreless appearances for the Wind Surge, shutting things down and keeping the lead in tact. Alex Scherff did give up a run in the ninth, but that's where this one ended. Severino finished with three hits on the day while Fajardo and Rucker both had two of their own. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Peoria 3 Box Score The Kernels sent C.J. Culpepper to the mound tonight and he turned in five innings of shutout baseball. The Cedar Rapids starter allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out four and keeping his ERA at 0.00. Cedar Rapids scored the game’s first run when Emmanuel Rodriguez raced home on a first inning wild pitch. THey added in the fourth inning after Andrew Cossetti blasted his fourth dinger, this one a grand slam, scoring Ben Ross, Jorel Ortega, and Misael Urbina. In the fifth inning Cedar Rapids tacked on again when Ross ripped a double to bring home Kala’i Rosario, and Noah Cardenas singled in Ross. Up 7-0, this one looked to be in the bag. Peoria did plate two in the sixth inning on a home run, but Keoni Cavaco erased one with his fourth home run of the year, a sixth inning solo shot. Peoria clawed back with a run in the seventh inning, but Cedar Rapids plated another on an Ortega sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to score Noah Miller. The tilt ended without ever being close. Rodriguez recorded three hits while Ben Ross had two of his own on the evening. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 11, Bradenton 7 (F/10) Box Score Jose Olivares took the ball tonight for Fort Myers, and while he only worked 4 2/3 innings, he gave up no runs on two hits and four walks. Working around the damage, Olivares struck out eight on the night. The Mighty Mussels took a first inning lead when Ricardo Olivar recorded his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot. They then added two more when Rafael Cruz blasted a two-run shot to left center in the second inning. Gregory Duran scored on the play and it was a 3-0 game. In the fourth inning, Duran homered, and his third of the season was a solo blast to make it 4-0. Bradenton didn’t find the scoreboard until the seventh inning, and they were able to plate just a single run. Fort Myers answered with a Cruz single in the eighth inning that scored Kyle Schmidt and Duran. A 6-1 game at this point, it appeared to be a rout. Deivis Nadal was not satisfied with the effort and blasted a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to bring the Marauders within one. Despite being outhit 13-5, they were within striking distance. Ricardo Velez then gave up a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth allowing Bradenton to tie things up at six. Needing extras to sort everything out, Fort Myers made use of the inherited runner and then some. Schmidt’s single plated Dylan Neuse before Cruz drove home Schmidt with a single of his own. Yohander Martinez drove a sacrifice fly to score Duran, and Carson McCusker singled home Cruz. Before the inning wrapped up, Rubel Cespedes singled home Olivar and it was an 11-6 lead. Fort Myers did give one back in the bottom half, but their lead was far too much to overcome. McCusker, Cespedes, Schmidt, Martinez, and Olivar grabbed a pair of hits with Duran netting three and Cruz grabbing four. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Pirates 8, FCL Twins 7 Box Score It was Brayan Medina’s day on the mound, he of the Taylor Rogers trade to San Diego. Going five innings, Medina allowed just two runs on three hits and a pair of walks. He did strike out four. After trailing initially, the Twins scored on a bases loaded walk from Jose Rodriguez during the third inning. Alec Sayre came home, and then Isaac Pena scored on a wild pitch. Allowing another run in the bottom half, the Twins replicated their run in the fourth inning. This time Jankel Ortiz drew a bases loaded walk to bring home Endy Rodriguez. Andres Centeno then scored on Sayre’s at bat. In the fifth inning it was Yasser Mercedes making his mark. A longball for his fifth homer of the year made this a 5-2 game, and a Rodriguez double brought home Daniel Pena pushing the score to 6-2. Heading to the ninth, the Pirates had nearly come all the way back making it just a one-run game. Thankfully Rodriguez singled in Pena to provide necessary breathing room as the Pirates closed the gap to one again in the bottom of the ninth. Needing to close it out, Bryan Acuna made a throwing error allowing two Pirates runs to score, and the Twins found themselves getting walked off. Rodriguez’s four hit day was just a home run shy of the cycle. He accounted for half of the team’s hits. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Giants Black 18, DSL Twins 13 Box Score It was one of those days in the Dominican Summer League where both teams erupted for a plethora of runs. Cristian Hernandez lasted just three innings as the Twins starter allowing six runs on three hits and four walks. Despite scoring double-digits, Javier Roman was the only Twins player to hit a home run on the day. Star international free agent signing Ariel Castro went 2-for-6 with a double, pair of runs scored, and three RBI on the day. Roman put up three hits in the losing effort and drove in four runs. Angel Trinidad also had a nice game with three hits, including two doubles. Hendry Chivilli did play today and was 0-for-4 with two runs on a pair of walks. The teams combined to score 31 runs on 29 hits. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – C.J. Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 5.0, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K Hitter of the Day – Rafael Cruz (Fort Myers) - 4-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR(5), K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-5, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-4, R, 3B, BB, K #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 2-4 #7 - David Festa (Wichita) - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 2-5, R, 2 K #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-3, 2 BB, 3 K #11 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 1-5, R, RBI, HR(4), K #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, BB, K #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 3-5, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR(18) #19 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 3.0 IP, H, R, ER, 4 BB FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (7:05PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games!

When Twins Daily just started about a dozen years ago, I wrote the majority of minor league content and the first few Top Prospect rankings were basically me, along with Cody Christie and Jeremy Nygaard, sharing our rankings. Since then, we have been including as many Twins Daily writers who provide minor-league content (written or video). It obviously becomes much more of consensus ranking than a more limited group. With this prospect ranking, we are adding even more data points. Here’s how it works. I worked with our minor-league staff on our prospect rankings. I asked them to provide me with their Top 30 players and with that determine the Top 20 for the writers. In addition, Brock started a forum topic, asking Twins Daily readers to provide their Top 20 rankings. After several days, he then went into those rankings and consolidated them into the forum Top 20. Take the writer rankings. Take the forum community rankings. Give each 50% weight, and "Voila!" We have our new Top 20 Twins Prospects from Twins Daily. Some players have started well. Some players have struggled early. Several players have had or fought injuries. All of that may alter the rankings. So below, I will get to the updated Top 20 rankings, but here are some notes about those rankings. Who’s Out? First, Louie Varland is no longer in the rankings. While he is technically still a “prospect” today, as soon as he gets three more outs in the big leagues, he will hit the 50-inning mark, removing his prospect status. This is a great way to no longer make a prospect list! Three players at the back end of the previous rankings fell out of the Top 20. #17 Ronny Henriquez was hurt through spring training, then made about four rehab appearances and is now on the Saints roster. This one feels a bit out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Also, that he is most likely a relief pitcher likely pushes him down a couple of spots too. #18 Tanner Schobel was the team’s second-round pick last year out of Virginia Tech. He has made the jump to High-A Cedar Rapids where the 23-year-old is playing all over the infield and hitting about .240 with three homers. Finally, #20 Misael Urbina fell down a bit, just outside the Top 20. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting just over .160 in his first month-plus of High-A ball. Who’s In? #15 – Brent Headrick jumps into the Top 20 rankings after not being in the Top 30 this spring. Many were surprised that he was added to the 40-man roster last fall. Articles were written saying he may be a DFA candidate in spring training if a roster spot was needed. Instead, the 25-year-old lefty had a terrific showing in spring training. He was sent to St. Paul to start the season, despite spending just two months at Double-A Wichita last season. Early in the season, the Twins needed a long reliever and summoned Headrick. He impressed with three solid innings out of the bullpen in Fenway Park in his debut, recording a save in the process. He got the final out in a win over the Nationals. Then he had another extended outing in Yankees Stadium and fared well. With Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda out for the foreseeable future, we are not likely to see Headrick in a long-relief role anytime soon. It’s possible he, along with Simeon Woods Richardson, are the two candidates for spot starts for the time being. #17 – Blayne Enlow returns to the Top 20 with a strong start to his 2023 season. As you know, the former third-round pick needed Tommy John surgery in June of 2021. He was added to the 40-man roster following that season anyway. He worked his way back and after just one rehab appearance, he was pushed up to Double-A. Admittedly, he had some troubles, throwing strikes, being consistent, as is not unusual following surgery. He was removed from the 40-man this offseason, cleared waivers, and started this season back in Double-A for somewhat of a make or break season. Somewhat surprising, he returned to the starter role. It hasn’t been perfect, but he’s shown the increased velocity, the walks are down, and he is getting a lot of strikeouts. Enlow has spent a lot of time in the Twins Daily Top 10 Prospect rankings since being drafted in 2017. He’s incredibly driven and still has an opportunity to be a long-term big-league pitcher. #19 – Yunior Severino was an intriguing signing when he signed with the Twins for $2.5 million. You can read a lot more about him, especially if you want to hop on the Severino Hype Train, so I won’t get into a ton of detail here. However, over the past couple of seasons, he has really developed his powerful swing. His 10 home runs this season are four more than any other minor leaguer in the Twins minor leagues. He’s been eligible to be selected I the Rule 5 a couple of years already. It’s very possible he wouldn’t get through that process again. #20 – Michael Helman has had a tough season, if we are being honest, but his “stock” and respect in the organization and in the mind’s of many Twins fans has greatly improved. He earned an invitation to big-league spring training, but then he hurt his hamstring and missed that opportunity, along with the first month of the season. He returned to St. Paul and for a week, he was remarkable, but now he’s on the IL with a dislocated shoulder. How long will he be out? We shall see. But if healthy, if there is a need for a versatile, right-handed bench or platoon bat, Helman is a candidate. He has hit 19 and 20 homers, respectively, the past two seasons. He stole 40 bases last year. Over the past couple of seasons, he has played at least 20 games at seven position (4 infield and 4 outfield), and hey, he was a catcher in high school, and he has a strong arm and could probably pitch if needed too. No Change at the Top Probably no surprise, but the top three did not change at all. The ‘battle’ for #1 prospect between Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis was incredibly close, and it still was. However, Lee remained at #1 for both the writers and the community. There are those (like me), who will continue to have Lewis at #1 because of his potential, his make up, and the potential we saw in his 12 games with the Twins in 2022. For others, the back-to-back seasons with the ACL injuries, were too much to keep him at #1. Neither answer is right, and neither answer is wrong. But it certainly can be a fun discussion. And Twins fans, we should ultimately just be thankful to have both in the organization. And while he has been limited with an injury, and a strikeout machine when he has been healthy, we all still believe in Emmanuel Rodriguez’s upside, and he sticks at #3. Big Movers? There really weren’t a lot of players that moved up or down the list significantly, aside from the four new guys mentioned above. But of those that were on the list preseason and now, the player who moved up the most is RHP David Festa who moved up to #8 from #13. He has been solid for Wichita and has his best start recently. He is also sitting with a fastball between 96-98 mph. Jose Salas fell four spots. He is one of the ten youngest players in the Midwest League, and he (like several of the Twins young prospects in Cedar Rapids) has struggled to keep his batting average over about .160. New to the organization, we didn’t necessarily know where to rank him before the season. Now we have six weeks of data points that haven’t looked pretty. However, there is no question that the tools are there with the bat and with his speed. What does it mean? Connor Prielipp moved up two spots to #5. He made just a couple of starts in Cedar Rapids before being placed on the IL with some left arm concerns. The reports on him since have been positive, but that’s scary. Jordan Balazovic couldn’t have had a more difficult past season. He started 2022 hurt, and then really struggled all season with the Saints. Then came this spring training where, well, things didn’t go well. His season started a bit late and then he started the season in the bullpen. But something happened. He returned to form. Sure, there have been too many walks, but he’s been making starts and shown the ability to be really good, even dominant, for two or three innings. Maybe he extends that length, or maybe he becomes a 2-3 inning guy with great stuff. Austin Martin and Matt Canterino fell just one spot in the rankings. Simeon Woods Richardson has an ERA over seven, and he only fell a couple of spots. Marco Raya and Emmanuel Rodriguez each missed a month with injury. Rodriguez stayed at #3, and Raya fell to #6 (one spot behind Prielipp). It seems like guys that missed time stayed close to where they were, or even moved up, in part due to the reality that very few top prospects have actually played great to start the season. Yes, Varland has improved, but now he’s not eligible for the list. Edouard Julien has been quite good with the Saints and showed some of what he can be in his short time with the Twins. Matt Wallner continues to bash Triple-A pitching. But those were top guys already with not very many spots to move up. Who else has started the season making a strong impression? Solid Starts, but not quite Top 20 Andrew Cossetti got a few Top 30 votes by our writers, and he has had a huge start to his season. Severino has been fantastic. For Fort Myers, Jorel Ortega is playing very well, and Dalton Shuffield is hitting well for the Mighty Mussels. Noah Cardenas has been a bright spot in the Kernels’ lineup, and I would argue that Ben Ross and Kala’i Rosario should have moved up people’s lists, but to the borderline of the top 20. DaShawn Keirsey is again playing well in Wichita and already has 16 stolen bases. Yoyner Fajardo has hit very well, for average, with the Wind Surge. On the mound, a few of the 2022 draft picks have started out strong. That would include Kyle Jones, Cory Lewis, Zebby Matthews, and C.J. Culpepper are doing well. Pierson Ohl moved up a level and has 26 strikeouts with just two walks. Newcomer Alejandro Hidalgo is young for the Midwest League, but he’s got a 1.50 ERA with the Kernels. Jaylen Nowlin is still striking out a ton of batters, though he’s walking some as well. Out of the bullpen, Regi Grace has been fantastic all season. Kody Funderburk’s ERA and strikeout rate have been terrific, though his WHIP is quite high. Matthew Swain is really starting to dominate. 2022 Day 3 draft picks Ben Ethridge and Zach Veen both have ERAs of 1.20 and lower, and WHIPS under 1.00. Who’s Next? Well, as you would expect, I can only speak to which players are next in line on the writers’ “ballots,” just outside our consensus Twins Daily Top 20 prospects. At the top of that list is Fort Myers shortstop Danny De Andrade. He was a big international free agent signing a couple of years ago. He’s being challenged, but so far, he has at least held his own. Here are “The Next 10.” 21.) Danny De Andrade, Fort Myers 22.) Misael Urbina, Cedar Rapids 23.) Ronny Henriquez, St. Paul 24.) Tanner Schobel, Cedar Rapids 25.) Bryan Acuna, FCL 26.) Cole Sands, Minnesota 27.) Kala’I Rosario, Cedar Rapids 28.) Jaylen Nowlin, Cedar Rapids 29.) Alejandro Hidalgo, Cedar Rapids 30.) Byron Chourio, FCL Ask Away Be sure to dig around in the Twins Daily Prospect Tracker to learn more about each of the Top 20 prospects. But feel free to use the COMMENTS below to discuss these prospects. Who is ranked too high, and who is ranked too low? And be sure to ask us about our rankings or about any of the players. We will try to answer your questions, and hopefully get comments from our minor-league writers on their thoughts too.

While the Minnesota Twins offense completely sputtered in Atlanta this week, their three minor-league affiliates that returned to action on Wednesday all scored at least a dozen runs. Like the big-league schedule, the minor league affiliates are now in their second halves. So, they got an extra day, but it's really not that simple. It was an extra day off, but instead of playing Tuesday through Sunday this week, the series will be played Wednesday through Monday. They won't get a day off at all next week as they will all play on Tuesday, July 4th. So again, the big-league club has been struggling, but thankfully we've got the minor leagues to talk about too... and I'm sure you're enjoying the great 2023 MLB Draft coverage that @Jeremy Nygaard and @Jamie Cameron have been providing. Finally, before we get started, if you missed yesterday's First-Half Awards article, click here to see who we voted the top hitter, starting pitcher, and relief pitcher in the Twins minor leagues in the first half. And if you missed the interview with DaShawn Keirsey, Jr, click here. Here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Wednesday. St. Paul Saints: 44-31 Wichita Wind Surge: 29-40 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 42-27 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 36-34 FCL Twins: 9-7 DSL Twins: 5-12 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins had RHP Cole Sands begin his rehab assignment with the Saints. RHP Ronny Henriquez was also activated from the 7-Day IL and back in the Saints bullpen. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 12, Gwinnett 9 Box Score It wasn’t a great game for the Saints as they began their season’s second half, but in the end, it couldn’t have ended any better. Louie Varland was the Saints starter in a matinee game at CHS Field. It would be fair to say that it didn’t go really well. The St. Paul native was charged with six runs on six hits (including two homers) and five walks. He had four strikeouts. Just 52 of his 95 pitches were strikes (54.7%). However, when he left the game, the Saints were ahead 8-6 that’s to a five-run third inning. Left Michael Boyle came on and got four outs. Then Cole Sands tossed a perfect inning. Patrick Murphy came on and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in the eighth inning and suddenly the Saints were down 9-8. Fortunately, Kody Funderburk struck out two batters in the top of the ninth inning to set things up. But let's go back to the beginning. The Saints took the early lead when Jose Miranda crushed his third Saints home run. However, in the top of the second, Gwinnett scored four runs. But the Saints came back with two in the bottom of the season thanks to a single from Anthony Prato and a fielder’s choice off the bat of Elliot Soto. In the top of the third, Braden Shewmake hit a solo homer to make it 5-3. The Saints responded with a five-run third inning. The scoring started with a bases-loaded walk by Chris Williams. Jair Camargo then drove a two-run single. Prato drove in Williams with a force out before Soto singled in Prato to give the Saints the 8-5 lead. Alright, let’s jump back to the ninth inning. Matt Wallner led off with a groundout. Kyle Garlick singled, but Gilberto Celestino grounded out for the inning’s second out. However, Trevor Larnach and Andrew Bechtold walked to load the bases and bring up Camargo. On the first pitch, Camargo crushed his third grand slam of the season to give the Saints a 12-9, walkoff win. The ball left his bat at 109.6 mph and traveled 442 feet. Jair Camargo went 2-for-5 in the game and drove in six big runs. The home run was his 12th of the season. Kyle Garlick and Gilberto Celestino both went 2-5 as well. Trevor Larnach was 0-for-2 but walked three times. Chris Williams was 1-for-2 and walked twice. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 15, NW Arkansas 8 Box Score An extra day off at home was maybe just what the Wind Surge needed as their offense broke out in this one, scoring 15 runs with 18 hits. All nine Wichita batters had at least one hit. Seven of the nine had two hits in the game, and Brooks Lee led the way with three hits and a walk in the game. The team scored in five of the first six innings, but it was an eight-run fifth inning that broke it open. David Festa made the start and was charged three runs on five hits over four innings. He had four strikeouts. Francis Peguero tossed a scoreless fifth inning. Regi Grace gave up three runs on three hits (including two homers) and a walk in 2 1/3 innings. Alex Phillips gave up two runs on five hits, but he got the final five outs. The game time temperature in Wichita was 102 degrees, and there was a 15 mph wind blowing out to left field. The Wind Surge bats were hot, in at least some part due to the wind. Lee went 3-for-4 with a walk and his 24th double. He hit his sixth home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning. Alex Isola went 2-for-5 with his 12th double. Aaron Sabato hit his eighth double and his first triple. DaShawn Keirsey went 2-for-4. Will Holland hit his sixth and seventh doubles and walked. He also stole two bases to give him a dozen on the year. Yoyner Fajardo went 2-for-4 and stole his 21st bag of the season. David Banuelos batted ninth and went 2-for-4 with a walk and his sixth home run since joining the Wind Surge. Yunior Severino drilled his 14th and 15th home runs of the season and drove in four runs. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Peoria The Kernels traveled to Peoria to start a new series. However, due to poor air quality, the game was postponed. It will be made up on Thursday as part of a doubleheader, starting at 5:00. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 16, Lakeland 2 Box Score Apparently the extra day off was just what all three of the Twins full-season affiliates that played on Wednesday needed. St. Paul scored 12 runs. Wichita scored 15 runs, and Fort Myers was on top of the leaderboard with 16 runs scored. As an aside, you may have heard that the Twins offense was shutout on Wednesday in Atlanta. Maybe they all need a two-day break! Anyway, this is the minor-league report. Let’s keep it positive. Back to the Mighty Mussels… you might be surprised to learn that the score of this game was 2-2 going into the bottom of the sixth. That’s when Fort Myers put up an 11-spot in that inning. Gregory Duran has only been up with the Mussels for three weeks. He had a breakout game on Wednesday. He went 3-for-3 with two walks, his fourth double, and his second home run. He scored four runs and drove in five runs. He batted eighth for Fort Myers in this game. The nine hitter, Maddux Houghton, went 4-for-5 with his second double and third triple. He scored twice and knocked in four runs. That is some pretty strong offensive performance from the bottom of the lineup. They were helped because sixth hitter, Kyle Schmidt, went 1-for-3 and walked twice and scored twice. Seven hitting, Dylan Neuse, went 1-for-2 with two walks and three runs scored. Ricardo Olivar was leading off. He went 2-for-4 with a walk and his ninth double. Danny De Andrade batted second and went 2-for-6 with his ninth double and his sixth home run. He drove in four runs and scored twice. Andrew Morris made the start for Fort Myers. He was charged with one run on three hits in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Unfortunately, a nearly two hour rain delay ended his outing. Samuel Perez improved to 4-1 thanks to tossing 3 1/3 innings in which he gave up only an unearned run on three hits. The soft-tosser struck out five batters and issued no walks. Danny Moreno threw two scoreless innings and Johnathan Lavallee struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Samuel Perez (Fort Myers) - 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Hitters of the Day – Gregory Duran (Fort Myers) - 3-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(4), HR(2), 4 R, 5 RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-for-4, BB, 2B(24), HR(6), 2 R, 4 RBI. #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 3 K #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-for-1 #8 - David Festa (Wichita) - 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 69 pitches, 47 strikes. #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R, K. #14 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 18 pitches, 12 strikes. #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2-HR(15), 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 K. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Gwinnett (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (3-3, 5.02 ERA) vs RHP Dereck Rodriguez NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (0-2, 6.61 ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (DH starting at 5:00 PM CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (2-4, 5.15 ERA), TBD Lakeland @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Ben Ethridge (0-4, 2.97 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Giants Black @ DSL Twins (10:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics!

TRANSACTIONS With C Ricardo Olivar being activated from the 7-day injured list for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, they returned C Alex Rodriguez to the FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 18, Louisville 7 Box Score The pregame conversation for this one could have focused on current Saints players facing off against a former teammate many Twins fans have been fretting over trading away last year, in Christian Encarnacion-Strand. One of those current Saints players, Chris Williams, perhaps took issue with this idea, remembering that when he played with CES, it was him showing the young guy what a slugger is. They played 13 games together before Encarnacion-Strand was traded to the Cincinnati Reds organization, but in that time Williams hit seven home runs, drove in 20, and amassed a 1.319 OPS compared to just five homers, 17 RBI, and a 1.085 OPS for his former teammate. With that in mind, Williams reminded his brief teammate and the Bats who’s the real boss in this one. His first home run of the game came in the second inning, a two-run shot for the Saints first runs of the game. Elliot Soto added an RBI single later in the inning to make it 3-0 Saints. With two outs in the third, Williams again connected like Encarnacion-Strand only wished he could, hitting his ninth home run of the season to make it 5-3 Saints. Tony Wolters extended the lead to three with an RBI single later in the frame. The fourth inning started with a walk from Matt Wallner and a single from Kyle Garlick, before Williams stepped into the box for the third time with one out. Watch for yourself: His third bomb of the game made it 10-3 Saints, and despite the Bats drawing 13 walks and collecting 10 hits, couldn’t match Williams and the Saints' 21 total hits. So in case you’re counting, Williams wasn’t the only one who went off. In fact, all nine hitters in the Saints lineup reached base multiple times, scored at least one run, and only one didn’t collect at least two hits in the game. Rather than recounting this insanity in full, I invite you to please click that box score link above, and scroll the @StPaulSaints Twitter feed today for all the highlights. Adding to the comparison above in the Chris Williams and Christian Encarnacion-Strand history after this one, in 14 total games played with or against each other: Williams: 18-for-50, 11 R, 2 2B, 10 HR, 27 RBI, 14 BB, 10 K vs. CES: 19-for-57, 11 R, 4 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 6 BB, 15 K That acronym guy was even pinch-hit for to end this game…Psshh…Pathetic… Polite (or infuriating) reminder Encarnacion-Strand is second in the International League with 17 HR’s this season, and leads the league with a .734(!) slugging percentage after this game, so this is all in jest… On the pitching front, starter Aaron Sanchez went the first 3 1/3 innings, running into trouble in multiple innings due to some wildness ending up charged with seven earned runs on six hits and six walks, while striking out only one. He allowed a pair of home runs to former major leaguers Matt Reynolds and Wil Myers. Future Hall of Famer Joey Votto was also rehabbing with the Bats, finishing 0-for-3 with two walks and an RBI. Ronny Henriquez (W, 1 2/3 IP, H, 2 BB, K), Austin Brice (1 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K), Michael Boyle (1 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K), and Patrick Murphy (2 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K) produced a scoreless effort from the Saints bullpen to close it out. Gilberto Celestino (3-for-6, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K) and Matt Wallner (2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, BB, 3 K) chipped in from the top two spots in the lineup. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 8, Midland 2 Box Score DaShawn Keirsey Jr. blasted the first pitch of the game for his seventh home run of the season and an early 1-0 lead, but it was a seven-run third inning that would end up smashing the RockHounds in this one. In the third, it was five consecutive singles to start the inning, an RBI double from Aaron Sabato, and then a three-run home run off the bat of Seth Gray that did the damage. In a somewhat odd occurrence, Alerick Soularie was both the first and last hitter of the inning. Starting pitcher Travis Adams picked up his second win of the season, finishing five innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits and a pair of walks while striking out three. Osiris German (1 2/3 IP, 3 H, BB, K) and Regi Grace (2 1/3 IP, H, BB, 2 K) finished off the final four scoreless innings. The Wind Surge got multiple hits from Keirsey Jr. (2-for-5, 2 R, HR, RBI, SB), Yunior Severino (3-for-5, R, RBI), Sabato (2-for-4, R, 2 2B, RBI), and Gray (2-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 K) to lead the offense. Brooks Lee was 1-for-5 with a run scored and RBI out of the two-hole. As a team Wichita did not draw a single walk but made the most of their 12 hits by going 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position, leaving only four men on base for the game. KERNELS NUGGETS South Bend 2, Cedar Rapids 3 Box Score The Kernels got a solid start from Mike Paredes, and an even better piggy-back outing from Jordan Carr to take down the Cubs in their series opener. Cedar Rapids struck early in the bottom of the first, thanks in part to a pair of errors that extended the inning. Kala’i Rosario and Noah Cardenas made them hurt with consecutive RBI singles for the 2-0 lead. Paredes pitched the first four innings of the game, allowing two earned runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out five. He gave up a two-run homer in the top of the third to tie the game at two but otherwise was on point. Then came Carr. He struck out three, scattered one hit and three walks over the next five innings, and kept the game tied going into the bottom of the ninth, giving his team a chance to walk it off. In a flash, they did. Leading off, Ben Ross was hit by a pitch to put the winning run on base, then moved up to second on a wild pitch. This brought Rosario to the plate, and like he’s done so far this season, came through with a single up the middle to start the celebration. Both teams had just four hits in the game, but like Rosario’s, three of those came with runners in scoring position for the Kernels, compared to zero for the Cubs. Rosario finished 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead the way. Misael Urbina chipped in the other single, and Ross scored two runs and stole his fifth base of the season in the win. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Bradenton 3 Box Score Mighty Mussels starter C.J. Culpepper was ambushed by solo home runs from the leadoff man in each of the first two innings, but after that the Marauders couldn’t find an answer for the Minnesota Twins 2022 13th-round draft pick. Those home runs were the only runs he would allow, settling in for three scoreless frames to end his outing after five. In all, he surrendered five hits, walked three, and struck out seven to pick up his third win of the season. Even when allowing those home runs, his lineup had his back by scoring runs in each of the first four innings. Ricardo Olivar had an RBI single in the first, Dillon Tatum an RBI single in the second, and Jorel Ortega’s homer in the third gave them the lead for good. They put up a crooked number in the fourth thanks to Tatum’s first home run of the season, a three-run shot making it 6-2 Fort Myers. In the seventh they tacked on some more insurance, with Dylan Neuse’s grounder to third leading to a run-scoring error, Ortega contributing an RBI groundout, and Danny De Andrade’s RBI single capping their scoring at nine. Relievers Jarret Whorff (2 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K) and Danny Moreno (2 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K) finished out the win for the Mighty Mussels. Ortega (3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), De Andrade (2-for-4, RBI, K), and Tatum (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB, K) each had multiple hits. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 3, FCL Braves 7 Box Score The Twins fell behind early and weren’t able to recover against the Braves on Tuesday morning. Starting pitcher Jacob Wosinski recorded just one out in the first inning and ended up charged with four runs (three earned) on three hits before his exit. Relievers Owen Griffith (1 2/3 IP, 2 K) and 2022 DSL standout Miguel Olivares (2 IP, BB, 4 K) filled in admirably after Wosinski’s exit, before Carlos Gutierrez (3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 K) gave up a two-run homer in his second inning. Kyle Bischoff finished off the game for the Twins, allowing one earned run on two hits in his lone inning, striking out one. The lineup for the Twins managed a single run in each of the third, seventh, and ninth innings, and outhit the Braves 9-7 in the game, but had only one extra-base hit. Isaac Pena (3-for-5, 2 RBI, K) and Reynaldo Madrigal (1-for-3, 2 R, 2 K) led the way, with Jose Rodriguez (1-for-5, RBI, K), and Bryan Acuna (1-for-3, BB) also contributing. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Twins 8, DSL Astros Orange 7 (10 innings) Box Score The Twins took an early lead with two runs in the first inning, thanks to multiple balks and a wild pitch from the Astros pitchers. It stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth as starter Adrian Bohorquez was solid through the first four innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while picking up four strikeouts. In the fifth inning, however, he was out of gas and walked the first three hitters of the inning, putting an end to his outing. All three of those runners would end up crossing home plate to put the Astros in front. The good guys tied the game at three thanks to multiple wild pitches and an error in the top of the sixth, then took a 6-3 lead in the seventh thanks to a bases-loaded walk and two-run double from Dameury Pena. Relievers Leonardo Lugo (3 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K), Jeicol Surumuy ( 2/3 IP, ER, 3 BB, K), and Jose Ojo (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 K) got the team through the ninth inning, but the blown save from Ojo led them to extra innings. In the top of the tenth inning, two throwing errors from the Astros on a pop-out led to the ghost runner on second base scoring the go-ahead run, then after a pair of singles another wild pitch and an errant pickoff throw added another insurance run. The Astros were able to score their own ghost runner in the bottom half, but didn’t get another runner on base as Oscar Paredes shut the door to pick up the save. Pena (2-for-6, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI) and Jayson Bass (3-for-5, RBI) led the way with multiple hits. Lead-off man Yilber Herrera drew five walks, scored a run, and was credited with an RBI. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Jordan Carr, Cedar Rapids Kernels (W, 5 IP, H, 3 BB, 3 K) Hitter of the Day - Chris Williams, St. Paul Saints (3-for-5, 3 HR, 7 RBI, BB, 2 K) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-5, R, RBI #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1-for-3, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, R, 3 K #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, R, 2B, BB, K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, BB, 3 K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, K #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) - 1-for-5, RBI, K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 3-for-5, R, RBI WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (11:05 AM CDT) - RHP Randy Dobnak (2-3, 6.15 ERA) Wichita @ Midland (6:30 PM CDT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (0-3, 7.11 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (11:00 AM CDT) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-1, 1.80 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!