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Twins' Kirilloff activated off Pensacola IL

No. 2 prospect to make Double-A debut in return from wrist injury
Alex Kirilloff is a career .335 hitter over 185 games in the Minor Leagues. (Joshua Tjiong/MiLB.com)
May 2, 2019

Southern League pitchers, consider yourselves warned.No. 8 overall prospectAlex Kirilloff has been activated off the Double-A Pensacola injured list after missing all of April with a wrist injury, the Blue Wahoos announced Thursday. When Kirilloff does take the field, it will mark his Double-A debut.

Southern League pitchers, consider yourselves warned.
No. 8 overall prospectAlex Kirilloff has been activated off the Double-A Pensacola injured list after missing all of April with a wrist injury, the Blue Wahoos announced Thursday. When Kirilloff does take the field, it will mark his Double-A debut.

The 21-year-old outfielder is one of the most exciting offensive prospects in baseball. After missing the 2017 season following Tommy John surgery, Kirilloff was MiLB.com's 2018 Breakout Prospect of the Year. The left-handed slugger led the Minor Leagues with 44 doubles and 71 extra-base hits while producing a .348/.392/.578 line in 130 games between Class A Cedar Rapids and Class A Advanced Fort Myers. His 178 hits ranked second in the Minors while his 172 wRC+ placed sixth.

Kirilloff was taken by the Twins with the 15th overall pick in the 2016 Draft, coming out of a Pittsburgh-area high school. While his hit and power tools are both considered above-average, his speed, arm and glove each received 50 grades from MLB.com on the 20-80 scouting scale. He played mostly right field in 2018 but also has some experience in center.

Only No. 4 overall prospect and 2017 top pick Royce Lewis is considered a better prospect than Kirilloff in the deep Twins farm system. Kirilloff joins a Pensacola roster that already boasts No. 3 Minnesota prospect Brusdar Graterol, No. 17 Luis Arraez, No. 18 Jorge Alcala, No. 23 Griffin Jax and No. 28 Travis Blankenhorn.
The Blue Wahoos have the Southern League's best record at 17-9 and hold a four-game lead over Biloxi (13-13) in the South Division first-half race.
Marlins send Sanchez to Jupiter: No. 26 overall prospect Sixto Sanchez is was expected to make his season debut Thursday for Class A Advanced Jupiter, but the came was cancelled due to rain, so he will pitch on Friday.
Miami held its top prospect back in extended spring training after elbow inflammation limited him to only 95 innings last season. He was expected to open the season with Double-A Jacksonville, but that first outing was moved to Jupiter, where he'll be closer to the club's spring facility.
The Fish acquired Sanchez from the Phillies in February, along with Jorge Alfaro and Will Stewart, in the deal that sent All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia. The 20-year-old right-hander has a plus-plus fastball that can hit triple-digits and above-average off-speed pitches in his curveball and changeup. He makes the whole package play up with plus command. 

Sam Dykstra is a reporter for MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB.