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Players the Minnesota Twins Should Look at the Rest of 2017

By Benjamin Chase

LOUISVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 23: 2015 World Series bats of Daniel Murphy of the New York Mets lay on a rack ready to be shipped out at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory on October 23, 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 23: 2015 World Series bats of Daniel Murphy of the New York Mets lay on a rack ready to be shipped out at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory on October 23, 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Aaron Slegers, RHP

A towering (6’10”) righty drafted out of Indiana in the 5th round of the 2013 draft, Slegers never really had a lot of development through high school and college due to growing at a rapid rate throughout high school and then dealing with adapting to a work load during college because of his lack of development in high school. His velocity varied strongly in college, throwing 95+ with bite at one point of his draft season, but by the time the Hoosiers were at the end of their season, Slegers was working with a fastball more in the low-90s.

As he’s developed with the Twins, he’s gained back some of that velocity, but he rarely reaches 95, working 91-93 primarily, with an occasional 94. His slider has improved quite a bit from his college days, as has his change, but coming from his high arm slot, Slegers doesn’t get a ton of movement on the ball, relying more on weak contact due to the extreme plane of the ball being near impossible to square up.

Slegers has never really overpowered minor league hitters, but he’s always been able to get deep into games with remarkably consistent mechanics for a guy of his height, keeping the ball around the zone and not allowing extra base runners.

Slegers has taken things up a notch this season, throwing 118 innings, with a 3.13 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a 25/85 BB/K ratio at AAA Rochester. With a decision on his Rule 5 eligibility to come and a need for an arm that can be sure to eat innings at the back of the rotation, Slegers could be a good guy to get some run at the end of 2017 to see how he could fit in 2018.

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