operation mindcrime

Many things in MLB are changing, bigger bases, runners on second in extra innings, and now new sponsorships. In the ever-evolving world of the decriminalization of marijuana, more and more athletes and fans are using non-THC binding supplements. MLB is the first of the “League” sports organizations to use it in a sponsorship role, starting with advertising during the World Series. 
Charlotte's Web makes CBD products such as gummies and topical sprays. CBD is short for cannabidiol, a compound found in the cannabis plant and touted as a natural remedy for reducing inflammation and stress. MLB will have its logo on a "sport" version of CBD that would show that athletes use it, too.
CBD products are easy to acquire in a fully legal state; one could eschew the dispensary in favor of a pharmacy and find products like Charlotte’s Web lining a wall behind the cashiers. Although their effects can vary according to the product (ointment, tincture, and even lip balm), they generally offer a soothing, relaxing feeling that can work perfectly with the post-game de-stressing that athletes (or people in other stressful professions) undergo. Each person will respond differently, however, the result is relief from pain, or to have the ability to relax or sleep.
MLB has been entertaining the idea of Charlotte's Web as a sponsor but needed a little more assurance before signing on the dotted line. Aside from Nascar, MLB will be the first of Major League Sports to join CBD companies for sponsorships to sign a league-wide deal. Noah Garden, Chief Revenue Officer a representative from MLB stated in an article with Marijuana Moment, "We've been watching this category for a while and waiting for it to mature to the point where we can get comfortable with it. Our fans are the customers they are looking for, and we like being first. It's a good opportunity for us and the clubs." 
Baseball is constantly looking for ways to make improvements to the game so that younger fans are more likely to stay interested. From changing the pace of play with pitching clocks to adding CBD as a sponsor.
It’s part of several changes in attitude around CBD products. On June 22, 2022, MLB announced that teams could solicit and acquire CBD sponsorships, though players could not individually be sponsored or hold a stake in such companies. In 2019, MLB decided to implement a change to take place in 2020: MLB would not punish players for using it on their off-time or having a positive test, a complete reversal of their previous banned substance, where marijuana would garner a $35,000 fine. 
There are boundaries for obtaining a sponsorship, with rules and guidelines to be followed. For example, a team could only sell a CBD sponsorship if a prospective company's products were certified by NSF International, a consumer safety and product-testing organization that sports leagues use. The club would also need authorization from the MLB commissioner's office. The CBD must not have any THC, meaning that marijuana products with THC will still fall under the scrutiny of MLB. 
This new relationship is not a pass for players to engage in activities outside the Major League Drug Policy rules. The rule created in 2020 still stands and states; players can be "subject to discipline" by their team or the MLB "for engaging in certain cannabinoid-related conduct, including violations of federal, state or local laws," such as distributing marijuana or driving under the influence.
Cannabis is a large and profitable industry, and with its popularity growing, so has its profit. In 2021 alone, the cannabis industry topped $4.7 billion last year, and now MLB will start to see a cut of those profits. Charlotte's Web has started small with the MLB logo on the side of their "Sport CBD" bottle and is officially known as the "CBD of the MLB." 
There has been no formal statement from the Minnesota Twins, nor any statements on how it would affect minor league teams. Each state has rules and regulations based on its state's marijuana laws. 
Sports sponsorships have gotten away from things like cigarettes and alcohol because of the harm they can do when used in excess. Do you think that CBD as a sponsor is smart for the industry and something that will help get younger fans involved in the game? 
 

Minnesota has 18 players on the injured list, with 11 players on the 60-day IL. Because of these injuries, the team currently has 50 players on the 40-man roster. Before the team makes any moves this winter, the 40-man roster must be cleaned up. Here are the moves the Twins will need to explore before the offseason begins. 

Heading to Free Agency: Carlos Correa (player option), Gary Sanchez, Sandy Leon, Billy Hamilton, Michael Fulmer, Miguel Sano (club option), Chris Archer (club option), Dylan Bundy (club option) 
Correa’s opt-out will be something fans eagerly watch, but all signs point to him opting out and looking for a significant free agent contract. Minnesota will need catching depth with Sanchez and Leon out of the picture, so the team may look to re-sign one of their veterans. Fulmer is an intriguing option if the club wants to add him to the bullpen mix for 2023. Based on their performances this season, it seems unlikely for the team to bring back Sano, Archer, or Bundy. 
40-Man Roster: Down to 42 with these subtractions

Designate for Assignment: Jake Cave, Jermaine Palacios, Mark Contreras, Emilio Pagan (arbitration-eligible), Kyle Garlick, Danny Coulombe, Jhon Romero, Devin Smeltzer, Trevor Megill 
There are some tough decisions in this group and some players many fans don’t want to see again. Cave was optioned off the 40-man roster earlier this season and stayed in the organization, so the Twins may try something similar this winter. Minnesota can attempt to trade Pagan for a low-level prospect, or the team might DFA him without receiving anything in return. Megill is also a tough call to make for the roster. Megill looked good at different points during the 2022 season, and certainly has some really good "stuff," but has struggled recently.
40-Man Roster: Down to 33 with these subtractions

Prospects to Add: Simeon Woods Richardson, Matt Canterino, Edouard Julien, Misael Urbina
Woods Richardson was added on Sunday before his MLB debut and is part of the team’s long-term pitching plans. Canterino will miss most of the 2023 season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. However, he has one of the highest upsides of any prospect in the organization. Julien posted a .931 OPS at Double-A this season and has experience playing multiple defensive positions. According to MLB Pipeline, Urbina is a top-10 prospect in the Twins organization. He struggled in 2021 with a .585 OPS in Fort Myers, and his 2022 season started late because of visa issues. This year, he hit .247/.323/.407 (.730) with 26 extra-base hits in 60 games. Do the Twins still view him as highly as when he signed back in 2018?
40-Man Roster: Up to 37 with these additions
 
The Twins will have room to add a player in the Rule 5 Draft by making these moves. This roster flexibility also allows the team to add other players via free agency when the World Series ends. Will Minnesota keep any of the players mentioned above on the 40-man roster? Has Urbina done enough to earn a 40-man spot? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

TRANSACTIONS
None
Saints Sentinel 
St. Paul 3, Omaha 1
Box Score
Randy Dobnak: 4 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Nash Knight (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI)
The Saints won their final game of the season on Wednesday.
It had been an inconsistent and bumpy year—one similar to the season their parent franchise underwent—but the team gathered their ability and sent the fans home happy with a triumphant ending. 
Randy Dobnak manned the mound; the righty sinkerball specialist—so used to harvesting command at will—found success through unpredictable chaos; he walked three but allowed a single hit against seven strikeouts. Dobnak missed a quality start by an out. The man known for his tremendous mustache may no longer reside on the 40-man roster, but he has an entire off-season to iron out deficiencies, and he could contribute positively to a future Twins team.
St. Paul’s offense remained as dormant as their enemy; Saints batters continuously walked back to the dugout, befuddled at Alec Marsh’s stuff for inning after inning until the 5th frame. There—Nash Knight ripped a double down the right-field line, scoring Andrew Bechtold.
The game remained quiet until Knight—yet again a thorn in Omaha’s side—dashed home on a wild pitch, adding a run to the lead. The inning did not end there, however; St. Paul nabbed a third and final run when Cole Sturgeon singled in Frank Nigro.
Mario Sanchez worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Dobnak, striking out three while allowing a pair of hits and walks. 
The Saints end the year 74-75, tied for 4th in the IL West division; a slight step down from their 67-63 record in 2021, although in a different divisional context. 
TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy Dobnak
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nash Knight
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K
THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
None! 

FEEDBACK
Thank you for always being so supportive of the minor league report, as well as your participation in some great discussions in the comments. As you know, there will be a lot of minor league coverage here throughout the offseason. Next week, Twins Spotlight will return for its third Off(season). Let us know what more you would like to see. 
 
 

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Melvi Acosta placed on restricted list and removed from active roster (St. Paul)
 
 
Saints Sentinel 
St. Paul 6, Indianapolis 3
Box Score
Ariel Jurado: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
HR: Michael Helman (14), John Andreoli (15)
Multi-hit games: Roy Morales (3-for-4, 2 R), John Andreoli (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI)
Indianapolis struck first, leaving St. Paul at a 1-0 disadvantage before the first inning concluded; a Brendt Citta line-drive single plated Tucupita Marcano, and Citta reached second after a flub from right-fielder Cole Sturgeon. 
The Saints battled back; it took a few innings, but Sturgeon—perhaps looking to cancel out his error—broke the dam, tripling to right field while scoring two runs. Chris Williams knocked Sturgeon in with a well-placed groundball.
Indianapolis jabbed back, nabbing a second run after a Marcano infield single. One inning later, a Mason Martin homer knotted the game at three.
Undeterred, the Saints waited patiently, allowing innings to slip away harmlessly, leading the Guardians into an 8th-inning ambush. Michael Helman dealt the first blow; his solo homer out to right-center broke the tie and netted the speedy utility player his 14th bomb of the season. Three batters later, John Andreoli smoked a two-run shot to center, gifting the Saints the breathing room they needed; Indianapolis did not score in the final two innings.
Ariel Jurado pitched five quality innings; July 14th was the last time he allowed more than two runs in an appearance. Ryan Jeffers caught the entire game and walked once in four trips to the plate. Evan Sisk and Brad Peacock both pitched a scoreless inning in relief. 
TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ariel Jurado
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – John Andreoli
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-for-4 
SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Championship Series, Game 1: Wichita @ Frisco (5:05 PM) - LHP Kody Funderburk
 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE AWARDS
Starting Pitcher of the Year
Relief Pitcher of the Year
Hitter of the Year 
SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 1
Box Score
The Saints were able to come away with a win Friday night in Indiana behind a stellar pitching performance by Dereck Rodriguez. Rodriguez tossed five scoreless innings and allowed only one hit while walking three and striking out four. 
At the plate, third baseman Andrew Bechtold led the way, going 2-for-4 with a home run. Michael Helman (1-for-5, RBI) and John Andreoli (1-for-3, 2 RBI) also hit home runs. 
PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-for-1
#12 - Louie Varland (Minnesota) - 5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Indianapolis (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Ariel Jurado (2-2, 3.54 ERA)
 

TRANSACTIONS
NONE
SAINTS SENTINEL
Saints 4, Guardians 6
Box Score
The Saints took one on the chin Thursday. Randy Dobnak started and gave up three earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Dobnak allowed five hits while walking two and striking out one. Cole Sands was excellent in relief, pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Evan Sisk also added two scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to a sterling 2.20. 
The Saints tallied 12 hits in an overall strong offensive effort. Michael Helman went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Cole Sturgeon put the Saints on the board with an RBI single in the first, one of his two hits on the night. Roy Morales went 3-for-3 with two walks out of the cleanup spot. Morales is hitting .295/406/.404 in 42 games for the Saints. 
Nash Knight also notched two hits and Andrew Bechtold drove in two with a double in the eighth. The Saints went 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position but couldn’t quite break through enough for a win. The Saints are 69-75 with five games remaining. 
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wind Surge 11, Drillers 1
Box Score
The Wind Surge clinched their Division Series with a decisive victory Thursday. Now advancing to the Championship Series, the Wind Surge once again relied on their overwhelming offense to complete the sweep. Jair Camargo was absolutely incredible, belting two homers and driving in five. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. also blasted a homer, a solo shot in the fifth. Leobaldo Cabrera made sure to get in on the action with a two-run homer in the eighth. 
Wind Surge starter Daniel Gossett worked around five walks in his four-inning outing. Gossett struck out four and allowed one run on three hits. Cody Laweryson, continuing his outstanding campaign, struck out three over three innings of scoreless relief. Steven Cruz and Alex Phillips each added scoreless innings themselves.
It’s been a special second half for Wichita. The Surge outscored Tulsa 28-2 in the two-game sweep. Next up: the Frisco RoughRiders. Frisco swept San Antonio, setting up a great matchup in the Texas League Championship Series. Game 1 is set for Sunday at 5:05 p.m. CT in Frisco. 
TWINS MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Minor League Hitter of the Day: Jair Camargo (3-for-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI)
Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Cody Laweryson (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB, 3 K)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
#2 Brooks Lee - 0-for-5
#4 Austin Martin - 1-for-4, 2B, BB
#14 Edouard Julien - 1-for-4, 2B, BB
#17 Cole Sands - 2 1/3 IP, H, 0 R/ER, BB, 3 K
FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Saints - RHP Dereck Rodríguez
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? LEAVE THEM BELOW!
 

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (85 pitches, 55 strikes (66%)
Home Runs: 
Bottom 3 WPA:  Jose Miranda (-.220), Gio Urshela (-.098), Jermaine Palacios (-0.095) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Pitching Coach Pete Maki had to come out early in the first inning after Ober had thrown 21 pitches and given up two runs. After the mound visit, Ober calmed down and got the next three hitters out, but not without running his pitch count up to 28. This was Ober’s second game back since coming off the 60-day IL with a groin injury that put him on the shelf on June 1st. Ober has been on restrictions since returning from the IL, but went five innings on September 16th and only allowed one hit and 70 pitches. 
This game was a little different for the starting pitcher. By the time he hit the third inning, he was up to 62 pitches and three runs allowed. Ober ended up with back-to-back 1-2-3 innings. He retired the remaining seven batters he faced before handing the game over to the bullpen. 
Aaron Sanchez came for Ober and kept things tight until the wind picked up. The Royals took advantage of mother nature and got another two runs in the seventh inning. Sanchez stayed in through the eighth inning, meaning it was a day off for the remainder of the bullpen. 
The Twins' offense showed up just as soon as the Royals did, but fell flat as soon as they fired up.
In the 2nd inning, Gilberto Celestino got on base on an error which advanced Gary Sanchez to third base. Matt Wallner singled to left, scoring Sanchez and putting the Twins on the board. Wallner was also credited with driving in Nick Gordon in the fourth inning. Wallner has had a hit in all but one of his six games since joining the team and was responsible for two RBI in this game. 
Wallner has had a lot of fans since coming up. When he got his single to score Sanchez, in the dugout, Carlos Correa and Luis Arraez cheered on the rookie with goofy hand signs and smiles. 
Correa has been on fire lately at the plate. He has continually boosted his teammates, been a part of mound visits, and ensured that his teammates knew that he was there to help them grow. There have been many endearing moments of him with teammates, but the best relationship has been with fellow 2012 draftee, Byron Buxton. The top two picks that year had time to talk during the Midwest League All-Star Game in Dayton, Ohio in 2013. They played on the same Western Division squad and had time to share the same experiences bonding them for what would be ten years later. It’s hard to imagine that he won’t stay here when he fits in so well, on the field and off. 
The Twins continued to try and rally every inning getting guys on base, but getting outs just as quickly. The club remained scoreless the remainder of the game unable to overcome mother nature and goofy defensive plays that weren’t errors. The Twins had an opportunity and the upper hand through the fourth with Wallner’s double, but the bats fell asleep after that. 
Pitching for tomorrow’s game: 
Thursday 1:10pm CST: RHP Josh Winder (4-4, 4.17 ERA) v. RHP Jonathan Heasley (3-8, 5.09 ERA)
Postgame Interview
 
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
  TUE SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT                 Sanchez 0 49 0 0 0 41 90 Henriquez 0 0 0 73 0 0 73 López 0 32 0 34 0 0 66 Moran 40 15 5 0 0 0 60 Pagán 0 31 0 15 0 0 46 Fulmer 0 17 0 0 23 0 40 Thielbar 0 0 0 0 23 0 23 Jax 0 13 0 0 4 0 17 Duran 0 0 17 0 0 0 17 Megill 0 0 0 0 17 0 17  
 
 
 
 

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Austin Schulfer placed on 7-day concussion IL by St. Paul C David Banuelos activated from 7-day concussion IL by St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL 
Indianapolis 7, St. Paul 1
Box Score
Jordan Balazovic drew the start today for St. Paul and was chased after three innings. He allowed five runs on six hits while striking out four. Balazovic did give up a walk and was burned by two homers.
A five-run 3rd inning by Indianapolis put St. Paul in a bad spot early. They gave up two more in the 6th inning and before recording their first run, the Saints were staring at a seven-run deficit.
Ryan Jeffers, still working his way back on a Major League rehab assignment, hit a homer in the 8th inning to make sure the Saints wouldn’t be shut out. Trevor Larnach, also rehabbing, went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout as the designated hitter.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Melvi Acosta (St. Paul) - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Hitter of the Day – Chris Williams (St. Paul) - 1-2, 2 BB
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - Twins Play Wednesday night in Kansas City. 
#11 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 3.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Indianapolis (6:05PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak
Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05PM CST) - RHP Daniel Gossett 
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!
Twins Daily Short Season Pitcher of the Year
Twins Daily Short Season Hitter of the Year

TRANSACTIONS
Ahead of St. Paul’s game with Indianapolis, RHP Melvi Acosta was promoted from Wichita, and RHP Matt Mullenbach was also called up from Cedar Rapids. In addition to those moves, RHP Dereck Rodriguez was also outrighted to Triple-A. SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 3, Indianapolis 7
Box Score
On Tuesday the St. Paul Saints kicked off their penultimate series of the season, against the Tulsa Drillers with right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson on the bump.
His lineup gave him some run support before he even took the mound when Michael Helman led off the game with a single. He advanced to third after a fielder’s choice (no out recorded) and double-play ball, before a passed ball allowed him to scamper home.
With the early lead, Woods Richardson came out ready to go. He delivered a one-two-three first inning, before striking out five hitters over his next two innings. Through five innings he had scattered four hits and kept Indianapolis off the scoreboard. 
Back out for the sixth, he finally ran into his first real trouble. A leadoff single was followed by a walk to put multiple runners on base, then three stolen bases allowed two consecutive sac flies to put the home team out front 2-1. Woods Richardson delivered a quality outing, allowing two earned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out five. He threw 85 pitches, with 61 going for strikes (72%), including 16 swinging.
The Saints lineup picked him up in the top of the seventh, with a leadoff walk from Andrew Bechtold that was followed by a Dalton Shuffield home run, of the inside-the-park variety, to retake the lead.
Just as quickly, however, the bullpen let their starter down. Devin Smeltzer gave up the game-tying home run in the seventh, then wasn’t able to record an out in the eighth before being replaced by Mario Sanchez. Smeltzer was charged with a blown save and loss, allowing three runs (two earned) in one-plus innings on two hits. He struck out one. Sanchez was then hit for two earned runs of his own, allowing four hits in his inning.
St. Paul’s lineup was led by multiple hits from Bechtold (2-for-3, R, BB, K) and Shuffield (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI. Trevor Larnach was 0-for-3 with a walk and strikeout, while Ryan Jeffers was 0-for-4 in their rehabs. Wander Javier was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. As a team, the Saints were just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.
Catcher Jose Godoy got some revenge on his former team and organization, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI to lead Indianapolis. Number six Pirates prospect (per MLB.com) Endy Rodriguez, was 2-for-3 with an RBI double, batting fifth as the DH.
WIND SURGE WISDOM - Texas League Division Series (Game 1 of Best of 3 Series)
Tulsa 1, Wichita 17
Box Score
The Wind Surge never died down in this one, as they battered the Drillers from start to finish to take game one of their Division Series.
A five-run second inning got the damage started, and before it was over they scored at least four runs in two other innings. They took advantage of nine walks by crushing three separate three-run homers among seven extra-base hits in the game. Those home runs came off the bats of DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Edouard Julien, and Anthony Prato. Austin Martin added a solo shot of his own, and Keirsey Jr. also added an RBI triple.
Left-hander Brent Headrick got the start for Wichita and was fantastic for the first five innings, never letting the Drillers build any momentum in the blowout. He scattered six hits and allowed just an unearned run. He punched out eight hitters, including multiple in each of the first, third, and fourth innings.
The recently fast-tracked Brooks Lee, got the party started with an RBI single in the second inning, and two batters later Keirsey Jr. delivered the first three-run blast of the game.
After an RBI single from Prato in the third, a Jair Camargo RBI double and Alex Isola sac fly in the fourth, Wichita was already rolling 8-0. A four-run fifth included an RBI triple from Keirsey Jr., and then the Julien blast to make it 12-1.
Martin led off the seventh with his home run, and later Prato slugged the Wind Surge’s third big blast of the night, giving them the final score of 17-1.
After Headrick’s exit, relievers Osiris German, Jordan Gore, Blayne Enlow, and Casey Legumina combined to keep the Drillers stuck at one run to finish the final four innings, pitching one frame apiece. German struck out the side in the sixth, Gore two in the seventh, Enlow one in the eighth, and Legumina two in the ninth. As a staff, they combined for 16 K’s to just one walk.
Martin (2-for-5, 3 R, HR, RBI, BB, 2 SB), Julien (2-for-3, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB), Camargo (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, BB), Lee (3-for-5, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI), Prato (2-for-3, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB), and Keirsey Jr. (2-for-5, 2 R, 3B, HR, 4 RBI) all had multiple hits in the blowout victory.
Game 2 of the Texas League Division series will be on Thursday in Tulsa, with right-hander (and no-hitter throwing) Daniel Gossett getting the starting nod for Wichita. 
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Brent Headrick, Wichita Wind Surge (W, 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 8 K)
Hitter of the Day - Edouard Julien, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-3, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
#2 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-for-5, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 3 R, HR, RBI, BB, 2 SB
#6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 5 K
#9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-3, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB
#15 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 IP, BB, K
WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Indianapolis (12:35 PM CDT) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-6, 7.47 ERA)
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!
 
 

Last winter's lockout may not have been all bad for baseball because one new aspect of the collective bargaining agreement is a change to MLB's Draft. Recently, the team with baseball's worst record received the first overall pick and the highest pick in each subsequent round. For many reasons, tanking became a common practice by many organizations looking to rebuild a franchise. The Houston Astros may be the most famous example, as they lost over 100 games in three consecutive seasons before eventually rebuilding into an American League powerhouse. 

Starting in 2023, the first six picks in each year's draft will be assigned through a draft lottery. All 18 teams that fail to qualify for the postseason will have a chance to move into the top six picks. Odds for each team receiving the number one selection are assigned in reverse order of regular season winning percentage. If a team doesn't receive a lottery selection, they will pick in reverse order of winning percentage from the previous season. 

The odds of receiving the draft's top pick are as follows:
Worst record: 16.5%
2nd-worst record: 16.5%
3rd-worst record: 16.5%
4th: 13.25%
5th: 10%
6th: 7.5%
7th: 5.5%
8th: 3.9%
9th: 2.7%
10th: 1.8%
11th: 1.4%
12th: 1.1%
13th: 0.90%
14th: 0.76%
15th: 0.62%
16th: 0.48%
17th: 0.36%
18th: 0.23%

Adding a lottery helps to deter tanking, but other rules were added to deter tanking even further. Teams that receive revenue sharing can't receive a top-six pick for more than two consecutive seasons. On the opposite side, clubs that pay revenue sharing can't get a lottery pick more than one year in a row. 

Organizations are significantly helped by adding talent at the top of the draft, and Minnesota's system has dropped according to national rankings. The Twins' top two prospects, Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee, were both top-8 picks in the first round of their respective draft. Lewis looked fantastic in his first taste of the big leagues, and Lee's already seen his stock rise since joining the Twins organization. The more times the Twins can get a top-10 pick, the better their chances of adding impact talent to a farm system that needs a boost. 

Entering play on Monday, the Twins have a .500 record which translates to baseball's 15th worst record. Minnesota would have a 0.62% chance of earning the first overall pick if the season ended today. Minnesota trails Boston by two games for the 14th spot and San Francisco by 3.5 games for the 13th worst record. Gaining ground on these teams helps increase Minnesota's odds, but it's only a small jump for teams that have been in contention. 
If you'd like to simulate MLB's draft lottery, Tankathon has updated its site to include a simulation tool for the lottery. My first lottery scored the Twins the third overall pick, but the team never won the top overall pick in over 200 simulations. Minnesota has time to help their odds over the season's final weeks, so it will be interesting to see how the team fares in their first chance at the draft lottery. 

Do you like MLB's new lottery system? Do you think it will deter teams from tanking in the years ahead? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 
 
 

TRANSACTIONS
Infielder Elliot Soto placed on 7-day concussion IL by St. Paul Pitcher Ronny Henriquez recalled by Minnesota Twins Pitcher Dereck Rodriguez optioned to Triple-A St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 3, Louisville 1
Box Score

Wrapping up their home series against the Louisville Bats, St. Paul turned to Ariel Jurado for Sunday’s matinee. He was great allowing just a single run (unearned) on two hits and a walk. Jurado punched out three in his six innings of work.
After the Bats took a first-inning lead, St. Paul responded when Chris Williams blasted his tenth Triple-A dinger in the bottom of the inning. Then in the third inning, recently-promoted Wander Javier crushed his first Triple-A home run to give St. Paul their first lead of the game.
Joining the first career Triple-A homer party, Dalton Shuffield blasted one to right-center field. He was Minnesota’s 10th-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft.
Brock Stewart turned in a scoreless inning of relief with a strikeout, and Jake Jewell recorded his fifth save while recording six outs, allowing no baserunners, and striking out three. St. Paul goes on the road tomorrow before returning to play their final homestand next week.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 5, Midland 3
Box Score

Kody Funderburk was on the bump to close out the regular season for the Wind Surge. They’ll have a day off Monday before starting their postseason against the Tulsa Drillers on Tuesday. Funderburk worked around traffic, but gave up just two runs on four hits while striking out eight in four innings of work.
After getting behind in the third inning, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. put the Wind Surge on top when he blasted a two-run homer. Keirsey Jr.’s seventh of the season brought in Leobaldo Cabrera and Wichita found themselves in the run column.
Wichita allowed Midland to even things in the 4th inning, but immediately took back the lead in the fifth inning. Anthony Prato lifted a sacrifice fly to score Will Holland, and then Jair Camargo jacked a two-run blast to bring in Brooks Lee.
A late hit by Midland brought in another run, but Wichita held on to win their final game of the regular season
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Ariel Jurado (St. Paul) - 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Hitter of the Day – Chris Williams (St. Paul) - 2-4, R, RBI, HR(10)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. 
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#2 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-5, R, K
#9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 2-3, K
MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Indianapolis (5:35PM CST) - TBD
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates back and playing.
 
 

TRANSACTIONS
INF Brooks Lee promoted to Wichita 
C Dillon Datum placed on development list (Wichita)
INF Wander Javier promoted to St. Paul
INF Jake Rucker promoted to St. Paul
C Roy Morales activated from IL (St. Paul)
OF Matt Wallner contract selected by Minnesota 
RHP Louie Varland recalled by Minnesota (29th man)
RHP Drew Strotman designated for assignment 
RHP Trevor Megill placed on COVID-IL list
RHP Dereck Rodriguez contract selected from St. Paul. 
Saints Sentinel 
St. Paul 4, Louisville 3
Box Score
Randy Dobnak: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
HR: Jake Rucker (1)
Multi-hit games: Jake Rucker (2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI), Dalton Shuffield (2-for-3)
St. Paul won on a walk-off Saturday.
The new guys made bold impressions; Jake Rucker announced his presence with a two-run homer, while Wander Javier singled in a run in the 5th inning. With a runner on third in the 9th, Rucker connected with a fly-ball sent deep enough to score the winning run.
Randy Dobnak—making his first start since his recent DFA—was erratic, walking three batters in a rust-filled outing. The sinkerballer still struck out four and didn’t allow a run—perhaps proving he still has something in the tank—but the Twins will likely desire to see more command in future starts.
 
Trevor Larnach started in left field and played seven innings.
Mike Siani—the Bats’ centerfielder and lead-off man—is the team’s best prospect; he homered and singled in five at-bats. Longtime major-leaguer, Stephen Piscotty, hit 6th for the Bats and DH’d. 
Wind Surge Wisdom
Game One: Wichita 3, Midland 4
Box Score
Cody Laweryson: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
HR: Alex Isola (10)
Multi-hit games: Alex Isola (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI)
Wichita lost the first game of their doubleheader on Saturday.
Cody Laweryson pitched effectively—although not dominantly—in his five innings of work, striking out five batters while allowing two runs. His Wichita ERA sits at 1.06.
Alex Isola spearheaded the offensive performance; the catcher homered and singled, netting two runs in an otherwise dry day for Wind Surge batters. Anthony Prato’s 2nd inning double was the only other extra-base hit in the game.
The issue? Wichita grounded into three double plays in the game; Yunior Severino accounted for two of them.
Tyler Soderstrom is Midland’s top prospect according to MLB.com. The first baseman singled twice in three at-bats.
Game Two: Wichita 1, Midland 9
Box Score
Osiris German: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None
Wichita lost a clunker in game two on Saturday.
Midland sandwiched a one-run 4th inning with four-run frames before and afterward, ensuring that Wichita would face an uphill battle in their attempt to win; Hunter McMahon and Michael Boyle walked away with battered ERAs. 
The lone offensive bright spot came when Austin Martin doubled home a run in the 6th inning, but—fitting for a game like this—Midland threw him out trying to stretch the play to a triple.
Brooks Lee went hitless with a strikeout in three at-bats during his AA debut.
Soderstrom improved off his first game, homering and driving in three to cement his prospect status.
Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 1, Dunedin 3
Box Score
Jordan Carr: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Tanner Schobel (2-for-4, RBI)
Fort Myers lost on Saturday, ending their playoff run in the opening round.
All arms were on deck; Fort Myers called upon four pitchers to help lead them, and their combined effort was impressive. Andrew Morris—a 2022 draft pick—lead the way with a trio of scoreless innings, holding the Blue Jays at bay during the crucial switch from the middle innings to the late frames. The staff allowed a high hit total—11, to be precise—but only three runs.
The Achilles heel proved to be the offense, as the bats mustered just four hits in the match; Tanner Schobel alone accounted for half of them. Without an extra-base hit, the team could plate only a single run, forcing the pitchers to be perfect, which they were not.
The Mighty Mussels’ season is now over.
Josh Kasevich and Cade Doughty are Dunedin’s top prospects according to MLB.com; Doughty singled twice and both hitters nabbed an RBI.
TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy Dobnak
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jake Rucker
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#2 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-3, K
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-6, 2B, RBI
#7 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-4
#9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-3, HR, R, RBI, K (Major League debut)
#12 - Louie Varland (Minnesota) - 5 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-5, BB, K
#15 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
#17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 2 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, RBI
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, K
SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Louisville @ St. Paul (12:07 PM) - RHP Ronny Henriquez
Wichita @ Midland (2:00 PM) - LHP Kody Funderburk
 

TRANSACTIONS
OF Matt Wallner was assigned to the Minnesota Twins Taxi Squad C Ryan Jeffers assigned to the St. Paul Saints on Major League rehab INF Jorge Polanco assigned to the St. Paul Saints on Major League rehab RHP Randy Dobnak cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to the St. Paul Saints RHP Bailey Ober has completed his Major League rehab and returned to Minnesota Twins OF Mark Contreras recalled by Minnesota Twins Austin Martin, Edouard Julien Alex Isola, Denny Bentley, Francis Peguero, Jon Olsen, and Ryan Shreve to participate in Arizona Fall League SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 7, Louisville 6, F/10
Box Score
The Saints took down the Bats in dramatic fashion Friday evening after trailing for the vast majority of the game.
Down 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Ryan Jeffers three-run home run tied the game up at 5-5. After failing to score with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and surrendering a run in the top of the 10th, St. Paul filled the bags again following a Dalton Shuffield (2-for-3, 2B, BB) double and a Chris Williams (0-for-2, 3 BB, HBP) hit by pitch. Andrew Bechtold (0-for-4, RBI, 2 BB) tied the game with a walk and Nash Knight (3-for-3, RBI, 3 BB) brought home the winning run on a walk-off single.
In less fun news, Jorge Polanco exited the game after five innings. He was originally slated to play seven innings. 
 
data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 2, Midland 1
Box Score
Daniel Gossett continued his strong season for the Wind Surge, shutting down the RockHounds to help his team pull off a close victory. He threw five innings and struck out seven while surrendering a single run. His ERA dropped to 2.26 on the year. Denny Bentley, Jordan Gore, Francis Peguero, and Alex Phillips pitched lights out from the pen, striking out two and allowing only a single Midland batter to reach base in four innings of work.
Edouard Julien led the Wichita charge offensively, going 1-for-3 with a double, two RBI, and a walk. Austin Martin (2-for-4) was the only Wind Surge batter to register multiple hits.
data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== KERNELS NUGGETS
South Bend 9, Cedar Rapids 3
Box Score
The Kernels’ season came to a close Friday night as they fell to the Cubs, dropping the Division Series contest, 2-1.
South Bend touched starter Orlando Rodriguez for four runs in the top of the first, a total that was ultimately enough to secure the win. Rodriguez recorded just one out in the game. He was followed by six more Kernels pitchers. 
Cedar Rapids managed only four hits on the night, all of them singles. Mikey Perez (1-for-3, 2 RBI) and Willie Joe Garry Jr. (1-for-3, RBI) plated the Kernels’ runs. 
MUSSEL MATTERS
Game 3: Fort Myers vs. Dunedin, PPD
Series tied 1-1
Darn rain. They plan to try to get it in on Saturday. 
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Daniel Gossett (Wichita): 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Hitter of the Day – Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul): 2-for-6, HR, 3 RBI
PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K 
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 2-for-4, R
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI
SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs. Louisville (7:07 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez (7-4, 5.02 ERA)
Wichita @ Midland (5:00 CST) - RHP Cody Laweryson (5-0, 0.82 ERA)
Wichita @ Midland (TBD CST) - TBD
Fort Myers vs. Dunedin (11:00 am CST) - TBD
 

TRANSACTIONS
C Kyle Schmidt activated (Wichita)
INF Ernie Yake placed on 7-day IL (Wichita)
OF Trevor Larnach begins rehab assignment (St. Paul)
Saints Sentinel 
St. Paul 2, Louisville 5
Box Score
Jordan Balazovic: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Elliot Soto (2-for-3, R, BB)
St. Paul lost quietly to Louisville on Thursday.
Jordan Balazovic pitched well, allowing a single earned run with six strikeouts over four innings; that punchout total is good for his second-highest of the season. It’s been an up-and-down year—with far more downs than anyone wished to see—but Balazovic has turned a corner late in the season, and it has been great to see.
The bats couldn’t find any momentum, only scratching out two runs off technically old friend Justin Nicolino before shutting down against the Bats’ bullpen. Elliot Soto’s three times on base represented the best of any batter. Both runs scored on a Dalton Shuffield double.
Jake Jewell carried the pitching effort, striking out three over 2 ⅓ scoreless innings of work; Brad Peacock tagged in with a shutout frame of his own. 
Trevor Larnach singled and struck out in his first rehab game.
Mike Siani—the 26th ranked prospect in the Reds system—leads the Bats; he singled in four plate appearances. 
Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 8, Midland 6
Box Score
Brent Headrick: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI), Yunior Severino (2-for-4, RBI, BB), DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (2-for-5), Leobaldo Cabrera (2-for-4, 2 R, BB)
Wichita won a barn burner on Thursday.
The bats came alive early; Wichita scored five runs off a flurry of hits in the 2nd inning and never looked back. Dillon Tatum, Austin Martin, Edouard Julien, and Yunior Severino all earned an RBI for their efforts. Martin doubled in another run in the 4th inning; Alex Isola singled one home in the 6th.
The bullpen carried the day as their incredible effort—spearheaded by scoreless outings from Hunter McMahon and Casey Legumina—saved the game. The collection of arms pitched five innings in relief of Brent Headrick, allowing two runs with six strikeouts.
Martin stole his 34th base of the season; DaShawn Keirsey Jr. nabbed his 41st. 
Tyler Soderstrom—the Athletics’ 2nd ranked prospect according to MLB.com— leads the RockHounds. Soderstrom singled, walked, and scored a pair of runs. 
Kernels Nuggets 
Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 3
Box Score
Travis Adams: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
HR: Wander Javier (1)
Multi-hit games: Brooks Lee (2-for-4, 2 2B, R)
The Kernels won on Thursday to knot the playoff series at 1.
No one hitter dominated the batter’s box; Cedar Rapids rode a steady stream of walks—seven of them, to be precise—to five runs, just enough to win the game. The 5th inning proved especially fruitful, as the team scored three runs off a walk, a hit by pitch, and a balk. The team went 0-7 with runners in scoring position.
Travis Adams didn’t have his A-stuff; the righty allowed six hits and three runs over four innings, with runs scoring in three separate innings. Fortunately, his bullpen had his back, as Jaylen Nowlin, Miguel Rodriguez, and Ryan Shreve combined for five scoreless innings, allowing a sole hit with seven strikeouts. 
Brooks Lee clubbed a pair of doubles; Wander Javier blasted a solo homer. 
Pete Crow-Armstrong—the Cubs' top prospect according to MLB.com, and the son of Ashley Crow, the actress who played the mom in Little Big League, leads the Cubs. He had a single in four trips to the plate.
Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 7, Dunedin 5
Box Score
Marco Raya: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
HR: Keoni Cavaco (1)
Multi-hit games: Ben Ross (2-for-3, 2 R, BB), Tanner Schobel (2-for-4, R), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI)
The Mighty Mussels won with a late comeback on Thursday.
It all started with an 8th-inning movement; Fort Myers stood at a 2-5 deficit, staring up the Blue Jays as Dunedin appeared set to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. Ben Ross walked, Noah Miller singled, and Kala’i Rosario brought the Mighty Mussels one run closer with an RBI single. Ian Churchill—working to become the most well-known man with that surname—walked Misael Urbina, bringing Keoni Cavaco to the plate with the bases full. Cavaco wasted no time, stepped into the first pitch, and drove a grand slam deep out to left-center field.
Marco Raya worked a tough but admirable game; the righty allowed three 1st inning runs—never an ideal start for a pitcher—but dialed himself in, and held the Blue Jays scoreless in the three following frames. 
Kyle Jones was probably the most important pitcher in Thursday’s effort as he pitched three innings without an earned run while striking out two. 2022 draft picks carried the game in general; Ben Ross and Tanner Schobel both clocked in multi-hit performances.
Josh Kasevich and Cade Doughty—the 10th and 11th ranked prospects for the Blue Jays, respectively—lead the Dunedin club. Kasevich walked twice and singled; Doughty singled and struck out twice.
TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jordan Balazovic, St. Paul Saints 
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Keoni Cavaco, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels 
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2 2B, R
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
#7 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R, K
#8 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-4, BB, 2 K
#11 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI, 2 KP
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, R
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, K
FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07 PM) - RHP Mario Sanchez
Wichita @ Midland (7:00 PM) - RHP Daniel Gossett
South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Orlano Rodriguez (Game 3 in Best of 3 series) 
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM) - LHP Jordan Carr (Game 3 in Best of 3 series) 
 
 

TRANSACTIONS
Catcher David Banuelos placed on the 7-day IL retroactive to September 13 (concussion) SAINTS SENTINEL 
Louisville 5, St. Paul 1
Box Score
Simeon Woods Richardson made the start tonight for the St. Paul Saints and was dominant. He worked six scoreless innings allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out four. He kept Louisville off the scoreboard.
Lifted after six strong innings for reliever Drew Strotman, the Saints allowed a run after their new pitcher gave up a hit and a walk. The 7th inning Louisville single broke up the scoreless tie. Answering in the bottom of the 7th inning, Nash Knight ripped a line drive single to drive in Mark Contreras and even the score at one.
Unfortunately, the Saints couldn’t hold the tie and in the 8th inning, a Bats single from Cristian Santana drove in two putting the good guys behind 3-1. Louisville then added another two runs in the 9th inning and pushed the lead up to 5-1.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Postponed
Due to inclement weather, Wichita and Midland were postponed tonight.
KERNELS NUGGETS
No Game
The Kernels are off tonight as they prepare for game two of the Midwest League Championship Series. They trail 1-0 and Travis Adams will start tomorrow night at home.
MUSSEL MATTERS
No Game
The Mighty Mussels are off tonight as they prepare for game two of the Florida State League Championship Series. They trail 1-0 and Marco Raya will start tomorrow night at home.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER,1 BB, 4 K
Hitter of the Day – Nash Knight (St. Paul) - 2-4, RBI, K
PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. 
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER,1 BB, 4 K
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-3, BB
THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic
Wichita @ Midland (7:00PM CST) - RHP Brent Headrick
South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates back and playing.
 

TRANSACTIONS
In advance of their playoff series, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels placed RHP Niklas Rimmel on the temporarily inactive list. Rimmel is joining Team Germany in a WBC Qualifying tournament this week. The organization also assigned perhaps a secret weapon in 2022 fourth-round draft pick, RHP Andrew Morris in his place. SAINTS SENTINEL
Louisville 1, St. Paul 8
Box Score
The St. Paul Saints bludgeoned the Louisville Bats at CHS Field on Tuesday behind the bats of Andrew Bechtold and the surging Matt Wallner.
While they had just seven hits, they scored eight runs by taking advantage of five walks and two errors.
From the leadoff spot, Wallner reached base four times in the game, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a hit-by-pitch. He scored a run and drove in two, and his OPS for September is now up to 1.161. And if you’re under any impression those 11 games are a small sample, going back to the start of August his batting line is .290/.413/.573 (.986), and he’s hitting .322 in his last 23 games. I’ve also said it several times this year, but he absolutely demolishes just about everything he hits:
Then you have Andrew Bechtold, who outshined Wallner on this night by blasting two home runs and driving in four. They were his first two home runs with the Saints after knocking 14 with the Wind Surge.
Ariel Jurado made the start for the home team and completed five strong innings to pick up his first win with the Saints. He allowed just one hit, one walk, and struck out four. Ronny Henriquez finished the game with the rare four-inning save, allowing one run (on a home run, as expected) on two hits while striking out three.
Cole Sturgeon (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) and Braden Bishop (0-for-3, R, RBI) drove in the other two runs for the home team.
In “you don’t see that everyday” news, there was a delay in this game's fourth inning, caused by a “UFO” that would not vacate the CHS Field airspace:
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 3, Midland 1
Box Score
With their fellow affiliates starting their league playoffs tonight, the Wind Surge got good news before this one was over, as they clinched their division and will join their friends in the Texas League playoffs, which will start next week.
The Wind Surge took a 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning in this one when Edouard Julien reached base with a single and was driven in by a Yunior Severino bomb to right field two batters later. It was Severino’s seventh of the year with Wichita, and he wasn’t done on this night.
Making the start for Wichita was lefty Kody Funderburk. He was able to scatter five hits and three walks over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out four RockHounds along the way. In the sixth, a pair of walks to start the inning led to his replacement by Steven Cruz, who tossed the next 1 2/3 scoreless, striking out two. 
Severino made the score 3-0 in the fourth with his second home run of the game, this one onto the berm in center field.
That was all the offense for the Wind Surge, but they got multiple hits from Severino (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI), Julien (2-for-3, R, BB), and DaShawn Keirsey Jr (2-for-3), who also stole his 40th base of the season.
Relievers Jordan Brink (1/3 IP, 2 H, ER, BB), Osiris German (2/3 IP, K), and Blayne Enlow (S, IP, H, BB) finished off the game before they were able to celebrate.
KERNELS NUGGETS - Midwest League Division Series, Game 1 (Best of 3)
Cedar Rapids 1, South Bend 2
Box Score
The Cedar Rapids Kernels made it to the Midwest League playoffs by winning the first half division title, with the best record in the league. South Bend won the division in the second half, and they ended the regular season playing each other last week, with the Kernels winning three of five.
As the road team for Game 1, Cedar Rapids took to the batter’s box first and thanks to Pat Winkel, wasted little time putting a run on the scoreboard. His no-doubt home run put them in front 1-0 for some early breathing room.
Right-hander David Festa took the mound for the Kernels and was unhittable for four innings. The only runner he allowed in that timeframe was on an error in the first, and he went on to retire 10 in a row, including six punchouts. The leadoff man in the fifth ended that bid with a single, and the Cubs had their first scoring threat a few batters later after another single. Festa kept his cool, however, striking out two and getting a groundball to keep South Bend off the scoreboard. That would be all the Cubs would muster, as Festa went on to strike out three of the final four hitters he faced, including Chicago Cubs' #1 prospect and #31 overall (per MLB.com), Pete Crow-Armstrong, for the last out of his start.
In all, Festa went six innings, allowing just two hits, no walks, and punching out 10 total hitters. He threw 88 pitches, with 59 going for strikes (64%), and racking up 19 swinging strikes. He even did this:
Sean Mooney came on for the seventh and delivered a one-two-three inning. Back out for the eighth, he gave up a leadoff double to put the tying run in scoring position and was removed for Bobby Milacki.
Playing for the tying run, the Cubs went with the bunting approach, and it proved successful. Milacki had to rush off the mound for a bunt in front of him for his first batter, and he threw it away toward first for a run-scoring error. He nearly made another mistake on a bunt from the next hitter, looking to third before realizing nobody was covering and having to spin himself around to go back to first. Fortunately, this one went down as a sacrifice, but the go-ahead run was now just 90 feet away with one out. A single from the next batter made it 2-1 Cubs before Milacki got out of the inning by getting Crow-Armstrong to fly out to center.
Deflated, the Kernels six, seven, and eight hitters were mowed down by Cubs reliever Jake Reindl, with all three striking out to end the game.
Cedar Rapids outhit South Bend 7-5 in the game, but were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base, while their opponent was 2-for-5 and took advantage of the late miscue to steal game one.
The top of the lineup accounted for five of their seven hits in the game, with Jake Rucker (2-for-4, 2 K), Brooks Lee (2-for-4), and Winkel (1-for-3, HR, BB, 2 K) accounting for five of their seven hits and their only run. Kyler Fedko also drew two walks as the cleanup hitter.
The remaining games of the series will take place in Cedar Rapids, with Travis Adams getting the start on Thursday at 6:35 PM CDT, with the Kernels needing to even the series up at one. 
MUSSEL MATTERS - Florida State League Division Series, Game 1 (Best of 3)
Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 6
Box Score
Like their High-A counterparts, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels made the Florida State League playoffs by winning their division in the first half of the season, also with the best record in the league. Dunedin clinched a playoff spot by winning the division in the second half, and the teams were 7-7 against each other during the regular season.
In the top of the first, the Mighty Mussels strung together three singles from Noah Miller, Noah Cardenas, and Ben Ross led to the first run of the game, but Cardenas was thrown out at third on the play to end the inning.
The Florida State League Pitcher of the Month for August, Pierson Ohl, was an easy choice to start game one for the Mighty Mussels, but things never even got on the rails for him in this one. Four consecutive hits to start the game (and an error on one of them) led to two runs and prompted a mound visit before he got his first out. After that, a balk and a sac fly led to two more runs and the Blue Jays had a 4-1 lead after the first inning. 
Ohl had a one-two-three second inning, needing only five pitches, but the aggressiveness from Blue Jays hitters struck again in the third inning, as three singles (two on first pitches, and two other at-bats went only two pitches) led to another run and 5-1 lead. A one-out double in the fourth finally chased Ohl from the game, and Mike Paredes came on and got two outs to keep his team within four.
The Mighty Mussels lineup scratched single runs across in the fifth and sixth inning, with Miller driving in one with a single in the former, and Cardenas hitting a solo home run in the latter. 
Paredes got them through the seventh inning, allowing one run of his own on four hits and one walk in 3 2/3 innings pitched. He struck out two. A.J. Labas pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out two to keep his team within three heading into their last at-bat.
Ben Ross did his best to kickstart a rally, leading off the inning by taking a 3-1 pitch deep to left field to make it 6-4. Kala’i Rosario followed with a single, but the next three hitters went down in order and they fell to the Blue Jays in game one.
Ross led the way with three hits in four at-bats, including a double, home run, two RBI, and a run scored. Miller (2-for-3, RBI, BB) and Cardenas (2-for-4, R, HR, RBI) also had multiple hits in the game.
The final two games of the three-game series will be in Fort Myers at Hammond Stadium, with the next on Thursday at 6:00 PM CDT. Right-hander Marco Raya will be on the bump for the Mighty Mussels with their season on the line.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - David Festa, Cedar Rapids Kernels (6 IP, 2 H, 10 K)
Hitter of the Day - Yunior Severino, Wichita Wind Surge (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-4
#7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 2-for-3, RBI, BB
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 3-for-4, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, K
#13 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 2 H, 10 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-3, R, BB, K
#15 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - S, IP H, BB
#16 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - S, 4 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 K
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, R, K
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4
WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (1-0, 3.38 ERA)
Wichita @ Midland (6:30 PM CDT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (0-0, 6.28 ERA)
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!
 
 

MLB scouting departments have followed Brooks Lee since he was a high schooler in California. As the son of Cal Poly's head coach Larry Lee, he has grown up around baseball. In the 2019 MLB Draft, he fell to the 35th round because teams knew he wanted to play in college for his dad. Unfortunately, the pandemic limited his first college season, and he suffered an injury that required knee and hamstring surgery.   

In 2021, Lee returned and showed why he had been a highly ranked high school prospect. He hit .342/.384/.626 (1.010) with 27 doubles, three triples, and ten home runs in 55 games. Lee also showed tremendous control of the strike zone with a 34-to-18 strikeout to walk ratio. He was named the co-Big West Player of the Year at the season's end. After the season, he headed to the Cape Cod League and continued to hit with a 1.099 OPS. This performance helped improve his draft stock because this league utilizes wood bats, and it didn't stop Lee from putting up strong numbers. 

It's hard to imagine, but Lee performed better during his junior year, establishing himself as the best college bat in the 2022 draft class. In 58 games, he hit .357/.462/.664 (1.125) with 25 doubles and 15 home runs. Some felt he should be a top-3 pick in the draft, so it was surprising that he fell to the Twins with the eighth overall selection. Another team's loss is Minnesota's gain, as he is already showing his potential in his first professional season. 
Minnesota has been aggressive with Lee as the team promoted him to High-A after only four games in rookie ball. Since arriving in Cedar Rapids, he has hit .297/.391/.473 (.863) with four doubles and four home runs. Even as a college draftee, he is over a year younger than the average age of the competition at his level, with over 73% of his at-bats coming against older pitchers. It's a small sample size, but Lee is already showcasing his elite hit tool.

The Twins drafted Lee as a shortstop, but he will likely move to third base as he continues to mature. His arm is considered above average, so that he will play well at the hot corner. So far in his professional career, all his defensive innings have been at shortstop, so the Twins aren't ready to move him yet. Overall, his hit tool will carry him no matter his eventual defensive position. 
Many national outlets updated their prospect lists throughout the season, and Lee is in the discussion for Minnesota's top prospect. For instance, MLB.com has Lee ranked as baseball's 33rd best prospect, and that was before his performance at High-A. According to their rankings, Lee is one of three prospects to have a hit grade of 65 or higher, with the potential to reach a 70-hit tool in the future. Lee will likely continue to rise on national prospect lists as other players graduate and he continues to build his professional resume. 

How high is Lee's ceiling? Where do you think he will rank on top-100 lists heading into the 2023 season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.
 

Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. 
TRANSACTIONS
The Twins recalled 2018 seventh-round pick RHP Josh Winder, and optioned 2018 fifth-round pick RHP Cole Sands to St. Paul.  The Twins also selected the contract of RHP Jharel Cotton from St. Paul (again) and placed RHP Chris Archer on the IL.  SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 1, Toledo 6 
Box Score
Through six innings, this game was tied at 1-1. Unfortunately, the Saints allowed five runs over the next two innings and weren’t able to account for any of it. 
Bailey Ober continued his rehab with his first start with the Saints. He gave up one run on one hit over 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out six batters. Austin Schulfer came on and got the final out of the fifth inning. Randy Dobnak threw a scoreless sixth inning, but he then was charged with two runs and got just one out in the seventh inning. He gave up two hits and a walk. Jake Jewell came on and allowed an inherited runner to score, but finished the inning. Brock Stewart gave up three runs (2 earned) on three hits in the eighth inning. Jewell and Stewart each hit a batter. 
The Saints had just one hit in the game, a solo homer from John Andreoli. 
Ober threw 66 pitches and 44 of them were strikes. Could he be ready to make a start for the Twins next weekend in Cleveland?
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 1, NW Arkansas 0   
Box Score 
On Saturday, the Wind Surge won on a walk-off. On Sunday afternoon, they won another one-run game, this one thanks to some masterful pitching from a guy who has been great since joining Wichita. 
Cody Laweryson went to the Fall League last year and then returned to Cedar Rapids to start this season. After 16 games, and just two starts, he was promoted to Wichita. With the Wind Surge, he has now made 18 appearances and Sunday was his seventh start. On this day, Laweryson tossed seven shutout innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out eight batters without issuing a walk. He improved to 5-0 and dropped his Double-A ERA to 0.82. He has given up just five earned runs in 54 2/3 innings. He’s got 64 strikeouts in that time. 
Denny Bentley came in for the eighth inning and got one out. Casey Legumina came on and got the final five outs to record his second save of the season. 
The Wind Surge scored just one run despite ten hits. Then went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. Only one hit produced a run. Seth Gray hit his first Double-A homer. He was 1-for-2 with two walks. Anthony Prato went 3-for-4 with a triple. DaShawn Keirsey was 2-for-4. 
KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 2, South Bend 9
Box Score
After being rained out on Saturday night, the Kernels ended their regular season on Sunday with a loss. With the playoffs set to start on Tuesday, the Kernels went with lefty Samuel Perez to start. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. Malik Barrington came on and gave up four runs on five hits over two innings. Matthew Swain worked the next 2 2/3 innings and gave up just one run. He struck out three batters. Regi Grace gave up an unearned run in his inning. Then Tyler Palm gave up one run on two hits in the ninth inning. 
Kyler Fedko led the offense. He went 3-for- 4. Brooks Lee also reached three times on walks. Jake Rucker drove in back runs with a four-inning double. 
Wander Javier was hit by a pitch in the helmet in the second inning. He was able to walk off the field, with help. 
The Kernels ended their season with a 73-58 record. On Tuesday, they’ll play in South Bend. Games 2 and 3 (if needed) will be in Cedar Rapids on Thursday and Friday. 
MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 9, St. Lucie 1
Box Score  
The Mussels closed out their regular season with a nice, big win. Nate Baez led the way. He hit his second and third home run and drove in five runs. Fellow 2022 draft pick, Ben Ross, went 2-for-5 with his fifth double and three RBI. Rubel Cespedes, Keoni Cavaco and Ricardo Olivar each had two hits. Cespedes hit his 15th double. Misael Urbina went 1-for-3 with two walks. 
Niklas Rimmel made the start and continued to pitch very well. He tossed three shutout innings. He gave up one hit and struck out four batters. Johnathan Lavallee worked a scoreless inning. John Wilson struck out three over two scoreless frames. Zaquiel Puentes gave up a solo homer over his two innings. Develson Aria made his Mussels debut and the lefty struck out one in a perfect inning. 
The Mussels ended their season with an overall record of 69-59. On Tuesday, they will begin a Best-of-3 playoff series  against Dunedin. 
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Cody Laweryson (Wichita) - 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K
Hitter of the Day – Nate Baez (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-5, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 HR (2, 3) 
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Sunday. 

#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, 3 BB
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4 (DH)
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 2 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-4, K
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-4, 2 R, BB, K 
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-2, R, RBI, 2 BB, K 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE 
No Games on Monday.
Tuesday: 
Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Ariel Jurado (0-2, 4.58 ERA) 
Wichita @ Midland (6:30 PM CST) - TBD
Playoffs Game 1: Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CST) - RHP David Festa 
Playoffs Game 1: Dunedin @ Fort Myers (5:30 PM CST) - TBD 
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games!
 
 

TRANSACTIONS
INF Seth Gray was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita.
INF Daniel Ozoria was sent to Cedar Rapids from Ft. Myers.
C Andrew Cossetti was sent to Cedar Rapids from the Florida Complex.
1B Aaron Sabato placed on IL. He was hit by a 98 mph fastball in the hand and has a broken bone.
Saints Sentinel 
St. Paul 9, Toledo 10 (10 Innings)
Box Score
Dereck Rodriguez: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
HR: Matt Wallner (6)
Multi-hit games: Matt Wallner (2-for-5, HR, 2B, R, 3 RBI, BB), Cole Sturgeon (2-for-5, R, BB), Chris Williams (3-for-5, 2 2B, R, RBI), John Andreoli (2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI)
St. Paul lost an extra-inning heartbreaker on Saturday.
It was a true barn-burner during all phases; there were just three innings where neither team plated a run and six instances where a team scored multiple times in a single frame. Pitchers found no quarter.
Chris Williams and Matt Wallner, the typical culprits, led the offensive charge for St. Paul, dropping four extra-base hits and an equal total of RBIs. The Saints nabbed eight extra-base hits in total on Saturday. 
Mario Sanchez was the lone Saints pitcher to walk away without a run attached to his name; the righty acquired four outs and left before chaos could brew.
The Mud Hens were led by Daz Cameron, the son of Mike Cameron. While no longer a prospect, Cameron is a highly-talented 25-year-old whom the Tigers acquired in the Justin Verlander trade. According to MLB.com, the highest-rated prospect playing for Toledo is Andre Lipcius, a third-baseman who walked twice on Saturday.
Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 3, NW Arkansas 2
Box Score
Daniel Gossett: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Yunior Severino (2-for-4, 2 RBI, BB), Leobaldo Cabrera (2-for-4, R)
The Wind Surge won on a walk-off on Saturday.
Daniel Gossett established the tone early, allowing a sole earned run over five quality innings with five strikeouts. Gossett has bounced around the system, always needed somewhere else, and has pitched remarkably well, no matter the context.
Wichita’s offense remained in neutral for the majority of the game, only breaking free in the 9th inning thanks to a bevy of walks and a Yunior Severino two-run, walk-off single. The team ended with seven walks on top of eight hits.
Blayne Enlow collected three strikeouts over two scoreless innings.
Tyler Gentry led the Naturals; the 9th-ranked prospect struck out three times in Saturday’s game.
Kernels Nuggets 
The rain ended this game before it could start. Because the game is unnecessary for playoff standings, the Kernels will play just one game on Sunday.
Mussel Matters
Game 1: Fort Myers 2, St. Lucie 5 (7 Innings)
Box Score
Jordan Carr: 3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None
The Mighty Mussels experienced an offensive malaise on Saturday.
Game 1 was sub-optimal; the team netted just three hits—all singles—with six walks and plenty of strikeouts to go around. Kala’i Rosario was probably the batter of the game, as he walked twice and scored a run. No Mighty Mussel batter knocked in a run with a hit.
Jordan Carr’s start was tough; the lefty allowed five runs over three innings as the Mets BABIP’d him to death. 
Zebby Matthews stood out on the mound, striking out four over two clean frames to help bring the game to its silent conclusion. 
Kevin Parada—the 3rd ranked prospect in the Mets system and the 11th overall pick in the July draft— leads St. Lucie; the catcher singled and walked on Saturday. 
Game 2: Fort Myers 1, St. Lucie 3
Box Score
Tomas Cleto: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Tanner Schobel (2-for-3, RBI)
The Mighty Mussels continued their crisis of confidence in Game 2 on Saturday.
Tanner Schobel ensured that someone could claim a multi-hit game; he singled twice. Fort Myers hitters walked more than they struck out (six to four) but failed to bring those free baserunners home beyond one run scored in the 5th inning.
Tomas Cleto pitched well, punching out a trio of hitters with a single earned run over his four innings of work.
Luis Baez swiped his 20th bag of the season.
TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Tomas Cleto, Ft. Myers
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Matt Wallner, St. Paul 
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-3, 2 BB, K
#7 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-2, 2 BB
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, HR, 2B, R, 3 RBI, BB, 2 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-4, R, BB
#15 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
#17 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - 3 ⅓ IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 1 K
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Ft. Myers) - 2-6, RBI, BB, K
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, R, 3 BB, K
SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Toledo (1:05 PM) - RHP Bailey Ober (rehab) 
NW Arkansas @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Cody Laweryson
South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 PM) - TBD
St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (12:00 PM) - TBD
 

Box Score
SP: Chris Archer 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (40 pitches, 24 strikes (60%))
Home Runs: no one
Bottom 3 WPA:  Max Kepler (-.160), Cole Sands (-.151), Chris Archer (-.130)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Groundhogs Day on the Mound
Chris Archer started for the Twins. Two batters into the game, a walk, and a home run from Amed Rosario, the Guardians were ahead 2-0. 
Archer has rarely completed five innings in a start. Tonight was his shortest start of the year. He pitched just two innings in this game before leaving the game. He was replaced at the top of the third by Cole Sands. 
Sands just returned from the IL and appeared rushed, unsettled and uncomfortable trying to find the strike zone. In the third inning, his pitches continued to drift out of the strike zone. He walked three and hit two batters to give the Guardians two runs and push the score 4-0. Sands did pitch into the sixth inning and gave up just one more run in his 3 1/3 innings.
Pagan and the Bullpen Keep Twins in Games
The bullpen continues to step up and set the tone for damage control and give the offense a chance to catch up. Emilio Pagan, who has been known for blowing saves, but he has been absolutely on fire of late. In his past six games, Pagan has a 2.57 ERA, only five hits, and two runs. It is a massive improvement to his earlier season stats. 
When the starters have been giving up runs early, the bullpen has come in and kept the runs from accumulating. Pete Maki has taken over in the interim as the Pitching Coach, bringing Colby Suggs in as the bullpen coach. Suggs was the run-prevention coordinator, and it seems that his expertise in understanding run defense may be aiding the bullpen. Since Suggs has taken the helm of the bullpen on July 1, it's taken a bit to catch a rhythm, but his techniques seem to be doing the trick. Suggs, certainly understands and pays attention to mechanics and maybe his personality is just what the bullpen needed. 
New Rules, New…Kepler?
MLB has implemented new rules to take place starting in the 2023 season. One of those rules will be not being able to utilize the shift. There must now be two players on either side of second base when the pitch is released, and all four infielders must be inside the infield dirt when the pitcher is on the rubber. No one is probably more relieved about the change to the rule than our own Max Kepler who is extremely well known for hitting into the shift. Tonight, two hits from Kepler were into the shift and the last drive was stopped by acrobatic magic from Andres Gimenez, who was posted far into right field. 
Kepler has had a great year defensively, but offensively, it’s been one of his worst seasons. Having to recover from Covid in 2021 and a broken toe this season seems to have compounded. Kepler has had a below-normal batting average (.230) than previous seasons. Kepler has been out recently with a hip injury as well. Later in the game, he was robbed of a home run by a leaping Will Benson in left field. 
Luis Arraez had two doubles tonight, and three hits. It was his 43rd game this season with more than one hit. Arraez and Carlos Correa have been absolutely dominant the past few games, the downfall has been others in the lineup. Twice on Saturday night, Arraez was stranded on base, along with Correa with the guys unable to string together any hits going scoreless until the bottom of the ninth.
Just when the collective thought the game was over, veteran Bryan Shaw started handing out hits in the ninth inning, and the Twins came alive. Gio Urshela tagged in on a sacrifice fly from Gary Sanchez to put the Twins on the board, and Jake Cave drove a double into left-centerfield which scored Kyle Garlick with two outs. The Twins offense continued to work Shaw with a rip to right field from Arraez, which scored Cave to push the score 6-3.
At that point, Terry Francona came in to make a pitching change. The Twins had forced Emmanuel Clase to come into the game. Clase is a strong closer, but he was not expecting to come in at all. He allowed a run right away when Correa grounded weakly to third base and a bad throw allowed Arraez to score all the way from first. Jose Miranda followed with a line drive single that sent Correa to third base.
The intensity rose as Clase as Kepler came up to hit, and after hitting into the shift all night, he hit a hard ground ball to third base (the only defender on the left side of the infield) to end the game. 
The Twins have their final game of this series with Cleveland on Sunday afternoon. Can the Twins find a way to eek out a win?  
Do you think there is time to save the season and reach the postseason? Am I a hopeless romantic baseball fan? Let me know in the comments!
Pitching Preview Match-Up Cleveland Series: 
Sunday 1:10pm CST: TBD vs. RHP Shane Bieber (9-8, 2.96 ERA)
Post Game Interview
Coming soon.
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

 
 

TRANSACTIONS
- Jake Jewell, who was DFAd when the Twins added Louie Varland to the 40-man roster on Wednesday, cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Saints. 
- The Cedar Rapids Kernels also announced the 2B/LF Alerick Soularie has been placed on the Suspended List. 
 
SAINTS SENTINEL
Toledo 3, St. Paul 2 (F/10)
Box Score

Runs were hard to come by as the Saints fell to the Mud Hens in extra innings on Friday night.
Jordan Balazovic put together yet another fine start, striking out nine and not allowing an earned run in five innings of work. Although the 2022 campaign has been a lost one for the former top pitching prospect, Balazovic has thrown nine innings in September and surrendered only one earned run while picking up 15 strikeouts. For comparison, the most strikeouts he had accumulated in a single month this season prior to September was way back in May when K’d 17 in 16 1/3 innings. (He posted an 8.82 ERA.)
Matt Wallner led the Saints offensively, going 2-for-5 with a double and triple. Elliot Soto also contributed two hits, including his 18th double of the summer.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 13, Northwest Arkansas 7
Box Score

The Wind Surge resisted a late Naturals rally to overcome Northwest Arkansas on Friday evening. The Naturals’ five runs in the top of the eighth inning were offset by two innings of three runs and one of five by the Wind Surge. Wichita added two more in the bottom of the eighth for good measure.
Brent Headrick started on the hill for the Wind Surge and struck out six in 3 2/3 innings. He surrendered one run on a solo home run. Jordan Brink was awarded the win after tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, striking out three and keeping his Double-A ERA at 0.00 (through two outings and 2 1/3 innings).. 
Wichita had a great day at the plate, tallying 16 hits, six of which went for extra bases. All Wind Surge players reached base at least one time. Will Holland (3-for-4, 3 RBI), Anthony Prato (3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI), Yunior Severino (2-for-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI), Edouard Julien (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB), and Leobaldo Cabrera (2-for-4) all contributed multiple hits. 
KERNELS NUGGETS
South Bend 4, Cedar Rapids 1
Box Score

The Kernels’ bats went silent against the Cubs while the pitching staff underwent a bullpen day as Cedar Rapids dropped their game to South Bend.
No Kernel contributed multiple hits. Jeferson Morales (1-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB) drove in the team’s only run and hit their lone extra-base hit.
Righty Ryan Shreve tossed a succinct two innings, striking out three and allowing only two runners to reach base on 25 pitches, 19 of which were strikes. He lowered his ERA to 3.08 on the season. 
MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 4, St. Lucie 0
Box Score

The Mighty Mussels and Mets were slated for two games Friday evening, but Mother Nature struck once again, pushing the second contest to Saturday. 
However, the inclement weather didn’t stop Marco Raya from feasting on the mound. The 20-year-old continued his hot summer by striking out seven in four shutout innings of work. He has now struck out 76 batters in 65 innings with the Mussels and owns a 3.05 ERA.
Keoni Cavaco (1-for-2, RBI) and Ben Ross (2-for-3, RBI) each clobbered solo home runs while Tanner Schobel (1-for-2, 2 BB) added a double. 
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul): 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
Hitter of the Day – Yunior Severino (Wichita): 2-for-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI
PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:

#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-5
#7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4
#8 - Marco Raya (Fort Myers) - 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 1 BB, 7 K
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, 2B, 3B
#11 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, RBI
SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Toledo (4:05 CST) - RHP Josh Winder (0-0, 3.38 ERA)
Wichita vs. Northwest Arkansas  (6:05 CST) - RHP Daniel Gossett (2-1, 2.34 ERA)
Cedar Rapids vs. South Bend (6:35 CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (1-1, 4.40 ERA)
Fort Myers vs. St. Lucie (3:30 CST) - TBD
Fort Myers vs. St. Lucie (TBD CST) - TBD
 

TRANSACTIONS
INF/OF Dalton Shuffield promoted from Cedar Rapids to St. Paul
C Dillon Tatum promoted from Fort Myers to Wichita
C Ricardo Olivar promoted from FCL Twins to Fort Myers
Wind Surge placed C Kyle Schmidt on the Injured List
SAINTS SENTINEL
Mud Hens 5, Saints 2
Box Score
The Saints had trouble getting their offense going in a 5-2 loss to the Mud Hens Thursday. Simeon Woods Richardson started and allowed two runs over five strong innings. Woods Richardson struck out seven and walked three. It's been a wonderful bounce back season for SWR, who now owns a 3.12 ERA across both levels of the upper minors. Opponents are hitting just .212/.286/.307 off SWR this season and he's six years younger than his average competition at Triple-A. 
The Saints tallied five hits on the night, including four doubles from Matt Wallner, Mark Contreras, Elliot Soto, and John Andreoli. The game was tied at two after an RBI groundout from Michael Helman in the fifth. The Mud Hens took the lead in the sixth and never looked back. 
The Saints are 65-66 on the season. 
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Naturals 6, Wind Surge 3
Box Score
The Wind Surge took a tough loss in the late innings Thursday night. Leobaldo Cabrera tied the game on an RBI single in the second. In the fifth, Austin Martin hit his second homer of the year to tie the game at three. Martin entered the game hitting .304/.467/.348 (.815 OPS) in 30 September plate appearances. It's been a down year for Martin but a strong finish could provide momentum for 2023. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, while Aaron Sabato also doubled. 
Francis Peguero was outstanding in relief, pitching 1 1/3 innings with one hit and no runs allowed. It was all Naturals from that point on. They scored one in the eighth and two in the ninth, securing the victory. Despite notching nine hits and drawing five walks, the Surge couldn’t score more than three. They left 25 men on base. 
The Surge are 71-57.  
KERNELS NUGGETS
Kernels 2, Cubs 1
Box Score
Travis Adams was terrific in his start for the Kernels in Thursday’s win. Adams allowed one run over five innings. The Kernels followed that up with four scoreless from the bullpen, including scoreless innings from Bobby Milacki, Sean Mooney, and Miguel Rodríguez. The trio struck out seven in a masterful pitching performance. Brooks Lee’s defense also helped. 
Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, Jeferson Morales blasted a go-ahead two-run homer to left. It was Morales’ seventh homer of the season. The Kernels had only five total hits, but the swing from Morales was enough to seal the victory. Willie Joe Garry Jr. tallied two hits in the win. 
The Kernels are 73-56. 
MUSSEL MATTERS
The Mussels’ doubleheader was rained out Thursday. 
TWINS MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Minor League Hitter of the Day - Austin Martin (2-for-4, HR, BB)
Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Simeon Woods Richardson (5 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 3 BB, 7 K)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
#2 Brooks Lee - (1-for-3, BB)
#4 Austin Martin - (2-for-4, HR, BB)
#6 Simeon Woods Richardson - (5 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 3 BB, 7 K)
#9 Matt Wallner - (1-for-4, 2B, R)
#14 Edouard Julien - (0-for-3, 2 BB)
FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Saints - Jordan Balazovic
Surge - Brent Headrick
Kernels - TBD
Mussels - TBD (Doubleheader)
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? LEAVE THEM BELOW!
 
 

Earlier this year, Twins Daily covered a host of experimental rules MLB was trying out in its minor leagues during the 2022 season. On Friday, September 9, MLB's Joint Competition Committee, which evaluates and ratifies proposed rule changes, officially approved these rules for use in the majors beginning in 2023. Baseball purists can exhale for now: "robot umpires," currently being experimented with at the minor league level, are not coming to MLB quite yet. 
The pitch clock, ban on the shift, and larger base sizes were the only three rules proposed by MLB to the Joint Competition Committee- a voting body consisting of four active players, six members appointed by MLB and one umpire that was created as part of the this spring's 2022-26 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Though an automatic ball-strike system, otherwise known as "robot umpires" or "robo umps" is currently being experimented with at the minor-league level, a formal rule change proposal related to the robot umpires has not yet been made to the committee and is not expected for the 2023 season.
A common thread connecting these approved changes is MLB's goals of making the game faster and improving player safety. Though these rules will be new at the MLB level, each of these has been tested and deemed successful in the minors during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Here is a rundown of the changes MLB fans will see in 2023. 
Pitch Clock
For the first time, MLB will implement a pitch clock. Pitchers will be required to deliver the pitch within 20 seconds with runners on base or 15 seconds with the bases empty. The batter must be in the box "alert to the pitcher" with at least eight seconds left on the timer. In order to further keep the game moving, there will be a 30-second timer between batters. In addition, MLB will also implement a limit on throws to first base, which has reportedly increased stolen base attempts in the minors. MLB explained how a pitch clock would work in detail on Friday. 
The pitch clock has been seen as an overwhelming success at the minor-league level- if success is measured by faster games. MLB reports that games have sped up by an average of 26 minutes at the minor-league level with use of the pitch clock. Players appear to have gotten used to the pitch clock: according to MLB, in its most recent week, the MiLB has seen an average of only .45 pitch clock violations per game.
In MLB's eyes, the same amount of game action (or even more, if there are more stolen bases) will be packed into a shorter amount of time, thus increasing excitement for fans. 
Time will tell whether or not this change will actually lead to greater fan engagement or recapture the interest of a younger age demographic. MLB has the oldest fans among the major sports, with an average age of 57, according to a 2017 survey by Sports Business Journal.
Twins Daily covered the pros and cons of a pitch clock earlier this year.
Bigger bases
First, second, and third base will be increased by three inches (from 15 inches by 15 inches to 18 inches by 18 inches). MLB’s stated goal of using the larger bases is to reduce player injuries on the base paths. With slightly shorter base paths, MLB is also hoping it will increase the amount of stolen base attempts, and thus bolster game excitement. Though a few inches over the course of a 90-foot base path might not sound like much, seasoned baseball fans know that the amount of plays that come down to an inch or two is not insignificant.
Larger bases were used in the Arizona Fall League and at the Triple-A level in 2021, and MLB found that they not only reduced injuries but contributed to an increase in stolen base rates due to the slightly shortened base paths and the larger base size making it more difficult to overslide the base. Bigger bases are being used in all full-season minor leagues during the current 2022 season.
Previous Twins Daily coverage evaluating the new, oversized bases. 
Banning the shift
New to MLB in 2023, the defensive team will be required to have at least four players on the infield when the pitcher delivers, with two on either side of second base. MLB is hoping that these restrictions "increase the batting average on balls in play, to allow infielders to better showcase their athleticism and to restore more traditional outcomes on batted balls." In other words, MLB wants to see more hits and higher player batting averages, Defensive shifts have been around for years, but in recent years, MLB shifts have greatly increased in prevalence, thus leading to the league cracking down. Currently, in 2022 the league-wide batting average on balls in play is .291 . This is six points lower than in 2012 and 10 points lower than in 2006. According to MLB, this can be attributed to an increase infield in shifts over the years, which have risen by 589% since the start of the 2018 season.
A shift ban is being used in Double-A and both Class A levels during the 2022 season. 
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Now that these rules are official, what do you think? Will you enjoy faster MLB game times? Do you think robot umpires will actually make it to the majors? Leave a COMMENT below.

TRANSACTIONS
RHP Louie Varland contract selected by Minnesota Twins RHP Jake Jewell designated for assignment SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 10, Toledo 6
Box Score
The Saints got to watch teammate Louie Varland deal in New York this afternoon before Ronny Henriquez took the mound in Toledo. Henriquez was great allowing just two runs on one hit. He walked one but struck out nine.
St. Paul started off the scoring with a pair of first inning dingers. Michael Helman launched his 12th of the season before Mark Contreras hit his 14th. In the 2nd inning the good guys kept rolling. First, Andrew Bechtold got his first Triple-A double to drive in Cole Sturgeon, then Elliot Soto ripped a triple to bring home Bechtold. Matt Wallner wound up grounding out, but the ball being put in play allowed Soto to scamper home.
Still looking to pile on, Helman grabbed his second hit of the day, a single this time and Soto scored for the second time. After giving back two on a 4th inning Mud Hens homer, the Saints answered a few innings later. Chris Williams grounded out with the baes loaded, but Toledo couldn’t roll a double play and David Banuelos scored.
After the Mud Hens got a run back on an Austin Schulfer wild pitch in the 6th inning, Banuelos doubled to bring in Bechtold and wipe it off in the 7th inning. Toledo drew closer in the bottom half, but Contreras was able to smash his second blast of the game in the 8th inning, a two-run shot scoring Matt Wallner, and double up the Mud Hens 10-5.
Five different St. Paul hitters had multi-hit nights, which isn’t surprising given the 13 total for the team. Contreras was the lone batter to reach three in the game, however.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 5, NW Arkansas 0
Box Score
The Wind Surge turned to Kody Funderburk tonight. He was great going six strong allowing only four hits and a walk. The Wichita starter punched out seven batters.
It took no time for Wichita to get runs for their starter. Aaron Sabato started things with his third Double-A two-bagger, this one with the bases loaded, bringing in Edouard Julien, Jair Camargo, and Yunior Severino. Anthony Prato then singled to bring Sabato home and make it 4-0 early.
Quietly going about their business through the middle of this one, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. added an insurance run in the 8th inning to score Anthony Prato. Edouard Julien and Prato both recorded three-hit games, and the Wind Surge tallied a total of 14 runs tonight.
KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 8, South Bend 4
Box Score
It was David Festa tonight for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. After getting behind early, Festa settled in and wound up working 6 2/3 innings. He allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits while also striking out three.
After getting behind 1-0 after the 1st inning, the Kernels responded with a run of their own in the 3rd inning. Pat Winkel crushed his 9th double to drive in Brooks Lee and knot things up. Unfortunately the lead evaporated in the 5th inning when South Bend added two more.
In the 6th inning Cedar Rapids began their comeback. Alerick Soularie drove in Mikey Perez on a ground out and the deficit was only one. After giving it back in the 7th inning, the Kernels erupted for six runs in the eighth inning.
Charles Mack crushed his fifth homer of the season to draw back within one before a bases loaded walk of Dylan Neuse scored Seth Gray. Kyler Fedko then drove a single through the left side and watched both Perez and Wille Joe Garry Jr. cross the plate. Before the inning was done, Brooks Lee got into the action with his fourth double, plating both Neuse and Fedko.
Both Fedko and Perez had two hits apiece, and six different Cedar Rapids batters combined to tally the eight hits.
MUSSEL MATTERS
Postponed
Game postponed due to inclement weather. Fort Myers and St. Lucie will make it up tomorrow as part of a doubleheader.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
Hitter of the Day – Mark Contreras (St. Paul) - 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR(15)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. 
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-2, R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 2B
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-3
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-4, R, RBI, BB
#12 - Louie Varland (Minnesota) - 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
#13 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 6.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 3-4, R
#16 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
#19 - Alerick Soularie (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, RBI, 2 K
THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Toledo (5:35PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson
NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Aaron Rozek
South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams
St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates back and playing.
 

TRANSACTIONS
In Triple-A on Sunday, the St. Paul Saints activated RHP Brock Stewart, who had been down in Fort Myers working his way back. In addition, RHPs Ben Heller, Juan Minaya, and Tyler Thornburg were released. 2022 draft pick, OF Alec Sayre was placed on the 7-Day IL. The Wichita Wind Surge released LHP Bryan Sammons on Monday, and RHP Hunter McMahon was promoted to them from Cedar Rapids. They also transferred RHP Andrew Cabezas to the development list and received RHP Jordan Brink from the FCL Twins on Tuesday. RHP Malik Barrington was promoted from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids along with RHP Regi Grace. In Fort Myers, RHP Anthony Escobar was released, while the Mighty Mussels received RHP Kyle Jones, LHP Develson Aria, and RHP Zebby Matthews from the FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL
Game 1: Toledo 1, St. Paul 2 (completion of game suspended July 17th)
Box Score
This game was suspended over a month ago in the first inning, so there were a lot of changes to the lineups for each team when it resumed on Tuesday.
Cole Sands had started the game back then, and allowed one run while recording two outs. Ariel Jurado took over on this night, and got them through the fourth, allowing just one hit and striking out four in 3 1/3 innings. Devin Smeltzer was just as good for the next three innings, also allowing just one hit and striking out four, and would get the credit for the win. Michael Feliz picked up a hold with a one-two-three eighth, striking out two before Brad Peacock picked up his eighth save by striking out two in the ninth as well.
Four consecutive singles in the bottom of the second led to the first run of the game for St. Paul, tying it at one. Mark Contreras tallied the third of those singles, driving in Michael Helman who had led off the frame with a base knock of his own. Chris Williams led off the fifth inning with a home run, which actually gets credited as his first of the season in Triple-A when looking at the box score, as well as the second game he played on this day. It is of course his ninth home run with St. Paul, and 27th of the season overall.
That was enough to secure the victory as Saints pitching held the Mud Hens to just three hits in the game. Braden Bishop had two hits to lead the lineup, and also drew a walk.
Game 2: St. Paul 1, Toledo 0 (7 innings)
Box Score
In Game 2, Saints pitching again held Toledo to just three hits, and with the result being a shutout the five hits of their own were enough to pull out another victory.
Mario Sanchez made the start and went the first four innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out three. Drew Strotman pitched a one-two-three fifth to pick up the win, and Jharel Cotton picked up a two-inning save, allowing two hits, a walk, and striking out four.
St. Paul scored the only run of the game in the top of the sixth after Mark Contreras drew a walk, moved into scoring position on an errant pickoff attempt, then scampered home on a single from Cole Sturgeon. Michael Helman added a single, a walk, and his 29th stolen base of the season.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
NW Arkansas 5, Wichita 1
Box Score
The Kansas City Royals #9 prospect (per MLB.com), outfielder Tyler Gentry, took the Wind Surge to task late on Tuesday, tallying all five of the Naturals' RBI thanks to a two-run homer in the eighth, and a bases-clearing double in the ninth. 
To that point, Wichita pitchers had been great, as Cody Laweryson made the start and allowed no runs on two hits and a walk, while striking out five in the first four innings. Michael Boyle, Osiris German, and Jordan Brink then were able to add a scoreless inning each, allowing two hits, a walk, and striking out three between them before the eighth. Hunter McMahon was the victim of the home run in the eighth before Blayne Enlow got tagged with the double in the ninth. McMahon gave up three hits and struck out one, while Enlow gave up three free passes in front of the double, but did strike out two as well.
The Wind Surge’s lone run came in the bottom of the eighth when Yunior Severino delivered a bases loaded single to score Edouard Julien, who had led off the inning with a single of his own. With the bases still loaded and nobody out, a strikeout preceded an inning-ending double play ball to kill their late rally.
Julien finished 2-for-5 with a run scored and stolen bases, Aaron Sabato chipped in a double, and Austin Martin was 1-for-4 with a walk and his 32nd stolen base to lead the offense, and also made an athletic tag at second on a steal attempt.
KERNELS NUGGETS
South Bend 6, Cedar Rapids 8
Box Score
This one got crazy late, as a six-run inning from the Kernels almost wasn’t enough to hold off a five-run rally from the Cubs in a battle of teams who ended the night with identical 71-56 records on the season. While the Kernels took the West Division first-half title, South Bend looks poised to take the second-half, so this could be a playoff preview series.
Orlando Rodriguez took the mound for Cedar Rapids and was fantastic for six innings. He allowed just one run on three hits and a walk, while punching out four Cubs. Matt Mullenbach pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two before the Kernels came to bat in the bottom of the eighth.
With the score 2-1 in favor of the good guys at that point, the Kernels broke it open thanks to some wildness to start the inning (two walks and a hit-by-pitch), and loud contact to end it. With the bases loaded Willie Joe Garry Jr. clubbed a double to score two, Dylan Neuse delivered a two-RBI single, and Jake Rucker put the exclamation point on it with a two-run home run, making it 8-1 Cedar Rapids.
Then it was time for Regi Grace’s Midwest League debut in the ninth, and it was one he’ll want to forget quickly. While recording two outs, he would be charged with four runs on three hits and walk, and Tyler Palm would be called upon to stop the bleeding. Palm also gave up two hits and a run of his own, but managed to keep the tying run off the basepaths to secure a win.
Neuse led the way for the Kernels with three hits in four at-bats, scoring a run and driving in two. In addition to his double, Garry Jr. also drew a walk, scored a run, and stole a base. Brooks Lee was 1-for-5 and scored a run, while Mikey Perez scored two runs and stole two bases.
MUSSEL MATTERS
St. Lucie 0, Fort Myers 5
Box Score
Bailey Ober made his second rehab appearance with the Mighty Mussels, and was in command for all four of his innings. He allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out three in the outing, and should be ready for St. Paul and/or the Minnesota Twins soon. Of his 52 pitches, 38 went for strikes (73%) in the game, and he faced just one hitter over the minimum in the outing. 
Develson Aria made his debut in full-season ball after Ober’s exit, and threw two scoreless frames, walking two and striking out three. Jackson Hicks then finished off the shutout with three scoreless innings to pick up his fifth win of the season. He allowed just one hit and struck out five Mets hitters, including all three in the ninth. Of note in this one is the 11th overall pick in this year's draft, catcher Kevin Parada, was 0-for-4 and struck out against each Mighty Mussels pitcher.
Fort Myers did all their damage in the seventh inning, with the first two runs coming on Keoni Cavaco’s tenth home run of the year, and Noah Cardenas unloading the bases with a double for their final three.
Cavaco was 2-for-4 on the night and also stole base in addition to his go-ahead homer. Tanner Schobel added a double, two walks, stolen base, and scored a run. Noah Miller finished 1-for-4 with a run scored, walk, and his 23rd stolen base of the year.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Jackson Hicks, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (W, 3 IP, H, 5 K)
Hitter of the Day - Dylan Neuse, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-4, R, 2 RBI, K)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, R, 2B, 2 K
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB, SB
#7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, R, BB, SB
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-7, BB, K (2 games)
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, R, K, SB
#15 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 IP, H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 1-for-2, R, 2B, 2 BB, SB
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, 3 K
WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees (2:05 PM CDT) - RHP Louie Varland (MLB Debut), Game 2 (Joe Ryan) 
St. Paul @ Toledo (5:35 PM CDT) - RHP Ronny Henriquez (2-4, 5.94 ERA)
NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - LHP Kody Funderburk (8-5, 3.24 ERA)
South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (7-3, 2.59 ERA)
St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (6-7, 3.53 ERA)
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!