Double-A Wichita infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Sean Mooney are the Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.
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). Encarnacion-Strand bats and throws right-handed. Reports had him signing for the exact slot bonus of $442,000. MLB Pipeline now has Christian Encarnacion-Strand rated as the Twins 24th best prospect after starting 2022 as the 29th best prospect.
Encarnacion-Strand, 22, played in six games between Cedar Rapids and Wichita, hitting .375 (9-for-24) with three doubles, five home runs, 14 RBI, a .464 on-base percentage, a 1.125 slugging percentage and a 1.589 OPS. Christian was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita on July 14. The Twins’ No. 24 prospect notched the first cycle in franchise history for the Double-A Wind Surge, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored, to lead his team to an 11-1 rout of visiting Arkansas.
Sean Mooney was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 12th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from St. John’s University (Queens, NY). The right-handed throwing Mooney signed with Minnesota for $125,000 according to Baseball America. Mooney sat out 2019 with TJ surgery and there was no MiLB in 2020 so Mooney first saw pro action in 2021 with Ft. Myers and then got bumped up to Cedar Rapids where he appeared in just 3 games. Mooney is currently number 30 on the MLB Pipeline Twins Prospect list.
Mooney, 24, made two starts for the Kernels, allowing three runs (2 earned) on five hits in 8.0 innings pitched, with three walks and 12 strikeouts. He struck out nine batters in 5 innings on Friday at Beloit. On the season the right-handed throwing Mooney is 2-2 in 11 starts with a 2.50 ERA and a 1.185 WHIP. In 53 innings he has given up just 38 hits struck out 73. The very interesting article on Mooney and his pitches at the Baseball Performance Center that you can read here.