Twins Daily 2022 Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year

[Ted Schwerzler]

There’s no denying that the Minnesota Twins cycled through pitchers like crazy in 2022. Needing a franchise-record 37 to get through the season, more than a handful of players saw their first opportunity. Knowing the farm has some options is also a great reality.

 

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (graphics by Thieres Rabelo)

Starting pitching will always be the focal point of a Major League franchise, but we’ve seen how impactful having a dominant bullpen can be. After retooling the relief unit on the fly this year, Minnesota will look to have stronger internal options for 2023 and beyond. This group of up-and-comers could certainly factor into the equation.

Before getting to the winner, here are a few pitchers were in the running:

Honorable Mention - 
Bobby Milacki (Cedar Rapids) - 36 G 2.83 ERA 1.194 WHIP 9.6 K/9 3.1 BB/9
Malik Barrington (Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids) - 33 G 3.61 ERA 1.186 WHIP 11.5 K/9 3.9 BB/9
Matt Mullenbach (Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids) - 30 G 1.60 ERA 1.111 WHIP 9.2 K/9 2.2 BB/9

#5 Jackson Hicks (Fort Myers) - 36 G 51.1 IP 2.98 ERA 1.305 WHIP 10.2 K/9 3.9 BB/9
Hicks was signed by the Twins in July 2021 after going undrafted out of the University of North Carolina and pitching in Indy Ball. Working solely as a reliever this year for Fort Myers, Hicks racked up strikeouts in bunches. Across over 50 innings of work, Hicks only got beat for a homer three times. His command still has room for improvement, and at 24 years old he was well above the average age in the Florida State League, but Hicks certainly earned himself the opportunity to compete at the next level in 2023.

#4 Hunter McMahon (Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids/Wichita) - 43 G 73.2 IP 2.81 ERA 0.896 WHIP 9.3 K/9 2.0 BB/9
McMahon was a 9th-round selection by the Washington Nationals in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. Minnesota acquired him in 2020 when they sent reliever Ryne Harper to Washington following his DFA to make room for Josh Donaldson. He pitched at three levels this season but predominantly split time between High and Low-A. His 76 strikeouts to just 16 walks were a result of an ability to pound the zone and dictate at-bats to hitters. McMahon routinely worked the highest leverage innings and also picked up seven saves.

#3 Austin Schulfer (Wichita/St. Paul) - 43 G 55.1 IP 3.09 ERA 1.012 WHIP 9.9 K/9 2.6 BB/9
A 19th-round pick during the 2018 Major League Baseball draft from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Schulfer has continually elevated his stock since. This season the talented righty compiled a 0.39 ERA across 23 innings at Double-A to earn his promotion. Schulfer scuffled some in his first taste at Triple-A, but the strikeouts remained. He was burned a bit by walks and a jump in H/9, but adjustments are something he’s shown an aptitude to make. This was Schulfer’s first season working as a reliever, and he racked up eight saves in the process.

Runner-Up - Cody Laweryson (Cedar Rapids/Wichita) - 35 G 94.2 IP 0.982 WHIP 10.6 K/9 2.6 BB/9
Laweryson was taken in the 14th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft from the University of Maine. He worked primarily as a starter throughout the start of his professional career until transitioning into a relief role this season. The 2.57 ERA at High-A Cedar Rapids earned him a promotion, and a 1.06 ERA in just shy of 60 innings at Double-A was an eye-opener. Over the entirety of the year Laweryson gave up just two home runs, and his 111/27 K/BB indicates how much command and stuff he possesses.

2022 Minnesota Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year - Evan Sisk (Wichita/St. Paul) - 46 G 57.0 IP 1.58 ERA 1.053 WHIP 10.4 K/9 4.4 BB/9
Last summer the Minnesota Twins sent veteran starter J.A. Happ to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Evan Sisk. Minnesota was going downhill and had no need for the veteran to keep taking the mound, and Sisk represented an opportunity to net something in return. Since the deal, the Twins have morphed Sisk into a promising weapon in the pen.

During the 2021 season, Sisk posted a 3.91 ERA but it came with a 5.9 BB/9. Topping out at the Double-A level, that frequency of free passes was never going to be workable in the Majors. This season Sisk has shaved nearly two walks per nine off the total and continued to rack up strikeouts in droves. He’s a lefty with a funky delivery that works to get on hitters with a bit of deception.

Repeating Double-A Wichita to start for Minnesota, Sisk owned a 33/11 K/BB across 28 1/3 innings. The free passes ballooned a bit at Triple-A St. Paul when he went 33/17 K/BB in 28 2/3 innings. There’s no doubt a big league reliever here, and the more he can command the zone while controlling the base paths, the higher his ceiling will grow.

Past Winners of the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award
2021: Jovani Moran
2019: Anthony Vizcaya
2018: Andrew Vasquez
2017: John Curtiss
2015 & 2016: Trevor Hildenberger

 

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[h2oface]

Not a single mention of Sisk’s velocity. Is there any? Or any of the pitcher’s velo. ?????? None mentioned at all. Seems relevant for relief pitchers. All pitchers for that matter. 

[beckmt]

Great article Ted, and congratulations to Sisk and the rest of the placers.  Command is such a big thing in the majors plus stuff, Would be interested in knowing how fast the fast ball of these pitchers are and how many of them rely on deception, because in my opinion, deception only goes so far as a lot of major league hitters can foal off pitches at a much higher rate until pounding a mistake.  I know this is for the minor league season, but also wonder how many of these pitchers may have a big league future starting next season.

[RJA]

Thanks for the analysis.  Frankly, I would put Laweryson first as I think his performance justifies it.  Sisk still issues too many free passes, and while I agree he has made progress, I think it is still is a significant problem for him.  Laweryson, on the other hand, has better numbers than Sisk in every category except ERA, which is close.  It will be interesting to see what next year brings.

[Minderbinder]

Excepting Moran, the jury still being out, this award has been a kiss of death for the most part for past winners of this award.  Just saying, there's no reason to miss the two AVs, Curtiss and Hildenberger.

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, RJA said:

Thanks for the analysis.  Frankly, I would put Laweryson first as I think his performance justifies it.  Sisk still issues too many free passes, and while I agree he has made progress, I think it is still is a significant problem for him.  Laweryson, on the other hand, has better numbers than Sisk in every category except ERA, which is close.  It will be interesting to see what next year brings.

makes sense, but I didn't even consider Laweryson for the relief pitcher of the year award because he made 10 starts. Maybe I should have given him more thought here. 

[Seth Stohs]

32 minutes ago, Minderbinder said:

Excepting Moran, the jury still being out, this award has been a kiss of death for the most part for past winners of this award.  Just saying, there's no reason to miss the two AVs, Curtiss and Hildenberger.

Hildenberger had a nice 3-4 year run. Molitor used him nearly every day. 

Curtiss has a World Series win under his belt. He had Tommy John this year, but in his limited time, he's done pretty well. 

[Russ]

Too bad these accolades haven't progressed to the Twins bullpen.  Hildenberger was ok for awhile.  Moran is a work in progress.  The others failed quickly.  Hopefully Sisk and Laweryson bring strength to what is a Twins bullpen 

[HerbieFan]

Hildenberger...Curtiss...Vazquez...Viscaya...Moran.  The bar isn't real high for Sisk to better than the previous five winners.

[MN_ExPat]

6 hours ago, h2oface said:

Not a single mention of Sisk’s velocity. Is there any? Or any of the pitcher’s velo. ?????? None mentioned at all. Seems relevant for relief pitchers. All pitchers for that matter. 

Mid to high 90's

[Mike Sixel]

6 hours ago, h2oface said:

Not a single mention of Sisk’s velocity. Is there any? Or any of the pitcher’s velo. ?????? None mentioned at all. Seems relevant for relief pitchers. All pitchers for that matter. 

Celebration thread. Sigh. 

Ok, look it up if you want to comment on it. 

[Mike Sixel]

6 hours ago, RJA said:

Thanks for the analysis.  Frankly, I would put Laweryson first as I think his performance justifies it.  Sisk still issues too many free passes, and while I agree he has made progress, I think it is still is a significant problem for him.  Laweryson, on the other hand, has better numbers than Sisk in every category except ERA, which is close.  It will be interesting to see what next year brings.

I think I agree with this.

[2wins87]

7 hours ago, h2oface said:

Not a single mention of Sisk’s velocity. Is there any? Or any of the pitcher’s velo. ?????? None mentioned at all. Seems relevant for relief pitchers. All pitchers for that matter. 

I don't remember super well on Sisk but I think he was probably mid 90s with the FB when I watched him.  The most notable thing about him is his arm slot from the left side, maybe not quite side-arm but below 3/4, giving lefties a really tough time against him.

Laweryson is really only a low 90s max guy.  I think he was 89-92 when I was able to see velo reading on him.  He's got a funky delivery though, with a sort of glove flick out in front that I think must really make it hard for hitters to pick out his release point. The fastball seems to work way better than you would expect otherwise.

Schulfer is a legit upper 90s guy, I think he sat mostly 95-97 when I watched him, and even hit 99 if you believe the radar gun in St. Paul.  Might be sort of comparable to Jax in that he increased his velocity significantly in his first year as a reliever and throws quite a few sliders.

No idea on the other guys.  You would probably be able to see some radar reading on McMahon if you watch his appearances in some archived AA games.

[2wins87]

Nice to see some of the top performances coming out of the upper levels.  I don't generally put a whole lot of stock into minor league relief performances until they can do it in AA or AAA.

[h2oface]

.

[cmoss84]

1 hour ago, 2wins87 said:

I don't remember super well on Sisk but I think he was probably mid 90s with the FB when I watched him.  The most notable thing about him is his arm slot from the left side, maybe not quite side-arm but below 3/4, giving lefties a really tough time against him.

 

The next Josh Hader baby! 

[Minderbinder]

On 9/22/2022 at 8:25 AM, Seth Stohs said:

Hildenberger had a nice 3-4 year run. Molitor used him nearly every day. 

Curtiss has a World Series win under his belt. He had Tommy John this year, but in his limited time, he's done pretty well. 

Moli had little choice.  Those two weren't swiss cheese, but neither produced WAR and neither fits today's mold of a one-inning reliever.  Hildy and Curtiss wouldn't get a cup of coffee in the 'stros organization.  We should value prospects using an organization with which we'd like to compete.  "No one qualifies this year" would have been a valid assessment.

[DJL44]

4 hours ago, Minderbinder said:

 "No one qualifies this year" would have been a valid assessment.

It would be kind of boring to say that every year.

[Minderbinder]

21 hours ago, DJL44 said:

It would be kind of boring to say that every year.

But often accurate....