Twins prospect Gordon earns promotion to Triple-A

By Tom Dierberger
Published

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 fourth edition of the 2018 Young Twins Tracker.

 

Stephen Gonsalves (age 23/Triple-A)

Last week: 1 game (1 start), 1-0, 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 11 K

Season (Triple-A): 4 games (4 starts), 3-1, 2.95 ERA, 20 1/3 IP, 11 H, 2 HR, 10 BB, 25 K, .164 OBA, 0.98 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 responded from a rough start last week (6 ER in 1 2/3 IP) by recording 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Pawtucket Red Sox. He fanned 11 hitters, one shy of his career-best 12 strikeouts set in 2015 when the former fourth-round pick was pitching for Single-A Cedar Rapids.

 



Nick Gordon (age 22/Double-A)

Last week: 7 games, 25 AB, 7 H, 1 2B, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB, 1 BB, 3 K, .280 BA

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

Season (Triple-A): 2 games, 4 AB, .250 BA, .250 OBP, .250 SLG, .500 OPS, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 1 K

Notable: Gordon took another big step in his professional career when he was called up to Triple-A Rochester on May 22. In his first start at Rochester one day later, Gordon hit second in the lineup and tallied a single in the seventh inning. The promotion was well deserved for the Twins’ first-round pick in 2014 after he hit for a .333 average in 42 games at Double-A.

 

Tyler Jay (age 24/Double-A)

Last week: 2 games (0 starts), 0-1, 1 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Season: 9 games, 1-1, 1.93 ERA, 14 IP, 16 H, 0 HR, 5 BB, 9 K, .286 OBA, 1.50 WHIP

Notable: Jay didn’t record an out in his appearance on May 19. He came in the bottom of the 10th inning with Chattanooga hanging on to a 2-1 lead, but Biloxi scraped together two runs on three hits before Jay could record an out. Despite the blown save and the first loss of the year, Jay owns a respectable 1.93 ERA early in the season.

 

Alex Kirilloff (age 20/High-A)

Last week: 6 games, 23 AB, 10 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI, 1 SB, 2 BB, 5 K, .435 BA

Season: 38 games, 151 AB, .325 BA, .370 OBP, .589 SLG, .959 OPS, 13 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 22 R, 35 RBI, 1 SB, 11 BB, 33 K

Notable: Kirilloff had a big week at the plate, collecting at least one hit in all six games. In Cedar Rapids’ 6-1 win over Clinton on Sunday, the 20-year-old knocked in three runs on two hits. He raised his batting average 20 points from last week.

 



Royce Lewis (age 18/High-A)

Last week: 5 games, 21 AB, 5 H, 0 2B, 0 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 1 BB, 8 K, .238 BA

Season: 31 games, 124 AB, .315 BA, .368 OBP, .371 SLG, .739 OPS, 4 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 18 R, 13 RBI, 13 SB, 11 BB, 23 K

Notable: Lewis’ batting average has slipped from .356 to .315 over the past two weeks, but he’s currently riding a four-game hitting streak.

 

Brent Rooker (age 23/Double-A)

Last week: 6 games, 24 AB, 4 H, 2 2B, 0 HR, 4 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 3 BB, 9 K, .167 BA

Season: 42 games, 163 AB, .233 BA, .278 OBP, .374 SLG, .653 OPS, 9 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 19 R, 20 RBI, 1 SB, 9 BB, 51 K

Notable: Rooker cooled off a bit from last week, when he tallied 12 RBI in seven games. He whiffed three times May 20 for his eighth career professional game with 3+ Ks.

 

LaMonte Wade (age 24/Double-A)

Last week: 1 game, 3 AB, 1 H, 0 2B, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 1 K, .333 BA

Season: 36 games, 131 AB, .305 BA, .406 OBP, .458 SLG, .864 OPS, 0 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 23 R, 19 RBI, 4 SB, 21 BB, 14 K

Notable: Wade crashed into the outfield wall while trying to make catch on May 17 and was placed on the disabled list the following day. He mashed his sixth homer of the year during that contest. Wade is a favorite to be promoted to Triple-A at some point this season. He spent all of 2017 with Chattanooga and registered a .292/.397/.408 slash line.

 

Others: Cedar Rapids OF Akil Baddoo ranks fourth in the Midwest Leagues with 34 walks. … He’s not exactly a prospect, but Ervin Santana yielded two runs and four hits in two innings of work during a rehab start for Chattanooga on Wednesday. … Cedar Rapids OF Shane Carrier (Round 8, 2016) tied a career high with four RBI in the Kernels’ 8-7 win Wednesday. … Rochester will don Hop Bitters jerseys on Saturday, paying homage to a club that played there from 1879-80.

Statistics courtesy milb.com and STATS