Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - June

It’s hard to believe that the baseball season has completed three months already. As we enter July, it’s time to take a look at the top hitters, starting pitchers and relief pitchers in the Minnesota Twins minor league system during June. We will start with the relief pitchers. In May, there were not many strong bullpen performances, but in June things were much better.

About one year ago, Michael Tonkin and AJ Achter were working out of the bullpen in Beloit. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

They both pitched (and dominated) the second half of the 2012 season in Ft. Myers. I selected Achter narrowly over Tonkin as my 2012 Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. This year, they both began their season in New Britain. Tonkin moved up to Rochester at the end of May, and Achter will now join him with the Red Wings as July begins. The 24-year-old Achter was the Twins 46^th round pick in 2010 out of Michigan State. 23-year-old Tonkin was the Twins 30^th round pick in 2008 out of high school in California. He was known as Jason Kubel’s brother-in-law until last year when he really made a name for himself. Both have put themselves in position to help a now-struggling Twins bullpen.

Let’s get to the list. Here are my choices for the Top 5 Twins Minor League Relief Pitchers in June (starting with three Honorable Mentions):

• Aaron Thompson (Rochester) – 12 G, 12.2 IP, 1-0, 2.84 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 11 H, 2 BB, 12 K
  
• AJ Achter (New Britain) – 8 G, 10.0 IP, 1-0, 0.90 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 9 H, 4 BB, 11 K
  
• Tim Atherton (Cedar Rapids) – 6 G (1 GS), 13.0 IP, 1-0, 1.38 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 7 H, 8 BB, 12 K
  

Number 5 – Ft. Myers – RHP Zack Jones - 6 G, 1.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 7.1 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 13 K

Number 4 – Rochester – RHP Luis Perdomo - 9 G, 2.30 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 15.2 IP, 9 H, 7 BB, 12 K

Number 3 – Ft. Myers – LHP Jose Gonzalez - 6 G, 2.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 12 K

Number 2 – Ft. Myers – Steven Gruver - 7 G, 1.29 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 12 K

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

Rochester Red Wings – Michael Tonkin - 8 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.51 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 11 K

So what do you think? I’ve listed several relievers here that deserve be recognized for their terrific performances this past month. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)?

Be sure to check back later for the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher and Hitter of the Month of June.