MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 11: The Minnesota Twins congratulate Max Kepler /
The Minnesota Twins at some point will need to call on their minor league players for reinforcements in the majors. Who could those reinforcements be?
The Minnesota Twins have started off their season in solid fashion. Many of their initial roster decisions are paying off and all of the key players are currently healthy. That level of health will likely not remain the case through the whole of the 2018 major league season.
Every season, every major league baseball team is faced with players encountering injuries or slumps in performance. It is then that every franchise has to rely on the talent they have assembled in their minor league systems to provide the depth of players they need to continue competing. Even if faced with a major injury.
Last season on their way to the playoffs the Twins and their fans saw first hand how important it is for players to emerge from the minor league ranks to help the team. The Twins bullpen may not have seen the improvement they did if it wasn’t for two midseason promotions.
Trevor Hildenberger came into the Twins bullpen and proved his worth outing after outing. Hildenberger threw 42.0 innings and held a 3.21 ERA, 44 strikeouts, and even picked up a save. The biggest accolade that HIldenberger picked up throughout the 2018 season was the trust of his manager. It was clear that he became the go to bullpen arm down the stretch run for the Twins.
Alan Busenitz also came up as a reinforcement from the minors for the 2017 Twins. He may not have filled quite the role that Hildenberger did, but was still a very important cog to the Twins bullpen. In Busenitz’s first major league experience he pitched 31.2 innings, held a 1.99 ERA, and struck out 23 batters.
Into every major league season major league teams hope that they will be able to continue and run out their Opening Day lineup game after game. The reality is teams also know that never happens and at some point a reserve player or minor league player will need to step in and play some significant innings.
That is why today we will be looking at five players who could step in and have a significant role in the Twins run towards a hopeful second consecutive playoff appearance. On this list we have tried to pick out some players that haven’t already had significant time with the Twins. So players like Zack Granite, John Curtiss, and Busenitz all could truly be on this list themselves. Because of their 2017 call ups we have chosen to go with some new players that may impact the 2018 Twins.
Fernando Romero was one of the players that created the most buzz throughout spring training for the Twins. Romero has always been recognized as a pitcher with some of the best stuff in the Twins minor leagues. One of the worries has been that Romero wouldn’t be able to hold up as a starter and is destined for a bullpen role. After this spring, Romero looked not just every bit of a starter but even a potential ace.
Romero will start his 2018 at Triple-A Rochester where Red Wing fans will get an up close look at his arsenal. Romero is able to throw a fastball in the upper 90s and then come back on a batter with a slider in the low 80s.
It is that type of stuff that really gives Romero a lot of flexibility in how he could help the Twins at really any point in 2018. In the event another Twins starter goes down or struggles, Romero serves as a great option for the Twins to turn to as one of the five rotation arms. Also down the stretch of the season he could fortify the backend of the bullpen as a shutdown arm much like David Price did for Tampa Bay years ago.
It has been a tough go to start the season for many baseball teams, regardless of level, to get games in. Romero and the Red Wings encountered 3 straight postponed games to begin their season. Becuase of those postponements the Red Wings have gotten creative with their pitchers and Romero saw his first appearance in relief. He went 5.0 innings, allowing five hits, two unearned runs, and issuing three strikeouts. Not exactly the dominant performance that is the hope long-term for Romero. That is exactly why he will have time to develop further before potentially impacting the Twins later in 2018.
This next name likely comes as no surprise. Like Romero, Stephen Gonsalves has been one of the most talked about near major league ready Twins minor leaguers all offseason. Until the Twins made the signing of Lance Lynn and the trade for Jake Odorizzi, Gonsalves was in the conversation as a potential starter for the Twins rotation.
While Romero has all the stuff that you want out of a shutdown arm, Gonsalves works a bit differently. Gonsalves does not have quite the velocity that Romero does but is still able to create swings and misses. The 6’5″ left-hander’s fastball sits in the 89-92 mph range and can ramp up a little higher than that if needed. Gonsalves controls his pitches well and has been able to pair his fastball with an especially good changeup.
Gonsalves was assigned to Double-A Chattanooga to start his season and has already started two games in 2018. In those two starts he has pitched 9.1 innings striking out eight batters, allowing three runs and six walks. Even though those aren’t complete shutdown numbers it has yielded shutout baseball as Gonsalves hasn’t allowed any runs yet this season.
Unlike Romero, Gonsalves is likely limited to coming up as a starter with the Twins. Don’t let his lower velocity numbers fool you. Gonsalves is an exciting arm in his own right. I had the opportunity to watch Gonsalves live for a start this past summer (something you can read about here) and while it wasn’t a perfect outing. The lefty showed the resiliency to adjust and get outs against quality batters. Something that will serve him well if and when he gets the call to the majors.
Earlier this year the Twins acquired outfielder Jake Cave from the New York Yankees in exchange for 19-year old right-handed pitcher Luis Gil. Cave became available to the Twins after the Yankees chose to bring in Neil Walker and needed to create a 40-man roster for the infielder. With the logjam of outfielders in New York, Cave became available. It wasn’t the first time the Twins have shown interest in the outfielder, and it quickly has become apparent why they have been drawn to him.
Cave’s ability to hit was on display as he spent last season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In 104 games Cave hit .305/.351/.542 while adding 20 home runs and 26 doubles. The left-handed Cave only adds to his value by also being able to play all three defensive positions in the outfield.
Cave has also flashed that same ability to hit as he has joined the Twins organization. Before a hitless night Friday night, Cave was hitting over .300 and had collected 6 hits on the young season. With one of those six hits being a home run.
Cave doesn’t ideally fit with what the Twins would hope to have an outfield call-up for the Twins. With an already left-handed heavy lineup, he in ways becomes a bit redundant for the Twins. If Max Kepler or Eddie Rosario were to end up being out of the lineup long-term, Cave’s bat and defensive versatility may make him the replacement over the more obvious replacement in Zack Granite.
Last season at this time if you would have told me I would be writing down the name of the Twins 35th pick in the 2017 draft. I wouldn’t have believed you. At that point in time, I also didn’t know that pick would be Brent Rooker and the Twins new front office would so willing to quickly moving him through the minors.
After being drafted out of Mississippi State last summer, all Rooker has done is hit baseballs. In his first full professional season, he spent time in rookie ball and then skipped Low-A and went straight to High-A Fort Myers to finish the season. Between those two levels Rooker hit .281/.364/.566 and a .930 OPS. He also added to that line 18 home runs and 11 doubles.
There has been nothing but good things said about Rooker’s approach at the plate. The Twins front office has felt confident enough in Rooker that at the start of his second season, and first full season, in the Twins system he has been assigned to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts.
Rooker is off to a slow start in his first 7 Double-A games slashing .200/.231/.200. Even with the slow start, if he does begin to hit Double-A pitching well it would be no surprise to see him be moved around. A jump to Triple-A by midseason or even to the majors at some point if the right situation presented itself is very possible. Right now the team is crowded in Rooker’s potential positions, but injuries can change that in a hurry. Just like Rooker’s power can change a game in a hurry.
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Nick Gordon
Whenever you are a first-round pick there is excitement attached to you. That attachment only grows as you get closer and closer to the big leagues. After a good showing at the 2016 Arizona Fall League and a solid 2017 at Double-A, the excitement around Gordon has been on the rise. Even after being replaced as the top Twins prospect by Royce Lewis.
Another factor that ramped up the pleas for Gordon to make his appearance with the Twins in Minnesota was Jorge Polanco‘s 80-game suspension to begin the season. Smartly, the Twins front office has not rushed to call Gordon up to the big leagues to try to fill in for Polanco. Instead, they have relied on the combination of Eduardo Escobar and Ehire Adrianza to fill in and fill in well. If either of those two or Brian Dozier goes down with an injury, then the Twins front office could look more closely at calling Gordon up to take a role in the majors.
Gordon’s hot start at Double-A Chattanooga is certainly giving more reason to give the middle infielder a closer look. On the heels of a spring training where Gordon only impressed with the solid contact he was making with the baseball. He now is hitting .344/.382/.500, a .882 OPS, one double and two triples.
At some point Gordon should become a solid major league contributor. Whether that is at shortstop or second base we will wait and see. For 2018, Gordon will ideally remain in the minors but if needed he looks ready to meet the challenge of hitting major league pitching.
There are our 5 players who could impact the Twins major league team as minor league call-ups in 2018. Did we miss a player you would have included? Let us know!
