Minnesota Twins: Ranking the Top 5 Prospects We should See in 2022
By Otto Johnson
Minnesota Twins Prospect No. 5: RHP Drew Strotman (No. 17 Prospect)
2021 Stats: 23 G, 22 GS, 105.1 IP, 9-4, 5.38 ERA, 1.547 WHIP, 100-58 K-BB
The OTHER prospect that the Minnesota Twins got back from Nelson Cruz trade, Drew Strotman is an interesting pitcher to think about going forward. Strotman is a very streaky prospect and has struggled since coming to St. Paul, but there’s a lot to like there.
The 25-year-old offers a good four-seam fastball, a great cutter, an above-average slider, an okay curveball and a changeup that he’s working on. A five-pitch mix on a former reliever who has a low mileage on his arm offers a lot of upside.
His command could use some work, as he still walks a lot of batters, but he does generate some strikeouts. If the Twins elect to move him into a long reliever or setup man role, he could become even more successful, but there’s not a lot of evidence of that happening.
Starter or reliever, Strotman just turned 25, the age when teams really try and get their prospects to the bigs. As a pitcher with a full season’s worth of experience at Triple-AAA, he’ll be one of the first names to be called up in 2022 and will surely pitch plenty in Spring Training. He makes this list almost on opportunity alone.