Get to Know Minnesota Twins 2024 Draft Pick: Michael Ross

[Ted Schwerzler]

In the later rounds of the Major League Baseball draft, organizations look to find players they can pay to entice them towards turning pro. That's exactly what happened when the Minnesota Twins took Michael Ross from Samford University, and bolstered their pitching ranks.

After pitching three seasons for Samford University, Michael Ross took his game up another level this year. After pitching nearly 80 innings during the 2022 season, and adding another 31 over that summer in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, Ross missed the entirety of 2023 due to Tommy John surgery. He rebounded in a big way this year, and his 3.27 ERA across 96 1/3 innings was a career-best.

Set to transfer into the SEC and play for the Florida Gators, Minnesota needed to go above the $150k value to sway the amateur arm towards becoming pro. Ross has consistently hovered around a strikeout per inning, and he has been consistent in avoiding free passes. There is a lot to work with for the Twins, and grabbing this type of talent late in the draft is a definite come up.

Prior to him getting his professional career going, I caught up with him to introduce him to Twins Territory.

Twins Daily: After working as a reliever in your freshman year, you made your way to the rotation and really exploded last year. What led to the development and growth?

 

Michael Ross: A lot of the development and growth came from the mental side of the game. Just being able to slow the game down at the next level and trust that your stuff is good enough. Of course coupled with making physical strides and building my body up to perform at a higher level.

 

TD: You came back this season after being injured last year. What did the time off teach you about adversity and how did you work your way back?

 

MR: The time off from having Tommy John surgery is a very crucial time. Those who go through it can attest that it is very emotionally taxing. I really just treated each day like an individual win and that helped to deal with such a long time horizon to be back on the field. I am very proud of the way that I handled that adversity as I didn’t miss a day of rehab in the entire 11 month return process.

 

TD: Your numbers this season for Samford were impressive. How did you find so much success, and keep your body prepared to put up 96 innings of work?

 

MR: Similarly to the rehab process, I think I had so much success this season because I treated each week individually and just tried to win a week at a time. The season is long in college and only gets longer at the pro level so I think it’s important to compartmentalize your success and your failures. Just attacking each week with a professional approach whether in the
weight room, training room, or on the field helped bring this success and build my body up for the workload.

 

TD: The Twins have developed something of a pitching pipeline by adding velocity and sustaining development. What do you know about the organization or Minnesota as a whole?

 

MR: I know the Twins have very talented pitching. I specifically remember the 2023 team had an incredible rotation. As someone whose goal it is to make it to that level one day it’s inspiring to see the success that those guys are having and speaks to the organization's ability to develop pitchers.

 

TD: What do you do away from the field for fun? How do you reset?

 

MR: In the rare off day or time I get away from the field, I would have to say that golf is the way that I can “reset.” That or just spending time with friends and family.

 

Welcome to Twins Territory, Michael!

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[nclahammer]

I really enjoy these "get to know" segments, good luck kid!

[DocBauer]

Interesting that his best season was this past one, after missing all of 2023, while just recovered from TJ surgery. This tells me there's something to unlock here still, even for such a late round pick.