As I said, there were a lot of great hitting performances. Here are nine more hitters who are very deserving of recognition for their strong July performances. Congratulations to all of the players mentioned below.
- OF Daniel Palka (Rochester) - .259/.347/.481 (.828). 28-108 with six doubles, six homers and 16 RBIs.
- OF Edgar Corcino (Chattanooga) - .300/.349/.475 (.824). 24-80 with three doubles, one triple, three homers and 12 RBIss.
- SS Nick Gordon (Ft. Myers) - .330/.359/.420 (.779). 37-112 with five doubles, one triple, one homer and 20 RBIs.
- 2B Luis Arraez (Cedar Rapids) - .306/.331/.423 (.754). 34-111 with six doubles, two triples, a home run and 22 RBIs.
- OF Jaylin Davis (Cedar Rapids) - .245/.336/.520 (.856). 25-102 with five doubles, a triple, seven homers and 23 RBIs.
- 2B Travis Blankenhorn (Elizabethton) - .287/.320/.521 (.841). 27-94 with five doubles, a triple, five home runs and 19 RBIs.
- OF Shane Carrier (Elizabethton) - .288/.310/.500 (.810). 23-80 with eight doubles, three homers and 16 RBIs.
- 1B Lewin Diaz (Elizabethton) - .288/.333/.538 (.871). 23-80 with eight doubles, four homers, and 20 RBIs.
- SS Brandon Lopez (Elizabethton) - .353/.489/.426 (.938). 24-68 with three doubles, a triple and eight RBIs.
THE TOP SIX HITTERS
Number 6 – Rochester – 1B Byung Ho Park - .250/.333/.591 (.924). 22-88 with three doubles, nine homers and sixteen RBIs.
Despite hitting 12 home runs through 62 games with the Twins this season, Byung Ho Park and his .191 batting average were sent to Rochester on July 1. He began his Red Wings stint by hitting .190 in his first six games, but since then he has been really good off. On July 28th, Park hit three home runs in one game to give him eight over a ten game stretch. He ended the month 0-11, but it was a strong showing for Park as the 30-year-old as he attempts to get back to the Twins in the near future.
Number 5 – Chattanooga – OF Adam Brett Walker - .311/.368/.538 (.905). 33-98 with seven doubles, one triple, five home runs and 16 RBIs.
Walker can be inconsistent from month to month, as we all know, but Walker continues to be pretty consistent in his overall numbers from year to year. With a strong July, Walker is now hitting .244/.314/.477 (.791) which is just a little behind where he has been the last couple of years. While he is still striking out too much, he cut down his K-rate to 28% in July. The Twins third- round pick in 2012 out of Jacksonville and he has moved up one level each year since. He is still just 24 years old and could be an option for a September call up.
Number 4 - Ft. Myers – OF LaMonte Wade - .341/.400/.538 (.938). 31-91 with six doubles, four homers and 24 RBIs.
LaMonte Wade’s first full season started out very strong. In fact, he was our choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month of April in Cedar Rapids. He ended his stint with the Kernels in a 1-28 slump but was still called up to Ft. Myers. And his first 27 games with the Miracle have been terrific again. He’s been hitting for average, getting on base, and showing a lot of extra base power. He ended the month with a two-homer game on Sunday. Wade has mostly been playing centerfield, though he is most likely a future left fielder.
Number 3 - Elizabethton – OF Alex Kirilloff - .373/.374/.545 (.919). 41-110 with seven doubles, four homers and 20 RBIs.
To say that 2016 top pick Alex Kirilloff got off to a fast start might even be an understatement. Upon signing, he skipped the GCL and jumped straight to Elizabethton. This is not unusual as the Twins typically send first-round hitters from high school to the Appy League, most recently Nick Gordon in 2014. He started his career with hits in eight straight games. He hit in 23 of 27 games in July. He had six two-hit games and six three-hit games.While he hasn’t yet walked much, he also puts the ball in play and does so with authority. Impressive debut for the 18-year-old.
Number 2 – Chattanooga – C/1B Mitch Garver - .314/.392/.559 (.950). 32-102 with 13 doubles, four home runs, and 25 RBIs.
After a slow start in his AA debut, Garver has been solid since early May, and actually very good the last six weeks. In July, as you can see, he hit for average, took a bunch of walks and really drove the ball often for extra base hits. The conversation is growing stronger about the likelihood of Garver being a September call-up this year. In my opinion, it will be very disappointing if he isn’t promoted. Defensively, he is playing a lot of 1B and DHs quite a bit. He will also catch a couple of times a week, spelling Stuart Turner. Overall, Garver is hitting .276/.354/.446 (.800) with 25 doubles and he hit his 11th home run on Monday night.
And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is...
Cedar Rapids – 1B Zander Wiel - .310/.407/.660 (1.067). 31-100 with nine doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 24 RBIs.
The Twins drafted Zander Wiel in the 12th round last summer out of Vanderbilt University. His father is a basketball coach who has coached all around the world, but Zander chose baseball. After signing last year and heading to Elizabethton, Wiel was hit by a pitch and missed a month. He began the 2016 in Cedar Rapids where he followed along with the weather and was quite cold. He got better as the weather warmed up, but when July 1st hit, Zander Wiel took off.
Overall in 97 games for the Kernels, Wiel has hit .253/.336/.442 (.779) with 24 doubles, five triples and 12 home runs. He went through a very short stretch where he committed a lot of errors in a few games. In general, however, he is considered a solid defensive first baseman.
In July, he had a nine-game hitting streak and then ended the month with a ten-game hitting streak. At one point, he had five multi-hit games in a seven-game stretch. During those same seven games, he drove in 15 runs. Overall, it was just a terrific month for the 23-year-old.
There were a lot of real solid hitting performances in the Twins system in July. Guys who hit .320 or higher “only” garnered Honorable Mention. There was seven players with OPS over .800 in July who didn’t make the Top 6. One player posted a .938 OPS with nearly a .500 on-base percentage, but fewer at bats than most left him with the Mentions. However you choose to rank the Top 5 or 6 hitters of the month, I think the choice for the top minor league hitter in July was quite easy. Feel free to discuss the winner or any of the mentions in the comments.
Congratulations to the July Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month for 2016, Zander Wiel.
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