Can the Twins Get a Consistent Joe Ryan in 2023?

When the Twins get on that plane to head north, I expect to see either Ryan or Maeda slotted in to the #5 starter spot.  Should it be Ryan, will the Twins have the best #5 starter in baseball?  Me thinks, yes.  

It usually doesn't take much to make a great difference. IMO the changes that Ryan has made will make a big difference. There very little difference between #1- #4, right now I place Ryan at #4 but I can see a lot of jockeying around. 

like the beginning of '19, Berrios, Odorizzi, Gibson, Perez & Pineda were all having great success each were feeding off each other it was exciting. I believe the same throughout for this season if they are managed right.

If Ryan is a "true" # 5 for the Twins then Katie bar the door!

I've been high on Joe Ryan since we traded for him and he's done nothing to change my opinion. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the slider works for him this season, because if he has sharpened it up it should be a weapon. (it's anecdotal, but I clearly recall times where he was trying to get guys to chase it but couldn't get there) If the split change proves to be effective against lefties and settles in as a solid off-speed pitch for the arsenal then i think he's going to have a pretty terrific year.

the dreadful "you got yourself into this mess, you get yourself out of it" game against SD really skewed his numbers for the year, but it's not like Ryan rolled up all his good numbers by beating up on KC & Det. He was also good in every one of his starts against Cleveland, and they were a damn good team last year (I'll take 3 runs yielded in 19 2/3 innings every single time). I'm very excited to watch him pitch this year.

21 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

If the split change proves to be effective against lefties and settles in as a solid off-speed pitch for the arsenal then i think he's going to have a pretty terrific year.

It sounds like the split change is the same pitch that Mahle uses.  It works well for him, so hopefully it works for Ryan as well. 

Some pitchers manage to pitch above the numbers - it can be guts, spotting pitches changing speeds , or a number of other variables. But, Joe seems to fit that better than measurable profile. I really like him, and he seems to relish the intellectual side of pitching, which adds to his upside. The approach reminds me of Radke, who was a good pitcher who became a great big game pitcher. I'm excited to see what Joe can do. 

Each starter throws every 5th day.  Wether Ryan is number 1 or number 5 he will get a chance for 32 starts

Go check how many staters made more than 31 starts last year. It does not matter

Have to admit when the Twins traded for him I was a little skeptical. Tampa hardly ever makes a mistake on pitching. He has been terrific though. If what he did last year is as good as it gets the trade was a steal for two months of Nelson Cruz. After watching him last year I think there is room for growth.

IF this top 5 stays intact it could very well be a staff with 5 # 1s, 5 #2s, 5 # 3s, 5 #4s and 5 # 5s.  History tells us that's not very likely.  The biggest key to a successful season is the health of those 5 guys.  Second biggest might be having one of them rise above expectations.  As far as Joe goes, I think the key to HIS success might lie in a return to the Tim Lincecum look.  Baseball's a funny game.  You never know what you might need to put you over the top.  

15 hours ago, awmonahan said:

Some pitchers manage to pitch above the numbers - it can be guts, spotting pitches changing speeds , or a number of other variables. But, Joe seems to fit that better than measurable profile. I really like him, and he seems to relish the intellectual side of pitching, which adds to his upside. The approach reminds me of Radke, who was a good pitcher who became a great big game pitcher. I'm excited to see what Joe can do. 

Nice comparison; Ryan to Radke. Radke was a rock, a cerebral, dependable, stopper. He often gave up a run or two in the early innings, but had his team ahead or still in the game when he left in the later innings. Like they say down south; he "out thunk" opposing batters. And like you, I see Ryan's resemblance to Radke. We should be so lucky to have Ryan replicates Radke's career.

He doesn’t get to pitch against the Royals & Tigers as much but he’ll/we’ll see the worst teams in every other division (specifically NL) & they won’t have seen him……seems like an advantage!!

A refined slider & new splitter with minor upside gives him an opportunity to really shine!

I get that our Staff is pretty balanced if everyone is “on” & Spring Training will sort some things. Professional athletes have egos - Ryan seems to be pretty stable mentally. That said, I can’t imagine having your number one starter have a successful Rookie Year and not have him be at least the #3 the following year.

I think they want to see what López can handle out of the gate.

My rotation guess:

Lopez - Gray - Ryan - Mahle - Maeda/Ober

……..whoever we have at 4 & 5, we are going to appear like we have an advantage. Possibly, by the end of April, we may appear to have the better match-up from #2 - #5 on paper v. anyone.

Really like that Ryan took the ball all year outside of his Covid bout. His durability/availability are big reasons why he can end up at the top of or near top of this Staff.