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. Please note the glossary of advanced stats at the bottom of the story.
This is the fifth edition of the Young Twins Tracker.
IN THE MAJORS
Jorge Polanco (age 22)
Last week: 2 games, 8 PA, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, .429 BA, .500 OBP, .857 SLG, 1.357 OPS, 253 sOPS+, .400 BAbip
Season: 10 games, 26 PA, .250 BA, .385 OBP, .500 SLG, .885 OPS, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB, 4 BB, 2 K, 142 OPS+, .235 BAbip, 0.3 WAR.
Notable: Polanco hit his first-career major-league home run in Minnesota's 5-1 win over Cleveland on Sunday, going 2-for-4 and scoring twice. The home run was a solo shot in the seventh inning that gave the Twins a 3-0 lead.
Eddie Rosario (age 24)
Last week: 4 games, 16 PA, .250 BA, .250 OBP, .375 SLG, .625 OPS, 64 sOPS+, .364 BAbip
Season: 31 games, 1118 PA, .205 BA, .224 OBP, .330 SLG, .554 OPS, 5 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 15 R, 11 RBI, 2 SB, 3 BB, 29 K, .247 BAbip, 50 OPS+, -0.4 WAR.
Notable: Rosario went 2-for-4 with a season-high three RBI in Minnesota's 5-1 win over Cleveland on Sunday. He doubled and scored twice in Monday's loss at Detroit.
Miguel Sano (age 23)
Last week: 5 games, 23 PA, .316 BA, .435 OBP, .789 SLG, 1.224 OPS, 217 sOPS+, .429BAbip
Season: 38 games, 161 PA, .239 BA, .342 OBP, .435 SLG, .776 OPS, 6 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 17 R, 18 RBI, 1 SB, 22 BB, 54 K, 112 OPS+, .333 BAbip, -0.2 WAR.
Notable: Sano homered in back-to-back games and hit three home runs in total in the past week. He raised his batting average 12 points with six hits but struck out seven times.
DOWN ON THE FARM
Jose Berrios (age 21/Triple-A)
Last week (majors): 1 games (1 start), 0-0, 94.50 ERA, 2/3 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 1 K, .600 OBA, .778 OBP, 1.400 SLG, 10.500 WHIP, 209 sOPS+, .667 BAbip,
Season (combined MLB/Triple-A): 7 games (7 starts), 3-1, 5.34 ERA, 32 IP, 1.500 WHIP, 11.2 K/9, .239 OBA, .364 OBP, .419 SLG
Notable: Berrios had by far his worst start in a Twins uniform on Monday, allowing seven runs in just two-thirds of an inning. Minnesota demoted him to Triple-A Rochester after the start, and Berrios finished his first major-league stint with a 10.20 ERA and a 1-1 record in four starts.
Nick Burdi (age 23/Double-A)
Last week: N/A
Season: 3 games (no starts), 1-0, 9.00 ERA, 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.32 WHIP
Notable: The Chattanooga Lookouts placed Burdi on the seven-day disabled list on May 5 for a bone bruise on his right humerus. He hasn't pitched since.
Byron Buxton (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 3 games, 12 AB, 3 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 SB, .250 BA
Season (combined MLB/Triple-A): 35 games, 128 AB, .250 BA, .304 OBP, .422 SLG, .726 OPS, 9 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 21 R, 10 RBI, 4 SB, 9 BB, 45 K.
Notable: Buxton has not played since Saturday because of a strained back.
Stephen Gonsalves (age 21/Single-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1.69 ERA.
Season: 7 games (7 starts), 5-1, 1.27 ERA, 42 2/3 IP, 0.844 WHIP, 22 H, 2 HR, 14 BB, 38 K, .152 OBA.
Notable: Gonsalves won his fourth straight start as he continued his run as arguably the hottest pitcher in the Florida State League.
Nick Gordon (age 20/Single-A)
Last week: 5 games, 21 AB, 9 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K, .429 BA.
Season: 29 games, 118 AB, .331 BA, .368 OBP, .475 SLG, .843 OPS, 7 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 19 R, 13 RBI, 6 SB, 5 BB, 21 K.
Notable: Gordon had hit safely in six games since returning from the disabled list through Tuesday, including a three-hit game Monday. His .331 batting average was tied for fifth in the Florida State League as of Wednesday.
Tyler Jay (age 22/Single-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1.50 ERA.
Season: 7 games (7 starts), 3-3, 2.79 ERA, 38 2/3 IP, 1.164 WHIP, 33 H, 2 HR, 12 BB, 36 K, .228 OBA.
Notable: Jay allowed a run for the first time in three starts, as Fort Myers lost 4-0 on Tuesday. He continues to put up good numbers in his first year as a starter.
Max Kepler (age 23/Triple-A)
Last week: 5 games, 20 AB, 4 H, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, .200 BA.
Season (combined MLB/Triple-A): 30 games, 97 AB, .227 BA, .325 OBP, .371 SLG, .696 OPS, 4 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 11 R, 13 RBI, 1 SB, 15 BB, 16 K.
Notable: Kepler led the International League with five triples through Tuesday, after hitting 13 in Double-A last year. He continues to show good patience at the plate and had more walks (13) than strikeouts (11) this season in Triple-A.
Alex Meyer (age 26/Triple-A)
Last week: N/A
Season (MLB): 5 games (3 starts), 1-2, 3.00 ERA, 21 IP, 1.286 WHIP, 19 H, 1 HR, 8 BB, 24 K, .241 OBA.
Notable: Meyer has not pitched since the Twins optioned him to Rochester.
Kohl Stewart (age 21/Single-A)
Last week: 1 games (1 start), 1-0, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 0.00 ERA.
Season: 7 games (7 starts), 3-1, 1.77 ERA, 40 2/3 IP, 0.984 WHIP, 27 H, 1 HR, 13 BB, 37 K, .185 OBA.
Notable: Stewart has lowered his ERA from 3.20 last year to 1.77 in his second season with Fort Myers while nearly doubling his strikeout rate.
Adam Walker (age 24/Triple-A)
Last week: 4 games, 14 AB, 2 H, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 10 K, .143 BA.
Season: 31 games, 110 AB, .209 BA, .285 OBP, .373 SLG, .657 OPS, 4 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 14 R, 11 RBI, 2 SB, 12 BB, 54 K.
Notable: Walker was batting just .184 in May with 29 strikeouts in 15 games through Tuesday. This is Walker's first season in Rochester, after batting .239 with Double-A Chattanooga last year.
A glossary of some of the advanced statistics used:
OPS: On base percentage + slugging percentage
OPS+: OPS compared to league average of 100, adjusted to the player's ballpark
sOPS+: OPS for the split (in our case the last 7 days) compared to the league's split OPS (100 being average).
BAbip: Batting average on balls in play.
WHIP: Walks plus hits divided by innings pitched.
ERA+: ERA compared to league average of 100, adjusted to the player's ballpark
FIP: Fielding Independent Pitching. Measures a pitcher's effectiveness at presenting home runs, walks and hit by pitches while causing strikeouts. The MLB average FIP is the same as the MLB average ERA.
WAR: Wins Above Replacement value. Represents the number of wins the player added to the team above what a replacement player would add (we are using WAR from baseball-reference.com).
Statistics courtesy baseball-reference.com and milb.com
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