Tag: Spencer Steer

Twins minor league players of the week are Varland & Steer

The Minnesota Twins have named Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher Louie Varland and Triple-A St. Paul infielder Spencer Steer as the Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week. The Twins are lucky to have a number of their minor leaguers knocking on the Target Field door.

Louie Varland was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Concordia University (St. Paul, MN). Varland, a St. Paul native signed for a $115,000 signing bonus.

Last season Varland was 10-4 with a nifty 2.10 ERA in 20 games and 103 innings. Varland gave up just 82 hits and struck out 142 and posted a 1.087 WHIP. The 6’1″ right-hander was rewarded by the Minnesota Twins by being named their Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2021 after splitting time between Fort Myers and and Cedar Rapids. This past week Varland, 24, made two starts (6/4 vs. Frisco and 6/10 at Arkansas) for the Wind Surge, going 1-0, 1.64 ERA (11.0 IP, 2 ER) with eight hits allowed, two walks and 18 strikeouts. In 2022 Varland is 5-1 with a SO/9 ration of 10.7 and a 1.200 WHIP. Looks like he will be able to come home to pitch soon.

Louie Varland makes himself next Twins pitching prospect to watch out for (Patrick Reusse)

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Twins minor league players of the week are Festa and Steer

This weeks Minnesota Twins players of the week are Low-A Fort Myers right-handed pitcher David Festa and AA Wichita infielder Spencer Steer.

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). Festa signed with the Twins for a $125,000 signing bonus.

Festa, 22, pitched very briefly in 2021 appearing in two games with the FCL Twins and two games with the Low-A Fort Myers Might Mussels throwing a total of 8.1 innings. The big 6’6″ right-hander has again started this season with the Mighty Mussels. This past week Festa started the Mighty Mussels no-hitter versus the Palm Beach Cardinals, pitching 6 innings with two walks allowed and a career-high 11 strikeouts. Sitting consistently at 96 mph and topping out at 98, Festa needed 82 pitches to complete six innings for the first time in 14 professional starts. The performance was a continuation of what has been a sizzling start to the 2022 campaign for the right-hander. Through five starts, Festa has surrendered just four earned runs while running a 33-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 24 innings. The Verona, N.J., native is holding opponents to a .148 average and one extra-base hit.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Steer & Raya

Spencer Steer a California native was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Oregon (Eugene, OR). There can’t ever have been a more fitting player to wear the Twins’ logo across his chest. Not only does Steer have a twin brother, but his two older brothers that are also a pair of twins. Baseball America had him signing with Minnesota for $575,000. MLB Pipeline currently has Steer rated as the tenth best Twins prospect.

Steer is a 24-year old right-handed hitting infielder who has been playing second base, third base and shortstop this season at AA Wichita. Last season Steer split his time with High A Cedar Rapids and AA Wichita and hit 24 home runs and had 66 RBI and had a slash line of .254/.348/.454.

This past week Steer played in six games for the Wind Surge, hitting .417 (10-for-24) with three doubles, six RBI, six walks, a .533 on-base percentage and a 1.075 OPS.

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Twins Minor League POW are Spencer Steer & Jordan Gore

Week six finds another repeater (week two) as the Twins minor league position player of the week with infielder Spencer Steer. Steer who was born in Long Beach, California was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Oregon (Eugene, OR). The 5’11” Steer had previously been drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 29th round in 2016 but did not sign with them. Steer is primarily playing second base for the High A Cedar Rapids Kernels this year but he has also played shortstop and third base.

Steer who was on fire this past week played in six games for the Kernels, hitting .333 (9-for-27) with one double, six home runs, 11 RBI, four walks and a 1.456 OPS, including two two-homer games, one on Sunday at Fort Wayne and one on Wednesday at Beloit. MLB Pipeline recently added Spencer Steer to the Minnesota Twins 2021 top 30 prospect list. You can follow Steer on twitter at @spenc__er .

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Twins Minor League POW are Spencer Steer & Josh Winder

In week two the Twins minor league position player of the week is infielder Spencer Steer. Steer who was born in Long Beach, California was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Oregon (Eugene, OR). The 5’11” Steer had previously been drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 29th round in 2016 but did not sign with them.

In 2019 Steer spent 20 games with Elizabethton and then moved up to the Low-A Cedar Rapids Kernels where he appeared in 44 games. The right-handed hitting Steer is playing in Cedar Rapids again this year but this time it is with a High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels team. In five games this past week he hit .333 (4-for-12) with one home run, two RBI, five walks and had a .500 on-base percentage playing primarily second base but he has also played shortstop and third base. Steer has committed three errors in 9 games played this season. You can learn more about Spencer Steer by watching Seth Stoh’s Twins Spotlight on YouTube.

This weeks Twins minor league pitcher of the week is Josh Winder. The 6’5″ Winder was a Minnesota Twins 7th round selection in the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft from Virginia Military Institute (Lexington, VA).

Josh Winder credit MLB Pipeline

Winder, a big right-hander was 3-1 with a 3.72 ERA at Elizabethton in 2018 and in 2019 was 7-2 with the Low-A Cedar Rapids Kernels and led the Midwest League in ERA and WHIP during his first full season in pro ball. According to MLB.com “Winder worked hard during the 2020 shutdown to add strength to his 6-foot-5 frame, and it showed. After sitting in the low 90s throughout the 2019 season, he was up to 98 mph consistently during instructional, albeit in a smaller sample size, throwing it with good riding life. He added velocity to his curve as well. If the velocity and stuff gains are for real, Winder could be one of the biggest starting pitcher sleeper prospects in the game.” MLB has Winder at the 14th best Twins prospect going into 2021. Winder, 24, made his first start of the season the start on Friday for the AA Wichita Wind Surge vs. Amarillo, pitching 5.2 shutout innings with three hits allowed, one walk and eight strikeouts, earning the win for the Wind Surge.