Minnesota Twins: Who should start Game 1 of the ALDS?
By Chris Schad
Randy Dobnak
Raise your hand if you thought Randy Dobnak would be a viable starter for the Twins in October at the beginning of the season. Odds are, nobody had his hand raised considering he was in High-A Fort Myers in April. Since then, Dobnak has had an improbable rise through the Twins system and after making his major league debut in August, he’s in the running for one of the spots in the postseason rotation.
A lot of this has to do with the right-hander’s recent performance. With the rotation in flux throughout the month of September, the Twins gave Dobnak the opportunity to start in the final weeks of the season.
Dobnak would take the opportunity and ran with it in his final six appearances of the season, which included five starts. In those outings, Dobnak went 2-1 while compiling a 2.21 ERA. What’s even more impressive for the rookie has been his composure on the road, where he’s registered 0.56 ERA in 16 innings.
The downside here is Dobnak’s lack of experience. With just two months in the major leagues under his belt, it’s possible that teams do not know what to expect when on the mound. A .236 BABIP in his last six appearances suggest that regression is on the way, but crazier things have happened in October than a bespectacled pitcher with a handlebar mustache helping lead his team to victory.