1st rounder Lee picks up 3 hits in Double-A finale

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Lee notches first three hits at Double-A (Sept. 18)
Brooks Lee proved he belongs at the Double-A level just in time for the Wichita Wind Surge to make a run in the Texas League playoffs.

In the regular-season finale, the top-ranked Twins prospect picked up three hits as Wichita beat Midland, 5-3. Lee had just been promoted from High-A Cedar Rapids a day earlier.

July's eighth overall pick hit .289 with an .849 OPS for the Kernels and was up for his next challenge with the Wind Surge. While none of his hits went for extra bases, he showcased his ability to hit from both sides of the plate and spray the ball to all fields.

Lee's season will continue for at least two more games, with Wichita slated to face off against Tulsa in the Texas League North Division semifinals. -- Jacob Resnick

Richardson spins six scoreless at Triple-A (Sept. 14)
Simeon Woods Richardson is finding success at the next level.

Minnesota's No. 6 prospect began the season at Double-A Wichita and earned a promotion to Triple-A St. Paul on Aug. 17. After giving up at least a run in his first four starts, he's settling in and finding a rhythm.

In the Saints' 5-1 loss to Louisville, the 21-year-old gave his team a chance. He spun six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while fanning four batters.

The performance dropped his ERA from 3.38 to 2.55 and the opposition's batting average from .191 to .172.

This was just the second time this season that the right-hander pitched a full six innings; he tossed six scoreless innings for the Wind Surge on April 20. -- Ethan Sands

Festa delivers in Midwest League playoffs (Sept. 13)
Cedar Rapids dropped Game 1 of the Midwest League semifinals, 2-1, to South Bend at Four Winds Field. But it was no fault of No. 11 prospect David Festa, who blanked the Cubs with six innings of two-hit ball in the nail-biting opener of the best-of-three series. Festa struck out 10 and did not walk a batter to out-pitch Cubs righty Luis Devers before South Bend stormed back with a two-run rally in the eighth and won on a throwing error.

It was the latest in a sensational season for Festa. The 22-year-old former 13th round pick went 9-4 with a 2.43 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 21 games (18 starts) during the regular season, his first full year in pro ball. He pitched to a 2.71 ERA in 16 games (13 starts) at High-A before dazzling in his playoff debut. -- Joe Trezza

Wallner completes cycle, drives in 6 (Sept. 1)
How locked in was Matt Wallner? He didn’t even realize he was a triple shy of the cycle … until he hit second base.

The No. 5 Twins prospect stumbled his way to third base and just barely beat the tag, but when he stood up he could finally crack a smile. Wallner had completed the first cycle in St. Paul Saints history, which dates back to its run in the independent American Association from 1993-2020.

He didn’t stop there, though. With the game out of hand as his team batted around in the eighth inning, Wallner ripped his second double and drove in the last of his six RBIs on the night. With all but one of its runs scoring in the fourth or eighth, St. Paul cruised to an 18-6 win over Omaha.

“It felt pretty good,” Wallner said. “It was the first time I’ve ever been able to do something like that in my life so it was pretty fun.” Full story »

Gossett twirls no-hitter for Double-A Wichita (Aug. 19)
Daniel Gossett, unlike his Double-A teammates, is working his way back up to the top. And in the four years since throwing his most recent Major League pitch, the 29-year-old has come to learn that few things in the sport are guaranteed.

But for at least one night, Gossett could seemingly do anything he wanted on the mound. He may have even been floating as his teammates hoisted him off the ground after completing the first no-hitter in Wichita Wind Surge history.

“It’s amazing,” he said after beating Tulsa, 3-0. “It’s the thing every pitcher dreams about.”

Gossett’s final line: Nine innings, three walks, 10 strikeouts -- tying a professional high -- and of course, the zero in the hits column. After the final out, he lifted his arms in unison with the season-high 7,709 fans at Riverfront Stadium before his teammates picked him up. Full story »

Varland continues to climb with scoreless Triple-A debut (Aug. 12)
In his Triple-A debut, Louie Varland was nearly unhittable.

After the 11th-ranked Twins prospect walked a batter in the first and second innings, it was smooth sailing in St. Paul's 5-1 win over Columbus.

The 24-year-old tossed five no-hit innings before allowing a double to Gabriel Arias in the sixth. Varland's night ended after the hit, completing his evening with 5 1/3 scoreless innings of work while allowing just one hit, two walks and fanning eight batters. This was the first outing in 2022 when the right-hander allowed fewer than two runs.

The strikeout frenzy continued for Varland, who was ranked second in strikeouts in the Texas League (119) before being promoted to the Saints on Aug. 8.

As Varland is rising through the ranks, he's proving that he can hang with hitters on the cusp of breaking into the Majors. -- Ethan Sands

No. 5 prospect to undergo Tommy John surgery (Aug. 10)
Right-hander Matt Canterino has dominated hitters with his high-caliber stuff at every level of the Minors. But his time in three professional seasons has been limited due to recurring elbow issues. And now, he'll miss even more time, as he's set to undergo Tommy John surgery with the use of an internal brace later in August, which is expected to sideline him for around 12 months.

Canterino, the Twins' second-round selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, owned a 1.95 ERA in 13 outings (12 starts) this season, mostly with Double-A Wichita. After a right elbow strain limited Canterino to 23 innings last season, he was shut down again in June with recurring issues in the elbow. He started a rehab assignment on July 25 and made two rehab outings at the Rookie level before opting to undergo the surgery, which will be performed Dr. Keith Meister.

"We've thrown a lot of different ideas and brought a lot of different ideas to the table to try to see if we can get him over the hump," said Twins assistant general manager Jeremy Zoll. "Unfortunately, kind of this last go-around on the buildup, it felt like we didn't have any more stones to turn over and Matt was feeling like surgery was the right call for him to try and get him back up and running from there." -- Do-Hyoung Park

First-rounder posts three-hit, three-RBI day in FCL (Aug. 8)
Brooks Lee, the No. 8 overall pick of the 2022 Draft, posted his first professional multihit effort for the Florida Complex League Twins in an 11-6 loss, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs.

The 21-year-old has collected a hit in each of his first three pro games, but he finally broke out in a big way when he started his three-hit effort with a double to right to lead off the game. He grounded out in his next two at-bats before rattling off two RBI singles in a row, one to center and one to left.

In the 2022 college season, the shortstop hit .357/.462/.664 with 15 homers, 25 doubles and 55 RBIs for Cal Poly. -- Stephanie Sheehan

2022 first-rounder Lee: "I'm the most sophisticated and well-off player in this Draft" (Aug. 1)
When the Twins selected Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee with the No. 8 selection in the 2022 MLB Draft, many Draft analysts predicted that the switch-hitter would be a quick riser through the Minnesota organization -- and he seems to agree. After signing for an above-slot $5.675 million, per MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis, Lee took in pregame warmups at Target Field on Aug. 1, saying hi to Carlos Correa and other Twins before he addressed the media for the first time.

"It’s been a fantasy," Lee said. "I was down in Fort Myers [at the Twins' Minor League complex] last week, and ever since I’ve been there, it’s felt like home, really. It’s been amazing. Hopefully I’m going out and playing baseball soon."

So, what does he think of the notion that his polished approach from both sides of the plate could have him in Minneapolis sooner rather than later?

"I would say just arm strength, foot speed, those are probably the two main things [to work on]," Lee said. "The rest, I think I do at a Major League level already."

After playing in college under his father, longtime Cal Poly head coach Larry Lee, the newest first-rounder in the organization said that it would be "awesome" to remain a shortstop, but would do what the team asked of him. He wasn't yet sure at which level he would start, but he expressed plenty of confidence in his advanced skillset.

"I’ll never be where I really want to be," Lee said. "Hopefully by the end of my career, I’ve done exactly what I want to do, but I know there’s areas to improve in. I think I’m the most sophisticated and well-off player in this Draft." -- Do-Hyoung Park

Sabato rakes in 5 RBIs in 2-HR game (July 31)
Aaron Sabato continues to flex his power at the plate.

The No. 13 Twins prospect cranked two homers and plated five runs en route to High-A Cedar Rapids 9-2 victory over Wisconsin.

n the first inning, Sabato crushed a two-run drive to left field. He followed that up with an RBI double to center in the third. The extra-base hits wouldn't stop there, as Sabato mashed another two-run drive to left-center in the fifth inning

The 23-year-old raised his season home run total to 16, making him sixth on the Midwest League leaderboard. He ended the month of July with a .226/.347/.453 line on the season. -- Alyssa Gomez

Encarnacion-Strand achieves Wind Surge's first cycle (July 17)
For only being four days into his Double-A tenure, Christian Encarnacion-Strand is holding himself to a high standard.

“Today, honestly, the focus was just honestly to have a better day than I did yesterday,” Encarnacion-Strand said. “Yesterday, I didn’t have really good day, didn’t have any hits yesterday, so today I just tried to focus on making solid contact.”

Mission accomplished, times four.

Minnesota’s No. 24 prospect notched the first cycle in franchise history for Double-A Wichita, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored, to lead his team to an 11-1 rout of visiting Arkansas. Full story »