Twins Bullpen - Internal Candidates

The Twins made one move on Monday night, but the bullpen is still full of questions. Today, I’m going to write about the internal options for the Twins bullpen should they go that direction.

Left-Handed Relief Pitchers

RYAN O’ROURKE

O’Rourke, the 27-year-old from Massachusetts absolutely dominated same-sided hitters in 2014 at New Britain. He has done very well again in 2015 against left-handers in AAA. Right-handed bats have hit him very well, so O’Rourke should be considered a LOOGY. Of the 36 lefties he’s faced this year, he has struck out 20 of them. (O’Rourke was added to the 40-man roster on Monday night and will join the Twins at Target Field on Tuesday.)

CALEB THIELBAR

After spending all of 2014 and the final four months of 2013 in the Twins bullpen, Thielbar began the 2015 season in Rochester. He did come up for a six-game stint, but he is back with the Red Wings. He has struggled. In 26 innings, he has walked 17 and struck out just 13. Lefties have posted a .548 OPS on him this year. He remains on the 40-man roster.

LOGAN DARNELL

Darnell made four starts and three relief appearances for the Twins in 2014. This spring, he was moved to the bullpen exclusively. He has worked 30 innings over 23 appearances and has a 2.40 ERA despite a 1.57 WHIP. However, since May 19, he has given up an earned run in just one out of 11 outings including 23 strikeouts in 19 innings. Left-handers are hitting .306/.364/.306 (.670) against him. He is on the 40-man roster.

Right-Handed Relief Pitchers

AJ ACHTER

Coming into Monday night, Achter had a 2.15 ERA and a 0.69 WHIP. In 37.2 innings, he had just ten walks and 38 strikeouts. He was 13 for 13 in save opportunities. On Monday night, he gave up four runs on five hits in one inning, but that was really his first clunker of the year. Achter has been the most consistent relief pitcher in the Twins minor leagues since moving to the bullpen in 2012. He pitched in 11 innings over seven games last year with the Twins. All he does is get people out. He remains on the 40-man roster.

MICHAEL TONKIN

If anyone would benefit from frequent flyer miles, it’s Tonkin. He has been up and down from Minnesota to Rochester a dozen times over the last three seasons. In 50 big league games, he has a 3.92 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He also has walked too many and given up the long ball too often. In 17.2 innings at Rochester this year, he has walked three and struck out 27. At some point, the Twins need to just let him pitch in the big leagues and see what they have. He will be out of options in 2016, so they do need to figure out if he can produce in the big leagues. He is on the 40-man roster.

ALEX MEYER

The progression of Meyer has been well documented here in the pages of Twins Daily. After just nine games in the bullpen, the Twins called him up. It didn’t go well. His struggles with control of the strike zone were apparent. He was sent back to Rochester to continue to work from the bullpen. As a starter, opponents had an OPS of .845. As a reliever, it’s been .672. It’s clear how much movement he gets from his fastball and slider. The Twins can be patient with him. He is on the 40-man roster.

MARK HAMBURGER

Hamburger was one of the bigger stories of spring training. He made it to the final week of big league camp before being sent to Rochester where he began the season as a starter. After four starts, he had an ERA of 6.30 in 20 innings. He has made 22 appearances out of the bullpen since then and has a 3.47 ERA. He is not on the 40-man roster.

SCOTT ATCHISON

Over the weekend, the Twins quietly signed 39-year-old Atchison a few days after he was released by Cleveland. He has been placed on the Chattanooga roster for now. He pitched in the big leagues in parts of nine seasons between 2004 and 2015. He is a good reminder of the nature of most relievers. In 2014 with Cleveland, he posted a 2.75 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP in 72 innings over 70 games. In 23 games (19.2 innings) this season he posted a 6.86 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Most likely, he has an opt-out date and will have to be called up or lost. He is not on the 40-man roster.

LESTER OLIVEROS

After missing all of 2013 because of Tommy John surgery, he returned and was cautiously used in 2014. He ended the season with the Twins. He wasn’t 100% in spring training and began the season in Rochester. He got off to a fast start, but his performance has leveled off. Overall, he has a 3.79 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 35.2 innings. He has walked just 13 and struck out 46. Opponents posted an OPS of .947 off of him in June, and he missed seven days because he was suspended for throwing at an opposing batter’s head. He is not on the 40-man roster.

STEPHEN PRYOR

Pryor came to the Twins from the Mariners last August in exchange for Kendrys Morales. He didn’t get a September call-up. He was invited to big league spring training. However, he has been on the disabled list all season. Over the weekend, he began a rehab stint in the GCL. He has made two appearances and would likely go to Rochester (or even Chattanooga) before going further. He is not on the 40-man roster.

Starting Pitchers

TAYLOR ROGERS

Rogers has been a starter since he was drafted in the 11^th round out of Kentucky. In four seasons, he is 33-21 with a 2.96 ERA. More relevant to the here and now, he is 7-5 with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP with Rochester. With so much starting pitching depth, the bullpen is an option for Rogers. A quick look at his AAA splits this year shows that he has been really dominant against lefties. They are hitting .178/.197/.186 (.383). He has given up no home runs, two walks and 36 strikeouts. Right-handers have hit .296/.352/.423 (.775) with six home runs, 25 walks and 41 strikeouts. He is not on the 40-man roster, but he will need to be added following the season, so if he continues to pitch well, he could find himself In the Twins bullpen.

TYLER DUFFEY

Duffey has been the one example of drafting a college reliever and trying to make him into a starter can be successful. He was a co-closer at Rice with JT Chargois. Since going pro, he has primarily started. He began this season with eight starts in Chattanooga and posted a 2.56 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He now has made eight starts in Rochester and has a 2.44 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He’s got good control, throws strikes, and has a good mix of pitches. However, as a reliever, he can hit 97 which would make his secondary pitches look even better. Again, due to the Twins starter depth, Duffey may need to come up as a reliever. Like Rogers, he was a spring training invite and would need to be added to the 40-man roster following the season. He could come up before that.

JOSE BERRIOS

Berrios was recently promoted from AA to AAA. After 15 starts, an 8-3 record, a 3.27 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP with the Lookouts, he moved up to Rochester where he made his first start on Friday. He is clearly the Twins top starting pitcher prospect. He has great stuff, fastball, change-up and breaking pitches. He could come in out of the bullpen (which would be short-term) if the Twins remain in the pennant race. A September call up may be less likely as he doesn’t need to be added to the 40-man roster until after the 2016 season.

So there you have it, the internal options that are there should the Twins decide to make more changes in the bullpen without trading away prospects and talent. We’ll be back later in the week to talk more about the Twins bullpen.