Right now, the Minnesota Twins have a tentative five-man
starting rotation penciled in for 2019. Martin Perez was signed as a free agent
to round out the group, and Michael Pineda will pitch for the first time in a
Twins uniform. No matter how set the plan may be today however, there’s no
denying a wrench will soon be thrown into it. How things are handled from there
are worth speculating about.
The reality for the Twins is that they’ve burned through
pitchers in recent seasons. Both in the rotation and the bullpen, no number of
fresh arms have been enough. The good part of this equation is that depth is
being stockpiled on both fronts and that gives us something to look at. While there’s
no argument against the fact that the front office could’ve added more arm
talent this winter, we’re now in a spot to consider what is readily available
to them.
During the 2018 season players like Kohl Stewart, Fernando
Romero, and Stephen Gonsalves all got their shot. Zack Littell showed up in the
big leagues, and some higher tier prospects made significant strides on the
farm. In 2019 though, there’s just one guy I’m keying in on, and he comes from
the Land Down Under.
Lewis Thorpe missed two full seasons due to Tommy John
surgery and then illness. Since his return though, he’s done nothing but vault
up prospect rankings and lay waster to opposing hitters. At 22 last season, he
reached Triple-A for the first time in his career. Through four rotation turns
Thorpe posted a 3.32 ERA along with a 10.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. As a lefty, he’s
not the soft-tossing crafty type, with an ability to put the ball by opposing
hitters. The strikeout stuff has been there throughout his whole career, as
evidenced by a 10.7 K/9 across 328.1 minor league IP.
Recently turning 23, Thorpe should factor into the Rochester
rotation from day one. Fernando Romero looks like he’ll work in Minnesota as a
reliever and Adalberto Mejia needs to make the big-league roster being out of
options. Those developments put Thorpe in a group with guys like Gonsalves and
Stewart. Everyone at Triple-A will have some level of prospect status and be
looked upon as depth at some point during 2019. For Thorpe though, he could
certainly find himself creating distance from the pack.
It seems that while there are top pitching prospects that
get focus each season, like Romero and Gonsalves last year, there’s guys that
pop up and take the reigns like Littell did early. I’m not sure how the season
will go for any of the guys pitching for the Red Wings, but I’d bet against
Thorpe being held down. If the capability he has shown over the past two
seasons is on display early, he could push for big league time soon.
Baldelli’s starting rotation could use some help on the back
end, and despite Dallas Keuchel being able to provide that, he doesn’t seem to
be on Minnesota’s radar. The emergence, and sustainability of an internal
talent would be a great reality, and the Aussie has as good of a shot as anyone
to provide that.
