Minor League Report (5/30): Twins system sweeps the day

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

All four minor league teams won on Sunday, including the Saints who have won seven in a row. It was a Grand day in Cedar Rapids. Wichita had another late-inning comeback, and Ft. Myers got a great pitching performance. 

 TRANSACTIONS

• C Ben Rortvedt called up to Minnesota Twins (from St. Paul)
• RHP Ryan Shreve called up to Cedar Rapids (from Ft. Myers)
• RHP Jonathan Cheshire to Cedar Rapids (from Wichita)

SAINTS SENTINEL

St. Paul 7, Iowa 3

Box Score

The Saints wrapped up their 6-game sweep of the I-Cubs and won their seventh game in a row Sunday afternoon.

Bailey Ober started on the mound for St. Paul and was dominant the first time through the order. He struck out the first six batters he faced and had opponents looking foolish with his curveball.

However, his command dropped off precipitously in the third and fourth innings which resulted in him surrendering four hits - three of them doubles - two walks and three runs. 

Ober’s fastball sat in the 91-93 mph range, a continuation of what he displayed during his start with the Minnesota Twins as well as what he reportedly achieved at the alternate site last summer. It would appear as if this increase in velocity is legitimate and not just the result of increased adrenaline while pitching at Target Field.

An Ober with a 93 mph fastball is a rather compelling prospect, much more so than one that tops out at 89 mph.

At the plate, JT Riddle led the charge with two home runs and four RBI. Brent Rooker - who upped his OPS to .836 - and Ryan Jeffers also hit a ball over the fence.

WIND SURGE WISDOM

Wichita 6, Springfield 5

Box Score

A run apiece in the bottom of the seventh and eight innings pushed the Wind Surge past the Cardinals. Jermaine Palacios hit a game-tying home run in the 8th inning and David Banuelos scored the winning run on a wild pitch. 

Jovani Moran and Ryan Mason combined to pitch five innings in relief and struck out four while not allowing a single run; Mason was credited with the win.

Jermaine Palacios went 2-for-4 and contributed his fourth homer of the year. Gilberto Celestino, Jose Miranda and David Bañuelos - all of whom hit doubles - added two hits apiece.

Miranda has been one of the more promising Twins’ hitting prospects this spring as he is slashing .319/.389/.564 with six home runs and five doubles. He’s also appeared at second, third and first base and performed well at all positions. While he is likely best suited at second or third in the long run, his defensive versatility as well as his power potential makes him a valuable prospect in the Twins’ system.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 10, Wisconsin 2

Box Score

One day after nearly being no-hit twice, the Kernel bats exploded in their rout of the Timber Rattlers.

Cedar Rapids hit two grand slams - one apiece from Wander Javier and Michael Helman - marking the first time the franchise has accomplished the feat since the 2018 season when two little known prospects named Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff did so in a win over Beloit.

“Never,” Helman said when asked if he had ever played in a game before in which his team hit two grand slams. “I think that’s a rarity.”

“I was just trying to get something in the air and in the outfield knowing there’s baseloaded and one out. I just happened to catch the jetstream up there,” Helman said of his grand slam.

Helman (4) and Javier (5) combined to drive in the team’s nine total RBIs. 

However, not only did the bats perform well, but the pitching staff did as well. Ben Gross, Owen Griffith and Melvi Acosta combined to strikeout 13 batters and issue only one free base during the win.

“When you strike out a bunch of guys and only walk one, that’s a good job by the pitching staff,” Cedar Rapids manager Brian Dinkelman told Twins Daily.

MUSSEL MATTERS

Ft. Myers 2, Lakeland 0

Box Score

The Mighty Mussels lived up to their name on Saturday, shutting out the Flying Tigers en route to pulling off the victory.

Hunter McMahon started on the bump and struckout seven across five scoreless innings. Steven Cruz and Bradley Hanner each pitched two innings in relief and didn’t allow a single baserunner.

Misael Urbina connected for a double and a triple and drove in the team’s lone RBI. 

Keoni Cavaco returned to action after missing the last week due to a shoulder injury he sustained while swinging the bat last Sunday; he went hitless in four plate appearances.

Aaron Sabato sat out his first game of the season as part of a scheduled day off.

 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day- Hunter McMahon: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 71 pitches

Co-Hitters of the Day- Wander Javier: 2-for-4, GS (1), 5 RBI; JT Riddle: 2-for-5, 2 HR (3), 4 RBI

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

#1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) – 3-for-4, BB, K

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

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

#4 - Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul) – 1-for-3, RBI, BB, 2 K

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

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

#7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 0-for-4, K

#8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – Did not play

#9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch

#10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Injured list (elbow)

#11 - Gilberto Celestino (Wichita) – 2-for-5, 2B, RBI, 2 K

#12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – 2-for-5, HR (5), RBI, K

#13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – Injured list (wrist)

#14 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, RBI

#15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – Did not pitch

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

#17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) – 1-for-3, HR (1), RBI, K

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

#19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – 2-for-4, 2B, BB

#20 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) – 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 79 pitches

 

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

All levels to be determined.

 

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[mikelink45]

Hard to comment - the Twins have really deflated my baseball optimism.  Love what Miranda is doing and it looks like some good minor league pitching, but Ober is not one I have faith in. 

[Dman]

OK first I want to congratulate the guys I have been hard on for having great games.  I haven't had much love for Javier but he is starting to hit and if he can keep it up there is a chance he can still work out. I haven't been high on Helman since his rookie year but he has started to heat up the past two weeks as well.  I have been of the opinion that Banuelous doesn't know how to use a bat but he went 2 for 4 today so I stand corrected. Celestino has started to heat up this last week and is showing more HR power than I thought was possible for him and finally I had some pretty harsh statement about Rortvedts at bats but he really excelled at AAA this year and his HR for the big club was great to see.  I might have been wrong thinking his bat would never come around as he has been hitting pretty well recently.

I am a Hunter McMahon fan and was happy to see him pitch well today.  I think he has a ways to go yet but he did a really nice job today.  Was also nice to see Urbina get a couple of hits. I love that the Twins have challenged him with A ball and we need him to succeed as we need more potential star players in the system.

I was expecting Javier to fail again with the bases loaded but he surprised with the HR.  He went to 2 for 4 with 5 RBI's I hope he keeps the hitting going and gains the confidence to fulfill his potential.  Helman who I thought might be done also hit a grand slam.  The knock on Helman is that he just didn't have the power needed to make it but he has 4 HR's already so he has a shot at utility role if he can keep this up.  I am not a huge Gross fan just yet but hard to argue 8 K's in 5 innings.  Hoping he keeps it going.

I know Miranda is the "guy" on the AA team and I waited a while before mentioning anything as I was waiting for him to start to fade but Palacous has been pretty special to start the year.  He too is hitting for power with 4 HR's and his batting line is very good.  Maybe he is finally putting it all together?  I don't know what his defense is like but is it possible he could be our future shortstop of the future or at least a utility player who can actually play shortstop for us?  If he keeps this up he looks close to ready to me.

I don't know how the AAA lineup does it but they find ways to get runs in.  It ain't always pretty but they have been getting the job done.  Ober was great until he lost control.  His line for the day still looked pretty good and he just keeps the K's coming.  I guess a bit more refinement and he looks like solid 5th or 6th starter to me.

Nice to see a system sweep as most the teams have had their fair share of hard luck loses.

 

[ashbury]

Nice to see very solid numbers from almost all of the top prospects who appeared today.

[SteelDodo]

Any update on Soularie? Hopefully he can play soon.

Also, I think I heard someone say that he would try to play 2b instead of outfield, but that may have just been a random fan idea instead of from the team itself.

[D.C Twins]

For those who have seen him pitch and/or know his stuff...

Is Moran considered a real prospect?.... Seems to be building a decent body of work at AA and not too old at 24

Would appreciate it if someone could drop some knowledge on me

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, SteelDodo said:

Any update on Soularie? Hopefully he can play soon.

Also, I think I heard someone say that he would try to play 2b instead of outfield, but that may have just been a random fan idea instead of from the team itself.

No update. He had an injury in spring training, not sure the injury, so he's working back from that. 

He mentioned after the draft that he hoped to play 2B, but when the scouts were asked about it, they said maybe but they think he'll be an outfielder. He may play around the field a bit. 

[Seth Stohs]

23 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

For those who have seen him pitch and/or know his stuff...

Is Moran considered a real prospect?.... Seems to be building a decent body of work at AA and not too old at 24

Would appreciate it if someone could drop some knowledge on me

Haven't seen a ton of him, but some. He's a low-90s fastball with some cut. He's got a good changeup that misses a lot of bats. I think he's a legit prospect as a lefty reliever. He's off to a good start. He's been really good throughout his career when he is healthy. 

[USNMCPO]

Any idea when Canterino may move up to Wichita?

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

1 hour ago, USNMCPO said:

Any idea when Canterino may move up to Wichita?

Nothing solid, but this is the time of year when call-ups start cranking up. Not sure what else he can prove at High-A.