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These three Twins prospects struggled with performance or injuries this year. All will have something to prove coming off disappointing seasons. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Yesterday we took a look at the three biggest risers from the Twins system in 2023, comparing our preseason top prospect rankings against our latest postseason update to highlight three players who made huge jumps: David Festa, Tanner Schobel and Kala'i Rosario. Today, we'll take a look at the flip side: the prospects who fell farthest in our rankings from the beginning of the season to the end. No one should count any of these guys out, but they'll be looking to rebound and build back following campaigns that can only be labeled as major setbacks. Two of these players were acquired in high-profile trades, while the other was a high-stakes draft gamble that has so far failed to pay any dividends. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Preseason Rank: 6 Postseason Rank: 17 In 2022, Woods Richardson closed out a stellar first full season in the Twins system with an impressive major-league debut: five innings of one-run ball in Detroit. The right-hander, acquired alongside Austin Martin in exchange José Berríos at the previous deadline, excelled at both Wichita and St. Paul, setting himself up as ready-made MLB depth. He was riding high. This year was a totally different story. Woods Richardson's first half was a disaster – through 12 outings (11 at AAA, one in MLB), he had a 7.66 ERA and with a .932 opponent OPS. His velocity, stuff, and command all lagged. The big righty bounced back in the second half, posting much better numbers down the stretch for the Saints, but even then his peripherals were nothing special. He finished with a 4.91 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 96-to-61 K/BB ratio in 114 innings. Age has always been on SWR's side, but at 23, he's not THAT young by prospect standards anymore. It's too soon to give up on him, but it might be time to start thinking hard about a future in the bullpen. (He completed six innings only three times in 22 starts at Triple-A.) Connor Prielipp, LHP Preseason Rank: 7 Postseason Rank: 13 High-risk, high-reward. That was always the book on Prielipp, and unfortunately we've seen all of that risk come to fruition in a young yet tumultuous pro career. The hope was that the left-hander's elbow troubles were behind him after undergoing Tommy John surgery while still in college at Alabama, where he was limited to just 28 total innings in three years. His upside when healthy was high enough for the Twins to set aside his injury concerns and draft the Wisconsin native 48th overall in 2022. Unfortunately Prielipp, who didn't pitch after being drafted last year, made only two appearances this year – one in April, one in June – before another surgery was deemed necessary for the elbow issues that continued to plague him. Over the past four years, between college and the pros, Prielipp has thrown a total of 34 ⅔ innings. There's no framing that fact, nor back-to-back UCL repairs, in any kind of positive light. But there is some semblance of good news: Prielipp's most recent surgery, an increasingly common variation of Tommy John surgery that involves an internal brace, is considered a bit less serious than the standard version. Prielipp turns 23 this offseason. He's got a long way to go in terms of getting healthy and building up strength, but the upside remains high if this second surgery takes. Jose Salas, 2B/3BSS Preseason Rank: 8 Postseason Rank: 23 The Twins thought they were getting themselves a find in Salas, who was added by the Marlins as an additional piece alongside Pablo Lopez in January's Luis Arraez trade. They weren't the only ones. Baseball Prospectus was very high on the teenaged infielder in the spring, ranking him #93 in their global top prospects list. The enthusiasm was easy to understand: Salas had put forth an impressive effort at age in 19 in Single-A, flashing speed, power, and contact hitting skills. Plus, he has good genetics – his younger brother Ethan Salas is considered a top-five prospect in baseball. Unlike Ethan, Jose did not improve his stock in 2023. It was a tough campaign for the 20-year-old as he onboarded into the Twins organization. Salas slashed .188/.263/.268 while spending nearly his entire season at High-A Cedar Rapids. His budding power took a nose dive and his plate discipline spiraled. The good news is that Salas still has plenty of time to turn it around, although he will (I believe) be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason if the Twins don't add him to the 40-man roster (which they presumably won't). Perhaps this underwhelming season will temper the interest of other teams and prove to ultimately be a blessing in disguise for Minnesota – a la Jose Miranda. View full article

The Minnesota Twins shutout the White Sox Sunday to take the series 3-1 and lower their magic number to six. Sonny Gray was phenomenal once again and Edouard Julien hit a three-run homer. Wichita needed to win and get some help in order to qualify for the playoffs on the final day of their regular season. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Highlights from that game plus a quick overview of my Wind Surge hitter (Joyner Fajardo) and pitcher (Pierson Ohl) of the year. Game 1 of the Midwest League Championship saw Cedar Rapids power its way from behind to a convincing win. Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a pair of homers while Carson McCusker slugged the go-ahead three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning. View full video

Royce Lewis did it again. He set the Minnesota Twins single-season record by hitting his fourth grand slam of the season. He’s also the fastest player to five career grand slams by nearly a half season. That big blast led the Twins to a 10-2 victory over the White Sox Friday. In the minors, Brock Stewart and Nick Gordon both began their rehab assignments with St. Paul and the Kernels won their elimination game in convincing fashion. Cedar Rapids advances to the Midwest League Championship, a best-of-three series. View full video

The Wind Surge wrapped up their weekend with a walk-off victory, and Cedar Rapids added by threes late. Walker Jenkins continues to be great, and Brooks Lee added some excitement as well. Check out all of Sunday’s action within. SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 14, St. Paul 6 (F/10) Box Score Patrick Murphy drew the start Sunday evening for the Saints. He worked 5 2/3 innings of two-run baseball. Murphy allowed four hits and four walks while striking out five. Bailey Ober was optioned to Triple-A having not pitched since August 27. Without making a start today for St. Paul, it appears the desire to limit his innings is in full swing. After the Clippers kicked off the scoring in the first inning, Kyle Garlick responded with a single. Anthony Prato was on second base after his double, and he raced around to score and tie the contest. Columbus again added in the second inning, and Alex Kirilloff tied it with his second home run in two days during the third inning. In the bottom of the fourth inning, St. Paul grabbed their first lead. Catching the defense napping, Gilberto Celestino brought in Yunior Severino on a bunt to score the Saints third run. Looking to create some breathing room, the Saints found a few more tallies for the scoreboard in the fifth inning. Brooks Lee, who recently was featured in a great interview by Lou Hennessy, ripped his second triple for St. Paul. Garlick came around to score on the play and make it a 4-2 game. Trevor Larnach then lofted a sacrifice fly deep enough to bring Lee the final 90 feet. After getting the first two outs in the sixth inning, Murphy gave way to Alex Scherff in relief. The Saints reliever came on and got the final out of the frame, stranding a pair of runners on first and second. After a dropped pop up between the catcher and first baseman that resulted in Celestino being called out for interference, the St. Paul outfielder was tossed and Hernan Perez took over in left field. Looking to keep the lead intact, Austin Brice came on for Scherff with two outs in the top of the seventh and the bases loaded. Johnathan Rodriguez put a charge into one but Perez caught it up against the wall to save the lead. Columbus got a run back in the eighth inning when Jhonkensy Noel launched a solo shot off of Brice. The Clippers put runners on the corners with two outs, and Toby Gardenhire decided to make a change. Michael Boyle came in to replace Brice, and hung a slider to Guardians prospect Brayan Rocchio. He blasted the pitch for a three-run homer and the Saints lead was gone, now trailing 6-5. Down to their final out in the ninth inning, Lee stepped in and sent a baseball flying into the night. He launched his second Triple-A homer, and did it with his fourth hit of the night. Looking to make a playoff push, St. Paul had forced extras. Unfortunately Boyle struggled to get outs in the 10th inning and Andrew Bechtold gave up plenty as well. Columbus piled back on to the tune of a 14-6 advantage. The Saints couldn't get any momentum back going in their half of the 10th inning, and the big Columbus explosion was how things ended. Lee finished with a four-hit night while Kirilloff and Severino each had a pair of their own. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, San Antonio 3 Box Score Sunday was Travis Adams' turn to take the ball for Wichita. He worked five innings, allowing three runs on five hits. The Wind Surge starter also gave up three walks, but struck out five. San Antonio scored first with a pair of first inning runs. It was in the bottom of the second that Wichita provided their first answer. Will Holland doubled for the 10th time this season, and the base hit brought home both Patrick Winkel and Willie Joe Garry Jr. to tie the contest. After the Missions added a run with a third inning solo shot, the Wind Surge got the run back during the sixth inning. Aaron Sabato stepped in and blasted his 11th home run of the season. Needing just one run to walk it off, Michael Helman stepped in with runners on 1st and 2nd down to the final out. His single brought Holland across the plate, and the Wind Surge sent fans home happy. Despite recording nine hits on the day, it was a team effort for Wichita with only Tanner Schobel having a pair to his credit. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 12, Lake County 0 Box Score Seeking a victory to wrap up the weekend, Cedar Rapids turned to Christian MacLeod on Sunday. He worked five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and a walk. MacLeod also struck out three. While it took a few innings for the Kernels to get going, they went to work in a big way late. During the fifth inning, Keoni Cavaco launched a three-run shot to score Andrew Cossetti and Jose Salas. A three-run frame in the sixth inning was had on a Salas single to score Jorel Ortega, and a Jeferson Morales double to bring home both Cossetti and Salas. In the seventh inning, the Kernels continued their run of threes. This time it was Carson McCusker bringing home Ortega on a double before Cossetti scored on a wild pitch. Then Morales grounded out, but not without McCusker coming home in the process. With no reason to stop adding, Cedar Rapids saw another opportunity for a fourth-straight three-run inning during the eighth. Emmanuel Rodriguez scored on a single by Cossetti, and Salas drove Ortega home on a single of his own. With the bases loaded and Morales batting, his two-out walk brought Cossetti across the plate. Cavaco ended the inning as the next batter, and the 12 runs across four late innings was an impressive bit of production for the Kernels. Lake County went down quietly during the ninth inning, and Cedar Rapids secured the victory. Salas went 4-for-4 Sunday, while Cossetti added two of his own. MUSSEL MATTERS Clearwater 3, Fort Myers 2 Box Score Ben Ethridge got the start Sunday morning for the Mighty Mussels. He turned in five innings of three-run ball. Ethridge gave up four hits and two walks while striking out five. Fort Myers scored first when Maddux Houghton stole home. Jay Harry stole second and Clearwater threw down on the play allowing the run to score. During the fifth inning, Clearwater plated three runs and took the lead. Walker Jenkins, who already tripled in the contest, singled home Dillon Tatum in the eighth inning to make it a one-run game. The comeback came up short with Fort Myers falling by one. With the loss, Fort Myers saw their eight-game winning streak snapped. Jenkins had two hits, which accounted for half of the Mighty Mussels production on the day. It was also his sixth straight multi-hit game, and he owns a .438/.455/.656 slash line in his first seven games for Fort Myers. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Christian MacLeod (Cedar Rapids) - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Hitter of the Day – Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 4-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 4-5, R, 2 RBI, 3B(1), HR(2) K #2 - Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) - 2-4, 3B(1), RBI #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, BB, 2 K #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-3, BB, K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-5, 3 K #14 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-3, R, 2 BB, K #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 0-4, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (5:35PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ Corpus Christi (6:35PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40 CST) - TBD Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games! View full article

Kyle Garlick and Patrick Murphy had great games for the Saints. The Wind Surge got great pitching, and Alex Isola remains on a huge roll. Cedar Rapids saw an unlikely source lead their offense. There was a pitcher's duel in Fort Myers. Find out what happened in the Twins organization on Wednesday. Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports Kyle Garlick signed a guaranteed contract to avoid arbitration before this season. Near the end of spring training, he was DFAd and outrighted to the Saints. He has played 14 games with the Twins, and when he was DFAd a second time, he decided to remain in the organization. Last week, the Twins claimed outfielder Jordan Luplow whose skill set is incredibly similar to Garlick's. On Wednesday night, Garlick reminds us that he doesn't want to be (and shouldn't be) forgotten. The short-season affiliates’ seasons came to an end on Tuesday. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Wednesday. Minnesota Twins: 65-62 St. Paul Saints: 70-51 Wichita Wind Surge: 53-62 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 72-44 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 57-59 FCL Twins: 25-29 (season complete) DSL Twins: 14-37 (season complete) Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS -As we learned on Tuesday night, 2023 first-round pick, outfielder Walker Jenkins, was promoted to Low-A Fort Myers on Wednesday. He is expected to be in the lineup on Thursday. -Lefty Develson Aria and infielder Kamron Willman were transferred to the Development List of Fort Myers. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Omaha 4 Box Score Kyle Garlick had five hits to help lead the Saints to a two-run win in Nebraska. The Saints got off to a fast start. Andrew Stevenson started the game with a double and advanced to third on a throwing error. Austin Martin walked and then stole second base. Garlick ripped a single to center to score Stevenson. Brooks Lee followed with a single that drove in Martin with the second run. Garlick scored on a ground out. In the fifth inning, the Saints added another run. Anthony Prato doubled Garlick, who singled, to third base. Garlick scored on a Trevor Larnach sacrifice fly. That gave the Saints a 4-1 lead. Omaha came back and tied the game at 4-4 after eight frames. However, the Saints responded in the top of the ninth. With one out, Stevenson got on with a bunt single and his 41st stolen base advanced him to second base. After a pop out, Kyle Garlick came through again with an RBI double. Brooks Lee blooped a single to right field to drive Garlick in with the sixth run. Kyle Garlick went 5-for-5 with his 17th double. Andrew Stevenson went 3-for-5 with his 23rd double. Brooks Lee went 2-for-5. Anthony Prato went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 21st double. Blayne Enlow served as the Opener. He gave up a hit, walked one, and struck out three batters in two scoreless innings. Patrick Murphy came on and worked the next five innings. He was charged with two runs on three hits (two solo homers). He struck out nine batters. Kody Funderburk came on for the eighth inning and gave up a two-run homer that tied the game at four. However, he worked a scoreless ninth inning. So he had a blown save but then improved to 4-1. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Arkansas 1 Box Score The Wind Surge scored in four different innings, and they received some great pitching throughout this game to score a really nice win. David Festa’s season in Double-A has been filled with ups and downs, but his start on Wednesday night was definitely a positive. The Twins representative in the Futures Game this year gave up one run on just two hits over five innings. He had seven strikeouts without any walks. At that point, the bullpen came on and three pitchers each recorded four outs and kept Arkansas off the scoreboard. Lefty Aaron Rozek and right-hander Taylor Floyd each had two strikeouts. Alex Scherff struck out three batters and earned his fourth save. This is your Alex Isola Appreciation paragraph. On Wednesday, Isola went 3-for-4 with three RBI. He has now hit in 10 of his past 11 games. He has had seven multi-hit games including five games with three hits. In those 11 games, he is 22-for-42 and has hit .524/.580/.929 (1.509) with two doubles, five homers, and 16 RBI. He has seven strikeouts and just six walks. Isola got the Wichita scoring started in the first inning when he drove in Seth Gray with a single. The Surge’s second run came on a wild pitch. In the seventh inning, Isola drove in Tanner Schobel with a single to make it 3-1. The Wind Surge added two insurance runs in the ninth inning. The first came when Yoyner Fajardo scored on a wild pitch. And, of course, it was Isola who drove in the team’s final run with another single to score Gray. So, Alex Isola went 3-for-5. Seth Gray was 2-for-4 with a walk. Jake Rucker went 2-for-5. Tanner Schobel walked three times. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, South Bend 4 Box Score The Kernels bats were back on Wednesday night. They had three innings in which they scored more than one run. However, let’s start on the mound. Andrew Morris improved to 4-1 since joining the Kernels. He gave up three runs on nine hits and a walk. He had a walk with two strikeouts. Jordan Carr gave up one run on two hits (one was a solo homer) over three innings. He had three strikeouts to drop his season ERA to 1.48. John Stankiewicz worked a perfect ninth inning to shut the door. The Kernels fell behind 3-0 after two innings. In the top of the third, Emmanuel Rodriguez drove in two runs with his eighth double. It’s been a tough year for the recently-turned-20 Jose Salas. He came into the season hitting just .167 this season with the Kernels. Recently, his 17-year-old brother Ethan, who signed with the Padres in January, was promoted to Double-A. Jose Salas remains a solid prospect. He is very young for the High-A level, and he is a prospect that fans should not give up on. In this game, he went 3-for-4 with his 10th and 11th doubles, and he also stole his 18th base. It would sure be nice for him to end the season strong. Kyler Fedko went 2-for-3 with a walk and his fifth double. He stole his fourth base. Noah Miller went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 17th double. As you know, we have a sister site called North Side Baseball which covers the Chicago Cubs organization. South Bend is the High-A affiliate of the Cubs. Here is a quick look at how the North Side Baseball Cubs Top 20 Prospects in this game did in this game. #3 Matthew Shaw - 1-for-3, HBP #5 Kevin Alcantara - 1-for-4, K #11 Moises Ballesteros - 1-for-4, K #12 James Triantos - 2-for-4, 2 RBI MUSSEL MATTERS Daytona 3, Fort Myers 1 Box Score There was a pitchers duel in Fort Myers on Wednesday nights. Through seven innings, the score was tied at 1-1. Unfortunately, the Tortugas scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Jack Noble got the start and gave up one run on five hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out two batters. Sam Perez came on and struck out three batters over two scoreless, hitless innings. Juan Mendez pitched the final two innings and gave up those runs. He gave up four hits, walked two, and struck out five batters. The Mussels had seven hits and walked four times. Danny De Andrade went 2-for-4. He also stole his 16th base. Rafael Cruz was also 2-for-4 and drove in the Mussels’ lone run. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day – Kyle Garlick (St. Paul) - 5-for-5, 2B(17), 3 R, 2 RBI. Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 72 pitches, 48 strikes (66.7%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, 2 RBI, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(8), 2 RBI, 2K #6 - David Festa (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 B, 7 K, 72 pitches, 48 strikes (66.7%) #7 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, 2 BB, R, SB(10) #8 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-2, 3 BB, R, #10 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-4, 3 K #13 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2B(25), 3 K, OF Assist. #17 - Danny De Andrade (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, R, K, SB(16) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (4-2, 5.01 ERA) Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (2-0, 2.08 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (4-1, 2.42 ERA) Daytona @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-2, 9.72 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

The Minnesota Twins were walked-off in Milwaukee Wednesday as the bullpen failed to protect another lead. Highlights from that game plus Austin Martin, Brooks Lee, David Festa, Jose Salas and more featured on the minor league side. View full video

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

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

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

The Minnesota Twins lost to the Tigers again Sunday, dropping a home series to Detroit three games to one. Yuck. Jordan Balazovic was a silver lining, as he delivered 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief in his Major League debut. Minor league highlights include Jose Miranda, Oliver Ortega, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Yunior Severino, Kyle Jones, Jose Salas, Andrew Cossetti and Yohander Martinez. View full video

The Twins traded for Pablo Lopez this winter to add rotational depth. Luis Arraez has flourished in Miami, so how much value has each player provided to their new team? Image courtesy of Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports Minnesota and Miami seemed like ideal trade partners this winter. The Twins wanted more starting pitching depth, an area of surplus for Miami. The Marlins wanted hitters, an area of surplus for the Twins. Rumors swirled for weeks leading up to the trade, but it seemed like Pablo Lopez and Luis Arraez would be swapping teams before the season began. Pablo Lopez's 2023 Value Lopez started strongly in the season's first month. He built off a strong spring training, and the Twins named him the team's Opening Day starter. He posted a 4.00 ERA in six starts with a 1.11 WHIP and 11.5 K/9. The Twins liked what they saw from Lopez and announced they signed him to a four-year, $73.5 million extension. He will be part of Minnesota's rotation for the foreseeable future, but that future value wasn't part of the initial trade. The first two years of Lopez's team control were part of the equation, and his performance has struggled in recent weeks. Things have gone less smoothly for Lopez after the calendar turned to May. Over his last six starts, he has posted a 5.09 ERA while allowing seven home runs in 35 1/3 innings. Baseball-Reference pegs him at 0.7 WAR, while FanGraphs values him at 1.2 WAR. Those totals are adequate, but they don't paint a complete picture of the value Lopez has provided the Twins. He currently ranks ninth among Twins pitchers with a 0.05 WPA. His ERA+ is below 100 for the first time since 2019, and he has the highest home run rate of his career. Luis Arraez's 2023 Value The Twins knew what kind of player Arraez was when they traded him away. He is an elite contact hitter with limited defensive skills. Arraez has also missed time in recent years because of knee injuries. He was coming off an All-Star season where he won the AL batting title. The Twins saw plenty of value in Arraez, but it might have been hard to predict his 2023 totals. Through 57 games, he is hitting .401/.451/.495 (.946) with 17 extra-base hits and an 11-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He leads the NL in multiple categories including batting average, OBP, hits, and OPB+. Baseball-Reference values him at a 2.9 WAR, and FanGraphs pegs him at 2.0 WAR with a 0.25 WPA. Only four NL players rank higher than him in rWAR, and he's over 70 points up in the batting race. As expected, he's been worth negative value defensively, but his offensive value has been off the charts. Other Value from Trade Pieces Arraez had one more year of team control than Lopez at the time of the trade, so Miami included two prospects to balance the trade value. Jose Salas was one of the top-ranked position players in the Marlins organization, but he had yet to play a game above High-A. Byron Chourio was 17 at the time of the deal and had minimal professional experience since the Marlins signed him. Both players are a long way from Target Field, and it will be multiple seasons before the Twins will know what kind of value they will provide to the organization. Salas played 48 games in the Midwest League during the 2022 season when he was 19 years old. The Twins sent him back to the same league for the 2023 campaign, and he has struggled out of the gate. In 43 games, he has hit .160/.237/.220 (.457) with six doubles and one home run. Salas has yet to face a pitcher younger than himself this season, so some struggles are expected for a young player. Chourio played the 2022 season in the Dominican Summer League (.838 OPS in 53 games) and has made his stateside debut in the Twins system earlier this week.. Arraez is under team control for two more seasons, and plenty of Twins fans will look back on the trade with regret. He is a throwback-style hitter to a bygone era that all fans can find reasons to support. The Twins and Lopez are tied together for the long term, and both sides need to figure out a way to get him back on track. Both players have a chance to provide tremendous value to their clubs, but the early months of the trade don't look great from the Twins' perspective. Which player will provide more value to their club in the long term? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

The Minnesota Twins have had some minor-league standouts this season, but they have also had some prospects who have been off to disappointing starts in 2023. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Baseball prospects can be some of the most volatile players to follow in all of sports. As young players moving up through various levels of competition in a short period of time, it can be expected to see extreme peaks and valleys, even for some of the most highly-touted prospects. While the Twins have certainly seen some promising starts for some of their top prospects (article coming soon…), there have been some disappointing starts as well. These three prospects have been off to the most disappointing starts of the 2023 season: Jose Salas, Cedar Rapids Kernels (A+) .154/.229/.214, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 36 K, 8 BB Twins Daily Prospect Rank: 12 Jose Salas was a borderline top-100 prospect that the Minnesota Twins picked up this offseason in the Pablo López/Luis Arraez swap after posting a .723 OPS across Low-A and High-A last in 2022 as a 19-year-old. While many were optimistic about the infielders bat, and his potential to turn into a top-notch prospect, the start to the 2023 season has been disastrous for the switch-hitter. In 135 plate appearances to start the season, Salas has posted an OPS of just .438 with just five extra base hits and a lowly 36/8 K/BB ratio. For these reasons, Twins Daily has dropped Salas from the eighth ranked prospect coming into the season down to 12. Salas has always excelled at getting on base throughout his young career as a prospect, but this season he has done anything but get on base with just a .230 on-base percentage through his first 34 games. Salas is still just 20 years old and has plenty of time to adjust to the pitching at the High-A level, but it’s been a disappointing start to the season to say the least. Simeon Woods Richardson, St. Paul Saints (AAA) 30 1/3 IP, 7.12 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 8.0 K/9 Twins Daily Prospect Rank: 7 Simeon Woods Richardson came into the season as one of the likeliest prospects to join the Minnesota Twins rotation with an injury and, depending on his performance, stay up with the rotation as a key piece moving forward. After posting a 2.21 ERA in seven starts with the Saints in 2022, SWR appeared ready to take the next step in 2023. Things haven’t quite gone according to plan for Woods Richardson this season, though. Other than a spot start with the Twins in April (it didn’t go well), SWR has spent his entire season in St. Paul where he has posted a 7.12 ERA in seven starts with a 1.93 K/BB ratio. One big reason for the poor performance for SWR this season has been a lack of control. After walking just three batters per nine innings across multiple levels of the minor leagues in 2022, he has been walking 4.2 batters per nine innings this season. If Woods Richardson can get his control back in order and start throwing like he did last season, he could still get another chance up with the Twins later this season. If not, the Twins might be looking at a bullpen role for the right hander down the road. Emmanuel Rodriguez, Cedar Rapids Kernels (A+) .171/.326/.408, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 40 K, 17 BB Twins Daily Prospect Rank: 3 Coming into the season, some considered Emmanuel Rodriguez to be the Minnesota Twins prospect with the highest ceiling and that he might just be the Twins’ top prospect by the end of the 2023 season. While both of those statements might still be true, it hasn’t been an awesome start to the 2023 season for the left-handed prospect. After posting a .870 and 1.044 OPS in 2021 and 2022, respectively, Rodriguez has posted just a .734 OPS through his first 21 games with the Cedar Rapids Kernels this season. While Rodriguez still has shown similar power numbers to each of the last two seasons (five home runs in 95 plate appearances after posting nine home runs in 199 plate appearances in 2022), his eye at the plate has been extremely discouraging thus far. This season, Rodriguez has 41 strikeouts compared to just 18 walks. By comparison, last year the left hander struck out 52 times compared to 57 walks. It’s possible that injury has something to do with E-Rod’s struggles in 2023. Since coming off of the injured list with an abdominal strain on May 6, Rodriguez has just a .582 OPS with 24 strikeouts and 13 walks. Do you have confidence that the players listed above will turn things around? What other prospects have been off to disappointing starts? Leave a comment below and start the conversation! View full article