With the Minnesota Twins’ starting pitching getting tuned up night in and night out of late, it’s good to see that at least one of their top pitching prospects is performing well enough to be promoted to Triple-A Rochester.
Stephen Gonsalves, a 23-year-old left-handed starter was promoted after going 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA in four starts at Double-A Chattanooga this season.
All 9 of Stephen Gonsalves strikeouts 🤠🤮(4/24) pic.twitter.com/UTFwmTaRB6
— Prospect gifs (@prospectgifs) April 25, 2018
Gonsalves, rated as the third-best prospect in the Twins’ system by MLB Pipeline, had a 3.27 ERA in 20 appearances at Double-A last season and then struggled in five Triple-A appearances, allowing 14 runs in 22 2/3 innings.
The only Twins prospects ranked higher than Gonsalves are Double-A right-handed starting pitcher Fernando Romero and Class-A shortstop Royce Lewis, who the Twins took No. 1 overall in the 2017 MLB Draft.
Meanwhile, the Twins are riding a seven-game losing streak and the two veterans they signed – Jake Odorizzi and Lance Lynn – to help stabilize the rotation have struggled.
Odorizzi hasn’t pitched more than 5 innings in three of his last four starts Lynn is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in four starts this season.
The Twins open a home stand Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds, who own an MLB-worst record of 5-20.
