In a Press Release this morning the Minnesota Twins announced that infielder Jose Miranda has been named the 2021 Sherry Robertson Award winner as the Twins Minor League Player of the Year and right-handed pitcher Louie Varland has been named the 2021 Jim Rantz Award winner as the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Twins Minor League POW are Aaron Sabato and Louie Varland
Week 20 has the Minnesota Twins naming High A Cedar Rapids Kernels first baseman Aaron Sabato and pitcher Louie Varland as the minor league players of the week.
Aaron Sabato was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (27th) of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Sabato, a Rye, New York native started the season with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels and was promoted to Cedar Rapids on August 23.
Sabato, 22, played in seven games for the Kernels, hitting .292 (7-for-24) with four home runs, six RBI, six walks, a .792 slugging percentage and a 1.211 OPS, including
two two-homer games. On the season between Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids Sabato is hitting .202 in 464 PA’s with 19 home runs and 57 RBI. He also has 149 strikeouts and 92 walks.
Twins Minor League POW are Alex Isola and Cade Povich
The week 19 Minnesota Twins Players of the week are catcher Alex Isola with High-A Cedar Rapids and Low-A Fort Myers LHP Cade Povich. The 2021 baseball season is winding down but players continue to show their stuff.
Alex Isola was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 29th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, TX). Signing bonus was reported as $70,000.
Isola, 23, played in five games for the Kernels, hitting .417 (10-for-24) with five home runs, eight RBI, a 1.042 slugging percentage and a 1.458 OPS. The California native homered in four of the five games, including a two-homer game on Friday at Wisconsin. For the season Isola is slashing .247/.351/.435 with 17 homers and 51 RBI in 93 games.
Twins Minor League POW are Christian Encarnacion-Strand & David Festa
Week 18 brings us another week closer to the end of the 2021 baseball season but we still have players playing their hearts out. This weeks Minnesota Twins minor league players of the week are Low-A Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 3B/1B Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Rookie level pitcher David Festa.
Twins Minor League POW are Trey Cabbage and Sawyer Gipson-Long
In week 17 AA Wichita Wind Surge outfielder/1B/DH Trey Cabbage and High A Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Sawyer Gipson-Long have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week. Both are repeat winners this year, this is Cabbage’s second time this and for Gipson-Long it is his third time. Congratulations to Trey and Sawyer!
Twins Minor League POW are BJ Boyd and Joe Ryan
The Minnesota Twins have selected AA-Wichita Wind Surge outfielder BJ Boyd and AAA-St. Paul Saints pitcher Joe Ryan as their minor league players of the week for week 16.
BJ Boyd was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 4th round of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft from Palo Alto HS (Palo Alto, CA). On May 27, 2021 the Twins signed him as a free agent to a minor league deal and assigned him to Wichita. Boyd who turned 28 in July last played pro ball in 2018 at the AAA level in the A’s system.
This past week Boyd, a left-handed hitting outfielder appeared in 7 games and slashed .343/.343/.771 with 5 home runs, 12 RBI and 9 runs scored in 35 AB’s. For the season so far Boyd is hitting .313 with 15 home runs, 60 RBI and 8 steals in 256 AB.
Twins leaders in multiple hit games
Stathead on Baseball-Reference is always a fun toy to play with to look up a variety of stats. I have used it and its predecessor for years. In this case I was curious who the Twins leaders in multi-hit games were between 1961 through 2020.
- Two or more hits in a game – 402 players with Kirby Puckett leading the pack
- Three or more hits in a game – 296 players with Rod Carew as the leader
- Four or more hits in a game – 170 players with Kirby Puckett as the leader
- Five or more hits in a game – 33 players with Kirby Puckett as the leader
- Six or more hits in a game – Kirby Puckett is the only one and he did it twice
The American League multiple hit games leaders during this time frame can be found here.
The National League multiple hit games leaders during this time frame can be found here.
Twins Minor League POW are Yunior Severino and Ben Gross
In week 15 the Minnesota Twins have selected High-A Cedar Rapids infielder Yunior Severino and right-handed pitcher Ben Gross as their Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.
Yunior Severino was a player that the Twins wanted to sign during the 2017 international signing period but he chose to sign with the Braves instead. Then in November of 2017 MLB ruled that the Braves had circumvented international spending rules and Severino, who by then had played in 48 games in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, was among 13 Atlanta prospects whose contracts were voided. The Twins moved quickly, committing $2.5 million to sign the 18-year-old.
Severino, 21, started the season in Fort Myers and was bumped up to Cedar Rapids on July 26. Severino a switch-hitter played in six games for the Kernels, hitting .560 (14-for-25) with three doubles, one home run, two RBI, three walks, six runs scored and a 1.421 OPS. He recorded two four-hit games this week. Severino was signed an a middle infielder but might outgrow that position although he is currently playing second base. On the season Severino is .285/.379/.437 .
Twins Minor League POW are Jermaine Palacios & Jovani Moran
In week 14 the Twins have named AA – Wichita infielder Jermaine Palacios and AAA – St. Paul left-handed pitcher Jovani Moran as the club’s minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week. Both are repeat winners of the award this year.
Twins Minor League POW are Michael Helman & Ben Gross
This week (#13) the Twins have named A+ Cedar Rapids Kernels infielder/outfielder Michael Helman and A+ Cedar Rapids Kernels right-handed pitcher Ben Gross the minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.
Michael Helman is another repeat winner this season. The Nebraska native 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) and has spent the season in A+ Cedar Rapids.
The right-handed hitting Helman played in seven games for the Kernels, hitting .423 (11-for-26) with one double, one triple, two home runs, three RBI, four walks and a 1.269 OPS. Used primarily in the outfield but has played some second base this season. For the year Helman is hitting .333/.420/.754.