It's just about a foregone conclusion that the Minnesota Twins won't be getting any starting pitching help from their minor leagues this season. It's just not there for the taking. Brian Duensing, who has been magnificent for the Twins out of the bullpen this season, will get his first crack at a spot on Friday night, but otherwise the team will be looking outside of the organization for some medication for their ailing staff, not from within.
But while we're on the subject, let's take a look at some Twins up-and-coming pitching prospects. It may seem as if the Twins are low on quality starting pitching in the minor leagues, but there are a few to make mention of, it's just that they're in the lower levels of the Twins system right now.
It's pretty slim pickings at the Twins AAA Rochester Red WIngs, the feeder team to the big-league squad, although Glen Perkins and Matt Fox have been pitching better lately. But, if the Twins find themselves needing either of them to join their rotation this season then they are in serious trouble.
A step below the Red Wings, the AA New Britian Rock Cats is full of promising arms, but none have really wowed anybody this season except for Kyle Gibson. In fact, most have really taken a big step backwards. Tyler Robertson, Deolis Guerra, Carlos Gutierrez, and Mike McCardell are all highly thought of Twins pitching prospects that frankly aren't living up to expectations this season. The foursome is a combined 7-31 this season, no that is not a misprint. McCardell is 0-11 with a 5.65 ERA after winning 14 games in 2009. Robertson, a 6'5' lefty, drafted in third round of the 2006 draft, is just 2-9.
David Bromberg (5-5, 3.62 ERA), a 6'5' righty has performed the best and recently received a promotion to the depleted starting staff of Rochester.
Guerra was the supposed prize in the Johan Santana trade, but he hasn't done much in the Twins organization yet. He earned an early season promotion to Rochester, but was sent back down after going 0-3 in four starts. He is a combined 2-8 with a 4.88 ERA this season between the two teams. He just turned 21, so he still has a lot of time to grow as a pitcher, but so far the production hasn't been there.
Gutierrez was the Twins first-round pick in 2008 out of the University of Miami. Originally thought to be closer material, the Twins have been experimenting with him as a starter and early returns have been only average. He is 3-6 with a 4.71 ERA in 2010.
The Twins 2009 first-round draft pick, Gibson, is also at New Britian. At this point, he is the most dazzling Twins pitching prospect and could realistically be a part of the Twins rotation in 2011. He really impressed while at the Twins Class A-advanced Fort Myers Miracle to start the season, but has waffled a little bit at times so far in New Britian. He was 4-1 with a 1.87 ERA in Fort Myers, but is just 5-5 with a 4.31 ERA with the Rock Cats. Nevertheless, he looks to be a pretty safe bet to be a fixture in the Twins rotation very soon. He leads the Twins farm system in wins (9) and strikeouts (95) this season
Liam Hendriks, the Twins Australian pitching prospect, has been electric this season. After posting a 1.34 ERA in 34 innings pitched at Class A Beloit, he is 5-3 with a 2.00 ERA for the Class A-advanced Fort Myers Miracle. He leads the Twins system with a combined ERA of 1.76 and is second in wins (7) and strikeouts (91) this season. His numbers stand out and if he keeps it up he could find himself on the big-league club soon enough.
Daniel Osterbrock is another promising pitcher with the Miracle. The Twins seventh-round pick in 2008 has a 4-7 record with a low 2.62 ERA and ranks fourth in the Twins system with 89 Ks. His record doesn't look great, but the rest of his numbers are pretty impressive.
Bobby Lanigan was the Twins third-round pick in 2008 and after missing over a month, just joined the New Britian rotation after going 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA early on for the Miracle. The 6'4' righty out of Adelphi University in New York could be a middle rotation starter in the next few years.
It's still hard to tell about some of the guys in the lower levels of the system, but here are a few who have put out some pretty good numbers so far this season: Tom Stuifbergen 4-0, 1.48 ERA, 41 Ks at Class A Beloit Snappers, Adrian Salcedo 3-2, 2.41 ERA , 42 Ks and Martire Garcia 4-0, 1.98 ERA, 37 Ks, both at rookie-level Elizabethton.
Salcedo, a 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic, looks like he could really be something special. Last season with the Twins Gulf Coast League team, Salcedo was 3-2 with a 1.46 ERA, but the most impressive thing was that he had a 59-3 strike/walk ratio. He has great control and that's something the Twins organization really values. His control has continued to impress this season as seen by his 42/4 ratio. Scouts say he has mutiple plus pitches and that he could be a high end of the rotation starter in the majors someday.
In conclusion, the Twins starting pitching in the minor leagues isn't astounding by any stretch of the imagination, but there is some potential there. The problem is that most are still years away from helping the big-league club.
And that just happens to be what the Twins really need right now.
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