Minnesota Twins Prospect Jose Berrios Early Season Review
In two starts, Minnesota Twins prospect Jose Berrios looked pretty good. The 22-year-old righty held the opponent to just one unearned run while delivering 14 very strong innings for the Twins' Triple-A team, the Rochester Red Wings.
The third start was not so successful as his day ended with three earned runs over five innings. Even with this start added to the stat sheet, he has an early 1.42 ERA. This should be a favorable argument in calling him back up to the MLB roster once deemed ready.
Berrios is striking out batters, keeping them off the bases, and mastering his control. By the looks of it, another trip to Minnesota looks imminent.
Last season, Berrios had more than ample time to grow into his role as a big league starter. Minnesota allowed him to make 14 starts in his rookie year. The end result was a 3-7 record with a horrendous 8.02 ERA.
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During his time with the Twins, Berrios was often wild, gave up home runs frequently, and saw a noticeable decline in his strikeout totals. In retrospect, the call up was likely too soon.
The Twins are playing pretty well in the early stages of the 2017 season. This is likely a case of beginner's luck. The team clearly lacks the depth needed to compete within a division that contains the last three American League World Series representatives. At some point, justifying a spot for Berrios in the Twins' rotation will arise.
As a minor leaguer, Berrios has been phenomenal. His 47-26 record shows that he can win games. The sub-3.00 ERA tells us why.
One barrier for Berrios might be how similar his career path is going when compared to current Twins outfielder Byron Buxton. Like Berrios, Buxton is a top prospect who has underperformed at the big league level. The only signs of life he showed came at the end of 2017. This year, Buxton is back to slumping.
As foolish as it sounds, the Twins may rethink how they handle top prospects. It's a wise enough plan in some cases. The last thing they should do is completely drain his confidence by giving him another miserable time on the big league roster.
There should be room for Berrios in the rotation at some point this year. The few veterans they do have on the starting staff pitching well are likely trade candidates at the deadline. The rest should make room for the man they are hopeful will one day solidify himself as a big league ace.
