Twins Minor League Report (8/17): Luis Fragoza Named FSL Player of the Week and Promoted to Cedar Rapids

[Nate Palmer]

Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Luis Fragoza)

TRANSACTIONS
Minnesota Twins selected the contract of C Alex Jackson from St. Paul Saints.
OF Luis Fragoza assigned to Cedar Rapids Kernels from Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
RHP Michael Hilker assigned to Cedar Rapids Kernels from Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
Cedar Rapids Kernels placed C Ricardo Pena on the 7-day injured list.
Cedar Rapids Kernels placed RHP Cole Peschl on the 7-day injured list.
Cedar Rapids Kernels released UT Miguel Briceno.
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels transferred RHP Ramiro Villanueva to the Development List.

SAINTS SENTINEL
The Saints split their series in Iowa against the Cubs, including a 3-6 loss in the Field of Dreams game to start the week. Now the Saints stay on the road as they travel to Columbus, whom they went 4-2 against back in July. The Columbus Clippers boast some of Cleveland’s top talent on their roster. 

Top 50 nationally ranked prospect, 1B/LF Ralphy Velazquez, has hit .264/.348/.494 (.842). That only tells part of the story. Velazquez had a slow start after being promoted to Triple-A; since playing against the Saints last, he has hit .333/.394/.877 (1.271). The 21-year-old could certainly pose challenges for the Saints' pitching staff. 

The Clippers also roster two other players on the fringe of their Top 10 organizational prospects. C/LF Cooper Ingle had a cup of coffee in the majors this year and is hitting .306/.429/.570 (.999) in Triple-A. The other prospect to watch is Khalil Watson, who is back at Triple-A after getting some time in the majors like Ingle. In his second year at Triple-A, Watson is hitting .253/.364/.462 (.827). 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
The Wind Surge were able to split their series 3-3 as they hosted Corpus Christi over the last week. Now Wichita will travel and get their first look at the Texas Rangers affiliate, Frisco Rough Riders. On Frisco’s roster is the Rangers top organizational prospect and borderline Top 10 national prospect SS/3B Sebastian Walcott. 

At Double-A, Walcott has hit .319/.373/.580 (.953 OPS). Alongside Walcott is Top 10 organizational prospect corner infielder Rafe Perich. The switch-hitter is hitting .297/.380/.565 (.945) in 60 games this season. 

KERNEL CHRONICLE
Cedar Rapids continues the streak and split their series with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The Kernels will now travel to Beloit to take on a different Wisconsin-based affiliate. In the shortened All-Star week, the Kernels split their four-game series as they hosted Beloit in Cedar Rapids. 

The Sky Carp have the number seven-ranked organizational prospect according to Fish on First in SS Starlyn Caba. Caba’s defense is strong, but his offense has raised questions as he has hit .236/.390/.388 (.777). He has flashed his speed with 20 stolen bases at Triple-A in 2026. The only two other players rostered by Beloit who appear on deeper prospect ranking lists are a pair of 21-year-old pitchers, Liomar Martinez and Nate Payne. 

MIGHTY MATTERS
The Mussels are our streak-breaker, being the only full-season affiliate to win their week's series, going 4-2 against Clearwater. Next up is a trip to the Palm Beach Cardinals, whom Fort Myers split with just a few short weeks ago. 

The Mussels will take on Top 10 organizational prospect SS Yairo Padilla once again. Now playing with Palm Beach for 29 games, Padilla has hit .281/.354/.474 (.828). At the trade deadline, Palm Beach added a Top 50 nationally ranked prospect to their roster. Corner outfielder Alexander Frias came over from the Brewers and has hit .333/.422/.538 (.959) across all levels of the minors this season, adding another key bat to watch. 

INF/OF Luis Fragoza FSL Player of the Week
If Luis Fragoza keeps having performances like he did this past week, it won’t be long until he hits the Twins Daily Top 20 list. In five games, Fragoza hit at an unreal clip of .667/.800/1.583 (2.383 OPS), with three home runs, nine stolen bases, and seven total extra base hits. Those video game-type numbers made Fragoza the choice for the Florida State League’s Player of the Week Award. His week also offered a positive sign for the 19-year-old prospect who MLB.com has ranked as the Twins number 27 prospect in the system. 

In case you missed it at the top of the page, on top of this great week on the field, Fragoza was just promoted to High-A and will begin playing with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. 

DSL TWINS
Twins 9, Marlins 7
Box Score
The Twins came away with a win over the Marlins, but if you turned your attention away from the game early, you wouldn’t have thought that would wind up being the result. Through five innings, the Marlins were in full control of the game, leading 5-0. Then, in the sixth inning, everything went the Twins way. 

Enmanuel Merlo got things going with a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After an Anibal Beltre strikeout, two more walks from Jeferson Abreu and Fabian Ulloa followed to load the bases. Abreu was on base a lot Monday, racking up three total walks. Luis Suarez would break through for the Twins first run with an RBI single. 

Another wild pitch would plate Abreu for the Twins second run. A pitch would then hit Daiyer Barboza to load the bases once again and set the stage for a big Jendy Martinez at-bat. Martinez sent the ball to right-field for a triple, tying the game 5-5 and erasing the Marlins’ early lead. Martinez also added three walks to his day, reaching base a total of four times for the Twins. 

There was still only one out in the sixth inning, and the Twins were not finished. After a Jhon Gonzalez strikeout, Martinez would score on a wild pitch to bring the score to a 6-5 Twins lead. Abel Sosa was the next Twin to take a walk. Sosa advanced to third base on an Enmanuel Merlo single in his second at-bat of the inning. In a double steal attempt, Merlo would be picked off at second but created enough time and space for Sosa to score the Twins seventh run of the inning. 

The scoring continued into the seventh inning; walks and wild pitches fueled two runs being added. Beltre, Abreu, and Suarez would each reach on walks. Fabian Ulloa reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second base for his eighth of the year. Each of those helped set the Twins up for two insurance runs, with Beltre scoring on a wild pitch and Barboza hitting the sacrifice to score Ulloa and give the Twins a 9-5 lead. 

Jeremy Jimenez, who pitched a scoreless sixth inning, would start the seventh for the Twins. It was a classic bloop-and-a-blast scenario. Jimenez nearly stranded Eliecer Mendoza at first after allowing him a single, but with two outs, Gregori Arias hit his fourth home run of the season for the Marlins to bring the lead to 9-7. Arthur De La Cruz was then brought on to close out the game. Needing just one out, De La Cruz forced Steven Herrera into a ground out to earn the save in the Twins win. 

Pitchers Emmanuel Mena and Abraham Martinez each did not allow a run while they were on the mound. Mena went 1 1/3 innings, allowed no hits, three walks, and struck out one batter. Martinez, who was credited with the win, pitched one inning, allowed no hits, and two walks.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Jendy Martinez: 1-2, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 RBI, 1 3B
Emmanuel Mena: 1 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 BB, 1 K

TOP 20 PROSPECT WEEK IN REVIEW
#1- Walker Jenkins (Saints)- .412/.545/.647 (1.193), 1 2B, 1 HR
#2- Vahn Lackey (Mussels)- .154/.200/.462 (.662), 2 3B
#3- Kaelen Culpepper (Twins)- .263/.286/.316 (.602), 1 2B
#4- Marek Houston (Wind Surge)- .238/.273/.238 (.511)
#5- Riley Quick (Wind Surge)- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
#6- Emmanuel Rodriguez (Saints)- .222/.333/.278 (.611 OPS), 1 2B
#7- Hendry Mendez (Saints)- .182/.400/.455 (.855 OPS), 1 HR
#8- Eduardo Tait (Kernels)- .190/.227/.381 (.608), 1 2B, 1 HR
#9- Gabriel Gonzalez (Saints)- .000/.300/.000 (.300)
#11- Carson Tinney (Mussels)- .200/.294/.600 (.894), 2 HR
#12- Brandon Winokur (Wind Surge)- .190/.292/.333 (.625), 1 HR
#13- Khadim Diaw (Wind Surge)- 1.000/1.000/1.000 (2.000)
#15- Ryan Gallagher (Saints)- 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
#18- Quentin Young (Mussels)- .235/.350/.529 (.879 OPS) 2 2B, 1 HR
#19- Yasser Mercedes (Kernels)- .316/.381/.421 (.802), 2 2B

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul Saints @ Columbus- RHP Ryan Gallagher
Wichita Wind Surge @ Frisco- TBD
Cedar Rapids Kernels @ Beloit- TBD
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels @ Palm Beach- TBD
DSL Twins @ DSL Cardinals- TBD
DSL Cardinals @ DSL Twins- TBD

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[Dman]

I'd been pounding the table for Fragoza to move up for a while now.  Glad they finally moved him up.  Just when it looked like he might slowing down he's had an amazing August.  I had to look at the numbers four times but I mean just his slugging in August .938 for an OPS of 1.543.  Granted that's just two weeks of data so a SSS.  Still those numbers are amazing especially this late in the season for a 19 year old. Hoping he is the real deal.