No. 33 Tyler Wells, RHP, Chattanooga Lookouts
Nate’s Rank: 35, Gary’s Rank: 33
23-year-old Tyler Wells continues to advance smoothly in his third season in the Twins organization. Drafted in the 15th round of the 2016 draft, he has been promoted four times, beginning in 2016 at Elizabethton, both the GCL Twins and Cedar Rapids in 2017, and starting this season at Advanced A Fort Myers before his jump to Class AA Chattanooga at the end of July.
Wells was the Twins 15th round selection in the 2016 draft from Cal State San Bernardino, signing after his junior year for $90,000. He had a shaky time in two college seasons racking up 52 walks to go with 102 strikeouts in 111.2 innings. At 6′ 8″, 265 pounds today, one inch shorter and ten pounds lighter in school, it’s not surprising that the uber long right-hander would face some difficulties in controlling his delivery.
An imposing figure on the mound, Wells is not a typical power pitcher. He carries a lot of tools and he uses them effectively. His breakthrough in Fort Myers this season was his command. He struck out 82 batters and only walked 17 in 86.2 innings. He went 8-4 as a Miracle, with a 2.80 ERA and a WHIP of 0.90. He held the opposition to a .191 batting average.
Since his promotion to Chattanooga, Wells has walked five batters in his ten innings of work but has only given up one run on four hits to go along with 14 strikeouts. A 0.90 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, with the opposition hitting only .121 against him. Over his career, Wells has an 18-12 win-loss record, 2,90 ERA, 177 hits, 263 K’s, and 66 walks in 233 innings. Add to that an impressive 1.04 WHIP and .206 opponents batting average.
Coming into this season, Wells was one of 32 Twins prospect to merit a C+ or higher grade from Minor League Ball. We have Tyler Wells ranked #33 with the arrow pointed up.