Minor League Report (8/8): (Gonna Make You Sweat) EVERYBODY PITCH NOW

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

*A LOT* of pitchers threw today and not very many hitters contributed hits of consequence.

TRANSACTIONS

• RHP Matt Canterino assigned to Low-A Fort Myers on rehab assignment
• LHP Lewis Thorpe activated from IL, assigned to Triple-A St. Paul

Saints Sentinel
Louisville 4, St. Paul 3
Box Score
SP: Lewis Thorpe: 2 ⅔ IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Mark Contreras: 2-for-3, 2B, BB

Jose Miranda’s incredible streak has come to an end. The highly-touted Twins prospect went 0-for-5 on the day and did not reach base, marking the first time this has happened during his 35 games at Triple-A. Mark Contreras contributed the team’s only multi-hit game while Gilberto Celestino, Ben Rortvedt, and Drew Stankiewicz all drove in an RBI.

Lewis Thorpe got the start after being activated from the IL. He looked every bit as much as the Lewis Thorpe we saw earlier in the season; fastball in the upper-80s, touching 90, with decent secondary stuff. Jovani Moran, Yennier Cano, and Kyle Barraclough combined for 5 ⅔ innings of scoreless ball and struck out five. 

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 5, Midland 2 
Box Score
SP: Cole Sands: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Austin Martin: 3-for-4; Roy Morales: 2-for-4, 2B; Jermaine Palacios: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI

Cole Sands started his second game of the week and quickly settled into a groove after allowing a solo home run in the first inning. He surrendered only two more hits the rest of the way and struck out five en route to picking up the win. Zach Neff and Chris Nunn combined to throw the final four innings, striking out four and allowing one run.

Austin Martin continued his hot streak since joining the Twins by picking up three hits in four at-bats as the DH. Martin is slashing .400/.571/.500 with two doubles, six walks, and only a single strikeout since being traded. Jermaine Palacios picked up his 12th double of the season and improved his OPS to .818, further cementing his argument for a promotion.

Kernels Nuggets
Quad Cities 7, Cedar Rapids 5
Box Score
SP: Cody Lawyerson: 2 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
HR: Wander Javier (10)
Multi-hit games: Yunior Severino: 4-for-5, RBI

Seven of the nine Kernels that came to the plate on Sunday afternoon picked up hits, but only Yunior Severino grabbed more than one. The 21-year-old formerly-hyped prospect has been en fuego since being called up to High-A, having accumulated a .375 batting average and .944 OPS in 11 games. Fellow formerly-hyped prospect Wander Javier contributed his 10th home run of the season.

On the mound, it was yet another group effort. Cody Lawyerson started, but was removed in the third inning after being roughed up. Ryan Shreve, Osiris German, Erik Manoah, Jr., and Derek Molina finished the game, but served up three more runs. As a group, the Kernels struckout seven and walked three.

Mussel Matters
Dunedin 3, Fort Myers 0
Box Score
SP: Matt Canterino: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None

The Mighty Mussels must have had tomorrow’s off-day on their mind as they managed only a single hit — a single by Jesus Feliz — and struck out 13 times collectively during their loss to the Blue Jays.

On the bright side, pitching prospect Matt Canterino made his first appearance since being shut down with an elbow injury in late May and tossed two perfect innings. Sawyer Gipson-Long came on in relief for Canterino and pitched the next four innings, striking out six while allowing two earned runs; he was ultimately tagged with the loss.

Complex Chronicles
FCL Twins No Game Scheduled.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Cole Sands: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Twins Daily Co-Minor League Hitters of the Day – Austin Martin: 3-for-4; Yunior Severino: 4-for-5, RBI

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 – Royce Lewis (Rehab) – Out for season (torn ACL)
#2 – Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – Injured List (elbow strain)
#3 – Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Did not pitch
#4 – Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (Fort Myers)
#5 – Jose Miranda (St. Paul) — 0-for-5
#6 – Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4
#7 – Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) – 0-for-4, RBI
#8 – Josh Winder (St. Paul) – Injured List (Right Shoulder Impingement)
#9 – Aaron Sabato (Fort Myers) – 0-for-3, BB
#10 – Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-5

#11 – Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Out for Season (Tommy John surgery)
#12 – Bailey Ober (Minnesota) – Did not pitch
#13 – Cole Sands (Wichita) – 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
#14 – Brent Rooker (Minnesota) – 0-for-4, BB
#15 – Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4
#16 – Spencer Steer (Wichita) – 1-for-4
#17 – Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-5, HR (10)
#18 – Alerick Soularie (FCL Twins) – Did not play
#19 – Edwar Colina (Rehab) – Injured List (elbow)
#20 – Chris Vallimont (Wichita) – Did not pitch

 

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

FCL Twins vs. FCL Braves — TBD

 

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[roger]

Fantastic seeing Canterino back on the hill.  And better results. 
 

Great seeing Severino continuing to rake, as was seeing Javier get a big one.

and who is this Martin guy at Wichita?  Don’t recall seeing him in their lineup earlier this summer?  ?

[mikelink45]

Looks like we have a couple AA players ready for AAA

[launchingthrees]

Canterino is almost 24 and has less than 50 innings pitched in the minors. This is a crucial stretch for him.

[Major League Ready]

Sure would be nice to see Canterino come back strong and get a look in September.

[Seth Stohs]

18 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Sure would be nice to see Canterino come back strong and get a look in September.

Jump from High-A to the big leagues? After elbow issues? It'll just be nice if he can make his final 6 or so starts and stay healthy. 

[roger]

Have a question, Seth.  Has anyone heard whether or not we are going to see any of this year's draft class playing for either the FCL Twins or even the Mighty Mussels?  The kid I really want to see in game action is Miller.  

With Simmons gone at year end and two highly ranked shortstops who both have questions about whether or not they will stick at short, would love to see what Miller can do as they search for a long term solution.

28 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

Jump from High-A to the big leagues? After elbow issues? It'll just be nice if he can make his final 6 or so starts and stay healthy. 

 

[Seth Stohs]

3 minutes ago, roger said:

Have a question, Seth.  Has anyone heard whether or not we are going to see any of this year's draft class playing for either the FCL Twins or even the Mighty Mussels?  The kid I really want to see in game action is Miller.  

With Simmons gone at year end and two highly ranked shortstops who both have questions about whether or not they will stick at short, would love to see what Miller can do as they search for a long term solution.

 

My guess is that the pitchers taken in the 2021 draft will see very little action this year. Maybe a few innings here and there.

But position players should be playing, I would think. I would think Miller will get some FCL games at some point in the near future, though we haven't heard anything official on that. 

[Sparky55]

How good is Jermaine Polacios"s defense at SS? Could he be an option next year with the big club?

 

[Alex Schieferdecker]

Jovani Moran being the player of the game is a telltale sign that the Saints lost.

For older guys with great primary stuff like Varland and Canterino, I keep thinking that the fast track option to the majors is to put those guys in the bullpen. Obviously you don't want to give up on a potential starter, but I thought I had read that both of those guys lacked the pitches that they'd likely need, after their first two.

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

45 minutes ago, Sparky55 said:

How good is Jermaine Polacios"s defense at SS? Could he be an option next year with the big club?

 

He's fine, but I don't think he'll stick there long-term. Lacks some range and doesn't have the athleticism to make up for it. I'd wager he's more of a second baseman in the long-term.

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

38 minutes ago, Alex Schieferdecker said:

Jovani Moran being the player of the game is a telltale sign that the Saints lost.

For older guys with great primary stuff like Varland and Canterino, I keep thinking that the fast track option to the majors is to put those guys in the bullpen. Obviously you don't want to give up on a potential starter, but I thought I had read that both of those guys lacked the pitches that they'd likely need, after their first two.

I believe that Canterino has the secondary stuff to remain a starter. Varland on the other hand is more likely to wind up in the bullpen. That said, there really isn't a huge need to fast track them to the majors at this point. Neither saw action last year and had limited looks the year before. May as well keep them starting until they show that they can't be effective in that role anymore.

[jmlease1]

Glad to see Canterino on the mound again. I just want the pitchers on the prospect list to be pitching at this point. Hoping for health!

Sands had a nice start. He's an interesting prospect and I'm hoping he finishes strong.

Austin Martin is a terrific hitter and an absolute on-base machine. I think he'll add back in the power (it's not like he didn't show it in college; you don't get a slugging % north of .600 by accident, even with aluminum bats) as he gets more comfortable in professional baseball and gets healthy. But I do love having a guy in the system who controls the strike zone this well already; it will serve him well as he progresses.

[DJL44]

Palacios is having a good year but an 800 OPS doesn't scream "promote me". That's not as good as what Nick Gordon did in 2018 and he was two years younger then than Palacios is now.

I haven't heard rave reviews about his defense which makes me believe he's behind Royce Lewis, Austin Martin, Jose Miranda and Nick Gordon on the organizational depth chart. He has earned himself another season but I don't see a reason to protect him on the 40 man roster this offseason. Similar players will be available on minor league contracts as free agents.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Palacios is having a good year but an 800 OPS doesn't scream "promote me". That's not as good as what Nick Gordon did in 2018 and he was two years younger then than Palacios is now.

I haven't heard rave reviews about his defense which makes me believe he's behind Royce Lewis, Austin Martin, Jose Miranda and Nick Gordon on the organizational depth chart. He has earned himself another season but I don't see a reason to protect him on the 40 man roster this offseason. Similar players will be available on minor league contracts as free agents.

Miranda isn't a SS except in an emergency, I think.

It'll be interesting to see where Martin lands, but I don't think there should be anything that blocks Palacios from a promotion to AAA. Considering where this season is at, I think you can either bench or cut Riddle and give Palacios a chance in AAA to see if he's a 40-man guy for next year. But as he is right now, you have to keep him on the 40-man or lose him in the Rule 5. there will be a team that isn't competing next season that will be willing to take a flyer on a young guy who might be able to stick at SS coming off a good season at AA. C, SS, CF are where the risks are for position players in the Rule 5, along with pitchers that you could stash in the bullpen.

[bean5302]

I took some data from Baseball Reference and compared the primary shortstops in the Wind Surge's league. Sorted by RF/9. Palacios's defense is probably borderline due in part to his poor error rate for his age (a common theme among Twins prospects for a very long time now).  Mean and Median RF/9 is 3.73. Mean OPS is .707. Median OPS is .740.

Player	Age	High Lvl	Org	Fielding%	RF/9	OPS
Kopach	26	AA	Mariners	0.982	4.22	0.525
Davidson	23	AA	Athletics	0.942	4.19	0.627
Perez	22	AA	Cardinals	0.957	4.04	0.697
Abrams	20	AA	Padres	0.968	3.92	0.782
Tejada	23	MLB	Texas	0.919	3.80	0.690
Perdomo	21	MLB	Diamondbacks	0.953	3.67	0.515
Palacios	24	AA	Twins	0.955	3.57	0.819
Amaya	22	AA	Dodgers	0.957	3.45	0.675
Witt	21	AA	Royals	0.975	3.35	0.939
Leon	23	AAA	Astros	0.943	3.10	0.803

[DJL44]

I think I'd rather promote Austin Martin to AAA than Palacios. Martin has a .439 OBP in Double-A.

For comparison, Martin has a similar RF/9 to Palacios but more errors at shortstop.

Wichita's schedule is done September 19 but St Paul plays until October 3. I think we'll see a bunch of transactions on 9/20.

[Dman]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

I took some data from Baseball Reference and compared the primary shortstops in the Wind Surge's league. Sorted by RF/9. Palacios's defense is probably borderline due in part to his poor error rate for his age (a common theme among Twins prospects for a very long time now).  Mean and Median RF/9 is 3.73. Mean OPS is .707. Median OPS is .740.

Player	Age	High Lvl	Org	Fielding%	RF/9	OPS
Kopach	26	AA	Mariners	0.982	4.22	0.525
Davidson	23	AA	Athletics	0.942	4.19	0.627
Perez	22	AA	Cardinals	0.957	4.04	0.697
Abrams	20	AA	Padres	0.968	3.92	0.782
Tejada	23	MLB	Texas	0.919	3.80	0.690
Perdomo	21	MLB	Diamondbacks	0.953	3.67	0.515
Palacios	24	AA	Twins	0.955	3.57	0.819
Amaya	22	AA	Dodgers	0.957	3.45	0.675
Witt	21	AA	Royals	0.975	3.35	0.939
Leon	23	AAA	Astros	0.943	3.10	0.803

So just for reference you are saying that Palacios has the 2nd best OPS in his league for SS behind only Bobby Witt who was taken number 2 in the draft and is currently the Royals number 1 prospect  The guy closest in OPS to him who also fields slightly worse is Houston's number 2 prospect (Leon) and we don't think Palacios needs to be on the 40 man to be protected from the rule V draft?

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I think I'd rather promote Austin Martin to AAA than Palacios. Martin has a .439 OBP in Double-A.

For comparison, Martin has a similar RF/9 to Palacios but more errors at shortstop.

Wichita's schedule is done September 19 but St Paul plays until October 3. I think we'll see a bunch of transactions on 9/20.

Good news! Both can be promoted since the Twins have moved away from having him play shortstop a week ago.

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/twins-austin-martin-to-focus-on-center-field/

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

So just for reference you are saying that Palacios has the 2nd best OPS in his league for SS behind only Bobby Witt who was taken number 2 in the draft and is currently the Royals number 1 prospect  The guy closest in OPS to him who also fields slightly worse is Houston's number 2 prospect (Leon) and we don't think Palacios needs to be on the 40 man to be protected from the rule V draft?

I wasn't saying anything. I just posted stats. People can take what they want, if anything, from the stats. My experience is most fans have a tendency to form strong opinions on prospects and players based on an emotional attachment for any number of reasons.

I expect Palacios and Gordon would both be selected in the Rule 5 draft if left off the 40 man roster because regardless of whether or not there's a journeyman free agent out there, retooling/rebuilding teams will view the 5-6 years of team control over young players as potential gold mines if either one of those guys develops into a starter. I find it especially ironic somebody would be so high on Martin (a22) because of his OPS of .832, but believes Palacios (a24) is MiLB roster filler at .819. Even more so when Lewis (a22) is an obvious high value shortstop because of his AA OPS of .649, fielding percentage of .946 and RF/9 of 3.14... all dramatically inferior to Palacios in his last significant playing time which was 2 years ago.

[Taildragger8791]

7 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

 I find it especially ironic somebody would be so high on Martin (a22) because of his OPS of .832, but believes Palacios (a24) is MiLB roster filler at .819.

You don't understand how a 22 year old more than holding his own at AA in his first season is looked upon much higher than a 25 year old finally popping up in his 3rd year at the same level (plus whatever he was doing in 2019)? Maybe he's legit figuring it out but that's pretty old for a prospect. He has more HRs than doubles which is a red flag to me that something is unsustainable. And he'll likely have to move off of SS meaning there is little margin for that bat to slip.

[bean5302]

25 minutes ago, Taildragger8791 said:

You don't understand how a 22 year old more than holding his own at AA in his first season is looked upon much higher than a 25 year old finally popping up in his 3rd year at the same level (plus whatever he was doing in 2019)? Maybe he's legit figuring it out but that's pretty old for a prospect. He has more HRs than doubles which is a red flag to me that something is unsustainable. And he'll likely have to move off of SS meaning there is little margin for that bat to slip.

Stop building strawmen, please. Nowhere have I ever suggested Palacios is as good of a prospect as Martin. They're not in the same ballpark. Martin is the Twins #1 prospect and a universal top 100 prospect in baseball. Palacios is, at best, a top 20 organizational prospect. Not every prospect is going to be elite. Not every player at the MLB level is going to win an MVP. That doesn't mean every player outside the top 100 prospect list is expendable or if they aren't top 100, that they're destined to be MiLB roster filler.

 

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Good news! Both can be promoted since the Twins have moved away from having him play shortstop a week ago.

Celestino has the CF spot in AAA. I'm guessing nobody gets promoted until September. It is disappointing that the Twins seem to want to turn him into a left fielder (see the comment in the article that Martin doesn't have enough arm for CF). 

[Seth Stohs]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I think I'd rather promote Austin Martin to AAA than Palacios. Martin has a .439 OBP in Double-A.

For comparison, Martin has a similar RF/9 to Palacios but more errors at shortstop.

Wichita's schedule is done September 19 but St Paul plays until October 3. I think we'll see a bunch of transactions on 9/20.

Possibly, though the Wind Surge have a good chance of making the playoffs, so they would play beyond that... at least for a little while. Same with Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. St. Paul keeps playing regular games so players can get called up. 

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

I expect Palacios and Gordon would both be selected in the Rule 5 draft if left off the 40 man roster because regardless of whether or not there's a journeyman free agent out there, retooling/rebuilding teams will view the 5-6 years of team control over young players as potential gold mines if either one of those guys develops into a starter. I find it especially ironic somebody would be so high on Martin (a22) because of his OPS of .832, but believes Palacios (a24) is MiLB roster filler at .819. Even more so when Lewis (a22) is an obvious high value shortstop because of his AA OPS of .649, fielding percentage of .946 and RF/9 of 3.14... all dramatically inferior to Palacios in his last significant playing time which was 2 years ago.

Palacios and Gordon would be free agents if they aren't on the 40-man roster. 

[Seth Stohs]

27 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Celestino has the CF spot in AAA. I'm guessing nobody gets promoted until September. It is disappointing that the Twins seem to want to turn him into a left fielder (see the comment in the article that Martin doesn't have enough arm for CF). 

Celestino has already played CF and RF in St. Paul since going there. he's playing all over the outfield. Gordon has been playing CF and SS since moving down there. 

[bean5302]

5 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

Palacios and Gordon would be free agents if they aren't on the 40-man roster. 

Wow, I guess I totally whiffed on that. I wonder if they'd me more inclined to sign MiLB deals with the Twins or take a chance at a change of scenery?