Week 20 has the Minnesota Twins naming High A Cedar Rapids Kernels first baseman Aaron Sabato and pitcher Louie Varland as the minor league players of the week.
Aaron Sabato was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (27th) of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sabato, a Rye, New York native started the season with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels and was promoted to Cedar Rapids on August 23.
Sabato, 22, played in seven games for the Kernels, hitting .292 (7-for-24) with four home runs, six RBI, six walks, a .792 slugging percentage and a 1.211 OPS, including
two two-homer games. On the season between Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids Sabato is hitting .202 in 464 PA’s with 19 home runs and 57 RBI. He also has 149 strikeouts and 92 walks.
Louie Varland was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Concordia University (St. Paul, MN). Varland is a repeat winner of this award this season. Varland started the season in Fort Myers and was promoted to Cedar Rapids on July 13.
The right-handed Varland, 23, made one start for the Kernels on Wednesday at Peoria, allowing two runs (1 earned) on four hits in 6.0 innings pitched with no walks and a season-high 11 strikeouts. Varland is having a great year, between Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids the Minnesota native is 10-4 with a 2.10 ERA, a 1.087 WHIP and 142 KO’s in 103 innings.