The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Louie Varland and Triple-A St. Paul infielder Michael Helman have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week four. For some reason the Twins did not announce their minor league players of the week last 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 currently rated as the Twins 10th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Varland has six big league starts with the Twins on his resume.
Varland, 25, made one start coming on Thursday at Rochester, allowing one earned run on four hits in 5.1 innings pitched, with two walks and eight strikeouts, earning the win. Varland started one game for the Twins on April 14 at New York-AL, allowing three runs on six hits in 6 innings pitched, helping lead the Twins to a 4-3 victory in the Bronx. Varland was 1-2 in five starts for Minnesota in 2022.
Michael Helman 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). According to Jim Callis of MLB.com, Helman agreed to a deal with a signing bonus with $220,000. That was above slot value as Minnesota had room with their bonus pool to offer him extra money. Helman started 2022 in AA Wichita and was bumped dup to AAA St. Paul at the end of May.
Helman, 26, split the week between Low-A Fort Myers (rehab assignment – left hamstring strain) and St. Paul, combining to hit .444 (8-for-18) with one double, one triple, two home runs, right RBI, a .500 on-base percentage and a 1.444 OPS in four games. In St. Paul, Helman has split his time playing 2B/SS. Slash line so far this season is .333/.442/.639