Twins Minor League Week in Review (5/24-30): Mighty Mussels Out-Muscle Marauders

All teams sign minor-league veterans each offseason, hoping they help the Triple-A team, but knowing more of them than they would have guessed will have to come up to the big leagues. The Twins are currently in a position to have to do that again this week with all the injuries, Covid, and a trip to Canada creating issues. 

On the positive side of that, we get stories like Jermaine Palacios who signed with the Twins way back in 2013. He made himself into a quality prospect and was traded to the Rays before the 2018 season in the Jake Odorizzi deal. He became a minor-league free agent after the 2020 season. Despite offers from other organizations, Palacios returned to the Twins. He spent 2021 in Wichita. He has been solid in a utility role in St. Paul this year. And on Tuesday, he is making his MLB debut at shortstop for the Twins in Detroit. What a story!  

If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week.

TRANSACTIONS 
With no Monday Minor League Report, here are the transactions from later on Sunday and on Monday. 

• Royce Lewis was placed on the IL. Jose Miranda was recalled from St. Paul. 
• LHP Denny Bentley and C Jair Camargo were promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. OF Kennie Taylor was sent back to the Kernels. 
• Cole Sands is the 27th man for the Twins today. 
• Jermaine Palacios called up to the Twins. 
• The Twins have signed John Andreoli and assigned him to the Saints. With Alex Kirilloff and Mark Contreras with the Twins on the taxi squad, the Saints need outfield help. Andreoli has MLB time with the Orioles and Mariners in 2018 and with the Padres in 2021. He was recently released by the Phillies organization. You may recall, the UConn alum played for the Rochester Red Wings in 2019. 
• Michael Helman was also promoted from Wichita to St. Paul 

RESULTS

• Previous Week in Review (5/17-5/23):Steer Navigates Wichita, Sent to Saints 
• Tuesday: Offenses Explode in Series Openers 
• Wednesday: Cavaco Carries Mussels to Big Win 
• Thursday: Stars Shine in St. Paul, Schmidt Goes Off in Florida   
• Friday: Saints Walk it Off 
• Saturday: Tons of Offense 
• Sunday: Saints Walk Off, Wind Surge Split Series in Corpus Christi 

MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT 

• Spencer Steer Closing in on the Twins
• Twins Prospects Being Slept On 
• One Twins Pitching Prospect on the Rise 
• All Arms on Deck: Should the Twins Accelerate Matt Canterino? 
• Royce Lewis vs. Alex Kirilloff: Who’s Next in Line? 
• Royce Lewis is Grateful to be Playing Again Everyday After Missing Two Seasons 
• Royce Lewis Suffers a Bone Bruise in his Knee 
• Schulfer Finally Promoted to St. Paul 

WEEK IN REVIEW 

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints
Week: 4-3, hosting Indianapolis 
Season: 20-27 overall, 9th place out of ten teams in the International League West. They are 12 1/2 games behind Nashville. 

It was a rough couple of weeks on the road for the Saints. They came into last week having lost 11 games on their 12-game road trip. They returned to CHS Field for a seven-game series against the Pirates Triple-A affiliate. They actually lost the first two games of the series. But they won the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader and then their next two as well. A winning week is a good thing and hopefully can propel them going forward. The challenge is the big-league club has been decimated by injuries, Covid, and a trip to Canada this weekend which tears up the Saints’ roster. The Saints’ bats put up 49 runs in the seven games. The pitchers gave up 50 runs. 

• Spencer Steer made a strong first impression in his first week in Triple-A. He played all seven games and went 7-for-25, hitting .280/.400/.550 (.950) with a double and two home runs. He walked four times (even once intentionally), and struck out just three times. 
• Jermaine Palacios played in six games. He went 8-for-23 and hit .348/.400/.609 (1.009) with three doubles, a homer, and seven RBI. He walked twice and stole a base. 
• Jake Cave played in six games. He went 8-for-27 and hit .296/.296/.630 (.926) with a double, a triple, two home runs, and eight RBI. He ended the week by providing a walk-off hit for the Saints. 
• Ian Hamilton pitched in three games. He tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up just one hit. He hit one batter, walked none and struck out three batters. 
• Jordan Gore worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings over three appearances. He gave up three hits and walked three batters, but was able to work out of it. 
• Mario Sanchez gave up one run on four hits in six innings during his start last week. He struck out five batters without a walk. 
• Cole Sands came off the IL last Tuesday and tossed three scoreless, one-hit innings. He was scheduled to start again on Sunday, but he was pulled from that start so that he can start Game 2 for the Twins in their doubleheader on Tuesday in Detroit. 

What’s Next? The Saints head down to Des Moines to take on the Iowa Cubs (23-24). 

Pitching Probables (RHP Jordan Balazovic, RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez, RHP Mario Sanchez, RHP Ronny Henriquez, RHP Dereck Rodriguez, TBD) 

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge 
Week: 3-3, at Corpus Christi     
Season: 26-17 overall, 2nd place in the Texas League North Division. They remain just 1/2 game behind Tulsa (27-17).  

The Wind Surge made the long trek south to Corpus Christi and split the six-game series. Wichita scored 44 runs in the six games and gave up 42 runs. Two of their losses came in one-run games while just one of their wins did. They also had a two-run win. 

Here are some of the top performances for the Wind Surge this past week: 

• Evan Sisk provided some great work out of the bullpen. Over three appearances, he threw five scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out seven batters. He had a Win and two Holds. 
• Austin Schulfer made two more appearances for the Wind Surge. He gave up two hits over 2 1/3 scoreless innings before being promoted to St. Paul finally. But not before posting a 0.39 ERA for Wichita this season. 
• Matt Canterino’s start this past week was a bit of a microcosm of his season to this point. He showed dominant stuff, striking out six batters over 2 1/3 innings. He gave up only an unearned run. He is wisely being limited with pitches and up-downs. This week, he fought his control with four walks. 
• Kody Funderburk worked 4 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. He gave up one run on two hits. He walked two and struck out three batters. 
• Chris Williams ended the week on a 12-game hitting streak. In four games last week, the catcher went 5-for-15 and hit .333/.444/.857 (1.311) with two doubles, two homers, and six RBI. He added three walks. 
• Another week, another Matt Wallner sighting. The Forest Lake alum played in all six games. He went 7-for-22 and hit .318/.464/.773 (1.237 with a double, three home runs, and nine RBI. He also walked five times and had a stolen base for good measure. 
• Leobaldo Cabrera played all six games. He went 6-for-23 and hit .261/.346/.522 (.868) with two homers and nine RBI. 

What’s Next? The Wind Surge return home for six games against Frisco. . . 

Pitching Probables (RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Blayne Enlow, RHP Matt Canterino, RHP Casey Legumina, RHP Louie Varland, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson)    

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels
Week: 3-3, hosting Wisconsin  
Season: 29-16 overall, 1st place in the Midwest League West Division, 1.0 games ahead of Wisconsin (28-17). They are two games ahead of South Bend (27-18)

It was a highly competitive week of games between the top two teams in the division. The two teams split the six-game series. Only one of the games was decided by less than four runs. The Kernels had wins of 13-2 and 9-0 among the first three games. Cedar Rapids would win a game and take a two-game division lead, but the Rattlers followed with a win to bring it back to a one-game difference. The Kernels outscored Wisconsin 38-23.  

• He is playing all over the diamond, but that is certainly not hurting Anthony Prato at the plate. In six games last week, he went 10-for-25 and hit .400/.483/.720 (1.203) with a double, two triples, and a home run. The table-setter at the top of the order walked four times and scored nine runs in the six-game series.
• Aaron Sabato brought back a bit of a leg kick and closed his stance a little, and the results were positive last week. In six games, he went 8-for-25 and hit .320/.393/.640 (1.033) with two doubles, two homers and eight RBI. 
• Will Holland has had a very solid May. In five games last week, he went 6-for-18 and hit .333/.429/.500 (.929) with a double, a triple, and three RBI. He also went 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts. 
• Aaron Rozek got the Kernels off to a good start for the week. The lefty tossed five shutout innings in his start. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out two batters. 
• Sawyer Gipson-Long had a strong start on Thursday. He gave up just two hits over six scoreless innings. While he walked four, he also struck out seven batters.  
• David Festa pitched four innings, piggybacking after Brent Headrick, on Saturday. He gave up just one run on a solo homer. 
• Seven Kernels relievers pitched without allowing a run. Miguel Rodriguez and Andrew Cabezas tossed three scoreless, hitless innings. Bradley Hanner, Derek Molina, and Ryan Shreve each tossed two scoreless innings. 

What’s Next? The Kernels will travel to Lansing for six games this week. . 

Pitching Probables (LHP Cade Povich, RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long, RHP John Stankiewicz, RHPDavid Festa, LHP Brent Headrick, RHP Sean Mooney/LHP Aaron Rozek)   

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels
Week: 5-1, @ Bradenton
Season: 30-14 overall, 1st place in the Florida State League West, 7.0 games ahead of Clearwater (23-21). 

Ft. Myers certainly flexed their Mussels last week on the road in Bradenton. They won the first five games of the series before a 4-2 loss on Sunday. They outscored the Marauders 45-15 during the week with their five wins being by an average of more than six runs. They scored nine or more runs four times, and there were some impressive performances from the hitters, and the pitchers too. 

• For the second straight week, 2021 second-round pick Steve Hajjar did not allow a run. He gave up two hits and walked a batter over 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He had one walk and ten strikeouts. 
• Pierson Ohl has improved each time he’s pitched this season. Last week, he gave up only one hit over five shutout innings. He walked one and struck out seven batters.
• Marco Raya gave up two runs (1 earned) over five innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Mike Paredes gave up two runs on three hits in five innings. He struck out seven batters without issuing a walk.  
• Seven Mussels relievers did not allow an earned run last week. Matt Mullenbach returned to the roster. He gave up only an unearned run over four innings in two outings. 
• Kyle Schmidt continues to do a nice job with the young, talented pitching staff, and he’s provided some pop every now and then too. In three games last week, he went 4-for-12 (.333) with a double, two homers and five RBI. 
• Emmanuel Rodriguez played in five games. He went 6-for-18 and hit .333/.500/.667 (1.167) with two home runs and five RBI. He also walked six times. 
• Keoni Cavaco had another strong week. The 20-year-old played in all six games. He went 8-for-24 and hit .333/.407/.625 (1.032) with two doubles, a triple, a homer, and seven RBI. 
• Noah Miller played in five games. He went 6-for-20 and hit .400/.478/.600 (.978) with two doubles. He walked three times, and he stole three more bases. 
• Kala’i Rosario went 6-for-19 and hit .316/.381/.579 (.960) with two doubles, a homer and five RBI. 

What’s Next? The Mighty Mussels will return home to take on Tampa. Never too early to start beating the Yankees!  

Pitching Probables (RHP Mike Paredes, LHP Steve Hajjar, RHP Marco Raya, LHP Jaylen Nowlin,, RHP Travis Adams, RHP Pierson Ohl)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week. The Prospect Tracker will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season.  

#1 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 6 G, 8-for-28 (.286), 0-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 7 K (Season: 34 G, .313/.405/.534 (.940), 12-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 30 R, 14 RBI, 18 BB, 32 K)
#1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1 G, 0-for-1 (.000), 0-2B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K (Season: 12 G, .300/.317/.550 (.867), 4-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 5 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K) 
#2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 5 G, 6-for-23 (.261), 1-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K (Season: 40 G, .258/.377/.333 (.710), 7-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 31 R, 14 RBI, 22 BB, 25 K, 20 SB, 2 CS)
#3 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - Covid IL (Season: 8 GS, 43.1 IP, 11 R, 29 H, 14 BB, 42 K, 5-2, 2.28 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 8.7 K/9)
#4 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - In MLB (Season: 21 G, .256/.295/.442 (.737), 10-2B, 2-HR, 10 R, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 14 K)
#4 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - Week: 4 G, 6-for-11 (.545), 2-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K (Season: 20 G, .183/.216/.338 (.554), 5-2B, 2-HR, 5 R, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 14 K)
#5 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 3.1 IP, 5 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K  (Season: 4 GS, 13.0 IP, 18 R, 14 ER, 22 H, 8 BB, 12 K, 0-2, 9.69 ERA, 2.31 WHIP, 5.5 BB/9, 8.3 K/9)

#6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 1 GS, 4.0 IP,  4 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 6 K (Season: 8 GS, 41.2 IP, 15 R, 14 ER, 29 H, 14 BB, 42 K, 2-2, 3.02 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9, 9.1 K/9)
#7 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - Covid IL  (Season: 7 G, 3 GS, 29.1 IP, 14 R, 12 ER, 27 H, 9 BB, 23 K, 2-2, 3.68 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 7.1 K/9)
#8 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 2 G, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K  (Season: 17 G, 22.1 IP, 6 R, 14 H, 4 BB, 32 K, 0-1, 4 Saves, 2.42 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 1.6 BB/9, 12.9 K/9)
#9 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 1 GS, 2.1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 4 BB, 6 K (Season: 10 G, 9 GS, 30.2 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 14 H, 18 BB, 46 K, 0-1, 2.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 5.3 BB/9, 13.5 K/9)
#10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 5 G, 6-for-18 (.333), 0-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 5 RBI, 6 BB, 8 K (Season: 40 G, .250/.471/.475 (.946), 4-2B, 1-3B, 7-HR, 30 R, 19 RBI, 47 BB, 49 K)

#11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 5 G, 8-for-20 (.400), 2-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K (Season: 39 G, .288/.419/.397 (.816), 6-2B, 2-3B, 2 HR, 31 R, 11 RBI, 31 BB, 44 K)
#12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 2 GS, 9.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 9 BB, 10 K  (Season: 9 G, 8 GS, 47.1 IP, 22 R, 19 ER, 38 H, 22 BB, 53 K, 4-1, 3.61 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 4.2 BB/9, 10.1 K/9)
#13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 3.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K (Season: 6 G, 5 GS, 18.2 IP, 15 R, 23 H, 6 BB, 21 K, 0-4, 7.23 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 10.1 K/9)
#13 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - (Season: 2 G, 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K, 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 0.0 BB/9, 13.5 K/9) 
#14 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 8 K (Season: 7 G, 5 GS, 24.2 IP, 21 R, 27 H, 12 BB, 25 K, 0-2, 7.66 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 4.4 BB/9, 9.1 K/9)
#15 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (Season: 7 G, 6 GS, 29.0 IP, 11 R, 8 ER, 23 H, 9 BB, 31 K, 3-1, 2.48 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 9.6 K/9)  

#16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - (Season: 35 G, .307/.385/.558 (.976), 13-2B, 1-3B, 8-HR, 27 R, 30 RBI, 14 BB, 23 K)
#16 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 7 G, 7-for-25 (.280), 1-2B, 2-HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K (Season: 7 G, .280/.400/.560 (.960), 1-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 5 R, 4 RBI, 14 BB, 23 K)
#17 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 9 K (Season: 7 GS, 32.2 IP, 17 R, 13 ER, 27 H, 9 BB, 46 K, 3-3, 3.58 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 12.9 K/9) 
#18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 6 G, 5-for-24 (.208), 0-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K (Season: 43 G, .304/.365/.526 (.891), 8-2B, 3-3B, 8-HR, 26 R, 39 RBI, 16 BB, 48 K)
#19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1 G, 0-for-1 (.000), 0-2B, 0-HR, 0 BB, 0 K (Season: 24 G, .270/.434/.392 (.826), 4-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 14 R, 10 RBI, 23 BB, 21 K)
#20 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 GS, 3.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 3 K (Season: 3 GS, 10.2 IP, 10 R, 9 ER, 13 H, 4 BB, 15 K, 0-0, 7.59 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 5.4 BB/9, 5.4 K/9)  

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 
Hitter of the Week: Outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels   
This is the second player of the week honor for Rodriguez. He was the choice for Hitter of the Month in April, and he’s been solid again in May. A week ago he went 0-for-12 for the week, but he walked 10 times, continuing to show a much better strike zone management. And, the Florida State Leagues is typically not beneficial for hitters, but he has performed and shown his immense power. 

Rodriguez played in five games last week in Bradenton. He went 6-for-18 and hit .333/.500/.667 (1.167) for the week. In 40 games this season, he is hitting .250/.471/.475 (.946) with four doubles, a triple, and seven home runs. He has 49 strikeouts, but he also has 47 walks. And for good measure, he’s got ten stole bases. 

Rodriguez signed with the Twins in July 2019 for $2.5 million out of Santiago. He was unable to make his debut until 2021. Last year, in 37 FCL Twins games, he hit .214/346/.524 (.870) with five doubles, two triples, and 10 home runs. He also stole nine bases. 

Pitcher of the Week: RHP Pierson Ohl, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels  
Pierson Ohl was the Twins 14th round draft pick in 2021 out of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. He had gone to a small high school in Simi Valley, California, and decided to join his brother Carson in college. As a junior last year, he went 10-2 with a 2.60 ERA over 16 games (15 starts). He had 103 strikeouts to go with just 12 walks in 100 1/3 innings. After signing, he pitched in one game in the FCL. 

He made his full-season debut in 2022 on the Mighty Mussels Opening Day roster. He has experienced ups and downs already. Twice In three of his seven starts, he has given up four or five runs. In his four other starts, he’s given up one run or less. Last Tuesday, he had the best start of the season. He tossed five scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out seven batters. 

Overall, Ohl is 2-2 with a 5.33 ERA. In 27 innings, he has walked just six and struck out 25 batters.    
 

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the players and the teams in the COMMENTS below.