Pottsville native Travis Blankenhorn was promoted to the Minnesota Twins today.
He had been on the Twins Taxi Squad this season waiting for his first call to the Big Leagues.
And the Twins are reeling from some injuries ahead of their big series with the Chicago White Sox starting tonight.
#MNTwins roster move:
INF/OF Travis Blankenhorn has been recalled for his first stint in the Major Leagues. (Twins need the depth with Sanó, Rosario and González down today.)
Devin Smeltzer has been optioned.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) September 14, 2020
To make room for Blankenhorn on the Twins roster, the team sent down relief pitcher Devin Smeltzer.
The Twins are just a game back of Chicago for the AL Central lead coming into tonight’s game.
Blankenhorn will wear No. 76 for his stint with the Twins. That’s the number he wore in Spring Training.
The former Pottsville High star posted impressive numbers in the Twins farm system on his way to the big show but the play-by-play announcer for the Single A Cedar Rapids Kernels remembers Blankenhorn for this straight steal of him during his time on the farm.
— Chris Kleinhans-Schulz (@TheKleinhans) September 14, 2020
When he does make his first appearance in a Major League Baseball game, he’ll be the first player from Pottsville since the big lefty Chris Nabholz took the mound for the Chicago Cubs in his final MLB appearance back in 1995. Nabholz spent 6 full or partial seasons in the big leagues, mostly with the Montreal Expos from 1990-1993.
Blankenhorn was selected by the Twins in the 3rd round of the 2015 draft.
At the Double-A level last year, Blankenhorn popped 18 home runs in just 93 games for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
Image: @Twins/Twitter
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