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As the second half of the minor league seasons got started for Minnesota Twins affiliates on Tuesday, a fun observation I made while perusing the games on MiLB.tv was that I have been to one at every stadium the full-season teams were playing at. The actual games were not that fun to observe however, as every team lost, including the Wind Surge who had a decent lead late. At least the Cedar Rapids Kernels were spared that fate due to rain (but they are currently winning!). TRANSACTIONS The Minnesota Twins optioned OF Mark Contreras back to the St. Paul Saints, and recalled RHP Josh Winder for their doubleheader. SAINTS SENTINEL Omaha 11, St. Paul 2 Box Score It didn’t matter who was pitching for the Saints on Tuesday night, the Storm Chasers made every one of them pay in an 11-2 bombardment at CHS Field that ended a seven-game home winning streak for St. Paul. Starter Dereck Rodriguez was hit for just his second loss of the season, as he allowed four earned runs on four hits and three walks in his 4 2/3 innings. He did strike out six, but two home runs allowed put his team in an early hole. Yennier Cano was the first arm out of the bullpen and got them through the sixth. He allowed one run of his own on one hit and one walk, while striking out two. Tyler Viza was roughed up for four runs (three earned) and didn’t record an out in the eighth inning after pitching a scoreless seventh. He struck out two. Wladimir Pinto finished the game with two innings, allowing two runs of his own on four hits, though he did strike out four. The Saints put the ball in play all night, striking out only four times as a team, but didn’t have many opportunities to put anything together to score runs. Jake Cave finished 2-for-3 with a home run and a double, but Michael Helman was the only other hitter to go for extra bases with a double to lead off the third inning. They finished just 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position, and left only two men on base for the game. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 8, Springfield 12 Box Score The Wind Surge came out swinging in this one, taking a 3-0 lead before their starting pitcher, Daniel Gossett, had taken the mound. Matt Wallner led off the game by being hit by a pitch and was followed by an Edouard Julien double to move him to third, before Austin Martin’s two-RBI single scored the game's first runs. Martin was moved to third on a Chris Williams single before he was able to score on a groundout from DeShawn Kiersey Jr. Gossett kept his team in the lead for 4 2/3 innings, finishing with three earned runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out six. He had allowed just a single run before a two-run shot in the fifth to make it 4-3 Wichita put an end to his night. In the sixth inning the Wind Surge tacked on a couple more runs when Anthony Prato delivered an RBI double, and was followed by a sac fly from Wallner that made it 6-3. They got two more insurance runs in the eighth thanks to an RBI single from Kevin Merrel, and a throwing error on a Prato infield single that allowed another runner to score. Left-hander Kody Funderburk came on in relief of Gossett and pitched 2 1/3 innings. He allowed one run on four hits, a walk, and struck out one. Andrew Cabezas came on to start the eighth inning, and promptly gave up a leadoff home run to Malcom Nunez that made the score 8-5. Cabezas wouldn’t record an out, and before the inning was over Jordan Gore and Bryan Sammons had also been summoned from the bullpen, and Nunez added a grand slam that put the Cardinals out front 12-8. It took just seven pitches for Wichita to go down in the ninth, and they fell to just one game above .500 on the season, and lost in spectacular fashion to start their second half. The lineup got multiple hits from Williams (2-for-5, RBI, 2 K), Andrew Bechtold (2-for-3, 2 R, BB), and Prato (2-for-4, 2B, RBI). Martin finished 1-for-2 with a run scored, two RBI, and drew three walks. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 0 (suspended in the third inning) Box Score The Kernels matchup with the Timber Rattlers was suspended due to rain before the bottom of the third inning, with Cedar Rapids leading 5-0. They will resume play tomorrow afternoon to complete a full nine innings, followed by a seven-inning game two. Brent Headrick made the start and completed two scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and struck out one. Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run homer, his 17th of the season, in the first, and back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles by Kyler Fedko, Yunior Severino, and Pat Winkel led to three runs in the top of the third before play was suspended. MUSSEL MATTERS Dunedin 2, Fort Myers 0 Box Score The Mighty Mussels got a decent outing from starting pitcher Travis Adams, but the offense wasn’t able to mount any offensive against the Blue Jays on Tuesday at Hammond Stadium. Adams went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks, while striking out three. Juan Mendez (2 IP, H, BB, 2 K) and Samuel Perez (2 IP, BB) each added two scoreless innings to give the home team a chance. Unfortunately, the Fort Myers lineup managed just four hits of their own, the biggest being a double from Keini Cavaco. Noah Miller, Rubel Cespedes, and Luis Baez each had a single. As a team, they went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and left only three men on base for the game. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 3, FCL Rays 4 Box Score Brayan Medina made the start for the Twins and went the first 3 2/3 innings, likely reaching a pitch limit after a two-out error was committed in the fourth inning. He allowed one run on one hit and two walks, while striking out four. It was tied at two heading into the ninth inning thanks to a sac fly from Danny De Andrade in the third and a Wilfri Castro solo home run in the fourth. The Twins took the lead thanks to a wild pitch in the top of the tenth, but an error on a double in the bottom half led to two runs and a walk-off loss for the good guys. As a team, they struck out 20 times versus no walks, and were unable to cash in any other opportunities as they were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and collected just five hits. Tanner Gaff (1/3 IP, K), Jon Olsen (1 IP, H, K), Jose Oliveras (4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BB, 3 K), and Giovahniey German (H, 2 R, BB) also pitched for the Twins. DOMINICAN DAILIES Scheduled day off. The DSL Twins had Tuesday off. They’re back in action at 10:00 AM CDT tomorrow against the DSL Cleveland Blue squad. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Samuel Perez, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2 IP, BB) Hitter of the Day - Austin Martin, Wichita Wind Surge (1-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB) PROSPECT SUMMARY #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 3-for-7, R, 2B, HR, RBI (2 games) #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-4 #9 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, K, CS #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-for-3, R, RBI, 3 K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-5, R, 2B, 2 K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-1, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI (game suspended) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Cole Sands (0-4, 5.20 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Casey Legumina (1-3, 6.57 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (12:10 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (3-0, 2.05 ERA) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (3-3, 4.70 ERA) DSL Twins @ DSL Cleveland Blue (10:00 AM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Although we no longer have the Gulf Coast League or the Appalachian League, short season action still commenced with the newly-designed Complex Leagues in Florida and Arizona. Plenty of Twins prospects are getting their first taste of pro ball after a shutdown in 2020. This is Twins Daily’s annual effort to make note of the standout arms in the group. Before getting into this year’s crop, here are the previous recipients of this award: 2016: Huascar Ynoa 2017: Jovani Moran 2018: Andrew Cabezas 2019: Cody Lawyerson There were a handful of notable performances this season. With every organization putting such a premium on developing pitching, having players stand out early at the lowest level is a must. Being able to continue to foster that growth throughout their experience in professional baseball is what hopefully will translate to major-league success. Coming off a year with no minor league action, these guys really stepped up when returning to the mound. Before getting into the top three, here are some honorable mentions. Others Receiving Votes: Giovahniey German 12 G, 11 GS, 5.59 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 38.2 IP, 33 H, 32 BB, 43 K John Wilson 14 G, 3.86 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 23.1 IP, 32 H, 4 BB, 16 K Ramon Pineda 13 G, 4.35 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 20.2 IP, 22 H, 2 BB, 17 K Cole Bellair 10 G, 6.43 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 21.0 IP, 27 H, 7 BB, 34 K Short Season Pitcher of the Year Here are the top three vote-getters for Twins Short Season Pitcher of the Year. 3. Develson Aria 13 G, 6 GS, 3.16 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 25.2 IP, 14 H, 23 BB, 39 K Aria was signed out of the Dominican Republic prior to the 2019 season. He played stateside for the first time this year at the age of 20. Despite lacking command on the bump, Aria posted gaudy strikeout numbers and was able to work around potential damage. Notably, he avoided allowing any home runs during his 25 2/3 innings of work. 2. Juan Mendez 12 G, 5 GS, 3.58 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 27.2 IP, 21 H, 14 BB, 37 K Making his professional debut, Mendez was 22-years-old for the FCL team this year. He allowed opposing batters to hit just .196 off of him and gave up just two home runs during his season of work. Signed in 2020 as a free agent, Mendez put a strong foot forward to start his pro career. 1. Samuel Perez 13 G, 1 GS, 1.45 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 37.1 IP, 29 H, 5 BB, 39 K Working primarily as a reliever, Perez was utterly dominant for the Complex League squad this year. He posted more than a strikeout per inning and had a sub 1.00 WHIP. Perez made his stateside debut this season after being signed by the Twins organization in June 2021. Having previously played in the Dominican Summer League through the Angels organization, Perez has consistently posted strong strikeout numbers and low ERA totals. He is now 21-years-old and will be looking towards a debut with Fort Myers next season. The Ballots Seth Stohs - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Juan Mendez 3) Develson Aria Nash Walker - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Develson Aria 3) John Wilson Cody Christie - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Juan Mendez 3) Develson Aria Tom Froemming - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Juan Mendez 3) Ramon Pineda Ted Schwerzler - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Giovahniey German 3) John Wilson Steve Lien - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Develson Aria 3) Juan Mendez David Youngs - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Giovahniey German 3) Juan Mendez Allen Post - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Juan Mendez 3) Develson Aria Matt Braun - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Juan Mendez 3) Cole Bellair Feel free to discuss. What do you think? How would you rank them? How would your ballot look? View full article

The Twins saw the first impact of their recent trades on Saturday as Drew Strotman made his St. Paul debut on Saturday. Read all about that and more in this edition of the minor league report. TRANSACTIONS RHP Ryan Mason promoted to AAA St. Paul LHP Evan Sisk added to AA Wichita (received from St. Louis in the J.A. Happ trade) RHP Simeon Woods Richardson added to AA Wichita and placed on the Temporary Inactive list (he is pitching for team USA in the Tokyo Olympics) RHP Alex Scherff added to AA Wichita and placed on the IL OF Gilberto Celestino optioned to AAA St. Paul as Luis Arraez was activated from the IL Saints Sentinel St. Paul 5, Indianapolis 6 Box Score Drew Strotman: 4 ⅓ IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Mark Contreras (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI) A much anticipated prospect made his Saints debut on Saturday. RHP Drew Strotman, one of the pitchers received by the Twins in the Nelson Cruz trade, started for St. Paul for the first time. It was not smooth sailing for Strotman who gave up four runs while striking out just a single batter. It was not the best of first impressions, but Strotman will certainly have more opportunities to impress in the future. The Saints offense did its best to back Strotman. The 1-2 punch of Jose Miranda and Mark Contreras combined for two runs and three RBIs as both players bugged Indianapolis’ pitching staff all night. Oh, and Miranda is casually chilling with a AAA batting average in the .350’s. Just FYI. A few notable relievers threw scoreless outings on Saturday. Ian Hamilton tossed 1 ⅔ innings with no earned runs, Jovani Moran threw 1 ⅓ IP with no earned runs, and Yennier Cano, uh, hurled a single inning without any earned runs. At least one (if not all) of those players will certainly be on the Twins sometime soon. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 4, NW Arkansas 8 Box Score Adam Lau: 2 ⅔ IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: B.J. Boyd (7), Jermaine Palacios (13) Multi-hit games: B.J. Boyd (2-for-4, HR, R, RBI), Jermaine Palacios (2-for-3, HR, 2B, 3 RBI) Wichita could not hold on to the lead on Saturday. B.J. Boyd kicked off the scoring quickly by blasting a lead-off homerun before fans could even reach their seats. It was Boyd’s seventh homer of the season and the hit, yet again, has proved Boyd to be a worthy and useful addition to the Twins’ minor league system. Boyd was not the only hitter to get in on the homer fun. Jermaine Palacios continued on his path of destruction by sending his 13th shot of the year over the wall in the 4th inning. Last week, I wrote about Palacios as one of, if not the single most pleasantly surprising player in the minor league system. Today was no exception. Unfortunately, Boyd and Palacios were essentially the entire Wind Surge offense. Trey Cabbage was the only other player to net a hit in the game, and all four RBIs were the result of either Boyd or Palacios. It was no more smooth for Wichita on the pitching side of the equation. All four of their pitchers allowed at least one earned run, with Zach Neff acting as the guiltiest culprit (four earned runs allowed over seven outs). All in all, it was a rather forgettable night for the Wind Surge as they are waiting until the massive prospect reinforcements finally reach Kansas. Evan Sisk, acquired in the J.A. Happ/John Gant trade, made his debut in the Twins organization. He gave up one run over two innings. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 12 Box Score Cody Laweryson: ⅔ IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Yunior Severino (2-for-3, 2B, R, BB), DaShawn Kiersey (2-for-3, 3B) Things could have gone better for Cedar Rapids on Saturday. The first sign that today would not end up being the day for the Kernels occurred in the very first inning. Cody Laweryson was unable to finish his first frame of work due to an apparent injury and had to be replaced by Tyler Palm. Wisconsin took advantage of the unpredicted short start by plating seven runs in the first two innings. That more or less stood to be the end of the Kernels’ odds of winning. They were able to plate two runs in an attempt to regain something of a lead, but it was to no avail. For the sake of having some food news, Breckin Williams and Ryan Shreve combined to allow just a single earned run over three innings of relief. In total, they struck out seven batters. Mussel Matters The game between Fort Myers and Clearwater was canceled as Clearwater has been struck by a COVID-19 outbreak. Tomorrow’s match between the two teams has been canceled as well. Complex Chronicles FCL Twins 6, FCL Red Sox 4 Box Score Juan Mendez: 3 ⅔ IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Kala’i Rosario (2-for-3, R, RBI, BB), Yonardy Soto (3-for-4, RBI) The FCL Twins turned around their luck and beat the FCL Red Sox on Saturday. Juan Mendez did his job by holding the Red Sox in check over his 3 2/3 innings of work. Yeah, walking more than you strike out is not generally ideal, but zero earned runs is zero earned runs. You take those. Samuel Perez was even more impressive as he pitched for four innings to finish off the game, and struck out five while allowing just two baserunners. Now that is a well-earned win. The win was actually well within hand for the Red Sox. They had put up a four-spot in the 6th inning while holding the Twins scoreless up until that point. However, the Twins broke out for a pair of runs in the 7th, and followed that up with their own four-spot in the 8th. Somehow, they ended up with six runs off of just one extra-base hit. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Samuel Perez Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jermaine Palacios PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Royce Lewis (Rehab) – Out for season (torn ACL) #2 – Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – Injured List (elbow strain) #3 – Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Did not pitch #4 – Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List (right elbow strain) #5 – Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-5, 2 R, 2 K #6 – Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) – No game #7 – Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) – Did not play #8 – Josh Winder (St. Paul) – Did not pitch #9 – Aaron Sabato (Fort Myers) – No game #10 – Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – Did not play #11 – Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Out for Season (Tommy John surgery) #12 – Bailey Ober (Minnesota) – 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K #13 – Cole Sands (Wichita) – Did not pitch #14 – Brent Rooker (Minnesota) – 1-5, 2 R, K #15 – Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) – No game #16 – Spencer Steer (Wichita) – 0-2, 2 BB #17 – Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 0-4, 2 K #18 – Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A (foot injury) #19 – Edwar Colina (Rehab) – Injured List (elbow) #20 – Chris Vallimont (Wichita) – Did not pitch SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (12:05 PM) RHP Tyler Beck Indianapolis @ St. Paul (1:05 PM) RHP Chandler Shephard Wichita @ NW Arkansas (1:05 PM) TBD Fort Myers @ Clearwater Canceled View full article