Twins prospect Kirilloff among Southern League's best in July
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 14th edition of the 2018 Young Twins Tracker.
Stephen Gonsalves, LHP (age 23/Triple-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-0, 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Season (Triple-A): 16 games (16 starts), 7-3, 3.04 ERA, 83 IP, 54 H, 5 HR, 47 BB, 78 K, .188 OBA, 1.22 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: After going two games without allowing a run Gonsalves was hit with two in the Red Wings' loss to Louisville on Sunday. He managed six strikeouts -- his most since July 4 -- and hasn't allowed a home run since June 11.
Nick Gordon, SS (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 7 games, 26 AB, 2 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 3 SB, 3 BB, 6 K, .077 BA
Season (Triple-A): 67 games, 260 AB, .215 BA, .244 OBP, .304 SLG, .547 OPS, 11 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 21 R, 19 RBI, 5 8 SB, 9 BB, 49 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 has hit a major rough patch in Rochester. He has just four hits in his last 10 games -- two of those came back on July 22 -- and has gone 15 games without an extra-base hit.
Brusdar Graterol, RHP (age 19/High-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 1-0, 5 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 10 K
Season (High-A) 5 games, 2-2, 5.19 ERA, 26 IP, 30 H, 0 HR, 10 BB, 27 K, .346 OBA, 1.54 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 struggled out the gate in his first month with Fort Myers, but has improved at a pretty steady clip. He fanned 10 in 5 2/3 innings Saturday, tying his season high, set while he was still pitching for Cedar Rapids.
Alex Kirilloff, OF (age 20/High-A)
Last week: 6 games, 21 AB, 8 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 R, 7 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 4 K, .381 BA
Season (High-A): 36 games, 144 AB, .375 BA, .404 OBP, .563 SLG, .966 OPS, 14 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 24 R, 30 RBI, 1 SB, 7 BB, 24 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 Tuesday, but the young outfielder's bat remains red hot. He hit .396 in 101 at-bats in July to lead the Florida State league, while also racking up a league-best 12 doubles.
Trevor Larnach, OF (age 21/Rookie)
Last week: 5 games, 16 AB, 3 H, 1 2B, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB, 5 BB, 3 K, .188 BA
Season (Rookie): 11 games, 40 AB, .300 BA, .412 OBP, .500 SLG, .912 OPS, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 R, 13 RBI, 2 SB, 8 BB, 7 K
Notable: The Twins' first-round pick in this year's draft, Larnach was held without a hit in four straight games last week but bounced back nicely Tuesday, hitting his first and second professional home runs.
Royce Lewis, SS (age 19/High-A)
Last week: 6 games, 26 AB, 10 H, 3 2B, 0 HR, 10 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB, 3 BB, 3 K, .385 BA
Season (High-A): 17 games, 70 AB, .314 BA, .385 OBP, .443 SLG, .827 OPS, 6 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 19 R, 12 RBI, 2 SB, 8 BB, 13 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 has come into his own after some early struggles in Fort Myers. He has multiple hits in three of his last five games, and has doubled in back-to-back games.
Brent Rooker, 1B (age 23/Double-A)
Last week: 5 games, 17 AB, 7 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 4 BB, 2 K, .412 BA
Season: 101 games, 396 AB, .278 BA, .345 OBP, .520 SLG, .865 OPS, 28 2B, 4 3B, 20 HR, 57 R, 67 RBI, 5 SB, 39 BB, 121 K
Notable: Rooker was named the Southern League Player of the Week for July 23-29 after going 13-for-26 at the plate over that span. He had a solid week by our estimation too, racking up three multi-hit games.
LaMonte Wade, OF (age 24/Triple-A)
Last week: 7 games, 24 AB, 5 H, 2 2B, 0 HR, 2 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 4 BB, 5 K, .208 BA
Season (Triple-A): 50 games, 164 AB, .250 BA, .376 OBP, .378 SLG, .754 OPS, 8 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 18 R, 14 RBI, 5 SB, 30 BB, 33 K
Season (Double-A): 46 games, 171 AB, .298 BA, .393 OBP, .444 SLG, .837 OPS, 2 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 30 R, 27 RBI, 5 SB, 26 BB, 20 K
Notable: Wade had a bit of a down week, and was held without a hit in four of his seven games. He had two hits Tuesday, and managed a double Wednesday.
Others: RHP Jhoan Duran (Low-A), acquired from Arizona as part of the Eduardo Escobar deal, made quite the impression in his first start for Cedar Rapids. He pitched seven hitless innings Monday in an 8-0 win over Quad Cities. Unfortunately, the no-hitter was broken up in the ninth inning. … OF Ernie De La Trinidad (High-A) and OF Gabriel Maciel (Low-A) were also acquired in that deal. … RHP Jorge Alcala (Double-A) and OF Gilberto Celestino (Rookie) were acquired in the Ryan Pressley deal. … RHP Chase De Jong (Triple-A) and 1B Ryan Costello (High-A) were acquired in the Zach Duke deal. … 1B Tyler Austin (Triple-A) and RHP Luis Rijo (Rookie) were acquired in the Lance Lynn deal. … 1B Luke Raley (Double-A) and LHP Devin Smeltzer (Double-A) were acquired in the Brian Dozier deal.
Statistics courtesy milb.com and STATS
