Minnesota Sports Forum

I'm a little discouraged after blowing leads and losing three in a row to the Tigers and Angels, so I thought I would move back to optimistic mode by reviewing our pitching prospects. We have seen the emergence of our young bats this season with Sano, Rosario, and Hicks. And while Buxton is struggling with big league pitching, he still is a top five prospect and already a gamechanger on the basepaths and in the field. So what does our pitching look like?

Everyone knows that Berrios was lights out this year. He was clearly ready to contribute in the bigs, but was held back only because of innings. My favorite prospect, Stephen Gonsalves, continues to dazzle...13-3 on the season with a 2.28 ERA in 29 starts. The third guy I am keeping an eye on is Felix Jorge. He was struggling a year ago, but looks like h figured things out at Cedar Rapids this year with a 2.79 ERA. Terry Ryan was just down there scouting him in the playoffs, and described him as a young Ervin Santana...good to hear.

On the negative side, Kohl Stewart has been a disappointment, although scouts are still high on him. Alex Meyer looks unhittable at times, but just can't seem to develop consistent command. And Lewis Thorpe missed the season with TJ surgery, but still is a great prospect who is not even 20 yet.

Three years from now I see them rolling with a rotation of Berrios, Gonsalves, Gibson, Duffey and Santana...not too shabby at all.

Sadly, this list is one shorter today as Yorman Landa tragically died in a car accident yesterday. After a 2015 season with a 1.25 ERA and more than a K per inning, he struggled more with his control last year and slipped to 3.24 in Ft. Myers. Still, he was a prized prospect with his 100+MPH fastball...and by all accounts a terrific kid. Sad day for the organization.

RIP Mr. Landa

Strange: Santana turns 33 tomorrow (If I was Facebook friends with him, I would totally wish him a happy b-day on his wall), and I know he has a history of, um, doing what it takes to succeed. But I don't see him as a Twin in three years.

Do you project Tyler Jay as a reliever? Or a bounce-back from Kohl Stewart? Do you like Mejia or Fernando Romero?

JasonIsDaMan wrote:RIP Mr. Landa

Strange: Santana turns 33 tomorrow (If I was Facebook friends with him, I would totally wish him a happy b-day on his wall), and I know he has a history of, um, doing what it takes to succeed. But I don't see him as a Twin in three years.

Do you project Tyler Jay as a reliever? Or a bounce-back from Kohl Stewart? Do you like Mejia or Fernando Romero?

The Twins are saying they want to convert Jay to a starter...makes sense as he is currently the 6th ranked lefty prospects in all of baseball. I'm not high on Stewart...his K:BB ratio is not good, and his personality makes him a difficult guy to cheer for. I don't know much about Mejia, but Romero may be my second favorite pitching prospect after Stephen Gonsalves...he has been lights out since returning from TJ surgery.

longstrangetrip wrote:Sadly, this list is one shorter today as Yorman Landa tragically died in a car accident yesterday. After a 2015 season with a 1.25 ERA and more than a K per inning, he struggled more with his control last year and slipped to 3.24 in Ft. Myers. Still, he was a prized prospect with his 100+MPH fastball...and by all accounts a terrific kid. Sad day for the organization.

Gone too soon. 2016 blows.

It's good to bump this thread once in a while, because for the most part these young guys are progressing as expected...lots of possibilities for future starters here. Here's my assessment of our young pitchers in terms of where I see them in future rotations:

Top of the rotation: Berrios, Gonsalves, Romero

Middle of the rotation: Jay, Stewart, Mejia

Bottom of the rotation: Jorge

Unknown: Lewis Thorpe. He is a year after TJ surgery, but mono held back his rehab last summer. And yet he showed top of the rotation potential throughout his teens before TJ. He's a good one to watch this year.

Randy Rosario: Also coming off TJ surgery. He was throwing 97 MPH pre-surgery, and reports are he can get back there.

Gone: Landa (deceased), Meyer and Hu (traded)

The starting pitching cupboard is still full, and we have plenty of near 100MPH relievers in the minors too.

Here's a good (and promising) article by Seth Stohs about 3 pitchers I've been following for 3-4 years. They are all pitching really well at AA ball right now, and Stohs thinks at least 2 of them could bypass AAA and come up this year. Nobody knows more about our minor league players than Stohs, so this is terrific news. I've been excited about these guys for a long time. It's not unlikely that our rotation next year could be Santana, Berrios, Gonsalves, Romero and ? (Mejia, Gibson, Santiago, who knows?). That's a rotation with a very high ceiling, and could complement our young core of hitters (and fielders) very well. The future is very bright, indeed!

http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/coming-soon-starting-pitching-but-how-soon-r5771

longstrangetrip wrote:Here's a good (and promising) article by Seth Stohs about 3 pitchers I've been following for 3-4 years. They are all pitching really well at AA ball right now, and Stohs thinks at least 2 of them could bypass AAA and come up this year. Nobody knows more about our minor league players than Stohs, so this is terrific news. I've been excited about these guys for a long time. It's not unlikely that our rotation next year could be Santana, Berrios, Gonsalves, Romero and ? (Mejia, Gibson, Santiago, who knows?). That's a rotation with a very high ceiling, and could complement our young core of hitters (and fielders) very well. The future is very bright, indeed!

http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/coming-soon-starting-pitching-but-how-soon-r5771

I think will see Romero by the end of the year. I believe July 2nd is the date where he could be called. I believe you save a year of arbitration after that date.

Well, that was quick...Felix Jorge will bypass AAA and start Saturday against KC. I like Jorge, but have him ranked way behind Gonsalves and Romero. His stuff is average...mid 90s fastball, change and improving slider...but he has good command and a polished effortless delivery. I'm not looking for a dominant performance, but I think he will do fine. Fun to see one of our promising young arms come up...can't wait to see the other 2!

longstrangetrip wrote:Well, that was quick...Felix Jorge will bypass AAA and start Saturday against KC. I like Jorge, but have him ranked way behind Gonsalves and Romero. His stuff is average...mid 90s fastball, change and improving slider...but he has good command and a polished effortless delivery. I'm not looking for a dominant performance, but I think he will do fine. Fun to see one of our promising young arms come up...can't wait to see the other 2!

Are they seeing if he can stick or is he just pitching cause of the double header this weekend?