Twins fans feel much better about questionable starting rotation after Tigers sweep

Leading up to the 2026 season, many Minnesota Twins fans were worried about their favorite team's starting rotation. While many of those fans likely still have concerns, they probably feel much more confident in the Twins' starting five after Minnesota swept the division-favorite Detroit Tigers in four games this week.

Joe Ryan is the one starting pitcher almost all Twins fans felt confident in heading into the season. Last year, the righty made his first All-Star team and posted a career-best 3.42 ERA with 194 strikeouts in 171 innings.

After a dominant start against the Baltimore Orioles and a rough outing (largely due to poor weather conditions) against the Kansas City Royals, Ryan opened the Twins' home series against the Tigers with a solid start on Monday, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in five innings.

Taj Bradley continued his early-season dominance during Game 2 of the four-game set against Detroit on Tuesday, outdueling Tarik Skubal by allowing just one earned run on six hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings en route to earning his second win of the season. Through three starts this year, Bradley has allowed just two earned runs and has struck out 22 batters over 16 2/3 innings.

While fans had no reason to be concerned about Ryan and Bradley heading into the Twins' series with the Tigers, and Simeon Woods Richardson has looked great thus far in 2026, Bailey Ober and Mick Abel created cause for concern before their outings against Detroit.

Ober's noticeable drop in velocity has had fans wondering whether the veteran can remain an effective big-league starter, especially since he's coming off the worst season of his career (5.10 ERA in 146 1/3 innings). In his first two starts of 2026, Ober allowed three runs in four innings during each outing.

Bounce-back outings from Ober, Abel have Twins fans feeling much better about starting rotation

Ober bounced back by having his best start of the season against the Tigers on Wednesday, despite his fastball only ranging from 87-89 mph.

Not to say that one solid start erases all concerns regarding Ober, but it's a good sign to see him pitch effectively despite his stuff not being as strong as it was earlier in his career. Hopefully, Ober continues to pitch well despite his lowered velocity.

As for Abel, fans weren't concerned about his stuff, but his first two outings of the season went poorly. He entered the Twins' second game of the year out of the bullpen, allowing five earned runs on eight hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles on March 29. He then allowed four earned runs on six hits, three walks and two hit-batters across four innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.

Even though Abel struggled in his first two appearances of the year, his strong spring training and nasty pitch arsenal made most fans optimistic that the former Phillie would turn things around soon.

Abel bounced back in his third start of the season, hurling six scoreless innings with six strikeouts while allowing four hits and three walks as the Twins completed the series sweep against the Tigers on Thursday afternoon.

The Twins aim to continue their win streak as they head north of the border for a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend. Game 1 of the series is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. CST on Friday. Woods Richardson is slated to make the start for Minnesota, and lefty Patrick Corbin is scheduled to start for Toronto.