Schulfer Finally Promoted to St. Paul

A 19th round pick during the 2018 Major League Baseball draft, Austin Schulfer was selected out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. As a senior sign, Schulfer dominated rookie ball with Elizabethton but was over a year older than the average age for the league. In 2019 he went to Low-A Cedar Rapids and while the ERA took a step backward, the strikeouts ticked upwards.

Like everyone else, Schulfer missed 2020 due to a canceled minor league season. Playing for Wichita all of last year, he turned in 24 starts and a 4.34 ERA with a slightly decreased 8.6 K/9. Returning to Wichita this season, again old for the level at 26, he broke out in a new role. Minnesota had transitioned the righty to a relief role and so far the results are encouraging.

Through 23 innings at Double-A, Schulfer owned a minuscule 0.39 ERA. He acted as the closer for the Wind Surge and picked up seven saves while finishing 12 games. As impressive and dominant as the 30/4 K/BB is, allowing zero homers and just 4.3 H/9 was something extraordinary. Promoted to Triple-A St. Paul before the calendar turned to June, he’ll now have the opportunity to prove it.

Schulfer is a competitor in every sense of the word. He’s an avid gamer and has grown a solid following among the popular MLB The Show community. He displayed his skills on the popular streaming service, Twitch, during the Covid shutdown and became something of a fan favorite. Now back on the mound and looking to highlight his skills there, it’s clear a new path forward may be the one that gets him to the big leagues.

Among the keys to his success this season has been a ground ball rate of over 60%. As a starter Schulfer hovered around 48% when it came to fly balls. He’s never been too susceptible to the long ball, but line drives have hurt him in the past. Blowing pitches by opposing batters while limiting the opportunity for damage is as perfect of a combination as it gets.

Minor league velocity is largely untracked, but the expectation for pitchers moving to relief should always be a slight uptick. Whether deception or the ability to focus on two pitches, the change has worked in his favor. Batted ball numbers don’t suggest things are too out of whack either. While his 2.15 FIP and 2.97 xFIP are both above the present ERA, both would represent solid production.

There’s really no reason to believe a prospect is going to take Minnesota’s bullpen by storm and wind up being their closer down the stretch. What can happen here, however, is that the Twins find another usable middle relief arm amongst a group that so badly needs help. Although the Twins bullpen has been largely fine in high leverage, finding consistency in getting them there has been a challenge.

Rocco Baldelli and the front office have needed to use a revolving door behind starters that routinely are done during the middle innings. While not being able to fire off Joe Smith, Jhoan Duran, or Emilio Pagan early or nightly, they’ll need trusted help to bridge the gap. I’d bet handsomely that Minnesota addresses that area at the trade deadline, but if they build a level of confidence in another player or two at St. Paul, it winds up benefiting them greatly.