With Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios entrenched as starting pitchers for the Minnesota Twins, there’s not much in terms of a concrete answer as to who else deserves a spot.
The Minnesota Twins have seen multiple starters shift in and out but none have been overly consistent.
Even Berrios has struggled, but gets a safe nod as the starter due to his rookie status and belief he will be able to turn it around.
Pitchers like Kyle Gibson, Tyler Duffey, Phil Hughes and Tommy Milone have given the Twins solid starts but are far from consistent.
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Gibson tossed a complete game against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday but could not avoid trouble against Kansas City or Cleveland.
Still, he has given the Minnesota Twins solid starts vs. Baltimore and Boston but for whatever reason just can’t get things figured out.
It’s been frustrating to watch, no doubt.
Duffey has been equally frustrating as he would give the Twins some solid starts against contending teams but would fail to build off those games.
He only lasted 3 2/3 innings vs Kansas City on Thursday and really only leads the Twins with eight wins due to the insane run support he received (53 runs during a five start win streak).
So the real question is who should the Minnesota Twins turn to?
Once next season begins – and even during September call-ups – there are a handful of pitchers who could contribute.
And if Duffey endures another spring like he did before, I could see the Twins losing confidence in him.
Add to that a potentially healthy Hughes next season; the Twins may have a wide-open competition for a starting spot in the rotation.
So who’s got next?
It will be interesting to see what the team does with Milone. The Twins may decide to just part ways with him.
Hughes will more than likely get plenty of opportunities to start next season but that’s no guarantee.
With guys like Adalberto Mejia and Stephen Gonsalves coming up soon, they may push Gibson and Duffey for a spot.
And if Duffey endures another spring like he did before, I could see the Twins losing confidence in him.
But where does that leave Gibson?
His ERA has dropped significantly since the start of his season but it’s still hovering around five with a 4.90 mark.
Not to mention, he’s not much of a strikeout pitcher whereas Duffey has had more success.
Gibson currently has 71 and Duffey 94. Neither are overly impressive marks but they have pitched in almost the same amount of games (Duffey – 21, Gibson – 17).
So while I foresee Gibson probably getting the edge in terms of being a starter next season, the young guys the Minnesota Twins have coming up may overtake him.
Gibson had a solid 2015 in terms of ERA but won only 11 games while striking out just 145.
Either way, both Gibson and Duffey will need to improve if they want to hold onto their starting spots.