Saints' Mickey Gasper named International League player of the week

Across six games against the Buffalo Bisons last week at CHS Field, Gasper went 11 for 23 with four home runs, two doubles, and six RBI, good for a 1.658 OPS. That included a walk-off three-run homer on Thursday. Gasper, a switch-hitter, rocked two home runs from each side of the plate during the series.

Acquired from the Red Sox in a December trade that sent Jovani Moran to Boston, Gasper made the Twins' Opening Day roster out of spring training. After going 2 for 18 with Minnesota, the 29-year-old was sent down to Triple-A. He was then recalled less than a week later and had a couple multi-hit games with the big-league club, but he returned to St. Paul when Royce Lewis and Willi Castro were activated from the IL last week.

The reality of Gasper's current situation is that he is a classic "Quad-A" player who dominates in AAA but struggles at the MLB level. This season, in ten games with the Saints, he's hitting .429 with six homers, three doubles, more walks than strikeouts, and a 1.574 OPS. In 17 games with the Twins, he's gone 6 for 34 (.177) with just one extra-base hit.

It's the continuation of a trend from last year, when Gasper raked for the Red Sox's Triple-A affiliate (1.062 OPS in 48 games) and was 0 for 18 in his first taste of the big leagues. According to the Saints, Gasper has the second-highest OPS since the start of last season among all minor-league players with at least 300 plate appearances.

Gasper remains on the Twins' 40-man roster and could get another opportunity with Minnesota if an injury or other circumstances open the door. The fact that he's a switch hitter who can play first base, second base, and catcher aids his chances. The sample size for Gasper in MLB is just 62 plate appearances, so it's still possible his minor-league success could translate to production with the Twins or another team at some point.

Other storylines for the Saints last week included the continued dominance of massive slugger Carson McCusker and a bit of a breakout for top prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez, who has had a slow start to this season.

Gasper is St. Paul's first International League player of the week since DaShawn Keirsey Jr. last August. Keirsey delivered the walk-off hit for the Twins in their eighth consecutive win on Sunday.