Search the Community

On Tuesday, the Twins began their 40-man roster cleanup. When the World Series is complete, several players will become free agents. The Twins will have several minor-league players becoming free agents. We will explain which players are eligible for free agency, and in today's installment, I'll write about three hitters that I think the Twins should try to bring back. Image courtesy of Steve Buhr, Twins Daily (left: Jair Camargo, right: Wander Javier) Immediately following the completion of the World Series, players eligible for free agency will officially become free agents. The Twins have over 30 minor leaguers eligible for free agency at that time including 11 hitters. Here are three that I think the Twins should attempt to retain. But first, let's talk about the team's transactions from Tuesday and which players are eligible for free agency. Tuesday Transactions Let’s start by going through the Twins-related transactions from Tuesday. RHP Jhon Romero and LHP Devin Smeltzer were outrighted and sent to the Saints. Three players were claimed by other organizations. C/1B Caleb Hamilton was claimed by the Boston Red Sox. OF Jake Cave was claimed by the Baltimore Orioles. SS Jermaine Palacios was claimed by the Detroit Tigers. The Twins roster is currently at 47 players (27 pitchers, 20 hitters). There are still 10 players on the 60-Day IL that will soon have to be removed from the 60-Day IL. About ten players will either become free agents or have a player or team option on their 2023 seasons. Minor-League Free-Agent Hitters Let’s start the regularly-scheduled portion of today’s article by considering who is eligible to become a minor-league free agent. Sometimes, they are called six-year minor-league free agents because they become free agents after they have played six minor-league seasons. Of course, being on the 40-man roster means that they won’t be a free agent. At that point, the three option years come into play Players drafted in 2016 can be minor-league free agents. For example, LHP Zach Featherstone was the Twins 12th round pick in 2016. He’s missed a lot of time with injuries. If the Twins don’t add him to the 40-man roster before the end of the World Series, Featherstone will be a free agent. Alex Kirilloff. Jose Miranda. Griffin Jax. Jordan Balazovic. Each of these players was also drafted by the Twins in 2016. Each of them is currently on the 40-man roster. Because of that, they cannot become free agents. Devin Smeltzer cleared waivers and was outrighted and sent to St. Paul. However, since he was drafted by the Dodgers in 2016, he will become a free agent after the World Series. Had Caleb Hamilton cleared waivers, he would have been a free agent also. That’s important because of the Red Sox DFA and he clears, he can be a free agent. That tells me that the Red Sox are likely to keep him on their roster throughout the offseason. However, if the Twins remove any of them from the 40-man roster, they can choose to become a minor-league free agent. International players signed in 2015 can be minor-league free agents Wander Javier signed with the Twins on July 2, 2015, as a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic. Jair Camargo signed with the Dodgers on July 10, 2015, out of Colombia. Their pro careers began in the Dominican Summer League in 2016. Of note, Jhon Romero cleared waivers on Tuesday, but at the end of the World Series, he will become a free agent. Veterans Players signed as minor-league free agents will again become minor-league free agents. Occasionally there are two-year minor-league contracts. One example of that is veteran Brock Stewart. The Twins signed the former top prospect late this summer. He finished his rehab and pitched in some games late in the season. He should come into 2023 fully healthy and ready to compete for a return to the big leagues in a bullpen role with the Twins. Three Hitters to Keep It is probably worth noting that as a minor-league free agent, players can actually make some decent money. Obviously, that is based on their level of play, age, and competition for the player’s services. Often, minor-league contracts will come with an invitation to big-league spring training. #1 - Catcher Jair Camargo Camargo came to the Twins in 2020 with Kenta Maeda in the deal that sent Brusdar Graterol to the Dodgers. He split the 2020 season between Cedar Rapids and Wichita. In 77 games, he hit .262/.310/.483 (.793) with 11 doubles and 18 home runs. While he still didn’t walk much, his approach at the plate was much improved. And he became a reliable middle-of-the-order hitter for his teams. Defensively, he has work to do behind the plate, but he does continue to improve. He is athletic and has a strong arm. In 2022, he threw out 38% of would-be base stealers at both Cedar Rapids and Wichita. Camargo may not be one of the Twins more well-known prospects, but he is a name to know. He just turned 23 on July 1st. I don’t know what kind of offers he could get as a minor-league free agent, but I would prioritize bringing him back. Ideally, the Twins would offer him a fantastic minor-league deal and get him to sign it after the Rule 5 draft so they don’t have to worry about him being selected. If not, they may need to consider adding him to the 40-man roster, and if that’s the case, they might as well do it before the World Series ends to avoid the risk of losing him. #2 - Infielder Wander Javier In 2015, Javier was one of the top 16-year-olds available in the international market. The Twins signed him to a $4 million bonus. This summer, Twins Director of Player Personnel Mike Radcliff acknowledged on Bally Sports that the Twins also had an agreement with Juan Soto before he backed out and signed with the Nationals for $1.5 million. While he put up some strong numbers in the rookie leagues, he also missed a lot of time due to injury. He played just nine games in 2016 in the DSL. He missed all of 2018 with a shoulder injury that cost him time early in 2019. Then, he didn’t play in 2020. In 2021, he stayed in Cedar Rapids, though the league had changed from Low-A to High-A. He hit .225 with a .280 on-base percentage, but he also had 15 doubles, 10 triples, and 12 home runs in 96 games. He returned to the Kernels this year, and in 109 games, he hit .209 with a .273 on-base percentage. He hit 14 doubles, five triples, and 12 home runs. He ended the season with seven games for the Saints and had two hits in 20 at-bats including a home run. So why would I want the Twins to bring back Javier? Well, he will turn 24 near the end of December. He is a very good athlete, and while he just has not hit at High-A, he has the speed and strength to develop at some point. Maybe. Defensively, he is a better-than-average defensive shortstop with good range and a strong arm. The Twins have had him play almost exclusively at shortstop throughout his time in the organization. However, after 2022 top pick Brooks Lee joined the Kernels, Javier played mostly third base and a couple of games at second base. I wouldn’t mind it if the Twins brought him back and used him as a utility infielder. He has had the pressure of his signing bonus all these years, and maybe being able to remove some of that might help. Of course, potentially the best way for him to do that would be to get a new start elsewhere. #3 - Outfielder Leobaldo Cabrera Leobaldo Cabrera, a 24-year-old outfielder from Venezuela has had an interesting career. He originally signed with the Yankees back in July 2015 for $250,000. A year later, they signed his brother Oswaldo Cabrera. Leobaldo was released by the Yankees in 2018. Oswaldo made his MLB debut in August. The Twins allowed Leobaldo to spend a weekend with his family to be at his brother’s debut. In 2019, Cabrera began to play in the independent Empire League. The Twins liked his power potential and his big outfield arm and in April of 2021, they signed him as a depth piece in the minor leagues. He began in Ft. Myers where he rarely played where he played five games. Then he moved up to Cedar Rapids and only played 14 games. But then he went to Double-A Wichita and hit .235/.335/.482 (.817) with seven doubles and 11 homers in 52 games. He re-signed with the Twins and spent the whole season in Wichita. In 83 games, he hit .223/.309/.356 (.665). When you consider he started the season by going 0-for-32 in April, it’s not quite so far. He is still just 24. He has some right-handed power, and like his brother, he has a rocket for an arm. He’s also just a pretty good defensive outfielder. Other Soon-To-Bee Minor-League Free Agents C/1B Roy Morales IF Nash Knight IF Elliot Soto OF John Andreoli OF Braden Bishop OF Cole Sturgeon C Chance Sisco OF Zach Huffins Would you be interested in seeing the Twins bring any of these hitters back? I’ll be back soon with the potential minor-league free agents. View full article

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

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

Despite a couple of strong performances from key contributors, it was a tough night of the farm for Minnesota Twins affiliates. Jermaine Palacios blasted a couple of dingers and Louie Varland was good on the bump, but plenty more was left to be desired across the board. TRANSACTIONS RHP Brad Peacock signed by Minnesota Twins and assigned to Triple-A St. Paul RHP Jake Petricka released by Minnesota Twins RHP Wladimir Pinto released by Minnesota Twins OF Gilberto Celestino recalled by Minnesota Twins SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 5, St. Paul 4 (F/10) Box Score The Saints went with former top prospect Jordan Balazovic tonight. As has been the case much of the season, he struggled. Allowing three runs across just 2 2/3 innings, Balazovic was tagged for five hits and two walks. He struck out four but gave up two dingers. St. Paul was down 2-0 after the first half, but Curtis Terry singled to halve the lead in the bottom of the first when Spencer Steer crossed the plate. Dereck Rodriguez was great in relief working 5 1/3 innings with just three hits and one run. Rodriguez gave up a single free pass but grabbed three strikeouts, Down 3-1 in the 7th inning, Jermaine Palacios tied things when he hit his 8th homer of the season. He then answered again in the 9th inning when it was 4-3, by blasting his 9th of the year and tying things at 4. With Juan Minaya taking over in the 10th inning, he uncorked a wild pitch allowing a go-ahead run. St. Paul couldn't answer despite Jake Dave up with the bases loaded and they fell a run short. WIND SURGE WISDOM NW Arkansas 3, Wichita 2 Box Score Louie Varland has been great this year for the Wind Surge, and despite runs against him tonight, he repeated that performance. Working five innings, Varland allowed seven hits but just one of three runs scored were earned. He generated eight strikeouts and walked none. Getting down 3-0 in the 2nd inning, Wichita needed to do work. The Wind Surge answered back in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Leobaldo Cabrera blasted his 7th homer of the season. Still trailing by two, at least Wichita was on the board. Trying to mount a comeback, Edouard Julien drove in Cabrera with a 9th inning ground out. Unfortunately, that’s where the adding ended. Wichita tallied eight hits on the night, but only Anthony Prato and Cabrera had two. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 4, Cedar Rapids 0 Box Score The Kernels turned to Cade Povich tonight and he kept them in it through five innings. Allowing five hits and three runs, Povich also posted eight strikeouts while giving up just a single free pass. Matt Mullenbach followed him with two scoreless innings striking out two. Unfortunately for Cedar Rapids, only two hits were generated on the night, coming from Jake Rucker and Wander Javier. Both were singles and neither plated a run. The Kernels walked four times and had just a total of six runners tonight. MUSSEL MATTERS Postponed The Mighty Mussels and Tampa Tarpons game was postponed due to inclement weather. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday. Both games will be seven innings. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 2, FCL Red Sox 1 Box Score Ben Heller started this one and worked two innings of hitless ball while striking out two. Regi Grace also tallied a scoreless inning with a strikeout. Ricardo Olivar had the lone two-hit game for the Twins and recorded both his third triple and dinger of the season. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Rockies 10, DSL Twins 5 Box Score Cristian Jimenez drew the start for the Twins and while he gave up three runs, none were earned. He did allow just three hits and punched out four with zero walks. Bryan Acuna kept hitting and had another two-hit game today, this time including a double. Anderson Nova crushed his first professional homer and has a .966 OPS. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Louie Varland (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 7 H,, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Jermaine Palacios (St. Paul) - 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR(9) 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: #6 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 0-2, R, 3 BB, K #7 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 2.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR #10 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB #11 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R,1 ER, 0 BB 8 K #12 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-4, BB, 2 K #15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-3, RBI, BB #16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Wichita) - 0-5, 3 K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - RHP Cole Sands NW Arkansas @ Wichita (6:05PM CST) - RHP Brent Headrick Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40PM CST) - TBD Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates and the two Complex Season affiliates back and playing. View full article

The Minnesota Twins tried something different tonight, putting Luis Arraez at first base for the first time in his big league career. Joe Smith played Houdini once again, inducing an inning-ending double play to leave the bases loaded. Down on the farm, Matt Canterino, Cade Povich and Marco Raya all had impressive evenings. All that and more in tonight's Twins system recap. View full video

Minnesota Twins High-A minor league affiliate Cedar Rapids won Game 1 of their championship series 2-1. The Kernels benefitted from a strong start from Louie Varland and a late home run from Jair Camargo. Double-A Wichita lost their playoff game 7-5 as Jordan Balazovic had an underwhelming outing. Leobaldo Cabrera, D.J. Burt and Jermaine Palacios all hit home runs for the Wind Surge. View full video

Fall is in the air as the weather turns colder, but it didn’t cool down these players. Here are the top hitters in the Twins minor league system this past month. Before jumping into the top-four hitters of the month, here are some of the honorable mentions. HONORABLE MENTIONS OF Emmanuel Rodriguez - FCL Twins- 15-55, .273/.365/.691 (1.056) with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 8 BB, 24 K. 1B Aaron Sabato - Cedar Rapids Kernels- 14-66, .212/.338/.682 (1.019) with 4 doubles, 9 home runs, 9 BB, 31 K. C/OF Jeferson Morales - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels- 20-64, .313/.353/.609 (.962) with 4 doubles, 5 home runs, 2 BB, 10 K. OF Gilberto Celestino - St. Paul Saints- 24-83, .289/.385/.506 (.891) with 6 doubles, 4 home runs, 12 BB, 19 K. IF/OF Edouard Julien - Cedar Rapids Kernels- 20-74, .270/.443/.432 (.876) with 6 doubles, 2 home runs, 21 BB, 31 K. THE TOP FOUR HITTERS Number 4 - St. Paul Saints - OF BJ Boyd- 33-85, .388/.398/.694 (1.092), 2 doubles, 8 home runs, 2 BB, 12 K. Boyd was a fourth-round pick back in 2012 by the Athletics organization, and he is in his first stint in the Twins system. Boyd started the month on fire for the Wind Surge as he hit safely in 14 of the first 15 games during August. He also had a nine-game stretch where he hit eight home runs, including three games with multiple home runs. The organization rewarded him for his hot hitting by promoting him to Triple-A for the last week of the month. His time in St. Paul has been limited so far, but it’s hard to ignore what the 27-year old did over the last month at Double-A. Number 3 - Cedar Rapids Kernels - IF Yunior Severino- 33-96, .344/.427/.490 (.917), 9 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 13 BB, 37 K. Severino was initially part of the Braves organization before MLB penalized them for infractions committed on the international market. He was granted his free agency, and he decided to sign with the Twins for $2.5 million back in 2017. Severino got promoted to Cedar Rapids shortly before the calendar turned to August, and he started on a tear. He hit safely in 19 of his first 20 games, including nine games with multiple hits and three games with four hits. Nearly 80% of his plate appearances have come against older pitchers. For the season, his OPS is over 40 points higher than his career mark, and August was his best month so far in 2021. Number 2 - Wichita Wind Surge - OF Leobaldo Cabrera- 15-48, .313/.469/.854 (1.323), 3 doubles, 1 triple, 7 home runs, 15 BB, 19 K. Entering this season, Cabrera had been out of affiliated baseball since the Yankees released him in June 2018. The Twins signed him this spring, and he has played at three different levels so far in 2021. Cabrera only had 15 hits for the entire month of August, but 11 of those hits were for extra bases. He also reached base safely in 12 straight games to end the month. As a 23-year-old, he has been facing older pitchers in over 76% of his plate appearances. Cabrera might be new to the Twins organization this year, but his month of August certainly put his name on the prospect map. And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: Wichita Wind Surge- RF/1B Trey Cabbage - 28-92, .304/.402/.674 (1.076), 2 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs, 14 BB, 36 K. Cabbage has been in the Twins organization since 2015 when the club took him out of high school with a fourth-round pick. He entered the month of August in a bit of a slump as he hit .213/.290/.461 (.751) in July. Things started quickly when the calendar turned as he had multiple hits in the first four games of the month, including five extra-base hits. He’d end the month with nine multi-hit games. Cabbage had a couple of monster games during August. On the sixth, he went 3-for-4 with two home runs, five RBI, and three runs scored. Sixteen days later, he went 3-for-4 with a home run and six RBI. As a 24-year-old, he started the year at Cedar Rapids, where he was over a year and a half older than the average age of the competition. Now at Double-A, he is slightly younger than the competition. Nearly 60% of his plate appearances have come against older pitchers, and he has hit .307/.395/.646 (1.041) against them this season. We want to congratulate Wind Surge outfielder and first baseman Trey Cabbage, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for August 2021. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions. View full article

The Saints had a tough week. Wichita topped Tulsa to win the Propeller Series. Aaron Sabato showed more power in his first week in Cedar Rapids. Check out the highlights and lowlights from the past week and see how the top prospects are performing. Be sure to read Nick’s Twins Week in Review from yesterday, and then jump into the minor league week. Before we get started, let’s check out the organization’s transactions and the FCL Twins game from Monday. TRANSACTIONS There were several announced transactions on Monday’s minor league off day. RHP Jason Garcia was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. Catcher Kyle Schmidt was promoted from Cedar Rapids to St. Paul. RHP Ben Gross was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. RHP Sean Mooney was promoted from Ft. Myers to Cedar Rapids. RHP Regi Grace was activated from Ft. Myers’ Injured List. LHP Cade Povich was moved from the Complex to the Ft. Myers roster. RHP Steven Cruz was placed on the 7-Day IL. (right middle finger injury) FCL Twins Talk FCL Twins 3, FCL Pirates 8 Box Score The big story on the positive side in this game was another home run for outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez, his ninth of the season. Rubel Cespedes hit his second triple. Noah Cardenas had a single and a walk in his two plate appearances. Wilker Reyes gave up three runs on two hits over three innings. He walked three and struck out three batters. Jackson Hicks worked the next three innings. He gave up four runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out three. Elipidio Perez gave up one run on two hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out four batters. With that, let’s look at Week 17 in the Twins minor leagues: RESULTS Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (0-6, @ Toledo), overall (53-49) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (3-3, hosting Tulsa), overall (60-42) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (3-3, @ Beloit), overall (56-46) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (3-4, hosting Bradenton), overall (50-48) Complex League FCL Twins: Week (3-2), overall (15-27) IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Here are the week’s Twins minor league-related articles. Twins Minor League Week in Review: Debuts, Promotions and Lots of Wins Predicting Minnesota’s Next 4 Top Prospects to Debut Tuesday: Saints Begin Battle for Division Lead Wednesday: Ryan Cruises, Sabato’s Kernels Debut Thursday: Pitching, Hitting, and Everything in Between Getting Jhoan Duran Back on Track Friday: Blowouts and Pitcher’s Duels Jordan Balazovic’s Development is Critical Scouting Twins Prospects: RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long Saturday: Offensive Explosions and a Curfew-ed Game Sunday: First-Place Surge Find a Way HIGHLIGHTS We will start with the Twins choices for the organizational hitter and pitcher of the week, and then mention several other Twins prospects who had good Week 17 performances Twins Player of the Week: Trey Cabbage, Wichita Wind Surge For the second time this season, Trey Cabbage is the hitter of the week. He played all six games and hit .263/.462/.579 (1.040) with two homers and seven walks. He has had a powerful month of August and now has a combined 25 homers between Cedar Rapids and Wichita. Cabbage was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2015 out of high school in Tennessee. He has slowly worked up the organizational ladder and is currently breaking out as the power hitter that he has always had the potential to become. Twins Pitcher of the Week: Sawyer Gipson-Long, Cedar Rapids Kernels Gipson-Long was the choice for pitcher of the week for the second time this season. The first came when he was in Ft. Myers. He was recently promoted to Cedar Rapids and has continued to pitch well. Last week, Gipson-Long went six shutout innings in his start. He gave up six hits and struck out nine without issuing a walk. Other Strong Performances this Week St. Paul Saints When the team goes 0-6 for the week, it’s hard to find too many positives. However, there were a couple. Lefty Andrew Vasquez pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings over two games. He gave up just one hit, though he hit two batters. He struck out five batters. Chandler Shepherd gave up one run on two hits over 5 1/3 innings in two relief appearances. Joe Ryan gave up one run on four hits in his start. He also walked one and struck out eight batters. He now has 17 strikeouts in nine innings as a Saints starter. Randy Dobnak made a rehab start for the Saints. He gave up one run on five hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. Not a great performance, but on Sunday, Rocco Baldelli said that Dobnak’s next appearance will be in the big leagues. Later, it was announced that Dobnak will start on Friday for the Twins. Drew Maggi continues to be very productive and sure would be a fun story to see him called up to the Twins in September. In five games last week, he hit .429/.500/.571 (1.071) with a triple. Wichita Wind Surge First highlight is that Twins Photographer Brace Hemmelgarn spent some time in Wichita last week and got some great photos! Jordan Gore continues to impress. Last week, he pitched in three games. In four innings, he gave up no runs, no hits, walked none and struck out five. He was 2-for-2 in save opportunities. Adam Lau pitched three scoreless innings over two appearances. He gave up no hits, walked none and struck out three. Evan Sisk had a good week. He tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out three. He may not play a lot, but Leobaldo Cabrera had another impressive week. In three games, he went 3-for-7 with a triple, two homers and five walks. His OPS for the 12 plate appearances was a fun 2.238. Austin Martin played in all six games and hit .280/.333/.600 (.933) with two doubles, two homers and seven RBI. Cedar Rapids Kernels Denny Bentley, Andrew Cabezas, Osiris German, and Tyler Palm each threw two scoreless innings. In four innings, Melvi Acosta gave up two unearned runs on just one hit in four innings. He struck out four. Ryan Shreve gave up an unearned run over 3 1/3 innings.. He also recorded a save. Cody Laweryson gave up one run on four hits and a walk in five innings. Wander Javier played in four games and hit .462/.500/1.000 (1.500) with a double and two home runs. Yunior Severino hit .294/.429/.529 (.958) with two doubles and a triple. Aaron Sabato played in five games. He had four hits, two doubles and two home runs and a 1.000 OPS. Alex Isola started the week 0-for-11, but his 5-for-5 performance on Sunday included a home run. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Casey Legumina made two appearances. He gave up one run on two hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out seven batters. Sean Mooney struck out ten batters in four innings. He gave up one earned run and just two hits. John Stankiewicz gave up just one hit over four scoreless innings in his start. He walked one and struck out five batters. Will Holland played six games and hit .444/.524/.556 (1.079) with two doubles. Christian Encarnacion-Strand played his first six games as a pro ballplayer. He hit. 292 with a double and two home runs. FCL Twins Lefty Samuel Perez pitched twice. In 4 1/3 scoreless innings, he gave up two hits, walked none and struck out four batters. 2021 draft picks Cade Povich and David Festa made their pro debuts. Each gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. Danny Moreno gave up only a hit and a walk over 2 1/3 shutout innings. Elipidio Perez struck out eight batters in five innings. He gave up one run on three hits and three walks. LOWLIGHTS We are talking about small samples for these six-game weeks, so it’s important not to make any big decisions or develop a full impression on a player from this small size. It’s just a reminder of the fact that baseball is hard, and all players have good and bad stretches. St. Paul Saints Lefty Chris Nunn pitched twice. He recorded four outs and gave up five runs (4 earned) on three hits and five walks. Drew Strotman went 2 2/3 innings in his start. He gave up six runs on three hits and six walks. Ian Hamilton also pitched twice during the week and recorded four outs. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits and two walks. Beau Burrows made two starts. In eight innings, he gave up ten runs on six hits (3 HR) and eight walks. BJ Boyd spent his first week with the Saints. He played in five games, a couple of times as a pinch hitter. He went 1-for-16 (.063). Jimmy Kerrigan played in all six games and hit .182/.217/.172 (.399) with 11 strikeouts in 23 plate appearances. Trevor Larnach went 2-for-14 (.143). Ben Rortvedt went 3-for-16 (.188) with eight strikeouts, though he was also promoted to the Twins on Sunday to back up Ryan Jeffers while Mitch Garver is on the IL. Wichita Wind Surge Lefty Zach Neff pitched 3 2/3 innings over two appearances. He gave up five runs on six hits (2 HR), hit two and walked two batters. DJ Burt played in five games and went 1-for-15 (.067) with seven strikeouts. Cedar Rapids Kernels Zach Featherstone had a rough week. He pitched twice and gave up three runs on two hits, both home runs, in 1 2/3 innings. He walked two also. Ben Gross gave up six runs on ten hits in five innings. Jair Camargo went 1-for-10 (.100) on the week. Matt Wallner went 2-for-19 (.105). Jeferson Morales had just two hits in 16 at bats (.125), but both hits were home runs. Aaron Sabato had a 1.000 OPS and four extra base hits. He also had 11 strikeouts in 18 at bats. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Juan Pichardo recorded four outs in his appearance. He gave up seven runs on six hits and two walks. Miguel Rodriguez returned from the IL to make a start. In one inning, he gave up four runs on four hits and three walks. Landon Leach was charged with nine runs (4 earned) on four hits, two hit batters and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. In two appearances, Matt Mullenbach gave up seven runs (6 earned) on 13 hits in five innings. Keoni Cavaco played in four games and went 1-for-14 (.071) with six strikeouts. Kyler Fedko went 1-for-11 (.091) with a double. Charles Mack went 2-for-13 (.154) with eight strikeouts in 13 at bats. TRENDING STORYLINE Originally, the minor leagues were not going to have any playoffs in 2021. Because the minor league regular season started a month later, the thought was that all teams being able to play two or three more weeks of games, rather than just a few teams getting a few extra games. Soon after the season started, minor league baseball reversed course. Low-A, High-A and Double-A will all have Best of 5 playoff series between the top two teams in each league, regardless of division. There will be no playoffs in Triple-A this year. The Triple-A teams will continue their normal schedule so that players can continue to play games and be ready for a call-up if needed. At Double-A, Wichita is currently five games ahead of Arkansas and Tulsa atop the division. In the High-A Central, Cedar Rapids is currently in second place, 12 games behind Quad Cities. However, they are eight games ahead of third-place Beloit. In the Low-A Southeast West Division, the Mighty Mussels are 16 games behind first place Tampa, and 11 games behind second-place Bradenton. PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our updated Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings. #1 - Royce Lewis (Wichita) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 23 games, .267/.417/.442 (.858) with 6 doubles, 3 home run, 17 RBI, 14 BB, 25 K. #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 16 GS, 77.0 IP, 79 H, 30 BB, 83 K, 3.62 ERA, 1.42 WHIP #4 - Simeon Woods-Richardson (Wichita) - Has not pitched since the Olympics. #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 5 G, 4 GS, 16.0 IP, 16 H, 13 BB, 22 K, 5.06 ERA, 1.81 WHIP (on IL with a right forearm strain) #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 101 games, .336/.397/.572 (.969) with 25 doubles, 25 homers, 75 RBI, 37 BB, 66 K #7 - Joe Ryan (St. Paul) - 2 GS, 9.0 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 17 K, 2.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP #8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 5 GS, 21.0 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 43 K, 0.86 ERA, 0.67 WHIP #9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - Has yet to pitch. #10 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 58 games, .236/.295/.306 (.600) with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 24 RBI, 17 BB, 84 K, 5 SB #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - 14 GS, 72.0 IP, 55 H, 13 BB, 80 K, 2.63 ERA, 0.94 WHIP #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 49 games, .260/.338/.505 (.843) with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 11 homers, 35 RBI, 19 BB, 73 K. #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K), St. Paul (23 games, .289/.385/.506 (.891) with 6 doubles, 4 homers, 17 RBI, 12 BB, 19 K), Minnesota (22 games, .140/.183/.298 (.482) with 3 BB, 13 K) #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - 6 GS, 26.2 IP, 31 H, 16 BB, 20 K, 7.09 ERA, 1.76 WHIP. #15 - Noah Miller (Complex) - 10 games, .243/.310/.378 (.688) with two doubles, 1 homer, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 12 K #16 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (58 games, .239/.368/.566 (.934) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 19 homers, 37 BB, 74 K), Minnesota (32 games, .200/.273/.408 (.681) with 7 doubles, 6 homers, 10 RBI, 8 BB, 41 K) #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP (underwent Tommy John surgery on June 9th) #18 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 88 games, .188/.293/.287 (.580) with 9 doubles, 4 triples, 5 homers, 49 RBI, 46 BB, 69 K, 12 SB) #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 15 G, 14 GS, 58.1 IP, 47 H, 26 BB, 78 K, 2.93 ERA, 1.25 WHIP #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 92 games, .261/.361/.511 (.872) with 15 doubles, 2 triples, 23 homers, 56 RBI, 48 BB, 84 K) LOOKING AHEAD Ft. Myers @ Daytona: (AJ Labas, Bullpen Game, John Stankiewicz, Casey Legumina, Cade Povich, Regi Grace): Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids: (Louie Varland, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Cody Laweryson, Sean Mooney, Aaron Rozek, Tyler Watson): Wichita @ Arkansas: (Jordan Balazovic, Chris Vallimont, Cole Sands, TBD, TBD, Jordan Balazovic) St. Paul @ Columbus: (Jason Garcia, Joe Ryan, Chandler Shepherd, Drew Strotman, Beau Burrows, Charlie Barnes): Feel free to ask any questions you like. View full article