TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Louie Varland and Triple-A St. Paul infielder Michael Helman have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week four. For some reason the Twins did not announce their minor league players of the week last week.
The Minnesota Twins announced today that 25 players on minor league contracts have been invited to major league spring training in 2023.
Joining the Twins will be nine pitchers: left-handers Danny Coulombe and Evan Sisk; right-handers José De León, Randy Dobnak, Blayne Enlow, Cody Laweryson, Patrick Murphy, Austin Schulfer and Brock Stewart; six catchers: David Bañuelos, Jair Camargo, Chance Sisco, Grayson Greiner, Chris Williams and Tony Wolters; seven infielders: Andrew Bechtold, Michael Helman, Austin Martin, Brooks Lee, Aaron Sabato, Elliot Soto and Tyler White; and three outfielders: Willi Castro, Mark Contreras and Ryan LaMarre.
Of the 25 players invited to camp, 13 have major league service time: Willi Castro (Detroit), Mark Contreras (Minnesota), Danny Coulombe (Los Angeles-NL, Minnesota and Oakland), José De León (Cincinnati, Los Angeles-NL and Tampa Bay), Randy Dobnak (Minnesota), Grayson Greiner (Arizona and Detroit), Ryan LaMarre (Boston, Chicago-AL, Cincinnati, Minnesota, New York-AL and Oakland), Patrick Murphy (Toronto and Washington), Chance Sisco (Baltimore and New York-NL), Elliot Soto (Los Angeles-AL and Minnesota), Brock Stewart (Los Angeles-NL and Toronto), Tyler White (Houston and Los Angeles-NL), and Tony Wolters (Chicago-NL, Colorado and Los Angeles-NL).
Twins pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report on Wednesday, February 15, while position players are scheduled to report on Sunday, February 19. The first full-squad workout is scheduled to take place on Monday, February 20.
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.
After a year off due to COVID-19 the Arizona Fall League, major league baseball’s finishing school for the games best prospects is back and will start play on October 13. The rosters of the six teams, announced today, are once again chock full of elite-level talent. There are 17 of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects slated to play in the AFL this year, headlined by four in the top 10.
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.
In week 10 we have High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder Michael Helman winning this weeks Minnesota Twins minor league position player of the week. 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). Helman reportedly signed for a $220,000 signing bonus.
The 25-year-old Helman played in six games for the Kernels, hitting .409 (9-for-22) with one double, two home runs, four RBI, one walk, a .458 on-base percentage and a 1.186 OPS. The right-handed hitting Helman started his career as a second baseman and had appeared there in a few games but is primarily being used in the outfield in 2021. On the season Helman has an average slash line of .217/.310/.411.