Jake Odorizzi Cleared; Will Pitch This Weekend

The Minnesota Twins received good news Thursday. Jake Odorizzi will be making his first start of the 2020 season on Saturday, against the Kansas City Royals.

Jake Odorizzi will make his first start of 2020 for the #MNTwins on Saturday at Kansas City.

— danhayesmlb (@DanHayesMLB) August 6, 2020

After experiencing upper back stiffness during Summer Camp, Odorizzi was placed on the 10-day injured list. Forcing him to miss his first two starts through the rotation. Thankfully, his replacements and the rest of the team picked up the slack. Starting the year with a franchise best 10-2 record.

Odorizzi mentioned in his pregame press conference that he wasn’t experiencing much pain. He instead noticed he was losing command and velocity on his pitches. When asked about how he and Wes Johnson knew he was ready, he said it was all about feeling comfortable with his velocity.

Jake Odorizzi, 85mph Slider and 93mph Fastball, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/gdij1CbmHf

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 8, 2019

While manager Rocco Baldelli stated he has preferred to pull pitchers due to pace and energy instead of pitch counts, Odorizzi will likely be on a pitch count this weekend. That shouldn’t be much of an issue facing the 3-10 Royals.

Jake Odorizzi making his return is the first step back to getting this rotation fully healthy. That’s something the Twins haven’t had, with three of their five starters being placed on the injured list.

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan