Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - August 2022

[Seth Stohs]

Over the weekend, we handed out theoretical awards to the top minor league hitter and starting pitcher of the month of August. Today, we conclude the awards by discussing some very impressive bullpen performances over the past month. 

Image courtesy of Steve Buhr, Twins Daily (Graphics by Thieres Rabelo)

Before we get to our Top 4 relievers in the Twins system in August, here are a couple of Honorable Mentions.

• RHP Michael Feliz - St. Paul Saints - 8 G, 1.80 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 11 K
• RHP Niklas Rimmel - Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels - 8 G, 1.54 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 16 K

THE TOP FOUR RELIEF PITCHERS

#4 - RHP Alex Phillips - Wichita Wind Surge - 9 G, 2.13 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 20 K
Phillips put up incredible numbers in his final season at Baylor. He went 7-1 with a 2.40 ERA over 45 innings. Surprising that he wasn’t drafted at all in the 2018 draft, but the Twins were able to sign him later that summer after he had an impressive stint with Evansville in the Frontier League. In 2019, he reached Double-A. In 2021, he pitched in 30 games for Wichita. He began this season on the Injured List first with a shoulder issue, and then after an appendix issue (presumably it was removed). He returned in mid-July, and he was fantastic in August. He didn’t allow many base runners, and that 20 strikeouts to just three walks ratio is pretty incredible. 

#3 - LHP Evan Sisk - St. Paul Saints - 9 G, 0.87 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 14 K
The Twins acquired Sisk at the trade deadline in 2021. He came to the Twins with John Gant in exchange for J.A. Happ. After the season, he went to the Arizona Fall League. Frankly, he has been terrific the entire 2022 season. In 19 games with the Wind Surge, he went 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. Over 28 1/3 innings, he walked 11 and struck out 33. The 25-year-old was promoted to the Saints where he has now pitched in 23 games and has a 2-0 record with a 1.85 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. In 24 1/3 innings, he as given up 12 hits, walked 13 batters and struck out 29 batters. In other words, the walk rate is too high, but the lefty is making himself quite intriguing to Twins fans. As you can see, his walk rate was better in August than in July, and he missed a lot of bats. 

Originally, he was the 16th-round pick of the Cardinals in 2018 out of the College of Charleston where he teamed with Bailey Ober for two seasons.

 

 

#2 – RHP Hunter McMahon - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 8 G, 1.62 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, 16.2 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 16 K
Let me just start by saying that if you think Hunter McMahon should have won a second consecutive Relief Pitcher of the Month Award, I am not going to argue with you very much. He had a strong first month with the Kernels in July and was arguably even better in August. He didn’t give up runs. He didn’t hurt himself with walks. He was terrific. 

McMahon came to the Twins from the Washington Nationals in a late January trade in 2020. He had been the Nationals’ ninth-round pick the previous summer from Texas State. Unfortunately that 2020 season was lost, and he was only able to pitch in five games in 2021 due to injuries. 

He has made up for lost time in 2022. He began the season with 20 games in Ft. Myers where he posted a 2.23 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP over 32 1/3 innings. He moved up to Cedar Rapids and posted a 1.19 ERA and a 0.66 WHIP in 37 2/3 innings. Combined, he is 4-0 with seven saves. On Labor Day, he received another promotion, this time to Wichita.  

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

RHP Ryan Shreve - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 10 G, 2 GS, 0.51 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 17.2 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 19 K

Ryan Shreve’s 2022 season started approximately six weeks late, but since then, he has been very reliable in Brian Dinkelman’s Kernels bullpen. And August was no different. In fact, the only earned run he allowed came on the final day of the month when he still struck out four over two innings. It was just the second time he gave up an earned run since June 23rd. Yes, he gave up just one earned run over more than two months. That’s pretty impressive. 

But, Shreve isn’t just a one-inning guy. In that stretch, he got more than three outs in 10 of the 14 games. Twice he tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up a hit every other inning. He walked one every 3 1/2 innings, and he struck out more than one per inning. 

Shreve grew up in southern California and went to William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills. 14-year MLB big leaguer and long-time Astros manager Larry Dierker went to high school… about 50 years before Ryan. Current Giants manager and 12-year MLB player Gabe Kapler went there. Hall of Famer Robin Yount graduated from there about the same time the Brewers made him their first-round pick.  

Shreve attended the University of the Pacific, in Stockton, California, where he pitched in a variety of roles as a freshman, solely out of the bullpen as a sophomore and solely as a starter in his junior season. In 2017, he was a member of the St. Cloud Rox of the Northwoods League. 

 

 

The Twins made him their 16th round pick in 2019 and sent him to Elizabethton for the summer. In 2021, he began with six games with the Mighty Mussels before moving up to Cedar Rapids. In 22 games and 34 2/3 innings, he went 4-3 with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He also had 49 strikeouts. This year with the Kernels, he has pitched in 27 games. He has a 3.25 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. In 36 innings, he has 36 strikeouts. 

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As you can see, there were several strong relief pitcher performances in August. These guys are all worthy of some recognition. It was a good month for each of these pitchers mentioned today.

Previous 2022 Relief Pitchers of the Month
April: RHP Tyler Viza, Wichita Wind Surge
May: RHP Matthew Swain, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels
June: LHP Denny Bentley, Wichita Wind Surge
July: RHP Hunter McMahon, Cedar Rapids Kernels 

Congratulations to Kernels righty Ryan Shreve, the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for August 2022.

 

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[terrydactyls]

Bring up Sisk and Feliz.  They couldn't do any worse than Megill and Pagan.

[Alex Schieferdecker]

I'm not sure about Sisk's platoon splits, but they cannot be so bad against righties given his overall numbers. Surely worth a call-up, frustrating that the Twins continue to stick with Pagan and Megill, as tantalizing as some of their stuff is.

[Dman]

I have been on the Sisk Bandwagon for a while now.  Not sure that the Twins don't like from the dominant lefty but it must be something.  He has been good to great start to finish this year.

[Mike Sixel]

I'm not sure why Sisk isn't on the Twins. Congrats to all these players for a great month.