The end of the season could see more big league debuts as the Twins continue to evaluate for the future.
Gone are the days where teams can call up their whole 40-man rosters in September. Teams now can only expand their roster by two players, up to 28 next month, but the Twins still have players in St. Paul who could see their first taste of the majors this season.
“One of the challenges of our baseball group is navigating when is the right time to take the next leap,” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “ … What you have to be careful about is not just (saying), ‘Let’s get all our prospects up and hope they do well’ when they’re not quite ready foundationally. So, that’s what we’re making sure.”
The Twins will be quick not to rush prospects, especially after last season, when the entire minor league season was lost to the coronavirus pandemic, so perhaps not everyone on this list will debut this year. Still, here’s a look at five who potentially could be at Target Field before the season ends:
Drew Strotman, RHP
Strotman, 24, was acquired with Joe Ryan as part of the deal that sent Nelson Cruz to Tampa Bay and is the only player on this list already on the 40-man roster. Strotman, who has a 3.96 earned-run average between Triple-A Durham and St. Paul this season, is now the Twins’ No. 12 prospect, per Baseball America.
He had Tommy John surgery in 2018, and at 72 2/3 innings pitched has easily eclipsed the most innings he has ever thrown in one professional season. So, his workload will be something to watch down the stretch. But if the Twins did want to take a look at him, farm director Alex Hassan said recently that Strotman and Ryan were both “certainly right there and not very far off from helping our major league team.”
Joe Ryan, RHP
Ryan, 25, just finished competing in the Tokyo Olympics, helping Team USA secure a silver medal with a pair of starts. He gave up two runs in 10 1/3 innings (1.74 ERA) while there.
The team’s No. 5 prospect is close to big league ready, but the Twins want to let him return and settle in after being traded while on leave to compete in Tokyo. In 12 games with the Triple-A Durham Bulls this season, Ryan had a 3.63 ERA and had struck out 75 batters in 57 innings while issuing just 10 walks. His 0.79 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) is his best since becoming a professional.
Jovani Moran, LHP
Could Jovani Moran, 24, potentially get a call? The left-handed reliever is the organization’s No. 30 prospect per Baseball America and has been stingy all season. The Twins, meanwhile, will have plenty of work to do to patch up their bullpen for next season.
Moran posted a 1.91 earned-run average in 37 2/3 innings pitched this season in Double-A, striking out 64 in those innings. He’s been tough on hitters at Triple-A St. Paul, too, where they’re hitting .088 against him.
Falvey noted that Moran and Jose Miranda were in the final stages of development, meaning they could potentially want to take a look at the big-league level at some point.
“Once you’re at Triple-A, you’re on the radar, especially when you’re performing in Triple-A. They’re starting to get a lot closer,” Falvey said of Moran and Miranda.
Jose Miranda, INF
Perhaps no Twins prospect has had a more impressive season than third baseman Miranda, 23, now the organization’s No. 8 prospect per Baseball America. In addition to third base, Miranda has also seen some time at second and first while at Triple-A.
Miranda was hitting .345 with a .408 on-base percentage and .588 slugging percentage at Double-A when promoted and has put up a similar line with the Saints, slashing .331/.394/.599 in 37 games at Triple-A. He has hit 23 home runs this season, a new high for him as a professional, including the winner in Wednesday night’s 11-9 victory at Indianapolis.
Hassan credited Miranda for attacking the weight room and his nutrition this past offseason, reporting to camp leaner and more athletic, and noted a refined approach at the plate where he’s looking to do more damage early in the count.
The Twins will be careful not to rush Miranda, and if they were to call him up, they’d want to see a path for real playing time, which could be hard to find this season if all of the Twins’ veteran infielders remain healthy.
Josh Winder, RHP
This is perhaps the longest shot, but should Josh Winder, 24, find himself healthy before the end of the year, perhaps the Twins could give him a look.
The Twins’ No. 4 prospect per Baseball America, Winder was recently put on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement. Falvey said the level of concern about the injury was “not particularly high,” but the Twins will give him time down to rest before re-building him back up while being mindful of his volume coming off last year’s wiped out season.
Though he didn’t pitch last year in a formal setting, Winder has taken big steps forward in his development. He had a 1.98 ERA in 10 starts with Double-A Wichita this season with a 0.93 WHIP before earning a promotion to Triple-A, where he had a 4.67 ERA in four games before being shut down.
“I don’t really have a thought on that because we’re just not there yet,” Falvey said of him potentially being called up. “We just want to get him pitching again.”
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