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Sometimes there are minor leaguers that, for whatever reason, don’t get the hype and prospect status that they probably should. I think it’s fair to say 2021 draft pick Travis Adams fits that category. Read the article below and listen to his Twins Spotlight interview and try not to get excited about his potential. Image courtesy of William Parmeter Last month, Twins Daily posted our Top 30 Twins prospects. You won’t find Travis Adams ’ name in it. Of the 10 Twins Daily writers that provided their Top 30 Twins prospects, Adams appeared on just one person’s list, and that was at #28. He wasn’t in Baseball America’s Top 30 Twins prospects. His name does not appear among the Top 30 prospects on MLB Pipeline. MLB.com posted an article that mentioned 11 players to follow outside of the Top 30. No, Adams wasn’t mentioned. Adams was not a huge prospect growing up in southern California and attending Palm Desert High School. Several of his teammates from high school are playing pro ball, and more played college baseball too. In a tournament, his team played one game against Royce Lewis and his JSerra teammates. He didn’t have many scholarship offers coming out of high school, but he was thrilled when Sacramento State offered him because he loved that part of the state and had family there. Adams grew up a Giants fan and enjoyed watching Barry Bonds, Buster Posey, and some of those strong San Francisco teams. “They were my first and only offer. I wanted to give the opportunity to them. I was still early in my development. I was still small. I was only throwing 85. They believed in me at a young age.” However, he matured, got bigger and stronger, and went to a school with an opportunity to pitch right away. As a freshman, he pitched in 15 games which included nine starts. He made four starts in 2020 before Covid canceled the season. He went 2-1 with a 1.57 ERA. Following his sophomore season, Adams played in the Northwoods League for Wisconsin Rapids. “That was super fun, getting to travel and go out to Wisconsin and be with a host family. It was my first time playing summer ball and being with a host family, so it was totally different for me. I had an absolute blast. I enjoyed playing every day. It felt like minor-league baseball.” He continued, “The atmosphere and the fans we had there were great. It was a blast with all the guys I got to play with from all over the country and from different schools.” He made 14 starts in his junior season and went 6-3. In his three seasons at Sacramento State, Adams tossed 151 innings. He had 130 strikeouts with a remarkable 25 walks (1.5 BB/9). The scouts attended most of his games with their radar guns behind home plate. He also went to the combine and met with a lot of teams. He recalls going through a physical with the Twins there, but in general, the Twins didn’t show more, or maybe even as much, interest as other teams. “I really didn’t talk to the Twins very much. I was actually shocked on draft day when I got the phone call from them. There really wasn’t much contact between me and them prior to the draft.” He was at his parents' home in southern California, surrounded by family, some friends, and his girlfriend. When he got the call from the Twins and heard his name on the online draft, his phone started to blow up with calls and text messages. “It was just a great and blessed day,” he recalls. Adams quickly reported to Fort Myers, did some physicals, signed, and then began life as a professional. While he pitched in one game toward the end of the 2021 season, that draft year is used to let those college pitchers get some rest and learn about how the Twins work, the stats and technology they use, and develop relationships with players and coaches. He noted that he appreciated the value of the Trackman system over the Rapsodo system he had used in college. He specifically liked using the Force Plate Mound to see how his body moves and handles various stresses. Some of the things he has worked on throughout the offseason, mechanical improvements to increase velocity and consistency, are based on lessons learned from that technology. He began the 2022 season in Fort Myers. He made 15 starts and went 4-5 with a 3.50 ERA. In 69 1/3 innings, he walked 15 batters and struck out 69. He moved up to High-A Cedar Rapids to end the season and made seven starts. In 31 1/3 innings, he walked 11 and struck out 39 batters. To do the math for you, Adams had 108 strikeouts and 26 walks over 100 2/3 innings. He was one of seven pitchers to reach 100 minor-league innings in 2022. His 22 starts were tied with Simeon Woods Richardson, just one behind the 23 starts made by Louie Varland and Brent Headrick. Level-headed, the 23-year-old right-hander said, “I learned that you just have to take it start by start. If you have a bad start, you can’t get too low on it. If you have a great start, you just have to be even-keel throughout the entire season. If you get too high on the highs and too low on the lows, it’s going to be very hard on you and stressful.” With a solid first full minor-league season under his belt, he entered the offseason with some things to work on. There were a couple of mechanical things that he focused on to help him as he moves forward in his career. He throws a four-seam fastball, changeup, slider, and curveball. He says the fastball “will sometimes cut, sometimes run, just kind of do its own thing from time to time.” Minor-league camp officially opened on March 1st, but he has been in Fort Myers since mid-January getting himself ready for the 2023 season. And now that he has that great control and command, and a fastball that hit 97 mph late in the season in Cedar Rapids last year, don’t be surprised when you see him rise up the prospect rankings at Twins Daily and other places too. For more Twins Daily content on Travis Adams, click here. View full article

Travis Adams was the Twins 6th round pick in 2021 out of Sacramento State. A fantastic control pitcher, Adams is well respected within the organization. Along with control and command, Adams was hitting 97 mph with his fastball late in the 2022 season. Find out more about his baseball background, what improvements he has made since joining the organization, what he's worked on this offseason, his goals for 2023, and much more in this Twins Spotlight. View full video

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

St. Paul's failed near comeback was the only loss in the Twins farm system Friday night. SAINTS SENTINEL Omaha 11, St. Paul 9 Box Score The Saints’ late charge fell just short Friday night. St. Paul scored seven of their nine runs in the bottom of the eighth inning after surrendering nine in the seventh and eighth combined. Jermaine Palacios (2-for-5, RBI) and Mark Contreras (3-for-5, RBI) each hit two doubles, which account for all of St. Paul’s extra-base hits. Michael Helman (2-for-6) and Chris Williams (1-for-5) each drove in two runs. Simeon Woods Richardson performed admirably on the mound, striking out three and not surrendering an earned run in five innings. He now has a 3.29 ERA in 13 2/3 Triple-A innings. Devin Smeltzer and Brad Peacock surrendered nine runs in 2 2/3 innings of relief. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, Springfield 2 Box Score The Wind Surge brought home all six of their runs in the top half of the sixth inning to earn the win over the Cardinals. Edouard Julien (1-for-3) and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (1-for-3) each picked up two RBI. All five of Wichita’s hits were singles, and as a team, they drew 10 walks. Five Wind Surge pitchers combined to throw nine innings with Alex Phillips earning the win. Aaron Rozek started and struck out six in 3 2/3 innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Dayton 4 Box Score The Kernels clinched the win early as their bats drove in all six runs in the top of the first inning. The Dragons scored three in the bottom of the ninth when the game was already out of reach. Eighth hitter Charles Mack went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Wander Javier (1-for-4) also contributed two RBI. Travis Adams threw the first six innings and struck out six while giving up only one run. Bradley Hanner and Tyler Palm combined to throw the final three innings, striking out four and not allowing an earned run. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Bradenton 0 Box Score Keoni Cavaco’s three-run home run in the top of the second inning was all the Mighty Mussels need to pick up the win over the Marauders on Friday. Cavaco (2-for-4, 2B, HR) was the lone Fort Myers batter to contribute multiple hits. Kala’i Rosario (1-for-3) also doubled. Marco Raya tossed the first three innings and struck out five while ushering two walks and a hit. Regi Grace was awarded the win after throwing three hitless innings in relief, striking out five and walking none. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Cedar Rapids): 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers): 2-for-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, 2 BB #4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-3, RBI, BB #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3K #7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, BB #8 - Marco Raya (Fort Myers) - 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB, 5 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, BB #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 RBI #18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 0-for-3 #20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, 2B SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs. Omaha (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-6, 9.06 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (6:05 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (2-2, 4.75 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:05 PM CST) - LHP Jaylin Nowlin (1-1, 3.27 ERA) Fort Myers (6:30 PM CST) - TBD View full article

The Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox had a benches-clearing incident Friday after Jorge Lopez hit Andrew Vaughn with a pitch. Manager Rocco Baldelli was, once again, very animated. The Twins remain a game back in the division after losing 4-3. On the minor league side, tonight's recap includes highlights of Simeon Woods Richardson, Michael Helman, Travis Adams, Marco Raya, Keoni Cavaco and more. View full video

Hits were hard to come by on Tuesday for Minnesota Twins affiliates, much like their major-league team's efforts against the immortal Justin Verlander in Houston. This means it was 0-fer night for the organization. But a slugger in Triple-A went yard again, Randy Dobnak made a rehab appearance, and another pitcher set a career-high in strikeouts. TRANSACTIONS LHP Devin Smeltzer was optioned back to St. Paul, with Aaron Sanchez being added to the Twins roster in his place. To make room on the 40-man roster, Alex Kirilloff was placed on the 60-Day IL. Caleb Hamilton was also recalled as Byron Buxton was placed on the 10-day IL. After two appearances in the FCL, RHP Randy Dobnak was sent to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels to continue his rehab assignment. The Wichita Wind Surge sent RHP Tyler Beck on a rehab assignment to the FCL. RHP Sean Mooney was activated from the IL with Cedar Rapids. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 1, Iowa 7 Box Score The Saints were unable to muster much offense on Tuesday, falling 7-1 to the Cubs down in Des Moines, Iowa. Their lone run came in the sixth inning, courtesy of Chris Williams’ sixth home run in just 10 games with the Saints. It came on a fastball from Iowa reliever Danis Correa, who was hitting 100 MPH+ frequently (this one was 98), and was sent out to deep to dead center field. Saints hitters struck out thirteen times in the game, while drawing just three walks, so there weren’t many opportunities. As a team they were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, but that lone hit did not drive in any runs, and they left just five men on base. Braden Bishop added a double, while Matt Wallner, Mark Contreras, and David Banuelos picked up the other three hits. Dereck Rodriguez made the start and had to work for his five innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits, with the Cubs scoring a run in three of those innings. He also struck out seven compared to two walks. Jake Jewell threw two innings in relief, allowing three runs (two earned) on one hit and two walks, while striking out one. Austin Schulfer finished the game with a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Frisco 4 (10 innings) Box Score Making the start for the Wind Surge was lefty Brent Headrick, and he was able to limit damage over his four innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and a pair of walks, while striking out eight RoughRiders. He left the game with the score tied at two, as Wichita was able to scratch across a run in each of the third and fourth innings. In the third Austin Martin was hit by a pitch, then proceeded to steal his 30th base of the season to move into scoring position. A passed ball put him on third before Aaron Sabato was able to bring him in with a sac fly. Alex Isola led off the fourth with a double and moved to third on a Jair Camargo single, but again a sac fly was all they could manage, with Yunior Severino driving in the run this time. They took a 3-2 lead in the sixth on an RBI single from Isola, driving in Edouard Julien who had drawn a walk to lead off the inning. Relievers Andrew Cabezas (1 2/3 IP, BB), Bryan Sammons (1 IP, BB, 2 K), and Blayne Enlow (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, K) did their best to keep the Wind Surge in the lead, but Casey Legumina wasn’t as fortunate in the ninth. A single and walk put the winning run on base before he picked up a pair of strikeouts, but an RBI single would follow to tie the game and send it to extra innings. The Wind Surge went down one-two-three in the top of the tenth, and with Denny Bentley coming on the RoughRiders wasted no time, as the first batter clubbed a double down the line to walk it off. Isola was 2-for-4 with a double, run scored, and RBI to pace the offense. Severino chipped in a double, and although they didn’t get a hit, Martin and Julien did combine to draw five walks and steal four bases from the top of the lineup. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Lake County 7 Box Score Kernels starting pitcher Travis Adams set a career high in strikeouts in this one, picking up 11 in five innings, but still was saddled with a loss against the Captains. All three runs he allowed came in the second inning as the Captains strung together two singles and three doubles. He struck out multiple hitters in each frame, including all three outs in the first inning. Of his 81 pitches, 55 went for strikes (68%) and 19 of them were swinging. The Captains extended their lead to 6-0 in the sixth, as Tyler Palm (1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, K) was unable to keep runners off the bases. Matthew Swain came on to strike out two to end that threat, but allowed a run of his own in the seventh. All five of his outs came on K’s. Cedar Rapids was able to get on the scoreboard in the seventh when Lake County’s bullpen came into play. Pat Winkel clubbed a solo home run that was followed by a two-run shot from Dalton Shuffield two batters later. They closed the gap to 7-5 in the top of the ninth with an RBI groundout from Brooks Lee and sac fly from Jake Rucker, but Seth Gray would go down swinging to end the game. Jon Olsen finished the game for the Kernels by striking out two and walking one in a scoreless eighth. Shuffield reached base in all four of his plate appearances, leading the way with a 3-for-3 effort, drawing a walk, scoring two runs and driving in two with his first full-season homer. Lee was 1-for-4 with a double and drew a walk. MUSSEL MATTERS Lakeland 4, Fort Myers 2 Box Score Right-hander Randy Dobnak continued his trek through a rehab assignment, this time coming with the Mighty Mussels instead of in the FCL. He pitched the first two innings, allowing a double in the second, but nothing else. He threw just 20 pitches, needing 10 in each inning to record three outs. His offense gave him a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Misael Urbina and Noah Miller drew walks to start the frame, before Noah Cardenas drove in one with a single. They’d retake the lead 2-1 in the third when Cardenas hit a one-out double, and was driven in by a single from Keoni Cavaco two batters later. After Dobnak’s appearance, the game was turned over to Jordan Carr who went the next five innings. He took his first loss of the year, allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk. He struck out four. Niklas Rimmel threw two scoreless frames to finish the game, allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out one. The Mighty Mussels offense wasn’t able to muster much from the fourth inning onward. They collected just five hits as a team, led by a three-hit effort from Cardenas, who also drew a walk. As a team they did work eight free passes, but finished just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, leaving 12 men on base for the game. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 0, FCL Red Sox 4 Box Score The Twins did not record a hit until there were two outs in the eighth inning, so not much to recap from that perspective. Andres Centeno and Isaac Pena collected singles. As a team, they struck out 17 times, walked just once, and had only two at-bats in the game with runners in scoring position. Starting pitcher Brock Stewart threw two innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits while striking out two, and after that six other pitchers made appearances in the game. Michael Boyle struck out two in two scoreless innings. Tyler Beck pitched a scoreless fifth inning, striking out one, and then Rafael Feliz a scoreless sixth with two punch outs. Brayan Medina came on for the seventh but got just two outs, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks. Elpidio Perez got the final out of the seventh before Danny Moreno finished off the game with a scoreless eighth, striking out one. DOMINICAN DAILIES Game 1: DSL Twins 0, DSL Giants Black 1 (Completion of game suspended on July 21, 7 innings) Box Score The first game of the day for the DSL Twins was the completion of a game that was suspended a month ago. The Twins outhit the Giants 6-to-4 in this one, but the big hit came for the Giants in the fifth inning, when a triple scored the only run of the game. The Twins had threats in multiple innings but weren’t able to push a run across. Daniel Pena contributed a double to the effort, but that was the only extra-base hit for the good guys. As a team they were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. On the flip side, the pitching was excellent, with Roger Duran functioning as an opener, walking one and striking out one in the first. DSL standout Miguel Olivares then pitched the final five innings, allowing just one run on four hits, while striking out six. His ERA is 1.59 on the season, with a WHIP below 1.00, and 54 K’s on the year in 50 innings pitched. Game 2: DSL Twins 3, DSL Giants Black 6 (7 innings) Box Score In their regularly scheduled contest, the Twins were able to take a 3-0 lead into the fifth, but a big inning from the Giants would end up sinking them. In the second inning, the Twins loaded the bases for Luis Rodriguez, who delivered a two-run double for their first lead. In the fourth, it was a pair of singles that put a runner on third, before Jesus Peraza delivered a sac fly to make the score 3-0. Starter Oscar Paredes went the first three innings for the Twins, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out two. Eider Machuca pitched a scoreless fourth, before Leonardo Lugo (0 IP, H, 4 ER) and Jeferson Lopez (1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 K) lost control of it in the fifth. If you think the pitching line for Lugo looks odd, it’s because it is. He hit three batters and allowed a double before Lopez was brought on. Jose Ojo finished off the game for the Twins with a scoreless sixth inning. Junior Marino led the lineup with three hits in three at-bats, stealing a base and scoring a run as well. Junior Del Valle added a single, reached on an error, and scored two runs. Anderson Nova contributed a double. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Miguel Olivares, DSL Twins (5 IP, 4 H, ER, 6 K) Hitter of the Day - Dalton Shuffield, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB) PROSPECT SUMMARY #2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, RBI, BB, K #4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, K, 3 SB #7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, BB, 3 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 K #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-2, R, 3 BB, K, SB #17 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 K (left game after being hit by a liner) #18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, BB, K #20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, BB, 2 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowal (12:08 PM CDT) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-5, 9.26 ERA) Wichita @ Frisco (7:05 PM CDT) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (5:35 PM CDT) - RHP Orlando Rodriguez (3-1, 3.20 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (Game 1: 3:30 PM CDT) - TBD Fort Myers @ Lakeland (Game 2, makeup of June 25th PPD) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Aaron Sabato had his biggest swing of the year. Jordan Balazovic had an excellent outing. Austin Martin returned from the IL, and Simeon Woods Richardson is one step away from the big leagues. Plus, Minor League affiliates went 4-0! Read about this and more in Wednesday's Minor League Report! Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization. TRANSACTIONS The Twins claimed RHP Jake Jewell off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians and optioned him to AAA St. Paul. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson was promoted from AA Wichita to AAA St. Paul The Saints placed C Roy Morales on the 7-day IL with a lower back strain LHP Aaron Rozek was promoted from High-A Cedar Rapids to AA Wichita The Wichita Wind Surge activated SS Austin Martin from the 7-day IL The Wichita Wind Surge transferred OF Leobaldo Cabrera to the development list LHP Jaylen Nowlin was promoted from Low-A Fort Myers to High-A Cedar Rapids SAINTS (AAA) St. Paul 6, Scranton 0 Box Score Is Jordan Balazovic back? The former Twins’ top pitching prospect has had an abysmal year but turned in four scoreless innings tonight for St. Paul, striking out four batters. The Saints got three early runs in the top of the second. After Chris Williams hit his first AAA double, Andrew Bechtold hit a 2-run single to score Williams and Caleb Hamilton. Later in the inning, Jermaine Palacios came through with a single to tack on an extra run. The game remained scoreless for a few more innings thanks to Balazovic and Evan Sisk, who was first out of the bullpen. Sisk threw 1 ⅔ innings while not allowing a hit and striking out two. Matt Wallner picked up his first triple as a Saint in the bottom of the seventh. This was Wallner’s only hit of the night as he went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts. The Saints added three more in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a catchers’ interference and a John Andreoli two-run single. Juan Minaya, Michael Feliz, and Drew Strotman all had scoreless outings in relief as the Saints quickly completed the shutout of Scranton 6-0. Sisk picked up the win, his second for the Saints. Andreoli and Michael Helman had two hits. Helman also stole his 17th base of the year. The Saints improve to 55-56. WIND SURGE (AA) Wichita 9, Tulsa 5 Box Score Wichita won a thrilling extra-inning game thanks to some late-game heroics from Aaron Sabato. Sabato, who was 3-for-25 with no extra-base hits going into his last at-bat on Wednesday, came up clutch. With the bases loaded and one out, Sabato took a 2-0 slider and hit it over the center field wall for a walk-off grand slam. The home run was Sabato’s 19th of the year between Cedar Rapids and Wichita, and hopefully, this breaks him out of his slump in AA so far Wichita took an early 4-1 lead through four innings, thanks to four good innings from Wichita starter Cody Laweryson who allowed one run and struck out four. Laweryson has been dominant in AA through 34 innings. He is 4-0 with 39 strikeouts and a 1.05 ERA. Alex Isola started the scoring with an RBI single in the first, and Cole Sturgeon followed with an RBI walk. In the fourth, Austin Martin drove in a run with a groundout, and Will Holland later came in to score on a wild pitch to give Wichita a 4-1 lead. Osiris German allowed three runs in 1 ⅔ innings out of the bullpen to bring the game to a tie. Will Holland came up clutch with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to give Wichita the lead back. Everything went smoothly until the ninth, when Casey Legumina allowed a leadoff homer to Ismael Alcantara to tie the game back up. After a scoreless bottom of the ninth, Legumina returned for the tenth. Legumina allowed the extra-inning runner to get to third with one out but stranded him thanks to a fielder's choice and a strikeout. In the bottom of the tenth, Holland drew a walk to open the inning. When DaShawn Keirsey moved up to third on a wild pitch, Tulsa opted to intentionally walk Edouard Julien to load the bases. After Austin Martin lined out, Aaron Sabato ended the game. Isola had the only multi-hit game for Wichita, but plenty of players had multi-walk games. Julien had four walks, Anthony Prato had three, and Sturgeon, Yunior Severino, and Keirsey had two. KERNELS (HIGH-A) Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 1 Box Score The Kernels won a pitchers’ duel on Wednesday thanks to a strong outing from starting pitcher Travis Adams. Adams had allowed 11 earned runs through 10 ⅓ innings in Cedar Rapids until Wednesday, when he turned in his best outing in High-A this far. Adams went five innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out eight. The game was tied at zero until the fourth inning, when Adams allowed his only run of the day on a single. This score held until the bottom of the sixth when Pat Winkel singled to center field, scoring Jake Rucker. After a strikeout, Wisconsin’s pitcher balked with two outs to score Seth Gray from third base. After taking the lead, the Kernel pitching locked down the game. Bobby Milacki entered the game in relief of Adams and threw two scoreless innings, picking up the win. After Milacki, Hunter McMahon threw scoreless eighth and ninth innings to lock down the save, his second of the year. McMahon has allowed only two earned runs in 29 ⅔ innings at Cedar Rapids this year. Winkel led the game offensively, going 3-for-4. Cedar Rapids improves to 65-45 with the victory and continues to be a force in High-A. MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A) Fort Myers 6, Palm Beach 5 Box Score Fort Myers won in an extra-inning thriller on Wednesday thanks to a game-winning RBI single in the top of the 11th by 2022 second-round pick Tanner Schobel. The scoring was very back-and-forth all game long. Palm Beach jumped to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first off of starting pitcher Malik Barrington. Fort Myers answered right away as Ben Ross hit a 2-run homer in the top of the second for his first professional home run. That was followed by a Kala’i Rosario single and a Rubel Cespedes double, adding another run to the lead. In the bottom of the third, Palm Beach added three runs to chase Barrington, who went 2 ⅔ innings, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks while striking out two opposing hitters. The game was scoreless for a few innings until the top of the seventh when Misael Urbina tied it up with his fourth homer. Ross drew a bases-loaded walk later in the inning to give Fort Myers a 5-4 lead. It was looking suitable for Fort Myers, who needed two more outs in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory when RJ Yeager hit a solo homer to tie it up and send it to extras. In the bottom of the tenth, Jackson Hicks induced a double play with two runners on base to send it to an extra frame, where Schobel would give Fort Myers the lead before Hicks stranded a runner at third with one out in the bottom of the eleventh to secure the win. Fort Myers had phenomenal relief pitching, as Hicks, Regi Grace, and John Wilson combined to throw 8 ⅓ innings while only allowing one run. Cespedes and Noah Cardenas each picked up two hits to lead the offense in the victory. Fort Myers improved to 59-47 with the win. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 4, DSL Brewers 6 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Orlando Rubio (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) Multi-Hit Games: Yilber Herrera (3-for-3), Isaac Pena (2-for-2) 2B: Herrera (6), Jose Rodriguez (14) TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Yilber Herrera (DSL Twins) - 3-for-3, R, 2B, BB PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins' top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K #4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-5, R, RBI, BB, K, 2 SB (24) #7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5, R, 2 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, 3B (1), R, 3 K #11 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-2, 2 R, 4 BB, K, SB (14) #15 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 ⅓ IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, RBI, BB #20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5, R, K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton @ St. Paul (7:07 CST) - RHP Louie Varland (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (2-1, 5.28 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Mike Paredes (7-4, 2.88 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Thank you for reading, and Go Twins! View full article

The Minnesota Twins beat the Royals 4-0 Wednesday but Tyler Mahle had seriously diminished velocity and was removed from the game in the third inning. Jose Miranda stayed hot, slugging his 12th home run of the season. Prospects highlighted tonight include Jordan Balazovic, Austin Martin, Blayne Enlow, Travis Adams and more. View full video

Water is wet, grass is green, and both Mark Contreras and Keoni Cavaco know how to hit a baseball (very well). Dig in for all the info on today's games across the Twins' farm system! TRANSACTIONS No transactions within the Twins organization on Sunday. SAINTS SENTINAL Indianapolis 5, St. Paul 3 Box Score A stellar day at the plate from Mark Contreras wasn't enough to push the Saints to a win against Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon. Contreras crushed two homers in St. Paul's loss, marking his multi-homer game of the season and first game with a home run since July 2 against Omaha. Contreras' first moon shot came in the fourth inning with Jermaine Palacios on base, scoring the Saints' first two runs. Contreras would launch a solo shot to right-center field in the eighth inning to plate St. Paul's final run of the day. Both of Contreras' homers came on the first pitch of the at-bat. That aggressive approach at the plate is only going to benefit him as he continues to develop his offense in hopes of a return to the parent club in Minneapolis. Elliot Soto was the only other Saint with a multi-hit game, tallying a double (11) in the second inning and a single in the fourth. The pair of hits were Soto's first since July 10 at Louisville, where he recorded a pair of singles. Starting pitcher Cole Sands lasted 3 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six in Sunday's loss. Sands threw 45 of his 70 pitches for strikes and pitched scoreless innings in the first and third innings; ultimately, the talented prospect ran into trouble with a trio of hits in the second and a leadoff walk followed by a homer in the fourth. St. Paul's bullpen was excellent on the day. RHP Ariel Jurado followed Sands with 3 1/3 innings of hitless, scoreless, and walk-less ball while striking out three. Northfield, Minnesota native Jake Petricka pitched a flawless eighth inning for his hometown organization, striking out two while walking none. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 3, Wichita 0 Box Score Like a wind turbine on a still day, the Surge weren't able to propel any momentum, dropping a shut-out loss to Tulsa that resulted in the Drillers taking home the Propeller Series for the first time. Wichita tallied just five hits in the loss, going 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and leaving seven men on base. Two of those hits came from highly-touted prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who laced singles in the first and third innings. Encarnacion-Strand has recorded multi-hit games in four of his last eight games and is slashing an impressive .400/.438/.833 in the month of July. Starting pitcher Kody Funderburk (L, 7-3) didn't have his best outing....but it still wasn't all that bad. Through three innings, the Mesa, Arizona native allowed just one run on two hits and a walk while striking out five. And while accelerating prospect was tabbed with the loss, his performance was far from poor. The Surge used five relievers through five innings following Funderburk; Daniel Gossett allowed two runs on two hits while striking out five through the fourth and fifth innings. Following Gossett's two runs, the bullpen shut out the Drillers. Bryan Sammons, Andrew Cabezas, and Osiris German allowed just one hit through the final three innings while allowing no runs and just one walk while striking out a combined four batters. KERNELS NUGGETS Peoria 9, Cedar Rapids 7 Box Score There's a first time for everything...including sweeps. Despite a three-hit game from Yunior Severino, the Kernels dropped the series finale to Peoria on Sunday, resulting in their first time being on the wrong side of a sweep through 2022. Severino laced three singles and two RBI alongside a walk in Sunday's matinee, making it his second consecutive game with three hits. The 22-year-old is on a tear, hitting safely in five of his last six games and slashing .292/.433/.583 through July. Aaron Sabato also made some noise for the Kernels at the plate, crushing a three-run homer in the fifth inning to keep Cedar Rapids in the game. Sabato also homered on Saturday against Peoria and has recorded four extra-base hits through eight games in July. Starting pitcher David Festa (L, 6-1) suffered his first loss of the season, allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits and two walks through four innings. And while Festa did strike out three hitters, his moment of brilliance came in the third and fourth innings. Allowing three consecutive singles (two in the third, one in the fourth), Festa picked off all three baserunners. While the end result wasn't there, that's pretty incredible. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Dunedin 3 (7 innings) Box Score After a weather delay limiting Saturday's play to just 1/2 of an inning, the Mussels came to play on Sunday, taking down the D-Jays thanks to stellar hitting from Keoni Cavaco and a total team effort from the pitching staff. Crushing an opening inning two-run shot of game one last night, Cavaco brought his bat on Sunday. With Nelson Roberto on base in the fifth, Cavaco punched a single to left field to score Roberto and knot the game at three. Cavaco's RBI served as the ignition for a monster three-run inning in the sixth for Fort Myers. The Mussels were rock-solid on the bump through all seven innings in game one. After Steve Hajjar got the ball rolling in the first, Mike Paredes (W, 6-2) carried the weight through 5 1/3 innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits while striking out three. With a three-run lead in the final frame, Anthony Escobar shut down the D-Jays to nab the Mussels' 50th win of the year. Game Two Fort Myers 3, Dunedin 2 (7 innings) Box Score A flat 50 just wasn't enough for the Mighty Mussels on Sunday afternoon. After swiping their 50th win of the season in game one of Sunday's twin bill, Fort Myers earned win number 51 on the season thanks to a multi-hit game from Cavaco and a solid outing from Travis Adams. Cavaco got the first run of the day on the board with a first-inning single that scored Misael Urbina to put the Mussels up 1-0. The 21-year-old's daily dinger derby continued in the third inning when he crunched a solo shot over the left field wall to give Fort Myers a 2-0 lead. Cavaco now has eight home runs on the season and has hit safely in his last four games (three of which have been multi-hit games). Starting pitcher Travis Adams gave up a flurry of hits but locked down when it mattered, allowing just one run through 4 2/3 innings while striking out five. The Mighty Mussel bullpen was just as (if not more) effective. Niklas Rimmel (W, 3-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless ball followed by a scoreless seventh inning courtesy of Samuel Perez (H, 3) and Johnathan Lavallee (S, 2). TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day: Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) - 4-for-7, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 K Pitcher of the Day: Travis Adams (Fort Myers) 4.2 IP, 6 H, R, ER, 5 K PROSPECT SUMMARY See how our Twins Daily Minor League Top 20 Prospects did on Sunday afternoon. #6 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, K #8 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-5, 2B, H, R, BB, 2 K (two games) #12 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, K #16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Wichita) - 2-for-4, K #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - (L, 1-5), 3.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 6 K #18 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - (L, 6-1) 4.0 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K #19 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 0.2 IP, H, BB, K MONDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS FCL Twins @ FCL Rays (11:00am CST) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Rockies (11:00am CST) - TBD View full article

The incoming July month marks two important dates: the Fourth of July and the trade deadline. The first is an American celebration of freedom and liberty, where all across the political spectrum eschew their governmental criticisms and appreciate the uniquely American pastime of blowing your hand off in a firework accident. The second is a time when contending teams acquire relievers. My secretary is informing me that the trade deadline is actually August 2nd, but because I’ve already written the previous paragraph, and because I found it funny, I will ignore that. There has recently been a weird but unsurprising defeatist mentality amongst Twins fans. Some have asked not what the Twins can do to improve at the deadline, but instead which veterans they can deal to consolidate their losses and give it another try next season. I disagree entirely with this notion. The Twins are a good baseball team lacking an extra arm, or two, or three, but acquiring those necessary few players is easily doable. Here are some of the prospects they may give up to do so. Matt Wallner It will be hard to part with a Minnesota boy, but the team may have to do it. Wallner stands at the crossroads of an excellent 2022 season and a weird position fit for the team in the future. There’s no shortage of young left-handed power-hitting outfielders on the Twins, making fate the beholder for any potential playing time for Wallner; his spot is far from saved. Wallner is a legitimate prospect as well; Fangraphs gives him a 45 FV rating—a number that doesn’t blow anyone away but does represent a quality player with MLB potential. After all, Luis Arraez was just a 40+ FV prospect according to the same website. When drawing up trades, it’s easy to clump up the bottom of the barrel (Brent Rooker and Nick Gordon for Luis Castillo, anyone?) in a foolish attempt at swindling grown men out of their other, more talented grown men. That doesn’t happen in this era of MLB. Wallner alone will not net Frankie Montas, but he could be the 2nd best piece in a package deal for him or a starter like him. The only thing that could make teams shy away from Wallner is that he may be too MLB-ready. Remember, out-of-contention organizations like the Athletics hate spending money even more than they hate their own fans, and they don’t like holding on to a player who will be arbitration-eligible around the time they’re supposed to compete again. Cole Sands Like Wallner, whether a team wants Cole Sands depends on how much they’re willing to pay a player more than the vet minimum. Still, Sands is an awkward fit on the Twins. He has potential—that sweeping breaking ball is something vicious—but are they willing to throw him to the major league wolves and potentially take losses in exchange for learning experiences? A team out of contention can say yes, but the answer is far trickier for the Twins. Sands is similar to Wallner in that he will likely be the 2nd best piece if the trade is of the big-splash variety. College Arm in the Low Minors This is cheating, but I make the rules, so I get to break them at will. The Twins have a glut of recently-drafted college arms laying waste to hitters in the low minors (hey, someone should write about that), and the team may dangle one in front of a team looking for the most sought-after commodity in sports: a young starting pitcher. I think the team will avoid bringing up Cade Povich in talks, but Brent Headrick, David Festa, and Travis Adams could be the lotto tickets necessary to coax an elite reliever out of another organization. Players the Team Will Not Move Remember, this is theorizing, not prophecizing; I have no idea which prospects the Twins covet and secretly loathe. I have a hard time seeing the team move Austin Martin; he’s both significantly underperforming and a crucial cog in their return for José Berríos. If the team liked him enough to part ways with their best homegrown starter in a generation, then I don’t see them reversing course so soon. Spencer Steer is another player I don’t see the team parting ways with unless the return is massive. Gio Urshela is a stop-gap to nowhere, and Jose Miranda should avoid playing 3rd base as much as possible. Steer fits so perfectly in the team’s plan for next season that dealing him would make little sense. Final player: Marco Raya. This is even more speculation-y than before, but he feels anointed by the Twins to be the next Berríos. A team would have to make an overwhelmingly generous offer to convince the team to trade him away, and sellers usually aren’t the ones to make such concessions. View full article

Alerick Soularie hit for the first Kernels cycle since 2009, three starting pitchers dominated, and a pair of upper-level outfielders exploded at the plate. It was certainly an eventful night in the Twins system. Read all about that and more in this edition of the minor league report. TRANSACTIONS INF Anthony Prato promoted to AA Wichita OF Dylan Neuse promoted to A+ Cedar Rapids OF Nelson Roberto promoted to A Fort Myers C Jair Camargo placed on IL (AA Wichita) RHP Chi Chi González optioned to AAA St. Paul Saints Sentinel St. Paul 5, Iowa 8 Box Score Dereck Rodriguez: 2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, BB, K HR: Spencer Steer (3), Alex Kirilloff (4) Multi-hit games: Alex Kirilloff (2-for-3, HR, 3 R, RBI, BB), Tim Beckham (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) Iowa kicked St. Paul into a hole early on Saturday, and they never recovered. The Cubs jumped all over Dereck Rodriguez in the first inning, plating six runs before the mayhem came to a merciful end. Rodriguez stayed in for another inning, but his night was far shorter than he probably anticipated. St. Paul didn’t take it laying down, though. Spencer Steer popped his third AAA homer, because of course he did, while Tim Beckham drove in runs in the 3rd and 5th innings to slash the lead to two. Alex Kirilloff brought the game within a run with a solo homer in the 7th. Then the momentum ended for St. Paul. Iowa added three runs thanks in part to a homer from Technically Old Friend John Hicks. Jake Faria gritted out six clutch, effective innings, but the task was too tall in the end. Of note: Steer played SS in this game. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 8, Frisco 7 Box Score Louie Varland: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K HR: Chris Williams (4), Edouard Julien (2), Matt Wallner (11) Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-for-5, HR, R, RBI), Matt Wallner (4-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI) Wichita won an extra-inning affair on Saturday. Louie Varland made his bid for pitcher of the day, striking out nine batters over five innings with just two earned runs to his name. On any other day, that start would win him the title, but some other arms were just a bit better. The bats followed a homer-heavy itinerary. Chris Williams, Edouard Julien, and Matt Wallner all crushed bombs; Williams was the only one who did so with runners on base, though. The Wind Surge carried the lead into the 9th, but the usually reliable Evan Sisk was fallible and allowed the tying run to score. The teams exchanged blows in the 10th before Dennis Ortega sent fans home happy with a zombie runner-scoring single. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 7, Lansing Lugnuts 5 Box Score Brent Headrick: 5 ⅔ IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K HR: Alerick Soularie (5) Multi-hit games: Alerick Soularie (4-for-4, HR, 3B, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI), Pat Winkel (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R) The Kernels won again on Saturday. It was the “thousand paper-cuts” method of execution, but that counts all the same. Cedar Rapids was like David Bowie in his Berlin sessions—a consistent force pumping out more hits than you can believe. All but two batters reached base. Brent Headrick continued his excellent start to the season. He netted 17 outs—perhaps the most this author has observed from a Twins minor league starter this year—and never found himself in consistent trouble. The lefty struck out nine hitters. Alerick Soularie was the star of the game, going a perfect 4-for-4 and hitting the Kernels’ first cycle in 13 years. He also walked once. Things got tight in the final innings as Lansing plated a few runs, but the Kernels pulled through in the end. Old Friend Gabriel Maciel was the final out. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 8, Tampa 2 Box Score Travis Adams: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K HR: Keoni Cavaco (3) Multi-hit games: Keoni Cavaco (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI), Kala’i Rosario (3-for-4, R) Fort Myers smacked Tampa on Saturday. Travis Adams set the tone, making sure that his hitters didn’t have to worry about hitting their way out of a deficit. The young righty dominated, allowing just a single earned run over five innings of work with eight strikeouts and no walks. Yeah, that’ll play. The bats picked him up almost immediately. The Mighty Mussels took a slim 2-1 lead in the 3rd inning before Keoni Cavaco blew the doors down and smacked a three-run homer. Cavaco then added an RBI single in the 7th. It’s been a good last 10 days for the former first-round pick, as he came into the day slashing .286/.333/.524 over that stretch. Jaylen Nowlin and Hunter McMahon worked four combined stellar innings in relief, allowing 0 earned runs while punching out nine batters. Fort Myers pitchers struck out 17 Tampa batters overall on Saturday. The Mighty Mussels must have had intel on Tarpons catcher Antonio Gomez, as four different players nabbed a steal off him; Jake Rucker nabbed his 12th of the season, Emmanuel Rodriguez swiped his 11th. Uber prospect Jasson Dominguez went hitless, netting an RBI and striking out once. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adamsm, Ft. Myers Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Alerick Soularie, Cedar Rapids PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-4, R, K #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 1-for-3, 2B, R, RBI, 2 K #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 K #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-2, R, RBI, BB, SB #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-4, R, BB, K #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 4-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, HR, R, RBI, 3 K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, BB, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (1:08 PM) - RHP Cole Sands Frisco @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (12:05 PM) - LHP Aaron Rozek Tampa @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM) - RHP Pierson Ohl Tampa @ Fort Myers (Game Two) - TBD View full article

The Twins won their final game of a seven-game homestand against the Royals but saw top prospect Royce Lewis exit the game due to injury. Thankfully the Twins Minor League affiliates stayed clear of crucial injuries in their games Sunday and had a mixed bag of results. Click below to find out more. TRANSACTIONS The Twins called up Royce Lewis from St. Paul and demoted Jose Miranda as a corresponding move. Lewis will be placed on the Injured List on Monday, but the news was fairly positive. The MRI showed "only" a bone bruise. RHP Austin Schulfer was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. IF Edouard Julien was activated from the Wichita Injured List. C/OF Jeferson Morales was activated from the Kernels Injured List. More moves coming on Monday throughout the organization. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Indianapolis 7 Box score SP: Jake Faria - 3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K HR: Jake Cave (4) Multi-hit games: Mark Contreras (2-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI (20)), Cave (2-5, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI (27)) The Saints went down to the wire to finish out their second home series against Indianapolis early Sunday evening as the teams battled into the bottom of the ninth to close out the series. The game started with a bang from Indianapolis shortstop Oneil Cruz as he hit a leadoff home run against Jake Faria. Faria’s evening continued to see many base runners. Through his 3 2/3 innings pitched, Faria allowed ten base runners on five hits and five walks allowing Indianapolis to score four runs against him. After Faria surrendered three runs to Indianapolis through two innings, the Saints' offense was able to pick up their bats and bring the team back into the game. The first two runs for the Saints in the bottom of the second came with the price of outs as Caleb Hamilton hit a fielder's choice that scored Jake Cave and Elliot Soto grounded out to score Roy Morales. The bottom of the third brought the Saints' first lead of the game thanks to a Jake Cave three-run home run to make the score 5-3. Then after Indianapolis brought themselves back within a run in the top of the fourth, the Saints added two more insurance runs of their own from an Alex Kirilloff RBI single scoring Caleb Hamilton and a Mark Contreras bases-loaded ground out scoring David Banuelos. Indianapolis would only get one run back in the top of the fifth as the game remained at a 7-5 score going into the top of the ninth. Jharel Cotton was on the mound for the Saints to get the save in the top of the ninth, but a leadoff home run from Indianapolis first baseman Mason Martin and RBI double from third baseman Cole Tucker prevented Cotton from earning the save and forced the game into the bottom of the ninth. Thankfully for the Saints faithful, the game was over quickly as the home-run hero of the day Cave walked it off for the Saints. Cave hit an RBI single that scored Contreras to win the game for the Saints. The walk-off win was the Saints second in a row, and they won their first series since mid-April when they last played Indianapolis and took three-out-of-five games. The Saints will embark on another road trip to Iowa to take on the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:38 p.m. CT. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Springfield 1 Box Score SP: Louie Varland - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K HR: Chris Williams (3), Andrew Bechtold (6), Michael Helman (6), DaShawn Keirsey (1) Multi-hit games: Helman (2-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI (20), SB (10), BB), Williams (2-4, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI (13), BB) The Wind Surge recovered Sunday night from a high-scoring affair Saturday when they lost 14-13. Wichita got the scoring going right away. They scored four runs in the top of the first inning against the Hooks thanks to an RBI double from Dennis Ortega and a three-run home run from catcher Chris Williams. Williams extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Wind Surge starter Louie Varland was thankful for the early run support as he made his eighth start of the season. Varland threw two scoreless innings to start his evening but gave up a run in the third on an RBI double to Hooks second baseman Emmanuel Valdez. Valdez was the only batter to get the better of Varland in the game as his second run surrendered was on a home run from Valdez. Aside from the troubles with Valdez, Varland threw five strong innings striking out four batters. However, he allowed nine base runners on four hits and five walks. Evan Sisk worked two scoreless innings to earn the win. Going into the bottom of the seventh the Wind Surge held the lead to 5-2. It would soon be taken over by the Hooks when their center fielder Justin Dirden drilled a grand slam off of Bryan Sammons to give the Hooks a 6-5 lead. The Hooks lead was short-lived as Michael Helman hit a home run in the top of the eighth to tie the game for the Surge. The Wind Surge would secure the win in the ninth inning as center fielder DaShawn Keirsey hit his first home run of the season to give the Wind Surge a 7-6 lead. The Wind Surge begin their next series at home on Tuesday against the Frisco RoughRiders, first pitch is scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Timber Rattlers 6 Box Score SP: Sean Mooney 2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K HR: Anthony Prato (6) Multi hit games: Prato (3-4, 3 R, 3B, HR, RBI (29), BB) The Kernels completed the series against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Sunday afternoon. The series was in the Kernels' favor at 3-2 through five games, but the Timber Rattlers got the better of the Kernels early. They scored all six of their runs in the first four innings. Sean Mooney was given the starting nod for his seventh start of the season. It was his shortest outing of the season. The right-hander made it into the third inning, but having allowed eight base runners, Brian Dinkelman pulled his starter. The bright spot for Mooney was that four of the seven outs he recorded came on strikeouts. Ryan Shreve, Miguel Rodriguez, Cody Laweryson, and Andrew Cabezas combined for five scoreless innings in relief on just one hit and one walk. Offensively, the Kernels had opportunities to score. In the bottom of the second inning, the Kernels scored their first run by luck as the Rattlers starter Ryne Moore overthrew the ball on a pickoff attempt which allowed for Pat Winkel to score. Cedar Rapids scored again in the bottom of the third inning thanks to a double-steal. Seth Gray stole second base. The throw allowed for Anthony Prado to steal home and cut the deficit to 3-2. After that, Wisconsin rallied for three more runs, and even though the Kernels scored two more runs in the game, it was not enough. The Kernels begin their next series on the road in Michigan against the Lansing Lugnuts on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 10:05 a.m. CT. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Bradenton 4 Box Score SP: Travis Adams 4 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Noah Cardenas (2-3, RBI (14), BB) The Mighty Mussels lost a low-scoring affair on Sunday morning. Travis Adams was on the mound for his seventh start of the season. He allowed two runs on a hit and three walks across four innings. The four-inning outing was Adams' shortest of the season but he still kept Marauder bats guessing as he recorded six strikeouts in the game. The Mussels scored the first run of the game when catcher Noah Cardenas hit a single to score Noah Miller and give the Mussels a 1-0 lead. That was the only run they scored until the top of the eighth inning when they found themselves down 4-1. Ft. Myers scored their second and final run came courtesy of their designated hitter and former first overall draft pick of the 2008 MLB amateur draft, Tim Beckham. The rehabbing veteran ripped an opposite-field line drive off of the wall in right field that scored Dylan Neuse. Beckham was held to a single. Unfortunately, he immediately exited the game, limping off the field. He has missed the first two months of the season with a quad injury. Hopefully, this is just a little setback on his road to recovery. Mikey Perez came on to pinch run for Beckham. The Mussels will be returning to Hammond Stadium on Tuesday to start a six-game series against the Yankees' Low-A affiliate the Tampa Tarpons. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Fort Myers) 4 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Chris Williams (Wichita) - 2-4, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI (13), 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 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-1 (played CF, left game in 3rd inning after remarkable catch caused him to bang into the wall.) #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R, SB (13)0-7, 4 K #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K #16 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-5 #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-1 (PH) #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-1 (PH) TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, May 31. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). St. Paul @ Iowa (6:38 PM CST) - TBD Frisco @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (10:05 AM CST) - TBD Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Mike Paredes Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games or the first two months of the season. View full article