Top 50 Twins Prospects 2010: #21 Jeff Manship

2010 Top 50 Twins Prospects | #21 | Jeff Manship

Position | Pitcher

Bats/Throws | Right/Right

Born | January 16, 1985 (San Antonio, Texas)

School | University of Notre Dame

Height | 6'2''

Weight | 200 lbs.

2009 Ranking | 14




Breakdown
Following an impressive high school career, the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted Jeff Manship in the 50th round of the 2003 draft. He opted instead to attend the University of Notre Dame. Manship he spent three years with the Fighting Irish before being drafted again, this time by the Twins in the 14th round of the 2006 draft. With Notre Dame, Manship missed his entire freshman season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery on his right forearm. He came back strong in his sophomore and junior seasons, combining for an 11-3 record, 3.39 ERA, and 131 strikeouts in 116 2/3 innings.

After signing with the Twins, Manship was sent to pitch for the Gulf Coast League Twins and then to the Fort Myers Miracle in 2006. He began the 2007 season with the Beloit Snappers, where he was 7-1 with a 1.51 ERA in 13 starts. He was promoted to Ft. Myers on June 25th and made another 13 starts in the Florida State League posting an 8-5 record and 3.15 ERA. He began the 2008 making another 13 starts for the Ft. Myers Miracle before being promoted to Double-A New Britain. Combined, Manship was 10-9 with a 3.65 ERA in 27 starts. Manship began the 2009 season in New Britain before being promoted to Triple-A Rochester on June 24th. He made eight starts with the Red Wings before he was called-up to the Major Leagues on August 12th after Glen Perkins went down with an injury. Manship appeared in 11 games with the Twins, five of which were starts. He received his first Major League win on October 2nd against the Kansas City Royals. In 157 2/3 innings between Double-A, Triple-A and the Major's, Manship was 11-7 with a 4.22 ERA.

Despite seeing time as both a reliever and starter with the Twins, Manship still figures to be a starter in the future. He doesn't strike out a lot of guys, but Manship induces a lot of ground balls with a good repertoire headlined by his curveball. He will be given an opportunity to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation during Spring Training, but the most likely scenario is that he'll begin the 2010 season in Triple-A Rochester waiting for a pitching spot to open in Minnesota.

2009 Statistics

          Level      W     L     ERA     IP     K     BB     WHIP     FIP

          AA         6     4    4.28   75.2    45     20     1.21    3.79
          AAA        4     2    3.22   50.1    30     17     1.26    3.80
          MLB        1     1    5.68   31.2    21     15     1.26    3.80

2010 Outlook
Manship will compete for a spot on the roster, whether it be as a starter or reliever is still up in the air, but it's likely that Manship begins the 2010 season in Triple-A Rochester

Pitching Repertoire

• Fastball (2 & 4-seam) (89-92)
  
• Curveball
• Slider
  
• Change-up

Video


Estimated Time of Arrival
2009