SouthDakotaTwinsFan

After a brief injury scare, Jose Berrios returned to the mound last night. He threw 65 pitches over 4 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits. He walked 1 and struck out 2. I would guess the short outing was due to the injury scare, which turned out to be a sore shoulder. I'm guessing they'll take it easy with him for a bit.

Like everything else Twins this season, all good things must come to a violent and terrible end. Berrios was pulled from his start the other night with shoulder pain and has been placed on the 7-day DL. As of now, the injury is being downplayed. Hopefully its just some shoulder soreness.

Berrios got his first AA win last night and second good performance in a row. He went 7 innings on 92 pitches, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 4 and walking 1. Related, Vargas went off. 3-3 (and 2 walks) with a HR, a double, and 4 RBI.

Berrios has pitched in two games so far at AA, with his second being much better than the first. In between those starts, he started the MLB futures game and pitched a really impressive scoreless first inning. In his first AA start, Berrios struggled a bit. He needed 98 pitches to complete 5 innings, giving up 5 runs on 5 hits and walking three. His second start went much better. He went 6 innings on 82 pitches, gave up 1 run on 4 hits (all singles), struck out 5 and walked zero. His next start is tonight.

Berrios has been promoted to AA New Britain. This is a good sign from a franchise that is generally very conservative with prospects, particularly pitchers (see- May, Trevor). He threw 6 innings on July 5t(h, allowing one run on six hits with one walk, one hit batter, and four strikeouts. He ends his half season with Ft. Meyers with the following line: 9W 3L, 1.96 ERA, 96.1 IP, 21 ER, 4HR, 109 K, 23 BB, 1.048 WHIP, 10.2 K/9 I hope his dream season continues. Rotoworld still projects him as a #3 starter. I'd take that. I could see him as a 2 if this continues. Hopefully he keeps this run up.

Its been an active week for Berrios. On Monday he pitched 6 innings. Struck out 8, walked 1, hit one batter, and allowed one run on five hits. He was also selected to represent the world in the All Star Futures game (along with Vargas and May). He's been amazing and continues to dominate. Hard not to picture him moving up to AA this year. Here's a good article on him from Twinkie Town http://www.twinkietown.com/2014/6/24/5837328/jose-berrios-laying-waste-to-florida-state-league

His next start is tonight against Charlotte.

Berrios threw another gem last Tuesday. 7 innings, one hit, 9 k's, 2 walks. He's making a pretty good case for promotion and has been dominant. In his last four starts, opponents are batting .146 against him. I'd say he's making a pretty strong case for a promotion. http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=MLB&id=7146&line=435595&spln=1

Berrios pitched 8 innings last night. He gave up 3 runs (2 earned), on 8 hits with 9K's and no walks. This was the first outing he had in which he pitched more than seven innings. Sounded like some bad luck in the 8th, was cruising through seven. http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/539984/Tigers-edge-Miracle-4-3-in-11-innings.html?nav=5015

Berrios pitched a one hit complete came with 13 strikeouts yesterday. Zero walks, went to a three ball count just once. http://www.news-press.com/story/sports/2014/06/01/miracle-jose-berrios-dominate-yankees/9852703/ On the season he is 5-2 with a 2.24 ERA. He's given up 2 HR. 65K/17BB. 10.4 K/9, 1.172 WHIP. I hope to see him at double A this season. My apologies for not updating more. I'll work on it.

Berrios pitched 6.1 innings last night. 0 R, 4H, 8K, 2BB http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2014/may/13/minor-league-baseball-jose-berrios-pitches-past/

Berrios has had two starts since I last posted: 4/25- 6.0 ip, 8 h, 1r, 2bb, 7k, 5/1- 5.0 ip, 6h, 4r (3er), 2bb, 4k On the season: 25.0 ip, 3.96 ERA, 11 earned runs, 7bb/20k, 7.2 SO/9, 1.52 WHIP, 0.341 BAbip, 2 HR allowed.

Berrios had his second start of the year for Ft. Myers yesterday. He went 6 innings, with 6 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 2 walks, 5 K's. In his 2 starts so far this year, he has a 3.75 ERA and 0.917 WHIP in 12 innings of work.

Berrios had his first start of the year yesterday for Ft. Myers. 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R (both earned), 0 BB, 4K. From all accounts, it was a solid start. Game story from the Ft. Myers News-Press is at http://www.news-press.com/article/20140407/SPORTS/304070017/Jupiter-pitchers-dominate-Miracle

I'm afraid I can't answer that. I'll do some digging.

I adopted Jose (J.O.) Berrios. He is widely considered the Twin's # 5-7 prospect and among the top 2-3 of their pitching prospects. He was drafted 32nd overall in 2012 out of Bayamon, Puerto Rico. 2013 was his first full year above rookie ball and he pitched well after throwing up gaudy numbers in rookie ball. He will start this year at high A in Ft. Meyers. He will turn 20 in May. I'm not going to be able to write up any quick recap of Berrios better than Aaaron Gleeman, so I'm going to put down his take (from www.aarongleeman.com) : "5. Jose Berrios | Starter | DOB: 5/94 | Throws: Right | Draft: 2012-1 YEAR LV G GS ERA IP H HR SO BB 2012 RK- 8 1 1.08 16.2 7 0 27 3 RK+ 3 3 1.29 14.0 8 1 22 1 2013 A- 19 19 3.99 103.2 105 6 100 40 Selected out of a Puerto Rico high school 30 picks after Byron Buxton in the 2012 draft, Jose Berrios had a great rookie-ball debut and then made the jump to full-season competition last year at low Single-A. While his 3.99 ERA and .265 opponents' batting average were unimpressive, Berrios struck out 100 batters in 104 innings and allowed just six homers while being one of only eight teenagers in the Midwest League to log at least 100 innings. Obviously it would be ideal to see Berrios overpowering hitters in the low minors, but missing plenty of bats and holding his own overall as a teenager is a very good sign. Berrios throws hard and receives praise for his off-speed stuff, but like most 19-year-olds his control needs work and one potential red flag is that he's been a fly-ball pitcher. That tendency usually gets more extreme further up the organizational ladder, so it'll be something to keep an eye on. Berrios is a slight 6-foot-1 and so far the Twins have been cautious with his workload by limiting his starts in-season and convincing him to skip winter ball, but he'll likely be given a longer leash this year at high Single-A. He tends to get lost in the shuffle of what has become a stacked deck of Twins prospects, but in some recent years Berrios would have been the team's top pitching prospect and his long-term upside is substantial. " Ft. Meyers starts their season tomorrow. I'll write up news as it happens and post recaps of his starts.

I'll take Jose Berrios

Luke Bard pitched in 4 games totaling 3 innings for the Gulf Coast League Twins, earning a 12.0 ERA and a 2.667 WHIP before being promoted to Elizebethton. Since moving up, he's pitched in 2 games for a total of 2 innings and given up 1 run. In six innings of work between the two teams, he has given up 6 runs, 4 walks and struck 1 batter out.

Danny Ortiz is wrapping up a decent year at AA. He has batting .261 with 11 HR, 55 RBI, and 22 doubles. .300 OBP, .414 SLG, and .714 OPS. July was not good to him and August has not bee much better.

Ortiz continues to be steady for the Rock Cats. He is batting .275, 22 doubles, 7 HR, and 42 RBI. .313 OBP, .437 SLG, .750 OPS. The 65 K, 16 BB is probably concerning. Markedly better against right handed pitching. Tied for 3rd in the Eastern League for doubles, 12th in RBI. In the top tier of the league for SLG and OPS. It will be interesting to see how the rest of his year goes and if he gets a chance at AAA

Bard has yet to pitch in 2013, due to "shoulder impingement". It sounds like they hope to have him pitching again by the end of the month.

Daniel Ortiz continues to impress at AA. He has held down the five spot in the order, playing every outfield spot. On the season, he is batting .292 with 5 home runs, 26 RBI, and an OPS of .819. He has hit 14 doubles, 11 walks, and 40 strikeouts on the season, an on base percentage of .337, and slugging .482. He's batting .270 over his last ten games. I hope Danny continues to play well. As noted above, he's a bit behind schedule but could establish himself. Unfortunately, the Twins OF situation is flush.

Luke Bard was selected in the 16th round of the 2009 first year draft by the Boston Red Sox and declined, attending Georgia Tech. In 2012, he was selected in the 1st round (42nd overall) of the June Amateur draft by the Twins. He pitched 7.0 innings for Elizabethton and Gulf Coast Twins in 2012, primarily as a closer, allowing 3 runs, 9 walks and 9 strikeouts. I'll post more about him as I learn more about him. Elizabethton doesn't begin play until June.

Can I also get Bard if he's available?

I selected Danny Ortiz because he is from Caguas, Puerto Rico and I have been to Caguas. Beautiful place, but lots of poverty. I adopted him last year but neglected to post about him so I vow to be better this year. Daniel Ortiz (LF) was selected by the Twins in the 4th round of the 2008 First year player draft. He spent 2009 with the Gulf Coast Twins, missed 2009 following knee surgery, spent 2010 with Elizebethton, was in Beloit for all of the 2011 and 22 games of 2012. Spent the rest of 2012 at Fort Meyers and is at New Britain this year. So far this year, Daniel is batting .286 with a .333 OBP, slugging .519, and has an OPS of .853. In 77 at bats, he has 7 doubles, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 6 walks and 22 strikeouts. Here is a video of him throwing out a runner last week Video Highlights & Clips - MiLB | Rock Cats Ortiz throws out runner at the plate - Video | MiLB.com Multimedia | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball