Article: Twins Minor League Report (4/25): Berrios, Romero, and... Turley? Oh My!

[Steve Lein]

Big names were slated to pitch in the Twins system Tuesday night, with Jose Berrios, Fernando Romero, and Dereck Rodriguez all taking the hill for their respective teams. They were all fantastic, but it was another starter who stole the day with one of the best performances you’ve seen in the minors since Twins Daily came into existence (trust me on this). But he also took the loss despite his efforts, and the Chattanooga Lookouts offense owes both their starters some penance after being swept in a doubleheader.Keep reading to find out just how well all the starters threw on Tuesday night, and why it’s the relative unknown who still gets the most glory!

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Gwinnett 4, Rochester 5

Box Score

 

Jose Berrios was pretty good in his fourth start of the year, going six innings and allowing just one earned run on four hits and three walks while striking out ten. I apologize for the modest adjective while you read his state line again: 6IP, 2 R’s (1 ER), 4 H’s, 3 BBs, 10 K’s; but you’ll understand why it was just “pretty good” as you go further along in this report. He struck out multiple Braves hitters in the first, third, and sixth innings and at least one in each inning.

 

His day was finished after 102 pitches and he left the game with the Red Wings down 2-0. A passed ball in the third resulted in one of those runs, while a solo home run in the fourth accounted for the other.

 

D.J. Baxendale pitched a one-two-three seventh inning, striking out one before Rochester’s lineup came alive against Gwinnett’s bullpen in the bottom half of the frame. A Niko Goodrum double scored their first run, then an Ehire Adrianza single and Matt Hague sacrifice gave them the lead 3-2. It was Adrianza’s first game with the Red Wings after being assigned to the roster earlier in the day.

 

Trevor Hildenberger came on for the eighth and gave the lead right back on a single, double, and single to consecutive batters before working his way out of the jam. He did strike out two.

 

Now down 4-3 with two outs in the eighth, Tommy Field got a two-out rally started for Rochester with a double, and Goodrum finished it with his second home run of the season to put the Red Wings back out front.

 

 

J.T. Chargois came on for the ninth and picked up his first save of the 2017 season with a one-two-three inning.

 

Adrianza, Daniel Palka, Goodrum and J.B. Shuck had two hits on the night. Field and Goodrum each scored two runs in the victory.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Game 1: Tennessee 2, Chattanooga 0 (7 innings)

Box Score

 

In the regularly scheduled game of the double-header, Twins Daily’s #1 Prospect Fernando Romero was on the mound for the Lookouts and got himself into a pitcher’s duel. Unfortunately, his offense didn’t come to bat for him in this one.

 

Nick Gordon led off the bottom of the first inning with a single and was followed by an Engelb Vielma walk to put him in scoring position, but that was one of the few opportunities Chattanooga would get all game. Smokies starter Zach Wedger retired the next ten before Travis Harrison drew a walk in the fourth and Tanner English got to second base after an error and stolen base in the sixth for the rest of the opportunities.

 

Romero matched Wedger until the seventh inning. Through six innings he had allowed just three hits and walked two with four strikeouts. He started the final inning with two more K’s, but a Vielma error at shortstop got the losing wheels spinning. The next batter singled and Romero was removed after 81 pitches and was now responsible for the game without being the one throwing the pitches. I’m guessing he would have rather done the rest himself whichever way it went from there.

 

John Curtiss came on, walked the bases loaded, and gave up a single to score both of Tennessee’s runs on the scoreboard before getting a K to end the inning. The Lookouts proceeded to go down one-two-three as Wedger slammed the door on them like he had all game.

 

In his last two starts, Romero has tossed 12.1 innings and allowed just one earned run on ten hits and three walks, while striking out ten. He’s improved his ERA from 9.00 to 3.44.

 

Game 2: Tennessee 1, Chattanooga 0 (makeup of 4/23 PPD, 7 innings)

Box Score

 

Nik Turley made his second start of the season for the Lookouts, and he couldn’t have done more. He was ridiculous. Fourteen K’s in a 7-inning complete game ridiculous. Tennessee got their one run in the top of the first as a walk, stolen base, sac bunt and RBI groundout version of offense was all they would end up needing.

 

From there the 2017 signing out of the independent leagues was literally untouchable. He struck out the side one-two-three in the sixth and seventh innings, and eight in a row going back to the fifth to end the game. He allowed just two hits and two walks to go along with the plethora of strikeouts. Seventy-one of his ninety-seven pitches went for strikes as he was as efficient as you could possibly be sending that many opposing hitters on trots of shame back to the dugout.

 

Unfortunately, it was much of the same in Game 2 for the Chattanooga offense, though they did manage to outhit Tennessee 4-2. Nick Gordon was 2-4, and Edgar Corcino and Dan Gamache added singles to account for the four hits. They did draw six walks as a team, but weren’t able to take advantage.

 

For the day, the Lookouts were just 0-9 with runners in scoring position, and left only ten men on base. I hope the lineup took Romero and Turley out for dinner when their day was finally done.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Bradenton 3, Fort Myers 7

Box score

 

Fort Myers struck first in this one, as Zander Wiel launched his second home run of the season to lead off the second inning, and starter Dereck Rodriguez took it from there.

 

Through four innings he kept the Marauders off the board with some help from a couple of double-plays. In the fifth a leadoff home run tied the game at one before a triple and an error brought in another for a 2-1 Bradenton lead.

 

Fort Myers got those runs back in the sixth thanks to a Casey Scoggins RBI double and a Max Murphy RBI hit-by-pitch. Rodriguez gave up another home run to the leadoff man in the seventh and got two outs before he reached his pitch limit, exiting the game responsible for a runner on third and having recorded only three strikeouts. Nick Anderson came on and got the next batter to fly out, leaving the game tied 3-3.

 

The Miracle put the game away with four runs in the seventh thanks to singles from Nelson Molina, Alex Perez, and Casey Scoggins along with two errors on the Marauder defense.

 

Anderson finished the game to pick up the victory, allowing two hits in 2.1 innings, striking out two along the way. Fort Myers improves to 9-10 on the season and look to get to .500 against Bradenton Wednesday night.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Burlington 1, Cedar Rapids 2

Box Score

 

If you’ve sensed a theme yet in this report, you should have expected nothing less from starter Eduardo Del Rosario in Cedar Rapids in this one. He blanked the Bees for seven innings, allowing just five hits and one walk while also reaching double-digits in K’s like his upper-level cohorts with ten.

 

The Kernels finally got on the board to support him against Burlington’s bullpen in the sixth inning when scorching hot shortstop and reigning Midwest League Player of the Week Jermaine Palacios led it off with a triple. He later scored on a wild pitch and Jaylin Davis added an RBI single to put the home team up 2-0.

 

Alex Robinson walked one and struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning to pick up his first hold of the season, and Tom Hackimer notched his second save with a hitless ninth. An unearned run did score to make it interesting in the final frame as an error from Travis Blankenhorn and wild pitch put a runner on third with one out before a ground ball got the Bees on the scoreboard.

 

Palacios was 2-4 on the night to put his average above .400 so far on the season, and Mitchell Kranson added his seventh double of the year for the Kernels offense.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day – Nik Turley, Chattanooga Lookouts (L, CG 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H’s, 2 BB’s, 14 K’s)

Hitter of the Day – Niko Goodrum, Rochester Red Wings (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B, HR, 2 RBI)

 

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Gwinnett @ Rochester (12:35PM CST) – LHP David Hurlbut

Tennessee @ Chattanooga (10:15AM CST) – RHP Felix Jorge

Bradenton @ Fort Myers (5:35PM CST) – RHP David Fischer (2-0, 0.60 ERA)

Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – RHP Tyler Wells (1-0, 2.12 ERA)

 

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

 

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[108Stitches]

Wait. WTF is Turley not getting the call?? I mean DAMN. That's probably the most effective, efficient pitching I've ever heard of. Great starts from all around today! More Ks than a Kellogg's factory!

[Tuba]

Wow, the organization had a bonkers pitching day. Anyone want to combine these 5 starters with Santana and form one combined stat line? I would but I'm lazy. 

[nyazbeck]

Santana 7/4/1/2/6

berrios6/4/2/1/3/10

Romero 6.2/4/2/0/2/6

turly 7/2/1/2/14

Rodriguez 6.2/9/3/2/1/3

del Rosario 7/5/0/1/10

Total 40.1 ip 26 H 9 R 5 ER 11 BB 49K

[FormerMinnasotan]

It looks like offensively that Chattanooga isn't very good. To have 2 starters (Romero, Turley) pitch as well as they did and not get a W looks kinda bad. But on the positive it looks like Romero is coming around, if his walks continue to go down I think he will look even better.

[Seth Stohs]

 

It looks like offensively that Chattanooga isn't very good. To have 2 starters (Romero, Turley) pitch as well as they did and not get a W looks kinda bad. But on the positive it looks like Romero is coming around, if his walks continue to go down I think he will look even better.

 

I tweeted this last night:

 

 

It's really a remarkable stat... The Lookouts have some guys that just aren't hitting that I think will be average types of hitters... so hopefully they get it going here.

 

Tanner English is a good ball player. He should be hitting .250, and he's hitting .115 (or so) right now. He'll be fine, I think, but tough start. A lot of guys are hitting 50 points lower than you'd expect. Of course, no way to know what will happen, but i think there is more there than is currently being shown. Right now, it's pretty much Gordon and Vielma hitting, with Corcino and Ryan Walker contributing well too.

[SirLoin]

"one of the best performances you’ve seen in the minors since Twins Daily came into existence (trust me on this). But he also took the loss despite his efforts"

 

This is the most "Minnesota Sports" statement ever.....

[Deduno Abides]

Before anyone gets too excited about a 27 year-old in AA, remember that Tommy Milone had a lot of great lines in AAA in 2015 and 2016.

 

 

Also, regarding Tanner English, remember that he hit .235 with a 33% K rate last year in Fort Myers. He was injured, so those numbers may be tainted, but they still do not predict success.

[SDTwinsFan]

 

Before anyone gets too excited about a 27 year-old in AA, remember that Tommy Milone had a lot of great lines in AAA in 2015 and 2016.

 

Totally agree, but also feel that a Tommy Milone type can be a helpful 5th starter for the next few years.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

Wait. WTF is Turley not getting the call?? I mean DAMN. That's probably the most effective, efficient pitching I've ever heard of. Great starts from all around today! More Ks than a Kellogg's factory!

 

Turly is org filler. 27 and in AA.  Not against pushing him up if something clicks, but I think it's going to be more than a couple starts for that to happen.

[Steve Lein]

The last player to strike out 14 in a game in the Twins organization, was much more recent than I figured it would be so I didn't try to look it up while writing this last night.

 

But Jose Berrios struck out 14 on August 31st of last season, his last start of the year in the minors. He went 8 IP, gave up 3 runs on 5 hits, including 2 HR's, and walked 1 to go along with his 14 K's. 70 of his 99 pitches went for strikes...

 

I challenge someone to find the game before that where a Twins prospect struck out 14 or more? (Hint: It's not Berrios, though he was close a few times).

[clutterheart]

Wow.  Goodrum looks like a man amongst boys up there.  thanks for posting that video.  

 

Looks like he is struggling in the field at SS.   I would like him to get some reps at 3B.  There isn't any viable 3B options in they system until you get to FM and find Chris Paul.  

[Mike Sixel]

 

Wow.  Goodrum looks like a man amongst boys up there.  thanks for posting that video.  

 

Looks like he is struggling in the field at SS.   I would like him to get some reps at 3B.  There isn't any viable 3B options in they system until you get to FM and find Chris Paul.  

 

Agreed, they are loaded at SS (heh), but have no real 3B at all. 

[FormerMinnasotan]

The last player to strike out 14 in a game in the Twins organization, was much more recent than I figured it would be so I didn't try to look it up while writing this last night.

 

But Jose Berrios struck out 14 on August 31st of last season, his last start of the year in the minors. He went 8 IP, gave up 3 runs on 5 hits, including 2 HR's, and walked 1 to go along with his 14 K's. 70 of his 99 pitches went for strikes...

 

I challenge someone to find the game before that where a Twins prospect struck out 14 or more? (Hint: It's not Berrios, though he was close a few times).

Didn't Tyler Wells strike out 14 in a 7 inning double header while only giving up 1 hit for Elizabethton? Edited April 26, 2017 by FormerMinnasotan

[Steve Lein]

 

Didn't Tyler Wells strike out 14 in a 7 inning double header while only giving up 1 hit for Elizabethton?

 

Winner! He did. August 22nd of 2016. So both were very recent.

 

I went back to 2012 among all the affiliates and haven't found another one...

[yarnivek1972]

Sometimes it takes lefties a while to figure it out.

 

Ron Guidry and Randy Johnson didn't become regular starters at the mlb level until they were 26. Not suggesting Turley has that ceiling. He's never even pitched at the mlb level. He never really had prolonged success at AAA either. But his numbers for the Lookouts are too eyepopping to dismiss. He needs to be moved up soon. Maybe a couple more starts in AA. If what he is doing translates to AAA he could be in line for a shot at the MLB level in July maybe.

[drivlikejehu]

It's not impossible that Turley has had a breakthrough in his ability, despite his relatively advanced age. Things like that do happen. 

[Seth Stohs]

Nobody is looking at Turley as a "prospect." But that's a very nice signing. If he can do as well as Boshers did last year, it's a terrific signing. Sometimes guys figure out something later and can fill a nice role in the big leagues.

 

We need to stop worrying about ages to level when it comes to org guys who hopefully or could potentially fill a small role in the big leagues. 

 

He's 27, not 37... what if he was a diamond in the rough that the Twins found and he's able to be a solid lefty reliever in the big leagues for 2-3 years? 

[twinsfanstreif]

Santana 7/4/1/2/6

berrios6/4/2/1/3/10

Romero 6.2/4/2/0/2/6

turly 7/2/1/2/14

Rodriguez 6.2/9/3/2/1/3

del Rosario 7/5/0/1/10

Total 40.1 ip 26 H 9 R 5 ER 11 BB 49K

Wow, what a day for the system's starters! That's an ERA of 2.02, a WHIP of .9975, a K/9 10.93, and a K:BB ratio of 4.45. For those of you that are not numbers people, I'll just say those numbers are pretty good......pretty, pretty, good

[Guest]

The Kernels game had an interesting dynamic.

 

After 5 innings, the game was still 0-0 and Del Rosario took the mound for the top of the 6th. He would also pitch the 7th and ended up throwing 93 pitches. Not unusual for a SP having a good night in the Twins organization, especially once they're beyond their first couple starts of the season.

 

In contrast, Burlington starter Jesus Castillo took a seat on the bench after 5 innings. He arguably was more effective than Del Rosario at that point, having allowed only 1 hit and 1 BB, while K-ing 6. He'd thrown only 63 pitches.

 

CR Gazette beat reporter Jeff Johnson reported earlier in the series that the Angels (the Bees' MLB affiliate) enforce a "5 IP or 75 pitches" limit on the Bees' SPs.

 

Nathan Bates relieved Castillo to start the 6th and Palacios greeted him by tripling on the first pitch he saw. CR would score their two runs in that inning and end up winning 2-1.

 

Just one example of how there's more going on behind the scenes at a MiLB game than is readily apparent and affiliate philosophies often have as much to do with who wins how many games as comparative roster talent levels.

 

Which philosophy would you prefer your favorite MLB team follow? Which would you prefer to see your local minor league team have?

 

 

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

Whatever is best for development, and not worrying about winning, that's what I'd prefer.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Good to see Romero turning it around. After Gonsalves went down and Stewart turned horrible, he jumped quite a ways up the depth chart.

[mikelink45]

If Falvey and Lavine are creative as some reported with the Bosher up and down call why not get creative and pull some of these pitchers up for a look - I would love to see us go through a sequence like this one time - what do we have to lose - and if it does not work, are we really worse off?  This was a fun pitching day and we do not have a lot of these to obsess over in the Twins world. 

[DJL44]

Turley should be in line for a quick promotion to AAA. I would want to see him continue his success there before a major league callup but:

 

He's lefthanded

He's striking batters out like crazy

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

If Falvey and Lavine are creative as some reported with the Bosher up and down call why not get creative and pull some of these pitchers up for a look - I would love to see us go through a sequence like this one time - what do we have to lose - and if it does not work, are we really worse off?  This was a fun pitching day and we do not have a lot of these to obsess over in the Twins world. 

There's a limit to those kinds of moves because:

 

1. The 40 man roster

2. Service time

 

For example, Romero is on the 40 man but has no service time. You don't want to trigger an option if you don't have to, nor do you want to start his clock just for funsies.

 

Inversely, Nik Turley's service time isn't a concern to anyone but he's not on the 40 man roster. So, to call him up, someone else needs to get the boot off the 40 man.

 

Which is kind of pointless because we're talking about Nik Turley here. Maybe he's someone we care about in July but he doesn't have the track record to warrant a look in April.

[DJL44]

The 20 year olds in full-season ball are pretty interesting. Rortvedt is the youngest guy in full-season ball (19) and the jump from high school to Cedar Rapids has been a challenge for him so far. The 20 year olds are generally having pretty good years though:

 

Luis Arraez - was hitting at Ft Myers but now injured and out for a while

Lewin Diaz - not impressing so far

Travis Blankenhorn - hitting well and playing 3B, any reports on his defense?

Aaron Whitefield - no walks but impressing at the plate, more XBH than Blankenhorn

Jermaine Palacios - destroying the Midwest League in his second try

Lachlan Wells - pitching very well at Ft Myers

 

Then you have 21 year old Nick Gordon impressing at AA which cements his place as the #1 prospect in the system.

[70charger]

 

 

For example, Romero is on the 40 man but has no service time. You don't want to trigger an option if you don't have to, nor do you want to start his clock just for funsies.

 

If Romero is on the 40 man and in the minor leagues, he's already on optional assignment. This is one of his option years, and it doesn't matter for options if he gets moved up and down this year.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

If Romero is on the 40 man and in the minor leagues, he's already on optional assignment. This is one of his option years, and it doesn't matter for options if he gets moved up and down this year.

Good catch. The service time is still a consideration, though. As is stunting his development in the minors.

[70charger]

True. I personally don't think the time is right to bring him up, nor do I think sending him up and down (what we've called "jerking around" for others) is a sound strategy. But I also hope that he'll force the issue soon enough to where we won't ever have to worry about options for him.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Which is kind of pointless because we're talking about Nik Turley here. Maybe he's someone we care about in July but he doesn't have the track record to warrant a look in April.

You could have said the same thing about Nick Tepesch a couple days ago.  Or, frankly, Michael "Walking DFA" Tonkin.  We've got an 8 man bullpen, and not a particularly strong one, there are plenty of opportunities to evaluate new players like Turley if they warrant it.

 

I'd probably get Turley in AAA immediately, and if his success carries over, get him up to MLB.  He's not the kind of player you make repeat his success for X number of months at a level before his next challenge.