By Chris Schad
For years, the Minnesota Twins have boasted one of the best farm systems in Major League Baseball. With names like Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Jose Berrios, there’s reason to believe that the Twins’ surprising 36-30 start could be a preview of what’s to come.
As Buxton made his highly-anticipated debut last Sunday, the excitement will start to fade as he makes the transition from touted prospect to everyday major leaguer. That means that Twins fans need a new phenom to keep track of as they make their way to Minneapolis.
The most recognizable name remaining in the minors for Twins fans is Sano. With power for days and offensive ability that has been compared to Miguel Cabrera, there will be similar fanfare once he steps onto a major league diamond. Unfortunately, his debut looks a ways away as he’s a liability in the field with 14 errors for Double-A Chattanooga.
A similar household name for Twins fans is Berrios, who was one of the hottest pitchers in the Southern League during the month of May (4-1, 2.61) and could make an appearance late in the year in case of an injury. However, he has cooled off during the month of June and might benefit from having one more full year in the minors before being called up.
With Kohl Stewart, Jorge Polanco and others needing more time to develop, it’s a dead heat as to who can crack the Twins roster. Then again, it could be the horse that just arrived in the organization.
The Twins selected University of Illinois pitcher Tyler Jay with the 6th overall pick in this month’s First-Year Player Draft. Normally, a player who just got drafted wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in St. Paul to crack the roster a couple months down the road, but Jay has a couple things going for him.
Jay’s power arm plays a huge part in this equation as the lefty can hit 93-95 mph with his fastball, but can ramp it up to 98 mph when needed. His repertoire (which also includes a plus slider, curveball and changeup) could be useful with Aaron Thompson and Brian Duensing being solid, but not spectacular, bridges to fellow lefty Glen Perkins.
The Twins also wouldn’t have to worry about him adjusting to bullpen life as he served as a closer for the Fighting Illini (5-1, 14 saves, 0.60 ERA). He also thrived last summer when he served in the same role for the U.S. National Collegiate Team where he pitched 16.2 scoreless innings while punching out 21 batters and picking up a pair of saves.
In the long-term, the Twins envision Jay as a starter and despite his experience in pressure situations, there’s nothing like jumping onto a major league roster in the heat of a pennant race. Still, that road has been a much traveled one as Adam Wainwright, Chris Sale and David Price all made their debuts in the bullpen and went on to have monster careers as starters.
Most recently, the Kansas City Royals took that path with 2014 first-round pick Brandon Finnegan. The TCU product rewarded his new team by dominating down the stretch (1.29 ERA in seven appearances last September) and laying the groundwork for the Royals to have their magical October a year ago.
Perhaps the Twins will stick to their guns and make Jay earn his stripes as a starter before calling him up, but if they remain in contention (and Jay impresses once he hits the field), it would be hard to resist pulling the trigger.