Twins Minor League Week in Review: Saints Sweep

For this week again, let’s start with a Question of the Week. Leave your responses in the Comments section.  

Question of the Week: Which Twins prospect do you most want to see called up to the Twins this year? (that hasn’t already been called up) 

As always, I welcome your feedback on what you would like to see from these Week in Review articles, so let me know in the comments below. Of course, I also encourage you to read Nick’s Twins Week in Review from yesterday. 

With that, let’s look at Week 4 in the Twins minor leagues: 

RESULTS

• Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (6-0 @ Iowa), overall (13-11)
• Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (3-3 hosting Springfield), overall (14-10)
• High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (2-4, hosting Wisconsin), overall (10-14)
• Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (3-3 at Lakeland), overall (11-13) 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

With the Twins struggles this season, we have had a lot of minor league articles and the daily minor league reports. In case you missed any of them...  

• Twins Minor League Week in Review: Six-Game Series
• Tuesday: Blowout Bonanza 
• Wednesday: Two Touchdowns and an Electric Outing 
• Thursday: The Saints Come Marching In
• Patience Important for On-Base Machine Edouard Julien 
• Friday: Jax, Canterino Continue to Shove 
• Saturday: A No-Hitter and a Walk-Off 
• Sunday: Twins System Sweeps the Day 
• Minnesota’s Forgotten Prospect 

News & Notes 

Let’s start with a potential, maybe soon-to-be-announced transaction since we don’t have a daily minor league report today. Let the speculation begin. 

We are in the middle of “handing out” our monthly minor league awards: 

• Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month - May 2021
• Minor League Hitter of the Month - May 2021
• Minor League Relief PItcher of the Month - May 2021 - Coming Soon!

Early in the week, Saints (and Twins) LHP Andrew Albers left the team to join Team Canada at the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Florida. Albers started the first game for Canada on Monday and threw the first seven innings of the team's no-hitter against Colombia. 

On Sunday, the Mighty Mussels tossed a combined shutout which puts them in second place in the league. 

There have been very few six-game sweeps in the minor leagues so far this season, but that’s what the St. Paul Saints did in Iowa this past week. The team went into the series hitting just .161 (.9-for-56) with Runners in Scoring Position and two outs. Now, they are .247 after going 10-for-21 (.476) during the series. Overall, the Saints increased their season batting average from .215 to .227 after hitting .258 in the series. 

The Saints pitchers have not given up a home run in seven straight games. They have only allowed 12 home runs all season which is tied for the seventh fewest in all of Minor League Baseball.

No reports yet on how Balazovic’s performance went on Monday, but if you look at the pitching probables at the bottom of this page, you’ll notice there are a couple of TBDs this next weekend. (also, the TBD in Cedar Rapids is interesting). 

Highlights

We will start with the Twins choices for the organizational hitter and pitcher of the week, and then mention several other Twins prospects who had good Week 4 performances too. 

Twins Player of the Week: Jermaine Palacios, Wichita Wind Surge   

Jermaine Palacios returned to the organization he began his career with, and thrived with. He was traded to the Rays in exchange for Jake Odorizzi. Palacios really struggled in Double-A. He signed with the Twins this offseason and is off to a fantastic start. 

This week, Palacios played in all six games and hit .318/.464/.591 (1.055) with two home runs. He also walked six times. He has played in 23 of 24 games and is hitting .311/.398/.478 (.876) with three doubles and four home runs. He’s also playing fantastic defense at shortstop. 

Twins Pitcher of the Week: Griffin Jax, St. Paul Saints    

In his start this past week, Jax tossed six shutout innings at Iowa. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out ten batters to earn the Twins nod for pitcher of the week. 

Jax was the Twins third round pick in 2016 from the Air Force. He has continued to move on up and began this season with the Saints. Overall this season, Jax is 3-1 with a 3.33 ERA and a 1.33 ERA. In 27 innings, he has given up 26 hits, walked ten and struck out 29 batters.  

Other Strong Performances this Week

JT Riddle, St. Paul Saints: Riddle played in five games this week and went 10-for-20. He hit .500/.545/.950 (1.495) with three home runs, including two in Sunday’s win. 

Damek Tomscha, St. Paul Saints: Tomscha played in four games, he hit .267/.313/.733 (1.046) with a double and two home runs (both on Saturday night). 

Brent Rooker, St. Paul Saints: Rooker missed two games with a minor injury, but in four games this week, he hit .316/.316/.684 (1.000) with one double and two home runs. 

Charlie Barnes, St. Paul Saints: The southpaw starter gave up just one run on five hits over seven innings in his start in Iowa. He walked just one batter. 

Jhoan Duran, St. Paul Saints: In Duran’s second start of the year, he struck out eight batters in four innings of one-hit ball. 

RHP Ian Hamilton/Robinson Leyer/Rob Whalen: These three veteran bullpen arms combined to work 10 scoreless innings over six appearances. They struck out 12 batters. 

Jose Miranda, Wichita Wind Surge: In six games, he hit .346/.433/.538 (.972) with two doubles and a big, game-tying, two-run homer. He also had three walks to just one strikeout. 

Andrew Bechtold, Wichita Wind Surge: Bechtold got off to a slow start, but he had a terrific week. In six games, he hit .304/.360/.565 (.925) with three doubles and a home run. 

Gilberto Celestino, Wichita Wind Surge: The outfielder had a nice week (as the Twins might need another center fielder). . In six games, he hit .321/.345/.536 (880) with three doubles and a walk-off home run. 

Jovani Moran, Wichita Wind Surge: The lefty reliever threw twice and gave up just one hit over five scoreless innings. He walked two and struck out five batters. 

Cole Sands, Wichita Wind Surge: Sands made one start and threw four scoreless innings he gave up just one hit, walked three and struck out six batters. 

Seth Gray, Cedar Rapids Kernels: The third baseman turned 23 on Sunday and finished a very strong week. In six games, he hit .313/.522/.563 (1.084) with a double and a home run. He also walked five times (and was hit twice) with just two strikeouts. 

Matt Canterino, Cedar Rapids Kernels: Canterino struck out 10 batters over four innings of work. He gave up three hits, but he didn’t hurt himself with walks. And, he was named the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month for May.  

Kody Funderburk, Cedar Rapids Kernels: The lefty struck out nine batters over 4 2/3 scoreless innings in his start this week. He gave up three hits and walked two batters. 

Ben Gross, Cedar Rapids Kernels: Gross had his best start of the season for Cedar Rapids. He struck out eight batters over 4 2/3 innings of one-run baseball. He gave up just three hits and one walk. 

Melvi Acosta/Zach Featherstone/Tyler Palm, Cedar Rapids Kernels: These three relieves combined to work 7 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. They struck out 14 batters without walking any. (if you want, you can add a one batter-one out appearance from infielder Daniel Ozoria too. 

Kyle Schmidt, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: The catcher played in four games and hit .417/.588/.583 (1.172) with two doubles and four walks. The defense-first catcher is off to a great start. 

Jeferson Morales, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: The catcher/outfielder played in six games this week and hit .294/.429/.529 (.958) with a double and a home run. 

Sawyer Gipson-Long, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: The 2019 sixth-round pick struck out eight batters over 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up five hits and one walk. 

Brent Headrick, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: The lefty who was the Twins’ ninth-round pick in 2019 struck out five over five shutout innings. He gave up two hits and walked one. 

Hunter McMahon, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: The right-hander came to the Twins a year ago in the Ryne Harper trade with the Nationals. On Sunday, he tossed five shutout innings, striking out seven batters and walking just one. He gave up four hits. 

Sean Mooney, Ft. Myers Mighty  Mussels: The 2019 12th round pick from St. Johns returned from the IL and tossed three, one-hit innings. He struck out five batters. 

Bradley Hanner, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: The hard-throwing righty went two-for-two in save opportunities this week. In three innings, he gave up one hit, walked one and struck out three batters. 

Denny Bentley, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: The lefty from Howard College was good this week. Bentley struck out eight batters over three innings in his appearance. 

Lowlights

We are talking about small samples for these six-game weeks, so it’s important not to make any big decisions or develop a full impression on a player from this small size. It’s just a reminder of the fact that baseball is hard, and all players have good and bad stretches.  

St. Paul Saints

Keon Broxton missed a couple of games after rolling his wrist on a diving catch. In the three games he played, he had one hit in 12 at bats. Daniel Descalso had two hits on Sunday. Before that, he had one hit in 37 at-bats. In fact, Descalso had a stretch in which he went 0-for-40, the longest hitless streak of his career. On Sunday, he finally had a bloop, pop up single that was completely misplayed by the shortstop and third baseman, but then he followed it up with a double the next at bat. 

Andrew Vasquez was a candidate for reliever of the month before his outing this weekend. He was striking out a ton of batters and throwing strikes. Then he walked four batters (and struck out one) in 1/3 of an innings. 

Wichita Wind Surge

Peter Mooney had just one single in 19 at bats over five games (.053). He had one walk and 16 strikeouts. 

Lefty Bryan Sammons made two starts and gave up eight earned runs over a combined eight innings. In the first start of the week, he gave up solo home runs to the leadoff batter in three of the first four innings and that’s about it. The second outing involved more hits to score the runs. 

Cedar Rapids Kernels

They scored ten on Sunday, but it was a rough week for the Kernels. They were no-hit in Game 1 of Saturday’s double-header, and then didn’t get a hit in Game 1 until there was one out in the sixth inning of Game 2. Jair Camargo played in five games and went 0-for-15, though he did walk four times. Their other catcher, Alex Isola played in five games as well, and he went 0-for-10, though he walked six times. Gabe Snyder went 1-for-11 in four games. Spencer Steer went 3-for-20 (.150). 

Relievers Jordan Gore and Derek Molina each pitched twice this week. Each worked 3 1/3 innings. Each gave up five earned runs for a 13.50 ERA. Owen Griffith gave up six runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings of relief. Four of the runs scored in one inning. 

Ft. Myers Might Mussels

Justin Washington was signed recently and just added to the Mussels roster this week. He played in five games and went 2-for-18 (.111) with three walks and seven strikeouts. Aaron Sabato hit just .118. He had seven walks (good) and nine strikeouts (not good) in 24 plate appearances. 

Trending Storyline 

We have seen it with the big-league club. Injuries have absolutely devastated the Twins and other teams around baseball. It’s no different in the minor leagues. 

Matt Wallner (wrist) and Blayne Enlow (elbow) will both miss some time. Keoni Cavaco returned on Sunday after missing a week with a shoulder injury. Brent Rooker has missed a few games. Ft. Myers has had a handful of pitchers miss time. 

Simply put, the Twins have needed bodies, and they are signing players from all over the place to help fill rosters. Just since the beginning of the season, the Twins have added the following players: 

Justin Washington: The 23-year-old was the Dodgers 35th round pick from Savannah State in Georgia. He was released a month ago. Needing outfielders in the lower levels, the Twins signed the burly, strong outfielder and he has joined the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels. 

Daniel Descalso: The Twins started having injuries and players were being called up from Rochester. There was the COVID situation. Tzu Wei-Lin went on the IL. Zander Wiel on the IL. The Twins signed the 10-year MLB veteran utility man who spent last season with the Cubs alternate site. He has struggled since joining the Saints (see Lowlights). 

BJ Boyd: The burly outfielder reached Triple-A in 2018. He missed the 2019 season, and was going to play for the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2020, but their season was cancelled. He was having a strong spring training for them, and the Twins needed an upper-level outfielder. In his first game, he had four hits. 

Sherman Johnson: Johnson reached Triple-A with the Angels in 2019. However, this season, he was set to join the Kane County Cougars, a former Midwest League team that is now an independent league team. He has been a utility guy for Wichita since joining the team. 

Brandon Koch: Koch signed to play with the Twins in 2020 and pitched in spring training, but after the minor league season was cancelled, he pitched for the Sugar Land Lightning Sloths of the Constellation Energy League. He was going to play with the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association this year. After signing, he pitched briefly with the Cedar Rapids Kernels a couple of times before moving up to Wichita. 

Rob Whalen: The former big leaguer retired from baseball in February of 2019 due to depression and anxiety. He returned in 2020, going to Mets spring training, but was released in May. He signed with the West Virginia Power of the Atlantic League , but before the season started, the Twins signed him. He began with a couple of games in Wichita and is now with the Saints. 

Jordan Milbrath: The Springfield, MN, native reached Triple-A for Cleveland and Miami in 2018 and 2019, respectively. In 2020, he went to spring training with the Diamondbacks but was sent home due to COVID. He actually played amateur baseball for Springfield. He works as a financial advisor, but the Twins convinced him to head to Ft. Myers where he’s been getting ready for an assignment. 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects have performed on the season. This was requested in the comments last week. Let me know if it provides value. 

#1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) – St. Paul (2 rehab games, went 3-6 with 2 homers, 2 K), Minnesota (21 games, .256/.289/.474 (.764) with 5 doubles, 4 homers, 15 RBI, 4 BB, 22 K)

#2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL)

#3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – St. Paul (3 games, went 3-11 with two homers, two walks, 8 strikeouts), Minnesota (20 games, .228/.389/.456 (.845) with 4 doubles, 3 homers, 7 RBI, 12 BB, 19 K) 

#4 - Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul) – St. Paul (24 games, .217/.340/.446 (.786) with four doubles, five homers, 16 BB, 26 K), Minnesota (11 games, .147/.216/.176 (.393) with one doubles, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 18 K)

#5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – St. Paul (2 GS, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 14 K, 1.29 ERA, 1.14 WHIP) 

#6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Injured List (back)

#7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – Ft. Myers (19 games, .230/.305/.297 (.602) with 2 doubles, 1 homer, 8 RBI, 7 BB, 24 K, 4 SB)

#8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – Ft. Myers (23 games, .138/.355/.263 (.618) with 4 doubles, 2 homers, 7 RBI, 24 BB, 40 K) 

#9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Cedar Rapids (4 GS, 18.0 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 35 K, 1.00 ERA, 0.72 WHIP)

#10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Cedar Rapids (3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) - elbow injury, out 6-8 weeks. 

#11 - Gilberto Celestino (Wichita) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K). 

#12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (19 games, .227/.366/.470 (.836) with one double, 3 homers, 15 BB, 24 K), Minnesota (8 games, .103/.133/.241 (375) with 1 double, 1 homer, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 13 K)

#13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – Cedar Rapids (17 games, .333/.384/.621 (1.005) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 14 RBI, 5 BB, 28 K) - wrist injury. 

#14 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – Ft. Myers (17 games, .206/.320/.286 (606) with 11 RBI, 9 BB, 18 K, 3 SB)

#15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – Wichita (5 GS, 22.0 IP, 13 H, 12 BB, 28 K, 2.45 ERA, 1.14 WHIP) 

#16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow)

 https://www.instagram.com/p/CPYBUTeph4x/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 

#17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) – St. Paul (5 games, .286/.318/.571 (.890) with3 doubles, 1 homer, 1 BB, 6 K), Minnesota (13 games, .179/.258/.286 (544) with 1 homer, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 11 K)

#18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A (injured)

#19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – Wichita (24 games, .319/.389/.564 (953) with 5 doubles, 6 homers, 24 RBI. 8 BB, 11 K)

#20 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) – St. Paul (4 GS, 16.0 IP, 13 H, 5 BB, 21 K, 2.81 ERA, 1.13 WHIP), Minnesota (1 GS, 4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 9.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) 

LOOKING AHEAD

St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (Regi Grace, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Louie Varland, Sean Mooney, Hunter McMahon, Brent Headrick): 

Cedar Rapids @ Ft. Wayne:(Tyler Beck, Kody Funderburk, TBD, Jon Olsen, Andrew Cabezas, Ben Gross)

Arkansas @ Wichita: (Chris Vallimont, Austin Schulfer, Josh Winder, Cole Sands, TBD, TBD) 

St. Paul @ Louisville: (Charlie Barnes, Jhoan Duran, Chandler Shepherd, Bailey Ober, Griffin Jax, Charlie Barnes): 
 

Feel free to provide some feedback below regarding these reports. What do you like to read? What types of information would you like added? Also, feel free to ask any questions you like.