In week 17 AA Wichita Wind Surge outfielder/1B/DH Trey Cabbage and High A Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Sawyer Gipson-Long have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week. Both are repeat winners this year, this is Cabbage’s second time this and for Gipson-Long it is his third time. Congratulations to Trey and Sawyer!
Month: August 2021
Twins Minor League POW are BJ Boyd and Joe Ryan
The Minnesota Twins have selected AA-Wichita Wind Surge outfielder BJ Boyd and AAA-St. Paul Saints pitcher Joe Ryan as their minor league players of the week for week 16.
BJ Boyd was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 4th round of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft from Palo Alto HS (Palo Alto, CA). On May 27, 2021 the Twins signed him as a free agent to a minor league deal and assigned him to Wichita. Boyd who turned 28 in July last played pro ball in 2018 at the AAA level in the A’s system.
This past week Boyd, a left-handed hitting outfielder appeared in 7 games and slashed .343/.343/.771 with 5 home runs, 12 RBI and 9 runs scored in 35 AB’s. For the season so far Boyd is hitting .313 with 15 home runs, 60 RBI and 8 steals in 256 AB.
Twins leaders in multiple hit games
Stathead on Baseball-Reference is always a fun toy to play with to look up a variety of stats. I have used it and its predecessor for years. In this case I was curious who the Twins leaders in multi-hit games were between 1961 through 2020.
- Two or more hits in a game – 402 players with Kirby Puckett leading the pack
- Three or more hits in a game – 296 players with Rod Carew as the leader
- Four or more hits in a game – 170 players with Kirby Puckett as the leader
- Five or more hits in a game – 33 players with Kirby Puckett as the leader
- Six or more hits in a game – Kirby Puckett is the only one and he did it twice
The American League multiple hit games leaders during this time frame can be found here.
The National League multiple hit games leaders during this time frame can be found here.
Twins Minor League POW are Yunior Severino and Ben Gross
In week 15 the Minnesota Twins have selected High-A Cedar Rapids infielder Yunior Severino and right-handed pitcher Ben Gross as their Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.
Yunior Severino was a player that the Twins wanted to sign during the 2017 international signing period but he chose to sign with the Braves instead. Then in November of 2017 MLB ruled that the Braves had circumvented international spending rules and Severino, who by then had played in 48 games in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, was among 13 Atlanta prospects whose contracts were voided. The Twins moved quickly, committing $2.5 million to sign the 18-year-old.
Severino, 21, started the season in Fort Myers and was bumped up to Cedar Rapids on July 26. Severino a switch-hitter played in six games for the Kernels, hitting .560 (14-for-25) with three doubles, one home run, two RBI, three walks, six runs scored and a 1.421 OPS. He recorded two four-hit games this week. Severino was signed an a middle infielder but might outgrow that position although he is currently playing second base. On the season Severino is .285/.379/.437 .
Twins Minor League POW are Jermaine Palacios & Jovani Moran
In week 14 the Twins have named AA – Wichita infielder Jermaine Palacios and AAA – St. Paul left-handed pitcher Jovani Moran as the club’s minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week. Both are repeat winners of the award this year.
Twins Minor League POW are Michael Helman & Ben Gross
This week (#13) the Twins have named A+ Cedar Rapids Kernels infielder/outfielder Michael Helman and A+ Cedar Rapids Kernels right-handed pitcher Ben Gross the minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.
Michael Helman is another repeat winner this season. The Nebraska native was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 11th round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft from Texas A&M University (College Station, TX) and has spent the season in A+ Cedar Rapids.
The right-handed hitting Helman played in seven games for the Kernels, hitting .423 (11-for-26) with one double, one triple, two home runs, three RBI, four walks and a 1.269 OPS. Used primarily in the outfield but has played some second base this season. For the year Helman is hitting .333/.420/.754.