Twins Daily Minnesota Twins Pitcher of the Month - June 2021

As a team, the Twins pitching staff had one of the worst months in all of Major League Baseball. In fact, according to their fWAR (2.4), they ranked 29th only finishing a half win ahead of the Diamondbacks who had made some history themselves. With that said, not everyone pitched poorly in the month of June and without further ado, here is our pitcher of the month.

Honorable Mention #3: Tyler Duffey

If you just look at Duffey’s ERA for the month (1.59), you might wonder how he’s the fourth pitcher on this list, and if you look at his game log where he only gave up two earned runs and four clean outings, you might really think I’m throwing him some shade. Yet, as solid as Duffey was for the Twins in June, his strikeout and walk rates leave more to be desired and he out-pitched his FIP (3.25) by more than a run. Prior to giving up runs in back-to-back appearances on June 10th and 11th, Duffey looked like he may have returned to his 2019 form…

….but ultimately he regressed back to his 2020 and 2021 self with a K/BB of 6/3 from June 12th on. Nonetheless, he made it work and got results in June, but I just don’t know how sustainable that is moving forward.

Honorable Mention #2: Caleb Thielbar

So much is made of Thielbar’s comeback story that it’s almost overshadowing the very good career he’s had in a Twins uniform..

...and after struggling a bit for the first two months of the season he posted a 11/2 K/BB and a 1.80 ERA in June which, insanely enough, is 0.24 worse than his FIP. Furthemore, five of his eight appearances were clean and in three of them he was able to provide the Twins with more than one inning. Now, on the off chance you’re thinking of everyone’s favorite topic right now...sticky stuff...I’ll just point out that his spin rates actually increased from his June 20th appearance (before they weren’t checking) to his June 27th appearance.

Admittedly, I’m not sure how “normal” it is for spin rates to vary from one outing to another and I’m sure it’s different for relievers versus starters but regardless I felt obligated to at least mention the increase despite the focus on the issue. His awesome story aside, I think it’s time we really start appreciating the reliable arm that Thielbar has been for the Twins over the last two seasons.

Honorable Mention #1: José Berríos

I’m not one to use the “co” prefix when it comes to handing out an award, and although a very good argument could be used for José to be the pitcher of the month, he wasn’t as dominant as the winner was from start to finish. After giving up four runs to the Royals to start his month, Berríos posted a 2.79 ERA and a 23/4 K/BB which are...dare I say it….ace like numbers. Specifically, against Cleveland on the 24th, he had one of his best starts of the season striking out nine over six-and-one-third innings.

There’s been a lot of back-and-forth on whether we should trade and extend José. If he continues to pitch like he did in his last three starts of the month (which he didn’t do on July 1st), then he’ll make it a very hard decision as the trade deadline nears.

Pitcher of the Month: Taylor Rogers

For the second consecutive month, Rogers outduels Berríos for this coveted award. Like Thielbar, Rogers miniscule 1.86 ERA was actually worse than his FIP of 1.19 and he dominated with a 11/1 K/BB over nine-and-two-thirds innings. His lone bump in the road was the two runs he gave up to the Yankees, otherwise didn’t allow a run to score and had six appearances. Speaking of that Yankees outing, Doug Kern gives us a little fun fact.

Not including rookie performances from Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach, the bounce back season from Taylor Rogers might be the most positive result of 2021 and with one year of team control remaining he will likely be involved in trade discussions for the next month. Ultimately, the decision to trade him and/or Berríos might come down to whether the front office believes this team can contend in 2022 as both are free agents following next seasons.

Congratulations to Mr. Rogers on winning back-to-back Twins Daily Minnesota Twins Pitcher of the Month Awards! 

Would you have given the award to Berrios or Rogers? Would you trade, extend, or hold on Berrios and Rogers? Discuss in the comments!

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