Month: June 2023

Twins minor league players of the week are Emmanuel Rodriguez & Cesar Lares

The Minnesota Twins have announced that High-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez and Florida Complex League (FCL) Twins left-handed pitcher Cesar Lares have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week 12.

Emmanuel Rodriguez a Santiago, Dominican Republic native was signed by the Minnesota Twins as an undrafted free agent on July 2, 2019. Rodriguez was a top 10 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 international prospects list for 2019-20 when the signing period opened up in July of 2019. The Twins were all in, giving the toolsy outfielder $2.75 million to sign. MLB Pipeline had Rodriguez rated as the 69th best prospect overall and has Rodriguez as the Twins 3rd best prospect. You can learn more about Rodriguez here.

The 5’10” (210) Rodriguez, 20, bats and throws left-handed. Rodriguez suffered a left abdomen sprain in mid-April and was on the IL for three weeks. Rodriguez hit .571 with three home runs and a 2.095 OPS, while producing an 11% strikeout rate, compared to a 22.2% walk rate for the Kernels this past week. His slash line on the season is .232/.379/.470. Keep in mind that the 20 year old Rodriguez has just 84 games and 350 PA’s of pro ball under his belt prior to this season.

Cesar Lares signed with the Twins in the 2022 international signing period for $10,000 out of Maracay, Venezuela. Lares, 19, made one start for the FCL Twins on Tuesday vs. the FCL Orioles, pitching 3.0 shutout innings, with one hit allowed, no walks and five strikeouts. The 6’0″ lefty got hit around a bit in one of his three starts this season but in the other two starts he was stellar. A very short video of Cesar Lares on Twitter at work this past week.

Twins Minor League Report, 6-25-23.PDF

Former Twins pitcher George Frazier passes away at the age of 68

George Frazier

George Frazier was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on October 13, 1954 and passed away on June 19, 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the age of 68 from an undisclosed illness.

The lanky, 6-foot-5 right-hander, Frazier was a star at Hillcrest High School in Springfield, Missouri where he played alongside two other future major leaguers in Bob Detherage and Keith Drumright. before attending the University of Oklahoma from 1973-76. 

Frazier was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 13th round of the 1972 June free agent draft but turned that offer down to attend the University of Oklahoma. George Frazier, who was a member of two College World Series teams in the 1970s playing at Oklahoma in 1975 and ’76 for legendary coach Enos Semore and was a member of the final two of five straight CWS appearances from 1972-76. After completing his college career Frazier was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 9th round of the 1976 MLB June Amateur Draft.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Marco Raya & Chris Williams

The Minnesota Twins have announced that High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Marco Raya and Triple-A St. Paul catcher/first baseman Chris Williams as their minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week for week eleven.

Marco Raya was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft from United South HS in Laredo, Texas. Raya was committed to Texas Tech but signed with Minnesota instead for $410,000 according to MLB. Raya signed in 2020 but spent all of 2021 on the injured list with various injuries and didn’t throw his first pitch in a pro game until 2022. Raya has had one visit to the IL this season. MLB Pipeline has Raya as the Twins 6th best prospect. Go here of more info on Raya.

Raya, 20, made one start for the Kernels on Friday vs. South Bend, allowing one run on two hits in 3.0 innings pitched, with no walks and six strikeouts. Raya also had a 46% whiff rate. Seems the Twins have a close watch on his pitch count, he has not gone more than four innings in any game. B-R Game logs for 2023

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Twins minor league players of the week are Jair Camargo & Cory Lewis

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A Saint Paul catcher Jair Camargo and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Cory Lewis as their minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week ten. Twins Rookie and DSL leagues began play on June 5.

Jair Camargo was acquired by Minnesota from Dodgers via trade with right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda and cash, in exchange for right-handed pitcher Brusdar Graterol, outfielder Luke Raley and Competitive Balance B Pick in 2020 Draft on February 10, 2020.

Camargo, 23, hit .375 (6-for-16) with four home runs, 10 RBI and a 1.537 OPS in four games for the Saints this week. On the season the 5’10” (210) Barranquilla, Colombia native has 9 home runs and 25 RBI while hitting .228 but there are also those 54 strikeouts in 148 PA’s.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Matt Wallner & Brent Headrick

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A outfielder Matt Wallner and Triple-A left-handed pitcher Brent Headrick have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week nine. Twins Rookie and DSL leagues begin play today (June 5).

Brent Headrick was Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 9th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Illinois State University (Normal, IL). Headrick signed with Minnesota for a reported $130,000. MLB Pipeline currently has Headrick as the Twins 24th best prospect. More info on Headrick. The 6’6″ lefty made his big league debut earlier this season.

Headrick, 25, pitched 5 innings of relief on Tuesday at Buffalo, allowing one run on five hits in 5 innings pitched with no walks and seven strikeouts. This season in Triple-A St. Paul, Headrick has started 5 of the 8 games he has appeared in this season but it appears the Twins are trying to make him a relief pitcher. In 37.2 innings he has allowed 43 hits and struck out 48 but his WHIP is 1.407 so his control needs some work.

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Cotton Nash passes away at age 80

Cotton Nash

Charles “Cotton” Nash, a three-time All-American men’s basketball player and a University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Famer, died May 23, 2023 in Lexington, Kentucky at the age of 80. Nash was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on July 24, 1942.

Hollywood handsome with a distinctive thatch of blonde hair (the inspiration for his nickname), Nash was a star from the moment he joined Adolph Rupp’s varsity in 1961-62. Nash (1962-64) appeared in 78 for the Wildcats and averaged 22.7 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He was a member of two Southeastern Conference championship squads and was tabbed an All-American during all three seasons of his basketball career. Nash earned All-SEC Eastern Division honors as a member of the baseball team, and also participated in track and field as a discus thrower.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Ricardo Olivar & Marco Raya

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Low-A Fort Myers catcher/outfielder Ricardo Olivar and High-A Cedar Rapids pitcher Marco Raya have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week eight. Twins Rookie and DSL leagues begin play on June 5th.

The Barquisimeto, Venezuela native was signed by the Twins as an international free agent on July 8, 2019 for just $20,000. MLB Pipeline currently shows Olivar as the Minnesota Twins 26th best prospect. For more info on Olivar go here.

Olivar, 21, hit .600 for the week, including a home run, a double and a 1.600 OPS for the Mighty Mussels. On the season the right-handed hitting Olivar is slashing .282/.355/.422. The Twins have the 5’10” (176 lbs) Olivar playing catcher and outfielder and he has even played two games in centerfield.

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