Search the Community

Short season pitchers can be tough to evaluate. One bad outing when players have limited innings can really skew a player's overall numbers. Should fans only be looking at the players who are starters? Can a relief pitcher be the best player on a short season team and the best short season pitcher? As evidenced by the ballots below, the Twins Daily minor league writing team had a tough time voting for this award. The overall winner was left off one person's ballot, was fifth on another ballot, but he was the only player to make it onto four ballots. The third place winner only made it on to two ballots, but he finished first on both of those ballots. And a relief pitcher came in second place!The five Twins Daily Minor League Report authors were asked to vote for the various awards. For the short-season pitcher of the year, we each voted for five players. The player who was voted as #1 received five points, #2 received four points and so on with the #5 vote receiving one point. Results were tabulated and can be found below. First, a reminder of our previous awards: Short-Season Hitter of the Year – Lewin DiazShort profiles of our top five are to follow, but first, some players worthy of honorable mention. Honorable Mention: Brady Anderson, GCL Twins: 13 G, 9 GS, 5-0, 1.43 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 56.2 IP, 43 H, 0 BB, 42 K.Moises Gomez, GCL Twins: 13 G, 0 GS, 3-0, 1.38 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 32.2 IP, 29 H, 11 BB, 21 K.Miguel De Jesus, GCL Twins/ Elizabethton Twins : 11 G, 11 GS, 3-3, 2.38 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 53.0 IP, 37 H, 19 BB, 47 K.Pitcher of the Year Here are the top five vote-getters for Twins Short Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year. #4 (Tie) –Tyler Wells, Elizabethton Twins: 10 GS, 5-2, 3.23 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 47.1 IP, 40 H, 17 BB, 59 K. Wells ended on quite the stretch for the E-Twins. He earned victories in his last four starts (24.1 IP) and he posted a 0.74 ERA and a 27 to 7 strikeout-to-walk ratio during that stretch. He lowered his ERA by 3.24 between July and August while decreasing his walk rate and his WHIP. Wells was particularly effective against right-handed batters as he collected 34 strikeouts compared to six walks over 112 at-bats. #4 (Tie) – Taylor Clemensia, GCL Twins: 11 G, 10 GS, 1-4, 2.47 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 43.2 IP, 27 H, 26 BB, 47 K. Clemensia joined the Twins organization this season after pitching last year in the Dutch Major League. He got off to a strong start as he allowed two earned runs and held opponents to a .083 batting average through his first four appearances. Walks have been the biggest struggle for Clemensia as he has allowed batters to get on base over 31% of the time. #3 – Bo Hellquist, GCL Twins: 11 GS, 3-2, 1.34 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 60.2 IP, 46 H, 15 BB, 49 K. Hellquist, an Edina native and a University of Minnesota-Duluth product, has been very consistent this season as he didn't allow more than one earned run in his first 10 appearances. In his last outing, he allowed three earned runs but he struck out six on the way to his fifth victory. His ERA was 2.50 or lower in each month of the season. Even though he is a lefty, Hellquist fared better against right-handed foes. Lefties posted a .705 OPS and a 9 to 2 strikeout to walk ratio (56 AB) while righties had a .571 OPS and a 37 to 5 strikeout to walk ratio (156 ABs). He struck out five or more batters in four of his eleven appearances and he never walked more than two batters in a game. #2 – Patrick McGuff, Elizabethton Twins/GCL Twins 22 G, 17 GF, 2-0, 2.27 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 31.2 IP, 26 H, 10 BB, 42 K. During his professional debut, McGuff has shown plenty of positive signs. He started the year with four appearances out of the GCL Twins bullpen. He picked up two saves and only allowed three base runners during that stretch. He struck out nine and didn't issue a walk before being promoted to the E-Twins. He continued his hot pitching after being promoted. Through his first six appearances with Elizabethton, he didn't allow an earned run and he posted a 17 to 5 strikeout to walk ratio. Over his next four games, he allowed a pair of earned runs but he was still able to pick up saves in two of those outings. Across his last eight games (11.0 IP), he has earned a save or victory as the E-Twins were in the midst of the playoff hunt. Opponents were limited to a .275 SLG during this stretch and he had a 12 to 2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Pitcher of the Year – Huascar Ynoa, GCL Twins : 11 G, 11 GS, 3-5, 3.88 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 51.0 IP, 44 H, 12 BB, 51 K. In his first year of baseball in the United States, Ynoa took a while to get the ball rolling. Through his first five appearances (27.1 IP), he had an 0-4 record but combined for a respectable 2.96 ERA with a 31 to 7 strikeout to walk ratio. Opponents were hitting .241/.299/.287 against him during this stretch but he wasn't able to earn a win. As the calendar flipped to August, Ynoa began to find his groove. He reeled off three straight wins to start the month when he pitched five innings in every outing and allowed only one earned run. He collected 13 strikeouts and only two walks through those three games as opponents were limited to a .426 OPS and a .243 BABIP. His last two starts were not as clean as he allowed nine runs (eight earned runs) in 8.2 innings of work. Batters were getting on over 32% of the time and he allowed more than a hit per inning. Even with this rough end to the season, Ynoa did well enough to be the Twins best short season pitcher. There you have it, the top pitchers in the short season leagues. The Ballots In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth Stohs – 1) Patrick McGuff, 2.) Moises Gomez, 3.) Huascar Ynoa, 4.) Jordan Balazovic, 5.) Taylor ClemensiaJeremy Nygaard – 1) Huascar Ynoa, 2.) Taylor Clemensia, 3.) Brady Anderson , 4.) Miguel De Jesus, 5.) Patrick McGuffCody Christie – 1) Bo Hellquist, 2.) Tyler Wells, 3.) Huascar Ynoa, 4.) Tyler Beardsley, 5.) Miguel De JesusSteve Lein – 1) Brady Anderson, 2.) Patrick McGuff, 3.) Tyler Wells, 4.) Miguel De Jesus, 5.) Huascar YnoaEric Pleiss – 1) Bo Hellquist, 2.) Taylor Clemensia, 3.) Colton Davis, 4.) Tyler Wells, 5.) Moises GomezFeel free to discuss. What do you think? How would you rank them? How would your ballot look? Click here to view the article

The Twins, the Astros and the Umpires are currently hanging out at Target Field trying to determine what to do about the rain delay tonight. Rain was prevalent in the Twins farm system as well on Wednesday. Be sure to enjoy a somewhat-abbreviated Minor League Report. May not be long, but there were plenty of storylines. Alex Kirilloff had another good day. Mitch Garver made his AAA debut where he joined Byron Buxton in the Red Wings starting lineup. There were a couple of transactions of note on Wednesday as well: With Trevor May being placed on the disabled list, the Twins called RHP JT Chargois back up to the Twins.Brad Hartong returned to Ft. Myers.Hank Morrison was activated from the Elizabethton DL.Max Murphy was sent to the GCL on a rehab assignment.Welcome Back, Andrew Albers! With the Twins game being postponed, the Twins were able to add a 26th player and selected the Canadian left-hander. With four open roster spots, it was simple for the Twins to add him. With Tommy Milone starting Game 2, the Twins needed someone who can eat some innings if necessary. We learned also on Wednesday that Trevor Hildenberger will be out for the rest of the season. He had an MRI on Monday and found out Tuesday that his season was over. He won't throw again until September when he will head to Ft. Myers to start a program. He told me earlier that he is frustrated because he wants to be out there with his Lookout teammates, trying to help get them to the playoffs.With that, let’s get to the Minor League Report for Wednesday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Syracuse 6 Box Score There were some firsts for the Red Wings in this game, but it was also the second Red Wings start for lefty Adalberto Mejia. He gave up five runs on seven hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Neil Ramirez threw the seventh inning. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk but he struck out one. Alex Wimmers gave up one hit in a scoreless eighth inning. Byron Buxton pinch ran for the Red Wings late in their Tuesday night game. On Wednesday, he made his first start since his demotion. He went 0-3 with two walks and a stolen base. Mitch Garver played in his first AAA game. He batted seventh and was behind the plate. He went 1-3 with a walk. Leonardo was promoted with Garver. He played third base and batted ninth. He also had his first hit. Tommy Field went 3-5 with his 14th double and two RBI. James Beresford went 2-4 with an RBI. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga Box Score It was a scheduled day off on Wednesday for the Lookouts. They will begin a series in Birmingham on Thursday. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, St. Lucie 3 Box Score The Miracle were supposed to play two games on Wednesday. They got one in, and the second one was suspended after a half-inning. In the game that was played, the Miracle managed just three hits in the game. Nick Gordon had an RBI single. Joe Maloney went 1-2 with a walk and his fifth stolen base. Randy LeBlanc started. He gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and two walks in four innings. He struck out four. Michael Theofanopoulos struck out two and walked one in two scoreless innings. John Curtiss struck out two in a perfect seventh inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids Box Score The Kernels had the day off as they traveled east to start a series in Kane County. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Kingsport 0 Box Score Ryan Mason put together his best start as a pro. Granted, it was just his sixth start as a pro, but the start on Wednesday night was very good. He threw six shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out three. Alex Robinson walked two and struck out three over two hitless, scoreless innings. Johan Quezada struck out one in a perfect ninth. Alex Kirilloff was at it again on Wednesday. The first-round pick went 2-3 with a walk and two RBI. He’s now hitting .361 on the season. Andre Jernigan went 2-4. Hank Morrison was back in the lineup for the first time in a month. He added his first pro triple. GCL TWINS TAKES Game 1 - GCL Twins 3, GCL Orioles 4 Box Score Canadian Jordan Balazovic made another start. The lefty went 4.2 innings and gave up four runs (three earned) on two hits and a walk. He struck out four. Clark Beeker struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits. The Twins had just six hits, no one had more than one. Jorge Munoz hit his seventh double. Jean Carlos Arias then added a pinch-hit double, his fourth. Max Murphy played his first rehab game and went 0-2 with a strikeout. Game 2 - GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 2 Box Score Taylor Clemensia continues to pitch well. In this game, he gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out seven. Onas Farfan picked up his third save. He struck out two over two perfect innings. Aaron Whitefield had another strong game. He went 3-3 with a walk and stole two more bases. He has 24 steals on the season. Lean Marrero went 2-3 with his first triple. Dominic Blanco went 2-3. Emmanuel Morel went 1-1 with his second double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ryan Mason, Elizabethton Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tommy Field, Rochester Red Wings THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (5:35 CST) - LHP Nick Greenwood Chattanooga @ Birmingham (7:05 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Alex Schik GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday's games. Click here to view the article