Minnesota Sports Forum

There has been a lot of excitement about the star potential of position players in our minor league system, bur concerns about whether we will have any front line starters. I know that success in the low minors at age 19 doesn't always translate to major league success, but it's hard to ignore what these 6 18-19 year olds have been doing. Check out these numbers:

Jose Berrios: 80.2 IP 3.90 ERA 1.43 WHIP 9.1 K/9

Felix Jorge: 31.1 2.87 1.21 9.8

Randy Rosario: 29 2.48 1.17 8.4

Yoman Lando: 30 1.20 1.07 9.6

Kohl Stewart: 10 1.80 .80 8.1

Stephan Gonsalves: 14.1 0.63 1.05 11.3:


These guys are going to be fun to watch over the next couple years. For the most part, we are not talking about the usual pitch-to-contact pitcher we're used to seeing. Most of these guys are averaging close to or more than a strike out per inning, and all except Berrios have an ERA under 3. And the low WHIPs indicate reasonably good control, a quality not often seen in young power arms. No wonder most scouts rank the Twins farm system the best on baseball.

I'll be posting occasional updates, good and bad, on these guys. Last night Stephan Gonsalves struck out 6 in three scoreless innings. I know a lot about Gonsalves, as he has produced a lot of buzz here in southern California. After a dominating junior year, he was projected to be a top 10 pick in the 2013 draft...right up there with Kohl Stewart among high school arms. But then he got suspended for an undisclosed reason, only pitched about 40 innings his senior year, and plummeted in the draft. He has now come out and talked about the suspension. After a loss in a tournament game early in his senior year, four of his teammates decide to smoke some pot. One of them was Gonsalves' roommate on the trip, and since he covered for him he was also suspended. I think the Twins got the best left handed high school pitcher in the draft in the 4th round, all because his roommate smoked a little weed!

good post man-the Twins have set themselves up nicely for the next 8-10 years. When was the last time we could say that? Where you from in CA...I live in Bakersfield...

Unfortunately, I'm down here with the crazies in LA. I'm a huge Minnesota sports fan, though, and I have the chance to see the Twins and Wolves a few times every year. I was at the Big A last week for two classic games Monday and Wednesday. Deduno's fastball was moving all over the place Monday, and Perk struggled but struck out Pujols and Kendrick to get the save. And then Pelfrey and Weaver locked up in a brilliant 1-0 battle Wednesday. 2 great games!

It is posts like this that make me miss the vote function lol :thumb:

JDvikes wrote:It is posts like this that make me miss the vote function lol :thumb:

I wondered what ever happened to that.

It was part of the advanced plan that we had a free trial on when the site was first started.

I can't believe I left Lewis Thorpe off of this list. The Twins signed him last summer out of Australia at 16 years old...won't turn 18 until November. He's been dominating the Gulf Coast League, with a 1.93 ERA in 32.2 innings. And get this...he has struck out 46 and walked only three! He's another soft-tossing lefty...doesn't get it over 90...but those are not pitch to contact numbers. He probably still has a lot of growing to do at age 17, and that's good because he is 6'1"and only160 pounds. Gotta believe that fastball is going to pick up a lot. Should be another fun guy to watch develop.

Our little 17-year-old Lewis Thorpe was sharp again tonight for the GCL Twins, retiring all 10 batters he faced...6 by strike out! Unbelievable...he now has 55 K's and only 5 walks in 40 innings. Gotta love those 11-1 strikeout to walk ratios!

But he wasn't even our most dominant pitcher in the game. Alex Meyer doesn't qualify for the pitchers under 20 club, but he is a top prospect and struck out 9 in 3 2/3 innings, only allowing 2 hits. 9 of the 11 outs on strikeouts!

Overall, the GCL Twins struck out 18 batters. Would have been a fun game to be at!

Okay, another Lewis Thorpe update, because it's hard to imagine any pitcher putting up more dominating numbers than him right now...and he's not even 18 yet! Tonight he pitched 4 innings of 1-hit 1-walk ball, and struck out 9...that's 9 of the 12 outs by strike out. So in his last two outings he has struck out 15 in 7 1/3 innings.

This is getting ridiculous, guys. He now has 53 strikeouts and only 5 walks in 36 innings. I wish I knew more about him as a pitcher. I know he is a lefty and is only packing 160 pounds on a 6-1 frame, so lots of room to add strength. Hard not to get excited about this kid.

longstrangetrip wrote:Okay, another Lewis Thorpe update, because it's hard to imagine any pitcher putting up more dominating numbers than him right now...and he's not even 18 yet! Tonight he pitched 4 innings of 1-hit 1-walk ball, and struck out 9...that's 9 of the 12 outs by strike out. So in his last two outings he has struck out 15 in 7 1/3 innings.

This is getting ridiculous, guys. He now has 53 strikeouts and only 5 walks in 36 innings. I wish I knew more about him as a pitcher. I know he is a lefty and is only packing 160 pounds on a 6-1 frame, so lots of room to add strength. Hard not to get excited about this kid.

Wow, that is all.