Twins Minor League Report (5/13): Might Mussels Sweep, Fedko Homers in Kernels Debut

Balazovic, Woods Richardson, and Povich were on the mound on Friday night, Friday the 13th. How did they do? Ft. Myers played two games and got terrific pitching in both games. Before jumping into how the teams did on Friday, here are a couple more minor league articles to check out: 

• Matt Canterino Continues To Dominate Minor League Hitters, from @Nash Walker.
• From Lee to Limestone: One Prospect Who  Needs More Attention (Video), from @Matthew Lenz.  

Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. 

TRANSACTIONS

• Following their 12-8 win on Friday night against Cleveland, the Twins announced that lefty Devin Smeltzer will be promoted and start on Saturday. That will require a 40-man roster move. More to come tomorrow. 
• The Twins sent OF Kyle Garlick to the Saints for a rehab assignment. 
• RHP Cole Sands placed on the 7-Day IL (groin strain). 
• RHP Tyler Viza promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. 
• Don’t be surprised if you see Blayne Enlow activated by the Wind Surge on Saturday.  

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 7, Columbus 11 
Box Score

Jordan Balazovic was back for his second Saints start. It didn’t go well for him, unfortunately. He gave up three runs in the first inning. That was followed by allowing four unearned runs in the second inning. It was his error that allowed the runs to score. In his two innings, he gave up seven runs (3 earned) on eight hits (2 HR) and two walks. He struck out one batter. 

In the top of the third inning, the Saints put up seven runs to tie the game. It started with a bases-clearing triple by Jake Cave. That was followed by a two-run homer by Kyle Garlick. Finally, Cole Sturgeon hit a double to score two more runs. Big hits create a big inning. 

Mario Sanchez came on and put up four straight zeroes. He then gave up two runs in the seventh inning. Juan Minaya got the final four outs but gave up two runs thanks to a hit and two hit batters. 

Jake Cave went 2-for-4 with a walk. Curtis Terry went 2-for-5. David Banuelos walked three times in the game. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 0, NW Arkansas 7 
Box Score

Simeon Woods Richardson was back on the mound, and he was cruising through four scoreless innings. However, in the fifth inning, a single to left, a bunt single and a walk loaded the bases. Tucker Bradley followed with a grand slam to break the scoreless game. That was really it. Woods Richardson went 5 2/3 innings. He gave up those four runs on five hits and a walk. He also struck out eight batters. 

Argenis Angulo came on and got out of the sixth, but he was charged with three runs in the seventh inning. Steven Klimek finished the game for the Surge. He gave up one hit but no more runs over the final 1 1/3 innings. 

Wichita managed just five hits in the game. Edouard Julien led the way. He went 2-for-4 in the game. Andrew Bechtold had the lone extra base hit, his fifth double. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 5 
Box Score

There’s offense, and then there is pitching-and-defense. The two have to be tied together because you can’t have one without the other. I mean, you could, but it would be weird. Anyway, that was illustrated in the third inning on Friday night. Cade Povich started the night with two scoreless innings. After a strikeout started the third inning, he hit a batter and that was followed by a double. The next batter also doubled and went to third on an error. The next batter reached on an error. After a ground ball to Wander Javier for the second out, there was another error allowing a fourth run to score. Three errors, a passed ball and four runs were on the board. 

Overall, Povich gave up five runs (3 earned) on four hits and a walk. Andrew Cabezas came on and tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Bradley Hanner continues his resurgence with two perfect innings, dropping his season ERA to 0.60. Orlando Rodriguez struck out three batters in the ninth inning. 

Outfielder Kyler Fedko made his first appearance since being promoted to the Kernels. He hit a single in his first at-bat. In the seventh inning, he hit a solo homer. Jeferson Morales went 2-for-4. Willie Joe Garry hit two doubles, his sixth and seventh of the season. 

Hope was high for a couple of Twins minor leaguers. Would Wander Javier repeating with the Kernels help his offense start to shine? And, with a solid performance in the final weeks with the Kernels, could Aaron Sabato take off in 2022? Well, Javier is now hitting .186 with a .585 OPS. Sabato is now hitting .165 with a .627 OPS. 

MUSSEL MATTERS

Game 1: 
Fort Myers 3, Palm Beach 0
Box Score

Game 2: 
Fort Myers 3, Palm Beach 2 
Box Score 

It was a good day for the Mighty Mussels, especially their pitching staff. Pierson Ohl started the first game. He gave up just a single in one scoreless inning. He was replaced by Hunter McMahon who gave up three hits over three scoreless innings. He struck out two batters. Juan Mendez struck out three batters over two scoreless innings. Matthew Swain pitched a perfect seventh inning, striking out all three batters. He recorded his sixth save and is yet to give up a run this season. 

Mike Paredes was on the mound to start the second game. The 2021 18th-round draft pick from San Diego State has been terrific out of the Ft. Myers bullpen. He was really good in this spot start. He tossed three scoreless, hitless innings. He walked one and struck out three batters. Jackson Hicks came on and struck out four batters over two perfect innings. Lefty John Wilson came on and gave up the first hit of the game in the sixth inning. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits over the final two innings to earn his first save. He struck out three batters and issued no walks. 

The Mussels scored three runs in each game. In the first inning of the first game, Keoni Cavaco singled to score both Noah Miller and Emmanuel Rodriguez. In the fifth frame, Rodriguez singled to score Jake Rucker. Rodriguez went 2-for-2 with a walk in the first game. Kyle Schmidt had the lone extra-base hit, his second double. 

The team scored early in the second game as well. In the first inning, Noah Cardenas singled to score Rucker. Then in the second inning, a Dillon Tatum sacrifice fly scored Mikey Perez, and then Rucker singled to score Daniel Ozoria. Perez went 2-for-2 in Game 2. Both of his hits were doubles. He was also hit by a pitch and stole three bases in the game. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Mike Paredes (Ft. Myers) - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Hitter of the Day – Kyler Fedko (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, HR in High-A debut 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:

#1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2B (2), HR (1), 2 R, 4 RBI.  
#2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4 (played RF) 
#5 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K (58 pitches, 37 strikes)
#6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (95 pitches, 64 strikes)
#8 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, (10 pitches, 8 strikes) 
#10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 2-for-2, BB, R, RBI
#10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - Game 2: 0-for-3, 2 K
#11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 1-for-3, R
#11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - Game 2: 0-2, BB, 2 K 
#16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 0-for-3, HBP, K
#17 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (75 pitches, 48 strikes)
#18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, HBP, K, 2 E
#19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-4, K

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05PM CST) - TBD 
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (6:05PM CST) - RHP Chris Vallimont (0-2, 9.87 ERA) 
Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-1, 2.01 ERA) 
Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (3:00 PM CST) - LHP Steve Hajjar (0-1, 3.77 ERA)  

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