Four pitchers who have made a combined 84 starts this season for the Twins arrived via trades — Simeon Woods Richardson and Joe Ryan leading up to the 2021 trade deadline, Chris Paddack just before the start of the 2022 season and Pablo Lopez in the offseason leading up to 2023.
Has the Derek Falvey pitching pipeline arrived for the Twins?
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 14, 2024 at 10:45PM
The Twins had previously dealt for Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda and Tyler Mahle, to varying degrees of success, during the Derek Falvey regime. Trades were the Twins’ primary weapon in building up their rotation, but they are not the only (nor ideal) way to do it.
What many of us have been waiting for since Falvey’s arrival nearly eight years ago is the sort of pitching pipeline he was credited with helping develop in Cleveland, which is still going strong with that depth in 2024.
Even as recently as a month ago, it had not yet arrived. But injuries to Ryan and Paddack, combined with a compressed schedule, have thrust young arms into prominent roles.
All of the sudden, the cavalry is here — and young pitchers drafted by Falvey will play a huge role in determining the success of the Twins down the stretch, as I talked about on Wednesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
The influence of homegrown pitchers on the Twins’ current critical homestand is massive:
- Bailey Ober, a 12th round pick in 2017, pitched six shutout innings in Friday’s first game of a doubleheader against Cleveland. He’s 12-5 this season, including 7-1 with a 1.76 ERA in his last nine starts. For a while, he was the only real Twins draft-and-develop success story in the rotation. But now ...
- David Festa, a 13th round pick in 2021, battled into the fourth inning of a loss against Cleveland and allowed just one run. He has a 2.04 ERA in his last four appearances, three of them starts.
- Zebby Matthews made his debut Tuesday, continuing an ascent all the way from Class A to the majors this season. He’s an eighth round pick from 2022, and he delivered five innings while allowing just two runs in a win over the Royals.
- Louie Varland, a 15th round pick in 2019, started the second game of that Friday doubleheader in another win over Cleveland and is slated to start again Wednesday against Kansas City.
The trendline with all of them: Mid-to-late-round picks by Falvey’s Twins who have developed (and generally added velocity) as they moved through the organization.
Now they are being relied upon and delivering when it matters most.
Here are four more things to know today:
*Jeff Day and I talked on the podcast about his recent story on a Lake Minnetonka mansion and former Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway’s involvement in a lawsuit.
*Also on the podcast, I had some more thoughts on J.J. McCarthy’s injury. For an even deeper look, I recommend Tuesday’s Access Vikings podcast.
*Darius Taylor injured his hamstring at Gophers football practice Tuesday, a development that warrants monitoring.
*Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse is expected to join me on Thursday’s podcast to recap the Twins’ homestand.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
