Berrios moving up to Triple-A Rochester

Before the season even began, Jose Berrios said he wanted to be on the Twins' Opening Day roster. That lofty goal didn't quite materialize, but the 21-year-old right-hander Tuesday made a big step toward making his Major League debut later this summer.

The Twins' No. 4 prospect has been promoted from Double-A Chattanooga to Triple-A Rochester for the first time this year. The news hasn't been officially announced, but Twinkie Town writer Ted Schwerzler first reported the news Monday night and Berrios himself confirmed it via Twitter on Tuesday morning. 

Berrios was 8-3 with a 3.08 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 92 strikeouts and 24 walks in 15 starts (90 2/3 innings) for the Lookouts prior to his promotion. He was tied atop the Southern League leaderboard in strikeouts and was tied for seventh-most in punchouts among all Minor Leaguers. Among SL qualifiers, his 3.83 K/BB ratio was also the best in the circuit. In a reverse of the norm, he's actually been tougher against left-handers (.216 opponents average) this season than his fellow right-handers (.245). He was named to the Southern League mid-season All-Star team and is on the World Team for next month's All-Star Futures Game. 

Glory to God again! We continue to working to achieve the set goal, let's Go. @rocredwings #PUSHTHEGAME #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/TfydG1NYCQ

- Jose O. Berrios (@JOlaMaquina) June 30, 2015

The 32nd overall pick in the 2012 Draft out of Puerto Rico, the right-hander has climbed to the No. 26 spot in MLB.com's ranking of top overall prospects and ranks behind only Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Alex Meyer in the Twins system. Buxton and Meyer have each made their Major League debuts with the Twins this season while Sano (.274/.374/.544, 15 homers in Chattanooga) seems like a promotion candidate as well. Berrios' ranking comes on the strength of his control and an above-average three-pitch mix. His fastball can hit the mid 90s but usually sits a little below that, and his curveball and changeup both received 55 grades from MLB.com last offseason. 

Berrios made one start for Rochester in 2015, giving up six earned runs on seven hits and three walks in just three frames on Aug. 31 in his last outing of an otherwise successful season (2.76 ERA, 140 strikeouts in 140 innings across three levels). He'll be the youngest Red Wing by three years, beating out 24-year-old outfielder Oswaldo Arcia.