Kennys Vargas and Jose Berrios grew up about 10 miles apart in the busy suburbs of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Now they're lifting the hopes of baseball fans in Minnesota.
Vargas, who has settled in to the cleanup spot in the Twins' lineup, and Berrios, who rose from Class A to AAA in five months, are Minnesota's Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year, the team announced Monday.
Vargas, a native of Canovanas, Puerto Rico, wasn't expected to reach the major leagues this season. But after batting .281 and belting 17 home runs in 97 games at Class AA New Britain, the Twins accelerated his schedule and called him up. Vargas has nine home runs and 38 RBIs since joining the Twins in early August, and has put himself in the middle of the team's plans.
Berrios, a skinny righthander from Bayamon, was assigned to Fort Myers out of spring training, but he quickly made it clear that Class A wasn't a big enough challenge, striking out 109 batters in 96 innings; the only pitchers with a better strikeout rate were three years older than Berrios, who didn't turn 20 until May. Berrios adapted quickly to Class AA New Britain, too, putting up a 3.54 ERA in eight starts, a mark that might have been even more impressive than his 1.96 at Fort Myers. He was called up to Class AAA for the season's final week, putting him in range of a major-league callup next season.
Both players represented the Twins at the Futures Game in Target Field last July, with Berrios chosen the starting pitcher for the International team.
