Twins Minor League Week Recap (July 15-July 21): Zebby Rises and Chris Williams Sets Record – Minor Leagues

It was a quiet week in the minor leagues, as most affiliates and major league teams were off, with Zebby Matthews’ debut with the Saints and Luke Keaschall being named Minor League Player of the Week were the highlights.

TRANSACTIONS

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Pirates 6, FCL Twins 0
It was a tough game for the FCL Twins offense, which only managed two hits that day, singles by Jayson Bass and Yilber Herrera.

On the other side of the ball, poor defense plagued the FCL Twins, as throwing errors led to false numbers in both the second and fourth innings, giving the Pirates three runs in each of those innings. On the mound, Anthony Narvaez allowed seven hits in four innings and managed five strikeouts.

DOMINICAN DAILY NEWSPAPERS
DSL Yankees 2, DSL Twins 0 (Top 3 – suspended)
There is not much to report from the DSL Twins, as the game against the DSL Yankees was stopped due to rain just as the third inning began. In over two innings, Cristian Hernandez allowed three hits and two walks, contributing to three earned runs.

WEEK IN REVIEW
Triple-A: St. Paul Saints

• Overall: 47-48 (3-0 last week) Fifth place in IL West
• Overview: The Saints came back from the break with a convincing away win against the Toledo Mud Hens.
• Zebby Matthews had a strong Triple-A debut, picking up a win after throwing five innings, allowing two earned runs and recording six strikeouts.
• Chris Williams tied Mark Contreras for the St. Paul Saints home run record with his 43rd hit in a Saints uniform. Williams hit 9 of 13 home runs for the Saints over the weekend.
• Anthony Prato had a career-high four RBIs in the Saints’ 11-3 win on Saturday.
• What’s next: The Saints return home for a six-game series against the Omaha Storm Chasers.
• Josh Winder again struggled as the Saints’ reliever, allowing two hits, two walks and earned runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge

• Overall: 38-58 (2-1 last week) Fifth place in the Texas League North
• Overview: Wind Surge rebounded from Friday night’s loss with some outstanding pitching performances to win the series against the Frisco RoughRiders.
• Andrew Morris continued his dominance with a stellar performance on Saturday night, throwing six innings with one run.
• Jordan Carr had a strong performance for Wichita, pitching five innings, allowing one earned run and striking out four players.
• Luke Keaschall was named Minor League Player of the Week after posting nine hits, two home runs, four RBIs and four runs and zero strikeouts in four games the week before. He also participated in the 2024 All-Star Futures Game last Sunday.

High A: Cedar Rapids Kernels

• Overall: 51-37 (1-2 last week) Second place in the Midwest League West
• Overview: After picking up a win and a loss on Friday and Saturday, the Kernels lost their deciding game on Sunday and suffered a loss in the weekend series against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
• Rubel Cespedes hit two home runs for the Kernels on Sunday in their loss. Cespedes was 6-for-13 with three RBIs for the Kernels on the weekend.
• Christian Macleod was outstanding for Cedar Rapids on Friday night, throwing six innings, allowing just one run and striking out seven players, leading to a 2-1 victory.
• Darren Bowen struggled for Cedar Rapids, allowing five hits and three earned runs and not making it past the third inning.
• Ricardo Olivar also struggled, going hitless in 12 at-bats and having four strikeouts.

Low A: Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

• Overall: 46-41 (3-0 last week) Third place in the Florida State League West
• Overview: The Mighty Mussels earned a weekend win over the Clearwater Threshers thanks to strong hitting and an outstanding starting pitcher.
• Ricky Castro got off to a brilliant start for the Mussels, throwing five innings with one hit and seven strikeouts.
• Walker Jenkins remained in top form for the Mighty Mussels this weekend, going 3-for-6 with a triple and five walks in 11 at-bats.
• Rixon Wingrove hit two home runs, a double and a triple in 14 at-bats this weekend.
• Brandon Winokur had a rough weekend, going hitless in 13 at-bats with 10 strikeouts.
• Connor Prielipp was in a rehab start pitching for the Mighty Mussels and threw two promising innings in which he allowed only one hit, allowed no runs and recorded three strikeouts.

Complex league: FCL Twins

• 26-30 (1-3 last week) Fourth place in the Florida Complex League South
• Yasser Mercedes had a strong week, going 7-of-13 with five extra-base hits.
• Bryan Acuna also had a solid week with two extra-base hits and two RBIs in four games.
• Devin Kirby was a star on the mound this week, throwing 5 ⅓ scoreless innings and recording six strikeouts.

Dominican League: DSL Twins

• 17-16 (2-2 last week) 4th in the Dominican Summer League South
• Irvin Nuñez hit a home run and a double in just six at-bats last week and was the team’s best player with seven total bases.
• Alver Medina captured four bases for the DSL Twins.
• Neftali Rodriguez finished two games for the DSL Twins this week, going 2 ⅔ innings without allowing a run and recording four strikeouts.

SUMMARY OF THE PERSPECTIVE
#1 – Walker Jenkins (Fort Myers) – 3-6, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 5 BB, 1 K
#2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 2-9, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
#5 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 2-11, 3K
#9 – Luke Keaschall (Wichita) – 3-10, 3 R, 2 BB
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-16, 2 BB, 10 K
#11 – Simeon Woods Richardson (Minnesota) – N/A
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-10, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K
#14 – Zebby Matthews (St. Paul) – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
#17 – Connor Prielipp (Fort Myers) – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
#18 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 5-13, 3 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 0-12, 1 BB, 4 K

Hitter of the Week – Chris Williams (St. Paul) – 9-13, 6 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K

Pitcher of the Week – Ricky Castro (Fort Myers) – 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

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