Max Kepler will miss the Future's Game today (Sunday).
photo by Tim Evearitt
MINNEAPOLIS -- Prospect Max Kepler was scratched from Sunday's 2015 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Great American Ball Park with a sore left shoulder, Major League Baseball announced on Friday.
Kepler left Wednesday's game with Double-A Chattanooga because of the shoulder and is considered day to day, but the Twins don't want to risk further injury. He was replaced on the roster by Royals infield prospect Balbino Fuenmayor.
Kepler, 22, is having a breakout season, hitting .335/.410/.534 with three homers, eight triples, 22 doubles and 34 RBIs in 65 games. Kepler, who has seen time at first base and in the outfield, also has 12 stolen bases and 43 runs scored.
"I'm sure he's disappointed, like all of us are," said general manager Terry Ryan. "We would have certainly liked to have seen him in the game. But you have to be healthy enough to take the post, and he's not."
Kepler, a native of Germany, is Minnesota's No. 14 prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com. He was added to the 40-man roster during the offseason.
This is the second straight year the Twins have had a player scratched from the Futures Game due to injury, as Trevor May missed it in 2014 with a calf strain and was replaced by Alex Meyer. Triple-A Rochester right-hander Jose Berrios is now the organization's lone representative with Kepler unavailable.
Jose Berrios started on the mound for the World futures team Sunday. It was the second year in a row that Berrios has pitched in the Futures Game.
While Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton have gotten the call to the big leagues this summer, Berrios looms among the next Twins prospects on the cusp. And as he readied for his second consecutive Futures Game start Sunday at Great American Ball Park, he admitted watching Sano's success in Minnesota pushes him.
"It's motivation for me," he said, "and every player. That's impressive. I love to see the guy play there. One day, he's playing with you on the same team, and the next day, that guy's on TV. That's impressive, and you love that for him."
Berrios had his own TV spotlight Sunday, one with which he has been familiar. After retiring the side in order last year, he tossed another hitless opening inning in this year's Futures Game -- a 10-1 victory for the U.S. team -- though he allowed a baserunner on a leadoff walk. He erased that soon enough, with a pickoff throw that caught Tony Kemp leaning toward second.. "I use that move every game," Berrios said. "I don't know if it's quicker or way, way late. But it's a plus for me."
Berrios cruised from there, retiring J.P. Crawford on a popout near home plate and highly touted Cubs prospect Kyle Schwarber on a groundout to first on a changeup.
It wasn't an easier outing, but an easier feeling for him, after admitting he battled the nerves of pitching in front of Twins fans at Target Field in last year's event.
"The first guy I faced, I was too pumped," he said, "because I threw the ball up. Then it came down, and I was in command with the fastball."
He's hoping to carry that momentum into Triple-A Rochester, where he was promoted just two starts ago. He ranks among the youngest pitchers in the International League at age 21.
Berrios, ranked as the No. 26 overall prospect by MLBPipeline.com, dominated at Double-A Chattanooga, going 8-3 with a 3.08 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 90 2/3 innings. He has made two starts at Rochester, giving up nine earned runs over 10 2/3 innings.
"In Triple-A, they have more big leaguers than Double-A, but they're both the same," Berrios said. "You have to make adjustments to get the out, and the hitters have to make adjustments to hit. But the first two starts, I [would] think too much. But I'll forget that and next time, I'll be like Jose Berrios again."
"I prepared to play in the Majors from Spring Training, but I didn't have a chance," he said. "I keep doing work, keeping working every day, stay healthy. When they called me to Triple-A, I thanked God, but it doesn't make my big goal. I want to play in the Majors."
-- Source: MLB.com
First half Lookouts pitcher Jose Berrios is on the World Team roster.
photo by Tim Evearitt