Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge
TRANSACTIONS
LHP Rafael Marcano released (Cedar Rapids)
RHP Ryan Jensen released (St. Paul)
C Patrick Winkel activated from 7-day IL (St. Paul)
Saints Sentinel
The Saints were rained out on Wednesday and will play a doubleheader Saturday.
Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 10, Springfield 1
Box Score
John Klein: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
HR: Kala’i Rosario (8), Kaelen Culpepper (2)
Multi-hit games: Kala’i Rosario (4-for-5, HR, 3B, 2B, R, 6 RBI), Ricardo Olivar (3-for-5)
Kala’i Rosario hit for the cycle on Wednesday. He started with a sharply struck double in the first before crushing a homer in the third. A successful day at the ballpark already, Rosario nonetheless tacked on a two-run single in the fourth.
At this point, Rosario lived in the infamous “triple away from the cycle” world. He was technically close to finishing the deed, but a triple is a rare outcome for even the quickest players. He did it, though. The footage is something to watch; hard-cutting from the ball’s violent ricochet off the wall to an aggressively helmet-less Rosario dashing around second with singular intent. He slams his hand against the bag. The third base coach smiles and high-fives the hero. A perfect moment. Rosario is the second Wind Surge hitter in franchise history to hit for the cycle (Christian Encarnacion-Strand, July 17, 2022, vs. Arkansas). He’s also the first Wichita hitter this year with five or more RBIs in a game (6).
Lost in the exultations was John Klein’s brilliance on the mound. The Brooklyn Park righty mowed down the Cardinals, whiffing nine of them, a season high, with just one earned run. His season ERA with the Wind Surge now sits at 3.10.
Kaelen Culpepper homered for the second time since being promoted.
As you may have guessed, Springfield is an affiliate of the Cardinals. Their seventh overall pick in 2024, J.J. Wetherholt is ranked as the 17th-best prospect in baseball; he singled and walked in four plate appearances.
Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 1, South Bend 4
Box Score
Chase Chaney: 6 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None
The Kernels lost plainly on Wednesday.
Chase Chaney was the clear star of the show. The righty worked efficiently, netting 19 outs with just 88 pitches. The secret? Grounders. Lots of them. He nabbed nine groundouts, and overall allowed just three balls to leave the infield. Given his prime Keuchel-ian play, he probably deserved an even better line.
Poor Kade Bragg was part of the reason why Chaney’s box score didn’t live up to its potential. You may have had a bad day in the office—or restaurant; store; construction; wherever else our readers may gather to sell their labor for money—but few suffered a tougher day than Bragg. He surrendered an inherited run, an earned run, an unearned run, four walks, five stolen bases, and uncorked a wild pitch before Jacob Kisting mercifully ended his night. Go get a good night’s rest, Bragg. You deserve it.
The Kernels earned two hits: a double by Andy Lugo and a triple by Danny De Andrade. Kyle DeBarge stole his 40th base of the season.
South Bend is, of course, an affiliate of the Cubs, and they played the 71st-ranked prospect in baseball, Jefferson Rojas. The second baseman walked once in four plate appearances.
Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 3, Tampa 1
Box Score
Michael Carpenter: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
HR: Yasser Mercedes (4)
Multi-hit games: Peyton Carr (2-for-3)
The Mighty Mussels won narrowly on Wednesday.
What a bizarre game. Fort Myers pitchers walked nine, yet allowed just five hits, and nearly escaped with a shutout. On Tampa’s side, their starter, Gage Ziehl, pitched eight innings—an almost unheard of thing in the minors. And he lost. Go figure.
Michael Carpenter has left quite an impression lately. He entered his May 21st outing with an ERA over 7, but has allowed just three earned runs across 13 innings. Not a bad showing from the Menomonee Falls native.
The Mighty Mussels offensive effort was curt. Yasser Mercedes slashed a two-run homer to right in the game’s opening frames. Then the bats fell dormant. Maybe they were resting. In any case, Angel Del Rosario decided to take matters into his hands. In the eighth, he legged out an infield single, stole second, advanced to third on a pickoff error, and finally scored on a wild pitch. That’s high-quality manufacturing.
The steal was Del Rosario’s 25th of the season, the 4th-most in the Florida State League.
Tampa is an affiliate of the famous New York Yankees farm system. Though it appears a bit more tepid than usual, they still sent their fifth-ranked player, infielder Roderick Arias. He went 0-5, with four strikeouts.
TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – John Klein, Wichita (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K)
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kala’i Rosario, Wichita (4-for-5, HR, 3B, 2B, R, 6 RBI)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects, which was recently updated!
#1 – Walker Jenkins (Wichita) – 1-4, BB, 2 K
#4 – Kaelen Culpepper (Wichita) – 1-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
#9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, BB, 2 K
#10 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, BB
#12 – Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) – 0-2, RBI, BB, K
#13 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) – 1-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB
#18 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) – 3-5
#19 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, 3B, R, K
THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07 PM) – RHP Trent Baker
Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM) – RHP C.J. Culpepper
South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) – RHP Tanner Hall
Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30 PM) – RHP Adrian Bohorquez
FCL Braves @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM) – TBD
DSL Cardinals @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM) – TBD
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games.