Every Wednesday, FOX Sports North takes a look at which athletes' stock is trending up and whose is trending down.
In other words, whose stock is making a meteoric rise, like the Space Tower at The Minnesota State Fair, and whose stock is dropping -- like one's stomach, when riding the Windstorm roller coaster at the Minnesota State Fair.
With that in mind, let's "take stock" of the current sports scene in Minnesota, shall we?
Kevin Jepsen
Jepsen, a 31-year-old trade-deadline acquisition via Tampa Bay, has paid dividends for the Twins recently. In his last eight appearances, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound righty has pitched a total of 7 2/3 scoreless innings, with six strikeouts and zero walks. He also recorded two crucial saves in Baltimore over the weekend, filling in for ailing closer Glen Perkins. Jepsen owns a 2.53 ERA overall in 2015, with a .204 opponent batting average.
Teddy Bridgewater
The Vikings' second-year signal-caller has been rock solid in the preseason, evidenced by last Saturday's 10-for-14 passing performance in a 20-12 exhibition win over Oakland. Overall, Bridgewater is 22 for 28 (78.6 completion percentage) for 219 yards in three preseason games this month. With the offseason acquisition of speedy receiver Mike Wallace and an athletic group of tight ends, Bridgewater looks armed and dangerous as the regular-season nears.
Kurt Suzuki
The veteran Twins backstop has been maligned for most of this season, due to his less -than-stellar batting average (.239). But Suzuki has been fairly clutch recently. In last Saturday's dramatic, 3-2 Twins win in Baltimore, for example, the catcher tied the score late with a safety squeeze. And, from Aug. 16-25, Suzuki went 10 for 28 (.357) at the plate, with three multihit games during that stretch, including a three-hit effort in last Thursday's rout of the Orioles.
Blair Walsh
The Vikings kicker has been alarmingly inconsistent this preseason, exemplified by last Saturday's 0-for-3 showing on field-goal attempts against the Raiders. Walsh is 2 for 6 on field goals in this month's three exhibition games. Walsh was a Pro Bowler as a rookie in 2012, but now you have to wonder if Minnesota is starting to regret the four-year contract extension it gave Walsh during training camp.
Ervin Santana
The 32-year-old righty has looked his age of late, including on Tuesday, when the Twins won against the Rays despite Santana's 2 2/3-inning start, in which he allowed eight hits, five earned runs and two walks to see his ERA swell to 6.05. Santana -- the highest-paid free agent in Twins history (he initially signed a four-year, $55 million contract with Minnesota) -- is winless in his last six starts, yielding 31 earned runs over 30 1/3 innings.
Captain Munnerlyn
Munnerlyn, 27, was credited with two tackles last Saturday night, but the cornerback couldn't have been thrilled with the fact he was playing fairly late into the preseason game for a veteran player. Munnerlyn played in all 16 games last season, registering two interceptions, but didn't endear himself to head coach Mike Zimmer with his occasional freelancing. Munnerlyn, who has a $3.45 million base salary this season, when addressing his role with the 2015 Vikings: "You have to ask Coach Zim," the veteran told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "Ask him. I want to know, too."
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