Ryan LaMarre, who made the Minnesota roster out of spring training, bounced up and down, got some regular playing time in center with Byron Buxton's rehab assignment/demotion and was finally waived by the Twins, was claimed by the Chicago White Sox.
I found LaMarre an easy player to root for, but that hardly overcomes his limitations as a ballplayer. He looked like a good defensive outfielder (the metrics didn't really agree), displayed little power at the plate and made too many baserunning mistakes. In that last he was hardly unique on this team. Jake Cave has a higher ceiling.
LaMarre was a fringe guy on the Twins. He'll be a fringe guy with the White Sox.
---
The Twins announced that Felix Jorge had been released and then re-signed to a minor league contract.
The mechanics here are ... interesting, at least to me. Jorge was called up twice last season for spot starts and spent the offseason and much of season on the 40-man roster but sidelined by a triceps injury. The Twins DFA'd him at the start of the month to create a spot for Willians Astudillo.
So Jorge cleared waivers -- and then apparently, the Twins released him and re-signed him rather than outright him. The advantage for the Twins: If and when they decide to put him on the 40 again only to decide to take him off, he won't have the option of declaring free agency. He had that opportunity this time around.
This is probably all academic anyway, certainly in the short term. Jorge is a long way from being a factor for the big league club.
---
Closer to being a factor for the big league club: Ervin Santana is apparently expected to be restored to the Twins roster and rotation after the All-Star break. Barring a trade or injury involving somebody else, this is presumably not good news for Aaron Slegers.
A bit further away: Michael Pineda, signed to a two-year deal by the Twins last winter while he recovers from Tommy John surgery is slated to go on a rehab assignment later this month. He might get a month to six weeks in the major league rotation this year. I don't think the Twins were counting on that when they signed him.
Showing posts with label Felix Jorge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Felix Jorge. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Monday, July 2, 2018
Notes from the weekend
That was a couple of ugly series the Twins played in Chicago, first losing two of three to the lowly Whtie Sox, then getting swept by the Cubs.
The Cubs are a quality team, or at least a quality lineup, and Wrigley Field in hot weather has long been known as a hitter's paradise, but what befell the Twins pitching staff was not acceptable.
The Monday print column this week is a (superficial) once-over on the most likely trade candidates on the Minnesota roster, written on Saturday before Lance Lynn laid his egg on Sunday. When I said in the column that Lynn and Jake Odorizzi would deepen the playoff rotation of most contenders, particularly in the National League, I had the Cubs in mind as one of those teams. (Also the Milwaukee Brewers, who the Twins play next.)
The Cubs have, however, seen a lot of Lynn in the past -- he spent his previous major league seasons toiling for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cubs division rival -- and he has not fared well in Wrigley. He certainly didn't Sunday. The carnage -- which included Lynn failing to cover first base -- pretty much wrecked the improvement he had made in his ERA over the past month.
---
The Twins DFA'd Felix Jorge over the weekend in the process of shuffling their roster (making room on the 40-man roster for Willians Astudillo).
Jorge made two appearances on the major league roster last season, but has been largely sidelined this year (just three innings, all at the bottom rung of the Twins stateside affliations.)
Assuming that at least one of the Twins veteran starters gets moved this month -- and I do so assume -- it seems safe to say that Jorge is not likely to benefit.
---
The Twins, beset by heat-related illnesses, finished Saturday's game with an outfield of Logan Morrison is left, Astudillo in center and Robbie Grossman in right.
Aaron Gleeman speculated on Twitter that that might be the worst defensive outfield in major league history. I have no idea how one might attempt to measure that, but it's certainly an alignment that would seem to be an invitation to triples.
I have a memory of attending a 1997 game in the Metrodome in which the Oakland A's started an outfield with Jason Giambi in left, Geronimo Berroa in center and Jose Canseco in right. However, a check of Baseball Reference's gamelogs suggest that never happened. Berroa didn't play any centerfield that year (or, apparently, ever). Giambi was the A's regular leftfielder that season (accommodating Mark McGwire at first base and Canseco, in his second go-around with Oakland, as the DH), and Berroa played a lot of right field before being traded in late June. Any outfield with two of those three in it was bound to be brutal afield.
The Cubs are a quality team, or at least a quality lineup, and Wrigley Field in hot weather has long been known as a hitter's paradise, but what befell the Twins pitching staff was not acceptable.
The Monday print column this week is a (superficial) once-over on the most likely trade candidates on the Minnesota roster, written on Saturday before Lance Lynn laid his egg on Sunday. When I said in the column that Lynn and Jake Odorizzi would deepen the playoff rotation of most contenders, particularly in the National League, I had the Cubs in mind as one of those teams. (Also the Milwaukee Brewers, who the Twins play next.)
The Cubs have, however, seen a lot of Lynn in the past -- he spent his previous major league seasons toiling for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cubs division rival -- and he has not fared well in Wrigley. He certainly didn't Sunday. The carnage -- which included Lynn failing to cover first base -- pretty much wrecked the improvement he had made in his ERA over the past month.
---
The Twins DFA'd Felix Jorge over the weekend in the process of shuffling their roster (making room on the 40-man roster for Willians Astudillo).
Jorge made two appearances on the major league roster last season, but has been largely sidelined this year (just three innings, all at the bottom rung of the Twins stateside affliations.)
Assuming that at least one of the Twins veteran starters gets moved this month -- and I do so assume -- it seems safe to say that Jorge is not likely to benefit.
---
The Twins, beset by heat-related illnesses, finished Saturday's game with an outfield of Logan Morrison is left, Astudillo in center and Robbie Grossman in right.
Aaron Gleeman speculated on Twitter that that might be the worst defensive outfield in major league history. I have no idea how one might attempt to measure that, but it's certainly an alignment that would seem to be an invitation to triples.
I have a memory of attending a 1997 game in the Metrodome in which the Oakland A's started an outfield with Jason Giambi in left, Geronimo Berroa in center and Jose Canseco in right. However, a check of Baseball Reference's gamelogs suggest that never happened. Berroa didn't play any centerfield that year (or, apparently, ever). Giambi was the A's regular leftfielder that season (accommodating Mark McGwire at first base and Canseco, in his second go-around with Oakland, as the DH), and Berroa played a lot of right field before being traded in late June. Any outfield with two of those three in it was bound to be brutal afield.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
First cuts are the deepest tiers
Almost as soon as I posted Wednesday's thoughts about Zack Littell and the other "Tier 3" pitchers, the Twins sent a bunch of them to minor league camp:
The @Twins have optioned:— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) March 7, 2018
LHP Dietrich Enns (AAA)
RHP Felix Jorge (AAA)
RHP Zack Littell (AA)
LHP Lewis Thorpe (AA)
Reassigned to minor league camp:
C Brian Navarreto
C Wynston Sawyer
53 players left in camp.#MNTwins
Minor league camp officially opened this week, and the four optioned pitchers -- all, by definition, on the 40-man roster -- figure to be in the starting rotations at either Triple A Rochester or Double A Chattanooga and need to start ramping up their innings.
And this is an example of why teams don't really have five or six pitchers competing for one rotation slot. That's too many. Paul Molitor has to get his set starters -- Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson -- their innings to prep for the season as well. It would be a tighter squeeze if Ervin Santana were's sidelined.
As it is, no matter how much Littell impressed, there was no way he was going to get an opportunity to compete for the open slot. It just isn't practical.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Notes, quotes and comment
Friday was quite the busy day in Twinsdom. Let's get chronologic:
* Joe Mauer went on the disabled list with Kennys Vargas recalled. The Twins demoted Vargas on Monday to reactivate Ehire Adrianza. Mauer injured his back on Tuesday, and the Twins dawdled a couple of days before pulling the trigger, presumably (as I noted Thursday) because Vargas hasn't given them a lot of reason to get excited about playing him.
So naturally Vargas went 3-for-4 with a double and a couple RBIs.
*Brandon Kintzler was one of a handful of replacement All-Stars named Friday, and good for him. That gives the Twins three members of the AL squad: Miguel Sano, Ervin Santana and Kintzler.
Kintzler currently leads the American League in saves, which
* The Twins signed Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal.
Colon became an unlikely cult hero in his three years with the Mets; he's old (44), fat (listed at 285 pounds) and amusingly inept at the plate. But the Braves released him after he put up an 8.18 ERA in 13 starts.
I'm not optimistic about Colon. But I'm not optimistic about the rotation "fixes" on hand either. Derek Falvey told the press corps during the game that Colon thinks he can correct himself and pitch beyond this season, and noted (accurately) that Colon has reinvented himself as a pitcher a few times. So we'll see; the Twins have a minimal investment in "Big Sexy," so all they have to lose are a couple of games.
* Felix Jorge started, got shelled, got demoted (that last, as least, as predicted here).
Roy Smalley drew a Johan Santana comp to Jorge early in the game on FSN, which is ridiculous. Santana is left-handed and threw harder than Jorge. A more realistic comp, at least in terms of what kind of pitcher Jorge might become, is Brad Radke -- a fastball that sits around 90, a good change-up, top-notch command of both pitches.
And, hey, if Jorge becomes Radke, that's marvelous. He's not there yet. He has no chance of becoming Santana. And the signing of Colon, plus the presence in Rochester of Dillon Gee (opt-out date July 15), plus Friday's failed outing -- that all adds up to he's not getting another shot at the majors anytime soon. Jorge is returning to Chattanooga, and I would expect to see him back in September but not before.
* Outfielder Zack Granite was recalled. He's hitting .360 in Rochester, which is good. He's drawn about as many walks in Rochester as Eddie Rosario has in Minnesota, which is less good, and has far less power.
The gaudy batting average not withstanding, Granite is a fringe prospect, a protoypical fourth outfielder -- left-handed contact hitter, fast enough to play center, not enough pop to be a regular. And as a lefty bat, he's not a particularly good fit as a backup in an outfield with Rosario and Max Kepler among the regulars.
Granite is, at best, Ben Revere with a better arm.
My prediction: He won't be up long.
*Byron Buxton scored from first base on a single to center. Wowzers.
Anybody who thinks Granite should get Buck's playing time is deluded. Baseball Reference, at this writing, has Buxton as the third-most valuable player on the 2017 Twins with 1.8 WAR, behind Ervin Santana and Kepler and fractionally ahead of Sano.
* Joe Mauer went on the disabled list with Kennys Vargas recalled. The Twins demoted Vargas on Monday to reactivate Ehire Adrianza. Mauer injured his back on Tuesday, and the Twins dawdled a couple of days before pulling the trigger, presumably (as I noted Thursday) because Vargas hasn't given them a lot of reason to get excited about playing him.
So naturally Vargas went 3-for-4 with a double and a couple RBIs.
*Brandon Kintzler was one of a handful of replacement All-Stars named Friday, and good for him. That gives the Twins three members of the AL squad: Miguel Sano, Ervin Santana and Kintzler.
Kintzler currently leads the American League in saves, which
- is meaningless as an evaluative stat and
- made his selection almost inevitable.
* The Twins signed Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal.
Colon became an unlikely cult hero in his three years with the Mets; he's old (44), fat (listed at 285 pounds) and amusingly inept at the plate. But the Braves released him after he put up an 8.18 ERA in 13 starts.
colon will start at triple-a rochester with twins. but plan is to get him up asap— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 8, 2017
I'm not optimistic about Colon. But I'm not optimistic about the rotation "fixes" on hand either. Derek Falvey told the press corps during the game that Colon thinks he can correct himself and pitch beyond this season, and noted (accurately) that Colon has reinvented himself as a pitcher a few times. So we'll see; the Twins have a minimal investment in "Big Sexy," so all they have to lose are a couple of games.
* Felix Jorge started, got shelled, got demoted (that last, as least, as predicted here).
Roy Smalley drew a Johan Santana comp to Jorge early in the game on FSN, which is ridiculous. Santana is left-handed and threw harder than Jorge. A more realistic comp, at least in terms of what kind of pitcher Jorge might become, is Brad Radke -- a fastball that sits around 90, a good change-up, top-notch command of both pitches.
And, hey, if Jorge becomes Radke, that's marvelous. He's not there yet. He has no chance of becoming Santana. And the signing of Colon, plus the presence in Rochester of Dillon Gee (opt-out date July 15), plus Friday's failed outing -- that all adds up to he's not getting another shot at the majors anytime soon. Jorge is returning to Chattanooga, and I would expect to see him back in September but not before.
* Outfielder Zack Granite was recalled. He's hitting .360 in Rochester, which is good. He's drawn about as many walks in Rochester as Eddie Rosario has in Minnesota, which is less good, and has far less power.
The gaudy batting average not withstanding, Granite is a fringe prospect, a protoypical fourth outfielder -- left-handed contact hitter, fast enough to play center, not enough pop to be a regular. And as a lefty bat, he's not a particularly good fit as a backup in an outfield with Rosario and Max Kepler among the regulars.
Granite is, at best, Ben Revere with a better arm.
My prediction: He won't be up long.
*Byron Buxton scored from first base on a single to center. Wowzers.
Anybody who thinks Granite should get Buck's playing time is deluded. Baseball Reference, at this writing, has Buxton as the third-most valuable player on the 2017 Twins with 1.8 WAR, behind Ervin Santana and Kepler and fractionally ahead of Sano.
Friday, July 7, 2017
Mauer's (not) back
I got one right, more or less: Alan Busenitz, called up to fill Hector Santiago's roster spot, was sent back to Rochester after watching two games from the bullpen to activate Felix Jorge, who will start today's game.
I expect that Jorge will be demoted again immediately after the game. The Twins figure to fill out the weekend with Aldaberto Mejia and Kyle Gibson, then have four days off, then will likely resume with Jose Berrios, Ervin Santana, Mejia and Gibson before needing the fifth starter again. That's 10 days; that's enough to reactivate Santiago if he's ready, or recall Jorge, or bring back Dillon Gee, or whatever.
It won't be Busenitz, but the Twins can get a useable player -- a bullpen arm or a position player -- into that roster spot for six games before they need a starting pitcher there. That's the kind of roster game the new regime has been rather adept at playing.
They've been a great deal less agggressive with Joe Mauer's roster status. Mauer sat out Wednesday and Thursday after injuring his back running the bases on Tuesday, and he remains on the active roster.
One issue may be: Who would they activate to take his place? They could bring back Kennys Vargas early if they DL Mauer, but they sent Vargas out because he's not hitting. Byung Ho Park has finally gotten his bat going at Rochester, but he's not on the 40-man roster. They could bring up an outfielder (hello, Zack Granite) and move Max Kepler to first base, but I doubt they're eager to take Kepler out of right field.
I expect that Jorge will be demoted again immediately after the game. The Twins figure to fill out the weekend with Aldaberto Mejia and Kyle Gibson, then have four days off, then will likely resume with Jose Berrios, Ervin Santana, Mejia and Gibson before needing the fifth starter again. That's 10 days; that's enough to reactivate Santiago if he's ready, or recall Jorge, or bring back Dillon Gee, or whatever.
It won't be Busenitz, but the Twins can get a useable player -- a bullpen arm or a position player -- into that roster spot for six games before they need a starting pitcher there. That's the kind of roster game the new regime has been rather adept at playing.
They've been a great deal less agggressive with Joe Mauer's roster status. Mauer sat out Wednesday and Thursday after injuring his back running the bases on Tuesday, and he remains on the active roster.
No move on Mauer, yet, They are going to check on him tomorrow. I still think it's likely he's DL'd.— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) July 7, 2017
One issue may be: Who would they activate to take his place? They could bring back Kennys Vargas early if they DL Mauer, but they sent Vargas out because he's not hitting. Byung Ho Park has finally gotten his bat going at Rochester, but he's not on the 40-man roster. They could bring up an outfielder (hello, Zack Granite) and move Max Kepler to first base, but I doubt they're eager to take Kepler out of right field.
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Dancing the pitching staff
Hector Santiago was insistent that his lack of velocity Sunday was deliberate. On Tuesday he threw his regular bullpen session and, asked by a reporter if that meant he was making his scheduled start Friday, replied: "Presumably." On Wednesday he went on the disabled list again.
We can connect the dots as we wish, but bottom line is: Santiago is not making that Friday start.
Alan Busenitz, sent out on Friday, was recalled to take Santiago's roster spot. He could be called back up so quickly (normally an optioned player has to be down 10 days) because he's taking the place of a player going on the disabled list. But he's a relief pitcher, so that doesn't fill the vacant rotation spot.
That will reportedly be Felix Jorge, who started the second game of Saturday's doubleheader and gave the Twins their best start of the Kansas City series. He isn't covered by the 10-day rule because he was the 26th man for the doubleheader.
But somebody will have to come off the roster after today's game to make room for Jorge. Busenitz seems a possibility; so too Ryan Pressly, who was recalled to take Busenitz's spot after Busenitz had a long bullpen outing on Friday. Pressly has made one (unsuccessful) appearance in this callup.
The most likely outcome is that the Twins will have milked two days of an extra bullpen arm out of all this. And on day one of that extra arm. Ervin Santana threw a complete game, which sorta makes all the maneuvering irrelevant.
We can connect the dots as we wish, but bottom line is: Santiago is not making that Friday start.
Alan Busenitz, sent out on Friday, was recalled to take Santiago's roster spot. He could be called back up so quickly (normally an optioned player has to be down 10 days) because he's taking the place of a player going on the disabled list. But he's a relief pitcher, so that doesn't fill the vacant rotation spot.
That will reportedly be Felix Jorge, who started the second game of Saturday's doubleheader and gave the Twins their best start of the Kansas City series. He isn't covered by the 10-day rule because he was the 26th man for the doubleheader.
But somebody will have to come off the roster after today's game to make room for Jorge. Busenitz seems a possibility; so too Ryan Pressly, who was recalled to take Busenitz's spot after Busenitz had a long bullpen outing on Friday. Pressly has made one (unsuccessful) appearance in this callup.
The most likely outcome is that the Twins will have milked two days of an extra bullpen arm out of all this. And on day one of that extra arm. Ervin Santana threw a complete game, which sorta makes all the maneuvering irrelevant.
Monday, July 3, 2017
Rotation roundabout
A road trip that began with such promise -- a sweep in Cleveland and a return to first place -- collapsed in Boston and Kansas City. The Twins end the first half 41-40 and three games out, and it feels worse.
I've been obsessing here with the bullpen depth, but the biggest immediate problem right now might be the starting pitching:
On Sunday Hector Santiago was pulled after 58 pitches, just 10 outs and almost no velocity; he grumbled postgame about the quick hook, but it's difficult to criticize Paul Molitor for pulling him. Phil Hughes then entered (his second bullpen outing), and he got five outs while allowing six hits, which is a horrid batting average allowed.
Santiago's ERA is 5.63, and that may overstate his effectiveness. Hughes' ERA is even worse (5.72) and the hope that he can at least give the bullpen a boost has yet to be supported. We have not seen from him the usual velocity surge that accompanies moves to the bullpen.
Felix Jorge allowed three runs in five innings in his spot start in Saturday's doubleheader, and that mediocre line is being lauded. I'll be the Debby Downer on this: He's not an answer to the rotation woes. But then, I don't know who is.
I've been obsessing here with the bullpen depth, but the biggest immediate problem right now might be the starting pitching:
#mntwins rotation has produced one quality start in past 12 chances. Ervin at CLE (6/25)— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) July 2, 2017
ERA in that span: 5.27.
Innings per start: 4.56.
On Sunday Hector Santiago was pulled after 58 pitches, just 10 outs and almost no velocity; he grumbled postgame about the quick hook, but it's difficult to criticize Paul Molitor for pulling him. Phil Hughes then entered (his second bullpen outing), and he got five outs while allowing six hits, which is a horrid batting average allowed.
Santiago's ERA is 5.63, and that may overstate his effectiveness. Hughes' ERA is even worse (5.72) and the hope that he can at least give the bullpen a boost has yet to be supported. We have not seen from him the usual velocity surge that accompanies moves to the bullpen.
Felix Jorge allowed three runs in five innings in his spot start in Saturday's doubleheader, and that mediocre line is being lauded. I'll be the Debby Downer on this: He's not an answer to the rotation woes. But then, I don't know who is.
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Plouffe, there he goes
 |
| Trevor Plouffe had a series of injuries that limited him to less than 350 plate appearances in 2016. |
In a related development, it was also the day the Twins released veteran third baseman Trevor Plouffe.
They also outrighted catcher Juan Centeno and lost slugging prospect Adam Brett Walker on waivers to the Milwaukee Brewers.
These moves opened three more slots on the 40-man roster, The Twins filled six of the seven vacancies with prospects: catcher Mitch Garver; outfielders Daniel Palka and Zack Granite; shortstop Engelb Vielma; and right-handed starters Fernando Romero and Felix Jorge.
Plouffe's departure is the biggest news, if only because manager Paul Molitor -- and Ron Gardenhire before him -- made the one-time first round draft pick a fixture in the middle of the lineup. He was always an ill fit in a key lineup role, with low on-base percentages and mediocre slugging percentages. He had made himself into a above-average defensive third baseman, but his varied injuries last year slowed his reaction to batted balls.
Presumably the new brain trust found little interest in Plouffe as trade bait, and the roster spot was deemed more valuable than the veteran. Certainly, with Miguel Sano's outfield venture deemed a failure last season, there wasn't an obvious role for Plouffe on the 2017 Twins. Sano's going to be the third baseman in Minnesota now.
Plouffe, who turned 30 in June, will land somewhere. I certainly don't wish him ill, but it was clearly time for him to move on.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Talking prospects
The Twins top three prospects as listed by Baseball America -- Byron Buxton, Jose Berrios and Max Kepler -- all graduated this year. So did Nos. 6 and 7 (Jorge Polanco and Byung Ho Park). So the prospect lists this offseason will look drastically different.
The dead-tree edition of BA that arrived in my mailbox over the weekend gives us a few hints of who might be pushing their way to the top of the Twins list.
Stephen Gonsalves, a left-handed pitcher who was No. 9 on the preseason list, was one of five starting pitchers named to BA's minor league all star team. Gonsalves split 2016 between High A Fort Myers and Double A Chattanooga and combined went 13-5, 2.06 with 155 strikeouts in 140 innings.
Some words of caution on the 6-foot-5 lefty from BA's writeup:
Gonsalves is scheduled to pitch in the Arizona Fall League, and it will be interesting to see how he fares there. My current guess is that he'll open 2017 in Chattanooga again, and if he continues to be too much for Southern League hitters to handle, he'll move up to Triple A by June.
Gonsalves was also named to BA's Double-A all-star team (as was Chih-Wei Hu, the Tawianese righty the Twins traded in 2015 for Kevin Jepsen).
Felix Jorge was named to the High-A team; he went 9-3, 1.55 in Fort Myers, then moved up to Chattanooga and struggled a bit (3-5, 4.12). I saw Jorge last year at Cedar Rapids and wrote about what I saw here. He was No. 24 on BA's preseason Twins list, and I wouldn't expect to see a big jump.
Nobody from the Cedar Rapids club was named to BA's Low-A all-stars. For the Rookie leagues honors, BA tabbed outfielder Alex Kirilloff, last June's first-rounder, who slashed .304/.341/.454 at Elizabethton. He will be in the Twins Top 10, maybe top 5, this winter, and a reason to make a relatively early trip to Iowa next year.
I was mildly disappointed to see that Nick Gordon, who slashed .291/.335/.386 at Fort Myers, didn't get the shortstop nod for High A. BA selected Gleyber Torres, who the Cubs traded to the Yankees in the Alrodis Chapman trade. But Gordon, No. 4 on the Twins preseason list, is likely to top the list this winter. Gordon's slugging percentage doesn't look like much, but the Florida State League depresses power; the league slugging percentage was only .356. Double A for Gordon next year.
Another name to take note of is Fernando Romero, who appears to have had a very good comeback from Tommy John surgery. He racked up 90 innings combined at Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers, with 90 strikeouts and ERAs below 2 at both levels. He's described as having three strikeout pitches. He's at least a level behind Gonsalves, but he might be a better starting prospect. Building his innings is the next project for him.
The dead-tree edition of BA that arrived in my mailbox over the weekend gives us a few hints of who might be pushing their way to the top of the Twins list.
Stephen Gonsalves, a left-handed pitcher who was No. 9 on the preseason list, was one of five starting pitchers named to BA's minor league all star team. Gonsalves split 2016 between High A Fort Myers and Double A Chattanooga and combined went 13-5, 2.06 with 155 strikeouts in 140 innings.
Some words of caution on the 6-foot-5 lefty from BA's writeup:
While scouts are unconvinced that Gonsalves possesses the current fastball command to dominate big league hitters, the 22-year-old lefthander does throw a changeup that improves each season. ... (He) must reduce his walk rate of 3.7 batters per nine innings, but he's clearly doing something right.
Gonsalves is scheduled to pitch in the Arizona Fall League, and it will be interesting to see how he fares there. My current guess is that he'll open 2017 in Chattanooga again, and if he continues to be too much for Southern League hitters to handle, he'll move up to Triple A by June.
Gonsalves was also named to BA's Double-A all-star team (as was Chih-Wei Hu, the Tawianese righty the Twins traded in 2015 for Kevin Jepsen).
Felix Jorge was named to the High-A team; he went 9-3, 1.55 in Fort Myers, then moved up to Chattanooga and struggled a bit (3-5, 4.12). I saw Jorge last year at Cedar Rapids and wrote about what I saw here. He was No. 24 on BA's preseason Twins list, and I wouldn't expect to see a big jump.
Nobody from the Cedar Rapids club was named to BA's Low-A all-stars. For the Rookie leagues honors, BA tabbed outfielder Alex Kirilloff, last June's first-rounder, who slashed .304/.341/.454 at Elizabethton. He will be in the Twins Top 10, maybe top 5, this winter, and a reason to make a relatively early trip to Iowa next year.
I was mildly disappointed to see that Nick Gordon, who slashed .291/.335/.386 at Fort Myers, didn't get the shortstop nod for High A. BA selected Gleyber Torres, who the Cubs traded to the Yankees in the Alrodis Chapman trade. But Gordon, No. 4 on the Twins preseason list, is likely to top the list this winter. Gordon's slugging percentage doesn't look like much, but the Florida State League depresses power; the league slugging percentage was only .356. Double A for Gordon next year.
Another name to take note of is Fernando Romero, who appears to have had a very good comeback from Tommy John surgery. He racked up 90 innings combined at Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers, with 90 strikeouts and ERAs below 2 at both levels. He's described as having three strikeout pitches. He's at least a level behind Gonsalves, but he might be a better starting prospect. Building his innings is the next project for him.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
A trip to Cedar Rapids: Felix Jorge
I'm spending a few days looking at the Cedar Rapids Kernels, the Twins' Low-A affiliate in the Midwest League.
Felix Jorge started Wednesday night for CR against the Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati Reds). He's a 21-year-old Dominican right-hander who's been on Twins prospect lists for a couple of years but struggled last year on his first exposure to the Midwest League (9.00 ERA in 39 innings). This time around he's putting much better numbers. He entered Wednesday's start with a 2.49 ERA in 108 innings -- the lowest ERA in the league for any pitcher with at least 100 innings.
Of all the pitchers on the CR roster, Jorge is the one I was most interested in seeing. So naturally he had a rough outing Wednesday.
In truth, he had a rough inning. The Dragons scored five runs in the inning on three singles and two homers. They added an unearned run in the third -- shortstop Nick Gordon committed a two-base error on the first batter and he came around to score -- and the Dragons didn't get another man into scoring position in Jorge's six innings.
His line in the Kernels' 8-3 loss: six innings, seven hits, six runs, five earned, two walks and four strikeouts.
Jorge is very slender. The Kernels list him as 6-3, 180; Baseball Reference lists him as 6-2, 170. I'm not sure he weighs 170. He pitches with a very miminalist, upright motion that seems designed to enhance command at the expense of velocity, but the motion looks easy; he does not appear to be a max-effort guy. He topped out at about 91 mph and threw several pitches in the upper 70s (according to the scoreboard radar gun). He works very quickly -- there were times he had to step off the mound and wait for his fielders to return to their positions after foul balls.
Wednesday was clearly not one of Jorge's better outings, but he was perhaps better than his stats indicate. He's got a chance, but that's true of a lot of Low-A arms. I would expect the Twins to go slowly with him, between his struggles last year when elevated to a new level and the obvious need for him to grow into his body,
Felix Jorge started Wednesday night for CR against the Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati Reds). He's a 21-year-old Dominican right-hander who's been on Twins prospect lists for a couple of years but struggled last year on his first exposure to the Midwest League (9.00 ERA in 39 innings). This time around he's putting much better numbers. He entered Wednesday's start with a 2.49 ERA in 108 innings -- the lowest ERA in the league for any pitcher with at least 100 innings.
Of all the pitchers on the CR roster, Jorge is the one I was most interested in seeing. So naturally he had a rough outing Wednesday.
In truth, he had a rough inning. The Dragons scored five runs in the inning on three singles and two homers. They added an unearned run in the third -- shortstop Nick Gordon committed a two-base error on the first batter and he came around to score -- and the Dragons didn't get another man into scoring position in Jorge's six innings.
His line in the Kernels' 8-3 loss: six innings, seven hits, six runs, five earned, two walks and four strikeouts.
Jorge is very slender. The Kernels list him as 6-3, 180; Baseball Reference lists him as 6-2, 170. I'm not sure he weighs 170. He pitches with a very miminalist, upright motion that seems designed to enhance command at the expense of velocity, but the motion looks easy; he does not appear to be a max-effort guy. He topped out at about 91 mph and threw several pitches in the upper 70s (according to the scoreboard radar gun). He works very quickly -- there were times he had to step off the mound and wait for his fielders to return to their positions after foul balls.
Wednesday was clearly not one of Jorge's better outings, but he was perhaps better than his stats indicate. He's got a chance, but that's true of a lot of Low-A arms. I would expect the Twins to go slowly with him, between his struggles last year when elevated to a new level and the obvious need for him to grow into his body,
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Minors stuff
Byron Buxton had a stubborn wrist injury that robbed him of most the the season, then sustained a pretty significant concussion that ended his season prematurely.
Miguel Sano missed the whole season with Tommy John surgery.
Eddie Rosario's year wasn't wrecked so much by injury as behavior, but he didn't make any real progress toward the majors either.
And now Gordon. The Twins first-round draft pick in June broke a finger Monday night in the first game of the Appalachian League playoffs. Elizabethton, which dominated the Appy League regular season (as it often does), wound up swept out of the best-two-of-three series by Johnson City, and Gordon will not be able to participate fully (if at all) in instructional league this fall.
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E-Town boasted the Appy League's player of the year in Max Murphy and pitcher of the year in Felix Jorge, but we should restrain our enthusiasm over their status.
Murphy, a Minnesota native and ninth-round draft choice in June, came out of college and was a bit old for the Appy League. He moved up to Cedar Rapids after terrorizing Appy League pitchers for 35 games (slugging percentage .753), and he found the Midwest League a good bit more challenging (.242/.314/.395).
Jorge was repeating the Appy League after having a horrible 12 games (eight starts) with CR: ERA of 9.00 in 39 innings. (Even with the return to Elizabethton, however, Jorse is still slightly young for the league.)
It's better, of course, that these two dominated the Appy League than the alternative. I'm just saying that this success isn't particularly indicative of the future.
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Andrew Walter, the "Twins Fan From Afar" who resides in the vicinity of the New Britain Rock Cats -- the Twins Double A affiliate -- took note Tuesday on Twitter of the uncertain status of the affiliation between the Rock Cats and Twins.
Last month the Twins had public, pre-game ceremonies in Rochester (Triple A) and Cedar Rapids (low A) to sign fresh affiliation agreements with those clubs. The alignment with New Britain was similarly up for renewal, and nothing has happened. A couple of stories in local newspapers suggest that the Rock Cats are eager to re-up with the Twins; the Twins, we might infer, are looking for an alternative. (The Fort Myers affiliation is also up, but there doesn't seem to be any question about that connection.)
According to this "affiliation tracker" on the Baseball America website, 10 Double A affiliations are due to expire this month -- three in the Eastern League, including New Britain; three in the Texas League; and four in the Southern League.
I assume that, geographically, the Twins would prefer to remain in the Eastern League, keeping the Double-A affiliate relatively close to the Triple A affiliate. A Southern League team, on the other hand, would be more convenient to the lower rung on the ladder (high A Fort Myers). The Texas League is largely made of of West Coast affiliations; I will be surprised if the Twins wind up in that league.
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