Ben Rortvedt

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Ben Rortvedt
Ben Rortvedt.jpg
Rortvedt with the Fort Myers Miracle
Minnesota Twins – No. 70
Catcher
Born: (1997-09-25) September 25, 1997 (age 24)
Madison, Wisconsin
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 30, 2021, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.169
Home runs3
Runs batted in7
Teams

Benjamin Thomas Rortvedt (born September 25, 1997) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Amateur career[]

Rortvedt attended Verona Area High School in Verona, Wisconsin.[1] As a senior, he slashed .444/.568/.667.[2] He committed to play college baseball at the University of Arkansas.[3]

Professional career[]

Rortvedt was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the second round (56th overall) of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.[4] He signed with the Twins for $900,000, forgoing his commitment to Arkansas.[5]

Rortvedt made his professional debut that same year with the Gulf Coast League Twins before being promoted to the Elizabethton Twins. In 33 games between the two clubs, he batted .222 with ten RBIs.[6] He spent 2017 with the Cedar Rapids Kernels where he compiled a .224 batting average with four home runs and 30 RBIs in 89 games, and 2018 with both Cedar Rapids and the Fort Myers Miracle, slashing a combined .262/.331/.379 with five home runs and 43 RBIs in 90 total games between the two clubs.[7][8] He returned to Fort Myers to begin the 2019 season, and was promoted to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in May, with whom he finished the year.[9] Over 79 games between the two teams, he hit .238/.334/.379 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs.[10] Rortvedt did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Twins added him to their 40-man roster after the 2020 season.[11]

On April 30, 2021, Rortvedt was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[12] He made his MLB debut that day as the starting catcher against the Kansas City Royals. In the game, he recorded his first major league hit, an RBI single off of Royals reliever Wade Davis.[13] He had a total of 89 at-bats over 2021 with the Twins, batting .169/.229/.281 with three home runs and seven RBIs.[14] When not with the Twins, he played with the St. Paul Saints with whom he slashed .254/.324/.426 with five home runs and 22 RBIs over 34 games.

References[]

  1. ^ Jim Polzin (June 10, 2016). "MLB draft: Verona's Ben Rortvedt a second-round pick by the Twins". Wiscnews.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  2. ^ Jon Masson (July 1, 2016). "Prep baseball: Area Player of the Year Ben Rortvedt of Verona 'on an entirely different level'". madison.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Johnson, Jeff. "Young catcher Ben Rortvedt looks to make significant jump to C.R. Kernels". The Gazette. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  4. ^ editor, Anthony Iozzo Assistant sports. "Rortvedt drafted in second round of MLB draft, signs with Minnesota Twins". Unified Newspaper Group. Retrieved December 14, 2018.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Twins, 2nd round Draft pick Ben Rortvedt agree". MLB.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  6. ^ Wyllys, Jared (May 24, 2017). "PG in the Pros: No stranger to hard work, the Twins' Ben Rortvedt is ready to break out". 2080 Baseball. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  7. ^ Dennis Punzel (September 5, 2018). "Former Verona athlete Ben Rortvedt is catching on in the minors". madison.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "Ben Rortvedt Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  9. ^ "Toby Gardenhire takes reins as Fort Myers Miracle look to repeat as FSL champions".
  10. ^ https://kduz.com/2020/11/21/twins-add-three-to-40-man-roster/
  11. ^ "Twins add Balazovic, Ober and Rortvedt to their 40-man roster". Star Tribune.
  12. ^ "Twins Announce Series of Roster Moves".
  13. ^ "Ben Rortvedt jumps from Twins' taxi squad to MLB debut". Star Tribune.
  14. ^ "Simmons, Garver return to Twins; Rortvedt, Maggi sent to St. Paul". September 21, 2021.

External links[]

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