In 2023, the Minnesota Twins were seemingly purified in the waters of a youth movement which drove them to their first playoff win in over 19 years. Behind the hitting of Royce Lewis, Matt Wallner, and Edouard Julien the Twins won the AL Central and advanced to the AL Divisional Series.
It was a siginifcant turnaround from where things had been earlier in the season. Minnesota's offense struggled mightily, and looked like it would be a total liability in October. That shoe is on another foot this year, with starting pitching being something that has kept Twins fans up at night.
Pablo Lopez has struggled to replicate his success from last season, and Joe Ryan might have pitched his last inning of the season already. Even before that, the Twins were dealing with the aftermath of letting Sonny Gray walk in free agency and never really found a way to make up for his production.
Just like with the offense last year, young pitchers have stepped up to help fill the void. It has not only potentially reset the course of the season, but is giving us all a glimpse into a very bright future.
3 Twins pitchers who are setting the team up for success in 2025
Simeon Woods Richardson
After pitching briefly in 2022 and 2023, Woods Richardson has fully solidified himself in the Twins starting rotation this year. The third time was truly the charm, as the 23-year-old has thrown 112 and 1/3 innings, and in those innings, with a 5-3 record, a 3.69 ERA, and 99 strikeouts on the season.
Simeon Woods Richardson improves his ERA to 3.64 with 5 innings of one-run ball. Austin Martin has two doubles and three RBIs tonight.
— Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN) August 22, 2024
Jose Berrios, BTW, is making $18M and would rank 8th among #MNTwins pitchers with 0.5 fWAR.
In addition to these solid stats, Woods Richardson has a 1.9 WAR, which is third among Twins starters, and has made an impressive seven quality starts.
David Festa
Festa was called up from Triple-A at the end of June. He had an up-and-down start to life in MLB. After a rough couple of starts, he was sent back down. However, he was later called back up and is making the most of his opportunity.
Festa has a 2-2 record and a 4.96 ERA on the season, but since August, he has shown why he is one of the Twins top prospects. In August, he is 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA and pitched in high-leverage games as the Twins are in a title race.
David Festa with another solid start in his fourth @MLB game💥
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) July 31, 2024
5 IP / 3 H / 2 R / 1 BB / 6 K
The NJ native has had back-to-back appearances allowing two or fewer runs while striking out 6+ batters 📈@Twins | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/zmGx89UOl2
His 32 and 2/3 innings have been valuable for the 24-year-old and he will keep adding to that number as the season progresses.
Zebby Matthews
One of the biggest surprises of 2024, Zebby Matthews dominated in the minor leagues and jumped from Single-A to the MLB roster in less than a year.
So far Matthews has made two starts; he looked legit against the Kansas City Royals, throwing five innings and getting the win in his debut. His second start was a little more challenging, but he only gave up two runs against the San Diego Padres.
Zebby Matthews showed out in his MLB debut🌟
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) August 14, 2024
5 IP / 5 H / 2 R / 0 BB / 5 K @Twins | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/jvajVG2dEM
Matthews's meteoric rise to the majors at just 24 years old has flashed his potential at every level. The more starts he gets with the Twins, the more comfortable he will become.
The Twins have a plethora of young talent on their pitching staff, and the innings they are getting right now could prove crucial in 2025. If the young talent continues to grow, the Twins could have one of MLB's best and youngest pitching staffs next season.
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