Minnesota Twins: 3 Reasons why Jorge Alcala could be in for a big 2021

Reason No. 3 for Jorge Alcala’s Minnesota Twins Breakout Year:: Secondary Stuff, Primary Results

Alcala’s secondary pitches will be the main key to his success. As I mentioned earlier, batters had relative success against his fastball last season. If Alcala can rely more on his slider and changeup, it could make the fastball much more effective.

Now, to be clear, his slider has already been very impressive. Alcala recorded a run value of -7 with the pitch in 2020 (if you’re unfamiliar with run value, it’s a bit like golf, in the sense that the lower the number, the better the pitch). His RV/100 (run value per 100 pitches) was -2.9, which ties him for 27th in baseball among sliders.

The emergence of the changeup could be a gargantuan difference-maker for Alcala. If the small sample size from 2020 is any indication, the pitch may not need much improvement for it to continue to dominate.

Alcala’s changeup recorded a run value of -2, despite the fact that he threw it just 36 times during the season. This was not enough to qualify for the RV/100 leaderboard, but if it had, it would have been tied for 16th amongst all pitches in the entire league (a -4.3 RV/100 would be tied with Adam Kolarek’s sinker, Zach Plesac’s slider, and Genesis Cabrera’s curveball).

Now, the fact that it was used less often could have actually contributed to its success, as most batters never got consistent looks at Alcala’s changeup. But while it may be unrealistic to expect a more consistently-thrown changeup to be as effective, more off-speed usage will still help play up his lively fastball.

This brings me to my final point. The Twins are expected to be in a tight division race this year with the rival White Sox. While much of the offseason focus has been on new additions like Andrelton Simmons, J.A. Happ, Colomé, and the re-signing of Nelson Cruz, the progression of Jorge Alcala could be a major factor in Minnesota’s success.

If one thing is certain, it’s that Alcala’s stuff is legit. In 2021, he has a chance to solidify himself as a top reliever for this team.