Tag: Cedar Rapids Kernels

Twins minor league players of the week are Dasan Hill & Hendry Mendez

The Minnesota Twins have named High-A Cedar Rapids left-handed pitcher Dasan Hill and Double-A Wichita outfielder Hendry Mendez as the club’s minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week.

Dasan Hill

Dasan Hill, 19, made the start on Thursday versus Beloit, allowing two runs on two hits in 5.0 innings
pitched, with two walks and seven strikeouts. The Grapevine, TX native is ranked as the club’s eighth-best (3rd pitcher) prospect by MLB.com. This guy could well be the Twins minor league pitcher of the year.

Hendry Mendez

Hendry Mendez, 21, played in six games for the Wind Surge, hitting .316 (6-for-19) with one triple,
one home run, three RBI, eight walks and a .536 on-base percentage. Mendez was acquired by the Twins in the Harrison Bader trade with Philadelphia and is ranked as the club’s 25th-best prospect by MLB.com.

Twins minor league players of the week are Billy Amick & Jose Olivares

The Minnesota Twins have named High-A Cedar Rapids infielder Billy Amick and right-handed pitcher Jose Olivares as the Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Billy Amick

Bill Amick, 22, played in seven games for the Kernels, hitting .480 (12-for-25) with four doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, five walks and a 1.461 OPS. The Mooresville, NC native was selected by the Twins in the second round (60th overall) in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Tennessee. Amick is rated by MLB Pipeline as the Twins 18th best prospect.

Jose Olivares

Jose Olivares, 22, made the start on Tuesday at Quad Cities, allowing one run on one hit in 6.0 innings pitched, with two walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts. The Altagracia de Orituco, Venezuela native was signed by the Twins as an international free agent in January of 2021. Olivares is rated by MLB Pipeline as the Twins 25th best prospect.

Twins Minor League Report, 9-6-2025

Twins minor league players of the week(s)

I missed publishing last weeks minor league players of the week so I will do both weeks here. I will start out with last week when the Twins named Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher Ryan Gallagher and Low-A Fort Myers catcher Enrique Jimenez as the Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week.

Ryan Gallagher

Gallagher, 22, made the start on Friday at Springfield, allowing two unearned runs on four hits in 6 innings pitched, with one walk and three strikeouts. Gallagher was acquired by the Twins at the trade deadline from Chicago-NL, in exchange for Willi Castro. The Sacramento, California native was selected by the Cubs in the sixth round of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of California, Santa Barbara and he is ranked as the club’s 16th-best prospect by MLB.com.

Enrique Jimenez

Jimenez, 19, played in four games for the Mighty Mussels, hitting .308 (4-for-13) with two home runs, two RBI, four walks, a .471 on-base percentage and a 1.240 OPS. The Barcelona, Venezuela native was acquired just prior to the trade deadline from Detroit, in exchange for Chris Paddack. He is ranked as the club’s 30th-best prospect by MLB.com.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Kaelen Culpepper & Dasan Hill

The Minnesota Twins have named Double-A Wichita infielder Kaelen Culpepper and Low-A Fort Myers left-handed pitcher Dasan Hill as the club’s minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Kaelen Culpepper, Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge

Culpepper, 22, played in six games for the Wind Surge, hitting .367 (11-for-30) with one triple, two home runs, seven RBI and a 1.00 OPS. The organization’s fifth overall prospect and number 77 in all of MLB was selected by the Twins in the first round (21st overall) out of Kansas State University. Culpepper has been flying up the minor leagues rating scale this year.

Dasan Hill

Hill, 19, made the start for the Mighty Mussels last Saturday, pitching 4.0 shutout innings, with one hit allowed, no walks and three strikeouts. The club’s ninth overall prospect (3rd ranked pitcher) was selected by the Twins in the second round (69th overall) in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of Grapevine High School in Grapevine, TX. Just promoted to High A Cedar Rapids. I can’t wait to see some of these LHP join the Twins starting rotation.

Twins Minor League Report, 8-7-2025.PDF

Twins minor league players of the week are Marco Raya & Jaime Ferrer

The Minnesota Twins have named Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Marco Raya and High-A Cedar Rapids outfielder/first baseman Jaime Ferrer as minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week.

Marco Raya

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. Last week Raya, 22, started for the Saints on Thursday vs. Iowa, allowing one run on three hits in 6 innings pitched, with one walk and seven strikeouts. About time the Twins let this Raya pitch some innings. MLB Pipeline has Raya as the Twins sixth best prospect. Depending on how things go, you might see him at Target Field yet this season.

Continue reading Twins minor league players of the week are Marco Raya & Jaime Ferrer

Twins minor league players of the week

The Minnesota Twins have named Double-A Wichita first baseman Aaron Sabato and High-A Cedar Rapids infielder Brandon Winokur minor league co-Players of the Week, and Low-A Fort Myers left-handed pitcher Dasan Hill has been named minor league Pitcher of the Week.

Aaron Sabato

Sabato, 26, played in four games for the Wind Surge, hitting .357 (5-for-14) with one double, two home runs, six RBI, five walks, a .526 on-base percentage and a 1.383 OPS. The Rye, NY native was selected by the Twins in the first round (27th overall) of the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of North Carolina.

Brandon Winokur

Winokur, 20, played in five games for the Kernels, hitting .350 (7-for-20) with two doubles, one triple, one home run, five RBI and a 1.109 OPS. The Newport Beach, CA native was selected by the Twins in the third round (82nd overall) in the 2023 MLB Draft out of Edison High School. MLB Pipeline has Winokur rated as the Twins seventh best prospect.

Dasan Hill

Hill, 19, made one start for the Mighty Mussels at Tampa, pitching 3.0 shutout innings, with one hit allowed, two walks and five strikeouts. The Grapevine, TX native was selected by the Twins in the second round (69th overall) in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Grapevine High School. He is ranked by MLB.com Pipeline as the club’s 13th-best prospect and seventh-best pitcher.

Twins Minor League Report, 6-7-2025.PDF

Twins minor league players of the week

The Minnesota Twins have named Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Marco Raya and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Jose Olivares as co-minor league Pitchers of the Week, while Double-A Wichita outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez earns minor league Player of the Week.

Marco Raya

Raya, 22, made two starts for the St. Paul Saints, posting a 3.52 ERA (7.2 IP, 3 ER) with no walks and 14 strikeouts, allowing just two hits. The Laredo, Texas native was drafted by the Twins in the fourth round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of United South High School. Currently ranked as the Twins sixth best prospect on MLB Pipeline.

Olivares, 22, made a start for the Kernels on Wednesday vs. Lake County, pitching 5 scoreless innings, with one hit allowed, one walk and a season-high seven strikeouts. The Altagracia de Orituco, Venezuela native was signed by the Twins in January of 2021. Currently ranked as the Twins 28th best prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Gabriel Gonzalez

Gonzalez, 21, played in six games for the Wind Surge, hitting .375 (9-for-24) with two doubles, two triples and a 1.069 OPS, including a four-hit game on Wednesday vs. Tulsa. Gonzalez was one of the four players acquired by the Twins in a trade with Seattle, in exchange for Jorge Polanco in January of 2024. Gabriel Gonzalez was assigned to Wichita Wind Surge from Cedar Rapids Kernels on May 19th. Currently ranked as the Twins 17th best prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Twins Minor League Report, 6-1-2025.PDF

Twins minor league players of the week

The Minnesota Twins have named Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Andrew Morris and High-A Cedar Rapids infielder Kaelen Culpepper as the club’s minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week.

Andrew Morris

Morris, 23, made the start for the Saints last Sunday at Iowa, pitching 5 shutout innings, with four hits allowed, one walk and a season-high eight strikeouts. The New York, NY native was selected by the Twins in the fourth round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas Tech University. He is the club’s ninth overall prospect, per MLB.com.

Kaelen Culpepper

Kaelen Culpepper, 22, played in five games for the Kernels, hitting .389 (7-for-18) with two doubles, one home run, two RBI, four walks and a 1.167 OPS. The Memphis, TN native was selected 21st overall by the Twins in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of Kansas State University. He is the club’s fourth overall prospect, per MLB.com.

Twins Minor League Report, 5-26-2025.PDF

Twins minor league players of the week

The Twins have named High-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez and Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher John Klein as their minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Gabriel Gonzalez

Gonzalez, 21, played in six games for the Kernels, hitting .385 (10-for-26) with two doubles, one triple, three home runs, 10 RBI and a 1.336 OPS. On Wednesday vs. Peoria, he recorded three hits and on Thursday vs. Peoria, he went 4-for-6 with two doubles, one home run and six RBI. The Carupano, Venezuela native was acquired by the Twins in the Jorge Polanco trade with Seattle during the 2023-24 off-season and is a right-handed hitting outfielder. MLB Pipeline has Gonzalez as the Twins 17th best prospect and you can read what they have to say about him here.

John Klein

Klein, 23, made two relief appearances for the Wind Surge, allowing one unearned run in 6.0 innings, with three hits allowed, two walks and six strikeouts. The 6’5″ right-handed Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent in August of 2022.

Twins Minor League Report, 5-17-2025.PDF

Twins minor league players of the week

The Minnesota Twins announced that High-A Cedar Rapids infielder Kyle DeBarge and Low-A Fort Myers left-handed pitcher Dasan Hill have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Kyle DeBarge

DeBarge, 21, played in six games for the Kernels, hitting .304 (7-for-23) with one double, two home runs, eight RBI, five walks and a 1.037 OPS. The Lake Charles, Louisiana native was selected by the Twins in the Compensatory Round (loss of Sonny Gray), 33rd overall, in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. The Twins agreed to a slightly below-slot signing bonus of $2.4 million with the right-handed hitting Kyle DeBarge. The 21-year-old is an elite contact hitter and just the second Ragin Cajun ever drafted in the first round.

Dasan Hill

Hill, 19, made the start with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels on April 26, pitching 3.1 scoreless innings, with one hit allowed two walks, striking out eight of his 14 batters faced. The Grapevine, Texas native was selected by the Twins in the second round (69th overall) of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of Grapevine High School. Hill, a lefty is the club’s 13th-best prospect according to MLB.com Pipeline.

Twins Minor League Report, 5-1-2025.PDF