Young Twins pitchers Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober bonding over bullpen sessions, pitch breakdowns

FORT MYERS, Fla. – When Joe Ryan takes to the Target Field mound Thursday as the Twins' Opening Day starter, he'll be all alone.

Physically, at least. But in spirit, his fellow pitchers will be watching his sixth(!) MLB start just a few yards away. And that — minus thousands of fans — might make it seem more like throwing a bullpen session at spring training, the foundation of how this nearly entirely new group of Twins' pitchers has started to form their supportive bond the past three weeks.

The Twins overhauled their starting rotation completely from the start of last season, when it was Kenta Maeda (now injured), Jose Berrios (traded), Matt Shoemaker (released), J.A. Happ (traded) and Michael Pineda (left as free agent).

Ryan and Bailey Ober, who made their MLB debuts in 2021, are the only returners and join incoming veterans Sonny Gray, Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy.

"The routine here and what I've gotten from spring has really helped me," Ryan said. "Having Sonny and Archer and Dylan and Ober, having these guys to lean on ... it's so valuable for me."

It has been a uniquely challenging spring, with the camp delayed and shortened because of the lockout, meaning most of the pitchers are not as stretched out as they usually would be for the start of the season. It's one of the factors behind rookie 25-year-old Ryan starting Opening Day instead of established 32-year-old Gray.

Yet despite the rush and potential frustration, bullpens have become a bit of an event. On Thursday, Ryan, Ober, Archer, Josh Winder and Tyler Duffey crowded into a back corner of the bullpen to watch Gray's session while Bundy pitched the road spring game.

The tradition started when Gray arrived at camp. His bullpens are fun to watch, as he calls out pitch types, counts, lefthanded or righthanded batters, before he throws. After Thursday's session, Ober hovered around Gray's post-throw conversation with catcher Gary Sanchez. Then Gray went to his audience in the back corner and gave a full breakdown. Ryan hung back after that for some one-on-one advice.

"'Hey, what are they trying to do with this pitch? What am I trying to do with that pitch? What am I seeing there?' It's good to have great people that are also great pitchers," Ryan said. "… You can bounce ideas and have good discussions after. And I think just becoming closer as friends, too, helps as well."

Ryan said for his recent bullpens, he's leaned into the pageantry, throwing on his full uniform. A particularly well-thrown pitch might elicit a "woo" from the crowd. Something not so good will receive "chirping," which isn't quite to the level of smack talk, though he hopes one day the group will be comfortable enough for roasting.

While the vets have opened their brains to the 20-somethings, Ober and Ryan in particular have leaned on each other. Ober debuted in May last season and amassed more than 92 innings with a 4.19 ERA. Ryan, who came to the Twins after the Olympics in a deadline trade from the Rays, debuted in September and pitched almost 27 innings and had a 4.05 ERA.

"Me and Joe have been picking each other's brains and talking a lot this spring training," Ober said. "Just kind of tried to get on the same game plan and just understand each other a little bit more, what we're trying to do as a pitcher and just off-the-field stuff."

Ryan added the connection between the two is a "huge resource." He said the two knew of each other while coming up in the minors and respected each other's game. And since Ober had a bit more experience last season, he could counsel Ryan on what to expect from certain teams.

"Ober and I just clicked last year. Our pitching styles are pretty similar, and so utilizing that, and we work pretty well together," Ryan said. "Having him as a partner in crime … it's very helpful.

"We've been getting pretty close this spring training. And hopefully we can continue that and going into the season and hopefully for many years."

Manager Rocco Baldelli said Ober and Ryan are similar in their ability to tune out distractions and make in-game adjustments. But personality-wise, they're a bit different. Ryan has that West Coast, Bay Area chill, while Ober, a North Carolina native, already has two kids with wife, Montana.

"Bailey is very dialed in and gets his work done in a serious manner and follows his routine. Joe is a very colorful guy and personality and is a different type of discussion when you're talking with him, which is fantastic and fun," Baldelli said. "… Both have proven to be good major league pitchers, doing it in their own way. I like a healthy team competition where guys push each other and things like that, I think that's great."

Poor pitching was one of the Twins' biggest problems last season; the starters combined for a 5.18 ERA ranking 25th of 30 MLB teams. But this latest rotation filled with fresh faces and seasoned pros is planning to prove progress.

"We're going to surprise some people this year," Ober said.