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

"Walks will Haunt." So do home runs, and errors and several other things. Wednesday was a tough afternoon for pitchers throughout the Twins organization. But several hitters had huge days. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of DaShawn Keirsey) You may notice a theme throughout the Twins organization. First, they all played Wednesday afternoon games which is unusual. But more so, I’m referring to the fact that pitching was not a strength for Twins pitchers on Wednesday. The Twins gave up a ton of runs. And the affiliates gave up a bunch of runs too. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Wednesday. Minnesota Twins: 54-50 St. Paul Saints: 57-40 Wichita Wind Surge: 37-54 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 57-35 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-47 FCL Twins: 16-19 DSL Twins: 8-26 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins optioned RHP Oliver Ortega and recalled Josh Winder. The Saints activated catcher Mark Kolozsvary from the Developmental List. Infielder Dalton Shuffield was activated from the Fort Myers Injured List and assigned to Cedar Rapids. Following their Wednesday afternoon game, the Twins made a trade. They sent RHP Jorge Lopez to the Miami Marlins in exchange for RH RP Dylan Floro . SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 9, Toledo 7 Box Score Brent Headrick made the start in this game. He gave up three runs in the top of the first inning and another in the third. In total, he gave up four runs on three hits. All three hits were home runs. He also walked four batters and struck out two. Patrick Murphy came on and gave up one run on five hits and a walk over 2 1/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Austin Brice got four outs, all on strikeouts. Ronny Henriquez got four outs, but he gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. The Saints found themselves down 4-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth inning. In that inning, Andrew Stevenson, Jorge Polanco, and Kyle Garlick singled, the third driving in the inning’s first run. Next, Chris Williams doubled to score two more runs. After two outs, Williams scored on an Anthony Prato single to give the Saints a 5-4 lead. However, the Mudhens tied it in the top of the seventh inning. The bottom of the seventh inning started with walks to Alex De Goti and Andrew Stevenson. Jorge Polanco singled to load the bases. Kyle Garlick followed with a grand slam to give the Saints a 9-5 lead. Tyler Nevin hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth. Henriquez then hit a batter and gave up a double to put runners on second and third base. However, a hard-hit line drive was caught in center field by Mark Contreras to end the game. Garlick went 3-for-4 with five RBI. He hit his 11th double and 10th home run. Stevenson went 3-for-4 with a walk and his 17th double. Polanco has two hits in five at-bats. Anthony Prato was 2-for-4. He also stole his eighth base. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 10, Frisco 19 Box Score With winds blowing out early in the game, runs piled up quickly. And they just kept piling up, higher, and higher, and high… you get the picture. In the top of the first inning, David Festa gave up a two-run homer to Thomas Saggese. The bottom of the first started with singles from Brooks Lee and DaShawn Keirsey, the latter driving in the former to put the Wind Surge on the scoreboard. Two batters later, the second run scored on a Patrick Winkel sacrifice fly. Then Jake Rucker connected for his seventh homer of the season to give the Surge a 3-2 lead after one frame. Unfortunately, the second inning didn’t go well for Festa at all. He gave up a grand slam to Evan Carter. Wind may have been a factor, but two walks before it didn’t help either. Things went quiet in the bottom of the second and the top of the third. But in the bottom of the third, Keirsey hit his 13th homer of the year and cut the deficit to 6-4. Festa went just 2 2/3 innings and was charged with six runs on seven hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts and all six runs came on the two homers he allowed. Hunter McMahon was next up for the Wind Surge. He was charged with five runs (4 earned) on four hits and a walk. Isaac Mattson gave up an unearned run over 1 1/3 innings. Taylor Floyd tossed three scoreless innings. Things had kind of settled down. In the ninth, catcher David Banuelos came on to pitch. It didn’t go well. He gave up seven runs on six hits and a walk. Four of the hits were home runs. He got just two outs. Will Holland got the third out. The top two batters in the Wind Surge lineup provided most of the offense. Brooks Lee went 4-for-6 with three runs scored. He hit his 11th home run of the season, a two-run blast, in the ninth inning. DaShawn Keirsey went 5-for-6 with three runs scored. He hit his fifth triple and the 13th home run of his season in the game. Third-place hitter, Yunior Severino, became the first player in the Twins organization to his 20 home runs this season. Holland went 2-for-4 with a walk and his ninth double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Wisconsin 8 Box Score Speaking of strong first innings, the Kernels jumped on the Timber Rattlers with a six-run top of the first inning. With one out, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kala’i Rosario walked before Jorel Ortega hit an infield single to load the bases. Misael Urbina walked in a run. Next, Andrew Cossetti cleared the bases with his 10th double since joining the Kernels. Following a strikeout, there was a pitching change. Jeferson Morales welcomed Miguel Guerrero with a two-run homer to make it 6-0. In the top of the second, Emmanuel Rodriguez lined to right field, but an error allowed him to reach third base. Kala’i Rosario drove him in with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-0. With C.J. Culpepper on the mound, one could think that would be enough run support. However, with some really rough defense in the bottom of the second inning, Wisconsin scored five runs, and just one of them was earned. There were two Catcher’s Interference calls, and one what could have been a double play, a throwing error meant three additional runs scored. CJ Culpepper’s day ended after just 1 1/3 innings. He gave up five runs (1 earned) on four hits and two walks. Matthew Swain came in and gave up a run on two hits over 1 2/3 innings. Alejandro Hidalgo came in to start the fourth inning. He gave up one run on two hits over 2 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out four batters. Niklas Rimmel walked three batters but gave up no runs on no hits over the next 1 2/3 innings. John Wilson gave up one run on one hit, one walk and one hit batter in the eighth inning to take the loss. Andrew Cossetti led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with his 10th double and three RBI. Jorel Ortega went 2-for-4 and was hit by a pitch. Kala’i Rosario and Emmanuel Rodriguez each walked twice. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Palm Beach 5 (10 innings) Box Score Through four innings in this game, the score was just 1-1. However, in the top of the fifth frame, Palm Beach scored three runs. Things stayed quiet until the bottom of the ninth. Down 4-1, Kyle Schmidt was hit by a pitch to lead off the ninth. Yohander Martinez ran for him. With one out, Alec Sayre reached on an error. Then Gregory Duran ripped a double down the right field line to score two runs. He went to third on a throwing error. Maddux Houston lifted a ball to center field, deep enough to drive in Duran and tie the game. Unfortunately, Palm Beach scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning. Jose Olivares started for the Mussels. In 4 2/3 innings, he gave up four runs on six hits and a walk. He had five strikeouts. Ricardo Velez came on and gave up just one hit over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Wilker Reyes came in and put zeros on the board in the eighth and ninth. He started the 10th inning but gave up two runs (1 earned, the other the Manfred Man) on two hits and a walk. Gabriel Yanez came on and allowed an inherited runner to score and one more run on three hits before getting the three outs in the 10th inning. The Mussels scored one run on a passed ball in the bottom of the 10th, but that was it as they fell 7-5 in this game. Gregory Duran went 2-for-4 with his ninth double and three RBI. Kyle Schmidt went 2-for-3 with his fourth double and was hit by a pitch. Ricardo Olivar added his 18th double. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins, DSL Reds The DSL Twins were supposed to be making up a game that was supposed to be played two weeks ago. It was again postponed due to weather. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Co-Hitter of the Day – DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. (Wichita) - 5-for-6, 3B(5), HR(13) 3 R, 2 RBI, K. Pitcher of the Day – Taylor Floyd (Wichita) - 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 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. #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 4-for-6, HR(11), 3 R, 2 RBI #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI, K. #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2-HR(4), 2 RBI, K #7 - David Festa (Wichita) - 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 64 pitches, 37 strikes (57.8%) #15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K, 32 pitches, 19 strikes (59.4%) #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, RBI, SF, K #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-5, BB, HR(20), R, 2 RBI, K, CS(4) #19 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K (3 HR), 72 pitches, 43 strikes (59.7%) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (3-5, 6.18 ERA) Frisco @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (1-3, 4.89 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40 PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (3-1,5.02 ERA) vs rehabbing Brandon Woodruff Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - LHP Jarret Whorff (2-1, 2.54 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Dodgers @ DSL Twins(10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 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Yesterday, we shared the articles of the Twins Minor League Pitchers (Starter and Reliever) of the Month. Today, we take a look at the hitters throughout the organization that had a big month of June. Granted, the choice of Chris Williams as the Hitter of the Month was easy. However, it is incredible how many minor leaguers had an OPS over .900, and over 1.000. Click into the article to see some incredible performers. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Before jumping into the top five hitters of the month, here are some of the honorable mentions. I’ll be honest. I’ve been following the Twins minor leagues and done these types of monthly reports for more than 15 years. I honestly can’t remember a month when there were this many strong candidates for the monthly hitter award. Many months, an OPS of .900 would make you a strong candidate to win the award. This month, there were seven players with an OPS over 1.000 that were considered. Six more had an OPS over .900. What a great month for hitters in the Twins minor leagues! Unfortunately, it was one of the worst hitting months for the big league hitters. HONORABLE MENTIONS C Jair Camargo - St. Paul Saints - 20-63, .317/.353/.714 (1.067) with 4 doubles, 7 home runs, 4 BB, 16 K. OF Alerick Soularie - Wichita Wind Surge - 14-66, .390/.510/.634 (1.144) with 1 double, 3 home runs, 7 BB, 9 K. 1B Aaron Sabato - Wichita Wind Surge - 18-76, .237/.389/.487 (.876) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 19 BB, 29 K. OF Emmanuel Rodriguez - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 23-83, .277/.425/.518 (.943) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 22 BB, 26 K. OF Kala’i Rosario - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 20-83, .241/.370/.530 (.900) with 3 doubles, 7 home runs, 17 BB, 25 K. IF Rubel Cespedes - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels - 26-89, .292/.393/.562 (.955) with 9 doubles, 5 home runs, 15 BB, 19 K. OF Andres Centeno - FCL Twins - 16-51, .314/.426/.490 (.916) with 1 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 9 BB, 23 K IF Harold Grant - FCL Twins - 15-45, .333/.404/.489 (.893) with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 6 BB, 12 K IF Isaac Pena - FCL Twins - 19-64, .297/.423/.422 (.845) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 14 BB, 12 K. IF Yilber Herrera - DSL Twins - 13-47, .277/.455/.611 (.966) with 8 doubles, 1 home run, 16 BB, 10 K. IF Dameury Pena - DSL Twins - 21-56, .375/.435/.482 (.917) with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 5 BB, 5 K. OF Jayson Bass - DSL Twins - 22-63, .349/.447/.429 (.876) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 11 BB, 14 K. THE TOP FIVE HITTERS Number 5 - Cedar Rapids Kernels - IF Tanner Schobel - 30-93, .323/.400/.613 (1.013), 2 doubles, 2 triples, 7 home runs, 11 BB, 16 K. Last July, the Twins made Tanner Schobel their second round draft pick out of Virginia Tech. In his junior season, he played in 59 games and hit .362/.445/.689 (1.134) with 18 doubles, 19 homers, and 74 RBI as the team’s shortstop. In his minor-league career, he has split his time between second base and third base. This year, he’s playing a little over 60% of his innings at the hot corner. Schobel has primarily batted out of the leadoff spot for the Kernels and has been able to provide early power for his offense. He had eight multi-hit games including three, three-hit games and one four-hit game. He ended the month on a nine-game hitting streak and had a stretch where he had five home runs in five games. For the season, the 22-year-old is now hitting .285/.362/.469 (.832) with seven doubles, four triples, and 11 home runs. He also has been successful on nine of ten stolen base attempts. Number 4 - St. Paul Saints - OF Matt Wallner - 31-97, .320/.432/.588 (1.020), 9 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 13 BB, 28 K. I’m not sure if Twins fans are aware of this, but Matt Wallner has been pretty good at hitting baseballs in June. He ended May with a handful of games in the big leagues. He went 7-for-11, including 6-for-6 with two walks and a homer in his final two games. However, he was optioned to St. Paul. Did he mope? Nope! Instead, he continued to mash. He hit for average, took his walks, struck out less than he has in the past, and still provided power near the top of the lineup. He returned to the Saints and had a double, triple and home run in his first game. He had eight hits over his first three games back. The Forest Lake native had 11 multi-hit games including three-hit games in the final two games of June. Ultimately, it’s just a matter of time before Wallner again finds himself in the Target Field outfield. Number 3 - Wichita Wind Surge - OF DaShawn Keirsey, Jr - 31-87, .356/.414/.609 (1.023), 3 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 9 BB, 15 K. Keirsey is one of the more athletic and toolsy players in the Twins organization. He is the fastest player in the system. Along with the above stats, the former fourth-round draft pick from the University of Utah, went 7-for-7 on stolen base attempts last month. He can hit for average. He showed in June his power potential. He can hit at the top of the order and play an elite level of defense in center field. The key for Keirsey is being on the field. He stayed healthy in 2022, and he has remained healthy this season. In 66 games, he has hit .317/.368/.490 (.858) with 12 doubles, three triples, and nine home runs. He also has been successful on 26 of 30 steal attempts. He’s more than ready to move up to St. Paul. Number 2 - St. Paul Saints - OF Andrew Stevenson - 36-91, .396/.466/.659 (1.125), 6 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs, 10 BB, 16 K. The Twins signed Stevenson to a minor-league contract in early March. He had spent his entire professional career with the Washington Nationals. They selected him in the second round in 2015. He made his big-league debut two years later. In total, he hit .248 over 248 games with the Nationals between 2017 and 2021. He spent the full 2022 season at Triple-A Rochester. The Twins decided that they needed a left-handed hitting outfielder to play in St. Paul and added him. Stevenson has become the team’s primary leadoff hitter and did it all in June. He hits for average, takes his walks, and has extra base power. In 65 games this year, he is hitting .321/.396/.502 (.898) with 14 doubles, five triples, and seven home runs. He also has 28 steals in 31 attempts. And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: St. Paul Saints- C/1B Chris Williams - 25-71, .352/.478/.789 (1.267), 1 double, 10 home runs, 17 BB, 26 K. If you’ve been paying attention to the Twins Minor League Reports here at Twins Daily in July, this choice for Hitter of the Month will come as no surprise to you. Many will point you to his three-homer game on June 13th in Louisville. However, by that time, he had hits in all nine games that he played during the month. He already had two homers, and he already had two, four-RBI games. But that Tuesday night game in Louisville was special. He hit three homers and drove in seven runs. The Saints played an afternoon game the next day, and he hit two more homers and drove in four runs. On Thursday, he added one more homer. He didn’t need doubles and triples in June. he just hit the ball well beyond the fencing in the outfield and got to jog around the bases. The 26-year-old former eighth-round pick out of Clemson led the Twins minor leagues in Home Runs, RBI, On-Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage, OPS. He was also third in batting average and walks. Overall, in 52 games, he has hit .286/.401/.600 (1.001) with eight doubles, a triples, and 15 home runs. He had mostly played at first base, but he has started six games behind the plate, and he’s done some DHing too. If the Twins have a need for a first baseman or DH, or even a second (or third) catcher, Williams has put himself into serious consideration for a call up. He’s earned it. Now it’s just about getting an opportunity. We want to congratulate Saints catcher and first baseman Chris Williams, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for June 2023. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions. View full article

I’m sure some lengthy research project could be done to determine which Minnesota Twins minor leaguer is the most underrated. That sounds like a lot of work. So I’m just going to say it and let you debate it. DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., is the most underrated prospect in the Twins system. I chatted with him this week and discussed his season, his toolbox and more. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge Toward the end of his sophomore season at the University of Utah, DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., was standing in center field in a game against Arizona State. The batter crushed a ball to dead center. Keirsey turned and sprinted, eye on the ball trying to outrun it. He was so intent on catching the ball that he ran full speed into the wall. He went down, writhing in pain. An ambulance came onto the field. Keirsey was places on the stretcher and gave the crowd the thumbs up. He had dislocated his hip and needed surgery and a lot of rehab. Almost inexplicably, he was able to return in time for his junior season, and he hadn’t missed a beat. In 50 games, he hit .386/.440/.609 (1.049) with 23 doubles, five triples, and four home runs. There were likely still question marks, but in the fourth round of the 2018 draft, the Twins selected Keirsey (rhymes with jersey) and gave him an opportunity. That summer, he hit .301 at Elizabethton. In 2019, he got hurt a couple of times in Cedar Rapids and was limited to just 36 games. It was impossible to get any sort of routine going. After the lost 2020 season, Keirsey returned to the Kernels, though they were now the High-A affiliate. Again, injuries limited him to just 45 games. The Twins kept pushing the toolsy, athletic outfielder anyway. In 2022, he moved up another level, to the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge. He was able to stay healthy for most of the season, and he performed much better. In 121 games, he hit .271/.329/395 (.724) with 26 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs. Just as impressive, he stole 42 bases in 49 attempts. With so many outfielders, and specifically left-handed hitting outfielders between the Twins and the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, Keirsey returned to the Wind Surge in 2023. He could have been disappointed, or even moped. Instead, he continued the process and has really shown a lot of progress. Through 63 games this season, he is hitting .312/.367/.494 (.861) with 12 doubles, three triples, and he’s already got nine home runs. He has been successful in 24 of 28 stolen base attempts. All the while, he has played great centerfield defense. He has made some spectacular diving plays but often catching balls that others might have to dive for look easy. In our conversation (see the video above), we spent time discussing each of his five tools In a way, I kind of ranked them to get his thoughts. Speed: Keirsey can fly, and that can be seen on the base paths and in the outfield. It can also be seen on the base paths where he’s obviously been given the green light. Defense: I lumped #2 and #3 together in my rankings, but here I’ll put his defense as the next strong tool. Again, not everyone can play defense well in centerfield, and Keirsey is very good. And, as you can hear from the interview, he’s working on a few things that can help him improve his first step. Hit: Fully healthy and finally getting consistent at-bats has really helped him improve upon his offensive statistics. While he may not hit .327 or .386 like he did in his final two seasons at Utah, he could hit for a batting average in the upper .200s. Hit for Power: Listed at 6-0 and 195 pounds, Keirsey doesn’t necessarily look the part of power hitter. However, he has nine homers in a half of a season this year and is just figuring some things out with the bat. He likely won’t be a 30-homer hitter, but with his other skills, if he can provide double-digit homers, he can be quite valuable. Arm: In honesty, it’s the most difficult tool to evaluate from a fans’ perspective. I’ve seen him show off a strong and accurate throw at times, but he also acknowledges that it may be his fifth tool at this stage, but it’s something he continues to work on. Sixth Tool? Plate Discipline: Keirsey tends to be an aggressive hitter, and he will strike out. This is also an area he’s working on. Recently, Wind Surge manager Ramon Borrego has been hitting Keirsey leadoff with Brooks Lee behind him. Keirsey says that as a leadoff man, at least in the first plate appearance, he usually is pretty patient knowing he can help his teammates that way. The Mental Game: Keirsey has been through a lot in life and with all of the injuries, but he has become quite strong mentally and isn’t afraid to discuss and acknowledge how he’s doing. This is such an important thing for, well, everyone, but certainly for athletes as well. While I have ranked Keirsey in my personal Top 30 Twins prospects, he is yet to appear among Twins Daily’s top prospects. Already 26, that may continue to be the case, but with his tools and ability to play centerfield, he just might get an opportunity at some point. And I would say that’s all he’s asking for. For much more Twins Daily content on DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., click here. To watch DaShawn’s Twins Spotlight episode from March 2021, click here. View full article

The minor-league review is back after a one-week hiatus. Now that we’ve reached the halfway point - some levels have started their second halves already - let’s take a look at what we’ve missed. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Since it’s a unique time of the season, full-season affiliates don’t play again until Wednesday and because we didn’t have the same recap last Monday, this week’s report will look a little bit different. Next week’s will be back to the normal report. Stats will be from the last 15 days. Don’t forget to read Nick’s Week in Review to catch up on the Twins week. WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints Overall: 43-31 Overview: The Saints finished the season a half-game out in the International League West, but five games behind first-half IL champ Norfolk. Norfolk will advance to the IL best-of-three League Championship Series. The best second-half record - aside from Norfolk - will advance to play Norfolk. All teams start with a clean slate. 🔥: Chris Williams went on a run that was quite impressive. In his last two weeks, he’s hit eight home runs and driven in 18 runs, along with scoring 14 runs of his own. Only three teammates scored more runs than he had home runs. And only two teammates drove in more runs than he had home runs. He also managed nine walks, but did strike out 14 times. He’s seen a little time behind the plate this year, but has mostly played first base. 🔥: Randy Dobnak has battled injuries for quite some time, but his last three starts have been glimpses of the old Randy. In 12 innings, he’s struck out 13 while only walking one. Though he’s allowed 14 hits, he’s only allowed one earned run. 🔥: Andrew Stevenson’s been overshadowed by Williams, but has been on a nice run himself. Over his last 10 games, he has three home runs, two triples, a double and 12 singles. He’s also stolen four bases and has walked five times while only striking out four times. 🔥: Kody Funderburk ended out the first half with six performance spanning 7 1/3 innings. He struck out 12, walked two and only allowed a single run on four hits. 🔥: Matt Wallner has put up a .279/.439/.488 line while Jose Miranda hasn’t been as good at .268/.348/.439. 😉: Dallas Keuchel threw four innings of one-run ball in his organizational debut. 🥶: Aaron Sanchez struggled over his last three starts. He walked 13 and yielded 16 hits that resulted in 14 earned runs over 12 1/3 innings. 🥶: Trevor Larnach has struck out time 14 times in 30 at-bats since being sent down. His .639 OPS doesn’t have a great path to go anywhere but up. What's Next: The Saints will kick off their second half against Gwinnett on Wednesday. Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Overall: 28-40 Overview: Wichita finished with the lowest winning percentage in the Texas League. 🔥: DaShawn Keirsey slashed .319/.396/.596 over his last 12 games and 47 at-bats. He homered three times, stole three bases and both walked and struck out six times. He’s more than deserving of a promotion, but there’s a logjam of outfielders at St. Paul, so he’ll have to remain in Wichita until there’s room. 🔥: Aaron Rozek struck out 11 in 10 2/3 innings. He allowed only two runs on four hits and two walks (and two hit batters). 🔥: When Alerick Soularie is healthy, he’s very good. He hit three home runs and added a double in 32 at-bats the last two weeks. He also stole three bases with more walks (7) than strikeouts (5). 🤔: Regi Grace is something. He’s got serious stuff, but he walked four in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out seven. 🤔: Yunior Severino gets a lot of hits (12 in 43 at-bats), but also strikes out a ton (14 in 42 at-bats). 🤔: Pierson Ohl completed 12 innings in his two starts. He only allowed 10 hits and a walk for a WHIP of 0.92, but he struggled keeping the ball in the yard, surrendering three home runs and having an ERA of 5.25. 🥶: David Festa allowed seven runs on 10 hits and four walks in 11 1/3 innings. He did strike out 15 though. 🥶: Yoyner Fajardo’s season started with a bang, but he’s cooled off. In his last 10 games, he’s got an OPS of .512. What's Next: Wichita’s second-half will start at home against Northwest Arkansas. High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels Overall: 2-1 in the second half. Overview: The Kernels clinched a post-season berth on account of winning the Midwest League Western Division with a 40-26 record. 🔥: Emmanuel Rodriguez is the team’s top prospect and he’s starting to play like it. Sixteen hits in 46 at-bats over his last 12 games, including three doubles, a triple and three home runs. He drove in nine, scored 14 and stole four bases. He still struck out a lot (12 times), but drew nine walks. 🔥: Cory Lewis has made three starts since his promotion. In the last two weeks, he made two of those starts and allowed five hits and three walks in 10 innings. He struck out 12 and allowed a single earned run. 🔥: Kala’i Rosario continues to tear up High-A. Three more home runs, two more doubles, double-digit runs and RBI in his last 11 games… and more walks (12) than strikeouts (8). 😉: Newly-promoted Jorel Ortega only has 20 at-bats, but he has an OPS north of 1.000 so far. 🥶: Keoni Cavaco ended his half 1-for-11 and was placed on the Development List. 🥶: Jaylen Nowlin allowed 11 runs on 15 hits and seven walks in 8 2/3 innings. He struck out 11. What's Next: The Kernels will visit Peoria this week. Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Overall: 1-1 in the second half. Overview: Fort Myers finished 34-32 in the first half, but missed the playoffs by 10.5 games. 🔥: Rubel Cespedes has three home runs in his last 12 games. He also leads the team with nine RBI, five doubles and 13 total hits. 🔥: Ben Ethridge (12 2/3 innings, six hits, two walks, eight strikeouts), C.J. Culpepper (11 innings, six hits, three walks, 12 strikeouts), Andrew Morris (11 innings, six hits, three walks, eight strikeouts) all started multiple games and had WHIPs below 1.00 and opponent batting averages under .170. 🔥: Jorel Ortega (before promotion), Maddux Houghton and Danny De Andrade all had 10 hits over the last 12 games. 🥶: Rafael Cruz and Dylan Neuse both had sub-.200 batting averages over the last 12 games. 🥶: Develson Aria allowed seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings over two starts. What's Next: Fort Myers will host Lakeland. Rookie: FCL Twins Overall: 9-5, 1.5 games behind the FCL Pirates in the FCL South. Overview: Riding a four-game winning streak and being tied for least runs allowed are two signs of a good baseball team. It’s hard to look at individuals even over a two-week period because they’re given so much time off. Only three players played nine games, so we’ll focus on those three hitters. 🔥: Jose Rodriguez and Isaac Pena both had 11 hits and are hit .297 and .314, respectively. 🔥: Luis De Leon struck out 20 in 14 innings. He allowed nine hits and seven walks. 🤔: Bryan Acuna was brutal in his first handful of games but has rebounded nicely with eight hits in his last eight games. He did strike out 10 times though. Rookie: DSL Twins Overall: 5-10, 6-5 games back in the DSL South. Overview: Going .500 for 10 games is considerably better than the 0-5 start. The filter isn’t working properly, so I can only see full-season stats. 🔥: Dameury Pena has 18 hits in his first 12 games. He’s batting .391 and has four walks and four strikeouts. He’s listed as a second baseman. Is that enough to make a really early player comparison? 🔥: Yilber Herrera has walked 15 times already. He’s only struck out seven times and despite only having eight hits on the year, he’s scored 13 runs. 🔥: Miguel Cordero has 19 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings and WHIP of 1.11. 🥶: Cristian Hernandez has made three starts spanning 9 1/3 innings. He’s allowed 15 earned runs on 16 hits and eight walks. 🥶: Ariel Castro and Moises Lopez both have 22 strikeouts and sub-.200 batting averages. PROSPECT SUMMARY will return next week as will the PLAYERS OF THE WEEK as we will go in-depth with half-season awards later this week. View full article

There was no minor league week in review article this week, so along with writing about the Twins' Florida Complex League and Dominican Summer League games find out which Twins minor leaguers played well last week. It was an interesting week in the Twins farm system. With the big-league team still in first place and struggling to find any consistency, there were several players who moved up and down this past week. Brent Headrick came back to the Twins and earned his first big-league Win. Jordan Balazovic pitched well in his MLB debut on Sunday. The Twins had two minor-leaguers earn Player of the Week honors from their leagues. Another affiliate clinched a playoff spot. And then the Twins FCL and DSL teams each had a game on Monday morning, so we'll update you on how they did. There was an 11-strikeout game (by a Twins minor league pitcher, not a Twins big-league hitter). Let's start today with a look at the current records of each of the six Twins affiliates. St. Paul Saints: 40-28 Wichita Wind Surge: 27-35 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 37-26 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 32-31 FCL Twins: 5-5 DSL Twins: 3-8 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Fort Myers played infielder Yohander Martinez on the 7-day IL with a thigh strain. In addition, Mussels outfielder Alex Sayre was placed on the 7-day IL with a fractured right thumb. SAINTS SENTINEL No surprise here, but Saints first baseman Chris Williams was named the International League Hitter of the Week. Williams played in five of the six Saints games and went 7-for-19. He hit .368/.500/1.316 (1.816) with six home runs and 14 RBI. In addition, he was willing to take five walks. On Tuesday, he hit three home runs in Louisville. In a morning game on Wednesday, he hit two more long balls. Then on Thursday, he had one more. Overall this year, Williams is hitting .281/.386/.595 (.980) with seven doubles, 13 homers and 41 RBI in 44 games. The 26-year-old was the Twins eighth-round pick in 2018 out of Clemson. He has been a catcher at various times in his career. This year, he has played just three games behind the plate this year. Others in St. Paul who had solid weeks last week include: Andrew Stevenson hit .400/.455/.800 (1.255) with a triple and two homers (plus three SBs) Anthony Prato played in five games and hit .391/.440/.652 (1.092) with three doubles and a homer. Matt Wallner played in five games and hit .294/.480/.529 (1.009) with a double, a homer and six walks. In three games, Trevor Larnach hit .333/.357/.583 (.940) with a homer. Randy Dobnak made a start and was charged with three unearned runs over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven batters. Kody Funderburk struck out five batters over 3 1/3 scoreless, hitless, walkless innings. Should I mention that he did hit a batter? WIND SURGE WISDOM The Wind Surge had a player of the week as well. Lefty Aaron Rozek was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Week. The southpaw made one start in Midland and tossed six shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked one, and he hit a batter. He struck out five batters. The 27-year-old from Burnsville and Minnesota State-Mankato has had an up and down season for the Wind Surge so far. He struggled early in the season, but then in May he was selected the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month. So overall, he is 1-3 with a 6.14 ERA over 10 starts and 44 innings. Regi Grace’s season has continued to go well since his promotion to Wichita. He worked twice last week and worked 3 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out three batters. He recorded the save in one of the games. Hunter McMahon was back in 2022 form last week. In 3 2/3 innings, he gave up no runs, no hits, no walks, and he struck out four batters. I tweeted it over the weekend, and a couple of times earlier this season, but DaShawn Keirsey might be the most underrated prospect in the organization. He played all six games last week. He went 10-for-24 and hit .417/.440/.833 (1.273) with two triples and two home runs. Yunior Severino played in five games and hit .400/.478/.550 (1.028) with a double and a triple. Aaron Sabato was a doubles machine last week. The burly first baseman played in five games and hit .316/.435/.632 (1.067) with six doubles and four walks. He had six hits during the week, and each was a double. Seth Gray hit .333/.455/.611 (1.066) with two doubles, a homer, and four walks in five games. Will Holland hit .308/.412/.538 (.950) with a homer. Brooks Lee hit .333 with four doubles. KERNELS NUGGETS The Twins moved their Low-A affiliate to Cedar Rapids in 2012. In 2021, the Midwest League was bumped up to the High-A level. They have been managed by Jake Mauer, Tommy Watkins, and now Brian Dinkelman. The constant through all of those seasons has been providing the Kernels fans wins and playoff berths. This week, the Kernels clinched the first-half Western Division title which means they will continue their streak of making the playoffs every year since they’ve been a Twins affiliate. Misael Urbina played in five games and hit .412/.474/.529 (1.003) with two doubles. Andrew Cossetti hit .267/.294/.733 (1.027). He had four hits including a double and two home runs. Kala’i Rosario went 4-for-15 (.267) in five games, but he walked seven times so his on-base percentage was .500. Noah Cardenas hit .313 over four games. It is fair to say that the Kernels got great starting pitching last week. So much so that Zebby Matthews was used in long relief as a bulk pitcher. He worked the final six innings of a game started by Marco Raya and gave up five hits and walked none while striking out four. Jordan Carr earned a win in his start. The lefty worked five scoreless innings and gave up just one hit. He walked three and struck out three batters. Kyle Jones tossed four scoreless innings in his start. He gave up just two hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Cory Lewis gave up one run on two hits over five innings in his start last week. He had nine strikeouts. Christian MacLeod struck out six batters over four innings of one-run ball. Raya again went three innings in his start. He gave up one run on two hits and struck out six batters. MUSSEL MATTERS Jackson Hicks pitched twice and gave up a walk and hit a batter over three scoreless, hitless innings last week. Ben Ethridge gave up just one run on two hits and a walk over four innings. It was a 2-4 week for the Mussels, so no surprise that the pitching struggled. Two position players got to work on the mound during the week. Yohander Martinez returned from the IL and went 6-for-12 (.500) with a double and a homer in his three games played. Unfortunately, as you saw above in the transactions section, he is now on the IL. Jorel Ortega continues to hit really well in Fort Myers. The Tennessee alum played in all six games. He went 10-for-29 and hit .345/.367/.690 (1.057) with four doubles and two home runs. Maddux Houghton got a chance to play. In five games, he hit .353/.476/.412 (.888) with a double and four walks. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 0, FCL Orioles 1 Box Score As you can see from the score, there was not much offense in this game for either team. Or, if you choose, we can credit the pitching of both squads. The difference in this game is that the Orioles had no errors while the Twins committed four. The O’s lone run came in the eighth inning, and it was unearned. So let’s start with the positive, the pitching. John Klein started and gave up just one hit over three scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out three batters. Owen Griffith continued his rehab assignment with two scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, but walked none. Jeferson Lopez worked the final three innings. The 18-year-old from Caracas gave up the unearned run on three hits. He had two strikeouts. The Twins batters managed just five hits in the game, and they walked four times. Omari Daniel went 1-for-2 with a walk and his first double. Bryan Acuna walked twice and stole his second base of the season. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 9, DSL Mariners 2 Box Score The Twins Dominican Complex team scored five runs in the first inning and added more throughout the game to capture their third win of the season. Dameury Pena and Jayson Bass pulled off a double steal and thanks to a throwing error, Pena scored the first run of the game. Then with two outs in the top of the first, Ricardo Pena singled in Bass for the second run. Yilber Herrera and Carlos Silva walked to load the bases. Then Javier Roman walked to score Ricardo Pena. At that point, there was a pitching change. Angel Trinidad hit an infield single to score Herrera. And finally, Silva scored on a wild pitch. That is an inning that happens fairly often in the DSL. The Twins managed just five hits in the game, but they also added 11 walks and took advantage of wild pitches, a couple of errors, three hit batters, six stolen bases (in seven attempts) and more. Bass led the way with a single and two walks. Dameury Pena, Herrera and Silva each walked twice. Ledwin Taveras started and struck out five batters over the first three innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and didn’t issue a walk. Eduardo Soriano came on and worked the next five innings. The 20-year-old gave up just one hit, no walks, and he struck out 11 batters. He now has 19 strikeouts and just one walk in 11 innings this season. Jose Ojo, a 22-year-old just signed a year ago, worked a scoreless ninth and struck out two batters. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Eduardo Soriano (DSL Twins) - 5 IP, 1H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K, 71 pitches, 52 strikes. Hitter of the Day – Omari Daniel (FCL Twins) - 1-for-2, 2B(1), BB, CS PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Monday. #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 2 K, E(2) #10 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 0-for-4, 2 K, E #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-for-4 TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-5, 8.08 ERA) Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - LHP Aaron Rozek (1-3, 6.14 ERA) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (2-0, 0.90 ERA) Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-2, 5.63 ERA) FCL Orioles @ FCL Twins (11:00AM CST) - TBD DSL Phillies Reds @ DSL Twins (10:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Monday’s games! 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Thursday was a busy day in the Twins organization. Not only were the two Complex Leagues, but the Saints were playing a doubleheader to make up for a postponed game in April. There were a couple of new level debuts on Thursday and another will take place on Friday in San Antonio. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of DaShawn Keirsey) Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Wichita placed C David Banuelos on the 7-Day IL. Ft. Myers placed OF Carlos Aguiar on the 7-Day IL. And Seth Gray appears to be in limbo… . SAINTS SENTINEL Game 1: St. Paul 3, Iowa 13 Box Score The Saints hosted a doubleheader at CHS Field on Thursday night. It was a makeup game from a ‘weathered-out’ game from early this season. The Iowa Cubs scored multiple runs in the first five innings, including a game-high four runs in the fourth inning and won this one in a laugher. Randy Dobnak took one for the team in this one. He was charged with nine runs (8 earned) on 11 hits, two walks, and a hit batter over three innings. Jose Bravo came on with two runners on in the fourth inning. He allowed both to score and then was charged with four more runs of his own over two innings. He gave up five hits (including two home runs), walked two and struck out three batters. Connor Sadzeck gave up a hit and walked two batters, but he provide the team with two scoreless innings. That was enough for a top pitching prospect like the Cubs’ Ben Brown, though the Saints batters certainly made him work. He gave up two runs on five hits and six walks in 4 ⅓ innings, though he recorded seven strikeouts. Edouard Julien had the other RBI for the Saints.. Jose Miranda seems to be getting some positive results the past few games. In this one, he went 2-for-3 with a walk and his third double (all this week). Matt Wallner added two hits as well. Jair Camargo continued his power streak. He went 2-for-4 with a solo homer. He now has nine on the season. He also drove in two of the team’s three runs. Game 2: St. Paul 7, Iowa 6 (8 innings) Box Score It was another rough start for Simeon Woods Richardson, but the Saints rallied, forced extra innings and won in a walkoff. Woods Richardson gave up single runs in the first three innings and then was charged with three more runs in the fourth inning when he left with the bases loaded, and all three runners scored with Austin Schulfer on the mound. So, in total, Woods Richardson gave up six runs on seven hits and four walks. He had three strikeouts. Schulfer came in and was credited with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and a walk in allowing the inherited runners to score. He struck out three batters. Oliver Ortega continues to impress. He struck out three batters over three scoreless, hitless innings which dropped his season ERA to just 1.50. In the second inning, Tony Wolters singled in Chris Williams to put the Saints on the board. The following inning, Mark Contreras took a bases-loaded walk. Wolters got the scoring started in a four-run fourth frame with his second home run. Elliot Soto scored when Andrew Stevenson stole his 21st base on a wild pitch. Next, Jose Miranda doubles in a run. Edouard Julien drove in Miranda with a sacrifice fly. Then in the eighth inning, with Alex De Goti on third base, Elliot Soto was at the plate. His bat was destroyed on an inside fastball, but the ball was placed in such a spot that the throw home was a little late. The Saints rejoiced. Andrew Stevenson went 3-for-4 with his 11th and 12th doubles. He also stole two bases. Tony Wolters went 3-for-4 including his second home run. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 10, San Antonio 3 Box Score The Wind Surge mounted a big, five-run second inning and kept adding on to hold off San Antonio. Oh, remember up above, our confusion on just where Seth Gray was on Thursday. Well, we don’t have any extra details, but we do know that he played for the Wind Surge in San Antonio. In fact, in the second inning, he got things going with an RBI single that scored Aaron Sabato for the game’s first run. DaShawn Keirsey then hit a ground-rule double that scored both Jake Rucker and Gray. After a pitching change, Brooks Lee drilled his 19th double of the season that drove in Will Holland and Keirsey. Keirsey is now hitting .306 on the season and showing more power than he has in the past. He's always been strong defensively, but is something he has really worked on. He said, "My focus has been more geared to my approach. I'm naturally aggressive in the box, so honing in on swinging at better pitches, along with some swing adjustments we've worked on over the last couple of years has produced some of those results." The Surge added a run in the fourth frame on Keirsey’s sixth home run of the season. They also added a single run in the sixth on a Yunior Severino double that scored Yoyner Fajardo. In the top of the seventh inning, Aaron Sabato hit an opposite-field homer, his first of the season. Later, Lee singled in two more runs to put double digits on the scoreboard for Wichita. Travis Adams made the start for Wichita. He went just 1 2/3 innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. He added two strikeouts, but he was already up to 47 pitches and more than 30 in the second inning alone. Michael Boyle came on and was perfect for 2 1/3 innings to record the win. Francis Peguero gave up a run over two innings. Regi Grace continues to impress with two more scoreless innings and three strikeouts. Jordan Brink struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth to end the game. Keirsey Jr ended the day going 3-for-6 with his 12th double and sixth homer. He also drove in three runs and scored two more. Keirsey has been leading off frequently of late. It's not new to him. "I led off most of my career at Utah, so it's something I'm familiar with. I've hit in a variety of spots in my professional career so far, but as far as comfort, no spot is more comfortable than another. Hitting is difficult anywhere in the lineup. Regardless of where I'm at (in the lineup), I focus on bringing the same mindset and approach at the plate." Lee went 2-for-5 with a walk but drove in four runs. Sabato went 2-for-3 with two walks and his first homer of the season. Rucker went 1-for-2 and walked three times. Gray went 2-for-5 and stole a base. Yes, for the Wind Surge. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Dayton 0 Box Score Cory Lewis made his first Kernels start since his promotion from Fort Myers this week. Let’s just say, it was successful. The 2022 draft pick tossed five shutout innings. He gave up just three hits, walked one and struck out eight batters. He threw 80 pitches and 56 of them were strikes. His catcher, Andrew Cossetti, said after the game that “Cory had the knuckleball working early, and when he can throw that for a strike, it makes all of his pitches better.” He continued, “He definitely didn’t let the moment get the best of him. He was calm and confident with all his pitches and was able to throw everything for a strike consistently.” Alejandro Hidalgo came out of the bullpen and threw three scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out six batters. Miguel Rodriguez struck out two batters in a one-hit ninth inning to hold the shutout. The Kernels offense provided an early lead and then added some late insurance runs. In the first inning, Emmanuel Rodriguez got the scoring going with a sacrifice fly that drove in Tanner Schobel. Ben Ross followed with a solo homer, his eight of the season. In the sixth inning, the Kernels got two more on a two-run blast off the bat of Andrew Cossetti. It marked his first home run in the Midwest League. Cossetti also singled in Misael Urbina with a single in the eighth inning, the final run of the night. The St. Joe’s alum went 2-for-4 with three RBI in the game and helped his pitching staff to a shutout. In between, Tanner Schobel hit his sixth home run of the year. The 2022 Competitive Balance pick led off and went 3-for-5 with his third triple and sixth homer. Six runs and three homers is obviously exciting, but the story of this game was Cory Lewis and his Midwest League debut. As Cossetti said, “I have to admit, I have a lot of fun catching him.” MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Clearwater 2 Box Score Speaking of great debuts, Miguelangel Boadas had a terrific first Florida State League start on Thursday. The 20-year-old right-hander from Venezuela went the first five innings. He was charged with one run on five hits. He only struck out one batter, but he didn’t issue any walks. He did hit a batter. Jarrett Whorff came on and gave up one run on three hits over three innings In reality, the solo home run allowed was the one hit that he would likely love to have back.. He also walked none, and he struck out four batters. Jackson Hicks struck out one in a perfect ninth inning. The Mussels got to face rehabbing lefty Bailey Falter for the first three innings in this game. They recorded just one hit and one walk off of him, but just two struck out. The hit came off the bat of a rehabbing Gilberto Celestino, a line-drive single to left. The other hit for the Mussels was from shortstop Danny DeAndrade. Fort Myers also had three walks. One was by Jorel Ortega who then stole his 17th base of the season. Austin Martin struck out in his first-inning at-bat. He batted second and played in left field as his rehab continues. However, with two outs in the top of the third, he made a catch and left the game due to injury. We’ll update as we find out more information. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 6, FCL Pirates 5 Box Score The Twins fell behind 4-1 after five innings and 5-2 after six innings. However, they scored two in the seventh and two more in the eighth inning to record a one-run, comeback win. However, let’s start on the mound. Brayan Medina, a 20-year-old right-hander from Venezuela acquired as the Player to be Named Later from the Padres in the Taylor Rogers trade, made the start for the Twins. He went the first four innings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk. He struck out four batters. Cleiber Maldonado came on and gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk. Pierce Banks got the final two outs of the sixth inning. Jacob Wosinski pitched the final three innings and did not allow any more runs. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out five batters. The 24-year-old righty stayed home and pitched two years at Grand Rapids (MI) Community College. In 2020, he worked in one game for Akron before the season was canceled. He had Tommy John surgery, so in 2021, he pitched in just five games. He returned for the 2022 season and pitched in 13 games. He spent the summer of 2022 and started this year with the Eastside Diamond Hoppers of the USPBL and signed with the Twins in late May. Wosinski is 6-8, about 220 pounds, and he throws his fastball into the mid-90s. Just-For-Fun Trivia: Can you name the recent Twins minor leaguer to play at Oakland University in Michigan. After five years in the Twins organization, said player is currently in the American Association. The hitters managed just five hits in this game. However, they also walked 11 times. Byron Chourio went 1-for-2 with three walks. Freddy Michel also walked three times, and Isaac Pena walked twice. Jose Rodriguez had the lone extra base hit, his first double of the season. Omari Daniel recorded his first professional hit, walked once and then stole two bases. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from the DOMINICAN DSL Twins 14, DSL Angels 16 Box Score The runs were plentiful at the Angels complex today in the Dominican. The Twins fell behind 13-3 through the first six innings. They scored five runs in the top of the seventh, but then the Angels scored three more runs in the bottom of the inning for a 16-8 score. The Twins added one in the eighth and almost came all the way back in the ninth with a five-run inning but fell just short. We will start with the positive, the offense. Outfielder Jayson Bass, who signed in February out of Mexico, went 3-for-4 with a walk, a triple, and three RBI. He also threw out a runner at home. Carlos Silva, the catcher who signed a seven-figure bonus in January, went 2-for-5 with a walk and three RBI. Ewing Matos went 2-for-4 with a walk. Second baseman Juan Zapata went 2-for-3 with two walks and his first double. Yilber Herrera, Ariel Castro, and Moises Lopez each walked twice. Alright… to the pitchers. Cristian Hernandez started and gave up four runs on six hits and a walk in three innings. He struck out six batters. Fabian Monsalve came in and gave up nine runs (7 earned) on six hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. Jose Ojo came in to get the final out of the sixth inning, but not before hitting one, walking two, and throwing three wild pitches allowing both inherited runners to score. Jose Betancourt gave up three runs on one hit, one hit batter, and five walks in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters. Junior Del Valle got the final out. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Cory Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K. Hitter of the Day – Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 3B(3), HR(6), 2 R, RBI, 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. #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-for-5, BB, 2B (19), 4 RBI, BB, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 2 K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, RBI, SF #4 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - Game 1: 1-for-3, BB, RBI, K, E; Game 2: 0-for-2, BB, RBI, K #7 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 3 1/3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 92 pitches, 49 strikes. #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - Game 1: 2-for-4, 2 K; Game 2: 0-for-3, BB #10 - Yasser Mercedes (EST) - 0-for-4, RBI, 2 K. #11 - Austin Martin (Rehab Ft. Myers) - 0-for-1, K, played left field, injured in the third inning. #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4. #18 - Jose Rodriguez (EST) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(1), RBI, K, #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-for-5, BB, 2B(9), RBI, 2 K FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (3-1, 4.54 ERA) Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CST) - Pierson Ohl (1st Double-A game) Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya (0-0, 2.61 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Andrew Morris (1-1, 5.28 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (11:00AM CST) - TBD DSL Mets Blue @ DSL Twins (10:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! View full article

He’s created a phenom, ‘cause nobody wants torn ACL's no more, they want Royce bein’ a top biller. Well if you want Royce, this is what he’ll give ya, a bunch of speed mixed with some bat vigor. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Royce Lewis) TRANSACTIONS My poor Eminem lyric-rework aside, there were several transactions in advance of Tuesday’s games, including SS Royce Lewis's rehab assignment officially being transferred to the St. Paul Saints. His rehab window is 20 days, and the end of that is also when he is eligible for activation from the 60-day injured list, FYI. The Saints also were assigned RHP Jose Bravo from the Wichita Wind Surge, as the Minnesota Twins selected the contract of RHP Jose De Leon to replace RHP Jorge Alcala, who was put on the 15-day injured list. De Leon was scheduled to start tonight's game for St. Paul. In Wichita, the Wind Surge activated LHP Denny Bentley from the IL, sending down C Kyle Schmidt to Cedar Rapids to make room. The Kernels released RHP Matt Mullenbach, and transferred RHP Owen Griffith from the 7-day IL to the 60-day. Finally, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels were assigned RHP Danny Moreno from the FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Columbus 5 (10 innings) Box Score It didn’t take long for Royce Lewis to make an impact in his first game back with the St. Paul Saints since tearing his ACL for the second time. He was slotted number three in the batting order by manager Toby Gardenhire, and he shot the fifth pitch he saw through the left side of the infield for a single in his first at-bat. The Saints loaded the bases in the first but weren’t able to push a run across. They got two in the second, and you’d be right if you thought Lewis played a part in that. After a Tony Wolters double put runners on second and third, Jose Miranda brought in the first run with a sac fly, and Lewis followed an Edouard Julien walk with and RBI single the opposite way to make it 2-0 St. Paul. With scheduled starter Jose De Leon being called up by the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, it was right-hander Randy Dobnak who took the mound in his stead for the Saints. He allowed three runs (zero earned) on four hits and a walk in his three innings, striking out three Clippers. All three runs scored in the bottom of the second, after the first batter reached on an error by center fielder Andrew Stevenson. It could have been worse, but Matt Wallner cut down a runner at home to end the inning with a perfect and strong throw from right field for the assist. Cody Laweryson came on in the fourth and delivered three strong innings. He allowed no hits, walked two, and struck out four. With the score 3-2 Clippers in the top of the seventh, the top of the Saints lineup again got things cooking. Miranda led off with a single and Julien drew his third walk of the game to tee it up for Lewis, who drove it over the wall in center for a three-run homer and a 5-3 lead for the Saints. That lead didn’t last long, however, as Kody Funderburk had trouble in the bottom half of the inning. He surrendered two singles and two doubles that led to a pair of runs and tied the game at five before getting out of the inning. He did strike out two in his lone inning but the Saints still had work to do. Patrick Murphy then delivered two scoreless innings to get them into extra innings. In the top of the tenth with Mark Contreras starting on second base, Kyle Garlick led off the inning with a single to move him to third base, and Andrew Stevenson atoned for his error earlier in the game (I might have ruled it a hit, anyway…) with an RBI single and a 6-5 lead. Oliver Ortega then slammed the door on another comeback, getting a pair of flyouts to Stevenson in center field that weren’t deep enough to move the runner over, and first baseman Tyler White nabbed a liner to end the game. WIND SURGE WISDOM Arkansas 4, Wichita 6 Box Score Wichita got a big night from their top prospect, opening their series by surging past the Arkansas Travelers at home in Riverfront Stadium. Starting pitcher Travis Adams allowed a two-run homer in the top of the first, but after that stifled the Travelers for 3 2/3 total innings. He allowed three hits, walked three, and struck out one. In the fourth inning, he was replaced by Osiris German after his second walk of the inning, and German got the final out with a grounder to third base. The Wind Surge had taken the lead at that point thanks to an RBI single from Alerick Soularie in the second that followed a David Banuelos triple, and a two-run homer from Alex Isola in the third, his fourth of the season. Although Wichita fell behind 4-3 after the top of the fifth, Brooks Lee wasn’t about to let them stay there. Will Holland led off the frame with a single, and Lee cashed them both in with his third home run of the season, putting the home team back in front for good 5-4. Chad Donato came out of the bullpen to start the fifth inning and allowed two runs on four hits and a pair of walks over 3 1/3 innings pitched. He struck out three. Jordan Brink closed out the game with 1 2/3 perfect innings, striking out one. The offense tacked on an insurance run in the eighth when Lee led off with a single and was driven in by a Jake Rucker double a few batters later. Lee finished the night 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored in addition to the homer. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. joined him with multiple hits in the game (2-for-4) and stole two bases, giving him 16 stolen bases on the year, which ranks second in the Texas League. Will Holland was 1-for-1 with a pair of walks and scored two runs. KERNELS NUGGETS Peoria 5, Cedar Rapids 6 Box Score The Kernels rode a four-run seventh inning to victory on Tuesday at home in Cedar Rapids, holding off the Chief's late rallies. Orlando Rodriguez made the start for the home team and scattered five hits and two walks over five innings. Although he did not strike out a single batter, he did allow only one run, and the Kernels held a 2-1 lead when he left the game. The lineup pounced in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, as a hit-batter preceded a two-run home run from Kala’i Rosario, his second of the season. Reliever Mike Paredes held it down for the next two innings after Rodriguez’s exit, delivering two scoreless. He allowed two hits, walked none, and also struck out none. Noah Miller led off the bottom of the seventh with his second home run of the year, kickstarting the four-run inning. Misael Urbina followed with a triple and was driven in by a sac fly from Jose Salas. Willie Joe Garry Jr. then had an interesting trip around the bases, reaching on an error, and advancing all the way home on two wild pitches that followed. A couple of walks then led to an RBI single from Rosario to cap the Kernels scoring. Peoria did their best to make a comeback, getting a pair of runs off both Regi Grace in the eighth and John Wilson in the ninth. Grace allowed those runs on three hits and got the only strikeout of the game for the pitching staff. Wilson’s runs also came on three hits. Rosario finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBI. Urbina was the only other hitter with multiple knocks, going 2-for-4. Emmanuel Rodriguez drew two walks and scored a run. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Lakeland 5 Box Score Mighty Mussels starter Christian MacLeod was making just his second start after returning from Tommy John surgery and was fantastic in this one over four innings. He allowed just one run on one hit and two walks, while punching out seven Flying Tigers. He threw 62 pitches, with 38 going for strikes (61%), including ten swinging. He didn’t allow a hit until his final inning, but it came after a walk and a wild pitch, leading to his earned run allowed. Fort Myers took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third when a bases-loaded wild pitch was followed by a two-RBI triple from Jorel Ortega. The lineup added single runs in the fourth, fifth, and seventh innings, accounting for their six runs. In the fourth, it was an RBI triple from Dylan Neuse, a sac fly off the bat of Ricardo Olivar in the fifth, and an Andrew Cossetti RBI double in the seventh. Right-hander Jose Olivares came on for MacLeod to start the fifth and contributed four solid innings of his own. He allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk, while striking out four. His two runs allowed came on solo home runs, but the score was 6-3 when his game was done. Fort Myers called upon Johnathan Lavallee to close out the game, and I’m sure he was thankful his team had added some insurance runs for him. A single, consecutive doubles, and a wild pitch left the tying runner on third with just one out before he buckled down. He picked up a strikeout and got a lineout to end the game, picking up his second save of the season in the process. The lineup got multiple hits in the game from Ortega (2-for-5, R, 3B, 2 RBI, K), Alec Sayre (2-for-4, 2 R, 3B), and Neuse (3-for-4, R, 3B, RBI). TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Christian MacLeod, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (4 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 7 K) Hitter of the Day - Royce Lewis, St. Paul Saints (3-for-5, R, HR, 4 RBI, SB) PROSPECT SUMMARY With about a month and a half of the season in the books, Twins Daily has your first Top 20 Prospect List update of the year. #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI #2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab-St. Paul) - 3-for-5, R, HR, 4 RBI, SB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, R, 2 BB #4 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, R, 3 BB, K #5 - Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #6 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch #7 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #8 - David Festa (Wichita) - Did not pitch #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, 3 K #10 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL) #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - Injured List #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, RBI, K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, R, HR, RBI, BB #14 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #15 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #16 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - Injured List #17 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - Did not pitch #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 3 K #20 - Michael Helman (St. Paul) - Injured List WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (11:05 AM CDT) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-3, 7.17 ERA) Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Carlos Luna (0-1, 5.64 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (2-2, 2.77 ERA) Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - LHP Develson Aria (1-0, 3.38 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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For the first time in St. Paul Saints history, the challenge system came into play at CHS Field. Instituted this season at the Triple-A level, a rainy evening showcased a way that Major League Baseball may soon change. The rest of the farm was in action as well, and Wichita played two after a postponement yesterday. Image courtesy of Ted Schwerzler TRANSACTIONS RHP Dereck Rodriguez contract purchases by Minnesota from St. Paul OF/1B Alex Kirilloff recalled by Minnesota OF Trevor Larnach optioned to St. Paul RHP Jose Bravo transferred to St. Paul from Wichita SAINTS SENTINEL Nashville 3, St. Paul 2 Box Score After a multitude of roster moves, and rain that delayed the start, St. Paul finally sent Simeon Woods Richardson to the mound. He touched 94 mph in the first inning, and this game was something of historic importance as it represented the first time the challenge system has been used at CHS Field. On Friday through Sunday games at Triple-A umpires will have more control. While the ABS system is being used on Tuesday through Thursday, the home plate umpire will again call the games during the final three days. Each team gets three challenges (but successful challenges don’t take away from the total), and when one is initiated, the pitch is immediately relayed to the umpire and then put on the videoboard. The first challenge of the night came when Nashville’s Andruw Monasterio didn’t like a low strike call. He was incorrect, but got revenge on the very next pitch as he blasted a three run homer. Woods Richardson then used St. Paul’s first challenge on a called ball four. He was incorrect and the umpire found himself two for two. Answering in the bottom half of the second inning, Chris Williams and Andrew Bechtold went back-to-back on a pair of long blasts. Bechtold knew he got all of it, and a fan attempted to grab the dinger in a beer. As the 3rd inning looked to get underway, the rain came back and the tarp was on. With rain steadily falling and the forecast not looking great for the remainder of the evening, the Saints decided to bang this one on Cinco De Mayo. It will be resumed tomorrow afternoon with a seven inning game to follow. WIND SURGE WISDOM NW Arkansas 5, Wichita 1 (Game 1) Box Score Playing a twin bill tonight after a rainout yesterday, the Wind Surge kicked off game one with Chad Donato on the mound. He went 3 1/3 innings while allowing five runs on eight hits. Donato did strike out three while not allowing any walks. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. started things well for the Wind Surge when he drove Yoyner Fajardo in on a 1st inning groundout. That was Wichita’s only lead of the contest though as Northwest Arkansas immediately answered with two runs in the bottom half. Donato was touched up for a two-run homer in the 4th inning that made it 4-1, and a run-scoring triple chased him from the game. Managing just four hits for the game, Alex Isola was the only Wichita player to record a pair of knocks. They would look to forget this one and bounce back in the second game. NW Arkansas 4, Wichita 3 (Game 2) Box Score Carlos Luna was the starter for game two this evening, and the Travelers once again jumped out to a lead. Allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits in the 1st inning wasn’t how he wanted things to go. Similarly to game one, Keirsey Jr. again drove in a run on a groundout. Fajardo scored and put the Wind Surge ahead. A single and a homer were recorded for Northwest Arkansas in their half of the frame and they had their second 4-1 lead of the day. Wichita did get one back in the 2nd inning, but still trailed by two through four innings of play. Seth Gray did make things interesting with a solo homer in the 6th inning, but Wichita couldn't even it up and they fell twice on the day. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, South Bend 0 Box Score Marco Raya was on the bump tonight for the Kernels, and he looked strong in a short outing as he continues to build up. Working three innings, Raya allowed just two hits while striking out three and walking only one. Pierson Ohl then came on as a piggyback starter and continued his strong start to the year. It was a scoreless game through the first couple of innings until Tanner Schobel came up in the 3rd inning. With the bases loaded, Schobel worked a walk and drew an RBI as Kyle Fedko waltzed across the plate. Though they couldn’t push any more across in the 3rd, Schobel picked up another RBI when he lifted a sacrifice fly in the 5th inning. Ernie Yake scampered home and the Kernels doubled up their lead. Adding again in the 6th inning, Ben Ross singled to right field and Willie Joe Garry Jr. raced home. The story of this game was certainly how dominant Ohl performed in relief. Working the final six innings, Cedar Rapids saw the righty allow only three hits while punching out nine. Keeping South Bend at bay, he lowered his season ERA to 2.25 and struck out the side to end it in the 9th inning. MUSSEL MATTERS Dunedin 7, Fort Myers 6 (F/11) Box Score Tonight it was Develson Aria starting for the Mighty Mussels. He went 4 2/3 innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and a pair of walks. Aria did strike out five on the evening. Florida State League reigning player of the month, Andrew Cossetti, singled in the 1st inning to drive in Jorel Ortega. A wild pitch then allowed Dalton Shuffield to score and make it a 2-0 game before the inning ended. By the end of the 4th inning, Dunedin had taken the lead 3-2. In the bottom of the 5th inning though, Maddux Houghton answered with a two-run blast that scored Alec Sayre and helped Fort Myers to regain the lead. As the game entered the final innings, it was Dunedin again regaining the lead. A two-run double put them back up by a score of 5-4. Fort Myers had just four hits on the night thus far, and they'd need to find a way to battle back. After a Mike Perez pop out Sayre took a walk to put the tying run on base. Houghton struck out and it was up to Ortega as the last hope. He answered the call and roped his first triple of the season to tie the game and represent the winning run just 90 feet away. Shuffield couldn't bring him home though, and the sides were headed to extras. Neither team could get anything going in the 10th inning, but Dunedin put the pressure on with a two-run blast in the top of the 11th inning. Houghton didn't have another homer in him but his single scored Rubel Cespedes to bring Fort Myers back within one. Ortega couldn't recapture the magic again, and they Mighty Mussels came up just short. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Pierson Ohl (Cedar Rapids) - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K Hitter of the Day – Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-6, 2 2B, K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-5, 2 2B, K #4 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 0-1, K #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-5, 3 K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, 2 RBI, BB, K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Nashville @ St. Paul (2:07PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak Wichita @ NW Arkansas (6:35PM CST) - LHP Blayne Enlow Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (3:05PM CST) - RHP Jaylen Nowlin Dunedin @ Fort Myers (5:00PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games! View full article

The Minnesota Twins got blown out in Boston this afternoon and Kenta Maeda took a painful come-backer to the shin. He exited early, creating an opportunity for Emilio Pagán to do his magic. Willi Castro had an eventful day which included a home run and 1/3 of an inning pitched. In the minors we have highlights of Alex Kirilloff, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Ben Ross and info on another crazy game from Andrew Cossetti. View full video

Joey Gallo played for the Saints. Wichita powered their way to a win. Cedar Rapids' comeback came up short. The Mighty Mussels got a great start. Several 2022 draft picks compiled firsts. There were some good starts, lots of homers and much more. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor leagues on Friday night. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Jorel Ortega), Ed Bailey (Travis Adams) TRANSACTIONS 1B/OF Joey Gallo was added to the Saints roster on major-league rehab assignment (right intercostal strain). RHP Cole Sands was optioned from Minnesota Twins to St. Paul Saints. RHP Louie Varland was recalled by the Minnesota Twins. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 2 Box Score Twins fans who watched the Saints got the opportunity to watch major leaguer Joey Gallo play during a rehab assignment. He batted second and played first base for the first seven innings. He went 1-for-3 with a double off the wall in his first at-bat. However, there was not much on-base action due to the impressive mound work by both teams. Aaron Sanchez started and almost inexplicably tossed five scoreless innings despite allowing six hits and three walks. He received a lot of help from his infield which turned three double plays behind him. Indianapolis shuffled quickly through their pitching staff, reaching into the bullpen early, but managed to keep the Saints bats quiet through seven innings. The Saints kept a steady rotation of players on base in the top of the eighth inning which started with two walks, and ended with three runs on the board. The first came when Chris Williams was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Andrew Stevenson added a two-run single. Just for good measure, the Saints added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning on a Mark Contreras double. The Saints pitching was outstanding. The bullpen was nearly flawless. Cody Laweryson tossed two scoreless innings, and Patrick Murphy pitched a scoreless eighth frame. Brock Stewart gave up two runs but recorded the final three outs to lock down a Saints win. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 7, NW Arkansas 4 Box Score With an ominous forecast which caused the Wind Surge to postpone their post-game fireworks show, the game started on time. In the bottom of the first, Yoyner Fajardo provided some fireworks with a lead off homer to give Wichita a 1-0 lead. It was a sign of things to come. Travis Adams made his second Double-A start on Friday night. He was unable to complete the first inning in his first start, but he was much better in start number two. He completed five innings and gave up two runs on two hits (both solo homers). He struck out seven batters without issuing a walk. The Surge put distance between themselves and the Naturals in the third inning. Two home runs from Jake Rucker and Yunior Severino with players on base, pushed the Surge ahead 5-1. Alex Isola added his second homer of the season in the fifth inning to give them a 7-2 lead. Right-hander Jose Bravo replaced Adams and gave up one run on two hits over 2 2/3 innings. Lefty Kody Funderburk came on and got a strikeout to end the eighth inning. He gave up a run in the ninth, but added two more strikeouts to finish the game. Fajardo went 2-for-5 with a double and a homer. DaShawn Keirsey went 2-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. Yunior Severino went 2-for-4 with a double and homer. Kernel Nuggets Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 6 Box Score The Quad City River Bandits scored a run in the first inning, but the Kernels answered in the second inning, tying up the game 1-1 where it stayed until both teams got busy in the fifth inning scoring three runs a piece, tying up the game again. Jordan Carr started the game on the mound and provided a solid four innings. He was charged with one run on four hits and a walk. He struck out four batters. Malik Barrington came in and allowed three earned runs to give the River Bandits the lead in the fifth inning. The lead did not last long. In the bottom of the inning, the Kernels answered in like with three runs of their own, to tie up the score. Emmanuel Rodriguez drove in one with a double. Ben Ross and Kala’i Rosario drove in the other runs. Unfortunately, in the top of the seventh, Matt Mullenbach gave up a two run homer to put the Kernels behind 7-5. John Stankiewicz got the final seven outs for Cedar Rapids. Ben Ross, Noah Cardenas and Willie Joe Garry each had two hits. Garry had a double. Mussels Matters Fort Myers 5, Clearwater 1 Box Score The Mussels started the game off with a bang. Jorel Ortega led off the first with his first professional home run on the second pitch of the game off Clearwater’s Alex McFarlane. The Mussels were aggressive on the base paths throughout the game. In the fourth inning, Mikey Perez, who led the organization with 48 stolen bases a year ago, was hit by a pitch, then stole second and third and scored when Dalton Shuffield hit a line-drive single to right field. Cory Lewis, the Twins ninth-round pick a year ago out of UC-Santa Barbara, made his second start of the season on Friday night. In his first start, he gave up four runs on six hits, two walks and a hit batter over 4 1/3 innings. He was much better in this game. He didn’t give up a hit until the fourth. Overall, he gave up one run on two hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out eight batters. The Mussels bats broke out with a three-run seventh inning. The scoring started with an Ortega line-drive single with the bases loaded which scored Maddux Houghton. That was followed by a walk by minor-league Rule 5 draft pick Yohander Martinez that scored Dalton Shuffield. Finally, Carlos Aguiar drove in Alec Sayre with a sacrifice fly. The Mussels now had a 5-1 lead going into the 7th inning stretch and maintained the lead to end the game. Hard-throwing Juan Mendez came on and gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings. Gabriel Yanez struck out the side in the eighth inning. He then struck out one more in a perfect ninth inning. Ortega, Martinez and Shuffield each had two hits in the game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Sanchez (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K Hitter of the Day – DaShawn Kiersey, Jr. (Wichita) - 2-for-3, 2 R, 1K, 2 SB. PROSPECT SUMMARY The Twins Prospect Tracker is the best way to see how each of the Twins top prospects performed during their games; but in case you wanted a quick look, Here is how each of the top 20 performed today: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - Did Not Play #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - Injured List #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, 2B(1), R, RBI, 3 K #4 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #5 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-3, K #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #7 - Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, RBI, SB (3) #9 - Louie Varland (Minnesota) - 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (3 HR) #10 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - Injured List #11 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-0 (defensive replacement in 9th) #12 - Yasser Mercedes (Extended Spring Training) - #13 - David Festa (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not play. #15 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - Injured List #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch. #17 - Ronny Henriquez (Minnesota) - Injured List #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, R, K #19 - Jose Rodriguez (Extended Spring Training) - #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Play. SATURDAY SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Indianapolis (5:35PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-1, 4.91) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (2:05PM CST) - LHP Aaron Rozek (first start) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (1:05PM CST) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo (first start) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30PM CST) - RHP Jose Oliveros (first start) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss today’s game! View full article

In recent years, Minor League Baseball has been the testing grounds for several potential rule changes designed to improve pace of play and encourage more action on the field. One of the rule changes that will go into effect for the 2023 season is larger bases, partially in an attempt to encourage more base-stealing. Image courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports In 2022, the Minnesota Twins went 38-for-55 in stolen base attempts. Those numbers are, by far, the lowest in Major League Baseball. In the AL Central, the Tigers had 47 steals, the third-lowest in MLB, but they were caught 24 times. The White Sox ranked 24th with 58 steals, but they were only caught 10 times. On the other side of the spectrum, the Cleveland Guardians ranked third in baseball with 119 steals, and the Kansas City Royals tied for sixth with 104 steals. The question now becomes, how will the new rules – specifically the larger bases – alter how the Twins manage the running game, if at all? Will the team suddenly start attempting a lot of stolen bases? Could they steal more, but remain behind other organizations that already incorporated a running game into their strategy? There are several reasons that the Twins don’t run a lot. First and foremost, their 2022 roster did not include much speed or certainly many base stealers. While Byron Buxton and Nick Gordon have tremendous speed, they also don’t run a lot. The two were tied for the team lead with... six stolen bases. The idea is that they can score from first base on a double, so why risk getting thrown out on a stolen base attempt? Buxton has stolen bases at a high percentage over his career. However, with his leg issues in 2022, it made little sense for him to run. And now, with his recent arthroscopic knee surgery, it’s hard to imagine that he will do a ton of running moving forward. What happened in the Twins minor leagues, where the larger bases have already been utilized? Here is a quick look at where the Twins affiliate ranks relative to their minor-league level: Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels - 179 SB, 67 CS (Ranked 13th of 30 teams) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels - 143 SB, 44 CS (Ranked 15th of 30 teams) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge - 170 SB, 50 CS (Ranked 7th of 30 teams) Triple-A: St. Paul Saints - 136 SB, 29 CS. (Ranked 15th of 30 teams) MLB: Minnesota Twins - 38 SB, 17 CS. (Ranked 30th of 30 teams) So as you can see, the Twins affiliates all attempted a lot of stolen bases throughout the year. So was that just a player or two on each affiliate that accounted for a big chunk of his team’s steals? Let’s take a look at the organizational leaders in stolen bases, noting which leagues they played in during the course of the year. Mikey Perez 48/55 (Ft. Myers, St. Paul, Cedar Rapids) DaShawn Keirsey 42/49 (Wichita) Michael Helman 40/45 (Wichita, St. Paul) Austin Martin 35/41 (Wichita) Will Holland 32/38 (Cedar Rapids, Wichita) Yasser Mercedes 30/35 (DSL Twins) Mark Contreras 23/25 (St. Paul) Noah Miller 23/30 (Ft. Myers) Anthony Prato 22/28 (Cedar Rapids, Wichita) Luis Baez 20/23 (Ft. Myers) Daniel Ozoria 20/25 (all over) Edouard Julien 19/26 (Wichita) Jake Rucker 19/31 (Ft. Myers, Cedar Rapids, St. Paul) Alerick Soularie 18/23 (Cedar Rapids) Willie Joe Garry 17/21 (Cedar Rapids) It is noteworthy that three individuals stole 40 or more bases. Three others had 30 or more, including Yasser Mercedes who stole 30 bags in just 41 games in the Dominican Summer League. A total of 11 players had 20 or more steals on the season. Whether it was simply situational or if it was an intentional effort to better understand the effect of larger bases, the Twins had a lot of players running often in the minors. It certainly appears that organizationally the Twins aren’t against stealing bases. It’s really just clear that the big-league club was made up of players that didn’t really work to be a running team. Over time, as the composition of the roster changes, they certainly could run more. As a rookie in 2003, Rocco Baldelli stole 27 bases and was caught ten times. The following year, he went 17-for-21 in stolen base attempts. Jon Berti of the Marlins led baseball with 41 stolen bases. Jorge Mateo led the American League with 35 steals, one more than his Orioles teammate Cedric Mullins. Trea Turner stole 27 bases for the Dodgers this year, the most by an impending free agent. On the other side, Twins catchers did not have a very good year in terms of throwing out would-be base stealers. The Twins allowed 92 stolen bases and threw out just 23 runners. Their 20% caught stealing was tied for 26th in the league. That certainly is not a good number, but it is important to note that the league average was just 25% Did teams run against the Twins more than average? Technically, yes. There were 115 stolen base attempts against the Twins in 2022. The average was 110, so negligible. As the Twins look for a catcher, the ability to throw out base stealers should be one consideration, but it shouldn’t be among the top considerations. It can be worked on, to some degree (footwork, transition, release time, pop times), but it is just as important, and I might argue more important, for the Twins to have their pitchers focus a little bit more on trying to give their catchers a chance (change pitch timing, slide steps, etc.). Of those 92 stolen bases, how many times were we able to say “The catcher didn’t have a chance.” So as the offseason approaches, how do you think that the larger bases will factor into decisions? Will the team add some speed to the roster in an attempt to steal more bases? As they look for a #2 catcher, how important will (or should) their ability to throw out would-be base stealers? Share your thoughts below, and make sure to check out our Offseason Handbook content to identify targets who could improve the team's overall speed and base-stealing proficiency. View full article