The Minnesota Twins announced that Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Louie Varland and High-A Cedar Rapids catcher Pat Winkel have been named Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week.
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 and this St. Paul native signed for a $115,000 signing bonus. Varland is a repeat winner this season having already won this award thrice earlier this season. Varland is currently rated as the Twins 10th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Varland, 24, made one start for the Saints on Thursday at Iowa, pitching 6 shutout innings, with three hits allowed, one walk and nine strikeouts. We may or may not see Varland in September. MLB Rosters will expand on September 1, when all teams must carry 28 players on the active roster through the end of the regular season.
Pat Winkel was drafted by the the Minnesota Twins in the 9th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT). The Baseball Cube has Winkel signing with Minnesota for $500,000.
Winkel, 22, played in five games for the Kernels, hitting .389 (7-for-18) with one double, two home runs, six RBI, two walks, a .450 on-base percentage, a .778 slugging percentage and a 1.228 OPS. The New Haven, Connecticut native is a left-handed batter that is known more for his glove then his bat. Winkel had a lower back sprain and missed the first 6 week of the season. This season Winkel has a slash line of .239/.301/.381.