Twins prospect Lewis manufacturing runs for Cedar Rapids
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 fifth edition of the 2018 Young Twins Tracker.
Stephen Gonsalves, LHP (age 23/Triple-A)
Last week: 2 games (2 starts), 1-0, 5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 7 BB, 6 K
Season (Triple-A): 6 games (6 starts), 4-1, 4.00 ERA, 27 IP, 19 H, 3 HR, 16 BB, 33 K, .196 OBA, 1.30 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 recorded five scoreless innings and a win May 24, but his ERA at Triple-A ballooned to 4.00 after allowing five runs in the first inning to Durham on Tuesday. Under a new organizational rule, Twins prospects must be pulled if they reach 35 pitches in a single inning. Gonsalves reached 38 in the first and was yanked.
Nick Gordon, SS (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 9 games, 35 AB, 10 H, 2 2B, 0 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 9 K, .286 BA
Season (Triple-A): 11 games, 39 AB, .282 BA, .300 OBP, .385 SLG, .685 OPS, 2 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 10 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 has settled in nicely since being promoted to Triple-A on May 22. He was busy this week, playing in nine games (two doubleheaders) and tallied three multi-hit games. Gordon, who stole seven bases in 42 games at Double-A this year, was caught stealing on his first attempt at Triple-A on Monday.
Tyler Jay, LHP (age 24/Double-A)
Last week: 2 games (0 starts), 0-0, 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Season: 11 games, 1-1, 1.96 ERA, 18 1/3 IP, 19 H, 0 HR, 7 BB, 14 K, .271 OBA, 1.42 WHIP
Notable: After Kohl Stewart and Sam Clay combined to allow nine hits and nine runs in 2 1/3 innings May 24, Jay came in to clean up the mess. He notched his longest outing of the season, stringing together four Ks over 2 2/3 innings.
Alex Kirilloff, OF (age 20/High-A)
Last week: 9 games, 30 AB, 10 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 5 R, 7 RBI, 0 SB, 5 BB, 3 K, .333 BA
Season: 47 games, 181 AB, .326 BA, .381 OBP, .580 SLG, .961 OPS, 16 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 27 R, 42 RBI, 1 SB, 16 BB, 36 K
Notable: Kirilloff compiled three hits and three RBI May 29, helping Cedar Rapids to a 6-5 victory over Wisconsin. It was his seventh career game with 3+ RBI and 10th game with three hits.
Royce Lewis, SS (age 18/High-A)
Last week: 8 games, 30 AB, 9 H, 4 2B, 2 HR, 8 R, 13 RBI, 2 SB, 0 BB, 5 K, .300 BA
Season: 39 games, 154 AB, .312 BA, .359 OBP, .422 SLG, .781 OPS, 8 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 26 R, 26 RBI, 15 SB, 11 BB, 28 K
Notable: The Twins’ top pick in 2017 doubled his RBI total for the season in the last week. Lewis tallied multiple RBI in five of eight games, including three RBI on May 25 and 27. His average dipped slightly to .312, but Lewis’ slugging percentage rose drastically from .371 to .422 after racking up six extra-base hits last week. He also made an impressive running catch in foul territory in left field:
https://youtu.be/a2u0j2gfAUY
Brent Rooker, 1B (age 23/Double-A)
Last week: 6 games, 25 AB, 8 H, 1 2B, 3 HR, 5 R, 7 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 7 K, .320 BA
Season: 48 games, 188 AB, .245 BA, .287 OBP, .420 SLG, .707 OPS, 10 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 24 R, 27 RBI, 1 SB, 10 BB, 58 K
Notable: Half of Rooker’s hits from the past week came Sunday, when the Twins’ No. 8 prospect went 4 for 5 with a homer and three RBI. He also finished off a triple play in the eighth inning of that game to preserve an 11-10 win for Chattanooga.
LaMonte Wade, OF (age 24/Double-A)
Last week: 2 games, 8 AB, 1 H, 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 3 K, .125 BA
Season: 38 games, 139 AB, .295 BA, .393 OBP, .439 SLG, .831 OPS, 0 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 23 R, 20 RBI, 4 SB, 21 BB, 17 K
Notable: Wade was placed on the disabled list May 18 and made his return to Chattanooga on May 29. He tallied an RBI single with two outs in the sixth inning to provide the Lookouts with their only run in a 7-1 loss Wednesday.
Others: 2B Jose Miranda (Round 2, comp., 2016) collected three hits and a career-high six RBI in Cedar Rapids’ 15-4 win over Wisconsin on Wednesday. His grand slam in the eighth inning started a run of back-to-back-to-back homers, followed with solo blasts by OF Jacob Pearson and 1B Robby Rinn. … At age 31, he’s no young Twins prospect, but 1B Chris Carter is hitting .231/.333/.500 with two homers and four RBI in eight games at Triple-A Rochester since Minnesota acquired him May 22. … After compiling a 4-0 record and 2.08 ERA in six starts for Double-A Chattanooga, RHP Omar Bencomo was assigned to Rochester and tossed six scoreless innings of one-hit ball to help the Red Wings to a 5-2 win Wednesday. … Rochester RHP John Curtiss (Round 6, 2014) hasn’t allowed a run in his last eight outings, a span of 12 1/3 innings.
Statistics courtesy milb.com and STATS
