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Minnesota Twins 2017 Season Review: Starting Pitchers

By Benjamin Chase

PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - MARCH 11: The Minnesota Twins warm up before the start of a Grapefruit League spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Charlotte Sports Complex on March 11, 2013 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - MARCH 11: The Minnesota Twins warm up before the start of a Grapefruit League spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Charlotte Sports Complex on March 11, 2013 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 1: Bartolo Colon
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 1: Bartolo Colon /

Other starters: Adalberto Mejia, Bartolo Colon, Hector Santiago, Phil Hughes, Dillon Gee, Nik Turley, Aaron Slegers, Adam Wilk, Felix Jorge, Jaime Garcia, Dietrich Enns, Tim Melville, Nick Tepesch

The Minnesota Twins gave the ball to 16 different pitchers to open a ballgame. For a playoff team, that’s a pretty incredible number. For reference, here are the starting pitchers used by 2017 playoff teams:

  • Cleveland Indians 7
  • Colorado Rockies 8
  • Chicago Cubs 9
  • Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks 10
  • New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Washington Nationals 11

None of these mentioned on this page threw over 100 innings for the Twins in 2017. Mejia came the closest with 98 innings, posting a 4.50 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and a 44/85 BB/K ratio in those innings.

Colon showed to be a quality pickup for the Twins, making his first start in July. He wasn’t elite by any means, posting a 5.18 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP, but he did eat innings, throwing 80 over 15 starts.

Santiago got off to an excellent start, posting a 2.76 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over his first 7 starts of the season. However, injuries caused him to struggle mightily, finishing with a 5.63 ERA and 1.44 WHIP.

Hughes struggled with injury again, making just 9 starts and 14 appearances overall, with a 5.87 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP, with a 13/38 BB/K. Dillon Gee was picked up after the Rangers released him, and after some time in the minor leagues, he became a valuable piece of the pitching staff, making 14 appearances, 3 of them starts, throwing 36 1/3 innings with a 3.22 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.

Slegers, Jorge, and Enns gave Twins fans a glimpse into their future, with mixed results. Turley, Wilk, Melville, and Tepesch were career minor leaguers that ended up showing well enough in the minor leagues to earn a run in the major leagues.

Garcia made just one start before being traded to the Yankees for their playoff run in exchange for two pitchers that very well could factor into the 2018 plans for the Twins. Speaking of those plans…

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