Stephen Gonsalves

[AlwaysinModeration]

DAM...did you make it to any of the Bowie games this weekend?

[SoCal Twin]

Finally got the thrill to listen to stephen pitch on milb radio today. I have spent the last 13 years or so watching my kids play sports daughter soccer & Stephen baseball. Haven't seen stephen play in about 4 months so listening to it was awesome. Thought it was a gutsy outing and was impressed with the strikeouts not by fastballs but by off speed stuff. I love everyone's positive feedback I know he does as well. Our family & San Diego love being apart of Twins Nation!

[diehardtwinsfan]

I wouldn't worry much about ground out flyout ratios until after the season personally. Even if he is a flyball pitcher, if he gets a lot of Ks and minimizes his baserunners, he'll do just fine. Santana was a flyball pitcher and he earned a couple of Cy Young awards.

[big dog]

Very encouraging- thanks for all the updates. I look forward to hearing a lot about him as he advances through the system.

[DAM DC Twins Fans]

DAM...did you make it to any of the Bowie games this weekend?

 

No...definitely going to see NB in Bowie next year. My son and I were planning on going but tough for him (both of us actually) with a 10 day old baby (his son, my grandson).

[DAM DC Twins Fans]

I wouldn't worry much about ground out flyout ratios until after the season personally. Even if he is a flyball pitcher, if he gets a lot of Ks and minimizes his baserunners, he'll do just fine. Santana was a flyball pitcher and he earned a couple of Cy Young awards.

 

I like your comparison--and yes Stephen gets a fantastic number of Ks...the question is will he continue to get the Ks as he moves up the Twins organization and faces hitters at Cedar Rapids who are much better than in the Appy League. None of us know the answer--we will find out next year.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I like your comparison--and yes Stephen gets a fantastic number of Ks...the question is will he continue to get the Ks as he moves up the Twins organization and faces hitters at Cedar Rapids who are much better than in the Appy League. None of us know the answer--we will find out next year.

 

To be clear, I'm not comparing them. I'm just pointing out that it's possible to be an ace, or a very good pitcher, and be fly ball prone, especially if you get lots of Ks. I do hope the grounders come, and part of that may be as simple as getting more comfortable pitching low in the zone or developing an offspeed pitch that keeps hitters off balance... But at this stage, I'm not worried about it. What I want to see is him continuing to dominate talented hitters that are older than him, and right now he's doing that.

[DAM DC Twins Fans]

Stephen Gonsalves wrap for 2013:

 

I don't know if I am supposed to do this or not--but I feel like I should. I am sure that Seth and Jeremy etc. will have lots more to say about Stephen in the offseason.

 

In any case, Stephen's debut year in the Twins organization is done. It was a great debut season. Stephen ended up with a 2-1 record and an ERA of 0.95. He pitched 28.1 innings in 8 appearances (5 starts). He gave up 18 hits and 11BB (a relatively high number--I think it shows he is effectively wild). The hits and walks give him a WHIP of 1.023. He struck out 39 batters that is 13 per 9 innings--an extremely high number. His ground/fly ratio was slightly under 1.5 grounders to flies...a good number...but after his promotion to E-town it dropped. Importantly, Stephen dominated whenever he pitched. He never hit a wall or even a bump in the road.

 

I am not sure I will be doing Stephen next year (he was my second adopt a prospect in 2013) but I will be following him. I see Stephen's potential as unlimited--to me his ceiling is Captain Cheeseburger (Sabathia) or Johan during his Twins career if you prefer. He could be the Twins ace in 2017. Next year in Cedar Rapids will tell us a lot. Will he hit the bump in the road?? Will he still dominate a better bunch of hitters?? I expect Stephen (and maybe Stewart) to both do well in Cedar Rapids and maybe get a promotion to Ft. Myers in 2014 (Stephen will turn 20 in July) pitch for New Britain in 2015 and maybe get a shot with the Twins in 2016. Three potential roadblocks in this path--the deterioration of the ground/fly ratio he experienced in E-town; his attitude--while it was nice to see the tweet and the cockiness--can he handle the bump in the road; the arm injuries that seem to affect many (most??) Twins pitching prospects...

[Oxtung]

Stephen Gonsalves wrap for 2013:

 

I don't know if I am supposed to do this or not--but I feel like I should. I am sure that Seth and Jeremy etc. will have lots more to say about Stephen in the offseason.

 

In any case, Stephen's debut year in the Twins organization is done. It was a great debut season. Stephen ended up with a 2-1 record and an ERA of 0.95. He pitched 28.1 innings in 8 appearances (5 starts). He gave up 18 hits and 11BB (a relatively high number--I think it shows he is effectively wild). The hits and walks give him a WHIP of 1.023. He struck out 39 batters that is 13 per 9 innings--an extremely high number. His ground/fly ratio was slightly under 1.5 grounders to flies...a good number...but after his promotion to E-town it dropped. Importantly, Stephen dominated whenever he pitched. He never hit a wall or even a bump in the road.

 

I am not sure I will be doing Stephen next year (he was my second adopt a prospect in 2013) but I will be following him. I see Stephen's potential as unlimited--to me his ceiling is Captain Cheeseburger (Sabathia) or Johan during his Twins career if you prefer. He could be the Twins ace in 2017. Next year in Cedar Rapids will tell us a lot. Will he hit the bump in the road?? Will he still dominate a better bunch of hitters?? I expect Stephen (and maybe Stewart) to both do well in Cedar Rapids and maybe get a promotion to Ft. Myers in 2014 (Stephen will turn 20 in July) pitch for New Britain in 2015 and maybe get a shot with the Twins in 2016. Three potential roadblocks in this path--the deterioration of the ground/fly ratio he experienced in E-town; his attitude--while it was nice to see the tweet and the cockiness--can he handle the bump in the road; the arm injuries that seem to affect many (most??) Twins pitching prospects...

 

Whether or not your "supposed to", I appreciate it.

[PseudoSABR]

:I don't know if I am supposed to do this or not--but I feel like I should. I am sure that Seth and Jeremy etc. will have lots more to say about Stephen in the offseason.

Dude, don't doubt your efforts or your articulations. They are appreciated, I'm sure by everyone who reads them.

[Shane Wahl]

I am mondo excited about Gonsalves. Good summary. It reminds me that I have to do the same for my adoptees.

[Larsbars08]

Keith Law in his chat today mentioned that he saw Gonsalves with little projection and not really having much off-speed stuff. I know KLaw doesn't like Gonsalves. I don't really care about that and determining a player's projectability seems entirely subjective. However, the comment about the breaking ball is an entirely specific criticism. Does anyone know how his off-speed stuff is? He's got time to develop it, but more advanced hitting is going to eat him up if he can't develop one quickly.

[AlwaysinModeration]

No...definitely going to see NB in Bowie next year. My son and I were planning on going but tough for him (both of us actually) with a 10 day old baby (his son, my grandson).

 

Congratulations, grandpa. First grandchild?

 

I managed to see Rosario go 5-5 and Sano hit 2HRs...but missed Meyer's return to AA. Next year, hopefully we'll get to see Buxton in Bowie.

 

Thanks for the great summary of Gonsalves. Looks very promising.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Finally got the thrill to listen to stephen pitch on milb radio today. I have spent the last 13 years or so watching my kids play sports daughter soccer & Stephen baseball. Haven't seen stephen play in about 4 months so listening to it was awesome. Thought it was a gutsy outing and was impressed with the strikeouts not by fastballs but by off speed stuff. I love everyone's positive feedback I know he does as well. Our family & San Diego love being apart of Twins Nation!

 

Very cool. Thanks for posting. When the Twins drafted him, as a Twins fan you must have been doubly thrilled.

 

What is the plan for the off-season? Would be interesting to hear how much structure a prospect like Stephen is given by the organization during the off-season.

[DAM DC Twins Fans]

Congratulations, grandpa. First grandchild?

 

I managed to see Rosario go 5-5 and Sano hit 2HRs...but missed Meyer's return to AA. Next year, hopefully we'll get to see Buxton in Bowie.

 

Thanks for the great summary of Gonsalves. Looks very promising.

 

You are welcome for the summary--Gonsalves will be an interesting prospect to follow. I am a first time grandpa--thanks for congrats--it is exciting. One guy told me he went from first time grandpa to six grandchildren in 3 years--YIKES....

 

I am looking forward to seeing Buxton next year and maybe some of the pitching prospects now at Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids when New Britain come to Bowie.

[nicksaviking]

Keith Law in his chat today mentioned that he saw Gonsalves with little projection and not really having much off-speed stuff. I know KLaw doesn't like Gonsalves. I don't really care about that and determining a player's projectability seems entirely subjective. However, the comment about the breaking ball is an entirely specific criticism. Does anyone know how his off-speed stuff is? He's got time to develop it, but more advanced hitting is going to eat him up if he can't develop one quickly.

 

Yeah, Law was oddly critical of him on draft day considering he was a 4th round pick. Plenty of teams are over drafting by this point of the draft, though plenty of draft wonks liked Gonsalves and in fact had him going much higher. His dislike of a relatively well known high school arm going in the 4th round almost seemed personal. Playing amature psychologist, I wonder if Gonsalves' attitude rubbed Law the wrong way which in turn influenced his opinion even if unconciously. Otherwise wouldn't his opinion of a percieved 4th round bust simply be "What else is new?"

[diehardtwinsfan]

Yeah, Law was oddly critical of him on draft day considering he was a 4th round pick. Plenty of teams are over drafting by this point of the draft, though plenty of draft wonks liked Gonsalves and in fact had him going much higher. His dislike of a relatively well known high school arm going in the 4th round almost seemed personal. Playing amature psychologist, I wonder if Gonsalves' attitude rubbed Law the wrong way which in turn influenced his opinion even if unconciously. Otherwise wouldn't his opinion of a percieved 4th round bust simply be "What else is new?"

 

Law gets that way from time to time... I just hope people keep feeding this to Gonsalves. The kid seems to have a chip on his shoulder and would likely benefit from that.