The September Jolt We Forgot We Needed

[Cody Pirkl]

The Twins pitching staff has done an incredible job this season of keeping the team afloat, but do you even remember that we're supposed to have five regular staring pitchers? Heading into September, the depth we all expected to open the season is finally looking like it may materialize, and that should help this team in several different ways.Michael Pineda returned this last week to fill in on what would have been a bullpen day against the Chicago White Sox. The bullpen days have come to be a source of frustration for many, as the Twins had been turning to this tactic twice per week for some time before Pineda’s return.

 

Jake Odorizzi has also been throwing and appears to be nearing a return, which means the Twins will have six quality pitchers to consider for the rotation. Moving into September, it may be time to check out how these two additions will positively impact the Twins.

 

The Bullpen:

The bullpen was a strength to open the season and still is to this day despite a few blemishes. Bullpen games every fifth day however have been taxing on our back end arms, especially given the lack of off days in the schedule to this point. Even with a 28 man roster, we’ve seen several relievers cycled in and out as arms have been unavailable. Having to rely on your bullpen for nine innings instead of three or four is going to catch up to us even in a 60 game season, which some are saying is already happening.

 

Filling those innings at the beginning of games will be nice for our bullpen’s workload, but it will also afford us more options at the back end of games. We saw this the other night when we thought all of our best arms were spent against Chicago…

 

 

We all forgot about Matt Wisler, who hadn’t been used as a traditional reliever since August 11 and has put up a 0.96 ERA on the season. He picked up a save against a right handed heavy Sox lineup with his ridiculous slider before being used as the opener again on Friday in the double header, hopefully for the last time in 2020. If nothing else, five starting pitchers will save guys like Wisler for the high leverage matchup spots they can thrive in.

 

Roster Turnover:

As previously mentioned, the Twins have had to cycle guys on and off of the roster far more often than they’d have liked. Needing those added innings from your bullpen every week on top of a normal workload has resulted in seeing guys like Thorpe, Coulombe and Minaya taking up 28 man spots, and in the latter two cases, 40 man spots. While not a huge inconvenience for the front office, this may be part of the reasoning behind the delay in calling up young talent to try to help the struggling offense. Not needing that extra arm in the bullpen affords the opportunity to give a 40 man spot to guys like Rooker who have waited more than long enough to get their chance for a role in an offense that’s never been more in need of help.

 

Rich Hill:

It may be time to talk about Rich Hill. While it was a risk free move that was hard to disagree with, he hasn’t shown any semblance of the pitcher we’ve seen in recent years. His 14.7% K rate is about half of what he’s managed in any season since 2010. We’ve now seen on multiple occasions him hitting a wall after three innings or so and completely imploding, putting the game at risk. He may have one more start before Jake Odorizzi returns, at which point the Twins will finally have the luxury of choosing their rotation. We could see them go to a 6 man considering how conservative they’ve been, although I doubt it with the many off days ahead. One more ineffective start from Hill might force the Twins to stop gambling every 5th day on an arm that was always considered a long shot. Whatever roster decision they make from there is anyone’s guess, but so far it’s hard to imagine Odorizzi stepping in and not putting the team in a better place.

 

As we head into the last month of the season, it sounds strange to say we should appreciate having five starting pitchers again. Unfortunately, that’s reality as things have played out far from expected. Regardless, knock on some wood and consider that moving forward, things should be looking up barring any further injury to the rotation. The bullpen will surely benefit, the Twins should have added flexibility on the 40 man, and Hill’s status will become sink or swim to the team’s benefit. Five starting pitchers will be fantastic, six will be a luxury. Let us know below how you think the Twins will benefit from finally getting the pitching depth they planned on all along.

 

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[bird]

Personally, I'd like to see them go with a six man rotation and let them cruise through for now. What's the risk in doing that?

 

Over the winter, I was hoping for two in the Taillon/Wood/Bundy category as opposed to the Hill/Bailey moves. But mainly, I was relieved to see that Falvey and gang were not counting on Dobnak, Thorpe, or Smeltzer to take the fifth spot from the get-go.

 

This team is in good shape for the short season, but once agin, I'm bracing for disappointment in the playoffs. Hope they surprise me.

[Doctor Gast]

Although time is getting shorter, I`m expecting Pineda, Odo & Hill to get stronger. Hoping all to be top form for the play-offs. That said it could be interesting to see who the starting rotation will be then

[Channing1964]

True all that! I have been thinking how nice it is to have Hill around as that reliable lefty long reliever or situational lefty. On those days when we need a guy from like innings 4-6 He seems like he has a great attitude and he could still be a spot starter and be available in the post season. I think he is just a winner and now we won't have to watch Thorpe screw things up anymore. We could do a lot worse than Maeda, Berrios, Pineda, Dobnak, and Odorizzi.