Unlike the last few Minor League Mondays, this week presented a lot of new faces. The Minnesota Twins have called up a lot of their top prospects, but that has opened the door for some of these other players to make their mark in the system.

Top Performers:

AAA

Curtis Terry, 1B
6 Games, .269 BA (7/26), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 5 SO

• Curtis Terry has flown under the radar, which is to be expected with some of the other names on the roster in St. Paul. Terry was a Spring Training invite and has made the most of his opportunity. The 25-year-old is hitting .265, with four home runs and is striking out in 22.1 percent of his at-bats.

Jermaine Palacios, SS
6 Games, .269 BA (7/26), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 5 SO

• Jermaine Palacios started the season on the Twins’ top 30 prospects list, but he was quickly bumped off it. Make no mistake, he’s a great ballplayer and could make his MLB debut if there are multiple injuries in the middle infield.

Chi Chi González, SP
1 Game, 6.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0 H, 4 BB, 7 SO

• Chi Chi Gonzalez was robbed in his appearance on May 11. After going six scoreless innings without surrendering a hit, the St. Paul Saints ended up losing the game. The former first-round pick in 2013 has been playing well and could get the call if the starting rotation continues to catch the injury bug.

AA

Matt Canterino, #8, RHP
1 Game, 4.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 6 SO

• Matt Canterino has been on another level this season. Whether he becomes a full-time starter is another question, but there’s no doubt that he could help the Twins out right now. The former second-round pick has a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched, and opponents are hitting .129 off him.

Ben Gross, RHP
2 Games, 1-0, 3.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 SO

• As a reliever, you’d like to see Ben Gross’ ERA improve, but this week the former Duke Blue Devil pitched well. Oddly, righties are having success off him, but if he can correct that he will look a lot more success in the long run.

High-A

Jeferson Morales, C
4 Games, .500 BA (6/12), 3 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SO

• The 23-year-old Venezuelan native has hit .244 this season, but rarely do you see a catcher with speed. In 2018, he finished with 17 stolen bases, and in 2021, he snagged 12.

Aaron Rozek, SP
1 Game, 1-0, 5.0 IP 0.00 ERA, 3 H, 9 SO

• Aaron Rozek has made plenty of appearances on the ‘Top Performers’ list, and it’s been fun to see a Minnesota native have success in the Twins system. After three straight rough starts, he bounced back and struck out nine, and lowered his ERA to 4.73.

Sawyer Gipson-Long, SP
1 Game, 1-0, 5.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 7 SO

• If you’ve paid any attention over the last year, you know that I’ve been a little obsessed with Sawyer Gipson-Long. The 24-year-old is dealing this season, and he has great command of the ball. Hopefully, he can take the next step and end the season in Double or Triple-A.

Low-A

Emmanuel Rodriguez, #18, OF
6 Games, .421 BA (8/19), 5 RBI, 3 BB, 6 SO, 1 SB

• Emmanuel Rodriguez has been up and down this season. After starting the year hot, the 19-year-old turned things around. He’s currently hitting .270 and .314 this month.

Mikey Perez, SS
5 Games, .500 BA (8/16), 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SO, 4 SB

• Mikey Perez was the Twins 15th round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of UCLA. This season he’s hitting .247, but in 103 career at-bats, he’s hitting .330. Perez is regarded as a defensive shortstop, but there’s some upside to his bat.

David Festa, SP
1 Game, 1-0, 6.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 BB, 11 SO

• The Twins 2021 draft class has been for the most part a success. David Festa is one of those guys who’s played well since getting selected in the 13th round. This season he’s 2-1, with an ERA of 1.50. In five games, hitters have a batting average of .148.

Top Prospects

Austin Martin, #2, SS
5 Games, .261 BA (6/23), 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 SO, 3 SB

Jordan Balazovic, #4, SP
1 Game, 2.0 IP, 13.50 ERA, 8 H, 2 BB, 1 SO, 2 HR

Simeon Woods-Richardson, #7, SP
1 Game, 0-1, 5.2 IP, 7.20 ERA, 5 H, 1 BB, 8 SO, 1 HR

Noah Miller, #9, SS
5 Games, .308 (4/13), 7 BB, 4 SO, 1 SB

Spencer Steer, #10, SS
5 Games, .200 (4/20), 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SO

Matt Wallner, #11, RF
5 Games, .158 BA (3/19), 2 RBI, 3 BB, 10 SO

Ronny Henriquez, #14, SP
1 Game, 4.2 IP, 3.86 ERA 3 H, 5 BB, 5 SO, 2 HR

Louie Varland, #15, SP
1 Game, 1-0, 6.0 IP, 6.00 ERA, 7 H, 7 SO, 1 HR

Aaron Sabato, #16, 1B
5 Games, .118 BA (2/17), 2 BB, 10 SO

Drew Strotman, #19, SP
1 Game, 0-1 2.0 IP, 6 H, 7.05 ERA, 3 SO

Blayne Enlow, #20, SP
1 Game, 3.2 IP, 4.91 ERA, 5 H, 6 SO, 1 HR

Steve Hajjar, #21, SP
1 Game, 4.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 1 H, 5 BB, 5 SO

Chris Vallimont, #22, SP
1 Game, 1.2 IP, 10.80 ERA, 3 H, 4 BB

Keoni Cavaco, #23, SS
5 Games, .167 BA (3/18), 4 RBI, 8 SO

Jovani Moran, #24, LHP
2 Games, 4.0 IP, 7.71 ERA, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 SO

Alerick Soularie, #25, 2B
5 Games, .316 BA (6/19), 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 5 SO

Cade Povich, #27, SP
1 Game, 0-1, 3.1 IP, 5.40 ERA, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 SO

Christian Encarnacion-Strand, #29, SS
6 Games, .231 BA (6/26), 4 RBI, 1 BB, 6 SO