Twins minor league players of the week are Festa & Rodriguez

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher David Festa and High-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez as minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week for week 16.

David Festa a New Jersey native was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ). MLB Pipeline currently has Festa rated as the Twins 8th best prospect. Read more about Festa here.

He appeared for the AL Team in the 2023 SiriusXM Futures Game in Seattle over the Major League Baseball All-Star break and pitched 1.0 inning. The 6’6″ righty has made 15 starts this season and has a 2-2 record with 62 innings pitched allowing 60 hits while striking out 80. This is the second time he has won this award this season.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Lee & Raya

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Double-A Wichita infielder Brooks Lee and Wichita right-handed pitcher Marco Raya have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week 15.

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 Pipeline has Lee as the Twins top prospect and currently rated number 18 in MLB overall and is currently rated as the Twins best prospect. This is the second time Lee has won the award this season.

Lee, 22, who has been on a tear of late slashed .429/.429/.929 (6-for-14) with one double, two home runs, five RBI, three runs scored and a 1.357 OPS in three games for the Wind Surge. On the season, Lee’s slash line is .282/.361.468 . I would think that Lee will get a taste of playing some ball at Target Field before the 2023 comes to an end. I can’t wait to see him play in the bigs.


Surging Lee finding power stroke in Double-A

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Twins minor league players of the week are Peña & Culpepper

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Dominican Summer League infielder Dameury Pena and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher C.J. Culpepper have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week 14.

The Minnesota Twins signed 17 year-old free agent SS Dameury Peña to a minor league contract in January 2023. The right-handed hitting Peña, played in four games, hitting .429 (6-for-14) with three doubles, one triple, two RBI, three runs scored, one walk, no strike-outs and a 1.252 OPS. On the season Peña is slashing .392/.444/.541 with 8 steals.

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). According to Jim Callis, Culpepper signed with Minnesota for $125,000. This is the second time this season Culpepper has won this award. MLB currently has C. J. rated as the Twins 26th best prospect on MLB Pipeline and you can read more about Culpepper there.

Culpepper, 21, who was bumped up to Cedar Rapids on June 26 made two starts for the Kernels, going 1-0, 0.00 ERA (11.0 IP) with one walk and eight strikeouts.

Twins Minor League Report, 7-1-23.PDF

Twins minor league players of the week are Matt Wallner & Kyle Jones

The Minnesota Twins have announced that High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Kyle Jones and Triple-A St. Paul outfielder Matt Wallner have been named Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week for week 13.

Kyle Jones was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 7th round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Toledo (Toledo, OH) and signed for $176,600. A TwinsDaily.com interview with Jones can be seen here.

Jones, 23, appeared in two games (one start) for the Kernels, going 1-0, 1.23 ERA (7.1 IP, 1 ER), with five walks and eight strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .154 batting average. The 6’1″ (200) right-handed Jones started the season in Cedar Rapids and has pitched in 13 games with 11 starts and has 51 strikeouts in 53.2 innings with a 4-4 record and a 4.02 ERA. He finds a way to keep the ball in the ballpark and has given up just two home runs all season.

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State of the 2023 Twins at the half-way pole

Derek Falvey and Thad Levine – credit MN Twins

I have followed the Minnesota Twins since 1961 (with the exception of my Navy years 1965-1968) but very few Twins teams have frustrated me as much as this season has. I have never been one to sugar-coat the Twins performance and I think I have done my share of ripping the Twins organization over the years. My site, Twinstrivia.com is intended to be a Minnesota Twins historical website so I try to not spend a lot of time writing about my personal feeling regarding the Twins although I do not hide the fact I am a huge Twins fan and watch them when ever I can, more so on TV now days than in person. But this 2023 Twins team is getting to me.

The Minnesota Twins coming off a three-game series in which they went 0 for 23 with RISP and were outscored 13 to 3 and swept by the high flying Atlanta Braves. After the series-sweeping 3-0 loss manager Rocco Baldelli had another closed-door meeting with his team in which he told them that they were playing was unsatisfactory baseball. I would have paid good money to sit in on that meeting.

The Twins have been in first place for the majority of the 2023 season but have played uninspiring baseball for most of the year. The starting pitching has been good but the bullpen has been less than stellar and the hitting has been abysmal, particularly situational hitting.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Emmanuel Rodriguez & Cesar Lares

The Minnesota Twins have announced that High-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez and Florida Complex League (FCL) Twins left-handed pitcher Cesar Lares have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week 12.

Emmanuel Rodriguez a Santiago, Dominican Republic native was signed by the Minnesota Twins as an undrafted free agent on July 2, 2019. Rodriguez was a top 10 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 international prospects list for 2019-20 when the signing period opened up in July of 2019. The Twins were all in, giving the toolsy outfielder $2.75 million to sign. MLB Pipeline had Rodriguez rated as the 69th best prospect overall and has Rodriguez as the Twins 3rd best prospect. You can learn more about Rodriguez here.

The 5’10” (210) Rodriguez, 20, bats and throws left-handed. Rodriguez suffered a left abdomen sprain in mid-April and was on the IL for three weeks. Rodriguez hit .571 with three home runs and a 2.095 OPS, while producing an 11% strikeout rate, compared to a 22.2% walk rate for the Kernels this past week. His slash line on the season is .232/.379/.470. Keep in mind that the 20 year old Rodriguez has just 84 games and 350 PA’s of pro ball under his belt prior to this season.

Cesar Lares signed with the Twins in the 2022 international signing period for $10,000 out of Maracay, Venezuela. Lares, 19, made one start for the FCL Twins on Tuesday vs. the FCL Orioles, pitching 3.0 shutout innings, with one hit allowed, no walks and five strikeouts. The 6’0″ lefty got hit around a bit in one of his three starts this season but in the other two starts he was stellar. A very short video of Cesar Lares on Twitter at work this past week.

Twins Minor League Report, 6-25-23.PDF

Former Twins pitcher George Frazier passes away at the age of 68

George Frazier

George Frazier was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on October 13, 1954 and passed away on June 19, 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the age of 68 from an undisclosed illness.

The lanky, 6-foot-5 right-hander, Frazier was a star at Hillcrest High School in Springfield, Missouri where he played alongside two other future major leaguers in Bob Detherage and Keith Drumright. before attending the University of Oklahoma from 1973-76. 

Frazier was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 13th round of the 1972 June free agent draft but turned that offer down to attend the University of Oklahoma. George Frazier, who was a member of two College World Series teams in the 1970s playing at Oklahoma in 1975 and ’76 for legendary coach Enos Semore and was a member of the final two of five straight CWS appearances from 1972-76. After completing his college career Frazier was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 9th round of the 1976 MLB June Amateur Draft.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Marco Raya & Chris Williams

The Minnesota Twins have announced that High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Marco Raya and Triple-A St. Paul catcher/first baseman Chris Williams as their minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week for week eleven.

Marco Raya was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft from United South HS in Laredo, Texas. Raya was committed to Texas Tech but signed with Minnesota instead for $410,000 according to MLB. Raya signed in 2020 but spent all of 2021 on the injured list with various injuries and didn’t throw his first pitch in a pro game until 2022. Raya has had one visit to the IL this season. MLB Pipeline has Raya as the Twins 6th best prospect. Go here of more info on Raya.

Raya, 20, made one start for the Kernels on Friday vs. South Bend, allowing one run on two hits in 3.0 innings pitched, with no walks and six strikeouts. Raya also had a 46% whiff rate. Seems the Twins have a close watch on his pitch count, he has not gone more than four innings in any game. B-R Game logs for 2023

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Twins minor league players of the week are Jair Camargo & Cory Lewis

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A Saint Paul catcher Jair Camargo and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Cory Lewis as their minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week ten. Twins Rookie and DSL leagues began play on June 5.

Jair Camargo was acquired by Minnesota from Dodgers via trade with right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda and cash, in exchange for right-handed pitcher Brusdar Graterol, outfielder Luke Raley and Competitive Balance B Pick in 2020 Draft on February 10, 2020.

Camargo, 23, hit .375 (6-for-16) with four home runs, 10 RBI and a 1.537 OPS in four games for the Saints this week. On the season the 5’10” (210) Barranquilla, Colombia native has 9 home runs and 25 RBI while hitting .228 but there are also those 54 strikeouts in 148 PA’s.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Matt Wallner & Brent Headrick

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A outfielder Matt Wallner and Triple-A left-handed pitcher Brent Headrick have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week nine. Twins Rookie and DSL leagues begin play today (June 5).

Brent Headrick was Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 9th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Illinois State University (Normal, IL). Headrick signed with Minnesota for a reported $130,000. MLB Pipeline currently has Headrick as the Twins 24th best prospect. More info on Headrick. The 6’6″ lefty made his big league debut earlier this season.

Headrick, 25, pitched 5 innings of relief on Tuesday at Buffalo, allowing one run on five hits in 5 innings pitched with no walks and seven strikeouts. This season in Triple-A St. Paul, Headrick has started 5 of the 8 games he has appeared in this season but it appears the Twins are trying to make him a relief pitcher. In 37.2 innings he has allowed 43 hits and struck out 48 but his WHIP is 1.407 so his control needs some work.

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