Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month: August 2024

[Matt Braun]

Read and rejoice in the minor-league hurlers who stood out in the month of August.

 

Well, it’s a new month and a new time to honor and acknowledge the finest minor league performers. We at Twins Daily split pitchers into “starters” and “relievers,” a dichotomy that is often woefully unable to understand how hurlers are used on the ground level. In the minors, everyone is an “out-getter;” oftentimes, starters will enter in the middle innings to gobble up frames left over by the previous guy. It happens. And it makes attempting to categorize them a challenge. So, I subscribe to the Potter Stewart train of thinking, which is to say, “I know it when I see it.” Got it? Let’s go.

Honorable Mentions:
In no particular order, this is a list of players who were considered for the list but came up just short.

Ty Langenberg, A+ Cedar Rapids - 3.70 ERA, 24 1/3 IP, 3.88 FIP
The only Kernel to be mentioned in the list, Ty Langenberg—the Iowa City native—had one god-awful start on the 16th but was otherwise quite good for Cedar Rapids, going at least five innings in every other start with just four earned runs total. That stinker doesn’t wash out, though, so Langenberg has to settle for an honorable mention this time.

Melvin Rodriguez, DSL Twins - 1.32 ERA, 13 2/3 IP, 3.32 FIP
It’s exceedingly difficult for a DSL player to make the list because they often lack the frames to compete with their older peers. Melvin Rodriguez was simply that good, though; he allowed two runs, whiffed 15 batters, and even eschewed the command problems typical for a player his age; he walked just four. That’s basically Greg Maddux for a fresh 18-year-old. Keep an eye on Rodriguez for next year.

Adrian Bohorquez, A Fort Myers - 2.70 ERA, 13 1/3 IP, 3.24 FIP
Adrian Bohorquez loses points for his walk rate (15.8%!) but earns back almost everything for striking out everyone and their mother as a 19-year-old in A-ball (29.8%). The Venezuelan has already made a name for himself this season; he’s another big riser to pay attention to heading into 2025. 

Charlee Soto, A Fort Myers - 3.18 ERA, 17 IP, 3.95 FIP
This write-up would be a lot rosier before Charlee Soto went out and walked six on the 28th. The perils of dealing with an 18-year-old (freshly 19! Happy belated birthday). Still, Soto’s much more mature 2nd half included a (mostly) good run in August that saw him almost lead his team in strikeouts for the month. 

The Main Attraction

5. Louie Varland, AAA St. Paul - 2.25 ERA, 16 IP, 1.98 FIP, 31.7 K%
That Louie Varland made two major league starts in August and still made this last says a lot about the strength of the few starts he covered. He simply dominated: Varland bookended the month with six scoreless innings against the Cubs, and five empty frames against the Storm Chasers, made even more impressive when you consider the bananas run environment at AAA. 

(Yes, the outing against Omaha was technically out of the bullpen, but if you go five innings, you’re a starter in my book.)

Much has been made about whether the Twins will bite the bullet and move Varland to the bullpen or keep him as a potential rotation arm. Given their lack of depth there—and considering that Zebby Matthews just threw a BP session the other day—keeping the much-improved righty as a starter seems the wisest option. The team appears to agree; Wednesday’s game appears earmarked for Varland. In any case, the St. Paul native had an awesome August, and he’ll rank as our 5th-place starter for the month. 

4. Andrew Morris, AA Wichita/AAA St. Paul - 3.62 ERA, 32 1/3 IP, 3.99 FIP, 19.4 K%
If you’re reading this, you know who Andrew Morris is. Perhaps Minnesota’s breakout pitcher of the year (hello, Zebby), Morris has buzz-sawed his way through the minors, starting the year at Cedar Rapids and—as of typing this—accruing 20 innings with the Saints. That isn’t normal. And, he’s deserved it: the Texas Tech product brutalized Midwest league hitters and barely broke a sweat at Wichita, putting up a 1.99 ERA between the two levels with more strikeouts (106) than innings pitched (99 1/3). The overwhelming dominance earned him yet another promotion, this time to the final stop before the big leagues. 

Morris's weird crossfire delivery sticks out; righties throwing like that usually sit in a lower slot, but Morris fires from the heavens, probably about as high as he can reach. That looks weird. Hitters must agree; his numbers speak for how unusual facing him must be. 

August was actually something of a step back for Morris, but the brutal AAA pitching environment can partially explain his relatively tepid numbers. Anyways, that enormous volume of innings with solid success—especially in his first taste of AAA pitching—earns him a 4th place finish on our list. 

3. Christian MacLeod, AA Wichita/AAA St. Paul - 2.22 ERA, 24 1/3 IP, 2.41 FIP, 33.7 K%
Christian MacLeod did that weird thing where he actually improved following a promotion, shaving over half a run of his Cedar Rapids ERA while pushing his peripherals to an even more elevated plateau. You don’t see that every day. MacLeod ate one blowup start in his AA debut, ended July with a gem, and roared into overdrive in August, punctuating the month with a pair of eight-K performances and a Goose Gossage-esque four-inning save on the 30th. His lone blemish was a poor spot-start with the Saints on the 11th.

It’s easy to see why the Huntsville lefty can be an awkward at-bat, with his spiraling arm action and high slot eliciting awesome movement in his offerings. The curve is a signature, the kind of classic 12-6 (maybe 11-7) form that drops to impossible lows. Throw in enough control to keep betters honest, and, yeah, a plethora of whiffs never seems out of the question in any given game. 2024 has been the former 5th-rounder’s best year as a pro—and his work in August makes him our third-ranked hurler.

2. Cory Lewis, AA Wichita - 1.20 ERA, 30 IP, 2.79 FIP, 32.8 K%
Maybe “post-hype” isn’t the right term for Cory Lewis in 2024, but—with the ascension of a few other arms—it sure feels like he’s been left in the dust a little. Part of that was the injury that delayed his first non-rehab start to the middle of June. He’s been basically the same hurler as last year, though, with a disastrous July 13th seven-run affair marking his only outing with more than two earned runs. For real. 

Lewis’ only issue in August was command; the righty had four starts with at least three walks and overall issued 15 free passes—on average, one every other inning. The walks didn’t end up too painful—just look at that ERA—but they held him back from being able to nab the top spot on our list. He’ll have to settle for a silver medal. 

1. Travis Adams, AA Wichita - 0.70 ERA, 25 2/3 IP, 2.30 FIP, 30.1 K%
A 0.70 ERA! Across five starts! Yeah, Travis Adams made this choice pretty easy.

And he certainly wasn’t the immediate candidate on one’s mind when it comes to a list like this. Adams put up pedestrian numbers across his first two full seasons of pro ball before unlocking something special with Wichita in 2024. He shaved nearly two full runs off his ERA at the level from his prior year, struck out more batters, and walked them less often. That’s a winning combination.

The evolution culminated in an August for the ages, one where Adams allowed two runs the entire month, mixing in three separate starts of 5+ shutout frames. He never gave up more than three hits in an outing. Only nine hits fell in total. His finest moment was a six-inning 10 K start on the 22nd when just four runners reached base against the former 6th-round pick. 

The tremendous month resulted in a recent promotion to AAA and—more importantly—a 1st place finish as Twins Daily’s minor league starting pitcher of the month.

For more from Twins Daily on Travis Adams, click here.  Here are a couple of examples: 
3/26/24: Minnesota Twins Pitching Prospect Records Huge Save, Pulls Man from Fire in Fort Myers. 
3/6/23: Twins Spotlight: RHP Travis Adams  

 

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[roger]

Was surprised Prielipp wasn't an honorable mention.

[mikelink45]

Nice list.  Varland has to watch his back his position on the Twins is being threatened from below.

[Matt Braun]

1 hour ago, roger said:

Was surprised Prielipp wasn't an honorable mention.

Probably would have been if not for his awful August 3rd start. 

Edited September 5, 2024 by Matt Braun

[terrydactyls]

9 minutes ago, Matt Braun said:

Probably would have been if not for his awful July 3rd start. 

Why is an early July start preventing Prielipp from being included in the determination of the August award?

[LambchoP]

It's hard not to be excited about our pitchers coming up. Varland and probably Paddack are relief pitchers, they need to be in the pen where the MLB team can get the most value out of them. I think if the Twins can sign a decent starter like Kikuchi or Flaherty in the off-season to a one or two year deal, it'll give all these prospects the development time they need in order to be ready for their debuts in 2026. With one more FA starter we could have a real good rotation of 

Lopez, Ober, Ryan, SWR, FA

Then we'd have some good depth and injury insurance waiting in AAA with Festa, Mathews, Morris and all the rest. 

[Matt Braun]

1 minute ago, terrydactyls said:

Why is an early July start preventing Prielipp from being included in the determination of the August award?

Not July, August. Whoops. 

[FlyingFinn]

3 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

I think if the Twins can sign a decent starter like Kikuchi or Flaherty in the off-season to a one or two year deal,

There is no chance of that happening. The pitching pipeline is here and we will see how David Festa, SWR, Zebby Matthews, Andrew Morris and company do in 2025. The Twins are going to roll with these guys and find out what we have. Plus, with everyone (Raya, Lewis, MacLeod, etc.) needing to be on the 40 man roster by the end of 2025, I can see some trades. The Twins aren't going to add to that 40 man glut by signing any pitcher to two years.

[Fatbat]

As much as I wanted the twins to sign a snell or monty 9 months ago, I like the fact that we have tons of young pitching prospects coming soon and we keep drafting more of them.  It’s sad that Povich slipped away in a terrible trade 13 months ago. Not to mention the guys we lost in ‘22 when Mahle turned into a bumb. 
 

Varland and Paddack might need to spend most of next season in the bullpen.  Use the talent the best way they can!! Trading for sub par pitching is just dumb. 
 

[roger]

3 hours ago, Matt Braun said:

Probably would have been if not for his awful August 3rd start. 

True.  But several things about that game make it not seem as bad as the numbers look.  First, it was early on his comeback and all six runs scored in the third inning when he was approaching his pitch limit.  Second, he got two outs before the wheels came off.  And the third earned run scored on a double steal, second and home.  An error would have ended the inning, before exiting and the last three runs scoring.  

Yes, three earned runs wasn't good.  But considering where he was in his comeback, that type of game could be expected.  Considering his lack of any pro experience and the rate at which he is striking guys out would earn a mention, at least from me.

[ryan189]

ridiculous numbers by adams has been lights out since June 1st 

[JD-TWINS]

On 9/5/2024 at 10:37 AM, LambchoP said:

It's hard not to be excited about our pitchers coming up. Varland and probably Paddack are relief pitchers, they need to be in the pen where the MLB team can get the most value out of them. I think if the Twins can sign a decent starter like Kikuchi or Flaherty in the off-season to a one or two year deal, it'll give all these prospects the development time they need in order to be ready for their debuts in 2026. With one more FA starter we could have a real good rotation of 

Lopez, Ober, Ryan, SWR, FA

Then we'd have some good depth and injury insurance waiting in AAA with Festa, Mathews, Morris and all the rest. 

Assuming health with the Top 4………Festa is the 5th starter next season and maybe 4th unless he has a bad Spring - can’t imagine them signing a FA for somewhere near $20M/yr. Neither Flaherty nor Kikuchi is signing a one year deal and seriously doubt a two year deal. Kikuchi is pitching the best he ever has since joining Houston.

Paddack, in my opinion, is the long reliever with Matthews as the #6 guy to start the year. Varland too will be in the Pen to supplement Stewart’s role in ‘25, per my crystal ball.

[twinstalker]

I'm not sure Morris belongs on this particular list (due to rough AAA start), but he definitely is my favorite prospect, and I think he deserves mention in every article!

Thank you for this.  These monthly minors are my favorite features.