Several players in Minnesota's minor league system had a good first week of May, but only eight made the cut for this week's edition of the Twins' minor-league stars of the week. Headlining the group is a name Twins fans are very familiar with: outfielder Byron Buxton, whose impressive performance with Double-A Chattanooga earned him the FOXSportsNorth.com Minor League Player of the Week. Here's a look at how Buxton and others fared in early May.
TRIPLE-A ROCHESTER
Player of the Week: C Josmil Pinto
2015 stats: .329/.418/.481, 3 HR, 14 RBI in 21 games
Recent highlights: Pinto is currently on a seven-game hitting streak heading into the weekend. During that stretch he's batting .357 with two home runs and five RBI. His 14 RBI on the year are the most among all Red Wings players. When the Twins called up Eddie Rosario to take Oswaldo Arcia's place on the 25-man roster, Pinto's name was a consideration. However, Minnesota still wants to see Pinto work on his catching skills. Playing every day in Rochester is the best way for him to do that currently.
Twins GM Terry Ryan said: "We would bring him up as a DH if we thought he could handle that load. And we're giving (Kennys) Vargas every opportunity to succeed. Now, if we had to make a decision and we decided we needed to do something, (Pinto) would be in that equation as a possibility. But it's not just the catching. . . . We wouldn't have to bring him up just as a catcher. We would bring him up as a pure DH if we thought it was right, don't worry about that."
Pitcher of the Week: RHP A.J. Achter
2015 stats: 3-2, 2.57 ERA, 12 K, 5 BB in 14 IP
Recent highlights: With Rochester closer Michael Tonkin getting called up to the majors, someone had to fill in the ninth-inning role for Rochester. Achter looks like a potential candidate for that job, at least in the short-term. He earned his first save of the year Sunday by throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings against Norfolk. Achter has not allowed an earned run in his last five starts, a span of seven innings. He made his MLB debut with the Twins last year and is a name to keep an eye on if Minnesota has to call someone up to help the bullpen at any point this season.
DOUBLE-A CHATTANOOGA
Player of the Week: OF Byron Buxton
2015 stats: .270/.333/.510, 3 HR, 6 triples, 7 SB, 17 RBI in 25 games
Recent highlights: Buxton got off to a slow start this season after playing just 31 games in 2014, but it's hard to find a hotter hitter right now than the Twins' top prospect. Since the last installment of the Twins Minor League Stars of the Week, Buxton is batting .357 with four triples and nine RBI in his last six games. During that span, the five-tool outfielder hit a two-run, walk-off home run for Chattanooga that broke a scoreless tie against Jacksonville. With Buxton's recent hot streak, Twins fans have started to wonder when the 21-year-old outfielder will make his major-league debut.
Twins GM Terry Ryan said: "Obviously I get a lot of questions about him, and he'd been struggling. He's not struggling any longer. Now the questions are a different flavor. Now, 'When are you going to move him?' That's better for me, and for everybody involved, including himself. There's a lot of attention given to him, not from just this market but it's national."
Pitcher of the Week: RHP D.J. Baxendale
2015 stats: 2-0. 0.86 ERA, 29 K, 11 BB in 31 1/3 IP
Recent highlights: In a rotation filled with talented arms, Baxendale might not be the most talked-about name. However, his results so far this season are hard to ignore. His most recent outing came Monday against Jacksonville, when Baxendale pitched six scoreless innings. Though he did issue a season-high five walks â he walked six total batters in his first four starts â Baxendale did tally five strikeouts and gave up just three hits to escape without allowing a run. His ERA of 0.86 is now the lowest among all of Chattanooga's starters.
HIGH-A FORT MYERS
Player of the Week: C Alex Swim
2015 stats: .339/.374/.358, 10 RBI, 2 SB in 25 games
Recent highlights: Though Swim doesn't hit for much power â he has just two extra-base hits all season â he boasts the best average on the Miracle roster. Swim is currently in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak, during which he's batting .434 (23-for-53). He had a four-hit game last Saturday against Charlotte and followed that up with a three-hit performance a few days later against Jupiter. Swim was the Twins' 22nd-round pick in the 2013 draft out of Elon University.
Pitcher of the Week: RHP Madison Boer
2015 stats: 2-2, 1.62 ERA, 11 K, 6 BB in 16 2/3 IP
Recent highlights: Although Boer is now on Double-A Chattanooga after a recent promotion, his most recent outings all came with Fort Myers. The 25-year-old right-hander worked twice in long relief for the Miracle in his last to appearances. That included three innings and the win against Charlotte, in which he struck out three and didn't allow a hit. Boer also pitched two scoreless innings against Bradenton in the Miracle's 6-3 win. His numbers earned him a promotion to Chattanooga, where he has yet to pitch.
LOW-A CEDAR RAPIDS
Player of the Week: 1B Trey Vavra
2015 stats: .326/.396/.517, 3 HR, 14 RBI in 25 games
Recent highlights: Vavra, the son of Twins bench coach Joe Vavra, is currently on a six-game hitting streak in which he's batting .526 (10-for-19) with eight runs, two doubles and two RBI for Cedar Rapids. He currently leads the Kernels in runs scored, has the second-highest batting average and the highest slugging percentage. Vavra, whose older brother Tanner plays for Fort Myers, was Minnesota's 33rd-round pick in the 2014 draft.
Pitcher of the Week: RHP Trevor Hildenberger
2015 stats: 1-1, 0.60 ERA, 20 K, 1 BB in 15 IP
Recent highlights: Hildenberger was the Twins' 22nd-round pick in last year's draft and has been impressive out of the Cedar Rapids bullpen. He pitched three scoreless innings of relief Saturday, picking up four strikeouts -- and the win -- along the way. Four days later he tossed two more shutout innings and added three strikeouts to his total, giving him 20 strikeouts with just one walk on the season.
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