Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year - 2023

[Seth Stohs]

All week, we have been handing out the Twins Daily Minor League Awards. Today, we conclude that series by recognizing  the top hitters in the Minnesota Twins organization during the 2023 season. 

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

We have been handing out proverbial hardware this week at Twins Daily. Dameury Pena is our Short-Season Hitter of the Year. Juan Cota is our Short-Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Kody Funderburk was named the Minor League Reliever of the Year. Cory Lewis is the choice for Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. 

Today, we announce our Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. You might agree with our choice when you're done reading this article, but hopefully, you will see many excellent options. There were several solid offensive performances this season by players up and down the organizational ladder. 

Does this year's winner fit well into our list of previous winners? Certainly. 

PREVIOUS WINNERS
2012 - Oswaldo Arcia
2013 - Miguel Sano
2014 - Mitch Garver
2015 - Max Kepler
2016 - Daniel Palka
2017 - Mitch Garver
2018 - Alex Kirilloff
2019 - Trevor Larnach
2021 - Jose Miranda
2022 - Matt Wallner 

Here are the guys that rounded out the Hitter of the Year ballots:

Honorable Mentions

• 2B/OF Austin Martin, 24, St. Paul - 59 G, 54-205, .263/.387/.405 (.791), 11-2B, 6-HR, 28 RBI, 36 BB, 43 K. 
• C/OF Ricardo Olivar, 22, Fort Myers - 100 G, 106-372, .285/.403/.452 (.855), 28-2B, 2-3B, 10-HR, 58 RBI, 59 BB, 93 K. 
• IF Jorel Ortega, 22, Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids - 120 G, 117-456, .257/.361/.445 (.807), 34-2B, 5-3B, 14-HR, 75 RBI, 69 BB, 133 K. 
• IF/OF Anthony Prato, 25, Wichita/St. Paul - 115 G, 92-361, .255/.402/.435 (.847), 25-2B, 2-3B, 12-HR, 60 RBI, 79 BB, 104 K. 
• C/1B Chris Williams, 26, St. Paul - 95 G, 73-309, .236/.352/.495 (.846), 13-2B, 2-3B, 21-HR, 75 RBI, 51 BB, 122 K. 

Others Receiving Votes
Kyle Garlick, Trevor Larnach, Alex Isola, Noah Cardenas, Yoyner Fajardo, Rubel Cespedes. 

Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year

Here are the top seven players for the Twins Daily Hitter of the Year, leading up to the choice for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. 

7. OF DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., 26, Wichita / St. Paul 
130 G, 144-490, .294/.366/.455 (.821), 18-2B, 8-3B, 15-HR, 61 RBI, 50 BB, 124 K.
Keirsey was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2018 out of the University of Utah. After he missed time with injuries in 2019 and 2021, he has been one of the organization's more exciting and underrated prospects. His combination of speed with some power is very intriguing. He can be a top-of-the-order type of Hitter or hit anywhere in the lineup. He takes pitches, knows the strike zone, gets on base, and once there, he can steal bases. After stealing 42 bases in 2022, he stole 39 bags in 2023. Defensively, he has excellent speed and range and can play all three outfield positions.

6. SS Brooks Lee, 22, Wichita / St. Paul
125 G, 138-501, .275/.347/.461 (.808), 39-2B, 3-3B, 16-HR, 84 RBI, 56 BB, 91 K 
For many, Brooks Lee was the best pure hitter in the 2022 draft, and somehow, he was available for the Twins with the eighth overall pick. He signed fairly quickly, and after four games in the FCL games, he played in 25 games for Cedar Rapids and the final two games in Wichita, where he was also on the Wind Surge playoff roster. He spent most of 2023 with the Surge and played well. In 87 games, he hit .292/.365/.476 (.841). He hit 11 homers, and his 31 doubles led the league at the time of his promotion. He ended the season with 38 games in St. Paul. He hit just .237/.304/.428 (.731), but he added eight doubles, three triples, and five home runs. 

Lee strikes me as someone whose tools and athleticism won't jump off the charts. He may not stand out if you were to watch one game. But his at-bats will be good, and he will make all of the plays at shortstop. And at the end of the year, he will be hitting .280ish, get on base about 35% of the time, hit a ton of doubles and up to 20 homers, and have a high fielding percentage. When drafted, we knew his floor was high. Then he put up these solid numbers as a 22-year-old in his first full professional season, and it's fair to say that his ceiling also continues to move up. 

5. OF Emmanuel Rodriguez, 20, Cedar Rapids 
99 G, 85-455, .240/.400/.463 (.863), 13-2B, 9-3B, 16-HR, 55 RBI, 92 BB, 134 K
Like Lee, Rodriguez is a consensus top-50 prospect in baseball, and for a good reason. He originally signed as a top international free agent in 2019. Unfortunately, he was unable to make his pro debut until 2021. In the GCL, he began to show his immense power potential with 10 home runs in 37 games. He spent the 2022 season in Fort Myers, where he hit nine home runs in just 47 games before a season-ending knee injury. There were some question marks coming into this season, but E-Rod was pushed to Cedar Rapids and continued his rise. He missed some time early in the season with an injury, and he wasn't consistent throughout the year, but the power was there. And considerable speed continued to be a big part of his game. Along with his 38 extra base hits, he had 20 stolen bases in 25 attempts. Defensively, he does a nice job in center field and has good range. 

Rodriguez certainly profiles as a modern player. He is unlikely to hit for a very high average. However, he will take a ton of walks and hit for plenty of power. The key will be to keep his strikeout rate as low as possible because good things happen when he puts the ball in play. He has a flair for the dramatic. In the Midwest League championship series, he hit two home runs in Game 1 to help the Kernels to a comeback win. Then, in the decisive Game 3, hit a big grand slam to put the Kernels ahead early and held on to win the league's championship. 

4. OF Kala'i Rosario, 21, Cedar Rapids  
118 G, 112-445, .252/.364/.467 (.832), 27-2B, 3-3B, 21-RBI, 94 RBI, 75 BB, 157 K
Rosario was the Twins fifth-round pick in 2020 out of high school in Hawaii. The previous summer, he and Red Sox prospect Blaze Jordan put on shows in home run contests nationwide. Of course, Rosario's pro debut didn't start until 2021. In the GCL that year, he hit .277 with 10 doubles, four triples, and five homers on his way to the Twins Daily Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year. In 2022, he moved up to the Mighty Mussels. In 109 games, he hit .239/.320/.408 (.727) with 21 doubles, three triples, and 12 home runs. Not huge numbers, but he held his own for a 19-year-old in the pitcher-friendly atmosphere. The Twins were aggressive with him in 2023, and he proved them right. In 118 games in Cedar Rapids, he hit .252/.364/.467 (.832) with 27 doubles and three triples. His 21 homers and 94 RBI led the Midwest League and earned him the league's MVP award. No surprise Rosario will have to work hard to cut down the strikeouts as he continues to grow and develop. He will get some extra opportunities in the Arizona Fall League over the next six weeks. Will the Twins add him to their 40-man roster in November? That will be an interesting decision. 

3. OF Andrew Stevenson, 29, St. Paul 
106 G, 132-416, .317/.395/.522 (.916), 23-2B, 7-3B, 16-HR, 57 RBI, 42 BB, 97 K
Stevenson was the second-round pick of the Nationals in 2015 out of LSU. Just over two years later, he made his big-league debut. Between 2017 and 2020, he played in 139 games for the Nationals. Then, in 2021, he played in 109 games for the Nationals. He spent the full 2022 season with Matthew Lecroy at the Rochester Red Wings. The Twins signed him on a minor-league deal in early March and sent him to the Saints. While he provided a potentially young team with a veteran presence and some depth, I can't imagine they believed he would put up the tremendous numbers he did. He hit for average. He has on-base, leadoff batter skills. He has some extra base hit power with his 23 doubles, seven triples, and 16 home runs. He had 44 steals in 49 chances. What a great season, he 100% earned and deserved his call to the Twins in late August. He can be a pinch-runner and late-inning defensive replacement in the big leagues. He also takes the kind of plate appearances that he can be a fourth or fifth outfielder. 

 

2. C/1B Andrew Cossetti, 23, Fort Myers / Cedar Rapids 
95 G, .287/.426/.534 (.960), 23-2B, 4-3B, 15-HR, 63 RBI, 64 BB, 79 K
Cossetti grew up in the northwest suburbs of Philadelphia and stayed home for college by attending St. Joseph's University. He spent four seasons playing in the A10. He played 47 games as a freshman and 10 games before the Covid shutdown of the 2020 season. In 2021, he hit .318 (1.170) with 16 homers. Then in 2022, he hit .327 (1.167) with 19 home runs in 54 games. After that season, he played 28 games in the MLB Draft League and hit .410 (1.112) with 13 extra base hits. The Twins used their first pick on Day 3 of the 2022 draft. He played in just one FCL Twins game after signing. 

He began the 2023 season in Ft. Myers and started fast. In 35 games, he hit .330/.462/.607 (1.069) with 11 doubles and six home runs. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids, and after a slow start, he hit .262/.406/.492 (.898) with 12 doubles, three triples, and nine home runs over 60 games. Considering the power potential Cossetti has shown, his 79 strikeouts in 392 plate appearances (20.2%) is very solid.

Defensively, he is a work in progress behind the plate, but he knows what he needs to work on and will do so in the Arizona Fall League. He made 44 starts this season as a catcher and 20 at first base.  

1. IF Yunior Severino, 23, Wichita / St. Paul
120 G, 127-467, .272/.352/.546 (.898), 17-2B, 3-3B, 35-HR, 84 RBI, 51 BB, 173 K
Severino was a high-profile international signing by the Atlanta Braves in 2016. When the Braves were found to have violated rules, Severino and others were deemed free agents. The Twins swooped in and signed him to a second seven-digit signing bonus. He has been moved up consistently by the Twins since the lost 2020 season. It has been a consistent improvement from year to year. In 2021, he hit eight homers. He hit 19 homers in 2022 between High-A and Double-A. This year, he tied for the minor-league lead with 35 home runs. 

 

"Anytime you tie for first in the minor leagues in home runs, you're deserving of Minor League Hitter of the Year consideration," said Twins Director of Player Development Drew MacPhail. 

He continued, "Yunior's calling card is his massive raw power and ability to hit the ball hard - which he did an awesome job of translating into games this year." 

It is hard to believe that it has been over seven years since Severino signed, yet he is still just 23. He is still growing physically and in his knowledge of the game. 

A big part of his power development may sound simple, but it's huge. He kept the ball off the ground. He hit many more line drives, and 35 fly balls became home runs. 

MacPhail said, "(That was) an issue he's worked hard at over the course of his career." 

For the Twins player development team, from the front office to the coaches and coordinators, it has to be a lot of fun and a source of pride to work with a kid over the years and see the work rewarded. 

Now the question becomes, will he be added to the team's 40-man roster this fall? He'd be a quick addition as soon as the Twins playoff run ends, hopefully after a third World Series title. 

The next question is a lot more complicated. Where will he play? 

MacPhail noted, "What won't go mentioned, but equally impressive, is the work and dedication Yunior put into his defense this year."

So, we are going to mention it here. In 2023, he made 64 starts at third base and 21 at second base. He also made 14 starts at first base after joining the Saints. The infield has plenty of options on a potential Twins' 2024 roster that already includes Alex Kirilloff, Edouard Julien, Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, and Jorge Polanco (who has two options remaining). Add in Severino, Brooks Lee, and Austin Martin; it is a good "problem." 

Congratulations to Yunior Severino on his fantastic 2023 season. He earned himself the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year award. 

In addition, join us in congratulating the others written about today. Also, with our Top 7, the Honorable Mentions and the others that received votes deserved recognition.

To read much more Twins Daily content on each of these players, click on their names below. 
Yunior Severino, Andrew Cossetti, Andrew Stevenson, Kala’i Rosario, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Brooks Lee, DaShawn Keirsey, Austin Martin, Ricardo Olivar, Jorel Ortega, Anthony Prato, Chris Williams, Kyle Garlick, Trevor Larnach, Alex Isola, Noah Cardenas, Yoyner Fajardo, Rubel Cespedes. 

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[BH67]

My enthusiasm accelerated when I saw Austin Martin on the honorable mention list.  It's like the moment in "Field of Dreams" when Timothy Busfield's character suddenly sees all the baseball talent around him and wonders where they came from.

[FlyingFinn]

Severino vs. Miranda - Miranda hits for better average and strikes out a lot less. Severino has more power. I rate their defense about equal. With a healthy roster (I know that never happens), not sure where either of them play for the Twins. The questions to be answered - was 2023's bad season all because of Miranda's shoulder issue in the spring and will Severino ever cut down on his massive amount of SO's?

[Dman]

Congrats to Severino on the award.  He is a switch hitting power bat that can be dangerous and he hits for decent average as well.  Still for as great a line as that is the 36% K rate in AAA speaks to the difficulty he will face translating those numbers to MLB.  I think we can see through past awards high power high K guys can flame out at the MLB level ala Arcia, Palka, Sano. Maybe he gets that more under control but it is a large concern IMO.

Personally my choice for the award would have been Cossetti.  He has a balanced line with almost as many walks as K's.  A solid average and just as good of power as Severino.  They are both the same age, but Severino is hitting in much tougher environments. Still overall I think a hitter like Cossetti has the better chance at the MLB level and his stats this year were equal if not slightly better than Severino's. Not sure why Cossetti gets so overlooked given the solid numbers, but I guess guys picked lower just don't get the same love as guys picked higher.  if you look at the overall numbers I think Cossetti has to be number 1.

Rosario had a breakout year IMO.  K rate is still too high but he took a decent amount of walks so that bodes well for the future.  He is the only right handed outfield power bat the the Twins have that is close but I still don't think they add him to the 40 man as he doesn't need to be protected until 2024.

Lee making it to AAA in his first pro year is something that doesn't get mentioned enough.  I can't remember another player to have done that.  I think he could play at the MLB level right now but there is no hurry and he has things to work on at AAA yet.  His BABIP is low so he is not making solid contact.  He needs to figure out how to hit those breaking pitches better and then he will be good to go.  Also nice to see him hitting for power.

This is a really nice list with lot's of potential down the line as well.

[Nashvilletwin]

Super recap Seth.

Probably 4-5 solid major leaguers on this list debuting in volume by ‘24 or 25 (maybe Cossetti in ‘26 depending on Vasquez).

Jenkins had a short stint, but his hitting was dang good for coming in straight off his senior year in high school.

[Karbo]

The future looks bright! Dure is a lot of talent on the infield. I'm guessing there will be a few trades in the future, and they seem to be loaded enough to get it done. I can envision Severino being set up to become the regular 1b in the near future. AK could play LF. 

[Steve Lein]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

Personally my choice for the award would have been Cossetti.  He has a balanced line with almost as many walks as K's.  A solid average and just as good of power as Severino.  They are both the same age, but Severino is hitting in much tougher environments. Still overall I think a hitter like Cossetti has the better chance at the MLB level and his stats this year were equal if not slightly better than Severino's. Not sure why Cossetti gets so overlooked given the solid numbers, but I guess guys picked lower just don't get the same love as guys picked higher.  if you look at the overall numbers I think Cossetti has to be number 1.

Yunior Severino is certainly deserving! Have to love all the bombs. But I agree with you here.

On my ballot, Cossetti was #1, and I had Severino at #4 (makes me wonder if I had him the lowest, hah!). The strikeouts are a concern for me too, and in comparisons that led to my decisions, Cossetti still beat him in OPS by 62 points with far fewer home runs.

Super excited to follow Cossetti in the AFL!

[jkcarew]

4 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Miranda hits for better average and strikes out a lot less

Severino makes fewer outs than Miranda. He has a materially higher OBP than Miranda in the minors…because along with the way fewer K’s, Miranda gets way fewer BB’s.

[jorgenswest]

3 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Severino makes fewer outs than Miranda. He has a materially higher OBP than Miranda in the minors…because along with the way fewer K’s, Miranda gets way fewer BB’s.

We can compare their age 23 seasons relative to league using wRC+. They both had a break out season splitting the time between AA and AAA.

Miranda: AA 162, AAA 156

Severino: AA 139, AAA 100

The numbers were skewed higher this year so comparing raw numbers or rates between the two seasons will give the illusion hitters in AAA are better this year. It really is astonishing that Severino can put up an OPS of .831 in AAA and have a wRC+ of exactly league average.

In Severino’s favor he was better prior to age 23. In Miranda’s favor he had a wRC+ of 116 as a major league regular at 24.

I like them both and expect Miranda to return healthy next year. I also expect Severino to perform above league average AAA as he starts the season there and be ready to help mideseason if needed.

 

[jkcarew]

 The top-ish hitting prospects had a strong overall year.

I’d have at least a couple of the HM mention guys ahead of Lee in terms of their offensive output this season. Maybe some ranking bias there. Not that Lee disappointed…seems right on track.

[DJL44]

4 hours ago, Dman said:

I think we can see through past awards high power high K guys can flame out at the MLB level ala Arcia, Palka, Sano.

I hope Severino "flames out" like Miguel Sano. Before he gave up on conditioning Sano was a very good hitter.

[jkcarew]

4 hours ago, Dman said:

I think we can see through past awards high power high K guys can flame out at the MLB level ala Arcia, Palka, Sano. Maybe he gets that more under control but it is a large concern IMO

Beware the high K rates…but also beware the low BB rates. Miranda and Kirilloff fell into the later category. It’s tough to maintain a high BABiP in the majors, especially when you are hitting pitcher’s pitches. Those guys fail too…maybe not as spectacularly as the K guys when the adjustments can’t be made.

[Dman]

32 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I hope Severino "flames out" like Miguel Sano. Before he gave up on conditioning Sano was a very good hitter.

Yep 2015, 17 and 19 were really, really good years for Sano even with the 35% K rates.  Maybe conditioning was more to blame than anything else hard to say.  With K rates that high though you have to come through with those HR's or you are a sure liability in the lineup.  I know I haven't enjoyed Gallo this year.

Severino could end up an All Star for all I know.  Hard hit rate does help when it comes to K's as HHR generally increases BABIP because when balls are hit hard they are harder to catch. Still bad K rates tend to drop players out of MLB all together so nothing to sneeze at.  

FWIW I like Severino as a hitter but I think guys with more balanced K to walk ratio's do better in the end which is why I like Cossetti better.

[Dman]

7 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

Beware the high K rates…but also beware the low BB rates. Miranda and Kirilloff fall into the later category. It’s tough to maintain a high BABiP in the majors, especially when you are hitting pitcher’s pitches. Those guys fail too…maybe not as spectacularly as the K guys when the adjustments can’t be made.

Yeah I used to think those contact guys were almost rock solid to make it, but it is fools gold.  Like you stated they hit the ball but get weak contact for outs instead of K's, but the result is the same.  Guys who can take walks and wait for hitters pitches do better in the end.  Making contact is obviously important but making solid contact is even more important and taking walks becomes important in the cat and mouse games that ensue to keep the pitcher off balance.

[jkcarew]

27 minutes ago, Dman said:

FWIW I like Severino as a hitter but I think guys with more balanced K to walk ratio's do better in the end which is why I like Cossetti better.

Yep..I look at it as adjustments. It’s hard to make adjustments at the mlb level. All player have to do it though…it’s just that guys with K issues usually have to make ‘bigger’ ones to stick, I agree.

I do wonder sometimes if swing-and-miss rates would be more predictive. SOME guys with high K rates, have the ‘patient’ approach and take a lot of strikes…don’t really whiff a ton and can actually control the K zone. SOME low K guys whiff plenty, but everything happens earlier in the count. That’s why (in lieu of whiff rate,) I’ll look at BB/K rate. And yes, Cossetti’s is way better, albeit at an ‘easier’ age-to-level than Severino has experienced.

[twinstalker]

I get it.  It's minor league hitter of the year.  You ignore predictive categories because it's not major league hitter of the future.  However,  I would draw the line at including someone who's been in AAA every year possible starting in 2017 (6 yrs) and in the majors each of the years 2017-2021, 2023 (6 yrs).

Keep him in or throw him out, this is not a good system.  It's buoyed by the gift of Jenkins.  Lee will be a decent MLBer, and Emmanuel Rodriguez has the possibility of being good (and of being bad).  That's it, unless you ignore all the predictors on the rest.  Three players, maybe some utility guys like Keaschall and Schobel, and zero pitchers who have shown themselves as of yet who have good starter potential.  Maybe a few will become relief, like Festa.  I'd really have to look at any team prospect experts consider to have a worse group of prospects before I'd believe it.  Most lists seem to be overrating Lee and guessing on Rodriguez, so if you guess high, the three guys can put you above 8-10 teams, I guess.

It would be nice if our runner-up had made it out of A ball, given he turned 23 this summer.  

It wouldn't surprise me if the Twins added Severino, given I don't think they have to protect anyone good except, I think, EmRod (and Martin).  Festa probably.  That might be it for new system names.  EmRod, Martin, and Festa are the only names I would be concerned about, unless I'm forgetting someone.  They have guys like Canterino on the 60-day, so he'll be put back on the 40.  There's also Moran and Gordon.