Minor Leagues

This week, we started posting the 2018 Twins Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service recipients. Tonight, we share the 2018 Cedar Rapids Kernels recipient David Banuelos. I believe Banuelos becomes the recipient with the closest ties to Harmon Killebrew, indirectly.

Killebrew was a monster on the baseball field. He was a three-true outcomes player decades before that became a baseball term. He struck out, but he hit a lot of home runs and a lot of walks. Off the field, Killebrew was known as a gentle, caring, respectful man.

Following Killebrew’s death, the Twins announced that they would be handing out an award each year to one recipient at each of the four full-season affiliates. The award would go to the player who exemplified Killebrew’s generosity through their efforts in the community.

When Minnesota Twins legend Harmon Killebrew announced that his health was deteriorating and he was entering hospice care, fans around the country, and especially in the Midwest, chimed in to tell tales of Killebrew. Amazingly, very few of those stories had anything to do with what occurred on a baseball field. Most of these stories involved something he had told a kid, shaking hands with fans, his impeccable autograph, or some charitable event that he came to and inspired masses. People talked about how great he was as a person.

His baseball prowess was hardly mentioned. His 573 home runs. His 1,584 RBI. His MVP. His six AL home run championships. His 11 All Star appearances. Those are all part of his story, but the stories people told were of Harmon Killebrew, the great human being.

Following Killebrew’s death, the Minnesota Twins established the Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service, and each year, the Twins have named one winner for each of their four full-season affiliates. Each affiliate’s GM nominated a recipient who exemplifies Killebrew through their work in the community.

Earlier this week, we announced that Jake Reed was the 2018 Killebrew Award recipient for the Red Wings. Today, we’ll discuss the 2018 Killebrew Award recipient of the Chattanooga Lookouts, infielder Chris Paul.

Over the last week or so, Twins Daily has handed out our 2018 minor league awards. Today we continue the series by looking at the top hitters in the Twins organization this season. There were a lot of strong performances, but at the end of the day, the vote was unanimous. Despite missing the entire 2017 season, Alex Kirilloff was our choice for 2018 Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year.

Previous 2018 Awards

Short-Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Andrew Cabezas
Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year: Chris Williams
Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year: Andrew Vasquez
Today: Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year: Tyler Wells
Minor League Hitter of the Year: Alex Kirilloff

Previous Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitchers of the Year:

2012 - Oswaldo Arcia
2013 - Miguel Sano
2014 - Mitch Garver
2015 - Max Kepler
2016 - Daniel Palka
2017 - Mitch Garver
2018 - Alex Kirilloff

Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew is generally considered the greatest Twins player in their 58-year history in Minnesota. He was an imposing figure on the field, capable of altering a game with one swing of his mighty bat. Off the field, Killebrew was said to be one of the most genuinely compassionate men, respectful and helpful.

Following the Hall of Famer’s death in 2011, the Twins announced the initiation of the Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service. One player from each of the four Twins full-season affiliates would be presented with the award in recognition of their work in their community.

Over the coming days, we’ll share with you the four 2018 recipients of the Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service.

The Twins, and probably every organization in baseball, need and want more pitching. Even with the “opener” concept starting to take root in the game, development of starting pitchers will always be a top priority for baseball executives and coaches. Today, we announce the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. There were some good choices again in 2018.

Previous 2018 Awards

Short-Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Andrew Cabezas
Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year: Chris Williams
Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year: Andrew Vasquez
Today: Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year: Tyler Wells
Coming Soon: Minor League Hitter of the Year:

Previous Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitchers of the Year:

2012 - BJ Hermsen
2013 - Taylor Rogers
2014 - Jose Berrios
2015 - Jose Berrios
2016 - Stephen Gonsalves
2017 - Stephen Gonsalves
2018 - Keep Reading

Earlier this week, Twins Daily announced the Short Season Pitcher and Hitter of the Year, and tonight we switch to the full season awards, beginning with the Relief Pitcher of the Year. In recent history, this award has been an indicator of a player making the major leagues at some point—­John Curtiss won in 2017 and also made his MLB debut, and before that Trevor Hildenberger won in 2015 and 2016 before becoming the stalwart in the bullpen he is now with the Minnesota Twins.

Sometimes these short-season awards can be difficult to vote for. Yesterday, Andrew Cabezas was named the short-season Pitcher of the Year. Today we discuss the short-season Hitters of the Year. Over the coming days, we’ll also announce our choices for the full season Hitter, Starting Pitcher and Relief Pitcher of the Year.

It is important to note that voters were encouraged to only look at the stats from the GCL Twins and the Elizabethton Twins. That’s probably unfair to the likes of Michael Davis and Michael Helman who played very little in Elizabethton before being promoted to Cedar Rapids where they continued to play well. Ryan Jeffers and Trevor Larnach each stayed in E-Town a little longer.

Previous winners:
2016: Lewin Diaz
2017: Akil Baddoo

With fewer games than full season leagues, players have less time to make their mark. A smaller sample size can skew a player's overall numbers. However, each of these players are trying to make the organization take notice of their performance.

Which hitters performed well for Elizabethton Twins and the GCL Twins? Let's dive in...

At the end of June each year, not long after the completion of the draft, the short-season minor leagues begin. The GCL Twins stay in Ft. Myers, and the Elizabethton Twins take the long bus ride to Tennessee. The GCL Twins finished just outside of the playoffs. The E-Twins just won their eighth Appalachian League title since the turn of the century and second in a row. The last couple of seasons, Twins Daily has added two annual awards for the short-season Twins players. Tomorrow we’ll hand out the award for the top hitter in the short-season teams, but today, we’ll start with the pitchers.

Aside from the big league club, the Ft. Myers Miracle are the final Twins affiliate whose season continues. And on Monday night, the Miracle season ended with a Florida State League championship! They join the Elizabethton Twins as the two Twins affiliates to win a championship in 2018!

Playoffs in the minor leagues certainly present an interesting set of circumstances. Throughout the minor league season, players can move up and down throughout a team’s roster. Some of the players key to a team qualifying for the playoffs might not even be around for the team’s playoff run. That being said, there was plenty of playoff action for the Twins system.

The E-Twins already took home their second consecutive Appy League Championship. Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers were looking to join the championship parade.

The Fort Myers Miracle scored eight runs in the first inning Saturday night, the most runs they’ve scored in an inning all season, and won Game 2 of the Florida State League Championship Series in convincing fashion.

Unfortunately, the Cedar Rapids Kernels dropped the first game of their Midwest League semifinal series. Keep reading for more details on what happened in these two postseason games from the Twins’ minor league system Saturday night.

Starting pitching wins, right? Elizabethton just won an Appy League championship in large part because of their starting pitching and that is shown below. There are some new names on this list and one guy whose name we’ve seen most months this year. But this month’s winner is a tremendous story. He missed almost exactly two years of playing time due to a major surgery, but he’s come back strong. And don’t misinterpret that comment as saying it’s just a nice story, but this month’s winner also has some good upside which we might see when some of the reins are loosened next year.

Previous Starting Pitchers of the Month for 2018:
April 2018: Aaron Slegers, Rochester Red Wings
May 2018: Brusdar Graterol, Cedar Rapids Kernels
June 2018: Tyler Wells, Fort Myers Miracle
July 2018: Bailey Ober, Cedar Rapids Kernels
August 2018: Keep reading (or look at the graphic for this story)