Category: Twins Minor League Player of the Week

Twins Minor League Player of the Week – Hector Lujan

Hector Lujan

Cedar Rapids Kernels (Low A) right-handed pitcher Hector Lujan has been named Twins minor league Player of the Week. Lujan, 6’3″ and about 230 appeared in three games for the Kernels, pitching 3.0 shutout innings with one hit allowed, no walks, six strikeouts and two saves. The 22-year-old has appeared in 38 games for the Kernels this season, going 3-1, 1.47 ERA (49.0 IP, 8 ER) with 15 saves (Midwest League leader), seven walks, 50 strikeouts and a 0.90 WHIP. Lujan has been strictly used in relief since he signed a professional contract.

The Corona, California native was drafted by the Twins in the 35th round of the
2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California.

Twins Minor League Report 08192017

Twins Minor League Player of the Week – Brent Rooker

Brent Rooker

Ft. Myers Miracle (High A) outfielder Brent Rooker has been named Twins minor league Player of the Week. Rooker appeared in six games for the Miracle, hitting .348 (8-for-23) with three home runs, 12 RBI and four runs scored. In 76 games between Rookie Elizabethton and Ft. Myers, Rooker has hit .262 (45-for-172) with seven doubles, 13 home runs, 38 RBI and taken 21 walks.

A 38th-round pick of the Twins last June (2016), Rooker had to give the Twins permission to select him again. Rooker, 22, the Southeastern Conference player of the year as a red shirt junior at Mississippi State, had the second-highest average exit velocity in Division 1 baseball last season, hitting .387 with 23 home runs in 67 games.

The Tennessee native was drafted by the Twins in the Competitive Balance Rd A (35th overall) in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Mississippi State University. What the Twins saw from Terry Brent Rooker at the plate was enough to convince them to re-draft him at No. 35 overall on Monday. A right-handed hitter, he signed for the full slot figure of $1.935 million after a record-setting season at Mississippi State. 

Twins Minor League Report 08132017

Twins Minor League Player of the Week – Clark Beeker

Clark Beeker  –  Credit: Dennis Hubbard/Sports Cards N More

Cedar Rapids Kernels (Low A) right-handed pitcher Clark Beeker has been named Twins minor league Player of the Week. Beeker made two starts for the Kernels, going 1-0, 0.00 ERA (17.2 IP) with no walks and 14 strikeouts. Before the season started, Class A Cedar Rapids pitching coach J.P. Martinez offered a steak dinner to anyone on the staff who could throw a shutout in 100 pitches or fewer. A hungry Clark Beeker made sure to cash in on the opportunity. 

In 19 starts for the Kernels this season, his first season as a full-time starter, he has gone 10-3, 2.15 ERA (121.2 IP, 29 ER) with two complete game shutouts, 14 walks and 84 strikeouts. The man has never had an ERA for any pro team he has pitched for higher than 2.51.The North Carolina native was selected by the Twins in the 33rd round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Davidson College (NC).

Twins Minor League Report 08062017

Twins Minor League Player of the Week – Fernando Romero

Fernando Romero

Chattanooga Lookouts (AA) right-handed pitcher Fernando Romero has been named Twins minor league Player of the Week. Romero made two starts for the Lookouts, going 2-0, 0.90 ERA (10.0 IP, 1 ER) with seven hits, four walks and 15 strikeouts in starts against Mobile last Saturday and Birmingham on Friday. He has appeared in 20 games (19 starts)
for the Lookouts this season, going 10-6, 2.64 ERA (105.2 IP, 31 ER) with one complete game shutout, 41 walks and 112 strikeouts.

Romero was signed by the Twins out of the Dominican Republic on November 4, 2011 as a 16 year-old for a reported $260,000. Romero has TJ surgery in June 2014 and missed the entire 2015 season.

 

Twins Minor League Player of the Week – Jonathan Rodriguez

Jonathan Rodriguez

Chattanooga Lookouts (AA) infielder Jonathan Rodriguez was named the Twins Player of the Week. In six games for the Lookouts, Rodriguez hit .429 (9-for-21) with two doubles, three home runs, six RBI, five walks and seven runs scored. Rodriguez, a right-handed hitter has played 1B in 69 of his 85 games for the Lookouts this season and is hitting .315 (97-for-308) with 21 doubles, 14 home runs and 52 RBI. Rodriguez has also played 3B and some outfield while with the Cards but not with Minnesota.

The 27-year-old was signed by the Twins as a minor league free agent in January, spending the previous eight seasons in the Cardinals minor league system. Rodriguez was originally drafted by the Cardinals in 2009 in round 17.

All previous winners can be found in the Twins minor league player of the week category.

Twins Minor League Report 07232017

Twins Minor League Player of the Week – Tanner English

Tanner English

Ft. Myers Miracle (High A) outfielder (yes, another center-fielder) Tanner English, 24,  was named the Twins Player of the Week ending July 15. The right-handed hitting English hit .450 (9-for-20) with a double, two triples, three home runs and seven RBI on the week. In 49 games for the Miracle this season English is batting .240 (40-for-167) with nine doubles, five home runs and 27 RBI.

English was originally a 13th round selection in the 2011 MLB Draft out of high school by the Tampa Bay Rays but decided to go to college. English was drafted in the 11th round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of South Carolina and signed by Minnesota for a reported bonus of $105,000.

Twins Minor League Player of the Week – Alex Robinson

Alex Robinson

Cedar Rapids Kernels left-handed pitcher Alex Robinson has been named Twins minor league Player of the Week. The 22-year-old Robinson appeared in three games for the Kernels, pitching 4.0 shutout innings with eight strikeouts, no hits allowed, no walks and one save. In his third season of pro ball Robinson has had more innings pitched than hits allowed and more strikeouts than innings pitched.

The Queens, NY native was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft out of the University of Maryland.

Twins Minor League Report 07082017

Twins Minor League Player of the Week -Trey Cabbage

Trey Cabbage (Courtesy Minnesota Twins)

Elizabethton Twins (Rookie League) outfielder/3B Trey Cabbage has been named Twins minor league Player of the Week. In seven games, the left-handed swinging Cabbage hit .333 (9-for-27) with two doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, eight walks and had a .486 on-base percentage. Cabbage was headed for the University of Tennessee before the Twins persuaded him to sign a professional contract for $760,000 and nice bump over the $517,900 slot amount.

Twins Minor League Report 070217

Twins Minor League Player of the Week – Tyler Wells

Better late then never….

Tyler Wells

Cedar Rapids Kernels (Low A) right-handed pitcher Tyler Wells is the Twins minor league Player of the Week. The 6’8″ Wells made the start for the Kernels last Saturday, against Clinton, allowing one run on four hits in 8.0 innings pitched, earning the win with 10 strikeouts and no walks. 

Late News: Cedar Rapids placed Tyler Wells on the DL yesterday. This is the second DL stint this season because of a shoulder issue for Wells, who is 4-2 with a 2.21 earned run average in 11 starts. He has allowed just 45 hits and struck out 82 in 61 innings.

Meet The Kernels – Tyler Wells

 

Twins Minor League Report 06252017

 

 

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Meyer, Polanco and Robertson

Today, June 26 we have three players making their debut as Minnesota Twins, all from this century.

 

Alex Meyer

Alex Meyer (P) – June 26, 2015 – Traded by the Washington Nationals to the Minnesota Twins for Denard Span on November 29, 2012 . No other way to say it other than it was a disastrous start to his major league career. Meyer gave up a home run to the first batter and it was kind of down hill from there. Meyer didn’t retire a batter until the seventh hitter and then was pulled after facing the number 9 hitter with but one out on the board. 5 earned runs, 6 total runs on 6 hits.

 

Jorge Polanco

Jorge Polanco (SS) – June 26, 2014 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in July 2009. Polanco drew a walk and later scored in his first plate appearance in which he entered the game as a pinch hitter.

 

Tyler Robertson

Tyler Robertson (P) – June 26, 2012 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 2006 MLB June Amateur Draft. Now this is a stunning big league debut, Robertson entered the Twins vs White Sox game in the top of the 8th inning at Target Field with Twins trailing 3-0 and struck out the side.

To see other Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins