2021 Sire of Fort Myers: Derek Law

[Tom Froemming]

Hear ye, hear ye! All hail 2021 Sire of Fort Myers Derek Law!!! Before we get to coronation, let’s take a look back at how we got here.A special shoutout is certainly in order for Kyle Garlick. He hit .293/.304/.683 with a team-leading five home runs this spring, earning himself a spot on the Opening Day roster. Garlick both has previous MLB experience (42 games over the past two seasons with the Phillies and Dodgers) and is on the 40-man roster, so he was not Sire eligible. A tip ‘o the cap to him, regardless.

 

The unique circumstances of Spring Training this year slightly limited opportunities in what’s already a competition that revolves around small samples. That created an incredibly right race for Sire of Fort Myers.

 

Keon Broxton (.286/.394/.464) was the early favorite, but faded enough to fall out of contention. Brandon Waddell had some eye-popping performances (1.07 WHIP, 15 Ks), but couldn’t overcome a poor early outing that was the main culprit of a 4.82 ERA. Those two had strong showings, but three candidates emerged in the end.

 

It’s difficult to ask for more than what utility man Tzu-Wei Lin did at the plate this spring, as he hit .300/.440/.600 (6-for-20 with three doubles, a homer and four walks). He also provided some strong glovework and was even two-for-two in stolen base attempts. He was overshadowed by a pair of relief pitchers who were nearly perfect.

 

It’s nearly impossible to pitch any better than Luke Farrell did this spring. He had a 0.00 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and struck out 10 batters while not issuing a single walk. The only things holding him back were out of his control: playing time and quality of opponent. Farrell pitched just 6 1/3 innings this spring and his quality of opponent, a stat made available by Baseball-Reference, was far below that of Sire Law.

 

Derek Law also had a 0.00 ERA, though he logged eight innings pitched. He posted a 0.75 WHIP and slightly edged out Farrell in K%. Law had a 44.8 K% (striking out 13 of the 29 batters he faced) while Farrell was at 41.7% (10 of 24). In quality of opponent score, the biggest differentiator, Law was at 9.2 (out of 10) and Farrell at 7.8. Waddell was also at 7.8 while Lin had a score of 6.4 and Broxton's was 6.1.

 

Here's a look at Law's game log:

Download attachment: LawGameLog.png

 

Law's dominant spring comes after a year in which he spent the regular season at the Texas Rangers' alternate site. Prior to that, Law had racked up 167 games pitched in four total seasons with the Blue Jays and Giants.

 

Law will have the crown, cape and scepter bestowed upon him, but for the first time in the award’s history the honor is not being accompanied with a spot on the active roster. The Twins Opening Day bullpen will be fully comprised of either holdovers from last season (Tyler Duffey, Taylor Rogers, Caleb Thielbar, Jorge Alcala, Cody Stashak and Randy Dobnak as the longman) or relievers signed to big league deals over the winter (Alex Colomé and Hansel Robles). There wasn’t an opportunity in the pen, no matter how well anyone pitched this spring.

 

 

There was not a Sire of Fort Myers crowned last season, but Law follows in the footsteps of former winners Ryne Harper and Ryan LaMarre. Harper had a 0.00 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 32.6 K% in 11 innings back in 2019. LaMarre hit .475/.511/.775 in 45 plate appearances back in 2018.

 

For now Broxton, Waddell, Lin, Farrell and Law will serve as additional depth waiting in the wings. They’re also projected to be among the first class of St. Paul Saints players affiliated with the Twins once the minor league season commences in May.

 

Thank you to everyone who followed along with this year’s race for Sire of Fort Myers. This is an exercise I enjoy every year because I am desperate to find any good reason to pay attention to Spring Training games. Now that a Sire has been crowned, it’s on to what we’ve all been waiting for ...

 

Happy Opening Day Eve.

 

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[tarheeltwinsfan]

Thank you Tom. This has been a really fun series, especially this year. To all the contestants, I have this advice: "Just keep swimming!"

[Channing1964]

The depth is impressive. Thank you Tom...I follow your you tube posts and they are always good as well

[Tom Froemming]

 

Thank you Tom. This has been a really fun series, especially this year. To all the contestants, I have this advice: "Just keep swimming!"

Thanks for following along. Yeah, if these guys keep taking care of business things are going to work out for them one way or another.

 

 

The depth is impressive. Thank you Tom...I follow your you tube posts and they are always good as well

Thanks Channing!

[Dman]

Thanks Tom!  It was fun following all those guys this year and the position players got quite a bit of time in the field with injuries and late starts.  Hard to argue with Law being the SOFM.  He has four pitches he can use, his WHIP was fantastic and he never allowed a run all spring.  Hard to beat what he did this spring. HIs one negative is he has no options left so once on the 26 man he would need to stay there.

 

I think a case could be made for any one of Law, Farrell or Waddell making the team but with the 40 man tight right now and the guys they already have on the roster have done well before so it makes sense to wait and see at this point.  Injuries, poor performance or trades could bring one or all of them up at some point this season just have to wait and see how the season goes.

 

I was cheering hard for Broxton and still like him but he does look over matched at times.  I still think he is good Buxton insurance so hopefully we can hang onto him until we need him if we need him.

 

I thought Hamilton was likely going to be the best of the bunch but he just fell short this spring.  Gibaut must still be struggling with control and Hopefully he and Anderson can make strides and become viable options at some point.

 

The Twins did a good job of identifying arms to bring in and create depth for the pen.  With all the turnover I was concerned about depth and with no Chalmers, Ober or Colina this spring I am glad they found Farrell, Law and Waddell to fill in if needed.

 

All the moves and preparation for 2021 are behind us so let's hope the FO made good decisions and the players have good seasons.  Stressing over every ball and strike starts tomorrow.

[Linus]

This is a fun idea. For sure we will see some of these guys this year.

[Dr. Evil]

Loved this series Tom!

 

Management added some quality depth pieces to the squad. Impressive.