The Minnesota Twins have to be intrigued with the way Jordan Balazovic and Drew Strotman have pitched over their last couple of outings. Both have struggled this season, but hopefully, this is the start of something new.

Check to see who else made the list:

Top Performers:

AAA

Jermaine Palacios, #27, SS
5 Games, .357 BA (5/14), 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SO

• Jermaine Palacios has found continued success since returning to Triple-A. If Royce Lewis isn’t able to go at the start of the season or Carlos Correa doesn’t re-sign/opt-in, then Palacios could be a potential option at shortstop.

Elliot Soto, 2B
4 Games, .333 BA (5/15), 3 RBI, 6 SO

• Elliot Soto’s call-up with the Twins was short-lived, but that was always going to be the case for him. Soto isn’t in their long-term plans at second and probably never will. This week, he hit for a high average and drove in three RBIs.

Jordan Balazovic, #3, SP
1 Game, 3.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 SO

• I normally wouldn’t put a player on here who went three innings without giving up a run, but for Balazovic, that’s an encouraging sign. The Twins’ top pitching prospect has been dealing with an injury, but hopefully, this is the start of something better.

Drew Strotman, #17, SP
2 Games, 2.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 SO

• Strotman was the other pitcher they received in the Nelson Cruz trade, and he was almost viewed as a more intriguing prospect. That hasn’t been the case, and Joe Ryan has been dominant. Hopefully, we can start to say the same about Strotman.

AA

Matt Wallner, #9, RF
6 Games, .429 BA (9/21), 3 HR, 6 RBI, 6 BB, 7 SO

• Matt Wallner has been raking in Double-A and is a prime candidate to get moved at the deadline or earn a promotion to Triple-A. This season he has an OPS of .992 and has smashed 16 home runs. He’s also hitting .351, with an on-base percentage of .510 during the month of June.
  

Cole Sturgeon, OF
6 Games, .296 BA (8/27), 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SO

• Cole Sturgeon is 30 years old and playing Double-A ball. He doesn’t usually hit for power, as his career .697 OPS suggests, but he hit two home runs this week.

High-A

Christian Encarnacion-Strand, #25, SS
6 Games, .250 BA (6/24), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 8 SO, 1 SB

• Christian Encarnacion-Strand has been playing well all season and is one of the most intriguing prospects in the Twins’ system. He needs to get better defensively, as he has a .840 fielding percentage at third base. However, the bat plays, and he’s been hitting for power all season while keeping his strikeout rate relatively down.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand wins it for Cedar Rapids!

His 16th of the year. Unbelievable opposite field power in a huge spot for the Kernels. The Twins got a major steal with CES.#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/X548G5l4Es

— Twins Central (@TwinsCentral1) June 26, 2022

David Festa, #30, SP
1 Game, 6.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 2 H, 4 BB, 3 SO

• David Festa has started to gain some recognition from other writers and fans. Deservedly so, he’s been a great pitcher since getting drafted last year. This season he owns a 1.81 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.

Low-A

Noah Cardenas, C
4 Games, .333 BA (4/12), 2 RBI, 4 BB, 4 SO

• Noah Cardenas was the other UCLA draft pick in 2021. He’s not an offensive-minded catcher, and he’s proven that this season at Fort Myers. He’s hitting .224, with three home runs and 20 runs batted in. However, he has shown off his speed, collecting seven stolen bases.

Pierson Ohl, SP
1 Game, 6.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 3 H, 1 BB, 8 SO

• The Twins 14th round draft pick from the 2021 MLB Draft has started to figure it out. After the first month of the season, opponents were hitting .379 off of him. Since then, he lowered it to .246 during the month of May and .234 in June.

Top Prospects

Austin Martin, #2, SS
6 Games, .353 BA (6/18), 1 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO

Josh Winder, #4, SP
1 Game, 4.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR

Noah Miller, #7, SS
5 Games, .250 (5/20), 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 7 SO, 1 SB

Spencer Steer, #8, SS
6 Games, .217 (5/23), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 4 SO, 1 SB

Misael Urbina, #10, CF
1 Game, .167 (1/6), 1 SO

Brayan Medina, #11, RHP
1 Game, 1-0, 4.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 SO

Ronny Henriquez, #12, SP
1 Game, 5.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 SO

Louie Varland, #13, SP
1 Game, 0-1, 5.0 IP, 5.40 ERA, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 SO

Aaron Sabato, #14, 1B
3 Games, .222 BA (2/9), 3 BB, 5 SO

Cole Sands, #15, SP
1 Game, 5.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 SO

Blayne Enlow, #18, SP
1 Game, 3.2 IP, 4.91 ERA, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 SO

Keoni Cavaco, #20, SS
4 Games, .154 BA (2/13), 1 RBI, 7 SO

Alerick Soularie, #21, 2B
5 Games, .125 BA (3/18), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 6 SO, 1 SB

Marco Raya, #22, SP
1 Game, 0.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0 H, 2 SO

Cade Povich, #23, SP
1 Game, 4.2 IP, 9.64 ERA, 8 H, 2 BB, 5 SO

Danny De Andrade, #24, SS
4 Games, .125 BA (2/16), 1 BB, 6 SO

Casey Legumina, #26, SP
1 Game, 0-1, 5.0 IP, 9.00 ERA, 8 H, 5 SO

Edouard Julien, #28, SS
5 Games, .278 BA (2/18), 6 RBI, 5 BB, 5 SO

David Festa, #30, SP
1 Game, 6.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 2 H, 4 BB, 3 SO