Minnesota Twins bring up Chase DeJong and John Curtiss for September look

The Minnesota Twins have added a trio more of players as part of their September call-ups which includes pitchers Chase De Jong and John Curtiss

The Minnesota Twins brought up several players on September 1st when rosters first expanded to deepen their bench and bullpen. The initial list was full of players that fit more of the veteran or Quadruple-A mold. A now second wave of players that the Twins are bringing up include at least two younger pitchers that it will be good to get an extended look at against major league batters.

The Twins are adding to their major league roster pitchers Chase De Jong and John Curtiss along with infielder Gregorio Petit. Petit is a player Twins fans are familiar with. The infielder appeared in 12 games earlier this season for the Twins. During that stretch, he put together a .308/.400/.308 slash line that was assembled around eight hits, all of which were singles. Petit is with the Twins just for some veteran depth. Not because he is getting a look for a bigger role in 2019.

Curtiss is a player that needs to get some extended run and evaluation as a potential bullpen piece while the innings don’t really matter. Curtiss has had consistently good numbers in the minor leagues and has the makings of a good late inning reliever. So far in limited innings in the majors the right hander hasn’t been able to replicate his minor league performances in the majors.

This season at Triple-A Rochester Curtiss has tossed 55.1 innings, holds a 2.77 ERA, a 9.9 K/9, and has saved 10 games. Between Double-A and Triple-A last season he had a 1.28 ERA and a 12.4 K/9. His mix of a mid-90s fastball which can reach up to 98 and a good breaking pitch just screams that he should be better than the 11 earned runs in 9.1 innings pitched he has given up in his brief major league experience.

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Pitcher De Jong was one of the players sent back to the Twins from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Zach Duke. When De Jong takes the mound it will not be his first taste of the majors but his first in 2018. In 2017, the now 24-year-old right hander appeared in seven games and made four starts for the Mariners. Over 28.1 innings he logged a 6.35 ERA, 5.91 FIP, and 4.1 K/9.

De Jong doesn’t light up the radar gun only hitting the low 90s at best with his fastball. He is the type of pitcher that will have to rely on the command of his arsenal of pitches to avoid getting roughed up while on the mound. After a difficult 2017 where De Jong held a 5.99 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in the Mariners system. He now in 2018 has improved to a 3.66 ERA between the same two levels.

Since joining the Rochester Red Wings on August 2nd, De Jong has tossed 39.1 innings in seven starts (one was technically as a “primary pitcher”) and holds a 3.20 ERA over that stretch. De Jong will not be an ace, but he could prove to develop into a back end of the rotation starter or even a bullpen arm.

While there are players like Jake Reed and Nick Anderson who deserve a shot to prove themselves this month but haven’t gotten the call. This round of call-ups at least gives us a few young and unproven pitchers for the team to get a look at down the stretch.