Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Mike Theofanopoulos)
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First, a few relievers worthy of mention:
- RHP Michael Cederoth (Cedar Rapids) – 7 G, 1-0, 3.09 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 7 H, 5 BB, 16K
- LHP Buddy Boshers (Rochester) - 7 G, 1-0, 1 Save, 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 10 K
- RHP Brandon Peterson (Ft. Myers) - 11 G, 2-0, 3 Saves, 3.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 15.0 IP 12 H, 3 BB, 17 K
- RHP Marcus Walden (Rochester) - 7 G, 1-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 15.2 IP, 12 H, 5 BB, 10 K
THE TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS
Number 5 - Chattanooga – LHP Luke Westphal - 7 G, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 16 K
It was a
long and winding road for Westphal from affiliated ball
to the Twins organization, but the southpaw from Wisconsin has been quite good since signing with the Twins 16 months ago. Last year, Westphal went back and forth between Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids, and between the bullpen and the rotation. This year, he’s been exclusively in the bullpen. He was promoted to the Lookouts at the end of April and had a good first month in AA. In May, opponents hit just .238/.273/.262 (.535) off him and he struck out 13.1 batters per nine innings. Pretty dominant showing.
Number 4 – Chattanooga – RHP Trevor Hildenberger - 11 G, 1.20 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 15.0 IP, 9 H, 3 BB, 13 K
Hildenberger was our choice for
Twins Daily Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2015
when he split the year between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. He’s appeared in these monthly reports pretty much every month the last two seasons and here he is again. After a solid showing in the Arizona Fall League a year ago, he began 2016 with the Miracle, but he was up in AA within a month. At a level where even the top relief pitching prospects have struggled, Hildenberger keeps getting the job done. The side-winding righty limited opponents to a .176/.222/.294 (.516) slash line for the month. He took over as the team’s closer and recorded five saves.
Number 3 – Chattanooga – RHP JT Chargois - 8 G, 1.12 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 11 K
2012 2nd-round pick was
finally healthy
and bringing the high-90s heat in games in 2015. He was added to the 40-man roster in the offseason and showed well in big league spring training. He started with the Lookouts but in early May he was promoted to AAA Rochester where he’s continued to dominate. For the month, Chargois held hitters to a .182/.280/.318 (.598) slash line. While control has always been his problem, he has shown some strong glimpses in 2016, though a walk every other inning is all that is likely delaying his promotion to the big leagues.Soon the reliever whose last name is pronounced shag-waa will become a household name for Twins fans.
Number 2 – Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers – RHP Nick Anderson - 8 G, 0.64 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 22 K
The Twins signed Anderson last August out of the independent leagues. The mid-90s throwing right-hander from Brainerd (via Mayville State) continued to dominate in Cedar Rapids until a mid-May promotion to Ft. Myers. He had a remarkable and dominant month. Look again at the strikeout-to-walk rate of 22-to-1! He also struck out 14.1 per nine innings. Opponents hit just .109/.128/.130 (.258) off him.
And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is:
Cedar Rapids – LHP Mike Theofanopoulos - 7 G, 0.73 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 20 K
Mike Theofanopoulos was the Twins 30th-round pick in 2014 out of California. The left-hander grew up about a half-hour from Berkeley so when he was offered the scholarship, he immediately accepted, happy to play Division 1 baseball and get a Berkeley education. After spending the rest of that season, in the GCL, he spent all of 2015 in Cedar Rapids.
Though he was likely disappointed in returning to the Kernels to start the 2016 season, he has handled it very well and grown from the experience.
According to his pitching coach JP Martinez, he’s used his return to the Midwest League to better himself.
“He’s a gritty kid, not a high pick, so he’s had to produce. He had a really good year here last year, and it just turned out that it was a numbers game so he had to come back. The good thing for him is that there is a comfort zone can work on things that they need to clean up so they’re ready for the next level.”
Maybe it was frustration - or maybe it was just cold - but Theofanopoulos struggled the first week or so of the season, but he quickly got things back and made some improvements and he has been very good since.
“I really wanted to harness in and focus on not walking guys. Earlier on in the season, I started pretty slow, putting guys on, trying to do too much and walking the world. I’m in a nice groove now, just realizing how to use my pitches. Fastball command has been there. That’s a huge part of it which allows me to get to my offspeed which are my strikeout pitches. Being able to finish hitters and put them away. I was trying to overproduce and do way too much.”
In May, Theofanopoulos had a streak of 19 scoreless innings that ended with an unearned run. Opponents hit just .093/.152/.140 (.292). He also struck out 14.6 batters per nine innings.
“Left-handed and breathing” is a saying in baseball, but Theofanopoulos shows more than that. He has a good fastball that sits 90-92. He has a curveball and a changeup, but his second breaking ball seems to have helped him to another level. According to “Theo,” one of the keys to his success has been “Developing a harder curveball. That’s been a big piece for me, especially against left-handers, changing the hitter’s eyes.”
With Nick Anderson being promoted to the Miracle, Kernels manager Jake Mauer says that Theofanopoulos may be in line for some late-inning, closer opportunities. “He started out real slow, walking a lot of guys, but he’s been real good lately. Really good. We’re probably going to use him late. He’s giving us some pretty good reason to use him later in games.”
His pitching coach (Martinez) said of the southpaw, “If you get a lefty with two breaking balls who can spot his fastball, that’s pretty tough to hit. I wouldn’t say he had fastball command issues, but he wasn’t getting ahead with the fastball as much as he could. We made a couple of adjustments, and I think he got comfortable right around the second week. He looked relaxed out there. He looks comfortable on the mound, like there’s no place he’d rather be than on the mound. He’s a pretty cerebral guy so he knows how to attack hitters. I think what he’s done really well is spot the breaking ball and the fastball early and then be able to put that breaking ball away later in the count.”
Theofanopoulos will continue to work later in games for the Kernels. We would have to assume that like John Curtiss, Nick Anderson and Randy LeBlanc before him, it should just be a matter of time before he gets called into his manager’s office and told he too is heading to Ft. Myers to join the Miracle. He’s ready.
There were several very strong relief pitcher performances in May. Feel free to agree or disagree with the order, if you like, but congratulations to each of these individuals on an excellent month of may.
Congratulations to the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for May 2016, Mike Theofanopoulos.
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