Twins Minor League Report (5/9): Double Headers Galore

[Nash Walker]

There were six different games played in the system Sunday. We got a walk-off win, a few strong starts, and much more. Let’s get you caught up.

SPLITZKY FOR ST.PAUL

GAME ONE: Saints 8, Storm Chasers 2
Game one Box Score
HR: Roberto Peña (1)
Multi-hit games: Ryan Jeffers (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI), Peña (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI)

GAME TWO/7: Saints 1, Storm Chasers 6
Game two Box Score
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Brent Rooker (2-for-3, RBI)

The St.Paul Saints resumed play after Saturday night’s game was suspended in the 5th inning. The Saints had an 8-1 lead over the Omaha Storm Chasers heading into Sunday. They would surrender just one more run by way of a bases-loaded walk induced by Robinson Leyer. Shaun Anderson and Luke Farrell, two right-handed relief additions from this offseason, combined to throw four scoreless innings with six strikeouts and just two hits allowed.

Bailey Ober started Saturday and allowed one run on three hits and two walks. Ober, who owns a 2.38 ERA and a 32% strikeout rate in over 180 minor league innings, struck out three in his outing.

Ryan Jeffers went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Roberto Peña launched a two-run homer in the second inning as the Saints recorded eight hits and 10 walks in the winning effort.

Game two wasn’t as breezy. Ian Gibaut started and allowed two runs on two hits and a walk. Andrew Albers relieved for Gibaut and allowed two more runs on eight hits. Brent Rooker had two hits while Rob Refsnyder stayed hot with a double. Rooker also made a great catch in left field.

Albers was forced to bat for the Saints after their DH, Drew Maggi, left the game with an injury. Keon Broxton was moved to second base for the first time in his career and Tomás Telis moved to third for just the sixth time in 1,100 pro games.

WIND SURGE WHISTLE PAST CARDINALS

FINAL: Wind Surge 3, Cardinals 2
Box Score
Josh Winder: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Aaron Whitefield (2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI), Jermaine Palacios (2-for-4)

Josh Winder made headlines this winter after Keith Law reported that he touched 97 MPH with his fastball in instructs. Winder was strong in his debut Tuesday, allowing zero runs and striking out six in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out another five in his start Sunday while allowing two runs on six hits and two walks. Winder’s ERA rose to 1.86.

José Miranda doubled in the first, furthering his outstanding start to the season. The Surge had trouble driving in runs and left a staggering 17 men on base before Aaron Whitefield blasted a two-run homer to take the lead in the seventh.

The Wind Surge bullpen was fantastic in holding the 3-2 lead, a trend we haven't seen in Minnesota this year. Alex Phillips and Josh Mitchell combined for four scoreless innings.

KERNELS MAKE HAY OVER PEORIA IN DOUBLE HEADER

GAME ONE/7: Kernels 3, Chiefs 0
Box Score
Matt Canterino: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 R/ER, 6 K, 41 of 63 pitches for strikes (65%)
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None

GAME TWO/7: Kernels 3, Chiefs 2
Box Score
Jon Olsen: 4 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 1 R/ER, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Matt Wallner (2-for-4, RBI)

Canterino turned heads this offseason after ticking his fastball to the upper 90s. Twins Daily ranked him as the No. 9 prospect in a deep system, noting the velocity increase as a main factor. His first start of 2021 went well. Canterino worked around a couple hits and walks, ultimately flashing his plus-stuff with six strikeouts in three innings.

Canterino was known at Rice University as a command-first starter, hence why there’s excitement that his stuff has greatly improved with it. Speaking of Rice, Canterino was pushed hard there and the Twins have been conservative with his usage. The right-hander threw just 63 pitches Sunday. Two-way pitcher and shortstop Jordan Gore struck out three in two innings of work. Left-hander Kody Funderburk recorded the save. Funderburk has struck out six in five innings of scoreless work this season.

Shortstop Wander Javier drove in a run with a double in game one and picked up another hit in game two. His OPS is approaching the .700 mark.

Matt Wallner continued his excellent start in game two by driving in a run to put the Kernels up 1-0 in the first. The former Forest Lake star is hitting .381 with a 1.271 OPS. The Chiefs quickly responded and tied the game at one in the bottom half. Olsen, making his first career minor league start, allowed just one run in four innings.

With the game knotted at two in an extra eighth inning, Yeltsin Encarnacion singled to left to drive in the walk-off run. The Kernels won five of their six games over the Chiefs this week.

MIGHTY MUSSELS STEAMED BY MARAUDERS

FINAL: Mighty Mussels 9, Marauders 18
Box Score
Sawyer Gipson-Long: 0.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R/ER, K
HR: Yunior Severino (1), Jeferson Morales (1)
Multi-hit games: Severino (3-for-5, HR, 2B, 5 RBI), Anthony Prato (2-for-2, R)

This game was over before it really started for Fort Myers. The Mussels went down 9-0 in the first inning and 17-1 through the fifth. Gipson-Long recorded one out in a tough outing. The Mussels bullpen combined to allow 10 runs in relief. On a brighter note, the Mussels battled back and outscored the Marauders 7-0 in the final three innings, thanks to a six run seventh inning.

Severino blasted a three-run homer and drove in five runs on the day. 2020 first-round pick Aaron Sabato walked twice and tacked on a hit. 2019 first-round pick Keoni Cavaco was replaced by Anthony Prato in the fifth after going 0-for-3. Cavaco is still hitting .304 with a .407 on-base percentage on the year.

Infielder Daniel Ozoria pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the Mussels in a valiant effort.

The Mussels split the six-game series with the Brandenton.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – INF Daniel Ozoria
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Yunior Severino

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) – Injured List (wrist)
#2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL)
#3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – DNP
#4 - Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul) – 2-5, 2B, 2 BB, 2 RBI
#5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – DNP
#6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Injured List (back)
#7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 0-3, K
#8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 1-3, RBI, 2 BB
#9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 R/ER, 6 K
#10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – DNP
#11 - Gilberto Celestino (Wichita) – 0-4, K
#12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – 2-5, RBI, 3 BB
#13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-6, RBI, BB, 4 K
#14 - Misael Urbina (Complex) – N/A
#15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – DNP
#16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow)
#17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) – Off-Day
#18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A
#19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – 1-4, 2B
#20 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) – 3 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 R/ER, 3 K

THERE ARE NO MINOR LEAGUE GAMES ON MONDAY.

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[darwin22]

Nash--Thanks for the update, which has become a daily part of my life as I've chosen to take my time and attention to players who MIGHT develop into players that can help us at the MLB level.  Having watched the Wind Surge in person this past week for 2 games in Springfield, its nice to see Aaron Whitefield has continued his torrid start! Average is at .444 with 5 extra base hits (2 HRs) 7 RBI and a 1.315 OPS.  Also pleased to see #19 prospect, Jose Miranda, continue to rake.  Miranda is hitting .370 with 3 HRs, 7 RBI and a 1.155 OPS.  On the other side of things, I hope Gilberto Celestino's first week was an aberration.  Celestino looked bad in the two games I saw and finished the week going 3-20 (.150 avg) with 9 K's.  That's right there at Sano level--not good.  On the pitching front at Wichita, its was nice to see Josh Winder follow up his 1st solid start at Cedar Rapids with a good start tonight ( 5IP, 5 K's with 2 ER allowed) in Springfield.  Will be keeping an eye on other SPs--namely Bryan Sammons, Cole Sands and Dakota Chalmers.  

[Seth Stohs]

13 hours ago, darwin22 said:

Nash--Thanks for the update, which has become a daily part of my life as I've chosen to take my time and attention to players who MIGHT develop into players that can help us at the MLB level.  Having watched the Wind Surge in person this past week for 2 games in Springfield, its nice to see Aaron Whitefield has continued his torrid start! Average is at .444 with 5 extra base hits (2 HRs) 7 RBI and a 1.315 OPS.  Also pleased to see #19 prospect, Jose Miranda, continue to rake.  Miranda is hitting .370 with 3 HRs, 7 RBI and a 1.155 OPS.  On the other side of things, I hope Gilberto Celestino's first week was an aberration.  Celestino looked bad in the two games I saw and finished the week going 3-20 (.150 avg) with 9 K's.  That's right there at Sano level--not good.  On the pitching front at Wichita, its was nice to see Josh Winder follow up his 1st solid start at Cedar Rapids with a good start tonight ( 5IP, 5 K's with 2 ER allowed) in Springfield.  Will be keeping an eye on other SPs--namely Bryan Sammons, Cole Sands and Dakota Chalmers.  

Miranda and Whitefield were both fantastic. This should be a really good team. That said, when they've only played one opponent, it's still hard to know. 

[AceWrigley]

I see Telis is getting some infield play these days, a La Tortuga. Maybe we can populate a complete infield with short, stocky catchers.

[Seth Stohs]

3 minutes ago, AceWrigley said:

I see Telis is getting some infield play these days, a La Tortuga. Maybe we can populate a complete infield with short, stocky catchers.

He's played a lot of first base in his career, but he only played 3B yesterday (6th time in over 1100 pro games) because of the Saints injury situation. Wiel and Lin were out with "undisclosed injuries" and then Drew Maggi got hurt. Toby Gardenhire had to lose the DH (which is why Albers hit), and play guys in unusual places. Broxton had never played 2B. Ryan Jeffers told me that he had never played a game at first base. Telis was left for third base. So, while it's fun, I don't think Telis is going to get a lot of time at third base or shortstop or second base or in the outfield. 

I heard this morning that Yeltsin Encarnacion is moving up from Cedar Rapids to St. Paul. Could be additional transactions too to help out the Saints. 

[Jeff A]

Why did the Saints leave Refsnyder, who's been an infielder most of his career, in the outfield, and instead play Telis and Broxton in the infield?

[roger]

Going to comment mostly to see how this works at this brand spanking new site.

Was really looking forward to see Canterino get his first start.  See he did well, very well, although a bit surprised that he only threw 3 innings.  Also a bit surprised he isn't at AA.  Nice first outing by Winder, who I understand the Twins have high hopes for.

Will second the above comments about Whitefield.  Considering he played softball until shortly before signing, we knew  it could take some time for him to adjust to hardball.  Hopefully, this is an indication of what is to come because this kid can flat out run and plays fantastic defense.  Also good to see Miranda starting the season on a high note.

[DocBauer]

Whitefield has always been one of the prospects that has most intrigued me coming from Australia and being a fast pitch softball player. The skill set is there but I think we always have known he was going to take a while and be a bit of a dark horse to ever fully develop. 

Athletically, the tools are there. I hope his fast start is tools, experience, maturity as well as gaining a lot being part of the secondary site in 2020. It would be a wonderful story.

Good start for Canterino, but I'm also a little surprised he didn't start in AA. Fully understand being cautious about his arm considering the number of IP in college, but that was also 2019. I'd fully expect him to be a fast riser and hit AA by mid season.

[DocBauer]

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't Olson making his debut after having surgery and then missing 2020 due to the shutdown?

[darwin22]

Will be interesting to see what size of crowds (not just home opener) tomorrow night the Wind Surge will have against Amarillo this week.  Might be a dumb question as I'm not sure if their limiting tickets sold.  That was the case in Springfield last week for the 2 games I saw.  Even if the crowd size is limited, I hope the fans show are loud and show some enthusiasm.  That was NOT the case in Springfield as the Cardinal fans were VERY quiet-----unless prompted by the PA system.  Should be a good test for the Surge as Amarillo won 4 of 6 against Tulsa (Dodgers AA team) at home last week.

[Dman]

I was bummed by Gipson-longs start as I really thought he was a Winder type pickup from the draft. His draft profile had him giving up a lot of contact and it looks like that continued to pro ball.  It is only one start but when it is that bad it looks like there is a lot to work on.

As others mentioned I am excited about Whitefield's start.  Since he moved to higher levels he has had contact issues and seeing him hit HR's well that is icing on the cake right now.  Seems like he has a better bead on the strike zone this year and has been a tough out.  Maybe just maybe he can be a Buxton lite type player.  

Still waiting to see what some of our better pitchers do.  I haven't seen Rijo or Vallimont or Duran or Balazovic yet so wondering what they will look like this year as well.