3 players the Minnesota Twins could call up in September
The Minnesota Twins’ hopes of making the playoffs are long gone, so they need to turn their focus towards developing some of their young prospects.
The Twins have a good farm system, and it’s only a matter of time until we see their young nucleus of Austin Martin, Joe Ryan, Jordan Balazovic, Jhoan Duran, Royce Lewis, Josh Winder, and more make their debut in the big leagues.
Minnesota may wait until next season to start fresh with their top prospects, but there are three players we could potentially see getting the call up in September.
1. Joe Ryan, P
Ryan is the likeliest player to get the call up in September. He’s been dominant in his two starts since joining the St. Paul Saints.
Here’s his stat line since joining the Triple-A affiliate:
- Aug. 20: 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO, 1 HR
- Aug. 25: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO
In two starts, Ryan has pitched nine total innings and struck out 17. In his first start, Ryan fanned the first six batters he faced and gave up one hit off a solo shot.
He’s looked good all season, whether that’s with the Saints or the Durham Bulls. Before getting traded, he went 4-3 and held a 3.63 ERA in 12 games. Ryan is a strikeout-heavy pitcher and rarely gives up hits or runs.
This season, he has an insane strikeout to walk rate of 92/12. Ryan’s best pitch is his fastball, and he’s able to strikeout many hitters with great deception.
He was also a part of the USA Olympic team and helped them earn the silver medal.
Minnesota is desperately in need of pitchers, especially with Kenta Maeda recently going down with an injury. The starting rotation doesn’t look good, as Bailey Ober and Griffin Jax are the only two pitchers with some sort of future with the team.
Ryan can slot right behind them for the final stretch and give the Twins an idea of what to expect next season.
2. Jose Miranda, 3B
Jose Miranda has had quite the season! The 23-year-old is hitting .336, with 25 home runs and 75 runs batted in between Double and Triple-A.
Here’s his stat line between the two levels:
- Double-A: .345 BA, 194 AB, 67 H, 13 HR, 38 RBI, 17 BB, 25 SO, 408 OBP, .588 SLG, .996 OPS
- Triple-A: .329 BA, 231 AB, 76 H, 12 HR, 37 RBI, 20 BB, 41 SO, .388 OBP, .558 SLG, .947 OPS
Miranda deserves to be on the Twins, but there’s a logjam issue in the infield. Jorge Polanco, Luis Arraez, Andrelton Simmons and Josh Donaldson all play where Miranda does. His natural position is third base, but he’s had experience playing second, shortstop and first.
Could Minnesota DFA Simmons or play Miguel Sanó less? Sure, but I think the Twins will want to have Miranda play as their everyday third baseman.
Donaldson has been the designated hitter a lot more recently, so maybe they can rotate Arraez around the field and have Miranda play third. There’s a lot of plausible ways to get the young budding star a run at the majors this season, but Minnesota hasn’t seemed too eager to call him up.
3. Jordan Balazovic, P
Balazovic is currently with the Wichita Wind Surge in Double-A, but he’s also on the Twins 40-man roster. This means the Twins wouldn’t have to release a player off their 40-man if they choose to call him up. If that’s the path, all they’d have to do is place a player on the injured list or send a player down. It’s as simple as that.
Since being drafted in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB Draft, Balazovic has moved up the ranks rather quickly for a player out of high school.
This season, he’s 4-3, with an ERA of 3.62 and an opponent batting average of .258. He’s had a history of injuries and wasn’t able to make his first start until June 5. Since then, he’s been able to stay on the field and look mostly dominant.
He had one stretch at the end of June, early July, where he went four starts without giving up an earned run. After that, he’s sort of fallen off a bit, having a few outings where he’s given up three, six (twice), four runs. He recently had another stretch in which he didn’t give up an earned run in three starts, but he was also pulled after one and two-thirds of an inning.
Balazovic has the stuff to be a No. 1 starter on the Twins, but there have been some inconsistencies this season. Minnesota could use some starting pitching help, and what better way than giving him the call-up.
