TRANSACTIONS
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Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 11, Louisville 1
Box Score
SP: Devin Smeltzer: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
HR: Royce Lewis (1), Chance Cisco (1)
Multi-hit games: Royce Lewis (2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 3 BB, 2B, HR), Daniel Robertson (2-for-5, 2 R, RBI, BB), Jake Cave (2-for-5, R, BB), Caleb Hamilton (3-for-5, R, 3 RBI)
It’s Royce Lewis’ world, and we’re just living in it.
The top prospect reached base five times on the back of three walks, a double, and a homer. He also flashed some leather with an excellent play rolling to his right. It’s been a small sample, but Lewis has quickly re-established why evaluators were originally high on the high school shortstop out of California.
The rest of the offense wasn’t bad. Saints bats took nine walks and dropped 14 hits on the helpless Bats pitching staff. They aren’t called the Louisville Arms. Somehow, the Saints scored 11 runs while leaving 13 players stranded on base.
Not to be outdone, Devin Smeltzer and the Saints’ pitching staff did their job as well. Smeltzer tossed four scoreless innings while Griffin Jax, Jovani Moran, and Yennier Cano combined to finish the job. Those three relievers struck out eight hitters and allowed just one run.
Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 2, Tulsa 3
Box Score
SP: Simeon Woods Richardson: 5 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None
Simeon Woods Richardson pitched a masterpiece on Saturday.
The right-handed pitching prospect was looking to improve his 2021 performance with Wichita, and Saturday was a good start. His start was the longest of the day for any Twins prospect, and it took him just 66 pitches to net 17 outs. Woods Richardson’s prospect stock may be deflated, but his talent is undeniable.
The Wind Surge offense was mainly held in check. The game took 10 innings to complete, but the bats were held to three hits and three walks on the night. Hopefully, Sunday can be a more productive day for Wichita hitters.
The game was going smoothly before two runs were scored in the 7th off of wild pitches from Austin Schulfer. In fact, if one doesn’t count the 10th inning zombie runner as legitimate, then Tulsa did not have a hit with a runner in scoring position.
Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 9, Beloit 3
Box Score
SP: Brent Headrick: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
HR: Christian Encarnacion-Strand (3)
Multi-hit games: Anthony Prato (3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI), Christian Encarnacion-Strand (5-for-5, 3 R, 5 RBI, 2B, HR)
Christian Encarnacion-Strand may not be of this planet.
The 2021 4th round draft pick went an amazing five-for-five on Saturday, one notch better than the previous day when he went four-for-five. He somehow has more RBIs on the year than plate appearances, and it should be fully expected that he somehow goes six-for-five on Sunday. He also stole a base.
The rest of the Kernels offense acted like prime Michael Jackson by dropping singles after singles in what ended up being a 13 hit effort. Like the Saints, the Kernels still left 23 men on base despite scoring nine runs.
Brent Headrick, the Twins’ 9th round pick in 2019, shoved. He punched out eight batters over five innings of work and allowed just two runs to score off two hits. Cody Laweryson and Matt Mullenbach tossed four innings with no earned runs to end the game.
Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 4, Clearwater 2
Box Score
SP: David Festa: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
HR: Emmanuel Rodriguez (1)
Multi-hit games: Emmanuel Rodriguez (2-for-3, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2B, HR)
The Mighty Mussels won a close one on Saturday.
Emmanuel Rodriguez led the offensive movement, reaching base four times and supplying two of the three RBIs from Mighty Mussels hitters. He also owned the two extra-base hits of the game for Fort Myers. The big 2019 international signee is looking to make a significant splash in his first taste of full-season minor league ball, and Saturday’s performance was just the kind of day to make his name known.
David Festa was the shining star on the mound. The tall right-hander punched out five batters while allowing just three hits over five innings of work. Festa was a 2021 draft pick, and while pitchers like Steve Hajjar and Cade Povich have received more attention, he should not be forgotten.
A rule change also aided Fort Myers. Kala’i Rosario appeared to strike out on a full count with the bases loaded to end the 8th, but he challenged the call, and the ABS system reversed the strike to a ball, leading to an insurance run to score. (Also, that would have been Rosario's fifth strikeout of the game. Instead, he settled for the Golden Sombrero and an RBI walk!)
Regi Grace and Mike Paredes combined for four innings of relief with just one earned run to win the game for Fort Myers.
TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson, Wichita Wind Surge
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Cedar Rapids Kernels
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 – Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2B
#2 – Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 3 BB, 2B, HR
#3 – Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R, RBI, 2 K
#8 – Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
#10 – Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 0-for-5, 3 K
#12 – Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2 K
#15 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 2-for-3, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, K, 2B, HR
#18 – Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-for-4, RBI, K, 2B
#19 – Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-3, BB, K
SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Louisville (12:05 PM) - RHP Jake Faria
Tulsa @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Chris Vallimont
Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 PM) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long
Fort Myers @ Clearwater (11:00 AM) - RHP Travis Adams
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