The Minnesota Twins have announced that High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Kyle Jones and Triple-A St. Paul outfielder Matt Wallner have been named Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week for week 13.
Kyle Jones was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 7th round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Toledo (Toledo, OH) and signed for $176,600. A TwinsDaily.com interview with Jones can be seen here.
Jones, 23, appeared in two games (one start) for the Kernels, going 1-0, 1.23 ERA (7.1 IP, 1 ER), with five walks and eight strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .154 batting average. The 6’1″ (200) right-handed Jones started the season in Cedar Rapids and has pitched in 13 games with 11 starts and has 51 strikeouts in 53.2 innings with a 4-4 record and a 4.02 ERA. He finds a way to keep the ball in the ballpark and has given up just two home runs all season.
Matt Wallner a Forest Lake, Minnesota native was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 32nd round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft from Forest Lake HS (Forest Lake, MN) and the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (39th-competitive balance) of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg, MS). MLB Pipeline currently has Wallner rated as the Twins 5th best prospect, Wallner made his big league debut in September of 2022. More info on Wallner.
Wallner, 25, played in five games for the Saints this past week, hitting .409 (9-for-22) with two doubles, one triple, two home runs, seven RBI and a 1.298 OPS. He had back-to-back three-hit games on Thursday (2 homers) and Friday vs. Gwinnett. In 11 games with the Minnesota Twins this season Wallner’s slash line is .368/.520/.579. You have to think the Twins can find a spot for him again soon, maybe after the trade deadline.
