The Minnesota Twins are reshaping their franchise with an injection of youth and prospects.
Every Thursday for the rest of the season, FOX Sports North will take a closer look at some specific young players in Minnesota’s farm system — as well as noting others who might be stepping up — measuring, highlighting and evaluating their progress.
This is the 15th edition of the 2018 Young Twins Tracker.
Stephen Gonsalves, LHP (age 23/Triple-A)
Last week: 1 game, 0-0, 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K
Season (Triple-A): 17 games (16 starts), 7-3, 3.06 ERA, 88 1/3 IP, 59 H, 6 HR, 50 BB, 81 K, .193 OBA, 1.234 WHIP
Season (Double-A): 4 games (4 starts), 3-0, 1.77 ERA, 20 1/3 IP, 11 H, 2 HR, 10 BB, 25 K, .167 OBA, 1.03 WHIP
Notable: Gonsalves subbed in for Nick Anderson, who lasted just 1 2/3 innings against Pawtucket last Friday. It wasn't a great outing for Gonsalves either, who allowed his first home run since June.
Nick Gordon, SS (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 6 games, 24 AB, 5 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 8 K, .208 BA
Season (Triple-A): 73 games, 298 AB, .215 BA, .246 OBP, .296 SLG, .542 OPS, 11 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 25 R, 22 RBI, 8 SB, 11 BB, 57 K
Season (Double-A): 42 games, 162 AB, .333 BA, .381 OBP, .525 SLG, .906 OPS, 10 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 22 R, 20 RBI, 7 SB, 11 BB, 27 K
Notable: Gordon salvaged a rough week at the plate with a three-hit outburst Wednesday against Toledo. He was held without a hit three times last week, and has gone 21 straight games without an extra-base hit.
Brusdar Graterol, RHP (age 19/High-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 1-0, 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Season (High-A) 6 games, 3-2, 4.22 ERA, 32 IP, 35 H, 0 HR, 10 BB, 32 K, .289 OBA, 1.406 WHIP
Season (Low-A): 8 games, 3-2, 2.18 ERA, 41 1/3 IP, 30 H, 2 HR, 9 BB, 51 K, .195 OBA, 0.94 WHIP
Notable: Graterol didn't allow an earned run in his start last Friday, the first time the 19-year-old flamethrower has done that in High-A ball. It's another encouraging development for Graterol, who didn't allow a walk for the first time since his promotion.
Alex Kirilloff, OF (age 20/High-A)
Last week: 5 games, 23 AB, 7 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB, 0 BB, 3 K, .304 BA
Season (High-A): 41 games, 167 AB, .365 BA, .391 OBP, .533 SLG, .924 OPS, 15 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 26 R, 33 RBI, 2 SB, 7 BB, 27 K
Season (Low-A): 65 games, 252 AB, .333 BA, .391 OBP, .607 SLG, .999 OPS, 20 2B, 5 3B, 13 HR, 36 R, 56 RBI, 1 SB, 24 BB, 47 K
Notable: Kirilloff's 13-game hit streak came to an end last week, so he immediately set about starting another one, now at six games. He had another solid week, even if .300-ish suddenly seems a little pedestrian by Kirilloff's usual standards. He doesn't qualify for the Florida State League leaderboard just yet (minimum 2.7 plate appearances per team game), but beating .301, which currently leads the league, seems like a laughably easy ask at this point.
Trevor Larnach, OF (age 21/Low-A)
Last week (Low-A): 1 game, 4 AB, 3 H, 1 2B, 0 HR, 1 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 0 K, .750 BA
Last week (Rookie): 7 games, 21 AB, 7 H, 3 2B, 0 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 4 K, .333 BA
Season (Low-A): 1 game, 4 AB, .750 BA, .800 OBP, 1.000 SLG, 1.800 OPS, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 0 K
Season (Rookie): 18 games, 61 AB, .311 BA, .413 OBP, .492 SLG, .905 OPS, 5 2B, 2 HR, 10 R, 15 RBI, 2 SB, 10 BB, 11 K
Notable: The Twins' first-round pick in this year's draft, Larnach's run with the Twins' rookie affiliate lasted just 18 games. He's off to Low-A Cedar Rapids, where he managed two singles and a double in his Kernels debut.
Royce Lewis, SS (age 19/High-A)
Last week: 6 games, 24 AB, 7 H, 0 2B, 2 HR, 6 R, 5 RBI, 3 SB, 6 BB, 3 K, .292 BA
Season (High-A): 23 games, 94 AB, .309 BA, .398 OBP, .468 SLG, .866 OPS, 6 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 25 R, 17 RBI, 5 SB, 14 BB, 16 K
Season (Low-A): 75 games, 295 AB, .315 BA, .368 OBP, .485 SLG, .853 OPS, 23 2B, 0 3B, 9 HR, 50 R, 53 RBI, 22 SB, 24 BB, 49 K
Notable: The No. 1 pick in last year's draft, Lewis has acclimated quickly after earning a promotion to High-A last month. He had another huge game last week, racking up four hits, two of them home runs, and five RBI on Monday in a win over Lakeland.
Brent Rooker, 1B (age 23/Double-A)
Last week: 6 games, 21 AB, 5 H, 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 5 BB, 6 K, .238 BA
Season: 107 games, 468 AB, .276 BA, .346 OBP, .518 SLG, .864 OPS, 30 2B, 4 3B, 21 HR, 61 R, 71 RBI, 5 SB, 44 BB, 127 K
Notable: Rooker was quiet last week after earning Southern League Player of the Week for July 23-29. He hit two doubles and a home run, but was also held without a hit twice.
Other notes: Rochester OF LaMonte Wade is on the seven-day disabled list after suffering a hamstring strain. He's hitting .250/.376/.378 in 50 games and 164 at-bats in his first Triple-A season. … Elizabethton 1B Chris Williams, the Twins' eighth-round pick in this year's draft, leads all players drafted in 2018 with 14 home runs. He's hitting .260/.378/.565 in 43 games and 154 at-bats. … Chattanooga OF Jaylin Davis hit .556 in five games and 18 at-bats last week, including seven RBI, three doubles and two home runs. … Elizabethton OF Colton Burns hit .538 in four games and 13 at-bats, including three doubles and a home run. … Fort Myers C Caleb Hamilton hit .500 in three games and 10 at-bats. … Chattanooga RHP Tyler Wells pitched four scoreless innings in relief Friday, striking out seven. … Fort Myers RHP Andro Cutura turned in his best start of the season Saturday, allowing just one hit through seven shutout innings.
Statistics courtesy milb.com and STATS
