John Curtiss is getting called up

Big news coming from Mike Berardino, it sounds like righthanded reliever John Curtiss has earned his first major league promotion.

For a guy that hasn’t generated as much fanfare as the other college relievers the Twins drafted over the past few years, Curtiss has put himself on the map with a bang. In 39 games split between Double-A and Triple-A, he’s put up a 1.28 ERA and .135 batting average allowed while striking out about 35% of his batters faced.

At 24 years old, Curtiss was first drafted by the Twins in the 6th round of the 2014 MLB Draft. Good news! He’s already had both Tommy John surgery and thoracic outlet syndrome, so he’s on his second UCL and missing a rib. However, he’s been able to get back to form over the past couple years while throwing a mid-90s fastball and a slider. Though he has been tough to hit, Curtiss’ one weakness is his control as he’s walked over 10% of opposing batters this season.

To make room on the 40-man roster, Tim Melville was designated for assignment. A corresponding 25-man roster move has yet to be announced, but Berardino notes that Curtiss will be joining the Twins in Chicago on Wednesday.

Edit: The MLB.com transactions page already says that Nik Turley was sent back to Triple-A Rochester.

Second edit: I didn’t realize the Twins had some fun with transactions on Monday. Turley was sent down in between games to make room for Melville, then was recalled as the 26th man. Turley was then returned to Triple-A after Monday’s second game, while Melville was DFA’d after Tuesday’s game, so Curtiss is getting Melville’s 25-man roster spot as well.