Who should be the Minnesota Twins fifth starter?
The Minnesota Twins have seen a number of candidates for the fifth rotation spot perform well recently. Who should get the starts down the stretch?
Early in the Minnesota Twins season, finding even two starters was difficult. Now the “problem” is that the Twins actually have four effective starters in Ervin Santana, Jose Berrios, Bartolo Colon, and Kyle Gibson. The team announced that Dillon Gee would be the 5th starter going forward, but should he be?
We’ll explore the candidates for the role, starting with the guy announced by the team to have the role:
Dillon Gee, RHP
Gee is a long-time major league veteran, and that has skewed some ideas of just how old he actually is. Gee is only 31 years old, and he was a member of the Mets rotation for four seasons before injuries and the presence of a new wave of young arms pushed him out of the rotation. Gee has struggled to find the “feel” of his stuff since in other stops, but since signing with Minnesota in June, he’s shown very well in AAA Rochester, and he’s pitched well with the Twins at the major league level.
Gee made 5 starts with Rochester, throwing 27 innings with a stellar 2.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and a 3/20 BB/K ratio. That earned him a call up to the bullpen, where he had been excellent in a long relief role for the Twins in August, making 4 appearances, throwing 12 2/3 innings, with a 2.13 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and a 2/12 BB/K ratio in the long relief role.
Gee made one of the two starts in the Monday double header against the Chicago White Sox, and his performance (6 innings, 1 run allowed on 2 hits and no walks, striking out 4) earned him the fifth starter role at this time, likely part in parcel due to his ability to work in long relief during times when the 5th starter is not needed or if an extended-inning game happens, and he needs to be called upon.
Next: Injured lefties
Hector Santiago, LHP
The Minnesota Twins acquired Hector Santiago last July in a deal that sent Ricky Nolasco, Alex Meyer, and cash to the Los Angeles Angels for Santiago and reliever Alan Busenitz.
Santiago has a history of starting with the Angels, though he has never eclipsed 200 innings, partially due to significant variance in his performance that will have him throwing 7 quality innings in one start and being bombed out after 1 2/3 innings in his next outing, but also due to issues both controlling the ball and keeping it in the park.
Split between the Angels and Twins last season, Santiago had a career high in innings with 182, but walked 79 batters and allowed 33 home runs (one per start) to get there. Santiago showed very well in the World Baseball Classic this spring, and there were hopes that he could carry that into the season. Going into his start against the Cleveland Indians on May 14th, that had been the case, as Santiago had a season record of 4-1 over 7 starts, throwing 42 1/3 innings, with a 2.76 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and a 16/31 BB/K ratio. He’d even kept his home run rate down to 3 in those 7 starts.
That May 14th start was a disaster, as he went only 2 2/3 innings against the Indians, allowing 3 home runs and 6 runs. By the time he finally went on the disabled list on July 2nd, his season ERA had ballooned to 5.63 due to a near-10 ERA over the 8 appearances from May 14-July 2.
Santiago has been working back from thoracic back pain issues ever since early July, starting rehab with Rochester on July 25th, where he’s now made 5 appearances, throwing 17 innings, posting a 4.24 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He’s not made an appearance since August 9th as he had a setback in his recovery, but the Twins still hope to get him back this season before he hits free agency this offseason.
Adalberto Mejia, LHP
Mejia was originally the 5th starter this season, and he’s made a number of trips back and forth to Rochester because of that. His current assignment with the Red Wings is due to being on the disabled list. He was placed on the disabled list on August 9th. He has yet to make a rehab appearance with the Red Wings, so his return timetable is still unknown.
Mejia was acquired by the Minnesota Twins last July in the deal that sent Eduardo Nunez to the San Francisco Giants. He’s thrown well this season for the major league team, nearly perfect as a league-average lefty, perfect for a fifth-starter role. At 24, he has a long future still with the major league team.
Next: AAA Veterans
Aaron Slegers, RHP
A towering 6’10” in height, Slegers was a draft pick of the Twins in 2013. He’s worked his way up the farm system, having a tremendous season with Rochester in AAA this season, posting a 13-4 record over 21 starts and 130 1/3 innings, 3.18 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and a 27/97 BB/K ratio.
Slegers made a spot start, and Puckett’s Pond did an extensive review on that start, discussing his arsenal in a scouting report as part of that write up. While Slegers likely won’t ever be a guy who is a frontline starter, his height, arm angle, and ability to repeat his delivery would make him an ideal fifth starter that can give good innings as a starter plus be a tough look out of the bullpen.
Tim Melville, RHP
Another recent spot starter, Melville was designated for assignment after starting on Monday in the White Sox double header. He quite likely will clear waivers and be sent back down to AAA, allowing him to remain as an option for the Twins down the stretch.
Melville was a flame-throwing starter coming out of high school that really lost his big stuff when he had surgery in 2012. He’s had to redefine himself as a “finesse” pitcher, relying on locating his pitches well and on excellent movement. He spent the opening of the 2017 season in independent ball before the Twins signed him, and he’s been excellent at AAA for Rochester, making 11 appearances, throwing 66 2/3 innings, with a 2.70 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 23/65 BB/K ratio.
His spot start on Monday showed certainly what can happen when he’s not locating well as he walked 3 batters in 3 1/3 innings, and even when he did get the ball in the zone, he was frequently missing his catcher’s target, something that was just rarely seen in AAA this season. He’ll get a chance to go back and reset himself and possibly get another chance at a few starts by the end of the season.
Next: Top Prospects
Felix Jorge, RHP
Jorge has made a pair of spot starts at the major league level this year and will make a spot start with AAA this season, but his growth at AA this year is what the story truly is.
Jorge has always had the raw stuff, but he’s lived on elite command and struggled to miss bats previous to this year, in spite of putting up good numbers. This season, he’s put up quality numbers, and though he doesn’t have great strikeout rates overall, he’s shown a great ability to get a swing and miss when he needs one, which has been impressive, to say the least. He’s put up a 3.54 ERA and 1.33 WHIP with AA Chattanooga this year in 22 starts and 134 2/3 innings, posting a 37/99 BB/K ratio.
Kohl Stewart, RHP
Stewart has been a mixed bag for Twins fans since he was drafted 4th overall by the Minnesota Twins in 2013 out of high school in Texas. Stewart has struggled to get swing and miss along the way, and many have mentioned that his secondary pitches still need plenty of work, but he’s had such success all the way along that he’s really not had the chance to develop his secondary stuff.
John Smoltz has mentioned himself as a guy who lived on a good fastball in the minors and had to learn how to actually “pitch” once he got to the majors. He threw well at AA this season, but recently found himself on the disabled list, so whether he’ll be able to make it back to throw again this year is up in the air, but his numbers this year hide the progress he made in his approach with hitters throughout the year, something evident if you sit down and watch a collection of starts from the start of the year to the end.
Dereck Rodriguez, RHP
The son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez, Dereck originally was an outfielder when drafted by the Twins in 2011 out of high school. He switched to the mound in 2014, and he’s shown a good feel for the game.
Rodriguez has raw stuff that’s on the cusp of a major league caliber pitcher, but he still has some work to do to refine his arsenal in such a way that he could be successful as a starter
More from Puckett's Pond
- Minnesota Twins: 2022 Year in Review for Twins Baseball
- Minnesota Twins: Making the Case for the Current 2023 Rotation
- Minnesota Twins: Does the MLB or the Twins have a Spending Problem?
- Minnesota Twins: 2 Possible Free Agent Reunions for 2023
- Minnesota Twins: Holiday Wish List for the rest of the Offseason
Zack Littell, RHP
Acquired from the Yankees at the trade deadline in the deal that sent Jaime Garcia from the Minnesota Twins to New York, Littell was acquired by the Yankees just over the offseason from the Seattle Mariners organization.
Littell is not a guy with elite raw stuff, but he has a good ability to read hitters and sequence his above-average stuff across the board, and he’s had a very good year in 2017 between high-A and AA, going 17-1 over 25 appearances, throwing 145 innings with a 2.11 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and a 36/133 BB/K with three different affiliates this season. He’s likely on the young side to make the move all the way to the majors this season, but he certainly could make some noise in 2018, and he’s got the mound maturity to handle a jump to Minnesota if called upon.
Next: Sano Part of New Big Athlete Generation
Of course, Kyle Gibson and Bartolo Colon are no guarantees to finish the season in the rotation, so there could be more opportunities for others to make their mark in the rotation this year.
What do you think of this list? Any of the group your favorite? Any missing from this list that you would like to see? Comment below!