Simeon Woods Richardson's Baseball Journey Leads Him to the Twins

[Seth Stohs]

The Twins acquired Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for All-Star Jose Berrios last July. Just 21, Woods Richardson is looking forward to a “normal” season in 2022. 

Last week, Simeon Woods Richardson spoke to Twins media about coming to the Twins and the circuitous baseball journey that he hopes and believes will take him to Target Field.

The New York Mets drafted Simeon Woods Richardson in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of high school in Sugar Land, Texas. He split the remainder of that season between two Mets rookie-level teams. In 2019, he made 20 starts for their Low-A affiliate and went 3-8 with a 4.25 ERA. However, he had 97 strikeouts and just 17 walks in 78 1/3 innings.  

He had been promoted to High-A St. Lucie and spent three days in their uniform when he found out that he was traded from the Mets to the Blue Jays organization in a trade for Marcus Stroman. He headed to High-A Dunedin, where he made six more starts in 2019. Still just 18, he held his own. He went 3-2 with a 2.54 ERA. In 28 1/3 innings, he had 29 strikeouts and just seven walks.

Then came 2020. The minor league season was lost to the Covid pandemic. While he wasn’t on the 40-man roster, the Blue Jays had him spend the summer at the team’s alternate site. While he never was considered for a call-up to the big leagues, he was getting valuable work with older, more veteran players.  

As strange as the 2020 season was, 2021 might have been even more strange Woods Richardson. Just 20, and with just six High-A starts on his belt, he was pushed up to Double-A New Hampshire for the start of the season. He made 11 starts for the Fisher Cats. He went 2-4 with a 5.76 ERA. However, in his 45 1/3 innings, he struck out 67 batters (13.3 K/9). Unfortunately, after averaging about two walks per nine innings previously, he walked 5.2 per nine in those 11 starts (26 batters).  

However, at that point, he joined Team USA and headed to Tokyo, Japan, for the Olympics. While he didn’t pitch in a game, he enjoyed the experience and took advantage of the opportunity to be a teammate of several major-league veterans on the roster. Edwin Jackson, David Robertson, Homer Bailey, and John Jay were some MLB veterans on the Team USA roster.  

“We had a bunch of guys that were at your disposal for knowledge. So I took that time just to be a sponge. I was the youngest player there. Take that time. Be a sponge. Ask questions. Pick their brains. Be on the field with them. See how they operate. See how they move. See how they get ready for their day. Just take from them and learn from them.”  

Just days after fellow Olympic teammate and part-time roommate Joe Ryan was traded to the Twins while he was in Japan, Simeon Woods Richardson got a late-night (or early morning) phone call too. 

He recalled last week, “I get a call at like 3:30 in the morning. Something told me to answer it. I'd normally just roll back over and go to sleep and answer it in the morning. Turned out to be the GM for the Blue Jays talking about the trade. So, I had to call the family, make some moves back in the States while in Japan, get my life situated over there, and when we got back, hit the ground running.” 

He came back to the States, silver medal around his neck, and took some time to pack up in New Hampshire and get to the Wichita Wind Surge, the Twins Double-A affiliate.  

After reporting, the Twins put him on the Wichita ‘development roster.” Essentially, after not pitching for so long, the Twins could have their coaches work bullpens with him while he was rebuilding arm strength.  

He came back and made four starts for the Wind Surge before the season’s end.  

It’s no surprise, but when he was asked last week for his goals for 2022, he responded. “Honestly, the goal this year is fewer walks, more strikeouts definitely. Making it to the big leagues this year is definitely a big goal of mine. Wherever I start out, it’s where you finish, and that’s been my goal ever since I started playing this game. That will never stop being a goal. Mechanically, I know myself better than I did last year, know my game better than I did last year, know everything that I can do to help the team win. That’s kind of the goals for this year.”

While he is engaging, personable, and fun-loving off the mound, he finds a different tone when pitching. “Competitive. Aggressive. Four-plus pitches and can throw them at any time in the count. Just aggressive. Competitor. Fast tempo.”  

And, that last point is exciting. His average time between pitches has been about 15 seconds. In recent years, the fastest workers in the big leagues have come in at 20 seconds. It’s great for the pace of play, but it’s also great to keep his fielders on their toes.  

Away from the baseball field, Woods Richardson has an excellent perspective. As with most good advice we get in our lives, it comes from our moms. He said, “My mom told me this at a young age. ‘Baseball is a big part of your life, but it’s not you.’ It clicked for me.”  

For Simeon, those non-baseball interests include, “I love cooking. I love drawing. I love driving around seeing countryside hills. I love traveling.”  

What does he cook? "Depends what you want, man. If you want some really good Asian food, some barbecue, Italian, Mexican, street food, it just depends, man. Just depends." 

As for travel, he and his girlfriend made trips to Mexico, Las Vegas, and then to Disney World.  

As much as he enjoyed that time in the offseason, he’s excited to be back to work. He reported to Ft. Myers for the team’s pitching camps in mid-January and went right to work. “It was mainly mechanics, cleaning up some stuff from last year, seeing if I could get everything in the zone, cleaning up swing-and-miss stuff, just cleaning up little stuff for the season. It helped tremendously. I’m glad I went to that camp because I do see progress. I do see me going in the right direction, and we’re only going up from here, so I’m glad to go in there and get some early work, get some feedback from those guys, some good one-on-one time.”: 

What kind of feedback has he heard from teammates after bullpens or Live BP sessions? “Pretty much everybody’s telling me it’s hard to pick up some certain things, which is great on my end because I’ve really been working on that. Mechanically I’ve been working on a bunch of stuff, watching video, watching film, watching everything. It’s starting to all click again, so I’m pretty happy.” 

As for joining a second new team, Woods Richardson has the personality to thrive. “You go to the new team, and you’re pretty much telling your whole life story over again to a different set of guys. You’re describing yourself pretty much all over again.”

And, after what can only be described as an interesting baseball journey, Simeon Woods Richardson looks forward to a sense of normalcy, as all baseball fans do. After the trades, the pandemic, the Olympics, and other obstacles, he remains focused on that ultimate goal of pitching - and pitching well - in the big leagues.

What are your hopes for Simeon Woods Richardson in 2022 and going forward with the Twins? 

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[HerbieFan]

2022?  Healthy, reduced walks and continued K rate.  Moving forward?...how about a 2023 mlb debut.  The future?...how about a spot as a #3 starter for about 8 years.  

[Doctor Gast]

In the interview with Seth, I was very impressed by this young man's attitude and love for the game. I believe those attributes will take him far. I hope  he fullfills all his dreams, sky could be the limit.

[RJA]

 I found myself really liking this kid, Seth.  He has a healthy level of cockiness--confidence to throw any pitch at any time--but it is tempered by his willingness to be a "sponge" and soak in advice from more experienced players.  And, I really liked his comment that baseball is great but it is not who he is.  Like many of the young men you have interviewed, he shows a maturity beyond his years.  And, like Joe Ryan and Chase Petty, I think this kid will be a great interview when he is in the bigs.  I am confident that he will get the walks situation worked out, and you have to love the strike out numbers.  Another excellent prospect.  The Twins have a bundle of them.  

[Squirrel]

Will he start the year in AA or AAA? I guess it could depend on the end of the lockout. Do you see him getting a start in the bigs at the end of this season? I like this kid and really hope he has an outstanding career

[Seth Stohs]

4 hours ago, Squirrel said:

Will he start the year in AA or AAA? I guess it could depend on the end of the lockout. Do you see him getting a start in the bigs at the end of this season? I like this kid and really hope he has an outstanding career

I would think he would start at AA regardless. Let the veteran pitch those AAA innings. He needs to be in AA and he's such a big prospect, they're going to make those decisions on what's best for him, not roster needs, etc. 

[Linus]

If he works that quickly he is my new favorite Twins pitcher.