Twins minor league players of the week are Blayne Enlow & Kala’i Rosario

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Double-A Wichita RH pitcher Blayne Enlow and High-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Kala’i Rosario have been named Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week for week seven.

Blayne Enlow was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft from St. Amant HS (St. Amant, LA). Enlow received a $2 million signing bonus to coax him out of his commitment to Louisiana State University.

Enlow, 24, made one start for the Wind Surge on Thursday vs. Arkansas, allowing one run on six hits in 5.1 innings pitched with no walks and had a career high of 10 strikeouts. The 6’3″ Sorrento, Louisiana native is already 24 and running out of time as he is in his sixth season (excluding 2020) of pro ball and has not yet pitched in AAA. In seven starts in 2023 he hs thrown 35.2 innings and struck out 47 and has a a 3.28 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.

Kala’i Rosario was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft from Waiakea HS (Waiakea, HI). Unconfirmed sources stated that Rosario signed for a bonus of $270,000.

Rosario, 20, hit .538 with one double and two home runs this week for the Kernels. The Papaikou, Hawaii native is primarily a corner outfielder. Scouts have already given Rosario a 55 grade for his power. This power definitely has something to do with his exit velocity, the analytic stat that likely made the Twins fall in love with Rosario in the first place. Rosario has his negatives, mainly, his other four tools. Rosario isn’t an overly speedy guy, he doesn’t hit incredibly well, and his glove isn’t great. His arm, while better, isn’t anything to write home about either. But the power.

Twins announce 2023 Spring Training invites

The Minnesota Twins announced today that 25 players on minor league contracts have been invited to major league spring training in 2023.

Joining the Twins will be nine pitchers: left-handers Danny Coulombe and Evan Sisk; right-handers José De LeónRandy DobnakBlayne EnlowCody LawerysonPatrick MurphyAustin Schulfer and Brock Stewart; six catchers: David BañuelosJair CamargoChance SiscoGrayson Greiner, Chris Williams and Tony Wolters; seven infielders: Andrew BechtoldMichael HelmanAustin MartinBrooks LeeAaron SabatoElliot Soto and Tyler White; and three outfielders: Willi CastroMark Contreras and Ryan LaMarre.

Of the 25 players invited to camp, 13 have major league service time: Willi Castro (Detroit), Mark Contreras (Minnesota), Danny Coulombe (Los Angeles-NL, Minnesota and Oakland), José De León (Cincinnati, Los Angeles-NL and Tampa Bay), Randy Dobnak (Minnesota), Grayson Greiner (Arizona and Detroit), Ryan LaMarre (Boston, Chicago-AL, Cincinnati, Minnesota, New York-AL and Oakland), Patrick Murphy (Toronto and Washington), Chance Sisco (Baltimore and New York-NL), Elliot Soto (Los Angeles-AL and Minnesota), Brock Stewart (Los Angeles-NL and Toronto), Tyler White (Houston and Los Angeles-NL), and Tony Wolters (Chicago-NL, Colorado and Los Angeles-NL).

Twins pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report on Wednesday, February 15, while position players are scheduled to report on Sunday, February 19. The first full-squad workout is scheduled to take place on Monday, February 20.

Twins sign first round pick Royce Lewis

Royce Lewis

The Minnesota Twins announced today the signing of their first overall selection, shortstop Royce Lewis from JSerra Catholic High School, whom they selected with the first overall pick in the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on June 12.

The Twins organization as normal did not release the amount that they spent to sign Lewis. According to Jon Heyman via MLBTradeRumors the Twins were able to get Lewis to sign for $6.725 million. MLBTradeRumors also said that:

Blayne Enlow

The first overall pick had a pool value of $7,770,700 this year, so it appears that when Lewis’ signing is complete, the Twins will save around $1M against their total draft pool of $14,156,800. Notably, they’ve already struck a deal with third-rounder Blayne Enlow for $2MM, a little over $1.2MM more than the value of the No. 76 pick. The Lewis and Enlow deals, then, will essentially balance one another out.

 

Twins sign 2017 first overall pick Royce Lewis.PDF