Simeon Woods Richardson gets a massive endorsement from Carlos Correa

When the Minnesota Twins lost Sonny gray and Kenta Maeda in free agency, it tore open a void in the starting rotation that the team refused to fill externally.

There were teases about how the Twins would use Jorge Polanco and/or Max Kepler as currency to trade for a starter but that never happened. Technically Polanco was traded for some rotation help, but rather than replacing Gray the team replaced Maeda and the plan ended up failing as soon as Anthony DeSclafani's elbow did.

Despite everything, the Twins might have landed on a plan to help boost hte rotation without needing to make any sigifincant moves. Joe Ryan has kicked things into another gear as a budding ace but the leap forward for Simeon Woods Richardson has been the best development of the season so far.

Through eight starts Woods Richardson is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA and has looked fantastic is tight situations. Even his "bad" starts leave us with positive things to takeaway, and his success is something that isn't going unnoticed in the Twins clubhouse.

Carlos Correa give Simeon Woods Richardson his biggest endorsement yet

As if Woods Richardson wasn't already carving out his place in Minnesota's future on his own, Carlos Correa swooped in and gave his blessing. Correa gave SRW his flowers after another fantastic start on Tuesday in a win over the Royals.

"He's showing why we traded for him," Correa said, via the Star Tribune. "Everything he's done this year has kept us in games. … I love the guy. I love the work he's put in to get to where he is right now. He's one of our guys."

It's been a long time coming for Woods Richardson, who came to the Twins with a big reputation as a top prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays. He got roughed up over his first few apperances and even his stuff at St. Paul was starting to cause some concern. Ever since getting called up back in April, though, he's hit a fearless stride and has found a groove.

Correa isn't alone in praising Woods Richardson. Rocco Baldelli couldn't say enough good things about his starter and fans have fully embraced him as well. Once Pablo Lopez gets right, which will happen eventually, the Twins rotation will suddenly look a lot more whole -- and dangerous -- than it did a few months ago.

The fact that Woods Richardson is a big part of that rules so impossibly hard, and it a reminder of how bright the future is.

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