Twins sign AAA reliever with strikeout ability but major control issues

Alex Speas made one appearance in MLB last season.

May 31, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher Alex Speas (64) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Twins have signed relief pitcher Alex Speas to a minor-league deal, according to his agency.

Congratulations to @alexjspeas on inking his new deal with the @Twins pic.twitter.com/1sQvwMCiyF

— Munger English SM (@MungerEnglishSM) November 24, 2024

Speas, who turns 27 next March, has made brief appearances in MLB with the Rangers and Astros. He pitched in one game for Houston last season, coincidentally coming against the Twins in May. Across four career MLB innings, he's given up four runs on four hits and six walks, striking out six.

That's emblematic of the reason why Speas hasn't been able to carve out a big-league career so far: He has electric stuff, but he doesn't have any real command over where it's going.

Last year, Speas was designated for assignment four times. Across 29.2 innings with four different Triple-A teams, he allowed 40 earned runs on 35 hits and 43 walks. He also struck out 45, which is 13.7 strikeouts per 9 innings, but his 2.63 WHIP and 12.13 ERA were ghastly. He walked over 27 percent of the batters he faced.

A Georgia native, Speas was originally a second-round pick out of high school by the Rangers. He was in their system for several years before stepping away to be a coach and instructor at a high school in North Carolina in 2022. But he returned to playing in 2023 and had a 2.86 ERA over 56.2 innings for the Rangers' Double-A and Triple-A teams, striking out 85 and walking 38.

The reason why Speas continues to get opportunities is that he's 26 years old and has a big-time arm. He has a fastball that gets up to 100+ miles per hour, plus a cutter and a sweeper.

The Twins will now become the latest team to try to harness his potential and help him cut down on his unsightly walk rate. It's unlikely, but Speas has a chance to emerge as an MLB-caliber reliever if he can find some sort of consistent command of his pitches.

Alex Speas is a hard-throwing righty known for his high strikeout rates in the minors. If the Twins can help him with his command issues, this might end up being a sneaky good pickup. https://t.co/eLkFaRe316 pic.twitter.com/F3XrKsnqra

— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) November 24, 2024