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As I write this, Drew Pomeranz has just run himself out of the game. From where I sit the Twins are tied up 4-4 with a seemingly good chance to take the game if they want it. Provided Nolasco can put up another zero or two.
But let's look at the minor league top 30, shall we?
| 1 | Byron Buxton | CF | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Last week at this time, Buxton was batting .221/.312/.353. If you want to get an idea of how good he's been the last few days, he's now hitting .274/.340/.505. He was 0-for-4 yesterday, but before that he was riding an eight-game hitting streak where he'd gone 15-for-33 (.455) with a pair of doubles, four triple, a homer, five stolen bases in five attempts, and six walks versus four strikeouts. Another good week or two and we'll be clamoring for a promotion to Triple-A. Right now his MLB debut is definitely on track for 2015, but it's still hard to see it happening before the All-Star break. | |||
| 2 | Miguel Sano | 3B | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Sano is still struggling. He's hit three home runs on the year now, but if he isn't hitting a bomb he's not driving in runs. At the start of the year I would have given even odds between Buxton and Sano debuting first, but right now it really looks like the big third baseman needs to reign himself in a little bit. | |||
| 3 | Jose Berrios | RHP | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Berrios isn't dominating like he did in 2014, but let's be fair: he's a 20-year old who is still doing exceptionally well at Double-A. His last start was Saturday, where he struck out nine in six innings - giving him 37 strikeouts in 28 innings on the season. He's also been a bit more hittable this spring (32 hits in 28 innings, .281 opponent batting average), and the command has been okay. But he's proving that there's every reason to be exciting about him. | |||
| 4 | Alex Meyer | RHP | Rochester (AAA) |
| He allowed three runs in seven innings in his most recent start, but through seven innings he'd allowed just one run. Meyer came out for the eighth, put two runners on, and Caleb Thielbar came in and let them both score. In seven-plus, Meyer struck out six and walked four. He did tally 104 pitches, which is great, with 64 of them going for strikes, which is not great but still okay. On the year through five starts, Meyer has struck out 28 in 25.2 innings, but also surrendered 28 hits and 18 walks. He struggles with a repetitive delivery and therefore with command. Still - I'd rather see him working on it with the Twins instead of in Triple-A. | |||
| 5 | Kohl Stewart | RHP | Fort Myers (A+) |
| Stewart is still on the disabled list. His line in three starts includes a 3.10 ERA in 20.1 innings, but just ten strikeouts versus eight walks. | |||
| 6 | Trevor May | RHP | Minnesota (MLB) |
| In his two starts since last week, May has allowed four earned runs in 11.1 innings. He's still under a lot more control than could have been expected, as he's issued just five walks in 26 innings. With 20 strikeouts he's one of the few pitchers with the Twins who can generate a swing-and-miss, and May owns a respectable 4.15 ERA...and an even better 2.68 FIP. | |||
| 7 | Nick Gordon | SS | Cedar Rapids (A) |
| It's been a week of highs and lows for Gordon. He put forward a two-hit and a three-hit day, but sandwiched around them are all 0-fers. He's 5-for-25 this week, with three walks and seven strikeouts. At 19, he's nearly two and a half years younger than his average competition. | |||
| 8 | Nick Burdi | RHP | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Burdi continues to really struggle. He had two appearances since our last update, and allowed three earned runs in two innings. He's now allowed 11 hits and handed out 12 walks in just nine innings, and owns an unsightly 10.00 ERA. It's easy to say he's fallen off the fast track right now, but he can still flip that impression on its head if he can get himself under control. | |||
| 9 | Jorge Polanco | SS/2B | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Polanco broke his eight-game hitting streak yesterday, but he's still raised his line to a solid .279/.326/.442 through 21 games this year. He's stolen five bases in six attempts, and with five doubles and three home runs already he's proving himself to be more than just another middle infielder with a decent contact tool. I still peg Polanco as a guy who could supplant Brian Dozier a few years down the line. | |||
| 10 | Eddie Rosario | OF/2B | Minnesota (MLB) |
| It's been fun watching Rosario these last two days. It'd be great if he could force the Twins to keep him around when Oswaldo Arcia returns, but we probably shouldn't jump any guns over two games. | |||
| 11 | Lewis Thorpe | LHP | n/a |
| Thorpe will be having Tommy John surgery and will miss all of 2015. | |||
| 12 | Max Kepler | OF/1B | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Kepler has traditionally been a slow starter and this year has been no exception so far. He's struck out ten times in 16 games and has taken four walks; he's stolen three bases in three attempts; by all accounts he's playing a decent outfield. But his offense is struggling to get off the ground, and he's hitting .242/.288/.355 through 62 at-bats. Hopefully he can start the climb earlier than he did last year. | |||
| 13 | Stephen Gonsalves | LHP | Cedar Rapids (A) |
| After a few days off, Gonsalves made a start last Friday. He struck out eight in seven innings, walking one and allowing two runs. Same old, same old. By which we mean he's still doing incredibly well. Gonsalves has struck out 38 in 27 innings and has a 1.33 ERA. | |||
| 14 | Jake Reed | RHP | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Reed fell off the wagon on Sunday, and gave up four runs in two innings of work. The seventh inning was fine. It was the eighth where Jacksonville well and truly lit him up. He still hasn't given up a home run, but with four walks and 15 hits in ten innings, not to mention a pair of hit batters, it's been a rough start to the year for Reed. Both he and Burdi were considered potential fast-track relievers, but they haven't pitched like it so far. | |||
| 15 | Adam Brett Walker | RF | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Walker was just 5-for-24 (.208) this week, with a home run, three runs driven in...and ten strikeouts versus zero walks. He's struck out 36 times in 23 games this year, and in spite of that incredible power is hitting just .244/.290/.523. Sure, it's still an .800+ OPS, but the lack of contact is concerning. | |||
| 16 | Amaurys Minier | LF/1B | Extended Spring Training |
| Minier is currently in extended spring training. | |||
| 17 | Stuart Turner | C | Chattanooga (AA) |
| The funk hasn't really lifted yet for Turner, but by being willing to take a walk this week (four to be precise) he still upped his on-base percentage. He's hitting .190/.278/.222. Definitely a work in progress on the offensive side of things. | |||
| 18 | Chih-Wei Hu | RHP | Fort Myers (A+) |
| If you're getting the sense that Hu and Gonsalves are trying to out-do each other, I wouldn't disagree. In two starts since our last update, Hu has struck out 10 in 11 innings, and has given up just one earned run on nine hits. For the season Hu has struck out 30 in 29 innings and boasts a 1.24 ERA. He's had more starts than runs allowed. | |||
| 19 | Mitch Garver | C | Fort Myers (A+) |
| Garver has had just three starts since our last update, as the Miracle try to ease off the pressure a little bit. He responded very well in games on Tuesday and Wednesday, collecting three hits and four walks between them. in has last six starts, Garver is 4-for-18 with eight walks and two strikeouts. Perhaps that's a sign of patience and being able to identify pitches? He's walked 16 times this year versus 19 strikeouts, and owns a triple slash of .181/.310/.217. | |||
| 20 | Tyler Duffey | RHP | Chattanooga (AA) |
| It was nice to see Duffey bounce back in his start this week, as he held Jacksonville to just four hits in seven innings. After a pair of sub-par starts, it puts him back in the saddle a bit. He's done well avoiding base runners on the whole so far this spring, and he's struck out 30 in 32.2 frames. He did allow three runs however, so his ERA ticks up to 3.31. | |||
| 21 | Travis Harrison | LF/RF | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Harrison is still playing right field. He had a nice week, going 6-for-16 (.375) with a pair of walks and a pair of strikeouts. His season is off to a nice start. Harrison is hitting .274/.371/.405. | |||
| 22 | Taylor Rogers | LHP | Rochester (AAA) |
| In two starts this week, Rogers was good in one and a little roughed up in the other. The command hasn't been as consistently good this year, but with a feel for his pitches Rogers has made the most of it. He's stuck out 33 in 38 innings, and even after four earned runs earlier today his ERA is still an impressive 2.84. | |||
| 23 | Zack Jones | RHP | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Two more outings for Jones this week, two more scoreless innings, three more strikeouts. Jones has put together the promising start to the year that we could only hope for, as he's now struck out 16 batters in nine innings while holding opposing offenses to a .188 batting average. The most impressive thing is that Jones appears to have his command in order, as he's walked just one and has thrown more than 19 pitches in an inning just once - his first appearance of the season, when he gave up his only run. | |||
| 24 | Lewin Diaz | 1B | Extended Spring Training |
| Diaz is currently in extended spring training. | |||
| 25 | Michael Cederoth | RHP | Cedar Rapids (A) |
| In spite of walking five in four innings on Saturday, Cederoth came away without allowing an earned run. With seven strikeouts he has shown the ability to power past less experienced hitters. This means that he's struck out 19 in 18 innings so far, but he's also walked ten. It will be interesting to see if his results improve as he continues to get a better handle on his non-fastball offerings - especially the slider, which has the potential to be a plus pitch. Layered over all of that, questions will linger about his command. | |||
| 26 | J.R. Graham | RHP | Minnesota (MLB) |
| It's been a battle to stay active in Paul Molitor's bullpen, but Graham is clearly being brought along slowly and that he will not see many high-leverage situations until he has a bit more experience under his belt. While he hasn't allowed an earned run since April 19, that's only a span of three appearances. If he can get a level of confidence in his fastball and can find a pitch that he can use as a quasi "out pitch," his potential as a reliever would take a big step forward. | |||
| 27 | J.T. Chargois | RHP | Fort Myers (A+) |
| Three more scoreless innings for Chargois have lowered his ERA to 3.86. His second appearance of the season, when he allowed all four runs he's allowed in 2015, is also the only one where he didn't record a strikeout. On the whole he's sent down 11 on strikes in 9.1 innings. Chargois looks like he's found his feet after not logging an inning since 2012, which is great news for the future prospects of the Twins bullpen. | |||
| 28 | Huascar Ynoa | RHP | n/a |
| Ynoa is not currently in-season and he is not attending extended spring training. | |||
| 29 | Levi Michael | 2B | Chattanooga (AA) |
| Michael was a bit more aggressive this week, and as a result went 5-for-13 (.385). But he also didn't record a walk. He's currently on the seven-day disabled list after an ankle injury by sliding into second base on Monday. Hopefully he can get back on the field soon, because a .246/.353/.509 triple slash is a great way to start a make-or-break year. | |||
| 30 | Tanner English | CF | Cedar Rapids (A) |
| English didn't have a good week with the bat, collecting just three hits in 23 at-bats, but he's also taken at least one walk in each of his last seven games. Those 11 walks have allowed his on-base percentage to inflate in spite of English's inability to land hits. With a triple slash of .231/.351/.346 through 23 games, plus very good speed and continued good ratings in center field for the Kernels, it hasn't been a bad follow up to 2014 for the 11th-round pick from last summer's draft. | |||