Tag: Wichita Wind Surge

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

Twins minor league players of the week are Severino & Matthews

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Double-A Wichita infielder Yunior Severino and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Zebby Matthews are the Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the week for week 17. I forgot to publish this earlier, my apologies.

Yunior Severino, a Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native was signed by the Twins as an international
free agent in July of 2016 for $2.5 million. For more information on how he ended up with Minnesota stop by and check out this short article. This is the second award for Severino this year.

Severino, 23, hit .313 (5-for-16) with four home runs, six RBI, two walks, a .389 on-base percentage and a 1.451 OPS for the Wind Surge, including homers in four-straight games from Tuesday-Friday all vs. Frisco. The switch-hitting Severino has a slash line this season of .287/.365/.560 and has 24 home runs and 62 RBI in 84 games. He has also struck out 117 times while playing primarily third base but also has played some second base.

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). The 6’5″ right-handed Daniel Zebulon Matthews signed with Minnesota for a signing bonus of $125,000. According to Jim Callis, Matthews led the Southern Conference with 122 K in 95.2 IP, 90-94 mph fastball touches 96, low-80s slider misses bats. This is the second time Matthews has won this award this year and MLB Pipeline has him rated as the Twins 29th best prospect. For more info on Matthews stop by here.

Matthews, 23, made one start for the Kernels on Thursday at Wisconsin, allowing one run on five hits in six innings pitched, with no walks and seven strikeouts. Matthews started the season in Ft. Myers and then moved up to High-A Cedar Rapids where he has made nine starts and has a 3-1 record with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.048 WHIP. He has struck out 42 batters in 48.2 innings while giving up 49 hits and 11 home runs.

Twins Minor League Report, 7-30-23

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.

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

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

Continue reading Twins minor league players of the week are Lee & Raya

Twins minor league players of the week are C.J. Culpepper & Yunior Severino

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Double-A Wichita infielder Yunior Severino and Low-A Fort Myers right-handed pitcher C.J. Culpepper have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week six.

Continue reading Twins minor league players of the week are C.J. Culpepper & Yunior Severino