Respy

Following Tuesday night’s 4-1 win over the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins designated right-handed pitcher Tim Melville for assignment. That opened up a spot on the 40-man roster, and it sure sounds like right-handed reliever John Curtiss will be getting the call, as MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger first reported which was shortly followed by a report from Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
 

 

 
The Twins have yet to confirm the move, though Curtiss is expected to join the team in Chicago on Wednesday.
 
Curtiss has been absolutely brilliant in the Twins system this season. First, he tossed 25 innings for Double-A Chattanooga with a 0.72 ERA (two earned runs) with 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a WHIP of 0.96. He followed that up with a mid-June promotion to Triple-A Rochester, where it was more of the same with a 1.85 ERA, 12.2 K/9 and a WHIP of 0.86.
 
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We are more than a month and a half into the season, and several prospects have gotten off to a great start. I avoided the prospects who have just been on their current team for just the last month and a half. Last year, I made a list like this and all five were promoted soon after I wrote it, so we’ll see if I have similar luck this year.
 
5. Tom Hackimer, RP, Cedar Rapids
 
I was tempted to put Fort Myers’ Williams Ramirez in this spot, but I decided against it since he has only pitched 22 innings with the Miracle. Hackimer debuted with the Kernels last season and had a terrific season, but has been much better in 2017. In 2016, he had a 2.39 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 26 innings. He has improved upon those numbers this season. In 22 innings, he has an ERA of just 1.64 and an incredible WHIP of just 0.59, which leads the Twins minor league system. His six saves ranks second in the system and has just walked two batters in his 22 innings. Last year’s fourth round pick also has given up just one homer in his 48.1 career innings with the Kernels. He also is striking out more than one per inning, having struck out 25 already. His numbers across the board are sensational and the former St. John’s star should be getting the call to join High-A Fort Myers very soon.
 
4. Chris Paul, 3B, Fort Myers
 
When he is not throwing alley-oops to Blake Griffin, you can find Paul lighting up the Florida State League. After dominating in Cedar Rapids last season, he was promoted to Fort Myers after just seven games. He did not have the same amount of success with the Miracle following his promotion. He batted just .228, having just two homers and 36 RBI in 92 games in Fort Myers last season, but his numbers so far in 2017 are near the stats he put up with Cedar Rapids in 2016. This has been a theme for Paul ever since being drafted by the Twins in 2015. Every year, Paul has started with a bang to earn a promotion and then has struggled mightily following it, only to bounce back at the start of the new season. Through 43 games in High-A this year, Paul is hitting .335, which leads the organization. He also is in the top five in the Twins system in OPS, doubles and runs batted in. He is due for a promotion to Double-A Chattanooga soon, but it will depend on how invested the organization is in T.J. White, who Paul would replace with the Lookouts.
 
3. Sean Poppen, SP, Cedar Rapids
 
Last year’s 19th round pick has been impressive in every stop he has made in the organization. His worst stop was actually Elizabethton, where he had a 2.97 ERA, but walked 18 in 36 innings. After a promotion to Cedar Rapids last year, Poppen went 1-1 with a 2.12 ERA. His control improved a bit, but still walked six in 17 innings in his four games (three starts) last year with the Kernels. This year, his control has improved and his numbers have remained very good. In his eight starts so far, he is 2-1 with an ERA of 2.68. In his 50.1 innings, he has walked just 11. His walks per nine innings is currently tied for second in the organization. He also ranks in the top five among the Twins affiliates in strikeouts per nine with 8.7. With him already being 23, it would be a good decision to challenge him at High-A Fort Myers.
 
2. Jermaine Palacios, 2B, Cedar Rapids
 
In 2015, Palacios took Minor League Baseball by storm, hitting .370 in his stops between the GCL Twins and Elizabethton. But last year was a disappointment. In his first season with Cedar Rapids, Palacios was a part-time starter and hit just .222. However, he is back to his 2015 form this season with the Kernels. This year, he is near the top of the Twins minor league system in many offensive categories. His batting average (.327) is second in the Twins system and his slugging percentage (.544) leads the system. He also shown some extra base power, having 20 extra base hits, including six homers. Palacios has six steals as well, but has been caught five times. The 20-year-old will probably spend most, if not all, of the season down in Cedar Rapids, but he will make his Fort Myers debut at some point in the near future. With his impressive season, he is showing that last year may have been a but of a fluke and may have risen into the top 10 for Twins prospects.
 
1. Nick Burdi, RP, Chattanooga
 
After an arm injury wiped out nearly his entire 2016 season, Burdi has come back with a vengeance this season. When he was drafted out of Louisville in 2014, Minnesota expected him to be up with the team late that season or in 2015, but injuries have his hurt his progress and had been mediocre when on the field when he was healthy. He has finally put it all together in 2017. He has just allowed a single run in his 17 innings this year, and his 0.53 ERA is second in the Twins system. His WHIP of 0.76 is also third in the system and has punched out 20 in his 17 innings. I am not sure he will be moved up really soon due to him having pitched only 20 innings in a little more than a season. However, if he keeps this up, he will be with the Twins or Triple-A Rochester at some point this season.
 
As always, feel free to comment with players who you think should be in the top five.

There were differing opinions concerning who won the dance contest held in the Kernels' clubhouse prior to "Meet the Kernels Night" in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, but the players and coaches who were brought in to talk to the media were in agreement on one thing. They all expect the 2017 Kernels season to be fun.
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Kernels players meeting fans on "Meet the Kernels Night" in Cedar Rapids. (photo: SD Buhr)

In fact, almost all of the players and coaches who endured media interrogation before moving on to the stadium concourse to meet the fans who showed up for the event used the word "fun" in at least one of their responses to media questions.
 
(Article originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com.)
 
That shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone who has spent time with the Kernels' new manager, Tommy Watkins. If you see Watkins at a ballpark without a smile on his face, snap a picture quick. It would be a rarity.
 
Early during the media session, Watkins was asked what sort of mood he likes to see in his team's clubhouse.
"Probably like a somber mood," Watkins deadpanned.
 
"No, a lot of energy," he continued, after the laughter in the room faded. "We just had fun down in the clubhouse before we came up, so it was a lot of fun. Get the guys moving around a little bit. Everybody danced a little. I think we like to bring a lot of energy and like to have fun. Play the game the right way."
 
His coaches, Brian Dinkelman and J.P. Martinez, claimed Tommy won the dance contest and Tommy claimed the two coaches had been the winners. Later, pitcher Sean Poppen would claim that he'd been the true winner.
 
Whether or not there was an actual winner of that contest, there was no question that Watkins, his coaches and his players all are looking forward to having a fun season - and winning some baseball games along the way.
 
"I’m excited about all of these guys," Watkins said of the players making up the first roster of his minor league managing career.
 
"They were fun to watch in spring training. Good group of guys, they all got along well. Up and down the lineup I think you’ll see a lot of energy, you’ll see a lot of guys play the game hard. I think they’ll be fun to watch this year. Same thing from the pitching side. We’ve got guys who can throw it over. We’ve got guys that throw hard, got some off-speed stuff. From both sides of the ball, these guys will be fun to watch."
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Hitting coach Brian Dinkelman, Manager Tommy Watkins and Pitching coach JP Martinez (photo: SD Buhr)

While last year's opening day roster was composed largely of returning players from the 2015 Kernels roster, only eight of this year's group wore a Cedar Rapids jersey at some point last year. Most of the group, including many of the returning players, played together at Elizabethton in the Appalachian League, during a season that did not see the sort of success on the field that E-town fans have come to expect.
 
Pitching coach J.P. Martinez said he things this group is hungry for success, as a result.
 
"I think in Cedar Rapids, in particular, we’ve set the bar pretty high," Martinez said, recounting the success the Kernels have had, including making the playoffs in each of the four seasons since the inception of the affiliation agreement with the Twins.
 
"I think (these players) are eager to prove that they belong at this level, maybe partly because they didn’t really have the success they wanted last year, but they're a really, really talented group. A really close-knit group and so we’re hoping that we can kind of steer them in the right direction. They are the future of the franchise."
 
Brian Dinkelman, the hitting coach, also thinks there's a lot of potential in this group of Kernels.
 
"Yeah, we’ve got some guys that can definitely swing the bat," he said of the hitters he'll be working with. "We've got a lot of young guys. We’ve got (Lewin) Diaz and (Jermaine) Palacios and (Ben) Rortvedt - guys that are still in their teens. But we’ve got some guys who can swing the bat and do some damage, so looking forward to the season. A lot of guys to work with. Hope we can develop them and move on to the next level.
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Ben Rortvedt, Sean Poppen and Travis Blankenhorn (photo: SD Buhr)

One of the guys the hitting coach mentioned, Rortvedt, is among the players who will be getting their first taste of full-season professional experience this season in Cedar Rapids.
 
"Wonderful. A bit of an upgrade with the stadium from Elizabethton and the Florida GCL," the Wisconsin native responded, when asked for his initial impressions."I played here growing up a couple of times and it was fantastic. I mean, it wasn’t full bleachers, but I’ve seen pictures of you guys filling up the stadium, so I’m really excited.
 
"I played with a bunch of the guys last year and we’ve bonded pretty well, so it’s going to be a fun season."
 
There's that word, "fun" again, along with another common theme of the day, team chemistry.
 
Pitcher Sean Poppen and infielder/DH Travis Blankenhorn expressed similar expectations.
 
"(Tommy) is great. I think he’s really going to develop team chemistry and that’s pretty important," Poppen said, of his manager.
 
"We had Tommy in instructs (fall instructional league) and spring training," Blankenhorn added. "He just keeps the game fun. It’s fun to play for him. He keeps it fun for all of us. It makes baseball a lot better when you’re having fun."
 
"Absolutely," Rortvedt agreed. "I didn’t know Tommy going into instructs and he came in already cracking jokes at me, so he’s definitely going to keep us loose in the dugout."
 
Fun and chemistry are important, but Poppen doesn't think that's all Watkins brings to his team.
 
"He’s a good coach. I’ve had some experiences with him that were very helpful and I feel like he’s going to help me - and help the team - get better."
 
"I think we have a good team this year," Blankenhorn concluded. "I think we have a bunch of pitchers that are going to throw strikes and go out there and put some zeros on the board. I think we have some good sticks in our lineup that are going to put the ball in play and puts some runs up and hopefully we can win some games."
 
Having fun and winning games. Sounds like a pretty good combination.