Twins Minor League Report (5/21): Late-Inning Drama and Disappointment

[Allen Post]

Games were close across the Twins' system tonight, but heart-wrenching defeats were the norm. Still, top pitching prospects showed off their stuff. Check that out and more in tonight's Minor League Report:

TRANSACTIONS

• Twins option C Ben Rortvedt to Triple-A St. Paul
• Twins activate OF Alex Kirilloff
• Twins recall RHP Randy Dobnak from Triple-A St. Paul
• Twins option RHP Bailey Ober to Triple-A St. Paul
• Twins promote RHP Rob Whalen to Triple-A St. Paul from Double-A Wichita

SAINTS SENTINEL

Indianapolis 6, St. Paul 4

Box Score

 

St. Paul fell victim to the bad extra inning play that has plagued Twin Cities baseball teams all year, as they dropped this one 6-4 in ten innings.

Indianapolis jumped on Charlie Barnes in the first frame, as both Chris Sharpe and Kevin Kramer doubled and scored to take a 2-0 lead. The Saints built a sizable threat of their own in their half of the first, loading the bases with one out. They only managed one run though, off a J.T. Riddle sacrifice fly.

After his troublesome first, Charlie Barnes was effective the rest of his night, allowing no runs and spreading five hits over his next 32/3 innings. Barnes, with only two strikeouts on the night, was far from overwhelming and he needed 90 pitches to get through four innings and change. But he got out of trouble effectively and pitched to soft contact well to keep the Saints’ slumbering offense in the game. 

The game stayed 2-1 until the sixth, when a Joe Hudson RBI double stretched Indiana’s lead to two. The Saints loaded the bases with one out again in the bottom of the sixth, but again failed to capitalize on the opportunity, this time stranding all three runners after a Damek Tomscha strikeout and a Jimmy Kerrigan groundout.

Indianapolis stretched the lead to 4-1 in the top of the eighth, but a single from Brent Rooker, a double from J.T. Riddle and a massive two-run home run from Kerrigan erased that lead seemingly in an instant and the game went to the ninth tied at four runs apiece.

However, despite a game-saving diving catch from Kerrigan in the ninth, Kramer blasted a monster two-run shot over the right field wall to give Indianapolis a 6-4 lead that, after a 1-2-3 bottom of the tenth, proved to be decisive. 

Bullpen Intrigue

The Saints gave the seventh to Ian Hamilton, and he worked around two walks to pitch a scoreless frame, but that’s not the interesting part. Hamilton touched 100 MPH on his third pitch of the night, and lived in the upper 90s throughout his outing. Hamilton has walked too many guys this season for St. Paul and it happened again tonight, but, after his laundry list of injuries, it’s good to see the flamethrower provide some excitement, even if it is on a hot radar gun (an Indianapolis pitcher recorded a bewildering 103 later in the game). 

Tom Hackimer made his Triple-A debut when he came into the game in the eighth. Unfortunately, the sidewinder’s night didn’t go as planned, as he loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batter. Hackimer rebounded to strike out the next two, but then walked in a run and was replaced by Rob Whalen. Walks were not an issue for Hackimer in Wichita, so you could chalk his struggles tonight up to nerves, and the strikeouts show us that his stuff definitely plays at the Triple-A level.

 

WIND SURGE WISDOM

Tulsa 4, Wichita 3

Box Score

 

The Wind Surge were unlucky losers tonight, as a struggling offense and late-inning heroics from Tulsa spoiled a gem of a Cole Sands start.

Sands, Twins Daily’s #15 prospect, struck out the side to start the game in a first inning that would be a sign of things to come. Sands showed excellent command of the corners early and often, and he used this precision to avoid heavy contact all night. He ended his night with nine strikeouts over 52/3 innings and, of the four hits he allowed, none were hit well.  

Tulsa starter Gerardo Carrillo was equally as effective, but weirdly, he hit Jose Miranda with a pitch in both his first two at-bats. There didn’t seem to be any reason for Carrillo to target Miranda, but the “Driller” pitcher failed to throw a pitch to Miranda that didn’t at least buzz his tower. And, after his second plunking, Miranda was clearly peeved. Regardless, Carrillo would have to pay, as Miranda came around to score on a Mark Contreras single to break the 0-0 third inning tie.

Clearly, though, karma was not at play in Tulsa tonight, as Sands (who was dealing and didn’t hit anybody) was touched for two runs in the bottom of the fourth off a couple bloop singles and a throwing error. Those were the only runs Sands allowed, and he gave way to Dakota Chalmers with two outs in the sixth.

Wichita didn’t have much joy on offense to start this one, but that turned around somewhat in the sixth. The Wind Surge loaded the bases with a single and two walks, then scored two on a bases-loaded walk and a Gilberto Celestino infield hit that was generously ruled as not a throwing error. These runs gave Wichita a 3-2 lead, but the Drillers tied it up in the seventh on a Devin Mann RBI sac fly.

The game stayed at 3-3 until the bottom of the ninth, when Hector Lujan gave up a seemingly harmless two-out walk to Mann. That free pass proved to be deadly, however, as Stevie Berman belted a double to the warning track in the next at-bat. Mann scored from first and the Drillers dog-piled around Berman in short left field as walk-off winners.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 2, Beloit 1

Box Score

 

Like Cole Sands, Matt Canterino struck out the side in the first and continued to dominate from there. The Twins’ ninth-ranked prospect stymied the Snappers with his swing-and-miss stuff and pretty impressive command. After three, Canterino had already struck out six Beloit batters.

However, Beloit starter Zach King was just as effective and the game entered the fourth inning scoreless.

Kameron Misner broke the deadlock for the Snappers with a solo homer hit just over the right field wall in the fourth. Cedar Rapids answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, when a Trey Cabbage groundout plated Matt Wallner. Then, Wallner helped the Kernels take the lead in the fifth, when he rapped a groundball through the shift to score Leobaldo Cabrera.

Canterino was replaced by Jordan Gore to start the seventh. His final line was an impressive six innings pitched with one earned run on two hits. He struck out 10 and walked none. King ended his outing with two earned runs on five hits over six innings with eight strikeouts and three walks. 

Following Canterino’s lead, Gore was excellent in relief, striking out four in two scoreless innings. Then Melvi Acosta struck out two of his own in the ninth to preserve a 2-1 lead and secure the win for Cedar Rapids.

 

MUSSEL MATTERS

Tampa 9, Fort Myers 7

Box Score

 

The Mussels lost in a heartbreaker tonight, as Tampa walked off as 9-7 winners.

Fort Myers grabbed an early lead in the top of the second off a Willie Joe Garry Jr. RBI single. The Mussels exploded for four more runs in the third, capitalizing on two walks and two hit batters from Tampa pitcher Ryan Anderson. The biggest hit of the inning was an RBI double off the bat of Kyle Schmidt.

Sawyer Gipson-Long couldn’t preserve that 5-0 lead for Fort Myers, though, as he allowed three walks and two doubles to start the home half of the third, leading to four Tampa runs. Gipson-Long settled it down after that, getting out of the third and through two more innings. When he left the game after the fifth, he had a 5-4 lead. 

Unfortunately, that lead was short-lived, as reliever Ryan Shreve allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in the sixth, allowing Tampa to take a 6-5 lead. Shreve allowed another in the seventh, off a Jake Stanford solo homer.

Offensively, the Mussels were quiet after the third until they broke through in dramatic fashion in the ninth. Edouard Julien walked to lead off the inning and stole second base. Then, singles from Jeferson Morales, Anthony Prato, and Garry Jr. brought the score to a game-extending tie at 7-7.

However, the last dramatic flourish would belong to the Tarpons, as a Pat DeMarco two-run homer off Matthew Swain made Tampa walk-off winners in the bottom of the ninth.

 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day: Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 2 H, ER, 10K, 0 BB

Hitter of the Day: Willie Joe Garry Jr. (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 2 K

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

#1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) – 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, K

#2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL)

#3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – 0-for-3, 2 BB, R, RBI

#4 - Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 K

#5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – Did not pitch

#6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Injured List (back)

#7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 2-for-5

#8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 0-for-4, BB, 2 K

#9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 10 K, 0 BB

#10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch

#11 - Gilberto Celestino (Wichita) – 3-for-4, RBI, BB

#12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – 1-for-5, R, K

#13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-4, R, RBI, K 

#14 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) – 0-for-5, BB, R, K,

#15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 5.2 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 9 K, 0 BB

#16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow)

#17 - Ben Rortvedt (St. Paul) – Did not play

#18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A

#19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – 0-2, 2 HBP, BB, R

#20 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) – Did not pitch
 

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Indianapolis @ St. Paul (7:05PM CST) – RHP Jhoan Duran (2021 Debut)

Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05PM CST) – RHP Chris Vallimont (0-0, 0.00 ERA in one start at Fort Myers)

Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – RHP Andrew Cabezas (1-0, 1.00 ERA)

Fort Meyers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) – RHP Louie Varland (2-0, 2.16 ERA)

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[Aerodeliria]

Thanks! Due to these excellent minor league reports, I have been following Tom Hackimer's career. Although he hasn't had significant control problems, he has had a tendency to plunk an exceedingly high number of hitters. I imagine most of these hitters are righties?? My guess is that coming from below the belt and losing a bit of control causes the ball to tail into right handed hitters. (This is wild guessing though based upon experiences playing whiffle ball but also from throwing side arm from the shortstop position.)

The good news is reflected in the Ks, and as you mentioned, he was probably nervous. I have noticed a bit of Rogers syndrome with him as well. When he has pitched on consecutive nights, he tends to get tagged.

[mikelink45]

I keep looking for Sabato to show some life.  After a listless ST, I hoped he might justify the FO love for the draftee, but so far I am not seeing it.  Wallner on the other hand seems to be doing great.

[Seth Stohs]

8 hours ago, Aerodeliria said:

Thanks! Due to these excellent minor league reports, I have been following Tom Hackimer's career. Although he hasn't had significant control problems, he has had a tendency to plunk an exceedingly high number of hitters. I imagine most of these hitters are righties?? My guess is that coming from below the belt and losing a bit of control causes the ball to tail into right handed hitters. (This is wild guessing though based upon experiences playing whiffle ball but also from throwing side arm from the shortstop position.)

The good news is reflected in the Ks, and as you mentioned, he was probably nervous. I have noticed a bit of Rogers syndrome with him as well. When he has pitched on consecutive nights, he tends to get tagged.

Hackimer takes a lot of pride in his ability to hit batters. HA! Check out his career numbers. He always hits guys. The really encouraging thing about his performance last night was that the radar gun was showing 97. From a side-winder, that's crazy! Now, we also know that the St. Paul radar gun appears to be 2-3 mph fast, but even 94 from a sidewinder is VERY unusual. 

[roger]

Great seeing another fantastic start by Canterino.  Ever since I saw Seth's interview this winter, I was excited to see how he does this summer.  Sure seems he has an excellent chance of being a better than average starter for the Twins, perhaps as soon as next year.  His dominance is screaming for a move down to the plains of Kansas.

Great seeing the player movement yesterday.  Dobnak and Kirilloff up to the Twins and Rortvedt and Ober down to St. Paul are all good moves both for the future, the two going to the Saints, and today for those joining the Twins.

Really excited about following Urbina's every game.  Unfortunately, seems he has cooled off this week.  Julien is still hitting like a young man in need of a promotion.

[Danchat]

Glad to see the starter prospects pitch so well. It’s taken a long time, but finally we’ll have a pipeline of guys like Duran, Balazovic, Sands, Enlow, Winder, and Canterino coming up. I still am not a fan of this FO’s love of power-only prospects (did we really need Rooker, Wallner, and Sabato?), but at least they’ve seemed to be developing these arms well.