Twins prospect LaMonte Wade one step away from majors
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 seventh edition of the 2018 Young Twins Tracker.
Stephen Gonsalves, LHP (age 23/Triple-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-1, 4 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 5 BB, 3 K
Season (Triple-A): 8 games (8 starts), 4-3, 5.89 ERA, 36 2/3 IP, 31 H, 5 HR, 25 BB, 41 K, .208 OBA, 1.53 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' third Triple-A loss was easily his worst appearance since his promotion earlier this year. Of the 25 batters he faced, 14 reached, while Gonsalves was tagged with nine of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 10 runs and two homers.
Nick Gordon, SS (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 7 games, 27 AB, 3 H, 0 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 7 K, .111 BA
Season (Triple-A): 23 games, 87 AB, .276 BA, .292 OBP, .379 SLG, .671 OPS, 5 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 19 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 started the month strong after being promoted to Triple-A in late May, but had a disastrous week at the plate, going 3-for-27. He did manage a triple, but this was a week to forget for one of the Twins' top prospects.
Tyler Jay, LHP (age 24/Double-A)
Last week: 2 games (0 starts), 0-0, 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Season: 15 games, 1-1, 2.81 ERA, 25 2/3 IP, 28 H, 2 HR, 10 BB, 22 K, .280 OBA, 1.48 WHIP
Notable: Jay ran into trouble June 7, when he fanned three but allowed a pair of solo home runs and walked a batter. He made another relief appearance June 9, allowing three hits and two earned runs.
Alex Kirilloff, OF (age 20/High-A)
Last week: 6 games, 23 AB, 6 H, 1 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 5 K, .261 BA
Season: 61 games, 234 AB, .321 BA, .379 OBP, .581 SLG, .961 OPS, 18 2B, 5 3B, 11 HR, 34 R, 51 RBI, 1 SB, 22 BB, 45 K
Notable: Kirilloff was recently named a starting outfielder for the MWL All-Star game June 19, but had a relatively quiet week at the plate. He did hit a pair of triples, his first since May 15. He ranks fourth in the league in batting average, is tied for the league lead in home runs and leads the league in RBI and slugging percentage.
Royce Lewis, SS (age 19/High-A)
Last week: 6 games, 24 AB, 7 H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 4 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 0 BB, 7 K, .292 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 bounced back a bit after a disheartening start to June, leading Cedar Rapids in extra-base hits. The Twins' top prospect, he'll join Kirilloff as a starter on the MWL All-Star game at shortstop.
Brent Rooker, 1B (age 23/Double-A)
Last week: 7 games, 27 AB, 7 H, 0 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 5 BB, 9 K, .259 BA
Season: 62 games, 243 AB, .259 BA, .315 OBP, .457 SLG, .771 OPS, 13 2B, 4 3B, 9 HR, 32 R, 38 RBI, 1 SB, 19 BB, 75 K
Notable: Rooker had hit one triple in his professional career when he hit a pair of three-baggers to start the month. He added another one this week, but also led the Lookouts with nine strikeouts.
LaMonte Wade, OF (age 24/Double-A)
Last week (Triple-A): 6 games, 18 AB, 4 H, 0 2B, 0 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K, .222
Last week (Double-A): 2 games, 9 AB, 3 H, 1 2B, 0 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 1 BB, 0 K, .333 BA
Season (Triple-A): 6 games, 18 AB, .222, .364 OBP, .222 SLG, .586 OPS, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 3 BB, 1 K
Season (Double-A): 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: A ninth-round pick of the Twins in 2015, Wade was promoted to Triple-A last week. He didn't do much in his first week with Rochester, going 4-for-18 at the plate. He's still not striking out much. He struck out once in his first six games with the Red Wings, and walked three times. Wade was set to represent the North Division of the Southern League in the All-Star game June 19.
Others: 3B Andrew Bechtold led Cedar Rapids at the plate last week, hitting .350/.440/.400 with a double and four RBI. … It was quite the week for Twins third baseman, as 3B Edgar Corcino led Chattanooga with a .355/.375/.516 slash line in 31 at-bats. … C Willians Astudillo led Rochester last week with a .429/.429/.762 slash line last week.
Statistics courtesy milb.com and STATS
