Twins Minor League Report (4/19): The Arrival of Raya

TRANSACTIONS

• In Fort Myers, IF Jesus Feliz was activated from the 7-day IL and was in the lineup batting sixth and playing first base for the Mighty Mussels.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 0, Toledo 11
Box Score

Jose Miranda led off the game for the Saints with a double, but that was literally as good as it would get for them the rest of it. As a team they managed just three hits, were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, and left only five men on base on the night. In addition to Miranda’s double, Mark Contreras and Jermaine Palacios each had a single.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t any better for the pitching staff either as Toledo scored at least one run in six of their eight at-bats. Starter Cole Sands went just 1 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits and a walk. Wladimir Pinto, Jovani Moran, Jordan Gore, and Ryan Mason went the next six innings, combining to allow six runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out ten. Catcher David Banuelos was even called upon to get the final out of the game for the Saints and did so with one pitch.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Midland 4, Wichita 6
Box Score

The Wind Surge got a nice bounce-back start from right-hander Matt Canterino in this one, going three hitless innings. He struck out the side in the first on just 11 pitches but labored a little from there. In total, he walked two and struck out six, throwing 51 pitches (29 for strikes) in his outing. He was getting several swings and misses on mid-90s fastballs when he put them inside the zone, but also missed quite often. Overall a very encouraging outing from the top prospect, however. 

He also got some help from his defense, as left-fielder Leobaldo Cabrera definitely saved a couple of runs with this catch to rob a home run in the second inning:

Wichita took a 3-0 lead after the second inning as Michael Helman led off the frame with his second home run of the season, and later Cole Sturgeon drove in the other two runs with a single to right field.

After Canterino’s exit the RockHounds were able to jump on reliever Kody Funderburk in the fourth, as he allowed a two-run homer to cut the lead to one. Funderburk would finish three total innings, allowing two other hits and two walks while striking out two. Zach Featherstone was credited with a blown save and the win after allowing a game-tying two-run home run in the seventh.

He got the win as the Wind Surge lineup came right back in the bottom half. Spencer Steer drove in one with a fielder’s choice ground ball to score Austin Martin, who had singled and stole his seventh base of the season before that, and Helman added a sac fly to make the final score 6-4.

Austin Schulfer finished off the final two innings to pick up his second save, allowing two hits and striking out three.

Dennis Ortega had two hits, Matt Wallner drew two walks and scored a run, and Martin was 1-for-3 with two walks in the game.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Peoria 3, Cedar Rapids 4
Box Score

The Kernels got another strong start from left-hander Cade Povich in their series opener with Peoria. He pitched into the fifth inning, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings pitched. Though he struck out the first two batters of the fifth inning he had reached his pitch count at 81 in the game and was removed. He struck out nine hitters in the game and now has 17 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings pitched on the season in his two starts. 

Cedar Rapids scored single runs in the first and second innings thanks to RBI singles from Jair Camargo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. They took the lead back in the bottom of the sixth when Wander Javier slugged his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to make it 4-2.

Bradley Hanner was the first relief pitcher for the Kernels and went a scoreless 1 1/3 innings. Cody Laweryson went the next 1 1/3, allowing one run on one walk while striking out two. Osiris German finished off the eighth then came back out for the ninth and got into some trouble. A leadoff single was followed by a sac bunt and an error to put the tying run 90-feet away with two outs. But Seth Gray made a diving play to his left at first base, knocking down a screaming grounder, and was able to flip it to German at first base to secure the win. It was German’s third save of the young season and he struck out two in his 1 2/3 innings.

Encarnacion-Strand (2-for-4, R, RBI, 2 K) and Camargo (2-for-4, RBI) had multiple hits and Aaron Sabato drew two walks in the game. As a team, they collected eight hits, were 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base in improving to 8-2 on the season.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 2
Box Score

Before he had even made a professional appearance, starting pitcher Marco Raya was heading into the 2022 season with some major helium as a prospect. After a solid debut last week, you could say Raya officially provided evidence for that helium on this night. He was lights out for six innings, allowing just a single in the first inning, and went on to retire every hitter he faced after that (16 in a row). He had multiple strikeouts in four of his six innings and punched out the last five hitters he faced to reach double-digit strikeouts with 10 on the game. Hopefully, that’s the first of many times moving forward for the 19-year-old phenom. Even more impressive may be that he did this all on just 68 pitches, with 49 of them going for strikes (72%), and 17 of them swinging.

The Mighty Mussels lineup gave him all the support he and the bullpen would need in the fifth inning, scoring all four of their runs thanks to some wildness from the pitcher and RBI singles from Kyler Fedko and Noah Cardenas. Jake Rucker and Dillon Tatum provided the other two hits in the game, and Noah Miller drew two walks.

Malik Barrington allowed two runs on two hits in two innings of relief, striking out one. Hunter Mcmahon picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Marco Raya, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (W, 6 IP, H, 10 K)
Hitter of the Day - Wander Javier, Cedar Rapids Kernels (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-3, R, 2 BB, K, SB (7)
#2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, K
#3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2B, K
#6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 3 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 6 K
#10 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 0-for-2, R, 2 BB
#11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - Pinch runner in the ninth
#12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, SB (1)
#13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - L, 1 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, BB
#15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, R, 3 K
#18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R, RBI, BB

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

St. Paul @ Toledo (5:35 PM CDT) - RHP Mario Sanchez (0-0, 4.50 ERA)
Midland @ Wichita (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Sean Mooney (0-0, 6.00 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Dunedin (6:00 PM CDT) - LHP Steve Hajjar (0-0, 12.00 ERA)

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!