Twins prospect Kirilloff rakes in Fort Myers, Futures Game

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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 12th edition of the 2018 Young Twins Tracker.



Stephen Gonsalves, LHP (age 23/Triple-A)

Last week: 2 games (2 starts), 1-0, 11 2/3 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 7 BB, 8 K

Season (Triple-A): 14 games (14 starts), 6-3, 3.34 ERA, 70 IP, 45 H, 5 HR, 46 BB, 68 K, .187 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 has bounced back nicely over the last few weeks. Since allowing nine runs and two homers in a loss June 11, Gonsalves has allowed no more than one run in any of his six starts, and allowed a combined 14 hits. If the Twins do opt to throw in the towel on 2018 in the coming weeks, Gonsalves' shot with the big club shouldn't be far behind.

 

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

Last week: 7 games, 25 AB, 7 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB, 1 BB, 5 K, .280 BA

Season (Triple-A): 52 games, 203 AB, .241 BA, .262 OBP, .355 SLG, .617 OPS, 11 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 19 R, 16 RBI, 2 SB, 6 BB, 39 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 been racking up multi-hit games at a pretty reliable clip over the last few weeks. He added another Monday, bringing his total to four in his last 10 games.

 

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

Last week: 1 game (1 start), 0-1, 5 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Season (High-A) 3 games, 0-2, 6.28 ERA, 14 1/3 IP, 23 H, 0 HR, 4 BB, 10 K, .390 OBA, 1.88 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 third start in Fort Myers went much like his second. The teenaged flamethrower is still finding his footing after posting strong numbers in Cedar Rapids.

 

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

Last week: 4 games, 16 AB, 7 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 R, 6 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 0 K, .438 BA

Season (High-A): 24 games, 99 AB, .323 BA, .346 OBP, .485 SLG, .831 OPS, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 12 R, 19 RBI, 1 SB, 3 BB, 17 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: He's got some stiff competition for the title (more on that guy shortly), but Kirilloff may be the most exciting prospect in the organization at the moment. He continued to rake in Fort Myers last week while taking some time off for the All-Star Futures Game, going 7-for-16 at the plate, and hasn't struck out since July 10. He impressed in the Futures Game on Sunday, going 2-for-2 with a run scored.

 

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

Last week: 5 games, 20 AB, 8 H, 2 2B, 0 HR, 4 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 3 K, .400 BA

Season (High-A): 5 games, 20 AB, .400 BA, .455 OBP, .500 SLG, .955 OPS, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 3 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: Not to be outdone by Kirilloff, the No. 1 pick in last year's draft was finally promoted to Fort Myers last week. He went 0-for-3 in his debut but was off and running after that, racking up four hits in his second game. Lewis now has a four-game hit streak going, has a double in each of his last two games and picked up his first Florida State League RBI Wednesday.

 

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

Last week: 5 games, 18 AB, 3 H, 0 2B, 1 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB, 4 BB, 8 K, .167 BA

Season: 89 games, 349 AB, .258 BA, .316 OBP, .479 SLG, .794 OPS, 24 2B, 4 3B, 15 HR, 48 R, 53 RBI, 5 SB, 28 BB, 113 K

Notable: Rooker has been a two-bagger machine -- he's tied for the Southern League lead with 24 doubles -- but had a down week, going just 3-for-18 at the plate.

 

LaMonte Wade, OF (age 24/Triple-A)

Last week: 7 games, 24 AB, 6 H, 1 2B, 0 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 4 BB, 4 K, .250 BA

Season (Triple-A): 34 games, 112 AB, .259 BA, .399 OBP, .420 SLG, .818 OPS, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 15 R, 13 RBI, 3 SB, 23 BB, 20 K

Season (Double-A): 46 games, 171 AB, .298 BA, .393 OBP, .444 SLG, .837 OPS, 2 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 30 R, 27 RBI, 5 SB, 26 BB, 20 K

Notable: Wade followed up a nine-game hitting streak with a three-game drought. He rebounded a bit with a pair of multi-hit games last week, going 3-for-4 with two RBI on Monday.

 

Others: OF Trevor Larnach has finally joined the Twins' rookie-level affiliate. The Twins' first-round pick in this year's draft made his Elizabethton debut Wednesday, getting his first hit as a pro and going 1-for-4 with two RBI. He'll be a regular addition to the tracker next week. … Chattanooga OF Jaylin Davis hit .458/.440/.583 in 24 at-bats last week and led the Lookouts with 11 hits. … Rochester C Zack Granite hit .316/.333/.368 last week with a double. … Chattanooga LHP Lewis Thorpe lasted just two-thirds of an inning in the Futures Game. Kirilloff singled off Thorpe, who also gave up two home runs.

Statistics courtesy milb.com and STATS