Twins Minor League Report (6/28): Wind Surge Blows Lead

[Steve Lein]

As the second half of the minor league seasons got started for Minnesota Twins affiliates on Tuesday, a fun observation I made while perusing the games on MiLB.tv was that I have been to one at every stadium the full-season teams were playing at. The actual games were not that fun to observe however, as every team lost, including the Wind Surge who had a decent lead late. At least the Cedar Rapids Kernels were spared that fate due to rain (but they are currently winning!).

TRANSACTIONS

• The Minnesota Twins optioned OF Mark Contreras back to the St. Paul Saints, and recalled RHP Josh Winder for their doubleheader.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Omaha 11, St. Paul 2
Box Score

It didn’t matter who was pitching for the Saints on Tuesday night, the Storm Chasers made every one of them pay in an 11-2 bombardment at CHS Field that ended a seven-game home winning streak for St. Paul.

Starter Dereck Rodriguez was hit for just his second loss of the season, as he allowed four earned runs on four hits and three walks in his 4 2/3 innings. He did strike out six, but two home runs allowed put his team in an early hole. Yennier Cano was the first arm out of the bullpen and got them through the sixth. He allowed one run of his own on one hit and one walk, while striking out two. Tyler Viza was roughed up for four runs (three earned) and didn’t record an out in the eighth inning after pitching a scoreless seventh. He struck out two. Wladimir Pinto finished the game with two innings, allowing two runs of his own on four hits, though he did strike out four.

The Saints put the ball in play all night, striking out only four times as a team, but didn’t have many opportunities to put anything together to score runs. Jake Cave finished 2-for-3 with a home run and a double, but Michael Helman was the only other hitter to go for extra bases with a double to lead off the third inning. They finished just 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position, and left only two men on base for the game. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 8, Springfield 12
Box Score

The Wind Surge came out swinging in this one, taking a 3-0 lead before their starting pitcher, Daniel Gossett, had taken the mound.

Matt Wallner led off the game by being hit by a pitch and was followed by an Edouard Julien double to move him to third, before Austin Martin’s two-RBI single scored the game's first runs. Martin was moved to third on a Chris Williams single before he was able to score on a groundout from DeShawn Kiersey Jr. 

Gossett kept his team in the lead for 4 2/3 innings, finishing with three earned runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out six. He had allowed just a single run before a two-run shot in the fifth to make it 4-3 Wichita put an end to his night.

In the sixth inning the Wind Surge tacked on a couple more runs when Anthony Prato delivered an RBI double, and was followed by a sac fly from Wallner that made it 6-3. They got two more insurance runs in the eighth thanks to an RBI single from Kevin Merrel, and a throwing error on a Prato infield single that allowed another runner to score.

Left-hander Kody Funderburk came on in relief of Gossett and pitched 2 1/3 innings. He allowed one run on four hits, a walk, and struck out one. Andrew Cabezas came on to start the eighth inning, and promptly gave up a leadoff home run to Malcom Nunez that made the score 8-5. Cabezas wouldn’t record an out, and before the inning was over Jordan Gore and Bryan Sammons had also been summoned from the bullpen, and Nunez added a grand slam that put the Cardinals out front 12-8.

It took just seven pitches for Wichita to go down in the ninth, and they fell to just one game above .500 on the season, and lost in spectacular fashion to start their second half.

The lineup got multiple hits from Williams (2-for-5, RBI, 2 K), Andrew Bechtold (2-for-3, 2 R, BB), and Prato (2-for-4, 2B, RBI). Martin finished 1-for-2 with a run scored, two RBI, and drew three walks.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 0 (suspended in the third inning)
Box Score

The Kernels matchup with the Timber Rattlers was suspended due to rain before the bottom of the third inning, with Cedar Rapids leading 5-0. They will resume play tomorrow afternoon to complete a full nine innings, followed by a seven-inning game two. 

Brent Headrick made the start and completed two scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and struck out one. Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run homer, his 17th of the season, in the first, and back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles by Kyler Fedko, Yunior Severino, and Pat Winkel led to three runs in the top of the third before play was suspended.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Dunedin 2, Fort Myers 0
Box Score

The Mighty Mussels got a decent outing from starting pitcher Travis Adams, but the offense wasn’t able to mount any offensive against the Blue Jays on Tuesday at Hammond Stadium.

Adams went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks, while striking out three. Juan Mendez (2 IP, H, BB, 2 K) and Samuel Perez (2 IP, BB) each added two scoreless innings to give the home team a chance.

Unfortunately, the Fort Myers lineup managed just four hits of their own, the biggest being a double from Keini Cavaco. Noah Miller, Rubel Cespedes, and Luis Baez each had a single. As a team, they went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and left only three men on base for the game.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 3, FCL Rays 4
Box Score

Brayan Medina made the start for the Twins and went the first 3 2/3 innings, likely reaching a pitch limit after a two-out error was committed in the fourth inning. He allowed one run on one hit and two walks, while striking out four. It was tied at two heading into the ninth inning thanks to a sac fly from Danny De Andrade in the third and a Wilfri Castro solo home run in the fourth. The Twins took the lead thanks to a wild pitch in the top of the tenth, but an error on a double in the bottom half led to two runs and a walk-off loss for the good guys. As a team, they struck out 20 times versus no walks, and were unable to cash in any other opportunities as they were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and collected just five hits. Tanner Gaff (1/3 IP, K), Jon Olsen (1 IP, H, K), Jose Oliveras (4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BB, 3 K), and Giovahniey German (H, 2 R, BB) also pitched for the Twins.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
Scheduled day off.

The DSL Twins had Tuesday off. They’re back in action at 10:00 AM CDT tomorrow against the DSL Cleveland Blue squad. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day - Samuel Perez, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2 IP, BB)
Hitter of the Day - Austin Martin, Wichita Wind Surge (1-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB)

PROSPECT SUMMARY

#2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB
#3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 3-for-7, R, 2B, HR, RBI (2 games) 
#7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-4
#9 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, K, CS
#15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-for-3, R, RBI, 3 K
#16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-5, R, 2B, 2 K
#18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-1, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI (game suspended)

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Omaha @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Cole Sands (0-4, 5.20 ERA)
Wichita @ Springfield (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Casey Legumina (1-3, 6.57 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (12:10 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (3-0, 2.05 ERA)
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (3-3, 4.70 ERA)
DSL Twins @ DSL Cleveland Blue (10:00 AM CDT) - TBD

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

 

 

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[FlyingFinn]

Martin and Headrick with great nights. Multiple blown saves from the Twins through the minors these past two weeks. Yikes! The Fort Myers hitters have seemed to hit a wall. Again, this seems to have coincided with Rodriguez' injury.

So has the 2nd half of the minor leagues started already? Must have otherwise Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids wouldn't have clinched the 1st half by now.

[Seth Stohs]

9 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Martin and Headrick with great nights. Multiple blown saves from the Twins through the minors these past two weeks. Yikes! The Fort Myers hitters have seemed to hit a wall. Again, this seems to have coincided with Rodriguez' injury.

So has the 2nd half of the minor leagues started already? Must have otherwise Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids wouldn't have clinched the 1st half by now.

Yes, second half started last night. 

[Steve Lein]

10 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Martin and Headrick with great nights. Multiple blown saves from the Twins through the minors these past two weeks. Yikes! The Fort Myers hitters have seemed to hit a wall. Again, this seems to have coincided with Rodriguez' injury.

Definitely disappointing Headrick won't get to continue when they resume today. Hopefully the delay doesn't cool off the Kernels bats either.

[2wins87]

Nice to see Martin getting on base a lot over the past week+.

I saw a little chatter about the organization maybe tinkering with his swing, which wouldn't be surprising as he could certainly benefit from adding some power.  Long term he probably still needs to drive the ball better, but letting him just get comfortable doing what he does best could be good for him right now.

[Dman]

Man when the best pitcher at the MiLB level was a reliever you know it was a bad day for the system.  The pitching for the Twins affiliates has been getting worse as the season moves on.  Here's hoping adjustments are made and things get better from here on out.

For a while there I thought the Muscles were going to be no hit but they did manage to get going eventually.  Not sure why it is so hard to hit in that league but it sure makes Emmanual Rodriguez look like a special talent.

Nice to see CES off to a good start with another Home run.

Hoping the Monday (Tuesday) blues have worn off and the teams do better today.

[2wins87]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

Man when the best pitcher at the MiLB level was a reliever you know it was a bad day for the system.  The pitching for the Twins affiliates has been getting worse as the season moves on.  Here's hoping adjustments are made and things get better from here on out.

To be fair, it probably should have been Headrick who looked to be on track for another good start before the game was suspended.

It's coming down to injuries again right now.  Arguably their best pitching prospects Canterino and SWR are both now on the shelf. Hajjar also hasn't pitched since early June, and Raya had an ominous early exit -- have we heard any more on this?

The seasons from Festa, Povich, Hajjar, Raya (backing up the hype), Gipson-Long, Headrick, and Schulfer have me more encouraged overall than I am discouraged by setbacks for Balazovic, Enlow, Henriquez, and Strotman.

Balazovic and Enlow could be at the point of turning a corner after their injuries as well, at least we can hope.

[RpR]

Cave's bats, oooohhhh, those near the Mendoza line better look over their shoulders.