Fresh faces bolster Twins' High-A Wichita in postseason chase
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Right-hander Ryan Gallagher was surprised to be traded. But if a pitching prospect is going to be dealt, Gallagher knows he came to a pretty good place.
Gallagher was acquired by the Twins, along with fellow Double-A righty Sam Armstrong, from the Cubs in the deal that sent Willi Castro to Chicago. As you might expect, his head spun a little bit at the news that he’d been traded for the first time. But he’s well aware that the Twins have a recent history of developing and promoting pitchers – especially those, like Gallagher, with a college background.
“For sure,” Gallagher said recently. “I’ve definitely seen a lot of improvement since I’ve been here already. So you can definitely tell there’s something different with their pitching department. They know what they’re doing.”
Gallagher, who ranks as the Twins No. 15 prospect, said that he's made both mechanical and pitch selection adjustments since changing organizations and joining High-A Wichita. Nothing too drastic, but enough to catch his attention.
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“Just kind of closing out the season, not really trying to tweak too much,” he said. “But there was some low hanging fruit that we were able to attack that has shown some pretty immediate progress.”
In his first full professional season, Gallagher acknowledged that he’s feeling the grind a bit after working for seven months straight. But he said he’s mostly pleased with how he’s holding up. And when the offseason comes, he’s got plans. The product of UC Santa Barbara is going to return home to California and take classes as he continues to progress toward his sociology degree.
“I’ll be in classes, living like a student again,” he said.
“It was something I planned on going into the Draft. Me and my buddies from school, we all agreed that we’d all come back in the fall and take classes till we graduate. We’ll all be able to work out together. Did that last fall, planning to do it again this fall.”
Mendez working at first
Hendry Mendez, acquired from the Phillies in the Harrison Bader trade, has mostly made his name with his bat during his time in the Minor Leagues. Mendez has an advanced approach at the plate, with nearly as many walks as strikeouts in his professional career and a lifetime on-base percentage of .371.
He’s kept that up at Wichita since the trade, with an impressive .316/.436/.421 line for the Wind Surge. Now he’s working on something else as well. Mendez, the Twins No. 25 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has begun working out at first base. He has yet to appear in a game there, but he’s been working extensively for when the opportunity arrives. He’s never appeared in a game anywhere but outfield or designated hitter in pro ball.
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“Just exploring the options,” said Wichita manager Brian Dinkelman. “Right now, he’s just left field-right field, and you never know down the road. Just explore the option if he can get some first base in there too every once in a while. I don’t think it’s anything we’re pressing to make him a first baseman, it’s just, have the option available down the road if something arises.”
Mendez said he’s excited for his new chance with the Twins, and he’s been pleased with how the work has come along.
“I feel like it’s going pretty good, just getting more reps there every day,” he said through teammate Jose Salas, who interpreted for him. “Trying to work on my craft there and at the same time working on my outfield stuff too. Just getting more comfortable there.”
Postseason chase
With multiple additions from Trade Deadline deals, as well as a huge year from Texas League player of the year candidate Kala'i Rosario and the promotion of Twins No. 4 prospect Kaelen Culpepper from High-A, Wichita finds itself in the heat of a pennant race. And while you may not think that’s a huge deal, Wind Surge players are excited about the chance. They trail Tulsa by two games with five to play.
“We’re all playing for something,” Culpepper said. “Obviously that’s the playoff push. With that being ahead of us, we’re just having fun. It’s not really much pressure because we’re just going out there playing our game. Everybody’s put in the work. And so we just trust everything that we do before the game to go out and produce.”