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Tenth-round picks can be a crapshoot to pan out in an organization. That isn’t the case with Minnesota’s tenth-round pick from July. He is already flying through the organization. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints The Twins selected Dalton Shuffield with their tenth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. Because of the shortened COVID year, Shuffield spent five seasons in college, which is likely one reason the Twins were able to sign him for $20,000 and use the savings ($105K) on other draftees. At Texas State University, he hit .327/.395/.501 (.896), but his senior season was his best. During the 2022 season, Shuffield played 61 games and posted a 1.113 OPS with 20 doubles, five triples, and 13 home runs. He was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year after leading the conference in hits, runs scored, doubles, and triples. Defensively, he played shortstop over his final four seasons, but he also saw time at third base and in the outfield earlier in his career. He was also picked as a Collegiate Baseball All-American at the season’s end. As a 23-year-old, he had the college experience that would make it easier to move through the professional ranks. Shuffield comes from a baseball family. His father, Jack, was drafted by Kansas City in the fourth round in 1982. He played three seasons in the Royals organization and topped out at High-A. In over 320 games, he hit .256/.313/.342 (.654) while averaging 12 doubles per season. Minnesota assigned the younger Shuffield to the FCL Twins shortly after he signed with the organization. His time in the FCL was limited as he played three games and went 5-for-10 with a home run, four runs, and three walks. As an organization, the Twins needed depth at other levels in the minors, so he moved to High-A. In eight games, he went 7-for-24 (.292 BA) with a home run and two steals. Even with an aggressive promotion, his time in Cedar Rapids was limited because the organization needed him at another level. On September 9th, Shuffield made his Triple-A debut, collecting hits in his first two games. Since joining the Saints, he’s played in 11 games and posted a six-game hitting streak. In a small sample size, he has hit .297/.350/.595 (.945) with three doubles, a triple, and two home runs. At Triple-A, he was over three years younger than the average age of the competition, making his numbers even more impressive. The Twins followed an uncharacteristic development path with some of the club’s 2022 draft picks. Brooks Lee, the team’s first round pick, was promoted to Double-A before the season’s end. He’s already been impacting the Wind Surge during the playoffs. This also isn’t the first time this regime has been aggressive with a college prospect. Last season, the Twins drafted Ernie Yake in the tenth-round and he finished the season at Triple-A. Minnesota has also done well with senior signs like Brian Dozier, Mitch Garver, and Trevor Hildenberger. Shuffield likely isn’t going to appear on any top prospect lists, but he is already providing above-average value for a tenth-round pick. Players like Shuffield can provide organizational depth, primarily if he can provide defensive flexibility. Since joining the Twins, he has spent defensive time at both middle infield positions, with most of his time coming at second base. Even with his strong performance, there isn’t a guarantee that he starts the 2023 season in the high minors. Shuffield skipped Low-A Ft. Myers, and it might be best for his development to start next season in the lower minors or wherever the organization needs a utility player. His ceiling might be a utility player at the big league level, but Shuffield has value moving forward. What impresses you about Shuffield’s first professional season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

This afternoon the Saints used a pair of first blasts to grind out a victory while the Wind Surge found themselves on top after a strong strikeout performance by their starting pitcher. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson - St. Paul Saints 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. View full article

The Minnesota Twins finally snapped their losing streak against Cleveland, winning 3-0 Sunday. Joe Ryan pitched into the eighth inning and Luis Arraez delivered a huge two-out insurance hit in the ninth. Featured on the minor league side are Chris Williams, Wander Javier, Dalton Shuffield, Kody Funderburk, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Jair Camargo and Brooks Lee, who had three hits in his second career Double-A game. View full video

Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was ejected by the umpiring crew in Houston after there was a misunderstanding over what was counted as a mound visit. Rocco left the dugout after a benches-clearing incident, was credited as having made a mound visit and not made aware of that fact. Later in the inning, Twins pitching coach Pete Maki went out for a visit and the Twins were forced to remove starter Aaron Sanchez because it was technically their second visit of the inning. Ooof. Down in the minors, Chris Williams continued to mash for the Saints and Austin Martin was running wild for the Wind Surge. All that and more in tonight's recap. View full video

Hits were hard to come by on Tuesday for Minnesota Twins affiliates, much like their major-league team's efforts against the immortal Justin Verlander in Houston. This means it was 0-fer night for the organization. But a slugger in Triple-A went yard again, Randy Dobnak made a rehab appearance, and another pitcher set a career-high in strikeouts. TRANSACTIONS LHP Devin Smeltzer was optioned back to St. Paul, with Aaron Sanchez being added to the Twins roster in his place. To make room on the 40-man roster, Alex Kirilloff was placed on the 60-Day IL. Caleb Hamilton was also recalled as Byron Buxton was placed on the 10-day IL. After two appearances in the FCL, RHP Randy Dobnak was sent to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels to continue his rehab assignment. The Wichita Wind Surge sent RHP Tyler Beck on a rehab assignment to the FCL. RHP Sean Mooney was activated from the IL with Cedar Rapids. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 1, Iowa 7 Box Score The Saints were unable to muster much offense on Tuesday, falling 7-1 to the Cubs down in Des Moines, Iowa. Their lone run came in the sixth inning, courtesy of Chris Williams’ sixth home run in just 10 games with the Saints. It came on a fastball from Iowa reliever Danis Correa, who was hitting 100 MPH+ frequently (this one was 98), and was sent out to deep to dead center field. Saints hitters struck out thirteen times in the game, while drawing just three walks, so there weren’t many opportunities. As a team they were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, but that lone hit did not drive in any runs, and they left just five men on base. Braden Bishop added a double, while Matt Wallner, Mark Contreras, and David Banuelos picked up the other three hits. Dereck Rodriguez made the start and had to work for his five innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits, with the Cubs scoring a run in three of those innings. He also struck out seven compared to two walks. Jake Jewell threw two innings in relief, allowing three runs (two earned) on one hit and two walks, while striking out one. Austin Schulfer finished the game with a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Frisco 4 (10 innings) Box Score Making the start for the Wind Surge was lefty Brent Headrick, and he was able to limit damage over his four innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and a pair of walks, while striking out eight RoughRiders. He left the game with the score tied at two, as Wichita was able to scratch across a run in each of the third and fourth innings. In the third Austin Martin was hit by a pitch, then proceeded to steal his 30th base of the season to move into scoring position. A passed ball put him on third before Aaron Sabato was able to bring him in with a sac fly. Alex Isola led off the fourth with a double and moved to third on a Jair Camargo single, but again a sac fly was all they could manage, with Yunior Severino driving in the run this time. They took a 3-2 lead in the sixth on an RBI single from Isola, driving in Edouard Julien who had drawn a walk to lead off the inning. Relievers Andrew Cabezas (1 2/3 IP, BB), Bryan Sammons (1 IP, BB, 2 K), and Blayne Enlow (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, K) did their best to keep the Wind Surge in the lead, but Casey Legumina wasn’t as fortunate in the ninth. A single and walk put the winning run on base before he picked up a pair of strikeouts, but an RBI single would follow to tie the game and send it to extra innings. The Wind Surge went down one-two-three in the top of the tenth, and with Denny Bentley coming on the RoughRiders wasted no time, as the first batter clubbed a double down the line to walk it off. Isola was 2-for-4 with a double, run scored, and RBI to pace the offense. Severino chipped in a double, and although they didn’t get a hit, Martin and Julien did combine to draw five walks and steal four bases from the top of the lineup. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Lake County 7 Box Score Kernels starting pitcher Travis Adams set a career high in strikeouts in this one, picking up 11 in five innings, but still was saddled with a loss against the Captains. All three runs he allowed came in the second inning as the Captains strung together two singles and three doubles. He struck out multiple hitters in each frame, including all three outs in the first inning. Of his 81 pitches, 55 went for strikes (68%) and 19 of them were swinging. The Captains extended their lead to 6-0 in the sixth, as Tyler Palm (1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, K) was unable to keep runners off the bases. Matthew Swain came on to strike out two to end that threat, but allowed a run of his own in the seventh. All five of his outs came on K’s. Cedar Rapids was able to get on the scoreboard in the seventh when Lake County’s bullpen came into play. Pat Winkel clubbed a solo home run that was followed by a two-run shot from Dalton Shuffield two batters later. They closed the gap to 7-5 in the top of the ninth with an RBI groundout from Brooks Lee and sac fly from Jake Rucker, but Seth Gray would go down swinging to end the game. Jon Olsen finished the game for the Kernels by striking out two and walking one in a scoreless eighth. Shuffield reached base in all four of his plate appearances, leading the way with a 3-for-3 effort, drawing a walk, scoring two runs and driving in two with his first full-season homer. Lee was 1-for-4 with a double and drew a walk. MUSSEL MATTERS Lakeland 4, Fort Myers 2 Box Score Right-hander Randy Dobnak continued his trek through a rehab assignment, this time coming with the Mighty Mussels instead of in the FCL. He pitched the first two innings, allowing a double in the second, but nothing else. He threw just 20 pitches, needing 10 in each inning to record three outs. His offense gave him a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Misael Urbina and Noah Miller drew walks to start the frame, before Noah Cardenas drove in one with a single. They’d retake the lead 2-1 in the third when Cardenas hit a one-out double, and was driven in by a single from Keoni Cavaco two batters later. After Dobnak’s appearance, the game was turned over to Jordan Carr who went the next five innings. He took his first loss of the year, allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk. He struck out four. Niklas Rimmel threw two scoreless frames to finish the game, allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out one. The Mighty Mussels offense wasn’t able to muster much from the fourth inning onward. They collected just five hits as a team, led by a three-hit effort from Cardenas, who also drew a walk. As a team they did work eight free passes, but finished just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, leaving 12 men on base for the game. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 0, FCL Red Sox 4 Box Score The Twins did not record a hit until there were two outs in the eighth inning, so not much to recap from that perspective. Andres Centeno and Isaac Pena collected singles. As a team, they struck out 17 times, walked just once, and had only two at-bats in the game with runners in scoring position. Starting pitcher Brock Stewart threw two innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits while striking out two, and after that six other pitchers made appearances in the game. Michael Boyle struck out two in two scoreless innings. Tyler Beck pitched a scoreless fifth inning, striking out one, and then Rafael Feliz a scoreless sixth with two punch outs. Brayan Medina came on for the seventh but got just two outs, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks. Elpidio Perez got the final out of the seventh before Danny Moreno finished off the game with a scoreless eighth, striking out one. DOMINICAN DAILIES Game 1: DSL Twins 0, DSL Giants Black 1 (Completion of game suspended on July 21, 7 innings) Box Score The first game of the day for the DSL Twins was the completion of a game that was suspended a month ago. The Twins outhit the Giants 6-to-4 in this one, but the big hit came for the Giants in the fifth inning, when a triple scored the only run of the game. The Twins had threats in multiple innings but weren’t able to push a run across. Daniel Pena contributed a double to the effort, but that was the only extra-base hit for the good guys. As a team they were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. On the flip side, the pitching was excellent, with Roger Duran functioning as an opener, walking one and striking out one in the first. DSL standout Miguel Olivares then pitched the final five innings, allowing just one run on four hits, while striking out six. His ERA is 1.59 on the season, with a WHIP below 1.00, and 54 K’s on the year in 50 innings pitched. Game 2: DSL Twins 3, DSL Giants Black 6 (7 innings) Box Score In their regularly scheduled contest, the Twins were able to take a 3-0 lead into the fifth, but a big inning from the Giants would end up sinking them. In the second inning, the Twins loaded the bases for Luis Rodriguez, who delivered a two-run double for their first lead. In the fourth, it was a pair of singles that put a runner on third, before Jesus Peraza delivered a sac fly to make the score 3-0. Starter Oscar Paredes went the first three innings for the Twins, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out two. Eider Machuca pitched a scoreless fourth, before Leonardo Lugo (0 IP, H, 4 ER) and Jeferson Lopez (1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 K) lost control of it in the fifth. If you think the pitching line for Lugo looks odd, it’s because it is. He hit three batters and allowed a double before Lopez was brought on. Jose Ojo finished off the game for the Twins with a scoreless sixth inning. Junior Marino led the lineup with three hits in three at-bats, stealing a base and scoring a run as well. Junior Del Valle added a single, reached on an error, and scored two runs. Anderson Nova contributed a double. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Miguel Olivares, DSL Twins (5 IP, 4 H, ER, 6 K) Hitter of the Day - Dalton Shuffield, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB) PROSPECT SUMMARY #2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, RBI, BB, K #4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, K, 3 SB #7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, BB, 3 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 K #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-2, R, 3 BB, K, SB #17 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 K (left game after being hit by a liner) #18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, BB, K #20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, BB, 2 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowal (12:08 PM CDT) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-5, 9.26 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (7:05 PM CDT) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (5:35 PM CDT) - RHP Orlando Rodriguez (3-1, 3.20 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (Game 1: 3:30 PM CDT) - TBD Fort Myers @ Lakeland (Game 2, makeup of June 25th PPD) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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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