Article: Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month - May 2017

[Seth Stohs]

On Friday, we reviewed the top relief pitchers in the Minnesota Twins organization in May. There were so many really, really good options that it was difficult to pick some over the others. Today we highlight the better starting pitching performers in May, and let’s just say that the task is a little more difficult.

 

Let’s get to it. Before we get to our Top 5 starting pitchers for the month of May, here is a list of a couple others who deserve to be recognized for a solid first month.HONORABLE MENTION

• Brady Anderson - Ft. Myers - 5 G, 2 GS, 17.1 IP, 1-0, 2.08 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 15 H, 2 BB, 8 K
• Randy LeBlanc - Ft. Myers/Chattanooga - 4 GS, 24.0, 2.25 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 25 H, 9 BB, 5 K
• Felix Jorge - Chattanooga - 5 GS, 31.0 IP, 2-1, 3-0, 3.19 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 30 H, 10 BB, 15 K

THE TOP FIVE STARTING PITCHERS

 

 

#5 - Clark Beeker - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 5 GS, 2-1, 3.19 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 31.0 IP, 25 H, 6 BB, 20 K

Beeker was the Twins 33rd-round draft pick last June after four years at Davidson University. He made an appearance on this list last month too when he went 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA. In May, he did a nice job of keeping runners off base well, though his ERA is a bit higher. Opponents hit just .225/.273/.405 (.678) off of him in the month. Beeker relies on control and command of a fastball that reaches into the upper 80s. He mixes his pitches well.

Get to know more about Clark Beeker in his Twins Daily Q&A from November.

#4 - Sean Poppen - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 5 GS, 3-1, 2.97 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 30.1 IP, 30 H, 8 BB, 27 K

Another Kernels starter, Poppen was the Twins 19th-round pick last year after four years at Harvard. He started with the Kernels this season, and he’s been solid all year. Of his ten total starts, he has quality starts in nine of them. While Poppen sits 91-93, he works with a strong four-pitch mix and good control. Opponents hit just .259/.318/.328 (.645) during May. He is a good combination of enough smarts and with a strong baseball IQ.

#3 - Nik Turley - Chattanooga Lookouts - 6 G, 4 GS, 0-1, 2.70 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 20.0 IP, 16 H, 6 BB, 26 K

Turley was a 50th-round pick of the Yankees, was once their minor league pitcher of the year and on their 40-man roster. The Twins signed him this offseason from the independent leagues, and he’s been a pleasant surprise. After dominating AA in April, he spent May going back and forth between Chattanooga and Rochester, and between starting and the bullpen. But he handled it well. While his strikeout rate was down a bit (it had to come down from an incredible April, right?), opponents hit just .216/.272/.365 (.636) off him.

#2- Ryan Eades - Chattanooga Lookouts - 5 G, 4 GS, 3-1, 2.52 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 25.0 IP, 20 H, 8 BB, 20 K

A former Twins second-round pick, Eades had moved to the bullpen last year, and it was the role he spent April in Chattanooga filling. But early in May, the Lookouts needed a starter, and he made the start. He has made three more starts, including what may be a spot start in AAA Rochester, and done quite well. Opponents hit just .220/.280/.330 (.610) against him. His future role may be in the bullpen, but he’s always had a good mix of pitches

 

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

 

RHP Aaron Slegers- Rochester Red Wings – - 5 GS, 2-1, 3.41 ERA,

0.98 WHIP, 31.2 IP, 27 H, 4 BB, 11 K.

It’s been an interesting season for Sleegers, the 2013 fifth-round pick of the Twins out of Indiana. He wasn’t added to the 40-man roster last fall, but he was invited to big league spring training. He went to Rochester, and in his first start, he went six innings of no-hit ball. He then struggled a bit, but he seemed to figure things out well again in May. In fact, he had another game in which he had a no-hitter through seven innings. Opponents hit just .225/.248/.392 (.640).

Feel free to agree or disagree with the order, if you like. It wasn’t as easy a decision as you might think. There were several solid starters in May without one that really stood out. And it’s always good to have lots of starting pitchers throwing well!

 

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[ashbury]

As the Adopt-A-Prospect monitor for Aaron Slegers, on his behalf I'd just like to thank all the little people who made this award possible.

(I'm sure my guy Felix Jorge sends along his thanks for Honorable Mention, too.)

[Comrade Bork]

we have some guys with awesome names.  

[mikelink45]

None of the normal names that were part of rotation talk - except Jorge.  Wheeled gone, Gonsalves coming back from injury, Jay relieving (and how is that going? 4.50 ERA in two games. SSS I know).  So he is the next in line if the rotation calls?  Actually it is already calling, but no one in answering yet.  

[caninatl04]

33rd round, 19th, 50th.

 

I guess we use our higher draft picks on mediocre relievers. 

 

Thank you for doing this, Seth.  Is anyone on this list better than a 4th starter?

[ashbury]

Rochester Red Wings – RHP Aaron Slegers - 5 GS, 2-1, 3.41 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 31.2 IP, 27 H, 4 BB, 11 K

I just noticed, it's 21 K, not 11. Should have been more but that 2 strikeout game against Scranton was good except for that detail.

[stringer bell]

I'd love to see Slegers get a chance with the Twins.

[ashbury]

I'd love to see Slegers get a chance with the Twins.

He's pretty young, and it's his first taste of AAA.

 

He started the season with a mix of good and very bad games. He's at a streak of 4 consecutive good games now; not all of them would translate to good against major leaguers of course. I would let this sauce simmer a bit longer. Finish June with almost all good starts, and maybe bring him up for July - a little less consistency and maybe August or definitely September..

 

Simply bringing up minor leaguers who have had a good several weeks strikes me as a panic move.

 

But of course if the coaches at Rochester say he's ready, I'm the last to complain about his promotion.

[TNTwinsFan]

1 pitcher with a K/9 over 9....ugh.

[bird]

As a guy who sees more good signs in the system than most, even I have to say this is an uninspiring list of names.

[terrydactyls]

Is the LeBlanc strikeout statistic correct? Five strikeouts in 24 innings? Yikes!

[specialiststeve]

So why isn't Sledgers pitching on the big club. God knows we need some help. Next injury let's see what he's got!

[ashbury]

So why isn't Sledgers pitching on the big club. God knows we need some help. Next injury let's see what he's got!

His name is pronounced SLAY-gers, with a hard-G I believe, which may help with the spelling of Slegers.

 

And last night's game probably provides the answer to your question. Five runs in five innings, on 12 hits and a walk. He's a legit prospect, but he's not ready yet. Give him time, he's young.

[hugelycat]

 

Is the LeBlanc strikeout statistic correct? Five strikeouts in 24 innings? Yikes!

 

I was wondering that too. I checked his gamelog, and 5 strikeouts is correct. What a fluky month!

[Thrylos]

 

So why isn't Sledgers pitching on the big club. God knows we need some help. Next injury let's see what he's got!

 

I saw Slegers pitch in this game earlier this month.  He was horrible. No command of his fastball other than when tossed it straight in the middle, 91 mph fastball.  Average secondary stuff.  Very disappointed.  He does not look like a major leaguer at this point and not sure that he has the talent to make it happen.

[D.C Twins]

While I very much like TD doing this summaries. Yikes, there is nary a good prospect in sight….

[ashbury]

While I very much like TD doing this summaries. Yikes, there is nary a good prospect in sight….

Aaron Whitefield, age 20, is having a good season in CF at Cedar Rapids and I believe he is unclaimed. Over at Ft Myers, Chris Paul and Zander Weil catch my eye.

 

Also, Shane Wahl started some pages for prospects simply to give them a start, and if you ask him you can probably take over for one or more players.

 

/ edit - I see you mentioned Busenitz elsewhere, and he is available too

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

That is.... uninspiring.... Bummer

[bird]

 

While I very much like TD doing this summaries. Yikes, there is nary a good prospect in sight….

 

 

If you're referring to these reports on the game action for the four full-season leagues, I think it's safe to say the Twins have one prospect that receives a consensus viewpoint of possibly being part of a core in the same way you might think of Kepler or Polanco. That's not to say others on those teams won't eventually become huge contributors. Fernando Romero and Stephen Gonsalves both have a chance to be solid rotation pieces, probably with ceilings somewhere between Berrios and Mejia. Both are in AA. Lewis Thorpe might pleasantly surprise us and fit in that category too.

 

So "nary a good prospect in sight" is a rather harsh assessment when looking at the full rosters of all four teams, and there are impressive numbers of truly exciting prospects still hidden from sight down in Extended Spring Training.

 

Even looking exclusively to AAA Rochester, there are a few fairly promising prospects who could be future contributors: Chargois, Garver, and Granite come to mind. Additionally, we could see a resurrection and/or improvement from a number of fallen players: Vargas, Pressly, JR Murphy, Park.

[Seth Stohs]

 

I saw Slegers pitch in this game earlier this month.  He was horrible. No command of his fastball other than when tossed it straight in the middle, 91 mph fastball.  Average secondary stuff.  Very disappointed.  He does not look like a major leaguer at this point and not sure that he has the talent to make it happen.

 

He also had 2-3 really good games in the month. Now, clearly he's not a top-of-the-rotation prospect. He's probably a 4/5 starter prospect, and we'll see... but to say that he doesn't have the talent because you saw one of the clunkers isn't really fair either.