Insider Says MN Twins Have New Top Rotation Arm

Pablo Lopez started on Thursday for Minnesota Twins Opening Day. He became the first pitcher to do that for the franchise in three consecutive seasons, since Brad Radke in 2005. To say that Rocco Baldelli has an unquestioned ace would be fair.

The rest of the Twins rotation could be pretty good as well. While some may be sleeping on the quality of the group as a whole, Minnesota’s depth should be a strength. If there is a question mark, it’s the pitchers that come after Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober.

If there is someone to worry about, it’s probably the injury prone Chris Paddack. Paddack had Tommy-John surgery in 2022 to repair a torn UCL. He returned last year, but was then diagnosed with a forearm strain which caused him to miss the rest of the season. Behind him, Simeon Woods Richardson could represent the greatest uncertainty of possible outcomes.

Simeon Woods Richardson may be Minnesota Twins pitching star

After pitching just a single game at the big league level each of the previous two seasons, Simeon Woods Richardson arrived in 2024. The Minnesota Twins rotation needed him, and he put together a stellar rookie campaign with 28 starts, 133 2/3 innings, and a 4.17 ERA.

His numbers didn’t jump off the page, but it was more than a solid starting point. The guy that was once considered the secondary part of a Jose Berrios trade, now could be so much more. The Athletic’s Keith Law saw Woods Richardson this spring, and he sees an immense level of upside to SWR.

“Minnesota Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson made a huge adjustment to his arm slot in the 2023-24 offseason with the help of the Twins’ player development staff, taking him from an also-ran on the outside of the Twins’ rotation plans to a 2-WAR season as their fourth starter.

Although I didn’t see a changeup from him (I was moving back and forth between two fields), and that pitch might be the key to whether he can break out to a greater degree this year. His changeup was his only “bad” pitch by results last year, worth a whopping minus-16 runs by Statcast, wiping out 80 percent of the value of his other three pitches combined…If he gets that changeup closer to the zone often enough to get hitters to go after it, he could be the Twins’ second-best starter rather than their fourth-best.”

The Athletic

Last season, Woods Richardson dropped the usage of his fastball to a career-low 40%, but he upped the velocity to a career-best 93.1 mph. His changeup, while not an asset, was something he used 19.3% of the time. It’s possible that that the Minnesota Twins will have him use the pitch more often if he hones it in just a little.

Woods Richardson had a 20.6% strikeout rate with a whiff rate just under 10%. There’s room for his production to grow if he can push the 27.7% chase rate up into the thirties. That’s where Law is talking about the changeup being a weapon, and another pitch adding to his arsenal.

Simeon Woods Richardson, K'ing the Side in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/giTCJvcvFW

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 6, 2024

Twins Rotation with new Simeon Woods-Richardson

Joe Ryan finished with a 3.1 fWAR in 2024 while Bailey Ober posted a 2.9 mark. If Minnesota gets something in that vicinity from Woods Richardson, they should expect to have one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball.

When the Minnesota Twins acquired Woods Richardson he was a top 100 prospect, but a vastly different pitcher. His development and growth highlights how progression is not always linear. He will pitch this season at just 24 years old, and it should be expected that there is still ample amount of room for him to trend upwards.

Related: Former MLB GM Sleeping on MN Twins Starting Rotation

The Twins have done a great job in recent seasons when it comes to pitcher development. 2024 was evident of that when it comes to Woods Richardson. If that’s just the beginning of his story at the highest level though, then as Law suggests, things get very exciting.