Twins Minor League Week in Review: Awards, Rankings, Playoffs and Prospects

[Seth Stohs]

Last week began with a flurry of big transactions, and each of the players involved has remained successful in their first week. This week, we’ve had some great performances, an update on minor league playoffs, and much, much more. Check it out. 

It’s hard to believe that two months of the minor league season are now complete. You’ll see in the week’s article links that we have named our hitter and pitchers of the month for June as well as updated our Midseason Top 20 Prospect rankings. I also encourage you to read Nick’s Twins Week in Review from yesterday, and then jump into the minor league week. 

 

Before we get started, let’s check out the Transactions and the FCL Twins game on Monday: 

• RHP Breckin Williams was signed to a minor league contract and assigned to the Cedar Rapids Kernels. 

 

FCL Twins Talk

FCL Twins 3, FCL Pirates Black 6

Box Score

The FCL Twins fell to 2-4 on their season with a loss on Monday. Jesus Feliz went 2-for-4. Wilfri Castro went 2-for-2 with an RBI double. Keoni Cavaco went 1-for-3 in his third rehab game. 

On the mound, Giovahniey German started and gave up three runs on four hits and three walks over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out four batters. Justin Wilson came on. He was also charged with three runs. He gave up four hits. Ramon Pineda came in and gave up a hit before getting the final out. 

 

With that, let’s look at Week 9 in the Twins minor leagues: 

RESULTS

Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (4-2, hosting Omaha), overall (25-28)

Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (3-3 at Amarillo), overall (31-23)

High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (2-4, @ Quad Cities), overall (28-26)

Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (3-3 hosting Bradenton), overall (31-23) 

Complex League: FCL Twins went 2-4 in their first week.

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Here are the week’s Twins minor league-related articles. 

• Twins Minor League Week in Review: Promotions and FCL Opening Day 
• Tuesday: It’s Jose Miranda’s World, We’re Just Living in it. 
• Wednesday: Balazovic Blows them Away 
• Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month 
• Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month 
• TD Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospect Rankings 16-20 (plus honorable mentions) 
• Thursday: Amarillo by Morning, Fun is Good 
• RBS: Does Jose Miranda’s Rise Mean I have to Listen to Hamilton? 
• Friday: Winder Dazzles in Saints Debut 
• Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - June 2021
• Saturday: No Offense 
• TD Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospect Rankings 11-15 
• Sunday: Three Wins on the Fourth 
• TD Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospect Rankings: 6-10 
• Twins Minor League Pitching Report: Jovani Moran 

 

Highlights

We will start with the Twins choices for the organizational hitter and pitcher of the week, and then mention several other Twins prospects who had good Week 9 performances

Twins Player of the Week: Jose Miranda, Wichita Wind Surge    

Miranda just continues to rake… wait! I said that last week when he was the player of the week. The difference, of course, is now he is raking in Triple-A. For the week, Miranda hit .385/414/808 (1.221) with two doubles and three home runs. And, what a memorable Triple-A debut last Tuesday when he went 5-for-6 with a double and three home runs.  

 

Twins Pitcher of the Week: Sawyer Gipson-Long, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels      

Gipson-Long has been pretty solid since a rough first few starts. In his start this past week, he gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits in six innings. He struck out nine batters without issuing a walk. In his past six starts, he has gone 4-0 with a 2.16 ERA in 33 1/3 innings. He has 48 strikeouts and just six walks. 

Gipson-Long was the Twins sixth-round pick in 2019 out of Mercer University in his home state of Georgia. 

 

Other Strong Performances this Week

St. Paul Saints

In a pretty neat highlight, infielder Drew Stankiewicz became the first player to suit up for the Saints when they were an independent team and now as an affiliate. 

Josh Winder made his Triple-A debut and was fantastic. He had a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight batters. Also this week, he was named to represent the Twins in the Futures Game in Denver. He will be joined by pitching coach Cibney Bello. 

Chandler Shepherd put together another terrific start. The veteran tossed five shutout innings. He gave up just two hits and didn’t walk a batter. Charlie Barnes threw seven innings and gave up two runs on six hits and a walk. 

Ian Hamilton pitched twice. He gave up only one hit, a solo homer over four innings. He walked none and struck out eight. 

Drew Maggi was named the Triple-A East Player of the Week by MiLB.com. For the week, he went 9-for-21 (.429) with two doubles. He also homered in four consecutive games. In five games, he hit .429/.455/1.095 (1.550). Brent Rooker continues to rake! In six games, he hit .318/.444/.818 (1.263) with a triple and three home runs. Jimmy Kerrigan played in five games and hit .474/.524/.579 (1.103) with two doubles. Damek Tomscha and Mark Contreras each added two home runs last week, and they had OPS over .900. 

Finally, it has been a rough (couple of) season(s) for outfielder Keon Broxton, but last week, he was quite good. In his five games, he hit .389/.450/.778 (1.228) with a double and two home runs. 

 

Wichita Wind Surge

Jordan Balazovic had a nice start this week. He tossed 5 2/3 innings of scoreless, hitless ball in his start. He walked two and struck out six batters. 

Understandably, Yennier Cano and Jovani Moran got a lot of attention, but others in the Wichita bullpen have been very good too. Ryan Mason worked three games last week. He worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out four. Zach Neff worked three scoreless innings over three appearances. Alex Phillips tossed  3 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out five and walked one. 

Like Jose Miranda in St. Paul, Spencer Steer has transitioned to Double-A quite well, at least through his first week. In six games, he hit .320/.393/.680 (1.073) with three homers.  

 

Cedar Rapids Kernels

Jon Olsen had a tremendous start last week. He tossed five scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out two batters. Ben Gross gave up one run on two hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out five batters. Zach Featherstone pitched four innings over three games. He didn’t give up any runs. He allowed just one hit and walked three. He also struck out six batters. 

Michael Helman had a real good week. In six games, he hit .333/.440/.714 (1.154) with two doubles and two home runs. He also walked four times. Like Miranda and Steer, Edouard Julien is adapting just fine to the High-A competition. In his first week, he played all six games and hit .250/.444/.550 (.994) with two home runs. He also walked seven times. Daniel Ozoria hit .364 (4-11). Among Alex Isola’s four hits this past week, he had a double and two home runs. 

 

Ft. Myers Might Mussels

Osiris German and Steven Cruz each threw four scoreless innings over two games. Each walked one and struck out six batters. Matt Swain gave up zero earned runs over four innings over two appearances.  Denny Bentley had three scoreless innings and struck out four without allowing a baserunner. 

Louis Varland gave up one run on six hits over six innings in his start. He struck out nine and didn’t walk anyone. Zarion Sharpe threw 3 2/3 innings and gave up only two unearned runs on two hits. He struck out three batters.

Newcomer Nick Anderson had a solid week. He played in five games, though he had just nine plate appearances. He went 2-for-6 with a triple and two walks to post a 1.222 OPS.  

 

Lowlights

We are talking about very small samples for these six-game weeks, so it’s important not to make any big decisions or develop a full impression on a player from this small size. It’s just a reminder of the fact that baseball is hard, and all players have good and bad stretches.  

St. Paul Saints

The Twins added veteran Joe Harvey to the Saints roster this week. He made his first appearance and gave up four runs on two hits and two walks in just 1/3 of an inning. Another new veteran, Kyle Barraclough gave up three earned runs on four hits (2 homers) in 2 2/3 innings. Robinson Leyer gave up three runs on six hits and two walks in two innings.   

JT Riddle had a tough week. He hit just .143 (3-for-23). 

Wichita Wind Surge

Adam Lau pitched twice and worked just 1 1/3 innings. He gave up six runs on two hits and two walks and two hit batters. 

Caleb Hamilton went 0-for-9 in three games. Wilbis Santiago went 1-for-12. Andrew Bechtold went 1-for-9. Aaron Whitefield played all six games and hit .167/.259/.167 (.426). Of the 12 Wind Surge hitters with nine or more at bats in Week 9, just three had a batting average above .200. 

Cedar Rapids Kernels

The bad news for the Kernels last week was that three position players had to pitch. Yeltsin Encarnacion, Daniel Ozoria and Max Smith each spent time on the mound. Owen Griffith had a tough week. In two outings, he gave up seven runs on 10 hits and a walk over 2 1/3 innings. Melvi Acosta gave up five earned runs on eight hits and two walks in his 2 1/3 innings. Cody Laweryson’s start this week was a struggle. The right-hander gave up five runs on six hits and a walk in three innings. 

Jair Camargo played in five games, but he had just one hit in 15 at bats (.067). Wander Javier hit just .118 while Seth Gray hit just .125 for the week.   

Ft. Myers Might Mussels

Juan Pichardo gave up four runs on four hits in 3 1/3 innings in two games. 

Wander Valdez returned to the Mussels, but he went 0-for-7. Willie Joe Garry went 1-for-11 (.091), but that one hit was a walk-off hit. Will Holland hit .130 (4-23), though he had a double and a homer.   

 

Trending Storyline 

The plan was for there to be no playoffs in 2021. The assumption was that games and series might be lost in the minor leagues (as had happened in the big leagues) due to COVID. And, because of all of the lost development time from a year ago, it would be better for the players and organizations to scrap the playoffs and just have all teams play two or three extra weeks at the end of the season. 

Well, last week, it was decided that there will be playoffs in 2021.

In Low-A, High-A and Double-A, the top two teams by record will play a series. That series will begin September 21st. There will be no Triple-A playoffs, presumably because there may be more need at the big-league level and players can only be called up from Triple-A. Instead, those seasons will continue through October third. Teams will get two additional five-game series. 

My personal opinion is that I would much rather see the Mighty Mussels, Kernels and Wind Surge play ten additional games than not play any playoff games. Obviously if the Twins’ affiliate is in the playoffs, great. If not, it’s two weeks of lost development time. 

However, from a player’s perspective, and probably from an affiliate’s perspective, it’s probably nice to have a carrot dangling at the end of the season.

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily PRESEASON Top 20 Twins Prospects have performed on the season (as well as too many unfortunate injuries). As you’ve seen, our MIDSEASON Top 20 Prospect rankings are being posted right now, so next week, we will update the below to reflect ‘graduations’ and the new rankings. 

#1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota - Graduated) – St. Paul (2 rehab games, went 3-6 with 2 homers, 2 K), Minnesota (48 games, .263/.300/.447 (.747) with 10 doubles, 1 triple, 7 homers, 29 RBI, 10 BB, 43 K)

#2 - Royce Lewis (Wichita) - Out for Season (torn ACL)

#3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota - Graduated) – St. Paul (3 games, went 3-11 with two homers, two walks, 8 strikeouts), Minnesota (47 games, .263/.359/.436 (.795) with 9 doubles, 6 homers, 17 RBI, 18 BB, 54 K) 

#4 - Ryan Jeffers (Minnesota - Graduated) – St. Paul (24 games, .217/.340/.446 (.786) with four doubles, five homers, 16 BB, 26 K), Minnesota (32 games, .187/.275/.374 (.649) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 15 RBI, 13 BB, 40 K)

#5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 5 G, 4 GS, 16.0 IP, 16 H, 13 BB, 22 K, 5.06 ERA, 1.81 WHIP (on IL with a right forearm strain)  

#6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 6 GS, 24.1 IP, 26 H, 8 BB, 33 K, 4.44 ERA, 1.40 WHIP 

#7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 28 games, .264/.333/.340 (.673) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 11 RBI, 10 BB, 32 K, 4 SB (on Injured List, Concussion, but played 2 rehab games in FCL this week) 

#8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 53 games, .184/.373/.291 (.664) with 10 doubles, 3 homers, 18 RBI, 50 BB, 73 K

#9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 4 GS, 18.0 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 35 K, 1.00 ERA, 0.72 WHIP (went on the IL with right elbow strain)

#10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP (underwent Tommy John surgery on June 9th) 

#11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesotal) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K), Minnesota (15 games, .163/.200/.349 (.549) with 2 BB, 8 K)

#12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (46 games, .239/.381/.553 (.934) with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 14 homers, 32 BB, 59 K), Minnesota (8 games, .103/.133/.241 (375) with 1 double, 1 homer, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 13 K)

#13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 17 games, .333/.384/.621 (1.005) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 14 RBI, 5 BB, 28 K. (on IL after having hamate bone surgery)

#14 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 46 games, .201/.310/.278 (588) with 4 doubles, 3 triples, 1 homer, 27 RBI, 26 BB, 41 K, 9 SB)

#15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 7 GS, 31.2 IP, 22 H, 18 BB, 42 K, 2.84 ERA, 1.26 WHIP (about to go on the IL) 

#16 - Edwar Colina (Minnesota) - 60-Day IL (had surgery on his right elbow to remove bone chips)

#17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota - Graduated) – St. Paul (5 games, .286/.318/.571 (.890) with 3 doubles, 1 homer, 1 BB, 6 K), Minnesota (23 games, .125/.183/.196 (380) with 1 double, 1 homer, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 20 K)

#18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A (injured)

#19 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 53 games, .350/.409/.614 (1.023) with 10 doubles, 16 homers, 46 RBI, 19 BB, 31 K

#20 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) – St. Paul (4 GS, 16.0 IP, 13 H, 5 BB, 21 K, 2.81 ERA, 1.13 WHIP), Minnesota (6 GS, 24.2 IP, 28 H, 6 BB, 26 K, 5.84 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) 

 

LOOKING AHEAD

Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (TBD, Brent Headrick, Sawyer Gipson-Long; Louie Varland, Bobby Milacki, Miguel Rodriguez): 

Peoria @ Cedar Rapids:(Ben Gross, Cody Laweryson, Tyler Beck, Kody Funderburk, Jon Olsen, Tyler Watson)

NW Arkansas @ Wichita: (Bryan Sammons, Chris Vallimont, Austin Schulfer, Jason Garcia, Jordan Balazovic, Bryan Sammons) 

St. Paul @ Iowa: (Andrew Albers, Josh Winder, Charlie Barnes, Chandler Shepherd, Beau Burrows, Andrew Albers): 

Feel free to provide some feedback below regarding these reports. What do you like to read? What types of information would you like added? Also, feel free to ask any questions you like.

 

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[wsnydes]

Good write-up, Seth.  I agree with your take on the playoffs.  I think it would be more beneficial to have those extra 10 games or so.  Surely, it's more fun to have the playoffs and the push to make them though.  And they do provide an "education" of their own as well.  But, I think to have all of the minor league affiliates playing those extra games is probably the better idea in general.  Game reps are important for development.  

[4twinsJA]

Great article Seth, a lot of great information. Will be interesting to see how players react to near full season after most of MiLB players did not play any games last year. Looks like some have hit slump after good starts to the season, hopefully they get on track again and have strong second halves of season.

[DocBauer]

Absolutely 100% agree extra games for everyone is far more important than playoffs after there being no 2020 season. Just a no-brainer.

A last moment decision that negatively affects the players? Who's running this show the NCAA?

[roger]

Thanks, Seth.

What does Winder have to do to be the Twins Pitcher of the Week?