Minor League Report (5/28): Tons of Offense

TRANSACTIONS
OF Willie Joe Garry Jr. placed on IL for A+ Cedar Rapids
RHP Yennier Cano optioned to AAA St. Paul
LHP Jovani Moran recalled by Minnesota Twins
RHP Juan Minaya contract selected by Minnesota Twins
INF Tim Beckham assigned to Low-A Fort Myers on minor league rehab 

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 7
Box Score
Ronny Henriquez: 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
HR: Spencer Steer (2), Jake Cave, (3)
Multi-hit games: Mark Contreras (2-for-4)

The Saints lost a winnable game on Saturday.

Indianapolis jumped all over Ronny Henriquez, scoring five runs before the young starter could complete five innings. Henriquez continues to own great strikeout numbers since joining the Twins organization, but his ERA has yet to follow suit. We shall see which budges first.

Spencer Steer continued his assault on baseballs. The high-flying prospect has no desire to stay at AAA and is surprisingly banging on the door of the majors thanks to a  .306/.392/.599 slash-line that hints at a rare OBP/power combination oddly reminiscent of Jose Miranda's 2021 season. Of all the prospect risers in the system, few have shot as highly as Steer.

Jake Cave also homered, but the total offensive effort was not enough on Saturday.

The Saints gave up seven runs but also struck out 15 batters, flashing some punch out upside available in the high minors. Ian Hamilton descended again, lowering his season ERA to 0.84. The soon-to-be 27-year-old has reigned in command issues that plagued him in 2021, walking batters at a passable 9.1% clip while striking them out 36.4% of the time. 

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 13, Corpus Cristi 14
Box Score
Casey Legumina: 3 1/3 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
HR: Leobaldo Cabrera (4), Matt Wallner, (10), Dennis Ortega (2)
Multi-hit games: Austin Martin (2-for-6, RBI), Michael Helman (2-for-5, 2 R), DaShawn Kiersey (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI), Leobaldo Cabrera (2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI), Ernie Yake (2-for-5, R, 2 RBI)

Wichita lost a heartbreaker on Saturday.

A true barn-burner, no lead was safe on Saturday, as both teams traded blows like Muhammad Ali fighting against Joe Frazier; Leobaldo Cabrera was the big winner with his early-game grand slam.

Matt Wallner and Dennis Ortega were the other big blasters of the night.

It was a tough night for Wind Surge pitchers. Every arm allowed at least two runs, and the team ended up walking more hitters than they struck out, a bad outcome no matter how you slice it. Perhaps something was in the water, or maybe the vibes were off, but Wichita pitchers will undoubtably look to forget their outings on Saturday.

Offensively, the 7-9 hitters found an incredible amount of success, with each batter scoring at least two runs and two hits. Usually, the top of the order sets up the middle section, but Saturday proved the opposite, as those bottom hitters wrecked havoc all night long.

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 8, Wisconsin 3
Box Score
Brent Headrick: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
HR: Aaron Sabato (6), Alerick Soularie (3)
Multi-hit games: Aaron Sabato (2-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI), Will Holland (2-for-4, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI)

The Kernels won handily on Saturday.

Brent Headrick took the mound and had a rather mortal outing. The lefty had previously well-established himself as a breakout arm, but his start here was forgettable, allowing more baserunners than innings pitched while striking just three. David Festa followed with four quality innings of work, including three strikeouts and one earned run allowed.

The offense stole the show on Saturday. 

Will Holland brought home the earliest runs with a bases-clearing little-league homer that brought the game to a 3-0 advantage for the Kernels. Wisconsin eventually knotted the game, but Aaron Sabato gave Cedar Rapids a massive lead thanks to a three-run homer in the 5th. 

Alerick Soularie homered and brought home a final run with a sacrifice fly.

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 9, Bradenton 2
Box Score
Jaylen Nowlin: 4 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
HR: Emmanuel Rodriguez (7), Tim Beckham (1)
Multi-hit games: Emmanuel Rodriguez (2-for-3, HR, R, RBI, 2 BB), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI), Luis Baez (2-for-4, R, RBI)

Fort Myers won a blowout on Saturday.

It was one of those games that could have ended just about as soon as it began. Emmanuel Rodriguez blasted a solo homer in the first inning before the Mighty Mussels put up a five-spot in the following frame. Tim Beckham hit the home run in that inning. 

Fort Myers scored three more runs in the game, but it hardly mattered.

Jaylen Nowlin had the start of the night, striking out nine batters over his four innings of work. Yes, he allowed two runs as well, but acquiring 75% of one’s outs via the strikeout is a far more impressive task. Matt Mullenbach, Juan Mendez, and Niklas Rimmel combined to hold Bradenton scoreless in relief of Nowlin. Although Mendez and Rimmel walked more batters than either pitcher probably cared to, the extra base-runners never came around to score.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jaylen Nowlin
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Leobaldo Cabrera

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 – Austin Martin (Wichita) - 2-for-6, RBI
#2 – Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R, 2 K (played LF)
#12 – Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-for-2, HR, 4 R, RBI, 2 BB, K
#15 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 2-for-3, HR, R, RBI, 2 BB
#16 – Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 4 2/b IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
#18 – Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Indianapolis @ St. Paul (5:07 PM) - RHP Cole Sands
Wichita @ Corpus Christi (6:05 PM) - RHP Louie Varland
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 PM) - RHP Sean Mooney
Fort Myers @ Bradenton (11:00 AM) - TBD