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The Minnesota Twins fell to the White Sox, allowing Chicago to get back to .500. It was a game that felt a little too familiar ... Down in the minors Chris Williams hit two home runs for the second straight game and Christian Encarnacion-Strand thought it looked like fun, so he decided to mash two taters himself. Also highlighted tonight are Aaron Sabato, Kody Funderburk and Sean Mooney. View full video

A lot of people hit homers today, like a lot; someone hit a walk-off, Chris Sale pitched against a team in the low minors, and someone else hit two homers. Read all about that and more in this edition of the minor league report. TRANSACTIONS OF Mark Contreras recalled by the Minnesota Twins Saints Sentinel St. Paul 7, Buffalo 4 Box Score Aaron Sanchez: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 3 K HR: Michael Helman 2 (3, 4), John Andreoli (6) Multi-hit games: Jake Cave (2-for-5), Tim Beckham (2-for-4), Michael Helman (3-for-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI), Elliot Soto (4-for-5, R, 3 RBI), John Andreoli (2-for-5, HR, R, RBI) The Saints won handily on Saturday. Former AL ERA champ Aaron Sanchez received the nod on Saturday. He was sporadic, walking a batter an inning while allowing three runners to score; he ended the day with a 2.00 WHIP. But the Saints’ bats pulled through. One-day big-leaguer, Elliot Soto, brought home a pair of runs with a single in the 4th inning. The Buffalo Bisons then chipped back, netting a few runs before parking themselves firmly in front of St. Paul at a 3-2 clip. Michael Helman wanted no part of that, and he sent a solo shot out to left before John Andreoli blasted his own homer, this time to center. If you thought Helman was done, then you would be wrong, my friend. Helman sent another solo homer out to left, this time staking a three-run lead that expanded after Soto brought him one final run with an RBI single. The Saints may have found good fortune on Saturday; their pitchers walked more batters than they struck out (eight to seven), but Buffalo could not take advantage of the free passes. Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 2, San Antonio 4 Box Score Louie Varland: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Cole Sturgeon (2-for-5, HR, R, RBI), Kevin Merrell (2-for-3, 2 B, R) Wichita lost a weird one on Saturday. Every batter for Wichita, outside of one got a hit on Saturday; they had 10 in total. Yet, the team went a hearty 0-7 with RISP, and that’s how you score two runs off 10 hits. Heck, half of their RBIs on Saturday came from a bases-loaded walk. Cole Sturgeon realized that if you hit a homer, then you’re always in scoring position, and simply blasted a ball out to right field for his sixth homer of the season. Kevin Merrell had the other extra-base hit: a double in the 6th. Louie Varland was just good, not his usual dominant self on Saturday. The righty had a full stat line, allowing eight runners against five strikeouts with three earned runs bookending his start. Cody Laweryson made his AA debut after receiving a promotion on Friday. The righty worked two scoreless innings with three strikeouts and two singles allowed. He did work himself into some trouble in the 9th inning, but Chris Williams threw out a runner to end the inning. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 6, West Michigan 5 Box Score Sean Mooney: 4 ⅔ IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: Wander Javier (6), Christian Encarnacion-Strand (16) Multi-hit games: Seth Gray (2-for-4, 2 RBI) The Kernels won a walk-off on Saturday. Sean Mooney started the game and did an adequate job keeping his team in the game, allowing two runs over 4 ⅔ innings. Mooney also struck out six. Cedar Rapids’ bats picked up immediately on Saturday; Kyler Fedko brought home two runs on a 1st inning triple, giving the Kernels the quick advantage. The Whitecaps scratched back with a pair of sacrifice flies in the 3rd and 5th innings to tie the game. West Michigan didn’t stop there. A pair of plays involving errors from Charles Mack allowed the Whitecaps to take a two-run lead. With two on in the bottom of the 8th inning, Wander Javier launched a go-ahead three-run homer to centerfield, giving the Kernels their first lead since the 1st inning. The Whitecaps tied up the game in the 9th inning with a solo homer, but Christian Encarnacion-Strand punished such silliness by cracking a walk-off shot in the bottom of the inning. It was Encarnacion-Strand’s 16th home run of the season. Mussel Matters The Mighty Mussels were supposed to play a doubleheader, but rain intervened, and neither game occurred. Fort Myers will play two games on Sunday starting at 10:30 AM. Complex Chronicles FCL Twins 7, FCL Red Sox 6 (10 innings) Box Score Cleiber Maldonado: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jefferson De La Cruz (3-for-5, 2 R), Andres Centeno (2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI), Breilin Ramirez (3-for-5, 2 R) The FCL Twins won in extra-innings on Saturday. Rehabbing big-leaguer Chris Sale started for the FCL Red Sox. Sale ended up striking out six over 2 ⅔ IP—because of course he did—but the FCL Twins did knock out three hits against him. Cleiber Maldonado, now the owner of my favorite name in the system, was phenomenal on Saturday. The lefty punched out six batters while allowing just one run over 4 innings; he dominated by any metric. The FCL Twins had three players with multiple hits and fortunately, all three batters hit back-to-back-to-back; six of the Twins’ runs came from Jefferson De La Cruz, Andres Centeno, and Breilin Ramirez. Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 0, DSL Mariners 4 Box Score Cesar Lares: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Yasser Mercedes (2-for-3, 2B) The DSL Twins lost in a shutout on Saturday. Yasser Mercedes nabbed one of the two extra-base hits for the DSL Twins; Junior Del Valle had the other. Del Valle also stole a base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Cleiber Maldonado Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Michael Helman PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - Injured List #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-1, K #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 1-for-3, 2B, R, RBI, 2 K #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - IL #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - IL #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-4, RBI, BB #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - IL #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - Did not play #10 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch #11 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K #13 - Ronny Hendriquez (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #14 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - Did not pitch #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-4, BB, 2 K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-4, RBI, BB, K #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, HR, R, RBI, BB, 2 K #19 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - IL #20 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Buffalo (12:05 PM) - RHP Mario Sanchez San Antonio @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long Western Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 PM) - RHP John Stankiewicz Fort Myers @ Lakeland (10:30 AM) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin View full article

The Kernels walked it off thanks to an unlikely hero and the Saints got the last laugh in an offensive shootout against Dayton. Read about all the action from the across the farm on Sunday! TRANSACTIONS No transactions across the organization today! SAINTS SENTINEL St Paul 11, Columbus 10 Box Score Despite losing Alex Kirilloff to the parent club a few days ago, the St. Paul offense didn't miss a beat on Sunday afternoon. A monster day at the plate, the Saints used 12 hits to plate 11 runs and sneak past the Clippers in a Father's Day shootout in Columbus. The scoring wasn't isolated; St. Paul scored in six of nine innings and touted multi-run frames in the first, second, third, fifth, and seventh innings. Even better, the scoring didn't come from one player. Led by a four-hit showing from Mark Contreras, seven Saints recorded hits and five tallied RBI on the day. Michael Helman and Mark Contreras got the party started in the top of the first with a pair of key hits to put the Saints on the board. With Caleb Hamilton on the pond, Helman laced a single to the first run of the game. Since being promoted to Triple-A at the end of May, Helman has been red hot, hitting safely in seven of his last eight games and touting a team-leading .423 batting average. Just two batters later, Contreras notched his first of four singles of the day to score Helman (who advanced to second on a fielding error) to put the Saints up 2-0. It was rinse and repeat for St. Paul in the second and third inning. Following John Andreoli walk and Elliot Soto double (9), Spencer Steer smothered a liner to center-field to score both runners and double the lead. Curtis Terry kicked off the third inning with a solo homer (7) to left and was followed by a pair of singles from Contreras and Jermaine Palacios. Contreras would eventually score thanks to a double-play groundout from Roy Morales. And while the RBI didn't count for Morales, he would score two runners in the fifth inning on a beautifully struck double that clipped the third-base bag. Given the run support, St. Paul starter Aaron Sanchez was solid on the day, pitching 4 1/3 innings of three-run (two earned), five-hit ball while striking out four and walking two. Austin Schulfer cleaned up the final two outs of the fifth inning and earned the win on the day for St. Paul. In what looked like a blowout, the Clippers mounted a massive seventh inning off of St. Paul reliever Jake Faria. In 1 2/3 innings, Faria allowed six runs on four hits, including a grand slam. Luckily for the Saints, Mark Contreras added an insurance run in the top of the eighth with an RBI single that scored Curtis Terry. Sunday's Father's Day win was especially special for Saints skipper Toby Gardenhire. On paternity leave for the birth of his first child Bodie, Sunday marked Gardenhire's 100th win as manager of the St. Paul Saints. Congrats to Toby on the feat but more importantly, to him and his wife Sarah and the birth of their first child! WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 3, Wichita 2 (10) Box Score Despite a solid pitching performance from the Wichita staff, the Wind Surge fell just short in an extra-inning heartbreaker to Tulsa. Wichita outhit the Drillers but failed to convert, leaving 12 men on base and going 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Cole Sturgeon and Edouard Julien both tallied multi-hit games and Sturgeon recorded one of Wichita's two RBI on the day. With two outs in the third, Sturgeon knocked a single to center field to score Matt Wallner from second and put the Surge on the board. Wichita plated its only other run in the sixth inning when Deshawn Keirsey Jr. scored from third on a groundout from Anthony Prato. Wichita starting pitcher Casey Legumina was solid through 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out two. Limiting the damage himself, the Surge bullpen did everything they could to follow Legumina's adequate outing. Andrew Cabezas pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts and was followed by 2 1/3 scoreless innings from Denny Bentley and Jordon Gore. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Dayton 3 Box Score Assigned from the FCL Twins to Cedar Rapids on Friday, there's a good chance most Twins fans don't know the name Frank Nigro. They should now. Knotted at three in the bottom of the ninth, Nigro punched a 2-2 pitch to right field to score Kennie Taylor and walk the Kernels off to a league-leading 41-22 record. In his first game with Cedar Rapids, Nigro's walk-off single would have sufficed just fine on its own. Yet on top of the game-winner, Nigro laced a single in the second inning and was one of two Cedar Rapids players to record a multi-hit game. The Kernels scored their first run in the first inning. Following an Alerick Soularie double (6), Yunior Severino reached out a fielding error that allowed Soularie to score from second. The Kernels would strike again in the second thanks to an RBI single from Kyler Mack that scored Kennie Tayor. After a few innings of silence, Alerick Soularie notched his second hit of the game in the seventh with an RBI single that scored Taylor. The Cedar Rapids pitching staff was stellar from the game's first pitch to its last. Starter Sean Mooney was dominant through five, striking out six while allowing just two runs on five hits. The combo of Bobby Milacki and Matthew Swain took the bulk of relief, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out a combined four batters through 3 2/3 innings. Ryan Shreve (W, 1-0) pitched the final out for the Kernels and earned his first win of the year. MUSSEL MATTERS CANCELLED Turns out it rains (a lot) in Florida. Due to inclement weather, Sunday's game was canceled. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day: Mark Contreras (St. Paul)- 4-for-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB Pitcher of the Day: Sean Mooney (Cedar Rapids)- 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 K, 2 BB PROSPECT SUMMARY Take a look at how our Twins Daily Top 20 Prospects did today! For a weekly recap of prospects and the entire farm system, check out Seth's Minor League Week in Review! Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 3 RBI, 3 K #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, 2 K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, K UP NEXT Mondays are off for minor leaguers, get prepared for a full slate of games on Tuesday! View full article

The Minnesota Twins got smoked in Arizona on Father's Day. Down in the minors, Cedar Rapids won on a walk-off in another big game from both Alerick Soularie and Sean Mooney. That and more in tonight's system recap. View full video

The Minnesota Twins beat the Blue Jays to take a series in Toronto as Luis Arraez had four hits and a walk. In the minors, prospect Spencer Steer hit three home runs in what was an eight-homer game for the Saints lineup. Caleb Hamilton and Alex Kirilloff hit two home runs each while Tim Beckham added one himself. On the mound, Simeon Woods Richardson delivered another solid start and Sean Mooney struck out 10 batters in four no-hit innings. View full video

In minor-league action on Tuesday night, a top pitching prospect was on the mound for Wichita looking to continue an impressive streak, but it was a monster effort from a hitter who led the team to a win in a shootout. In other action, a pair of affiliates struggled on offense, and in Florida the Mighty Mussels played a little more than usual, completing a suspended game from earlier in the month. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 1, Omaha 5 Box Score The Saints were unable to mount much offense on Tuesday, finishing the game with just three hits and four walks, while striking out 14 times as a team against the Storm Chasers in Omaha to open their series. They were 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position, leaving only five men on base for the game. They scored their lone run in the fifth inning when Curtis Terry led off with a double, and came around to score later on a single from Kevin Merrell. Merrell finished 2-for-3, leaving the rest of the lineup not named Terry 0-for-22 on the night. St. Paul did get a decent pitching performance from starter Chi Chi Gonzalez, who went the first five innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks, along with picking up six strikeouts. Ronny Henriquez came on in relief to start the sixth and delivered a quick one-two-three frame on just eight pitches. The seventh was a different story, however. He walked the first three hitters, hit another batter, then surrendered a grand slam before his outing was ended. He was charged with five runs on two hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings. Ian Hamilton was able to prevent any more damage in the frame, but allowed a run of his own in the eighth for Omaha’s final tally. WIND SURGE WISDOM Springfield 9, Wichita 11 Box Score Top pitching prospect Matt Canterino took the mound for the Wind Surge, looking to continue his streak of five starts without allowing a run to the opposition. He wasn’t able to come out unscathed in this one however, as there were fireworks from both lineups on a windy night in Wichita. The Cardinals and Wind Surge combined for 20 runs on 29 hits (14 for extra bases), and 14 walks between them. The right-hander did showcase his devastating stuff in his outing, sitting mid-90’s with his fastball and missing bats with all his pitches (11 swinging strikes total). But a few more than usual also connected with barrels, as he got tagged for some loud outs and hits, including his first home run allowed of the season. In 3 2/3 total innings, Canterino was charged with four runs on five hits and two walks, while punching out six. All that considered, he looked very good again to these amateur eyes, and I thought he might get a fifth inning with his pitch count where it was when he started the fourth inning. Down 4-0 after Canterino left the game, the Wind Surge lineup got to work, tying the game at five thanks in large part to an Alex Isola Grand Slam in the fifth. In relief of Canterino, Casey Legumina allowed four runs of his own pitching into the sixth. In 1 2/3 total innings gave the lead back to the Cardinals on two hits and four walks, while striking out one. With one out in the sixth inning, Kody Funderburk came on and got them through the seventh, allowing two hits, a walk, and striking out two. Down 8-5 heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Wind Surge lineup batted around en route to take their first lead of the game. Isola led off the frame with another double, and five hits and a walk later they were up 11-1. Dennis Ortega (in the game to replace an injured Edouard Julien) and Wallner each had a two-RBI single in the inning to account for most of the runs. Wichita had bases-loaded situations in several innings and were able to cash them in with some big hits to secure the win. Six of the nine hitters in their lineup collected multiple knocks, with Isola leading the way with a big 3-for-5 night including two runs scored, two doubles, the grand slam, and five RBI. Steven Cruz closed out the win with two innings, allowing three hits and a run in the ninth, but striking out five to pick up his first save of the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Lake County 5, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score Fresh off of a 5-1 series win against the Peoria Chiefs last week where they outscored their opponent 47-12, the Kernels were unable to continue popping in this one, and instead were left with a bunch of Old Maids. They had just four hits as a team, and their one run came on a Willie Joe Garry Jr. home run in the third inning that gave them an early 1-0 lead. It remained that way until the sixth inning, as until that point starting pitcher Sean Mooney had stifled the Captains in a similar fashion. He allowed no runs in five total innings, allowing just one hit, walking three, and striking out six. He was a bit effectively wild, with just 46 of his 82 pitches going for strikes (56 percent), but got the job done. Bobby Milacki was brought on to start the sixth, and a pair of singles and a double led to the tying run. In the seventh Milacki got one out before a walk and a single ended his outing. He went 1 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, walking one, and striking out one. Orlando Rodriguez came on to escape that jam and also delivered a scoreless eighth inning. He struck out two and walked one in 1 2/3 innings pitched. In the ninth the Kernels brought on Andrew Cabezas, looking to keep the score tied and give his lineup a chance. Unfortunately, a one-out error seemed to derail his outing, and three batters later a three-run home run made the score 5-1 and put it out of reach. Cedar Rapids finished this one just 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position, left only four men-on-base, and struck out 18 times as a team, including the last 11 outs of the game. They’ll look to get back to their winning ways on Wednesday with Aaron Rozek on the mound. MUSSEL MATTERS Game 1: Clearwater 5, Fort Myers 4 (11 innings, completion of game suspended on 5/1) Box Score This game was suspended before the top of the 11th inning got started over two weeks ago, with the score tied at four. Sonny Gray and Jordan Balazovic had both made rehab appearances on that day. When it resumed, something you’ll likely only ever see in the minor leagues happened. With the runner starting on second base, Fort Myers pitcher Matthew Swain was hit with consecutive balks to give the Threshers a 5-4 lead. He retired all three hitters he faced, including a pair of strikeouts, but whatever was the cause of those balks (likely rule changes being forgotten in the moment) the Mighty Mussels found themselves down. The lineup was unable to score one of their own, with Mikey Perez, Noah Miller, and Emmanuel Rodriguez going down in order to end the game. Miller (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, SB) and Kyler Fedko (2-for-4, R, RBI, BB, K) had multiple hits able to become official to lead the team. There were no extra base hits for the Mighty Mussels, and they were unable to take advantage of 10 walks as they finished 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position, and left 13 men-on-base for the game. Game 2: Fort Myers 5, Clearwater 4 Box Score In their regularly scheduled contest, the Mighty Mussels got a quality effort out of their starting pitcher, right-hander Travis Adams. He went six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out six to pick up his third win of the season. Adams has gone at least five innings in all six of his starts so far this season, and the three runs allowed in this one are a season-high. He’s been the model of consistency for the Mighty Mussels, sporting a 2.03 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, and a 28:5 K-to-BB ratio in 31 innings thus far. Fort Myers got single runs in each of the first, third, and fourth innings to keep the game tied at three while Adams was on the mound. Emmanuel Rodriguez scored in the first on an error after reaching base on a hit-by-pitch. The Noah’s, Miller and Cardenas, each had doubles in the third for their second run. Kala’i Rosario tripled and scored on a Luis Baez singled in the fourth to account for those tallies. They took a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh thanks to a double-steal after three batters had drawn walks in the frame, allowing Adams to be in line for the win. They added a needed insurance run in the top of the ninth, as an errant throw from the Threshers catcher on a steal attempt allowed pinch-runner Dylan Neuse to scamper home for a 5-3 lead. In relief of Adams, right-hander Juan Mendez went two scoreless innings, allowing one hit, walking two, and striking out two. Hunter McMahon was brought on for the save opportunity in the ninth, and although he made it a bit interesting allowing a single and run-scoring double to start the inning, was able to finish it off with a pair of K’s and groundout for his third save. The lineup didn’t get multiple hits from any batter, but drew five walks and only struck out five times. They also stole five bases as a team and two others were thrown out, so they were running all game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Sean Mooney, Cedar Rapids Kernels (5 IP, H, 3 BB, 6 K) Hitter of the Day - Alex Isola, Wichita Wind Surge (3-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B, GS (5), 5 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2B, HR (2), RBI #4 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 2 K #7 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - L, 3 2/3 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, K #9 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, R #11 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, R, 2B, K #14 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 1 1/3 IP, 2 H 5 ER, 3 BB #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 2-for-6, 2 R, 2B, K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-2, BB, K (left game with injury) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Jake Faria (0-2, 7.17 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Louie Varland (4-1, 3.69 ERA) Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (4-1, 4.73 ERA) Fort Myers @ Clearwater, Game 1 (11:00 AM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (1-1, 5.50 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers, Game 2 (makeup of 4/30 PPD) - RHP Mike Paredes (0-1, 3.31 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Amazing that the season is already into its second month. The Twins are playing great of late, winning 10 of their last 11 games. Over the past two weeks, the Wichita Wind Surge have gone 10-2. The other affiliates are over .500 too. Some of the top-hitting prospects had big weeks. And no fewer than five pitchers were deserving of pitcher of the week honors, while multiple top prospects could have earned Hitter of the Week honors. The Twins started the 2022 season by winning just four of their first 12 games. Since then, they have won 10 of 11 games and now have a 14-9 record. From a team perspective, a two-week struggle can quickly turn around. The same is true of individual players, hitters, or pitchers. Pitching once per week, a starting pitcher could have two rough innings that make the ERA look bad. But that doesn’t mean it’s a lost season for that pitcher. The sample size of one week is just that, a one-week glimpse of the most recent small sample size. One of the Twins' top-hitting prospects had a rough first two weeks of the season. He had a huge week in Week 3. So be sure to use these weekly reports for what they are; a look at the week. We want to highlight deserving prospects. They have earned it. Celebrate the successes throughout the whole season. If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week. Please note that the hyperlinks on player names will show you past articles in which that player has been tagged. Click around and see how much some of these players have been written about over the years. TRANSACTIONS With no Monday Minor League Report, here are the transactions from later on Sunday and Monday. Following Sunday’s game, RHP Cole Sands and C Jose Godoy were optioned to bring the Twins roster from 28 to 26. 1B Miguel Sano and OF Kyle Garlick were placed on the IL. Taking their roster spots are IF Jose Miranda and LHP Jovani Moran. The Twins released RHP Brandon Lawson from the Wichita roster. LHP Zach Featherstone was transferred to the Development List. RHPs Osiris German and Casey Legumina were promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. RHP Orlando Rodriguez joined the Kernels from the Florida Complex. RESULTS Previous Week in Review: Pitching, Pitching Everywhere Pitching Tuesday: Kirilloff Rehabs, Pitching Staff’s Stifle Wednesday: Miranda is Heating Up, Lewis with the Walk-Off Thursday: Mack Attack Keeps Rolling Friday: Pitching, Defense Shine, Runs at a Premium Saturday: Rain, Rain Go Away Sunday: Rain, Rain, Go Away, Let the Twins Affiliates Play MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT Kirilloff, Smeltzer Hope to Rejoin Twins Soon Kernels Mack and Legumina Start Hot in April Cold What the Twins Can Expect from Jose Miranda Prospect Retrospective: Cole Sands Prospect Retrospective: Jose Miranda Three Questions With… RHP John Stankiewicz (Video) Three Questions With… C Jair Camargo (Video) TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE AWARDS FOR APRIL Hitter of the Month: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Cedar Rapids Kernels Starting Pitcher of the Month: John Stankiewicz, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Relief Pitcher of the Month: Tyler Viza, Wichita Wind Surge WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week: 2-3 vs. Nashville Season: 12-10 overall, 5th place in the International League West. They are 3 1/2 games behind Nashville (16-7). The Saints came into the week trailing only Nashville in the division. The Saints won the first two games of the series, 4-1 and 3-2. Nashville won the next game, and then there were games suspended, finished, suspended again, and then Sunday’s game was postponed too. For no reason other than that, Jose Miranda got called up to the big leagues; we’ll start with the Saints’ hitters. It was a good week for the slugging infielder, even before he learned he was headed to the big leagues. He played in five games and went 6-for-20. He hit .333/.350/.611 (.961) with two doubles and a homer. Royce Lewis was again the star of the week. The shortstop played in five games and went 7-for-22. He hit .438/.591/.750 (1.341) with two doubles and a home run. In addition, he had six walks to just three strikeouts. He came to the plate four times in one game and walked each time. For good measure, he was 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts. Nine Saints pitchers worked out of the bullpen last week without giving up a run. Jharel Cotton was the only pitcher in that group who threw twice. He worked 2 1/3 innings. Lefty Devin Smeltzer had the best Saints start of the week. He gave up one run on three hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out three batters. You might be able to argue that Dereck Rodriguez was even better in his start. He went just 4 2/3 innings and gave up one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out six batters. It was a rough week for a few Saints, though it’s just, though, a rough outing or two. Even just one rough inning can make a week’s stats look rough. Ronny Henriquez made his first Triple-A start and struggled. He was charged with four runs on three hits (two homers) and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. Drew Strotman worked twice last week and gave up seven runs on three hits and six walks in three innings. Jake Faria made a start and gave up six runs on seven hits and three walks in two innings. What’s Next? The Saints come home to host the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate of the, you guessed it, Chicago Cubs.. (Go to SaintsBaseball.com for tickets!) Pitching Probables (LHP Devin Smeltzer, RHP Ronny Henriquez, RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez, RHP Jake Faria, RHP Mario Sanchez, RHP Dereck Rodriguez) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Week: 5-1 at Arkansas Season: 13-8 overall, tied for 1st place in the Texas League North Division with Tulsa. They are 2.0 games behind Tulsa. Last week, the Wind Surge scored 52 runs on their way to a 5-1 week. They scored “just” 29 runs this past week but had another strong 5-1 week. They lost the first game of the series in Arkansas 10-4. Over the five other games, they gave up just 12 more runs. For the Wind Surge pitching staff, they continued to have a lot of solid performances. Matt Canterino made one start last week. He went three innings. He gave up no runs, no hits, walked one, and struck out four batters. He had twice thrown three scoreless, hitless innings in the previous three weeks. So, he’s got a quality streak of nine straight hitless innings. From what I've heard, he will likely remain at three innings for a few more starts before bumping up to four innings and then see where that takes him. Louie Varland had a strong start. He gave up just three hits and a walk over 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He struck out four batters. Simeon Woods Richardson completed a 0.00 ERA month. The right-hander tossed five more scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked three, and struck out four batters. That pushed him to 21 2/3 innings on the season, and he has allowed just one unearned run. Tyler Viza came out of the bullpen twice. He tossed five scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits, walked two, and struck out six batters. Steven Klimek, Alex Scherff, Austin Schulfer, and Evan Sisk also pitched twice and didn’t allow a run. On the other side, Chris Vallimont made two starts. Combined, he gave up nine earned runs on 13 hits and six walks in 7 1/3 innings. While he is scheduled to make another start this coming week, you have to think that he may be moved to the bullpen at some point if things don’t turn around. The stuff is still good. His arm is strong. He has good innings, but the bad has often turned really bad. The offensive production was down from a fantastic previous week, but three guys carried a large chunk of the offense last week. Matt Wallner led the offense. In six games, he went 7-for-19 and hit .368/.500/.895 (1.395) with a double and three home runs. He also walked five times. (https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1520586633946542080) Outfielder Cole Sturgeon played in four games and went 4-for-12. He hit .333/.471/.833 (1.304) with two home runs. He also walked three times. Finally, Alex Isola went 4-13 over four games last week. He hit .308/.438/.846 (1.284) with a double, two home runs, and three walks. No one else had an OPS over .637. In his four games, Andrew Bechtold, who had a great previous week, went 0-for-13, who had a tremendous previous week, went 0-for-13. Kevin Merrill was 1-for-13 (.077). Finally, Leobaldo Cabrera went 0-for-10 with six strikeouts (and two walks). That puts him at 0-for-32 to start the season. 14 strikeouts in 36 at-bats, but certainly some bad luck mixed in. Last year, he played 52 games for Wichita and hit .235/.335/.482 (.817) with seven doubles, a triple, and 11 home runs. And, while the below video was from the previous week, I have to post something positive about him, right? What’s Next? Matt Wallner, Louie Varland, and the Wind Surge will be hosting Minnesotans Gus Varland, Michael Busch, and the Tulsa Drillers this week. Pitching Probables (RHP Louie Varland, RHP Matt Canterino, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Chris Vallimont, RHP Ben Gross, RHP Louie Varland) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels Week: 3-3 at Beloit Season: 15-6 overall, 1st place in the Midwest League West Division, 3.0 games ahead of Wisconsin and Peoria. The Kernels won the first three games last week in Beloit. In those games, the Kernels outscored the Sky Carp 8-1. Then they lost the final three games and were outscored 9-23. Yet, they were able to increase their lead in the division by two games. The starters from those first three games were very good. Lefty Brent Headrick threw five scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, but he struck out seven batters without walking. Sean Mooney also had a strong start. He struck out eight batters over five scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and walked two batters. Casey Legumina went five innings in his start. He had eight strikeouts over five scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and walked one. He was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Week by the Twins. Will he be the same for Twins Daily too? See below. Cody Laweryson also pitched well in his first start of the season, though he was limited to just three innings. Not only did he not allow a hit, but he didn’t give up a run either. He walked two and struck out three batters. Melvi Acosta, Andrew Cabezas, Osiris German, Bobby Milacki, and Derek Molina combined to work 12 innings without giving up an earned run. On the other side, a couple of pitchers who received consideration for pitcher of the month struggled in their final appearance of the month. Cade Povich gave up six runs on eight hits (two homers) and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. Aaron Rozek has been fantastic since joining the Twins last summer. For the first time this season, he came out of the bullpen. In 2 2/3 innings, he was charged with four runs on six hits (two walks) and a walk. The Kernels had just one hitter who had an OPS over. 800 for the week. Jair Camargo played in three games. He went 4-for-12, hitting .333/.385/.417 (.802) with a double and a walk. Next up was our Minor League Hitter of the Month, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who hit .300 (6-for-20). He had six singles and six walks during the week. On the other side, Willie Joe Garry went 1-for-16 (.063) with two walks over five games. Also, Aaron Sabato played all six games. He went 2-for-21 (.095), though the hits were a double and a home run. He also walked four times. What’s Next? The Kernels will be hosting Quad Cities at Perfect Game Field this week. Pitching Probables (RHP Cody Laweryson, LHP Brent Headrick, RHP Sean Mooney, LHP Aaron Rozek, LHP Cade Povich, RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Week: 1-2, hosting Clearwater Season: 11-7 overall, 2nd place in the Florida State League West, but just 1/2 game behind Bradenton. Rain was the winner in Ft. Myers. The teams played the first three games as scheduled. Then Friday’s game was postponed. They scheduled a doubleheader for Saturday, and that was postponed. Then they played on Sunday. In fact, they completed ten innings, but the score was still tied at 4-4 when the rains came again, so that game was suspended too. The sample size of any week can be enough to get a person talked about and excited. It should also never be a big deal that a guy has a rough week (meaning several) over the course of a year. Two Mighty Mussels played all three games this week, Kyler Fedko (2-for-10, 1 BB, 3 K) and Emmanuel Rodriguez (1-for-9, 2 BB, 5 K). Catcher Noah Cardenas went 3-for-7 (.429) with a triple. Mikey Perez went 2-for-6 with a double and a walk. John Stankiewicz had another great start. He went 5 2/3 innings. He gave up an unearned run on five hits. He walked one and struck out three batters. Plus, he was named the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month and earned his promotion to Cedar Rapids. What’s Next? The Mighty Mussels are headed north for the week to take on Lakeland. The pitching matchups are below. You’ll notice the TBD for Saturday. I doubt Sonny Gray would get a second rehab start, but it’s possible Jordan Balazovic could get this start after making his first rehab appearance on Sunday following Gray. Pitching Probables (RHP Marco Raya, RHP David Festa, RHP Travis Adams, RHP Pierson Ohl, TBD, LHP Steven Hajjar) PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week (April 26 - May 1). You may have noticed that the Prospect Tracker has been updated and will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. #1 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 5 G, 7-for-16 (.438), 2-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 6 BB, 3 K (Season: 21 G, .320/.441/.587 (1.028), 9-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 17 R, 11 RBI, 15 BB, 18 K) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 5 G, 3-for-17 (.176), 1-2B, 0-HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K (Season: 20 G, .244/.375/.321 (.696), 6-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 17 R, 6 RBI, 12 BB, 16 K, 12 SB, 4 CS) #3 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - 1 GS, 7 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 9 K (Season: 4 GS, 23 IP, 3 R, 10 H, 6 BB, 25 K, 3-1, 1.17 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9, 9.8 K/9) #4 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 5 G, 6-for-18 (.333), 2-2B, 1-HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1K (Season: 21 G, .256/.295/.442 (.737), 10-2B, 2-HR, 10 R, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 14 K) #4 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - Week/Season: 1 G, 0-for-4 (.000), 0-2B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K #5 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 rehab appearance in Ft. Myers. 1 G, 2.0 IP, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 K #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K (Season: 4 GS, 21.2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 7 H, 7 BB, 18 K, 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 7.5 K/9) #7 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 7 K (Season: 4 G, 1 GS, 16.1 IP, 4 R, 9 H, 4 BB, 12 K, 1-0, 2.20 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 2.2 BB/9, 6.6 K/9) #8 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 2 G, 3.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K (Season: 8 G, 12.0 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 2 BB, 19 K, 0-0, 1 Save, 3.00 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9, 14.3 K/9) #9 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 1 GS, 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K (Season: 5 GS, 12.2 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 9 BB, 18 K, 0-1, 2.13 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 6.4 BB/9, 12.8 K/9) #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 3 G, 1-for-9 (.111) , 0-2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K (Season: 17 G, .241/.440/.574 (1.014), 3-2B, 5-HR, 13 R, 8 RBI, 18 BB, 22 K) #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 2 G, 1-for-6 (.167), 0-2B, 0-HR 1 BB, 2 K (Season: 17 G, .219/.383/.234 (.617), 1-2B, 9 R, 1 RBI, 15 BB, 22 K) #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5.1 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K (Season: 4 G, 3 GS, 20.2 IP, 10 R, 7 ER, 14 H, 9 BB, 22 K, 2-1, 3.05 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, 9.6 K/9) #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 2 G, 1 GS, 2.2 IP, 10 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 0 K (Season: 4 G, 3 GS, 12.2 IP, 11 R, 14 H, 4 BB, 12 K, 0-3, 7.82 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 8.5 K/9) #13 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - Week/Season: 1 G, 2.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K #14 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 2.2 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 4 BB, 1 K (Season: 2 G, 1 GS, 5.2 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 5 BB, 5 K, 0-1, 6.35 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 7.9 BB/9, 7.9 K/9) #15 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - Was on IL last week (wisdom teeth), (Season: 2 GS, 10.1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 14 K, 1-0, 1.74 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 0.9 BB/9, 12.2 K/9) #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 5 G, 5-for-21 (.238), 2-2B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K (Season: 20 G, .300/.398/.488 (.885), 10-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 15 R, 13 RBI, 10 BB, 14 K) #17 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 K (Season: 3 GS, 14.0 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 14 H, 4 BB, 23 K, 1-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, 14.8 K/9) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 6 G, 6-for-20 (.300), 0-2B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 6 BB, 4 K (Season: 20 G, .395/.444/.654 (1.099), 4-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 14 R, 24 RBI, 8 BB, 22 K) #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 6 G, 3-for-23 (.130), 6 BB, 7 K (Season: 13 G, .222/.346/.378 (.723), 2-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 7 R, 5 RBI, 9 BB, 11 K) #20 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - IL (elbow): still on plan to be making starts in May. PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Hitter of the Week: Outfielder Matt Wallner, Wichita Wind Surge Top prospect Royce Lewis certainly deserves consideration this week. Fellow Wind Surge outfielder Cole Sturgeon had a huge week too. However, this week, the player of the week is Matt Wallner. Coming into the week, Wallner struggled to a .111/.222/.178 (.400) with five hits and one home run. However, even with an 0-for-4 on Sunday, he ended the week by hitting .368/.500/.895 (1.395) with a double and three home runs. Such a strong week boosted his overall numbers to .188/.308/.391 (.698) with one double and four home runs. Still not great, but definitely, a big step in the right direction and, hopefully, maybe likely, will spur him toward a big season. The Twins drafted Wallner as a pitcher in the 32nd round of the 2016 draft after his senior season at Forest Lake High School, where he was Mr. Baseball that year. Instead of signing, he went to Southern Mississippi and quickly became an All-American, power-hitting outfielder. In 2019, the Twins selected him with the 39th overall pick. In 66 games last year at Cedar Rapids, he hit .264/.350/.508 (.858) with 14 doubles and 15 home runs. He missed two months with a broken hamate bone. He went to the Arizona Fall League, and in 18 games, he hit .303/.405/.606 (1.011) with two doubles and six home runs. The key to success for Wallner will be found in his ability to make contact. Right now, he’s got 32 strikeouts in 78 plate appearances this year (41%). Last week, he had five walks and eight strikeouts in 24 plate appearances (33% K-Rate). Still not great, but a step in the right direction. Pitcher of the Week: Casey Legumina, Cedar Rapids Kernels There were several strong pitching performances this week in the minor leagues. You could make a strong case for Louie Varland or Simeon Woods Richardson in Wichita. If we consider “prospects,” Josh Winder and Joe Ryan certainly should be considered, but we aren't considering big-league pitching performances in the minor league report. We can even argue over Cedar Rapids starting pitchers drafted in 2019: Brent Headrick: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 0.60 WHIP, .175 BAA Sean Mooney: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 0.60 WHIP, .063 BAA Casey Legumina: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.40 WHIP, .067 BAA In this case, we will agree with the Twins and name Casey Legumina the Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Week. All of these pitchers deserve to be recognized. Casey Legumina was the Twins 8th round pick in 2019 out of Gonzaga University. It was the third time he had been drafted. He had Tommy John surgery during that 2019 season, so he didn’t pitch that year and spent the Covid season rehabbing and getting stronger. He made his professional debut in 2021. After going 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA in 14 games (8 starts), he finished the season with one start in Cedar Rapids and a playoff start. He has made three starts for the Kernels so far this year and is now 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA. In 13 1/3 innings, he has walked four and struck out 16 batters. On Monday, he was promoted to Double-A Wichita. View full article

Fort Myers did not play on Friday due to poor weather. Saint Paul played two-thirds of a game before they were suspended due to poor weather. The two other Twins affiliates played extra-inning games. A Top 5 pitcher made a start and continued to dominate. A couple of Top 5 hitters had productive days at the plate without recording hits. Read all about them and more in tonight’s Minor League Report. The weather was a factor for two of the Twins’ affiliates today. The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels game was postponed and the St. Paul Saints game was suspended after six innings. The Mighty Mussels hope to play a doubleheader on Saturday. The two games that were completed went to extra innings, but Twins affiliates in these games only combined for just eight hits. In addition, we saw one Twins' top prospects continue to climb the stolen bases leaderboard as he proves that he can make an impact at the major league level. Without further ado, let’s see what happened on this Friday in the Twins organization. SAINTS (AAA) St. Paul 3, Nashville 7 Box Score The Saints tied the game up at three in the bottom of the sixth before the rain hit and the game was suspended. Chi Chi Gonzalez made the start for the Saints and allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings while striking out six batters. He has now allowed five earned runs in 10 2/3 innings this season. The Saints looked like they were going to get off to a hot start in the first inning after Royce Lewis walked and Alex Kirilloff hit a single, but the next three batters were retired in order to strand the runners. Nashville hit a home run in each of the second and third innings, but the Saints finally broke through to the run column in the fourth inning when Jake Cave singled and Daniel Robertson drove him in with a double to reduce the deficit to two runs. With two outs in the fifth inning, Daniel Gossett replaced Gonzalez. Gossett faced four batters, struck out two, and induced two ground balls to Lewis to finish the sixth inning unscathed. In the bottom of the frame, Cave and Jermaine Palacios singled before Elliot Soto drove them both in with a double to tie the game up at three. After Nashville got out of the inning, the rain became too heavy and the game was halted going into the seventh inning in a 3-3 tie. When the game continued Saturday afternoon, Nashville scored a run in the top of the eighth to take the lead but a runner got thrown out at home on a relay from Mark Contreras to Robertson to David Banuelos to end the top of the eighth. After a scoreless bottom of the eighth, the Saints turned to Juan Minaya in the ninth, who walked the first three batters before allowing an RBI single and a two-run double before being pulled with runners on second and third with no outs. The Saints then turned to Ryan Mason out of the bullpen who struck out the first batter, walked Brewers #4 prospect Brice Turang, and struck out the last two batters to send the game to the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 7-3. Mason has now struck out nine batters in five and 2/3 innings in 2022. In the bottom half, Lewis and Jose Miranda singled but the Saints couldn't bring either of them across, falling 7-3 to the Nashville Sounds. Lewis went 1-1 with four walks in the game, raising his season on-base percentage to .433. Cave went 2-5 with two runs scored and Soto finished with two RBI. The Saints are now 12-9 on the season. WIND SURGE (AA) Wichita 3, Arkansas 1 Box Score In a lackluster offensive performance, the Wichita Wind Surge beat the Arkansas Travelers behind some excellent pitching. Matt Canterino made the start for Wichita, going three strong innings, striking out four, and not allowing any hits. He is now up to 12 2/3 innings this season and his ERA is down to 2.13. He has struck out 18 batters and allowed nine walks. He has been limited due to elbow issues in 2021, but his workload is slowly increasing in hopes that he could be an impact pitcher in the big leagues sometime soon. After Canterino was done, Steven Klimek threw two scoreless innings. The Wind Surge didn’t get their first base runner until the fifth inning when Matt Wallner singled. After Arkansas broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth, the Wind Surge tied it up when Cole Sturgeon came in to score on a double play after being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. The Wind Surge got some excellent relief pitching from Brandon Lawson and Evan Sisk to force extra innings while the offense remained stagnant. Sisk got out of a huge second-and-third jam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra frames. He has not allowed a run in 10 1/3 innings this year. In the top of the tenth, the Wind Surge began with Leobaldo Cabrera on second base and got off to a good start when Kevin Merrell reached on a sacrifice bunt and Andrew Bechtold walked to load the bases. DaShawn Keirsey and Austin Martin hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to give the Wind Surge a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the tenth, where Alex Scherff didn’t allow a run thanks to Wallner throwing out a runner at home to end the game. Sturgeon and Wallner collected the only two hits for the Wind Surge in the contest. Despite going hitless, Martin had a productive day at the plate by walking, reaching via hit by pitch, stealing a base, and driving in a run on a sac fly. Martin now has ten stolen bases, good for second in the league. The Wind Surge are now 11-8 this season as well as 3-1 in extra-inning games. KERNELS (HIGH-A) Cedar Rapids 2, Beloit 3 Box Score The Cedar Rapids Kernels dropped a heartbreaker to the Beloit Snappers in 10 innings, losing 3-2 on a walk-off single. The extra-inning runner-on-second rule hurt Cedar Rapids, as they were unable to score in the top of the tenth with their extra runner, and Beloit walked them off in the bottom half of the inning. Sean Mooney was masterful in his third start of the season, throwing five scoreless innings while striking out eight batters and only allowing two walks and one hit. For the season, he is up to 13 innings while allowing three earned runs, eight hits, and 17 strikeouts. The Kernels couldn’t get anything going offensively through the first five innings, only mustering up four singles against Beloit. In the sixth inning, the Kernels put up two runs when Christian Encarnacion-Strand singled, Aaron Sabato walked, Jair Camargo scored Encarnacion-Strand with a double, and Jeferson Morales scored Sabato with a sacrifice fly to give the Kernels a 2-0 lead. The game stayed 2-0 until the eighth inning, thanks to two scoreless innings from Bobby Milacki. In the bottom of the eighth, the Snappers used single and back-to-back doubles to tie the game up at two going into the ninth inning. After an uneventful ninth inning in which he struck out two batters, Derek Molina began the tenth inning and gave up a hit to Davis Bradshaw which proved to be the walk-off hit thanks to the extra-inning runner-on-second rule. Encarnacion-Strand and Will Holland each had two hits in the game to lead the offense for Cedar Rapids. MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A) Fort Myers, Clearwater (Postponed) Friday’s game was postponed due to inclement weather. The plan is for these teams to play two, seven-inning games on Saturday, starting at 4:30. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Sean Mooney (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 1-1, 4 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: #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-2, BB, SB (10), RBI, K (played CF) #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 1-1, 4 BB, SB (5) #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-4, K #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (42 pitches, 25 strikes) #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-3, BB, 2 K #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-4, BB SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS (Saints game will continue at 1:07 PM CST) Nashville @ St. Paul (2:07 CST) - RHP Jacob Faria (0-0, 4.76 ERA) Wichita @ Arkansas (7:05 CST) - RHP Ben Gross (0-0, 5.19 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-0, 2.08 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (DH @ 4:30 CST) - RHP Travis Adams (1-0, 1.20 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games! Thank you for reading, and Go Twins! View full article

Minnesota Twins prospect Matt Canterino delivered three no-hit innings for the third-consecutive outing. Can we award him a no-hitter even if the nine hitless innings stretch over three games? Let's just roll with it. Also featured in tonight's video are Dylan Bundy, Trevor Larnach, Alex Kirilloff, Sean Mooney and more. View full video

Minnesota's coaching staff has focused heavily on sliders under the tutelage of pitching coach Wes Johnson. Here are the best sliders among the team's top prospects. As pitchers move through a farm system, the organization hopes to use technology and data to help them improve their pitching repertoire. On the 20-80 scouting scale, nearly all of the sliders below have room to grow this season, which can be dangerous for opposing batters. 5. Ronny Henriquez, RHP Current Slider/Future Slider: 50/55 Don't let Henriquez's small stature deceive you. He is a legitimate starting pitching prospect. He joined the Twins organization from Texas as part of the Mitch Garver trade. Last season, he spent time at High- and Double-A, where he posted a 4.71 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP and 105 strikeouts in 93 2/3 innings. At both levels, he was more than two years younger than the average age of the competition. Henriquez is already on the 40-man roster, so there is a good chance he will make his debut in 2022. 4. Jordan Balazovic, RHP Current Slider/Future Slider: 50/55 Balazovic has come a long way since he was a lanky Canadian high school pitcher in the 2016 draft. His velocity has increased throughout his professional career, leading to an increased walk rate as he adjusts to his ever-changing repertoire. His slider is one of three pitches with a future grade of 55 or higher. He uses a delivery that makes it tough to pick up the ball, which makes his offspeed offerings even more dangerous. A back injury kept him from debuting until later in the 2021 season. Otherwise, he may have joined Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan at the big-league level. 3. Francis Peguero, RHP Current Slider/Future Slider: 55/55 Peguero was the prospect included in the Sonny Gray trade with the Reds. Last season, he pitched in relief at High-A, where he had a 4.96 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in 32 2/3 innings. His fastball velocity increased from the low-90s to the upper-90s last season. This increase in velocity projects to help his secondary pitches to play better as he moves closer to the big leagues. Even with the better fastball, his strikeout numbers dropped last season, so he will be a player to watch this season. He is 24-years-old, but he will fit into the team's upper-level bullpen pitcher over the next couple of years. 2. Sean Mooney, RHP Current Slider/Future Slider: 55/60 Mooney may be an unfamiliar name to some Twins fans, but his slider is still one of the system's best. Minnesota selected Mooney in the 12th round back in 2019 from St. John's. He injured his elbow during his collegiate career and had Tommy John surgery. Since returning to the mound, he utilizes a low-slot arm angle that helps him to have a great slider and an above-average changeup. Last season was his professional debut, and he posted a 3.64 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP in 13 appearances. Over 42 innings, he struck out 71 batters, so a healthy Mooney looks like he can be a pitching weapon. 1. Matt Canterino, RHP Current Slider/Future Slider: 55/60 There's a reason Canterino is considered one of the organization's top pitching prospects. His fastball ranks near the top of the farm system, and his top-ranked slider adds even more to his arsenal. He has a four-pitch mix that can make him a dominant starting pitcher, but there have been health concerns throughout his professional career. Minnesota is confident in him bouncing back this season and proving he can stay in a starting role. However, his fastball-slider combination is enough to make him a dominant reliever if the team needs to make future adjustments. Who do you think has the best slider in the Twins system? Should someone else make the list? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. OTHER POSTS IN THE SERIES — Top Fastball Prospects — Top Power Tool Prospects — Top Hit Tool Prospects — Top Speed Tool Prospects View full article

We continue our Twins prospect series today with my choices for the Twins pitching prospects 21 through 25. It is another interesting and unique group, so get to know these pitchers and then discuss them in the comments. We jump into the Top 25 pitching prospects today and find a couple of relievers with unique stories, a couple of intriguing 2019 draft prospects and a 2021 College World Series champion. Get to know these five prospects and then discuss them in the Comments below. #25 - RHP Jordan Gore 2021 STATS: 8-2, 2.39 ERA, 39/0 G/GS, 0.95 WHIP, 88/28 K/BB, 67.2 IP Drafted as a shortstop in 2017 from Coastal Carolina, Jordan Gore worked all the way up to Double-A in 2019 at that position. But then late in the year, the transition began. Gore was blessed with a strong arm, and because of it got an opportunity on the mound. Unfortunately, there was no 2020 season, so no one knew what to expect from him. He began at Cedar Rapids and pitched well. He earned a second-half promotion to Double-A Wichita where he continued to pitch great through the end of the season. While he threw 95 mph, he also had developed a solid change up and slider over the previous year and used all of his pitches. In addition, listen to his Twins Spotlight interview after the season, and he has a great mentality for working late innings. Gore will spend most of the 2022 season at the age of 27. #24 - RHP Cody Laweryson 2021 STATS: 2-5, 4.91 ERA, 15/14 G/GS 1.33 WHIP, 73/19 K/BB, 58.2 IP Cody Laweryson was the Twins 14th round pick in 2019 out of the University of Maine. That summer, he pitched at Elizabethton and was the Twins Daily short-season Minor League Pitcher of the Year. After the missed 2020 season, Laweryson was slowed in spring training by a minor injury. In early June, he joined the Kernels starting rotation. He had ups and downs but ended the season strong. He was able to get extra innings in the Arizona Fall League. He struck out 18 batters in 14 innings. He also represented the Twins in the Fall Stars game. He will turn 23 in May. #23 - RHP Yennier Cano 2021 STATS: 5-3, 3.23 ERA, 42/1 G/GS, 1.38 WHIP, 86/34 K/BB, 69.2 IP After defecting from Cuba, Yennier Cano became an international free agent, and in June 2019, the Twins were able to sign him. That year, he got some time in the GCL and then for the Miracle. He began the 2021 season in Double-A Wichita and went 3-1 with a 1.47 ERA over 18 1/3 innings. He had 28 strikeouts and just five walks. He moved up to St. Paul and posted a 3.86 ERA. In 51 1/3 innings, he struck out 58 batters, but he also walked 29. Cano has a rubber arm and wants to pitch all the time. He has a mid-to-upper ‘90s fastball as well as a good slider. He will turn 28 in March and should debut in 2022. #22 - RHP Sean Mooney 2021 STATS: 0-2, 2.79 ERA, 13/12 G/GS, 1.07 WHIP, 71/23 K/BB, 42.0 IP The New Jersey native headed to St. Johns where he went 19-5 with ERAs of 1.71 and 2.56 over his freshman and sophomore seasons. As a junior in 2019, he went 2-1 with a 2.17 ERA, but after nine starts, he hurt his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery. The Twins really liked him and took him with their 12th round pick in 2019. He rehabbed in 2019 and may not have pitched much in 2020 either. So 2021 was his professional debut. In 10 games (9 starts) with Ft. Myers, he went 0-1 with a 1.24 ERA. In 29 innings, he struck out 52 batters! He moved up to Cedar Rapids and made three starts. He had 19 strikeouts in 13 innings. Mooney has an advanced pitching makeup and four pitches. He profiles as a starter at least for now. 2022 could be a big year if he can stay healthy throughout the season and really get to develop. Mooney will be 23 throughout the 2022 season. #21 - LHP Christian MacLeod 2021 STATS: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1/0 G/GS, 1.80 WHIP, 2/5 K/BB, 1.2 IP 2021 was a big season for MacLeod. He became a weekend starter at Mississippi State. He went to the College World Series and helped the Bulldogs to their first national championship. The Twins drafted him in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. He signed, took some time away from pitching in games and ended the season with one outing in the FCL And after Instructional League, he was a guest on Twins Spotlight. OK, that last one may not be on the same level as the rest, but I know Twins Daily readers enjoyed it. Again, he will get a chance to start the 2022 season, probably in Ft. Myers, and have the opportunity to move up to Cedar Rapids by midseason. MacLeod will turn 22 in April. He’s got a good fastball, has typically shown good control and has secondary pitches that have potential. This is an interesting group. You’ve got a couple of older relief pitchers, though both have circumstances that make it understandable, and both showed well in 2021. There were two 2019 draft picks, both of whom have missed some time with injury, but both have had success to note when healthy. Finally, there is a 2021 draft pick who helped his team to the College World Series championship and is just beginning his career. Discuss... and keep coming back every day throughout the holiday season as we continue to discuss these prospects. Previous Rankings Hitters Part 1: 26-30 Hitters Part 2: 21-25 Pitchers Part 1: 26-30 View full article

A pitcher tossed five no-hit innings. A veteran made the first start of his minor league career and did great. A top prospect continued to power his team's offense. But with the regular season finishing this weekend, a couple of Twins affiliates played games with major playoff implications. TRANSACTIONS Wichita Wind Surge activated RHP Adam Lau from the temporarily inactive list. Cedar Rapids Kernels activated RHP Ryan Shreve from the 7-day injured list. Cedar Rapids Kernels placed RHP Steven Cruz on the 7-day injured list. RHPs Travis Adams and Johnathan Lavallee, both 2021 draft picks, were assigned to the FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINAL St. Paul 8, Indianapolis 0 Box Score Jose Miranda had another big game for the Saints, but when a team tosses a two-hit shutout, we'll lead with that. Veteran Derek Law could have become a free agent when the Twins DFAd him for a second time this season recently. Instead, he accepted his assignment to the Saints and has been extended. In his career, he had pitched in 231 minor league games, all out of the bullpen. On this night, he made the start and worked a career-high four innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out six batters. Chandler Shepherd came on, and despite walking three batters and giving up a hit, he did not allow a run. Vinny Nittoli tossed two scoreless before Robinson Leyer completed the shutout with a perfect ninth inning. Back to Miranda because, let's be honest, that's what we're all here for. Miranda went 3-for-5 with his 19th Saints double, and his 15th Saints home run (28th overall). He drove in four of the team's runs. Jimmy Kerrigan was also 3-for-5 on the night. BJ Boyd drove in two runs with a double. Mark Contreras his his 25th double of the season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Arkansas 2 Box Score Chris Vallimont has had his ups and downs this season, but on Thursday night, he was on the mound with the opportunity to put the Wind Surge in the playoffs. He put together a very solid start. He started with five scoreless innings before allowing a solo homer to Jack Larsen in the top of the sixth inning. Overall, he gave up just the one run in 5 2/3 innings. He gave up just two hits, walked four and struck out four batters. Down 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Ernie de la Trinidad gave the Wind Surge a 2-1 lead with a two-run single. Later in the inning, the Arkansas catcher tried to pick off Andrew Bechtold at third base, but he threw it away allowing Bechtold to score and put Wichita ahead by a score of 3-1. Erik Manoah got the final out of the sixth inning and then worked two more scoreless frames. He struck out four and walked none. Adam Lau came off the IL earlier in the day got the ninth inning. He got the first two outs, on a fly out and a strikeout. However, he walked the next batter. That brought up pinch hitter Joe Rizzo representing the game-tying run. Rizzo drove in a run to cut the lead to 3-2 with a bloop single to center. However, the next batter - another pinch hitter - popped out to center fielder Austin Martin to end the game and place the Wind Surge in the playoffs. Trey Cabbage and Jermaine Palacios each went 2-for-4 in the game. Palacios hit his 17th double. Stevie Berman not only caught a great game, but he went 2-for-3 at the plate with his sixth double. Congratulations to the Wichita Wind Surge on making the playoffs in their first season as a Twins affiliate! KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 1 Box Score Coming into this game, the Kernels were tied with Lake County for second place in the High-A Central League. They were one game ahead of Great Lakes. Just one of those teams will make the playoffs. The game was pretty quiet early. Through the sixth inning, the Kernels found themselves down by a score of 3-1. However, Edouard Julien came to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered a bases-clearing double to give Cedar Rapids a 4-3 lead. Aaron Sabato then drove in Julien with a sacrifice fly to give the Kernels a 5-3 lead. It was a lead that the Kernels bullpen was able to hold. It was an important win as both Lake County and Great Lakes won their games on Thursday as well. Each team has three games remaining on their schedules. Sean Mooney got the start for the Kernels. He worked the first five innings and did not give up a hit. He was charged with one run on two walks and a hit batter. He struck out seven hitters. Lefty Denny Bentley came in to start the sixth inning. He recorded just one out and was charged with two runs on four hits. Osiris German came on and gave up just one hit over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Zach Featherstone recorded the final out of the eighth inning before striking out the side in the ninth inning for the Save. All four outs he recorded came on strikeouts. Matt Wallner went 2-for-3 with a walk and drove in the team's first run with a single in the fourth inning. Jair Camargo was also 2-for-3 with a walk. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers, Tampa (Suspended in 1st inning) Box Score Rains have won the day most of the time in recent weeks down in Florida. On Thursday, night, right-hander Jackson Hicks made his Mussels debut, but after just seven pitches and a single to the one batter he faced, the game was suspended. It will be continued on Friday. Unfortunately, the second game of Thursday's doubleheader has simply been cancelled. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday night. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Rays 6, FCL Twins 4 Box Score Two extra-base hits from Endy Rodriguez wasn't enough to propel the FCL Twins to a win on Thursday afternoon in the Sunshine State. Rodriguez tallied two hits and two runs in the loss. The first of those hits came in the third inning when Rodriguez launched a triple to right field. He scored on the next at-bat thanks to a single from Noah Miller. After walking in the seventh, Rodriguez scored on a groundout fielder's choice from Kal'ai Rosario, who had a double on the day. Rodriguez also doubled with two outs in the ninth inning but did not score. Twins starter Travis Adams went 1 1/3 innings in his professional debut. He gave up three runs on two hits while walking two and striking out three batters. Jordan Carr came on and was charged with an unearned run in 1 2/3 innings. Johnathan Lavallee came on for his pro debut. He worked two innings. He gave up one run on two hits over two innings. He struck out three batters with no walks. Erasmo Moreno carried the bulk of the Twins bullpen, tossing four innings of one-run, two hit ball while striking out four hitters. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Derek Law (St. Paul) - 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 3-5, 2B, HR, R, 4 RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Royce Lewis (rehab) - Out for season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-3, BB #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) - Did not pitch #4 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - Did not pitch #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) - Injured List (elbow strain) #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 3-5, 2B, HR, R, 4 RBI #7 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - Did not pitch #8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (right elbow strain) #9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - Did not pitch #10 - Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) - Temporarily Inactive List #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - Injured List (right shoulder impingement) #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 2-3, BB, RBI, K #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 1-4, BB, K #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #15 - Noah Miller (Complex) - 1-4, R, RBI, BB, K #16 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota) - No Game (Paternity List) #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Out for season (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) - Rained Out #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) - Did not pitch #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 0-4 FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Indianapolis (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Jason Garcia (0-0, 14.40 ERA) Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Cole Sands (3-2, 2.63 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Casey Legumina (First Kernels Start, 4-2, 3.02 ERA in Ft. Myers) Tampa @ Fort Myers, Game 1 (6:00 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! View full article

Yesterday, Twins Daily announced our Minor League Hitter of the Month for August. Today, we turn our focus to pitching and name our Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month. Below are a few names, mentioned in descending order based on minor league affiliation, that just missed the top three. HONORABLE MENTIONS RHP Joe Ryan, St. Paul Saints: 9 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 17 K, 2.00 ERA RHP Jordan Balazovic, Wichita Wind Surge: 24 1/3 IP, 32 H, 16 R, 10 ER, 11 BB, 19 K, 3.70 ERA RHP Cole Sands, Wichita Wind Surge: 18 2/3 IP, 20 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 7 BB, 25 K, 3.38 ERA RHP Louie Varland, Cedar Rapids Kernels: 22 2/3 IP, 20 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 4 BB, 23 K, 3.18 ERA RHP Casey Legumina, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: 15 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 19 K, 1.80 ERA And without further ado, the bronze, silver, and gold medal finishers. 3. RHP Sean Mooney, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Stats: 13 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 8 BB, 26 K, 2.08 ERA The Mighty Mussels handle starting pitching differently than their other minor league affiliate counterparts. As the bulk of their pitchers have yet to complete an entire minor league season due to the pandemic, their focus is less on having pitchers go deep into games and more on tossing them out there in spurts to keep their workload low. Regardless, Mooney put up great numbers during his four starts in August. In fact, he's put up great numbers all season and has arguably been the Mighty Mussels' best, most consistent starter. Stints on the IL have been the only thing that have slowed him down this year. For that reason, he recently earned a promotion to High-A. 2. RHP Andrew Albers, St. Paul Saints Stats: 20 IP, 19 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 14 K, 1.80 ERA Albers' 2021 campaign is an excellent footnote in an otherwise gloomy Twins' season. The 35-year-old, who signed a minor-league deal last offseason, had not pitched in the majors since 2017 and likely did not think he would return anytime soon. However, after some brief struggles at the beginning of the season and a successful Olympic Trials run (he threw 7 innings of a no-hitter) with Team Canada, Albers earned a promotion to the Twins due to solid performance and multiple injuries. He's not going to strike many batters out and likely won't be with the team beyond this season, but it's hard not to feel happy for the wily vet. 1. RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long, Cedar Rapids Kernels Stats: 17 IP, 17 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 26 K, 2.12 ERA I'll repeat what I mentioned in my recent scouting report: Sawyer Gipson-Long is one of the Twins' best under-the-radar pitching prospects. Gipson-Long was dominant during August, racking up strikeouts and not allowing free passes. His strong performance at High-A continued on Wednesday evening when he tossed six innings of one-hit ball. (Although the one hit was a two-run homer, and he also walked three while striking out four. They can't all be Cy Young caliber.) Other than four lackluster starts to begin the season, due at least in part to poor defense behind him, Gipson-Long has been solid all year. Don't be surprised if his name starts popping up in top prospect lists. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article