Twins relying on young pitching staff: 'They are getting it done'

Rocco Baldelli believes his young arms 'have better stuff than most of the pitchers in the league.'

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson (78) throws to the Chicago White Sox in the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Aug. 4, 2024. / Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Outsiders may be surprised to see the Twins continuing to win competitive games while relying on a quartet of young pitchers in Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, Louie Varland and Zebby Matthews. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, however, isn’t surprised in the least. 

“I don’t like to think of it as like, ‘Oh, wow, like I’m shocked. It’s shocking that these young guys are doing good,’” Baldelli said. “… That is like the furthest thing from my mind. What I’m thinking is they’re freaking really good at their jobs, they happen to be young and they’re going to keep going out there and getting major league hitters out because they have better stuff than most of the pitchers in the league, so they can go out there and do it.” 

Baldelli said earlier this week that the Twins aren’t shy “to throw young pitchers out there and young players out there.” In fact, he said, “we actually kind of thrive on it.” That’s certainly been the case this season with the likes of utility Austin Martin and infielder Brooks Lee making their way up to the majors and quickly making names for themselves, in addition to the young pitchers now holding their own.

Woods Richardson was the first young pitcher to make his way from Triple-A to the majors this season, promoted after Varland’s early-season struggles. He has been one of the Twins' best pitchers with a 3-3 record and 3.78 earned-run average across 20 starts while fanning 91 across 102 1/3 innings pitched. He recently had a career-high, seven-inning start. 

An injury to starter Chris Paddack paved the way for Festa to enter the rotation. He’s 2-2 across five starts now and has a 5.20 ERA with 33 strikeouts across 27 2/3 innings. He’s continued to put the Twins in position to win games in each opportunity on the mound. 

Varland has had recent opportunities during doubleheaders, including starting Friday’s nightcap against the Cleveland Guardians, and the recent injury to starter Joe Ryan got him another opportunity against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday as the Twins try to stretch the rotation with 13 games in 14 days. He's pitched well of late.

Matthews, meanwhile, made his major league debut on Tuesday, allowing five hits and two runs while fanning five — and getting the win — in a 13-3 romp of the Royals. Matthews remains on the roster even as the Twins had to make a move to call up Varland to start Wednesday’s game. 

Baldelli said it’s not likely the Twins will use a six-man rotation going forward, and it will be interesting to monitor who between Varland and Matthews will lock down the fifth spot in the rotation. Either way, it's likely that both of those young starters will see several more opportunities down the stretch.

“Both the guys (Varland and Matthews) that pitched over the last two days did great work, and we got good outings from them,” Baldelli said after Wednesday’s game. “We got winnable games from them. Every guy that we turn to — and who knows? You never even know what’s going to happen next week at this point. So we’re going to keep maneuvering and keep sending good, quality major league arms out there every game.” 

Regardless of how the rotation shapes up down the stretch of the season, the certainty is that the Twins will be relying on their young arms. That’s something the coaching staff has embraced, and something the young starters themselves have embraced. They want the challenge. 

“I can tell you that we’re ready,” Varland said of the young group of pitchers. “I’ve seen enough of Zebby (Matthews) and (David) Festa, they’re complete dogs. They’re very good pitchers, and they’re gonna step up to the challenge, I guess them and me as well, so it’s going to be fun.” 

Baldelli has said that every series from here on out is the most important of the season. The young Twins pitchers are throwing meaningful innings in meaningful games. This homestand, it delivered positive results as the Twins went 4-3 against division rivals in a tightly-contested AL Central. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Twins were just four games back of the Guardians for the division lead.

They'll need their young pitchers to come through if they want to repeat as division champs.

“I hope they have all the confidence in the world because we believe in them, and they can get it done. And they are getting it done. We’re watching it happen before our eyes,” Baldelli said. “This is what it looks like when you develop good players, good young players and you put them out there, you know, these are meaningful games, we’re playing against good teams, and they’re playing well.”