Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month - July 2023

[Matt Braun]

Read and rejoice in the starting pitchers who thrived in the month of July. 

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (graphics by Thieres Rabelo)

An issue that pops up in these lists is that of role assignments: pitchers in the minors often flip-flop between starting and relieving to eat up innings whenever they can. This poses challenges for those who acknowledge the delegation of title, as a starter with one relief appearance is still obviously a starter, but some situations aren't as clear-cut. I did my best to adhere to the spirit of the award while still understanding the sometimes silly nature of minor-league pitching order. 

Below are the names I thought most deserved to be on the list. Their ranking is entirely subjective; I value innings thrown, as those are outs, and outs are valuable, but also like to weigh strikeouts and peripherals as they can differentiate between dominance and a pitcher merely getting lucky. In times when it's a toss-up, I valued the almighty ERA as the great equalizer—got that? Good; let's start. 

Honorable mentions:
RHP C.J. Culpepper - A+ Cedar Rapids
C.J. “not Daunte” Culpepper has been one of the biggest stories in the Twins’ farm system this year. Drafted out of a California university not known for baseball stars, Culpepper cruised through Low-A before continuing his excellence at High-A. Why only an honorable mention? The Ks haven’t quite been there after the promotion.

RHP Andrew Morris - A/A+ Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids
Andrew Morris had a fighting chance at cracking the top five before he tossed up a stinker in his A+ debut on Sunday. Still, his stock is rising as much as his fastball, and he can make the list next month if he settles down at the new level.

RHP Matt Gabbert - FCL Twins
The short-season teams needed representation on the list as well—and Matt Gabbert is well-deserving of being mentioned. Plucked from indy ball this year, the Evanston, Illinois native struck out nearly 30% of the batters he faced in July, with his six-K outing on the 28th serving as the zenith of his punch out powers.

RHP Juan Cota - DSL Twins
And now the DSL representative: Juan Cota displayed impressive strikeout stuff with a K% above 30, and also the sort of diminished command typical of a literal teenager, walking three and hitting two over nine frames.

5. LHP Christian MacLeod - A+ Cedar Rapids, 23 1/3 IP, 22.8 K%, 3.47 ERA, 4.72 FIP
An injury limited Christian MacLeod to 1 2/3 measly innings in 2021, and an even more measly 0 innings in 2022. Finally healthy, the big lefty drafted out of Mississippi State has done well in his first full-ish season of playing without limits following Tommy John surgery and rehab.

The peak of MacLeod’s month came on July 3rd; he decimated the Peoria Chiefs with 5 2/3 overpowering innings, leading to a pair of earned runs along with seven strikeouts. The rest of the month wasn’t quite as impressive, but it was still deeply respectable for a pitcher who—for all intents and purposes—was making his professional debut. Plus, his overhand curveball is just a classic:

4.  Zebby Matthews - A+ Cedar Rapids, 22 1/3 IP, 27.1 K%, 3.22 ERA, 4.02 FIP
This is now the third “Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month” article I’ve written this year; Zebby Matthews has made the list all three times. His introduction to A+ ball was bumpy, with a ruinous June 10th outing scorching him with eight earned runs over just 2/3 of an inning. Still, Matthews did what Matthews has done since the start of the year: he settled in.

He crushed the month of July, flattening his ERA to an acceptable level while punching out hitters at an elevated level. He walked one batter the entire month. One. The eighth-round selection out of Western Carolina University certainly now looks the part, and it should only be a matter of time before he shoots up prospect lists, joining the likes of Bailey Ober as an underrated, undervalued arm from a Carolina college no one has heard of*. Aaron Gleeman already did just that, placing Matthews 19th in his updated top 20 ranking two weeks ago.  

*With Ryan Jeffers and now Walker Jenkins also hailing from North Carolina, it seems that they will soon be the Carolina Twins, not just the Puerto Rico Twins. 

3. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson - AAA St. Paul, 24 1/3 IP, 20.4 K%, 2.96 ERA, 4.27 FIP
Almost everything had been a disaster. Entering July, Simeon Woods Richardson held an ERA of 7.47 at AAA, with a FIP at a still unfathomable 5.63. Given the mess, the Twins knew they had to change something up, so they tried a small experiment on July 8th.

Brent Headrick started the game, going two innings with four strikeouts while leaving a clean slate for the following arm. Woods Richardson—for just the third time in his professional career—emerged out of the bullpen. The result was mastery: five innings with seven strikeouts, one walk, and a single earned run. He used the momentum to propel himself to a tremendous July, one that finally lowered his ERA, and perhaps righted himself enough to place himself back on the prospect map. 

Woods Richardson moved back to being a traditional starter after just two relief appearances, and he walked five in his most recent start, potentially signaling that he needs more work before being declared fixed. Still, a fine month deserves praise; here's some recognition for the 22-year-old. 

2. RHP Pierson Ohl - AA Wichita, 18 2/3 IP, 29.5 K%, 3.38 ERA, 3.75 FIP
Pierson Ohl won’t knock you down with stuff blazing and true; rather, the 14th-round pick from the 2021 draft prefers to carve up hitters with command, placing perfect pitches in precious places, coaxing flailing swings and soft contact. He’s now reached AA in his second full season since being drafted—and he appears to be gaining confidence.

Other pitchers may have better numbers, but when you consider Ohl’s placement in the offensive pressure cooker known as the Texas League, his numbers become that much more impressive. Wichita’s team ERA in July was 6.30; lord only knows what it would have been without Pierson Ohl. His July was actually antithetical to his usual body of work: the typically walk-stingy righty handed out seven free passes, but with the trade-off being a near 30% K rate, Ohl was probably fine with the extra base runners. 

1. LHP Dallas Keuchel - AAA St. Paul, 28 IP, 20.5 K%, 0.96 ERA, 4.11 FIP
Is having Dallas Keuchel on your AAA team like the scene from Billy Madison where Adam Sandler pelts little kids with a dodgeball? Maybe. But it’s impossible to ignore what he’s done in his short stint with the Saints. 

The 2015 AL Cy Young winner was dominant. He allowed three earned runs the entire month, accruing 28 innings—far more than any other hurler in the system—while striking out a hair over 20% of the batters he faced. That’s a solid showing for his first time in pro ball since September of 2022. With all the attention on his potential opt-out, and whether the Twins will trade, promote, or move on from Dallas Keuchel, it appears he did just about all he could do to earn a spot back in MLB. 

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[jimbo92107]

Pierson Oh's behind-the-back catch got a grin even from the opposing team's first base coach. Priceless.

Meanwhile, why isn't Dallas Keuchel at least a long man in the Twins bullpen? Let Gray go four strong innings, then let Keuchel go four strong, then closer. 

[jjotto]

Twins passed on a Keuchel call up (little noted here), and he opted out.

Talk of him signing with Atlanta.

Not many beating down his door, so maybe underlying stats aren’t so good?