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It was the MLB trade deadline on Tuesday, and the Minnesota Twins were one of the most aggressive buyers throughout the day. They acquired three MLB pitchers and a depth catcher, and in doing so parted with the #6, #10, #16, #19, and #20 prospects in their system per our own rankings—which will be receiving an update with a lot of changes tomorrow—as well as several other minor leaguers. TRANSACTIONS By acquiring MLB talent and giving up nothing but prospects, there was a lot to follow when it comes to transactions in the minors. Try to keep up… Trade #1: Twins acquire RHP Jorge Lopez from the Baltimore Orioles, sending off Cedar Rapids’ LHP Cade Povich (#10 TD prospect), RHP Yennier Cano (St. Paul), RHP Juan Nunez (DSL), and LHP Juan Rojas (FCL) in the deal. Trade #2: Twins acquire RHP Tyler Mahle from the Cincinnati Reds, trading away St. Paul IF Spencer Steer (#6 TD Prospect), Wichita slugger Christian Encarnacion-Strand (#16 TD Prospect), and Fort Myers LHP Steve Hajjar (#19 TD prospect) in the swap. Trade #3: In a depth trade between division rivals, the Twins sent RHP Ian Hamilton to the Cleveland Guardians for C Sandy Leon. Leon was assigned to triple-A after the move. Trade #4: Twins acquire RHP Michael Fulmer from the Detroit Tigers, parting with Wichita RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (#20 TD prospect) to get Fulmer to swap clubhouses at Target Field. To cover the exiting players and corresponding moves with the Twins (IL: Miguel Sano (60 Day), Alex Kirilloff (10 Day); Paternity: Gilberto Celestino; DFA: Jharel Cotton, Aaron Sanchez), the St. Paul Saints received RHP Ben Heller and C Frank Nigro from the Florida Complex, as well as IF Mikey Perez from Fort Myers. OF Jake Cave also had his contract selected by the Twins. In Double-A, the Wind Surge transferred C Dennis Ortega from the IL to the Development List. For the Mighty Mussels, RHP Zaquiel Puentes was assigned from the FCL, and RHP Regi Grace was activated from the injured list. Did I miss any?! Probably… SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 13, Omaha 4 Box Score If you were worried that the St. Paul Saints would lose some firepower sending off their top-hitting prospect earlier in the day, you would have been wrong. Very Wrong. Saints starter Devin Smeltzer was spotted a big lead before he ever took the mound, and his lineup continued to provide him breathing room as the game went on. The first three hitters of the game reached base for St. Paul, with Matt Wallner’s double scoring two before John Andreoli clubbed the team’s first home run of the game, making it 4-0 after a half-inning. Smeltzer was able to battle through five innings, surrendering four runs of his own on five hits and a walk, but also struck out six Storm Chasers. Of his 79 pitches, 54 went for strikes (68%) including 12 swinging. The Saints used the long ball to extend their lead throughout the rest of the game, with Michael Helman blasting a pair of homers, including a two-run blast in the fourth and solo shot in the eighth, with David Banuelos adding another two-run dinger in the sixth. Helman, in fact, was electric in every at-bat, becoming the second player in affiliated franchise history to ever collect five hits in a game, joining Jose Miranda who did the same in his triple-A debut last year on his 23rd birthday. Relievers Juan Minaya and Drew Strotman combined to hold the Storm Chasers scoreless over the final four innings. Minaya was nearly perfect, hitting the first batter he faced with a pitch but retiring the next six in a row, including one strikeout. Strotman worked around one hit allowed and three walks in the final two frames by inducing two inning-ending double play balls. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, San Antonio 4 Box Score The Missions jumped on Wichita starter Casey Legumina in the first two innings, and Wichita needed to claw their way back the rest of the game. Legumina got the first two hitters of the game, but a single and a walk were followed by a two-run triple and an RBI double that put them ahead 3-0 early. An error against the leadoff man in the second led to their fourth run a few batters later. In all, Legumina finished four innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk. He struck out two. The Wind Surge got their first run of the game in the top of third after DaShawn Keirsey Jr. led off the inning with a single. He advanced to second on a groundout, then third on a balk, before scoring on another groundout off the bat of Ernie Yake. The bullpen trio of Bryan Sammons (2 IP, H, 3 K), Steven Cruz (1 IP, 2 K), and Denny Bentley (1 IP, BB, K) kept the Missions off the board and gave Wichita a chance the rest of the way. In the eighth, the Wind Surge had the bases loaded with no outs, but a sac fly and RBI groundout were all they could muster after a pitching change, getting within one heading to the ninth. They went down one-two-three and fall to 51-45 on the season, but still lead the North division with a 16-12 record in the second half. Julien (2-for-4, R, K) and Nash Knight (2-for-4, K) had multiple hits. The Wind Surge did not have an RBI come from a hit in the scorebook, were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base for the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Beloit 11, Cedar Rapids 6 Box Score Luis Rijo took the mound for the Kernels and his outing was predictive of how it would go for their pitchers as a whole, and not in a good way. In his 3 2/3 innings, Rijo ended up surrendering four earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks, while only picking up one strikeout. Bradley Hanner got them through the fourth, allowing one inherited runner to score, but allowed four straight hits to open the fifth, culminated by a grand slam that put the Sky Carp in front 8-3. Matt Mullenbach finished the fifth and added a scoreless sixth before he too, ran into some trouble in the seventh. While both his runs allowed were unearned due to an error, it was 10-3 after seven. Jon Olsen (1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 K) and Ryan Shreve (1 IP) finished off the game for the Cedar Rapids pitching staff. The Kernels did have a lead after the third inning, thanks to an RBI single from Yunior Severino in the first that he followed up with a two-run homer in the third that made it 3-2. This continues a scorching hot start to the second half of the season for the infielder. While they did rack up 13 hits as a team, they were just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, compared to 15 hits and a 6-for-16 effort from Beloit to account for the scoring discrepancy. Kyler Fedko (3-for-5, 2 R, 2B), Rucker (2-for-5, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K), Severino (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K), Gray (2-for-5, RBI, K), and Will Holland (2-for-4) all had multiple hits in the loss. MUSSEL MATTERS Bradenton 2, Fort Myers 1 (7 innings) Box Score After a two-hour delayed start, the Mighty Mussels game on Tuesday would only go seven innings. Fort Myers probably would have liked to have those two more. Right-hander Pierson Ohl took the bump and was fantastic over his five innings. He allowed no runs, scattered five hits, and struck out seven Marauders, including all three in the fourth inning. He left the game with a 1-0 lead, but it could have been more, as the Mighty Mussels managed to only scratch one run across the plate in the second inning after having the bases loaded with no outs. That run came in the form of a sac fly from Daniel Ozoria to score Dillon Tatum, who had drawn a walk to lead off the frame. They loaded the bases again in the third but were unable this time to score any runs, as hits were hard to come by for the home team. They had just three singles in the game, were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, and left only five men on base. After Ohl’s game was done, Malik Barrington came on for the sixth and Bradenton took advantage of two consecutive walks and a wild pitch to start the inning. Barrington would record just two outs, allowing the go-ahead runs on a flyout and single before being replaced by Zaquiel Puentes. Puentes finished the final 1 1/3 innings, striking out two in his first Mighty Mussels game of the season. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Orioles 1, FCL Twins 7 (7 innings) Box Score The Twins used a five-run fifth inning to pull away from the Orioles, and kept them in check the rest of the way to secure the victory. Veteran Ryan Horstman started on the mound and struck out all three hitters he faced in the first. Develson Aria then went the next three innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out six. Leyner Ponce (1 IP, 2 BB, K), Cole Bellair (1 IP, H, K), and Ricardo Velez (1 IP, K) each tacked on a scoreless inning. With the bases loaded in the fifth, the Twins got a 2-run single from Andres Centeno, which was followed by a two-run double off the bat of Gregory Duran that made the score 6-1. Willie Joe Garry Jr. tacked on an RBI single to cap the scoring. Garry Jr. (2-for-4, RBI) and Duran (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) each had two hits, and Jefferson De La Cruz added a 2-RBI triple in the fourth. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 4, DSL Miami 0 (7+ innings) Box Score The Twins pitching staff held Miami to just four hits in the game, which was called official in the bottom of the seventh inning. DSL standout Miguel Olivares picked up his first win of the year by finishing five innings. He allowed three hits, walked one, and punched out five, lowering his ERA in 39 total innings to just 1.15. Leonardo Lugo picked up his first save by going 1+ innings, allowing one hit, one walk, and striking out one. The offense was led by two hits from Brayan Acuna (2-for-4, RBI) and Anderson Nova (2-for-3), and got a triple from Yasser Mercedes, and two-run homer from Ricardo Pena. Mercedes also stole two bases, giving him 20 on the season in 30 games. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Pierson Ohl, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 7 K) Hitter of the Day - Michael Helman, St. Paul Saints (5-for-5, 4 R, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY #8 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3 #12 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K #15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-4, R, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Ronny Henriquez (1-4, 5.71 ERA) Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CDT) - TBD (Sawyer Gipson-Long had been scheduled) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (7-4, 4.35 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (3-3, 4.24 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

The Twins weren't the only walkoff-winner in the organization on Friday night. Find out everything that happened throughout the organization on Friday. The Twins had an exciting, Byron Buxton walk-off win over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of their three-game series at Target Field. Just three minutes earlier, 10-ish miles east at CHS Field, the St. Paul Saints had an unlikely comeback that resulted in a walkoff win as well. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Most of the Twins affiliates fell behind early and attempted comeback. Find out if any of the others were able to complete that comeback. Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins selected the contract of RHP Juan Minaya. The Twins DFAd RHP Tyler Thornburg. RHP Casey Legumina was placed on the IL in Wichita. RHP Pierce Banks was added to the Cedar Rapids roster. He had signed with the Twins out of the United Shores Professional Baseball League (USPBL) about a month ago and had pitched a couple of games for the FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Omaha 3 Box Score Just moments before the Byron Buxton provided the Twins with a walk-off win, the Saints were celebrating a four-run ninth inning and a walk-off win of their own. The ninth inning began with a single from Spencer Steer. Jake Cave stayed hot and hit his ninth homer of the season to cut the Saints’ deficit to just 3-2. One batter later, Mark Contreras hit a double. Michael Helman followed with an RBI double of his own. Roy Morales followed with a single to left, but Helman was thrown out at home. Morales advanced to second on the throw. He was replaced on the bases by John Andreoli. After Curtis Terry was intentionally walked, Jermaine Palacios pinch hit and drew a walk to load the bases. Newcomer Braden Bishop lined a single to left that scored Andreoli with the winning run. Not only were the Saints down 3-0 going into the ninth inning, but they had just one hit and two walks. In their four-run ninth, they had six hits and two walks. Cave led the offense going 2-for-4 with the homer and two RBI. Ronny Henriquez had an Henriquez-like start in this one. The diminutive right-hander, gave up two runs over 4 2/3 innings. He gave up just three hits. However, he also walked three batters. But his stuff can be absolutely electric and his night ended with seven strikeouts. Evan Sisk came on and gave up a run on three hits over 1 1/3 innings. Jake Petricka tossed a scoreless inning. Wladmir Pinto earned the Win with two scoreless innings. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Springfield 5 Box Score The Wind Surge fell behind quickly when Sawyer Gipson-Long gave up three runs in the first inning. In total, the Twins #20 prospect gave up five runs on seven hits and a walk over four innings. He struck out five batters. Steven Cruz struck out four batters over two perfect innings, and Andrew Cabezas struck out one batter over two scoreless innings. More fun, Blayne Enlow was ejected, even though he wasn’t pitching. Wichita had just six hits and six walks on the night. The top two hitters, Matt Wallner and Edouard Julien, each walked twice. Julien added a single. Chris Williams and DaShawn Keirsey Jr each had 2-for-4 nights. Keirsey hit his 14th doubles and stole his 20th base of the season. He also made a great diving catch in center field. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== On the other side, Austin Martin showed incredible range on a pop up behind second base, but he came out of the game with what appeared to be a hand or wrist, or some kind of arm injury. Hopefully he isn’t out for very long. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Wisconsin 12 Box Score I think it’s fair to say that this game did not start out well for Bradley Hanner and the Kernels. The right-hander, who has been terrific this season, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.03 ERA, all out of the bullpen, was asked to start this game. He faced seven batters and gave up seven runs on four hits and three walks before exiting the game. Miguel Rodriguez came on and allowed two of Hanner’s runners to score before giving up two more runs on four hits over 2 1/3 innings. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Matthew Swain got the final out of the third frame. However, he gave up three runs in the fourth inning on two hits and two walks before being replaced by Tyler Palm. He tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings and Derek Molina got the final five outs without any more damage. Catcher Frank Nigro walked two and struck out two batters in the eighth innings without allowing a run. Down 12-2 after just four innings, the Kernels scored four in the fifth inning and three more in the ninth inning but fell shy in their comeback attempt. The Kernels scored nine runs on seven hits. In addition, they had 10 walks and a whopping six hit by pitches. (Might be interesting to see Saturday and Sunday’s games!). Unfortunately, the Kernels went just 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners on base. Yunior Severino went 2-for-4 and was hit by two pitches. Seth Gray had two hits, including his first triple of the season. Kyler Fedko went 0-for-3, but he had a walk and twice drove in runs by being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Jake Rucker had three RBI on a bases-clearing triple. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Dunedin 8 Box Score The Mussels fell behind early. They mounted a power-filled comeback late, but it was a bit too late. Lefty Jaylen Nowlin started and gave up five earned runs on five hits over 2 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out two batters. All five runs came in the top of the third frame. Jonathan Lavallee gave up a hit and three walks over two innings, but he did not allow a run to score, other than one of three inherited runners in the third. John Wilson worked the next 2 1/3 innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. Malik Barrington gave up one run on one hit and one walk in 1 1/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Jackson Hicks came on to get the final two outs, but not before allowing an inherited runners to score the Blue Jays final run of the night. Down 7-0 going into the seventh inning, Mikey Perez hit his sixth homer before LaRon Smith hit his first Florida State League long ball. In the eighth inning, Zach Huffins hit his first homer for the Mussels, a two-run home run. In the ninth, Dillon Tatum added a solo homer, his fourth of the season. Tatum went 2-for-4, the lone multi-hit game of the night. Huffins added a walk to his homer. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 3, FCL Red Sox 0 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Luis Rijo (3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HBP) Multi-Hit Games: Misael Urbina (2-for-3, R, RBI, 2B, HBP) 2B: Breilin Ramirez (1), Misael Urbina (2), Ricardo Olivar (3) Rehab Players: Rijo, Jon Olsen (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K), Alex Phillips (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K), Jeferson Morales (1-for-4, RBI, K) Top Prospects: Urbina, Danny De Andrade (0-for-4). Rehabbing righties Rijo, Olsen and Phillips combined for five scoreless innings. Tomas Cleto came on and slammed the door! He worked four perfect innings and struck out seven batters to earn his second save of the season. Misael Urbina played in his fifth game since his Visa issues were worked out and he was able to get to Ft. Myers. In the fifth inning, he drilled a double to score Breilin Ramirez. Jefferson Morales singled to score Urbina, who will likely join the Mighty Mussels soon. In the sixth inning, Ricardo Olivar scored on a wild pitch. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 2, DSL Giants Black 3 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Cristian Jimenez (5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K) Multi-Hit Games: None 2B: Yilber Herrera (2) Top Prospects: Bryan Acuna (0-for-2, RBI, SF, K), Yasser Mercedes (0-for-4, RBI, 2 K) Down in the Dominican, the Twins fell behind 3-0 after two innings. In the sixth inning, the Twins got an RBI ground out by Mercedes that scored Luis Rodriguez. Acuna followed with a sacrifice fly to score Herrera. That was it, and the game ended after seven innings played. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Tomas Cleto (FCL Twins) - 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Day – Jake Cave (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, HR (9) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. With the turning of the calendar to July, Twins Daily has updated its Top 20 Prospect rankings. #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-1, (played SS, injured) #6 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R #8 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-4, K #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-for-3, RBI, 2 BB, K #13 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch, ejected #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 BB #15 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 4 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K #20 - Sawyer Gipson-Long (Wichita) - 4 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (83 pitches, 54 strikes) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (6:07 PM CST) - RHP Ariel Jurado (0-1, 5.40 ERA) Wichita @ Arkansas (1:35 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (0-2, 5.25 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (1:05 PM CST) - RHP John Stankiewicz (2-4, 6.55 ERA) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Mike Paredes (3-2, 2.29 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games! View full article

The Saints lost 13-3 one day after winning by that score. The Wind Surge lost to Jack Leiter in Game 1 of their doubleheader but were able to salvage it thanks to a big offensive game from Jair Camargo. Kyler Fedko had an amazing game. Emmanuel Rodriguez continued to show why he is one of the Twins’ best prospects, and Steve Hajjar continued to dominate. Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization. TRANSACTIONS The Twins optioned Cole Sands to AAA following Tuesday’s doubleheader The St. Paul Saints activated Jake Petricka from the 7-day IL The Cedar Rapids Kernels activated Yunior Severino from the 7-day IL SAINTS (AAA) St. Paul 3, Iowa 13 Box Score The St. Paul Saints dropped a tough one to the Iowa Cubs on Wednesday by a score of 13-3. Daniel Gossett made his fourth start of the year for the Saints and struggled mightily. Gossett only went two innings, allowing nine runs (seven earned) on eight hits and three walks and not striking out any batters. Gossett took the loss, dropping his record to 1-2 on the year. In his last two outings, he has allowed 14 earned runs in only five innings, as his ERA has skyrocketed to an unimpressive 10.65. The Saints were down 9-0 after the second inning, so the rest of the game was simply a formality. In the top of the fourth, Jake Cave closed the deficit to eight with a solo home run, his fifth homer of the year. In the fifth inning, Elliot Soto scored on a Spencer Steer groundout to make it a 9-2 game. Wladimir Pinto came on in relief of Gossett and gave up two earned runs in three innings of work, striking out five. Pinto has been very solid for the Saints this year, only allowing three earned runs in 20 innings for an ERA of 1.35. He has also struck out 27 batters in those 20 innings. In his first game since being activated from the 7-day IL, Jake Petricka came on in relief of Pinto and threw two scoreless innings, not allowing a hit and striking out two batters. His season ERA is now down to 4.22. Tim Beckham singled in Michael Helman in the top of the eighth to make it 11-3, but the Saints stranded two runners on base to end the inning. Beckham, Cave, and Jose Godoy all had multi-hit games for the Saints. With the loss, the Saints record falls to 21-28 on the year. They will be back in action on Thursday against Iowa. WIND SURGE (AA) Game 1: Wichita 0, Frisco 3 Box Score In a game that was picked up in the second inning after being delayed Tuesday, the bats were delayed too as the Wind Surge lost 3-0 to Frisco and Rangers’ top prospect Jack Leiter. Blayne Enlow took the mound when the game re-started on Wednesday, and he pitched well, going 2 2/3 innings, allowing no runs, and striking out four. Bryan Sammons and Alex Scherff each pitched in relief of Enlow, allowing two and zero runs respectively. Sammons went three innings, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out three. Sammons took the loss as his record moved to 1-3 on the year. Scherff pitched the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits and two walks. In the bottom of the seventh, the Wind Surge had a chance to tie the game but they stranded runners on first and second after DaShawn Keirsey and Leobaldo Cabrera singled. Keirsey went 2-for-3 with a walk and stole his 14th base of the year. Cabrera was 1-for-2 with a walk, Edouard Julien was 1-for-3 with a walk, and Ernie Yake picked up the only other hit for the Wind Surge in a disappointing loss. With the loss, the Wind Surge dropped to 26-18, half a game behind Tulsa for the best record in the Texas League. Game 2: Wichita 7, Frisco 1 Box Score The Wind Surge bounced back in Game 2, salvaging a doubleheader split with Frisco by winning 7-1 to improve to 27-18 on the season. Kody Funderburk got the ball in game two, throwing four scoreless innings in his debut as a starter. Funderburk struck out four batters and only allowed two hits. Denny Bentley, Steven Cruz, and Steve Klimek all threw in relief of Funderburk, and the only run allowed was by Cruz, but was unearned. Klimek picked up his first win of the season. The Wind Surge got the offense going early in this one, as Austin Martin led off the bottom half of the first with his second triple of the year and Jair Camargo followed that with a homer to make it 2-0. This was Camargo's first hit as a member of the Wind Surge. Three batters later, Dennis Ortega drove in Alex Isola with his seventh double of the year to make it 3-0. In the bottom of the second, Isola hit his sixth homer of the season to make it a 5-0 game. Isola started off June strong after a month of May where he had a .925 OPS in 68 at-bats. In the fourth, Camargo hit another two-run bomb to make it 7-0. The Wind Surge were resilient and split the double-header. Martin, Camargo, and Isola all had multi-hit games and Camargo picked up four RBI. They will send one of the Twins’ top prospects to the mound tomorrow in Matt Canterino. KERNELS (HIGH-A) Cedar Rapids 10, Lansing 2 Box Score The Cedar Rapids Kernels won in dominating fashion on Wednesday by a score of 10-2. The win pushed their record to 30-17, the best record in the West division of the Midwest league by a one-game margin. Sawyer Gipson-Long started on the mound for the Kernels and picked up his fourth win of the year. Gipson-Long went six innings, allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three batters. His season ERA improved to a very good 2.06. Orlando Rodriguez and Ryan Shreve pitched in relief of Gipson-Long. Rodriguez went two innings, allowing only one run despite walking three batters. Shreve pitched the final inning, only needing eight pitches to put the final touches on a Kernel victory. The Kernels put on a show offensively in this one, and it started right away when Anthony Prato led off the game with his eighth double of the year. Prato came around to score on a run-scoring single by Kyler Fedko. One batter later, Yunior Severino tripled in his first at-bat since being activated from the IL Fedko scored. Severino came around to score on a throwing error to give the Kernels a 3-0 lead before Gipson-Long had even thrown a pitch. In the top of the third, Alerick Soularie blasted a two-out, three-run homer to give the Kernels a 6-0 lead. The homer was Soularie’s fourth of the year. Two innings later, Fedko picked up his third hit of the game with a solo homer to right-field for his third homer of the season. Fedko finished 3-for-4 with four runs scored, two RBI, a walk, and a homer. His season OPS is now up to .913. Severino went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and two walks. Soularie finished 1-for-2 with two runs, four RBI, the homer, and three walks. MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A) Fort Myers 1, Tampa 2 Box Score The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels dropped a tough contest 2-1 on Wednesday, dropping their record to a still great 31-15. Steve Hajjar took the mound for Fort Myers, throwing 4.1 innings while allowing one run on two hits and two walks. Hajjar struck out seven batters, continuing his utter dominance over Low-A hitters in 2022. He has struck out 57 batters in 33 innings at Low-A and if he keeps dominating, he may not be in Fort Myers for much longer. Jorge Alcala made a rehab stint, throwing one inning and allowing one unearned run while striking out one batter. He took the loss in this one but his fastball averaged 96 miles per hour and he was up to 99, so it is safe to say he is feeling healthy. One unknown pitcher who has been dominant is Matthew Swain. Swain threw two scoreless innings in this game, making it 21 innings so far this year without allowing an earned run. He has struck out 31 batters while only allowing four hits and five walks on the year. Emmanuel Rodriguez continued to do Emmanuel Rodriguez things in this game, hitting his eighth homer of the year and drawing two walks. His season OPS is now up to .998, which leads the Florida State League by over 100 points, and he is one of the highest upside players in the Twins whole system as he is still only 19 years old. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Sawyer Gipson-Long (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K Hitter of the Day – Kyler Fedko (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, 4 R, 2 RBI, HR (3), 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: #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 2-for-8, 2 R, 3B (2), K #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, 3 K #5 - Simeon Woods-Richardson (Wichita) - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (24 pitches, 11 strikes (45.8%)) (Tuesday) #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 0-for-5, RBI #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-2, R, HR (8), RBI, 2 BB #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K #14 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (65 pitches, 38 strikes (58.5%) #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-for-7, 2 K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, R, 2B (9), BB, K #19 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 4.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (81 pitches, 47 strikes (58%)) THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 CST) - RHP Mario Sanchez (3-1, 3.99 ERA) Frisco @ Wichita (7:05 CST) - RHP Matt Canterino (0-1, 2.05 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 PM CST) - RHP John Stankiewicz (2-2, 6.38 ERA) Tampa @ Ft. Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya (3-1, 2.48 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Thank you for reading, and Go Twins! View full article

The Minnesota Twins lost to the Tigers 5-0 but one silver lining was that Trevor Megill continued to impress out of the bullpen. Down in the minors, Jair Camargo hit two home runs for Wichita. He was just recently called up to Double A. Also featured in tonight's video are Tim Beckham, Alex Isola, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Yunior Severino, Alerick Soularie, Kyler Fedko and more. View full video

While the Twins' top prospect was putting on an incredible display of his potential at Target Field, several lesser-known minor leaguers had very nice games on Friday as well. The Twins' top three affiliates all lost their Friday the 13th games, but Ft. Myers was able to sweep their doubleheader against Palm Beach. Check out the goings-on in the Twins minor leagues. Balazovic, Woods Richardson, and Povich were on the mound on Friday night, Friday the 13th. How did they do? Ft. Myers played two games and got terrific pitching in both games. Before jumping into how the teams did on Friday, here are a couple more minor league articles to check out: Matt Canterino Continues To Dominate Minor League Hitters, from @Nash Walker. From Lee to Limestone: One Prospect Who  Needs More Attention (Video), from @Matthew Lenz. Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Following their 12-8 win on Friday night against Cleveland, the Twins announced that lefty Devin Smeltzer will be promoted and start on Saturday. That will require a 40-man roster move. More to come tomorrow. The Twins sent OF Kyle Garlick to the Saints for a rehab assignment. RHP Cole Sands placed on the 7-Day IL (groin strain). RHP Tyler Viza promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. Don’t be surprised if you see Blayne Enlow activated by the Wind Surge on Saturday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Columbus 11 Box Score Jordan Balazovic was back for his second Saints start. It didn’t go well for him, unfortunately. He gave up three runs in the first inning. That was followed by allowing four unearned runs in the second inning. It was his error that allowed the runs to score. In his two innings, he gave up seven runs (3 earned) on eight hits (2 HR) and two walks. He struck out one batter. In the top of the third inning, the Saints put up seven runs to tie the game. It started with a bases-clearing triple by Jake Cave. That was followed by a two-run homer by Kyle Garlick. Finally, Cole Sturgeon hit a double to score two more runs. Big hits create a big inning. Mario Sanchez came on and put up four straight zeroes. He then gave up two runs in the seventh inning. Juan Minaya got the final four outs but gave up two runs thanks to a hit and two hit batters. Jake Cave went 2-for-4 with a walk. Curtis Terry went 2-for-5. David Banuelos walked three times in the game. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 0, NW Arkansas 7 Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson was back on the mound, and he was cruising through four scoreless innings. However, in the fifth inning, a single to left, a bunt single and a walk loaded the bases. Tucker Bradley followed with a grand slam to break the scoreless game. That was really it. Woods Richardson went 5 2/3 innings. He gave up those four runs on five hits and a walk. He also struck out eight batters. Argenis Angulo came on and got out of the sixth, but he was charged with three runs in the seventh inning. Steven Klimek finished the game for the Surge. He gave up one hit but no more runs over the final 1 1/3 innings. Wichita managed just five hits in the game. Edouard Julien led the way. He went 2-for-4 in the game. Andrew Bechtold had the lone extra base hit, his fifth double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 5 Box Score There’s offense, and then there is pitching-and-defense. The two have to be tied together because you can’t have one without the other. I mean, you could, but it would be weird. Anyway, that was illustrated in the third inning on Friday night. Cade Povich started the night with two scoreless innings. After a strikeout started the third inning, he hit a batter and that was followed by a double. The next batter also doubled and went to third on an error. The next batter reached on an error. After a ground ball to Wander Javier for the second out, there was another error allowing a fourth run to score. Three errors, a passed ball and four runs were on the board. Overall, Povich gave up five runs (3 earned) on four hits and a walk. Andrew Cabezas came on and tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Bradley Hanner continues his resurgence with two perfect innings, dropping his season ERA to 0.60. Orlando Rodriguez struck out three batters in the ninth inning. Outfielder Kyler Fedko made his first appearance since being promoted to the Kernels. He hit a single in his first at-bat. In the seventh inning, he hit a solo homer. Jeferson Morales went 2-for-4. Willie Joe Garry hit two doubles, his sixth and seventh of the season. Hope was high for a couple of Twins minor leaguers. Would Wander Javier repeating with the Kernels help his offense start to shine? And, with a solid performance in the final weeks with the Kernels, could Aaron Sabato take off in 2022? Well, Javier is now hitting .186 with a .585 OPS. Sabato is now hitting .165 with a .627 OPS. MUSSEL MATTERS Game 1: Fort Myers 3, Palm Beach 0 Box Score Game 2: Fort Myers 3, Palm Beach 2 Box Score It was a good day for the Mighty Mussels, especially their pitching staff. Pierson Ohl started the first game. He gave up just a single in one scoreless inning. He was replaced by Hunter McMahon who gave up three hits over three scoreless innings. He struck out two batters. Juan Mendez struck out three batters over two scoreless innings. Matthew Swain pitched a perfect seventh inning, striking out all three batters. He recorded his sixth save and is yet to give up a run this season. Mike Paredes was on the mound to start the second game. The 2021 18th-round draft pick from San Diego State has been terrific out of the Ft. Myers bullpen. He was really good in this spot start. He tossed three scoreless, hitless innings. He walked one and struck out three batters. Jackson Hicks came on and struck out four batters over two perfect innings. Lefty John Wilson came on and gave up the first hit of the game in the sixth inning. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits over the final two innings to earn his first save. He struck out three batters and issued no walks. The Mussels scored three runs in each game. In the first inning of the first game, Keoni Cavaco singled to score both Noah Miller and Emmanuel Rodriguez. In the fifth frame, Rodriguez singled to score Jake Rucker. Rodriguez went 2-for-2 with a walk in the first game. Kyle Schmidt had the lone extra-base hit, his second double. The team scored early in the second game as well. In the first inning, Noah Cardenas singled to score Rucker. Then in the second inning, a Dillon Tatum sacrifice fly scored Mikey Perez, and then Rucker singled to score Daniel Ozoria. Perez went 2-for-2 in Game 2. Both of his hits were doubles. He was also hit by a pitch and stole three bases in the game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Mike Paredes (Ft. Myers) - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K Hitter of the Day – Kyler Fedko (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, HR in High-A debut PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2B (2), HR (1), 2 R, 4 RBI. #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4 (played RF) #5 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K (58 pitches, 37 strikes) #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (95 pitches, 64 strikes) #8 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, (10 pitches, 8 strikes) #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 2-for-2, BB, R, RBI #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - Game 2: 0-for-3, 2 K #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 1-for-3, R #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - Game 2: 0-2, BB, 2 K #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 0-for-3, HBP, K #17 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (75 pitches, 48 strikes) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, HBP, K, 2 E #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-4, K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ NW Arkansas (6:05PM CST) - RHP Chris Vallimont (0-2, 9.87 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-1, 2.01 ERA) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (3:00 PM CST) - LHP Steve Hajjar (0-1, 3.77 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games! View full article

Minnesota Twins prospect Royce Lewis hit his first Major League home run in grand fashion Friday against the Guardians, clobbering a grand slam to put the Twins up 11-2. Down on the farm, Kyler Fedko homered in his High-A debut for Cedar Rapids. Also highlighted in this video are Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco, Gary Sanchez, Max Kepler, Jordan Balazovic, Simeon Woods Richardson and more. View full video

Seth chats with Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels outfielder Kyler Fedko about starring in high school baseball and basketball, choosing and playing at UConn, getting drafted, beginning his professional career and more. View full video

Just like their Major League counterparts, many of the Twins minor league hitters had a fantastic start to their seasons during the month of April. Find out which Minor League hitter took home the award as voted upon by Twins Daily writers. The Twins Minor League affiliates had some hot hitters throughout the month of April. As many focused on Royce Lewis’ return to the diamond for the first time in over two years, other names such as Charles Mack, Spencer Steer, and Curtis Terry showed what they are capable of at the plate. Although all these mentioned names had great months in April, they did not finish in the top three places with the Twins Daily voting results for minor league hitter of the month. Now here are the results of the top four vote-getters for the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. Honorable Mention 3: Royce Lewis, St. Paul Saints The biggest question mark for many Twins fans coming into the 2022 season was how quickly Royce Lewis could re-acclimate himself to the game, the daily grind after missing two full seasons. The number didn't seem as important as simply getting back on the field, showing health, and getting at-bats and time at shortstop. Well, the 2017 top pick played in 21 Saints games and hit .320/.441/.587 (1.028) with nine doubles, a triple, and three home runs. He has hit the ball hard. He has hit for power. He has shown off his speed with infield singles and stolen bases. Just as important, he has shown very good command of the strike zone. In 93 plate appearances, he has 18 strikeouts (19.3%) and 15 walks (16.1%). Also, he has played well defensively at shortstop. He has a couple of errors, but he has made plays going in each direction. After so much time, the 23-year-old needs to just keep playing and enjoying the game. As you can see in the updated Prospect Tracker, he has returned to the #1 spot on the Twins Daily Prospect rankings. Honorable Mention 2: Emmanuel Rodriguez, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels Emmanuel Rodriguez was ranked #15 on the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects coming into the season. Now he has risen to the rank of number ten and proved why he belongs there during the month of April. Rodriguez did not have the flashiest batting average in April. He hit just .241, but the other two-thirds of his triple slash were fantastic in April with a .440 on-base percentage and .574 slugging percentage. Rodriguez had also fared much better at home than on the road in his 17 games played in April. Rodriguez crushed the ball at home hitting .320/.485/.680 in eight games at Fort Myers, but he hit .172/.405/.483 on the road in nine games. If Rodriguez can bring his hot hitting on the road as he does at home, he may find himself further up this list for the month of May. Honorable Mention 1: Kyler Fedko, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels Kyler Fedko is not a power hitter like his teammate Rodriguez, but he certainly is a Twins prospect to keep an eye on at Fort Myers. Fedko had an excellent start to his season in the month of April posting a .350/.438/.550 triple slash with nine extra-base hits in 17 games. The 22-year-old outfielder played in 23 games last season with the Mighty Mussels after the Twins made him their 12th-round pick out of Connecticut. He has already eclipsed his doubles, triples, and home runs from last season. With more regular playing time for Fedko and a continuation of his current hot streak at the plate, there is a good chance he could see playing time at Cedar Rapids come June. Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Cedar Rapids Kernels If Twins fans didn’t know the name Christian Encarnacion-Strand before April, they certainly know it now. Encarnacion-Strand had one of the best months of any minor league hitter with the Kernels posting a .410/459/.680 (1.138) with four doubles, a triple, five home runs, and 23 runs batted in. He also stole three bases. He started the season on fire. In the first game of the season, he went 4-for-5 with two homers and nine RBI. The next day, he went 5-for-5 with a double, a homer, and five RBI. He had hits in 15 of 19 games during the month. And in two of those games, he had five of his seven walks. He had 11 multi-hit games including a stretch of seven out of nine games. It's what he's been doing since the Twins selected him in the fourth round of last year's draft. He had played at Oklahoma State where his head coach was Robin Ventura and his hitting coach was Matt Holliday. After signing, he joined the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels and had hits in each of his first 20 games and in 21 of 22 games. In those games, he hit .391/.424/.598 (1.022) with two doubles, two triples and four home runs. Thanks to his elite month, Encarnacion-Strand has found himself on the Updated Twins Daily Top 20 prospects list at # 18. In 19 games across April, Encarnacion-Strand was arguably the second most talked about Twins prospect behind Lewis. It still may be a while before Encarnacion-Strand finds himself in St. Paul, but he is on a streak that could see him at Double AA Wichita in the not-so-distant future. Feel free to share your own rankings for Twins Minor League hitters of the month for April in the comment section below. View full article

Hits were hard to come by for Twins' affiliates on Tuesday, but they were still able to finish 2-2 on the day as a couple of the pitching staffs picked up the slack with strong efforts. A former top prospect was also back on the field for the first game of a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints. Keep reading to see how they and the rest of the Twins prospects fared in this week's series openers! TRANSACTIONS There was just one transaction on the day heading into a new series for each affiliate, but it was a notable one for Twins fans. Twins RF Alex Kirilloff was sent on a rehab assignment with the Saints. He batted second as the designated hitter in their game. SAINTS SENTINEL Nashville 1, St. Paul 4 Box Score Making his second appearance back with the Saints after being with the Twins briefly, starting pitcher Dereck Rodriguez was stellar for the first 4 2/3 innings. He allowed just one run on five hits and a walk, while snuffing the Sounds with six strikeouts. St. Paul had a 2-1 lead when he exited the game as they were able to score a run in each of the third and fourth innings. After a Royce Lewis double to put runners on second and third, Nashville’s pitcher uncorked a wild pitch to score their first run of the game, but they were unable to push Lewis across. In the fourth, three consecutive singles from Curtis Terry, Derek Fisher, and Daniel Robertson got them the second run, but the threat was stifled again when Fisher was thrown out at third on the relay. The teams traded zeroes for three innings after that, with Mario Sanchez delivering 2 1/3 scoreless innings after Rodriguez. He walked one and struck out two. Jharrel Cotton pitched a scoreless eighth, striking out one, and Trevor Megill closed it out for his first save of the season, allowing a single, striking out one, and getting a double-play ball to end the game. The Saints added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth when four consecutive hitters drew a walk to score one. That was followed by a sac fly from Chance Sisco for the second run. Lewis (2-for-5, 2B) and Terry (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, BB) each had two hits in the win. In his return to the lineup for his rehab assignment, Alex Kirilloff reached base all four times he came to the plate with three walks and a single, batting second behind Lewis as the designated hitter. (Please check out the Brewer Fanatic report on the Nashville/St. Paul game). WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Arkansas 10 Box Score On the road in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Wind Surge started their series with right-hander Chris Vallimont going against the Travelers. He pitched around a pair of singles in the first inning, before being greeted with a home run to open the second that put Arkansas out front early. They added another run in the second before a one-two-three third inning, then broke it open in the fourth with four more before Vallimont was lifted. In all, he lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing six earned runs on nine hits and two walks, while striking out five batters. Evan Sisk was the first reliever summoned, and he escaped the fourth with no further damage along with delivering a scoreless fifth. He walked two and struck out three. Bryan Sammons and Zach Featherstone combined to allow two runs each on five hits and two walks over the final three innings to account for all the Travelers runs in the game. Sammons struck out over his two innings, and Featherstone one in the eighth. In the top of the fourth Wichita was able to cut Arkansas’ early 2-0 lead in half thanks to Matt Wallner’s second home run of the season. That would be as close as they would get, however. In the eighth inning, Spencer Steer and Wallner each drove in a run with a double, and in the ninth they added one more via an Edouard Julien RBI groundout to make the final score 10-4. Wallner was the only Wind Surge hitter with two hits (2-for-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K), and Julien drew three walks in the game to lead the way for the offense. As a team, they were just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 0 Box Score The Kernels got a stellar outing out of their pitching staff in this one, led by starter Cody Laweryson and reliever Andrew Cabezas. They each pitched three innings, with Laweryson giving up just two walks with three K’s, and Cabezas just one hit while striking out four. Bradley Hanner added two scoreless innings, allowing two hits, a walk, and striking out three. Derek Molina was credited with his first save of the season with a one-two-three ninth inning to close out the win. Cedar Rapids took a 1-0 lead in the top of third when Aaron Sabato drove in Anthony Prato with a sac fly. They made it 2-0 in the seventh thanks to a wild pitch that allowed Wander Javier to scamper home after he had doubled to lead off the inning. Their third run was courtesy of an RBI double from Sabato in the eighth that scored Christian Encarnicion-Strand, who had singled in front of him. Hits were in short supply for both teams in the game, as the Kernels had just six versus the Sky Carp’s three. Neither team had a hit with runners in scoring position and they combined to strand just eleven baserunners on the game. Encarnacion-Strand was 2-for-4 with a run scored, and Sabato 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI. MUSSEL MATTERS Clearwater 7, Fort Myers 3 Box Score The Mighty Mussels fell behind early, as starter Steve Hajjar was jumped on by the Threshers for three runs in the first frame. This was largely due to a pair of throwing errors from Hajjar himself. A two-run double and one of those errors led to three runs. He settled down from there and was able to finish four innings with no further damage. In all, he allowed seven hits and two walks along with striking out five batters. The Fort Myers lineup was able to get two of those runs back in the second inning after an RBI single from Ernie Yake, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jake Rucker. Clearwater answered back after Hajjar’s exit, scoring three more in the fifth against reliever Jackson Hicks on three hits and a walk. Hunter McMahon pitched two innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out three. Lefty John Wilson got the final two innings, giving up just one hit and striking out three Threshers. Outfielder Kyler Fedko continued his hot hitting to start the season, collecting two singles to lead the way for the Mighty Mussels and was the only hitter with more than one hit. Emmanuel Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with a run scored and drew a walk. As a team, they did not have an extra-base hit, had only four at-bats with runners in scoring position, and left just six men on base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Andrew Cabezas, Cedar Rapids Kernels (W, 3 IP, H, 4 K) Hitter of the Day - Matt Wallner, Wichita Wind Surge (2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-4 #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, 2B #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-for-4 #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - 0-for-2, K #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR (2), 2 RBI, K #15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, R, BB, 2 K #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-for-5, R, 2B, RBI, K #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-2, R, RBI, 3 BB #20 - Steve Hajjar (Fort Myers) - L, 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 5 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Nashville @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - LHP Devin Smeltzer (1-1, 1.29 ERA) Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Louie Varland (1-1, 4.11 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (11:05 AM CDT) - RHP Casey Legumina (0-1, 6.48 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (0-0, 7.71 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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The hitters across the farm system enjoyed fruitful days at the plate. Read all about that and more in this edition of the minor league report. TRANSACTIONS LHP Lewis Thorpe added to AAA St. Paul from Development List Saints Sentinel St. Paul 16, Indianapolis 13 Box Score Lewis Thorpe: 1 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 2 K HR: Derek Fisher (2), Curtis Terry (3), Jermaine Palacios (1) Multi-hit games: Jose Miranda (3-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B), Royce Lewis (3-for-5, 2 R, RBI, 2 2B, 3B), Curtis Terry (2-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR), Jermaine Palacios (4-for-4, 4 R, 2 RBI, HR) The Saints won a crazy game on Saturday. Lewis Thorpe took the bump for St. Paul; the recently outrighted left-hander was looking to impress in his first official start of the season. Things did not go well. Thorpe was tagged for a solo shot in the first inning, but the second inning proved to be most damaging as seven runners crossed home plate for Indianapolis. J.C. Ramirez had to be called in to end the madness. Down eight runs early, the Saints' bats remained unphased. Derek Fisher answered back with a two-run homer to cut the lead to six, while a Jose Miranda single knocked down the deficit to within one-hand-counting distance. But the team was not done yet. In the third inning, St. Paul harassed Jerad Eickhoff and southpaw-Frenchman, Cam Vieaux to the tune of five runs—just enough to knot the game at eight. The game remained a slugfest until the bell rung in the ninth inning. Indianapolis would take a three-run lead, Curtis Terry would erase it; Indianapolis jumped ahead later, then Miranda and Royce Lewis negated it. Eventually, Jermaine Palacios yelled enough and blasted a two-run homer that cemented the Saints’ lead for good. Royce Lewis, once again, was the star of the show. He unleashed three crucial extra-base hits from the DH spot that either ignited a rally or stoked the flames of one. It would be difficult to have a better start to the season (although Christian Encarnacion-Strand is making a case). Jermaine Palacios’ 4-for-4 performance should not be ignored either. The 25-year-old started at left field instead of shortstop like usual and showed no discomfort by reaching base all five times he walked up to the plate. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 6, NW Arkansas 5 Box Score Chris Vallimont: 2 ⅓ IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Austin Martin (3-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB), Spencer Steer (2-for-5), Dennis Ortega (2-for-5, 2 RBI), Michael Helman (2-for-5), Andrew Bechtold (2-for-5, R), Kevin Merrell (3-for-5, RBI) Wichita won an extra-inning affair on Saturday. Chris Vallimont was handed the ball to start the game and did not have his best stuff. The righty struggles with command, walking five hitters before his day ended partway through the third inning. Hopefully, he can rebound in his next start. The offense kept the game within reach, however. Dennis Ortega brought home the first run of the game with a two-run single in the 5th inning, while Wichita drew the game even closer when Austin Martin scored in the 7th inning when the Naturals' defense threw the ball around the field. Martin later knotted the game with a clutch RBI single in the 8th inning. The game moved into extra innings, where the Wind Surge took advantage of the Manfred runner to plate two runs thanks to an Alex Isola sacrifice fly and a single from Kevin Merrell. Steven Klimek was shaky to close the game. He allowed a runner to score, and ultimately loaded the bases before inducing the final outs to end the game in favor of Wichita. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 10, Quad Cities 2 Box Score Sawyer Gipson-Long: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K HR: Aaron Sabato (1), Jair Camargo (2, 3) Multi-hit games: Anthony Prato (2-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB), Christian Encarnacion-Strand (2-for-6, 2 R), Aaron Sabato (2-for-4, 2 R, 5 RBI, BB, 2B, HR), Jair Camargo (4-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR), Will Holland (2-for-5, R, 2B) The Kernels demolished their opponent on Saturday. Sawyer Gipson-Long set the tone on the mound with five masterful innings. The righty scattered three hits across his start while punching out an impressive nine batters in just 60 pitches. Talk about efficiency. Gipson-Long found a groove late last year, and he has continued to melt faces with the Kernels; he’ll certainly be in Wichita sooner than later. But that’s enough about pitching. Cedar Rapids’ bats were explosive early and often on Saturday. Aaron Sabato smacked a three-run homer in the first inning, Jair Camargo sent a solo shot over the wall in the second, Jeferson Morales tripled home a run in the third, Camargo hit another homer in the fourth, and, well, you get the idea. In total, the Kernels bopped seven extra-base hits in the game with a fairly even distribution of damage amongst all hitters. Derek Molina concluded the game with two shutout innings and four strikeouts. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 2, Jupiter 6 Box Score David Festa: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Kyler Fedko (3-for-3, R, RBI, 2B) The Mighty Mussels lost a rain-shortened game on Saturday. David Festa took the mound for the second Saturday in a row, and much like the previous week, he flashed dominant ability with eight strikeouts over five efficient innings. Tom Froemming notes that he topped out at 97.2 MPH with his fastball. Offensively, the game was a struggle for the Fort Myers bats. Thanks to RBI doubles from Kyler Fedko and Kala’i Rosario, the Mighty Mussels took a quick lead, but those would prove to be the only two runs of the day for the team. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had enough of Fort Myers’ winning streak, and the higher powers convened to snap the team’s seven-game run in the 6th inning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Sawyer Gipson-Long Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jermaine Palacios/Jair Camargo PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Austin Martin (Wichita) - 3-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K #2 – Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI, 2 2B, 3B, #3 – Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 3-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B #9 – Josh Winder (Minnesota) - 5 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K #12 – Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-for-5, 2 K #15 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, 2 K #18 – Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 2-for-5, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (2:07 PM) - RHP Jake Faria Wichita @ NW Arkansas (2:05 PM) - RHP Brandon Lawson Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (1:00 PM) - LHP Aaron Rozek Jupiter @ Fort Myers (12:00 PM) - RHP Travis Adams View full article

Spencer Steer continued his hitting streak, the Fort Myers bullpen dazzled, and the Saints were no-hit in Lowertown. Read up on all the action from across the Twins minor league system from Wednesday night! TRANSACTIONS Wichita Wind Surge placed 2B Edouard Julien on the 7-day injured list. Fort Myers Mighty Mussels placed SS Keoni Cavaco on the 7-day injured list. Minnesota Twins selected the contract of RHP Dereck Rodriguez from St. Paul Saints. Minnesota Twins recalled OF Trevor Larnach from St. Paul Saints. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 0, Indianapolis 5 Box Score The night after a rain-shortened home-opener, the Saints’ bats ran dry on Wednesday at CHS Field, succumbing to a combined no-hitter at the hands of Pirates Triple-A affiliate Indianapolis. Former Twins reliever Chase De Jong brought some magic to the Land of 10,000 Lakes on Wednesday evening with a dominant pitching performance that lead to a 5-0 Indianapolis victory over the Saints. De Jong, who pitched for the Twins organization in 2018 and 2019 was spectacular, no-hitting the Saints through seven innings while striking out seven and walking two. Jermaine Palacios and Jake Cave were the only St. Paul hitters to reach base in what would prove to be the 15th no-hitter in Indianapolis history. And while the bats may have been cold, the Saints pitching staff had moments of brilliance throughout the evening. Starting pitcher Cole Sands was rock-solid, pitching five innings of three-hit ball while only allowing only one run. That run came on a solo homer in the fourth inning. Sands struck out five with one walk in his second appearance of the season and is sitting at an ERA of 0.90. Jovani Moran and Jordan Gore covered the sixth and seven innings with ease, allowing no runs on one hit. Moran was perfect in the sixth inning, striking out all three batters on sixteen pitches. RHP Ryan Mason would finish the night on the bump for the Saints with a perfect frame in the ninth. And while the game remained competitive through seven innings, Indianapolis broke open the flood gates in the eighth with a four-run inning that featured extra-base hits, a fielding error, and a controversial play at the plate. Derek Fischer almost ended the no-no in the eighth when he laced a line drive to the right-field corner, only to be robbed on a spectacular play by Indianapolis right-fielder Cal Mitchell. The loss drops the Saints to 5-3 on the season as they look to win their first game of the year against Indianapolis tomorrow night. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, NW Arkansas 8 Box Score Despite a scattering of runs, the Wind Surge were unable to contain the NW Arkansas offense on Wednesday night. A night after eight innings of scoreless baseball from the bullpen, the Surge surrendered 12 hits and 17 total base runners to the Naturals in a 5-8 defeat. Sensational prospect Matt Canterino had a short outing on Wednesday, giving up two runs on three hits and four walks in 1.2 innings. Expect the talented RHP to ease in as he gets more time under his belt at the Double-A level. The Wind Surge struck with a pair of runs in both the second and seventh innings. Following a DeShawn Keirsey walk and a stolen base (2), Andrew Bechtold launched his first homer of the season to plate two runs for the Surge. Keirsey would score again in the seventh. After punching a double (2) to left field, Dennis Ortega homered on a 2-1 count to score two more runs for Wichita. Top prospect Austin Martin would score the final Wind Surge run of the game in the eighth. After an infield single, Martin was moved to third on a Spencer Steer double (3) and scored thanks to an RBI single from Matt Wallner. Despite the loss, Spencer Steer continued his red hot start to 2022 on Wednesday night. Steer has now hit safely in all five games this season and his three doubles are tied for second-most in Double-A. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids vs. Quad Cities POSTPONED The Kernel’s Wednesday evening matchup against the River Bandits was postponed due to inclement weather in Davenport. The game will be made up tomorrow as a part of a double-header beginning at 4:30. Casey Legumina will start the first game of the twin bill while the Kernels have yet to announce who will start game two. The Kernels look to continue their hot start after winning their first five games, including an 8-1 beat down of Quad Cities in the series opener last night. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Jupiter 4 Box Score Despite an early deficit, the Mussels used a massive third inning surge to push their way past the Hammerheads on Wednesday night in the Sunshine State. Fort Myers plated five runs in the third inning thanks to a Kyler Fedko double (2) and Kyle Schmidt's three-run homer (1) to keep the Mussels' perfect season intact. Fedko also laced a double in the second inning making him the only Fort Myers player with two extra-base hits in the game. And while the offense delivered, the Mussels' bullpen was excellent following the debut of one of the organization's most exciting pitching prospects. Twins Daily Top 20 Prospect and 2021 draft pick Steven Hajjar made his Twins organization debut, giving up four runs and four hits while striking out six in four innings. Expect Hajjar to continue to post high strikeout numbers as he continues to get his feet wet at the pro ball level. After Hajjar exited, the bullpen trio of Jackson Hicks (W, 1-0), John Wilson (H, 1), and Regi Grace (S, 1) made swift work of the Hammerheads, tossing six shutout innings on only two hits. Both Hicks and Wilson managed to strike out three hitters in their two-inning appearances while Regi Grace fanned five hitters in the final two frames, tossing 25 of his 32 pitches for strikes. The Mussels are now 5-0 on the young season and look to continue their run against Jupiter tomorrow night. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Regi Grace, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (S, 2 IP, 2 H, 5 K) Hitter of the Day - Kyler Fedko, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2-for-4, 2 2B, R, R, RBI, K) TOP PROSPECTS #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 2-for-4, R, K #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, K #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 2 K #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R/ER, 4 BB, 2 K (51 pitches, 26 strikes) #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, RBI, 2 BB, K #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, 3 K #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-for-4, RBI, K #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (66 pitches, 45 strikes) #15 - Emmanuel Rodríguez (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-2, R, 2 BB #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - i-for-4, 2B, K #20 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R/ER, 2 BB, 6 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - RHP Mario Sanchez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Louie Varland (0-1, 7.71 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (Double-header starting at 4:30 PM CDT) - RHP Casey Legumina (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (0-0, O.00 ERA) Give us your thoughts on Wednesday night's performance from around the farm! View full article

The first week of the Saints season and first weekend series for all other Twins affiliates concluded with impressive wins and a hard loss for Wichita. Read about it in today’s Minor League Report. TRANSACTIONS Catcher Jose Godoy cleared waivers and was outrighted to St. Paul. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 15, Louisville 6 Box Score SP: Jake Faria - 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K HR: Curtis Terry (1), Kyle Garlick (1), Mark Contreras (2), Daniel Robertson (1) Multi hit games: Robertson (2-5 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Garlick (2-5 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB), Terry (2-3 3 R, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 BB), Contreras (3-5, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Jermaine Palacios (2-5 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI), Chance Sisco (3-5 2 R, 2 2B, RBI) The Saints finished their series in Louisville with a bang as six Saints hitters tallied multiple hits in their 15-6 victory over the Bats. The offense was balanced for the Saints with everyone except Derek Fisher getting a hit and top prospects Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda being the only ones without multiple hits. This gave an opportunity for all the other hitters in the Saints lineup a chance to shine, especially the likes of Sisco and Contreras who tallied two doubles each in their three-hit games. Louisville starter Ben Lively struggled with his control in this game as he hit three batters, one to Miranda and two to Lewis. Fortunately for both Miranda and Lewis the pitches they took did not result in any serious injuries that removed them from the game. Jake Faria struggled in his first two innings but recovered during his final inning and a third on the mound. Coming in to replace Faria was Chi Chi Gonzlaez, who had a notoriously bad spring training with the Twins posting an 18.69 ERA in just 4 1/3 innings pitched. A bad spring training did not carry over into Gonzalez’s Saints debut as he gave up two earned runs on three hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings pitched. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Tulsa 7 Box Score SP: Chris Vallimont 2/3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-4) The Wind Surge took the only loss for the Twins minor league affiliates on Sunday. Chris Vallimont couldn’t find his way out of the first inning in his 2022 season debut. The Drillers tallied five runs off of him to knock him out early. Following Vallimont’s struggles, Kody Funderburk came in from the bullpen to stop the bleeding. Funderburk only surrendered one run in three innings of relief. The Wind Surge were able to get a run back in the bottom half of the first inning thanks to a Spencer Steer double that drove in Austin Martin. But the Drillers were able to keep the Wind Surge scoreless until the seventh inning when they scored two more runs. All nine Wind Surge hitters were able to get on base this game but still did not have enough juice in the bats to pull together a win. Wichita has yet to win a game this season, falling to 0-3. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Beloit 0 Box Score SP: Sawyer Gipson-Long 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None Christian Encarnacion-Strand had been the star of the Kernels first two games but his bat cooled off just a little bit in Sunday’s game going 1-for-4 with an RBI double. However, the pitching stepped up in a big way on Sunday. The Kernels had five pitchers work on Sunday afternoon, and they combined to shutout the Sky Carp in a 2-0 victory. The starter for the Kernels was Sawyer Gipson-Long who hurled four scoreless innings and gave up two hits, walked two, and struck out five batters. Following Gipson-Long from the bullpen were Bobby Milacki, Melvi Acosta, Denny Bentley, and Osiris German. They combined for five innings pitched of no-hit baseball giving up only two walks and striking out four Sky Carp batters. German earned the save for the Kernels. The Kernels were able to pull off the sweep of the Sky Carp on only three hits thanks to the master class pitching from their rotation on Sunday. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Clearwater 3 Box Score SP: Travis Adams 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: Noah Cardenas (1) Multi-hit games: Kyler Fedko (2-3 1 R, 3B, 3 RBI, BB, K) The Mighty Mussels completed their sweep of the Clearwater Threshers on Sunday bringing them to a 3-0 record to start the season. Mussels starter Travis Adams contributed a strong first outing of the season keeping Clearwater to one run in his five innings pitched. Jaylen Nowlin came into the game after Adams and surrendered the Threshers two runs, but the rest of the Fort Myers bullpen kept the game scoreless. Jackson Hicks pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Juan Mendez came on and recorded his first save of the season. Kyler Fedko had the big hit of the game for Fort Myers. Fedko smacked a bases-clearing triple in the top of the seventh that gave the Mussels the lead making it a 6-3 game. Mussels catcher Noah Cardenas also had a big hit getting his first home run of the season in the second inning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Ft. Myers) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Hitter of the Day – Mark Contreras (St. Paul) - 3-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR 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: #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-4, 2B (2), K #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 1-4, 2B (3), 2 R, 2 K, RBI, CS, 2-HBP #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-5, K, RBI (4), HBP #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, BB, 3 K, CS (1) #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-3, BB, K, CS (1) #15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, 2 BB, SB (1) #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-4, 2B (2), RBI #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-4, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, April 12. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). The Saints and Mighty Muscles will be hosting their home openers on Tuesday. Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - RHP Daniel Gossett (0-0, 7.36 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Brandon Lawson Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM CST) - LHP Cade Povich Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya (first professional start) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games as the first weekend of the Minor and Major League seasons has concluded. View full article