Twins prospect Zack Granite's incredible June

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 -- as well as noting others who might be stepping up -- measuring, highlighting and evaluating their progress.

This is the 9th edition of the 2017 Young Twins Tracker.

 

Lewin Diaz (age 20/Low-A)

Last week: 6 games, 24 AB, 6 H, 1 2B, 1 R, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 5 K, .250 BA.

Season: 71 games, 275 AB, .269 BA, .310 OBP, .444 SLG, .754 OPS, 22 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 29 R, 42 RBI, 0 SB, 16 BB, 50 K.

Notable: Diaz hit a homer in the Kernels’ 4-0 win over Quad Cities on Thursday. He knocked in two runs the next night, starting a four-run ninth inning rally that came up just short in a 7-6 loss.

 

Stephen Gonsalves (age 22/Double-A)

Last week: 2 games (2 starts), 2-0, 14 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 14 K

Season: 8 games (8 starts), 4-3, 2.63 ERA, 48 IP, 31 H, 6 HR, 10 BB, 56 K, .179 OBA, 0.85 WHIP

Notable:  Gonsalves had two nearly identical starts in the past week, picking up two wins in 14 innings. He gave up a solo shot in each but lowered his season earned-run average to 2.63.

 



Nick Gordon (age 21/Double-A)

Last week: 5 games, 17 AB, 4 H, 0 2B, 3 R, 0 RBI, 1 SB, 5 BB, 6 K, .235 BA.

Season: 69 games, 287 AB, .310 BA, .378 OBP, .488 SLG, .866 OPS, 21 2B, 6 3B, 6 HR, 44 R, 43 RBI, 7 SB, 31 BB, 71 K.

Notable: The 21-year-old shortstop’s .235 batting average the past week might not look too impressive, but Gordon showed tremendous patience at the plate. He collected five walks -- including three in Wednesday’s 5-1 win alone -- to boost his on-base percentage. Gordon was named to the 2017 MLB Futures Game, held during All-Star weekend in Miami.

 

Tyler Jay (age 23/Double-A)

Season: 2 games (0 starts), 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 HR, 3 BB, 2 K, .143 OBA, 2.00 WHIP

Notable: Jay, who was activated from the disabled list May 23, was put back on the DL on June 1 due to left shoulder impingement.

 

Royce Lewis (age 18/Rookie)

Season: 3 games, 12 AB, .333 BA, .429 OBP, .667 SLG, 1.095 OPS, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, 1 SB, 1 BB, 1 K.

Notable: Lewis starting his professional career with a bang – a solo shot, to be exact. He’s pretty much checked all the boxes off in just three games: homer, double, RBI, stolen base and a walk. Not much adjusting needed at the minor-league level for this 18-year-old, apparently.

 

ByungHo Park (age 30/Triple-A)

Last week: 7 games, 25 AB, 9 H, 2 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 5 K, .360 BA.

Season: 34 games, 132 AB, .189 BA, .262 OBP, .326 SLG, .588 OPS, 9 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 12 R, 11 RBI, 0 SB, 12 BB, 41 K.

Notable: Park has seemed to find his swing again at Triple-A. He’s tallied at least one hit in 13 of his last 15 games with the Red Wings.

 



Fernando Romero (age 22/Double-A)

Last week: 1 game (1 start), 1-0, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 6 K

Season: 14 games (13 starts), 7-5, 2.97 ERA, 78 2/3 IP, 70 H, 2 HR, 30 BB, 76 K, .233 OBA, 1.27 WHIP

Notable:  The 6-foot right-hander recorded his fourth scoreless start of the year in Chattanooga’s 6-0 win over Pensacola.

 

Brent Rooker (age 22/Rookie)

Season: 5 games, 19 AB, .316 BA, .350 OBP, .684 SLG, 1.034 OPS, 1 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 4 K.

Notable: Rooker’s power has translated to the minor leagues, as he hit a home run in back-to-back games for the Elizabethton Twins. He went 4-for-5 with two RBI in an 8-7 win over Danville on Saturday.

 

Kohl Stewart (age 22/Double-A)

Season: 6 games (6 starts), 0-4, 5.63 ERA, 24 IP, 26 H, 1 HR, 22 BB, 14 K, .280 OBA, 2.00 WHIP

Notable: Stewart remains on the disabled list (placed there May 10, retroactively to May 8) due to left knee tendinitis.

 

Others: Rochester outfielder Zack Granite will likely be a weekly feature in the Young Twins tracker from here on out. … In eight games last week, he hit .471 with four RBI and two walks. … Granite is riding a 10-game hitting streak and has tallied 18 multi-hit games in the month of June alone. … He was named to the International League All-Star Game roster, along with teammate Drew Rucinski.

Statistics courtesy milb.com