Twins Pitcher of the Month: April 2024

[Steven Trefz]

On the roller coaster that was April for the Minnesota Twins, the pitching staff tried their best to stay the course and to keep the team in ballgames. The fact that the Twins are streaking back above .500 rests squarly on a bullpen that kept them in more games than they deserved, and some starters who brought consistency to the mound every five days. What hurlers stand above the rest and can claim their spot as pitcher of the month?

As the Twins entered the 2024 season, big questions surrounded the starting rotation, while the bullpen appeared to be an area of strength. Injuries took out our closer, and shuffled our newest additions to that bullpen, and questions suddenly emerged all across the pitching staff. Several Twins stepped up and filled a need in April, and helped hold the line until the bats could wake up late in the month. Here are the four that stand above the rest for the streaking Twins.

April Pitchers of the Month
#4 - Griffin Jax, 14 G, 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 12 IP, 8 H, 4 BB, 17 K
When Jhoan Duran started the season on the injured list, someone needed to assume the closer role, whether that be in the seventh, eighth, or ninth inning against the meat of the opponent’s lineup. Jax, once again, took the ball and didn’t flinch. Other than back to back frustrating outings at Detroit and at Baltimore in the middle of April, Jax was lights out. His four saves and three holds show how flexible and essential Jax was to Rocco Baldelli’s end of game management. Jax got the opportunity, and he definitely took command of it.  

#3 - Joe Ryan - 6 G, 3.38 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 34.2 IP, 31 H, 5 BB, 41 K
You can’t have a winning month without at least one starting pitcher finding his way onto the list. Ryan rises to the top due to his consistency and durability, outpacing all starters in total innings, WHIP, and ERA among Twins with four or more starts. His 8.20 K/BB nearly doubled his nearest competitor, and the team was 4-2 in games that he started.

It’s worth noting that Ryan took his playoff “demotion” in stride, and has returned with a new pitch and a leader’s moxie.

#2 – Cole Sands - 10 G, 1.98 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 20 K
On paper, Sands looked to be a lock for adding length and mop-up capability for a bullpen that started the season depleted. In reality, he’s entered 10 games and served almost as many roles as that. He’s mopped-up for a couple of innings, he’s come in to shut things down in the late innings to the tune of two holds, he’s come in to get one or two outs, and he’s held ground in the middle of tie games as a vital bridge to the back-end of the bullpen. His last two outings have been his worst, so he’s trending in a rough direction.  However, without Cole Sands toeing the rubber after short starts, the Twins’ bullpen couldn’t have performed at the level that they did. Indeed, Sands was “weirdly good” in April.

Winner – Brock Stewart – 12 G, 0.00 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 7 H, 6 BB, 17 K
After a lights out 2023, Twins fans hoped that Stewart would still have some magic left in his revitalized right arm. April couldn’t have gone better for Stewart, as he did not yield a single run across 12 relief appearances. None. Nil, Nada.

Stewart’s six holds also leads the squad. Now with the return of Duran to the closer role, Baldelli has the flexibility again to utilize Stewarts masterful stuff in the inning of his choice.  Whatever success the Twins finally found as April rolled around, none of it happens without Stewart shutting the doors of the late innings. He truly is ready and willing to take the hill every day, and the Twins needed every pitch he had to give in April. 

Congratulations to Brock Stewart for a “perfect April.” The Twins are going to need more of his best if they hope to continue their run back up the division ranks.

What do you think? How would you rank your top Twins pitchers of April?  Comment below!

 

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[Fire Dan Gladden]

#6 on the is list would be Matt Bowman.  Lots of good things for the Twins to look forward to with this young man.  He... oh, wait....

Never mind.

[Oldgoat_MN]

1 hour ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

#6 on the is list would be Matt Bowman.  Lots of good things for the Twins to look forward to with this young man.  He... oh, wait....

Never mind.

I get that Bowman's 5.62 FIP is not inspiring, but his ERA of 2.35 is what has really happened. 

I don't even understand how you can calculate an FIP that high when he's sporting a WHIP of 0.783. Odd.

Great article. Pitchers have been much better than this (usually) optimist thought they would be. 

[Twins_Fan_For_Life]

Ober has been really good. Outside of that first train wreck start

[stringer bell]

Stewart has been excellent and earned the Pitcher of the Month recognition. The pitching group has been pretty good, with the bullpen better than the rotation.