The Twins announced to reporters, including Dan Hayes of The Athleticthat right-hander Blayne Enlow cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Double-A. He had been designated for assignment last week when the club claimed Oliver Ortega off waivers from the Angels.
Enlow, 24 in March, he was selected by the Twins in the third round of the 2017 draft. He quickly jumped into the top 10 among the club’s prospects in the eyes of Baseball America, coming in at #9 on the 2018 list. He continued performing well for the next couple of years but has had his development stalled recently. The pandemic took out his 2020 and Tommy John surgery wiped out the subsequent campaign after just three starts.
Despite the two frustrating years, the Twins still believed in Enlow enough that they added him to their roster in November of 2021, to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. He got back on the hill last year and tossed 57 1/3 innings at the Double-A level with a 4.40 ERA, striking out 24.8% of batters faced while walking 11.6% of them.
Despite Enlow’s prospect pedigree, the other 29 clubs have taken a pass on him and he will stick with the Twins, giving them some pitching depth that won’t require a spot on the 40-man roster.
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