Minor League Report (9/8): Kyle DeBarge Goes Out With a Bang

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The Saints walloped their opponents on Sunday.

Travis Adams settled in for a much tamer second go-around as St. Paul’s starter. Outside of a cheesy 351-foot homer, Adams was pretty much perfect; he tossed a clean frame three times and twice allowed a lone runner to reach 1st before handling business with efficiency and professionalism. An excellent bounceback for our August Starter of the Month .

Unfortunately, he did not get the win for his work. The Saints offense was potent, but they were a bit tardy. No matter: runs are better late than never.

St. Paul plated early runs with RBI knocks from Payton Eeles and Chris Williams before roaring into overdrive the second the game transitioned to its final stage. An RBI double from Jeferson Morales wet the palette and ushered Carson McCusker into his place as the main attraction (it’s hard not to be the centerpiece when you stand 6’8”). McCusker tattooed a three-run shot in the 7th to bust the game wide open.

Then—in perfect opposition to McCusker’s power—Diego A. Castillo showcased the unique diversity of scoring opportunities in baseball with a bases-clearing single dropped directly between the communication of Iowa’s up-the-middle defense.

Both hits plated three runs. What a sport.

Caleb Baragar , Giovanny Gallegos , and Zack Weiss delivered the game to the finish line with relatively little drama; a homer off Baragar marked the lone run surrendered by the St. Paul bullpen on Sunday.

McCusker is slashing .327/.389/.612 with the Saints. Does anyone else see a little Tyler Austin in his swing?

The Iowa Cubs are led by infielder Matt Shaw , who clocks in as the 24th-best prospect in MLB. He was held hitless in four at-bats.

The Wind Surge won in extras on Sunday.

C.J. Culpepper made his finest start since coming off the IL. The flowing-blonde righty tossed four scoreless frames, whiffing six while allowing a pair of singles and a walk; just once did a runner reach beyond first base. That's more like the kind of pitching we've come to expect from Culpepper.

Scoring was sparse, but Wichita made it count when it mattered most, falling flat for long stretches before knotting the game and pulling ahead with the aid of the gifted Manfred Man.

Jorel Ortega kicked off the scoring with a solo shot, marking Wichita's lone run before the 8th inning. There—after it seemed like the Wind Surge would never score—a single and two walks loaded the bases for Aaron Sabato . Standing in the box with the intention to cause damage he... got smoked by a fastball. That'll work, anyhow.

In extras, Kala'i Rosario walked to set up Jake Rucker with runners on the corners; he pushed a double into the right-field gap, sending the runners in a frenzy as both men came around to score.

Jarret Whorff brought the game to an end with his second scoreless frame. He capped a streak of tremendous relief pitching started by Taylor Floyd ; between Floyd and Whorff, four hurlers combined to toss five shutout innings with seven strikeouts and no baserunners, at least none allowed through their own volition.

The RoughRiders are an affiliate of the Texas Rangers, and their best player is the franchise's 16th-ranked prospect, outfielder Alejandro Osuna .

The Kernels imploded in sour fashion to end their season.

Tanner Hall simply didn’t have it. He allowed a homer three pitches into the start and only continued to tumble from there; three runs scored in total that frame—and despite two clean innings in response—the righty coughed up another trio of scores in the 4th to bring his day to a rough end. The start was a disappointment for the Southern Mississippi product who pitched solidly in August; hopefully a long offseason of rest provides the nourishment and reset he needs.

Cedar Rapids’ lineup was in no mood to aid their flailing starter, as came up empty in 14 at-bats on Sunday, with five batters striking out at least twice. Rayne Doncon bore the brunt of the whiff-fest with his first (and only) golden sombrero of the season. It sure is a cruel sport.

The little offense they mustered manifested in a 2nd-inning Kevin Maitan homer, a Misael Urbina triple that begat an RBI single from Tyler Dearden , and an at-the-buzzer run-scoring double by Rixon Wingrove .

Walker Jenkins reached base twice with a single and a walk. He ends September with more walks (8) than strikeouts (6). With Junior Caminero and Dylan Crews in the majors, he may soon become MLB Pipeline’s number 1 overall prospect.

The Timber Rattlers are a member of the typically talented Brewers farm system. They enjoy the services of shortstop Cooper Pratt , the 60th-ranked prospect in MLB. He homered and walked in five trips to the plate.

The Kernels finished the season with a 67-63 record, a far fall from their dominant 82-50 heights from 2023, but good enough to secure their 11th straight winning season. The last time Cedar Rapids ended a year below .500 was as an Angels affiliate. Brian Dinkelman runs a tight ship—and despite the relative disappointment of 2024—the Kernels remain a shining beacon of consistency.

In their final game of the season, the Mighty Mussels blasted three homers to secure yet another winning year.

It was the Kyle DeBarge show: the recent 1st round pick broke out for his best game as a professional, blasting his first career homer and singling thrice on his way to a hearty 4-for-5 day at the plate. He knocked in four and stole two bases. That’s a packed box score.

Not to be overshadowed, Khadim Diaw also hit his inaugural pro ball home run (during a pinch-hit at-bat, nonetheless), and Maddux Houghton gave Fort Myers the lead with a two-run shot just moments after Diaw’s blast completed its return from tickling the stratosphere.

The pitching effort was an ensemble cast; Anthony Narvaez kicked things off with three solid innings before turning the ball over to Paulshawn Pasqualotto , Juan Mercedes , and Tomas Cleto . Pasqualotto earned the win with his timing, but Mercedes shined with a pair of scoreless innings to lower his Mighty Mussels ERA to 2.89.

Everyone in Fort Myers’ lineup reached base on Sunday, even the substitute players.

The Lakeland Flying Tigers—as you could guess—are an affiliate of their grounded parent team based in Detroit. While they no longer employ the wonderful talents of Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle , their DH, Josue Briceño , ranks as the franchise's 10-best prospect. He went 0-4 on Sunday.

Despite missing the playoffs, Fort Myers enjoyed yet another year above .500, their 11th in the past 12 years, and their fourth straight under manager Brian Meyer , who has yet to see a losing season. That’s quite the achievement. The minors are chaotic and volatile, with good players leaving quickly for greener pastures, making any sort of stability almost impossible. A ton of credit goes to Meyer, the Mussels coaching staff, the Twins organization, and—of course—the players for accomplishing this feat.

Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!