Twins Minor League Report (7/26): Wind Surge and Kernels Powered to Wins

TRANSACTIONS
There were a slew of transactions in the system leading into Tuesday’s games.

• RHP Tyler Viza was released from the St. Paul Saints roster, and RHP Daniel Gosset was assigned from the Wind Surge in his place..
• In Double-A, RHP Francis Peguero was assigned to Wichita from Cedar Rapids, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, and RHP Blayne Enlow were activated from the injured list. SS Kevin Merrell was released, and RHP Melvi Acosta was placed on the development list.
• In Fort Myers, LHP Ryan Horstman was sent on a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins, and LHP Jesus Toledo was released.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Iowa 6, St. Paul 2
Box Score

Devin Smeltzer took the hill for the Saints on Tuesday and was solid through his five innings. He allowed just one run on four hits and a walk while punching out six Cubs hitters. Despite that effort, he wasn’t in line for a win as his offense struggled just as much against the opposing pitchers.

They did manage to tie the game at one in the bottom of the fifth by stringing together three singles, the third of which was the RBI variety off the bat of Tim Beckham.

Drew Strotman was summoned for the sixth inning and allowed a hit, a walk, and an unearned run for the Cubs to retake the lead. Juan Minaya came on for the seventh and delivered a scoreless inning.

In the bottom half, the Saints put together a two-out rally, started by a Spencer Steer walk. Jake Cave then brought him home with a double to tie the game at two.

Back out for the eighth, Minaya ran into trouble and a fielders choice grounder allowed another go-ahead run to score for the Cubs. Minaya finished 1 1/3, striking out one. 

With rain and lightning rearing its head by this point, the game was at risk of being suspended at any point. They made it into the top of the ninth inning and Evan Sisk had recorded three outs by that point, including two K’s, but a single and a walk in the ninth came before being delayed. 

When play resumed, Wladamir Pinto was brought in to pitch, and it didn’t go well. A double, walk, and sac fly resulted in three more runs for the Cubs, and a 6-2 lead.

A pair of walks to start the bottom of the ninth gave some good vibes, but they were quickly erased by a double-play ball from Steer, and a strikeout from Cave to end the game.

The Saints got multi-hit efforts from Beckham (2-for-4, RBI, K) and Jermaine Palacios (2-for-4, 2 K). As a team, they were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
NW Arkansas 3, Wichita 9
Box Score

Wichita took the lead early and never looked back in this one, putting it well out of reach late.

Blayne Enlow was given the start after being activated from the injured list and pitched the first two innings. He faced the minimum and allowed just a walk, and struck out one. Simeon Woods Richardson joined him on the return from the IL, and went the next two innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.

The Wind Surge had taken a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a two-run home run from Chris Williams, his 18th of the season. The game was relatively quiet from there until the seventh, when Wichita extended their lead to 5-0 thanks to a three-run bomb from Cole Sturgeon.

They tacked on four more in the eighth thanks to a two-run single from Christian Encarnacion-Strand, sac fly from Williams, and RBI double from Andrew Bechtold. 

After Enlow and Woods Richardson were done, Cody Laweryson (3 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 K), Alex Phillips (2/3 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, K), and Denny Bentley (1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, K) finished off the win for Wichita.

Encarnacion-Strand (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, K), Sturgeon (2-for-3, R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Bechtold (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB, K), and Nash Knight (2-for-3, R, BB, K) each had two hits in the win. Out of the leadoff spot, Edouard Julien went 1-for-4, scored two runs, and drew a walk.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 10, Wisconsin 4
Box Score

The Kernels fell behind 4-1 through four innings in this one but came back big late to take care of the Timber Rattlers.

John Stankiewicz made the start and completed three innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out two. While warming up for the fourth inning, he appeared to suffer an injury and had to leave the game. Tyler Palm replaced him and went the next two innings. He allowed two runs of his own on two hits and two walks.

Cedar Rapids got on the scoreboard first in the opening frame, when Yunior Severino doubled, and a relay throw got away from the shortstop allowing Aaron Sabato, who had drawn a walk, to scamper home. They didn’t score again until the sixth, and that’s when the tides began to turn.

They closed the gap to 4-3 thanks to a Severino two-run homer. They tied it at four in the seventh on a sac fly from Will Holland to score Wander Javier, who had led off the inning with a double. They took a 5-4 lead in the eighth when, you guessed it, Severino added another RBI double to his ledger.

Orlando Rodriguez (2 IP, 3 H, 2 K), Hunter McMahon (1 IP, 2 K), and Jon Olsen (1 IP, 2 K) combined to shutout Wisconsin after the fourth inning.

In the ninth, the Kernels blew it wide open thanks to some wild pitching, and a big blast from one of their sluggers. Javier led off with a single, then a pair of walks and a hit by pitch scored the first run, and left the bases loaded for Sabato. He cleared them on a 3-1 pitch, sending a 436-foot blast out of the stadium in dead center to put an exclamation on the win.

Sabato finished 1-for-3, but reached base three times and scored three runs, in addition to the grand slam. Severino drove in four with his 3-for-5 night, including two doubles and a home run of his own. Javier also chipped in two hits, including a double, drew a walk, and scored two runs (don’t look now, but Javier has an .870 OPS since the start of June).

MUSSEL MATTERS
Tampa 7, Fort Myers 2 (10 innings)
Box Score

Jaylen Nowlin took the mound for the Mighty Mussels and was solid over his five innings. He allowed two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out five. Both runs came in the third inning, in which he allowed three singles. Jackson Hicks pitched two scoreless innings of relief, walking one and striking out three. He was followed by John Wilson who got them to extra innings with two scoreless frames. Back out for the tenth, however, he was charged with three earned runs on two hits and two walks, striking out one in his 2 2/3 innings.

The Fort Myers lineup was actually being no-hit through six innings, but Noah Miller finally led off the seventh with a single to end that bid. He was caught stealing during the next at-bat, but Keoni Cavaco added a single of his own and two players were hit by pitches to load the bases, but they weren’t able to cash in.

In the bottom of the ninth, it was again Miller getting a rally started, as he drew a leadoff walk. Cavaco and Kala’i Rosario then each followed with a single to get the Mighty Mussels on the board, before a pair of groundouts were enough to get Cavaco home to tie the game and send it to extra innings.

But it unraveled pretty quickly for Wilson on the mound, and Johnathan Lavallee wasn’t able to limit the damage either, allowing two hits, a walk, and two runs (one earned) of his own as they fell behind 7-2.

Cavaco’s two hits led the offense, who had just four hits on the night as a team. They were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left only six men on base for the game.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Braves 2, FCL Twins 5 (6+ innings)
Box Score

There were several games in the Florida Complex League on Tuesday that were affected by rain, and the Twins game was called official after being suspended in the top of the seventh.

Brayan Medina pitched the first four innings, allowing two runs on a homer in the first inning, but didn’t allow any other damage after that, retiring 11 to finish his outing. He walked none and struck out four. Ryan Horstman (1 IP, K), Zaquiel Puentes (1 IP, 2 BB), and Yon Landaeta (2 BB) made appearances out of the bullpen.

The Twins tied the game in the second inning, thanks to a two-run double from Ismael Perez. In the third, Danny De Andrade put them in front for good with a solo home run, his second of the season. Perez added another RBI double in the fourth, then a sac fly in the sixth to cap the scoring before the game was called. 

Perez (2-for-2, 2 2B, 4 RBI) and Gregory Duran (2-for-2, R, BB) each had two hits in the win.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 3, DSL Colorado 6
Box Score

The Twins got a solid start from right-hander Miguel Olivares, who finished five scoreless innings and left with his team-leading 3-0. He allowed just one hit, walked two, and struck out three. Relievers Oscar Paredes (2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, K) and Leonardo Lugo (2/3 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, K) combined to allow six runs and Colorado to come back. Jose Brito got the last out of the game for the Twins.

Leading the lineup was Jose Rodriguez, who went 2-for-4 including a two-run home run, his ninth of the season. Bryan Acuna also had two hits, including a double, and stole a base.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Devin Smeltzer, St. Paul Saints (5 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 6 K)
Hitter of the Day - Yunior Severino, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-5, R, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#4 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 2 IP, H, 2 K
#6 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, BB
#8 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, R, BB, K
#12 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 K
#13 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 2 IP, BB, K
#15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2 R, BB
#16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Iowa @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (3-1, 4.50 ERA)
NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Casey Legumina
Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (12:10 PM CDT) - TBD
Tampa @ Fort Myers, Game 1 (3:30 PM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (4-5, 4.37 ERA)
Tampa @ Fort Myers, Game 2 - TBD
DSL Cardinals @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CDT) - TBD

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