Article: Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher Of The Month - April 2017

[Seth Stohs]

It’s hard to believe that April is complete, and the calendar has turned to May. A lot has happened already in the minor league seasons. But today it’s time to start handing out some awards. As we do each month through the season, we will share our choices for Twins Daily Minor League Hitter, Starting Pitcher and Relief Pitcher of the Month. Fortunately most months have several qualifying candidates, and this month is no exception.Today we will start our April Awards by considering the relief pitchers in the Twins farm system. We’ll briefly profile our Top 5 candidates. But first, we will share a few relievers worth of mention who finished just outside our Top 5.

 

HONORABLE MENTION

 

First, a couple of relievers worthy of mention:

• Williams Ramirez - Ft. Myers - 6 G, 1.64 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 7 H, 8 BB, 13 K
• Randy Rosario - Ft. Myers/Chattanooga - 6 G, 2.63 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 12 H, 4 BB, 5 K
• Todd Van Steensel - Chattanooga - 5 G, 1.93 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 9.1 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 13 K
• Tom Hackimer- Cedar Rapids - 7 G, 3.27 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 10 K

THE TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS IN APRIL

 

 

 

#5 - John Curtiss - Chattanooga - 8 G, 0.00 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 8.1 IP, 6 H, 6 BB, 13 K

John Curtiss was healthy again in 2016, and after spending the first month in Cedar Rapids, he moved up to Ft. Myers where he continued to pitch well. He was invited to pitch in the Arizona Fall League where he and his 97 mph fastball continued to impress.

Curtiss was the Twins sixth-round draft pick out of the University of Texas in 2014, following his showing as the team’s closer in the College World Series. Curtiss is one of just a few relievers who are yet to give up an earned run this season. Opponents have hit just .188 off of him so far this season. He has also walked 6.5 per nine innings. However, he has the stuff to work out of innings, especially by missing bats. He has struck out 14 batters per nine innings so far this season.

 

#4 - Colton Davis - Cedar Rapids - 6 G, 3.68 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 11 K

Colton Davis was the Twins 25th-round pick last year out of Western Carolina. He pitched well for Elizabethton and ended the season pitching for the Kernels including through their playoff run.

In April, his one two-inning appearance ended with him giving up three runs. In his other appearances combined he gave up just one hit. In his last five outings, he has struck out at least two batters in each. Opponents have hit just .192 off of him, and he’s walked only two. He also is able to work out of troubles with the strikeout (13.5 K/9).

 

#3 - Nick Anderson - Ft. Myers - 5 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 8.1 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 7 K

The Brainerd High School graduate signed with the Twins out of independent ball late in the 2015 season. Since then he has pitched very well in Cedar Rapids and in Ft. Myers, primarily as an eighth or ninth inning man.

While he started the season about a week late, he has started where he left off. He is yet to give up a run. He’s shown very good control, and opponents have hit just .172 off of him so far. Anderson traveled with the big league club several times during spring training. The 26-year-old with a mid-90s fastball should move up to Chattanooga soon.

 

#2 - Nick Burdi - Chattanooga - 7 G, 1.08 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 8.1 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 10 K

After a lost 2016 season, Nick Burdi is healthy and pitching very well for the Lookouts. He will certainly be handled with some caution early in the season, but if he continues, he could be not only moved up to Rochester, but could spend time in the big leagues this year.

In April, opponents hit just .179 against him. He didn’t give up a run through his first six outings. In his most recent appearance he gave up a leadoff homer to Colin Walsh before getting the next three hitters. He has shown good control and the ability to get strikeouts. His fastball is in the upper 90s and his slider can be devastating.

 

And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is:

 

Chattanooga Lookouts – LHP Mason Melotakis - 8 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.56 WHIP, 10.2 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 8 K

 

Mason Melotakis was the Twins second-round pick in 2012 out of Northwestern State (in Louisiana) where he was a reliever. The Twins gave him the opportunity to start in Cedar Rapids in 2013 with mixed results. After two starts in 2014 in Ft. Myers, he was moved to the bullpen. He spent some time in AA that year as well, but he started experiencing elbow issues. Following the season, he had Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2015 season.

He returned to the mound in 2016 having been added to the Twins 40-man roster during the offseason. He spent all of 2016 in Chattanooga where he was clearly being handled with kids gloves, which is wise following the surgery.

Certainly the Twins will continue to monitor the hard-throwing southpaw. It didn’t help that he missed most of spring training with an oblique injury. That, along with likely not wanting him to pitch in the cold of Rochester early in the season, is why he began the year back in Chattanooga.

But he has been terrific. While he is yet to pitch on back-to-back days, he has twice worked two innings. He has not yet given up a run this season, and opponents are hitting just .139 against him. He has walked just one batter so far this year. The strikeouts aren’t where they will be, but he is tough against left-handers.

I would suspect that Melotakis will soon work his way up to Rochester, though as he is on the 40-man roster, he could be called up at any time if needed.

 

There were several strong relief pitcher performances in April. Feel free to agree or disagree with the order, if you like, but congratulations to each of these individuals on an excellent first month to their seasons.

 

 

Congratulations to the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for April 2017, Mason Melotakis.

 

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[Han Joelo]

I love this series.  Reading about the top monthly performances is a mixture of feeling good about seeing expected results (or better) from prospects and learning about some of the younger guys.  Perusing box scores or the daily reports isn't enough; it takes seeing the aggregate.  

 

 

[Steve Lein]

Going back to last season, Melotakis has yet to pitch on consecutive days since his surgery. Hopefully he crosses that benchmark soon, but good to see him doing well!

[DocBauer]

Have to believe both Burro and Melotakis will be up to Rochester very soon. Time to take the kid gloves off Melotakis? I would guess that is not due to last surgery, as was the case last year, and more due to the oblique strain in spring training.

[drjim]

 

Have to believe both Burro and Melotakis will be up to Rochester very soon. Time to take the kid gloves off Melotakis? I would guess that is not due to last surgery, as was the case last year, and more due to the oblique strain in spring training.

 

Both Melotakis and Burdi have injury considerations. I suspect that if they bullpen doesn't implode, they'll slow play them as long as possible to ease them into the workload. If they stay healthy I imagine both will be up later in the season to give them a taste.

[goulik]

For a minute I questioned Burdi at two over Anderson at three but factoring in age vs competition, I can see this ranking.

[Seth Stohs]

 

For a minute I questioned Burdi at two over Anderson at three but factoring in age vs competition, I can see this ranking.

 

I try not to factor in age to level of competition for these reports. This is about performance, not about prospect rankings.

 

Check out the strikeout rates. I also know that Burdi gave up one run in his last outing... One pitch shouldn't hurt his month too much. That said, if Anderson and Burdi were switched, I'd be comfortable with that. 

[Darius]

Both Melotakis and Burdi have injury considerations. I suspect that if they bullpen doesn't implode, they'll slow play them as long as possible to ease them into the workload. If they stay healthy I imagine both will be up later in the season to give them a taste.

The workload is an inning at a time. Not sure why it matters if that inning is in Tennessee, New York, Minnesota, or Siberia.

 

I'd imagine the bullpen "imploding," with the talent on the "big club" (or AAA in any other organization), isn't a matter of "if" it happens, but when. Belisle is a high leverage guy, for crying out loud. Nobody else in baseball would give him a major league deal, and we're running him out in the 8th inning.

 

TR really conditioned everyone to believe that ultra conservative (aka excuses for delaying service time) is the only way. Ironically, the guy oversaw more losses than anyone in history over a quarter century.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Darius

[crapforks]

Interesting that nobody from Rochester deserved even an honorable mention. Pretty easy call that there will be a lot of shuffling in the bullpen for all levels of the organization. If the team hangs around, there are a lot of relievers who will need to be fast-tracked.