Twins farm team Fort Myers advances to championship

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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 19th edition of the 2018 Young Twins Tracker.



 

Byron Buxton, OF (age 24/Triple-A)

Last week: 2 games, 8 AB, 2 H, 2 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 3 K, .250 BA

Season (Triple-A): 35 games, 136 AB, .272 BA, .331 OBP, .456 SLG, .787 OPS, 11 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 22 R, 14 RBI, 4 SB, 9 BB, 42 K

Notable: Buxton won't be a September call-up, which is a bit surprising given his recent production in Triple-A. Given his health issues this season, maybe reinserting him into the major-league lineup so quickly amounts to playing with a bit more fire than the Twins' front office would like.

 

 

Nick Gordon, SS (age 22/Triple-A)

Last week: 5 games, 19 AB, 4 H, 1 3B, 4 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 2 BB, 5 K, .211 BA

Season (Triple-A): 99 games, 382 AB, .212 BA, .262 OBP, .283 SLG, .544 OPS, 13 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 40 R, 29 RBI, 13 SB, 23 BB, 82 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: After starting the season hot in Chattanooga, Gordon didn't have the sort of year Twins fans were expecting in Triple-A. His struggles in Rochester aren't particularly alarming, but it changes the equation for next year a bit. That OPS was way down, while the power he had shown to that point never really translated.

 

Brusdar Graterol, RHP (age 19/High-A)

Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-0, 4 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K

Season (High-A): 11 games, 5-2, 3.26 ERA, 60 2/3 IP, 59 H, 0 HR, 19 BB, 56 K, .261 OBA, 1.286 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 final start of the regular season went pretty well. He fanned four and allowed three hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings, but threw 73 pitches. The Miracle's season continues Friday, when they take kick off the best-of-five Florida State Championship Series against either Clearwater or Daytona.

 

Alex Kirilloff, OF (age 20/High-A)

Last week: 4 games, 13 AB, 4 H, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB, 4 BB, 1 K, .308 BA

Season (High-A): 61 games, 247 AB, .364 BA, .388 OBP, .538 SLG, .926 OPS, 24 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 37 R, 42 RBI, 2 SB, 10 BB, 38 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: Kirilloff hasn't slowed down at all in the postseason. He homered in Game 1, then went 5-for-5 in Game 2, the first five-hit game of his career, to help the Miracle advance to the FSL Championship Series.

 

Trevor Larnach, OF (age 21/Low-A)

Last week (Low-A): 4 games, 12 AB, 5 H, 5 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B, 1 HR, 0 SB, 5 BB, 3 K, .417 BA

Season (Low-A): 20 games, 91 AB, .297 BA, .373 OBP, .505 SLG, .878 OPS, 8 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 17 R, 10 RBI, 1 SB, 11 BB, 17 K

Season (Rookie): 17 games, 60 AB, .300 BA, .405 OBP, .467 SLG, .872 OPS, 4 2B, 2 HR, 10 R, 15 RBI, 2 SB, 10 BB, 11 K

Notable: Larnach finished off his first pro season with a pair of multi-hit games, both of which included a double.  He also hit a home run last Thursday, snapping a five-game homer-less streak.

 

Royce Lewis, SS (age 19/High-A)

Last week: 3 games, 17 AB, 4 H, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 5 K, .235 BA

Season (High-A): 46 games, 188 AB, .255 BA, .327 OBP, 399 SLG, .726 OPS, 6 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 33 R, 21 RBI, 6 SB, 19 BB, 35 K

Season (Low-A): 75 games, 295 AB, .315 BA, .368 OBP, .485 SLG, .853 OPS, 23 2B, 0 3B, 9 HR, 50 R, 53 RBI, 22 SB, 24 BB, 49 K

Notable: Lewis bounced back a bit last week, and came through with two singles Friday. He hasn't been able to match Kirilloff's production in the playoffs, and is currently 1-for-9 in two postseason games.

 

Brent Rooker, 1B (age 23/Double-A)

Last week: 5 games, 19 AB, 3 H, 0 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 3 BB, 5 K, .158 BA

Season: 130 games, 503 AB, .254 BA, .333 OBP, .465 SLG, .798 OPS, 32 2B, 4 3B, 22 HR, 72 R, 79 RBI, 6 SB, 56 BB, 150 K

Notable: The Lookouts finished the season 65-72, meaning Rooker won't get a shot at the postseason. Rooker struggled down the stretch, and had just one extra-base hit -- a double -- in his last 10 games.

 

Other notes:  Cedar Rapids RHP Carlos Suniaga allowed five hits and one run in seven innings in his only start last week. … Fort Myers CF Aaron Whitefield went 4-for-12 with a double. … Fort Myers LHP Charlie Barnes (4th round, 2017) allowed one hit in 4 2/3 innings in his only start. ... Chattanooga RHP Tyler Wells (15th round, 2016) allowed four hits and one run while striking out eight in his only start. … Chattanooga CF Jimmy Kerrigan went 6-for-15 with a double, a home run and four RBI. … Rochester 1B Kennys Vargas went 7-for-18 with four RBI, three doubles and a home run.

Statistics courtesy milb.com and baseball-reference.com