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Top 5 Minnesota Twins Pitching Prospects

By Michael Crow

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 28: Devin Smeltzer #31 of the Minnesota Twins delivers his first pitch in his major league debut against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of the interleague game on May 28, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. a(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 28: Devin Smeltzer #31 of the Minnesota Twins delivers his first pitch in his major league debut against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of the interleague game on May 28, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. a(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 15: Pitcher Lewis Thorpe #36 of the Minnesota Twins and the World Team works the fourth inning against the U.S. Team during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Nationals Park on July 15, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 15: Pitcher Lewis Thorpe #36 of the Minnesota Twins and the World Team works the fourth inning against the U.S. Team during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Nationals Park on July 15, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Lewis Thorpe is an Australian prospect that the Twins signed as a 16-year-old free agent in 2013. Thorpe had a few promising seasons from 2012-2014 in Rookie and Single-A before falling into injury and illness purgatory the next two season. He injured his elbow in 2014, then had Tommy John surgery in 2015, followed by a bout with mono that claimed his 2016 season.

Finally healthy again in 2017 Thorpe regained form and put up impressive numbers at Fort Myers and Chatanooga. In 2018 he again moved up from Double-A to Triple-A with similarly good 4.36 SO/W, 10.9 SO/9, and 1.242 WHIP. With these performances, Thorpe was poised to make a quick rise to the majors in 2019.

The 2019 season, however, hasn’t started off as good as the previous seasons. With Triple-A Rochester he’s started 11 games giving up 37 runs in 56 innings. The struggles at this point in the season may make it unlikely that Thorpe sees the major league roster in 2019 but there is still hope that he will make a big splash in 2020. Thorpe is just 23 years old, this could just be a bump on his way up. If Thorpe heats up later in the season it wouldn’t be out of the question to see him in the majors.

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