Twins Minor League Report (6/23): Quality Starts And Kirilloff Keeps Raking

So does that mean Romero is back to being a prospect now that he's headed to AAA? Did he hit that certain inning threshold?

Good stuff from Kiriloff, it's great to see him play so well after not playing at all in 2017. I think he's going to be a very good player in the majors, I'm just not sure the Twins are the right team to develop him... their track record with outfield prospects panning out just isn't that good.

Hopefully Gordon can have more of these 3 for 4 games and force his way to the majors at some point. I would like to see him get some MLB experience under his belt so he can potentially make the 2019 roster.

I still do not understand why Polanco being suspended did not open a door for at least two weeks of Gordon in MLB even with our POWERFUL lineup.  Kiriloff really is the most exciting development after missing a year.  I think Kepler should be worried, but of course these are the Twins and their development plans are still a big mystery to me. 

So does that mean Romero is back to being a prospect now that he's headed to AAA? Did he hit that certain inning threshold?.

Romero has thrown 51.1 MLB innings - 1.1 innings over the threshold. So I assume he will not be on prospect lists in 2019, even if he doesn’t throw another MLB inning this year.

Attended my first Kernels game last night. It is a fantastic setting for baseball.

Both young pitchers looked very promising. Hopefully Enlow is healthy and will have a solid second half.

Will Willian Astudillo be taking over for Bobby Wilson?

I vote for that move!

Nice to see Griffin Jax pitching in the system finally. From all that I've read, he's a fine prospect, but I have to say that his name is a classic one!

Interesting night down on the farm, Seth.  What the h..... is wrong with Elizabethton?  Is it time to fire their hitting coach?  (that was sarcastic, folks!)

Is Slegers on track to be back for the next time it would have been Romero's turn?  Imagine by then they should be convinced that Belisle isn't the answer.

And would the Twins be better off with Vargas as their DH, rather than Morrison?  His average isn't great at Rochester, but I expect he would be more motivated if still with the Twins. 

Appears there are three guys at Fort Myers worth checking on every morning, Arraez, Kirilloff and Rortvedt.  Gotta believe all three will be with the Twins some day.  And great seeing Jax rack up quality starts, although only one strikeout was a bit odd.  Between Kirilloff and Rooker, we should have another outfielder and first baseman/DH within the next year, year and a half.  

And there is a lot to like with both Balazovic and Enlow.  Like how they are piggy backing them together to limit their innings.  

Should Slegers be brought up in place of Belisle?  I think he would make a good long inning pitchers as he throws strikes and keeps the game moving.I'd like to see Gonsalves make a start for Romero. I still think the Team would have been better with Vargas, not Grossman.  

Not certain how Vargas is defensively in the outfield?

One week left to decide who's going to be hitter of the month. Current slash lines:

Kirilloff: .393/.446/.714 (1.160 OPS)

Arraez: .451/.489/.659 (1.148 OPS)

Both have played 20 games in June.

Add in Blankenhorn and Rortvedt and you have a good group of 21 and under players at Ft Myers. If they only had a young SS...

Back in late July 1990, I spent a week on top of the Pompano Beach Landfill in Florida. I was managing a group of temp employees, sampling and sorting garbage. The surrounding counties were planning to build a waste-to-energy plant and set up their first recycling programs. The wanted to know what they might need for plant capacities.

As you can imagine, the sorting crew was made up of tough guys down on their luck. Pretty much all of them were on probation. Jamaicans, Rednecks and Latinos, they had almost nothing in common - except keeping an eye out for me. 

It was sweltering on top of the landfill. Mid-90s heat and oppressive humidity, all mixed with the stench of 2,000 tons/day of freshly delivered trash. I made it to the fourth day. I remember my boss coming to the top of the hill, telling me he was taking my place. Three hours later, I woke up in the air-conditioned scale house, unable to open my eyes. They had caked shut with the salt of my sweat. 

Later, I was informed that the crew had told one of the truck drivers that "the Yankee didn't look so good" and asked the driver to get help on his way out. I was able to finish the job the following day. As always, we celebrated with the temp crew by buying pizza with, what we told them, was the money earned from the aluminum they had separated. I thanked them for saving my ass.

As I unpacked my triple-bagged work clothes back in St Paul, I vowed I would never go to Florida in the summer again. But man, Ft Myers is tempting me.

Serioulsy, only the Twins organization would be sending Romero down.   Young pitchers are going to have their ups and their downs and you need to stick with them.  If this organization is not going to have patience with their younger players, instead running with mediocre older veterans, we are never going to get out of this rut of losing.

Back in late July 1990, I spent a week on top of the Pompano Beach Landfill in Florida. I was managing a group of temp employees, sampling and sorting garbage. The surrounding counties were planning to build a waste-to-energy plant and set up their first recycling programs. The wanted to know what they might need for plant capacities.

 

As you can imagine, the sorting crew was made up of tough guys down on their luck. Pretty much all of them were on probation. Jamaicans, Rednecks and Latinos, they had almost nothing in common - except keeping an eye out for me. 

 

It was sweltering on top of the landfill. Mid-90s heat and oppressive humidity, all mixed with the stench of 2,000 tons/day of freshly delivered trash. I made it to the fourth day. I remember my boss coming to the top of the hill, telling me he was taking my place. Three hours later, I woke up in the air-conditioned scale house, unable to open my eyes. They had caked shut with the salt of my sweat. 

 

Later, I was informed that the crew had told one of the truck drivers that "the Yankee didn't look so good" and asked the driver to get help on his way out. I was able to finish the job the following day. As always, we celebrated with the temp crew by buying pizza with, what we told them, was the money earned from the aluminum they had separated. I thanked them for saving my ass.

 

As I unpacked my triple-bagged work clothes back in St Paul, I vowed I would never go to Florida in the summer again. But man, Ft Myers is tempting me.

Summer in Ft Myers is stinking hot.   Although our temps are "only" in the mid-90s right now, the humidity is unbearable.  

Should Slegers be brought up in place of Belisle?  I think he would make a good long inning pitchers as he throws strikes and keeps the game moving.I'd like to see Gonsalves make a start for Romero. I still think the Team would have been better with Vargas, not Grossman.  

He lines up with odorizzi.  Skip odorizzi for a start and start slegers.  You have your pick of guys to dfa for a roster spot

Buxton?

I say again, Romero being sent down is simply rediculous. This team is not going to the WS. Let him figure things out in the MLB. 

It is so ridiculous, it required an different spelling of ridiculous 

Romero has thrown 51.1 MLB innings - 1.1 innings over the threshold. So I assume he will not be on prospect lists in 2019, even if he doesn’t throw another MLB inning this year.

But apparently, you can stay on the prospect list here on TD indefinitely....... like Garver..... wait! There is no longer a #15! Perhaps you can finally not be a prospect on this list!

Buxton?

Exactly. Did the full game yesterday with a homer and 2 Ks call for a rest? Is he OK?

Nearly every org would do the same thing. Young pitchers often go from the majors to AAA multiple times. The ones that come and stick are the exceptions.

While you certainly can, why?  Keep Romero up at the MLB level and let him work on his game there.  We have no reason to send him down.  PUT HIM ON THE MOUND.  HAND HIM THE BALL.  And let him pitch.  If his ERA is 8 who cares.  No matter how people want to pretend, this is a terrible baseball team that needs to rebuild.  

Respectfully disagree.

Still very young, without a lot of upper level minors time, and nearing a realistic innings limit, you put him in AAA, give him things to work on and pitch him one day a week with a strict limit on pitch count.

He's an asset, he will be in the rotation next year, the best place to prep for that is AAA, under supervision and limits.

100%.  Do not abuse this guy.

Berrios, recall, has his rough moments and was also sent down and limited and fenced and everything else.

You measure this by results.  Baby Romero for the future.

Several reasons you don't want to do that. The first is that the FO probably hasn't quite given up on this season so sending a guy with a 7.50+ ERA for the last month is telling fans they don't care about the season. Secondly, Romero could use some confidence. Getting beat up regularly in the majors isn't good for anyone. It creates self-doubt and forces him to overpitch. Let him relax. He'll be up again. And, as others have noted, he'll be on an innings limit this year so a bit of rest right now won't hurt him.

 

Lastly, the Twins have other guys in AAA or on assignments that also deserve chances to pitch in the majors. Mejia made 21 starts for the a playoff team last year and is posting a sub 3.00 era in AAA right now (and has been even hotter over the last month). Keeping him in the minors while someone else is struggling as bad as Romero is right now probably sends a worse message to AAA ballplayers.

Yeah, this loving FO puts guys like Taylor Motter, Matt Belisle and Bobby WIlson in the lineup. I am sure they can find the next 29 year old waiver wire washout from another team to plug into the lineup so this team can "compete" and keep fan interest. 

Regardless, I totally disagree with the approach.  Sending him back to the minors to dominate some more does him zero good.  The management has to be willing to work with young players and their flaws.    Frank Viola, with a lot less minor league experience than Romero pitched his rookie half season with over a 5 ERA, then the Twins trotted him out for 210 innings in his second MLB season with a 5.49 ERA.  

IF you have to limit his innings, limit his innings.  But he just isnt going to learn anything more in the minors.  Let him take his lumps.  WOrk it out of his system.  And in the end he will be the pitcher he will be.  But, the Twins managemnet just isn;t willing to do this.  

Yeah, this loving FO puts guys like Taylor Motter, Matt Belisle and Bobby WIlson in the lineup. I am sure they can find the next 29 year old waiver wire washout from another team to plug into the lineup so this team can "compete" and keep fan interest. 

 

Regardless, I totally disagree with the approach.  Sending him back to the minors to dominate some more does him zero good.  The management has to be willing to work with young players and their flaws.    Frank Viola, with a lot less minor league experience than Romero pitched his rookie half season with over a 5 ERA, then the Twins trotted him out for 210 innings in his second MLB season with a 5.49 ERA.  

 

IF you have to limit his innings, limit his innings.  But he just isnt going to learn anything more in the minors.  Let him take his lumps.  WOrk it out of his system.  And in the end he will be the pitcher he will be.  But, the Twins managemnet just isn;t willing to do this.  

It depends on what he does when he goes back to AAA. One of the reasons he's scrabbling right now is MLB hitters are figuring him out a little now that there's enough innings to have a book on him, and he needs to understand that he can't just gas it out and expect to overwhelm guys. He's got to refine his command and control, and dropping back to AAA is a perfectly reasonable place to do it.

Meija deserves a shot again as well and has been excellent in AAA. Remember they did this with Berrios and things seem to have worked out just fine there. Just because a guy doesn't have anything more to prove against AAA competition doesn't mean they can't use the opportunity to figure out things they need to do to have success in MLB.

More good news on Kirilloff, hope he continues to rake in high A. I don't understand the thought that the Twins are somehow the wrong team to develop him; his development looks to be right on track and going very well. The only hiccup he's had so far is a significant injury that had really nothing to do with the Twins, and he's rebounded about as well as any human could ask for. Just because Buxton has struggled to hit consistently in MLB doesn't mean they're somehow incapable of handling Kirilloff, who has an advanced approach at the plate and an excellent hit tool.

Callis later updated his tweet to point out that he has “agreed to terms” and not yet signed. But, that will happen.

Waiting for Larnach to sign? (Speculation was he would sign below slot, but he's still playing in the CWS.)