Twins' second-round pick Jeffers off to a hot start in rookie ball
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 11th edition of the 2018 Young Twins Tracker.
Stephen Gonsalves, LHP (age 24/Triple-A)
Last week: DNP
Season (Triple-A): 12 games (12 starts), 5-3, 3.86 ERA, 58 1/3 IP, 40 H, 5 HR, 39 BB, 60 K, .196 OBA, 1.35 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: Having pitched July 4, Gonsalves' next turn in the rotation isn't until after the Triple-A All-Star break. Gonsalves did have one stat change this past week -- he turned 24 on July 8.
Nick Gordon, SS (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 3 games, 15 AB, 4 H, 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 3 K, .267 BA
Season (Triple-A): 45 games, 176 AB, .236 BA, .255 OBP, .354 SLG, .609 OPS, 9 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 14 R, 13 RBI, 1 SB, 5 BB, 34 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 had a pair of two-hit games in the abbreviated week (thanks to the Triple-A All-Star Game). He hit his second home run with Rochester on July 6; his previous HR came June 28.
Brusdar Graterol, RHP (age 19/High-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-0, 6.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Season (High-A) 2 games, 0-1, 7.71 ERA, 9 1/3 IP, 15 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 8 K, .385 OBA, 1.93 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's second start with Fort Myers went much better than his first, when he lasted only three innings. He threw 95 pitches, which is his season high at either level this year.
Ryan Jeffers, C (age 21/Rookie)
Last week: 6 games, 22 AB, 8 H, 2 HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 4 BB, 5 K, .364 BA
Season: 20 games, 71 AB, .394 BA, .517 OBP, .535 SLG, 1.052 OPS, 4 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 17 R, 10 RBI, 0 SB, 12 BB, 12 K
Notable: Minnesota's second-round pick this year is off to a strong start, leading the Appalachian League early on in on-base percentage and second in batting average. He poked his first two professional home runs in back-to-back games July 10-11. Jeffers has eight multi-hit games.
Alex Kirilloff, OF (age 20/High-A)
Last week: 8 games, 31 AB, 6 H, 2 2B, 3 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 9 K, .194 BA
Season (High-A): 20 games, 83 AB, .301 BA, .322 OBP, .410 SLG, .731 OPS, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 R, 13 RBI, 1 SB, 2 BB, 17 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: While Kirilloff had a bit of a slump last week, he finished off strong, going 5 for 13 in his last three games, including two two-hit games while also collecting both of his extra-base hits.
Royce Lewis, SS (age 19/Low-A)
Last week: 6 games, 20 AB, 5 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB, 4 BB, 4 K, .250 BA
Season: 73 games, 288 AB, .319 BA, .371 OBP, .493 SLG, .864 OPS, 23 2B, 0 3B, 9 HR, 49 R, 53 RBI, 19 SB, 24 BB, 48 K
Notable: On Wednesday, Lewis hit his first home run of July. His previous homer came on the last day of June. Lewis is tied for second in the Midwest League in doubles.
Brent Rooker, 1B (age 23/Double-A)
Last week: 7 games, 29 AB, 6 H, 3 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 11 K, .207 BA
Season: 84 games, 331 AB, .263 BA, .316 OBP, .486 SLG, .802 OPS, 24 2B, 4 3B, 14 HR, 45 R, 50 RBI, 3 SB, 24 BB, 105 K
Notable: With three doubles last week, Rooker moved into a tie for the Southern League lead in that category. However, he's also fifth in the league in strikeouts, one behind a trio of players with 106 but way behind the "leader" who has 142.
LaMonte Wade, OF (age 24/Triple-A)
Last week: 3 games, 12 AB, 3 H, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 9 SB, 2 BB, 3 K, .250 BA
Season (Triple-A): 27 games, 88 AB, .261 BA, .404 OBP, .455 SLG, .858 OPS, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 14 R, 11 RBI, 2 SB, 19 BB, 16 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's nine-game hitting streak ended on July 7. The previous day he had two hits and a home run.
Others: Chattanooga OF Zander Wiel (12th round, 2015) had 10 hits in seven games last week, including his first two triple of the season, with a slash line of .400/.464/.720. He's now hitting .309/.373/.451 on the year. … Ervin Santana allowed two runs on two hits in a rehab start in Chattanooga, walking none and striking out six. … 3B Miguel Sano went 6 for 20 (.300) with a home run, two walks and six strikeouts. … Cedar Rapids RHP Bailey Ober (12th round, 2017) had a career-high 12 strikeouts while allowing one run in seven innings on three hits with just one walk in a win over Wisconsin on July 5.
Statistics courtesy milb.com and STATS
