Five players who have helped the Wichita Wind Surge to league-best 5-1 start
The Wind Surge return to Wichita this week for their debut at Riverfront Stadium after a successful opening week, winning five of six games on the road from the Springfield Cardinals.
Wichita is the only 5-1 team in the Texas League after the first week of games. The Wind Surge will host the Amarillo Sod Poodles (4-2) for six games this week, starting with Tuesday’s 7:05 p.m. game at Riverfront Stadium and concluding with Sunday’s 1:05 p.m. series finale.
Before you watch the team play, here are the five stars for the Wind Surge you need to know about.
Aaron Whitefield, No. 2 left fielder
No one was more of a pleasant surprise in the opening week than Whitefield, a 24-year-old prospect from Australia. He leads the Texas League in hits (12) and is tied for the lead in runs batted in (7), while his other offensive stats are also among the league’s best: seven runs scored, three stolen bases, .444 batting average and .815 slugging percentage.
Jose Miranda, No. 22 second baseman
The 22-year-old from Puerto Rico entered the season as one of the Twins’ most-prized prospects playing in Wichita and he certainly looked the part in the first week. Miranda belted three home runs, tied for second in the league, and is tied for the league-lead in RBIs (seven) while batting .370. It’s a promising start for the former second-round draft pick who also has an elite glove in the infield.
Josh Winder, No. 36 starting pitcher
Winder doesn’t have a decision after his first two starts, but he has lived up to his billing as the ace of the staff. He sports a 1.86 earned-run average after 9⅔ innings, while striking out 11 hitters compared to walking just three. The 24-year-old has the stature (6-foot-5) and the pedigree (seventh-round pick) to be moving up the Twins’ organization quickly. After starting Sunday’s game in Springfield, Winder likely won’t pitch again until the back end of the series at home against Amarillo.
Tom Hackimer, No. 17 relief pitcher
Whenever the Wind Surge have needed to escape a jam in the middle innings, Hackimer has been lights out. The 26-year-old former fourth-round pick by the Twins in the 2016 draft, Hackimer has been dominant so far this season. He hasn’t allowed a run in four innings pitched spanning two appearances, while has has seven strikeouts and no walks. Wichita spread the work around in its bullpen last week, but expect Hackimer to emerge as the go-to option if he continues to throw like he has.
Caleb Hamilton, No. 31 first baseman
After sitting out the first two games, Hamilton emerged in the final four games of the series as one of Wichita’s most consistent bats. He’s batting .417 at the plate with a team-high six walks, which has led to a team-best .611 on-base percentage. The former late-round pick out of Oregon State is off to a good start after struggling at the plate in Double-A ball in 2019.
This story was originally published May 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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