Minor League Report (7/16): A Pair of Walk-Off Hits; A Pair of Miguel Sanó Homers

[Matt Braun]

Good things come in two's, not three's, as Twins minor league teams found luck in, well, twins on Saturday. Read all about that and more in this edition of the minor league report.

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Casey Legumina activated from IL for Wichita
RHP Hunter Wood placed on 7-day IL (right elbow strain) for St. Paul
RHP Tyler Bashlor activated from 7-day IL and released 
RHP Ben Heller was removed from the development list and transferred to the FCL Twins

While the Twins minor league teams continued their play on Saturday, two Twins prospects—Spencer Steer and Matt Wallner—participated in the Futures Game. In an exhibition against other well-regarded youngsters, Wallner flashed his legendary power; his 116 MPH annihilation of a homer probably violates some peace treaty.

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 4, Toledo 3 (10 innings)
Box Score
Mario Sanchez: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
HR: Miguel Sanó 2 (2)
Multi-hit games: Tim Beckham (3-for-4, RBI, BB), Miguel Sanó (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI), Jermaine Palacios (2-for-3, R, BB) 

The Saints won marginally on Saturday.

Mario Sanchez guided his team with a steady hand (or arm, maybe). The righty avoided filling out the stat line, allowing one run off an equal assortment of hits and walks. It was the exact sort of start the Saints needed.

Miguel Sano brought the lumber twice; the rehabbing slugger blasted a pair of solo homers in the 1st and 6th innings, respectively. His return to the lineup is imminent, and a showing like this is incredibly inspiring. 

The Saints appeared in control of this game, but a quick bolt of offense from the Mud Hens turned the tide; two runs off some shenanigans—a fielder’s choice and a run-scoring wild pitch—gave Toledo the lead. St. Paul tied it up before Tim Beckham sent the fans home happy with a walk-off single in the 10th inning.

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 7, Arkansas 6
Box Score
Casey Legumina: 2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
HR: Chris Williams (16), Edouard Julien (8)
Multi-hit games: Cole Sturgeon (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R), Chris Williams (2-for-4, HR, R, 4 RBI), Anthony Prato (2-for-4, 2 2B, R)

Wichita won on a walk-off on Saturday. 

Casey Legumina, fresh off an IL stint, took the mound for Wichita. Over two shaky innings, Legumina allowed an array of hits, unwillingly inviting three runners to cross the plate on his watch. 

Legumina was a false starter; Daniel Gossett relieved the original pitcher in the 3rd inning, tossing five more frames while allowing just one run. Gossett leaned on the almighty groundball, netting seven outs off balls unable to escape Earth’s gravity.

Offensively, the story was almost entirely Chris Williams; he covered the introduction with a ridiculous two-run homer in the 4th inning before finishing his tale with a dual-run scoring double in the following frame. That somehow moved Williams’ RBI total in the series to 18, an impossible number to conceive.

But the plot remained in motion; the Travelers pulled a fast one by scoring a pair of runs in the 9th inning, jumping ahead by two. It all seemed lost before Edouard Julien, with a few buddies on base, blasted a walk-off three-run homer.

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 1
Box Score
Brent Headrick: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Wander Javier (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI)

The Kernels won a quiet one on Saturday.

Brent Headrick dominated, again. The lefty predictably stymied nearly all offense, letting one run get by him while halting all other scoring attempts. His season ERA now sits at a “hey, you should probably promote me” 2.34 clip.

Cedar Rapids made sure that their starter had support early; the top-of-the-order united to plate two runs off a smattering of walks and singles; Wander Javier claimed both RBIs.

Little action occurred after the 3rd inning; Beloit plated their lone run but fell to a dominant bullpen showing from Derek Molina and Hunter McMahon. Both teams scattered hits as the outs drained away, but nothing sparked a rally, and the game ended in the Kernels’ favor, 3-1.

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 1, Clearwater 5
Box Score
Pierson Ohl: 4 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Noah Cardenas (2-for-4, RBI)

Fort Myers lost in short order on Saturday.

Pierson Ohl cruised through his first three frames before Clearwater jumped on the righty in the 3rd inning, plating a run and drawing first blood. A second run proved fatal to Ohl; Leandro Pineda’s RBI double knocked the starter out of the game.

Fort Myers failed to muster up a fight on offense, scoring a lone run off a Noah Cardenas single with the bases loaded; the next two hitters missed their shot to capitalize on their opportunity.

The Threshers attacked relievers as well; John Wilson couldn’t escape their wrath, as, with some help from poor Mighty Mussels defense, Clearwater’s offense continued to one-up itself, plating runs in successive innings through the 7th frame.

Misael Urbina hit his third double since joining the team a week ago.

Complex Chronicles
FCL Twins 3, FCL Red Sox 8
Box Score
Brayan Medina: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Andres Centeno (2-for-3, 3B, 2B, R)

The FCL Twins lost convincingly on Saturday.

Brayan Medina, a forgotten piece in the Taylor Rogers trade, pitched admirably, allowing an unearned run while punching out five; the righty did walk three batters, however.

Andres Centeno alone powered the offense; the left-fielder tripled, doubled, and stole a base while only four teammates could net a hit.

Dominican Dailies
DSL Twins 10, DSL Cardinals 1
Box Score
Cesar Lares: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K
HR: Harold Grant (1)
Multi-hit games: Yasser Mercedes (2-for-4, 2 R), Bryan Acuna (2-for-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI), Harold Grant (3-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI)

The DSL Twins destroyed their competition on Saturday.

A consistent offense proved the winning formula; just one starter walked away from the game without a run scored, and that player still contributed an RBI.

Cesar Lares continued his ridiculous strikeout streak, punching out nine hitters over four frames. The team as a whole whiffed 15.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Cesar Lares, DSL Twins 
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sanó, St. Paul Saints 

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

#6 - Spencer Steer (Futures Game) - 0-2, K
#8 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4
#12 - Matt Wallner (Futures Game) - 1-2, HR, R, 2 RBI, K
#15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-4, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB
#16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Wichita) - 0-4, K

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Louisville (2:07 PM) - RHP Josh Winder
Arkansas @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Louie Varland
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (1:05 PM) - RHP John Stankiewicz
Clearwater @ Fort Myers (12:00 PM) - TBD

 

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[Danchat]

I was at the Saints game tonight, my thoughts:

• Sano is 100% healthy, no question - still could lose some weight, but you have to wonder whether what version of him we'd get if he is given his roster spot back. The icy cold version of himself or will he heat up in the 2nd half like he has tended to do the past couple seasons?
• Palacios is the real deal at SS, his defensive play is phenomenal. He deserves to be on a MLB roster as a utility guy, but the Twins simply don't need him right now. I hope he gets another shot at the majors soon.
• Sisk looked sharp, forced some lightly hit groundballs. I think it's time to give him or Schulfer a shot. 
• Cave dropped a ball in deep LF that went down as a double and ended up being a huge factor in blowing the 9th, but he did gun down a runner at 3B in the top of the 10th. I'm in favor of keeping Contreras ahead of him on the depth chart. 

 

[ashbury]

14 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Cave dropped a ball in deep LF that went down as a double and ended up being a huge factor in blowing the 9th

I want to like the guy but he makes it so dang hard.

And if his throwing heroics would not have been necessary if not for the drop, then I'm reluctant to give him full credit.  "He can beat you in so many ways... after he tries his best to beat himself."

[ashbury]

16 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Sisk looked sharp, forced some lightly hit groundballs. I think it's time to give him or Schulfer a shot.

Oh, and:

[FlyingFinn]

I'd like to see Julien and Chris Williams moved up to St. Paul. You would have Steer, Palacios, Beckham and Julien for the 2B, 3B, and SS positions and I believe Palacios can play LF (maybe Beckham plays some at 1B, I forget). Palacios needs to be the Twins starting SS next year until Lewis gets back (assumption - Correa opts out) and then he is our utility man in place of Gordon. 

Also, Headrick needs to move up to Wichita. Let's see if he does better than Gipson-Long has started at that level. It may be that only one of the two make the Twins 40 man and the other is at risk to get picked by another team.

[MMMordabito]

Wow, Chris Williams is smoking hot right now. We all know the Twins need depth at catcher, so I hope he can keep producing.

[jmlease1]

Nice for Matt Wallner to have a big HR at the Futures Game. He really does have prodigious power.

Sano is abusing minor league pitching. (As he should) I think he's back with the MLB club after the all-star break and Celestino goes down. Celestino has not been hitting much lately and we can backup CF/cover Buxton's rest with Gordon and Kepler for now. Let Celestino slide back down to Saint Paul, get himself back on a good program hitting, and be ready in case of injury. It'll be interesting to see if Sano can be a dangerous power bat again or just a K-machine, but he'll slot in as a DH again I think. (I suspect Jeffers & Sanchez will give up some ABs and not get much DH run now?)

[roger]

What is Sano's future with the Twins?  It isn't likely they will exercise their option for 2023, will they?  If that is a given, the best for the Twins would be for him to go on a tear in St. Paul this coming week, then join the Twins and rip the ball for a week.  Maybe, just maybe there is some team out there who would give the Twins something of value for his big bat?

Looked at Palacios' numbers and like them.  I am of the opinion that he will do a decent job at shortstop for the Twins the first half of 2023 while waiting on Lewis' return.  That's assuming Correa opts out, which is an unknown at this time.

See that the youngest Acuna is heating up down in the DSL.  Has been hitting better this month after a brutal start to his career.  Cannot be happier for Urbina after sitting around and doing nothing while held up by the immigration folks.  Always wonder why these things happen, and sometimes I guess S...... just happens.  

 

[Danchat]

Oh yeah, I forgot my most important point - I love the pitch clock. The game goes by at such a quicker pace, we were at 2 hours 20 minutes in the top of the 9th. The pitch clock needs to be in the majors in 2023, no question in my mind.

[AmesFan]

2 hours ago, roger said:

What is Sano's future with the Twins?  It isn't likely they will exercise their option for 2023, will they?  If that is a given, the best for the Twins would be for him to go on a tear in St. Paul this coming week, then join the Twins and rip the ball for a week.  Maybe, just maybe there is some team out there who would give the Twins something of value for his big bat?

Looked at Palacios' numbers and like them.  I am of the opinion that he will do a decent job at shortstop for the Twins the first half of 2023 while waiting on Lewis' return.  That's assuming Correa opts out, which is an unknown at this time.

See that the youngest Acuna is heating up down in the DSL.  Has been hitting better this month after a brutal start to his career.  Cannot be happier for Urbina after sitting around and doing nothing while held up by the immigration folks.  Always wonder why these things happen, and sometimes I guess S...... just happens.  

 

Cleveland Guardians announcer Tom Hamilton, on June 23, commented that Sano was FAT rehabbing in Florida. After watching his homer clips, I'd have to disagree. He looks solid right now!

[AmesFan]

Just now, AmesFan said:

Cleveland Guardians announcer Tom Hamilton, on June 23, commented that Sano was FAT rehabbing in Florida. After watching his homer clips, I'd have to disagree. He looks solid right now!

Didn't mean to drag roger's reply into mine....ooops

[bean5302]

Sano could go 1.000/1.000/4.000 for the rest of his rehab assignment and I wouldn't have any interest in him long term and I suspect there's little Sano can do to pique the interest of other teams in terms of trade value. No idea what to do with him once the Twins activate him.

[Battle ur tail off]

I was at the game Friday and Sano looked bad at the plate that night. The outside breaking pitch as usual did him in a couple times. He also took some pitches I though looked hittable early in counts. 

 

I was impressed with the Palacious kid though. He looked nice at 3B and hit the ball hard every at bat he took. Looks like he went 2-3 on Saturday as well. Not sure if the Twins have a plan for him, but I was impressed the night I was there.

[Major League Ready]

I am wondering if Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario making such a big impact for the Brave's last year might influence a team to take a shot with Sano.  I doubt we get much like KC got little for Soler but something is better than nothing.  I also just don't see them taking Abs away from Kirilloff / Miranda or Arraez to play Sano.  They might run him out there for a week hoping in order to audition him but what do they do if no team bites?

[Steve Lein]

On 7/16/2022 at 11:23 PM, Danchat said:

I was at the Saints game tonight, my thoughts:

• Sano is 100% healthy, no question - still could lose some weight, but you have to wonder whether what version of him we'd get if he is given his roster spot back. The icy cold version of himself or will he heat up in the 2nd half like he has tended to do the past couple seasons?
• Palacios is the real deal at SS, his defensive play is phenomenal. He deserves to be on a MLB roster as a utility guy, but the Twins simply don't need him right now. I hope he gets another shot at the majors soon.
• Sisk looked sharp, forced some lightly hit groundballs. I think it's time to give him or Schulfer a shot. 
• Cave dropped a ball in deep LF that went down as a double and ended up being a huge factor in blowing the 9th, but he did gun down a runner at 3B in the top of the 10th. I'm in favor of keeping Contreras ahead of him on the depth chart. 

 

I was there too! Sano looked pretty good. He also hit the pitch before his 2nd HR, basically out of the stadium, but foul down the left field line.

That was a slick play by Palacios diving toward the middle and flipping the ball with his glove to 2nd base!

Cave made that mistake, but that wild pitch should have ended in an out at home. Banuelos didn't know where it went, but Petricka had the wherewithal to chase it down near the Mudhens dugout. He had plenty of time to get it back to Banuelos (runner was trying to score from 2nd base, and was dead to rites), but rushed it. Banuelos had to leap away from home to catch the throw and the slide beat him back to home. 

It was a fun game!