Twins Minor League Week in Review: Saints Swept, Wichita Wins Propeller Series

[Seth Stohs]

The Saints had a tough week. Wichita topped Tulsa to win the Propeller Series. Aaron Sabato showed more power in his first week in Cedar Rapids. Check out the highlights and lowlights from the past week and see how the top prospects are performing.

Be sure to read Nick’s Twins Week in Review from yesterday, and then jump into the minor league week. 

Before we get started, let’s check out the organization’s transactions and the  FCL Twins game from Monday. 

TRANSACTIONS
There were several announced transactions on Monday’s minor league off day. 

• RHP Jason Garcia was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. 
• Catcher Kyle Schmidt was promoted from Cedar Rapids to St. Paul. 
• RHP Ben Gross was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. 
• RHP Sean Mooney was promoted from Ft. Myers to Cedar Rapids. 
• RHP Regi Grace was activated from Ft. Myers’ Injured List. 
• LHP Cade Povich was moved from the Complex to the Ft. Myers roster. 
• RHP Steven Cruz was placed on the 7-Day IL. (right middle finger injury)

FCL Twins Talk
FCL Twins 3, FCL Pirates 8
Box Score 

The big story on the positive side in this game was another home run for outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez, his ninth of the season. 

Rubel Cespedes hit his second triple. Noah Cardenas had a single and a walk in his two plate appearances. 

Wilker Reyes gave up three runs on two hits over three innings. He walked three and struck out three batters. Jackson Hicks worked the next three innings. He gave up four runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out three. Elipidio Perez gave up one run on two hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out four batters. 
 

With that, let’s look at Week 17 in the Twins minor leagues: 

RESULTS

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (0-6, @ Toledo), overall (53-49)
Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (3-3, hosting Tulsa), overall (60-42)
High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (3-3, @ Beloit), overall (56-46)
Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (3-4, hosting Bradenton), overall (50-48) 
Complex League FCL Twins: Week (3-2), overall (15-27)

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Here are the week’s Twins minor league-related articles. 

• Twins Minor League Week in Review: Debuts, Promotions and Lots of Wins 
• Predicting Minnesota’s Next 4 Top Prospects to Debut 
• Tuesday: Saints Begin Battle for Division Lead 
• Wednesday: Ryan Cruises, Sabato’s Kernels Debut 
• Thursday: Pitching, Hitting, and Everything in Between 
• Getting Jhoan Duran Back on Track 
• Friday: Blowouts and Pitcher’s Duels
• Jordan Balazovic’s Development is Critical  
• Scouting Twins Prospects: RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long
• Saturday: Offensive Explosions and a Curfew-ed Game 
• Sunday: First-Place Surge Find a Way 

HIGHLIGHTS

We will start with the Twins choices for the organizational hitter and pitcher of the week, and then mention several other Twins prospects who had good Week 17 performances

Twins Player of the Week: Trey Cabbage, Wichita Wind Surge       
For the second time this season, Trey Cabbage is the hitter of the week. He played all six games and hit .263/.462/.579 (1.040) with two homers and seven walks. He has had a powerful month of August and now has a combined 25 homers between Cedar Rapids and Wichita.  

Cabbage was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2015 out of high school in Tennessee. He has slowly worked up the organizational ladder and is currently breaking out as the power hitter that he has always had the potential to become.  

Twins Pitcher of the Week: Sawyer Gipson-Long, Cedar Rapids Kernels          
Gipson-Long was the choice for pitcher of the week for the second time this season. The first came when he was in Ft. Myers. He was recently promoted to Cedar Rapids and has continued to pitch well. 

Last week, Gipson-Long went six shutout innings in his start. He gave up six hits and struck out nine without issuing a walk. 

Other Strong Performances this Week

St. Paul Saints
When the team goes 0-6 for the week, it’s hard to find too many positives. However, there were a couple. Lefty Andrew Vasquez pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings over two games. He gave up just one hit, though he hit two batters. He struck out five batters. Chandler Shepherd gave up one run on two hits over 5 1/3 innings in two relief appearances. Joe Ryan gave up one run on four hits in his start. He also walked one and struck out eight batters. He now has 17 strikeouts in nine innings as a Saints starter. Randy Dobnak made a rehab start for the Saints. He gave up one run on five hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. Not a great performance, but on Sunday, Rocco Baldelli said that Dobnak’s next appearance will be in the big leagues. Later, it was announced that Dobnak will start on Friday for the Twins. 

Drew Maggi continues to be very productive and sure would be a fun story to see him called up to the Twins in September. In five games last week, he hit .429/.500/.571 (1.071) with a triple. 

Wichita Wind Surge
First highlight is that Twins Photographer Brace Hemmelgarn spent some time in Wichita last week and got some great photos! 

Jordan Gore continues to impress. Last week, he pitched in three games. In four innings, he gave up no runs, no hits, walked none and struck out five. He was 2-for-2 in save opportunities. Adam Lau pitched three scoreless innings over two appearances. He gave up no hits, walked none and struck out three. Evan Sisk had a good week. He tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out three. 

He may not play a lot, but Leobaldo Cabrera had another impressive week. In three games, he went 3-for-7 with a triple, two homers and five walks. His OPS for the 12 plate appearances was a fun 2.238. 

Austin Martin played in all six games and hit .280/.333/.600 (.933) with two doubles, two homers and seven RBI. 

Cedar Rapids Kernels
Denny Bentley, Andrew Cabezas, Osiris German, and Tyler Palm each threw two scoreless innings. In four innings, Melvi Acosta gave up two unearned runs on just one hit in four innings. He struck out four. Ryan Shreve gave up an unearned run over 3 1/3 innings.. He also recorded a save. Cody Laweryson gave up one run on four hits and a walk in five innings. 

Wander Javier played in four games and hit .462/.500/1.000 (1.500) with a double and two home runs. Yunior Severino hit .294/.429/.529 (.958) with two doubles and a triple. Aaron Sabato played in five games. He had four hits, two doubles and two home runs and a 1.000 OPS. Alex Isola started the week 0-for-11, but his 5-for-5 performance on Sunday included a home run.  

Ft. Myers Might Mussels
Casey Legumina made two appearances. He gave up one run on two hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out seven batters. Sean Mooney struck out ten batters in four innings. He gave up one earned run and just two hits. John Stankiewicz gave up just one hit over four scoreless innings in his start. He walked one and struck out five batters. 

Will Holland played six games and hit .444/.524/.556 (1.079) with two doubles. Christian Encarnacion-Strand played his first six games as a pro ballplayer. He hit. 292 with a double and two home runs. 

FCL Twins 
Lefty Samuel Perez pitched twice. In 4 1/3 scoreless innings, he gave up two hits, walked none and struck out four batters. 2021 draft picks Cade Povich and David Festa made their pro debuts. Each gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. Danny Moreno gave up only a hit and a walk over 2 1/3 shutout innings. Elipidio Perez struck out eight batters in five innings. He gave up one run on three hits and three walks. 

LOWLIGHTS 

We are talking about small samples for these six-game weeks, so it’s important not to make any big decisions or develop a full impression on a player from this small size. It’s just a reminder of the fact that baseball is hard, and all players have good and bad stretches.  

St. Paul Saints
Lefty Chris Nunn pitched twice. He recorded four outs and gave up five runs (4 earned) on three hits and five walks. Drew Strotman went 2 2/3 innings in his start. He gave up six runs on three hits and six walks. Ian Hamilton also pitched twice during the week and recorded four outs. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits and two walks. Beau Burrows made two starts. In eight innings, he gave up ten runs on six hits (3 HR) and eight walks.  

BJ Boyd spent his first week with the Saints. He played in five games, a couple of times as a pinch hitter. He went 1-for-16 (.063). Jimmy Kerrigan played in all six games and hit .182/.217/.172 (.399) with 11 strikeouts in 23 plate appearances. Trevor Larnach went 2-for-14 (.143). Ben Rortvedt went 3-for-16 (.188) with eight strikeouts, though he was also promoted to the Twins on Sunday to back up Ryan Jeffers while Mitch Garver is on the IL. 

Wichita Wind Surge
Lefty Zach Neff pitched 3 2/3 innings over two appearances. He gave up five runs on six hits (2 HR), hit two and walked two batters. 

DJ Burt played in five games and went 1-for-15 (.067) with seven strikeouts. 

Cedar Rapids Kernels
Zach Featherstone had a rough week. He pitched twice and gave up three runs on two hits, both home runs, in 1 2/3 innings. He walked two also. Ben Gross gave up six runs on ten hits in five innings. 

Jair Camargo went 1-for-10 (.100) on the week. Matt Wallner went 2-for-19 (.105). Jeferson Morales had just two hits in 16 at bats (.125), but both hits were home runs. Aaron Sabato had a 1.000 OPS and four extra base hits. He also had 11 strikeouts in 18 at bats. 

Ft. Myers Might Mussels
Juan Pichardo recorded four outs in his appearance. He gave up seven runs on six hits and two walks. Miguel Rodriguez returned from the IL to make a start. In one inning, he gave up four runs on four hits and three walks. Landon Leach was charged with nine runs (4 earned) on four hits, two hit batters and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. In two appearances, Matt Mullenbach gave up seven runs (6 earned) on 13 hits in five innings. 

Keoni Cavaco played in four games and went 1-for-14 (.071) with six strikeouts. Kyler Fedko went 1-for-11 (.091) with a double. Charles Mack went 2-for-13 (.154) with eight strikeouts in 13 at bats. 

TRENDING STORYLINE 

Originally, the minor leagues were not going to have any playoffs in 2021. Because the minor league regular season started a month later, the thought was that all teams being able to play two or three more weeks of games, rather than just a few teams getting a few extra games. 

Soon after the season started, minor league baseball reversed course. Low-A, High-A and Double-A will all have Best of 5 playoff series between the top two teams in each league, regardless of division.

• There will be no playoffs in Triple-A this year. The Triple-A teams will continue their normal schedule so that players can continue to play games and be ready for a call-up if needed. 
• At Double-A, Wichita is currently five games ahead of Arkansas and Tulsa atop the division. 
• In the High-A Central, Cedar Rapids is currently in second place, 12 games behind Quad Cities. However, they are eight games ahead of third-place Beloit. 
• In the Low-A Southeast West Division, the Mighty Mussels are 16 games behind first place Tampa, and 11 games behind second-place Bradenton. 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
This Prospect Summary shows our updated Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings. 

#1 - Royce Lewis (Wichita) - Out for Season (torn ACL)
#2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 23 games, .267/.417/.442 (.858) with 6 doubles, 3 home run, 17 RBI, 14 BB, 25 K.
#3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 16 GS, 77.0 IP, 79 H, 30 BB, 83 K, 3.62 ERA, 1.42 WHIP
#4 - Simeon Woods-Richardson (Wichita) - Has not pitched since the Olympics.
#5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 5 G, 4 GS, 16.0 IP, 16 H, 13 BB, 22 K, 5.06 ERA, 1.81 WHIP (on IL with a right forearm strain) 
#6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 101 games, .336/.397/.572 (.969) with 25 doubles, 25 homers, 75 RBI, 37 BB, 66 K
#7 - Joe Ryan (St. Paul) - 2 GS, 9.0 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 17 K, 2.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP
#8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 5 GS, 21.0 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 43 K, 0.86 ERA, 0.67 WHIP
#9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - Has yet to pitch.
#10 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 58 games, .236/.295/.306 (.600) with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 24 RBI, 17 BB, 84 K, 5 SB 

#11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - 14 GS, 72.0 IP, 55 H, 13 BB, 80 K, 2.63 ERA, 0.94 WHIP
#12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 49 games, .260/.338/.505 (.843) with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 11 homers, 35 RBI, 19 BB, 73 K.
#13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K), St. Paul (23 games, .289/.385/.506 (.891) with 6 doubles, 4 homers, 17 RBI, 12 BB, 19 K), Minnesota (22 games, .140/.183/.298 (.482) with 3 BB, 13 K)
#14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - 6 GS, 26.2 IP, 31 H, 16 BB, 20 K, 7.09 ERA, 1.76 WHIP.
#15 - Noah Miller (Complex) - 10 games, .243/.310/.378 (.688) with two doubles, 1 homer, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 12 K
#16 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (58 games, .239/.368/.566 (.934) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 19 homers, 37 BB, 74 K), Minnesota (32 games, .200/.273/.408 (.681) with 7 doubles, 6 homers, 10 RBI, 8 BB, 41 K)
#17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP (underwent Tommy John surgery on June 9th)
#18 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 88 games, .188/.293/.287 (.580) with 9 doubles, 4 triples, 5 homers, 49 RBI, 46 BB, 69 K, 12 SB)
#19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 15 G, 14 GS, 58.1 IP, 47 H, 26 BB, 78 K, 2.93 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
#20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 92 games, .261/.361/.511 (.872) with 15 doubles, 2 triples, 23 homers, 56 RBI, 48 BB, 84 K) 

LOOKING AHEAD

Ft. Myers @ Daytona: (AJ Labas, Bullpen Game, John Stankiewicz, Casey Legumina, Cade Povich, Regi Grace):
Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids: (Louie Varland, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Cody Laweryson, Sean Mooney, Aaron Rozek, Tyler Watson):
Wichita @ Arkansas: (Jordan Balazovic, Chris Vallimont, Cole Sands, TBD, TBD, Jordan Balazovic)
St. Paul @ Columbus: (Jason Garcia, Joe Ryan, Chandler Shepherd, Drew Strotman, Beau Burrows, Charlie Barnes):
 

Feel free to ask any questions you like.

 

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[roger]

Thanks, Seth.

Would you rate Rodriguez higher than Urbina at this point?

Have a great day, keeping us up to date on the minors is appreciated.

[Dman]

Happy Wichita was able to split with the Drillers and maintain that 5 game lead.  They lost a lot of their good pitchers early in the season but that lineup has been tough pretty much top to bottom all year so could be a special team if they can maintain it.

Emmanual Rodriguez is showing the power he was drafted for. IIRC he was compared to Rosario so hopefully that bodes well for his future.  

Cabbage has been rock solid between HIghA and AA with his BA, OPS and Slugging pretty much the same at both levels.  The interesting thing is though that his K rate spiked in AA I mean almost doubled buthis BABIP is covering for that at AA so there may be some regression there unless he gets the K rate under control.

Happy to see Gross get promoted as it was long over due.  Not certain he can remain a starter all the to MLB but he sure surprised me with how well he has pitched this year.  We'll see if the higher levels slow him down.

Another great week for a lot of guys.  

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, Dman said:

...Cabbage has been rock solid between HIghA and AA with his BA, OPS and Slugging pretty much the same at both levels.  The interesting thing is though that his K rate spiked in AA I mean almost doubled buthis BABIP is covering for that at AA so there may be some regression there unless he gets the K rate under control...

I love using Fangraphs for peripherals on prospects like Cabbage. Just at a glance it can sometimes tell you a legit prospects vs. a player with no MLB projection. Looking at Cabbage's peripherals reminded me a lot of Wallner at a glance and when I looked at them back to back, it sure looks like Cabbage and Wallner are essentially the same guy. Both Wallner and Cabbage are 30% better than average hitters at A+ and/or AA, but 30% better than average for outfielders with Rooker-like range and a 30-40% K rate doesn't project well. 

[bean5302]

I believe Royce Lewis was scheduled to meet with team physician, Christopher Camp around this time to get clearance to start hitting and lateral movement. So much on the line for him over the next 9 months or so.

Nice to see Martin have a good couple of games. Every player will go through some slumps, luck fueled or otherwise, but the Twins really need him and Woods-Richardson to play well.

Speaking of, getting tired of Woods-Richardson sitting on the developmental list. The developmental list is specifically defined as NOT a place to rehab injury, and it's his 3rd week there now. No reason for the Twins to be abusing the crap out of the new option.

[Trov]

Martin has up week in power, down week on OBP. not that 333 is anything to sneeze at, but when he has been doing well over .400 for awhile.  However, the small power burst shows he has it in there somewhere and maybe the Twins will seek a hitting change somewhat to get more power out of him. 

[Seth Stohs]

7 hours ago, roger said:

Thanks, Seth.

Would you rate Rodriguez higher than Urbina at this point?

Have a great day, keeping us up to date on the minors is appreciated.

I think they should be pretty close. Urbina is young and at a higher level, but Rodriguez currently appears to have more power. We'll see.  

[Twinky]

Another week with Cavaco in the lowlights section with FT Myers…your assessment of his projectability is not being matched by any performance factor he has shown. BUST!

[Seth Stohs]

17 hours ago, Twinky said:

Another week with Cavaco in the lowlights section with FT Myers…your assessment of his projectability is not being matched by any performance factor he has shown. BUST!

I have little doubt in his future. But yes, he has had his struggles. 

[Squirrel]

17 hours ago, Twinky said:

Another week with Cavaco in the lowlights section with FT Myers…your assessment of his projectability is not being matched by any performance factor he has shown. BUST!

Wow ... you really have it in for this kid. He's still young, still developing. While I get being cautious and concerned, writing him off as a bust is really premature

[twinstalker]

This is always such a great compilation.  Thank you.

[Twinky]

How many position players picked in the first round haven’t been promoted? He has played more innings of baseball for the Twins than they ever saw him play in high school, so I would say his body of work as a pro is more representative of the baseball player he is than the little but they saw before drafting him. They wasted a pick on an unproven/unknown high school player over taking a proven college player or a high profile high school prospect. I don’t need to see any more to know this is not going to work itself out with more reps. Horrible fielder, doesn’t hit for power…how does that stack up against what they were saying about him when they drafted him?