Vargas, Berrios snare top Twins minor league honors

Kennys Vargas and Jose Berrios grew up about 10 miles apart in the busy suburbs of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Now they are lifting the hopes of baseball fans in Minnesota.

Vargas, who has settled in as the Twins cleanup hitter, and Berrios, who rose from Class A to AAA in five months, are the Twins' Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year, the team announced Monday.

"I texted him two minutes ago. I tell him congratulations," Vargas said. "My wife and his wife talk every day, [they're] good friends. He's really good guy, really good person, and really good pitcher."

Vargas isn't bad, either. The slugger wasn't expected to reach the major leagues this year — if at all. General Manager Terry Ryan admits to being somewhat amazed by the progress Vargas has made in the past five years.

"I saw him when he was in the [entry-level] Gulf Coast League. He was crude and raw," Ryan said. "One thing he did was drive baseballs from both sides. The other parts of his game were crude. But that's what development is all about."

Vargas, 24, developed into one of the top minor league players this year, batting .281 and belting 17 home runs in 97 games at Class AA New Britain. When the Twins accelerated his schedule and called him up, he amazed again by looking right at home. The 6-5 switch hitter has nine home runs and 38 RBI since joining the Twins in early August.

Getting to the majors was his goal for 2014. And in 2015?

If he does, perhaps Berrios will be there, too. The skinny 20-year-old struck out 109 batters in 96 innings at Class A Fort Myers, earning him a promotion. He 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 Rochester for the season's final week, putting the righthander in range of making his major league debut next season.

"He's one of the better ones we have," Ryan said of the 6-foot, 180-pound Berrios. "He's not the biggest kid you'll ever see, but he's very athletic, and he's one of the hardest workers that we have."

Can he get Vargas out? Vargas isn't sure. The Puerto Rico natives faced each other twice in spring training, Vargas recalled. And? "He walked me," Vargas shrugged with a smile.

• Ryan told Vargas the Twins prefer that he skip winter league play in Puerto Rico, in order to rest and get physically ready for next year. "I told him I want to play because I need to support my family," Vargas said. "I told him I'm going to take care of my body, and I'll be ready for spring training." Ryan agreed, but told him: "just be careful. Remember where your bread's buttered. This is a pretty good thing up here."

• Timberwolves rookie forward Andrew Wiggins threw out the first pitch before the Twins' 6-2 loss to Arizona. Kansas fan Mike Pelfrey served as catcher for Wiggins' down-the-middle strike.