Gonsalves takes no-no into 7th, strikes out 11
Twins No. 11 prospect shares Minor League lead for strikeouts, learns of promotion hours after game
Stephen Gonsalves is heading to Florida.
The Twins' No. 11 prospect took a no-hitter into the seventh inning for Class A Cedar Rapids on Monday, and finished the game with 11 strikeouts against two hits and four walks in a 5-0 win over Clinton. His third straight win was also his third straight game in which he did not allow an earned run and the Twins rewarded him with a postgame promotion to Class A Advanced Fort Myers.
Gonsalves said that Kernels manager Jake Mauer told him of the promotion a few hours after Monday night's game. He went 6-1 with a 1.15 ERA in nine starts for Cedar Rapids.
Monday was the southpaw's second straight outing with double-digit strikeouts, and his 77 K's are tied for the Minor League lead with Dodgers No. 6 prospect Jose De Leon. Gonsalves' 0.80 WHIP is good for third in the Minors.
"The Twins told us this year they wanted us to be strikeout pitchers," Gonsalves told MiLB.com. "That meant getting more aggressive with two-strike counts. Throwing the ball in the dirt, throwing high fastballs, using more changeups. I'm starting to get really aggressive with my strikeout pitches, and I've gotten lucky here and there too that guys are swinging and missing."
Gonsalves still has not lost since May 1, when he gave up two earned runs in seven innings. He joins Twins No. 6 prospect (No. 33 overall) Kohl Stewart in Fort Myers. The two were both drafted in 2013 and introduced to fans on the same day that summer.