Article: Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher Of The Month - May 2017

[Seth Stohs]

It’s hard to believe that the baseball season is already nearly two months complete. The calendar has turned to June, and it is again time to hand out some awards. Today we start with the relief pitchers. Over the next few days, we’ll also post our top starting pitchers and hitters in the Twins minor leagues in May.

 

As bad as the final four May games were for the Twins bullpen, they had been fairly solid up until that point. There have been several transactions in recent days, and that will likely continue. Ironically, this was a terrific month for minor league relievers in the Twins system. Most important, several of those strong bullpen performances came from the upper levels of the system, AAA and AA. It was hard to cut down the honorable mention group, but it had to be done.Before we share our Twins Daily Minor League Top 5 Relievers for May, here are some terrific bullpen performances that just missed the cut.

 

 

HONORABLE MENTION

• Nick Anderson - Ft. Myers - 9 G, 1.64 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 13 K
• Luke Bard - Chattanooga - 7 G, 2.03 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 12 H, 3 BB, 20 K
• Sam Clay - Ft. Myers - 10 G, 1.17 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 15.1 IP, 10 H, 9 BB, 17 K
• Colton Davis - Cedar Rapids - 10 G, 1.08 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 16.2 IP, 10 H, 9 BB, 12 K
• Hector Lujan - Cedar Rapids - 9 G, 1.23 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 14.2 IP, 12 H, 2 BB, 15 K
• Williams Ramirez - Ft. Myers - 11 G, 2.93 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 15.1 IP, 9 H, 10 BB, 16 K
• Alex Robinson - Cedar Rapids - 10 G, 1.35 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 12 H, 5 BB, 20 K
• Andrew Vasquez - Cedar Rapids - 9 G, 1.26 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 7 H, 5 BB, 21 K

THE TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS

 

 

 

 

#5 - John Curtiss - Chattanooga - 8 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 9.1 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 12 K

John Curtiss was named the Southern League Relief Pitcher of the Month of May on Thursday. His month was terrific. His scoreless innings streak to start the season is now at 17.2 innings and 16 appearances. He is 1-0 with nine saves for the Lookouts. It’s hard to put up those numbers, not give up a run for the season’s first two months, and not be the choice for relief pitcher of the month. But Curtiss will be fine. The former Texas Longhorn has really taken off since moving to the bullpen full time at the beginning of last season. He throws hard, often hitting 97 and 98. He should be moving up fairly soon, I would think. In the month of May, opponents hit .133/.235/.233 (.469).

#4 - Trevor Hildenberger - Rochester - 9 G, 1.29 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 6 H, 5 BB, 14 K

Speaking of guys who need to move up, Trevor Hildenberger is no stranger to the Twins Daily relief pitcher awards. He was our choice for Relief Pitcher of the Year the last two seasons. He’s been just so consistent since he was drafted in 2014. This month, opponents hit just .128/.226/.128 (.354) off of him for the month. He is used in a variety of roles for the Red Wings. And seriously, it’s time for him to get an opportunity with the Twins.

#3 - Tom Hackimer - Cedar Rapids - 9 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.54 WHIP, 13.0 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 18 K

Hackimer was the Twins fourth-round pick a year ago after four seasons at St. Johns. He went right to Cedar Rapids and began the 2017 season there as well. In May, opponents have hit just .114/.204/.136 (.340). He did not give up a run during the month. He also went 2-0 with four saves for the Kernels. As the month came to an end, he received his promotion to Ft. Myers. Through his two months with the Kernels, he went 3-1 with six saves. He posted a very good 1.50 ERA, and a miniscule 0.58 WHIP. Definitely promotion-worthy.

#2 - Alan Busenitz - Rochester - 8 G, 0.73 ERA, 0.49 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 15 K

When we heard the news that Ryan Pressly had been optioned and Jason Wheeler had been DFAd, speculation began about who would be called up. One of the names most often mentioned with hard-throwing right-hander Alan Busenitz. He came to the Twins with Hector Santiago from the Angels last August. He was solid in April, but in May, he has been nearly unhittable. Opponents hit just .125/.167/.125 (.292). While he’s not much over 6-0 tall, Busenitz sits in the mid-to-upper 90s with his fastball. He is a guy who should be up with the Twins at some point in the near future.

 

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

 

Chattanooga Lookouts – LHP Randy Rosario - 6 G, 0.66 ERA, 0.44 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 18 K

 

Rosario signed with the Twins way back in August of 2010 out of the Dominican Republic. He slowly worked his way up the system. In 2014, he was starting in Cedar Rapids, but after just a few starts, he had Tommy John surgery and missed just over a year. He returned to the Kernels in 2015 and was flashing 97 at times with his fastball. He was added to the 40-man roster after that season. Last year, he began the season in the Ft. Myers rotation where he spent most of the year. Late in the year, he was moved to the bullpen and headed up to Chattanooga.

This year at spring training, he learned when he was sent down to minor league camp that they were moving him to the bullpen full time. I chatted with him right after that, and he was very excited about the move saying he thought it was the best thing for him. After a strong May, he finds himself in the big leagues two months later.

He pitched in just six games during the month of May, but he worked 13.2 innings during those outings. Opponents hit just .087/.143/.130 (.273) off of him in the month. They were just 4-46 off of him, and he walked just two batters while striking out 18 hitters.

He actually began the season at Ft. Myers, but after just two appearances, he was moved up to Chattanooga where he has pitched quite well.

How long will he be in the big leagues? I guess that depends a lot on how he performs. The left-hander hits 97 mph with his fastball and has the makings of a very nasty slider. While he has been in the organization nearly seven years, he only turned 23-years-old two weeks ago. He is certainly a part of the future.

 

There were so many great relief pitcher performances in May throughout the Twins minor league system. It’s encouraging that several of them are in the upper levels as well. My sense is that we will see several of them before the season is over. Feel free to agree or disagree with the order, if you like, but congratulations to each of these individuals on an excellent first month to their seasons.

 

 

Congratulations to the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for May 2017, Randy Rosario.

 

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[terrydactyls]

To paraphrase George Jefferson:

 

"Movin' on up to the Big Leagues

to that big cup o' coffee in the sky"

 

It's about time that there is some change to the Twins bullpen that doesn't include members of AARP. Lots of good young talent. Let's get them all up and see what we have.

[mikelink45]

Lets send more relievers down and out and put this list in the bigs!  Make the moves and get some excitement back in the pen - excitement about the pitcher and not the home runs and rallies that they allow. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

What must Curtiss do next month to improve on his numbers in May so he can be the TD Relief Pitcher of the Month for June? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Seth Stohs]

I want to know...

 

Walks have been his only real downfall.

[ashbury]

I want to know...

 

Walks have been his only real downfall.

Yeah, if he's walking so many but otherwise succeeding because that's how he avoids the toughest batters at AA, that form of strategery is going to stop working when he reaches the majors and finds he has to walk hitters 1 through 7 in every lineup, and #8 in a few. Best to get that, ahem, under control now. He's been better about that lately, maybe. I want to see a bit more before drawing a conclusion to promote him. But he's close.

[Deduno Abides]

What, a list of the best minor league relievers of the month doesn't include Rucinski, Wilks, Wimmers, Boshers and Wheeler?

 

 

It's also telling that Melotakis isn't even honorable mention. It appears he'll never live up to the hype.

 

 

And it's a bummer that the each of the minor league DL relievers has higher-end expectations than anyone on the list.

[yarnivek1972]

 

What, a list of the best minor league relievers of the month doesn't include Rucinski, Wilks, Wimmers, Boshers and Wheeler?


It's also telling that Melotakis isn't even honorable mention. It appears he'll never live up to the hype.


And it's a bummer that the each of the minor league DL relievers has higher-end expectations than anyone on the list.

Melotakis didn't have a particularly good month.  His overall numbers are still excellent.  I still think he (and others) should be in AAA.  I don't think Melotakis has the ceiling that Rosario has, but I think he can be a useful MLB reliever.  He does well against lefties and righties so that is one thing he has that few other lefties in the system have going for them.

[D.C Twins]

Busenitz with 1 walk and 15 Ks  in  12 innings?!!!!!!  

 

If there are no promotions, we may have to covertly hook up the Twins dugout phone to contact the AAA bullpen instead….