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 -- as well as noting others who might be stepping up -- measuring, highlighting and evaluating their progress.
This is the 9th edition of the 2017 Young Twins Tracker.
Lewin Diaz (age 20/Low-A)
Last week: 6 games, 24 AB, 6 H, 1 2B, 1 R, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 5 K, .250 BA.
Season: 71 games, 275 AB, .269 BA, .310 OBP, .444 SLG, .754 OPS, 22 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 29 R, 42 RBI, 0 SB, 16 BB, 50 K.
Notable: Diaz hit a homer in the Kernels’ 4-0 win over Quad Cities on Thursday. He knocked in two runs the next night, starting a four-run ninth inning rally that came up just short in a 7-6 loss.
Stephen Gonsalves (age 22/Double-A)
Last week: 2 games (2 starts), 2-0, 14 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 14 K
Season: 8 games (8 starts), 4-3, 2.63 ERA, 48 IP, 31 H, 6 HR, 10 BB, 56 K, .179 OBA, 0.85 WHIP
Notable: Gonsalves had two nearly identical starts in the past week, picking up two wins in 14 innings. He gave up a solo shot in each but lowered his season earned-run average to 2.63.
Nick Gordon (age 21/Double-A)
Last week: 5 games, 17 AB, 4 H, 0 2B, 3 R, 0 RBI, 1 SB, 5 BB, 6 K, .235 BA.
Season: 69 games, 287 AB, .310 BA, .378 OBP, .488 SLG, .866 OPS, 21 2B, 6 3B, 6 HR, 44 R, 43 RBI, 7 SB, 31 BB, 71 K.
Notable: The 21-year-old shortstop’s .235 batting average the past week might not look too impressive, but Gordon showed tremendous patience at the plate. He collected five walks -- including three in Wednesday’s 5-1 win alone -- to boost his on-base percentage. Gordon was named to the 2017 MLB Futures Game, held during All-Star weekend in Miami.
Tyler Jay (age 23/Double-A)
Season: 2 games (0 starts), 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 HR, 3 BB, 2 K, .143 OBA, 2.00 WHIP
Notable: Jay, who was activated from the disabled list May 23, was put back on the DL on June 1 due to left shoulder impingement.
Royce Lewis (age 18/Rookie)
Season: 3 games, 12 AB, .333 BA, .429 OBP, .667 SLG, 1.095 OPS, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, 1 SB, 1 BB, 1 K.
Notable: Lewis starting his professional career with a bang – a solo shot, to be exact. He’s pretty much checked all the boxes off in just three games: homer, double, RBI, stolen base and a walk. Not much adjusting needed at the minor-league level for this 18-year-old, apparently.
ByungHo Park (age 30/Triple-A)
Last week: 7 games, 25 AB, 9 H, 2 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 5 K, .360 BA.
Season: 34 games, 132 AB, .189 BA, .262 OBP, .326 SLG, .588 OPS, 9 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 12 R, 11 RBI, 0 SB, 12 BB, 41 K.
Notable: Park has seemed to find his swing again at Triple-A. He’s tallied at least one hit in 13 of his last 15 games with the Red Wings.
Fernando Romero (age 22/Double-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 1-0, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 6 K
Season: 14 games (13 starts), 7-5, 2.97 ERA, 78 2/3 IP, 70 H, 2 HR, 30 BB, 76 K, .233 OBA, 1.27 WHIP
Notable: The 6-foot right-hander recorded his fourth scoreless start of the year in Chattanooga’s 6-0 win over Pensacola.
Brent Rooker (age 22/Rookie)
Season: 5 games, 19 AB, .316 BA, .350 OBP, .684 SLG, 1.034 OPS, 1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 4 K.
Notable: Rooker’s power has translated to the minor leagues, as he hit a home run in back-to-back games for the Elizabethton Twins. He went 4-for-5 with two RBI in an 8-7 win over Danville on Saturday.
Kohl Stewart (age 22/Double-A)
Season: 6 games (6 starts), 0-4, 5.63 ERA, 24 IP, 26 H, 1 HR, 22 BB, 14 K, .280 OBA, 2.00 WHIP
Notable: Stewart remains on the disabled list (placed there May 10, retroactively to May 8) due to left knee tendinitis.
Others: Rochester outfielder Zack Granite will likely be a weekly feature in the Young Twins tracker from here on out. … In eight games last week, he hit .471 with four RBI and two walks. … Granite is riding a 10-game hitting streak and has tallied 18 multi-hit games in the month of June alone. … He was named to the International League All-Star Game roster, along with teammate Drew Rucinski.
Statistics courtesy milb.com
