Minor League Report (9/15): Trevor Larnach Rehabs; Keoni Cavaco Hits Clutch Grand Slam

[Matt Braun]

You forgot Larnach existed, didn't you? 

Image courtesy of William Parmeter / Mighty Mussels

 

 

TRANSACTIONS
C Kyle Schmidt activated (Wichita)
INF Ernie Yake placed on 7-day IL (Wichita)
OF Trevor Larnach begins rehab assignment (St. Paul)

Saints Sentinel 
St. Paul 2, Louisville 5
Box Score
Jordan Balazovic: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Elliot Soto (2-for-3, R, BB)

St. Paul lost quietly to Louisville on Thursday.

Jordan Balazovic pitched well, allowing a single earned run with six strikeouts over four innings; that punchout total is good for his second-highest of the season. It’s been an up-and-down year—with far more downs than anyone wished to see—but Balazovic has turned a corner late in the season, and it has been great to see.

The bats couldn’t find any momentum, only scratching out two runs off technically old friend Justin Nicolino before shutting down against the Bats’ bullpen. Elliot Soto’s three times on base represented the best of any batter. Both runs scored on a Dalton Shuffield double.

Jake Jewell carried the pitching effort, striking out three over 2 ⅓ scoreless innings of work; Brad Peacock tagged in with a shutout frame of his own. 

Trevor Larnach singled and struck out in his first rehab game.

Mike Siani—the 26th ranked prospect in the Reds system—leads the Bats; he singled in four plate appearances. 

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 8, Midland 6
Box Score
Brent Headrick: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI), Yunior Severino (2-for-4, RBI, BB), DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (2-for-5), Leobaldo Cabrera (2-for-4, 2 R, BB)

Wichita won a barn burner on Thursday.

The bats came alive early; Wichita scored five runs off a flurry of hits in the 2nd inning and never looked back. Dillon Tatum, Austin Martin, Edouard Julien, and Yunior Severino all earned an RBI for their efforts. Martin doubled in another run in the 4th inning; Alex Isola singled one home in the 6th.

The bullpen carried the day as their incredible effort—spearheaded by scoreless outings from Hunter McMahon and Casey Legumina—saved the game. The collection of arms pitched five innings in relief of Brent Headrick, allowing two runs with six strikeouts.

Martin stole his 34th base of the season; DaShawn Keirsey Jr. nabbed his 41st. 

Tyler Soderstrom—the Athletics’ 2nd ranked prospect according to MLB.com— leads the RockHounds. Soderstrom singled, walked, and scored a pair of runs. 

Kernels Nuggets 
Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 3
Box Score
Travis Adams: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
HR: Wander Javier (1)
Multi-hit games: Brooks Lee (2-for-4, 2 2B, R)

The Kernels won on Thursday to knot the playoff series at 1.

No one hitter dominated the batter’s box; Cedar Rapids rode a steady stream of walks—seven of them, to be precise—to five runs, just enough to win the game. The 5th inning proved especially fruitful, as the team scored three runs off a walk, a hit by pitch, and a balk. The team went 0-7 with runners in scoring position.

Travis Adams didn’t have his A-stuff; the righty allowed six hits and three runs over four innings, with runs scoring in three separate innings. Fortunately, his bullpen had his back, as Jaylen Nowlin, Miguel Rodriguez, and Ryan Shreve combined for five scoreless innings, allowing a sole hit with seven strikeouts. 

Brooks Lee clubbed a pair of doubles; Wander Javier blasted a solo homer. 

Pete Crow-Armstrong—the Cubs' top prospect according to MLB.com, and the son of Ashley Crow, the actress who played the mom in Little Big League, leads the Cubs. He had a single in four trips to the plate.

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 7, Dunedin 5
Box Score
Marco Raya: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
HR: Keoni Cavaco (1)
Multi-hit games: Ben Ross (2-for-3, 2 R, BB), Tanner Schobel (2-for-4, R), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI)

The Mighty Mussels won with a late comeback on Thursday.

It all started with an 8th-inning movement; Fort Myers stood at a 2-5 deficit, staring up the Blue Jays as Dunedin appeared set to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. Ben Ross walked, Noah Miller singled, and Kala’i Rosario brought the Mighty Mussels one run closer with an RBI single. Ian Churchill—working to become the most well-known man with that surname—walked Misael Urbina, bringing Keoni Cavaco to the plate with the bases full. Cavaco wasted no time, stepped into the first pitch, and drove a grand slam deep out to left-center field.

Marco Raya worked a tough but admirable game; the righty allowed three 1st inning runs—never an ideal start for a pitcher—but dialed himself in, and held the Blue Jays scoreless in the three following frames. 

Kyle Jones was probably the most important pitcher in Thursday’s effort as he pitched three innings without an earned run while striking out two. 2022 draft picks carried the game in general; Ben Ross and Tanner Schobel both clocked in multi-hit performances.

Josh Kasevich and Cade Doughty—the 10th and 11th ranked prospects for the Blue Jays, respectively—lead the Dunedin club. Kasevich walked twice and singled; Doughty singled and struck out twice.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jordan Balazovic, St. Paul Saints 
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Keoni Cavaco, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2 2B, R
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
#7 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R, K
#8 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-4, BB, 2 K
#11 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI, 2 KP
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, R
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, K

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07 PM) - RHP Mario Sanchez
Wichita @ Midland (7:00 PM) - RHP Daniel Gossett
South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Orlano Rodriguez (Game 3 in Best of 3 series) 
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM) - LHP Jordan Carr (Game 3 in Best of 3 series) 

 

 

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[nclahammer]

Good luck Kernels and Mighy Mussels, hit em' where they ain't.

 

[FlyingFinn]

Martin and Keirsey with 75 SB's combined. Keirsey certainly has speed and I would think, with that, he is an excellent defender in CF. What about the other tools? I never hear about him possibly making it to MLB. I think his bat has held him back but he is hitting better the last half of this year.

Some of our 2022 draft class pitchers are throwing a few innings. Kyle Jones with the win in relief. Cavaco leaves 3 guys on base the first three times up and then cleans the bases the fourth time. Ross continues to collect hits. At Cedar Rapids, Brooks Lee already looks like the star of the team. Another couple doubles last night.

Good night on the farm!

[Dman]

Happy to see there is still fight left in the teams at A and High A.  Muscles with a massive comeback   I thought it was over with the score 5 to 3 with the bullpens in place.  I give Cavaco a lot of crap but that was a huge hit to get the win.  Also nice to see the 2022 draft picks stepping up and helping with the win.  They just need to keep this up and find a way to win the series.

Lee seems to be looking better every game he gets.  They are going to need his bat to keep things going. Another player that gets no love, Javier with a big HR.  The guy can still play just needs to find a way to be more consistent with the bat.

Seems like that Wichita lineup is running on all cylinders now even after losing Wallner and Williams.  Martin has looked better after returning from injury.  Prato is still a tough out. Severino has been hitting the ball well and Jullien always seems to find a way to get on base.  Throw in some solid pitching and I think this team has a chance in the playoffs.  Gotta believe at least one of the three teams in the playoffs can go all the way. 

[Alex Schieferdecker]

Brooks Lee is obviously going to Wichita next spring. I think the Twins were smart to start him lower down, instead of doing the thing the Jays did with Austin Martin, where moving him directly to AA seemed to be a bit too aggressive and possibly even set him back.

But for Lee, it's clear where he belongs now. He's gotten his feet wet, now it's time to really dive in.

[stringer bell]

Two big comeback wins for the Twins’ Class A affiliates in their playoffs. Cavaco is still intriguing despite struggling for the Mussels. Also good to see Jordy Blaze doing better for the Saints. 

[Trov]

I hope Jordan Balazovic can build off this late season surge for next year and he has a fully healthy offseason.  I still have hopes for him and he has done well the last few games, although limited innings and still high walk rate, but it is a good step.  I am not counting on him going forward but hope he can be a nice surprise. 

[terrydactyls]

Jaylen Nowlin pitched in relief yesterday for Cedar Rapids and is going to start today's game?

[Rosterman]

1 hour ago, Alex Schieferdecker said:

Brooks Lee is obviously going to Wichita next spring. I think the Twins were smart to start him lower down, instead of doing the thing the Jays did with Austin Martin, where moving him directly to AA seemed to be a bit too aggressive and possibly even set him back.

But for Lee, it's clear where he belongs now. He's gotten his feet wet, now it's time to really dive in.

Question is, will Austin Martin go to AAA?

[jmlease1]

Cavaco is still only 21 and lost a crucial development season due to the pandemic, but it's hard to look at him as being a successful pick. Still too early to give up on him; sometimes it takes a few years to unlock the tools, but his performance has not been great. lot of Ks, few walks, not a lot of hits. He is on a 9-game hitting streak right now, with 3 2B & 3 HRs during this stretch (but also only 1 BB), and seems to be finishing the season strong (stronger?). Incremental improvement, I guess?

Balazovic has been very disappointing. Everything looked great about him in A-ball, and then he misses a season due to pandemic, has a good but not great season in AA where literally every metric started going the wrong way. This year he's been brutal: incredibly hittable, wild, and homer-happy. Maybe it's mostly injury-related, and he's definitely looked a little better lately, but it's damning with faint praise: I'm not exactly cheering about Balazovic going from getting his brains beat in over 3 innings to being kinda ok over 4 or 5. he needs a big reset. (normally I'd say he'd be a contender to go to the AFL and try and build on the late-season stuff, but maybe he really needs to just go home for the winter, work the program, rest, and forget all about 2022)

Julien has had a wonderful year. It was fair to be skeptical of his OBP from last year (he was a more advanced hitter, it's A-ball where guys are wilder, etc) but he's continued to be an on-base machine in AA and done a fine job punishing the ball when he does decide to swing at it. I'm pretty excited about his future...as a hitter, at least. Are they using the automated strike zone in AA?

[roger]

Exciting seeing both comebacks for the A ball clubs.  Now let's get two wins tonight.

Was excited when the Twins drafted Cavaco.  That was before the past two seasons led to a lot of disappointment.  Isn't setting the world on fire this year, but has taken a big step forward.  Maybe, just maybe there is more in the tank and he is able to develop into a solid big league player.

Seems that Julien has a multi-hit game almost every night.  Love that kid.  What is interesting is that Severino is hitting close to .300 at Wichita.  Will the more than $2M the Twins have invested in him be the reason he gets added to the 40-man?  Do any of the TD insiders have any thoughts on his future?

[puckstopper1]

Happy for Cavaco.  Nice to see him come up huge especially given how tough this year has been for him.

[FlyingFinn]

52 minutes ago, roger said:

What is interesting is that Severino is hitting close to .300 at Wichita.  Will the more than $2M the Twins have invested in him be the reason he gets added to the 40-man?  Do any of the TD insiders have any thoughts on his future?

My opinion is no, as we are more likely to protect a borderline pitcher like Headrick.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, roger said:

Seems that Julien has a multi-hit game almost every night.  Love that kid.  What is interesting is that Severino is hitting close to .300 at Wichita.  Will the more than $2M the Twins have invested in him be the reason he gets added to the 40-man?  Do any of the TD insiders have any thoughts on his future?

I would be surprised if Severino gets selected in the Rule 5 draft. He can hit but his bat is not MLB ready yet and he is not a great fielder. Rule 5 draft picks tend to be pitchers who teams can stick in the bullpen or athletes who are strong fielders.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Rosterman said:

Question is, will Austin Martin go to AAA?

Most likely. There are scenarios where he is the opening day SS due to a series of unfortunate events.

[Matt Braun]

3 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

Jaylen Nowlin pitched in relief yesterday for Cedar Rapids and is going to start today's game?

Just changed it; can't trust MiLB.com all the time, unfortunately 

[Steve Lein]

5 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

Jaylen Nowlin pitched in relief yesterday for Cedar Rapids and is going to start today's game?

He was the scheduled starter, but when you need a boost in a win-or-go-home playoff game you go to your horses to keep you alive.

Orlando Rodriguez appears to getting the nod now in his stead.

[LewFordLives]

We needed Larnach two months ago. Too late now. Might as well stay home at this point and get healed for next year.