The Minnesota Twins have eyes on the postseason and if they are going to make it there, then having the most productive versions of their best players is a must. There is currently a pair of pitchers that need to generate some positive momentum.
With just a couple of weeks left until the All-Star Break, Rocco Baldelli’s club is quickly approaching the halfway point of the major league season. On pace to put up a solid result in the wins column, they will need to push for a bit more consistency and just a bit better results if they are going to chase down the Cleveland Guardians.
Achieving those results will rely on both Pablo Lopez and Jhoan Duran settling into a greater level of production during the second half.
Pablo Lopez
A potential Cy Young candidate when the season started, Lopez has looked like a shell of the pitcher he was during his first season in Minnesota. Extended after being acquired for Luis Arraez, it was clear that the Twins believed they found an arm that still had room to grow. It’s hard to argue against that with the 2023 results, but 2024 has been all about what should happen.
Lopez has produced promising advanced metrics, but came into his 16th start of the season with a 5.63 ERA and 1.250 WHIP. Neither of those numbers are good, and they are reflective of actual results. However, making some mechanical tweaks prior to his Sunday start against the Oakland Athletics, Lopez tied a career-high with 14 strikeouts over eight shutout innings while allowing just two hits.
It is worth being cautious as to whether Lopez actually found something, or he was just experiencing the benefit of pitching against one of baseball’s worst teams. Still, it was the first time in June that he had gone deeper than five innings, and he looked every bit the dominant star that Minnesota is relying on him to be.
Velocity has been a bit all over the place for Lopez this year, but there should be no more cold starts, and using an outing like the one against Oakland to springboard success would be great to see. The Twins postseason hopes rely on Lopez looking like a star, and Joe Ryan combining with Bailey Ober to pitch well alongside him. The ace of the staff needs to get the ball rolling, and we’ve seen him do it before.
Jhoan Duran
If Lopez is the ace of the staff, then it’s the man with the greatest entrance in baseball that is the ace of the bullpen. Or, at least he’s supposed to be. Duran began the year on the injured list and missed the first 28 games with a strained oblique. He came back to what was expected as a contender for one of baseball’s best bullpens, but he’s hardly looked like himself.
The velocity is down, the strikeouts are down, the whiff rates are down, and the results aren’t great. Through his first 24 appearances Duran owns a 3.91 ERA with an even worse 5.01 FIP. He is striking out just 8.2 batters per nine innings, and his 1.6 HR/9 is almost double his career average. Velocity is the name of his game, and he’s lacking miles per hour on both the fastball and splinker. Relying on the curveball has hurt him at times, and Baldelli has been forced to seek answers.
Thankfully for Duran and the Twins, Griffin Jax has been one of baseball’s best relievers in 2024. On Sunday against the Athletics, it was Jax who closed out a 3-0 game, not Duran, who allowed his first blown save on a Shea Langeliers home run Friday. On the flip side, regardless of who is recording the save, Minnesota’s bullpen is at its best when both of the top high-leverage options are going good.
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