Twins' Kirilloff leads Players of the Week

Nick Senzel has a .959 OPS at Class A Dayton. Zack Collins has homered three times in nine games for Class A Advanced Winston-Salem. Zack Burdi is already at Double-A Birmingham. But the 2016 first-rounder who is arguably enjoying the most success this summer is 15th overall pick Alex Kirilloff.

The Twins prospect went 16-for-32 with two homers, seven RBIs and 10 runs scored over seven games with Rookie-level Elizabethton last week en route to Appalachian League Offensive Player of the Week honors and highlighting the Minor League list of winners for July 18-24. 

The 18-year-old outfielder extended his hitting streak to 10 games, the longest active streak in the Appy League, with hits in each of his seven games. He collected multiple hits in five of those contests, including four straight from Thursday through Sunday. He also homered in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday against Johnson City. In all, his 16 hits last week were tied for most in the Minors with Tampa's Jeff Hendrix and West Michigan's Will Maddox. 

Since he made his professional debut June 29, Kirilloff's 36 hits for the E-Twins are tied with DJ Peters and Cody Thomas (both of Ogden) for most among all hitters playing in Class A Short Season or Rookie-level leagues. His .383 average over 23 games ranks second in the Appy League, while his .574 slugging percentage and .958 OPS both place fifth. 

Kirilloff was taken 15th overall last month out of Pittsburgh-area Plum High School, where he hit .540 as a senior, and signed for the slot value of $2.817 million two weeks later. MLB.com had ranked the 18-year-old as the Draft's No. 18 overall prospect, giving him slightly above-average 55 grades for his power and arm and 50's for his three other major tools.

"We really like his bat," Twins general manager Terry Ryan told MLB.com after Kirilloff signed. "He's got some pop in his bat. He's a professional-type hitter who takes solid at-bats. He can run, so he's a complete player. That's why he was picked 15th in the country."

Given his Draft status and the start to his professional career, Kirilloff is in the discussion -- along with Triple-A infielder Jorge Polanco -- to fill in behind 2015 fifth overall pick Nick Gordon as the Twins' second-best position player prospect when MLB.com updates its rankings this week. 

Here's the complete list of the Minor League Offensive Players of the Week for July 18-24:

International -- Yandy Diaz, Columbus (CLE): .519/.576/.815, 7 G, 14-for-27, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB, 1 IBB, 3 K, 1 SB

Pacific Coast -- Mitch Haniger, Reno (ARI): .484/.543/1.194, 7 G, 15-for-31, 4 2B, 6 HR, 13 RBI, 12 R, 3 BB, 7 K

Eastern -- Steven Duggar, Richmond (SF): .565/.643/.739, 7 G, 13-for-23, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB, 1 K, 4 SB, 1 CS

Southern -- Dustin Peterson, Mississippi (ATL): .565/.600/.870, 6 G, 13-for-23, 5 2B, 1 3B, 9 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K

Texas -- Luis Marte, Frisco (TEX): .538/.538/.923, 6 G, 14-for-26, 1 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 5 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 SB

California -- Joey Curletta, Rancho Cucamonga (LAD): .375/.444/.792, 6 G, 9-for-24, 1 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 3 BB, 1 IBB, 7 K

Carolina -- Yasiel Balaguert, Myrtle Beach (CHI): .423/.448/.731, 6 G, 11-for-26, 5 2B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 SB

Florida State -- Jiandido Tromp, Clearwater (PHI): .471/.524/1.059, 7 G, 8-for-17, 1 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 SB

Midwest -- Isan Diaz, Wisconsin (MIL): .500/.607/1.182, 6 G, 11-for-22, 2 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 8 R, 6 BB, 7 K, 3 SB

South Atlantic -- Isael Soto, Greensboro (MIA): .563/.611/1.188, 5 G, 9-for-16, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 0 K

New York-Penn -- Hunter Owen, West Virginia (PIT): .385/.429/.885, 6 G, 10-for-26, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 SB

Northwest -- Nick Zammarelli, Everett (SEA): .393/.414/.714, 7 G, 11-for-28, 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K

Appalachian -- Alex Kirilloff, Elizabethton (MIN): .500/.500/.688, 7 G, 16-for-32, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 10 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Pioneer -- DJ Peters, Ogden (LAD): .565/.655/.826, 6 G, 13-for-23, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 11 R, 6 BB, 7 K, 1 SB, 1 CS