4 pitchers Twins could call up if Louie Varland and Bailey Ober struggle
By Josh Hill
Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP
We've already gotten a glimpse of Simeon Woods Richardson at the MLB level this season, but he left a lot to be desired in the very small sample size we saw.
To be fair, he wasn't put in the best spot to make his season debut either in the game itself or the situation surrounding his call-up. Woods Richardson came in to relieve Pablo Lopez in a horrible game against the Nationals where he was already down 5-1 and the Twins were just off all game long. He ended up pitching 4.2 innings and giving up five earned runs but also struck out five batters.
SItuationally, SWR was called up from Triple-A St. Paul more out of necessity than anything else. Minnesota had just returned from a stint in Boston that cost them Kenta Maeda and saw both Jovani Moran and Emilio Pagan get rocked by the Red Sox.
Don't judge him on that one start alone, though. He posted a 2.21 ERA in 100 innings pitched and had a fantastic .143 batting average on balls in play back in 2022. He's been one of the Twins top pitching prospects ever since he was acquired back in 2021 in the Jose Berrios trade, and the little we've seen of him at the Major League level hasn't been enough to make a determination on how he'll pan out.
If Ober or Varland struggle, there might not be any harm in calling him up to be a fifth starter and giving him some reps that could end up paying off down the road.