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As the prospect crew at Twins Daily is rolling out their top prospects, there are two who I think are flying under the radar. After wildly successful 2022 seasons, keep an eye on them to repeat and improve their prospect status in 2023. View full video

The Wichita Wind Surge got their playoff push started with a bang, blowing out the Tulsa Drillers in Game one of their Texas League Division Series. Multiple players delivered big blasts in the decisive victory, while a top pitching prospect continued to make a good impression in Triple-A. Image courtesy of of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge 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! View full article

The regular season ended for two Twins affiliates. They will both start their playoff runs on Tuesday. Two other affiliates have another week. Wichita has one more week of games before the playoffs. St. Paul has two weeks remaining in their season. As for Sunday, you're going to want to see how Cody Laweryson did, and how he has done since joining the Wind Surge. And Nate Baez had a powerful day at the plate. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge 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! View full article

The Minnesota Twins lost their fifth-straight game Wednesday night in Houston. An unfortunate misplay in the outfield by non-outfielder Tim Beckham helped unravel what was a disastrous bridge inning for Michael Fulmer. Prospects highlighted tonight include Michael Helman, Cody Laweryson, Edouard Julien, Austin Martin and Anthony Prato, who made a brilliant diving catch in left field. View full video

Daniel Gossett had a magical night in Wichita, throwing a no-hitter for the Wild Surge. Here are highlights of every batter he faced along the way, including some beautiful defensive plays by Austin Martin and Anthony Prato. Tonight's recap also includes highlights of the Twins' 2-1 victory over Texas and a rundown of the Saints and Mighty Mussels games. View full video

A graduate of North St. Paul High School, and Concordia University in St. Paul, Louie Varland made his first Triple-A start for his hometown S.t Paul Saints. Plus wins by Wichita and Cedar Rapids and a big night for the Twins 10th round pick. TRANSACTIONS 2B Jorel Ortega placed on the 7-Day IL (wrist). SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Columbus 1 Box Score St. Paul native Louie Varland dominated during his Triple-A debut in front of the home crowd. Varland—Twins Daily’s number 12 Twins prospect—struck out eight and allowed only three Clipper batters to reach base across 5 ⅓ innings, marking arguably his best start of the season. While the Twins are developing Varland as a starter and have ever since he signed out of Concordia University, some talent evaluators believe he is best suited for the bullpen long-term. An athlete is only ever a couple of good outings away from the Majors once they reach Triple-A and should the Twins continue to need pitching help as the season winds down Varland’s name may begin to seriously come up in conversations. At the plate, Mark Contreras went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Roy Morales drove in the Saints other three runs, going 1-for-4 with a double. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 7, Corpus Christi 3 Box Score The Wind Surge got tremendous production from the bottom of their lineup on Friday as they took down the Hooks with relative ease. Will Holland, Anthony Prato, and Leobaldo Cabrera—Wichita’s 7-8-9 hitters—combined to go 5-for-8 with four RBI, three runs scored, and four walks; Prato led the charge by contributing a double and triple to raise his average to .307. Alex Isola also brought the boom, driving in two with his seventh home run of the season. Brent Headrick put together five solid innings, striking out six and allowing one earned run. Alex Phillips and Denny Bentley each struck out the side during the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Quad Cities 0 Box Score Kyler Fedko (1-for-4, RBI, R) contributed Cedar Rapids’ lone extra-base hit on the night, but although offense was at a bit of a premium in Iowa, the Kernels ultimately came out on top with ease. Mikey Perez added the team’s lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with two RBI. Brooks Lee went 0-for-3 but drew two walks. David Festa started on the bump for the Kernels but was removed after three shutout innings. Hunter McMahon was awarded the win after throwing 3 1/3 innings of hitless ball in relief. He struck out three and his ERA dropped to 0.65. MUSSEL MATTERS Jupiter 3, Fort Myers 1 Box Score It was a quiet night in Jupiter with no offensive hurricanes to be found. Noah Cardenas led the Mighty Mussels at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double. Dillon Tatum (1-for-4) also contributed a double. The Fort Myers pitching staff also had a quiet night as they managed to strike out a meager two batters while walking four and surrendering three earned runs. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Red Sox 1, FCL Twins 0 Box Score The FCL Twins managed to pick up eight hits against the FCL Red Sox on Friday, but unfortunately, none were able to drive in any runs. Dalton Shuffield—the Twins 10th round pick out of Texas State—went 3-for-4 and picked up his first professional hits. Five pitchers—led by Pierce Banks—saw action for the Twins and struck out 12 while surrendering only a single run. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 3, DSL Mariners 0 Box Score Bryan Acuna’s RBI double in the sixth inning gave the DSL Twins a 1-0 lead, an advantage they would never surrender. Jesus Peraza singled home two more in the seventh to extend the Twins lead. DSL Twins pitchers struck out eight while only walking two to earn the shutout. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Louie Varland (St. Paul): 5 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Anthony Prato (Wichita): 2-for-3, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 R 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-3, 2 BB #7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, BB #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, 2 BB #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 5 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB, 8 K #13 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R/ER, 3 BB, 3 K #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-4 #18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4 #20 - Kala'i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4 SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs. Columbus (7:07 PM CST) - LHP Devin Smeltzer (2-2, 4.98 ERA) Wichita vs. Corpus Christi (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Daniel Gossett (1-1, 2.59 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM CST) - RHP Luis Rijo (0-1, 11,81 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:00 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (4-6, 4.13 ERA) View full article

Minnesota Twins prospect Louie Varland, a product of St. Paul, made his Triple-A debut for the Saints tonight and carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Tonight's recap also features an ejection and some injury updates on Bailey Ober and Kenta Maeda. View full video

The Wichita Wind Surge blasted two key homers in a win while much of the system lost Thursday. Let's get you caught up. TRANSACTIONS - 1B Aaron Sabato promoted to Double-A Wichita - SS Will Holland promoted to Double-A Wichita - C Chris Williams promoted to Triple-A St. Paul - 3B Andrew Bechtold promoted to Triple-A St. Paul And in the "Rest of the 2022 Draft Picks Got Assigned" portion of the Transactions: - RHP Kyle Jones assigned to FCL Twins. - RHP Zebby Matthews assigned to FCL Twins. - SS Ben Ross assigned to FCL Twins. - C Andrew Cossetti assigned to FCL Twins. - RHP Cory Lewis assigned to FCL Twins. - RHP Andrew Morris assigned to FCL Twins. - SS Dalton Shuffield assigned to FCL Twins. - RHP C.J. Culpepper assigned to FCL Twins. - LHP Zachary Veen assigned to FCL Twins. - LHP Connor Prielipp assigned to FCL Twins. - RHP Ben Ethridge assigned to FCL Twins. - SS Jankel Ortiz assigned to FCL Twins. - OF Alec Sayre assigned to FCL Twins. - C Nate Baez assigned to FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL Saints 6, Columbus 8 Box Score The Saints’ bullpen leaked in a loss to the Clippers Thursday. Jordan Balazovic started and pitched four innings. Balazovic allowed four hits and two runs, with two walks and one strikeout. Balazovic gave up his 16th homer of the season. Matt Wallner walked twice and hit his second Triple-A homer in the seventh, a two-run shot. Michael Helman went 2-for-5 with an RBI double and Caleb Hamilton added a two-run double out of the cleanup spot. Guardians’ top-5 prospect Gabriel Arias hit two home runs for the Clippers. Former Guardians centerfielder Oscar Mercado hit a two-run homer in the win. The Saints are 52-54. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wind Surge 8, Hooks 5 Box Score The Wind Surge jumped out to an early lead thanks to a homer from Anthony Prato and an RBI single from Leobaldo Cabrera in the second. Will Holland gave the Surge a 3-1 lead with a single in the third while tallying three hits on the night. Alex Isola also had three hits, including a double. Edouard Julien entered tonight hitting .306/.432/.536 (.968) since June 1st. He blasted another homer Thursday. Julien has 14 homers on the season and has crushed since the summer months kicked off. Simeon Woods Richardson struck out five over four innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. Woods Richardson has a 3.02 ERA on the season. The Wind Surge are now 10 games above .500 at 57-47. KERNELS NUGGETS Kernels 1, River Bandits 6 Box Score The curse of the Quad City River Bandits continued for the Kernels Thursday night. Losing their third game in a row to the Bandits, the Kernels had trouble getting their offense going outside of a solo homer from Kyler Fedko. Fedko put the Kernels on the board in the ninth, his seventh of the season. Matt Mullenbach pitched two scoreless innings in relief, lowering his Kernels ERA to 0.84. It was a tough go for starter Travis Adams, who gave up five runs in five innings. Adams struck out seven. The Kernels have had an awesome year and will look to get back in the win column Friday. The Kernels are 61-44. MUSSEL MATTERS Mighty Mussels 1, Hammerheads 10 Box Score The Mussels took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an error. Unfortunately, that would be it for their scoring. The Hammerheads scored 10 unanswered runs on 15 hits. Mussels pitchers walked seven and struck out eight. Misael Urbina had a two-hit night and continues to thrive. Urbina is hitting .305/.352/.547 since joining the Mussels. Keoni Cavaco doubled and stole a base after a walk. The Mussels had eight hits despite the lopsided final score. The Mussels have an opportunity to bounce back immediately Friday and still sit 11 games over .500. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 2, FCL Rays 7 Box Score The powerhouse FCL Rays improved to 33-12 with a 7-2 drubbing of the FCL Twins Thursday. The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the third on a Náte Baez RBI double. That lead held for one commercial break, as the Rays quickly tied things up and took the lead in the top of the fourth. José Olivares started for the Twins and pitched three innings. Olivares allowed two earned runs on three hits and three walks. Olivares struck out two and now has 35 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings this year. Danny De Andrade posted a multi-hit game and drove in a run on an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. De Andrade has a .335 on-base percentage with eight doubles, a triple and two homers on the season. The FCL Twins are 21-25. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 4, DSL Cleveland Blue 2 Box Score The Yasser Mercedes show continued with another two-hit game for the 17-year-old outfielder. Mercedes is hitting .351/.416/.573 in 35 games. Bryan Acuña went 3-for-4 with an RBI double, a key hit in a three-run rally for the Twins in the seventh. Anderson Nova added two hits in the win and is batting .347 with a .934 OPS. Anthony Narváez was terrific on the mound for the Twins, spinning four scoreless innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Narváez has a 2.18 ERA in 20 ⅔ innings. Juan Mercedes and Jeferson López added scoreless innings in relief. The DSL Twins have a very talented offense and a pitching staff to boot. They are 28-21 after the win over Cleveland. Twins fans would love to see the entire organization continue to beat Cleveland’s various teams. MINOR LEAGUE HITTER OF THE DAY - Bryan Acuna: 3-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, BB MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE DAY - Anthony Narvaez: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, BB, 6 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4 #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) -4 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, BB, 5 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB #11 - Jordan Balazovic (St.Paul) - 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, K #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB #18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5 #20 - Kala'i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, BB Comment your thoughts/questions below! View full article

The Minnesota Twins were off Thursday but we had a full slate of games from their full-season minor league affiliates. Highlighted tonight are Edouard Julien, Matt Wallner, Jordan Balazovic, Will Holland, Simeon Woods Richardson, Anthony Prato, Brooks Lee, Kyler Fedko and more! View full video

Highlights of the Cedar Rapids Kernels playing at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. They were wearing throwback uniforms and reverted back to an old nickname of the franchise, the Bunnies. What a great experience for those guys. Tonight's video also includes highlights of Edouard Julien and Anthony Prato. View full video

The Minnesota Twins bullpen got destroyed by the Blue Jays Thursday in a 9-3 loss. Down on the farm, Caleb Hamilton hit his 11th home run for the Saints but it was another rough night for Jordan Balazovic and (to a lesser degree) Ronny Henriquez. Louie Varland pitched great for Wichita, though. Edouard Julien hit another home run for the Wind Surge while Anthony Prato delivered the game-winning hit. Also, Brooks Lee and Tanner Schobel made their professional debuts with the FCL Twins. View full video

Matt Wallner had four hits. Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered again. Jaylen Nowlin continued to strike out batters. 54 runs were scored throughout the Twins’ minor league system tonight. Read about this and more in Wednesday’s Minor League Report! Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization. TRANSACTIONS The Twins activated RHP Joe Smith from the 15-day IL RHP Josh Winder was optioned to AAA St. Paul AAA St. Paul released RHP JC Ramirez SAINTS (AAA) GAME 1 (CONTINUATION OF 7/12) St. Paul 11, Toledo 6 Box Score The Saints continued the game from Tuesday in which they only played 1+ innings before getting suspended. On Tuesday, Cole Sands started and gave up three runs in two innings. The Saints, however, gave him some support thanks to a homer from Michael Helman, an RBI double from Mark Contreras, and a two-run double from Miguel Sano. This game was picked up in the bottom of the second, where the Saints' rally (which ended after Sano’s double) was put to a halt to end the second inning. After the continuation, the Saints decided to use a bullpen game for the remaining seven innings. Tyler Viza, Hunter Wood, and Wladimir Pinto each threw two innings. Viza allowed two runs, and the other two didn’t allow any runs. The trio struck out seven batters and allowed four hits over six innings. The Saints got some offensive fireworks in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Jake Cave hit a two-run homer for his 12th of the season. One inning later, Caleb Hamilton hit a two-run shot for his 10th of the season, and Helman hit his second of the game, sixth of the season, to give the Saints a 10-5 lead. In the eighth, Contreras added another RBI double to pad the lead. Toledo scored one run in the top of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as the Saints cruised to a five-run victory backed by four homers. Viza picked up the win for the Saints. Tim Beckham and Contreras had 3-hit games. Helman added two hits, and John Andreoli scored three runs. The Saints improved their record to 41-43 with the win. GAME 2 St. Paul 2, Toledo 8 Box Score The Saints should’ve saved some runs for game two. Through two innings, it looked like it was going to be a pitchers’ duel. Ronny Henriquez started for the Saints, cruising through two innings as he had struck out three and not allowed a run. On the other side, it was Shea Spitzbarth for Toledo. He, like Henriquez, had skated through two without allowing a run. Unlike Henriquez, Spitzbarth didn’t blow up in the third. For Toledo, Kody Clemens hit a three-run homer off of Henriquez to give Toledo their first lead of the game. Toledo went to their bullpen in the fourth, which backfired when Caleb Hamilton laced a two-run double into the left-field corner. Hamilton has been on fire in July, slashing .308/.400/.808 (1.208) across 26 at-bats. Sadly, those would end up being the only runs of the game for the Saints. Tyler Thornburg came in and had a disastrous outing, allowing four runs in a third of an inning. He went into a one-run game in the top of the sixth with a runner on first. He allowed a single, got a guy to ground out, walked a batter, then allowed a bases-clearing double and a two-run homer. He exited, and the Saints had a six-run deficit with six outs to play. After the sixth, the Saints couldn’t get anything going offensively, and they took the disappointing loss 8-2. Henriquez picked up the loss for the Saints as his record fell to 1-4. Helman went 2-for-3 to lead the offense, along with Hamilton’s two RBI. The Saints had to resort to a doubleheader split as their record fell to 41-44. WIND SURGE (AA) Wichita 16, Arkansas 12 Box Score The Wichita Wind Surge won in an absolute slugfest on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 16-12. The game was all Wichita early on. In the first inning, Cole Sturgeon started the scoring with a three-run homer, his seventh of the year. Later that inning, DaShawn Keirsey hit an RBI single to give Wichita an early 4-0 lead. In the second, Chris Williams scored Matt Wallner with an RBI single. In the third, Keirsey hit another RBI single, Wallner hit a two-run single, and Chris Williams hit a three-run homer to increase the lead to 11. And in the fourth, Daniel Ozoria hit an RBI single, Wallner hit another RBI single, and Edouard Julien hit a sac-fly to increase the lead to 14-0 early on. But Arkansas said not so fast. After Wichita starter Sawyer Gipson-Long survived the first four innings, only allowing three hits and no runs, he blew up in the fifth. Arkansas scored nine runs in the fifth, seven off of Gipson-Long, and two off of reliever Steven Klimek thanks to five doubles and a homer. Denny Bentley came in to pitch in the sixth, hoping to settle things down, and he did, throwing three strong innings, allowing one run, and striking out two. The lead was down to four, but Wichita increased it back to six in the bottom of the eighth thanks to an RBI single from Anthony Prato and a sac-fly from Wallner. Manuel Acosta allowed a two-run homer in the ninth, but it was not enough for Arkansas as the Wind Surge held on for a 16-12 win. Bentley picked up the win for Wichita, his second of the year. Wallner and Prato each had four hits to lead the offense. Sturgeon and Keirsey had three hits apiece, while Julien, Williams, and Nash Knight had two to help the offense. Every Wind Surge starter recorded a hit as the offense recorded 20 hits in the win. Wallner and Williams drove in four runs each in a memorable win for Wichita as they improved their record to 42-40. KERNELS (HIGH-A) Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2 Box Score The Kernels rode an all-around solid pitching performance and one particular hot bat to a victory Wednesday night that put them nearly 20 games above .500. The Kernels got off to a hot start in the top of the first when Christian Encarnacion-Strand belted his 20th homer of the season. Encarnacion-Strand has burst onto the scene this year in his first full professional season and has an impressive .969 OPS. Like the Saints, the Kernels went with a bullpen game. Jon Olsen started on the mound for Cedar Rapids and allowed two runs in the first. These proved to be the game's only runs for Beloit as the rest of the pitching staff was shut down. Matthew Swain gave two scoreless innings of relief, Orlando Rodriguez gave three, Tyler Palm gave two, and Ryan Shreve gave one. The four only allowed three hits in eight innings while striking out seven batters and not walking any. The Kernels took the lead for good in the top of the fifth when who else, but Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run double to score Charles Mack and Kyler Fedko. Seth Gray followed with an RBI single to give the lead a little padding. With the win, the Kernels improve to 51-32 on the year. Rodriguez picked up his third win, and Shreve got the save, his first of the year. Encarnacion-Strand went 3-for-4 with three RBI to lead the offense, and Gray added two hits in the contest. MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A) Fort Myers 6, Clearwater 2 Box Score The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels continued their dominant season on Wednesday with a convincing 6-2 win over Clearwater. Jaylen Nowlin made a start for Fort Myers in this one. He threw four innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits while striking out seven batters. In 2022, Nowlin has struck out 14.69 batters per nine innings, which ranks second in the Florida State League among pitchers with at least 40 innings. Fort Myers got the scoring started in the bottom of the first when Misael Urbina hit a leadoff double, and Noah Miller followed with a single, scoring Urbina to give the Mighty Mussels a 1-0 lead early. Clearwater responded with an unearned run in the top of the second after a Keoni Cavaco throwing error allowed a runner to reach base. The runner came around to score on a two-out RBI single. Fort Myers broke the game open at the bottom of the fourth inning. The game was tied 1-1 when Mikey Perez roped a two-run single to left, scoring Miller and Kala’i Rosario. One pitch later, Noah Cardenas hit a two-run homer, his fourth of the year, to give Fort Myers a 5-1 lead. Manager Brian Meyer called on Juan Mendez to relieve Nowlin in the top of the fifth with a four-run lead. Mendez threw two perfect innings of relief to keep the score intact while striking out two batters. After Mendez was done, Anthony Escobar came in and threw two scoreless innings of his own, lowering his season ERA to 0.93. Alex Rodriguez (no, not that one) plated Luis Baez with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to give Fort Myers another insurance run. Clearwater plated a run in the top of the ninth, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Mighty Mussels held on for the victory. Mendez picked up the win on the mound for Fort Myers, and multi-hit games led the offense from Rosario and Cardenas. Baez stole two bases, and Miller reached base three times in the win. Fort Myers improved their record to 46-32 with the win. DOMINICAN DAILIES GAME ONE DSL Twins 7, DSL Nationals 2 (Continuation of Suspended Game) Box Score Starting Pitcher: Jeferson Lopez (0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K) Winning Pitcher: Roger Duran (3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K) Multi-Hit Games: Daniel Pena (2-for-2) 2B: Anderson Nova (1) HR: Rafael Cruz (1) GAME TWO DSL Twins 8, DSL Nationals 0 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Jose Betancourt (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K) Winning Pitcher: Ledwin Taveras (4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K) Multi-Hit Games: Junior Marino (3-for-3), Jose Rodriguez (2-for-4), Anderson Nova (2-for-4) 2B: Nova (2), Rodriguez (7) TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jaylen Nowlin (Fort Myers) - 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) Hitter of the Day – Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 4-for-4, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2B (15), BB 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: #8 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-2, R, RBI, 2 BB #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 4-for-4, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2B (15), BB #14 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K #15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 3B (2), BB #16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B (23), HR (20), SB (7) #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K #20 - Sawyer Gipson-Long (Wichita) - 4 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 0 BB, 6 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-3, 9.55 ERA) Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Cody Laweryson (1-0, 0.87 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (5-0, 1.91 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Mike Paredes (4-2, 2.19 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Thank you for reading, and Go Twins! View full article