Two Former Minnesota Twins Pitching Prospects Crack New York Yankees Roster

[Cody Christie]

Pitching prospects can take time to develop, and there is rarely a linear path to success at the big-league level. Two former Twins pitching prospects cracked the Yankees Opening Day roster, though. Did Minnesota make a mistake by letting either get away?

Image courtesy of © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

One goal for the current Twins front office has been to develop a consistent pitching pipeline. The Twins might see the fruits of that labor in 2024, with Bailey Ober in the starting rotation and other prospects waiting to debut, like David Festa, Marco Raya, and Cory Lewis. However, there are no guarantees when it comes to pitching prospects meeting high expectations, because either injuries or poor performance can stop a player from reaching their ceiling. 

Earlier this week, the Yankees announced some final players who would be added to their Opening Day roster. Two names will be familiar to Twins fans who have followed the organization’s top prospects over the last decade. Luis Gil earned the fifth starter role after a tremendous spring training performance, and Nick Burdi will pitch out of the bullpen. Let’s look back at what these players did as prospects for the Twins, to see if the club missed out on potential big-league value. 

The Twins drafted Burdi with their second-round pick in the 2014 MLB Draft from the University of Louisville. It was an interesting pick, because he had been used primarily as a reliever in college; teams typically don’t target that type of arm early in the draft. In college, he consistently hit triple digits with his fastball, and his slider was used as a strikeout weapon. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the team’s eighth-best prospect entering the 2015 season, sandwiched between Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario. He looked like a lock to be the team’s future closer, but that never happened.

Burdi pitched parts of four seasons in the Twins organization, but failed to advance past Double-A. He struggled with injuries and throwing consistent strikes, which is problematic in the upper minors. Minnesota lost Burdi in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, as he was selected by the Phillies organization and traded to the Pirates for international slot money. In parts of three seasons, Burdi made 16 appearances for Pittsburgh, posting a ghastly 9.49 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP. Unfortunately, injuries continued to impact his performance and ability to stay on the mound. 

He is one of two pitchers to have two Tommy John surgeries, plus thoracic outlet surgery, and come back to pitch in the majors. Last season, Burdi made his comeback in the Cubs organization. He posted a 3.86 ERA at Triple-A with a 1.67 WHIP and 15 strikeouts per nine innings. His big-league appearances weren’t as strong, which can be expected in a small sample size (three innings). His season was cut short by an emergency appendectomy. Now he gets an opportunity to impact the Yankees’ bullpen, after a strong spring in which he struck out 13 batters in 7 1/3 innings. 

Burdi isn’t the only former Twins pitching prospect set to make the Yankees Opening Day roster. Gil is penciled into the final spot in the rotation after posting a 2.87 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP in 15 2/3 innings this spring. Minnesota initially signed Gil out of the Dominican Republic during the 2014-15 international free agent signing period, for $90,000. His early career was limited because he underwent shoulder surgery and missed the entire 2016 season. Gil returned in 2017 and posted a 2.59 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP in the Dominican Summer League. He was a long way from the big leagues, though, and the Twins decided to trade him to New York for Jake Cave. 

Gil was hardly a top prospect in the Twins organization, and he’s never been considered a top-100 prospect with the Yankees. A lot can go wrong with pitcher development from the DSL to the MLB level, and Gil had already dealt with a significant injury, so the Twins can’t be faulted for trading him. He's consistently worked his way up the Yankees farm system since, though, reaching the upper minors in 2021. His MLB debut was strong, as he posted a 3.07 ERA with a 29.5 K% in six starts. In 2022, he underwent Tommy John surgery, which cost him most of the 2023 season, too. Gil has only pitched over 100 innings in one professional season, so he will likely be on an innings limit this season.

Burdi and Gil have had significant surgeries in their professional careers, so it’s hard to believe either is pitching at the big-league level in 2024. Some fans might be disappointed that these two pitchers aren’t still in the Twins’ system, but there are no guarantees when it comes to pitching prospects. The AL East can be a gauntlet for pitchers, and the Yankees have extra pressure coming off a disappointing 2023 season. Burdi and Gill will return to the minors if they fail to perform well.

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Did the Twins give up on these pitchers too soon? What should the expectations be for Burdi and Gil? Leave a comment to start the discussion. 

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[Karbo]

Time will tell. Neither guy was a big loss at the time. Burdi got some hype but never lived up to it due to injuries. I don't even remember Gil.

[Ex-Iowegian]

Both seem to have been able to reinvent or rehab themselves on someone else’s dime. Good for them. Same as Sano. Wish them all the luck. Simple as that.

[JD-TWINS]

Interesting career paths for these two guys. Their movement around the game is pretty typical for many players (lots of injuries) - great it seems to be working out for them.

[Old Twins Cap]

Going to be a long, hard year for the Yankees.... relying on Twins' bullpen castoffs.  One injury to Judge and they are a second division team in the East.

[mikelink45]

Good luck to them. Pitching progress is a fascinating thing to watch.  We can talk about their injuries and coming back, but we can also talk about Pineda, DeSclafani, Mahle, Paddock and the Twins hopes that we will see a high return from injury.  It does not always work. 

[Twins GFP]

MLB is is littered with guys that started in one organization, could not gain traction, were cast off, went to another organization and found success.  It might be a different approach at the plate, learning a new pitch, or just different voices emphasizing different things.  It doesn't mean the initial team made a mistake in releasing them.

Best of luck to those guys (except when they play the Twins).

[Shaitan]

Did the Twins give up on these pitchers too soon? 

Loaded question,.

Neither losing a player to Rule V or via trade is giving up on a player.

[Shaitan]

Congrats to Burdi.

Though in my nonmedical opinion, maybe he should retire before his arm falls off. He's been through a lot.

[nicksaviking]

Can't believer Burdi has made it back, I hope he does well (and also hope the Yankees still lose every game).

Both pitchers have significant control issues though. At this stage of their career, that seems unlikely to be fixed.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Congrats, Mr. Burdi and Mr. Gil!

 

Really happy rspecially that Burdi landed on his feet eventually.

[Danchat]

It'd be nice to see Burdi last a full season for once. We have his spiritual successor in Canterino, of the "flamethrowing reliever made of glass" archetype.

Gil looked like he might last in the rotation after some nice starts in 2021, but since then he's had injury issues. Hard to believe he was traded for Cave a long while back.

[jimbo92107]

Nick Burdi has really been through the grinder. Two TJ's and an appendectomy! Whew! Well, at least he won't have to go through another appendectomy!

Yo Nick, maybe in the off season, get your tonsils out..!

[Rosterman]

One had hopes for Gil but not sure if he would've mae the Twins 40-man after COVID. 

Burdi falls into that "what if" category. He got away because he was injured. Same could said for Enlow, deciding to go elsewhere rather than settle in for anotehr year as a non-roster prospect for the Twins. Canterino might fall into the same boat. Sometimes you move on and let anotehr team worry about rostering the guy at some point, knowing that you can always resign them (maybe) if they don't come back from injury right away.

The careful monitoring, or knowing when to trade or pull the plug. Balazovic is another example. Could've been a major trade piece at one point, now everyone passed on the opportunity. SOmetimes pitchers have opportunities thrust at them, sometimes, they miss the boat. Remember that Glen Perkins was a failed starter who was dropped from the 40-man and every team passed, yet he stayed with the Twins and found a new life. And yet arms like Hendricks do walk away, have a little up, and little down, and you wonder why the Twins just didn't stash him at the back of the pen. Wait, arbitration clock and dollars start and that also causes a parting of ways before they actually become excellent.