Twins Daily Pitcher of the Month: August 2024

[Steven Trefz]

The Twins went 14-14 in the month of August, and the blame for mediocrity deserves to be spread equally amongst the team. Without solid pitching from a few key Twins, however, the team's fate could have been much, much worse. Here are the top reasons the Twins broke even in August and stayed in the playoff race.

Honorable Mention: Simeon Woods Richardson (2-1, 4.21 ERA, 25.2 IP, 24 K, 10 BB, 1.17 WHIP)
The rookie starters definitely had their up and downs in August, as could be expected by any rational fan. In the dog days of summer, however, eating innings and keeping a slumping offense in competitive games is worth its weight in gold, and Woods Richardson delivered consistently all month long. He started off by getting spotted to a 8-0 lead against the White Sox on August 4th, and only going four innings after racking up 89 pitches. The Twins won, and went on to win two more of Woods Richardson's five starts. He took a hard-luck seven inning loss against the Guardians, only surrendering two runs. Atlanta roughed him up, but he was not alone in that department. In the race for playoff starting pitching, Woods Richardson currently stands to make any necessary game three start.

#4 - Bailey Ober (2-1, 5.33 ERA, 27 IP, 26 K, 9 BB, 1.15 WHIP)
Ober's August ended with a disaster against Atlanta, but his outing to kick off September was more in line with Ober's month than that outlier. In his first four August starts, Ober went at least six innings in each and gave the Twins a chance to win all four games. If not for his early implosion against the Braves, Ober could have easily topped this list, Maintaining his mid-season pace will be key to the Twins playoff chances. 

#3 - Cole Sands (2-0, 2.53 ERA, 9G, 10.2 IP, 11 K, 1 BB, 1.22 WHIP)
When the team is losing games that should have been victories, it can be easy to overlook the middle relief that not only keep games close, but also delivers in the clutch to bring wins whenever they can be found. Sands filled both bills for the Twins in August, and continued to be invaluable to a bullpen in chaos. His blemishes against the Cubs and Guardians weren't the reasons the Twins lost those games, and his contributions in the other seven outings led to victories.

#2 - Pablo Lopez (3-1, 1.71 ERA, 31.2 IP, 22 K, 5 BB, 1.07 WHIP)
In any other month, Lopez's results would have garnered him top spot for sure. Pablo stumbled slightly to open August by only going five innings versus the Cubs in a loss. His next four starts each went six or seven innings, and should have resulted in four victories (if not for Alcala's implosion against the Rangers). More importantly, Lopez stopped losing streaks to close out the month, and kept the Twins from truly imploding themselves. When the Twins needed an ace, Lopez delivered. In a month where the Twins offense couldn't be depended upon, Lopez made them unnecessary.

#1 - Griffin Jax (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 13 G, 12.1 IP, 17 K, 0 BB, 0.49 WHIP)
The numbers say plenty, but the murmurs of closer controversy speak louder. Most of Jhoan Duran's struggles just happened to follow a lights out inning from his bullpen-mate Jax. 13 games, no runs. Jax has transformed himself into a dominant force in a bullpen lacking dominance, and his ability to miss bats give the Twins a person who can come in to put out a fire, and to take out the top bats in a lineup in any particular inning. Will Jax rise to the closer's role? More likely, Baldelli will continue to utilize Jax and Duran against the matchups and in the innings that most make sense. The Twins will need both relievers to rise to the occasion if the Twins are to finish September on top of the division.

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[Parfigliano]

Pablo should be #1 then Jax #2.  Pablo ate up 2+one half more innings at 1.71 ERA and won 3 of the 14 team wins in the month.