The Minnesota Twins have named Low A Cedar Rapids Kernels catcher Ben Rortvedt and High A Ft. Myers Miracle right-handed pitcher Sean Poppen as Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.
In six games for the Kernels, the left-handed hitting Rortvedt hit .391 (9-for-23) with one triple, two RBI, two runs scored, one stolen base and four strikeouts. The 20-year old Rortvedt is repeating Cedar Rapids this season and is hitting .270 as compared to .224 last year. His caught stealing percentage has also improved from 38% to 44% this year. He could be moving up to Ft. Myers soon.
The Verona, WI native is in his third season of pro ball after being drafted by the Twins in the second round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Verona High School and signed for a reported $900,000 signing bonus.
Sean Poppen made one start for the Miracle on Tuesday allowing one run on five hits in 7.0 innings pitched (ND) with seven strikeouts versus Bradenton. The 6’3″ right-hander is in his third year of pro ball and has been used almost exclusively as a starter. In his three seasons-to-date he has a 13-10 record with a 2.95 ERA and has given up 208 hits in 226 innings while striking out 223 batters.
The Virginia native was drafted by the Twins in the 19th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Harvard.
Chesapeake’s Sean Poppen – from Harvard to minor-league baseball