Who should be the Minnesota Twins fifth starter?

The Minnesota Twins have seen a number of candidates for the fifth rotation spot perform well recently. Who should get the starts down the stretch?

Early in the Minnesota Twins season, finding even two starters was difficult. Now the “problem” is that the Twins actually have four effective starters in Ervin Santana, Jose Berrios, Bartolo Colon, and Kyle Gibson. The team announced that Dillon Gee would be the 5th starter going forward, but should he be?

We’ll explore the candidates for the role, starting with the guy announced by the team to have the role:

Dillon Gee, RHP

Gee is a long-time major league veteran, and that has skewed some ideas of just how old he actually is. Gee is only 31 years old, and he was a member of the Mets rotation for four seasons before injuries and the presence of a new wave of young arms pushed him out of the rotation. Gee has struggled to find the “feel” of his stuff since in other stops, but since signing with Minnesota in June, he’s shown very well in AAA Rochester, and he’s pitched well with the Twins at the major league level.

Gee made 5 starts with Rochester, throwing 27 innings with a stellar 2.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and a 3/20 BB/K ratio. That earned him a call up to the bullpen, where he had been excellent in a long relief role for the Twins in August, making 4 appearances, throwing 12 2/3 innings, with a 2.13 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and a 2/12 BB/K ratio in the long relief role.

Gee made one of the two starts in the Monday double header against the Chicago White Sox, and his performance (6 innings, 1 run allowed on 2 hits and no walks, striking out 4) earned him the fifth starter role at this time, likely part in parcel due to his ability to work in long relief during times when the 5th starter is not needed or if an extended-inning game happens, and he needs to be called upon.

Next: Injured lefties