5th Starter Candidate: Trevor May

The Background

The Twins acquired Trevor May, along with Vance Worley, in December of 2012 from the Phillies in exchange for outfielder Ben Revere. May had been Philadelphia’s fourth-round draft pick in 2008 out of Kelso High School in Washington.

Following a 2011 season as a 21-year-old in the Florida State League, May was named the Phillies top prospect. He had gone 10-8 with a 3.63 ERA, but his 208 strikeouts in 151.1 innings had a lot of people excited. That’s a solid 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings. He was rated a top fifty prospect by most national publications.

He struggled the following season in Double-A Reading. He went 10-13 with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP in 149.2 innings. He still struck out 9.1 per nine innings, but he walked 4.7 per nine. After acquiring May, the Twins sent him back to the Eastern League to pitch for New Britain. His numbers improved slightly. He posted a 4.51 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in 151.2 innings. He struck out 9.4 per nine and reduced his walk rate to 4.0 per nine.

May made the jump to Triple-A last year, and he really stepped up his performance. In Rochester, he went 8-6 with a 2.85 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. In 98.0 innings, he struck out 94 and again reduced his walk rate, down to 3.6 per nine. In a five inning performance in mid-June, May hurt his calf and missed a month. He had been named to the Futures Game roster but had to miss that. It’s impossible to know now, but if healthy, he likely would have been called up to the Twins before that game. Instead, he rehabbed and shook off some rust in Rochester starting in mid-July.

On August 7^th, he received the news he had been waiting for: he was heading to the big leagues. Two days later, he made his major league debut in Oakland. We all recall that his debut did not go as he (or anyone) would have hoped. The A’s were patient against him, and May was charged with four runs on three hits and SEVEN walks over just two innings. His next couple of starts didn’t go well either. In fact, through three games, he worked just nine innings and walked 13 and struck out just three.

At that point, May worked very hard with then-pitching coach Rick Anderson. At Twins Fest, May gave credit where credit was due, “When Andy (Rick Anderson) was here, we made some big mechanical adjustments.”

Over his final seven Twins starts, he was able to make some adjustments. In 36.2 innings, he walked nine and struck out 41. He still gave up too many hits, but he found that when he threw strikes, he had enough stuff to get strikeouts as he had in the minor leagues. His overall numbers (3-6, 7.88 ERA, 1.77 WHIP in 45.2 innings) aren’t good.

May said, “It took me a couple of starts to realize what was going on. It took me a couple of starts to fix it.”

In his final start, he put together a quality start (6 IP, 3 ER) against the Tigers. “Going out and competing against (Max) Scherzer. That’s what you grow up playing baseball thinking about, pitching in big situations. They were trying to clinch. Me against a guy who won the Cy Young the year before. That’s what you want. That was exciting. That’s how I thought about it. I had a lot of fun.”

His overall numbers (3-6, 7.88 ERA, 1.77 WHIP in 45.2 innings) were not awe-inspiring, but the lessons learned from those struggles could prove valuable over time.

What is he?

Trevor May stands at 6-5 and weighs about 240 pounds. He has a strong, sturdy frame and solid mechanics that have allowed him to be quite durable in his career. May has a four-pitch mix and is willing to use each of those pitches any time. Like most pitchers, he throws his fastball most frequently. With the Twins, his fastball averaged 91.9 mph, though if you watched his last few games, we saw quite a few pitches between 93 and 95 mph. He has a good changeup as well, and that averaged 83.4 mph. He threw a curveball in the mid-70s and a slider in the low-80s.

Control has been an issue for him early in his career, but he has improved his walk rate each of the last two seasons. As noted above, he has shown the ability to get strikeouts. Most believe that May will not be a top of the rotation starter. He profiles more as a mid-rotation type who should be able to eat a lot of innings over time.

Of course, the other option, as it is for Alex Meyer as well, is for May to pitch out of the bullpen. Scouting reports going back several years seemed to always point out that there was a decent chance that he could be a very good reliever. Obviously, with any talented pitcher who has the ability to miss bats, it makes the most sense to try him out as a starter and keep him in that role until he shows that he can’t. That said, he turned 25 in September and with four rotation spots being accounted for, it’s possible that the bullpen could be in his near future.

If he was told he made the team as a bullpen guy, he would welcome the opportunity. “I’d have no problem with that. I threw (out of the bullpen) in the Fall League and really enjoyed it. I loved coming out of the ‘pen. I thought it was a good role that I could do. If anything, it’ll add a couple of ticks on my fastball consistently. I know that I throw hard enough to be an end of the game guy. With my routine, I could handle it. I would relish the opportunity.”

If you were looking for how May feels heading into spring training, May said at Twins Fest, “I feel better than I’ve ever felt. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in. Physically, I’m definitely in the best shape of my life.”

Regarding his standing in the organization as it relates to the available fifth starter job, he said, “I think my progress was enough to keep me in the conversation, but baseball is a business. Some guys are on contracts. Some guys just signed new ones that are going for the spot too. If you throw just as good as them, and their stats are identical, they’re going to get the job. That’s just the way it is. That’s just how it is. I know that. But my job doesn’t change regardless. My job is to be in the best shape possible and compete for the spot. That’s the job I want. That’s the job that I think I can fill and be a part of a winning team. I’m just going to be ready to go.”

Last week, Twins Daily named Trevor May the Twins #9 Prospect, one spot up from his pre-2014 ranking.

May Percentage

Trevor May has an option remaining, so the is nothing that is requiring that he be on the opening day roster. We saw in his final two months that there are things that he can work on, and getting an opportunity to work on those things in Triple-A may make a lot of sense. Of course, when it comes down to it, he will eventually need to make those adjustments in the big leagues against the best hitters.

With that, my estimation for the odds of Trevor May winning the Twins fifth starter competition is at 34%.

To summarize this 5^th starter candidate series, here were my five projections: Tommy Milone (35%), Trevor May (34%), Mike Pelfrey (20%), Alex Meyer (10%) and Tim Stauffer (1%).

Logan Darnell, who made four starts for the Twins last year, should also be given a chance to win the job and a spot on the roster. Non-roster invites like Tyler Duffey, Taylor Rogers and JO Berrios are certainly candidates to make starts for the Twins at some point during the season, but it is very, very unlikely that they will make the opening day roster.

Previous 5th starter candidate stories:

Mike Pelfrey

Alex Meyer

Tim Stauffer

Tommy Milone