Tag: Wichita Wind Surge

Twins minor league players of the week are Henriquez & Wallner

The Minnesota Twins minor league players of the week are Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Ronny Henriquez and Double-A Wichita outfielder Matt Wallner.

Ronny Henriquez was signed as international free agent by the Texas Rangers on July 3, 2017. Barely 5-10 and 150 pounds when he signed in 2017, he received just $10,000. But as a 17-year old he could already hit 93 with his fastball. Henriquez was acquired by the Minnesota Twins over the 2021 offseason in a trade with Texas, along with infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, in exchange for catcher Mitch Garver. At the time of the trade Henriquez was rated the Rangers 15th best prospect.

Henriquez, 22, appeared in one game in relief this week for the Saints on Thursday at Louisville, pitching 4 shutout innings with four hits allowed, no walks and four strikeouts. Henriquez is 1-1, 3.80 ERA (23.2 IP, 10 ER) with eight walks, 27 strikeouts and a .236 opponent batting average in his last five games (3 starts) for the Saints. Henriquez’s numbers on the season are not nearly as good as he is 1-3 in 9 starts (13 appearances) with a 6.15 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP and his SO/W ratio is 2.71. Henriquez is on the Twins 40 man roster and according to MLB Pipeline he is the Twins 11th best prospect.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Julien & Varland

The Minnesota Twins minor league players of the week are Double-A Wichita infielder Edouard Julien and right-handed pitcher Louie Varland.

Edouard Julien was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Auburn University (Auburn, AL). Julien was born in Quebec, Canada and ended up playing college ball all the way down south at Auburn, a draft-eligible sophomore who signed with the parent Minnesota Twins in 2019 as an 18th-round draft pick for a $493,500 bonus, way over the slot dollar amount of $125,000 for every player picked after the 11th round.

Julien, 23, played in six games for the Wind Surge this week, hitting .348 (8-for-23) with two doubles, three home runs, nine RBI, five walks, and a .464 OBP, an .826 SLG and a 1.290 OPS. Even though Julien has visited the IL twice this season he has appeared in 53 games and is slashing .287/.429/.466. Drafted as a power hitting third baseman, Julien has been playing mainly second base at Wichita this season. Video clip of Julien having a 7 RBI game.

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Twins minor league players of the week are Ohl & Wallner

The Minnesota Twins minor league players of the week are Low-A Fort Myers right-handed pitcher Pierson Ohl and Double-A Wichita outfielder Matt Wallner.

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. Additionally, Ohl carries a curveball and an above-average changeup which serves as his best secondary offering.

This past week Ohl, 22, made one start for the Mighty Mussels on Thursday at Lakeland, allowing one run on three hits in 6 innings pitched, with one walk and eight strikeouts. On the season the 6’1″ Ohl has thrown 44 innings in 11 starts and allowed 51 hits and struck out 51 batters.

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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 Legumina & Wallner

The Minnesota Twins minor league players of the week are pitcher Casey Legumina and outfielder Matt Wallner.

Casey Legumina, a 6’2″ right-handed pitcher was drafted by the Blue Jays (25th round) in 2016, again by the Indians (35th round ) in 2018 and finally by the Minnesota Twins in in the 8th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Gonzaga University (Spokane, WA). Legumina signed for $250,000, well above the $173K slot value according to Twins Daily. In 2018 Legumina was a closer for Gonzaga with 13 saves and in 2019 pitched in just two games, both starts.

Legumina spent all of 2021 in Low A Fort Myers except for one start in High A Cedar Rapids. This year the 24-year old Legumina started the season in Cedar Rapids and has three starts there. His last start for the Kernels on Wednesday at Beloit was his best this season, pitching five shutout innings (81 pitches) with one hit allowed, one walk and eight strikeouts in a no-decision. A nice piece on Casey Legumina by Phil Miller this past March.

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Twins announce 2021 Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year

In a Press Release this morning the Minnesota Twins announced that infielder Jose Miranda has been named the 2021 Sherry Robertson Award winner as the Twins Minor League Player of the Year and right-handed pitcher Louie Varland has been named the 2021 Jim Rantz Award winner as the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

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Twins Minor League POW are Trey Cabbage and Sawyer Gipson-Long

In week 17 AA Wichita Wind Surge outfielder/1B/DH Trey Cabbage and High A Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Sawyer Gipson-Long have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week. Both are repeat winners this year, this is Cabbage’s second time this and for Gipson-Long it is his third time. Congratulations to Trey and Sawyer!

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Twins Minor League POW are BJ Boyd and Joe Ryan

The Minnesota Twins have selected AA-Wichita Wind Surge outfielder BJ Boyd and AAA-St. Paul Saints pitcher Joe Ryan as their minor league players of the week for week 16.

BJ Boyd was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 4th round of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft from Palo Alto HS (Palo Alto, CA). On May 27, 2021 the Twins signed him as a free agent to a minor league deal and assigned him to Wichita. Boyd who turned 28 in July last played pro ball in 2018 at the AAA level in the A’s system.

This past week Boyd, a left-handed hitting outfielder appeared in 7 games and slashed .343/.343/.771 with 5 home runs, 12 RBI and 9 runs scored in 35 AB’s. For the season so far Boyd is hitting .313 with 15 home runs, 60 RBI and 8 steals in 256 AB.

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Twins Minor League POW are Jermaine Palacios & Jovani Moran

In week 14 the Twins have named AA – Wichita infielder Jermaine Palacios and AAA – St. Paul left-handed pitcher Jovani Moran as the club’s minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week. Both are repeat winners of the award this year.

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