Tag: Wichita Wind Surge

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

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A St. Paul outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher Travis Adams have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

DaShawn Keirsey Jr. was 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 Jr, 27, played in five games for the Saints, hitting .474 (9-for-19) with two triples, two home runs, eight RBI and a 1.500 OPS, including a four-hit game on Thursday vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. On Tuesday, DaShawn became the fifth player in Saints history to reach 100 hits in a season.

Travis Adams was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 6th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento, CA) and signed for a reported $253,300. Adams, a California native is repeating Double AA-Wichita and having a much better season this year than he had last year. Adams, 24, made the starter on Thursday at Midland, pitching 6.0 scoreless innings with one hit allowed, one walk and a season-high 10 strikeouts. Short video of Adams pitching.

Twins Minor League Report, 8-23-2024

Winokur & Morris named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Minnesota Twins have named Low-A Fort Myers infielder/outfielder Brandon Winokur and Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher Andrew Morris as Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Brandon Winokur was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft from Edison HS (Huntington Beach, CA). The Southern California native is described as a potential five-tool talent and signed for $1.5 million. Winokur is a 6’6″ right-handed batter who is playing shortstop, center field, third base and right field. MLB Pipeline currently has him rated as the Twins 12th best prospect. Winokur, 19, played in four games for the Mighty Mussels, hitting .333 (5-for-15) with two home runs, three RBI and a 1.145 OPS. Short video clip of Winokur.

Andrew Morris was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX). Morris signed with Minnesota for a reported signing bonus of $500K and is no stranger to this list. MLB Pipeline has him rated as the Twins 18th best prospect with an expected MLB debut in 2025. Morris, 22, made the start on Wednesday at Corpus Christi, pitching 7 shutout innings, with two hits allowed, one walk and nine strikeouts.

Twins Minor League Report, 8-14-2024

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

Mercedes & Ohl named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Minnesota Twins have announced that FCL outfielder Yasser Mercedes and Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher Pierson Ohl have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

The Minnesota Twins signed free agent Puerto Rican native outfielder Yasser Mercedes to a minor league contract on January 15, 2022 for $1.7 million. Mercedes is in his third season of pro ball. Repeating FCL after looking overwhelmed in his first try. MLB Pipeline has Mercedes as the Twins 19th best prospect.

This week Mercedes, 19, played in four games, hitting .625 (10-for-16) with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, seven runs scored, three walks and a 1.809 OPS.

Pierson Ohl, a Moorpark, California native was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ) and signed for $100K.

Ohl, 24, made the start on Tuesday at Tulsa, pitching 6 shutout innings, with four hits allowed and one walk, while tying a professional career high 10 strikeouts. Ohl, a right-hander is in his fourth season of pro ball.

Twins Minor League Report, 5-13-2024.PDF


McCusker & Matthews named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Minnesota Twins have announced Double-A Wichita outfielder Carson McCusker and Wichita right-handed pitcher Zebby Matthews as Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Zebby Matthews was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 8th round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC). Matthews is currently rated by MLB as the Twins 20th best prospect. Stop by the MLB Pipeline site and see more detailed info about Matthews here. This is Zebby’s third pitcher of the week award this year. Matthews was promoted to Wichita from Cedar Rapids on May 6.

Matthews, 23, made his Double-A debut on Thursday vs. Arkansas, allowing two unearned runs on three hits in 6.2 innings pitched, with no walks and nine strikeouts. Matthews is on a roll and appears to have figured something out. Watch Matthews strike them out right here.

Carson McCusker is a Sparks, Nevada native who was signed
by the Minnesota Twins in June of 2023 and originally selected by the Brewers in the 26th round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of Folsom Lake College in California. Who is he? He’s. 6-foot-8 outfielder who was signed by the Twins in June 2023 after he ripped up the Frontier League for the Tri-City ValleyCats, an team playing summer baseball in the independent league.

McCusker, 25, played in five games for the Wind Surge this week, hitting .526 (10-for-19) with four doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and a 1.819 OPS. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound outfielder went 5-for-5 on Tuesday vs. Arkansas. You can watch McCusker’s three home run night here.

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

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Low-A Fort Myers infielder Rayne Doncon and Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher Marco Raya have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed free agent SS Rayne Doncon to a minor league contract for a signing bonus of $497,500 in January of 2021. Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Manuel Margot and cash to the Minnesota Twins for Noah Miller (minors) on February 26, 2024. This past week Doncon, 20, played in six games for the Mighty Mussels, hitting .304 (7-for-23) with four doubles, two RBI, five walks, a .414 on-base percentage and an .892 OPS. Doncon is a San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic native. Doncon hit 14 home runs in 2023 but struck out 103 times and hit just .213 in 473 PA’s. Photo credit to William Parmeter.

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. Raya, 21, made the start on Friday versus Tulsa, pitching 3 scoreless innings in a start, with two hits allowed, no walks and four strike-outs. He has now posted a 2.00 ERA (9.0 IP, 2 ER) with no walks and 11 strikeouts in three starts for the Wind Surge this season. The Laredo, Texas native is ranked as the club’s sixth-best prospect by MLB.com and fifth-best by Baseball America. For more info on Raya please go here. I think Raya could have an exciting future if he can stay healthy.

Twins-Minor-League-Report-4-19-2024

Rodriguez & Matthews named as the Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

After discovering Emmanuel Rodriguez, who was only 16 at the time, in the Dominican Republic in 2019, the Minnesota Twins signed him to a $2.5 million contract as an international free agent. MLB has Rodriguez at the Twins 3rd best prospect and 40th best overall. Rodriguez, 21, played in six games for the Wind Surge, hitting .421 (8-for-19) with two doubles, one triple, three home runs, 10 runs scored, five RBI, seven walks, a .577 on-base percentage, a 1.105 slugging percentage and a 1.682 OPS. Rodriguez is crushing AA and needs to move up soon. To see more go here and here.

Zebby Matthews was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 8th round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC). Matthews is currently rated by MLB as the Twins 20th best prospect. Matthews, 23, made the start for the Kernels on Wednesday against Dayton, allowing one run on four hits in 5 innings pitched, with no walks and eight strikeouts. To see more on Matthews please go here and here.

Twins-Minor-League-Report-4-14-2024

Twins minor league players of the week are Keirsey Jr. & Festa

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A St. Paul outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher David Festa have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week 21.

DaShawn Keirsey was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT). Signing bonus is reported as $600K which is considerably over his slot value.

Keirsey was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul in early August. Keirsey, 26, played in five games for the Saints, hitting .412 (7-for-17) with one double one triple, one home run, five RBI, four walks and a 1.289 OPS. His 2023 slash line is .306/373/.485 and has played all three outfield positions but plays mainly center field.

Continue reading Twins minor league players of the week are Keirsey Jr. & Festa

Twins minor league players of the week are Ohl & Rodriguez

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Double-A pitcher Wichita Pierson Ohl and High-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez have been named Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week for week 18.

Pierson Ohl was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ). Reports have Ohl receiving a signing bonus of $100,000 to sign with Minnesota. According to Twins Daily, Ohl’s pre-draft scouting report cited a fastball that operated in the high 80s and low 90s, with plus command. Ohl, a 6’1″ right-hander carries a curve-ball and an above-average change-up which serves as his best secondary offering.

Ohl, 23, made one start for the Wind Surge on Wednesday vs. Tulsa, pitching 6.0 shutout innings, with three hits allowed, one walk and five strikeouts, earning the win. Ohl started the season with Cedar Rapids and moved up to Wichita in early June. Ohl is pitching better in Wichita than he did with Cedar Rapids. In AA Wichita Ohl has a 3-3 record in seven starts. He has allowed 41 hits in 46 innings while striking out 43 batters. His 1.087 WHIP indicates the good control he has.

Continue reading Twins minor league players of the week are Ohl & Rodriguez