One of the top pitchers in the Twins’ minor league system is up to his old tricks of teasing Twins’ fans once again.
Jose Berrios threw another gem during his second start of the spring Thursday for Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate in Rochester. While Berrios didn’t get the win, he was outstanding, allowing just four hits and one (unearned) run while striking out six in eight innings of work.
The amazing part about Berrios’ afternoon is that just 20 of his 84 pitches were outside of the strike zone.
Berrios began the year in the minors. He chose to pitch for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic and didn’t get a lot of innings during the spring.
In two starts for Rochester, Berrios is 1-0 and has given up just seven hits and one run in 14 innings, while striking out 13. Even with the Twins playing better baseball, it won’t take the fans long to start lobbying for a call-up if Berrios keeps producing like that.
Berrios’ chances of returning to the Twins likely will depend on how Adalberto Mejia does with his opportunity. Twins blogger for MLB.com Rhett Bollinger says Mejia is expected to get at least a few more starts after dropping his debut to Chicago.
Mejia struggled during that start, giving up three runs (two earned) in 1.2 thirds innings against the White Sox.
So for now, Berrios will continue to tease Twins fans by dominating at the Triple-A level.
