Twins' pitcher Pablo López's change-up ranked second best in American League

CLEVELAND — You don't need a medical degree to appreciate Pablo López's changeup. But it might help you understand why it's so good.

"I went through a whole thing last offseason learning about pronation and supination and how certain muscles help you get different movement on the ball," the Twins righthander said. "I don't know if it made the pitch better, but I hope so."

In the judgment of managers, coaches and scouting staffs around the majors, it did. Baseball America magazine's annual best-tools survey of each team's experts was released this week, and López's version is rated the second-best changeup in the American League, behind only Tampa Bay Rays lefthander Shane McClanahan.

"That's really nice to hear," López said. "Last year, it was the only reliable off-speed [pitch] I had, so I worked to make it better. Guys tell me they think it's a fastball until it's not."

Two other Twins were ranked in the top three in the various categories in the survey, with Jhoan Duran's fastball judged the best in the league, and his curveball third-best, behind Framber Valdez of Houston and Tyler Glasnow of Tampa Bay. In addition, Carlos Correa's throwing arm was ranked second-best in the league to Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman, the fifth consecutive season Correa has finished in the top three.

"I'm not surprised by any of those," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "It's good to see Jhoan be recognized for more than speed. When he's throwing that curveball at his best, it's not a pitch than can be hit. It's a pitch that's going to get swung at and missed by a foot more often than it's hit hard. When he throws it right, guys miss it by a lot."

As for Duran's fastball, Baldelli noted that "I've never seen a guy throw 104 mph before. But the thing is, I don't care how [fast] a pitch is, if it's right down the middle, it's a hittable pitch."

The secret, he said, is being able to place the pitch exactly where you want it, and mixing it up with other pitches.

"It's kind of funny, but [Duran is] not a guy who succeeds by just blowing everybody away with fastballs, not really," the manager said. "He still has to pitch. When he's going good, he commands the ball very well. Even though he throws 103 mph, it's actually his command that is his greatest asset to getting outs. When he's mixing all his pitches, that's when you really see all the bad swings, the fast innings. That's what makes him great."

Correa's throwing arm, the manager said, changes a lot of small details about how the Twins approach infield defense; they allow catchers to throw to second base on a steal attempt, for instance, when there's also a runner on third, something some teams don't do. He also could play deeper than most shortstops, at least before this year's shift restrictions were implemented by MLB.

And the Twins ask Correa to be the primary relay man on throws from the outfield, even some to the right side of the field.

"We used to sit around for a long time talking through different cutoff scenarios, who's going to be where, all that. And truthfully, just get the ball in his hands and you're going to be OK," Baldelli said. "That's a pretty good approach, if you ask me."

Catcher Christian Vázquez wound up playing a half-inning at second base at the conclusion of the Twins' 20-6 blowout win Monday, but he had asked Baldelli to let him play shortstop, the only infield position he has never manned in the major leagues.

Baldelli's reaction?

"I said I'll get back to him," the manager said with a smile.

Actually, though, Vázquez "is a capable infielder," Baldelli added. "He can make plays as an infielder. I'll bet if he came up in a different organization, some might have said 'You're going to catch, but you'll play infield once or twice a week.' "

Michael Helman's bases-clearing double keyed a 4-run fourth inning, Brooks Lee followed up with a grand slam in the eighth, and the St. Paul Saints beat the Louisville Bats 11-3 in the opener of a six-gamer series Tuesday in Louisville. Yunior Severino also homered, walked twice and drove in two for the saints.

* Chris Paddack will pitch three innings or 50 pitches for Class A Fort Myers on Wednesday, his first game action in 16 months. Paddack is beginning a rehabilitation assignment that the righthander, who underwent his second Tommy John elbow surgery in May 2022, hopes could end with him joining the Twins later this month.