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Each month here at Twins Daily, we will be posting choices for Twins minor league relief pitcher, starting pitcher and hitter of the month. First, I want to share with you some of the top relief pitchers in the Twins minor league system in the month of April. I'll follow up over the next 24 hours with the starting pitcher and hitter of the month. There were a lot of very strong April performances out of the bullpen at the Twins affiliates. Below you’ll find the Top 6 relief pitchers in April.First, a few relievers worthy of mention: RHP Michael Tonkin – 8 G, 0-1, 5 S, 2.45 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 10 KRHP Todd Van Steensel – 7 G, 0-2, 1.35 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 8 H, 8 BB, 22 KRHP Randy LeBlanc – 5 G, 1-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 15 KRHP Zach Tillery – 5 G, 1 GS, 2-0, 1.88 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 14 KTHE TOP SIX RELIEF PITCHERS Number 6 – Cedar Rapids – LHP Cameron Booser - 6 G, 0.90 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 18 K The Twins signed the left-hander as a non-drafted free agent late in 2013. In a recent Twins Daily story on Booser, we learned that he’s had a lot of injuries and is now finally healthy. He’s also blessed with an upper-90s fastball and a very good slider. And, he’s still learning. Once he shows that the control he’s shown so far this season is legit, he could move quickly. He turns 23 on Monday. Number 5 - Rochester – Lester Oliveros - 6 G, 1.69 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 10.2 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 21 K The 26-year-old appears to be completely back after having Tommy John surgery and missing the 2013 season. He was very good in 2014, and he’s off to a great start in 2015. Oliveros came to the Twins from the Tigers in August of 2011 in the Delmon Young trade. Oliveros made his first start since he played in the Venezuelan Summer League in 2006. He went four innings and struck out nine. He is good at missing bats! He should be up with the Twins, or at least he should be soon. Number 4 – Ft. Myers – Brandon Peterson - 7 G, 0.84 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 10.2 IP, 5 H, 7 BB, 14 K Peterson was the Twins 13th round pick in 2013 out of Wichita State. He went to Burnsville High School. In his first full season, he was the choice for Twins Minor League Reliever of the Year for what he did with Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. In 40 games and 57.1 innings, he posted a 1.57 ERA, 0.98 WHIP. He also walked 19 and struck out 84. The 23-year-old returned to the Miracle to start this season and is experiencing the same success. Number 3 – Chattanooga – Zack Jones - 7 G, 1.29 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 13 K Jones was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2012 out of San Jose State. An aneurysm near his shoulder and a blood clot cost him most of the 2014 season. However, he did return in time to be the Miracle closer for their championship run last year. The hard-throwing righty had a great first month as the closer in Chattanooga. He is 5-5 in save opportunities. The problem he has had in his young career has been throwing strikes, but he did a great job of that in the season’s first month. Number 2 – Cedar Rapids – Trevor Hildenberger - 5 G, 0.90 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 13 K Hildenberger was the Twins 22nd round pick a year ago out of the University of California (Berkeley) where he was a very good closer. He throws from a three-quarter arm slot and throws a lot of strikes. For the Kernels, he has thrown in various roles already. Sometimes it’s just one inning, but he has been stretched out and thrown as many as three innings already. He should be the first Kernels reliever promoted to the Miracle when there is a need. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers – Tim Shibuya - 6 G, 0.66 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 13 K Shibuya was the Twins 23rd round pick in 2011 out of UC-San Diego. That season, he was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year. Since then, he has continued to pitch well, when healthy. He returned to the Miracle to start the 2015 season. He pitched really well in April with the team, and as soon as there was a need in Chattanooga, he was the one promoted. He has missed at least some time with an injury each of the last three seasons. However, he has had the right mindset in his rehab and come back strong. He told Twins Daily, “It is always frustrating to get hurt, no matter how the results turn up on the field. But it is something you have to get over quickly so it doesn't affect your physical rehab. Having a good mindset each day is vital to being able to get all of your work in each day. ” Shibuya is a tremendous athlete and fields his position very well. A year ago, his manager Doug Mientkiewicz touted him as the best defensive pitcher he’s ever seen. Shibuya takes a lot of pride in his defense and continues to work on it. He said, “Playing defense has always been my favorite part about baseball, and I enjoy being the fifth infielder. My parents constantly hit me ground balls at short so I am very grateful for their commitment over the years. Our coaching staff in the Twins organization also stresses fielding. We typically have some sort of PFP a few times per week to stay sharp.” Shibuya put up great numbers in April. Asked what his keys to success were, he said, “I didn't do anything too much different than my normal pitch plan. I tried to work in and out with the fastball and get quick outs on the ground. I'd use some off-speed in certain situations, but for the most part I located well down in the zone. Our catching core in the organization are phenomenal all around and call a great game so it was nice working in sync with them.” In April, Shibuya pitched in various roles. He can pitch one inning, or as he did more often, pitches two or three innings. It’s a role that he enjoys. “I go into the game with the mentality that my job is to get outs, whether that is in the third inning or ninth inning. I feel like I can be pretty versatile and enjoy the different situations.” He is continuing to work on pitches and just wants to get innings. “I have located my fastball and cutter well so far. I would like to continue to improve my breaking ball to be able to get more comfortable with it in different situations. That will come with time and reps I believe. ” As the calendar turned to May, he was promoted to Chattanooga and threw two scoreless innings in his Double-A debut. If the trend continues, the 25-year-old could keep marching up the organizational ladder. So what do you think? I’ve ranked the top six bullpen arms in the Twins organization in April, along with a few more than deserve to be recognized for their great start to their 2015 season. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)? Click here to view the article

Twins minor league affiliates played a season-high six games thanks to two postponements from Friday becoming doubleheaders on Saturday. Overall, it wasn’t a very good day for the Twins farm teams, achieving just one win on the day. With Trevor May having left his start in Seattle, could it mean that Ricky Nolasco’s rehab start in Cedar Rapids on Sunday becomes more meaningful? Continue reading and be sure to ask any questions you may have in the Comments.RED WINGS REPORT Game 1 – Rochester 4, Syracuse 5 Box Score The Red Wings got off to an early lead in the first game of their doubleheader. With one out in the second inning, the team got back-to-back-to-back singles from Reynaldo Rodriguez, Danny Ortiz and Jose Martinez to give them a 1-0 lead. Syracuse answered in the top of the third. In the bottom of the fourth, Brock Peterson singled to lead off the inning and two batters later Danny Ortiz hit a long home run to right field to give them a 3-1 lead. Later that inning, Aaron Hicks hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1. Mark Hamburger made the start for the Red Wings. Through five innings, he allowed just one run despite walking four batters. However, the sixth inning proved to be the downfall for the team in Game 1. In the sixth, Hamburger gave up two singles and got an out on a sacrifice bunt. He was replaced by A.J. Achter who walked the one batter he faced to load the bases. He was replaced by lefty Ryan O’Rourke who struck out the one batter that he faced. Michael Tonkin was brought in with two outs and the bases still loaded. He proceeded to give up three straight singles before getting the final out. The Red Wings loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, but they were unable to score. Both teams went scoreless in the seventh inning and the Red Wings fell 5-4. Danny Ortiz went 2-3 with a walk and his second home run. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-3 with a walk and a double. Jose Martinez also had two hits. Going back to the pitching, Hamburger went 5.1 innings and was charged with three runs on five hits. He walked five and struck out four. Achter issued the one walk and that batter came around to score. O’Rourke struck out the one batter he faced. Tonkin went 1.1 innings. He gave up one run (in addition to all three inherited runners) on three hits. He struck out two. Game 2 – Rochester 5, Syracuse 2 Box Score The story in this game was certainly Lester Oliveros. With the rainouts, Game 2 was to be a “bullpen game” and Oliveros was tabbed to start. It was just his third start as a professional baseball player. The other two? They came in his first professional season, in 2006, in the Venezuelan Summer League! How did he do? I would say he responded quite well. He was able to complete four innings and did not allow a run. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out nine. Logan Darnell came on to replace Oliveros in the fifth inning and threw two more scoreless frames, though he gave up two hits and walked a batter. Ryan Pressly got the seventh inning and gave up two runs on one hit and two walks. Doug Bernier led the way with a 3-4 game at the plate. Danny Ortiz had the only extra-base hit, his first double of the year. The Red Wings scored took a 5-0 lead thanks to a three-run fifth inning. The split means that the Red Wings are now 8-7 on the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 10, Tennessee 16 Box Score It is not often that a team scores in double figures and loses. Of course, it’s also not often that a team’s starter gives up nine runs and the team wins. The Lookouts grabbed a 6-3 lead in the fourth. However, they gave up six runs in the fifth inning to fall behind 9-6. Then in the top of the sixth inning, the Lookouts regained a 10-9 lead, but in the bottom half of the inning, they gave up three more. And then they gave up four more in the bottom of the eighth. In his previous appearance, Alex Wimmers was terrific in his return to starting this season, throwing five shutout innings. On this night, things didn’t go so well. In his 4.1 innings, he gave up nine earned runs on 10 hits (two home runs) and three walks. He struck out two. Jake Reed came on and worked 1.2 innings. He was charged with three unearned runs on two hits. He struck out two. DJ Johnson gave up four runs on three hits and three walks in 1.2 innings. Dallas Gallant was able to get the final out. There were positives on the offensive side of the ball. Byron Buxton returned after a two-game break and went 2-5 including a three-run homer, his second of the season. Levi Michael led the offense. He went 3-4 with his second double and second home run. He also stole his second base. Jorge Polanco was 2-5 with his third double and third home run. Dalton Hicks added his first home run of the season. Miguel Sano added a late double, his second. The Lookouts are now 7-8 on the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, St. Lucie 4 (11 innings) Box Score A night after playing 17 innings, the last thing Jeff Smith and his team wanted to do was play extra innings on Saturday night. And, they played extra innings on Saturday night. Ryan Eades was back on the mound and was very good again. He threw five shutout innings before giving up two runs in the sixth inning. In total, he gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three. The Twins were not planning on adding anyone to the roster to replace the DL'd Kohl Stewart, but after using so many pitchers on Friday night, they decided to have left-hander Jose Velez make an appearance. Velez was signed by the Twins after pitching in the independent Frontier League in 2014. He struck out 82 batters in 57 innings for Evansville a year ago. On this night, he gave up one run on one hit in two innings. Todd Van Steensel pitched scoreless ninth and tenth innings. He returned to the mound for the eleventh inning and gave up one run to take the loss. The Miracle had just six hits and Alex Swim had three of them. Chad Christensen hit his first home run of the season. The Miracle fell to 6-11 on the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1 – Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 6 Box Score Through three innings this was a 1-1 game, but Kane County scored three in the fourth and tacked on another two in the sixth to take a commanding lead and get the win in the first of two games. The Kernels committed four errors which certainly didn’t help the cause. Each of the four infielders had one. Michael Cederoth made the start and went the first four innings. He gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits. He didn’t walk any and struck out three. Sam Clay got the next two innings. The lefty walked two and struck out two while not allowing a run. C.K. Irby got the seventh inning and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. The Kernels had just six hits in this game. Tyler Kuresa went 2-3. Nick Gordon hit his first double of the season. Game 2 – Cedar Rapids, Kane County Box Score Felix Jorge started and he was really good again. He gave up two runs on four hits. In six innings, he walked one and struck out five. Unfortunately, the two runs were enough for him to take the loss. Miles Nordgren came on and threw a scoreless seventh. The Kernels again did little on offense. They had just four hits. Nick Gordon and Trey Vavra each hit a double. Even with the loss, the Kernels are 11-6 this year. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Lester Oliveros, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Levi Michael, Chattanooga Lookouts SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (12:35 CST) – LHP Pat Dean Chattanooga @ Tennessee (1:05 CST) – RHP Tyler Duffey Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (3:05 CST) – LHP Brett Lee Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – RHP Ricky Nolasco Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

After announcing that thirteen players were removed from the Minnesota Twins spring training roster on Sunday, three more Twins players were optioned and will report to minor league camp. Miguel Sano was officially included in the group, along with LHP Jason Wheeler and RHP Lester OliverosIn all, the Twins have now sent 16 players to minor league camp in the last two days.There are no surprises among the players cut from big league camp to this point. With Opening Day less than three weeks away, manager Paul Molitor has some tough decisions to make and needs to give opportunities to those who are competing for the final roster spots. As a quick reminder, those players who are on the 40-man roster need to be "optioned" when they are not on the active roster. These players are then assigned to the roster of one of the Twins minor league affiliates. Non-roster invitees are just "reassigned" to minor league camp. They do not need to be assigned to a specific roster. That will happen later in spring training. Miguel Sano certainly impressed with his power this spring, hitting two long home runs in big league games. He needs some time in the minors to shake off rust, both offensively and defensively. However, in his time in big league camp, he certainly showed again that he may not be far off. These moves reduce the current Twins spring training roster to 45. Eleven of those are non-roster players. They have 21 pitchers (two non-roster), six catchers (three non-roster), 10 infielders (three non-roster) and seven outfielders (two non-roster). Click here to view the article

Yesterday, we named JO Berrios as the Minnesota Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. Today, we will be diving into the top relief pitchers for the season. Clearly the Twins have made it a focus tto obtain power arms in recent years, particularly in the draft. Many of them have moved up the system and are performing very well. Hopefully several of those power arms will quickly work their way up the farm system to the majors.It’s been a very good year for relievers in the Twins minor leagues. I think we need to recognize several more pitchers who have had terrific seasons. HONORABLE MENTION Jim Fuller – New Britain Rock Cats (3-1, 1 save, 2.41 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 56.0 IP, 48 H, 30 BB, 68 K)Ryan Pressly – Rochester Red Wings (1-4, 6 saves, 2.98 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 60.1 IP, 55 H, 21 BB, 63 K)Jared Wilson – Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-4, 2.95 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 58.0 IP, 46 H, 25 BB, 56 K)Nick Burdi – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle (2-0, 5 saves, 2.66 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 20.1 IP, 13 H, 10 BB, 38 K)Brandon Bixler – Cedar Rapids Kernels (7-4, 2.68 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 74.0 IP, 49 H, 37 BB, 77 K)Chris Mazza – Cedar Rapids Kernels (4-4, 2.79 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 48.1 IP, 47 H, 11 BB, 62 K)Dallas Gallant – Cedar Rapids Kernels (2-1, 5 saves, 0.64 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 28.0 IP, 12 H, 9 BB, 46 K)Michael Tonkin – Rochester Red Wings (3-4, 2.80 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 45.0 IP, 41 H, 12 BB, 46 K)Feel free to debate them, or ask any questions you may have. Relief Pitcher of the Year #6 – Alex Muren – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle (4-2, 1 save, 2.77 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 74.2 IP, 65 H, 12 BB, 55 K) Muren was the Twins 12th round pick in 2012 out of Cal State-Northridge. He has worked out of the bullpen since signing and despite not having a huge fastball, he has put up solid numbers all the way through. In 2014, he began in Cedar Rapids. The 22-year-old posted a 2.89 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 56 innings over 29 games in Cedar Rapids. He was promoted to Ft. Myers where he posted a 2.41 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP. He averaged just 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings, but he doesn’t hurt himself with walks, having given up just 1.4 walks per nine innings. Muren is successful because he has been able to coax about 2.8 ground balls per flyout and keet the ball in the park. #5 – Jake Reed – Elizabethton Twins/Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-0, 8 saves, 0.29 ERA, 0.45 WHIP, 31.0 IP, 11 H, 3 BB, 39 K) Should Reed be on this list since he only started pitching in late June? Well, just take a look at those numbers again and tell me that we shouldn’t find some place for him in the top 6. Including the playoffs, he ended the season by tossing 24.2 consecutive scoreless innings. The 21-year-old was the Twins 5th round pick this June out of the University of Oregon. He is blessed with a mid-90s fastball and good secondary stuff too. Like fellow 2014 pick Nick Burdi, Reed could move up quickly in the Twins farm system. In fact, he will be participating in the Arizona Fall League this year. #4 – AJ Achter – New Britain Rock Cats/Rochester Red Wings (4-4, 7 saves, 2.17 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 78.2 IP, 47 H, 25 BB, 80 K) Achter won this award in 2012, his first year as a reliever. Last year, he was the runner up to Tyler Jones. This year, he falls to #4 on the list, but he is doing it at the highest level. He was the Reliever of the Month the first two months of the season. And on September 1st, he learned that he was headed to the big leagues. Achter was the lone representative of the Rochester Red Wings in the AAA All-Star game. He pitched in every role for the Red Wings this season. He was the closer, a set up man, a long reliever and even made a spot start. He has three or four pitches and when he has control, he can be very good. #3 – Todd Van Steensel – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle (1-0, 9 saves, 1.39 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 58.1 IP, 38 H, 24 BB, 71 K) It’s been an interesting ride for Van Steensel the last five years. He signed with the Phillies and pitched in the GCL in 2009. He was released, but he signed with the Twins and pitched at Elizabethton in 2011. The Twins released him after that season. Then, he pitched in the Netherlands and in his native Australia. He became a reliever, started throwing harder and the Twins gave him another opportunity before spring training this year. He began the season at extended spring training but was soon promoted to Cedar Rapids where he became a late inning man. In 34.2 innings, he walked just nine and struck out 45. He posted a 1.30 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He was promoted to Ft. Myers where he fit into the sixth and seventh innings. With the Miracle, he worked 23.2 innings and struck out 26. The 23-year-old has a big, tall leg kick and then throws a low-to-mid 90s fastball with a sharp slider. #2 – Lester Oliveros – New Britain Rock Cats/Rochester Red Wings (4-3, 18 saves, 1.64 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 65.2 IP, 44 H, 27 BB, 88 K) Oliveros came to the Twins in August of 2011 in the Delmon Young trade. In September of 2012, he had Tommy John surgery and aside from a few rehab appearances, he missed the entire 2013 season. The Twins chose to start him off in New Britain where he dominated as the team’s closer for the season’s first half. In 24 games and 30.1 innings, he posted a 0.89 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He walked 14 and struck out 36. He was just as good in Rochester where in 24 games, he worked 35.1 innings. He walked 13 and struck out 52. He finished the season very strong in August and earned his September recall to the big leagues. Relief Pitcher of the Year – Brandon Peterson – Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle (2-1, 4 saves, 1.56 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 57.2 IP, 37 H, 19 BB, 84 K) In June of 2010, Brandon Peterson was finishing his senior year in high school. He was Burnsville high school’s shortstop and their top pitcher. His team played in the Minnesota state high school championship game. They lost 5-3, but Peterson became the first high school player to hit a home run at Target Field. Now Peterson’s ultimate baseball goal is to pitch in Target Field and attempt to not give up home runs for the Minnesota Twins. After two years at Des Moines Area Community College, Peterson went to Wichita State where he had a strong junior season in 2013 with the Shockers. After the season, he was the Twins 13th round draft pick. Since signing, he has been a strikeout machine. In 27.1 innings with Elizabethton last year, he struck out 40. He began the 2014 season in Cedar Rapids where he pitched in just nine games. In 12.2 innings, he walked just two and struck out 19. He posted a 0.71 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. He was quickly promoted to Ft. Myers. In 45 innings, he walked 17 and struck out 65. He posted a 1.80 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He did not give up a home run all year. Though he did not get as much name recognition as teammates like Nick Burdi and Zack Jones late in the season, Peterson was a vital man in the seventh and eighth innings for the Miracle. Peterson throws a fastball that sits 92 to 93 mph and occasionally touches 95. He also has a slider in the low 80s. ---- Congratulations again to Brandon Peterson and all of these relief pitchers who had some terrific seasons of the bullpen in the Twins farm system. We’ll be back tomorrow with the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year. Click here to view the article

After looking at the Twins top hitter and starting pitcher performances for August the last couple of days, today we’ll take a look at the top relievers in the season’s final month. Next week, we’ll start looking at the players of the year. There were a lot of terrific bullpen performances throughout the month of August. To be honest, feel free to rank these in your own order. The Twins have focused their attention in recent drafts on hard-throwers, including several bullpen arms. That becomes apparent as you look through both the Honorable Mention and the Top 5 selections.Here are my choices for the Top 5 Twins Minor League Relief Pitchers in August, starting with several honorable mentions. HONORABLE MENTION RHP AJ Achter – Rochester – 8 G, 17.1 IP, 14 H, 5 BB, 18 K, 2.60 ERA, 1.10 WHIPRHP Stephen Pryor – Rochester – 12 G, 17.2 IP, 6 H, 14 BB, 18 K, 1.02 ERA, 1.13 WHIPRHP Michael Tonkin – Rochester – 12 G, 12.1 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 14 K, 2.92 ERA, 1.22 WHIPLHP Jim Fuller – New Britain – 7 G, 13.2 IP, 12 H, 7 BB, 16 K, 1.32 ERA, 1.39 WHIPLHP Mason Melotakis – Ft. Myers/New Britain – 10 G, 13.0 IP, 11 H, 2 BB, 20 K, 1.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIPRHP Brandon Peterson – Ft. Myers – 7 G, 10.1 IP, 8 H, 4 BB, 15 K, 1.74 ERA, 1.16 WHIPRHP Todd Van Steensel – Ft. Myers – 8 G, 13.1 IP, 9 H, 7 BB, 13 K, 0.68 ERA, 1.20 WHIPRHP Chris Mazza – Cedar Rapids – 10 G, 20.0 IP, 22 H, 6 BB, 34 K, 3.15 ERA, 1.40 WHIPRHP Randy LeBlanc – Elizabethton – 7 G, 17.0 IP, 19 H, 1 BB, 14 K, 1.59 ERA, 1.18 WHIPRHP CK Irby – Elizabethton Twins – 9 G, 16.0 IP, 12 H, 4 BB, 30 K, 1.13 ERA, 1.00 WHIPRHP Trevor Hildenberger – GCL Twins – 10 G, 10.1 IP, 10 H, 1 BB, 15 K, 1.74 ERA, 1.06 WHIPTOP 5 MINNESOTA TWINS RELIEF PITCHER OF AUGUST 2014 Number 5 – Cedar Rapids – RHP Dallas Gallant - 9 G, 1.46 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 5 H, 5 BB, 22 K Gallant was #2 on this list in July, and he was just as good in August. The hard-throwing right-hander continued to dominate the Florida State League as a set-up man who also recorded two saves in the month. He has walked a few too many, but his stuff is such that he doesn’t give up many hits. In fact, opponents hit just .122 off of him in August with a .422 OPS. After missing the first 50 games this season, Gallant is a guy who will likely start in Ft. Myers next year, but with some others, he could move up quickly. Number 4 – Elizabethton – LHP Sam Clay - 7 G, 0.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 13.0 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 20 K Clay was the Twins 4th round pick this June out of Georgia Tech. His first nine appearances with Elizabethton were pretty brutal. However, he has figured something out and has been very good the last month. In fact, he didn’t give up a run and found ways to miss bats. This is just the start of the run of 2014 Twins draft picks who appear on this list. Number 3 – Rochester – RHP Lester Oliveros - 12 G, 0.90 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 20.0 IP, 15 H, 7 BB, 31 K His first big league appearance in over two years following Tommy John surgery didn’t go so well, but Oliveros has been spectacular throughout the 2014 season. He was dominant in August while also being a workhorse for the Red Wings. The still-just-26-year-old throws hard and has had much better control of his breaking ball than we saw the other night. With a strong September, he could find himself in the mix for a roster spot on Opening Day 2015. Number 2 – Ft. Myers – Nick Burdi - 10 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 17 K When he was drafted, we knew about the 100 mph fastball, and we had heard about the 91 mph slider that he flashed early in the college season. Burdi has touched those numbers in his 2+ months in professional baseball. He was promoted to Ft. Myers at the end of July, and he is yet to give up a run. He has plenty of strikeouts, but it’s more encouraging to see his walks decreasing. Burdi is a guy who will likely fly through the Twins farm system and could certainly be in Minnesota in 2015. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Cedar Rapids – Jake Reed - 8 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.54 WHIP, 13.0 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 16 K Reed also won this award in July when he posted a 0.18 WHIP through that month, his first month with the Kernels. The 5th round pick from Oregon remained dominant in the season’s final month. He is strong enough yet that the Twins are sending him to the Arizona Fall League this year. In August, he went 1-0 and recorded three saves. Opponents hit just .116 off him with a silly .295 OPS. Reed throws hard, hitting 97 at times. He has a breaking pitch that will need to improve, but considering he’s been a pro for a little over two months, he’s on a good track toward Target Field. So what do you think? I’ve listed five relievers here (along with several other honorable mentions) who deserve to 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)? With the start of the NFL season tonight, be sure to also bookmark VikingsJournal.com! Click here to view the article