Twins Video
This report is a little later than normal. I attended the 2025 Great American Think-Off in New York Mills tonight. The question debated was "Is there only one truth, or are there many truths?" Deep stuff, but that was a lot of fun! I even included a deep question or two in the below that you can debate in the comments... or just ask questions. TRANSACTIONSRHP C.J. Culpepper was activated from the Wind Surge’s 60-Day Injured List and made the start in Wichita. RHP Julio Bonilla has been on the Mighty Mussels 60-Day Injured List all season. On Saturday, he began a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. Infielder Billy Amick began a rehab assignment in the FCL as well. Hopefully he can get back to the Kernels soon. SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 2, Indianapolis 4
Box Score
After two innings, the Saints were on pace to score nine runs in the game. In the top of the first inning, Mickey Gasper scored on a double off the bat of Carson McCusker . In the second, Gasper drove in Anthony Prato with a single. Unfortunately, in between Jack Suwinski hit a two-run home run. So, after two innings, the game was on pace to be 9-9 at the end of nine innings. Indianapolis ended with just four runs total. However, the Saints did not score the rest of the game and fell 4-2. In one way, I guess that’s OK. I mean, if we continue the logic that each team would continue to score just one run per inning, the game would never end. It would have infinite innings and I don’t think that’s good for anyone in the long-term, or the short-term. The options were. 1.) St. Paul wins. 2.) Indianapolis wins. 3.) the game would go to infinity with a score of infinity-infinity. This option could involve intervention after, say, 36 innings or so. The league could call the game a tie so that it ends and a new game could start. So the question is… Obviously Option #1 would be preferred. But of the other two options, which would be preferred? Certainly a tie would be better than a loss, but what would it do to the pitching staff throughout the organization? Would there even be any pitchers (including position players) left to pitch? This might be a case where it’s better to lose the battle to help the possibility of winning the war. OK, back to this game. Darren McCaughan started and gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk over the first five innings. Travis Adams came on and tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and had three strikeouts. Gasper led the offense with two of the team’s five hits. Edouard Julien went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. Tanner Schobel walked and was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning. He left the game for a pinch runner. Prato added his first triple. McCusker’s double was his 12th of the season. Since returning from his two-week stint with the Twins, McCusker has gone 5-for-45. He’s hitting .111/.245/.267 (.512). WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 3, Corpus Christi 1
Box Score
In his return to the Wind Surge rotation after spending the season’s first two-and-a-half months on the Injured List. He did well. He worked the first three innings and gave up no runs on three hits. He walked none and had four strikeouts. Cole Percival (aka, Son of Troy) was asked to pitch the next two innings. He gave up one run on four hits. Pierson Ohl worked out of the bullpen again and tossed the final four innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none and had five strikeouts. He got the Win and is now 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA this season. In his last five outings, he has given up two earned runs in 18 innings (1.00 ERA). Corpus Christi scored first with their run scoring in the top of the fourth inning. The Wind Surge responded in the bottom half with a run. With runners on first and third, Rubel Cespedes drove in Ricardo Olivar with a fielder’s choice. The score remained 1-1 until the bottom of the seventh. Jorel Ortega led off the inning with a solar homer. He now has seven long balls on the season. The Surge added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth . With two outs, Ortega lined a single to left that drove in Ben Ross . Ortega led the offense on Saturday. Batting ninth, he went 3-for-4 with his fifth double, seventh home run, and two RBI. He also stole his sixth base. Gabriel Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a walk. It was his seventh multi-hit game since joining the Surge about a month ago. Ben Ross went 2-for-4. KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 8, Peoria 0
Box Score
In Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader, Chase Chaney delivered a complete game shutout. Tanner Hall won’t get credit for the complete game or a shutout, but he also worked seven scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked four batters, hit a batter and struck out four. Two more innings still had to be played for this game to be complete. Jacob Kisting came on and maintained the shutout. He gave up two hits, walked none, and he had three strikeouts. Along with great pitching, the Kernels took an early lead and later had a big inning to make it an (relatively) easy win. The Kenrels started with a run in the first inning. Kaelen Culpepper was hit by a pitch and went to second on a wild pitch. He scored on a double by Kyle DeBarge . Let’s jump to the fourth inning, Jaime Ferrer singled to left to lead off the inning. Newcomer Andy Lugo lined a double to left but Ferrer was thrown out at home. Kyle Hess walked. Misael Urbina tripled to drive in both runners and give the Kernels a 3-0 lead. Then came the fifth inning. Kyle DeBarge led off with a walk and stole second. Brandon Winokur walked, and DeBarge stole another base. Winokur followed with a stolen base. Danny De Andrade got on base on a fielder’s choice. Winokur was thrown out between second and third. Ferrer followed with a two-run single. Following walks by Hess and Poncho Ruiz to load the bases, Ferrer scored on a wild pitch. Urbina walked to reload the bases. Hess scored on a passed ball. Culpepper was hit by a pitch to reload the bases. DeBarge walked to drive in Ruiz with the fifth run of the inning. That was it for the scoring. The Kernels held on for the 8-0 win. Ferrer went 3-for-5. Lugo went 2-for-4 in his Kernels debut with a double. DeBarge went 1-for-3 with two walks and stole his 34th and 35 bases. Urban had a walk and his second triple. Ruiz had a walk and his third double. Hess walked twice. Culpepper had a walk and was twice hit by a pitch. MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 7 Dunedin 8 (11 innings)
Box Score
It was Dasan Day in Dunedin on Saturday. The southpaw didn’t have his best start, but his offense kept the team in the game. The game went to extra innings. The Mussels scored two runs in the top of the 11th, but the Blue Jays scored three in the bottom half to walk it off. Dasan Hill made the start. He went 3 1/3 innings and was charged with three runs (1 earned) on two hits and a career-high four walks. He had three strikeouts. His season ERA is now at 1.65. Tyler Stasiowski came on and gave up one run on three hits over the next 2 2/3 innings. Ivran Romero gave up one run on two hits over two innings. Ruddy Gomez pitched scoreless innings in the ninth and 10th innings. However, he was charged with all three runs. Two were earned, and of course the Manfred Man scored an unearned run. He gave up a total of three hits. He walked two and had four strikeouts. But he wasn’t on the mound when the winning run scored. Zander Sechrist came in and threw one pitch. A single scored the winning run. The Mussels scored four runs in the fifth inning to temporarily take a one-run lead. The inning started with a single by Caleb McNeeley. He went to second on a wild pitch. Jefferson Valladares walked. With one out, McNeely and Valladares were successful on a double steal. Blaze O’Saben walked to load the bases. After a pitching change, Byron Chourio singled to center. McNeely scored, but Valladares was thrown out at home. Walker Jenkins reached on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error allowed O’Saben to score. Dameury Pena drove a single to right to score Chourio. Jenkins then scored on a Wild Pitch. Bryan Acuna and Yohander Martinez walked to reload the bases. In the seventh inning, Acuna scored on a Martinez single . In the top of the 11th, Chourio began the inning at second base. Angel Del Rosario hit a bunt single. There was an error on the throw to first that allowed Byron Chourio to score. With two outs, Del Rosario stole his 24th base. Martinez was hit by a pitch. McNeely singled in Del Rosario. Then came the bottom of the 11th. Byron Chourio went 3-for-5 with a walk and his eighth stolen bases. Martinez went 2-for-4 with a walk. McNeely went 2-fo-5 with a walk. Bryan Acuna had a single and two walks. 1st PA (1st Inning): Double, SB, Run
2nd PA (2nd inning): Home Run, 2 RBI, Run
3rd PA (4th Inning): Double, Run
4th PA (6th inning): Walk,
5th PA (7th inning): Double, 2 RBI,
6th PA (9th inning): Pop Out. Mercedes went 4-for-5 with a walk, three doubles, a homer, three runs scored and four RBI, and a stolen base. Fellow rehabber Billy Amick went 1-for-3 with three walks in his first game in over a month. Daiber De Los Santos went 2-for-4 with two walks, his sixth double, his second home run, and three RBI. Ricardo Paez was 2-for-5. Yandro Hernandez hit his third double, and Ramiro Dominguez hit his eighth double and stole his sixth base. Juan Cota made the start. In 2 1/3 innings, he gave up four runs (all in the third) on five hits and a walk. He struck out three batters. Anderson Ramos faced eight batters and got all eight out. He had four strikeouts. Julio Bonilla is currently on the 60-Day IL and made his first rehab appearance. He gave up one hit and struck out two in a scoreless inning. Andrew Huffman struck out two batters in a scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked a batter. Sebastian Pulido gave up one run on one hit (a solo homer), but hae also had three strikeouts. It was a good day for a division-leading FCL Twins squad. They scored 13 runs on 12 hits. They also walked 11 times and were hit by two pitches. They scored 13 runs despite going just 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 4, DSL Marlins 15
Box Score
The Twins fell behind early, and then they gave up more runs often on Saturday morning. Rainer Marin started and gave up four runs on two hits and two walks. He got two outs, one was a strikeout. Eliezer Lucena came on and worked the next 3 1/3 innings. He gave up five runs on three hits and three walks. He struck out three batters. Brandy Ceballos gave up four unearned runs on three hits and a walk over his two innings. Finally, Jesus Gomez gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and one walk. All but Ceballos hit a batter too. The offense put up three runs in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Santiago Leon walked. After a pitching change, Jhomnardo Reyes singled, and Leon advanced to third on a throwing error. Reyes stole second. Leon scored on a wild pitch, and when the catcher’s throw got past the pitcher, Reyes scored too. Carlos Taveras walked and stole second. Darwin Almanzar doubles to bring home Taveras and cut the Miami lead to 9-3. In the fourth inning, Pablo Castillo was hit by a pitch. He moved to second base on a ground out. Diaz singled to third base, and then a wild pitch put runners on second and third. Teilon Serrano toward second base to drive in Castillo. Serrano and Diaz each had two hits. Taveras walked twice. Almanzar’s double was his second of the season. PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Let’s try this a little differently today… Here are five candidates for hitter of the day and pitcher of the day. In the comments below, leave your vote for both.
Hitter of the Day
Jorel Ortega (Wichita): 3-for-4, 2B(5), HR (7), R, 2 RBI, SB(6)
Jaime Ferrer (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, R, 2 RBI, SB(1)
Byron Chourio (Fort Myers): 3-for-5, BB, 2 R, RBI, SB(8).
Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins-Rehab): 4-for-5, BB, 3-2B, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, SB).
Daiber De Los Santos (FCL Twins): 2-for-4, 2 BB, 2B(6), HR(2), R, 3 RBI, K
Pitcher of the Day
Tanner Hall (Cedar Rapids): 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K.
Travis Adams (St. Paul): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Pierson Ohl (Wichita): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
CJ Culpepper (Wichita): 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K.
Anderson Ramos (FCL Twins): 2 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. Reminder: You can vote and rank your top 20 Twins prospects and help us update the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects. Click here. Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Saturday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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!
