Minor League Report (7/22): Dallas Keuchel Refuses to Allow Runs, Jorge Polanco Homers in Rehab Assignment

TRANSACTIONS
OF Alec Sayre activated from 7-day IL (A-Fort Myers)
SS Dalton Shuffield sent to a rehab assignment (FCL Twins)

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 5, Omaha 8
Box Score
Dallas Keuchel: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
HR: Jorge Polanco (1), Andrew Stevenson (11), Jair Camargo (14)
Multi-hit games: Andrew Stevenson (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI), Jorge Polanco (2-for-3, HR, R, RBI), Mark Contreras (2-for-3, 2B, RBI)

The Saints imploded late, allowing four runs in back-to-back frames to lose on Saturday.

Dallas Keuchel shocked many earlier in the week, forgoing his opt-out to stay with St. Paul for the near future. His attachment was a reward for both sides; Keuchel continued to suppress runs, tossing six scoreless innings with just two hits allowed on 73 pitches.

Jorge Polanco—rehabbing, perhaps soon to move to third base—smoked a solo shot to center to start the scoring.

He wasn’t the only Saint homering to center; Andrew Stevenson blasted a two-run shot to give St. Paul a healthy 4-0 lead. 

It appeared the Saints were well on their way to a breezy victory, but fortune changed immediately when Keuchel left the game. Blayne Enlow imploded; the righty allowed seven earned runs over 1 1/3 innings, mixing in a pair of pickoff throwing errors to completely alter the shape of the game, turning it from an in-hand win for St. Paul to a sudden, heartbreaking deficit. 

Jair Camargo blasted a solo homer in the ninth, but that was all for the offense, and the Saints could only watch their once hard-earned lead dissipate into nothingness.

Kansas City’s 3rd-ranked prospect, Nick Loftin, singled and struck out in four at-bats. 

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 2, Amarillo 8
Box Score
Travis Adams: 5 2/3 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
HR: Alex Isola (12)
Multi-hit games: None
The Wind Surge scored twice in the first, and failed to do anything with it, eventually losing big to the Sod Poodles on Saturday.

Let’s start with the good news: Alex Isola homered on his birthday. The fresh 25-year-old blasted a two-run shot in his first at-bat, giving the Wind Surge an early advantage.

Unfortunately, the rest of the game only delivered bad news. Starter Travis Adams coughed up two runs of his own in the first—he gave up three over the course of his start—and Amarillo really stepped on the gas when Wichita’s bullpen entered the game. Each reliever allowed at least one run, leading to five extra runs, and a dominating, suffocating win for the Sod Poodles.

Yoyner Fajardo swiped his 27th base of the season. 

The fifth-best prospect in MLB, Jordan Lawler, doubled twice and walked in an impressive showing out of the two-hole. 

Kernels Nuggets
Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 2
Box Score
Kyle Jones: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K 
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None
The Kernels scored early, late to win their game on Saturday.

It started quickly; Noah Miller walked and Ben Ross was hit by a pitch, placing the first two men of Cedar Rapids’ lineup on base to start the game. A passed ball moved both runners up. Kala’i Rosario wasn’t fancy—he didn’t need to be—and a simple well-placed groundout plated the first run of the game.

Kyle Jones appreciated the support. The sinking groundball specialist gobbled up six efficient innings, only needing 62 pitches (with 48 strikes) to carry his team deep into the ballgame. He punched out two.

The eighth saw a similar situation as the first, with Rosario, again, stepping up to the plate with runners in scoring position. The infield was in, but a second well-placed groundball caused the second baseman to hesitate slightly, allowing the speedster Mikey Perez to scamper home on Rosario’s second RBI of the night. 

The lead held, and Miguel Rodriguez was the reliever who slammed the door in the ninth. 

The usually stacked Cardinals minor league system lacked a true dominant prospect playing in Saturday’s game, but the wonderfully named Jimmy Crooks—13th in the system—caught and went hitless in four at-bats. 

Mussel Matters
Ft. Myers 3, Bradenton 2 
Box Score
Andrew Morris: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
HR: Carson McCusker (7)
Multi-hit games: Carson McCusker (2-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI), Dylan Neuse (2-for-4, 2B)
The Mighty Mussels won their game on Saturday… eventually.  

Andrew Morris was masterful. Minnesota’s fourth-round pick in 2022 set a professional career-high in strikeouts, punching out eight batters over six frames of work. He allowed one earned run. There was an early stumble—Bradenton knocked him for two runs in the first two innings—but Morris locked in, allowing one lonely hit in his last four innings of work. 

It was a well-deserved win that he did not get. The Mighty Mussels and Marauders settled into an extended Cold War, wiping out nearly the entire game with stranded runners and batters walking back to the dugout; no team scored between second and ninth innings.

But Fort Myers broke through eventually, plating two off a clutch two-out Carson McCusker homer.

The rain came, forcing the bottom of the ninth to wait a little, but Gabriel Yanez was unfazed, tossing a clean inning to end the game—perhaps some time later than they hoped.

Ricardo Olivar did not take an at-bat on Saturday, walking all four times he stepped up to the plate. 

2nd baseman Termarr Johnson served as Bradenton’s finest prospect; the 26th-best prospect in MLB went hitless in four trips to the plate. 

Complex Chronicles
FCL Twins 2, FCL Red Sox 4
Box Score
John Klein: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
HR: Endy Rodriguez (2)
Multi-hit games: Dalton Shuffield (2-for-4)

The FCL Twins fell to the FCL Red Sox on Saturday.

Rehabbing minor leaguer, Dalton Shuffield, collected a pair of hits out of the leadoff spot, also stealing a base for good effect. The rest of the offense mostly didn’t show up, though; Endy Rodriguez had the only extra-base hit with a fifth inning solo shot.

They did find other ways to score, as Andres Centeno and Bryan Acuna executed a double steal, allowing Centeno to swipe home for the second run of the game. It was the FCL Twins’ final score.

John Klein wasn’t great on the mound, but reliever Miguel Olivares was; he struck out two in a scoreless frame. 

Dominican Dailies
DSL Twins 0, DSL NYY Yankees 3
Box Score
Juan Cota: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None

The DSL Twins lost quietly on Saturday.

The bats were silent; Hendry Chivilli was the sole extra-base hit earner, and he was promptly left stranded on second—along with every other DSL Twins hitter that reached base.

Juan Cota was solid on the mound, tossing four frames with no earned runs and six punchouts.

Defense proved to be the Achilles Heel, as they committed four errors, leading to two unearned runs scoring. Somehow, neither team got a hit with runners in scoring position. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dallas Keuchel
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Andrew Stevenson

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1 – Brooks Lee (Wichita) – 1-4, K
#5 – Matt Wallner (Minnesota) – 0-4, K
#8 – Austin Martin (St. Paul) – 0-0
#10 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 0-4, K
#11 – Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) – 0-3, K
#15 – Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, W
#16 – Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
#17 – Yunior Severino (Wichita) – 0-3, R, K
#20 – Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) – 1-3

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Omaha (5:05 PM) – RHP Randy Dobnak
Wichita @ Amarillo (6:05 PM) – LHP Aaron Rozek
Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) – LHP Christian MacLeod
Fort Myers @ Bradenton (11:00 AM) – RHP Ben Ethridge