Lewis Thorpe of the Minnesota Twins has a chance to turn things around in 2020.
While Minnesota Twins fans are anxious to see top prospect Royce Lewis in the big leagues, along with the two guys slotted right behind Lewis on Minnesota’s Top 30 list in Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach, it’s hard to believe the Twins rush their timelines to get them into a major league lineup in 2020.
The Twins bring a pretty impressive lineup to the 2020 season, a lineup that received a major boost with the addition of Josh Donaldson this offseason. Even the pitching staff has been loaded with veterans like Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill to help get Minnesota over that playoff hump.
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So, we have to look down the list of top prospects a little bit to find someone who could truly break out in 2020 and that prospect may be the Twins 10th-ranked prospect, LHP Lewis Thorpe.
With veteran RHP Jhoulys Chacin’s recent release, the door is open for Thorpe to make the Opening Day roster as a long-man out of the bullpen who gets the occasional start to rest the starting rotation.
Out of Melbourne, Australia, Thorpe spent much of last season in Triple-A, going 5-4 with a 4.58 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 96.1 innings. His performance earned him his first trip to the majors where Thorpe pitching mainly out of the bullpen to a 3-2 record and 6.18 ERA.
Thorpe, Minnesota’s 2018 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, has the toolset to be a reliable major league pitcher and his impressive K-BB ratios since joining pro ball have been some of the best in all of minor league baseball, but he can get hard pretty hard at times and most scouting reports agree that he doesn’t really have a true out-pitch to rely on.
Still, Thorpe won’t have to work multiple times through a lineup and Minnesota can bring him in during favorable situations, especially early on, to help him ease into a full-time major league role. If he can prove he can get major league hitters out, Thorpe’s command and ability to produce strikeouts will be a valuable asset in Minnesota this season.
Don’t worry, Royce Lewis will undoubtedly be at the top of the list of MLB prospects to watch in 2021.