Week 18 brings us another week closer to the end of the 2021 baseball season but we still have players playing their hearts out. This weeks Minnesota Twins minor league players of the week are Low-A Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 3B/1B Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Rookie level pitcher David Festa.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK) and signed for a reported $442,900.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 21, and a right-handed batter played in six games for the Mighty Mussels, hitting .385 (10-for-26) with one double, two home runs, five RBI, a .654 slugging percentage and a 1.061 OPS. Through 10 professional games, he is hitting .375 (15-for-40) with three home runs and has played both corner infield positions.
David Festa was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ). Signing bonus reported at $125,000.
Festa, 21, made one relief appearance for the FCL Twins on Thursday vs. the FCL Orioles Orange, pitching three perfect innings with no walks and six strikeouts. Through two professional appearances, the 6’6″ right-hander has pitched five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. A nice article on Festa can be seen here.