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Apr 07, 2024

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Bally Sports North Every Thursday this season Bally Sports North takes a closer look at some specific young players in the Minnesota Twins’ farm system -- as well as noting others who might be

Bally Sports North

Every Thursday this season Bally Sports North takes a closer look at some specific young players in the Minnesota Twins’ 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 2023 Young Twins Tracker.

Walker Jenkins, OF (age 18/Rookie)

Last week: 3 games, 15 AB, 5 H, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB, K, .333 AVG

Season (Single-A): 3 games, 15 AB, .333 BA, .333 OBP, .400 SLG, .733 OPS, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 0 BB, 1 K.

Season (Rookie): 14 games, 54 AB, .333 BA, .390 OBP, .537 SLG, .927 OPS, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 R, 12 RBI, 4 SB, 5 BB, 8 K.

Notable: Minnesota’s top pick in 2023 went hitless in his Single-A debut Aug. 24 then responded by reeling off five hits across his next two contests. Jenkins had three hits and drove in a pair Aug. 25.

Brooks Lee, SS (age 22/Triple-A)

Last week: 5 games, 20 AB, 6 H, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K, .300 AVG

Season (Triple-A): 20 games, 82 AB, .256 BA, .319 OBP, .378 SLG, .697 OPS, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 R, 12 RBI, 1 SB, 8 BB, 17 K.

Season (Double-A): 87 games, 349 AB, .292 BA, .365 OBP, .476 SLG, .841 OPS, 31 2B, 0 3B, 11 HR, 63 R, 61 RBI, 6 SB, 41 BB, 63 K.

Notable: Lee is on a six-game hitting streak where he’s swinging 8-for-25 (.320) with a couple doubles and four RBI. Lee has a hit in 16 of his last 17 games at Triple-A and two knocks in three of his last nine.

Austin Martin, 2B (age 24/Triple-A)

Last week: 5 games, 19 AB, 7 H, 2 2B, 4 R, 4 SB, 3 BB, 2 K, .368 AVG

Season: 41 games, 143 AB, .287 BA, .399 OBP, .448 SLG, .847 OPS, 8 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 27 R, 22 RBI, 14 SB, 24 BB, 25 K.

Notable: Martin has a 23-game on-base streak and is batting .333 with two doubles, two homers, five RBI and six walks his last 10 times out. He’s played second base and center and left field in that stretch.

Marco Raya, SP (age 21/Double-A)

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

Season (Double-A): 8 games (8 starts), 0-3, 8.66 ERA, 17 2/3 IP, 17 H, 2 HR, 13 BB, 17 K, .246 OBA, 1.70 WHIP.

Season (High-A): 11 games (11 starts), 0-1, 2.94 ERA, 33 2/3 IP, 23 H, 4 HR, 8 BB, 39 K, .192 OBA, 0.92 WHIP.

Notable: Raya was pulled after 49 pitches Aug. 25. He hasn’t completed three innings in more than a month. The 21-year-old Raya’s pitch count has hovered right around 50 for much of the season but he topped out at 32 pitches in his three previous starts (27 on Aug. 4; 32 on Aug. 11; 24 on Aug. 18).

Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF (age 20/High-A)

Last week: 5 games, 20 AB, 6 H, 3 2B, 3B, 5 R, RBI, 3 SB, 5 BB, 9 K, .300 AVG

Season: 91 games, 327 AB, .235 BA, .394 OBP, .450 SLG, .844 OPS, 11 2B, 7 3B, 15 HR, 79 R, 51 RBI, 19 SB, 83 BB, 124 K.

Notable: Rodriguez logged back-to-back games with two hits Aug. 29-30 for the first time since tallying two and three July 19-20. Strikeouts remain an issue — he wore a golden sombrero Aug. 26 and has fanned 11 times in his last six — but to his credit, Rodriguez has 10 hits over his last eight games.

Jose Salas, 2B/3B/SS (age 20/High-A)

Last week: 4 games, 15 AB, 2 H, 2B, 3 R, RBI, SB, 2 BB, 7 K, .133 AVG

Season: 84 games, 294 AB, .173 BA, .254 OBP, .252 SLG, .506 OPS, 12 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 31 R, 29 RBI, 19 SB, 25 BB, 90 K.

Notable: Salas’ season-long struggles took a respite Aug. 23-24 when he went 4-for-7 with four runs.

Simeon Woods Richardson, SP (age 21/Triple-A)

Last week: 1 game (1 start), 1-0, 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K

Season: 20 games (18 starts), 5-6, 5.38 ERA, 92 IP, 92 H, 12 HR, 52 BB, 76 K, .262 OBA, 1.57 WHIP.

Notable: Woods Richardson returned to the win column Aug. 25, tossing 87 pitches at Omaha. The 6-foot-3 righty has a 12:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his last three starts, an improvement from the two previous when he walked 11 and struck out 10. He’s gone 5+ frames in three straight games, by the way.

Other notes: Cedar Rapids SS Noah Miller (1st round, 2021) racked up four extra-base hits in six games. Miller tripled and homered and drove in three Aug. 24 and notched a couple doubles later in the week. He’s performing much better overall at the plate this month, swinging .271 in 24 games compared to .220 in July, .192 in June and .188 in May. … St. Paul OF DaShawn Keirsey (4th round, 2018) homered for the first time in 15 games in a Saints uniform Aug. 24 and then went yard again three nights later. In 20 contests, Keirsey, who played his first game at Triple-A on Aug. 4, is slashing .292/.410/.431. … Kernels INF Luke Keaschall (2nd round, 2023) was promoted to High-A on Aug. 29 and made an immediate impact, going 2-for-3 with two RBI in his Cedar Rapids debut. Keaschall hit .292 with eight doubles in 20 games at Fort Myers. … Cedar Rapids SP Cory Lewis (9th round, 2022) had a fine week, tallying 13 strikeouts over two starts. Lewis rebounded from a seven-whiff game where he allowed three runs on five hits and two walks by fanning six and yielding zero runs across five innings Aug. 30. On the season, Lewis owns a 2.53 ERA with 60 strikeouts and only 16 walks in 57 frames at High-A. … Mighty Mussels RHP John Klein has looked sharp in three starts for Fort Myers. Klein, 6-foot-5 and 21 years old, has a 3.47 ERA with back-to-back scoreless outings. He whiffed eight batters Aug. 19 and nine Aug. 25, giving up just two hits in the process. Klein signed a minor-league contract with the Twins last August after throwing one relief inning at the 2022 Northwoods League All-Star Game in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.

Statistics courtesy baseball-reference.com and milb.com