If the Twins were producing more runs, and if their bullpen hadn't encountered so many problems, the prevailing story of their season would be the construction and success of their rotation.
Twins' imported pitching — Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Pablo López and more — saving season
Twins executive Derek Falvey was hired, in part, because of his previous work in drafting and developing pitchers. But that's not the route the Twins have taken in 2023.
June 25, 2023 at 9:50PM
Sunday, the Twins rode another quality start to a series victory, as Bailey Ober pitched six strong innings in a 6-3. 10-inning victory at Detroit.
Sonny Gray ranks third in the American League in ERA, at 2.56. Joe Ryan ranks eighth, at 2.98. Pablo López ranks sixth in innings pitched; Ryan ranks ninth.
Ober has a 2.97 ERA. Kenta Maeda returned to the rotation Friday night with five shutout innings and eight strikeouts.
Gray, Ryan, López, Ober and Maeda — that is an excellent rotation that could improve if López transitions from being a quality-start pitcher to being the ace the Twins envision him to be.
Gray and Ryan could receive consideration for the American League All-Star team along with closer Jhoan Duran, who has a 1.45 ERA after earning his 11th save Sunday.
Reliever Brock Stewart has been the Twins' most dominant pitcher, posting an ERA of 0.70.
Here is what is fascinating, and perhaps perplexing, about the Twins staff:
Of their top seven currently available pitchers, six came from outside the organization.
President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey was hired, in part, because of his work with Cleveland in drafting and developing pitchers.
What he's done with the Twins, mostly, is identify and acquire talent from other organizations.
He traded top draft pick Chase Petty to the Reds for Gray, who has been one of baseball's best pitchers this season.
He traded Nelson Cruz to the Rays for Ryan, who last week pitched the Twins' first complete-game shutout since 2018.
He traded Luis Arraez to the Marlins for López, who has been more solid than spectacular, and two prospects.
He traded top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol for Maeda, who finished second in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2020 and looked remarkably sharp on Friday.
He traded Eduardo Escobar to the Diamondbacks for Duran, who is a rising superstar.
He signed Stewart as a free agent after Stewart missed the 2021 season following Tommy John surgery, and Stewart might have the second-best stuff on the staff behind Duran.
Ober was the Twins' 12th-round draft pick in 2017, and he has pitched as well as any Twins starter since being called up.
Falvey has built one of baseball's best pitching staffs without receiving much help from the draft.
Trading is a risky business, and Falvey has also been burned. He traded quality hitting prospects for Tyler Mahle, who gave the Twins 42 total innings before opting for Tommy John surgery this season. He traded for Chris Paddack, who is recovering from his own TJ surgery but did sign long-term with the Twins.
He traded for reliever Jorge López, who was so distraught over his struggles that he wound up on the injured list for a mental health break.
He also traded Arraez, who is trying to become the first hitter since Ted Williams to bat .400 for a full season.
In total, his trades have elevated the pitching for a franchise that feels confident it has enough quality position players throughout the organization to justify dealing a few, especially with Carlos Correa signed to a long-term deal and Royce Lewis hinting at stardom.
The Twins are just one game over .500, but their run differential indicates they could be just a little more offensive production from becoming a quality team. Despite all of their injuries and bullpen shuffling, they are a plus-34 in run differential. That would be the second-best run differential in the much-celebrated American League East.
Fangraphs has the Twins' pitching staff ranked No. 1 in WAR (wins above replacement player) in all of baseball.
The 2023 Twins are fragile and flawed, but you'd rather go into the trade deadline needing one more bat than three more arms.
The Twins executive was on hand with Cleveland when Mark Shapiro did the double, and Shapiro noticed then his ability to “connect across every role in the organization.”
