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There wasn't a ton of big offensive performances tonight on the farm for the Minnesota Twins affiliates, but Kala'i Rosario stole the show this afternoon in a Mighty Mussels loss. Cody Laweryson was dominant for the Wichita Wind Surge, and Cole Sands made a rehab appearance for the St. Paul Saints. TRANSACTIONS Pitcher Cole Sands began a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL Omaha 5, St. Paul 1 Box Score Louie Varland has been among the best pitchers in the Twins system this season and was on the bump for St. Paul tonight. He worked 4 1/3 innings giving up two runs on four hits. He didn’t allow a walk and struck out three. Matt Wallner has drawn plenty of excitement with his bat this year, but it was a sliding catch in the second inning that saved extra bases. The Storm Chasers got a run in the 4th inning on a sacrifice fly before a 5th inning solo shot ended Varland’s night. St. Paul found themselves halving the lead in the 6th inning when a passed ball allowed him to scamper home. Omaha added one in the 7th inning and two in the 8th inning to pull away, however, and the Saints never had a rally in them. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Springfield 4 Box Score The Wind Surge gave the pill to Cody Laweryson tonight in Springfield. Wichita’s starter went 4 2/3 allowing just a single run on five hits. Laweryson punched out six and didn’t surrender a walk. His ERA is now down to 1.03. Bryan Sammons took over in the 5th inning, and after recording the final out of that frame, he gave up a three-run dinger in the 6th inning. The Cardinals found themselves with breathing room up 4-0. In the 7th inning, it became time for the Wind Surge to answer. Leobaldo Cabrera stepped in and singled home Yunior Severino. Star prospect Austin Martin then roped his third triple of the season to bring home both Anthony Prato and Cabrera. All of a sudden it was a one-run game. The Wind Surge weren’t going to go out quietly, and walks from Prato and Will Holland to start the 9th inning gave them a chance. Edouard Julien then stepped up and ripped a line drive single to score both runners and take the lead. KERNELS NUGGETS Dayton 9, Cedar Rapids 4 Box Score Cedar Rapids turned to Luis Rijo in this one and it was an outing he’d rather forget. Rijo didn’t record an out and gave up five runs on just one hit. The bugaboo was three walks in the inning. Two of the runs against Rijo came on bases-loaded walks. Down 6-0 by the bottom of the 2nd inning, the Kernels got on the board when Dylan Neuse singled in Seth Gray during the 4th inning. In the 6th inning, Cedar Rapids continued to claw away. A balk brought in Gray before Jake Rucker singled to score Jeferson Morales and Willie Joe Garry Jr. Unfortunately for the Kernels, Dayton plated three more runs to pull away, and that was where this one ended. MUSSEL MATTERS Bradenton 8, Fort Myers 7 Box Score Pierson Ohl took the ball this afternoon for the Mighty Mussels and turned in five solid innings while working around seven hits. He did give up three runs, but limited additional damage allowing just one walk and striking out two. Fort Myers scored first, right in the opening salvo, when Kala’i Rosario singled to drive in Tanner Schobel. Unfortunately, that was the only lead they’d have in this one. By the time the Mighty Mussels came up in the top of the 6th inning they trailed 3-1. Rosario once again was ready to do damage and launched a homer, his 11th of the year, to score Ben Ross and tie things up. The Marauders wound up adding in the 6th and 7th innings to jump ahead 8-3. Heading into the 9th inning, Fort Myers saw an uphill battle, but they were ready to work. Luis Baez triples to drive in Keoni Cavaco and Alec Sayre. He then came home during the next at-bat on a passed ball. Down just two, Rosario continued his good day with another single, scoring Ross and bringing the good guys within one. That’s where the rally ended, however, and this was a tough one-run defeat. Fort Myers managed just five hits on the day but definitely made this one interesting. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Cody Laweryson (Wichita) - 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 3-5, R, 4 RBI, HR(11) 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. #2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, BB #4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-5, 2 RBI, 3B, 2 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-4, R, 2B, 2 BB #12 - Louie Varland (St. Paul) - 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-4, 2 RBI, BB, K #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 1-4, R, BB, 2 K, 2B #20 - Kala'i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 3-5, R, 4 RBI, HR(11) THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - RHP Ronny Henriquez Wichita @ Springfield (6:35PM CST) - RHP Kody Funderburk Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:05PM CST) - RHP David Festa Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Monday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates back and playing. View full article

Starters and hitters often get the glory, but there’s been plenty of solid relief performances on the farm over the past month as well. Given a constant need for pitching help, any of these performances could translate to future opportunity. Honorable Mention Wladimir Pinto (St. Paul Saints) 6 G, 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.88 WHIP Drew Strotman (St. Paul Saints) 6 G, 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K, 1.35 ERA, 1.20 WHIP Andrew Cabezas (Wichita) 8 G, 10.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 9 K, 0.87 ERA, 0.79 WHIP Jackson Hicks (Fort Myers) 8 G, 11.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 14 K, 1.59 ERA, 0.90 WHIP Number Three: Matt Mullenbach (Cedar Rapids) 6 G, 6.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.98 WHIP Mullenbach was transferred back to High-A Cedar Rapids at the beginning of July after spending most of May and all of June down in Fort Myers. He worked as a late-inning reliever for the Kernels and proved to be a useful arm at the back end of the bullpen. Old for the level at 25, Mullenbach could push for a move to Double-A if he replicates this month through August. Mullenbach was originally in the Mets system back in 2019 and joined the Minnesota organization last year. He did have a Triple-A appearance in 2021, and while these types of minor league adds generally wind up being organizational depth, there’s no reason why noteworthy outliers can’t exist. Number Two: Cody Laweryson (Wichita) 7 G, 16.1 IP, 13 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 15 K, 0.55 ERA, 1.10 WHIP Maybe a bit unfair in racking up additional innings, Laweryson did make a spot start this month for the Wind Surge. Even with the additional opportunity, he continued a very solid year. Working almost exclusively as a reliever now, Laweryson has taken a sizeable step forward from where he was in 2021. The strikeouts continue to come in bunches and he does a good job limiting walks. Minnesota selected Lawyerson in the 14th round of the 2019 draft from the University of Maine. He pitched in the Arizona Fall League for Minnesota last season and the additional challenge against heightened competition seems to have served him well. Just 23 years old, Minnesota has to be happy with how the start of his pro career has gone. Number One: Hunter McMahon (Cedar Rapids) 8 G, 14.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 11 K, 0.64 ERA, 0.50 WHIP McMahon was promoted from Low-A Fort Myers to High-A Cedar Rapids at the end of June. He responded by being lights out and finishing four games for the Kernels. Having collected six saves this season between the two levels, McMahon has shown an ability to work late in games and get big outs. His 9.3 K/9 this season is a bit lower than 2021, but he’s continued to issue virtually no free passes. The Washington Nationals took McMahon in the 9th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. Now 24, McMahon joined the Twins organization in 2021 when they traded reliever Ryne Harper. He was little more than a lottery ticket, but pitching like this could certainly give him future promise for a pitcher they were going to instead lose for nothing. Congratulations to each of these relievers on a fantastic month! View full article

Between the blasts for St. Paul and Cedar Rapids and Noah Miller’s near cycle down in the Complex League, there was plenty of offense to go around this afternoon in the Twins system. It’s not often a two home run game gets outdone, but here we are. TRANSACTIONS None reported SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 17, Omaha 3 Box Score It was Drew Strotman’s turn today for the Saints, and he danced around a good Omaha lineup. Working 5 1/3 innings, Strotman picked up six punch outs while allowing three runs on four hits and three walks. Uber-prospect Bobby Witt Jr. tagged him for a solo shot that never left the park. The Saints provided him with plenty of offensive support. Looking to make up for the inside-the-park homer from Witt Jr., St. Paul answered quickly. Jose Miranda recorded his 18th double to drive in Sherman Johnson, and Tomas Telis then lifted a two-run blast over the left-center field wall. Tied up after the top half of the 4th inning, the Saints took the lead again in the bottom half. Drew Maggi hit his 15th homer of the year before David Banuelos recorded his first for St. Paul. Up 5-3 in the 7th inning, B.J. Boyd recorded his first double with the club and scored Mark Contreras on the play. After a bases loaded walk allowed Gilberto Celestino to score, Banuelos crushed his second home run of the day. A grand slam put the Saints up 11-3 and this one was way out of reach. In the bottom of the eighth, the Saints scored six more runs. JT Riddle hit the team's second grand slam of the game, and Jose Miranda followed with a solo shot, his 13th with the Saints. Banuelos went 3-for-5 with his first two Saints homers, three runs scored and six RBI. Drew Maggi went 3-for-4 with a walk and his 15th homer of the season. Miranda went 3-for-6. Tomas Telis, Mark Contreras and BJ Boyd each had two hits. Sherman Johnson walked four times in this contest. Strotman got his first Win with the Saints. Chris Nunn recorded the next four outs. Nick Vincent got the final out of the seventh inning. Chandler Shepherd pitched the eighth and ninth innings. WIND SURGE WISDOM NW Arkansas 1, Wichita 0 Box Score Austin Schulfer shoved tonight for the Wind Surge. Yes, he lacked command, but he went 4 1/3 innings giving up just two hits and working around five free passes. Schulfer also recorded six strikeouts before turning the ball over to Ben Gross. Gross then put in solid work of his own going 3 2/3 innings allowing just a single run on five hits while walking two and fanning three. Despite combining for 13 hits, these two teams plated just one run. An 8th inning single for the opposition put Wichita behind and that was enough to do them in for the evening. Roy Morales recorded three hits while D.J. Burt had two of his own. Jordan Gore worked a scoreless 9th inning but the offense remained dormant and Wichita wound up being shut out on the evening. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 11, Wisconsin 5 Box Score Cody Lawyerson was on the bump for Cedar Rapids in today’s matinee and worked six strong. He was dominant, striking out nine and walking just two while allowing only three hits. The Kernels have a thing for threes in today’s tilt. Putting up the first runs of the game, it was a three-spot in the third inning. Edouard Julien lifted his 11th homer to driver in Daniel Ozoria, and Michael Helman made it back-to-back jacks with his 18th. Then in the fourth inning it was again a three spot started by a Julien walk with the bases loaded. Helman ripped a single to center plating both DaShawn Keirsey and Ozoria on the play. As had been the case all afternoon the 6th inning featured another three-spot. Last night’s hero Matt Wallner drove in Julien on a single before Alex Isola hit his 14th dinger to also bring home Wallner. Giving up five runs across the 7th and 8th innings, Cedar Rapids looked to grab some extra breathing room. Wallner homered for the second straight game, his 13th on the season, and Seth Gray drove in Yunior Severino to push the final tally up to 11-5. Wallner and Gray both had three hits on the afternoon with Helman adding two of his own. Following Laweryson was Derek Molina who gave up one run in the seventh inning. Stephen Cruz came in for his High-A debut in the eighth frame. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on two hits and two walks. He recorded just one out, but it was on a strikeout. Melvi Acosta came on and got the final five outs. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Palm Beach 2 (Susp B/4) Box Score John Stankiewicz was tonight's starter as he celebrated his 23rd birthday. Working through four innings, he allowed just two runs on five hits and two walks. Stankiewicz also struck out four. Despite being at just 69 pitches, his night was done in by rain with the game being suspended in the 4th inning. Fort Myers scored first tallying a run on a Kyler Fedko walk with the bases loaded in the 1st inning. After giving the run back in the 2nd inning, Alerick Soularie reached on an error that allowed Mike Perez to scamper home. Again tied after the top half of the 4th inning, Perez drove in Willie Joe Garry in the bottom half to retake the lead for the Mighty Mussels. The clubs will finish this one out tomorrow evening. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Orioles Orange 15, FCL Twins 8 Box Score If you’re a fan of offensive outputs then this one was for you. A makeup of a previously postponed contest, the Twins and Orioles complex clubs combined for 23 runs on 25 hits. It was also a rather sloppy affair with both teams adding to the eight total errors on the day. After a starter Juan Mendez was able to record just a single out before giving up four runs, Cole Bellair worked 4 ⅓ innings. He was tagged for seven runs, but just one of them was of the earned variety. His eight strikeouts looked very nice up against just one walk. Ricardo Velez gave up one run over 2 1/3 innings of relief. Rafael Feliz gave up three runs over the final two innings. Down 8-1 after the 3rd inning, this one got out of hand early. The Twins did combine for seven runs the rest of the way, including a four-run effort in the bottom of the 9th inning. 2021 draftee Noah Miller was the star of the show with a 5-for-5 effort where he finished just a double shy of the cycle. Malfrin Sosa (three hits) and Luis Baez (two hits) joined Miller with multi-hit efforts of their own. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Cody Lawyerson (Cedar Rapids) - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K Hitter of the Day - Noah Miller (Complex) - 5-5, 3B, HR(2), R, 5 RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Royce Lewis (rehab) - Out for season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-3, K #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) - Did not pitch #4 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - Did not pitch #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) - Injured List (elbow strain) #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 3-6, 2B (18), HR (13), 2 R, 2 RBI, K #7 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K #8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (right elbow strain) #9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - Did not pitch #10 - Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) - Did not play #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - Injured List (right shoulder impingement) #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR(13), 2 K #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 1-2, 2 BB #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K #15 - Noah Miller (Complex) - 5-5, 3B, HR(2), R, 5 RBI #16 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota) - Did not play #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Out for season (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) - 2-2 #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) - Did not pitch #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 0-3, K, BB THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Beau Burrows (2-4, 6.20 ERA) NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland (5-1, 1.85 ERA) Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Casey Legumina (3-2, 3.23 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games View full article