4 Kernels players get promoted, 4 come in from extended to replace them

DAVENPORT — Four Cedar Rapids Kernels players were informed after their club's 4-0 win Thursday night at Quad Cities that they are being promoted to high-Class A Fort Myers of the Florida State League.

Kernels Midwest League All-Star Game starters Jermaine Palacios (shortstop) and Mitchell Kranson (designated hitter), and infielder Brandon Lopez and outfielder Jaylin Davis are the moving-up quartet.

Palacios was C.R.'s best offensive player, hitting .320 in 62 games. He also had 13 doubles, six triples, 11 home runs and 39 RBIs.

He led the Kernels in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and OPS.

Davis had a team-leading 12 home runs. He hit .267 in 66 games, with a team-best 41 RBIs.

Kranson finished hitting .268 in 57 games here, with 15 doubles, three homers and 21 RBIs. He can catch and play first and third base.

Lopez can play shortstop and second base. He hit .276 in 53 games, with 13 RBIs.

Coming in to replace those four, all from extended spring training, are first baseman Amaurys Minier, shortstop Gorge Munoz, third baseman Joe Cronin and outfielder Lean Marrero.

Minier signed with the parent Minnesota Twins in 2012 out of the Dominican Republic, receiving a signing bonus of $1.4 million. He has struggled in his four-year career, compiling a .233 batting average in 184 games, with 26 home runs, 103 RBIs and 211 strikeouts.

Cronin was a 34th-round draft pick of the Twins last year out of Boston College. He hit .198 in 24 games last season for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Twins.

Munoz, 21, also signed out of the Dominican Republic. He hit .256 in 54 games last season for the GCL Twins. The right-handed hitter had 13 doubles and 13 stolen bases.

Marrero was a 16th-round pick in 2015 out of a high school in Puerto Rico. He spent two seasons with the GCL Twins, hitting .290 in 36 games last season, with two home runs and 12 RBIs.

The Kernels play Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Quad Cities, before returning home for a four-game series against Burlington.

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