Twins Minor League Report (7/28): Tim Beckham Calls Game

[Nash Walker]

Tim Beckham walked it off for the Saints and the Kernels just kept winning in Thursday's Minor League action!

TRANSACTIONS

• Cedar Rapids Kernels place RHP John Stankiewicz on 7-day IL
• RHP Travis Adams promoted to Cedar Rapids Kernels

SAINTS SENTINEL
Saints 5, Cubs 4 
Box Score

Tim Beckham continues to crush Triple-A pitching, walking off the Iowa Cubs Thursday night. Beckham, now hitting .416 with a 1.070 OPS for the Saints, singled home Spencer Steer on a grounder up the middle to ice the game. The Saints trailed all night despite a José Godoy homer and a one-run rally in the sixth. Brandon Bishop's RBI groundout pulled the Saints within one, and Jermaine Palacios tied the game on a solo homer in the eighth. 

Steer, Jake Cave, Beckham, and Palacios all recorded multi-hit games. Palacios went 3-for-4 with the game-tying swing, Cave went 2-for-4 with a double, Steer went 2-for-5, and Beckham added two hits, including the game winner. It was an impressive night from the top of the lineup. 

Ronny Henriquez was excellent in relief, pitching four scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Henriquez owns a 3.11 ERA with 29 strikeouts over his last 26 innings. The Saints are 45-49. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wind Surge 10, Naturals 2
Box Score

The Wind Surge put on a power clinic in their 10-2 win over the Naturals Thursday. Trailing 2-0 early, Andrew Bechtold put the Surge on the board with a solo shot in the second. One inning later, Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a majestic three-run homer to center, giving the Surge a 4-2 lead. Kyle Schmidt singled home a run in the sixth before Chris Williams drove in another on a walk. 

Edouard Julien hit his 10th homer of the season, a three-run blast in the seventh. Julien entered Thursday hitting .310/.440/.563 with five doubles, a triple, and five homers over his last 16 games. The Surge weren't done yet. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. singled in a run in the eighth, completing the eight-run rout. 

Sawyer Gipson-Long was absolutely terrific on the mound, going seven innings and allowing only two runs. Gipson-Long struck out six and walked none. It was his longest (and arguably best) outing of the year.  The Wind Surge improved to 49-43 with the victory. 
 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Kernels 6, Timber Rattlers 2
Box Score

The Kernels improved to 23 games over .500 with another win Thursday. They drew eight walks, including three from the leadoff man Kyler Fedko. Wander Javier drove in two on a single in the first, and Will Holland followed it up with a ground-rule double, scoring Pat Winkel. The Kernels were up 4-0 before Aaron Rozek took the mound. 

Rozek, a Minnesota native, and Minnesota State-Mankato alum, gave up two runs on three walks and six hits. Rozek struck out six and passed the game off to Bradley Hanner, who picked up the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Bobby Milacki added two scoreless innings, dropping his ERA to 2.08 on the season. 

Yunior Severino, already hitting .321/.457/.661 in July, kept it rolling with a solo homer in the eighth. Severino has six homers this month and a .937 OPS on the season. The Kernels are a sterling 58-35.
 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Mussels 3, Tarpons 5
Box Score

The Mighty Mussels suffered a tough loss Thursday to the Tampa Tarpons. Marco Raya started and threw five strong innings, allowing two runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts. The Mussels had trouble scoring all night, trailing 2-0 until a two-run eighth tied the game. 

Misael Urbina got the Mussels on the board with a sacrifice fly, and Noah Miller followed it up with one of his own. With the score tied 2-2 in the top of the ninth, the Tarpons got a big swing from Kyle Battle, who blasted a three-run homer to take a 5-2 lead. The Mussels battled in the bottom of the inning, but could only muster one more run on an RBI single from Daniel Ozoria. 

The Mussels posted seven hits, including a double from Kala'i Rosario, his 15th of the season. Urbina and Luis Báez each stole a bag in the loss. The Mussels are back in action Friday with Steve Hajjar toeing in the rubber. The Mussels have lost four in a row to the Tarpons but still boast a 51-38 record. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 0, FCL Braves 6
Box Score

The FCL Twins were shutout by the FCL Braves Thursday, mustering only three hits. Develson Aria started for the Twins and gave them three solid innings. He gave up one run on a solo homer and struck out one. The Twins' offense went 3-for-30 with 10 strikeouts. 

The Twins' lone extra-base hit was a double from Ricardo Olivar, his 10th of the season. The Braves scored three unearned runs on two Twins errors. It wasn't a pretty day, but there's always tomorrow. The Twins will host the FCL Red Sox Friday. 

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DID NOT PLAY

Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top-20 performed:
#6 Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, R
#8 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-2, BB, RBI
#9 Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, 2 K
#12 Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 3 K
#14 Ronny Henriquez (St.Paul) - 4 IP, 5 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 4 K
#15 Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB
#16  Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Wichita) - 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB
#20 Sawyer Gipson-Long (Wichita) - 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, 0 BB, 6 K

FRIDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS - A Loaded Slate!
Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - Jordan Balazovic
NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - Louie Varland
Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40PM CST) - Cade Povich
Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) -  Steve Hajjar

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates and the two Complex Season affiliates back and playing.

 

View full article

[big dog]

Big Friday night for the pitching prospects with Jordy Blaze, Varland, Povich, and Hajiar all going. Let's hope for some strong performances.

[roger]

With Beckham hitting north of .400 for the Saints, he deserves a shot back in the big leagues.  Considering two of the Twins best players also play second base, it ain’t gonna happen with the Twins.  Seems like a perfect time to include him in a trade for some of that pitching the Twins need.

would also open a spot to move either E-S or Julien up to the Saints, which would open a spot in Wichita to move Severino up from the Kernel’s.  That would give him a month at AA for the Twins to decide whether he merits a 40-man spot come November.

[RJA]

While we all are waiting for Martin to show more promise, Julien is quietly doing what we were hoping Martin would do--playing pretty good defense, hitting for average, getting on base a ton, and showing some decent power.  I agree it would be nice to see him in St. Paul for a bit this summer IF he is not traded.  Wallner is off to a slow start but I think that is typical for him when he changes levels.  He started the season at Wichita slowly as well.  This will be a litmus test for him, however, to see if he can continue to produce despite his swing and miss tendencies.  But, he might be on the move as well, and it will be interesting to see who is shipped out in the search for pitching. 

[Dman]

Great write up today!  Thanks!

Beckham should not be in MiLB anymore.  He has been hitting .400 for a while now and I think his OPS has been over 1.000 for a quite a while as well.  If the Twins are not going to use him then they should at least do him the courtesy of trading him.  He could be the perfect stash for a playoff team that might need utility help right now or down the line. He wouldn't even need to be added to a teams 40 man right away so would be flexible insurance.

Palacios has been looking good with the bat the last few months.  Just a tad bit more power like he showed last night and he could be a legit starting shortstop.

I appreciate the OP mentioning Henriquez has been doing better lately.  I have just gotten used to lot's of walks and runs given up that I just assume that is who he is now.  Nice to see him give up no runs through 4 innings last night.

I hope the Twins don't trade CES at the deadline.  He looks like an All Star with the bat.  Kind of Cruz like being able to hit balls out of the park.  They were scared of him enough last night to practically intentionally walk him.  He walked on 4 pitches with two men on.  Other teams don't want to pitch to him in tight situations.

I mentioned a while ago Severino had a good bat but needed to be better.  He must read Twins Daily as the last few weeks he has really turned it up a notch.  If he keeps this up he might need to be protected from Rule V.

Jullian one of my favorite hitters because he has a special eye at the plate just keeps producing as well.  Some really good bats going right now.  Hope guys keep doing well.  Should be another fun night tonight.

[DJL44]

47 minutes ago, roger said:

With Beckham hitting north of .400 for the Saints, he deserves a shot back in the big leagues.  Considering two of the Twins best players also play second base, it ain’t gonna happen with the Twins.  Seems like a perfect time to include him in a trade for some of that pitching the Twins need.

The Twins could also include Miranda in a trade, call up Beckham and not worry much about their infield bench production.

[big dog]

28 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

The Twins could also include Miranda in a trade, call up Beckham and not worry much about their infield bench production.

I look forward to Miranda being more productive than Beckham for a lot longer, myself. If we trade Miranda, and I really hope we don't, we're going to need real production from Steer.

[2wins87]

1 hour ago, roger said:

With Beckham hitting north of .400 for the Saints, he deserves a shot back in the big leagues.  Considering two of the Twins best players also play second base, it ain’t gonna happen with the Twins.  Seems like a perfect time to include him in a trade for some of that pitching the Twins need.

would also open a spot to move either E-S or Julien up to the Twins, which would open a spot in Wichita to move Severino up from the Kernel’s.  That would give him a month at AA for the Twins to decide whether he merits a 40-man spot come November.

Beckham is 32 years old on a one year minor league contract. He just doesn't fit as a starting player on either a contending team or a rebuilding team.

Unfortunately for him the role that he fits best in is the one he is currently in, which is emergency minor league depth.

[FlyingFinn]

41 minutes ago, Dman said:

Beckham should not be in MiLB anymore. 

Agreed!

Urbina and Severino continue to play well. Gipson-Long had a rough 1st inning but then dominated. Hope he's adjusting to moving up one level. CES not only hits but, if I remember correctly, he seems to do well in clutch situations and not just when the game is out of hand and the other team brings in a mop-up pitcher.

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, roger said:

With Beckham hitting north of .400 for the Saints, he deserves a shot back in the big leagues.  Considering two of the Twins best players also play second base, it ain’t gonna happen with the Twins.  Seems like a perfect time to include him in a trade for some of that pitching the Twins need.

would also open a spot to move either E-S or Julien up to the Twins, which would open a spot in Wichita to move Severino up from the Kernel’s.  That would give him a month at AA for the Twins to decide whether he merits a 40-man spot come November.

I agree wholeheartedly.  Beckham looks like a great trade chip.

I was also wondering if it is legal for a Twins pitcher to go seven innings?

[DJL44]

14 minutes ago, big dog said:

I look forward to Miranda being more productive than Beckham for a lot longer, myself. If we trade Miranda, and I really hope we don't, we're going to need real production from Steer.

What you'll really need is production from the pitcher they get in return for Miranda. They'll be fine in the infield as long as Lewis can play SS.

The Twins have an opportunity to trade "studs for studs" with an infielder - whether that is Kirilloff, Arraez, Miranda or even Polanco. This isn't a vet for prospects deal, this would be rebalancing the roster to address shortcomings on the pitching staff using depth from the infield. Beckham is a nice insurance depth piece for 2022 but he has no future with the team (or really any team) beyond using him now when he's playing well.

I'll put it another way - I'm sure Miranda is going to be the better player over the next 5 seasons but Beckham is playing well right now and might be the better player in the month of August.

[Dman]

11 minutes ago, 2wins87 said:

Beckham is 32 years old on a one year minor league contract. He just doesn't fit as a starting player on either a contending team or a rebuilding team.

Unfortunately for him the role that he fits best in is the one he is currently in, which is emergency minor league depth.

Generally I would agree with you but 32 isn't "that" old and IIRC the issue with Beckham was the bat so if that is fixed then he should be a good MLB player.  

Beckham was hurt early in the year so only 136 PA compared to needing around 300 to be a qualified hitter at AAA but for reference below is a snip of all AAA hitters and notice that Kirilloff had about the same number of at bats and we were screaming for him to be added back to the MLB club. Since posting those number Kirilloff has been doing just fine at the MLB level.  I think the same is likely for Beckham as well. Granted 136 PA is still a relatively small sample size but hitting 400 for that long isn't easy either.  Kirilloff couldn't do it so I think it is an accomplishment that needs to be acknowledged at this point and yes I think that means he deserves a shot at the MLB level.

 

[DJL44]

26 minutes ago, big dog said:

we're going to need real production from Steer.

The beauty is the Twins have several more options than Steer to bet on. Steer looks good but so do Encarnacion-Strand and Edouard Julien and even though he has been struggling of late I wouldn't bet against Austin Martin and his talent. That's just the Double-A infielders. 

[big dog]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

The beauty is the Twins have several more options than Steer to bet on. Steer looks good but so do Encarnacion-Strand and Edouard Julien and even though he has been struggling of late I wouldn't bet against Austin Martin and his talent. That's just the Double-A infielders. 

Agreed. That’s why I would give up one or even two of them for a very good pitcher. I’m not giving up Miranda for two months of a slightly above average pitcher. He’s not going to get us Castillo by himself- and if all we get is Castillo we are probably trading him for what ends up being one playoff win. 

[big dog]

Just now, big dog said:

Agreed. That’s why I would give up one or even two of them for a very good pitcher. I’m not giving up Miranda for two months of a slightly above average pitcher. He’s not going to get us Castillo by himself- and if all we get is Castillo we are probably trading him for what ends up being one playoff win. 

And of course we are going to have to give up a lot more to get that very good pitcher, I didn’t mean a couple of AA guys alone. I just don’t think Miranda should be part of the deal, and I certainly don’t think that Beckham changes my mind by even 1%. But that might be just me. 

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, Dman said:

Beckham should not be in MiLB anymore. 

It's gotta be the fielding.  He's been offered a chance as super-utility in St Paul, and while errors aren't the best way to judge defense, lacking other info or scouting reports I note that a .911 fielding percentage at 2B and .857 at 3B are pretty darn low.  I don't think he was ever a plus-fielder, but the "acceptable defense" skills he had when younger have apparently eroded. 

A 32-year old who can be put confidently only at 1B or DH isn't going to fill an unmet need on many teams, including our Twins - we have a better version named Arraez who is also much younger.

[DJL44]

13 minutes ago, big dog said:

I’m not giving up Miranda for two months of a slightly above average pitcher. He’s not going to get us Castillo by himself- and if all we get is Castillo we are probably trading him for what ends up being one playoff win. 

Unless you think the Twins would non-tender Castillo they would have him on the team next season.

I'd be much more interested in Jose Miranda for Pablo Lopez.

[jmlease1]

Beckham is similar to Jake Cave: great minor league depth, but not ideal for the MLB roster. If he can serve as a sweetener in a deal for a pitcher or makes it so we don't need to include as high quality a prospect, then great. 

Henriquez still seems a little too hittable to me. I'm glad he's doing better in terms of run prevention, but the WHIP isn't getting to a place where I feel very confident in his ability to have sustained success. 

I would love to know how other teams value someone like Julien or Encarnacion-Strand at this point.

[ashbury]

2 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I would love to know how other teams value someone like Julien or Encarnacion-Strand at this point.

"Nice prospect.  We have one like him too."

[FlyingFinn]

Austin Martin - he seems to have missed most of July. How bad is that thumb injury and when did it happen (how long was he playing with the injury)?

[Doctor Gast]

Great that Beckham & Palacios are heating it up in AAA and should be called up to the bigs. We have a lot of 3B/2B  quality players and Brook Lee that would eventually fall into that slot.

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, roger said:

With Beckham hitting north of .400 for the Saints, he deserves a shot back in the big leagues.  Considering two of the Twins best players also play second base, it ain’t gonna happen with the Twins.  Seems like a perfect time to include him in a trade for some of that pitching the Twins need.

would also open a spot to move either E-S or Julien up to the Saints, which would open a spot in Wichita to move Severino up from the Kernel’s.  That would give him a month at AA for the Twins to decide whether he merits a 40-man spot come November.

I'm not sure any non contender wants Beckham. You'd have to find a contender that needs a second baseman and make a three way deal. 

[bean5302]

4 hours ago, roger said:

With Beckham hitting north of .400 for the Saints, he deserves a shot back in the big leagues.  Considering two of the Twins best players also play second base, it ain’t gonna happen with the Twins.  Seems like a perfect time to include him in a trade for some of that pitching the Twins need.

would also open a spot to move either E-S or Julien up to the Saints, which would open a spot in Wichita to move Severino up from the Kernel’s.  That would give him a month at AA for the Twins to decide whether he merits a 40-man spot come November.

Beckham has a long MLB track record. He's not serviceable away from 3B and has nearly 2000 plate appearances where he's been league average. He's got like a .556 BABIP right now. If his K:BB ratio were reversed, I'd be inclined to agree with you because that would signal a change in Beckham's approach. Instead, it just seems like all the balls he's hitting have eyes.

To be honest, there's not much more a guy can do from a stats standpoint to have earned a chance, but at age 32, he had to know he was a long shot. It's just not a good decision organizationally to call him up, and I don't suspect any contender would be interested in a 32 year old scrub level veteran 3B, even if he is cheap.

[bean5302]

40 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Austin Martin - he seems to have missed most of July. How bad is that thumb injury and when did it happen (how long was he playing with the injury)?

Martin hurt his elbow diving for a ball on July 7th. It wasn't expected to be long term.

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, ashbury said:

"Nice prospect.  We have one like him too."

right. but would that guy be a top 10 prospect for them, or a top 20? Global top 300? 400? 500?

[Dman]

2 hours ago, ashbury said:

"Nice prospect.  We have one like him too."

Every system has good to great prospects and Jullien  might not be quite as shiny as some so I get what you are saying but I think if you are willing to look at MiLB stats from all leagues what CES is doing is pretty rarified air.  I think he is the  2nd youngest player to have that high of an OPS in MILB ball high A and above.  Most of the guys above him are older and some much older.  This also is just his first full year of pro ball. 

When you start looking at the numbers I don't think you realize just how good he is.  Wallner is older but his Numbers are elite for MiLB ball as well. Granted he is dropping like a stone at AAA right now but he was at the top with his OPS in AA.  Interestingly while a smaller sample size, Chris Williams is right up there as well.  Guys with .900 or above OPS's don't really grow on tree's.  I think what CES is doing is fairly unprecedented for a first year pro player especially one drafted in the 4th round. 

 

[Dman]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Beckham has a long MLB track record. He's not serviceable away from 3B and has nearly 2000 plate appearances where he's been league average. He's got like a .556 BABIP right now. If his K:BB ratio were reversed, I'd be inclined to agree with you because that would signal a change in Beckham's approach. Instead, it just seems like all the balls he's hitting have eyes.

To be honest, there's not much more a guy can do from a stats standpoint to have earned a chance, but at age 32, he had to know he was a long shot. It's just not a good decision organizationally to call him up, and I don't suspect any contender would be interested in a 32 year old scrub level veteran 3B, even if he is cheap.

Yeah I saw the .556 BABIP as well and I know it is not sustainable but the point remains even if it drops some.  He is seeing the ball well and hitting the ball well.  That is one of the most valuable skills in MLB.  You can't really have .400 BA and have a normalized BABIP of .300.  Players with higher batting averages are naturally going to have higher BABIPs.  Yet there is some skill in getting good contact and hitting it where they ain't.  Not .556 worth but even if that drops a ways he would still be a .300 hitter and he has some pop as well.

I get that he is apparently not a great defender but I think he could be serviceable at second and if his bat really is this good right now then DH wouldn't be a bad option for him either.  Not saying he would be worth a lot in trade but I think he could add value to a package for the right team.

[Major League Ready]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

I'm not sure any non contender wants Beckham. You'd have to find a contender that needs a second baseman and make a three way deal. 

or just trade him for the best prospect you can get and trade for pitching with what we already have.

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

or just trade him for the best prospect you can get and trade for pitching with what we already have.

True. I'd certainly do that. No need for him here, and several contenders have black holes at SS or second.

[cheeseheadgophfan]

Is there some kind of promise that he will get a shot at the full-time shortstop position next year?  I know it's a one year deal, but I wonder if that's a possibility?