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The Minnesota Twins played a doubleheader in Cleveland Tuesday 6/28. Here are highlights of both of those games plus some of the minor league action across the system. Spencer Steer, Austin Martin and Christian Encarnacion-Strand are among the prospects featured. View full video

The Minnesota Twins had a nice bounceback victory over the Rockies Saturday. Down in the minors, Michael Helman went deep twice for the Saints and Christian Encarnacion-Strand walked it off for the Kernels. All that and more in tonight's system recap. View full video

It was an ugly night on the farm for the Minnesota Twins farm system, but Matt Walner launched his 13th dinger for the Wind Surge, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand was a bright spot for Cedar Rapids. Transactions: C Jair Camargo placed on IL by Wichita RHP Daniel Gossett assigned to Wichita from St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 10, St. Paul 1 Box Score Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Josh Winder was making another rehab start for the Saints this afternoon. He worked three innings allowing one run on two hits and a walk. Winder threw 46 pitches in this one, so another rehab start to stretch him back out could be on tap. Columbus scored first grabbing a run in the 1st inning, but St. Paul answered in the second when Jermaine Palacios drove in Michael Helman with a single to left field. The Clippers took back the lead with another run in the 4th inning and that’s where things sat until the 7th inning. What was a close game going into the final few frames wound up being a blowout. A trio of St. Paul pitchers including Jordan Balazovic, Jake Petricka, and Drew Strotman all gave up multiple runs. Columbus tacked on three in the 7th inning before putting up a five-spot in the 8th inning. St. Paul couldn’t rally in the 9th inning and they wound up with just five hits on the day, with extra-base hits coming in the form of Jake Cave and Curtis Terry doubles. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 5, Wichita 3 Box Score Sawyer Gipson-Long made his Double-A debut tonight for the Wind Surge and it was a tough one. Lasting just 4 2/3 innings, he gave up five runs on six hits. The silver lining was just one walk while punching out five. The damage came predominantly on two homers. Down 4-0 after the 2nd inning, Wichita got on the board when Matt Wallner blasted his 13th dinger of the year in the 4th inning. Tulsa wiped that run with a 5th inning homer, but the Wind Surge went back to work in the 6th inning. Anthony Prato drove in DaShawn Keirsey Jr. before Leobaldo Cabrera roped his 5th homer of the season. Down to their last raps in the 9th inning, Wichita made things interesting. Edouard Julien scored on a wild pitch and then Daniel Ozoria advanced to 3rd base on another wild pitch. Down just one with the tying run 90 feet away, Andrew Bechtold stuck out swinging on a 2-2 count. He was the only Wind Surge batter to record two hits on the evening. KERNELS NUGGETS Dayton 10, Cedar Rapids 7 Box Score The Kernels gave the ball to Brent Headrick tonight but it was an abbreviated outing after four runs scored on five hits. Headrick struck out one and walked one but a three-run blast did him in. By the bottom of the 2nd inning, Cedar Rapids trailed 5-0. Dylan Neuse got the good guys on the board with a single to score Seth Gray, but that was the lone production from the inning. Gray continued to drive the ball in the 3rd inning though, with a two-run homer for his 7th on the campaign. Dayton stretched the lead to seven by the 8th inning, but the Kernels mounted a rally. In the bottom half, Yunior Severino drove in Aaron Sabato with a single. Neuse then plated Severino before an error on a Will Holland ball scored Pat Winkel. Cutting the lead to four entering the 9th inning, Kyler Fedko took advantage of another error on Gray’s groundout that put the Kernels within three. Unfortunately, that’s where things ended and Cedar Rapids was on the short end of the stick. Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Neuse were the lone Kernels with multi-hit efforts on the evening. MUSSEL MATTERS Bradenton 12, Fort Myers 8 Box Score Travis Adams got the ball tonight for the Mighty Mussels and worked four innings. He gave up four runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking none. It was a tougher outing that raised his ERA to 2.94 on the season. Fort Myers scored first when LaRon Smith roped his first double of the season to score Rubel Cespedes and Keoni Cavaco. The Marauders quickly wiped that out, however, when they added three of their own in the 3rd inning. It was 4-2 entering the bottom of the 4th inning and the Mighty Mussels flexed some scoring power. Luis Baez scored Smith despite the ball being grounded back to the pitcher. Mikey Perez then tallied his 14th double to score both Nelson Roberto and Baez. A Cespedes single came in before the inning was done and Perez touched home. When the dust settled, Fort Myers led by a 6-4 tally. From there Bradenton went to work. They added one in the 5th inning, two in the 6th inning, one in the 7th inning, and four in the 8th inning. By the time Fort Myers batted in the bottom of the 8th inning, it was a 12-6 game. Cespedes did come through with a single to score Baez, and then Baez doubled in the 9th inning to score Smith. Despite the answers, it wasn’t enough to close the gap. Fort Myers recorded 10 hits on the day, five shy of Bradenton, but they got multi-hit efforts from Cespedes (3), Cavaco (2), Smith (2), and Baez (2). COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 5, FCL Braves 2 (F/7) Box Score Saints utility man Daniel Robertson continues to rehab with the FCL team. Today he was 2-for-4 with a double and his second homer. Ricardo Olivar also had a two-hit day in the win. Jonathan Lavallee worked three innings of scoreless relief and picked up his first professional win as a result. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Giants Orange 5, DSL Twins 2 (F/7) Box Score Junior Marino and Luis Rodriguez both contributed a pair of hits apiece for the Twins DSL club today. Despite picking up nine hits, the Twins never recorded one of the extra-base variety. Eduardo Soriano made the start and pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up one run on one hit and a pair of walks. He struck out four. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Cabezas (Wichita) - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Hitter of the Day – Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, R, 2 2B PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-5, 2 K #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, K #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 0-4, K #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-4, R, RBI, HR(13), BB, K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-2, R, 3 BB #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, R, 2 2B FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05PM CST) - RHP Ariel Jurado Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05PM CST) - LHP Blayne Enlow Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Aaron Rozek Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates and the two Complex Season affiliates back and playing. View full article

The Minnesota Twins jumped out to a big lead in Arizona, Cade Povich struck out a career-high 11 batters for Cedar Rapids and both Kyle Garlick and Spencer Steer hit home runs for St. Paul. All that and more in tonight's system recap. View full video

The Minnesota Twins are out west so I figured we'd switch it up a bit tonight. In addition to discussing the minor league action, I went through my entire top-30 Twins prospect list and provided some updates and recent trends on each player. There are also highlights of Alex Kirilloff, Edouard Julien and Christian Encarnacion-Strand from tonight's action. View full video

The Minnesota Twins lineup ran out of power Sunday, as they were shutout by the Rays. That wasn't a problem down in the minors for Alex Kirilloff and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Kirilloff homered for the seventh time in his last nine games for the Saints while Encarnacion-Strand socked a grand slam for the Kernels. Those highlights and more in tonight's Twins System Recap. View full video

The Minnesota Twins lineup ran out of power Sunday, as they were shutout by the Rays. That wasn't a problem down in the minors for Alex Kirilloff and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Kirilloff homered for the seventh time in his last nine games for the Saints while Encarnacion-Strand socked a grand slam for the Kernels. Those highlights and more in tonight's Twins System Recap. View full video

Just like their Major League counterparts, many of the Twins minor league hitters had a fantastic start to their seasons during the month of April. Find out which Minor League hitter took home the award as voted upon by Twins Daily writers. The Twins Minor League affiliates had some hot hitters throughout the month of April. As many focused on Royce Lewis’ return to the diamond for the first time in over two years, other names such as Charles Mack, Spencer Steer, and Curtis Terry showed what they are capable of at the plate. Although all these mentioned names had great months in April, they did not finish in the top three places with the Twins Daily voting results for minor league hitter of the month. Now here are the results of the top four vote-getters for the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. Honorable Mention 3: Royce Lewis, St. Paul Saints The biggest question mark for many Twins fans coming into the 2022 season was how quickly Royce Lewis could re-acclimate himself to the game, the daily grind after missing two full seasons. The number didn't seem as important as simply getting back on the field, showing health, and getting at-bats and time at shortstop. Well, the 2017 top pick played in 21 Saints games and hit .320/.441/.587 (1.028) with nine doubles, a triple, and three home runs. He has hit the ball hard. He has hit for power. He has shown off his speed with infield singles and stolen bases. Just as important, he has shown very good command of the strike zone. In 93 plate appearances, he has 18 strikeouts (19.3%) and 15 walks (16.1%). Also, he has played well defensively at shortstop. He has a couple of errors, but he has made plays going in each direction. After so much time, the 23-year-old needs to just keep playing and enjoying the game. As you can see in the updated Prospect Tracker, he has returned to the #1 spot on the Twins Daily Prospect rankings. Honorable Mention 2: Emmanuel Rodriguez, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels Emmanuel Rodriguez was ranked #15 on the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects coming into the season. Now he has risen to the rank of number ten and proved why he belongs there during the month of April. Rodriguez did not have the flashiest batting average in April. He hit just .241, but the other two-thirds of his triple slash were fantastic in April with a .440 on-base percentage and .574 slugging percentage. Rodriguez had also fared much better at home than on the road in his 17 games played in April. Rodriguez crushed the ball at home hitting .320/.485/.680 in eight games at Fort Myers, but he hit .172/.405/.483 on the road in nine games. If Rodriguez can bring his hot hitting on the road as he does at home, he may find himself further up this list for the month of May. Honorable Mention 1: Kyler Fedko, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels Kyler Fedko is not a power hitter like his teammate Rodriguez, but he certainly is a Twins prospect to keep an eye on at Fort Myers. Fedko had an excellent start to his season in the month of April posting a .350/.438/.550 triple slash with nine extra-base hits in 17 games. The 22-year-old outfielder played in 23 games last season with the Mighty Mussels after the Twins made him their 12th-round pick out of Connecticut. He has already eclipsed his doubles, triples, and home runs from last season. With more regular playing time for Fedko and a continuation of his current hot streak at the plate, there is a good chance he could see playing time at Cedar Rapids come June. Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Cedar Rapids Kernels If Twins fans didn’t know the name Christian Encarnacion-Strand before April, they certainly know it now. Encarnacion-Strand had one of the best months of any minor league hitter with the Kernels posting a .410/459/.680 (1.138) with four doubles, a triple, five home runs, and 23 runs batted in. He also stole three bases. He started the season on fire. In the first game of the season, he went 4-for-5 with two homers and nine RBI. The next day, he went 5-for-5 with a double, a homer, and five RBI. He had hits in 15 of 19 games during the month. And in two of those games, he had five of his seven walks. He had 11 multi-hit games including a stretch of seven out of nine games. It's what he's been doing since the Twins selected him in the fourth round of last year's draft. He had played at Oklahoma State where his head coach was Robin Ventura and his hitting coach was Matt Holliday. After signing, he joined the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels and had hits in each of his first 20 games and in 21 of 22 games. In those games, he hit .391/.424/.598 (1.022) with two doubles, two triples and four home runs. Thanks to his elite month, Encarnacion-Strand has found himself on the Updated Twins Daily Top 20 prospects list at # 18. In 19 games across April, Encarnacion-Strand was arguably the second most talked about Twins prospect behind Lewis. It still may be a while before Encarnacion-Strand finds himself in St. Paul, but he is on a streak that could see him at Double AA Wichita in the not-so-distant future. Feel free to share your own rankings for Twins Minor League hitters of the month for April in the comment section below. View full article

Fort Myers did not play on Friday due to poor weather. Saint Paul played two-thirds of a game before they were suspended due to poor weather. The two other Twins affiliates played extra-inning games. A Top 5 pitcher made a start and continued to dominate. A couple of Top 5 hitters had productive days at the plate without recording hits. Read all about them and more in tonight’s Minor League Report. The weather was a factor for two of the Twins’ affiliates today. The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels game was postponed and the St. Paul Saints game was suspended after six innings. The Mighty Mussels hope to play a doubleheader on Saturday. The two games that were completed went to extra innings, but Twins affiliates in these games only combined for just eight hits. In addition, we saw one Twins' top prospects continue to climb the stolen bases leaderboard as he proves that he can make an impact at the major league level. Without further ado, let’s see what happened on this Friday in the Twins organization. SAINTS (AAA) St. Paul 3, Nashville 7 Box Score The Saints tied the game up at three in the bottom of the sixth before the rain hit and the game was suspended. Chi Chi Gonzalez made the start for the Saints and allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings while striking out six batters. He has now allowed five earned runs in 10 2/3 innings this season. The Saints looked like they were going to get off to a hot start in the first inning after Royce Lewis walked and Alex Kirilloff hit a single, but the next three batters were retired in order to strand the runners. Nashville hit a home run in each of the second and third innings, but the Saints finally broke through to the run column in the fourth inning when Jake Cave singled and Daniel Robertson drove him in with a double to reduce the deficit to two runs. With two outs in the fifth inning, Daniel Gossett replaced Gonzalez. Gossett faced four batters, struck out two, and induced two ground balls to Lewis to finish the sixth inning unscathed. In the bottom of the frame, Cave and Jermaine Palacios singled before Elliot Soto drove them both in with a double to tie the game up at three. After Nashville got out of the inning, the rain became too heavy and the game was halted going into the seventh inning in a 3-3 tie. When the game continued Saturday afternoon, Nashville scored a run in the top of the eighth to take the lead but a runner got thrown out at home on a relay from Mark Contreras to Robertson to David Banuelos to end the top of the eighth. After a scoreless bottom of the eighth, the Saints turned to Juan Minaya in the ninth, who walked the first three batters before allowing an RBI single and a two-run double before being pulled with runners on second and third with no outs. The Saints then turned to Ryan Mason out of the bullpen who struck out the first batter, walked Brewers #4 prospect Brice Turang, and struck out the last two batters to send the game to the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 7-3. Mason has now struck out nine batters in five and 2/3 innings in 2022. In the bottom half, Lewis and Jose Miranda singled but the Saints couldn't bring either of them across, falling 7-3 to the Nashville Sounds. Lewis went 1-1 with four walks in the game, raising his season on-base percentage to .433. Cave went 2-5 with two runs scored and Soto finished with two RBI. The Saints are now 12-9 on the season. WIND SURGE (AA) Wichita 3, Arkansas 1 Box Score In a lackluster offensive performance, the Wichita Wind Surge beat the Arkansas Travelers behind some excellent pitching. Matt Canterino made the start for Wichita, going three strong innings, striking out four, and not allowing any hits. He is now up to 12 2/3 innings this season and his ERA is down to 2.13. He has struck out 18 batters and allowed nine walks. He has been limited due to elbow issues in 2021, but his workload is slowly increasing in hopes that he could be an impact pitcher in the big leagues sometime soon. After Canterino was done, Steven Klimek threw two scoreless innings. The Wind Surge didn’t get their first base runner until the fifth inning when Matt Wallner singled. After Arkansas broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth, the Wind Surge tied it up when Cole Sturgeon came in to score on a double play after being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. The Wind Surge got some excellent relief pitching from Brandon Lawson and Evan Sisk to force extra innings while the offense remained stagnant. Sisk got out of a huge second-and-third jam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra frames. He has not allowed a run in 10 1/3 innings this year. In the top of the tenth, the Wind Surge began with Leobaldo Cabrera on second base and got off to a good start when Kevin Merrell reached on a sacrifice bunt and Andrew Bechtold walked to load the bases. DaShawn Keirsey and Austin Martin hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to give the Wind Surge a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the tenth, where Alex Scherff didn’t allow a run thanks to Wallner throwing out a runner at home to end the game. Sturgeon and Wallner collected the only two hits for the Wind Surge in the contest. Despite going hitless, Martin had a productive day at the plate by walking, reaching via hit by pitch, stealing a base, and driving in a run on a sac fly. Martin now has ten stolen bases, good for second in the league. The Wind Surge are now 11-8 this season as well as 3-1 in extra-inning games. KERNELS (HIGH-A) Cedar Rapids 2, Beloit 3 Box Score The Cedar Rapids Kernels dropped a heartbreaker to the Beloit Snappers in 10 innings, losing 3-2 on a walk-off single. The extra-inning runner-on-second rule hurt Cedar Rapids, as they were unable to score in the top of the tenth with their extra runner, and Beloit walked them off in the bottom half of the inning. Sean Mooney was masterful in his third start of the season, throwing five scoreless innings while striking out eight batters and only allowing two walks and one hit. For the season, he is up to 13 innings while allowing three earned runs, eight hits, and 17 strikeouts. The Kernels couldn’t get anything going offensively through the first five innings, only mustering up four singles against Beloit. In the sixth inning, the Kernels put up two runs when Christian Encarnacion-Strand singled, Aaron Sabato walked, Jair Camargo scored Encarnacion-Strand with a double, and Jeferson Morales scored Sabato with a sacrifice fly to give the Kernels a 2-0 lead. The game stayed 2-0 until the eighth inning, thanks to two scoreless innings from Bobby Milacki. In the bottom of the eighth, the Snappers used single and back-to-back doubles to tie the game up at two going into the ninth inning. After an uneventful ninth inning in which he struck out two batters, Derek Molina began the tenth inning and gave up a hit to Davis Bradshaw which proved to be the walk-off hit thanks to the extra-inning runner-on-second rule. Encarnacion-Strand and Will Holland each had two hits in the game to lead the offense for Cedar Rapids. MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A) Fort Myers, Clearwater (Postponed) Friday’s game was postponed due to inclement weather. The plan is for these teams to play two, seven-inning games on Saturday, starting at 4:30. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Sean Mooney (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 1-1, 4 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: #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-2, BB, SB (10), RBI, K (played CF) #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 1-1, 4 BB, SB (5) #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-4, K #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (42 pitches, 25 strikes) #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-3, BB, 2 K #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-4, BB SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS (Saints game will continue at 1:07 PM CST) Nashville @ St. Paul (2:07 CST) - RHP Jacob Faria (0-0, 4.76 ERA) Wichita @ Arkansas (7:05 CST) - RHP Ben Gross (0-0, 5.19 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-0, 2.08 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (DH @ 4:30 CST) - RHP Travis Adams (1-0, 1.20 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games! Thank you for reading, and Go Twins! View full article

The Twins had an exciting victory Sunday afternoon thanks to a Byron Buxton walk-off home run. The Twins minor-league affiliates did not have as exciting of wins but still provided entertaining baseball throughout the day. TRANSACTIONS There were no transactions in the Twins minor leagues on Sunday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Toledo 8 Box Score SP: Daniel Gossett - 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi hit games: Curtis Terry (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI (9)) The Saints played their final game of a week-long series against the Toledo Mud Hens and came up short on a chance to split the six-game series Sunday losing 8-3 to the Mud Huns The offense performed a bit better than they did in their 5-2 loss to the Mud Hens on Saturday. Curtis Terry led the Saints in hitting going two for four with four runs batted in Sunday, but only three other Saints hitters managed to get hits against the Mud Hens pitching. Daniel Gossett did not have the start he was hoping for on Sunday. Gossett made his shortest start of the season on Sunday only going two and a third innings but gave up a minimum number of runs for the season so far with only two. Cole Sands relieved Gossett but had his worst outing of the season so far. In one inning of relief, Sands gave up four hits, five earned runs and two walks which put the Mud Hens up 7-2 after four innings. The Saints will return home Tuesday for a two-week stretch playing their first series against the Milwaukee Brewers Triple AAA affiliate the Nashville Sounds for their next six games. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 10, Midland 7 Box Score SP: Matt Canterino - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: Kevin Merrell (3) Multi hit games: Kevin Merrell (2-3, R, HR, 2 RBI (8)), Michael Helman (3-4, 2 R, 2B, 3B (2), 2 RBI (11), SB (4), BB, K), Matt Wallner (2-4, R, 3 RBI (7), BB, K), Cole Sturgeon (2-4, RBI (13), K) The Wind Surge faced tough back-to-back losses against the RockHounds Friday and Saturday and got revenge against them with a 10-7 win on Sunday. The hitters came alive on Sunday, combining for 11 hits, nine walks, and two triples from Michael Helman and Edouard Julien. Helman was the hitter of the game for the Wind Surge on Sunday as he came a home run short of the cycle and did everything else a hitter could. Forest Lake native Matt Wallner saw his hitting game recover after struggling at the plate over the last week as well, going 2-for-4 and driving in three runs in the Wind Surge victory. Matt Canterino made his fourth start of the season for the Wind Surge and although he only faced the RockHounds lineup all the way through once, he was perfect in all three innings. Canterino made his second consecutive start of three-inning, perfect pitching Sunday and showed great resurgence with the Wind Surge. The Wind Surge will be making their second road trip of the season this week facing the Arkansas Travelers who currently hold a 8-7 record on the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 4 Box Score SP: Aaron Rozek 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: Anthony Prato (2) Multi hit games: Anthony Prato (2-4, 2 R, HR, RBI (13)), Christian Encarnacion-Strand (2-4, 2 R, 2B, 3B (1), RBI (23) 2 K), Willie Joe Garry Jr. (2-4, R, 2 2B, RBI (3)) The Kernels finished up their first full homestand of the season against the Peoria Chiefs on Sunday taking five out of six games against the Chiefs. The Kernels stand at a High-A Midwest Division best record 12-3 now thanks to their hot bats Christian Encarnacion-Strand led the lineup once again, nailing his first triple of the season and adding to his league-high runs batted in total which now stands at 23. Anthony Prato had another impressive game on Sunday as well going two for four with a home run and a couple of runs. Kernels left fielder Willie Joe Garry Jr. had his first offensive breakout for the season going two for four with a couple of doubles and an RBI. Aaron Rozek threw another impressive game on Sunday going five full innings and allowing only five base runners. Rozek did give up three runs in his start but still maintained the lead for the Kernels through five. The Kernels next series is on the road against the Beloit Sky Carp for another six-game stand and will be their second series against the Sky Carp for the season. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Dunedin 3 Box Score SP: Travis Adams 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi hit games: Jesus Feliz (2-3, R, BB) The Mighty Mussels completed their six game road trip to Dunedin with a 3-2 loss and series split against the Blue Jays on Sunday. Mussels starter Travis Adams made another dominant five-inning start for his teammates going five innings, allowing only two base runners, both in the bottom of the first. After the rocky first inning, Adams kept the Blue Jays off the bases for the rest of his start. The Mussels offense was able to tie the game in the top of the third thanks to a Kyler Fedko sacrifice fly. The game remained scoreless thereafter until the top of the sixth when the Mussels took a two to one lead following a Daniel Ozoria single that scored Jake Rucker. Going into the ninth the Mussels held their 2-1 lead but Mussels reliever Samuel Perez was only able to record one out before giving up a ground-rule double to Blue Jays Angel Del Rosario that tied the game. Perez then gave up a single to Adriel Sotolongo that gave the Blue Jays the game-winning run and put the Mussels overall record to 10-5 on the season. The Mussels will begin their next series on Tuesday night at home against the Phillies Single-A affiliate, the Clearwater Threshers. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Ft. Myers) - 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Hitter of the Day – Michael Helman (Wichita) - 3-4, 2 R, 2B, 3B (2), 2 RBI (11), SB (4), 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: #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-4, R, BB #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 0-4, 2 K #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-3, 2 R, 2B, BB #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K #9 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, R, BB, 2 K, 2 SB (5) #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - 0-1 #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 2-4, R, 3 RBI (7), BB, K #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-3, 3 R, 2B, 2 BB, K #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-4, 2 R, 3B (1), RBI (3), BB, 2 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, April 26. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games as the second weekend of the Minor and Major League seasons has concluded. View full article

The Minnesota Twins' minor league starting pitchers dominated and a couple of young prospects crushed multiple home runs as the farm system combined to go 3-1 Friday night. TRANSACTIONS OF Kyle Garlick selected by the Minnesota Twins RHP Dereck Rodriguez designated for assignment SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Indianapolis 4 Box Score The Saints bounced back nicely after getting no-hit Wednesday and snowed out Thursday to pick up their sixth win of the young season. Devin Smeltzer started on the bump, going five scoreless innings, striking out three, and allowing only three Indianapolis batters to reach base. The lefty has yet to allow an earned run across his first nine innings, successfully piggybacking off of a strong Spring Training in which many thought he would be the final addition to the Twins bullpen. Mario Sanchez struggled in his two innings of relief, surrendering three runs. However, Yennier Cano and Juan Minaya shut the door on Indianapolis to secure the win. Mark Contreras and Royce Lewis powered the Saints offensively as the two combined to go 4-for-7 with two doubles, a home run, and four RBI. At 27 years old and over four years of minor league experience, you won’t find Contreras’s name on most Twins top prospect lists. However, he has a sweet swing and good pop from the left side of the plate. He can also play a capable right field. Should the Twins deal with multiple long-term injuries in the outfield this summer, it would not surprise to see Contreras get a call up. Curtis Terry (1-for-4, 2 RBI) also belted a home run, while Chance Sisco (1-for-3, BB), Jermaine Palacios (1-for-4, R), and Elliot Soto (1-for-3, R) contributed hits. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Northwest Arkansas 2 Box Score The Wind Surge picked up their second win of the season Friday night thanks to a solid outing from Simeon Woods Richardson as well as a combination of aggressive base running and timely hitting. Woods Richardson looked like a top 100 prospect during his first three innings of work as he effectively mixed his fastball with his loopy curve and running changeup. While he only picked up three strikeouts on the night, Natural batters from either side of the plate were largely unable to make solid contact against Wood Richardson. However, his last two frames were more laborious as he surrendered two hits, an unearned run, and lost some of his command. Cody Funderburk came on in relief for Woods Richardson and pitched three solid innings. He struck out one and allowed one earned run. Austin Schulfer picked up the save with a scoreless ninth. Alex Isola led the Wind Surge at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run and RBI. Spencer Steer added an RBI of his own on a double after Austin Martin (0-for-2, 3 BB, 4 SB) stole second. Michael Helman (1-for-3) also drove in Martin on a triple. Dennis Ortega (2-for-5), Andrew Bechtold (1-for-4, RBI) and DaShawn Keirsey (1-for-3, BB, R) also contributed hits. KERNELS NUGGETS Quad Cities 8, Cedar Rapids 3 Box Score A strong start from Brent Headrick and another two home run game from Christian Encarnacion-Strand was not enough to propel the Kernels past the River Bandits on Friday. Headrick tossed the first four innings of the game, surrendering only one hit and striking out eight. The lefty’s performance was largely derived from the success of his slider, which had Quad Cities batters off guard all evening. Unfortunately, Cody Lawyerson and Andrew Cabezas were unable to build off of Headrick’s dominance and combined to surrender eight runs, all earned, over their 3 ⅓ innings. Matt Mullenbach pitched the final ⅔ innings, striking out and walking one. Encarnacion-Strand was the lone Kernel to register a multi-hit game, slugging two home runs and driving in all three of Cedar Rapids’ runs. He now has five dingers and 20 RBI across his first 30 at-bats of the season. Anthony Prato (1-for-4, BB, R), Aaron Sabato (1-for-4), and Charles Mack (1-for-4, 2B) logged the Kernels other hits. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 12, Jupiter 0 Box Score Fort Myers dominated the Hammerheads Friday behind the thrust of overwhelming play from starting pitcher John Stankiewicz and burgeoning power hitter Emmanuel Rodriguez. Stankiewicz tossed six scoreless innings, striking out 10 Jupiter batters and limiting the Hammerheads to three singles. Through two starts, the former undrafted free agent owns a 1.64 ERA to go along with 19 strikeouts and only two walks. Hunter McMahon and Mike Paredes combined to strike out four batters across three scoreless innings of relief. Rodriguez belted two home runs in four plate appearances, raising his batting average and OPS to .409 and 1.618, respectively. Kyler Fedko (3-for-4, 2 RBI, 3 R) and Kyle Schmidt (2-for-4, 4 RBI, R) also launched home runs. Dylan Neuse added the Mighty Mussels only other extra base hit, a double. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – RHP John Stankiewicz (Fort Myers): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K, 65 pitches Hitter of the Day – Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-1, 3 BB, 4 SB, R #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, 2B, RBI, R #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 2 K #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - IL #5 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch #7 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K #8 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K #9 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-4, BB, K, R #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - Did Not Play #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - Did Not Play #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #14 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch #15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, 2 HR, BB, 3 R #16 - Ronny Hendriquez (Development List) - Did Not Pitch #17 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - IL #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2 K #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - IL #20 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs. Indianapolis (2:07 PM CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe Wichita @ Northwest Arkansas (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Chris Vallimont (0-1, 67.50 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM CST) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Jupiter (6:00 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (1-0, 0.00 ERA) View full article

Minnesota Twins prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand continued his torrid start by blasting two more home runs Friday for Cedar Rapids. Also featured in this video are Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan, Miguel Sanó, Jhoan Duran, Emilio Pagán, Devin Smeltzer, Mark Contreras, Royce Lewis, Austin Martin, Simeon Woods Richardson, Brent Headrick, Emmanuel Rodriguez and more. View full video

Minor League Baseball is underway! The Twins’ affiliates kicked offseasons that will be filled with breakouts, wins, and box score hawking. On the whole, the system went 11-4. If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week. Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (@ Louisville) 5-1 (5-1 overall) It was an awesome opening week for the Saints. The team scored 47 runs and won five of their six games. Royce Lewis is off to a great start, going 7-for-21 with three doubles and a homer. Lewis stole three bases and reached base in 48% of his plate appearances. He also made numerous strong plays at shortstop. Mark Contreras picked up right where he left off in 2021, going 6-for-17 with two doubles and two homers. The player of the week, though, was Jake Cave, who went 9-for-19 with three doubles and a triple. Cave posted a 1.320 OPS and is undoubtedly itching to join the Twins in Minneapolis. On the pitching front, Cole Sands dazzled with five scoreless innings in Thursday’s loss. Sands struck out seven, walked none, and allowed one hit. He’s a key part of what the Twins hope will be adequate starting pitching depth this season. Several Saints relievers had strong weeks, including Wladimir Pinto (4 IP, 0 ER), Juan Minaya (3 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 5 K), and Yennier Cano (3 IP, 0 ER, 4 K). Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (vs. Tulsa) 0-3 (0-3 overall) The Surge had a rough first go at the plate, hitting .167/.264/.250 with one homer in 110 plate appearances. Austin Martin went 2-for-13 with multiple errors and Matt Wallner went 1-for-9 with five strikeouts. Spencer Steer had a nice weekend with three hits, including two doubles and two RBI. Matt Canterino started the opener and battled through a tenuous first inning. The second was much better, but with the Twins monitoring his workload closely, Canterino lasted two innings and 45 pitches. Twins’ 2021 Minor League Pitcher of the Year Louie Varland made his debut in relief, walking five in a rough 4 2/3 innings. Simeon Woods Richardson pitched very well in his season debut, striking out five and walking two in 5 2/3 scoreless innings. SWR threw 46 of 66 pitches for strikes, an awesome sign after command issues last year. Austin Schulfer, Steven Cruz, and the Surge bullpen was fairly solid all weekend. The bats were the issue. High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (vs. Beloit) 3-0 (3-0 overall) What an insane week for Twins’ 2021 fourth-round pick Christian Encarnacion-Strand. He went 10-for-14 with two doubles, three homers, and 15 RBI. Those 15 RBI are four more than the next high total for all minor leaguers despite Triple-A teams having played six games instead of three. It is six more than anyone below Triple-A. Sawyer Gipson-Long quietly had a solid season in 2021, striking out 32% of hitters across both A-levels. He is off to a nice start this year, pitching four scoreless innings with five strikeouts in his season debut. Brent Headrick and Aaron Rozek also turned in solid starts. Outscoring Beloit 23-8, the Kernels could have a potent offense with Encarnacion-Strand, Alerick Soularie, and Aaron Sabato in the heart of the order. The bullpen was also fantastic, headlined by Osiris German, Cody Laweryson, and Bradley Hanner. Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: (@ Clearwater) 3-0 (3-0 overall) Emmanuel Rodríguez will be a must-follow prospect all summer long. The 19-year-old showed elite plate discipline and power in his 2021 debut. Rodríguez walked six times over his first three games this weekend, adding a homer and a double. He also stole a base in Sunday’s win. Rodríguez could move quickly. Outfielder Kyler Fedko, the Twins’ 12th round pick in 2021, is off and running with a double, triple, and four RBI. Kala’i Rosario went 2-for-8 with a triple and Keoni Cavaco had a monster Opening Day, going 3-for-5 with a double. Cavaco walked twice Saturday and once more Sunday, but he struck out six times in 15 plate appearances. Starters David Festa, Travis Adams, and John Stankiewicz combined to allow three runs in 15 innings. They struck out 16 and walked only two. The Mighty Mussels lead the league with a 3.00 ERA after the first weekend. They led the Florida State League with a 3.96 ERA and tied for first with 1,288 strikeouts in 2021. Complex League FCL Twins: 2021 Regular Season (21-38) The FCL Twins start their season in Mid-June. Players not currently on a full-season affiliate's roster are in Ft. Myers at the complex for what amounts to Extended Spring Training. Several of those players will move back and forth between the Complex roster and the Mighty Mussels roster, or even the other rosters depending on need. PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings. #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 2-for-13, 2 2B #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 7-for-21, 3 2B, 4 BB, 3 SB #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 5-for-25, HR #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - IL #5 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - 4 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 1 HBP (70 pitches, 42 strikes) #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K (45 pitches, 26 strikes) #7 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (31 pitches, 22 strikes) #8 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 ⅔ IP, H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB, 5 K (66 pitches, 46 strikes) #9 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - Did Not Pitch #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 4-for-14, SB #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - Did Not Play. #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-for-9, 3 BB #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 5 IP, H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 7 K #14 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 4 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 4 K, (86 pitches, 49 strikes) #15 - Emmanuel Rodríguez (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-9, 2B, HR, SB #16 - Ronny Hendriquez (Development List) - DNP #17 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - IL #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 3-for-11, 2 2B #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 3-for-11, BB #20 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch Feel free to discuss the teams or players, and ask questions in the COMMENTS below. View full article