Twins Minor League Report (4/22): St. Paul Completes Twin Cities Sweep

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

The St. Paul Saints joined the Minnesota Twins as winners Friday night while the rest of the farm system dropped their contests.

 

TRANSACTIONS

• INF Keoni Cavaco activated from IL. 
• INF Edouard Julien activated from IL
• C Chris Williams moved to the Developmental Roster

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 9, Toledo 4
Box Score

The Saints were the lone Twins’ affiliate to pick up a win Friday night thanks to a six-run eighth inning. On the night, St. Paul registered 11 hits and drew seven walks against the Mud Hens.

Jake Cave led the Saints with three hits in six at-bats, including a double, raising his batting average on the young season to .302. Utility man Jermaine Palacios also tallied a multi-hit game (2-for-5) with his double being St. Paul's only other extra-base hit save for Mark Contreras’ (1-for-4) two-run home run in the third inning.

Royce Lewis remained on a tear, reaching base three times in six plate appearances and driving in a run. Fellow top prospect Jose Miranda went 1-for-4 with his single plating two runners. Derek Fisher (1-for-4), Daniel Robertson (1-for-4), and Jose Godoy (1-for-5) also picked up hits.

JC Ramirez started on the bump for St. Paul and was touched for four runs in 3 2/3 innings. However, the bullpen did not cave for the remainder of the game as Jake Petricka, Trevor Megill, Tyler Bashlor, and Yennier Cano tossed the final 5 1/3 innings, surrendering four hits and walks, but striking out seven and not allowing a run. Cano, a 28-year-old fireballer who slots somewhere in between former Twin Edwar Colina and Jhoan Duran in terms of talent and potential, has now struck out eight batters and only walked one in seven innings.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Midland 10, Wichita 8
Box Score

Louie Varland did not have his best stuff as the 2021 Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year fell victim to the Rockhounds' offense. Varland was sitting 95-97 mph with his fastball for the majority of his outing, but he lacked command of his curveball and Midland took advantage. Varland served up three home runs and six runs overall (three earned) in five innings, striking out four and walking two batters. 

Friday’s start was emblematic of why it is difficult for two-pitch pitchers to find success as starters at the MLB level. Today's hitters, even those at Double-A, are able to mash upper-90s heat if they know it is coming and doubly so when they know that the opposing pitcher isn’t going/able to drop in a breaking ball or other off-speed pitch into the zone. Varland has shown enough during his brief time in the minors to suggest that he is an MLB talent, but unless he greatly improves the command of his breaking pitch or further develops his nascent changeup, it will be unlikely that he reaches the precipice as a starter. There is no shame in that. Varland could be another Duran-type for the Twins in short stints, but he needs more refinement if he wishes to do so.

Bryan Sammons and Austin Schulfer each threw two innings in relief with the former allowing four runs while the latter punched out two and kept his ERA at 0.00.

Offensively, the Wind Surge faired much better. Austin Martin’s bat continues to wake up following his slow start to the season as his 2-for-4 night leaves his batting average a .296. (Quick aside: Martin continued to display why many questions his ability to stick at shortstop long-term as he registered his fifth error of the season on a routine ground ball. Martin has all the physical tools to play shortstop. However, he looks much more comfortable in centerfield as well as during his appearances at second base. He’s a smooth athlete with quick feet but lacks the arm strength or sure-handedness that are needed for success at arguably MLB’s most important defensive position. His strengths play much better in either the outfield or a less demanding infield position like second or even third.)

Spencer Steer had the best night at the plate across all levels, going 4-for-5 and driving in two runs. Michael Helman (1-for-4, 2 RBI, BB) launched his third home run of the season in the fifth inning and Dennis Ortega (2-for-5) contributed Wichita’s only other extra base hit, a double. Cole Sturgeon (1-for-5, 2 RBI), Andrew Bechtold (1-for-4, RBI), and Edouard Julien (0-for-3, RBI) were the other Wind Surge players to register RBIs.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Peoria 8, Cedar Rapids 2
Box Score

Very little went right for the Kernels on Friday. Offensively, Cedar Rapids only managed five hits, all of them singles, and struck out 10 times. A silver lining: Christian Encarnacion-Strand remained hot, going 2-for-5 to raise his batting average to .434 and OPS to 1.229 across his first 55 plate appearances of the season. One might argue that Encarnacion-Strand has already earned a promotion to Double-A, but with Steer and Miranda still in the minors and playing the same position, it would seem as though a call-up is still a month or two away. The other three Kernels to reach base via hit were Wander Javier (1-for-4, RBI), Willie Joe Garry Jr. (1-for-3), and Jeferson Morales (1-for-3, BB).

Brent Headrick’s strong start to the season hit a pothole against the Chiefs as he was unable to make it out of the fourth inning after walking four batters, serving up a home run, and surrendering three earned runs. Miguel Rodriguez provided a nice respite for 2 1/3 innings, striking out two and keeping the Peoria bats at bay. However, they woke up after he exited, torching Cody Laweryson and Andrew Cabezas for five runs. Tyler Palm pitched the final frame, striking out the side, despite loading the bases.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Dunedin 2, Fort Myers 1
Box Score

The Blue Jays and Mighty Mussels combined for three runs and all of them came in the ninth inning.

Noah Cardenas’ (1-for-2, BB) second home run of the season put Fort Myers on the board during the top of the final frame, but the Mighty Mussels walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning before Gabriel Martinez hit a walk-off two-run single.

John Stankiewicz once again dazzled as he struck out nine batters and allowed only a single hit in five innings. The 23-year-old now boasts a 1.13 ERA with a 7:1 K:BB ratio over the first 16 innings of the season. Hunter McMahon tossed three innings in relief, walking and striking out one batter.

Emmanuel Rodriguez broke out of his 0-for-12 slump by going 1-for-3 with a double. However, he exited the game earlier for a currently unknown reason. Kyler Fedko (1-for-3), Dillon Tatum (1-for-3), and Jake Rucker (1-for-4, 2B) also registered hits.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – RHP John Stankiewicz (Fort Myers): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K, 78 pitches
Hitter of the Day – INF Spencer Steer (Wichita): 4-for-5, 2 RBI 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:

#1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 
#2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, RBI, 2 BB, 2 R
#3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 RBI, BB, R
#10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-4
#11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - Defensive Replacement 
#14 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 5 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 3 HR
#15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-3, 2B, BB
#16 - Ronny Hendriquez (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch
#18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 4-for-5, 2 RBI 
#19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-3, RBI

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Toledo ( 4:05 PM CST) - RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-0, 2.35 ERA)
Wichita vs Midland (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Brandon Lawson (0-1, 17.18 ERA)
Cedar Rapids vs Peoria (2:05 PM CST) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-0, 1.00 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (1-0, 0.90 ERA)

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[tony&rodney]

Wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of Martin concerning his defensive position. He sure looks comfortable at the plate though and he exudes athleticism. Makes one wonder ... how much more time does he need at AA?

[stringer bell]

Umm, 4/17? Also, a nerdy nit-pick, going 2-5 lowers a batting average over .400. Get Austin Martin to AAA and in the outfield please.

[Unwinder]

Kind of looks like Martin's quickest route to the majors is... corner outfielder. Or Buxton injury.

[mikelink45]

We have RP in the minors, but we do not use them.  We had Moran up briefly, Cano has not been up.  Why have them in the minors if we are only going to convert starters to RP?  I am confused.  Cano should have had a chance last year. 

[In My La Z boy]

Sounds like we have an excellent 3B pipeline coming. Encarnacion-Strand - Steer and Miranda. And with Correa blocking SS, Lewis is also coming quickly at 3B.

Sano and Urshela had better get it going with Kirilloff gearing up to play again and Larnach looking like he belongs. 

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

8 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of Martin concerning his defensive position. He sure looks comfortable at the plate though and he exudes athleticism. Makes one wonder ... how much more time does he need at AA?

Mentioned this on Twitter the other day, I would be surprised if he's not at Triple-A by late June/early July. That would have him in pace to reach the majors at some point next season. I really want to see him get more at-bats at Double-A in particular to see if his HR power appears or not. If it does, he's worthy of being the No. 1 prospect in the system. If not, he's Luis Arraez with more speed (still a really good player!).

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

We have RP in the minors, but we do not use them.  We had Moran up briefly, Cano has not been up.  Why have them in the minors if we are only going to convert starters to RP?  I am confused.  Cano should have had a chance last year. 

Cano might have been in line for a cameo last fall, but he's been super wild before. I'm sure they're trying to figure out whether he can consistently command his pitches to be an MLB relief option. While he was reasonably effective in Saint Paul last year, he also walked 5.1/9, which doesn't fly. It's not like he wasn't giving up hits, either. So far he's looked much more in control, but it's fair to wait to see if it's for real or just a good two weeks. Moran has a similar problem with wildness, which is almost certainly why Coloumbe got tapped as an additional lefty at the start. I expect both will get their looks this year.

Terrific start to the season for Spencer Steer. Really great to see him cutting the Ks back; when they jumped up so much with him upon promotion last year I wondered if that was a sign that the level of competition might get to him, but so far it looks like he's making the adjustments to the level. He probably gets promoted in a month at this rate.

Martin continues to be an on-base machine, but it is a bit worrying that he's showing so little power. I'm guessing he'll be given some time to work on that. His speed makes it a little less concerning, and if you can get on base all the bloody time in some ways it doesn't matter that much if you're not bringing much pop, because setting the table for everyone else matters too. I do think his path to the majors is going to likely involve the OF, but I'm fine with them continuing to give him time in the infield in the minors. Maybe he's a super-utility player who gets plenty of starts but doesn't have a regular home unless/until someone gets injured. It'll be interesting to see when we see him at Target Field.

[stringer bell]

13 minutes ago, Lucas Seehafer PT said:

Mentioned this on Twitter the other day, I would be surprised if he's not at Triple-A by late June/early July. That would have him in pace to reach the majors at some point next season. I really want to see him get more at-bats at Double-A in particular to see if his HR power appears or not. If it does, he's worthy of being the No. 1 prospect in the system. If not, he's Luis Arraez with more speed (still a really good player!).

If Martin keeps hitting (I think he will), I'd like to see him in St. Paul sooner rather than later. The St. Paul outfield doesn't have any real prospects and Martin could get work in OF where his path to the majors draws less resistance. Having Martin as an athletic left fielder who can cover center if Buxton is absent and who can fill in at the infield spots would work out quite well. Adding his speed and (apparent) base stealing ability at the top of a lineup would also provide another weapon that the Twins really don't have. 

I don't think one can say that a player "has all the physical tools" to play shortstop and in the same paragraph mention lack of arm strength. I think the same can be said for two current Twins (Polanco and Gordon). If you don't have the arm to play short, everything else has to be adjusted. Very few can do it. 

[tony&rodney]

Palacios is athletic too and he can play shortstop in the bigs.

[TopGunn#22]

I believe the Twins have given Martin enough opportunity to play SS and have found him lacking there.  Big deal.  The Royals gave Alex Gordon every opportunity to play 3B and all he did was become a perennial Gold Glove LF'er.  Soon.  Very Soon, move Martin to AAA St. Paul and play him in CF/LF.  I'd like to see the power develop more and that's what he should be working on at this point, but SS is not his position, so just move him already.

[High heat]

Austin Martin reminds me a lot of Whit Merrifield.  Plays all over doesn’t have much power but good speed and great bar to ball skills. 
 

who wouldn’t want Whit Merrifield on there team?

[Seth Stohs]

Personal opinions: 

Varland - All of that analysis may prove true, but I don't think that we need to make too much out of one start in which he gave up three homers, but somehow worked through five!  He may proved to be "Just" a bullpen arm, and there's nothing wrong with that, but he's not a finished product. 

Encarnacion - I can't imagine a team would call up a guy after two hot weeks, especially since he barely spent any time at Low-A. He had a great first three games, and then in the second week, his OPS was closer to .730. He's had a decent week again this week. He sure looks legit, but gotta see him over some time, and actually through maybe a cold stretch to see how he responds. 

Austin Martin with a six-game hitting streak, but man, the shortstop defense tonight was again pretty brutal. 

 

 

[terrydactyls]

29 minutes ago, High heat said:

Austin Martin reminds me a lot of Whit Merrifield.  Plays all over doesn’t have much power but good speed and great bar to ball skills. 
 

who wouldn’t want Whit Merrifield on there team?

Exactly!  The only criticism seems to be that he lacks power.  So what?  Everyone complains that the Twins have no offense.  Well, this kid exudes offense.  Get him in the outfield in St. Paul and then be prepared to promote both Martin and Lewis sometime this summer.  As long as Correa remains a Twin, Lewis can play 3B.  And if Kepler continues his lack of hitting, Martin gets RF.  Otherwise, put him in LF, insert Larnach as DH, and Use Sano and/or Kepler as trade bait this summer.

[4twinsJA]

Don't see Twins promoting anyone until at least June, not their philosophy and not most teams philosophy. No guarantee when get promotion has success at least initially- look at Witt for Royals, mashed AAA last year- struggling at MLB this year. As fan would love to see Lewis, Martin, and Miranda with Twins this year but realistically Martin unlikely-not on 40 man, Lewis really needs consistent playing time and success- may be best for his development to spend most of the year at AAA, Miranda most likely- an injury or two away from callup.

[OptimisticTwinsFan]

What happened to Austin Martin's power? I certainly did original expect more; certainly if not HR power yet gap power. Was it a hand injury or a swing change or both? I still think that Martin could have a Polanco like evolution as a hitter going from contact to gap power to some HR power as well. Either way, his ability to get on base, contact skills, and speed is a dynamic that we probably really need on the major league roster.

 

 

[Danchat]

If Cano keeps this up, he should be in the majors maybe within a few months.   He’s got the stuff and if his command stays steady, watch out.

Just stick Martin in the outfield and be done with it - he’s confirmed the scouting reports, he’s not an infielder.

[Seth Stohs]

11 hours ago, High heat said:

Austin Martin reminds me a lot of Whit Merrifield.  Plays all over doesn’t have much power but good speed and great bar to ball skills. 
 

who wouldn’t want Whit Merrifield on there team?

I think (would hope) we would all be thrilled with that!! And that's probably as good of a comp as I've seen.