In the rest of 2011, the Minnesota native pitched three games for the Fort Myers Miracle (1-0, 1 H, 5 BB, 5 K in 7 1/3 IP).
In 2012, he pitched for the Minnesota Miracle (1-1, Sv, 4 H, 16 K, 1 UER in 12 1/3 IP), the New Britain Rock Cats (2-0, 4 Sv, 1.80 in 16 G), and the Rochester Red Wings (2-0, 4 Sv, 1.80 in 16 G) (3-1, Sv, 3.57 in 25 G).
He tied for the most games pitched by a Twins farmhand with Bruce Pugh (48). In the Arizona Fall League, he had a 1-0 record with an 11.08 ERA in 11 games for the Peoria Javelinas.
Caleb started the year in Rochester, where he went 1-1 with a save and a 3.76 ERA in 17 games, striking out 34 batters in 26 1/3 innings.
When Pedro Hernandez was demoted, he was called up to the majors, becoming him the first player from South Dakota State to do so, as well as the first player named Caleb (at the time, it was thought that Caleb Johnson had played in the National Association in 1871, but later research has demonstrated that this player was actually named “William Johnson”).
In less than a month, he beat out Caleb Gindl for the title of first Caleb. With a 5-0 disadvantage in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves, he entered in a double swap, replacing Ryan Pressly on the mound and Pedro Florimon in the order.
Andrelton Simmons led off with a single, but he went on to retire Jason Heyward and Justin Upton before striking out Freddie Freeman on three pitches.
He struck out Gerald Laird and Juan Francisco in the eighth inning, with a Dan Uggla pop-up in between. In the ninth inning, Ryan Doumit came in to pinch-hit for him.
Thielbar had his first and only full season in the Major Leagues in 2014, proving to be a dependable and productive member of the Twins’ staff.
For pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched, his 3.40 ERA was the second-best on the staff.
He was also the youngest of Minnesota’s six pitchers to pitch in more than 50 games that year. With this outstanding performance, he ranked 12th on the squad in terms of bWAR.
How Tall Is Caleb Thielbar?
Caleb Thielbar stands at a height of 1.83 m.