Keirsey Jr. & Hall named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Twins announced that triple-A St. Paul outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Low-A Fort Myers right-handed pitcher Tanner Hall have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of Week.

Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT). Keirsey signed for $600,000, way over the assigned slot value. MLB has Keirsey rated as the Twins 29th best prospect. For additional info on Keirsey please go here. Keirsey, 27, a San Diego, CA native played in six games for the Saints, hitting .320 (8-for-25) with one double, one home run, three RBI, six runs scored and an .850 OPS.

Tanner Hall was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg, MS). Hall signed with Minnesota for a reported $510,000. Hall, 22, started on Thursday, August 1 vs. St. Lucie, allowing two runs on four hits in 6.0 innings pitched, with one walk and nine strikeouts. Hall has already had an exciting start to his career, striking out 4 in one inning on July 6 and then on August 1 threw an immaculate inning.

Cespedes & Raya named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

On July 28th the Twins announced that High-A Cedar Rapids infielder Rubel Cespedes and Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher Marco Raya have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week. Yes, I am behind again.

Rubel Cespedes was signed by the Twins out of the Dominican Republic as part of the 2019 international class. Cespedes spent 2019 & 2021 in the rookie league and then spent 2022 2023 in Low A ball. The 23 year old left-handed hitter is playing at first, second and third base but most of his time has been at the hot corner. Cespedes seems to be having a breakout season in 2024 and thus far is slashing .287/.359/.448. The Azua, Dominican Republic native Cespedes, played in six games for the Kernels, hitting .391 (9-for-23) with three home runs, eight RBI, three walks and a 1.264 OPS, including a two-homer game on Sunday vs. Wisconsin.

Marco Raya was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft from United South HS (Laredo, TX). Raya had committed to Texas Tech but signed with the Twins instead for a bonus of $410,000. The Laredo, Texas native is ranked as the club’s eighth-best prospect by MLB.com and third best pitcher. For more info on Raya please go here. I think Raya could have an exciting future if he can stay healthy. Raya has not pitched more than 65 innings in pro ball but he is currently at 63.1 innings so hopefully he can be stretched out some this year. That said, the Twins treat him with kid gloves. Raya, 21, made the start on Friday at Amarillo, pitching a season-high 5.0 scoreless innings, with one hit allowed, no walks and five strikeouts. I believe this is his second pitcher of the week award this year.

Twins Minor League Report, 7-31-2024

Keaschall & Varland named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Twins have announced that Double-A Wichita infielder Luke Keaschall and Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Louie Varland have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Luke Keaschall was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft from Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ). MLB Pipeline has Keaschall rated the Twins fifth best prospect and 94th best prospect in MLB. Keaschall played in the MLB futures game this past week as a replacement for Brandon Lee. For more info on Keaschall please go here. Keaschall, 21, hit .563 (9-for-16) with two home runs, two RBI, two walks, four runs scored and a 1.570 OPS in four games for the Wind Surge.

Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Concordia University (St. Paul, MN). Varland made his major league debut on September 7, 2022 and has pitched in Minnesota off and on since 2022. Varland, 26, started for the Saints on July 11 at Louisville, tossing 5.2 scoreless innings with two hits allowed, three walks and six strikeouts in a no-decision. His relief work for the Twins todate has been better than his starting but the Twins FO wants his stretched out just in case.


Twins Minor League Report, 7-12-2024

Lee & MacLeod named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Twins have announced that Triple-A St. Paul infielder Brooks Lee and High-A Cedar Rapids left-handed pitcher Christian MacLeod (pronounced mc-CLOUD) have been named Twins 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 MLB Pipeline scouting report can seen here. MLB Pipeline has Lee as the Twins second best prospect and currently rated number 13 in MLB overall. Lee missed the first two months of the season with a herniated disk. Lee, 23, played in six games for the Saints, hitting .357 (10-for-28) with three doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI. All 11 of his RBI came in a three-game stretch from Tuesday-Thursday, which included a grand slam on Tuesday and a two-homer game on Thursday. We should be able to watch the switch-hitting Brooks Lee playing at Target Field soon. I can’t wait.

Christian MacLeod was Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Mississippi State University (Mississippi State, MS). The 6’4″ Huntsville, Alabama native left-hander signed a $500,000 signing bonus with Minnesota. MacLeod missed the 2022 season after under-going TJ surgery. MacLeod, 24, made the start on Tuesday for the Kernels vs. Peoria, pitching 6 shutout innings, with one hit allowed, one walk and a
career-high 10 strikeouts, earning his first win of the season.

Twins-Minor-League-Report-6-27-2024.PDF

Severino & Festa named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Twins have announced that Triple-A St. Paul infielder Yunior Severino and right-handed pitcher David Festa have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week. Hey, I am finally caught up.

Yunior Severino, a Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native was signed by the Twins as an international free agent in July of 2016 for $2.5 million. For more information on how he ended up with Minnesota stop by and check out this short article. Severino, 24, played in six games for the Saints, hitting .500 (10-for-20) with three home runs, seven RBI, nine walks, three strikeouts, a .655 on-base percentage, a .950 slugging percentage and a 1.605 OPS. He homered twice on Thursday at Louisville. Playing first base and third base this year but primarily first base.

David Festa was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ). Festa is rated as the club’s fifth-best prospect by MLB.com — first among pitchers. For more Festa info please go here. Festa, 24, started for the Saints on Friday at Louisville, allowing two runs on four hits in 6 innings pitched with no walks and 10 strikeouts. It marked the third time he has struck out 10 batters in an outing this season and was one short of his career-high of 11 which he did in 2022. Will he be making an appearance in a Twins uniform soon?

Twins-Minor-League-Report-6-16-2024-1.pdf

Wallner & Olivares named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

Triple-A St. Paul outfielder Matt Wallner and Low-A Fort Myers right-handed pitcher Jose Olivares have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week. I apologize for getting this out so late, it was announced on June 9.

Minnesota native Matt Wallner 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) of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg, MS). Wallner debuted with the Twins on September 17, 2022. Started the season with the Twins but struggled and was sent to AAA. This past week Wallner, 26, played in six games for the Saints, hitting .364 (8-for-22) with one double, four home runs, eight RBI, three walks, seven runs scored, a .462 on-base percentage, a .955 slugging percentage and a 1.416 OPS. The man is on a tear.

Jose Oliveras the Altagracia de Orituco, Venezuela native was signed by the Minnesota Twins as an international free agent in January of 2021. Olivares, 21, made the start on Tuesday at Tampa, pitching 5.0 shutout innings, with four hits allowed, no walks and a season-high six strikeouts.

Twins-Minor-League-Report-6-16-2024-1

Olivar & Langenberg named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

High-A Cedar Rapids catcher/outfielder Ricardo Olivar and Low-A Fort Myers right-handed pitcher Ty Langenberg have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week. I apologize for getting this out so late, it was announced on June 2. My reason for posting even if it is late is that the players deserve the recognition and fans get to see what the up and coming future Twins players are doing.

Ricardo Olivar, the Barquisimeto, Venezuela native was signed by the Twins in July of 2019 for a bonus of $20K. Olivar is currently rated as the Twins 20th best prospect and catching as well as playing in the outfield. Olivar, 22, played in five games for the Kernels, hitting .364 (8-for-22) with three home runs, five RBI and a 1.136 OPS. See more about Olivar here and here.

Ty Langenberg was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA). Langenberg was promoted to Cedar Rapids on June 11. Langenberg, 22, made the start for the Mighty Mussels on Tuesday vs. Bradenton, allowing two runs on four hits in 5.2 innings pitched, with three walks and eight strikeouts.

Twins-Minor-League-Report-6-13-2024.pdf

Pitcher Buzz Stephen passes away

Louis Roberts Stephen Jr. was born in Porterville, California on July 13, 1944 and recently passed away in the city in which he was born on May 9, 2024 at the age of 79. Stephen was better known as “Buzz Stephen” and he achieved his dream of pitching in the major leagues albeit in just two games.

In Porterville High school he was 6’4″ and was the center on the basketball team and a pitcher on the baseball team. Stephen graduated in 1962 and attended Porterville Junior College before transferring to Fresno State College. He had some success as a swingman for the Fresno State Bulldogs, even if his control was wild at times. Stephen was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 25th round of the 1965 MLB June Amateur Draft from California State University, Fresno (Fresno, CA), the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 1966 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase from California State University, Fresno (Fresno, CA) and the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (6th) of the 1966 MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase from California State University, Fresno (Fresno, CA).

In 1968 Stephen had his best season in pro ball at Double-A Charlotte and the Twins called him up in September for that “cup of coffee” and he made his major league debut on September 20 at Met Stadium versus the Oakland A’s and Catfish Hunter. The game was rescheduled from a May 15th rain out and with neither team in a pennant chase, a small crowd of 1,710 showed up to watch the rookie’s debut. Stephen gave up a harmless single to Bert Campaneris to lead off the game but then a steal, a walk, a double steal, a ground out and a fly out led to two runs scoring. By the time the Oakland A’s finished batting in the first inning they had already posted a 2-0 lead. It was a 3-1 lead for the A’s after six innings but Oakland knocked Stephen out of the game in the seventh after he had pitched 6.1 innings giving up 8 hits and 5 walks allowing 5 runs, but only 4 were earned while striking out one. Oakland went on to a 7 to 1 win and Stephen (0-1) had his first loss while Catfish Hunter (13-13) pitched a complete game for the win.

Continue reading Pitcher Buzz Stephen passes away

Keaschall & Culpepper named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Minnesota Twins have announced that High-A Cedar Rapids infielder Luke Keaschall and right-handed pitcher C.J. Culpepper have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the week.

Luke Keaschall was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft from Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ). MLB Pipeline has Keaschall rated the Twins ninth best prospect. Keaschall, 21, played in six games for the Kernels, hitting .500 (12-for-24) with two doubles, three home runs, seven RBI and a 1.545 OPS. For more info on Keaschall go here.

C. J. Culpepper was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from California Baptist University (Riverside, CA). Culpepper won this award three times in 2023 and is a first time winner in 2024. MLB currently has C. J. rated as the Twins 8th best prospect on MLB Pipeline and you can read more about Culpepper there. Culpepper, 22, made the start for the Kernels on Thursday at Peoria, pitching 6 perfect innings, with eight strikeouts, retiring all 18 batters he faced.

Twins-Minor-League-Report-5-28-2024

Former Twins catcher Tom Tischinski passes away at 79

Tom Tischinski

Tom Tischinski was born on July 12, 1944 in Kansas City, Missouri and passed away at the age of 79 on April 23, 2024 at Northcare Hospice House in Kansas City. He attended De La Salle High School, graduating in 1962. According to the back of Tischinski’s rookie 1970 Topps baseball card (#379) he lettered in four sports and was captain of his baseball and basketball team getting all-league honors in both sports.

Following high school, he was signed by the Kansas City Athletics baseball organization, beginning a 13 year career in professional baseball. After just one season in the Kansas City Athletics organization he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the November 1962 first-year draft. Tischinski played in AAA for the Reds in San Diego but struggled hitting the ball and when the Reds drafted some guy named Johnny Bench in June of 1965, things didn’t look good. Then in November of 1967 he caught a break when the Minnesota Twins drafted him in the minor league draft.

Continue reading Former Twins catcher Tom Tischinski passes away at 79