Category: Twins Minor League Player of the Week

Twins minor league players of the week are Lee & Festa

The Minnesota Twins have named Double-A Wichita infielder Brooks Lee and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher David Festa as the club’s minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Brooks Lee was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (8th) of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo, CA). Lee, whose draft slot was estimated to be worth $5.4 million, received a signing bonus worth $5.675 million. Lee’s scouting report is interesting and you can see it here. MLB Pipleline has Lee as the Twins top prospect and currently rated number 33 in MLB overall.

Lee, 21, played in four games for the Kernels (including all 3 playoff games), going 4-for-15 with two doubles, two RBI and three walks. He was promoted from High-A Cedar Rapids yesterday afternoon after hitting .289 (28-for-97) with four doubles, four home runs, 12 RBI and an .848 OPS in 25 games for the Kernels. The San Luis Obispo, California native switch-hitting shortstop has played in just 29 professional games and is already at AA-Wichita. Just 4 games with the Rookie Twins and 25 games at High-A Cedar Rapids. Talk about being on the fast track to Minnesota!

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Twins minor league players of the week are Balazovic & Cavaco

The Minnesota Twins have named Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Jordan Balazovic and Low-A Fort Myers infielder Keoni Cavaco as the club’s minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week.

Jordan Balazovic was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft from St. Martin SS (Mississauga, ON). At one point he was as high as number 3 on the MLB Twins Pipeline but now finds himself at number 15. The soon to be 24 year-old is spending his sixth season in the minors (no minor league ball in 2020).

Balazovic, who turns 24 on Saturday, made two starts for the Saints, going 0-0, 1.00 ERA (9.0 IP, 1 ER) with four walks and 15 strikeouts. Balazovic has had a disappointing 2022 season with his last two starts being arguably the best he has had all season. He started the season on the IL and with the AAA-Saints he has made 18 starts and has an 0-6 record with a 8.16 ERA. In his 18 starts he has pitched 56 innings (3.11 innings per start) and he has given up 89 hits while striking out 61 batters. His last start was the first time he has ever pitched 5 innings in pro ball and he has not thrown as many as 80 pitches in his career. He is relatively young but has to turn things around soon if he wants to be a big league pitcher.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Varland and Winkel

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.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Holland & Gossett

The Minnesota Twins have named Double-A Wichita shortstop/outfielder Will Holland and right-handed pitcher Daniel Gossett as their Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Will Holland was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Auburn University (Auburn, AL). Holland reportedly signed with the Minnesota Twins, per MLB.com, for a $575,000 signing bonus. That is well above the slotted value of $360,800 for the 149th overall pick. Holland was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita on August 11th.

Holland, a 24 year-old Atlanta, Georgia native, played in six games for the Wind Surge, hitting .316 (6-for-19) with one double, two home runs, eight RBI, six runs scored, five walks, a .458 on-base percentage, a .684 slugging percentage and a 1.143 OPS. Although being used primarily in the outfield, the right-handed hitting Holland still plays some shortstop now and then but has not played that position with Wichita. In just 11 games with Wichita, Holland has a slash line of .333/.488/.697.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Varland and Prato

The Minnesota Twins have named Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Louie Varland and Double-A Wichita infielder/outfielder Anthony Prato as their 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 twice earlier this season. Varland is currently rated as the Twins 11th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

Varland, who was promoted from Double-A Wichita on August 8, made his first AAA start for St. Paul on Friday night against Columbus, pitching 5.1innings, with one hit allowed, two walks and eight strikeouts, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning. It will be interestig to see if this Minnesota native makes his MLB debut yet this season.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Helman & Ohl

The Twins announced that Triple-A St. Paul infielder/outfielder Michael Helman and Low-A right-handed pitcher Pierson Ohl have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

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, played in six games for the Saints, hitting .333 (10-for-30) with two doubles, one triple, four home runs, seven RBI, seven runs scored, an .867 slugging percentage and a 1.222 OPS, including a five-hit game on Tuesday at Omaha. The 6’1″/195 Helman has played all four infield position as well as CF and LF for the Saints this season. Helman is slashing .287/.357/.505 with the Saints.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Henriquez & Palacios

The Minnesota Twins minor league players of the week are right-handed pitcher Ronny Henriquez and infielder Jermaine Palacios and both are with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints.

Ronny Henriquez was signed as international free agent by the Texas Rangers on July 3, 2017. Barely 5-10 and 150 pounds when he signed in 2017, he received just $10,000. But as a 17-year old he could already hit 93 with his fastball. Henriquez was acquired by the Minnesota Twins over the 2021 offseason in a trade with Texas, along with infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, in exchange for catcher Mitch Garver. At the time of the trade Henriquez was rated the Rangers 15th best prospect. He is currently rated as the Twins 11th best prospect. This is the second time ths season Ronny Henriquez has won this award.

Henriquez, 22, appeared in one game in relief for the Saints this week versus Iowa, pitching 4 shutout innings, allowing five hits, no walks and four strikeouts. The Bonao, Dominican Republic native has gone 1-1, 3.12 ERA (26.0 IP, 9 ER) with eight walks and 29 strikeouts in his last six games (4 starts) for the Saints. Henriquez is currently on the Twins 40-man roster.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Encarnacion-Strand & Mooney

Double-A Wichita infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Sean Mooney are the Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK). Encarnacion-Strand bats and throws right-handed. Reports had him signing for the exact slot bonus of $442,000. MLB Pipeline now has Christian Encarnacion-Strand rated as the Twins 24th best prospect after starting 2022 as the 29th best prospect.

Encarnacion-Strand, 22, played in six games between Cedar Rapids and Wichita, hitting .375 (9-for-24) with three doubles, five home runs, 14 RBI, a .464 on-base percentage, a 1.125 slugging percentage and a 1.589 OPS. Christian was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita on July 14. The Twins’ No. 24 prospect notched the first cycle in franchise history for the Double-A Wind Surge, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored, to lead his team to an 11-1 rout of visiting Arkansas.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Henriquez & Wallner

The Minnesota Twins minor league players of the week are Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Ronny Henriquez and Double-A Wichita outfielder Matt Wallner.

Ronny Henriquez was signed as international free agent by the Texas Rangers on July 3, 2017. Barely 5-10 and 150 pounds when he signed in 2017, he received just $10,000. But as a 17-year old he could already hit 93 with his fastball. Henriquez was acquired by the Minnesota Twins over the 2021 offseason in a trade with Texas, along with infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, in exchange for catcher Mitch Garver. At the time of the trade Henriquez was rated the Rangers 15th best prospect.

Henriquez, 22, appeared in one game in relief this week for the Saints on Thursday at Louisville, pitching 4 shutout innings with four hits allowed, no walks and four strikeouts. Henriquez is 1-1, 3.80 ERA (23.2 IP, 10 ER) with eight walks, 27 strikeouts and a .236 opponent batting average in his last five games (3 starts) for the Saints. Henriquez’s numbers on the season are not nearly as good as he is 1-3 in 9 starts (13 appearances) with a 6.15 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP and his SO/W ratio is 2.71. Henriquez is on the Twins 40 man roster and according to MLB Pipeline he is the Twins 11th best prospect.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Julien & Varland

The Minnesota Twins minor league players of the week are Double-A Wichita infielder Edouard Julien and right-handed pitcher Louie Varland.

Edouard Julien was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Auburn University (Auburn, AL). Julien was born in Quebec, Canada and ended up playing college ball all the way down south at Auburn, a draft-eligible sophomore who signed with the parent Minnesota Twins in 2019 as an 18th-round draft pick for a $493,500 bonus, way over the slot dollar amount of $125,000 for every player picked after the 11th round.

Julien, 23, played in six games for the Wind Surge this week, hitting .348 (8-for-23) with two doubles, three home runs, nine RBI, five walks, and a .464 OBP, an .826 SLG and a 1.290 OPS. Even though Julien has visited the IL twice this season he has appeared in 53 games and is slashing .287/.429/.466. Drafted as a power hitting third baseman, Julien has been playing mainly second base at Wichita this season. Video clip of Julien having a 7 RBI game.

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