With Each Passing Day, Playoff Cole Sands Becomes a More Real and Important Part of Twins' Future

[Matthew Trueblood]

It might just be the least sexy of the Twins' recent developmental pitching wins. Not even the team was hoping it would be an important one. But yes, this is happening.

Image courtesy of © Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Paddack (you know, probably) isn't walking through that bullpen door. Louie Varland isn't walking through that door, except before games begin, because the team needs him as starting pitching depth. Brock Stewart isn't walking through that door, unless someone holds it for him, because it's a pain to open a bullpen door with your arm in a sling. The Twins are one high-leverage relief arm short of a quorum, for a team hoping to make a deep run in October--unless this Cole Sands is the real deal.

The thing is, he probably is. He could always break, the same way Paddack, Stewart, and Joe Ryan have broken, but Sands collected a save this weekend in Texas, and it wasn't like his three saves from early in the season--two of which were glorified mop-up work, and one of which was an April emergency. This one was certainly a factor of the availability of more famous, decorated relief teammates, but it was also a concrete acknowledgment: Cole Sands is a dude now. He's not headed for regression, because he's not the same pitcher as last year, with different numbers. He's a whole new pitcher.

The Twins have a clear-cut approach to their pitching development. It's not one-size-fits-all, but it follows certain patterns. They know a pitcher's fastball shape is "like a fingerprint," to quote one front office member who plays a key role in pitching development, so they don't target pitchers with the idea of changing that or try to force a change in the guys they already have. Rather, they dedicate themselves to tinkering with pitch mix and breaking ball shape, which is much more manipulable, and the cherry on top is when mechanical changes can beget velocity gains.

Most of the recent publicity has gone to the exciting cases in which they've done this with players brought in as amateurs, who are then flung quickly up the organizational ladder. David Festa and Zebby Matthews are the notables of the moment, but before them, Simeon Woods Richardson came to camp this spring with much better velocity than in previous seasons. There are other hurlers showing the same signs of progress throughout the farm system.

Before them, though, there were Griffin Jax, whose stuff took off in a way not fully explicable by his switch to a relief role; Joe Ryan, who went from an underpowered arm to one who occasionally touches 96 miles per hour; and even Pablo López, who was already an established big-league starter when the Twins got ahold of him and added a couple ticks of velocity for him. Partly through their ties to Driveline, but partly also through their own proprietary infrastructure, the Twins specialize in boosting pitchers' raw stuff--and it doesn't stop when they reach MLB.

Now, Sands is the new exemplar. In 2022, he sat 91 and touched 93 only very rarely. Last season, he trended upward as the year went on, and ended up sitting 94, while touching 95 and scraping 96.

All of that was just a warmup. This season, he's sitting 96, with plenty of 97s mixed in. His 90th-percentile velocity by month tells the tale. This summer, he's not just brushing the mid-90s. He's a full-fledged flamethrower.

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[Doctor Gast]

It's easy for some people to put others in a box. Sands has steadily proved others wrong. Cole keep doing it, we need you.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Amen, Doctor Gast. This should be a reminder to all of us that player development continues through a player's 20s at least and is rarely linear. Sands has been willing to accept coaching and has worked hard to get better. The results speak for themselves. He may be that 3rd high leverage arm we need now that Stewart is once again out for the season and Theilbar is finally losing that battle with Father time. 

The other guy that really impressed me in his recent brief MLB sojurn was Josh Winder. It would be great if he could follow a similar path. 

[Karbo]

I would rate him #4 behind Duran, Jax, and Alcala.

[cmoss84]

Like I said before, he is our Trevor May. Not sexy but effective. Same body type. Same stuff. 

[Doctor Wu]

Another very good article. Cole Sands has definitely thrived under the radar this season. Another reason to feel good about this much-hyped pitching pipeline. Looks like Sands will be a major contributor. 

[LambchoP]

Sands has been very good this year and has replaced Stewart as our number 4 relief arm after Duran, Jax and Alcala. Those four, plus a healthy Stewart and Topa have the makings of a very strong bullpen next year. If we can add one, hopefully two solid lefties in the off-season, and possibly add Varland and Canterino to the mix, our relief corps could be a real strength. As we've seen this year, Injuries pile up. You need depth and you can NEVER have too much pitching.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Boy, are you right about that. Just when you think you have surplus pitching that you can trade, you make a move, someone gets hurt, and you run out. There has been some talk of trading Paddack in the offseason to make room for the young guys and because he’s making $7.5 million next year. I’m very mixed on whether he can even be a Mid rotation starter, but I think we gotta keep him because we need the depth. 

[NYCTK]

Cole Sands leads the team in "Meltdowns". That is, times he's come into a game and the team's chances of winning got significantly worse. I don't exactly trust him. But he's a fine #5 in the pen. Unfortunately, he's being forced into more high leverage situations due to the disappearance/ineffectiveness of others.

I can continue seeing him improve throughout his career, and could potentially become a reliable bullpen arm. Happy to have him in there again next season. 

[Linus]

Another good pitching success story. He seems to waver a bit in high leverage situations but he has gone AAAA to a bona fide major league reliever in a couple years. 

[John Foley]

I love that this article linked to a left-handed pitcher from 1885 with my name. I threw right-handed 120 years later, alas. 

[Matthew Trueblood]

2 hours ago, John Foley said:

I love that this article linked to a left-handed pitcher from 1885 with my name. I threw right-handed 120 years later, alas. 

Saw that; considered removing the link!; decided to roll with it. No one--not even you!--can *prove* you're not the same person, reincarnated. Famously, reincarnated people switch handedness. That's just science.