Search the Community

Today, we would like to announce our choices for 2021 Minnesota Twins All-Stars. Our Twins Daily minor league report writers were asked to vote for a catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, three outfielders, a DH, four starting pitchers, a left-handed reliever and a right-handed reliever. The player at each position who received the most votes takes the spots. Read through our choices for each position. Check out how each of our writers voted. And then discuss and cast your votes as well. Let’s get started. The Twins Daily 2021 Minnesota Twins Minor League All Star Team Catcher: Jeferson Morales - Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels, Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: international free agent signing in October 2016 from Venezuela. 2021 Stats: .255/.370/.438 (.808) with 24 doubles, 12 home runs and 53 RBI. Just 5-8, Jeferson Morales is a really good athlete, especially for a catcher. He also played a lot in the outfield. He began the season with 71 games in Ft. Myers where he displayed a strong approach at the plate, but he also showed some power with 19 doubles and seven homers in the hot and humid conditions in Florida. He ended the season with 25 games in Cedar Rapids where he hit .301 with five doubles and five homers. Combined, he had 12 stolen bases too. ETA - May 2023 First Base: Alex Isola, Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: 29th round pick in 2019 from TCU 2021 Stats: .243/.342/.425 (.767) with 15 doubles, 17 home runs and 52 RBI. Alex Isola began the season with an invitation to Twins big-league spring training. A strong defensive catcher, Isola had a really good season. Early in the year, he produced by drawing a lot of walks and getting on base, but as the season continued, he started really driving the ball well. Because of that, and some injuries, he played a lot of first base when he wasn’t catching. He was also just recently named the Cedar Rapids recipient of the Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service. ETA - July 2023 Second Base: Spencer Steer - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge Acquired: Twins 3rd round pick in 2019 out of U of Oregon 2021 Stats:.254/.348/.484 (.832) with 18 doubles, 3 triples, 24 home runs and 66 RBI The Twins have clearly made versatility a priority throughout the organization, and Spencer Steer certainly is an example of that. He played a lot at second base, third base and shortstop and does a nice job at each spot. He was a late addition to the Twins spring training development camp and played in several games. He even hit a homer in a spring game against Atlanta. It was a sign of things to come. With Cedar Rapids, he hit 10 homers in 45 games and then added 14 more in 65 games for Wichita. ETA: May 2023 Third Base: Jose Miranda - Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: Twins Competitive Balance Pick in 2016 from HS in Puerto Rico 2021 Stats: .344/.401/.572 (.973) with 32 doubles, 30 home runs and 94 RBI. Always full of potential, Jose Miranda put together one of the most impressive seasons in recent minor league history. He hit for average. He had 62 extra base hits including 30 home runs. He drove in runs. The 23-year-old always had great bat-to-ball skills, but by working to avoid swinging at pitches outside the zone, he was able to make himself into one of the team’s top prospects and a big-league debut should be coming soon. Miranda’s rankings among all minor league (full season) players: Batting Average: 1st (.343) Slugging Percentage: 15th (.563) OPS: 8th (.960) Hits: 1st (184… 19 more than #2 on the list!) HR: Tied 11th (30) Total Bases: 1st (306… 20 more than #2 on the list!) Runs: 5th (97) RBI: 5th (94) ETA: May 2022 Shortstop: Drew Maggi - St. Paul Saints Acquired: signed as minor league free agent. 2021 Stats: .252/.354/.456 (.810) with 13 doubles, 2 triples, 16 homers and 50 RBI Drew Maggi returned to the Twins for a third straight season. The 32-year-old put together one of his best seasons as a pro, including his career-high 16 homers. Over the years, he has played all over the infield (and some outfield). This year, he played in 50 games at shortstop. He earned a September call-up to the big leagues, his first after 11 seasons in the big leagues. He spent two days on the Twins active roster, and inexplicably did not get into either of them before being optioned back to St. Paul. ETA: September 2021 Outfielder: Trey Cabbage - Cedar Rapids, Wichita Wind Surge Acquired: Twins 4th-round draft pick in 2015 out of HS in Tennessee. 2021 Stats: .264/.346/.535 (.881) with 20 doubles, 27 home runs, 82 RBI. Trey Cabbage has long been filled with power potential, and in 2021, it was on full display. He combined to hit 27 home runs (9 in Cedar Rapids and 18 in Wichita), which ranked in the Top 25 in minor league ball. Cabbage becomes a free agent when the World Series ends and should have several options available to him as the Tennessee native is still just 24-years-old. I’m certain the Twins would like to bring him back and see him take yet another step forward. ETA: August 2022 Outfielder: BJ Boyd - Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: signed as minor league free agent in May 2021 2021 Stats: ..291/.349/.484 (.830) with 16 doubles, 16 home runs and 73 RBI. A former draft pick of the A’s, Boyd reached Triple-A in 2018. However, he decided to turn to football. He spent a year playing running back at a junior college and had scholarship offers from some Power 5 programs, but then came the pandemic. He began 2021 working with an independent team, but the Twins signed him in May, and he quickly joined Wichita’s roster. After hitting .319 with 13 doubles and 15 home runs in 66 games. He moved up and spent 26 more games with St. Paul. The 28-year-old is also now a free agent. ETA: August 2022 Outfielder - Mark Contreras - Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: Twins 9th-round draft pick in 2017 out of UC-Riverside 2021 Stats: .251/.338/.485 (.824), with 30 doubles, 3 triples, 20 home runs and 74 RBI. Mark Contreras struggled with the bat in 2019. He hit just .186, but in his time in Double-A Pensacola, he started showing some power. After a missed 2020 season, Contreras came back strong in 2021. He started the season in Double-A with 19 games before finishing with 95 games in St. Paul where he hit 26 doubles and 18 home runs. He won a minor league Gold Glove Award in 2019, and continued to play strong defense in 2021. At 26, could he get a big-league shot in 2022? ETA: June 2022 Designated Hitter: Edouard Julien - Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels, Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: Twins 18th-round draft pick in 2019 out of Auburn 2021 Stats: 266/.434/.480 (.914) with 28 doubles, 1 triple, 18 home runs and 72 RBI Though he was drafted in 2019 after playing in the College World Series, Edouard Julien made his professional debut in 2021 because he had Tommy John surgery that summer. Even after a missed season in 2020, the 22-year-old from Canada immediately produced in Ft. Myers. In 47 games, he hit .299 with an incredible .490 on-base percentage. He moved up to Cedar Rapids for another 65 games where he continued to get on base but added 15 home runs. He combined to steal 34 bases in 39 attempts. His 110 walks led all of minor league baseball, finishing 18 walks ahead of #2 on the list, Aaron Sabato. ETA: August 2023 Starting Pitcher: Louie Varland - Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels, Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: Twins 15th-round draft pick in 2019 out of Concordia-St. Paul 2021 Stats: 10-4, 2.10 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 103.0 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 12.4 K/9 After being drafted, Louie Varland pitched in just three games at Elizabethton.So coming into 2021, there was no way to know what Varland would do. It didn’t take long for Varland to show out. In 10 games for Ft. Myers, he went 4-2 with a 2.09 ERA and had 76 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings. He moved up to Cedar Rapids and was 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA. In 55 2/3 innings, he struck out 66 batters. He showed a big fastball and a strong slider throughout the year. He was the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. ETA: June 2023 Starting Pitcher: Cole Sands - Wichita Wind Surge Acquired: Twins 5th-round draft pick in 2018 out of Florida State 2021 Stats: 4-2, 2.46 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 80.1 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 10.8 K/9 Cole Sands pitched at three levels in 2019, ending the season with one start in Pensacola. After a lost 2020, he began 2021 with the Wind Surge. While he missed time twice with injury-list time, when he pitched, he pitched really well. He struck out 96 batters in his 80 1/3 innings. He’s got a good fastball that reaches into the mid-90s, but he has a very good curveball. ETA: August 2022 Starting Pitcher: Josh Winder - Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: Twins 7th round draft pick in 2018 out of Virginia Military Institute 2021 Stats: 4-0, 2.63 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 72.0 IP, 1.6 BB/9, 10.0 K/9 After going 7-2 with a 2.63 ERA in 21 starts in Cedar Rapids in 2019, Josh Winder did not pitch in 2020. Then he went to Instructional League and was throwing 97 mph, and his name was on the radar. He was invited to big-league spring training and then skipped High-A ball, jumping straight to Double-A Wichita. He dominated the level. In 10 starts, he went 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA. He had 65 strikeouts and just 10 walks over 54 2/3 innings. On July 1, he was promoted to St. Paul with Jose Miranda. His first Triple-A start started with a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He then pitched at the Futures Game. When he came back, he wasn’t the same and his season ended early with a shoulder issue. Winder is definitely on the radar for the 2022 Twins. ETA: June 2022 Starting Pitcher: Jordan Balazovic - Wichita Wind Surge Acquired: Twins 5th-round draft pick in 2016 out of high school in Ontario. 2021 Stats: 5-4, 3.62 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 97.0 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 9.5 K/9 After a fantastic 2019 between Low-A and High-A, Jordan Balazovic solidified him as a top pitching prospect in the organization. He spent the final month of the 2020 season working at the Twins alternate site in St. Paul. He was added to the 40-man roster soon after. He went to big-league spring training but his season was delayed a few weeks by an oblique strain. He had a streaky season. It took him a couple of starts to get adjusted, but soon after, he had a stretch of four starts in which he did not allow a run. That was followed with some struggles, but he ended strong. ETA: July 2022 Right-Handed Relief Pitcher: Jordan Gore - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge Acquired: Twins 19th-round draft pick in 2017 out of Coastal Carolina 2021 Stats: 8-2, 7 saves, 2.39 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, 11.7 K/9 For the first three years of his pro career, Jordan Gore played primarily shortstop. In 2019, he spent the first half of the season as the Pensacola shortstop. Late that season, after Royce Lewis arrived, Gore was a utility infielder until the decision was made for him to become a pitcher. Blessed with a big arm, he was able to work throughout 2020 on how to be a pitcher and on developing secondary pitches. He began 2021 at Cedar Rapids where he went 5-1 with a save and a 2.95 ERA. He had 58 strikeouts and 17 walks in 39 2/3 innings. He moved up to Wichita and was even better. He went 3-1 with six saves and a 1.61 ERA. He consistently showed a mid-90s fastball, but he also had developed a solid slider and a changeup. He is now a sleeper pick for a spot on the Twins 40-man roster this offseason. ETA: August 2022 Left-Handed Relief Pitcher: Jovani Moran - Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: Twins 7th-round pick in 2015 out of high school in Puerto Rico 2021 MiLB Stats: 4-2, 3 saves, 2.54 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 4.3 BB/9, 14.6 K/9 We know where his season ended, with a spot on the Minnesota Twins roster. But Jovani Moran had a terrific season in the minor leagues to earn that spot. He began the season in Wichita where he dominated. In 37 2/3 innings, he posted a 1.91 ERA and had 64 strikeouts to go with just 14 walks. He was promoted to St. Paul where he still pitched well, despite some control issues. In 29 2/3 innings, he had a 3.03 ERA and 45 strikeouts. However, he also had 18 walks. However, since he signed in 2015, he would have become a minor league free agent at the end of the World Series if not added to the 40-man roster. He has a future with the Twins, so getting him some innings in the big leagues will be beneficial. He was the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. ETA: September 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------ PREVIOUS Twins Daily Minor League All Stars Looking Back: 2016 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars C : Mitch Garver, 1B: Zander Wiel, 2B: Luis Arraez, 3B: Nelson Molina, SS: Nick Gordon, OF: LaMonte Wade, Zack Granite, Daniel Palka, DH: Adam Brett Walker, RH SP: Fernando Romero, LH SP: Stephen Gonsalves, RH RP: Trevor Hildenberger, LH RP: Michael Theofanopoulos. Looking Back: 2017 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars C :Mitch Garver, 1B: Jonathan Rodriguez, 2B: Travis Blankenhorn, 3B: TJ White, SS: Jermaine Palacios, OF:LaMonte Wade, Zack Granite, Akil Baddoo, DH: Brent Rooker, RH SP: Clark Beeker, LH SP: Stephen Gonsalves, RH RP: John Curtiss, LH RP: Andrew Vasquez. Looking Back: 2018 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars C :Taylor Grzelakowski, 1B: Zander Wiel, 2B: Luis Arraez, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS: Royce Lewis, OF: Alex Kirilloff, Jaylin Davis, Akil Baddoo, DH: Brent Rooker, RH SP: Tyler Wells, LH SP: Stephen Gonsalves, RH RP: Cody Stashak, LH RP: Andrew Vasquez. Looking Back: 2019 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars C :Ryan Jeffers, 1B: Zander Wiel, 2B: Travis Blankenhorn, 3B: Spencer Steer, SS: Nick Gordon, OF: Trevor Larnach, Jaylin Davis, Brent Rooker, DH: Gabe Snyder, RH SP: Randy Dobnak, LH SP: Devin Smeltzer, RH RP: Moises Gomez, LH RP: Zach Neff ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Votes So there you have it. The fifth annual Twins Daily Minor League All Star team, though obviously we skipped a year with no 2020 season. What would your ballot look like? Below are the votes/selections of our 2021 Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth: C :Alex Isola, 1B: Tomas Telis, 2B: Spencer Steer, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS: Jermaine Palacios, OF: Trey Cabbage, Mark Contreras, BJ Boyd, DH: Edouard Julien. SP: Louie Varland, Cole Sands, Josh Winder, Jordan Balazovic, RH RP Jordan Gore, LH RP: Jovani Moran. Nash: C :Tomas Telis, 1B: Alex Isola, 2B: Spencer Steer, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS: Drew Maggi, OF: BJ Boyd, Jimmy Kerrigan, Matt Wallner, DH Brent Rooker. SP: Louie Varland, Cole Sands, Josh Winder, Jordan Balazovic. RH RP: Ian Hamilton, LH RP: Zach Featherstone. Lucas: C :Jeferson Morales, 1B: Alex Isola, 2B: Edouard Julien, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS, Drew Maggi, OF: Gilberto Celestino, Mark Contreras, BJ Boyd, DH: Trey Cabbage, SP: Louie Varland, Cole Sands, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Jordan Balazovic, RH RP: Jordan Gore, LHP: Jovani Moran. Cody: C :Jeferson Morales, 1B: Alex Isola, 2B: Spencer Steer, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS: Jermaine Palacios, OF: Trey Cabbage, Brent Rooker, Gilberto Celestino, DH: BJ Boyd. SP: Louie Varland, Cole Sands, Josh Winder, Jordan Balazovic. RH RP: Jordan Gore, LH RP: Jovani Moran. Tom: C :Alex Isola, 1B: Edouard Julien, 2B: Spencer Steer, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS: Drew Maggi, OF: Trey Cabbage, Mark Contreras, Jeferson Morales, DH: Yunior Severino. SP: Louie Varland, Cole Sands, Tyler Beck, Austin Schulfer. RH RP: Jordan Gore, LH RP: Jovani Moran. Ted: C :Roy Morales, 1B: Andrew Bechtold, 2B: Edouard Julien, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS: Jermaine Palacios, OF: Trey Cabbage, Mark Contreras, Jimmy Kerrigan, DH: Matt Wallner. SP: Louie Varland, Cole Sands, Kody Funderburk, Jordan Balazovic. RH RP: Ryan Mason, LH RP: Jovani Moran. Steve: C :Alex Isola, 1B: Aaron Sabato, 2B: Edouard Julien, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS: Jermaine Palacios, OF: Trey Cabbage, Mark Contreras, Brent Rooker, DH: Spencer Steer. SP: Louie Varland, Cole Sands, Josh Winder, Jordan Balazovic. RH RP: Jordan Gore, LH RP: Jovani Moran. Matt: C :Jeferson Morales, 1B: Aaron Sabato, 2B: Edouard Julien, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS: Drew Maggi, OF: Trey Cabbage, Matt Wallner, Gilberto Celestino, DH: Brent Rooker. SP: Louie Varland, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Ben Gross, Andrew Albers. RH RP: Jordan Gore, LH RP: Jovani Moran. David: C :Jeferson Morales, 1B: Aaron Sabato, 2B: Edouard Julien, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS: Drew Maggi, OF: Gilberto Celestino, Aaron Whitefield, BJ Boyd, DH: Trey Cabbage. SP: Louie Varland, Cole Sands, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Jordan Balazovic. RH RP: Jordan Gore, LH RP: Jovani Moran. Allen: C :Tomas Telis, 1B: Aaron Sabato, 2B: Jose Miranda, 3B: Spencer Steer, SS: Drew Maggi, OF: Jimmy Kerrigan, BJ Boyd, Brent Rooker, DH: Trey Cabbage. SP: Louie Varland, Cole Sands, Ben Gross, Jordan Balazovic. RH RP: Ryan Mason, LH RP: Jovani Moran. View full article

The World Series kicks off on Tuesday night, and following its completion (which could be as early as Saturday), Minnesota will experience an exodus of players hitting free agency. How will the roster look different a week or so from now? Before taking a look at the upcoming Rule 5 draft, and the players Minnesota will need to protect, it’s worth getting the lay of the land for guys headed onto the open market. Minnesota has a handful of 40 man players that will be on their way out, and some minor leaguers will also be worth keeping tabs on once they exit the organization. First, let’s take a look at the guys currently on the 40 man roster: Michael Pineda, Alexander Colome*, Andrelton Simmons Both Pineda and Simmons are sure to be jettisoned this week. The former is a strong candidate to re-sign with the Twins, while the latter should be expected to wind up elsewhere. Given Minnesota’s 2022 pitching outlook, bringing Pineda back to bolster the starting rotation would be an excellent decision. The one uncertain candidate here is closer Alexander Colome. He fell flat for Minnesota but did rebound somewhat down the stretch. His career numbers have been better than in 2021, and free agency isn’t a straightforward process for him. Both parties have a mutual option for 2022, and the value checks in at $5.5 million. His $1.25 million buyout is forfeited if Minnesota exercises their option but Colome declines (which would seem the least likely scenario). Notable Minor Leaguers: Melvi Acosta, Adam Bray, Trey Cabbage, Wander Javier, Hector Lujan, Carlos Suniaga, Aaron Whitefield, B.J. Boyd The three most prominent names in this group are sandwiched in the middle. Trey Cabbage was a 4th round pick in the 2015 draft. He reached Double-A Wichita this season and posted an .882 OPS over 68 games. It was a solid season for the 24-year-old. Minnesota could consider a 40 man roster addition, but if not, he’ll reach the open market for the first time. Once a top prospect, Wander Javier finds himself at a critical juncture in his career. He’ll be 23-years-old next season and has played in just 226 professional games. Between injuries and ineffectiveness, things just have never followed the tools that have impressed through evaluations. Javier was at Cedar Rapids last season, although it did represent High-A this time around. He posted a sub-.700 OPS but did show flashes after a very slow start. He may find a better path forward in a different organization. Lujan represents a definite grinder when it comes to prospects. He was a 35th round pick back in 2015 but reached Double-A during the 2019 season. Pitching all of 2021 for Wichita, the numbers looked good enough for Triple-A or big-league consideration. Nothing is extremely flashy for the reliever, but there are solid numbers across the board, and he could factor as a depth middle-reliever. The other pitchers noted above have shown flashes of capability that could be useful at the big league level. Acosta, Bray, and Suniaga are more unknown names but have made a presence for themselves through performance. In the box, Whitefield has previously debuted with the Twins while Boyd put up strong numbers at Double-A in 2021. A whole host of veteran or non-prospect types will also hit free agency as Minnesota needs to decide who will be offered deals for the upcoming year. Free agency could also look slightly different this offseason, with the CBA negotiations likely dictating the ultimate timeline for players. 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

A “breakout” in sports is described as a player that plays surprisingly well and above expectations. That’s putting it lightly for Jose Miranda, our unanimous 2021 Minor League Hitter Of the Year. It’s not wise to overreact to a robust 15 games in the Puerto Rican Winter League, especially for a Minor Leaguer who hit just .252/.302/.369 in the prior season. For Jose Miranda, though, it was a glimpse into the future. His strong showing for Caguas was no mirage: he was improving. Miranda always possessed an elite ability to make contact, evidenced by his solid batting averages and low strikeout rates throughout his first handful of years in the minors. That’s why his power surge is so exciting. Starting the year with Wichita at Double-A, Miranda came out firing. He began the season going 13-for-32 (.406) with a double and three homers and never looked back. Miranda’s last 20 games before his promotion were outstanding. He hit .386 with a 1.085 OPS with seven homers and two doubles. Miranda’s ultimate statement came on June 29th in his debut for the Saints. He hit three homers, drove in six runs, and added a double in one of the best Triple-A unveilings you’ll ever see. Miranda proved that his great stretch in Wichita was no mirage. Miranda’s 153 wRC+ at Triple-A is the third-highest for a Twin since 2006 (min. 300 plate appearances). His 162 wRC+ at Double-A is tied for the third-best in that span. Miranda added patience to his profile while still maintaining a strikeout rate below 13%. He’s walking more, hitting for elite power, and spraying the ball all over the field. There are very few flaws to point out in his 2021 campaign. The 23-year-old leads the minors with 292 total bases, 176 hits, and 568 plate appearances. He’s started 48 games at third base, 29 at second base, 26 at first base, and 12 at Designated Hitter. He offers the infield versatility that the Twins value. So what does the future hold? Well, it’s interesting. While Miranda seemingly has nothing left to prove in the minors, there’s a log jam on the Twins’ roster. Josh Donaldson and Miguel Sanó (option) are both under contract at the corners until 2023. Alex Kirilloff impressed in his debut at first base, and Jorge Polanco had an MVP-level season at second. If that’s not enough, Luis Arraez needs a spot too. These things tend to work themselves out, so for now, let’s appreciate this incredible season from Jose Miranda. His future looks bright and offers hope that more contact-oriented prospects (like Austin Martin) can develop power in this system. While the Twins struggled to win games throughout the 2021 season, many fans found hope in the minors, especially in Jose Miranda. Congratulations, Jose! Below are the Top 8 Twins Minor League Hitters in 2021 (according to our 10-person, Twins Daily minor league writing staff) as well as others who received votes. If you click on their names, you will be directed to the search results for that player and find several other articles they are tagged in. TOP 8: 1. IF Jose Miranda - (.342/.400/.568 with 29 doubles, 29 homers at AA/AAA) T-2. 1B/OF Trey Cabbage - (.264/.346/.535 with 20 doubles, 27 homers at High-A/AA) Cabbage blasted 27 homers in 108 games and finished his season with a .535 slugging percentage. He posted an OPS over .880 for both Cedar Rapids and Wichita. T-2. IF Edouard Julien - (.266/.434/.480 with 28 doubles, 18 homers at Low-A/High-A) Julien stole 34 of 39 bases, hit 18 homers and walked 110 times in a breakout season. Julien mashed for Fort Myers before hitting .247/.397/.494 in Cedar Rapids. 4. IF Spencer Steer - (.254/.348/.484 with 18 doubles, 24 homers at High-A/AA) Steer found his power in 2021, stroking 24 homers across two levels. Steer posted a .915 OPS at Cedar Rapids and hit 14 homers for Wichita. 5. OF Mark Contreras - (.253/.341/.488 with 29 doubles, 19 homers at AA/AAA) Contreras is quietly hitting .253/.341/.488 and improved after a promotion to St. Paul. It was his best season as a Minor Leaguer. 6. OF BJ Boyd - (.294/.352/.491 with 15 doubles, 16 homers at AA/AAA) Boyd posted a .923 OPS in Wichita and earned a late season promotion to Triple-A. Boyd hadn't played professional baseball since 2018 but impressed in his return. 7. OF Jimmy Kerrigan - (.265/.336/.487 with 16 doubles, 19 homers at AA/AAA) Kerrigan is a steady force for the Saints, hitting .265/.336/.487 in over 100 games. Kerrigan has tallied 169 total bases, the most in his career. 8. OF Brent Rooker - (.245/.367/.564 with 8 doubles, 20 homers at AAA) Rooker destroyed at Triple-A before another promotion to Minnesota, where he's working himself into a 2022 role. "Rook" hit 20 homers in 62 games for the Saints. OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: OF Gilberto Celestino - (.280/.379/.431, 7 HR, 16 2B at AA/AAA) OF Matt Wallner - (.264/.350/.508, 15 HR, 14 2B, 2 3B at A+) IF/OF Drew Maggi - (.255/.358/.470, 16 HR, 13 2B, 2 3B at AAA) IF Yunior Severino - (.273/.372/.430, 8 HR, 29 2B, 2 3B at A/A+) IF/OF Michael Helman - (.246/.336/.462, 19 HR, 21 2B, 4 3B at A+) SS Jermaine Palacios - (.259/.340/.439, 19 HR, 17 2B at AA) C/1B Alex Isola - (.243/.342/.425, 17 HR, 15 2B at A+) C/OF Jeferson Morales - (.255/.370/.438, 12 HR, 24 2B at A/A+) C/1B Tomás Telís - (.292/.336/.411, 11 HR, 11 2B, 2 3B at AAA) 1B/3B Andrew Bechtold - (.239/.328/.459, 18 HR, 23 2B at AA) OF Ernie de La Trinidad - (.266/.344/.415, 9 HR, 12 2B, 2 3B at AA) PREVIOUS WINNERS: 2012 - Oswaldo Arcia 2013 - Miguel Sano 2014 - Mitch Garver 2015 - Max Kepler 2016 - Daniel Palka 2017 - Mitch Garver 2018 - Alex Kirilloff 2019 - Trevor Larnach View full article

The St. Paul Saints have one week of games remaining in their season. The FCL Twins and Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels seasons came to an end this past weekend. The Wichita Wind Surge and Cedar Rapids Kernels play for league championships starting on Tuesday. Let's look back and the final full schedule of games for the Twins minor league affiliates. If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week. Is it just me, or was that season quick. Twenty weeks of minor league ball complete. The Saints have a couple of weeks to go, to match the Twins schedule. Wichita and Cedar Rapids begin their playoff runs on Tuesday. The Mighty Mussels and FCL Twins seasons are complete, but Tuesday also begins Instructional League. But, before we get to any of that, let's look back at Week 20 in the Twins minor leagues: RESULTS Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (3-3, @ Indianapolis), overall (61-59) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (4-2, hosting Arkansas), overall (69-51) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (4-2, @ Peoria), overall (67-53) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (3-1, hosting Tampa), overall (60-54) Complex League FCL Twins: Week (2-3), overall (21-38) STANDINGS Triple-A East Midwest: Toledo 69-51, Omaha 66-54, St. Paul 61-59. Double-A Central North: Wichita 69-51, NW Arkansas 64-55, Arkansas 64-56. High-A Central West: Quad Cities 77-41, Cedar Rapids 67-53, Wisconsin 59-60. Low-A Southeast: Tampa 73-43, Bradenton 71-48, Ft. Myers 60-54. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Here are the week's Twins minor league-related articles. Twins Minor League Week in Review: One Week To Go Baseball Down Under: The Unique Journey of Aaron Whitefield Tuesday: Woods Richardson Deals, Saints Come Marching In Wednesday: Varland Does it Again Thursday: Wichita Surges Into Playoffs, Kernels Playoff Push Friday: Kernels Edge Closer Twins 2020 Rule 5 Rewind A 32-Year-Old Rookie, Twins Promote Drew Maggi Saturday: A No-Hitter?!* Kernels Klinch with Huge Win Highlights We will start with the Twins choices for the organizational hitter and pitcher of the week and mention several other Twins prospects who had good Week 20 performances. Twins Player of the Week: Aaron Sabato, Cedar Rapids Kernels Aaron Sabato has had an up and down season, but the 22-year-old has been much improved since the beginning of August, especially with the power numbers. In the final regular-season week, Sabato hit .333/.500/.833 (1.333) with three homers. He also walked seven times and had just four strikeouts. He was terrific over the final weekend when the team needed to win. In his first pro season since the Twins made him their first-round pick in the 2020 draft out of North Carolina, he began in Ft. Myers. In 85 games, he hit .189/.365/.357 (.722) with 15 doubles and 11 home runs. In just 22 games with the Kernels, he has hit .253/.402/.613 (1.015) with three doubles and eight home runs. Overall, in 464 plate appearances, he has 92 walks and 149 strikeouts. Twins Pitcher of the Week: Louie Varland, Cedar Rapids Louie Varland was terrific again this week. The 23-year-old from St. Paul struck out 11 batters in six innings in his start this week. He gave up just two runs (1 earned) on four hits and did not issue a walk. Varland was the team's 15th round pick in 2019 out of Concordia University in St. Paul. Varland began the season in Ft. Myers, where he pitched 47 1/3 innings over ten games (8 starts). He went 4-2 with a 2.09 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids, where he's made ten starts. He is 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. In 103 total innings, he has struck out 142 batters while walking just 30. Other Strong Performances this Week St. Paul Saints The Saints had some really strong performances, especially from bullpen types. Robinson Leyer, Ryan Mason, Vinny Nittoli, and Chris Nunn each tossed three scoreless innings over two outings. Jason Garcia tossed four innings of shutout ball in his start. Derek Law made the first start of his professional career, and he gave up just one hit and struck out six batters over four shutout innings. Also, Beau Burrows had his best start since joining the Twins organization. He gave up just one run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out six batters. Damek Tomscha had not been playing much recently, but this past week, he played in all six games and responded by hitting .375/.400/.708 (1.108) with three doubles, a triple, and a home run. Drew Stankiewicz also played more. In five games, he hit .385/.438/.615 (1.053) with a homer. Of course, Jose Miranda had another excellent week. He played six games and hit .357/.357/.643 (1.000) with two doubles, two homers, and eight RBI. Jimmy Kerrigan hit .400/.423/.560 (.983) with four doubles. Wichita Wind Surge The week's highlight has to be that the Wichita team clinched a playoff spot and the best record in the Double-A Central Division. They begin their championship series on Tuesday. The individual highlight probably is the performance of Simeon Woods Richardson. After two rough, unintentionally short outings, he made two appearances. He made one start and tossed three scoreless innings. On Sunday, he worked two scoreless innings out of the bullpen to prepare for the playoffs. Chris Vallimont had a nice start this week. He gave up one run on two hits over 5 2/3 innings. Cole Sands was terrific again. He tossed five scoreless innings in his start. In his past three starts, he has given up only an unearned run over 17 innings. Right-hander Hector Lujan became a first-time father, and he got four outs in a perfect outing. Melvi Acosta gave up zero earned runs on one hit over three innings. Erik Manoah pitched some big innings and was terrific. He allowed just one hit and one walk over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out five batters. Trey Cabbage had another solid week. Over five games, he hit .429/.500/.714 (1.214) with a double and a home run. Ernie de la Trinidad hit .308/.400/.615 (1.015) with a double and a big home run. Aaron Whitefield played five games and hit .375/.474/.438 (.911) with a double, three walks, and six stolen bases. Austin Martin hit .316/.480/.421 (.901) with two doubles. He also walked six times. Andrew Bechtold played in six games and hit .294/.357/.417 (898) with a double and a home run. I'm guessing a personal highlight for him was getting to catch a game. The day after the Wind Surge clinched their playoff spot and the top seed, Bechtold found himself behind the plate for a game. It is something that he has been working on throughout the season, trying to give himself more versatility. He caught the game that Cole Sands threw. There were no passed balls or wild pitches, and Sands tossed five scoreless innings. He must have done just fine. Cedar Rapids Kernels Not only did the Kernels have to finish with the second-best record in the High-A Central League, but they also had to win that spot by a game because Lake County and Great Lakes had the tiebreakers. The Kernels came up big and won their final three games to make the playoffs for the eighth time in eight seasons as a Twins affiliate. On Sunday, Aaron Rozek made the start, and the team couldn't have asked for more. He worked five shutout innings and gave up only a hit and a walk. Sean Mooney was outstanding too. He gave up one run on two walks and a hit batter over five innings. He did not allow a hit and struck out seven batters. Zach Featherstone worked in three games and had a big save. He worked 3 2/3 scoreless, hitless innings. He walked two and struck out seven batters. Osiris German also was crucial. He came into two big situations and gave up only one hit over four scoreless innings. He struck out six batters without issuing a walk. Carlos Suniaga and Tyler Watson each had a save as well. Edouard Julien hit just .231, but he posted a .964 OPS with two doubles and three home runs. DaShawn Keirsey had two home runs in Sunday's playoff clincher and three home runs this week. Matt Wallner went 7-for-23 (.304) with a double and a home run. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Fair to say that the highlight of the week was Saturday night's combined no-hitter. Regi Grace worked the first three innings. Landon Leach followed with two innings before Bradley Hanner and Matthew Swain each worked a hitless inning. Swain blew fastballs by the three hitters he struck out in the final inning. Regi Grace struck out four batters in his three innings. Since returning from the shoulder impingement, he has worked nine scoreless innings over three appearances. Brent Headrick struck out seven batters over three scoreless innings in his final start of the season. Cade Povich struck out five batters over two innings in his outing. He gave up an unearned run. John Stankiewicz had a strong start. In six innings, he gave up one run on five hits and a walk. He struck out six batters. Charlie Mack played in three games. He went just 2-for-6 (.333), but he walked five times (.636 OBP) and had a big triple. Patrick Winkel went 3-for-8 (.375) with two doubles and two walks to give him a 1.170 OPS. Mikey Perez has been fantastic since debuting a couple of weeks ago. In four games this week, he hit .444/.500/.667 (1.167) with two doubles. Willie Joe Garry hit .385/.385/.769 (1.154) with a triple and a home run. FCL Twins The FCL Twins concluded their season on Saturday morning. The highlight(s) of the week involved more players getting just a taste of pro ball before the end of the season. 2021 draft picks, right-handed pitchers Christian McLeod, Travis Adams, and Johnathan Lavallee made their pro debuts. Righty Hunter McMahon returned to the mound for a rehab appearance and struck out four batters in two scoreless innings. Mike Paredes, another 2021 pick, made another appearance and struck out five batters over two perfect innings. Wilker Reyes gave up just one hit over three scoreless innings. Kala'i Rosario ended his season strong. He went 4-for-10 (.400) with a double and a home run. Rubel Cespedes and LaRon Smith each hit a homer during the week. Lowlights St. Paul Saints Bryan Sammons struggled in his start. He was charged with seven runs on seven hits (2 HR) and three walks in 3 1/3 innings. Ian Hamilton gave up four runs on five hits and four walks over 2 2/3 innings (though he did strike out six of the eight batters he got out). Yennier Cano gave up three runs on four hits and four walks over 2 1/3 innings. Tomas Telis has been terrific again for the Saints this season. In five games last week, however, he hit .136/.208/.136 (.345). BJ Boyd hit .150/.190/.200 (.390) in five games. Wichita Wind Surge Ben Gross made two appearances, one out of the bullpen and then his first Double-A start on Sunday. Combined, he gave up nine runs (8 earned) on 11 hits and six walks in just 5 2/3 innings. Jordan Balazovic gave up four runs on four hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings. Zach Neff pitched once, but he gave up five runs (4 earned) on three hits and two walks. No player with more than five plate appearances had an OPS under .619. Cedar Rapids Kernels Cody Laweryson gave up six runs on eight hits, a walk, and a hit batter over 5 1/3 innings. Denny Bentley gave up two runs on five hits and got just four outs. Seth Gray had a tough week overall. He had two hits in 20 at-bats (.100) in six games. However, his home run on Saturday night gave the Kernels a 7-6 lead in the ninth inning. Anthony Prato went 2-for-14 (.143). Alex Isola as 4-for-22 (.182). Ft. Myers Might Mussels Jake Rucker went 0-for-9 for the week. Alerick Soularie went 1-for-14 (.071). Misael Urbina went 2-for-13 (.154), though he did have a double. PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our updated Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings. #1 - Royce Lewis (Wichita) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 37 games, .254/.399/.381 (.779) with 8 doubles, 3 home runs, 19 RBI, 23 BB, 30 K. #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 20 GS, 97.0 IP, 98 H, 38 BB, 102 K, 3.62 ERA, 1.40 WHIP #4 - Simeon Woods-Richardson (Wichita) - 4 G, 3 GS, 8.0 IP, 6 H, 8 BB, 10 K, 6.75 ERA, 1.75 WHIP. #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 5 G, 4 GS, 16.0 IP, 16 H, 13 BB, 22 K, 5.06 ERA, 1.81 WHIP (on IL with a right forearm strain) #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 117 games, .338/.394/.565 (.959) with 28 doubles, 28 homers, 86 RBI, 39 BB, 72 K #7 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - St. Paul (2 GS, 9.0 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 17 K, 2.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP), Minnesota (3 GS, 17.0 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 14 K, 2.12 ERA, 0.53 WHIP) #8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 5 GS, 21.0 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 43 K, 0.86 ERA, 0.67 WHIP (IL, elbow strain) #9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - 2 G, 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 5.40 ERA, 1.40 WHIP. #10 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 60 games, .233/.296/.301 (.597) with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 24 RBI, 18 BB, 89 K, 5 SB (Temporary Inactive List) #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - 14 GS, 72.0 IP, 55 H, 13 BB, 80 K, 2.63 ERA, 0.94 WHIP (IL, shoulder impingement) #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 66 games, .264/.350/.508 (.858) with 14 doubles, 2 triples, 15 homers, 47 RBI, 28 BB, 98 K. #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K), St. Paul (39 games, .310/.405/.490 (.894) with 11 doubles, 5 homers, 24 RBI, 20 BB, 33 K), Minnesota (22 games, .140/.183/.298 (.482) with 3 BB, 13 K) #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - 10 GS, 47.0 IP, 55 H, 25 BB, 38 K, 7.28 ERA, 1.70 WHIP. #15 - Noah Miller (Complex) - 22 games, .238/.316/.369 (.685) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 14 RBI, 9 BB, 26 K #16 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota) – St. Paul (58 games, .239/.368/.566 (.934) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 19 homers, 37 BB, 74 K), Minnesota (46 games, .206/.294/.413 (.707) with 9 doubles, 8 homers, 15 RBI, 13 BB, 58 K) #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP (underwent Tommy John surgery on June 9th) #18 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 101 games, .191/.299/.286 (.585) with 12 doubles, 4 triples, 5 homers, 52 RBI, 54 BB, 82 K, 16 SB) #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 19 G, 18 GS, 80.1 IP, 59 H, 35 BB, 96 K, 2.46 ERA, 1.17 WHIP #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 110 games, .254/.348/.484 (.833) with 18 doubles, 3 triples, 24 homers, 66 RBI, 55 BB, 105 K) LOOKING AHEAD Ft. Myers Season is Complete. High-A Central League Championship Series: Cedar Rapids vs. Quad Cities: (Louie Varland, Sean Mooney, Casey Legumina, Sawyer Gipson-Long, TBD) Double-A Central League Championship Series: Wichita vs. NW Arkansas: (Jordan Balazovic, Cole Sands, Austin Schulfer, TBD, TBD): Iowa @ St. Paul: (Derek Law, Bryan Sammons, Beau Burrows, Drew Strotman, Andrew Albers): Also, Instructional League/camp starts on Tuesday in Ft. Myers for some players, particularly those who have lost time due to injury. Good luck to the Wind Surge and the Kernels this week! View full article

The Minnesota Twins got crushed by Cleveland Wednesday night, but Miguel Sanó took Cal Quantrill deep, so that was fun. Louie Varland had 11 strikeouts for Cedar Rapids and Trey Cabbage hit is 27th home run of the year for Wichita. Also discussed in this recap are Jordan Balazovic and Beau Burrows. View full video

Jordan Balazovic was incredible on the mound in Wichita and there was late drama for Cedar Rapids. Check out that and other news and notes in tonight's Minor League Report! TRANSACTIONS No transactions today. SAINTS SENTINEL Omaha 6, St. Paul 3 Box Score Omaha touched St. Paul for four homers in this one and led wire-to-wire, taking the game 6-3. Bobby Witt Jr. got the game started for the Storm Chasers with a solo homer in the first frame, and Ryan McBroom matched his teammate three innings later to make it 2-0. Omaha added on in the sixth and Witt was involved again. The Royals’ top prospect doubled in a run and later scored on an M.J. Melendez sacrifice fly. The Saints offense finally got off the mark in the sixth, when a Gilberto Celestino double started a rally that scored two and featured an RBI each from Mark Contreras and Jimmy Kerrigan. The Saints’ momentum stopped there, though, as Robinson Leyer gave up a solo bomb to the first batter of the next inning to make it 5-2, and a second McBroom homer in the eighth stretched the Omaha lead one notch further. Tomas Telis homered in the eighth to cut the deficit to 6-3, but the Saints went down quietly in the ninth and lose to that score. Charlie Barnes got the start for the Saints tonight and made just the one mistake to Bobby Witt Jr. over 3 ⅓ innings. Barnes’ early hook didn’t seem to serve any purpose for the Saints in this game, but manager Toby Gardenhire may still have taken him out for a reason: As Seth noted in his tweet, Chandler Shepherd took over from there, but he struggled, allowing three runs in 1 ⅔ innings. Leyer allowed just a solo homer in his two innings, as did Nick Vincent in his only inning of work. Chris Nunn took the ninth and was the only Saint pitcher to not allow a run. Telis and Celestino were the Saints with multi-hit games tonight. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, NW Arkansas 3 Box Score Jordan Balazovic did a lot to confirm his title as the Twins’ top pitching prospect with a truly special outing on the mound that keyed tonight’s victory for Wichita. Balazovic allowed a run on an RBI groundout in the third, but he went six full innings, struck out five, and, most notably, did not allow a hit. Balazovic, who had thrown 88 pitches when he left the game, was showing no signs of slowing down, but manager Ramon Borrego evidently didn’t see the benefit in stretching his top asset’s limits. Still, enjoy Balazovic’s six innings of dominance: Meanwhile, the Surge offense was having quite the interesting game as well. Wichita got their first two runs in the third, thanks to Austin Martin. The Wichita star shortstop came to the plate with men on first and second and poked a weak grounder to right side, but he busted out of the box and forced an overthrow (allowing one to score), and then got in a rundown that allowed the second run to score. Just watch: In the fifth, Trey Cabbage (who else?) also drove in two runs, but in a very, very different way: The Surge added another run in the fifth off a Roy Morales single that scored Chris Williams. The Naturals got their first hits of the game in the eighth off Zach Neff, and they scored two as well. Clay Dungan doubled in Kevin Merrell and later scored on a Vinnie Pasquantino sac fly to cut the lead to 5-3. Jordan Gore was rock solid in the ninth inning, though, and put away the two-run W. After Balazovic’s six no-hit innings, Adam Lau pitched a no-hit inning of his own, though he did walk two batters. Neff allowed the two runs (and the Naturals’ only two hits) in the eighth and only managed to get two outs. Gore grabbed the last four outs of the game without allowing a base runner. Cabbage and Roy Morales had multi-hit games for the Surge. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids X, Wisconsin X Box Score This game was an absolute nail-biter until it wasn't: the Kernels explode for four runs in the ninth to take it 7-3. Matt Wallner and Aaron Sabato struck first for the Kernels with back-to-back solo homers in the top of the first: However, Sean Mooney allowed that lead to slip away immediately by allowing a three-run shot to Joey Wiemer in the bottom of the inning. In the third though, Alex Isola pumped a homer of his own well over the fence in the left center to tie the game for Cedar Rapids. Both teams built and squandered numerous chances over the middle innings of this game, but it stayed tied at three into the late innings. Like they had in the fifth, the Timber Rattlers loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, and, just like the fifth, they couldn't bring even one run across. And, unlike in the fifth, this time Wisconsin's lack of clutch hitting really hurt them. While the Timber Rattlers were likely still cursing their failures in the eighth inning, Aaron Sabato came up with a man on and blasted his second bomb of the night to give the Kernels a two-run lead. Then, not to be outdone, Isola followed up with his second homer of the night, and the Kernels still weren't done. Gabriel Maciel ripped an RBI single up the middle to make the score 7-3 and effectively seal the game for Cedar Rapids. However, seemingly just to torture themselves, the Timber Rattlers loaded the bases one more time in the bottom of the ninth, and, one more time, they failed to score. But hey, it's hard to be that upset when you're dressed like this: Other than his three-run mistake, Sean Mooney hung tough on the mound for Cedar Rapids. Those were the only runs he allowed in four innings of work and he struck out six, though he did walk three. Denny Bentley was rock solid again in his 2 ⅔ innings of work, striking out four and working around three hits and two walks. Zach Featherstone got the Kernels into trouble with three walks in the eighth, but Osiris German got them out of the eighth. German went out for the ninth, too and got two outs but was removed from the game with two runners on. Melvi Acosta came on for the last out, and walk the bases loaded before finally closing out the game. MUSSEL MATTERS Palm Beach 2, Fort Myers 0 Box Score The Fort Myers’ arms, led by Cade Povich in his second Single-A start, were excellent in this game. However, the Palm Beach pitchers were two runs better and the Mussels drop this one, 2-0. Povich, the Twins’ latest third round draft pick, was very impressive in his three innings to start this game, allowing only one hit and no runs, while striking out five Cardinal batters. Miguel Rodriguez took the middle three innings of the game, and only allowed one run, a home run off the bat of Ryan Holgate in the fourth inning. Zaquiel Puentes took over from there and allowed only one run over the seventh and eighth innings, as he, too, fell victim to Holgate, this time through an RBI single. Bradley Hanner hurled a scoreless ninth inning to finish off a solid outing from the Mussels pitching staff. Still, despite the successes of their pitchers, Fort Myers never looked like winning this game because their offense fell flat. They did get seven hits – and even loaded the bases in the fifth – but they couldn’t string knocks together and their clutch hitting was atrocious. Alerick Soularie and Mikey Perez got multi-hit games, but the Mussels’ hitters might owe the pitching staff dinner after this 2-0 loss. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Red Sox 16, FCL Twins 10 Box Score The bats came out to play for the FCL Twins tonight, but unfortunately, they came out in greater force for the FCL Red Sox and Minnesota’s complex leaguers drop this one 16-10. Leading the offense for the Twins was Carlos Aguiar, who bopped two homers for a total of four RBI, and Kala’i Rosario, who was 3-for-5 with three runs, two RBI, and a homer of his own. The Twins scored two in the top of the first, but never had the lead again despite plating seven runs over the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. They added one in the ninth, but fell well short of the offensive output from the Red Sox. Other than Aguiar and Rosario, Wander Valdez was the only other Twin with a multi-hit game. It goes without saying that it was a struggle on the mound for the FCL Twins tonight. Giovahniey German started the game and allowed seven runs (six earned) over 2 ⅓ innings. His outing was low-lighted by three different wild pitches and five walks. John Wilson replaced German and was the most effective pitcher for the Twins, allowing only two runs (one earned) in 2 ⅔ innings of work. Danny Moreno followed Wilson, but followed more in German’s footsteps as he was touched for five runs in an inning and a third. Rafael Feliz finished the game by allowing two earned run in 1 ⅔ innings. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) - 6.0 IP, R, ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day - Aaron Sabato (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR, BB, K PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Royce Lewis (rehab) - Out for season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4 #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) - 6.0 IP, R, ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 5 K #4 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - Did not pitch #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) - Injured List (elbow strain) #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, K #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) - Did not play #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - Injured List (right shoulder impingement) #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, 2 BB, K #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, R, 2B, K #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #15 - Noah Miller (Complex) - 1-for-5, 2 K #16 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota) - 0-for-5, 3 K #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Out for season (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) - Did not play #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) - Did not pitch #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K SATURDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (6:05 PM CST) - TBD NW Arkansas @ Wichita (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Chris Vallimont (5-6 5.75 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (1:05 PM CST) - LHP Aaron Rozek (0-1, 4.38 ERA) Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Regi Grace (1-0, 3.47 ERA) Feel free to comment and discuss tonight’s games! View full article

Byron Buxton and Josh Donaldson both homered in the first inning of the Minnesota Twins' extra-innings loss Friday night. Down on the farm, Jordan Balazovic pitched six shutout innings and both Aaron Sabato and Alex Isola had two-homer games for Cedar Rapids. Also featured in tonight's recap are Austin Martin, Trey Cabbage and Matt Wallner. View full video

It was another Joe Ryan start for the Saints, which means plenty of strikeouts and a stingy effort. 2020 1st round pick Aaron Sabato also made his High-A debut in a doubleheader for Cedar Rapids. TRANSACTIONS IF Zander Wiel was activated from the St. Paul Injured List and released from the Twins organization SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 4, St. Paul 2 Box Score Joe Ryan took the ball for the Saints tonight and continued his impressive performance since joining the Twins organization. He worked five innings and allowed just a single run on four hits and a walk. Continuing to rack up strikeouts, he punched out eight on the evening. Luke Farrell began his rehab stint for the Twins and worked 1 2/3 innings giving up two runs on two hits but did strike out three batters. Mark Contreras tallied St. Paul’s first runs on a two-run blast in the 6th inning. His 13th homer of the year scored Byron Buxton and gave the Saints a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately, Toledo took the lead back in the 7th, and top prospect Spencer Torkelson launched his first homer for the Mud Hens in the 8th. Contreras contributed a multi-hit effort and was joined by the rehabbing Buxton who was also 2-for-4. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 3, Wichita 2 Box Score The Wind Surge sent Tyler Beck to the bump tonight, and he contributed 5 2/3 of solid work. Giving up three runs on four hits, he was burned by the longball with three leaving the yard. Beck did record six strikeouts on the evening to balance out the three free passes. Wichita kicked off the scoring in the 4th inning when Trey Cabbage homered for the 15th time with Wichita, his 24th overall this season. The 1-0 lead was erased in the 5th inning before Tulsa added two more runs in the 6th inning. Roy Morales looked to make things interesting when he plated Chris Williams in the 7th inning, but that’s when the rally fell short. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1: Beloit 3, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score It was Louie Varland’s turn in the rotation tonight, and he put up a solid effort. Working five strong innings allowing just two runs on six hits, he limited the damage by fanning five and walking just one batter. Cedar Rapids trailed after the 1st inning, but it was Wander Javier who singled to drive in Aaron Sabato and tie things up in the 2nd inning. Mustering just two more hits the rest of the way, Beloit’s additional two runs were never matched. No one recorded a multi-hit effort for the Kernels in this one, but Sabato did register his first hit, a double, in his first at bat. Game 2: Cedar Rapids 6, Beloit 4 Box Score Looking to split the doubleheader the Kernels turned to Tyler Watson in the nightcap. He lasted only four innings, but gave up just three runs on two hits and two walks. Watson did strike out two batters but was burned by a home run. Derek Molina worked two innings in relief and earned his seventh win of the season. Cedar Rapids jumped out to the early lead in this one after Wander Javier jacked a solo shot, his 11th of the season, in the 2nd inning. Trailing following a 4th inning three-run blast, the Kernels went to work in the 6th inning. Javier started the scoring again by driving in Sabato with a single. Jeferson Morales then crushed a three-run homer to score Seth Gray and Javier while recapturing the lead and providing some distance. Edouard Julien doubled up the Snappers score when his single allowed Gabriel Maciel to score the sixth run for Cedar Rapids. This was an equal effort with only Javier providing two hits on the evening. Sabato did hit his second double in as many games, and started his High-A exposure by going 2-for-6 in the doubleheader. MUSSEL MATTERS Game 1: Bradenton 7, Fort Myers 0 Box Score Fort Myers went with a bullpen effort in this one as Casey Legumina took the ball in the 1st inning. He struck out two batters and walked one but left the inning unscathed. Unfortunately, Bradenton put up a three spot in the third inning, and with a run in between, replicated that in the 6th inning. The Mighty Mussels mustered just two hits in the front half of the doubleheader, and it wasn't going to be enough to catch the Maurauders. Game 2: Fort Myers 12, Bradenton 1 Box Score Matt Mullenbach was on to make his Low-A debut and worked four innings, allowing just one run on six hits while punching out four batters. Despite this one going into the early hours of Thursday morning, he was as sharp as can be expected. Charles Mack scored on a 2nd inning wild pitch to give Fort Myers their first lead before Patrick Winkel drove in Justin Washington in the 3rd inning. The Mighty Mussels were flexing again in the 4th inning as Alerick Soularie drove in Washington and Will Holland to double up their output. In the 7th inning, still leading 4-1, Fort Myers added on in a big way for good measure. Jesus Feliz hit his sixth homer of the season, a three-run blast, that pushed the lead to six. A bases loaded walk for Willie Joe Garry scored Mack, and a Holland Single scored Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Washington worked the second bases loaded walk of the inning, and that was followed by walks for Soularie and Winkel. The Mighty Mussels added eight total in the frame, and four came by way of the free pass. Soularie, Winkel, and Holland all posted multi-hit efforts on the nightcap that stretched into the early morning hours. COMPLEX CHRONICLES Scheduled day off TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Joe Ryan (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, R, ER, BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day - Mark Contreras (St. Paul) - 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR(13) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-3, BB, 2 K #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) - 1-5, 2B, K #7 - Joe Ryan (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, R, ER, BB, 8 K #8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (right elbow strain) #9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - No game #10 - Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) - 1-3 #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - Injured List #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 0-6,BB, 3 K #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 0-1, K (PH) #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #15 - Noah Miller (Complex) - No game #16 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota) - Did not play #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Out for season (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) - 0-3, K #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) - Did not pitch #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 0-4, 2 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Toledo (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (0-1, 3.38 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (4-2, 3.42 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-1, 3.27 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Sean Mooney (0-1, 1.08 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games View full article

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

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

Thursday night had a little bit of everything across the Twins' farm. Read up on all the action! TRANSACTIONS RHP Hector Lujan was activated from the Wichita IL. 1B Gabe Snyder assigned to Wichita Wind Surge from Cedar Rapids Kernels SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 9, St. Paul 8 (11 innings) Box Score Despite a solid rehab outing from Randy Dobnak and a total team performance from the St. Paul offense, the Saints dropped a tightly contested game in the Buckeye State on Thursday night. After giving up an early run in the third inning the Saints pounced back with a three runs in the fourth frame. Gilberto Celestino punched a double to right that scored Mark Contreras to put St. Paul on the board. Sherman Johnson followed suit with a single that scored Celestino from second. The most impressive hit of the inning and arguably the game came when Dreg Maggi crushed a triple to centerfield that scored Johnson all the way from first to put the Saints up 3-1. St. Paul punched two more runs in the fifth inning when Jimmy Kerrigan smacked a two-out single to score Jose Miranda and Trevor Larnach. Larnach tallied an RBI single of his own in the sixth inning that drove in JT Riddle. On his rehab journey back to the Twins, Randy Dobnak was solid on the bump against the Mud Hens. Dobnak pitched 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball while giving up five hits, four walks, and striking out two. The start marked Dobnak's second rehab start. The fan-favorite struck out five batters over three perfect frames at Low-A Fort Myers this past weekend. It's only a matter of time before he is back with the parent club! After Dobnak left the game, Ian Hamilton gave up three runs in 2/3 of an inning. Yet when it looked like Toledo would mount a comeback, Ryan Mason stepped in and shut down the Mud Hens, tossing 1 2/3 innings of one-hit scoreless baseball. Chandler Shepherd followed that with a perfect inning on the mound to put the Saints in a position to hold a 6-4 lead in the ninth. That didn't happen, as Toledo plated two runs in the inning to tie the game despite a valiant effort from reliver Nick Vincent. The Saints and Kernels played a game of cat and mouse in the 10th and 11th innings, with both teams scoring runs thanks to the extra-innings rule that puts a runner at second to start the inning. Unfortunately for St. Paul, Toledo managed to squeak out two runs in the 11th to secure the win. Despite the loss, every single player in the Saints starting lineup tallied a hit. Drew Maggi, Tomas Telis, and Gilberto Celestino all tallied two-hit games. Sherman Johnson had an impressive three-hit game with a run and RBI for the Saints. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 4, Wichita 2 Box Score A late-inning power display wasn't enough for the Wind Surge to push past a dominant pitching performance from Tulsa on Thursday at Riverfront Stadium. A team known for their offense, Wichita was only able to manage four hits on the night. Wichita failed to put any runs on the board until the bottom of the ninth inning. The dynamic duo of Trey Cabbage and Spencer Steer mounted a final-inning comeback attempt for the Surge. After Steer drew a walk, Cabbage launched his 16th homer with the Wind Surge (25th overall) over the wall to bring Wichita within two runs. Jordan Balazovic didn't have his strongest night of the year, giving up four runs on nine hits over six innings. However, the Wichita bullpen tandem of Mitchell Osnowitz and Adam Lau were rock-solid, tossing a combined three innings of scoreless ball. The two didn't give up any runs and surrendered only one walk while striking out three batters. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Beloit 0 Box Score The Cedar Rapids Kernels have had moments of brilliance on both sides of the ball so far this season. Tonight, they combined all five tools of the game for a dominant 8-0 win over regional rival Beloit. The Kernels punched their first five runs thanks to the long ball. After Yunior Severino led off the inning with a single Wander Javier launched a home run (12) over the left field wall to give the Kernels a 2-0 lead. Two innings later the Kernels found themselves with runners on base thanks to a walk from Seth Gray and a single from Javier. Michael Helman followed with a three-run shot over the left field wall to break the game open for Cedar Rapids. Helman continued his stellar night in the seventh inning by leading off with a triple to the right field gap. He later scored thanks to an RBI single from Edouard Julien. That wasn't the final run of the inning. Following a Matt Wallner single and a pair of walks, Julien scored lucky number seven for Cedar Rapids. The offensive performance was one of the most dominant on the season for Cedar Rapids, who now have a +52 run differential overall. Cedar Rapids starter Sawyer Gipson-Long was absolutely brilliant in this one, posting arguably his best outing of the year. Gipson-Long (W, 2-1) tossed six scoreless innings while giving up six hits and striking out nine batters. It was the third time that the Lithia Springs, GA, native's has hit nine strikeouts this season, second to his season-best 11 K's on July 21. And while Gipson-Long's performance was incredible, reliever Tyler Palm was just as effective. Palm tossed two innings of one-hit ball while striking out three batters. The appearance was a well-needed cleanser for Palm, who gave up two runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings on last week against Wisconsin. Osiris German sealed the deal for the Kernels with a scoreless ninth inning to secure an important win for Cedar Rapids in the playoff race. The Kernels are now 55-44 are sit a full 2.5 games ahead of Great Lakes for second place in the High-A Central League. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Bradenton 2 Box Score Despite an early deficit, the Mighty Mussels used dominant pitching and timely hitting to grind out a close game in the Sunshine State. After Bradenton scored two runs in the third inning, the Mussels responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. After walking and stealing a base Jake Rucker scored courtesy of a Willie Joe Garry Jr. single. Rucker's momentum carried into the fourth inning. With runners on first and second, Rucker laced an RBI triple to right field to give Fort Myers a 3-2 lead. That lead would expand 4-2 when Rucker scored during the next at-bat thanks to a wild pitch. Fort Myers starter Sean Mooney was absolutely outstanding on the evening. Mooney tossed 4 2/3 innings of 10-strikeout ball, only surrendering a pair of runs on three hits and two walks. RHP Logan Campbell was just as dominant in his Mussels debut, throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and one hit. Zaquiel Puentes sealed the deal with his first save of the year, tossing 2 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Pirates Black 6, FCL Twins 3 Box Score A multi-hit game from Kala'i Rosario wasn't enough to push the FCL Twins to a victory against the Pirates on Thursday afternoon. The Pirates jumped on Twins' starter Giovahniey German early, plating four runs in the first three innings. German (L, 2-2) pitched three innings, giving up seven hits, four runs, and a walk while striking out five. Rosario's first hit was a single in the second inning. He followed that with a leadoff double in the sixth inning and was later driven in on an RBI single from Argenis Jimenez. 2021 Competitive Balance round pick and Twins Daily Top 20 Prospect Noah Miller knocked an RBI double (2) in the third inning to score the Twins' first run. Miller and Rosario are both having excellent seasons at the plate. Miller touts a .269 batting average and Rosario has a .290 average. After reliever Jordan Carr gave up three runs, LHP Elpidio Perez was excellent. Perez pitched three scoreless innings for the FCL Twins, giving up only one hit and two walks while striking out four. Despite the loss, the Twins' pitching staff managed to strike out 15 batters on the day. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY YOU decide! PROSPECT SUMMARY Our most recent (post deadline and draft) prospect rankings are up! Check them out here. #1 - Royce Lewis (rehab) - Out for season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-4, 2 K #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) - 6 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, BB, 5 K #4 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - Did not pitch #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) - Injured List (elbow strain) #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-for-6, R, 3 K #7 - Joe Ryan (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch #9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - Did not pitch #10 - Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, 4 K #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - Injured List (shoulder) #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 3 K #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2B R, RBI, BB, K #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #15 - Noah Miller (Complex) - 1-for-5, 2B, RBI, 2 K #16 - Brent Rooker (Minnesota) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, K #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Out for season (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, R #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) - Did not pitch #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-for-5, R, 2B, BB FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05PM CST) – LHP Bryan Sammons (0-1, 5.32 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) – RHP Chris Vallimont (5-5, 6.08 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35PM CST) – RHP Cody Lawyerson (1-4, 5.15 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers Game One: (3:30PM CST) – RHP John Stankiewicz (0-0, 3.86 ERA) Game Two: (30 minutes after game one) - LHP Zarion Sharpe (4-2, 3.59 ERA) View full article

It's hard to believe that nearly four months of the minor league season are complete. And now there is just over a month to go. There have been several promotions of late. Several of the 2021 draft picks are making their professional debuts or their organizational debuts. Find out which teams are doing well, and which players are leading the way. Be sure to read Nick’s Twins Week in Review from yesterday, and then jump into the minor league week. Before we get started, let’s check out the FCL Twins game and the transactions from Monday. TRANSACTIONS There were several announced transactions on Monday’s minor league off day, and don’t be surprised if there are more tomorrow. OF BJ Boyd was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. 1B Aaron Sabato was promoted from Ft. Myers to Cedar Rapids. IF Christian Encarnacion-Strand, the Twins 4th round pick in the July draft, was assigned to Ft. Myers. IF Jake Rucker, the Twins 7th round pick in the July draft, was assigned to Ft. Myers. C Kole McKinnon returns to Ft. Myers after rehabbing in the FCL. OF Max Smith (Cedar Rapids) was released . C Allante Hall (FCL Twins) was released. RHP Hector Andrade (DSL Twins) was released. FCL Twins Talk FCL Twins 5, FCL Orioles 6 Box Score This game was shortened to seven innings due to the rains. Jackson Hicks made the start. He was charged with four runs on three hits and a walk over three innings. He struck out four batters. Ricardo Velez went the next two innings and gave up two runs on five hits. He struck out three batters. Cole Bellair struck out four batters over the final two innings. He didn’t give up a hit or issue a walk. Carlos Aguiar went 2-for-2 with a walk and his fourth home run. Emmanuel Rodriguez added his sixth homer of the season, and he threw out a runner trying to advance to third base. Kala’i Rosario had a two-run single. Noah Miller went 1-for-4. Zander Wiel went 1-for-3, and Gabe Snyder went 0-for-2 with a walk, as the first basemen continued their rehab on Monday. With that, let’s look at Week 16 in the Twins minor leagues: RESULTS Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (5-2, hosting Iowa), overall (53-43) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (5-1 @ Springfield), overall (57-39) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (4-2, hosting Wisconsin), overall (53-43) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (3-3 @ Dunedin), overall (47-44) Complex League FCL Twins: Week (3-3), overall (12-25) IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Here are the week’s Twins minor league-related articles. Twins Minor League Week in Review: Wind Surge Power TD Top Twins Prospect Rankings (Post Draft and Trade Deadline): Recap Hard Lessons Learned in Trevor Larnach’s Rookie Campaign Tuesday: We Will, We Will, Walk-Off You Scouting Twins Prospects: RHP Ben Gross Wednesday: Affiliates Blast Off Thursday: Oh, ho, ho, it’s Maggi(c)! Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton Highlight an Eventful Night at CHS Field Friday: Ryan Dazzles in Saints Debut Saturday: You Have the Right to be a Hitting Machine Miranda: 3 Ways to Get Him to Minneapolis Sunday: Wichita Bats Surge, Buck Go Boom Highlights We will start with the Twins choices for the organizational hitter and pitcher of the week, and then mention several other Twins prospects who had good Week 16 performances Twins Player of the Week: BJ “Bossman” Boyd, Wichita Wind Surge After spending seven seasons in the Oakland A’s organization, reaching Triple-A in 2018 at 24, BJ Boyd decided to go a different direction. In 2019, he headed to college and played football. He played well enough that he was getting several calls from Division I schools. Then the pandemic hit. This spring, he was sitting at home when the Twins called. He signed and was sent to Double-A Wichita in late May. He has been incredible since. In 66 games, the outfielder has hit .313/.369/.543 (.912) with 12 doubles, 15 homers and 60 RBI for the Wind Surge. And on Tuesday, he will return to Triple-A after earning his promotion. Twins Pitcher of the Week: Joe Ryan, St. Paul Saints He was a strong starting pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. Then he headed to Tokyo to pitch for Team USA. That’s where he found out he had been traded to the Twins in the Nelson Cruz trade. He responded by going 2-0 and helping Team USA to a silver medal at the Olympics! Then he came back, packed up, came to Minnesota and threw a couple of bullpens before making his first start in the Twins organization on Friday night in St. Paul. I think it’s fair to say that it went well. He struck out the first six batters he faced and nine batters in four innings. He gave up just one run, on a solo homer. Ryan was the Rays seventh-round pick in 2018 out of Cal State-Stanislaus. He appeared in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect rankings after he led minor league baseball with 183 strikeouts in 2019. That season, between two levels of A ball and Double-A, he went 9-4 with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. Before heading to Japan, he pitched in 12 games for Triple-A Durham and was 4-3 with a 3.63 ERA and 0.79 WHIP. In 57 innings, he had 10 walks and 75 strikeouts. Other Strong Performances this Week St. Paul Saints Drew Maggi continues to have a strong showing in 2021. Last week, he played in five games and hit .357/.526/.571 (1.098) with a homer and five RBI. He also stole three bases. Gilberto Celestino played in all six games and hit .294/.478/.588 (1.066) with two doubles and a homer. He also walked six times with just four strikeouts. Tomas Telis also played all six games. He hit .440/.462/.600 (1.062) with a double and a homer. Jimmy Kerrigan played in just three games but hit .364 with a homer. Ian Hamilton worked 5 1/3 innings over three games last week. He went 1-0 with a save. He gave up no runs on one hit. He walked one and struck out seven. Yennier Cano tossed 3 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings. He walked three and struck out four. Chris Nunn struck out four batters over 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Ryan Mason struck out six batters over 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Wichita Wind Surge Leobaldo Cabrera played in five games. He hit just .263 (5-for-19), but he hit a double and three homers, and drove in nine runs. He posted a 1.164 OPS. Spencer Steer played in just four of the games. He hit .389/.450/.667 (1.117) with two doubles and a homer. Tyler Beck gave up five hits and two walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out six batters. Jordan Balazovic struck out six batters over six shutout frames. More impressive that he didn’t give up any runs when he also gave up four hits and five walks. Jordan Gore recorded a Save and worked 2 2/3 scoreless, hitless innings. Cedar Rapids Kernels Michael Helman continued to show some surprising, and impressive power. Last week, he hit .261/.393/.783 (1.175) with four home runs. He also walked five times and stole two bases. Edouard Julien had a nice week. He hit .412/.615/.529 (1.145) with two doubles and nine walks. He also stole two bags. Matt Wallner played five games and hit .350/.458/.650 (1.108) with three doubles and a homer. No extra base hits, but Wander Javier hit .350 (7-for-20). Sawyer Gipson-Long made one start. In six innings, he gave up only an unearned run on three hits. He walked one and struck out eight. Louie Varland became the first Kernels starter to record an out in the 7th inning when he tossed seven full innings. He gave up one run on six hits. He struck out six batters without a walk. Ben Gross worked five innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits. He walked three and struck out six batters. Denny Bentley made his first two High-A appearances. He gave up two hits over four scoreless innings. He struck out five batters without issuing a walk. Zach Featherstone struck out six batters over 3 1/3 hitless innings. He walked one. Ryan Shreve struck out eight batters over 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up four hits and walked none. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Jesus Feliz has really come on of late. In six games last week, he hit .333/.481/.762 (1.243) with three home runs. He also walked five times and stole two bases. Patrick Winkel has a strong first full professional week. The catcher played four games and hit .400/.526/.600 (1.126) with a homer and four walks. Steven Cruz had a terrific week. He worked five innings over two outings. He gave up just an unearned run on two hits and a walk. He also struck out ten batters. Randy Dobnak’s rehab appearance was three perfect innings with five strikeouts. Casey Legumina gave up one run over four innings. He struck out seven batters. Juan Pichardo pitched twice and gave up one run over four hits in four innings. He struck out eight batters. FCL Twins Luis Gomez went 5-for-9 (.556) with three doubles in his four games. Carlos Aguiar went 5-for-13 (.385) with three homers and six RBI. Rubel Cespedes went 2-for-9 (.222) over three games this week, but both hits were home runs. Wander Valdez played in five games. He hit .333/.412/.600 (1.012) with a double and a home run. Kala’i Rosario hit .368 with two doubles, a homer and seven RBI. Wilker Reyes went 1-0. He gave up five hits but no runs over five scoreless innings. Giovahnney German threw four hitless, scoreless innings. He struck out three batters. (although he did walk six batters). Malik Barrington recorded a save in his professional debut. He gave up one hit over three scoreless innings. He struck out six batters. Lowlights We are talking about small samples for these six-game weeks, so it’s important not to make any big decisions or develop a full impression on a player from this small size. It’s just a reminder of the fact that baseball is hard, and all players have good and bad stretches. St. Paul Saints Ben Rortvedt has certainly had some moments since returning to the Saints. This past week, he went 1-for-13 (.077) with five strikeouts. Sherman Johnson went 1-for-10 (.100), and Drew Stankiewicz went 2-for 16 (.125), though he did have four walks and a homer. Robinson Leyer gave up five runs (4 earned) on four hits and two walks over two innings. Nick Vincent got DFAd by the Twins and then gave up five runs (4 earned) on four hits (2 homers) and a walk in 2 2/3 innings. Wichita Wind Surge Ernie de la Trinidad went 2-for-13 (.154) in his three games. Jermaine Palacios played all six games and went 3-for-19 (.158), though he had two doubles. Chris Vallimont made two starts last week. He gave up ten earned runs on ten hits (4 homers) and six walks in just nine innings. Cedar Rapids Kernels Gabriel Maciel played in four games and went 2-for-14 (.143). Seth Gray went 3-for-20 (.150) over five games. He did have a double and a homer and six RBI. Andrew Cabezas gave up six runs on six hits over 2 1/3 innings in his start. Tyler Watson gave up six runs on eight hits and a walk over 2 2/3 innings. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Will Holland played in five games and went 0-for-17. Misael Urbina went 3-for-24 (.125) over six games. Trending Storyline Here is a quick look at how Twins minor leaguers rank against all minor leaguers. Jose Miranda: Batting Average (.342, 5th), Slugging Percentage (.590, 10th), OPS (.995, 8th), Hits (135, 1st), Home Runs (25, 3rd), RBI (72, 11th), Runs (79, 2nd) Extra Base Hits (48, 8th), Total Bases (233, 1st). BJ Boyd: Batting Average (.319, 16th), Trey Cabbage: Home Runs (23, 10th), RBI (71, 15th) Spencer Steer: Home Runs (22, 18th), Runs (70, 17th), Austin Martin: On-Base Percentage (.429, 15th), Hit By Pitch (22, 3rd), Wander Javier: Triples (10, 2nd), Edouard Julien: Walks (90, 1st), Runs (75, 6th), Stolen Bases: (31, 19th), Number of Pitches (1820, 1st)... Aaron Sabato: Walks (73, 5th), Yunior Severino: Doubles (27, 13th), Ben Gross: ERA (3.16, 8th), WHIP (1.19, 18th), Winning Percentage (.833, 3rd), Drew Strotman: Winning Percentage (.700, 13th), PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our updated Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings. #1 - Royce Lewis (Wichita) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 17 games, .262/.444/.377 (.821) with 4 doubles, 1 home run, 10 RBI, 12 BB, 13 K. #3 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 15 GS, 71.0 IP, 70 H, 29 BB, 78 K, 3.42 ERA, 1.39 WHIP #4 - Simeon Woods-Richardson (Wichita) - Has not pitched since the Olympics. #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 5 G, 4 GS, 16.0 IP, 16 H, 13 BB, 22 K, 5.06 ERA, 1.81 WHIP (on IL with a right forearm strain) #6 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 95 games, .342/.405/.590 (.995) with 23 doubles, 25 homers, 72 RBI, 36 BB, 58 K #7 - Joe Ryan (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 4.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 9 K, 2.25 ERA, 0.50 WHIP #8 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 5 GS, 21.0 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 43 K, 0.86 ERA, 0.67 WHIP #9 - Chase Petty (Complex) - Has yet to pitch. #10 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 54 games, .247/.305/.321 (.626) with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 23 RBI, 17 BB, 78 K, 5 SB #11 - Josh Winder (St. Paul) - 14 GS, 72.0 IP, 55 H, 13 BB, 80 K, 2.63 ERA, 0.94 WHIP #12 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 44 games, .277/.354/.549 (.903) with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 11 homers, 35 RBI, 17 BB, 65 K. #13 - Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K), St. Paul (18 games, .281/.395/.531 (.926) with 4 doubles, 4 homers, 15 RBI, 11 BB, 15 K), Minnesota (22 games, .140/.183/.298 (.482) with 3 BB, 13 K) #14 - Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - 5 GS, 24.0 IP, 28 H, 10 BB, 18 K, 5.63 ERA, 1.58 WHIP. #15 - Noah Miller (FCL Twins) - 5 games, .222/.286/.222 (.508) with 2 BB, 8 K #16 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (58 games, .239/.368/.566 (.934) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 19 homers, 37 BB, 74 K), Minnesota (32 games, .200/.273/.408 (.681) with 7 doubles, 6 homers, 10 RBI, 8 BB, 41 K) #17 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP (underwent Tommy John surgery on June 9th) #18 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 82 games, .190/.289/.294 (583) with 9 doubles, 4 triples, 5 homer, 49 RBI, 41 BB, 65 K, 12 SB) #19 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 14 G, 13 GS, 55.1 IP, 41 H, 24BB, 75 K, 2.93 ERA, 1.18 WHIP #20 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 87 games, .262/.363/.515 (.878) with 14 doubles, 2 triples, 22 homers, 53 RBI, 46 BB, 78 K) LOOKING AHEAD Bradenton @ Ft. Myers: (Matt Mullenbach, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD): Cedar Rapids @ Beloit:(Louie Varland, Tyler Watson, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Cody Laweryson, Ben Gross, Louie Varland) Tulsa @ Wichita: (Austin Schulfer, Cole Sands, Jordan Balazovic, TBD, TBD, Austin Schulfer) St. Paul @ Toledo: (Beau Burrows, Joe Ryan, TBD, TBD, Drew Strotman, Beau Burrows): Feel free to ask any questions you like. View full article

The system went 3-0 and outscored opponents 26-9 Sunday. The Wind Surge smashed seven homers, Matt Canterino was phenomenal in his return to Cedar Rapids, and José Miranda added two more extra-base hits to his amazing Baseball Reference stats page. TRANSACTIONS: C Nick Garland released from organization. OF Nick Anderson released from organization. SAINTS SENTINEL Saints 8, Indianapolis 0 Box Score Andrew Albers: 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: José Miranda (11) Multi-hit games: Miranda (2-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, RBI), Mark Contreras (2-for-5, 2 RBI, R), Drew Stankiewicz (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R) Andrew Albers put together his best start of the season for the Saints, tossing eight scoreless innings and striking out five. Albers now owns a 2.94 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched this season for St. Paul. He’s a call-up candidate with Michael Pineda hitting the injured list (oblique). The Saints’ offense scored 41 runs over this six-game series with Indianapolis. They tacked on eight today, thanks to a five-run first and another José Miranda homer. Miranda’s excellence has been well-documented, but it’s truly remarkable what he’s done in the high minors. He’s hitting .347 with a 1.028 OPS in 41 games for the Saints. St. Paul improved its record to 48-41 and will head home to take on the Iowa Cubs. Now back from Japan, newly acquired starter Joe Ryan could make his Saints debut during the series. WIND SURGE WISDOM Surge 14, Drillers 8 Box Score Jordan Balazovic: 1 2/3 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 0 K HR: BJ Boyd 2 (13, 14), Andrew Bechtold (14), Leobaldo Cabrera (4), Jermaine Palacios (18), Chris Williams (3), Trey Cabbage (13) Multi-hit games: Boyd (2-for-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R), Palacios (3-for-4, HR, 3 R, RBI, BB), Cabrera (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB), D.J. Burt (2-for-3, 2B, 3 R, 2 BB) Another home run barrage for the Surge began less swimmingly. Jordan Balazovic struggled with his command, walking three in a very short outing. None of the six runs scored against him were earned, however, as the Surge made some throwing errors in the field. Wichita entered the game with a league-leading 26 homers in August. They bashed seven more in Sunday’s win. Trey Cabbage hit his seventh homer of the month and BJ Boyd hit another two bombs himself. Boyd has four homers in his last two games and nine over his last 13 games. It was a big win for Wichita as they extend their lead over Tulsa to four games. Wichita is in first place with a 52-38 record after the road series split. KERNELS NUGGETS Kernels 4, Chiefs 1 Box Score Matt Canterino: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 1 BB, 8 K HR: Michael Helman (11), Alex Isola (9) Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2 BB), Yunior Severino (2-for-5), Isola (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB), Helman (2-for-3, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB) Matt Canterino was absolutely dominant in his abbreviated return from an elbow injury. He struck out eight of the 10 batters he faced with just one walk of top prospect Jordan Walker. Canterino owns a 0.78 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 23 innings this season. Michael Helman got things going for Cedar Rapids with a solo homer on the first pitch of the third inning. Alex Isola then went yard in the fourth, giving the Kernels a 2-0 lead. Cody Laweryson did an excellent job filling innings after Canterino, striking out six and not allowing a run in four innings of work. The Kernels have certainly enjoyed the return of Matt Wallner from the injured list. The lineup is deeper and presents an opportunity to balance out production. With the activation of Canterino, Cedar Rapids could really start to click. MUSSEL MATTERS GAME POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER COMPLEX CHRONICLES THE FCL TWINS DID NOT PLAY SUNDAY TWINS DAILY’S MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE DAY: ANDREW ALBERS: 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 5 K TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE HITTER OF THE DAY: BJ BOYD: 2-for-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Royce Lewis (Rehab) – Out for season (torn ACL) #2 – Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-6, R #3 – Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 1 2/3 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 0 K #4 – Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - Did not pitch #5 – Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) - Injured List (Right Elbow Strain) #6 – Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, RBI #7 – Joe Ryan (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #8 – Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, BB, 8 K #9 – Chase Petty (Complex) - Did not pitch #10 – Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) - Did not play (game postponed) #11 – Josh Winder (St. Paul) - Injured List (Right Shoulder Impingement) #12 – Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB #13 – Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, R, 2 BB #14 – Drew Strotman (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #15 – Noah Miller (Complex) - Did not play #16 – Brent Rooker (Minnesota) - Did not play #17 – Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Out for Season (Tommy John surgery) #18 – Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) - Did not play #19 – Cole Sands (Wichita) - Did not pitch #20 – Spencer Steer (Wichita) - Did not play View full article