3 Twins players taking advantage of 2024 spring training

Jorge Alcalá, RP

It wasn't the long ago that Jorge Alcalá looked like he was about to become a fixture in Minnesota's bullpen, but injuries have sidetracked his ascension. One of the big questions this spring was whether he'd be able to tap back into that earlier magic and so far he's been a pleasant surprise.

Alcalá has already made the most of the limited time he's seen down in Fort Myers. Alcalá has only pitched four innings of work but he's surrendered zero runs and struck out three batters while allowing just three hits and a walk. He's close to where he was at last spring, when he finished with a 1.86 ERA and held opponents to a .125 batting average.

That campaign was similar to the one he turned in before having what appeared to be a breakout season in 2021, but injuries derailed that journey and seems to finally be working his way back.

It's not the totality of innings production that is worth watching with Alcalá, it's what he's doing on a more granular level. He's thrown 59 pitches so far this spring and his fastball consistently clocked around 96 to 97 mph, topping out at 98 mph. That's the sort of upside he showed during his spectacular run at the start of the decade when he struck out 88 batters and posted a 1.040 WHIP over two seasons and 83.2 inning pitched.

He was also particularly nasty against righties, and he showed the kind of stuff that the Twins could very much benefit from having out in the bullpen for late game situations. There's still work to be done, but it looks like Alcalá is finally getting back to the guy he was and might even be in line for an Opening Day roster spot if he keeps it up.

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