Seth Stohs

Image courtesy of Malamut Photography (photo of Danny De Andrade) On Friday, the Kernels and Wind Surge announced that RHP Riley Quick was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Double-A Wichita. The 36th overall pick in the 2025 draft out of the University of Alabama made his professional debut with Fort Myers in April. He made three starts for the Mighty Mussels, and in eight innings, he gave up no runs and just one hit. He walked three but had 13 strikeouts. The Twins acted Quickly and pushed him to Cedar Rapids. He made 11 starts and worked a total of 41 1/3 innings for the Kernels. His overall numbers don't stand out immediately. He is 0-2 with a 4.14 ERA. He gave up 31 hits (including five home runs). He also had 23 walks (5.0 BB/9) which will have to improve. However, he had 61 strikeouts (13.3 K/9). I was curious how the Twins might choose to develop Quick, especially considering he made just one appearance in 2024 at Alabama before having Tommy John surgery. I asked earlier in the season how similar Quick's 2026 timeline might be compared to Blue Jays 2024 top pick Trey Yesavage. Yesavage started with seven starts for Low-A Dunedin. He had a 2.43 ERA and in 33 1/3 innings, he had eight walks and 55 strikeouts. He moved up to High-A Vancouver (May 20) where he posted a 1.56 ERA in 17 1/3 innings over four starts. He was then promoted to Double-A New Hampshire (June 12) where he pitched 30 innings over eight games (7 starts). He had 11 walks with 46 strikeouts. He moved up to Triple-A Buffalo (August 14) where he made four starts and two relief appearances. In 17 1/3 innings, he had 11 walks and 26 strikeouts. Then he ended the season with three important MLB starts for the Blue Jays (starting September 15) before putting up silly video game numbers in the playoffs. Overall, he threw 98 innings in the minor leagues and was 5-1 with a 3.12 ERA. He gave up 54 hits, walked 41, and had 160 strikeouts. TRANSACTIONS As expected, the Twins activated catcher Ryan Jeffers and optioned OF Kyler Fedko. The Twins acquired veteran RHP Tommy Nance from the Toronto Blue Jays along with international bonus pool money. In return, the Twins sent infielder/catcher Ryan Sprock. Sprock was the eighth-round pick in 2025 from Elon University. He was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month in June and had just been promoted to High-A Cedar Rapids this week. Fort Myers LHP Cleiber Maldonado began a rehab assignment in the FCL. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Iowa 7 Box Score Things started out quite well for the Saints in Des Moines. It didn’t take long for the Cubs to comeback and eventually take the lead. Then they added on and beat the Saints for the third straight time. With one out and runners on first and second, Hendry Mendez singled to left to drive in Matt Wallner. After a wild pitch Gabriel Gonzalez dropped a single into right field to drive in two runs and give the Saints a 3-0 lead. Ty Langenberg started and put zeroes on the board in the first, third and fourth innings. However, in 4 1/3 innings, he gave up six earned runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out four. The Cubs scored four in the bottom of the second He also gave up two runs in the fifth inning. Both runs scored after C.J. Culpepper came in. He gave up one run of his own on two hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings. Raul Brito tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and a walk and had two strikeouts. Alejandro Hidalgo struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning. The Saints scored four runs on five hits and four walks in the game. Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Mendez was 2-for-4. Walker Jenkins and Aaron Sabato each walked twice. The daily Brett Bateman Update informs us that the former Gopher great went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 18th stolen base. He is now batting .306/.434/.411 (.845) on the season. For more on Bateman and other prospects in the (former Twins outfield prospect) Jason Kanzler-led Cubs farm system, check out our sister site North Side Baseball. Many of the Iowa Cubs are in their Top 20 Cubs Prospect rankings. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Northwest Arkansas 8 Box Score Another tough loss for the Wind Surge. After a 12-1 win on Thursday, they have lost three straight by a combined score of 12-28. In fact, things have been rough for the Wind Surge for the past two months. Below you’ll find the results of the past nine weeks, nine series. That marks the last time the Wind Surge won a series. And some of the run differentials for those weeks are pretty rough. Week Opponent W-L RS-RA 7/7-7/10 NW Arkansas 1-3 (24-29) 6/30-7/5 Tulsa 1-5 (34-60) 6/23-6/29 Midland 1-5 (19-35) 6/16-6/22 Springfield 2-4 (32-40) 6/9-6/15 Tulsa 1-5 (39-46) 6/2-6/8 San Antonio 1-5 (15-28) 5/25-6/1 Springfield 0-5 (22-35) 5/19-5/24 Tulsa 2-4 (24-40) 5/12-5/17 San Antonio 3-3 (27-27) 5/5-5/10: Amarillo 3-2 (41-27) Through six innings, the Wind Surge were only behind. However, the Naturals scored five runs in the top of the seventh and ran away with another easy win. Cory Lewis started for the Wind Surge. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in the first three innings. He had four strikeouts. Darren Bowen gave up one run on three hits over two innings. Jacob Webb came out for the seventh and was charged with five runs on three hits and three walks. He recorded two outs and left with the bases loaded. Nick Mikolajchak allowed two of the inherited runners to score, but he got four outs without any additional runs scored. Kyle Bischoff struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning. Caden Kendle’s adjustment to Double-A has gone quite well. On Friday night, he went 2-for-2 with a walk, was hit by a pitch, and stole a base. In his first four games, he is 8-for-13 and hitting .615/.667/.923 (1.590) with a double and a homer. Andrew Cossetti had the lone extra-base hit, his seventh double. Seven players on the NW Arkansas roster are in the Royals Keep Top 20 prospect rankings. Five of them are pitchers. #14 prospect Felix Arronde started for the Naturals and gave up one run on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 8, South Bend 18 Box Score The Kernels offense scored six runs over the first three innings and found themselves losing 10-6. They cut the deficit to 10-8 through five innings. However, the Kernels stopped scoring, and the Cubs added another eight runs. In 2025, Danny De Andrade had 43 extra base hits for the Kernels. In 2026, the still-just-22-year-old had just 17 going into Friday night’s game. He went 3-for-5 with his ninth double and his third and fourth triples. Jose Salas, who is still-just-23-year-old, was sent back down to the Kernels this week. He went 2-for-5 in this game including a third-inning grand slam. After hitting seven Double-A homers this year, this was his first with the Kernels this year. In fact, Salas hit five homers (and eight doubles) in 48 games for the Wind Surge last year. He’s played in 101 games at Double-A after playing 211 games over the past three seasons in Cedar Rapids. The average hitter in the Midwest League is 22.2, and the average pitcher is 22.9. As we know, fair or not, the “prospects” move on their timeline. The Twins decision-makers felt that Brandon Winokur is ready to be pushed to Double-A for the remainder of the season, so that happens. I also see it as an opportunity for Salas to play every day, probably at seven different positions, get regular at-bats, and I won’t be surprised if that happens, the numbers will show up. He’s been pushed way too fast since his time with the Marlins organization. The Padres did the same with his brother Ethan Salas. Maybe moving down, breathing, and seeing some actual success in numbers will spark a resurgence in his prospect status. Or I might just be wrong. Graham Brown hit his first Kernels double. Yasser Mercedes doubled for the eighth time in Cedar Rapids. Jacob McCombs added his fourth triple of the season. He was also hit by a pitch three times by three different pitchers in the game. Henry Kusiak and Andy Lugo each walked twice. Cesar Lares has really struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery. The lefty gave up five runs (3 earned) on three hits and four walks in 2 1/3 innings. He had four strikeouts. He left the game in the hands of Nick Trabacchi with two runners on base and both were able to score. Trabacchi also gave up five earned runs of his own on four hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Lares’s ERA now stands at 15.98 in six starts and just 16 1/3 innings. He’s given up 26 hits, walked 18 times, and struck out 19 batters. Mitch Mueller came in and struck out three batters over two perfect innings. Christian Becerra gave up three runs on four hits over his two innings. Nolan Santos came in for the ninth, but he gave up five runs (1 earned) on four hits and a walk in 2/3 innings. Henry Kusiak came on, faced one batter, and struck him out. Five South Bend Cubs players are on the Northside Baseball Top 20 Cubs Prospect rankings.19-year-old Josiah Hartshorn, the #4 prospect, went 2-for-5 with a walk and a triple. #7 prospect Kane Kepley went 1-for-5 with a walk, two runs and two RBI. #14 prospect Ty Southisene is on the injured list. He is on the 7-Day IL right now, but he already has 30 stolen bases in 2026. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers, Bradenton (postponed) Box Score Both games of the doubleheader were postponed by rain. The teams will hope to play two games on Saturday. The other game will be made up as part of a doubleheader in Bradenton at the end of August. The pitching probable for one of the Mussels games on Friday was RHP Callan Fang. The scheduled starter for Saturday was RHP Justin Mitrovich. Is it possible that those will be the two starters if the Mussels are able to play their doubleheader on Saturday? If so, you can bet the people involved in baseball in the Pennsbury High School District will be watching. Mitrovich was the Twins ninth-round pick in 2025 out of Elon University. Fang was the Twins 13th round pick in 2025 out of Harvard. However, the two pitchers were teammates at Pennsbury High School. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 3, FCL Rays 9 Box Score The Twins scored in three of their nine half-innings. The Red Sox scored in four different innings and had crooked numbers in three of those innings including a four-run fourth inning. The Red Sox scored their nine runs on 12 hits and six walks. The Twins helped them by committing five errors in the game as well. In his first rehab appearance, Cleiber Maldonado gave up two runs on four hits in 2/3 inning. He struck out one batter. Jack Walker came in and got the final out of the first inning and then had a scoreless second inning. He had three strikeouts out of the four outs he recorded. Matt Barr was next. The 2025 draft pick gave up four runs (2 earned) on two hits and three walks in two innings. He struck out three batters. Hendry Chivilli worked the final four innings. He gave up three runs on five hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts. The Twins scored their three runs on six hits and two walks. Miguel Caraballo went 2-for-4 with his ninth double and two RBI. Jhomnardo Reyes hit his 11th double. Yovanny Duran hit his fifth double. Teilon Serrano hit his eighth double. DSL Twins 5, DSL Rockies 3 Box Score Contrary to the rest of the system, the Twins in the Dominican were able to get out to an early lead, and then they were the team that put together the big inning and hung on for a win. Abel Sosa led off the bottom of the second with a triple. After two strikeouts, Jeferson Abreu singled to center to give them the 1-0 lead. The Rockies tied the game in the top of the third. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Jhon Gonzalez led off with a single. He advanced to third base on a single by Enmanuel Merlo who advanced to second on the throw. With one out, Juan Holmann singled to right field. Gonzalez scored. Merlo went to third, and Holman went to second on an error. Anibal Beltre struck out but reached on a wild pitch. Merlo scored and Holmann advanced to third. With two outs, Luis Suarez singled to drive in Holmann. After a pitching change and a wild pitch, Misael Rodriguez singled to left to drive home Beltre. Suarez was thrown out for the third out of the inning. But the four-run fourth inning gave them a 5-1 lead. Adrian Martinez started and gave up an unearned run on one hit over 2 2/3 innings. He walked five and had three strikeouts. Jesus Moreno tossed 2 1/3 innings. He gave up no runs, one hit, and had two walks. He had two strikeouts. Wisarly Reinoso made his first pro appearance. He gave up two runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings. He had one strikeout. Herkyn Taveras came on and got the final out for his second save. The Twins had eight hits, and no one had more than one. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2B(9), 2-3B(4), 2 R, K Pitcher(s) of the Day Mitch Mueller (Cedar Rapids): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 26 pitches, 18 strikes (69.2%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, K (batted first, played CF) #5 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB, (batted first, played SS) #9 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, R, RBI, K (batted fourth, played LF) #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 K (batted sixth, played 1B) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 1-for-4, K (batted second, played CF) #17 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 32 pitches, 17 strikes (53.1%) #18 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, 2B(8), R, RBI, SB(23), 2 K (batted first, played CF) #19 - 1B/3B Billy Amick (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R, 2 K (batted fourth, played 3B) #20 - 2B/SS Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB (batted fifth, played 2B) UPCOMING PROBABLES Saturday, July 11 St. Paul @ Iowa (6:08 pm CT) - RHP John Klein (1-3, 6.39 ERA) NW Arkansas @ Wichita (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Preston Johnson (0-for-3, 5.08 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - RHP Adrian Bohorquez (0-0, 10.32 ERA) Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (DH @ 2:35 pm CT) - RHP Callan Fang (3-1, 1.35 ERA), RHP Justin Mitrovich (1-3, 3.08 ERA) - FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (9:00 am CT) - DSL Rockies @ DSL Twins (10:00 am CT) - CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 46-49 St. Paul Saints: 49-40 Wichita Wind Surge: 28-55 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 34-48 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-36 FCL Twins: 27-23 DSL Twins: 7-20 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Ben Ross) TRANSACTIONS On Wednesday, the Twins placed RHP Marco Raya on the Injured List. On Thursday, LHP Connor Prielipp was played on the Injured List with a blister. They called up LHP Kendry Rojas and activated RHP Bailey Ober. With catcher Ryan Jeffers expected to return on Friday, Kyler Fedko has been optioned. Wind Surge infielder Jake Rucker and Kernels LHP Ross Dunn began rehab assignments with the FCL Twins on The organization also signed 19-year-old RHP Wisarly Reinoso from the Dominican Republic. He was assigned to the DSL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Iowa 21 Box Score In many games, seven runs will be enough to win. However, when your opponent scores six runs in one inning and nine runs in another inning, it’s not going to be a good night. Ryan Gallagher started for the Saints and gave up one run over the first three innings. Likely, he was feeling pretty good about how he was pitching against several of his former Cubs teammates. However, he recorded just two outs in the fourth inning. In total, he was charged with six runs on eight hits (2 homers) and two walks. He struck out five batters. Eduardo Salazar came on with two runners on and allowed both to score. He gave up one more run on three hits and a walk over 1 1/3 innings. He had three strikeouts. Matt Bowman is back again with the Saints. He started the sixth inning and got two outs. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk. Trent Baker came in with two runners on and left them stranded. Baker gave up two runs on three hits in the seventh inning. Jake Higginbotham got the eighth inning. The lefty was charged with six runs on four hits and two walks. He got two outs. David Banuelos came in with a runner on and allowed him to score. He also was charged with three runs on three hits (including a homer) before getting the final out. The Saints batters scored their seven runs over six different half-innings. They had 11 hits and walked five times in the game. Ben Ross went 2-for-5 with his 20th double and seventh home run with the Saints. That gives him 27 doubles and 12 homers overall this year. Walker Jenkins went 2-for-5 with his 10th double. Hendry Mendez went 2-for-4 with a walk and two doubles. Orlando Arcia (13) and Aaron Sabato (21) also hit a double in the game. Sabato walked twice. Brett Bateman was the Cubs eighth-round pick in the 2023 draft out of the University of Minnesota. The Mounds View High School graduate has steadily moved up the organizational ladder and has spent the entire 2026 season in Des Moines, with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. In his two starts against the Saints this week, the center fielder is 7-for-10 with a walk and 3 doubles. Overall, he is hitting .302/.431/.409 (.840) with 15 doubles, a triple, two homers. In 65 games, he’s walked 51 times and struck out 52 times. He is also 17-for-19 on stolen base attempts. For more on Bateman and other prospects in the (former Twins outfield prospect) Jason Kanzler-led Cubs farm system, check out our sister site North Side Baseball. Many of the Iowa Cubs are in their Top 20 Cubs Prospect rankings, or like Moises Ballesteros was near the top of the rankings for a long time. He went 2-for-4 with a walk and a double. Bateman, who has consistently landed just outside their top 20, went 3-for-6 with a double. #9 prospect Jonathan Long went 5-for-5 with a walk, two doubles and a home run. B.J. Murray was 3-for-5 with a walk. #11 prospect James Triantos went 3-for-5 with a walk and a double. Owen Miller was 2-for-5 with two doubles. Christian Bethancourt went 3-for-5 with a double, two homers and five RBI. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, Northwest Arkansas 13 Box Score Like above, when your offense scores six runs and has 12 hits and seven walks, they should win a lot of games. A little later, you’ll see why they didn’t score more runs. Unfortunately, the Naturals scored three in an inning, five in an inning, and they scored two runs twice. Sam Armstrong started and gave up eight runs on seven hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings. He gave up two homers including the 17th homer of Carson Roccaforte whose three-run shot ended Armstrong’s outing. Sam Ryan came on and got the final out of the fourth. He worked a scoreless fifth inning, but then he got just one out in the sixth inning. He left the mound with the bases loaded. Hunter Gregory came on and allowed just one of the inherited runners to score. Ryan worked 1 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on three hits and two walks. Gregory worked 1 2/3 innings and had three strikeouts. He was charged with no runs, no hits and no walks. Ruddy Gomez worked the final two innings and gave up two more runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out three batters. Caden Kendle led the offense. He went 3-for-4 with a walk. Marek Houston was 2-for-6 with his second double. He already has 11 stolen bases with Wichita. Jaime Ferrer went 2-for-5 with his sixth double. Andrew Cossetti went 0-for-2 but walked three times. Jay Thomason went 2-for-4 with a walk and his first Double-A home run. Kyle DeBarge added his 10th home run of the season. Garrett Spain added a double. Unfortunately, the Surge went just 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base. It’s been a long season for the Wind Surge. Manager Nico Giarratano was ejected from the game in the sixth inning. Seven players on the NW Arkansas roster are in the Royals Keep Top 20 prospect rankings. Five of them are pitchers, though none of them threw on Thursday. #8 prospect Carson Roccaforte went 1-for-3 with two walks. He hit his 17th home run and stole his 16th base. #18 prospect Daniel Vazquez, a shortstop who was the team’s DH in this game, went 2-for-5 with two RBI. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 1, South Bend 9 Box Score The Saints and Wind Surge both put up solid offensive performances, but their pitching staffs gave up a lot of runs and big innings. The Kernels followed suit with the exception that the Kernels offense had just one run on three hits in the game. Danny De Andrade had the lone extra base hit, his eighth double. Jose Salas went 1-for-2 with a walk. He stole a base and scored the lone run. Graham Brown drove in Salas with a single. Kolten Smith made his first appearance with the Kernels. In 3 1/3 innings, he gave up four runs (2 earned) on three hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts. Cole Peschl came in and tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits. Jesse Bergin struck out four batters over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit. Yehizon Sanchez gave up five runs on three hits, two hit batters, and a walk in 2/3 inning. Brian Zeldin came on and got the final out on a strikeout. Five South Bend Cubs players are on the Northside Baseball Top 20 Cubs Prospect rankings.19-year-old Josiah Hartshorn, the org’s #4 prospect, went 0-for-3, was hit by a pitch twice and two RBI. #7 prospect Kane Kepley didn’t play on Thursday, but he has already reached 40 stolen bases. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers, Bradenton (postponed) Box Score The game was postponed by rain. The teams will hope to play two games on Friday. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 5, FCL Rays 6 Box Score The Twins jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. In the third inning, the Rays scored four to take the lead. The Twins responded with two runs in the top of the fourth to reclaim the lead 5-4. Both bullpens did well, throwing nothing but zeroes on the board from the fifth through eighth innings. Unfortunately, the Rays scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to take the win. Yovanny Duran singled to lead off the game. He stole second and scored on a Jake Rucker single. Carlos Taveras singled Rucker to third. Rucker scored on a Jhomnardo Reyes sacrifice fly. With nobody on and two outs in the top of the second, Yovanny Duran was walked. After a pitching change, he stole second and went to third on an errant pickoff attempt. He scored on a Rucker double to make it 3-0. LHP Ross Dunn was the Twins 10th round pick in 2023 out of Arizona State. He pitched in 19 games (16 starts) for Fort Myers in 2024. He made one start in 2025 for the Kernels but was removed from the game in the fourth inning. He didn’t pitch again until Thursday morning in Fort Myers. It was his first rehab appearance after Tommy John surgery. He struck out two batters over two scoreless, hitless innings. 20 of his 27 pitches were strikes. Omar Mantano came in for the third inning and was charged with four runs on four hits and two walks and recorded just two outs. Jake Covey came in and stranded two runners on base. He went 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked two and had eight strikeouts. In the top of the fourth, Daiber De Los Santos reached on a one-out walk and went to second on a wild pitch. De Los Santos actually was picked off at second base, but a throwing error allowed him to score the tying run. Yovanny Duran followed with a walk. He also was picked off, but he was able to get to third on a throwing error by the first baseman. Rucker came up and came through again. He hit a triple to make it 5-4. Santiago Rojas came in and tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and had a strikeout. Matt DesMarets came in for the bottom of the ninth inning. He gave up two runs on two hits, a hit batter, and a walk. He struck out two batters but recorded just two outs before the winning run scored. The rehabbing Jake Rucker went 4-for-4 with a run and three RBI. He had two singles, a double, and a triple. Duran went 1-for-3, walked three times and scored three runs. His two stolen bases give him 25 for the season. DSL Twins 3, DSL Yankees 19 Box Score Keeping with the theme of the day, the DSL Twins were shellacked by the DSL Yankees. Seven Twins pitchers gave up at least one run in this game. (If you want to relive it, feel free to click on the box score.) The Twins scored three runs and had five hits, and nine walks Misael Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with his fourth double. Jendy Martinez walked three times. Enmanuel Merlo, Luis Duarte, and Anibal Beltre each had a single and a walk. Juan Holmann walked twice. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Ben Ross (St. Paul): 2-for-5, 2B(20), HR(7), R, 2 RBI, K Jake Rucker (FCL Twins, Rehab): 4-for-4, 2B, 3B, R, 3 RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Jake Covey (FCL Twins): 3 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 54 pitches, 31 strikes (57.4%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, 2B(10), 2 R, K (batted second, played DH) #4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4 (batted second, played DH) #5 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 2-for-6, 2B(2), 2 RBI, K, SB(11) (batted first, played SS) #7 - LHP Kendry Rojas (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 47 pitches, 25 strikes (53.2%) #9 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, BB, 2-2B(6), R, RBI, K, (batted fifth, played LF) #10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-1 (PH and played RF) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB, R, K (batted fifth, played 3B) #13 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 0-for-5, K (batted second, played catcher) #15 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - 3 2/3 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 89 pitches, 59 strikes (66.3%) . #18 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K (batted fifth, played RF) #20 - 2B/SS Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB, HR(10), R, RBI, K (batted sixth, played 2B) UPCOMING PROBABLES Friday, July 10 St. Paul @ Iowa (7:08 pm CT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (3-3, 4.91 ERA) NW Arkansas @ Wichita (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-3, 4.95 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 pm CT) - LHP Cesar Lares (0-3, 16.71 ERA) Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (DH @ 3:35 pm CT) - RHP Callan Fang (3-1, 1.35 ERA), TBD FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (11:00 am CT) - DSL Rockies @ DSL Twins (10:00 am CT) - CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 46-48 St. Paul Saints: 49-39 Wichita Wind Surge: 28-54 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 34-47 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-36 FCL Twins: 27-22 DSL Twins: 6-20 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

This is good feedback... about 'seeing the analysts" all the time. That's certainly fair. We've heard plenty of each of their voices that we know who is talking. And it wouldn't matter who asked Pohlad that question... he's not (and shouldn't) answer it. I agree with those who say that it has to be somewhat limited. So far, they've limited it to one series per season. However, if things go ugly again after the trade deadline, then maybe a second series because we'll need to be entertained.

Image courtesy of © Brad Rempel-Imagn Images The beauty of the baseball season is that it is a long season, that it is a marathon and not a sprint. After 162 games, the best teams separate themselves from the others. The difficulty of the baseball season for players and for fans is that it is a long season. Players have to figure out a routine and that could certainly get monotonous. It's the same for most fans, even die-hard fans. The routine of watching most of the 162 games can get a little stale, especially if you are a fan of a team that isn't very good. It can also be true of great team. So sometimes teams and players need to mix up. Days off, completely away from the field are important. Taking batting practice in the batting cage instead of on the field. Taking the second bus from the hotel instead of the first bus to the ballpark. Maybe something as simple as wearing your pants to your knees. Likewise, for fans, we need to find different ways of watching. Maybe on your big living room TV. Maybe on a laptop grilling or sitting near a campfire. Maybe it's listening on the radio on a Saturday afternoon with a fishing pole in your hand on the pontoon. Maybe it's as simple as hearing different voices. Twins fans are really lucky. Dick Bremer and his iconic voice was welcomed into our homes calling Twins fans for 40 seasons. This coming weekend, he will be welcomed with open arms as one of the most deserving members of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. Cory Provus was the radio voice for the Twins for a dozen years. He has now been in the TV booth for a few seasons. Enjoying the All-Analyst Broadcast is not in any way a knock on Provus. I think most know just how good he is behind the microphone. He does probably 150 Twins games each year. He's fantastic calling college football and college basketball in the offseason. He also has a young family. I'm sure an extra series off here and there is a great thing. We all want a quality work-life balance, right? Early in his career, Bremer teamed with Tommy John, Jim Kaat and Harmon Killebrew. For a long time, Bremer worked mostly with Bert Blyleven. That was fun early on and when the "Circle Me Bert" became a thing. If we're being honest, the Blyleven experience is why many of us started watching the game on mute. Sure, you occasionally missed Blyleven expanding the English dictionary, even getting himself suspended. What we learned from that is that on TV you can see what's happening. You don't need to have the play detailed to the same level as is needed on the radio. When Blyleven retired from the booth, the Twins decided to go with analyst-by-committee. Remember how much we enjoyed Tom Kelly's takes and stories the first time that he was in the booth. Roy Smalley had been around for a while. Justin Morneau came on board in 2019. The Twins tried out the likes of Torii Hunter (which made us all a bit nervous to hear what he might say). Glen Perkins got more and more time. LaTroy Hawkins was on for a few years before joining the coaching staff this year. Trevor Plouffe and Denard Span have been added in the last couple of years. I always thought that mixing up his in-booth partners brought out the best in Bremer. He seemed rejuvenated by the opportunity to work with more players. Few know the game of baseball and the history of the Minnesota Twins than Bremer, but he let his analyst be the "star" of the broadcast. He set them up for success. He asked questions that he likely knew the answers to, but he knew that the audience wanted to hear the opinions of the former players. Last year, the Twins tried something new. Because of the popularity of the former players involved in the broadcasts, they put together an All-Analyst broadcast. Instead of the traditional play-by-play announcer and an analyst. the broadcast was solely called by the analysts. In 2025, Morneau, Perkins and Plouffe were in the booth. Pablo Lopez joined the broadcast and impressed us all. The three former players were teammates with the Twins from 2010-2013 The Twins and Twins.tv brought back the All-Analyst broadcast. This year's class added another former teammate, Denard Span. It is clear that the four players have strong and lasting relationships. Those teams weren't always good, but the players were close and remain close. It is completely entertaining to hear them share stories about their playing years, but it's also fun to hear them analyze the game from their experiences. Luke Keaschall made his first start in center field on Wednesday night. He had played some center field in Cedar Rapids in 2013 before his Tommy John surgery. Just recently, he has moved from second base to the outfield. Denard Span talked about how he played center field only in the minor leagues, but when he was called up, he had to play right field. He discussed the differences between the three outfield spots. They also discussed Span's "walk off grand slam!" Trevor Plouffe discussed the challenges he had coming up as a shortstop, getting some time at second and third base, and then being thrown into the corner outfield spots. He talked about the difficulty and differences between the infield and the outfield. On Tuesday, the highlighted a trip he made to the A's bullpen and got a good laugh about it. Pablo Lopez spent an inning with the broadcasters on Tuesday night. They talked about his "success" as a hitter in the National League earlier in his career. They also talked about him taking 14 Twins players with less than one year of service time to a tailor who made custom suits for each. He talked about Martin Prado being the guy who paid it forward to him. Wednesday night's game began with Morneau and Perkins in the booth while Trevor Plouffe sat by the foul pole in left field, and Denard Span sat by the foul pole in right field. In the first inning, Span reached toward a ball that Kody Clemens knocked off the top of the wall, maybe 10 feet from him. Later, he "jumped" for a long foul ball over his head. His broadcast teammates laughed and mocked him in the way only teammates can. Meanwhile in left field, Trevor Plouffe told the TV audience that he had his wallet, and it had a few $20 bills in it. He said that he would give a $20 to those that came up to him and mentioned it to him. It didn't take long for a line to come up to him, get a $20 and take a picture and shake his hand. In fact, at one point he ran out of money. Soon after, Twins owner Tom Pohlad and Dustin Morse showed up in left field. Pohlad handed Plouffe some more $20s and they made fans of several more people. Then they went over to see Denard Span in right field, and Pohlad gave him some money to hand out to fans as well. I think that the experience "humanized" Tom Pohlad to some Twins fans who, to this point, have only read quotes or heard negative things about the family. Pohlad appeared to be having a great time talking to the broadcasters, chatting with the fans, and being present. It is exactly the kind of thing that he needs to do to simply start the process of gaining fan confidence. (Yes, proving it by spending more and pushing payroll back to the 2023 and 2024 levels would also have a huge impact.) Asked if they wanted to hand out some money from the broadcast booth, Morneau and Perkins both said that they'd rather have a hot dog. The next half-inning, there was Tom Pohlad, placing a huge hot dog in front of them. That's when Span and Plouffe rejoined Perkins and Morneau in the booth. Of course, it's always fun when we get to see the Twins win, especially against an AL Central foe. But both games have been really good baseball games. The Twins won 3-1 on Tuesday night. And Alan Roden played hero in the Twins walk-off win on Wednesday night. The Twins and Guardians will play one more game this series. We get to enjoy one more game with the four analysts working together. What topics will they cover today? What stories will they share? Will there be any surprises, such as additional former players joining them, or unique angles, or stories we haven't heard before? And could we be so bold as to ask for another Twins win? What are your thoughts on the All-Analyst Broadcast? Is it something you would like to see more of? Is it brilliant, or is it crazy? Is it perfect as is, one series each season, to help us all with the long season? Share your thoughts below. I'm sure the Twins would love to hear what you think? The people behind Twins TV would love to hear it as well. Whether you love it or hate it, let them know. Another question for discussion? Are there other former Twins players that you would like to see in the TV booth? View full article

Not sure how much of an organizational philosophy change will happen when aside from Derek Falvey, the scouting group is still pretty much the same. Zoll will have little to do with the actual selections. He'll be part of the discussions over the next few days as they prep, but he's smart and will let Sean Johnson do his job. Certainly, they have had many discussions with Zoll in the room about Cho, Emerson and Lackey and probably Flora. I'm sure Zoll has asked questions, maybe encouraging the room to say, well, if Cholo and Lackey are taken, would we consider taking a Justin Lebron, getting him for $2 million under slot ... so that they can give an extra million for their next few picks? Ask questions for consideration, but when it comes to Saturday and Sunday, Sean makes the ultimate decision and trusts the opinions and reports of the area and regional scouts and cross-checkers. My guess is they have their Top 200 or so. I would guess that they probably have a ranked list of 25-30 seniors that they really, really like. They can be used as "senior signs" in the first 10 rounds, or they can communicate with throughout and hope to sign right after the 20th round.

Darrell Jackson overcame several obstacles throughout his life, but on Sunday, he lost his battle with lung cancer, passing away at the age of 70. Jackson grew up in Los Angeles in the '60s and early '70s. He and his family were affected by the Watts riots in the mid-to-late-'60s. He attended Locke High School which was established in 1967 to be a safe place for children and families, but they were unable to keep the race issues from coming in. There were frequent fights, and during Jackson's senior year, two people were shot in a targeted gang attack. The following January saw an 18-year-old student killed on the school jogging track in a gang-related shooting. He was just an innocent bystander. Tyrese Gibson graduated from Locke in 1996, just two years before being signed by RCA Records. He has spent lots of time on Billboard Top 100 lists, and many now may know of him from his roles in the Fast & Furious and Transformers series of films. Jackson played on a pretty good baseball team in high school. He pitched well, and the Twins made him their sixth-round draft pick in 1973. Fellow 1973 Locke High School grads included future Hall of Famers Eddie Murray and Ozzie Smith. Murray was a third-round pick by the Orioles and signed right away. Smith went undrafted out of high school, went to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo on an academic scholarship and walked onto the baseball team. The Tigers drafted him in the seventh round in 1976, but he didn't sign. The Padres signed him after making him their fourth-round pick in 1977. Jackson certainly could have signed out of high school. He didn't, opting to attend Arizona State University. He pitched there for four years and won three College World Series championships. His time in the minor leagues was very short. His first professional start came in 1978 for the Orlando Twins, the team's Double-A affiliate at the time. He tossed nine no-hit innings. He made 10 starts and was 4-3 with a 1.80 ERA. In 75 innings, he gave up 52 hits, walked 32 and had 68 strikeouts. On June 16, 1978, Jackson made his MLB debut at Met Stadium against the Detroit Tigers. The southpaw tossed 7 1/3 innings and gave up just one run despite giving up seven hits, walking four, and having seven strikeouts. Veteran Mike Marshall got the final five outs in a 5-2 win. The bottom three hitters in the Tigers lineup that day were all rookies, catcher Lance Parrish, shortstop Alan Trammell, and second baseman Lou Whitaker. July 7th, he made his fourth career start at Oakland. He tossed a complete game shutout. In nine innings, he gave up just three hits and one walk, while striking out seven batters. In a start on May 10, 1980, at Yankees Stadium. He tossed 10 scoreless innings. He gave up five hits and walked one batter. The Bronx Bombers lineup including Willie Randolph, Reggie Jackson, Lou Pinella, Graig Nettles, he gave up a double to Bucky Dent, and Bob Watson went 4-for-4 with a double. Doug Corbett got the final three outs for the save. He went 0-5 with a 6.25 ERA in mid-June of 1982. The Twins released him. He pitched in Mexico briefly in 1983 but at that point, his career was complete. Jackson pitched for the Twins in parts of five seasons. He went 20-27 with one save. He posted a 4.38 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. 60 of his 102 career games pitched were starts. He certainly had flashes of greatness at times. Later, Jackson acknowledged that there was a lot more going on in his life and in his body. He talked about drinking too much starting in college and then drank even more once he became a pro ballplayer. Like so many pro athletes in that era, Jackson struggled with cocaine and its addictive qualities. He said in a 2022 interview that he had mistaken money, drugs, women and attention for success. When his baseball career ended, he continued to abuse alcohol and drugs. And at that point he found himself really fighting depression. He went to treatment and rehab a few times. It didn't take. He happened to meet former big league pitcher Dock Ellis, who coincidentally is best known for pitching a no-hitter while tripping on LSD. He encouraged Jackson to keep going back to treatment. It didn't work, he would relapse, but finally, it took. Had he lived about three more months, he would have reached 40 years of sobriety. And in that time, he has done a ton in the Los Angeles area to help kids and families. He led the 10-20 Club. He worked with a treatment center and others to create scholarships for young people who could not otherwise afford it or have the insurance to do so. As the name suggests, the intended audience for the program is between 10- and 20-year-olds. Beyond working with communities and organizations and law enforcement and others to help fund the program, he was often there for the kids himself. He met with the kids, told his story, and offered his contact information to the kids with the OK to call him whenever necessary, any hour of the day. Best wishes to the friends and families of Darrell Jackson! View full rumor

1. They didn't. They scored four in the bottom of the 2nd. 2. My bad, I kept forgetting it was a 7-inning game 3. I assume Bass left for third base with the pitch whereas Young likely didn't take off for second until after the ball got by the catcher.

I wouldn't trade him unless you get an upside guy for the future. I certainly wouldn't DFA him. Frustrating at times? Sure. But can carry a time at times too.

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Matt Wallner) TRANSACTIONS RHP Bailey Ober had his rehab transferred to the Saints. LHP Aaron Rozek was placed on the temporary inactive list. RHP Julian Merryweather began his (second) rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Buffalo 5 Box Score On the Fourth of July, Saints batters hit some bombs off of an #OldFriend and held on until rains came and cut the game short. However, it counts as a full Win. Simeon Woods Richardson made his first start for the Bisons since being DFAd and clearing waivers last week. The Twins jumped on him right from the start. While SWR got fellow former Blue Jays prospect Alan Roden to start the game, Ryan Jeffers crushed a 1-2 splitter 105.4 mph and lined it over the fence in left center field. The bottom of the second began with a walk to Orlando Arcia and a single by Hendry Mendez. After two strikeouts, Ben Ross drove in the team’s second run with a ground-rule double. Ryan Jeffers led off the bottom of the third inning with a 97 mph double. Walker Jenkins walked, and Matt Wallner welcomed his former teammate to CHS Field by knocking the first pitch over the right-field wall for a three-run homer that made it 5-1. Orlando Arcia followed with a home run of his own to make it 6-1. Woods Richardson finished the third inning. He was charged with six runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out four batters. On the other side of the ball, Bailey Ober was making a rehab start. Last weekend, Ober made a start in Cedar Rapids. He worked five innings and gave up four runs on six hits. He had five strikeouts without issuing a walk. 50 of his 76 pitches were strikes (66%). His four-seam fastball averaged 89.0 mph on the night. Just once, he topped 90 mph (90.1 mph). Most of his fastballs, especially after the third inning, were below 88 mph. Alejandro Hidalgo came in for the sixth inning. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks. He struck out two and earned a save. Ryan Jeffers went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run. Noah Cardenas came into the game to catch in the sixth inning. He gave up one stolen base and caught one attempting to steal. He had a throwing error, but that isn’t related to his readiness. Hendry Mendez went 2-for-3 Matt Wallner went 2-for-4 with his 14th home run and three RBI. Arcia’s homer was his 11th with the Saints. He went 1-for-2 with a walk. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Tulsa 10 Box Score The Wind Surge’s miserable season continued on Saturday with another lopsided loss. Sam Armstrong started the game by putting three zeroes on the board. He gave up two runs in the fourth inning. In total, he gave up two runs on three hits and a walk over four innings. He had five strikeouts. Not a bad start by any means. However, the Drillers scored in five straight innings, including three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to make it a laugher. Wichita had just three hits and six walks to go with 14 strikeouts in the loss. Marek Houston was 1-for-3 with a walk. The only guy to really hit for Wichita has been on fire for awhile now. Andrew Cossetti went 1-for-1 with two walks, a sacrifice fly, and his 13th home run of the season. Consider that after the game on May 5th, he was hitting .131/.280/.148 (.428) with just one extra-base hit, a double. In 42 games since then, he has hit a robust .252/.407/.552 with five doubles, a triple, and 13 homers. He’s also walked 32 times. KERNELS CHRONICLE Cedar Rapids 9, Quad Cities 15 (completion of suspended game) Box Score The rain came down in Davenport on Friday night in the bottom of the fourth and the game was suspended until Saturday. Despite a lopsided 13-2 lead for Quad Cities, the teams finished this game before the regularly-scheduled game. A quick reminder that you probably didn’t want to re-read from yesterday’s article, “Quad Cities scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and four more in the bottom of the second. They had already scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth when the game was suspended with two outs. Finally, we’ll go into more detail when the game is complete. But just so you’re aware. Lefty Cesar Lares started and was charged with 11 runs (10 earned) on seven hits (including 2 homers) and three walks.” The Kernels offense put up seven runs in the five times they came to the plate in the completion of the game. Yasser Mercedes went 3-for-4 with his fifth home run since joining the Kernels. He was also hit by a pitch. Dameury Pena went 2-for-5 with a double and four RBI. Miguel Briceno was 2-for-4. Brandon Winokur added his 13th double. Brian Zeldin came into the game when play continued. There were two runners on base. Both scored and were credited to Nolan Santos. However, he worked 2 1/3 innings and gave up no additional runs on one hit, one walk, and he only had one strikeout. Christian Becerra pitched a scoreless inning, and then outfielder Graham Brown threw a perfect eighth inning. Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 4 (regularly scheduled game) Box Score The Kernels tried to carry a little of their offensive momentum into the regularly scheduled game. With one out in the top of the first, Eduardo Tait singled. After a wild pitch, he scored on Jacob McCombs ninth double of the season. Adrian Bohorquez pitched a scoreless first inning, but in the second, he gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out three batters, and that was the end of his game. Yehizon Sanchez came in and faced nine batters over three perfect innings. He struck out two batters. Down 3-1, Andy Lugo led off the top of the fifth inning with a walk. Two batters and two outs later, he went to third on a double by Tait. Lugo and Tait scored on a single by McCombs to tie the game at 3-3. Adam Falinski pitched a scoreless sixth inning. However, with two outs in the bottom of the seventh (and final) inning, he gave up the game-winning run to take the loss. Falinski gave up one run on four hits and a walk over 1 2/3 innings. The Kernels scored their three runs on six hits and three walks. Tait went 2-for-4 with his 16th double and two runs scored. McCombs went 2-for-4 with his ninth double and three RBI. Lugo returned to the Kernels lineup and walked twice. MIGHTY MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Clearwater 7 Box Score Hendry Chivilli started and gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. He had one strikeout. Callan Fang came in and gave up one run on two hits and two walks. And yes, he had two strikeouts. Dylan Questad came in for the eighth inning. He gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in 2/3 inning. Matt DesMarets came on with two on base. He walked a batter to load the bases but then got the final out without any additional runs scored. Down to 2-0 after one inning, Jayson Bass doubled to start the second frame. With one out, Quentin Young walked. Bass stole his 19th base. On the same pitch, Young went to second on a wild pitch. Byron Chourio followed with a two-run single to tie the game at 2-2. Ryan Sprock led off the top of the third inning with his 12th double. He went to third base on a fly out and scored on a JP Smith sacrifice fly to make it 3-2. Unfortunately, that was the end of the Mussels scoring runs in this game. Byron Chourio went 2-for-3. He was the lone Mussels batter with a multi-hit game. Bass’s double was his 11th, and Sprock’s double was his 12th of the season. COMPLEX CHRONICLES Game 1: FCL Twins 10, FCL Red Sox 9 Box Score This was a high-scoring, back-and-forth game with big innings and a ton of walks. The Red Sox scored five runs in the second and three runs in the sixth. The Twins scored three runs in the third, four runs in the sixth and two runs in the top of the seventh. Despite some strange pitching lines, the Twins held on in the final inning for the win. Saturday was a game for rehabbers, at least to start the day. Veteran Julian Merryweather gave up a single in an otherwise flawless first inning. Michael Carpenter came in and struggled to find the strike zone. The southpaw gave up four runs on three walks and a hit without getting an out. Billy Oldham came in to replace him with the bases loaded. He allowed all three inherited runners to score. In 1 1/3 innings, he gave up two of his own runs as well on two hits (including a homer). All four outs he got were on strikeouts. Santiago Rojas struck out four batters over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and two walks. Brad Rudis gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in one inning. He struck out two batters. Omar Montana had one of the strangest box score lines you will see. First, he was credited for blowing a save. He entered the game with the bases loaded and the Twins leading 8-6 with two outs in the eighth inning. He proceeded to walk the next three batters before getting the final out. He gave up a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh. He got a pop out and a fly out but then issued another walk. Jack Walker came in and got a ground out to end the game and record the save. So, Omar Montano worked one inning. He gave up no runs on one hit and four walks. He received the blown save but because the Twins went ahead in the top of the seventh, he gets credit for the Win. Between 10 hits and 12 walks, eight of nine Twins hitters had at least one hit. Seven of the nine had at least one walk. Eight of nine Twins hitters reached base at least twice. Carlos Taveras reached four times. He went 2-for-3 with two walks and his first home run of the year. Jhomnardo Reyes went 3-for-5 with his fifth home run of the season. Victor Leal reached three times. He hit his fourth double and walked twice. Teilon Serrano was 0-for-2 but walked three times. Yovanny Duran walked twice. Game 2: FCL Twins 5, FCL Red Sox 2 Box Score The Twins were the home team in the second game of the day. The second game was almost completely the opposite of the first game. In Game 1, the teams combined for 19 runs on 19 hits and 22 walks. In Game 2, the teams combined for seven runs on six hits and five walks. Fortunately, the Twins accounted for five of the seven runs, and they were able to sweep the doubleheader. Melvin Rodriguez has done a nice job as a starter in his time in the Twins organization. Already 20, he has pitched a slightly different role in 2026. Saturday was just his third start in nine appearances this season. That said, he’s only worked less than two innings once. He had his best appearance of the season on Saturday. The right-hander gave up only a solo home run over five innings of work. He walked one batter and had five strikeouts. 24-year-old Jake Covey signed as a minor-league free agent one month ago. In the sixth inning, he struck out three batters, but he gave up one run on two hits. He threw three wild pitches. He had one more strikeout in a 1-2-3 seventh inning. DSL Twins 3, DSL Cardinals 5 (Suspended in fourth inning) Box Score For the second straight day, the DSL Twins had their game suspended by rain/lightning in the fourth inning. Will they finish the game? If they can before the end of the season. By the way, there was something unusual in this game, something we see in spring training once in a while. A starting pitcher will hope to go four innings in a particular start. However, in the second inning, he throws 32 pitches and only gets one out. A reliever can come in for him, but that starter can come back in the next half inning to get his work in, in preparation for the season. I had never seen that in a regular-season game, and certainly we never will see it in the big leagues. My assumption is we won’t see it in a full-season league, but in this game, it happened. Juan Collado started for the Twins. He had a regular first inning. In the second inning, he had three walks. With two outs, he gave up a two-run single. Jesus Moreno came in, and after a run-scoring single, recorded the final out of the inning. Collado re-entered the game in the third inning and went 1-2-3. He went out for the fourth inning but allowed two runs before being replaced by Alam Soriano with two outs in the fourth. He threw two pitches before the lightning got too close for comfort. My assumption is that, even in the DSL, there is probably a once-per-game type of rule so that teams aren’t taking too much advantage of it. Jhon Gonzalez had both of the Twins hits. In the bottom of the first inning, Jendy Martinez led off with a double. He stole second base, his 10th of the season. Daiyer Barboza then reached on another error which allowed Martinez to score. Gonzalez followed with a single. Luis Duarte reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed Barboza to score. There was another error on the play. After the second out, Enmanuel Merlo reached on an error. The Twins added another run in the third frame. Gonzalez singled. Luis Duarte then reached on an error that allowed Gonzalez to score from first base. Should they continue the game at a later date, you might read some of this a second time. I just thought there was enough that I found interesting in 1/3 of a game to write about. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul): 2-for-3, 2B(1), HR(1), 2 R, 1 RBI Matt Wallner (St. Paul): 2-for-4, HR(14), R, 3 RBI, K Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-4, HBP, HR(5), 3 R, RBI, K, Game 2: 1-for-3, K, SB(22), CS(2) Jhomnardo Reyes (FCL Twins): 3-for-5, HR(5), 2 R, 2 RBI, K Carlos Taveras (FCL Twins): 2-for-3, 2 BB, HR(1), 2 R, 2 RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Melvin Rodriguez (FCL Twins): 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 60 pitches, 39 strikes (65.0%) Yehizon Sanchez (Cedar Rapids): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 35 pitches, 20 strikes (57.1%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, R, K (batted third, played CF) #4 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1: 1-for-5, R, K (batted third, played catcher), Game 2: 2-for-4, 2B(16), 2 R, 2 K (batted second, DHd). #5 - SS Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, 2 K (batted second, played SS) #9 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, (batted sixth, played LF) #12 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, 2B(13), R (batted first, played 3B) , Game 2: 0-for-4, 3 K (batted first, played SS) #13 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K (batted third, played catcher) #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, R, 3 K (batted sixth, played SS) #18 - OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, HBP, HR(5), 3 R, RBI, K (batted fifth, played RF), Game 2: 1-for-3, K, SB(22), CS(2) (batted sixth, played RF) #19 - 1B/3B Billy Amick (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K (batted fourth, played 3B) #20 - 2B/SS/CF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K (batted sixth, played 2B) UPCOMING PROBABLES Sunday, July 5 Buffalo @ St. Paul (2:07 pm CT) - RHP Ty Langenberg (3-2, 4.76 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (6:05 pm CT) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-2, 3.82 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (1:00 pm CT) - RHP Michael Ross (5-3, 7.07 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (11:00 am CT) - RHP Justin Mitrovich (1-2, 2.38 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 43-47 St. Paul Saints: 48-36 Wichita Wind Surge: 26-52 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 33-44 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-33 FCL Twins: 26-20 DSL Twins: 6-16 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

It's happening all over the minor leagues. As I've written before, there is talk that the ball is different. St. Paul has always been a home run/offensive park. It's not something I'm worried about since it'll only matter who gets to the big leagues and if any can stay there.