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 sixth edition of the 2018 Young Twins Tracker.
Stephen Gonsalves, LHP (age 23/Triple-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-1, 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 K
Season (Triple-A): 7 games (7 starts), 4-2, 4.13 ERA, 32 2/3 IP, 22 H, 3 HR, 20 BB, 38 K, .190 OBA, 1.29 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 suffered his second loss at Triple-A on Tuesday, allowing three runs over 5 2/3 innings -- two of those runs coming on a two-out rally by Indianapolis. The 23-year-old also yielded four walks for the third time this season. He hasn’t recorded an outing without a walk since Aug. 10, 2017.
Nick Gordon, SS (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 5 games, 21 AB, 10 H, 3 2B, 0 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 2 K, .476 BA
Season (Triple-A): 16 games, 60 AB, .350 BA, .371 OBP, .467 SLG, .838 OPS, 5 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 12 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 raised his batting average at Triple-A from .282 to .350 in just five games. He racked up three hits on both Friday and Tuesday, starting his month of June in a promising fashion after registering a solid slash line of .302/.333/.395 in May.
Tyler Jay, LHP (age 24/Double-A)
Last week: 2 games (0 starts), 0-0, 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Season: 11 games, 1-1, 1.59 ERA, 22 2/3 IP, 23 H, 0 HR, 9 BB, 19 K, .267 OBA, 1.41 WHIP
Notable: Jay ran into trouble May 31 when he gave up two hits and walked a pair of hitters, but he escaped with three strikeouts. The former first-round pick has tallied multiple Ks in seven of his 13 relief appearances this season with Chattanooga.
Alex Kirilloff, OF (age 20/High-A)
Last week: 8 games, 30 AB, 10 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI, 0 SB, 4 BB, 4 K, .333 BA
Season: 55 games, 211 AB, .327 BA, .386 OBP, .592 SLG, .978 OPS, 17 2B, 3 3B, 11 HR, 33 R, 49 RBI, 1 SB, 20 BB, 40 K
Notable: Kirilloff was named the Midwest League Player of the Month for May after he led the league in hits (41), RBI (25) and total bases (73) while posting a .360/.423/.640 slash line. He was also named a starting outfielder for the MWL All-Star game June 19. Kirilloff hammered three homers in the past week, putting his total at 11 for the season, tied for the league lead with Cleveland prospect Will Benson.
Royce Lewis, SS (age 19/High-A)
Last week: 7 games, 30 AB, 5 H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 2 K, .167 BA
Season: 46 games, 184 AB, .288 BA, .337 OBP, .413 SLG, .750 OPS, 11 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 29 R, 31 RBI, 15 SB, 13 BB, 30 K
Notable: Lewis celebrated his 19th birthday Tuesday night with his first career grand slam during Cedar Rapids’ 14-3 blowout of Beloit. It was the lone highlight of a rather bleak week for the Twins’ top prospect, but he’ll still join teammate Kirilloff as a starter on the MWL All-Star game at shortstop.
Brent Rooker, 1B (age 23/Double-A)
Last week: 7 games, 28 AB, 10 H, 3 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 3 R, 8 RBI, 0 SB, 4 BB, 8 K, .357 BA
Season: 55 games, 216 AB, .259 BA, .306 OBP, .458 SLG, .765 OPS, 13 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 27 R, 35 RBI, 1 SB, 14 BB, 66 K
Notable: Rooker had hit one triple in his professional career coming into this week, but then he notched a three-bagger in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday. The 23-year-old didn’t turn many heads in May with a .231/.287/.452 slash line and six homers, but he’s off to a great start in June -- .417/.483/.833 with six extra-base hits in six games.
LaMonte Wade, OF (age 24/Double-A)
Last week: 6 games, 23 AB, 7 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 R, 6 RBI, 1 SB, 4 BB, 3 K, .304 BA
Season: 44 games, 162 AB, .296 BA, .393 OBP, .444 SLG, .837 OPS, 1 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 28 R, 26 RBI, 5 SB, 25 BB, 20 K
Notable: Wade has found his swing again after missing time on the disabled list in May, compiling three straight multi-hit games last week. The ninth-round pick by Minnesota in 2015 will represent the North Division of the Southern League in the All-Star game June 19.
Others: DH Kennys Vargas owns a .225/.304/.374 slash line in 52 games with Triple-A Rochester this season. … Cedar Rapids pitchers Brusdar Graterol and Jared Finkel (Round 23, 2017) were selected as reserves for the MWL West All-Star squad. … Chattanooga OF Zandier Wiel (Round 12, 2015) and pitchers Omar Bencomo, Ryne Harper, Randy LeBlanc (Round 10, 2014) and Williams Ramirez were all named All-Stars in the Southern League. … OF Jake Cave leads Rochester in batting average (.277) and runs (20) and is hitting .345 with six RBI and three dingers in his last eight games. … Duel of the dishes: Rochester will suit up as the “Plates” Thursday to take on the Syracuse Salt Potatoes.
Statistics courtesy milb.com and STATS
