Minnesota Twins: Ranking the Future Impacts of MiLB Signings
By Otto Johnson
Minnesota Twins Minor League Free Agent Signing No. 6: Glenn Sparkman
- Talent: 2
- Playing Time: 5
- Past History: 2
- Overall Grade: 3
We’ve officially made it to the first pitcher on this list, former Kansas City Royals swingman Glenn Sparkman. The 29-year-old probably isn’t the most talented player the Twins signed signed, but he does have the ability to be a useful piece on the 40 man roster if he can show something but that’s a big if.
As far as these rankings go, Sparkman isn’t talented. The twentieth round pick from 2013 doesn’t have any great pitches, but his biggest strength comes from his versatility. Sparkman serves as an okay swingman, good for both spot starts and relief outings, doing a good chunk of both for the Royals over the past couple years.
The issue for Sparkman has been his inconsistency. In the minors, he’s been dominant, going 23-19 with a 2.87 ERA over 99 games (63 starts). He’s not a great strikeout guy (no great pitches, lacking in talent), but he limits walks well. The only issue is that these stats don’t translate to the major league level.
Sparkman has done a good job of limiting walks, but that’s about his only strong suit, despite him getting a decent numbers of strikeouts (8.3 strikeouts per nine innings). He just can’t limit damage in terms of hits and runs with a 5.99 career ERA.
Working with Wes Johnson in spring training and the incredible pitching coaches in the organization will help Sparkman improve his pitch selection, and relievers/spot starters are always needed, but of all the relievers they’ve added, Sparkman has the lowest amount of upside.