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The Minnesota Twins lost a frustrating game to Cleveland 5-2 in extra innings Wednesday afternoon. There was plenty to review over in St. Paul, as Byron Buxton and Alex Kirilloff started their rehab assignments and David Festa made his Triple-A debut. Buxton played centerfield for the first time in over a year. Festa made an outstanding first impression, pitching arguably his best game of the season. All that and much more in tonight’s Twins System Recap. View full video

The Minnesota Twins lost at Milwaukee after a fumbled handoff from starter Bailey Ober to the bullpen. The Twins carried a lead into the sixth inning as Ober was rolling but Dylan Floro came on in relief and was dinked and dunked for five runs. Down in the minors, Austin Martin hit another home run for the Saints, his fifth since joining St. Paul. That and more in tonight's Twins System Recap. View full video

One of his teammates took Hitter of the Day honors, though. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (Image is Anthony Prato) TRANSACTIONS None Saints Sentinel St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 5 Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: Yunior Severino (2) Multi-hit games: Yunior Severino (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI), Gilberto Celestino (3-for-3, R, BB), DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (2-for-4, R) The Saints made it close on Saturday. Simeon Woods Richardson continued to pitch effectively on Saturday; the 22-year-old held an ERA of 2.96 in July, and now he’s at a 2.79 mark in August. It took a while for the bats to get going, but when they did, they did so with gusto. Yunior Severino blasted a 461 foot moonshot to center, apparently clearing the batter's eye for the first time since St. Paul became an affiliate of the Twins. More runs soon followed for the Saints—they plated a trio in the 8th—but Indianapolis struck for three before they could, leaving St. Paul with a one run disadvantage. All three runs scored off a Hernán Pérez double. The heart of St. Paul’s lineup came up in the 9th, but they went down 1-2-3. Brooks Lee’s sharp lineup was the only non-strikeout. Indianapolis possesses a few notable players. The first, Quinn Priester, started for the first time since his brief, ineffective stint with the Pirates. He pitched four shutout innings. The other—Canaan Smith-Njigba—is brothers with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, whom the Seahawks just selected in the 1st round of the NFL Draft in May. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 2, Springfield 11 Box Score Curtis Taylor: ⅓ IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Alex Isola (3-for-4, 2B, R), David Bañuelos (3-for-4, 2B, RBI) The Wind Surge were thoroughly blown out on Saturday. It’s never great when your starter can’t finish the first inning; it’s even worse when he can only find one out. The Cardinals lineup struck him for four earned runs, turning a leadoff double into a nightmare frame. The more astute amongst us may notice that Taylor earned three strikeouts but only one out. That means that—yes—twice a man reached first on a wild pitch strikeout. Sometimes, it may have been better to avoid the ballpark altogether. Wichita’s bats weren’t up to the herculean task of matching their opponents, but two batters—Alex Isola, and David Bañuelos—collected three hits in the game. For Isola, the game was simply a continuation of an outstanding August; he’s now slashing .295/.396/.659 in the month. Will Holland swiped his 24th base of the season. Cardinals leadoff man Victor Scott II is St. Louis’ 4th-best prospect; he went 3-for-5, with a walk, a stolen base, and a caught stealing. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 6, Wisconsin 5 Box Score C.J. Culpepper: 5 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: Ben Ross (17), Kyler Fedko (4) Multi-hit games: Ben Ross (2-for-5, HR, 3B, R, 3 RBI), Jorel Ortega (2-for-4, 3B, RBI), Kyler Fedko (2-for-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB) The Kernels won on a walk-off on Saturday. Cedar Rapids blew a lead late, coming close to sending their fans home disappointed, before they struck with a run in the 9th, overcoming the Timber Rattlers for an exciting win. Starter C.J. Culpepper was strong as usual, reaching the sixth inning while only allowing one run along the way. He struck out four and walked two. His bullpen couldn’t hold the lead, however, as Alejandro Hidaglo and Malik Barrington allowed runs to eventually knot the game at five. It stung for a Cedar Rapids offense that had been explosive up to that point. They collected a perfectly normal nine hits, but fully loaded them with extra-base hits, giving them two doubles, two triples, and two homers respectively in the game. With Emmanuel Rodriguez on first, Jorel Ortega blasted one out to left field, greeting the yellow home run line in left with a startling crack. The shot didn’t clear the fence, but it was enough to plate Rodriguez, who ran like lightning to score off the hit. Big leaguer Jesse Winker played 1st base for the Timber Rattlers, singling once in three at bats. Milwaukee’s 1st-round pick in 2023—3rd baseman Brock Wilken—singled twice in four trips to the plate. Mussel Matters Ft. Myers 4, Palm Beach 0 Box Score John Klein: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jay Harry (2-for-3, R, BB) Mighty Mussels pitching and defense allowed just one hit on Saturday. John Klein was dominant. The Brooklyn Park native diced up Palm Beach’s lineup, tossing six scoreless innings with eight punchouts and two baserunners allowed. The 21-year-old has been fairly nondescript outside of an incredible debut start for the FCL Twins on June 10th, but starts like this will certainly put him on the prospect map. The Fort Myers offense wasn’t overwhelming, but that did everything they needed to do to support their excellent pitching. Maddux Houghton scored on an error. Luke Keaschall—the man on base because of the mistake—scored on a single. Later efforts pushed Fort Myers’ scoring to four runs. That was enough. The Mighty Mussels swiped three bases on Saturday—one each from Maddux Houghton, Luke Keaschall, and Rubel Cespedes. The Cardinals’ 21st overall pick in 2023—and outfielder named Chase Davis—walked once in three plate appearances. Complex Chronicles Game One: FCL Twins 1, FCL Red Sox 2 (7 Innings) Box Score Spencer Bengard: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The FCL Twins lost the first game of their doubleheader against the FCL Red Sox on Saturday. The bats were cool all game; the Twins collected just two hits—singles from Brayan Acuna and Walker Jenkins. They did take three walks, though. It was a bullpen day on the mound with Devin Kirby pitching the bulk of the game’s innings. His relation to Seattle’s George and Nintendo’s pink blob is unclear. His pitching was excellent, though, as he punched out six over just three frames of work. The team committed four errors, three of which came from 3rd baseman Issac Pena. Game Two: FCL Twins 5, FCL Red Sox 0 (7 Innings) Box Score Nolan Santos: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K HR: Jose Rodriguez (6), Jankel Ortiz (2) Multi-hit games: Walker Jenkins (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI), Brandon Winokur (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI), Jose Rodriguez (3-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI) The FCL Twins took game two, though. The bats were much more potent in their second look at FCL Red Sox pitching. It started early, as Brandon Winokur knocked in a pair in the 1st inning, setting the expectations for the game. Later extra-base hits by Jose Rodriguez, Walker Jenkins, and Jankel Ortiz brought the team to five runs. 2023 draftee Nolan Santos started the game for the Twins. The 7th-round selection out of Bethune-Cookman University—the alma mater of a handful of former big leaguers—pitched one scoreless inning, striking out a batter in the process. Kyle Bischoff inhaled the plurality of innings, though, as he whiffed six over four scoreless frames. FCL Twins pitchers struck out 21 batters in the doubleheader. Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 3, DSL Phillies White 5 Box Score De Jesus: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K HR: Junior Del Valle (1) Multi-hit games: None The DSL Twins reached halfway to Satan on Saturday. That is, each number in their “R,” “H,” and “E” column was 3. As you could probably predict, that didn’t go well for them; DSL Twins pitchers actually never allowed an earned run, as, instead, all five runs were unearned. DSL Twins hitters had a tough time at the plate, striking out 11 times while earning just three hits. Junior Del Valle’s homer served as the long extra-base knock. Big-name international signing, Hendry Chivilli, continued his abysmal start to affiliated ball, striking out three times while committing his 12th error of the season. The 17-year-old has plenty of time to turn it around, but his Twins introduction has not gone well so far. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – John Klein Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Ben Ross PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-4, 2B, BB #2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 3-6, 2B, R, RBI, BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 3B, R, RBI, BB, K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-5, 2 K #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-4, R, 2 K #12 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, R, K #13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 2-7, 2B, R, RBI, 2 K #14 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K #15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K #17 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 K #18 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 3-7, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (2:07 PM) - RHP Randy Dobnak Springfield @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Pierson Ohl Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (1:00 PM) - RHP Zebby Matthews Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (10:00 AM) - RHP Jose Olivares View full article

The Saints game was shortened by rain, but the Wind Surge played a little extra to make up for it. The Kernels did what the Kernels have done all season. With apologies to LL Cool J, the best word for it is a "comeback." And, the Mighty Mussels' pitchers walked 15 batters in nine innings and still doubled-up the Marauders from Bradenton. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of David Festa) I will be the first to tell you that age-related-to-level of competition ultimately isn't terribly important as it relates to a player potentially helping a big-league team. We all know of many examples of players who didn't debut in the big leagues at 26, 28, or even 33 years old. And while in many cases that may hurt their chances of having enough longevity to get to the Hall of Fame, that player can still be an impact player for several years. On the other hand, age-to-level of competition tends to be a huge factor in prospect rankings, and understandably so. It is the outliers that move more quickly and get challenged at higher levels. If you were to just look at Marco Raya's season stats and compare him to other starting pitchers at Cedar Rapids or Wichita, they don't compare well. However, the fact that Raya turned 21 a week ago and is five years younger than the average player in the league matter. First, I will share the youngest Twins players, and then under each affiliate's section, I'll post the youngest players as well. For the two rookie-level leagues, I split them into pitchers and hitters. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Sunday. Minnesota Twins: 62-58 St. Paul Saints: 66-47 Wichita Wind Surge: 47-60 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 66-42 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 52-56 FCL Twins: 21-26 DSL Twins: 12-33 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS No transactions on Sunday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Louisville 8 (6 innings-rain) Box Score The rains came and this game shut down early. But enough happened in 2/3 of a game, that after a short rain delay, they called it a full game. The Saints started with a six-run first inning. Unfortunately, the Bats scored two in the top of the second and then had a six-run inning of their own. Then things went quiet until the rains came. Carlos Luna made his first Saints start. The first inning went well. He got a fly out and then struck out the next two batters. With one out in the bottom of the first, Royce Lewis singled, scored second, and then scored on a single by Brooks Lee. After a ground out for the inning’s second out, Anthony Prato singled in Lee. After stealing second base, Jair Camargo walked. Gilberto Celestino drove in Prato with a single. Austin Martin stayed hot and hit a three-run homer. After DaShawn Keirsey singled, the Bats brought in former Twins prospect Casey Legumina who got a strikeout to end the inning. The Twins 10th-round pick in 2019 struck out three more batters in the second inning. Unfortunately, Luna’s final line didn’t look great. In 2 2/3 innings, he gave up eight runs on seven hits and a walk. Two, three-run homers accounted for all six runs in the third inning. Ronny Henriquez came on and got the final out of the third inning and then worked two more innings. He gave up a total of just one hit and one walk, and he struck out four batters. Andrew Bechtold had a 1-2-3 sixth inning. Royce Lewis went 2-for-3, the only Saints player with more than one hit. He appears healthy and should be in a Twins uniform on Tuesday when the Tigers come to town. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 9, NW Arkansas 8 (10 innings) Box Score David Festa was on the mound to start this game. The hard-throwing righty went the first five innings. He gave up just one run on three hits. He walked three and struck out four batters. Alex Scherff came on to start the sixth inning. He gave up two runs on one hit and one walk and recorded just one out. Miguel Rodriguez came on and was charged with three unearned runs n two hits and two walks before getting third final out of the inning. Down 6-3, the Surge scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to reclaim the lead. Alex Isola came to the plate with the bases loaded and crushed a grand slam. It was his second homer of the game and 14th of the season. Two batters later, Patrick Winkel doubled to score Jake Rucker and make it 8-3. Francis Peguero worked a scoreless seventh inning but gave up one run in the eighth frame to make it 8-7. Isaac Mattson came in for the ninth and gave up a run to tie the game 8-8 and send the game to an extra inning. In the 10th inning, Winkel added another double which scored Isola with the go-ahead run. Mattson got the 10th inning and got three outs before even the Manfred Man was able to score which gave the Wind Surge a one-run lead. Alex Isola led the way for the offense. He went 3-for-5 with two homers and six RBI. Pat Winkel was 2-for-5 and hit his 13th and 14th doubles. Seth Gray was also 2-for-4. Jake Rucker hit his third triple. In addition, Yoyner Fajardo had a single and a walk. He also stole his 40th base of the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 2 Box Score Jorel Ortega’s sixth Kernels homer gave the team a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. They gave up two runs in the bottom of the second inning, but that was it. The Kernels staff pitched terrific, and the offense came through with big moments in the late innings to lead Davenport with the win. So let’s start with the pitching. C.J. Culpepper gave up two runs on three hits over five innings. He walked two and had seven strikeouts. Alejandro Hidalgo came on and worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out four batters .Jordan Carr gave up two hits, but he got the final four outs, two on strikeouts. Quad Cities pitching was also very good and the River Bandits held a 2-1 lead heading into the eighth inning. However, with one out in the top of the eighth inning, Carson McCusker took a 2-0 pitch and deposited over the left field wall to tie the game at 2-2. It was his third homer since joining the Kernels. With two outs in the top of the ninth and the score still tied, Noah Cardenas doubled to score Ortega and give the Kernels the lead. Andrew Cossetti singled to score Cardenas with an insurance run. The Kernels only had four hits in the game, but all four of them drove in a run. Jorel Ortega was the lone player to reach base twice, he had a walk to go with his homer. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 14, Bradenton 7 Box Score No surprise that a game like this took over three-and-a-half hours. There were a lot of runs (21), a lot of hits (19), a lot of walks (21) and 13 pitchers used. Fortunately, the Mighty Mussels doubled-up the Marauders on the scoreboard. Let’s get the pitching part out of the way first, as it really wasn’t too pretty. John Klein made the start. He gave up two runs on four hits (one homer) and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. He had four strikeouts. Gabriel Yanez gave up a run on one hit (a homer) and three walks in 1 1/3 innings. He added two strikeouts. Johnathan Lavallee gave up one run on three walks (no hits) and got two outs. Jackson Hicks gave up one run on three walks (no hits) and got two outs. Zach Veen came on and faced two batters. He got both of them out, one on a strikeout. Develson Aria came in to start the ninth and gave up two runs on one hit and, you guessed it, three walks in 2/3 of an inning. Sam Perez gave up a hit before recording a strikeout to end the game. If you weren’t keeping count through that paragraph, that’ seven runs on seven hits and FIFTEEN walks. Yikes. Fortunately, the Fort Myers bats really muscled up and had some big innings. They led the game 6-0 after two innings and 8-0 after four frames. They added a field goal in both the seventh and eighth innings. The big hit of the four-run second inning was a three-run homer by infielder Yohander Martinez. It was his second long ball of the season. In the seventh inning, he drove in another run with his third double of the year. In the ninth, Rubel Cespedes drilled his 10th home run, a two-run shot. Cespedes went 3-for-5 with four RBI. Yohander Martinez went 2-for-2 with a walk. He was hit by a pitch and hit a double and homer. Danny De Andrade went 2-for-3 with two walks in the game. The Mussels also stole seven bases in the game. Luke Keaschall had three steals. Maddux Houghton stole two bags. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Co-Hitter of the Day – Alex Isola (Wichita) - 3-for-5, 2-HR(14), 3 R, 6 RBI. Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Wichita) - 5 IP, 3 H, R, 3 BB, 4 K. 66 pitches, 41 strikes (62.1%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. The rankings will again be updated soon. You can help us by providing your rankings in this fun-to-use tool. #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, BB, R, RBI, K, SB(1) #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-for-4 #7 - David Festa (Wichita) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 66 pitches, 41 strikes (62.1%) #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, HR(2), 3 RBI, R, #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB, HBP, 2 R, K #12 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-2, BB, HBP, R, RBI, 3 SB(6) #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 3 K #17 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, BB #18 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K. (played 2B) MONDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES FCL Braves @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Phillies White @ DSL Twins (DH at 9:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

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

While there were likely some jitters from prospects throughout the Minnesota Twins farm system as the MLB trade deadline loomed, especially looking back on last year, there ended up not being any drama to worry about. The Kernels broke off some lug nuts and Wichita didn’t get drilled in their home stadiums, but the Saints did get clipped on the road. A couple of 2023 draft picks also were promoted. Image courtesy of William Parmeter, MIghty Mussels (photo of Jorel Ortega) TRANSACTIONS 2023 Draftees, 2B Luke Keaschall and SS Jay Harry were assigned to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins, and made their Low-A debuts. RHP Devin Kirby, signed on July 27th, was assigned to the FCL Twins. The burly (5-10, 220 pounds) right-hander signed with the Twins after spending the past two seasons at the University of Connecticut. This season, he went 7-1 with a save and a 4.35 ERA in 25 relief appearances. In 49 2/3 innings, he walked 11 and struck out 43 batters. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Columbus 15 Box Score Andrew Stevenson led off the game with his 13th home run of the season, and Jair Camargo followed in the second with his 15th long ball. They also had left-hander Brent Headrick on the mound, so things were looking good early for the Saints on the road. In the bottom of the second, Headrick gave back that early lead as four hits and a sac fly tied the game at two, but it could have been worse. With the game still tied going into the bottom of the fifth, it got worse. The first nine hitters of the inning reached base, with Headrick being lifted after five of them. His game ended after four-plus innings pitched in which he allowed seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and three walks. He struck out three. The Clippers ended up scoring eight total runs in the fifth to take a 10-2 lead, and it didn’t get much better from there. Relievers Austin Brice (1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, BB, 2 K), Patrick Murphy (1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, K), and Cody Laweryson (1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER) all got tagged for runs as well. Austin Schulfer managed to finish the game with a scoreless inning. He gave up one hit, one walk, and struck out one. Down 15-2 in the ninth inning, the Saints did find some life, but it was too little too late. Anthony Prato drew a walk to start the frame, Trevor Larnach moved him to second with a single, and Kyle Garlick drove him in with a double. Mark Contreras added an RBI single in front of an RBI double from Austin Martin. Tony Wolters added a sac fly and Martin was able to score after an error to make the final of 15-7. Larnach was the only hitter in the lineup with multiple knocks, as he finished 2-for-5 with a run scored. As a team the Saints were 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position, but left only five men on base for the game. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 1, Wichita 3 Box Score David Festa took the bump for the Wind Surge in Tuesday’s series opener against the Tulsa Drillers, still building back up his stamina after appearing in the Future’s Game over All-Star Weekend. In the first, he worked around a pair of singles and a walk by striking out three batters. He tossed perfect innings in the second and third innings. In the fourth, a single and a walk around another strikeout put an end to his outing after 63 pitches. In total, he went 3 1/3 innings, gave up three hits, two walks, and punched out six. The Wichita lineup gave him some early run support, as a DaShawn Keirsey Jr. double in the first was followed by a Yunior Severino single for a 1-0 lead. In the second, Tanner Schobel led off with a walk before Yoyner Fajardo launched his fifth home run of the season. From there, it was all about the pitching from both sides. Isaac Mattson contributed 1 2/3 scoreless innings after Festa’s exit. He walked one and struck out two. Regi Grace was charged with one run (unearned) in his 1 2/3 innings. He gave up one hit, walked one, and struck out one. Denny Bentley struck out two in an inning of work, before Francis Peguero recorded the final four outs without allowing a run. Fajardo led the offense with a two-hit night, including the home run, while Brooks Lee contributed his Texas League leading 31st double of the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Lansing 9, Cedar Rapids 12 Box Score Both teams had big innings throughout the contest, but Cedar Rapids was really in control throughout. They built an 8-1 lead after two innings, and every time the Lugnuts got close, the Kernels had an answer. A Jorel Ortega double in the bottom of the first put them in front 2-0 early, and then they tacked on a bunch more in the second. Ben Ross had a two-run triple and Ortega added his fifth home run in the six-run frame. Starting pitcher C.J. Culpepper didn’t have his best outing, but the lineup had his back plenty. In four innings, he surrendered five runs (four earned) on five hits and three walks. He struck out four. Alejandro Hidalgo came on for the fifth and went the next 1 1/3 innings. He was hit for three earned runs on four hits and two walks, and struck out one. Mike Paredes (2 1/3 IP, H, ER, BB, 2 K) and Miguel Rodriguez (1 1/3 IP, H, BB, K) were then able to stabilize the later innings. Rodriguez picked up his 13th save. Cedar Rapids got a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run single from Noah Miller. He finished 2-for-4 with a run scored, three RBI, and a walk out of the leadoff spot. Joining him with multiple hits in the game were Ortega (2-for-3, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, SB) and Misael Urbina (2-for-4, 3 R, 2B, BB). Ross, Andrew Cossetti, and Mikey Perez also each scored two runs. Emmanuel Rodriguez had a double, two walks, two RBI, and two stolen bases. It was a solid effort all around from the lineup that amassed 10 hits and 10 walks as a team. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Dunedin 4 Box Score The Mighty Mussels jumped out to an early lead against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, scoring three runs in the first two innings. Hernan Perez led off the game with a walk and moved to third base on a Danny De Andrade double. Luke Keaschall, making his Fort Myers debut, then gave them their first run with a sac fly. Later in the first, Rafael Cruz delivered an RBI single for a 2-0 lead. In the second, Perez singled, stole second base, and then scored on a Ricardo Olivar single. Keaschall added his first double in his next at-bat, but that was it for scoring on the game for the Mighty Mussels. Despite their 12 walks as a team, they finished just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 16 men on base. Starter Jose Olivares was solid for almost six frames, missing a quality effort by just one out, but as a consolation prize matched his career high longest outing. In his 5 2/3 IP, he allowed just two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk. He struck out four. After falling behind early, the Blue Jays chipped away all game, scoring single runs in each of the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings to tie it. Juan Mendez was hit with a blown save for his 1 1/3 innings. He allowed one run on one hit and one walk. Ricardo Velez came on for the eighth and struck out all three hitters he faced. Back out for the ninth, it was a leadoff walk that did him and the Mighty Mussels in. He got the next two outs, including another K, but a single was enough to bring that leadoff man in from second for a Dunedin walk-off. Olivar (2-for-4, RBI, BB) and Keaschall (2-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K, SB) had multiple hits in the losing effort. Dylan Neuse added a double. Jay Harry finished 0-for-3 with two walks in his Florida State League debut. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Orioles 6, FCL Twins 4 (7 innings) Box Score The Twins scored first in this one, thanks to the speed and hustle of Yasser Mercedes. Although he struck out to lead off the bottom of the first, the pitch got away from the catcher and he reached base. He then stole second, his sixth of the season, before Jose Rodriguez promptly drove him in with an RBI single and early 1-0 lead. The Twins starting pitcher, Eduardo Soriano, kept it that way until the fourth inning. He had retired nine in a row to that point, including five on strikeouts, before a walk to begin the top of the fourth. After a flyout, an error on shortstop Brandon Winokur opened the floodgates. A single, another walk, and six stolen bases later the Orioles had a 4-1 lead. Soriano came back out for the fifth, but another pair of walks put an end to his game after 4 1/3 innings. He ended up charged with all six Orioles runs (three earned) on one hit and four walks, and struck out six. The Twins added one run in the bottom of the fifth, and two in the sixth to make the final score, but couldn’t come all the way back. Daniel Pena and Cole Elvis delivered RBI doubles, and Poncho Ruiz added a sac fly. Pena (2-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB) and Andres Centeno (2-for-2, 2 BB) collected multiple hits. The bullpen duo of Kyle Bischoff (1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K) and Miguel Olivares (1 IP, K) finished the game for the Twins. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Twins 2, DSL Phillies Red 6 (7 innings) Box Score The Twins were ambushed by the Phillies Red squad and were never able to claw their way back into it. Starting pitcher Adrian Bohorquez was only able to finish one inning in this one, as the game was delayed by lightning before the top of the second. He was charged with two earned runs on three hits and a walk in his time on the mound. Eider Machuca took over when the game resumed and completed two innings. He allowed three runs (zero earned) on two hits and struck out four. Relievers Jose Betancourt (1 IP, 2 H, ER, K) and Luis Rincon (2 IP, H, BB, 2 K) finished off the final three innings. Heading into the seventh and final inning, the Twins lineup had just four singles and a walk to their ledger, but finally were able to put something together. Carlos Silva drew a one out walk and was followed by a double from Junior Del Valle to put runners on second and third. Javier Roman then delivered a two-RBI single to put them on the scoreboard. One out and a pair of walks later the Twins had the bases loaded with a slim chance to tie the game, but a pitching change put an end to their rally with a strikeout. Dameury Pena was the only hitter with multiple knocks, finishing 2-for-2. Moises Lopez stole his eighth base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Jose Olivares, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 earned) BB, 4 K) Hitter of the Day - Jorel Ortega, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2-for-3, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, K, SB) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, K, 2 SB #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-for-3, R, 2B #7 - David Festa (Wichita) - 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, K #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-1, R, 2 BB #11 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL) - 0-for-3, R, SB, K #12 - Luke Keaschall (Fort Myers) - 2-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K, SB #13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL) - 1-for-4, R, 2 K #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, K #19 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - L, 4 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) - 1-for-5, RBI, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (3-5, 5.93 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Zebby Matthews (3-1, 4.74 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Jarret Whorff (2-2, 2.93 ERA) DSL Orioles Orange @ DSL Twins (completion of 7/17 suspended game) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Friday was a very busy day throughout the Twin entire system. Big innings defined the day for most of the offense Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Marco Raya) The Minnesota Twins got tor runs off the batted of Here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Friday. St. Paul Saints: 52-35 Wichita Wind Surge: 34-47 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 50-32 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 42-40 FCL Twins: 12-15 DSL Twins: 7-20 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Following the Twins win in Oakland, Dan Hayes tweeted that Jose Miranda will be going on the injured list. Matt Wallner will join the team in Oakland. Lefties Zach Neff and Josh Mitchell were deemed recovered from their Tommy John surgeries. They pitched in a couple of rehab games… and on Thursday, the Twins released them. Right-hander Juan Mercedes was promoted from the FCL Twins to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. John Klein was sent back to the FCL. RHP Eduardo Soriano was promoted from the DSL to the FCL Twins. In fun, former Twins prospect transactions, 2015 fourth-round pick Trey Cabbage was called up to the Angels and activated before Friday night’s game. In the game, he hit for second baseman Michael Stefanic SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Durham 8 Box Score The Saints open up their “second half” at CHS Field. They fell behind early but quickly caught up and went ahead only to give up five in the ninth to fall to the Bulls. Louie Varland made the start. He was charged with three unearned runs on eight hits over the first four innings. He struck out seven batters without issuing a walk. Josh Winder came on and struck out three batters over 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Michael Boyle had a walk and a strikeout and recorded three outs. Patrick Murphy got the final out of the eighth inning. Then he came out for the ninth and gave up five runs on four hits and a walk. Austin Brice came on with two runners on base and allowed both to score. Anthony Prato got St. Paul on the board in the second with a two-run homer, his fifth since joining the Saints. In the third frame, Andrew Stevenson’s 10th homer tied the game at 3-3. Stevenson gave the team the 4-3 season with a single that drove in Prato. Gilberto Celestino gave the Twins another run in the seventh inning with a ground out that scored Stevenson. Stevenson went 3-for-5 in the game from the leadoff spot. Jair Camargo had two hits. Prato his his ninth double and fifth homer during his five weeks with the Saints. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Springfield 4 Box Score Like the Saints, the Wind Surge got a lead going into the late innings. Unfortunately, a big-inning was enough to give the team a loss. The Wind Surge powered their way to an early lead. Patrick Winkel drilled his fourth homer of the season in the second inning. In the fifth frame, DaShawn Keirsey hit his 10th home run. Aaron Sabato made it a 3-0 lead with a single that scored Yunior Severino. Highly-regarded Marco Raya made his second Double-A start and it went quite well. In 3 2/3 innings, he gave up no runs. He gave up just one hit and one walk, and he struck out four batters. He was more efficient with his pitches and was able to almost get through the fourth inning. He threw 51 pitches in the game. Isaac Mattson came on and walked two batters but no runners crossed the plate before he got the final out. David Festa returned to the team after his scoreless inning in Saturday’s Futures Game in Seattle. He got back in the action with two perfect innings. Three of the six outs came on strikeouts. However, Regi Grace came in for the seventh inning. He’s been the best reliever in the organization all season and really had his first rough outing of the year. He gave up four runs on four hits and a walk and recorded just one out. Denny Bentley came on and allowed an inherited runner to score, but he was able to provide five outs without any additional runs scoring. Alex Scherff struck out two batters in a one-hit ninth. Keirsey and Winkel each went 2-for-4 in the game with the home run. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 15, Beloit 2 Box Score The Kernels went to their old stomping grounds (well, the Twins old Midwest League affiliate grounds) and used a couple of big innings to record an easy win in the new stadium. Jorel Ortega put the Kernels on the scoreboard with a solo homer, his second since joining the team. He also kicked off a big, eight-run fourth inning when he singled with the bases loaded to score Kala’i Rosario. Misael Urbina walked to score Noah Cardenas. Jose Salas drove in Noah Miller on a fielder’s choice. Willie Joe Garry’s single then drove in Ortega to make it 5-0. Leadoff man Tanner Schobel kept things going with a two-run double to give the Kernels a 7-0 lead. Emmanuel Rodriguez followed with a triple and then scored on a Rosario sacrifice fly that made it 9-0 after four innings. Beloit hit a couple of solo homers in the bottom of the fifth frame, so that Kernels wanted to get that back… and more. In the top of the sixth, Rosario singled in Rodriguez with the 10th run. Then Noah Miller drove in Rosario with a single. Jorel Ortega’s second homer of the night (and third in his short time with the Kernels). The three-run shot made it 14-2. The Kernels added one more in the seventh inning as well. Zebby Matthews was one out from qualifying for the Win. He gave up two solo homers in the fifth inning, the only runs he gave up in 4 2/3 innings. (56 of his 80 pitches (70%) were strikes.) He struck out five and didn’t issue a walk. Malik Barrington “vultured” the Win to improve to 4-0. That said, he struck out three batters over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked one batter. Finally, John Wilson struck out two batters over two scoreless innings to close the door. The Kernels got contributions from everyone. Misael Urbina was the only player without a hit, but he had a bases-loaded walk. Noah Miller was the lone player with just one hit. Seven hitters had at least two hits Jorel Ortega, the team’s sixth-round pick a year ago, finished the game going 4-for-5 with the two home runs. He scored three runs and drove in five runs. Emmanuel Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with a walk and his third triple. He also stole his 11th base. Rosario went 2-for-4 with a walk. Noah Cardenas went 2-for-5 with a walk and his 14th double. Jose Salas was also 2-for-5. Willie Joe Garry was 2-for-4 with a walk. Tanner Schobel went 2-for-6 with his ninth double. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Clearwater 2 Box Score Ft. Myers took the early lead and then had a big-inning late and held on for the win. Right-hander Ben Ethridge, the Twins 15th-round pick in 2022 from Southern Miss, finally earned his first Win of the season and as a professional. Coming into the night, he was 0-4 despite an ERA of just 2.49 and a WHIP at 1.06. After beginning the season in the bullpen, this was his sixth consecutive appearance as a start. I could argue that his Friday night start was his best yet, but he’s had a few good starts. In this game, he tossed five shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked one and struck out two batters. He dropped his season ERA to 2.23. Wilker Reyes struck out four batters over the next two innings. He gave up no hits and no runs and walked two batters. Ricardo Velez pitched a scoreless eighth inning but gave up a two-run homer in the ninth. The Twins signed Carson McCusker recently after spending three seasons with Tri-City in the Frontier League. That was after four seasons at Oklahoma State. In the first inning, he gave the Mussels a 2-0 lead with his fifth home run in his 10th game. He went 3-for-4 and is now hitting .439 with a 1.270 OPS. The Mussels grabbed some insurance runs in the eighth inning, turning a 2-0 lead to a 6-0 lead. Rubel Cespedes hit his 19th double which scored two runs. Rafael Cruz drove Cespedes in with a single. Ricardo Olivar concluded the scoring by knocking in Cruz with the fourth run of the inning. Danny De Andrade went 2-for-5 with his 11th and 12th doubles. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 9 FCL Red Sox 8 Box Score In a day filled with big innings, it was very true in the FCL game on Friday. The Twins had a four-run second inning and kept piling on runs including two runs in the top of the ninth. That gave them a 9-2 lead, but the Red Sox countered with six runs in the bottom of the ninth. Thankfully the Twins stopped the bleeding just in time. In this game, it was all about the offense. Yasser Mercedes is a top ten Twins prospects according to Twins Daily and other places. But he got off to a very slow start in his Stateside debut. Coming into Friday’s game, Mercedes was hitting just .157/.228/.255 (.483) with two doubles and a homer. He had played in just 13 games. In this game, we were reminded of the talent that he has. He went 4-for-5 with his second and third home runs. He stole his fourth base. He scored three runs and drive in four runs. After this game, he is still hitting just .214 with a .685 OPS. Not great, but adding .200 points of OPS in one day is a good start. Keoni Cavaco was sent back to the FCL Twins after hitting below .200 with the Kernels in the first half. It appears to be an opportunity for a restart for Cavaco, a chance to play against a lower level of competition, hopefully experience some success, gain some confidence, work on some things, and then see where it goes. In his second FCL game, he had a single, double and triple over five at-bats. He scored two runs and drove in three runs. Harold Grant went 2-for-5 and his two-run homer in the ninth inning proved to be more important than originally thought. It was his second homer. Brayan Medina made the start. In 4 2/3 innings, he gave up two runs on three hits. He walked four batters and struck out three batters. Cleiber Maldonado then struck out five batters over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Lopez came on and worked a scoreless eighth inning. However, in the ninth frame, he gave up six runs on five hits and two walks. Yon Landaeta came on with two runners on base and both scored. However, he struck out two batters and was able to get the third out before the Red Sox were able to tie it up. The Twins scored runs in four of the first five innings. Normally that, and the nine runs that came with it, would be considered good. And it is. However, when the pitchers give up runs in each of the five innings, and 17 runs in those innings, it isn’t great. Jeicol Surumay started. In 1 2/3 innings, he gave up four runs (3 earned) on three hits and three walks. Cristian Hernandez came on and was charged with eight runs (5 earned) on eight hits and three walks over 2 1/3 innings. Eider Machuca came on and gave up five runs (4 earned) on three hits and a walk and recorded just one out (despite two strikeouts!). Jose Ojo came and allowed one inherited runner to score. But he got five outs without any more runs crossing the plate. The best news to come out of this game was the return of Hendry Chivilli. He hadn’t played since opening day, June 5. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Dameury Pena went 2-for-2 Ariel Castro went 2-for-4. Yilber Herrera was 1-for-3 with a walk. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitters of the Day – Jorel Ortega (Cedar Rapids) - 4-for-5, 2 HR(3), 3 R, 5 RBI. Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 4-for-5, 2 HR(3), 3 R, 4 RBI, SB(4). Pitcher of the Day – Ben Ethridge (Fort Myers) - 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K. 77 pitches, 46 strikes (59.7%) 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.) #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-4 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, 3B(3), 2 R, RBI, BB, 2 K, SB(11). #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 2-for-3, 2B(11), RBI, K. #6 - Marco Raya (Wichita) - 3 2/3 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 4 K, 51 pitches, 34 strikes (66.7%). #8 - David Festa (Wichita) - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 25 pitches, 16 strikes (64.0%). #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB,K. E(5). #10 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 4-for-5, 2 HR(3), 3 R, 4 RBI, SB(4). #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, K, SB(1) (2B, batted second) #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, RBI, K. #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, BB, 2 R, RBI, BB, 3 K. #14 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. 17 pitches, 11 strikes (64.7%) #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 1-for-5, K. #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B(12), R, 2 K.. SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Durham @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (3-1, 4.05 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (1-2, 4.73 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (4-4, 4.53 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30 PM CST) - LHP Jarrett Whorff (2-0, 1.71 ERA) FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (9:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Guardians Red @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 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Former Cy Young award winner Dallas Keuchel made his Minnesota organization debut for the Saints today, and C.J. Culpepper dazzled on the mound for Fort Myers. There were a few standout performances worth checking into. Image courtesy of William Parmeter, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels TRANSACTIONS RHP Josh Winder recalled by Twins from Triple-A St. Paul OF Kyle Garlick cleared waivers and accepted assignment to Triple-A St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 7, St. Paul 3 Box Score After signing with the Twins on a minor league deal recently, Dallas Keuchel made his 2023 professional debut. He worked four innings and allowed just a single run. The lefty gave up four hits, and the lone run came on a solo blast. He struck out four batters. Keuchel got 11 whiffs on 54 pitches and his velocity topped out at 88.1 mph. He worked predominantly with his sinker, changeup, and cutter. St. Paul gave Keuchel some run support in the second inning when Elliot Soto and Andrew Stevenson both singled in runs. Mark Contreras and Anthony Prato came around to score making it a 2-0 game. After an Andrew Knapp home run put the Mud Hens on the board, Anthony Prato took a bases loaded walk to push Chris Williams across the plate. That’s when the Saints scoring ended, and a six-run inning for Toledo in the sixth did them in. With the rain coming, and it being getaway day, this one ended after the inning. WIND SURGE WISDOM Arkansas 3, Wichita 1 Box Score The Wind Surge went with Travis Adams to start this game, and he worked 4 1/3 innings. Adams allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits and a walk. He struck out four batters during his outing. With Arkansas scoring single runs in the first and second innings, Wichita answered during the bottom of the second. Ernie Yake hit his first Double-A double of 2023 and drove in Alerick Soularie in the process. Down by one until the fifth inning, the Wind Surge continued to keep things close. Arkansas added another tally in the fifth inning and a comeback was going to be necessary. Unfortunately for Wichita, the hits never came and the one run on seven hits were all the could muster for the day. Soularie and Yake led the club with a pair of hits each. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Beloit 0 Box Score These two teams got together for some extended action on Sunday afternoon. Picking up their suspended game from Saturday, Cedar Rapids was able to reel off a 10-6 victory. With some brief downtime in between, Mike Paredes was ready to go for the regularly scheduled tilt. Orlando Rodriguez started the shortened second game and worked five scoreless innings. He allowed only two hits with no walks while striking out a pair. Neither side got on the board in the first two frames, but Tanner Schobel changed that in the third inning. His single brought home Kyler Fedko before Jorel Ortega doubled to drive in Emmanuel Rodriguez and Schobel. Ortega later came around to score on a Misael Urbina single and the Kernels had a 4-0 lead. Continuing to make his mark on this one, Schobel blasted his 10th home run of the season, a two-run shot scoring Fedko, and Cedar Rapids led 6-0. In the sixth inning, Urbina reached on a throwing error which allowed both Ben Ross and Ortega to come home. Up 8-0, the three runs Beloit pushed across in the seventh inning wound up being inconsequential. Schobel, Ortega, and Fedko all recorded two hits. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Tampa 1 Box Score C.J. Culpepper was on the bump for the Mighty Mussels on Sunday afternoon, and he did not disappoint. Allowing just a single hit across six innings, Culpepper didn’t give up a walk and was nearly perfect. He struck out five batters and dropped his ERA to 2.33 on the season. Ricardo Olivar scored the game’s first run on a wild pitch from Baron Stuart in the third inning. With the bases loaded, Dylan Neuse drew a walk to bring Danny De Andrade home and make it a 2-0 lead early. In the fifth inning Neuse found a pitch he liked and clubbed his third homer of the season. A two-run shot, Rubel Cespedes also came home on the big fly. Adding again in the sixth inning it was De Andrade recording his eighth double of the year. Coming through with the bases loaded, his big hit brought Gregory Duran, Luis Baez, and Olivar all across the plate. Now up 7-0, this one had been blown open. With the inning still going, Cespedes hit his ninth home run of the year and scored De Andrade to make it a 9-0 lead. Tampa added a single run in the ninth, but it was nothing close to threatening an actual comeback. Cespedes put up a three-hit day while Olivar, De Andrade, and Duran all had two hits of their own. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – C.J. Culpepper (Fort Myers) - 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day – Rubel Cespedes (Fort Myers) - 3-4, 2B(13), HR(8), 2 R, 2 RBI, 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: #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 3-4, 2 R, RBI, BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, 2 BB, K #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 2-4, 2B(8), BB, K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-3 #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, 2 BB #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #14 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 0.2 IP, H, BB, K #15 - Brent Headrick (Minnesota) - 0.1 IP, K Each full season affiliate is off until Wednesday this week. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games! View full article

The Minnesota Twins prevailed over the Tigers Sunday, winning 6-3 in extra innings. Bailey Ober delivered a quality start before the bullpen backed him up with a sterling effort. Donovan Solano hit his third home run of the year and Royce Lewis had three singles. Down in the minors, the recently-signed Dallas Keuchel made his debut for the Saints. He pitched well, giving up one run over four innings. Also included in the highlights are home runs from Ben Ross, Kala'i Rosario and Jorel Ortega of Cedar Rapids. View full video

The Minnesota Twins were blown out at home by the slumping Tigers but there was plenty else to discuss in the minor leagues. Kenta Maeda made another rehab start for the Saints in a game where Matt Wallner hit an impressive opposite-field homer. Brooks Lee had another multi-hit night for the Wind Surge. Marco Raya and Zebby Matthews combined to provide an outstanding pitching performance for the Kernels. Jorel Ortega had a three-hit night for the Mighty Mussels and Rafael Cruz added a couple of dazzling defensive plays. View full video

We have discussed the Twins top minor-league pitcher performances in May. Pitching is great. You can never have enough pitching. But the 2023 Twins are reminding us that it is also important to have some hitting. So, here are the Twins minor leaguers who hit well in May. Image courtesy of Steve Buhr, Twins Daily (graphics by Thieres Rabelo) Earlier in the week, we announced the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher and Relief Pitcher for the month of May. Today, we conclude the series by posting our minor league hitter of the month. There were several good choices, and several St. Paul Saints showed up on the honorable mention list. They would likely be higher in the rankings if not for big-league promotions during the month which meant less minor-league opportunities. I do factor games played when I rank these players, but I always like to promote the honorable mention guys. You will notice that a couple of catchers are mentioned. They play just every other game, and in some cases, every third game. They can only perform when they are placed in the lineup, and a couple backstops played really well in May. Honorable Mention Edouard Julien (St. Paul): 16 G, 18-54, .333/.471/.537 (1.008), 5-2B, 2-HR, 12 R, 6 RBI, 12 BB, 13 K David Banuelos (Wichita): 11 G, 9-35, .257/.381/.600 (.981), 1-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 7 R, 11 RBI, 6 BB, 11 K. Hernan Perez (St. Paul): 15 G, 18-51, .353/.414/.549 (.963), 3-2B, 2-3B, 1-HR, 8 R, 13 RBI, 6 BB, 12 K, 4-SB Matt Wallner (St. Paul): 16 G, 21-65, .323/.348/.615 (.963), 5-2B, 1-3B, 4-HR, 10 R, 11 RBI, 3 BB, 28 K. Jair Camargo (St. Paul): 11 G, 15-49, .306/.343/.592 (.925), 2-2B, 4-HR, 10 R, 10 RBI, 1 BB, 22 K. Hitter of the Month Number 4: Andrew Cossetti (Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids) 20 G, 20-68, .294/.437/.485 (.922), 5-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 9 R, 13 RBI, 13 BB, 17 K. Cossetti was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month in April when he hit .327 with a 1.124 OPS, five doubles and four home runs for the month. He walked as much as he struck out. He spent the first two-third of May with the Mighty Mussels before ending the month with a handful of games in Cedar Rapids. The 2022 11th round pick from St. Joseph’s has made a strong first impression in the organization. The promotion to High-A has been challenging early in his time there. However, with Cossetti and Noah Cardenas (2022 TD Minor League All Star) team to form a pretty strong 1-2 punch for Brian Dinkelman to get good production regardless of which one is playing. Hitter of the Month Number 3: Jorel Ortega (Fort Myers) 24 G, 28-95, .295/.374/.537 (.915), 8-2B, 3-3B, 3-HR, 23 R, 17 RBI, 11 BB, 29 K. Ortega is certainly an intriguing prospect. The Puerto Rico native was the Twins sixth-round draft pick in 2022 out of the University of Tennessee. He played in one game for the Mussels last season but after an RBI single in his first at-bat, he broke his wrist and his season was over. He was an Honorable Mention choice in April when he hit .265 with an .837 OPS. In April, he walked 18 times and struck out 16 times. In May, he appears to have made an adjustment, more willing to be more aggressive and strike out more in an attempt to add power. And for the month, that was successful. He led the organization with 14 extra base hits in the month. Hitter of the Month Number 2: Yunior Severino (Wichita) 21 G, 29-97, .299/.358/.557 (.915), 5-2B, 1-3B, 6-HR, 16 R, 17 RBI, 9 BB, 34 K For the second straight month, Severino comes in second in our hitter rankings. He has generally been pretty consistent all season. He hit six home runs in both months. However, he added more doubles and a triple in May. As you can see, he will certainly strike out quite a bit, but his prospect status should be rising. A promotion to Triple-A could be in his future, although he’s at a point now where he simply needs to be in the lineup most every day. Hitter Number 1: Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) 24 G, 31-93, .333/.441/.591 (1.032), 7-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 14 R, 16 RBI, 15 BB, 29 K. Rosario was the Twins fifth-round pick in the five-round 202 MLB Draft. He had made a name for himself as one of the most powerful high school hitters in his draft class. His career began in 2021 with the GCL Twins, and he spent 2022 with the Mighty Mussels. Like several of the young prospects who made the jump to High-A Cedar Rapids this season, it was not an easy decision. It wasn’t an obvious choice. However, Rosario has been terrific throughout most of the season’s first two months, and it all came together in May when he hit for average, was willing to take walks and showed terrific doubles and home run power. Yes, there are still strikeouts and that’s something he will need to continue working on, but it’s been a very nice showing for Rosario this season, and his prospect status should be on the rise. What do you think of the choices made for the top four Twins minor-league hitters? Discuss these prospects and their potential impacts. View full article

It was a rough night for the affiliates. There was a solid sweep across the teams as all the teams fell to their opponents. While the scores show the games in the loss column, it wasn't for lack of trying. Most of the frustration came from leaving players on base and the opponents working deep into the bullpens to run up the scores. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs Twins Daily TRANSACTIONS Infielder Elliot Soto activated from the 7-day IL Infielder Hernan Perez placed on the 7-day IL with right knee sprain Right Handed Pitcher Gianluca Dalatri has been placed on the 7-day IL with a right forearm strain Right Handed Pitcher Niklas Rimmel has been activated off the Development List and is available immediately Saints Sentinel St. Paul 1, Buffalo 4 Box Score The Saints offense came out strong right away in the first inning, loading the bases with no outs. Buffalo pitcher Zach Thompson started out the inning with a single from Jose Miranda and then a hit batter and a walk to load the bases. As promising as the inning looked, Thompson settled in and provided three quick outs to end the inning and keep the Saints from scoring. Randy Dobnak was on the bump for the Saints in game four of six against Buffalo in hopes of another win. In another Dobnak "bumpdate", he announced via Instagram that he and his wife are expecting a baby in December 2023. Congrats to Randy and Aerial! Dobnak struggled to get out of the first inning giving the Bisons a chance to work up his pitch count. The right-hander saw six batters in the first inning, giving up two hits and walking one. After the bases were loaded, he got out of the inning with a strikeout. The Bisons got on the board first with a solo home run from Tanner Morris in the third inning while the Saints continued to battle for a place on the board. Thompson kept the offense from making any progress toward closing the gap until the sixth inning when Kyle Garlick hit a homer to put the Saints on the board and within a run. The bullpen for the Saints was unsuccessful at keeping the Bisons at two runs. Austin Schulfer gave up a double to the Blue Jays 39th prospect, Cam Eden, and a ground rule double to Rafael Lantigua, that scored Eden to pull ahead again of the Saints. Despite their best efforts, the Saints were able to get on base, but were unable to overcome the Bisons defense, stranding six players on base. Jose Miranda went 2-for-4. In his first rehab game, Trevor Larnach went 0-for-2 with a walk and two strikeouts. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 1, Tulsa 9 Box Score The Wind Surge were in a rain delay as quickly as it started. Prior to the rain delay, Tulsa got on the board with two runs off of Travis Adams in the top of the first inning. Three batters into the bottom of the first inning, mother nature opened up the skies and rain delayed the game. The rain made way for the game to start again, and the Surge replaced their starting pitcher, Travis Adams with Hunter McMahon at the top of the second inning coming back from the delay. Tulsa scored one in the second inning and then scored three innings in the fifth and in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach. Four relievers worked a combined seven innings out of the bullpen. The in the top of the ninth, outfielder Will Holland came on and got three ground ball outs quickly. McMahon, Denny Bentley, Francis Peguero, and Michael Boyle. Boyle worked two scoreless innings. The offense did very little. Yoyner Fajardo had two-hits in the game including a ninth-inning,, two-out, RBI singled to score Alerick Soularie, Fajardo also stole his 16th and 17th bases. DaShawn Keirsey walked twice. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 2, Lansing 3 Box Score The Kernels started out game four against Lansing striking blood first. Kala’i Rosario hit a two-run home run to set the tone early in the game. After scoring 24 runs on Thursday night, the Kernels were hoping for a repeat performance to run up the score on Lansing. Starting pitcher Marco Raya pitched another three inning game. Raya’s outing was a good one, striking out four and only giving up a run after not giving up any during the month of May. Unfortunately, the one hit was a solo home run by Euribiel Angeles. Raya has been consistent in his appearances, continuing to improve after being on the IL early in the season with shoulder tightness. The tone of the game quickly went deaf when the Lugnuts went ahead in the third and fourth innings and stayed there through the end of the game. Alejandro Hidalgo replaced pitcher Marco Raya in the fourth inning. Brian Dinkelman also replaced Jose Salas, who left with an injury after his plate appearance, with Ernie Yake. Hidalgo came to the Twins as part of the Gio Urshela trade with the Angels. He has appeared in eight games for the Kernels, and Friday night marked his second loss. The 20-year-old prospect has only given up seven earned runs in his 27 1/3 innings this season. In this game, Hidalgo gave up one hit, but two earned runs with a two-run home run from Daniel Susac that scored Max Muncy, and gave the Lugnuts a one-run lead. Jordan Carr finished out the game, not allowing any more runs, but the damage was already done. The Kernels offense struggled to manufacture any runs after the first inning and fell to the Lugnuts 3-2. Kala'i Rosario had two of the team's four hits. Mussels Matters Fort Myers 0, St. Lucie 1 Game 1 A classic pitchers duel took place in the day's first game in St. Lucie. It certainly was not for lack of trying. Power hitter Jorel Ortega had one of two hits against St. Lucie on Friday night with his 16th double of the season. Luis Baez hit a line drive to left-field in the third inning and a stolen base gave hope to the Mussels, but that hope was quickly dashed with a pop-up to center field to end the inning. St. Lucie's Karell Paz put a ton of pressure on Mussels starter Andrew Morris, stealing two bases in a row and scored on a throwing error. Paz scored the lone run of the game. Morris had a good outing. He pitched five innings and only allowed the one run. He struck out four batters. Lefty Gabriel Yanez came in to relieve Morris and kept the game at 1-0. The Mussels had just two hits in the game. They weren't able to walk and struck out 12 times. Fort Myers 4, St. Lucie 9 Game 2 (Make up from 5/31) Cory Lewis started game two. Lewis struggled right away, walking three, giving up a run and only striking out one. Lewis was replaced with two outs and the bases loaded in the first inning by Danny Moreno who came in and managed more potential damage so early in the game. Lewis faced just six batters and needed 37 pitches. St. Lucie gave the Mussels a rough time in the third inning, running up the score with five runs to open up the score to 6-0. The Mussels were finally able to string together a few hits to at least get on the board to bring the game within a grand slam (6-2). With plenty of game left, it was on the pitching staff to control the remainder of the innings and give the offense a chance to generate more runs. Rubel Cespedes had a good game, knocking a two-run homer in the fifth inning. It brought the Mussels to within two, but the Mets immediately answered at the top of the next inning with three runs to drive the run differential to 9-4. The Mets worked their way through the Mussels bullpen exhausting six pitchers. The Mussels stranded 12 hitters on base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Will Holland (Wichita Wind Surge) - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB Hitter of the Day – Rubel Cespedes (Fort Myers Mighty Mussels) - 1-for-2, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K PROSPECT SUMMARY The Twins Prospect Tracker is the best way to see how each of the Twin's 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) - 0-for-5 #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-for-4 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, K #4 - Edouard Julien (Saint Paul) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, K #6 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, 1 K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, K (left game with injury) #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB SATURDAY SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Buffalo (5:05 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-5, 7.79 ERA) Drillers @ Wichita (6:35 PM CST): RHP Christian MacLeod (0-0, 27.00 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Christian MacLeod (0-0, 27.00 ERA) Fort Myers @ St. Lucie (5:00 PM CST) - TBD (as of 10:00pm 6/2) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday's games! 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It's unusual that the best players are the ones you can't find mentioned on prospect lists. Image courtesy of Fort Myers Mighty Mussels This originally began as a look at a few prospects having great seasons, something of an off-setting on Matthew Taylor’s piece from the other day. I already knew of some of the names I could target, but a search revealed a fascinating pattern: nearly all the minor leaguers crushing the season are not well-regarded. That isn’t an insult to these young men—prospect evaluation is far from a perfect science, and internal synopses likely vary greatly from the public lists—but I found it worthy of mentioning that the “non-prospects” have been the ones performing the best in 2023. Let’s look at the names, speed-date style: RHP Zebby Matthews Freshly promoted to Cedar Rapids, Matthews crushed his time with Fort Myers, striking out 35.3% of the batters he faced while walking 3.3% (!!) of them over 38 2/3 frames. Of 448 pitchers in the minors with at least 30 innings, that’s good for the eighth-lowest walk rate (but not even the best in the system! More on that soon). An 8th-round selection out of Western Carolina University in 2023, Matthews may soon move up prospect lists, but he is still something of an unknown. RHP Cory Lewis Lewis is the only player in this article currently on MLB.com’s top-30 list for the Twins; he takes the very last spot. Owning a spinny fastball, downer curve, and a knuckleball—yes, a knuckleball—Lewis has been nearly as good as Matthews in Fort Myers’ rotation, punching out 34.4% of hitters while walking them 7.6% of the time, still elite peripherals for nearly any pitcher. You may remember Lewis after he helped toss a combined no-hitter for Fort Myers a few days ago. INF Jorel Ortega This could have just been a “the Mighty Mussels are better than we probably gave them credit for” piece. Yet another 2022 draft pick, this one a 6th-rounder out of Tennessee, Ortega has struck the ball impressively at a pitching-dominated level, putting up a 152 wRC+ off a .295/.409/.487 slash line—mere points away from the classic .300/.400/.500 line reserved for the truly special hitters. C Andrew Cossetti .330/.462/.607 served as Cossetti’s Fort Myers slash line before Minnesota decided to stop terrorizing Florida State League pitchers with such offensive domination. A product of St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia (the same college as Jamie Moyer; what a pull), Cossetti quickly earned a promotion to Cedar Rapids, where he will help stimulate a Kernels team looking for some extra thump. Cossetti was yet another 2022 draft selection. OF Kala’i Rosario After a mediocre season with Fort Myers in 2022, Rosario's prospect status atrophied as the former 2020 draft selection had yet to have an overwhelmingly impressive season in the minors. Things have turned around so far in 2023. Rosario shaved a few points off his strikeout rate, replaced them with walks, and improved his isolated power to above the major-league average (.191). He’s currently holding a 153 wRC+; he may inch back onto top prospect lists soon. C Noah Cardenas Few people have more of an interest in Cardenas than I do. Catchers who can hit are rare; catchers who walk more than they strike out are unicorns. Cardenas may not spout a horn on his head, but his 2023 play looks an awful lot like his 2022 line: an elite walk rate buoying competent average and power capabilities. His isolated power is down a little (.119 from .152), but the hitting package still looks excellent. RHP Pierson Ohl Remember the comment about Matthews’ walk rate? Here’s the guy who has him beaten. Ohl has walked four batters over 35 2/3 innings, good for a rate of 2.6%. That’s unheard of. He may actually throw too many strikes for his own good—as evident by his ERA far elevated above his peripherals—but the Twins have shown a consistent ability to coax effectiveness from command-first repertoires like Ohl. Check almost any major stat, and you'll find similar results; the Twins' minor league system is succeeding off the backs of "lesser" prospects, not the players you would most expect to lead the pack. What do we make of this? It can be difficult to rank freshly drafted players, especially those taken lower in the draft, so the lack of prospect respect for these players is unsurprising. They just need time. For the others? Either they never commanded attention in the first place, or the industry opinion altered and never recovered. No matter—these players and their performances should be appreciated, and hopefully, they can keep it up as the season marches on. View full article