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The Saints were not as fortunate, though. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (Photo is of Aaron Sabato) TRANSACTIONS None Saints Sentinel St. Paul 5, Iowa 7 Box Score Patrick Murphy: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Austin Martin (2-for-4, R, RBI) The Saints were eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday. Despite an incredible 80-62 record—good enough for 1st place in the International League West division—St. Paul trails two other teams in the International League in total record. With one of those teams being the seven games up Durham Bulls—victorious today while the Saints lost—the seven games remaining make it impossible for St. Paul to pass the Bulls, who own the tiebreaker over the Saints. It’s a tough outcome for a team that has played so well. Starter Patrick Murphy had seen better days. He oversaw runs in the first three frames, giving the Cubs a six-run advantage with some aid from poor defense. It was a rare stumble for the former reliever, who had dominated in his new role up to this point. Despite the immediate deficit, the bats rumbled, gestating for five innings before unleashing a pair of runs in the 6th and a trio of scores in the 8th. The first two plated when Gilberto Celestino swiped home after Iowa’s catcher fired a bad throw to 2nd in an attempt to catch Austin Martin stealing; Trevor Larnach then singled in Martin. The 8th was another democratic effort, with Michael Helman doubling, Martin grounding out, and Larnach coaxing in a final run with a sacrifice fly. That was it, though, as St. Paul finally receded and Iowa plated an unnecessary seventh run to bring the game to its eventual end. Technically old friend Nick Burdi pitched 2/3 of an inning for the Cubs. Minnesota’s 2014 2nd-round pick tossed three frames for the big-league club in 2023, but has spent most of the season in the minors; it’s the first pro season he has pitched in since 2020. Chicago’s 13th-best prospect—1st baseman Matt Mervis—doubled in four at-bats. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 7, Midland 8 Box Score Sean Mooney: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K HR: Alex Isola (20), Aaron Sabato (12) Multi-hit games: Alex Isola (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI), Jake Rucker (3-for-4, 2 R), Ben Ross (2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, BB), Willie Joe Garry Jr. (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) Wichita blew a 7-4 lead in the 9th, losing in horrifying fashion in the penultimate game of their regular season. Sean Mooney was the starter, but Jaylen Nowlin entered after an inning as the bulk pitcher. He was inefficient. Midland pounced on the lefty for four earned runs, not punishing his walks, and instead choosing to blast two homers off him, giving them a slim advantage. It didn’t last. Wichita kept pace early with piranha-esque singles and stolen bases before transitioning to modern Twins ball, smacking extra-base hits around the field to eventually give the Wind Surge a hearty 7-4 lead heading into the 9th. But then, tragedy. Miguel Rodriguez earned the inning’s first out, completely unaware of the fortune change soon to occur. Two singles, a walk, and a fielding error knocked him out of the game, scoring a run in the process. With Francis Peguero tabbed as the man set to establish order, the RockHounds simply continued their terror; Max Muncy—no, not that one—smoked a bases-clearing double, handing Midland a lead unthinkable just two outs earlier. The Wind Surge never recovered. Wichita is technically still alive in their playoff race, needing a win on Sunday with a Cardinals’ loss to punch their ticket. Catcher Daniel Susac served as Midland’s best prospect; he homered and struck out twice. Kernels Nuggets The Kernels did not play on Saturday. They won their previous playoff series, sending them to the Midwest League championship against the Great Lakes Loons with game 1 starting on Sunday. Mussel Matters The Mighty Mussels’ 2023 regular season is over; they will not play again this year. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Isaac Mattson Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Alex Isola PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-3, BB, K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 2-4, R, RBI #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-1 #17 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-3, BB, K #18 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (1:08 PM) - RHP David Festa Midland @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Great Lakes (12:05 PM) - LHP Christian MacLeod View full article

While there was action all over the Minnesota Twins farm systems tonight, eyes were on Single-A Fort Myers where 2023 first round draft pick Walker Jenkins was making a debut. Image courtesy of William Parmeter TRANSACTIONS RHP Jordan Balazovic recalled by Twins SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Omaha 7 Box Score Brent Headrick took the ball Thursday for the Saints and worked four innings of four-run baseball (three earned). He walked just one, gave up three hits, and struck out six on the evening. St. Paul gave Headrick a lead to work with in the second inning. Yunior Severino lofted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Trevor Larnach. Hernan Perez then picked up one of his five hits in the game. His single scored both Anthony Prato and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. In the third inning, the Saints were out to bury Omaha early. Keirsey Jr. hit his first Triple-A homer, and the three-run shot also brought Brooks Lee and Kyle Garlick home. Tony Wolters then added a two-run single later in the frame that scored both Severino and Perez. Through three innings, it was an 8-0 game. Headrick's trouble came in a four-run fourth inning, but St. Paul responded with one of their own in the fifth inning. Perez singled again, this time scoring Keirsey Jr. Another single from Perez, scoring Keirsey Jr. again, making it 10-4 in the 7th inning. Omaha added a run in the seventh on their own and a pair in the eighth, but the comeback fell short. St. Paul recorded 18 hits Thursday night, and Perez accounted for five. Andrew Stevenson, Garlick, Keirsey Jr., Severino, and Wolters each had a pair. Despite being his 1,645th professional game, tonight was the first five-hit of Perez's career. Stevenson's hit also set a new single-season Saints record, surpassing Tomas Telis' total in 2021. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Arkansas 1 Box Score Wichita, facing the top team in the Northern Division of the Texas League, sent Jaylen Nowlin to the bump. He turned in 5 2/3 innings of one-run (unearned) baseball. Nowlin gave up just three hits and a walk while striking out four. Wichita opened the scoring on a Patrick Winkel first-inning single. Tanner Schobel raced across the plate, and the first four runs in the frame were home. Jake Rucker lifted a single to right field, allowing Winkel time to cross the plate. Alerick Soularie then grabbed a single to bring Aaron Sabato and Rucker home. That four-run lead held up throughout the game, and the Travelers sixth-inning run ended unhelpful. Alex Isola didn't homer tonight, but he did have a two-hit game. Rucker had three hits on the evening as well. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 14, South Bend 8 Box Score The Kernels turned to Cory Lewis on Thursday night, and he worked 3 2/3 innings while allowing three runs on five hits. Lewis did also walk a pair but got seven strikeouts in the contest. After giving up two first-inning runs, Cedar Rapids got on the board when Andrew Cossetti went deep for his seventh big fly of the year. Noah Miller followed Cossetti's lead with a two-run blast in the third inning. Miller's eighth dinger of the year also brought in Keoni Cavaco. Jose Salas kept the scoring with a single that South Bend booted around. Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kala'i Rosario scored on the play before Salas chased them in. Up 6-2, Carson McCusker went deep for the fifth time to make it a 7-2 game. Cedar Rapids gave one back in the bottom of the third inning, but they added again in the fourth inning. Miller tripled home Cavaco before Ben Ross doubled in Rodriguez. Leading 9-3 in the sixth inning, Rosario scored Miller on a sacrifice fly, and Ross brought Rodriguez in again with a single. By the bottom of the seventh inning, South Bend inched closer to make things interesting. Cedar Rapids held on to just an 11-8 lead entering the ninth inning, but McCusker put it away with his second blast of the night. This one scored Cossetti and Salas to make it a 14-8 game and secure the victory. Both clubs had 12 hits on Thursday, but Cedar Rapids was able to do more damage with theirs. Miller, Ross, McCusker, and Cavaco each had two hits in the game. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Daytona 1 (F/10) Box Score After the promotion became official yesterday, the hype for Walker Jenkins to be in the Fort Myers lineup was here. He fared incredibly well in limited rookie ball action, and Minnesota decided to challenge him the rest of the way at Single-A. Miguelangel Boadas got the start for Fort Myers and worked 4 2/3 innings. He allowed only an unearned run on four hits. Boadas didn't walk anyone and struck out a trio of Tortugas. The Tortugas struck first with a run during the opening frame. Danny De Andrade answered with his 11th home run, a fifth inning solo shot. Needing extras, Maddux Houghton played hero on a sacrifice fly to score Jay Harry and walk it off. Jenkins finished the night 0-for-4 but made contact each time he stepped in. Fort Myers had just two hits on the night, but they squeezed everything out of limited opportunity. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jaylen Nowlin (Wichita) - 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Hitter of the Day – Carson McCusker (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR(6) PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-5, R, BB, 2 K #2 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - 0-4 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 3 R, BB, 2B, K #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-3, R, BB #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-1, R, RBI, 3 BB #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-3, R, RBI, BB, K #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 1-4, R, RBI, HR(11) #19 - Cory Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K #20 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson Wichita @ Arkansas (7:05PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper Dayton @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP John Klein Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! View full article

The Minnesota Twins came from behind to beat the Rangers 7-5 Thursday night at Target Field. Ryan Jeffers gave the Twins the lead with a pinch hit home run, the team's fifth homer of the game. Kyle Farmer and Royce Lewis also went deep while Michael A. Taylor blasted two homers. Highlights from that game plus minor league action featuring DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Jaylen Nowlin and Andrew Cossetti. That and more in tonight's Twins System Recap. View full video

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

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

There wasn't a lot of offense, but there were a lot of close games. Find out which affiliates won, and which hitters and pitchers came up big for their teams on Wednesday. Image courtesy of Steve Buhr (photo of Jaylen Nowlin) The Twins got a great start from Pablo Lopez. Jose Salas had a couple of key hits in a Kernels run. Hopefully Byron Chourio had a great day and got a little better on a non-game day in the FCL. Here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Wednesday. St. Paul Saints: 49-33 Wichita Wind Surge: 32-44 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 47-30 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 39-38 FCL Twins: 10-12 DSL Twins: 6-15 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins concluded the rehab assignment of RHP Cole Sands. In bringing him back up, Josh Winder was optioned to St. Paul. The Twins released RHP Connor Sadzeck. He had been pitching with the Saints. RHP Chad Donato was activated by the Wind Surge. RHP Pierson Ohl has been moved to the Wichita Development List. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Iowa 3 Box Score This was a bit of a back-and-forth, low-scoring game in Des Moines. The Saints fell behind 1-0 in the second, but they tied it up in the fourth inning. Iowa re-took the lead 2-1 after five innings. The Saints tied it again in the top of the seventh. Unfortunately, the Cubs scored their third run in the bottom of the seventh inning and held on for the 3-2 win. After a record-setting performance last week in St. Paul against Gwinnett, the Saints lineup was a bit quiet on Wednesday. In fact, they had just four hits, though they walked five times. Kyle Garlick put the Saints on the board with his seventh double. It scored Matt Wallner who hit his 20th Saints double of the season in this game. The game was tied again in the seventh inning when Anthony Prato drove in Chris Williams with a sacrifice fly. Williams had left off the inning with his second triple of the season. Veteran Aaron Sanchez was on the mound in this one for St. Paul. He was charged with two runs on six hits and a walk over the first five innings. He struck out five batters. Andrew Bechtold came in for his third relief pitching appearance. He had a 1-2-3 sixth inning. He recorded an infield pop out, a strikeout and a groundout in the inning. Austin Schulfer entered the game in the seventh inning. He gave up the go-ahead run on two walks and a hit. Austin Brice worked a perfect ninth inning. It marked the second straight one-run loss for the Saints. They are two games over .500 in such games. Unfortunately, the Iowa Cubs are now 19-3 in one-run contests. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Tulsa 4 Box Score The Surge fell behind 4-0 after just two innings. That was all. Unfortunately, the Wichita offense wasn’t able to do much against the Drillers on Wednesday. Carlos Luna gave up four runs (2 earned) on just four hits over four innings. He walked one batter and had seven strikeouts. Alex Scherff came on and struck out four batters over two scoreless innings. Isaac Mattson then had a walk and a strikeout over the final two, scoreless innings. Unfortunately, the Wind Surge were only able to muster two hits in the game. Alex Isola hit his 13th double and was walked once. Jake Rucker had the other hit. Seth Gray reached base twice via walks. DaShawn Keirsey scored the team’s lone run in the ninth inning on a wild pitch after reaching via an error. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 2 Box Score Speaking of close, one-run games, the Kernels have continued to find ways to win games, and that was the case on Wednesday. The story of the game was the performance of lefty Jaylen Nowlin. He started and gave up two runs on two hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out 10 batters in the game. As if usually key for him (and most pitchers), throwing strikes is very important. Of his 76 pitches in this one, 51 of them were strikes (67%). Nowlin’s blemish came in the fifth inning when he gave up a two-run homer that put the River Bandits ahead 2-1. Fortunately, the Kernels responded with two runs over their own in the bottom of the fifth and then the bullpens took over and kept the score at 3-2 for the home team. The Kernels scored their first run in the third inning when Noah Cardenas scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth, Jose Salas drilled a first-pitch homer to tie the game. Later, Ben Ross singled to score Jeferson Morales with the go-ahead (and winning) run). Malik Barrington replaced Nowlin to start the seventh inning. He gave up two hits over two scoreless innings. He had four strikeouts and no walks. Miguel Rodriguez came in and tossed a perfect ninth inning for his 10th Save of the season. Salas led the way with his first triple of the season to go with his third home run of the year. He also had a sacrifice bunt in the game. Doubles were hit by Cardenas (13th) and Morales (5th). MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Jupiter 3 (10) Box Score And yes, another one-run game on Wednesday night. This one had the added bonus of an extra inning. The score was tied 2-2 heading to the 10th frame. The Mussels began the top of the inning with Kamron Willman pinch running at second base for Gregory Duran. Mikey Perez laid down a nice sacrifice bunt, but a throwing error allowed not only Willman to score, but Perez was able to advance to third base. After an out, Maddux Houghton drove in Perez with a double. In the bottom of the inning, the Hammerheads had two singles and one run. But fortunately for the Mussels, it wasn’t enough and Fort Myers got another win. Ben Ethridge dropped his season ERA to 2.49 after giving up two runs (1 earned) on five hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out two batters. Gabriel Yanez came on and struck out five batters over three, one-hit innings. Ricardo Velez pitched a scoreless ninth and held onto the lead in the 10th to record his first Win. Dillon Tatum led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with a walk. Gregory Duran went 2-for-5. Ricardo Olivar went 1-for-3 with two walks. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitters of the Day – Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-2, SH, 3B(1), HR(3), R, RBI. Pitcher of the Day – Jaylen Nowlin (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, BB, 10 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. (Note - our next prospect rankings update will come after the draft.) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, HBP, 3 K. #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 1-for-2, BB, HR(6), R, RBI, K. #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B(20), R #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, K. (2B, batted second) #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-2, SH, 3B(1), HR(3), R, RBI. #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Iowa (6:38 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-1, 6.57 ERA) Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Chad Donato (1-5, 10.73 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (4-4, 4.02 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30 PM CST) - LHP Jarret Whorff (2-0, 1.63 ERA) FCL Orioles @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Rockies @ DSL Twins (10:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

Pablo López led the Minnesota Twins to victory Wednesday night against the Royals, delivering his first complete game and shutout of his entire career. To top it off, he also set a new career-high with 12 strikeouts. Here are some highlights of his outing and a few snips from his postgame interview. Down on the farm, Jose Salas -- who came over in the same trade as López -- hit a homer and a triple for Cedar Rapids while Jaylen Nowlin struck out 10 batters for the Kernels. View full video

The Minnesota Twins were off Thursday but there was plenty to go over in the minor leagues. Matt Wallner continues to impress with the Saints. He hit two home runs -- both of them off lefties -- in a big night for St. Paul in which Andrew Stevenson also homered. Also included in tonight's highlights are looks at Brooks Lee and Jose Salas in the field, Tanner Schobel's big day, a triple play and Jaylen Nowlin pitching well for the Kernels. View full video

Three Minnesota Twins affiliates played on Wednesday. The Kernels lost an afternoon tilt. The Saints got a big inning, gave it up late, but then completed a walk-off win. The Wind Surge had a big inning, and then another, and one more on their way to a big win. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Wednesday. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photos of Blayne Enlow, Brooks Lee) On Wednesday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins salvaged the third game of their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants. They got another solid start from Joe Ryan, and Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner both contributed mightily to the Twins win. Fort Myers was rained out on Wednesday, but the three other affiliates played. There were some big innings. There were comebacks. There was a walkoff. There was a Quality Start. There were homers, and lots of multi-hit games. Continue on to find out what all happened. St. Paul Saints: 24-21 Wichita Wind Surge: 19-21 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 22-19 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 23-17 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS No transactions on Wednesday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Omaha 5 Box Score In the bottom of the second inning, the Saints put up a big five spot. Were they able to hang on to that lead? Well, Omaha scored three runs in the top of the third and another in the fourth. But as the game went into the ninth inning, the Saints still held a 5-4 lead. Before we get to that, let’s talk about that five-run second frame. Hernan Perez got the team on the board with a double to score Ryan LaMarre. Jair Camargo followed with a single that drove in Perez with the second run. Royce Lewis, who batted second and played third base, then lined a double to left field that drove in Camargo and Andrew Stevenson. Finally, Jose Miranda singled to score Lewis with the fifth run of the inning. Lefty Brent Headrick was the Saints starter. In the third inning, he gave up a three-run homer to Royals middle infield prospect Nick Loftin. He also was charged with an unearned run in the fourth inning. In all, Headrick needed 82 pitches to work through four innings. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits and two walks. He recorded three strikeouts. Josh Winder had a nice outing. He tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked three and struck out four batters. Connor Sadzeck got the next four outs, three on strikeouts while maintaining the 5-4 lead. Oliver Ortega came on and walked a batter before getting a strikeout to get the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth inning, Ortega remained on the mound. He got the first batter to line out. Then he recorded a strikeout. With two outs, Logan Porter hit a soft single. Ortega then got a ground ball, but a throwing error put runners on first and third. Unfortunately, Dairon lined an 88 mph single that tied the score at five. Ortega got the final out on a fly out. So the Saints had to take their at-bats in the bottom of the ninth. Andrew Stevenson got things started with an opposite-field single. With Andrew Bechtold batting, Stevenson stole second base, his 16th of the season. Then on a 3-2 count, Bechtold hit a ground ball that the pitcher deflected toward second base, but he beat the throw to first. With runners on first and third and nobody out, Jose Miranda stepped to the plate. Bechtold took second on Defensive Indifference before Miranda walked it off with a single to left field to give the Saints a 6-5 win. Jose Miranda went 2-for- 5 with two RBI in the game. Lewis played the first seven innings before being replaced by Bechtold. Lewis went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Stevenson went 2-for-5. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 13, Springfield 1 Box Score It was a big day for the Wind Surge offense. They had a four-run third inning. In the seventh, they had a five-run inning to increase their lead to 10-1. They added three more in the eighth inning to provide the final score. Wichita had 18 hits and four walks in the game. Eight of nine starters had at least one hit. Seven of nine had multi-hit games. Three players had three hits in the game. We will get into the specifics for the hitters, but it's always important to highlight strong pitching. Blayne Enlow was the beneficiary of the offensive explosion, but he again did his job and kept the Cardinals’ prospects at bay. Enlow started with five shutout innings. He then gave up one run in the sixth inning. He was very efficient as well. He had just one out (the final batter he faced), but he also walked no one. He needed just 76 pitches to get through six innings. When the offense had their long, five-run seventh inning, his night was over. It was his third Quality Start of the season. Following the game, Blayne Enlow told Twins Daily, “It felt great. Complete opposite of last outing with the Ks (he had 10 strikeouts in 5 ⅓ innings), but I made the right pitches when I needed to and got weak contact that the defense just vacuumed up today.” Lefty Denny Bentley is back. He got five outs in this game, two on strikeouts. Alex Scherff gave up three hits and a walk over the final 1 1/3 innings, but also did not allow a run. Back to the offense. Let’s start with the big hits. In the four-run third, Anthony Prato got things started with a solo home run, his second of the season. Soon after, Yoyner Fajardo doubled in a run, and that was followed by Brooks Lee’s fourth homer of the year. Fajardo drove in Prato with a single in the fourth inning to make it 5-0. Yunior Severino got things going in the five-run seventh frame. His sixth double scored Brooks Lee. Next, Jake Rucker scored on a passed ball. DaShawn Keirsey’s seventh double (you need to see this one!) drove in two runs and the scoring for the inning was complete when Pat Winkel singled in Keirsey. Yoyner Fajardo has been incredible with the Wind Surge this season. In the eighth inning, he singled in another run. Lee followed with his 13th double. Finally, Severino hit into a double play that scored the team’s 13th and final run of the night. Fajardo, who came to the Twins organization as a minor-league Rule 5 pick this offseason, is speedy. But after his 3-for-5 night pushes his batting average to .316. The 24-year-old outfielder’s on-base percentage is up to .377. Following the game, Fajardo noted, "My thoughts for tonight were to hit (the ball to) the middle since the opposing team threw me a lot of breaking pitches the night before. I tried to think for the middle, and thank God, the results turned out well." Jake Rucker went 3-for-5. Seth Gray went 3-for-4 with a triple in the game. Brooks Lee went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and a home run. His batting average is now .252 with an OPS of .753. Severino went 2-for-5. Keirsey went 2-for-5. Winkel went 2-for-4 with a walk. We seem to always highlight when the Twins and their affiliates don’t do well with runners in scoring position. Well, in this game, the Wind Surge went 7-for-9 in those situations. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 4 (10 innings) Box Score The Kernels hosted an afternoon game on Wednesday. It was quite a pitchers duel and needed an extra inning to decide it. Jaylen Nowlin made the start. The southpaw was charged with one run on seven hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out five batters. Regi Grace came on and worked two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck one out. Miguel Rodriguez worked two perfect innings and struck out one batter. Niklas Rimmel came on for the top of the 10th inning. As you know, the Rattlers started the inning with a runner on second base. Rimmel got a strikeout of Robert Moore. However, Matthew Wood singled to left which advanced the runner, Eric Brown Jr., to third base. However, Rimmel got Ben Metzinger to line out for the second out of the inning. Unfortunately, Joe Gray Jr drilled a three-run homer to put Wisconsin in front 4-1. With one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Jeferson Morales singled to drive in the “Manfred Man” Andrew Cossetti to deficit to 4-2. But that was it for the Kernels and they fall to 22-19. In the game, the Kernels managed just three hits. Misael Urbina hit a solo homer leading off the second inning. Along with his 10th inning single, Morales had one of the team’s four walks. In his first High-A game, Cossetti went 0-for-4. Bonus Brewers Content (If you are a friend of the Brewers, or know people who are, be sure to send them to Brewer Fanatic.) For the Brewer Fanatic readers checking out today’s report, here are a few notes. OF Joe Gray was the Brewers second-round pick in 2018 out of high school in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In high school, he played with and against Kernels RHP Regi Grace and OF Willie Joe Garry. Alexander Cornielle gave up one run on two hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings. Alex Hall went 2-for-3 with a walk. Matthew Wood was the Brewers fourth round pick out of Penn State last year. He had two hits in this game and is now hitting .344 with an .806 OPS in eight games since his promotion. Finally, 2022 top pick, shortstop Eric Brown Jr. was hit in the face by a pitch in late April. At the time, he was hitting .137/.267/.157 (.424) with one double in 14 games. After missing about 10 days, he returned to the lineup in early May. In 18 games since his return, he has hit .329/.429/.471 (.900) with four doubles and two homers. Overall, he has 17 walks with 22 strikeouts in 144 plate appearances. He also has 20 stolen bases and has only been caught twice. Definitely one to watch, including in this two-part Brewers Spotlight interview. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers, Dunedin (PPD-Rain) Box Score The game was postponed due to weather and field conditions in Dunedin. The teams will make up the game as part of a doubleheader on Saturday. . TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Blayne Enlow (Wichita Wind Surge) - 6 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 0 BB, 1 K. 76 pitches, 49 strikes (62.2%). Hitter of the Day – Brooks Lee (Wichita Wind Surge) - 2-for-4, BB, 2B(13), HR(4), 3 R, 3 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-4, BB, 2B(13), HR(4), 3 R, 3 RBI, K, #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul-Rehab) - 2-for-4, 2B(1), R, 2 RBI, 2 K, E. (played 3B). #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, BB, K. #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 1-for-3, BB, HR(3), 2 R, 2 RBI, SF, K, E #9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, 2B(1), R, RBI, SB, #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K. #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4. #15 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 82 pitches, 51 strikes (62.2%) #17 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 76 pitches, 49 strikes (64.5%) #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B(6), R, RBI, K . THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Omaha @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (2-4, 4.89 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (7:05 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (2-2, 5.58 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (2-2, 3.62 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! View full article

The Minnesota Twins were walked off in Boston tonight after failing to protect a two-run lead they built in the top of the 10th inning. It was another rough night for the bats, as they combined to strike out 16 times. On the minor league side, players highlighted include Alex Kirilloff, Bailey Ober, Mark Contreras, Brooks Lee, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Blayne Enlow, Jaylen Nowlin, Noah Miller and more. View full video

The Twins have been attempting to create a pitching pipeline, starting with developing arms up and down the organization. Here is one pitcher to watch for each Twins affiliate in 2023. Image courtesy of William Parmeter The Guardians have stayed relevant in the AL Central because of their ability to continue to churn out above-average big-league arms. Minnesota is trying to replicate Cleveland’s pitching philosophy which is one of the reasons why the team hired Derek Falvey away from their organization. Below are pitchers to keep tabs on this season, even if they aren’t the top-ranked prospect at that level. Triple-A: Randy Dobnak Saints Opening Day Roster The Saints are starting the year with a loaded rotation, including Bailey Ober, Louie Varland, and Simeon Woods Richardson. Randy Dobnak might be a forgotten piece of the organization’s pitching depth. Minnesota signed him to a five-year extension leading into the 2021 season, but a finger injury has limited him to just over 50 big-league innings over the last two years. He’s no longer on the 40-man roster and needs to prove he is healthy before the Twins give him another big-league opportunity. Fans also need to keep realistic expectations for Dobnak in 2023. In his first Saints start, he allowed one earned run on three hits with five walks and five strikeouts. Multiple younger pitching prospects have passed him in the organization’s depth chart, but that doesn’t mean he can’t provide future value to the club. Double-A: Kody Funderburk Wind Surge Opening Day Roster The Twins drafted Funderburk in the 15th round of the 2018 MLB Draft from Dallas Baptist University. Last season, he spent the entire season at Double-A with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP with a 103-to-44 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 107 innings. He was slightly older than the average age of the competition at Double-A last season, so it will be interesting to see how the Twins treat him this year. The left-handed hurler will be even older for the level in 2023, but there are other names ahead of him at Triple-A. His goal should be to reach Triple-A by the season’s second half. David Festa is the highest-ranked pitching prospect on the Wind Surge staff, with former top prospect Blayne Enlow also on the roster. High-A: Jaylen Nowlin Kernels Opening Day Roster Many eyes will be on Cedar Rapids to see the professional debut of Connor Prielipp, Minnesota’s second-round pick in 2022. He was considered one of the top college arms in the draft class but was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Nowlin joins Prielipp in the Kernels rotation, and he looks like a steal from the 19th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. In 2022, Nowlin made 22 appearances between Low- and High-A with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. His strikeout rate was impressive as he posted a 14.1 K/9 with 111 strikeouts in 71 innings. In 2023, he needs to continue to build his innings total and cut back on his walk (4.6 BB/9) and hit rate (7.6 H/9). He’s starting the season where he ended last year and now needs to prove he can make positive strides as a starting pitcher. Low-A: Juan (Miguel) Olivares Mighty Mussels Opening Day Roster Minnesota signed Olivares out of Venezuela in September 2021, which meant the 2022 season marked his professional debut. Twins Daily voted Olivares the short-season minor league pitcher of the year after posting a 1.44 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP over 50 innings. He has not allowed a home run during his professional career and posted a 54-to-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio. As a 19-year-old, he will come stateside in 2023 and look to build off his award-winning pro debut. Nearly 78% of his plate appearances came against younger batters, and that trend should continue during the 2023 campaign. He’s a long way from Target Field, but he can continue to make strides that will help him rise on prospect rankings. Which pitchers will you be watching at each level? Will any of the names listed above have a breakout season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

Jaylen Nowlin is one of the most intriguing prospects in the Minnesota Twins organization. He's left-handed. He throws hard. Good secondary pitches. Get to know him a bit in a new Twins Spotlight. Image courtesy of William Parmeter Jaylen Nowlin grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents encouraged him to play many sports and keep busy, so he did, and in doing so developed some great friendships. Once he reached high school, his focus turned solely toward baseball. That decision appears to be the right one for the talented lefty. At Westlake High School, he teamed with Lawrence Butler, one of the top prospects in the Oakland A’s organization. He had committed to West Virginia, but the A’s selected him in the sixth round of the 2018 draft. He had a solid season in the High-A Midwest League in 2022 and a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League. Butler was added to the 40-man roster last November and has a chance to debut in 2022. Through seven spring training games, he is 8-for-14 (.571) with three doubles, a triple, and a home run. With a few players who are now pros and several who played in college, how good was their team? Nowlin admitted, “Shockingly, not that good. We had the talent, but we definitely lacked the discipline. We had a lot of fun, but discipline was probably our weakest point.” In the summers, Nowlin and Butler played on a local team in regional and national Perfect Game tournaments and did very well. Former Atlanta Braves outfielder Marquis Grissom led the team. His son, Marquis Grissom, Jr., was on the team. He went to Georgia Tech and was drafted by the Nationals in 2021. Also on the team was 2022 National League Rookie of the Year, Atlanta Braves outfielder Michael Harris. Harris was called up to Atlanta from Double-A at the end of May, and he went on to use an incredible toolset to hit for average, showed his power, and showed great speed on the bases and in center field. Marvin Freeman spent parts of 10 seasons in the big leagues. He was the pitching coach on the team. Along with Grissom, they provided some much-needed mentorship. “Those two have really pushed my career along since I was like 14 years old. Marvin Freeman is the best pitching coach I could ever ask for. He is just a guru with it. He knows how to make everything make sense, help out, and have all the cues. Without him, I would be a different pitcher right now.” Nowlin recalls, “There was a lot of competition on the team and a lot of competition that we placed against.” He later said, “We did some damage in those Perfect Game tournaments. We were a deep team, pretty much an all black team. A deep team too. We had a lot of talent.” Jaylen Nowlin has been around excellent players for a long time. He was putting up a quality resume in his own right. He had committed in high school to Jackson State but instead went to Chipola College in Florida, one of the best junior colleges nationally every year. In 2021, Nowlin pitched in 16 games and 42 innings. He walked too many (24), but he struck out an incredible 59 batters (44% of batters faced). Nowlin said of the experience, “That’s where my development really took off. I struggled early on, but the pitching coach got to me, and that’s when we started hammering down on just throwing strikes.” He committed to pitching at the University of Alabama-Birmingham in 2022. But then came the draft. He was at home with his parents and a few friends. It took awhile, but finally, in the 19th round, he heard his name called as the pick of the Minnesota Twins. He quickly signed and got to work. He pitched in just one FCL game during the season. It was during Instructs that Nowlin started to make his name known. Reports were that the lefty was hitting 97 with his fastball and showing a sharp slider. The southpaw started his first full minor-league season in Fort Myers. He pitched in 19 games, including 11 starts. He was part of one of the two Mighty Mussels no-hitters. David Festa started it. Nowlin pitched in the middle, and Hunter McMahon finished it off. “Once I came in, I just came in and threw. I had no idea that they had no hits at that point until I came out and Hunter came in. I was just going in there, doing my job, like normal. Once we finished the game and they started throwing the water everywhere, I was still pretty much confused.” He ended the season with three starts for Cedar Rapids before their playoff run. “I was happy to be able to make that step, just to reach another level. I just want to be able to continue to progress every year, get better as much as I can, and move up as fast as I can. So moving up to Cedar Rapids was a great experience for me, and I was very appreciative of it.” Nowlin has a three-pitch mix primarily. His fastball sits in the mid-90s but has reached 97 at times. He’s got a good, sharp slider, and he also throws a changeup. He says he also likes to throw a two-seamer every once in a while too. Along with stuff, Nowlin thinks he’s got the right mentality. “It’s me throwing every single pitch I have with conviction. It’s just trying to let everything eat, throw it down the middle, and see if they can hit it. I like to test batters to see if they can hit it. I try not to do too much. Keep everything simple. Shove it right down the middle and see if they can beat me.” Combined, he threw 71 innings and had a remarkable 111 strikeouts (14.1 K/9). He also had 36 walks, which is more than he would want and something to focus on in the offseason. Lowering that walk rate is just one of his goals heading into the 2023 season. And in the offseason, he spends a lot of time with his friends. “We’re a tight group. Me, Mike, Marquis, Lawrence. We’re a tight group. We work out together in the offseason. We’re always with each other, playing a game together, working out, or just chilling at each other’s houses.” Nowlin says he is ‘definitely a goal guy, highly goal oriented. Keep progressing. Get to Double-A as fast as I can. Move up as much as I can this year. Get better every day.” Jaylen Nowlin has been in Fort Myers preparing for the season since mid-January. His strikeout rate and stuff have him entering most Top 30 Twins prospect rankings. He and fellow 2021 Day 3 draft pick David Festa are two Twins pitching prospects to move up most in 2022. Can Nowlin take another big step forward in 2023? For more Jaylen Nowlin content on Twins Daily, click here. View full article

Jaylen Nowlin grew up playing ball in the baseball hotbed around Atlanta. He was the Twins 19th round pick in 2021 out of Chipola JC where he began showing his ability to miss a lot of bats. He split the 2022 season between Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids. In 71 combined innings, he had an incredible 111 strikeouts. Jaylen recently joined Seth on Twins Spotlight to discuss his pitches, his goals, where he learned to love baseball and his friend group that includes some great baseball players and prospects. View full video