Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - May 2023

[Seth Stohs]

We have discussed the Twins top minor-league pitcher performances in May. Pitching is great. You can never have enough pitching. But the 2023 Twins are reminding us that it is also important to have some hitting. So, here are the Twins minor leaguers who hit well in May. 

Image courtesy of Steve Buhr, Twins Daily (graphics by Thieres Rabelo)

Earlier in the week, we announced the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher and Relief Pitcher for the month of May. Today, we conclude the series by posting our minor league hitter of the month. There were several good choices, and several St. Paul Saints showed up on the honorable mention list. They would likely be higher in the rankings if not for big-league promotions during the month which meant less minor-league opportunities. I do factor games played when I rank these players, but I always like to promote the honorable mention guys. You will notice that a couple of catchers are mentioned. They play just every other game, and in some cases, every third game. They can only perform when they are placed in the lineup, and a couple backstops played really well in May. 

Honorable Mention
Edouard Julien (St. Paul): 16 G, 18-54, .333/.471/.537 (1.008), 5-2B, 2-HR, 12 R, 6 RBI, 12 BB, 13 K 
David Banuelos (Wichita): 11 G, 9-35, .257/.381/.600 (.981), 1-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 7 R, 11 RBI, 6 BB, 11 K.
Hernan Perez (St. Paul): 15 G, 18-51, .353/.414/.549 (.963), 3-2B, 2-3B, 1-HR, 8 R, 13 RBI, 6 BB, 12 K, 4-SB  
Matt Wallner (St. Paul): 16 G, 21-65, .323/.348/.615 (.963), 5-2B, 1-3B, 4-HR, 10 R, 11 RBI, 3 BB, 28 K. 
Jair Camargo (St. Paul): 11 G, 15-49, .306/.343/.592 (.925), 2-2B, 4-HR, 10 R, 10 RBI, 1 BB, 22 K. 

Hitter of the Month Number 4: Andrew Cossetti (Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids)   
20 G, 20-68, .294/.437/.485 (.922), 5-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 9 R, 13 RBI, 13 BB, 17 K. 

Cossetti was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month in April when he hit .327 with a 1.124 OPS, five doubles and four home runs for the month. He walked as much as he struck out. He spent the first two-third of May with the Mighty Mussels before ending the month with a handful of games in Cedar Rapids. The 2022 11th round pick from St. Joseph’s has made a strong first impression in the organization. The promotion to High-A has been challenging early in his time there. However, with Cossetti and Noah Cardenas (2022 TD Minor League All Star) team to form a pretty strong 1-2 punch for Brian Dinkelman to get good production regardless of which one is playing. 

Hitter of the Month Number 3: Jorel Ortega (Fort Myers) 
24 G, 28-95, .295/.374/.537 (.915), 8-2B, 3-3B, 3-HR, 23 R, 17 RBI, 11 BB, 29 K.

Ortega is certainly an intriguing prospect. The Puerto Rico native was the Twins sixth-round draft pick in 2022 out of the University of Tennessee. He played in one game for the Mussels last season but after an RBI single in his first at-bat, he broke his wrist and his season was over. He was an Honorable Mention choice in April when he hit .265 with an .837 OPS. In April, he walked 18 times and struck out 16 times. In May, he appears to have made an adjustment, more willing to be more aggressive and strike out more in an attempt to add power. And for the month, that was successful. He led the organization with 14 extra base hits in the month. 

Hitter of the Month Number 2: Yunior Severino (Wichita) 
21 G, 29-97, .299/.358/.557 (.915), 5-2B, 1-3B, 6-HR, 16 R, 17 RBI, 9 BB, 34 K

For the second straight month, Severino comes in second in our hitter rankings. He has generally been pretty consistent all season. He hit six home runs in both months. However, he added more doubles and a triple in May. As you can see, he will certainly strike out quite a bit, but his prospect status should be rising. A promotion to Triple-A could be in his future, although he’s at a point now where he simply needs to be in the lineup most every day.  

Hitter Number 1: Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids)   
24 G, 31-93, .333/.441/.591 (1.032), 7-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 14 R, 16 RBI, 15 BB, 29 K.

Rosario was the Twins fifth-round pick in the five-round 202 MLB Draft. He had made a name for himself as one of the most powerful high school hitters in his draft class. His career began in 2021 with the GCL Twins, and he spent 2022 with the Mighty Mussels. Like several of the young prospects who made the jump to High-A Cedar Rapids this season, it was not an easy decision. It wasn’t an obvious choice. 

However, Rosario has been terrific throughout most of the season’s first two months, and it all came together in May when he hit for average, was willing to take walks and showed terrific doubles and home run power. Yes, there are still strikeouts and that’s something he will need to continue working on, but it’s been a very nice showing for Rosario this season, and his prospect status should be on the rise. 

What do you think of the choices made for the top four Twins minor-league hitters? Discuss these prospects and their potential impacts.

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[FlyingFinn]

Nice to see Camargo doing so well after a very slow start. It's kind of amazing, with all the Twins injuries, we haven't yet needed a third catcher.

[roger]

Have liked Rosario since the day he was picked.

Great numbers from Julien, Waller and Larnach.  Add Miranda to that group and you have a foursome who might be good to very good hitters.  Only problem is none are solid defensively and you can lose more games by bad defense than they will win with their bats.  Watching Lewis play third last night made it very clear how important defense is.

Hopefully one or more of these young men will work hard and improve their D.  

 

[2wins87]

Ortega is a guy that hasn't been discussed very much but has been just steadily productive all season.

I've looked at his exit velos in low A and it seems like he's not a guy that hits the ball particularly hard, though he's not completely without power. He does have very solid plate discipline, seems to have a knack for getting moderately hard line drive contact, and can run a little bit.

Probably the next guy in line for a promotion to high A, though they'll have to move some guys up for some space in the young Cedar Rapids infield.  Probably Schobel and/or Ross could be moved up around mid season.

[twinstalker]

On 6/4/2023 at 8:40 AM, 2wins87 said:

Ortega is a guy that hasn't been discussed very much but has been just steadily productive all season.

Age.  Put this in the "it doesn't matter" category.

Rosario is more age appropriate, but his k rate is horrid.

Severino has both issues.

Twins system is hurting.  After Lee there's not a single player you can for sure say will play in the majors.  The AAA guys who have and Brooks Lee are the only "sure things," and none of them are especially exciting.  Waiting on Mercedes, Chourio, and Acuna to have hope for four years from now!