Talking minor league pitchers

Jose (or J.O.) Berrios in the Futures Game. 

As we wait for the Twins to make what seems an inevitable trade or trades by Thursday's nonwaiver deadline, a few notes about some prominent Twins minor league pitchers:

* J.O. Berrios, who we saw starting the Futures Game in Target Field, started Tuesday night in Trenton, New Jersey,his fourth start in Double A. Keith Law of ESPN was there:

Jose Berrios 94-96 for @RockCats in the first, got out of a small jam by getting Pete O'Brien to hit into a 6-4-3
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) July 29, 2014

Berrios giving up some hard contact tonight - lack of downhill plane or FB life really hurts him
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) July 29, 2014

Berrios coming out after 1.2 innings due to an apparent injury. #Twins
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) July 29, 2014

Law has not been as impressed with Barrios as other observers, citing Barrios' relative lack of height (listed at 6 feet). Anyway, the word on Barrios is shoulder discomfort of some sort:

Source tells me it was indeed shoulder tightness that forced RHP J.O. Berrios from tonight's start after 48 pitches.
— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) July 30, 2014

We'll see what further evaluation holds for him. But reports that his velocity dropped sharply his last three pitches hint that this may be more than a minor glitch.

* When Kohl Stewart went on the disabled list, his shoulder stiffness was deem so minor that no tests were going to be done, and I figured that it was just an excuse to skip a start or two for the 19-year-old. Well, the Twins did bring him to Minneapolis for an MRI and exam by the team physician, and nothing was found, or so the Twins say.

There's a bit more than a month to the Cedar Rapids season, and Stewart has topped 80 innings. Last year Berrios threw 103 there (and 13 in Elizabethton) as a 19-year-old, so assuming Stewart gets back in action soon, he will be on track to match that workload.

* Let's have some good news of a sort: The Twins just signed an "out of nowhere" guy who throws 100 mph by has somehow eluded scouts for years. Brandon Poulson is 24, which is pretty old for somebody going to Elizabethton. If he's going to make it, he's going to have to climb the ladder quickly.