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Minnesota Twins 2017 Minor League Awards

By Benjamin Chase

PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - MARCH 11: The Minnesota Twins warm up before the start of a Grapefruit League spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Charlotte Sports Complex on March 11, 2013 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - MARCH 11: The Minnesota Twins warm up before the start of a Grapefruit League spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Charlotte Sports Complex on March 11, 2013 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images) /
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Jonathan Rodriguez, 27, Chattanooga/Rochester

Signed as a minor league free agent out of the St. Louis Cardinals system after the 2016 season, Rodriguez had shown flashes of power in the Cardinals system, but never in the same way that he did with the Twins system in 2017.

Rodriguez played the majority of the season with Chattanooga, earning recognition on the Southern League end of season awards team, as he hit .309/.414/.525 with 31 doubles and 21 home runs for Chattanooga. He struggled some in his 5 games with Rochester, but he did club one home run, bringing his season total to 22, which led the Twins system.

While a large man at 6’2″ and 250 pounds, Rodriguez is notably nimble around the bag, making some very impressive plays on balls down the line and saving his fellow infielders a number of errors with excellent scoops and reaches at the position.

Others to note: Lewin Diaz, 20, Cedar Rapids; Ruben Santana, 19, DSL; Andy Wilkins, 28, Chattanooga; J.J. Robinson, 24, Elizabethton; Ben Rodriguez, 22, GCL; Matt Hague, 31, Rochester; Zander Wiel, 24, Fort Myers

The first base crop in the system was quite good this season. Diaz is a top prospect in the system and flashed his developing power in the Midwest League, leading the Twins system in doubles. Hague led the International League in hits. Rodriguez is a mammoth of a human being that was a late draftee in 2017 out of Pepperdine and if he could tap into his raw power, he could be an offensive force.

Next: Second Base

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