Jose Berrios & Kennys Vargas to represent the #MNTwins on the World Team in the 2014 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game! pic.twitter.com/brhxjRu9F5
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) June 24, 2014
Two of the Minnesota Twins top minor league prospects will participate in the Major League Baseball Futures Game, Sun. July 13, at Target Field.
Pitcher J.O. (Jose) Berrios and first baseman Kennys Vargas will represent the Twins on the World Team in the game.
The game is part of Major League Baseball’s All-Star Weekend festivities at Target Field. It features some of the top prospects in all of baseball and pits some of the brightest stars from the United States against stars from the rest of the world.
Vargas has put together a strong start to the 2014 season for Double-A New Britain. He is batting .318 with 14 home runs and 57 RBIs for the Rockcats.
Usually we have trouble finding decent World 1B for the Futures Game, but this year, Kennys Vargas and Maikel Franco are both legit.
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) June 24, 2014
Berrios, a 20-year-old righthander, is 8-2 with a 2.05 ERA in 14 starts for Class-A Fort Myers. He has 98 strikeouts in 83 1/3 innings, compared to just 21 walks. He has surrendered just three home runs.
Since RHP J.O. Berrios' daughter Valentina was born on May 15, he is 5-0, 1.53 in 7 starts with 63 K, 8 BB. #inspiration #MNTwins
— Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) June 24, 2014
According to the Pioneer Press, Berrios was informed he would head to Target Field next month for the game, after throwing six strong innings for the Miracle.
He was selected by the Twins, with the 32nd pick in the 2012 MLB Draft. Berrios, 20, may be one of the youngest players in next month’s Futures Game, but he has already represented Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.
Former Twins manager Tom Kelly will manage the U.S. Team, while former Twins pitcher Bert Blyleven will manage the World Team.
Unfortunately, Twins fans won’t get a chance to see two of their other top prospects. Slugger Miguel Sano is out for the year, recovering from Tommy John surgery, and Byron Buxton has missed most of the start of the season with a wrist injury. Both participated in last year’s event in New York.
A complete list of the rosters for both teams is available by clicking here.
