Category: Twins Minor League Player of the Week

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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Twins minor league players of the week are Ohl & Wallner

The Minnesota Twins minor league players of the week are Low-A Fort Myers right-handed pitcher Pierson Ohl and Double-A Wichita outfielder Matt Wallner.

Pierson Ohl was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ). Reports have Ohl receiving a signing bonus of $100,000 to sign with Minnesota. According to Twins Daily, Ohl’s pre-draft scouting report cited a fastball that operated in the high 80s and low 90s, with plus command. Additionally, Ohl carries a curveball and an above-average changeup which serves as his best secondary offering.

This past week Ohl, 22, made one start for the Mighty Mussels on Thursday at Lakeland, allowing one run on three hits in 6 innings pitched, with one walk and eight strikeouts. On the season the 6’1″ Ohl has thrown 44 innings in 11 starts and allowed 51 hits and struck out 51 batters.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Kirilloff & Festa

Twins minor league players of the week are outfielder-first baseman Alex Kirilloff who has been playing in AAA St Paul and High-A Cedar Rapids RHP David Festa. I apologize for the delay in getting this out this week.

Alex Kirilloff was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (15th) of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft from Plum HS (Pittsburgh, PA). This is Kirilloff’s second minor league player of the week honor in 2022, he also won on May 22.

Kirilloff made his big league debut with the Twins on September 30, 2020 in a playoff game against the Houston Astros. Kirilloff spent 59 games with the Twins last season before being sidelined with a wrist injury and started 2022 with the Twins before the wrist injury resurfaced.

Kirilloff has been hot of late while rehabbing with the AAA St. Paul Saints and last week played in five games, hitting .474 (9-for-19) with one double, four home runs, nine RBI, a .565 on-base percentage, a 1.158 slugging percentage and a 1.723 OPS. In 131 at bats with the Saints this season Kirilloff had a slash line of .359/.465/.641. He was recalled by the Twins on June 17.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Varland & Steer

The Minnesota Twins have named Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher Louie Varland and Triple-A St. Paul infielder Spencer Steer as the Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week. The Twins are lucky to have a number of their minor leaguers knocking on the Target Field door.

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, a St. Paul native signed for a $115,000 signing bonus.

Last season Varland was 10-4 with a nifty 2.10 ERA in 20 games and 103 innings. Varland gave up just 82 hits and struck out 142 and posted a 1.087 WHIP. The 6’1″ right-hander was rewarded by the Minnesota Twins by being named their Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2021 after splitting time between Fort Myers and and Cedar Rapids. This past week Varland, 24, made two starts (6/4 vs. Frisco and 6/10 at Arkansas) for the Wind Surge, going 1-0, 1.64 ERA (11.0 IP, 2 ER) with eight hits allowed, two walks and 18 strikeouts. In 2022 Varland is 5-1 with a SO/9 ration of 10.7 and a 1.200 WHIP. Looks like he will be able to come home to pitch soon.

Louie Varland makes himself next Twins pitching prospect to watch out for (Patrick Reusse)

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