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A listener question prompted Jamie to pick some minor league breakout candidates for the 2024 season. View full video

Not enough people are talking about how good the pitchers drafted in 2022 have been. View full video

Game 2 of the Midwest League Championship Series between the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Great Lakes Loons wasn’t able to be completed on Tuesday night, but it was a great game until the rain moved in. The Saints game in St. Paul saw a plethora of rehabbers play a role, including a couple fantastic outings from rehabbing pitchers you may be interested in. Image courtesy of William Parmeter, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (photo of Andrew Morris) TRANSACTIONS The Saints had an active day in transactions, with a bunch of major league rehabbers joining the team across the river in St. Paul. RHP Chris Paddack, RHP Jorge Alcala, and LF Joey Gallo were all sent on rehab assignments with Saints. RHP Carlos Luna was transferred to the development list. RHP Curtis Taylor was promoted from the Wichita Wind Surge to the Saints. SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 2, St. Paul 4 Box Score With the plethora of major league rehabbers joining the roster, the St. Paul Saints went with a bullpen game of sorts on Tuesday. The entire staff of seven who made an appearance was basically lights out against the Mud Hens. Hunter McMahon served as the opener and delivered a scoreless inning, working around one hit and two walks by inducing an inning-ending double-play. That would be a theme for the night, as the Saints completed four of them in total, while Toledo added three more. Austin Schulfer was the next man up and walked one and struck out one in a scoreless second inning. In the bottom half of the frame the Saints got their scoring started. Yunior Severino led off with a walk, and two-batters later Jair Camargo clubbed his 20th home run of the season for a 2-0 lead. The home team then turned the ball over to their first rehabber, in right-hander Chris Paddack. It didn’t go so well after a strikeout to his first batter, as a walk and two singles loaded the bases with one out, but Paddack bore down and struck out the next two hitters to keep the Mud Hens scoreless in the third. He went on to retire the final eight hitters he faced, picking up another strikeout in each inning to finish with five in his outing. Overall he allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out five while topping out above 98 MPH with his fastball. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Saints extended their lead to 4-0 when DaShawn Keirsey Jr. led off with a single, rehabber Nick Gordon was hit by a pitch, and rehabber Joey Gallo delivered an RBI single. Trevor Larnach followed with a single of his own to complete their two-run inning and add insurance. After Paddack’s exit Michael Boyle (1 IP, 2 K) delivered a scoreless inning before giving way to Brock Stewart. Stewart ratcheted his fastball up to 99 MPH in his inning of work, walking one in striking out one in another scoreless frame for the pitching staff. Another rehabber, Jorge Alcala then did the same in the eighth, giving up one hit but inducing another double-play ball. In the ninth, Jordan Balazovic allowed two walks to start the inning, but got a big double-play grounder himself to keep this one from going sideways. It could have done that, because the next batter slugged a two-run homer for Toledo’s only runs of the game. Balazovic struck out the final hitter to close out the win. Nick Gordon (2-for-3, R, 2B, K) and Trevor Larnach (3-for-4, RBI, K) led the way with multiple hits. Joey Gallo finished 1-for-3 with a walk, RBI, and no strikeouts. Yunior Severino drew two walks and scored a run. KERNELS NUGGETS Great Lakes 1, Cedar Rapids 0 (Suspended in the 5th inning - Rain) Box Score Well, I’m not going to be able to crown the Cedar Rapids Kernels the Midwest League Champions tonight, as their game with the Great Lakes Loons was suspended in the fifth inning. The Kernels came into the game with a 1-0 lead in the three-game series, and sent right-handed pitcher Andrew Morris to the mound. He was excellent in his five innings before the suspension, with his only blemish being a solo home run in the fourth inning. He set the Loons down in order in each of the first and third innings, needing just five pitches in the third to do so. He finished with the one run allowed on three hits, no walks, and struck out seven. Both teams have just three hits to this point, with Emmanuel Rodriguez, Jorel Ortega, and Luke Keaschall all delivering singles. Rodriguez also stole a base but the Kernels are only 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position thus far. Game two of this championship series will resume tomorrow at 5:30 PM, with the Kernels up to bat in the bottom of the fifth, and Luke Keaschall due up. If Cedar Rapids is unable to make a comeback, game three will be a seven inning contest after this one’s completion. Right-hander Cory Lewis is the scheduled starter for game three, but there could be some shuffling of that due to this suspension. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Andrew Morris, Cedar Rapids Kernels (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 K) Hitter of the Day - Jair Camargo, St. Paul Saints (1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out our full top 20 list here and how they performed on Tuesday below! #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 0-for-4 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, K (game suspended) #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-3 #10 - Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-1 (game suspended) #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2 (game suspended) #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, K #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 IP, H, 2 BB, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ St. Paul (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (6-6, 4.92 ERA) Great Lakes @ Cedar Rapids, Game 3 (if necessary) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-0, 2.25 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

The Minnesota Twins shutout the Reds 7-0 Tuesday night behind an insane game from William Castro. He made a pair of great catches in the field to save runs and hit a homer. Kenta Maeda was sharp, striking out eight over five innings. Unfortunately, the big talking point resulting from this game is Royce Lewis’ health. He had to exit the game in the eighth inning after taking an awkward swing. Down in the minors, the Twins actually have a number of players returning to health. Nick Gordon, Joey Gallo, Chris Paddack, Brock Stewart and Jorge Alcala are all rehabbing with the Saints. Paddack looked incredible at hit 98.2 mph. Andrew Morris delivered a great start for Cedar Rapids but their quest for the Midwest League title will have to continue tomorrow. Their game was suspended in the bottom of the fifth inning due to rain. They’ll pick back up tomorrow and play Game 3, if necessary. View full video

Read and rejoice in the starting pitchers who thrived in the month of August. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge An issue that pops up in these lists is that of role assignments: pitchers in the minors often flip-flop between starting and relieving to eat up innings whenever they can. This poses challenges for those who acknowledge the delegation of title, as a starter with one relief appearance is still obviously a starter, but some situations aren't as clear-cut. I did my best to adhere to the spirit of the award while still understanding the sometimes silly nature of minor-league pitching order. Below are the names I thought most deserved to be on the list. Their ranking is entirely subjective; I value innings thrown, as those are outs, and outs are valuable, but also like to weigh strikeouts and peripherals as they can differentiate between dominance and a pitcher merely getting lucky. In times when it's a toss-up, I valued the almighty ERA as the great equalizer—got that? Good; let's start. Honorable mentions: RHP Louie Varland - AAA St. Paul, 23 2/3 IP, 18.6 K%, 1.90 ERA, 4.61 FIP Louie Varland had a sparkling 1.90 ERA in the month of August but walked a few too many people for my liking. Somehow he had eight unearned runs spread across multiple starts, which seems like a lot. Give him some help, Saints defense! RHP Carlos Gutierrez - FCL Twins, 12 2/3 IP, 35.7 K%, 4.26 ERA, 3.71 FIP Carlos Gutierrez allowed a few too many runs to make a serious case for the list, but he also struck out 20 in just over 12 innings. RHP Juan Cota - DSL Twins, 10 IP, 32.4 K%, 2.70 ERA, 1.88 FIP Lacking the innings to overtake other arms, Juan Cota nonetheless whiffed 12 over 10 frames, and only walked one batter—something almost no DSL pitcher ever does. RHP Miguel Cordero - DSL Twins, 9 2/3 IP, 20.5 K%, 2.79 ERA, 3.25 FIP Like Cota, Miguel Cordero showcased unusual command for a DSL pitcher. Even more impressive is Cordero’s fresh age of 17 (he was 16 for most of the season!). He was one of three Twins to appear in the DSL All-Star game. 5. RHP Cory Lewis - A+ Cedar Rapids, 23 1/3 IP, 28.4 K%, 3.09 ERA, 3.01 FIP At this point, Cory Lewis should just start paying rent for how much he lives on these lists. He’s been one of the best pitchers in the system since the season started, totaling a 2.62 ERA with a system-leading 115 strikeouts while pitching for both Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids. August was yet another stellar month for the part-time knuckler and full-time Kernels ace. He had two partial clunkers, holding him back from being even higher on this list, but was otherwise his usual, impressive self with squirrelly stuff and tremendous command. Expect him to rocket up end-of-season prospect lists. 4. RHP John Klein, A Fort Myers/FCL Twins, 21 1/3 IP, 32.5 K%, 2.95 ERA, 3.65 FIP Minnesotan alert! John Klein was born in Brooklyn Park and discovered when pitching for Iowa Central Community College—a university with quite the brotherhood of pro ball players. Klein popped up on the prospect radar after striking out 11 over four frames with the FCL Twins on June 10th (those especially handy with numbers may understand how impressive that is). July wasn’t kind to him, but fortune reversed in August, leading to four impressive starts—two of which were back-to-back starts of six shutout innings. That strikeout rate is especially impressive; he whiffed eight and nine batters respectively in those scoreless starts. 3. RHP Andrew Morris - A+ Cedar Rapids, 27 IP, 20.7 K%, 2.00 ERA, 2.82 FIP There was a time where Andrew Morris once seemed like the runaway winner of this award. His first three August starts were absurdly dominant, highlighted by a nine strikeout start on the 5th, and a seven punch-out outing on the 17th. His final two starts weren’t quite as good—proving the prestigiousness needed to take home honors from us gruff Twins Daily judges—so he’ll have to settle for 3rd place. Hopefully he’s not crestfallen over this bronze medal. Morris’ calling card is a spinny, vertical fastball that often appears to take off, rocketing far higher in the zone than hitters expect. Throw in a semi-crossbody delivery, and it’s understandable to see batters swing wildly at his offerings. The Texas Tech product is now solidly established as a prospect. 2. RHP David Festa - AA Wichita/AAA St. Paul, 20 1/3 IP, 33.3 K%, 1.33 ERA, 2.86 FIP Perhaps Minnesota’s best pitching prospect, David Festa was incredible in August. He allowed just three runs the entire month, steadily increasing his stamina following a short stint dabbling in short stints. The Twins saw enough after a dominant start against the Travelers and sent him to St. Paul. Festa appears well suited to join the crowd of small school arms turned into overwhelming pitching forced by the Falvey regime. He hammers the zone with a dominant fastball and well-command off-speed stuff, making hitters uncomfortable with his twisty windup and great extension. His early-season results weren’t sparkling—they were merely fine—but some of that could be chalked up to the difficult pitching environment that is the Texas League. If you’re looking for the next great Twins starter; here he is. 1. RHP Pierson Ohl - AA Wichita, 30 2/3 IP, 23.4 K%, 1.17 ERA, 2.75 FIP This was not a difficult deliberation; only Festa offered a serious case over Pierson Ohl. The Grand Canyon university product started the month with six shutout frames against the Tulsa Drillers—the Dodgers AA affiliate—and only surged from there, earning a win in each of his appearances. Pick any of his starts in August, and you have a gem on your hands: do you prefer his eight-inning outing on the 8th, or his eight strikeout performance on 26th to end the month? Ohl’s relentless pursuit of throwing strikes appears to be the fuel to his success. Batters simply can never get ahead of him. Falling behind too far only invites a dastardly changeup or a well-spotted fastball that often leaves hitters trudging back to the dugout unable to understand how to deal with Ohl’s craftiness. View full article

The Twins had a scheduled off day on Thursday while the rest of the organization was in full swing. St. Paul won a well-pitched game with Anthony Prato provided the offense. Wichita came up short, but David Banuelos still made his mark on the game. Check out how the rest of the action went. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson - St. Paul Saints SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 1 Box Score Blayne Enlow was used as an opener Thursday night for the Saints. He responded with two innings of hitless baseball. Enlow punched out three and didn’t allow a free pass. Kyle Garlick kicked things off nicely for the Saints when his first inning double brought Brooks Lee home and opened up the scoring. Then, an inning later, Lee doubled for the second time at Triple-A, and his two-base hit scored both Gilberto Celestino and Austin Martin. Anthony Prato blasted a solo shot in the fifth inning. His eighth of the season for St. Paul made it a 4-0 lead over Indianapolis. Doing his best Shohei Ohtani impression, Andrew Bechtold stepped on in relief for the eighth inning. Indianapolis plated a run and the Saints turned to Kody Funderburk for the final out of the frame. He came back out for the ninth and slammed the door giving St. Paul the victory. Prato posted a trio of hits and Garlick came up with two on his own. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 7, Springfield 6 (F/10) Box Score Aaron Rozek tossed the pill Thursday for the Wind Surge. It was a short outing after he allowed four runs on six hits across just 3 1/3. Rozek recorded a pair of strikeouts and also walked two. The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead after having put up a three-spot in the second inning. Yoyner Fajardo got the Wind Surge on the board after his sacrifice fly allowed Willie Joe Garry Jr. to score. The sides traded runs in the fourth inning. David Banuelos singled home Alerick Soularie to pull Wichita back within a pair. In the fifth inning, Springfield stretched the lead again, this time to 5-2. Banuelos answered again, a couple of innings later, when he launched his ninth home run to make it 5-3 in the seventh inning. L.J. Jones continued to torment the Wind Surge and helped to push another Cardinals run across in the eighth inning. The Wind Surge made things interesting after Aaron Sabato doubled home both Alerick Soularie and Banuelos in the ninth inning. Will Holland took over as a pinch runner and made it to third base on a passed ball. Dalton Shuffield needed a hit to come through and tie the game and found just that on the fifth pitch of his at bat. His single scored Holland and gave Wichita new life. Wichita shut down the Cardinals during the top of the tenth inning, and Tanner Schobel stepped in as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded and just one out. On the second pitch of his at bat Schobel singled to center and walked it off for the Wind Surge. Banuelos had himself a three-hit night while Shuffield grabbed a pair of his own. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Wisconsin 2 Box Score Cedar Rapids started Andrew Morris Thursday, and he came through with another strong performance. Morris worked five innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits. He also struck out seven and walked none. The outing dropped his ERA to 2.57 on the year. The Timber Rattlers struck first, but Cedar Rapids answered quickly. In the bottom of the first inning, Jorel Ortega doubled home Emmanuel Rodriguez to tie the game at one. After they watched Wisconsin add a run during the fifth inning, the Kernels scored four of their own. Ben Ross singled in Misael Urbina before Rodriguez drove in Mikey Perez on a ground out. Kala’i Rosario then blasted his 17th home run and he met Ross at home plate. Cedar Rapids looked for a bit of breathing room and found it during the eighth inning when Rodriguez stepped in with the bases loaded. His sacrifice fly scored Perez and made it a 6-2 game. Ortega got a shot with the bases loaded before the inning ended as well, but couldn’t capitalize. A.J. Labas was called on to get the final three outs. Wisconsin went down quietly and the Kernels grabbed the victory. With seven hits on the night, they were spread out evenly as just Noah Cardenas and Fedko went hitless. MUSSEL MATTERS Palm Beach 6, Fort Myers 5 (F/10) Box Score With Wednesday night’s action suspended due to rain in the fifth inning, the sides picked up where they left off on Thursday. Fort Myers was down 5-4 needing to draw even. Maddux Houghton roped his ninth double which allowed Rafael Cruz to score. Both Fort Myers and Palm Beach put up zeroes on the scoreboard the rest of the way, and extras were needed. After the Mighty Mussels didn’t score in the top of the 10th inning, the Cardinals walked it off. Ricardo Olivar, Nate Baez, and Rubel Cespedes all recorded a pair of hits each. Game 2 Palm Beach 6, Fort Myers 5 (F/7) Box Score In the regularly scheduled game for Thursday night, Jack Noble made the start. He went four innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on a pair of hits and walks. Noble also struck out four on Thursday. Fort Myers got on the board in the first inning after Cruz singled home Olivar. In the third inning, the Mighty Mussels added again on a Dillon Tatum double. Yohander Martinez raced home to make it a 2-0 lead before Luke Keaschall singled and allowed Tatum to cross the plate as well. Palm Beach grabbed a pair of runs in the fourth inning to make it a one-run game. Looking for separation, Kyle Schmidt provided some breathing room with his fifth inning double. Danny De Andrade and Cruz both scored on the play. After they allowed a four-run sixth inning, Fort Myers found themselves in need of a seventh inning run to force extras. Unable to put a rally, they dropped the shortened second game. Cruz posted a three-hit effort with Martinez providing two of his own as well. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Phillies White 8, DSL Twins 0 Box Score Things could have gone better for the Twins on Thursday. Adrian Bohorquez lasted just 2 2/3 innings after he gave up six runs (one uneared). The Twins defense made a whopping seven errors and that represented two more tallies than the amount of hits they had in the game. Javier Roman did record two of the Twins five hits, one of which was his sixth double of the season. Catching prospect Carlos Silva also picked up a base knock. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris (Cedar Rapids) - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, ER, 7 K Hitter of the Day – Anthony Prato (St. Paul) - 3-4, R, RBI, HR(8) PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B, BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, 2 RBI #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-4, R #10 - Luke Keaschall (Fort Myers) - 1-4, RBI, 2 K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, HR(17), R, 2 RBI, 2 BB #17 - Danne De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 0-2, R FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - TBD Springfield @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30PM CST) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! View full article

Dalton Shuffield hit two homers and wasn't even the hitter of the day! Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Willie Joe Garry) TRANSACTIONS INF Kamron Willman reinstated from Development List (Fort Myers) C Wilfri Castro activated from 60-day Injured List (FCL Twins) Saints Sentinel St. Paul 7, Columbus 3 Box Score Louie Varland: 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Anthony Prato (3-for-5, 2B, RBI, BB), Trevor Larnach (4-for-5, 3B, 2B, 3 R), Austin Martin (3-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI), Chris Williams (2-for-3, R, 3 RBI, BB) The Saints won handily on Saturday. I believe it’s a good thing when you out-hit your opponent 14 to six. Anthony Prato was a nuclear offensive force; the 25-year-old cracked a trio of hits and walked, pushing his Triple-A OPS to an unthinkable 1.119. He wasn’t even the best hitter, somehow, as Trevor Larnach tripled, doubled, and singled twice to give him his first four-hit game since July 13th, 2019. Austin Martin also had three hits. Sure. Louie Varland wasn’t quite himself on the mound—what with the walking three hitters and all. He still avoided allowing any earned runs thanks to some poorly-timed errors (aren’t they all?), and came one excruciating out away from earning a quality start. His bullpen had his back, though; Cole Sands, Michael Boyle, and Oliver Ortega carried the game to its final out without allowing another run to score. They combined to strike out five. St. Paul’s bats added eight walks on top of their 14 hits. Technically old friend, Chris Vallimont, pitched for the Clippers, although he probably wishes he didn’t: he allowed three runs over 2 2/3 innings. Cleveland’s best prospect—outfielder George Valera—walked once in five plate appearances. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 9, Tulsa 5 Box Score Jaylen Nowlin: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K HR: Dalton Shuffield (1, 2), Willie Joe Garry Jr. (1), Patrick Winkel (7) Multi-hit games: Yoyner Fajardo (3-for-5, 2B, RBI), Pat Winkel (3-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB), Dalton Shuffield (2-for-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB) An explosive sixth inning guided the Wind Surge to victory on Saturday. No pitcher was safe. Well, Denny Bentley was; but he was the only hurler on either team to not see runs cross the plate on his watch. It was the kind of walk-fest that would make a DSL team pink in the cheeks. Fortunately, Wichita was able to come out on top. They did it by air and by land; the team blasted four homers while swiping eight bases, surely giving them some sort of superlative record this writer is far too lazy to look up. In any case, the attack proved mightily effective, giving Wichita nine runs off just 10 hits—more than enough to best the Drillers on Saturday. But it wasn’t easy on the pitching side of things, as Jaylen Nowlin was inefficient, placing a burden onto the bullpen to scrape together five innings. They weren’t clean—both Alex Scherff and Aaron Rozek allowed runs—but it was enough. When Bentley elicited a pop out to end the game, every pitcher likely breathed in relief, finally happy to not have this game’s tyranny ruining their ERAs anymore. Tulsa is typically the zenith of the Dodgers’ excellent farm system, and catcher Diego Cartaya—ranked 18th in MLB—is their finest offering. He homered in the fifth off Scherff. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 3, Lansing 1 Box Score Andrew Morris: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K HR: Carson McCusker (1) Multi-hit games: None The Kernels won a pitcher’s duel on Saturday. Andrew Morris was brilliant, dominant. The righty shook off a poor introduction to A+ ball in his previous start, punching out nine with 16 total swings and misses—good for a swinging strike % of 19.5. That’s Spencer Strider territory. The Lugnuts appear fortunate to have even scored once off the righty from Texas Tech. Cedar Rapids needed the start, because the offense could only muster a minimal amount of runs. Mikey Perez knocked in one in the first, Carson McCusker plated two in the second, and then… nothing. McCusker’s homer concluded the day’s hits, and a third inning walk by Emmanuel Rodriguez proved to be the final baserunner for the Kernels. Fortunately, the rest of the pitching staff cleaned up Lansing’s batters; Jordan Carr worked two clean frames before Mike Paredes earned the final three outs with a lone walk serving as his only traffic. Clark Elliott—Oakland’s 15th-best prospect—went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Mussel Matters Ft. Myers 3, Dunedin 4 Box Score Jack Noble: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Ricardo Olivar (2-for-5, R), Kyle Schmidt (2-for-4) The Mighty Mussels lost a close game on Saturday. Jack Noble was good, but not good enough; the righty worked six frames, allowing a trio runs—a total lower than he should have, but we’ll talk about that later—off seven hits. He threw 83 pitches. A pair of 2023 draftees—Luke Keaschall and Jay Harry—collected hits on Saturday, with Harry earning his first A-ball double and Keaschall reaching base twice. In one of the stranger things that can happen at a ballpark, Dunedin centerfielder Jaden Rudd was thrown out at home twice, with the two corner outfielders each adding to their collection of assists. The Mighty Mussels offense was actually very well-rounded, walking five times while only punching out in six at-bats, but they couldn’t quite string together the hits needed to break through Dunedin’s meager lead. The Blue Jays have a pair of excellent pitching prospects at A-ball, but neither played in Saturday’s game, making shortstop Tucker Toman the best representative of Toronto’s farm system in this game. He earned two RBIs on a third inning double. Complex Chronicles FCL Twins 2, FCL Red Sox 7 Box Score John Klein: 4 2/3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, HR: None Multi-hit games: Brandon Winokur (3-for-4, 2B, R, RBI), Walker Jenkins (2-for-4, RBI) Two 2023 draft picks had big days on Saturday. Brandon Winokur—selected in the third round out of Edison High School—collected three hits, one of them being a double; Walker Jenkins singled twice. Pitching was less fortunate, though, as both John Klein and Matt Gabbert were roughed up, despite impressive K/BB numbers. One of the main culprits? Kyle Teel. Boston’s first-round pick in 2023 filled up the box score, homering, singling twice, and walking to give himself a perfect day at the plate. Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 5, DSL Nationals 6 Box Score Joel Garcia: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The DSL Twins were walked-off on Saturday. It was another classic DSL slopfest; the Twins scored five runs, but only acquired three RBIs, earning two of their runs off a fielder’s choice/fielding error double whammy. It wasn’t enough, though, as the team literally walked away their chances of winning, handing out five free passes in the final frame—including two to tie and lose the game. Big-name international signing, Hendry Chivilli, has an OPS of .582 after going 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. Dameury Pena, however, now holds an OPS of 1.020, and he swiped a base in Saturday’s game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Trevor Larnach PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 0-5, K #2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 2-4, RBI #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-2, R, BB #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 3-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-5, K #12 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, BB #13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 3-4, 2B, R, RBI #15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, 3 K #17 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-5, R, K #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-4 SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (3:05 PM) - LHP Brent Headrick Tulsa @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Chad Donato Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) - RHP Cory Lewis Fort Myers @ Dunedin (11:00 AM) - TBD View full article

Joe Mauer was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame pregame tonight and the team made sure to keep the vibes going by crushing the Diamondbacks 12-1. Ryan Jeffers hit two home runs and Michael A. Taylor homered for the third-straight game. Down in the minors, new Wichita arrivals Dalton Shuffield and Willie Joe Garry Jr. flexed while Andrew Morris struck out nine batters in a dominant start for Cedar Rapids. All that and much more in tonight's Twins System Recap. View full video

The Minnesota Twins were swept by the lowly Royals this weekend and have now lost five-straight games. This comes after they started the second half hot, going 9-2 out of the break. Down in the minors, Yunior Severino continued his tear Saturday, blasting a pair of homers. That gave him six home runs in a five-game stretch and 24 total on the season. Also featured are a couple of pitching debuts: Jaylen Nowlin's Double-A debut with Wichita and Andrew Morris' High-A debut for Cedar Rapids. View full video

Only the two short-season affiliates played games on Monday, but we have pitching probables, a bunch of transactions, and our encouragement to get out to a minor-league ballpark and see the Twins affiliates this week if you are able to. As we jump into another week of six-game series, here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Monday. St. Paul Saints: 55-40 Wichita Wind Surge: 37-52 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 56-34 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-45 FCL Twins: 16-18 DSL Twins: 8-25 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Byron Buxton was placed in the paternity list on Monday. Trevor Larnach was called up from St. Paul to take Buxton’s roster spot. LHP Jaylen Nowlin was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Double-A Wichita. RHP Andrew Morris was promoted from Fort Myers to High-A Cedar Rapids. Catcher Nate Baez, a 2022 draft pick, began his rehab assignment. His season has been altered by a broken hamate bone. OF Argenis Jimenez was released by the Twins. He had been on the FCL Twins roster. RHP Alejandro Crisostomo was assigned to the DSL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL Weekly Matchup - St. Paul, Toledo The Saints will be hosting the Detroit Tigers Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mudhens this week at CHS Field. Tuesday: RHP Louie Varland Wednesday: LHP Brent Headrick Thursday: RHP Simeon Woods Richardson Friday: LHP Dallas Keuchel Saturday: RHP Randy Dobnak Sunday: RHP Louie Varland Tuesday they will be celebrating Christmas in July (sponsored by Hamline University). Wednesday is Play Hooky Day, with a 1:07 game time! Cory Cove, Chris Hawkey and “Meatsauce” Paul Lambert from the Power Trip Morning Show on KFAN will be there. Thursday is Irish Night (presented by Cub). Friday night will have Fireworks (sponsored by Xcel Energy) with music from bands that are no longer together, and everyone in attendance will get an LED light bulb when they leave the ballpark! Saturday will be Hottest Day of the Year (presented by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association). Did you know that the highest temperature recorded in Minnesota history is 114.5 degrees? The Saints are celebrating and the first 2,000 fans will receive a blanket! Sunday is Copa de la Diversion dia numero dos (presented by Corona Hard Seltzer. This is the second of three nights that the Saints will celebrate the state’s Latino history. The “Saints” will become the “Santos de San Pablo” and wear specialty uniforms. If you’re able to, head over to CHS Field this week. Watch the Saints and have a lot of fun. Check out SaintsBaseball.com for more information and tickets. WIND SURGE WISDOM Weekly Matchup - Wichita, Frisco Tuesday: RHP Chad Donato Wednesday: RHP David Festa Thursday: RHP Pierson Ohl Friday: RHPs Marco Raya and Travis Adams piggyback Saturday: TBD (could this be the Double-A debut of Jaylen Nowlin?) Sunday: RHP Carlos Luna KERNELS NUGGETS Weekly Matchup - Cedar Rapids, Wisconsin For those interested, and able, you can head over to Appleton, Wisconsin, to check out the Kernels this week. You can also get us scouting reports on Brewers prospects for Brewer Fanatic. Tuesday: RHP Cory Lewis Wednesday: RHP C.J. Culpepper Thursday: RHP Zebby Matthews Friday: RHP Kyle Jones Saturday: LHP Christian MacLeod Sunday: RHP Andrew Morris With the addition of Andrew Morris, the Twins 2022 draft class is well represented in the Kernels starting rotation. RHP Kyle Jones (7th round) RHP Zebby Matthews (8th round) RHP Cory Lewis (9th round) RHP C.J. Culpepper (13th round) RHP Andrew Morris (4th round) LHP Connor Prielipp (2nd round) - Unfortunately, he is back on the Injured List. In addition, fellow 2022 draft picks infielders Ben Ross (5th round) and Jorel Ortega (6th round), and catcher Andrew Cossetti (11th round) are with the Kernels. Obviously first-round pick Brooks Lee has been in Double-A Wichita all season, but Competitive Balance pick Tanner Schobel was just promoted to Double-A as well. The lefty in the rotation is 2021 fifth-round pick Christian MacLeod. He missed the full 2022 season after having Tommy John and has done a nice job in his return. MUSSEL MATTERS Weekly Matchup: Fort Myers, Palm Beach Tuesday: RHP Miguelangel Boadas Wednesday: RHP Jose Olivares Thursday: LHP Jarret Whorff Friday: RHP Juan Mercedes Saturday: RHP Ben Ethridge Sunday: TBD COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 6, FCL Pirates 5 Box Score The Twins fell behind early but had just enough two-run innings to pull out a win in the end. Lefty Cesar Lares started and gave up four first-inning runs. However, he settled in and gave the team five innings. Overall, he gave up five runs (four earned) on three hits (two homers) and a walk. He notched eight strikeouts. Jacob Wosinski came in and struck out three batters over two perfect innings. Yon Landaeta gave up a hit and walked two over the final two innings, but he allowed no runs to score and struck out three batters. Already down four runs when they came to the plate in the bottom of the first, the Twins responded with two runs. A rehabbing Dalton Shuffield led off with a walk. Next up was another rehabber. 2022 draft pick Nate Baez has been out all season. This was his first game, and in his first at-bat, he drilled a double that sent Shuffield to third base. Yasser Mercedes walked to load the bases. Shuffield scored the first run on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Baez scored on a Byron Chourio ground out. The Twins tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Isaac Pena scored on a Daniel Pena sacrifice fly. Later, Endy Rodriguez scored on a passed ball. They fell behind 5-4 in the top of the fifth, but as you know, that was all the team allowed. In the bottom of the eighth, the Twins had their third and final two-run inning to take the lead. Again, the runs scored weren’t anything exciting, but they count just the same. They tied the game when Daniel Pena knocked in Byron Chourio with his second sacrifice fly of the game. Then Jankel Ortiz gave the team the lead on a sacrifice fly that drove in Isaac Pena. Dalton Shuffield led off and played second base. He went 1-for-3 with two walks. Nate Baez batted second and played behind the plate the first seven innings. The Twins had just four hits, but they were patient and took 10 walks in the game. Byron Chourio went 1-for-3 with a walk and his second double. Endy Rodriguez hit his fourth double and walked twice. Isaac Pena and Yasser Mercedes each walked twice. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 10, DSL Braves 9 Box Score While the FCL Twins fought back to grab a one-run win in the late innings, the DSL Twins jumped out to a big lead in the middle innings and held on for a one-run win. After two innings, the score was tied 1-1. After four innings, they were tied 4-4. The Twins responded with a four-run fifth inning and two more in the sixth frame to take a 10-5 lead. The Braves fought back with two in the eight and two more in the ninth, but ultimately, the Twins finished out a 10-9 win. Yilber Herrera provided several key hits for the Twins. He drove in a run in the second inning with a double. In the third frame, he drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. In the fifth inning, his 10th double of the season drove in two more runs and gave the Twins a 6-5 lead in the fifth. Later that inning, he scored on a balk. In the game, he went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI. Moises Lopez went 4-for-4 at the plate (and was hit by a pitch) with three runs scored. He had two stolen bases. In the third inning, he had a two-run single. Jayson Bass went 2-for-3, was hit by a pitch, and scored twice. Ewing Matos went 2-for-3 as well. Dameury Pena went 2-for-3 with a walk and his eighth double> He also stole his ninth base.. Ariel Castro went 1-for-4 with his second triple. The pitching side of the ledger wasn’t quite as impressive in this game. Miguel Cordero started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and two walks. In three innings, he had four strikeouts. Jose Vasquez gave up two runs on one hit and three walks over two innings. Luis Rincon walked one and struck one batter out in a scoreless sixth inning. Alejandro Crisostomo made his Twins debut. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He left the game with two runners on in the eighth. Jose Ojo came in and allowed both inherited runners to score. He then gave up two runs of his own in the ninth but got the 27th out on a strikeout with the tying run standing at third base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Co-Hitter of the Day – Yilber Herrera (DSL Twins) - 3-for-4, 2-2B(10), 1 R, 4 RBI. Co-Hitter of the Day – Moises Lopez (DSL Twins) - 4-for-4, HBP, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB(5). Pitcher of the Day – Jacob Wosinski (FCL Twins) - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, BB,K. E(5) #11 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 0-for-2, 2 BB. #15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-for-4 TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland (3-1, 3.81 ERA) Frisco @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Chad Donato (1-5, 8.59 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40 PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (3-0, 2.20 ERA) vs Minnesota native Nate Peterson, making his first High-A start. Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-2, 7.56 ERA) FCL Braves @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Mariners (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Monday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

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

Even the former major-leaguers couldn't help the Saints win, though. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints TRANSACTIONS OF Alec Sayre activated from 7-day IL (A-Fort Myers) SS Dalton Shuffield sent to a rehab assignment (FCL Twins) Saints Sentinel St. Paul 5, Omaha 8 Box Score Dallas Keuchel: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K HR: Jorge Polanco (1), Andrew Stevenson (11), Jair Camargo (14) Multi-hit games: Andrew Stevenson (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI), Jorge Polanco (2-for-3, HR, R, RBI), Mark Contreras (2-for-3, 2B, RBI) The Saints imploded late, allowing four runs in back-to-back frames to lose on Saturday. Dallas Keuchel shocked many earlier in the week, forgoing his opt-out to stay with St. Paul for the near future. His attachment was a reward for both sides; Keuchel continued to suppress runs, tossing six scoreless innings with just two hits allowed on 73 pitches. Jorge Polanco—rehabbing, perhaps soon to move to third base—smoked a solo shot to center to start the scoring. He wasn’t the only Saint homering to center; Andrew Stevenson blasted a two-run shot to give St. Paul a healthy 4-0 lead. It appeared the Saints were well on their way to a breezy victory, but fortune changed immediately when Keuchel left the game. Blayne Enlow imploded; the righty allowed seven earned runs over 1 1/3 innings, mixing in a pair of pickoff throwing errors to completely alter the shape of the game, turning it from an in-hand win for St. Paul to a sudden, heartbreaking deficit. Jair Camargo blasted a solo homer in the ninth, but that was all for the offense, and the Saints could only watch their once hard-earned lead dissipate into nothingness. Kansas City’s 3rd-ranked prospect, Nick Loftin, singled and struck out in four at-bats. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 2, Amarillo 8 Box Score Travis Adams: 5 2/3 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K HR: Alex Isola (12) Multi-hit games: None The Wind Surge scored twice in the first, and failed to do anything with it, eventually losing big to the Sod Poodles on Saturday. Let’s start with the good news: Alex Isola homered on his birthday. The fresh 25-year-old blasted a two-run shot in his first at-bat, giving the Wind Surge an early advantage. Unfortunately, the rest of the game only delivered bad news. Starter Travis Adams coughed up two runs of his own in the first—he gave up three over the course of his start—and Amarillo really stepped on the gas when Wichita’s bullpen entered the game. Each reliever allowed at least one run, leading to five extra runs, and a dominating, suffocating win for the Sod Poodles. Yoyner Fajardo swiped his 27th base of the season. The fifth-best prospect in MLB, Jordan Lawler, doubled twice and walked in an impressive showing out of the two-hole. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 2 Box Score Kyle Jones: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Kernels scored early, late to win their game on Saturday. It started quickly; Noah Miller walked and Ben Ross was hit by a pitch, placing the first two men of Cedar Rapids’ lineup on base to start the game. A passed ball moved both runners up. Kala’i Rosario wasn’t fancy—he didn’t need to be—and a simple well-placed groundout plated the first run of the game. Kyle Jones appreciated the support. The sinking groundball specialist gobbled up six efficient innings, only needing 62 pitches (with 48 strikes) to carry his team deep into the ballgame. He punched out two. The eighth saw a similar situation as the first, with Rosario, again, stepping up to the plate with runners in scoring position. The infield was in, but a second well-placed groundball caused the second baseman to hesitate slightly, allowing the speedster Mikey Perez to scamper home on Rosario’s second RBI of the night. The lead held, and Miguel Rodriguez was the reliever who slammed the door in the ninth. The usually stacked Cardinals minor league system lacked a true dominant prospect playing in Saturday’s game, but the wonderfully named Jimmy Crooks—13th in the system—caught and went hitless in four at-bats. Mussel Matters Ft. Myers 3, Bradenton 2 Box Score Andrew Morris: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K HR: Carson McCusker (7) Multi-hit games: Carson McCusker (2-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI), Dylan Neuse (2-for-4, 2B) The Mighty Mussels won their game on Saturday… eventually. Andrew Morris was masterful. Minnesota’s fourth-round pick in 2022 set a professional career-high in strikeouts, punching out eight batters over six frames of work. He allowed one earned run. There was an early stumble—Bradenton knocked him for two runs in the first two innings—but Morris locked in, allowing one lonely hit in his last four innings of work. It was a well-deserved win that he did not get. The Mighty Mussels and Marauders settled into an extended Cold War, wiping out nearly the entire game with stranded runners and batters walking back to the dugout; no team scored between second and ninth innings. But Fort Myers broke through eventually, plating two off a clutch two-out Carson McCusker homer. The rain came, forcing the bottom of the ninth to wait a little, but Gabriel Yanez was unfazed, tossing a clean inning to end the game—perhaps some time later than they hoped. Ricardo Olivar did not take an at-bat on Saturday, walking all four times he stepped up to the plate. 2nd baseman Termarr Johnson served as Bradenton’s finest prospect; the 26th-best prospect in MLB went hitless in four trips to the plate. Complex Chronicles FCL Twins 2, FCL Red Sox 4 Box Score John Klein: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K HR: Endy Rodriguez (2) Multi-hit games: Dalton Shuffield (2-for-4) The FCL Twins fell to the FCL Red Sox on Saturday. Rehabbing minor leaguer, Dalton Shuffield, collected a pair of hits out of the leadoff spot, also stealing a base for good effect. The rest of the offense mostly didn’t show up, though; Endy Rodriguez had the only extra-base hit with a fifth inning solo shot. They did find other ways to score, as Andres Centeno and Bryan Acuna executed a double steal, allowing Centeno to swipe home for the second run of the game. It was the FCL Twins’ final score. John Klein wasn’t great on the mound, but reliever Miguel Olivares was; he struck out two in a scoreless frame. Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 0, DSL NYY Yankees 3 Box Score Juan Cota: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The DSL Twins lost quietly on Saturday. The bats were silent; Hendry Chivilli was the sole extra-base hit earner, and he was promptly left stranded on second—along with every other DSL Twins hitter that reached base. Juan Cota was solid on the mound, tossing four frames with no earned runs and six punchouts. Defense proved to be the Achilles Heel, as they committed four errors, leading to two unearned runs scoring. Somehow, neither team got a hit with runners in scoring position. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dallas Keuchel Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Andrew Stevenson PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-4, K #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-4, K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-0 #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-4, K #11 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 0-3, K #15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, W #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 0-3, R, K #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-3 SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (5:05 PM) - RHP Randy Dobnak Wichita @ Amarillo (6:05 PM) - LHP Aaron Rozek Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) - LHP Christian MacLeod Fort Myers @ Bradenton (11:00 AM) - RHP Ben Ethridge View full article

There were plenty of storylines to look into on the farm Sunday. Dallas Keuchel went again for the Saints, and Jorge Polanco began a rehab assignment. Wichita exploded for a bunch of runs, and Brooks Lee continued to be the straw that stirs that drink. Image courtesy of Tim Grubbs TRANSACTIONS 2B Jorge Polanco begins a rehab assignment with St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL Durham 5, St. Paul 3 Box Score Making another rehab start for the Saints, Dallas Keuchel continues to force a decision on the Twins with an opt out at the end of the month. He did give up some gap contact, but only one turned into a double. Mixing pitches, he had Durham’s hitters off balance much of his outing. Toby Gardenhire allowed Keuchel to work into the sixth inning today. He finished allowing a homer to Rays prospect Austin Shenton, and did give up one other run. On the day he allowed three runs (one earned) on eight hits while striking out six and walking none. After an Austin Martin error on a routine grounder cost the Saints a run in the top of the first inning, they went to work having Polanco bat third as their designated hitter. His first at bat during the rehab assignment was a nicely smoked double to the left-center gap. Getting on the board during the second inning, Chris Williams continued his great year at Triple-A. Blasting another homer, he’s continued to make the Twins take a serious look at putting him on the 40-man roster. Durham grabbed a pair in the sixth inning, jumping back out to a 3-1 lead. Answering in the bottom of the seventh inning, Anthony Prato put a ball in the right-center gap. When the Bulls outfielders nearly collided for the catch, Mark Contreras raced home and Prato wound up at third. Alex De Goti singled down the left field line, and Prato jogged the last ninety feet to tie it. Working into trouble, Ronny Henriquez walked in a run to give Durham a 4-3 lead with no outs during the top of the ninth inning. A passed ball was credited to Jair Camargo on a Kody Funderburk pitch, and the Bulls added another. Funderburk did grab a pair of strikeouts, but the Saints needed two in the ninth inning to force extras. Unfortunately the rally came up short and 5-3 was how this one would end. Polanco and Contreras were the lone hitters with multiple hits for St. Paul today. Talking about his start after the game, Keuchel noted it had been nine days since he was last out there. "I was very fortunate to go six and get up to 90 pitches...I'm not going to complain about that outing." Asked about his opt out he said, "to the best of my knowledge, I think it's the 21st. For me this is about building up and getting comfortable. I'm sure in the coming days we'll figure something out. I signed here for a reason, I'd like to still be here...I had multiple offers on the table. The worry of having a job is not there. It's more about, I love competing. I feel good enough to get outs in the big leagues. We'll see what happens." The changeup was exceptional today for the Saints, and Keuchel noticed the wind blowing out would make the pitch play differently during his pre-game bullpen. "I love my changeup. I will say the way the wind was playing, it usually gives me a little bit more run and sink. Usually that hurts the breaking ball a bit. I told Camargo, I'd like to get the breaking ball going early, but we didn't really have to with the way the pitches were moving." Keuchel did see success last year at Triple-A with the Rangers, but unfortunately it didn't translate. That seems to be much more mental than stuff. "Last year I was pushing for pension and a couple of different things that had added stress I never had focused on before in my life. A lot of it is the same, but mentally I'm back on the competitive train." Playing in his first rehab game with the Saints since re-injuring his hamstring, Polanco said he feels great. Seeing live pitching for the first time, ripping a double immediately was nice. "The plan is to play five or six games here and see how I feel. I believe I'm playing second base on Thursday." In comparison to his previous rehab stint for the same injury Polanco said, "this time we have been a bit more conservative than just the two weeks. I will continue getting treatment and loose the rest of the year." WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 13, Springfield 12 (F/10) Box Score Travis Adams took the ball for Wichita this afternoon and hit a rough patch during the fourth inning. Working 3 2/3 Adams allowed four runs on five hits and a pair of walks. He did strike out three today. With a pair of scoreless innings behind them, the Wind Surge scored first when DaShawn Keirsey Jr. homered for the 11th time this season, making it 1-0. Things went downhill from there for the Wind Surge as Springfield scored four runs in the fourth inning, and another pair in the fifth inning. Continuing to stay hot, Brooks Lee roped his 29th double of the season, bringing in Ernie Yake, and Wichita had a run during their half of the fifth. Keirsey Jr. followed suit with his 14th double, and the base knock worked to bring Lee home. Yunior Severino kept the carousel turning when he singled home Keirsey Jr. and the deficit was now just two. Stepping in after a pitching change, with Severino and Alex Isola on board, Pat Winkel blasted a three-run shot to put Wichita back out in front. Aaron Sabato followed with a single, and the Wind Surge had scored six runs on nine hits in the fifth inning before recording an out. Sabato scored on a Yake ground out to make it an 8-6 game, and Lee recorded his second hit of the inning to bring home Yoiyner Fajardo and make it a 9-6 lead. Despite having come all the way back once, the Wind Surge was determined to do it a second time. They gave up four runs in the top of the sixth inning, now looking at a one-run disadvantage again. Watching another come across in the seventh inning, Springfield now lead 11-9 Answering with two in the seventh, it was none other than Lee with his ninth home run. The two-run shot brought home Yake and evened it at 11. Despite scoring 11 runs on 16 hits, it wasn’t enough for the Wind Surge to win this in regulation. Springfield went to bat first with their 11 runs on 20 hits drawing even, and attempted to drive in a run against Wichita reliever Alex Scherff. They did bring home the inherited runner, but that’s where the door was slammed. Isola then stepped in and delivered a walk-off inside-the-park-home-run to end this one in hilarious fashion. Lee contributed four hits, along with Isola, while Keirsey Jr. had three. Severino, Sabato, and Fajardo all had two hit games. KERNELS NUGGETS Beloit 13, Cedar Rapids 6 Box Score It was Christian MacLeod’s turn on the bump today for Cedar Rapids, he went four strong allowing one run on five hits. He walked three and struck out three during the outing. The Kernels kicked things off with a run in the first inning when Kalai’ Rosario brought home Tanner Schobel with a ground out. Then in the third inning, Cedar Rapids added again after Noah Cardenas doubled home Rosario and Jorel Ortega. Jose Salas followed with a ground rule double to drive in Cardenas and the lead stretched to 4-0. In the fourth inning Cardenas drove in Schobel with a sacrifice fly before Noah Miller singled home Rosario. Beloit did push a run across in the fourth inning, but they were staring at a 6-1 deficit. Matthew Swain came on for the Kernels and had a tough outing giving up four runs without recording an out. Niklas Rimmel closed down the rally and preserved a one-run lead for Cedar Rapids through five. The pitching woes continued during the sixth inning however, and Cedar Rapids watched Beloit bring home six more putting them behind 11-6. Seeing Beloit drive in two more during the eighth inning, this wound up being a game the Kernels would prefer to forget. After leading 6-0, they were outscored 13-0. Schobel, Ortega, and Cardenas each had a pair of hits for Cedar Rapids to help with their nine total on the day. MUSSEL MATTERS Clearwater 10, Fort Myers 8 (F/10) Box Score Andrew Morris got the start this afternoon and he was nearly perfect over four innings. Allowing just a single hit and two walks, Morris didn’t give up and punched out four. He dropped his ERA to 2.74. Starting things off with three runs in the first inning, Fort Myers scored on a pair of blasts. Carson McCusker continues to be on fire and blasted his sixth homer for the game’s first run. Mikey Perez also hit his sixth homer, a two run shot scoring Rafael Cruz. Clearwater came roaring back during the fifth inning with a six-spot, and then added another in the top of the sixth inning. Fort Myers saw their lead disappear and needed to get to work. Allowing an eighth Clearwater run in the top of the seventh, the Mighty Mussels flexed in the bottom half. Rubel Cespedes drove in Maddux Houghton on a ground out before Cruz scored Ricardo Olivar with a ground out of his own. Perez then blasted his second dinger of the day, a two-run shot scoring McCusker, and bringing Fort Myers within one. Kyle Schmidt singled home Dylan Neuse before the inning was over, and this thing was knotted at eight. Unable to push a run across during the ninth inning, the pair headed to extras. Scoring their inherited runner and tacking on another one, Clearwater applied pressure making it 10-8 going into Fort Myers’ final at bats. Perez stepped in with the bases loaded, but didn’t find a way to do more damage and that’s how this one ended. Both McCusker and Perez had a pair of hits on the day, with each leaving the yard. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris (Fort Myers) - 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB 4 K Hitter of the Day – Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 4-6, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B(29), HR(9) 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) - 4-6, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B(29), HR(9) #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 1-1, R #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-4, K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, RBI, 2B(9) #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, RBI #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-4, R, RBI, 2 BB TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (12:05PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05PM CST) - TBD Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games! View full article