2021 Sire of Fort Myers: Derek Law

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:

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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