Article: Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - May 2015

[Seth Stohs]

Relief pitchers seem to go under the radar when they do their jobs well. On the occasions when they don’t do their job well, then they get noticed. Here at Twins Daily, we want to make sure that the relief pitchers get some positive recognition. Instead of just doing a Minor League Pitcher of the Month, we separate the starters and the relievers because many relievers deserve to be noticed for positive reasons.There were a lot of very strong May performances out of the bullpen at the Twins affiliates. Below, you’ll find the Top 6 Relief Pitchers for the month, but first a few relievers worthy of mention:

• RHP Nick Burdi – 8 G, 2-0, 2.03 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 13 H, 3 BB, 15 K
• RHP JT Chargois – 9 G, 0-0, 2 Saves, 0.00 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 11 K
• RHP Madison Boer – 8 G, 2-2, 2.55 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 17.2 IP, 13 H, 7 BB, 10 K
• LHP Mike Theofanopoulos – 9 G, 1-0, 1.56 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 17.1 IP, 12 H, 8 BB, 16 K
• RHP Zach Tillery – 7 G, 2 GS, 1-1, 1 Save, 1.88 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 19.0 IP, 16 H, 6 BB, 19 K

Now let's get to the Top 5 Minnesota Twins Minor League Relief Pitchers for May 2015:

 

Number 5 – Cedar Rapids – LHP Cameron Booser - 9 G, 0.68 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 5 H, 9 BB, 17 K

 

The Twins signed the left-hander as a non-drafted free agent late in 2012. He turned 23 at the beginning of May. He was terrific in April and even better in May. Overall, he has a record this year of 1-0 with five saves. He has an overall ERA of 0.77 with a WHIP of 0.99. As noticeable, he has struck out 35 batters in 23.1 innings, a rate of 13.5 per nine. He will have to improve his control as he has walked 13 batters. However, his stuff is tremendous and opponents have just ten hits off of him all year. He is blessed with a fastball that easily reaches into the upper 90s and even touches triple figures at times. When I talked to him in Cedar Rapids, he fully acknowledged that he was still learning how to pitch, and that is very exciting.

Number 4 – Chattanooga – Zack Jones - 9 G, 1.74 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 9 K

 

Though he hasn’t been talked about as much as some of the other relievers who began the season in Chattanooga, he has been Doug Mientkiewicz’s most consistent, reliable bullpen arm all season. Overall, he is 3-1 with 7 saves. In 17.1 innings (over 16 games), he has a 1.56 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. The biggest improvement this year has been his control. He’s walked just five batters through the season’s first two months. Blessed with a fastball that sits between 95 and 98, Jones was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2012 out of San Jose State. He missed most of last season due to an aneurysm in his right shoulder.

Number 3 – Ft. Myers – Brandon Peterson - 11 G, 1.10 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 16.1 IP, 8 H, 8 BB, 25 K

 

Peterson was the Twins 13^th round pick in 2013 out of Wichita State. The Savage, MN, native was our choice for Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2014. He returned to the Miracle to start this season and continues to dominate the league. Overall, he is 1-0 with two saves in his 18 appearances. He has posted an ERA of 1.00 and WHIP of 1.04 in his 27 innings. He has struck out 13.0 per nine innings, which is the same rate he had in 31 games with the Miracle last year. His lone flaw to this point is 15 walks in 27 innings which will need to be addressed.

Number 2 – Rochester – AJ Achter - 12 G, 0.75 ERA, 0.42 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 11 K

 

Michael Tonkin and Ryan Pressly were promoted. People talked about Lester Oliveros. All the while, AJ Achter outperformed them all in Rochester. When Tonkin promoted to the Twins, Achter took over as the Red Wings closer and did very well. He was 7-7 in save opportunities. On the season, he has pitched 21.2 innings in 21 games. He is 3-2 with the seven saves. He has a 2.08 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP. He’s walked just five and struck out 20. The 26-year-old debuted with the Twins last September and deserves to be back up with the team in 2015.

And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is:

 

Cedar Rapids – Trevor Hildenberger - 9 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.38 WHIP, 18.2 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 23 K

 

Hildenberger was a close runner-up for this award in April, and he dominated the Midwest League in May as well. Not only did he not allow any runs, but opponents hit just .083/.113/.100 (.213) against him. He has worked a few times for just one inning, but for the most part, he is throwing two or three innings at a time. He currently has a streak of 25 innings without allowing a run and has given up just one run in 28.2 innings through the season’s two months.

I’m going to make a paragraph just for his 2015 season numbers, just because they are so ridiculous. In 14 games and 28.2 innings, he has an ERA of 0.31 and a WHIP of 0.49.

He has been successful using two fastballs (two-seam and four-seam), a changeup and a slider.

Hildenberger pitched for four seasons at Cal-Berkeley, so he is already 24-years-old. It is inexplicable to me why he remains in Cedar Rapids, but he is taking it all in stride. He told Twins Daily, “I try not to worry about moving up or not. I just keep getting the next hitter out no matter where we are or what the situation is.”

Most likely the day after the Kernels either clinch a playoff berth or after an All- Star game appearance, he will find himself packing and heading back to Ft. Myers, this time to join the Miracle. Who knows? It could be even sooner.

Hildenberger was the Twins 22^nd round pick last year out of Cal-Berkeley. He pitches from an interesting angle. “I would describe myself as sidearm. I know my release point can rise up from time to time, but I definitely categorize myself as sidearm.”

The right-hander hasn’t always thrown from the side. “It started back at the end of my third year at Cal Berkeley when my teammate wore the wrong number jersey to practice. My pitching coach, Mike Neu, commented on what he pictured when he saw my teammate’s number. I asked him what he pictured when he saw my number 26, and he said a sidearm pitcher because UCLA and Washington both had sidearm relief pitchers with the number 26. At that point in time I had thrown a cumulative 12 innings in three years and was clearly not effective enough to compete. So he asked me to throw a bullpen from a lower arm angle. I obliged not realizing it was a permanent change. He liked what he saw and sent me off to summer ball in Bend, Oregon, in the summer of 2012 to refine my new style and experience some growing pains.”

As a senior in 2014, he pitched in 28 games. He was 3-3 with 10 saves and a 2.83 ERA. In 47.2 innings, he gave up 41 hits, walked 11 and struck out 48. It was enough to get him drafted by the Twins where he has continued to work on his new delivery while experiencing a ton of success.

In that same 2014 draft, the Twins selected Hildenberger’s teammate, LHP Michael Theofanopoulos. If nothing else, the Twins have an advantage on other organizations should a Scrabble tournament be played where only names of players in their organization can be used. It was a positive for both to come to professional baseball together as teammates.

“Theo and I were lucky to be drafted together by the same team in the same year. We had known each other for the previous four years playing at Cal together and were friends coming into the draft. It made the transition from college to professional baseball easier and gave me a no-brainer catch partner when we first started. We lived together last summer in the GCL and in instructional league, and now we live together with the same host family here in Cedar Rapids. It's nice to have someone who knows your pitching history to discuss outings or mindsets so candidly.”

Hildenberger worked with pitching coach Ehren Wasserman in the GCL last year and has been working with Kernels pitching coach Henry Bonilla this season. He says that he has been able to learn from each.

“Luckily, Wass was a sidearm pitcher who pitched with the White Sox in the major leagues, so I was able to learn specific tips to help me improve my slider and fastball command. Henry has taught me a mindset that has helped me become successful at this level. To keep attacking hitters with the same pitch or location until they prove they have made an adjustment. He stopped me from overthinking as I did in 2014 and allowed me to become more relaxed and confident in my approach.”

The Kernels are 32-18 at this stage of the season, and as you would expect with a record like that, the clubhouse has a terrific atmosphere.

“The Kernels Clubhouse is extremely loose right now (May 31). We're competing with everyone we play. Our starting pitching has been outstanding. Our defense kept us in games. Our bullpen has been magnificent. And our offense has led the way with timely hitting. As a staff, we are aggressive and relaxed, knowing our defense will back us up and our hitters will provide enough offense to win. It’s extraordinarily fun to come to the ballpark every day knowing the starter and every guy in the ‘pen will do his job, giving us a chance to win. Booser, Theo, LeBlanc, Bard, Velez, and Cederoth have all dominated lately, allowing us to win tight games.”

Speaking of dominating, did I mention yet that Hildenberger, through two months and 28.2 innings with the Kernels, has an ERA of 0.31 and a WHIP of 0.49? He’s also giving up 3.5 hits per nine, 0.9 walks per nine and striking out 11.9 batters per nine innings.

However, Hildenberger has bigger goals for 2015 than just dominating for two months or (gasp) a Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month award. He started with team goals before considering his personal goals.

“My goal is to make the playoffs this year. Last year, I spent with the GCL Twins, and we missed out on the postseason. When I got called up to Elizabethton, I got a taste of what the playoffs were like. So hopefully we can keep winning games and clinch a playoff berth in the first half. Personally, my goal is to be in Fort Myers (High-A) by the end of the season and help them reach the postseason as well. Being an older guy, I know getting drafted at 23 isn't exactly an advantage, and that you have to perform right away. Hopefully I can continue the success I've had early here in 2015 and advance towards the ultimate goal of helping the Twins bring a World Series championship to Minnesota.”

Count me in on someone that would love to see that as well!

Congratulations on a great month of May and a great two month start to the season, Trevor Hildenberger. I’m thinking the Miracle bullpen will be adding a side-armer very soon.

 

So what do you think? I’ve ranked the top five bullpen arms in the Twins organization in May, along with another five that deserve to be recognized for their May performance as well. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)?

 

Be sure to check back later for the Starting Pitcher and Hitter of May.

 

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[brvama]

Can't really quibble with the order and am definitely in agreement with Hildeenberger as the top reliever. Great article, Seth, as usual. Trevor's story certainly captured my attention, thanks.

[Einstein1]

Hildenberger really doesn't seem to have much left to prove at Cedar Rapids, hopefully he gets the call to Ft Myers soon.  

 

I'm excited about Chargois too, he's reportedly hitting triple digits regularly. 

 

[Hrbowski]

My prospect...

[Mike Sixel]

Great article. Awesome.

[Cap'n Piranha]

My favorite Zack Jones stat is that when he is ahead in the count, batters are 2 for 25 against him, with no walks and 13 strikeouts.  That's a .083 BAA, and a .26 WHIP.

[jimbo92107]

If Hildenberger wants to pitch for the major league club, he'll have to buy a stick-on beard... ;-)

[uberfan]

Ha, his name's Trevor, bring him up!

[goulik]

Pretty cool when a 0.00 ERA and 1.04 WHIP is not good enough to crack the top 5