Minor League Report 7/3 No Offense

[Matt Braun]

There was an epidemic of the offensive kind on Saturday. Almost every Twins affiliate caught a nasty case of “no runs” (no constipation jokes please) and hitters were confounded at every turn. Read all about that and more in this edition of the minor league report. 

TRANSACTIONS

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Saints Sentinel

St. Paul 4, Omaha 2

Box Score

Charlie Barnes: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

HR: Brent Rooker (14), Drew Maggi (5)

Multi-hit games: Willians Astudillo (2-for-4)

It was a brief and relatively easy win for the Saints on Saturday.

Charlie Barnes Did The Darn Thing and essentially shut down Omaha over seven great innings of work. Barnes has made some noise all season in AAA while the major league rotation has struggled and this start will especially aid his bid for the Twins’ rotation. At this point it seems like it is a matter of “when” and not “if”.

On the offensive side of things, Brent Rooker went deep (what else is new?) and Drew Maggi supplied a homer of his own. Rooker now holds an OPS of .920 on the season. Believe it or not, St. Paul actually failed to get a hit with runners in scoring position but if you can hit homers then you are always in scoring position (taps head).

Also, for those that find these things interesting, José Miranda played first base in this game. Fans have been even more restless than usual about Miguel Sanó and Miranda may present the team with their best long-term replacement for him.

Wind Surge Wisdom

Wichita 1, Springfield 4

Box Score

Austin Schulfer: 4 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

HR: Spencer Steer (3)

Multi-hit games: Spencer Steer (2-for-3, HR, R, RBI, BB)

Spencer Steer has done it again.

One would think that a promotion would slow down the blitzkrieg offensive that has been the infielder from Oregon but no, that has not happened. Steer obliterated his third homer since joining the Wind Surge while also adding a single and a walk for good measure. Good lord.

Unfortunately, the good news ends there. Austin Schulfer was uncharacteristically shaky, the rest of the lineup went cool, and some other third thing happened. Just three batters not named Spencer Steer were able to land a hit and well, that is not a recipe for success.

If there is some sort of positive to find, Alex Phillips and Zach Neff combined to finish the game scoreless in relief of Schulfer. 

Kernels Nuggets

Cedar Rapids 1, Quad Cities 6

Box Score

Kody Funderburk: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K

HR: Michael Helman (7)

Multi-hit games: Michael Helman (2-for-4, HR, R, RBI), Edouard Julien (2-for-4)

It started out well for Cedar Rapids on Saturday before things came crashing down. All this author can say is that he has had golf outings that played out in a similar fashion.

Michael Helman wasted no time by blasting a lead-off homer. Even more impressive was the fact that it came off top prospect Asa Lacy.

Lacy quickly settled in, though, and proved why he is considered one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. Yeah, this isn’t Royalsdaily but his start must be touched on. Lacy ended up going six innings with nine strikeouts and just a single earned run.

The start was not imitated by Kody Funderburk. He was mowing through the lineup before some trouble in the 5th plated two runs. Normally this would not be too much to worry about but again, Asa Lacy was the other starter.

Helman’s partner in crime, Edouard Julien, did what he always does and reached base twice. Really, this should not require its own paragraph because such a thing is expected but here it is anyways.

Mussel Matters

Fort Myers 0, Bradenton 1

Box Score

Louie Varland: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Charles Mack (2-for-4)

It was a pretty empty game for the Mighty Mussels on Saturday.

Louie Varland pulled a Charles Barnes by also Doing The Darn Thing in an excellent six inning start. Unfortunately, he caught a bad case of deGrom-itis and took the loss in a game where he gave up just a lone run. Tough luck indeed. If there is any consolation prize, he was just placed on the honorable mentions list for Twinsdaily’s latest prospect re-ranking. Silver linings and all that. 

In total, Fort Myers pitchers on the night struck out 13 batters without issuing a single walk. For those wondering at home, that is quite good. 

Fort Myers’ offense was blanked on the day. Avant-garde modern paintings have more to look at than their box score on the night. Charles Mack, to his credit, earned a pair of knocks in his effort. Hopefully Sunday will prove to be a more fruitful day than Saturday.

Complex Chronicles

FCL Twins 4, FCL Red Sox 3

Box Score

Donny Breek: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

HR: Emmanuel Rodriguez

Multi-hit games: Jesus Feliz (2-for-4, 2B, R), Yonardy Soto (2-for-4, R)

It was a close one for the FCL Twins on Saturday.

Donny Breek proved to be a false starter as he threw just one inning before Aaron Rozek took over, and did he ever take over. Rozek demoralized hitters to the tune of 11 punchouts over five innings. With great certainty, it can be assumed that the FCL Red Sox hitters celebrated when Rozek finally exited the game. In total, FCL Twins’ pitchers struck out 14 batters.

But, there must be an offense as well as a pitching staff. The FCL Twins backed up their pitching with just enough offense. The highly-touted international signing, Emmanuel Rodriguez, blasted his first homer of the season in the 3rd inning. It is great to finally see him play in professional games for the Twins.

Wilfri Castro provided the other big hit of the game as he scored two with his 6th inning single. A wild pitch later in the inning would plate the fourth and most crucial run of the game.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Charlie Barnes

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Michael Helman

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

#1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) – 0-4

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

#3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – 2-2, HR, R, RBI

#4 - Ryan Jeffers (Minnesota) – 0-3, R, BB

#5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – IL (elbow strain)

#6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Did not pitch

#7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – Did not play

#8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 0-4

#9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – IL (right elbow strain)

#10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – IL (Tommy John surgery)

#11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) – 1-2, 2B, R

#12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, 3 K

#13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – IL (wrist sprain)

#14 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 1-4

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

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

#17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) –  Did not play

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

#19 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 1-3, R, BB, K

#20 - Bailey Ober (Minnesota) – Did not pitch

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (5:00 PM) - RHP Jon Olsen

Bradenton @ Fort Myers (5:00 PM) - RHP Bobby Milacki

Omaha @ St. Paul (5:05 PM) - RHP Chandler Shephard

Wichita @ Amarillo (6:05 PM) - RHP Jason García

 

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[mikelink45]

Running out of comments.  This year is too confusing on all levels.  Steer and Miranda look like real prospects.  No appearances for Rooker, Astudillo raking in St Paul, Barnes looking much more promising than anyone the Twins put out there.  What am I missing. 

[Major League Ready]

Time to promote Varland.

[darwin22]

Matt:  With the exception of Saint Paul, a pretty dismal night for our affiliates, but appreciate your analysis.  Posted this the other day on a different thread, but after Barnes' impressive work last night I hope your observation that a promotion is imminent is true.  Im sure Griffin Jax is a nice person, but after getting lit up last night, its time to move on.  

As many others have noted we've reached the point where the remainder of this season is 100% about EVALUATION for next season.  Barnes, imo, has absolutely earned the opportunity to take a slot in Twins starting rotation.  Should---I sure hope sooner than later------Happ is DFA'ed or relegated to long relief, there's a spot open for Barnes.  If Pineda can show something in his next 2 starts, preferably at the big league level, the likelihood of him being dealt increases.  That would open up a spot for Josh Winder.  I'm sure FO will want to limit his IP the rest of the season, but if he pitch anywhere close to what he's done all season-----he needs to be in the rotation very soon after the AS break.

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, darwin22 said:

Matt:  With the exception of Saint Paul, a pretty dismal night for our affiliates, but appreciate your analysis.  Posted this the other day on a different thread, but after Barnes' impressive work last night I hope your observation that a promotion is imminent is true.  Im sure Griffin Jax is a nice person, but after getting lit up last night, its time to move on. 

To be fair, Jax was called up first because he was pitching better. I'm all for Barnes getting a shot, but I hope you would give him more than one start to decide if it's time to move on from him or not.