Minnesota Twins: Ranking the Future Impacts of MiLB Signings
By Otto Johnson
Minnesota Twins Minor League Free Agent Signing No. 4: Luke Farrell
- Talent: 3
- Playing Time: 5
- Past History: 2
- Overall Grade: 3.33
Another former Royals draft pick, Luke Farrell has a little bit more talent than Sparkman, but the situation is similar. Both are relievers without a lot of history of success, but enter a Minnesota team where they could find some opportunity.
Farrell is a former sixth round pick and was originally groomed to be a starter, but he was incredibly inefficient early on in his minor league career. The Royals made the decision to turn him into a swingman in 2015 and it worked out really well.
He significantly improved before being shipped to Cincinnati, but he could never quite make the jump to being a good player in the pros until 2019. His FIP of 5.01 was terrible over nine games, but his 2.70 ERA offered some hope.
He hasn’t shown anything at the highest level outside of that in his 43 career games, but the Twins have to believe that can change. Like Sparkman, he doesn’t have any elite pitches, but there is some talent to work with as a reliever.
With so many innings that need to be filled, the Twins could use Farrell to come in for doubleheaders or days after a blowout. That’s not a huge impact, but it’s a big enough possible impact to land him fourth on this list.