Twins Minor League Report (4/12): Emma Continues to Impress

TRANSACTIONS

• RHP Jack Noble transferred from Cedar Rapids to Wichita
• INF Dalton Shuffield placed on Development roster by Wichita

SAINTS SENTINEL
Iowa 6, St. Paul 0
Box Score

The Saints had a bit of a different test tonight with rehabbing Cubs starter Jameson Taillon on the mound for Iowa. With Simeon Woods Richardson headed to the Twins as the 27th man for the doubleheader on Saturday, some shuffling was done to the starting rotation. Friday night, before the fireworks, was Joe Gunkel taking the ball.

Gunkel tiptoed around a very strong Iowa lineup. Allowing three runs in the first two innings, he still lasted four and didn’t give up greater damage on the seven hits. He also walked one.

It didn’t take long for Iowa to get on the board. The Triple-A squad is home to many of the Cubs top hitting prospects, and despite getting a first out of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Alexander Canario then singled back up the middle before Matt Mervis destroyed a baseball 422 feet. The Saints threatened to answer with a run of their own in the bottom half, but Yunior Severino’s double wasn’t in the gap enough to score Jair Camargo from first and he was thrown out at home.

Continuing to stomp out a chance at momentum, Iowa homered on the first at bat of the 2nd inning to make it a 3-0 game. After cruising through the first three innings of the game, St. Paul started to mount a threat against Taillon. Camargo reached on a fielding error before Patrick Winkel singled to put runners on first and second with one out. Another error allowed Diego A. Castillo to reach, knocking out Taillon, and loading the bases for St. Paul. Yoyner Fajardo bounced a one-hopper to first and the inning was over with no damage done.

Michael Boyle came on in the 5th inning for St. Paul, and Mervis quickly welcomed him with his second home run of the night. The solo shot made it a 4-0 game. St. Paul had runners at first and second for Fajardo in the 6th inning, and his liner to left gave them a chance to get on the board, but Owen Caissie cut down Castillo at home.

Working on a rehab assignment as he makes his way back towards the Twins, Josh Staumont took over in the 7th inning. The reliever looked great, striking out the side, and topping out at 96.5 mph. He got five whiffs on just 14 pitches.

In the 8th inning it was Ronny Henriquez’s turn to throw. After two quick outs he issued a walk before B.J. Murray Jr. was given credit for an inside-the-park home run. The ball rolled to, and under, the right centerfield was. Both Fajardo and Keirsey Jr. threw up their arms to signal it dead, but none of the umpires acknowledged the play and allowed the Iowa runner to advance. Toby Gardenhire was wildly animated, but wasn’t tossed, and didn’t have his point change the outcome either.

Fajardo recorded his second hit of the game, the only Saints player to do so, giving St. Paul a 9th inning baserunner. Will Holland whiffed on strike three to end the game, and the Saints lineup continued to sputter.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Game 1: Springfield 3, Wichita 1 (F/7)
Box Score

After a postponement earlier this week, the Wind Surge were set to play two on Friday night. The pair of seven-inning games featured Marco Raya in game one, and he looked sharp. Working three innings, Raya allowed one run on four hits while striking out three and walking none. He threw 34 of his 51 pitches for strikes.

Following up a strong Thursday night affair, Emmanuel Rodriguez again flexed his muscles. A first inning triple put him in scoring position, and Andrew Cossetti’s double brought him home easily. Springfield did even things in the bottom half, but if Wichita expected to hand the Cardinals their first loss of the season, they had to know it wouldn’t come easily.

Miguel Rodriguez took over for Raya in the 4th inning and worked a scoreless frame. He went back out for the 5th, and with two outs in the inning, Springfield had the bases loaded. Unable to escape the jam, Noah Medlinger doubled and brought home two runs, making it a 3-1 game.

Looking for a shot to make it even with Ben Ross, Tanner Schobel, and Cossetti loading the bases, Noah Cardenas stepped in with two outs in the top of the 6th inning. His fly ball to center was tracked down, and the threat was put to bed. Wichita put runners on first and second in the 7th inning, and Rodriguez stepped in with an out. He was called out on strikes and it was up to Schobel to keep the game alive. His single loaded the bags for Cossetti, with two outs, needing two runs to tie. Working a full count, the runners were moving but the fly out to left ended game one in a loss.

Wichita managed just a single run on five hits, and turned their attention to game two for another try.

Game 2: Springfield 10, Wichita 2 (F/7)
Box Score

Travis Adams was on the bump for game two, making his second start of the season. He was cruising through the first two innings before things went off the tracks in the 3rd inning. Working 2 2/3 innings, Adams allowed six runs on five hits and a pair of walks. He struck out four.

Rodriguez wasted no time scoring during game two. On the fifth pitch of his at bat, the first of the game, he blasted his third home run of the season. With the bases loaded and two outs in the 2nd inning, Alerick Soluarie lifted a sacrifice fly to score Ben Ross and make it a 2-0 game. That's where Springfield made their move. Scoring six runs in the 3rd inning, the Cardinals had quickly doubled up the Wind Surge and then some. Another run came in for the opposition on a 4th inning balk.

In the 6th inning Wichita sparked back to life. The Wind Surge loaded the bases with no outs and Carson McCusker stepped in. He went down swinging, but with two outs still to work with, it was Jorel Ortega's turn. The one thing the Wind Surge couldn't afford was a double play, and that's exactly what took place. All three runners were stranded and Wichita trailed 7-2 heading to the bottom of the 6th inning.

Sheldon Reed struggled with his command in the 6th inning, and after a leadoff single, he followed an out with a pair of walks. The bases were again chucked, and Wichita had just a single out. Getting a strikeout for the second out helped, but walking in a run on the next batter continued the onslaught. A single followed and made it a 9-2 game and another walk added the 10th run. Reed, at 52 pitches clearly in just wearing it, had issued five free passes while completely losing the zone.

Wichita did nothing in the 7th inning and finished with just two hits in the nightcap. Springfield remained undefeated at 7-0.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Dayton 5, Cedar Rapids 3
Box Score

Cedar Rapids was up against a tough matchup tonight with Reds prospect Rhett Lowder on the bump for Dayton. He touched 96 mph in the first inning, and isn’t expected to last at this level long. Tonight was his second professional outing.

John Klein was on the bump for Cedar Rapids Friday night. He went three innings allowing a single run on two hits. Command escaped him as he walked four, but Klein did strike out one. Jacob Wosinski followed with three innings of his own in relief, and while he gave up two hits and a walk, he struck out six.

Dayton struck first with a run in the 1st inning, but the Kernels got to Lowder in the 2nd inning with two outs. Agustin Ruiz ripped his first double of the season and scored Rubel Cespedes to even things at one. In the 6th inning Ricardo Olivar hit his first home run of the game, and the solo shot broke the tie.

The Dragons weren’t ok with trailing and did their part to even things at two in the 7th inning. That tie didn’t last as Willie Joe Garry Jr. hit his first home run of the season as the first batter to step in during the bottom half. With both sides staying scoreless in the 8th inning, A.J. Labas remained on to close things out in the 9th. Instead, Dayton tagged him for three runs and forced the Kernels into a must-score situation.

Not looking to role over, Nate Baez took a leadoff walk bringing the tying run to the plate. He advanced to second on a groundout, but that's where Cedar Rapids left him, falling 5-3. Cespedes was the lone batter with multiple hits.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Clearwater 3, Fort Myers 0
Box Score

2023 draft pick Jeremy Lee made his first professional start tonight for Fort Myers, and it would have been hard for it to go much better. He worked 4 2/3 innings giving up just one run on four hits. Lee walked two and struck out seven.

It wasn’t until the 5th inning that Clearwater got on the board with a run, and they added  two more in the 7th inning. After Brandon Winokur was hit by a pitch and then stole second base in the top half of the 7th inning, it was especially crushing to see two more come across immediately after squandering the opportunity.

With only three outs left to mount a comeback, Fort Myers came up in the 9th inning and went down in order. The Mighty Mussels finished the night with just three hits while striking out 15 times and drawing two walks.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Jacob Wosinski (Cedar Rapids) - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Hitter of the Day – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 2-5, 2 R, 3B(1), HR(3), RBI 2 BB, 3 K

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) – 2-5, 2 R, 3B(1), HR(3), RBI 2 BB, 3 K
#4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 0-5
#5 – Marco Raya (Wichita) – 3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
#7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) – 0-2
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-3, K, SB(3)
#11 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-4, K
#12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 1-5, 2B, K
#13 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 0-3, 3 K
#16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 1-4
#17 – Matt Canterino (IL) – Shoulder injury
#18 – Connor Prielipp (IL) – UCL Surgery
#19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, R, RBI, HR(1), 2 K

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs Iowa (2:07 PM CST) – RHP Aaron Rozek (0-0, -.-- ERA)
Wichita @ Springfield (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Pierson Ohl (0-0, 3.60 ERA)
Cedar Rapids vs Dayton (1:05 PM CST) – RHP Christian MacLeod (0-0, -.-- ERA)
Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM CST) – RHP Charlee Soto (0-0, 6.00 ERA)

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games!

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!