Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month - April 2024

[Matt Braun]

Read about the batters who bopped their way toward a ranking on our list. 

April hitting is usually a soggy and muddling activity. The ball never flies, and the grooves from last year must be rediscovered. Some batters excelled, though. Today, we'll cover the five who earned a ranking and give credit to five others who came close. 

I used each hitter's slash line as the nucleus of my rankings, with adjustments considered for hitting environments (i.e., excellent in the Texas League; poor in the Florida League). Extracurriculars like a notable amount of stolen bases were also considered. Enough bush-beating: here are the rankings. 

Honorable Mentions:

Anthony Prato, AAA St. Paul - .827 OPS

Anthony Prato enjoyed perhaps the most impactful hitting month a player can have without blasting a homer. A walk rate approaching 25% will do that. A little more power and Prato is probably on the list.

Noah Cardenas, AA Wichita - .821 OPS

Like Prato, Noah Cardenas’ batting line is buoyed by a tremendously rare OBP; a .404 is usually not found anywhere. Again, just a touch more juice would have pushed Cardenas into serious consideration for a higher ranking.

Gabriel Gonzalez, A+ Cedar Rapids - .771 OPS

Gabriel Gonzalez banged out eight doubles, giving him the classic low-OBP/high-slugging slash line that looks freaky but gets the job done. He also struck out only eight times the entire month. 

Rayne Doncon, A Fort Myers - .844 OPS

Early betting favorites tilted towards Rayne Doncon, who hit for a 182 wRC+ through April 20th before a strikeout-heavy lull plagued him to end the month. Still, the totality of his production was undeniable; he’ll settle for an honorable mention.

Byron Chourio, A Fort Myers - .812 OPS

Doncon’s partner in crime—and the best performing “Byron” in the system at the moment—produced like the ideal modern lead-off man in April: his OBP was a beautiful .370. He also tripled three times. 

5. DaShawn Kiersey Jr. - AAA St. Paul, .287/.373/.511, 8 Steals, 20 RBIs

Beginning the year at AAA appears to have done wonders for DaShawn Kiersey Jr.; the former 4th-round pick out of Utah walked, slugged, and stole his way toward a gorgeous slash line and the fourth-most stolen bases in Minnesota’s system. He also made one hell of a catch to rob a home run.

Kiersey is an interesting case. He’s nearly 27 and has never ranked highly as a prospect, but a super fast, hammering, holy-crap-he-really-caught-that player is tantalizing no matter the context. Age be damned. At the very least, his speed and defense could make him a useful 4th-outfielder with enough pop to threaten for the starting job. Whether that chance is with the Twins is yet to be seen. The curse of being a fringey outfield prospect in Minnesota’s system. 

4. Luke Keaschall - A+ Cedar Rapids, .288/.440/.455, 9 Steals, 15 Runs

Could it even be possible not to rank a player with an OBP that high? Minnesota’s 2nd-rounder from 2023 is dicing up the minors, churning in ridiculous on-base numbers as he attempts to speed run his way through the system. He is looking to do damage, after all. 

Mainly a 2nd baseman, Keaschall fits the perfect mold of the scrappy middle-infielder who sticks around forever and puts up way more WAR than you’d think (shutout Ian Kinsler). It’s clear the lower levels of the minors aren’t much of a challenge, though; how he performs in Wichita should help illuminate his profile. And at this rate, he might be on the Wind Surge before Father’s Day. 

3. Maddux Houghton - A Fort Myers, .358/.470/.547, 16 Runs

Anonymity does not impede success; only Minor League Report veterans likely know Maddux Houghton’s name, but his obscurity did little to halt his production in April. Houghton cracked 19 hits in 66 plate appearances—including six multi-hit games—to give himself a fine month, the best he’s seen since joining the farm system last season.

A minor league free agent signing, Houghton’s four years as a Lipscomb Bison and one summer as a Mankato MoonDog failed to inspire a team to draft him. He was too inconsistent. Others showed more promise. Still, the Twins offered the then 24-year-old a deal in 2023, signing him to the Mighty Mussels. He flashed impressive discipline, but the power wasn’t there. Now coming off a month with a .189 ISO, Houghton may have found a groove—and he’ll take home a 3rd place finish in the Minor League Hitting awards. 

2. Emmanuel Rodriguez - AA Wichita, .294/.507/.686, 9 Steals, 22 BB/21 K

You know who Emmanuel Rodriguez is. 

Four years into his minor league career, Rodriguez is (somehow) still improving his game; his 215 wRC+ is downright Bondsian, and he’s walked more than he’s struck out. Really, the only number needed for this ranking is his OBP. No one gets on base at a 50% clip. Rodriguez got on base at a 50% clip. He also cracked 11 extra-base hits.

The only knock on Rodriguez is his sample. He exited play on April 24th after sliding headfirst into 2nd base and sat the rest of the month before returning to the lineup on May 1st. Those few bonus games would have likely pushed him into 1st place.

1. Rubel Cespedes - A+ Cedar Rapids, .373/.447/.657, 22 RBIs, 25 Hits

Unlike Rodriguez—who started smashing the ball from day one—Rubel Cespedes undertook a journey to reach his apex. Signed back in 2019, joined the Twins system right before COVID shut down the minor leagues, hamstringing Cespedes’ development almost immediately. He did poorly in 2021—who didn’t—before posting back-to-back decent seasons with the Mighty Mussels. It seemed like he was destined for a nondescript baseball career.

Then he traveled to Nicuraga for the winter and slugged .571. That may have been the mojo boost he needed; Cespedes rejoined the Twins, earned some playing time in Spring Training, and blasted down the opening gate with a massive OPS as one of the most intimidating bats in the Midwest League. Pitchers groan when they hear his footsteps. He collected seven RBIs in a single game. His impressive production and awesome accomplishments make him the Twinsdaily Minor League Hitter of the Month.

 

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[jmlease1]

I'm happy to see success for Cespedes, who hadn't done a lot to this point and is having a breakout campaign so far. but to me it has to be Emma Rodriguez, who is putting up equally massive numbers, doing it at a high levels, and is 2 years younger. sure the hitting environment in the Texas League is better than the Midwest, but being older/younger for your level makes an impact too. Rodriguez is 3 years younger than average for his level, and Cespedes is nearly a year older.

With the stats being what they are for both guys (Emma at 1.193 OPS vs Rubel at 1.104 OPS) even adjusting for hitting environments, I think I take the younger player at the higher level.

be interesting to see if Cespedes can keep raking and earn an early promotion, though.

[FlyingFinn]

I agree with your choice of Cespedes. E-Rod getting dinged a little cost him some production at the end of the month. Cespedes was consistent every week.

[Seth Stohs]

11 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

I'm happy to see success for Cespedes, who hadn't done a lot to this point and is having a breakout campaign so far. but to me it has to be Emma Rodriguez, who is putting up equally massive numbers, doing it at a high levels, and is 2 years younger. sure the hitting environment in the Texas League is better than the Midwest, but being older/younger for your level makes an impact too. Rodriguez is 3 years younger than average for his level, and Cespedes is nearly a year older.

With the stats being what they are for both guys (Emma at 1.193 OPS vs Rubel at 1.104 OPS) even adjusting for hitting environments, I think I take the younger player at the higher level.

be interesting to see if Cespedes can keep raking and earn an early promotion, though.

This isn't a prospect ranking though... it's about April... E-Rod (someone slap me if I ever use "Emma" for him) probably would have won this "award" if he wouldn't have missed the final 5-6 games of the month. 

[Dman]

Really hoping this a breakout year for Cespedes.  Finding good hitters in hard.  His BABIP is still high and it is hard to keep OPS in the 1.000 range.  Still he keeps piling on extra base hits.  His K m(22%) and walk rates (13%) are in a really nice range.  Going to watching him close to see if he can keep this up.

[TopGunn#22]

Yeah Seth, I agree.  Let's STOP this "Emma" nonsense and just call him E-Rod for Pete's Sake !  Exciting to see some of these bats getting off to such a good start, and no mention of Walker Jenkins at all as he works to get healthy !

Kiersey is starting to grow on me.  It started around August last year and not that I'm hoping for injuries or anything, but I'd love to see the kid get a 2-4 week shot with the Twins.  That kind of speed and that kind of defense just jumps out for me.  As a 4th outfielder with pinch running ability late in games or to begin the 10th inning at 2nd base could pay some dividends.  I get that he's got a little more to prove, but he really intrigues me.

Getting off to a hot start is always nice.  Sustaining it is the challenge.  Already looking forward to your May wrap up in early June.  

[FlyingFinn]

7 minutes ago, TopGunn#22 said:

Yeah Seth, I agree.  Let's STOP this "Emma" nonsense and just call him E-Rod for Pete's Sake !

But what does he actually want to be called? I've listened to a couple radio broadcasts of the Wichita games. I hear him called....................... Emma. I'm thinking they are using the common name they hear when interacting with the players.

[HrbieFan]

10 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

This isn't a prospect ranking though... it's about April... E-Rod (someone slap me if I ever use "Emma" for him) probably would have won this "award" if he wouldn't have missed the final 5-6 games of the month. 

I might slap everyone for saying E-Rod! 

[twinstalker]

His nickname is already EmRod.