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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 -- as well as noting others who might be stepping up -- measuring, highlighting and evaluating their progress. Please note the glossary of advanced stats at the bottom of the story.
This is the sixth edition of the Young Twins Tracker.
IN THE MAJORS
Miguel Sano (age 23)
Last week: 5 games, 22 PA, .167 BA, .318 OBP, .389 SLG, .707 OPS, 101 sOPS+, .250 BAbip
Season: 45 games, 191 PA, .221 BA, .325 OBP, .411 SLG, .736 OPS, 7 2B, 0 3B, 8 HR, 20 R, 21 RBI, 1 SB, 25 BB, 67 K, 102 OPS+, .311 BAbip, -0.2 WAR.
Notable: Sano hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the fifth inning of Wednesday's 7-5 Twins win over the Royals and finished with two runs on the afternoon. He also notched two hits in Minnesota's loss to Toronto last Friday.
DOWN ON THE FARM
Jose Berrios (age 21/Triple-A)
Last week: 1 games (1 start), 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 5 IP, 3 H, 5 BB, 8 K, .167 OBA, .348 OBP, .167 SLG, 1.600 WHIP
Season (Triple-A): 4 games (4 starts), 3-0, 1.23 ERA, 22 IP, 1.091 WHIP, 11.5 K/9
Season (MLB): 4 games (4 starts), 1-1, 10.20 ERA, 15 IP, 2.133 WHIP, 12.0 K/9
Notable: Berrios walked five batters this past Saturday but struck out eight in his first Triple-A start since his demotion May 17.
Nick Burdi (age 23/Double-A)
Last week: N/A
Season: 3 games (no starts), 1-0, 9.00 ERA, 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1.32 WHIP
Notable: The Chattanooga Lookouts placed Burdi on the seven-day disabled list May 5 for a bone bruise on his right humerus. He hasn't pitched since.
Byron Buxton (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 4 games, 16 AB, 8 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 5 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 SB, .500 BA
Season (Triple-A): 24 games, 99 AB, .333 BA, .394 OBP, .576 SLG, .970 OPS, 7 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 21 R, 11 RBI, 4 SB, 9 BB, 24 K.
Season (MLB): 17 games, 45 AB, .156 BA, .208 OBP, .289 SLG, .497 OPS, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 5 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB, 2 BB, 24 K.
Notable: Buxton is 8 for 16 in his four games since returning from injury with two homers and three RBI. He's had multiple hits in seven of his past 10 games and is batting .415 (17 for 41) over that stretch.
Stephen Gonsalves (age 21/Single-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 5 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 7.20 ERA.
Season: 8 games (8 starts), 5-1, 1.89 ERA, 47 2/3 IP, 0.902 WHIP, 26 H, 2 HR, 17 BB, 43 K, .160 OBA.
Notable: Gonsalves saw his streak of four straight wins end with a no-decision this past Saturday.
Nick Gordon (age 20/Single-A)
Last week: 6 games, 23 AB, 4 H, 0 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, 0 SB, .174 BA
Season: 37 games, 150 AB, .307 BA, .354 OBP, .440 SLG, .794 OPS, 7 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 21 R, 17 RBI, 6 SB, 8 BB, 29 K.
Notable: Gordon has hit safely in four straight games and is 4 for 14 over the stretch. He's hitting .270 in May (17 for 63) after hitting .333 in April (29 for 87).
Tyler Jay (age 22/Single-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 3.60 ERA.
Season: 8 games (8 starts), 3-3, 2.89 ERA, 43 2/3 IP, 1.191 WHIP, 39 H, 2 HR, 13 BB, 44 K, .235 OBA.
Notable: Jay lost his second straight start on Tuesday despite striking out eight. He threw a season-high 96 pitches and a season-high 69 strikes in the effort.
Max Kepler (age 23/Triple-A)
Last week: 3 games, 7 AB, 2 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K, 0 SB, .286 BA
Season (Triple-A): 28 games, 102 AB, .275 BA, .361 OBP, .451 SLG, .812 OPS, 3 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 15 R, 17 RBI, 1 SB, 15 BB, 13 K.
Season (MLB): 9 games, 12 AB, .167 BA, .286 OBP, .333 SLG, .619 OPS, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 2 BB, 5 K.
Notable: Kepler hit his first homer of the season last Thursday and went on the seven-day disabled list Monday with a strained left groin. He's batting .324 (12 for 37) over his past 10 games.
Alex Meyer (age 26/Triple-A)
Last week: No stats recorded
Season (Triple-A): 3 games (2 starts), 1-1, 1.04 ERA, 17 1/3 IP, 0.865 WHIP, 11 H, 0 HR, 4 BB, 19 K
Season (MLB): 2 games (1 starts), 1-1, 12.27 ERA, 3 2/3 IP, 3.273 WHIP, 8 H, 1 HR, 4 BB, 15 K
Notable: Meyer has not pitched since the Twins optioned him to Rochester on May 4.
Jorge Polanco (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week (MLB): 2 games, 5 AB, 1 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 SB, .200 BA
Last week (Triple-A): 2 games, 9 AB, 2 H, 0 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 SB, .222 BA
Season (MLB): 13 games, 32 PA, .231 BA, .344 OBP, .462 SLG, .805 OPS, 3 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB, 4 BB, 3 K, 120 OPS+, .217 BAbip, 0.3 WAR.
Season (Triple-A): 15 games, 55 AB, .273 BA, .328 OBP, .527 SLG, .855 OPS, 1 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 6 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 5 BB, 8 K.
Notable: Polanco tripled in both his games this past week for Rochester, after the Twins optioned him there on Monday. He has been recalled and optioned three times since April.
Eddie Rosario (age 24/Triple-A)
Last week: 5 games, 21 AB, 3 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K, 0 SB, .143 BA
Season (Triple-A): 6 games, 25 AB, 4 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 6 K, 0 SB, .160 BA
Season (MLB): 32 games, 121 PA, .200 BA, .218 OBP, .313 SLG, .532 OPS, 4 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 15 R, 9 RBI, 3 SB, 3 BB, 31 K, .244 BAbip, 45 OPS+, -0.7 WAR.
Notable: Rosario scored twice and had two hits in Rochester's game on Wednesday, after beginning his stint there 2 for 21.
Kohl Stewart (age 21/Single-A)
Last week: 1 games (1 start), 0-0, 5 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 4 K, 7.20 ERA.
Season: 8 games (8 starts), 3-1, 2.36 ERA, 45 2/3 IP, 1.095 WHIP, 31 H, 1 HR, 19 BB, 41 K, .190 OBA.
Notable: Stewart allowed season highs in walks and runs in his start Monday, earning a no-decision.
Adam Walker (age 24/Triple-A)
Last week: 5 games, 18 AB, 6 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 4 R, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K, 0 SB, .333 BA
Season (Triple-A): 38 games, 136 AB, 32 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 20 R, 19 RBI, 15 BB, 66 K, 2 SB, .235 BA
Notable: Walker hit two home runs last Thursday and three on Saturday while driving in five runs. He it a solo shot Wednesday and leads the International League in homers.
A glossary of some of the advanced statistics used:
OPS: On base percentage + slugging percentage
OPS+: OPS compared to league average of 100, adjusted to the player's ballpark
sOPS+: OPS for the split (in our case the last 7 days) compared to the league's split OPS (100 being average).
BAbip: Batting average on balls in play.
WHIP: Walks plus hits divided by innings pitched.
ERA+: ERA compared to league average of 100, adjusted to the player's ballpark
FIP: Fielding Independent Pitching. Measures a pitcher's effectiveness at presenting home runs, walks and hit by pitches while causing strikeouts. The MLB average FIP is the same as the MLB average ERA.
WAR: Wins Above Replacement value. Represents the number of wins the player added to the team above what a replacement player would add (we are using WAR from baseball-reference.com).
Statistics courtesy baseball-reference.com and milb.com
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