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Mr. Ed -> RE: Players and prospects III (4/22/2015 2:24:55 PM)
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Strib
Alex Meyer walked 11 batters over his first 8.2 innings of work this season, as he has struggled with his mechanics.
On Tuesday, he finally had the type of outing that a top pitching prospect should have.
He threw six shutout innings against Syracuse in the first game of a doubleheader. He gave up two hits while walking three and striking out 11. He threw 96 pitches, 55 of them strikes.
Twins Assistant General Manger Rob Antony said Meyer's walks came late in his outing, so he had a pretty clean run.
``It sounds like he threw the ball well,'' Antony said.
Meyer couldn't get the win. A.J. Achter came on in the seventh and gave up a first pitch walkoff home run. At least Meyer picked the right time to have a good outing, as Twins GM Terry Ryan was in attendance.
Rogers getting in mix
One of the more unheralded pitching prospects is positioning himself for a call up.
Lefthander Taylor Rogers is 1-0 with a 2.37 ERA through three starts at Class AAA Rochester He threw six shutout innings in the other game of the doubleheader on Tuesday.
``He can spin the ball and can slow the ball down,'' Antony said. ``Historically he has thrown enough strikes. So I think he's going to give himself a chance to be a major league starter.''
Rogers, whose Twin brother, Tyler, pitches in the Giants organization, is listed at 6 foot, 3 inches and 180 pounds. So he's kind of a rail.
``The question mark is his durability because he's not a big physical guy,'' Antony said, ``but he has held up in the past.''
Eyes on Hu
One pitcher who could end up being a sleeper prospects is Taiwanese righthander Chih-Wei Hu, who has a 1.50 ERA through two starts with one walk and 16 strikeouts in 12 innings.
Hu signed with the Twins in 2012 for a reported $220,000 and went 10-2 with a 2.26 ERA over his first two seasons.
``He knows how to change speeds and he throws strikes,'' said Brad Steil, the Twins director of minor league operations.
Hu throws five different pitches. He throws a fastball that averages around 92 miles an hour, a curveball, slider, change up and palmball.
Etc.
Rochester reliever Michael Tonkin has four saves and a 1.59 ERA in six games. He's walked two and has seven strikeouts. His overall command is key to him getting another shot at the majors. But he also has to perfect a new breaking ball.
Righthander John Curtiss and catcher Jorge Fernandez, both at Class A Cedar Rapids, are recovering from concussions. Curtiss could be back in about 10 days. while Fernandez is out indefinitely
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