Twins Daily 2024 Twins Awards: Most Improved Player

[Steven Trefz]

In our search for hope in the midst of a Twins-less playoff season, what better place to turn than towards the players that made the biggest strides forward in 2024. As we kick-off our Twins Daily post-season awards, here are the most-improved Twins this past season as voted upon by our writers.

When a team experiences devastating injuries to its main superstars and still remains in the playoff hunt up to the end of the season, somebody must have exceeded expectations and delivered in the clutch. Here are the 2024 winners of the Twins Daily "Most Improved Twin" award.

Before we begin, a word of caution to this year’s winners. Last year's winners didn't find much success with the Twins in 2024. Emilio Pagan received no interest from Minnesota and signed a hefty two-year, $16 Million salary with the Reds, only to get bit by the injury bug, Ryan Jeffers's collapse at the end of 2024 kept him effectively out of the lineup during the stretch run, and Max Kepler (last year's winner) again found some success but ended on the injured list for what will probably be his last season with the Twins. Usually you win an award such as “Most Improved” by struggling at some point, so regression might be inevitable I guess. For now, let’s enjoy this  list as a celebration of improvement, and we’ll worry about next year…next year!

2024 Honorable Mention
Griffin Jax: 71 IP, 2.03 ERA, 10 SV, 34.4% K rate, 5.4% BB rate, 2.8 WAR, 0.87 WHIP, 1.94 FIP
Jax kept on improving after making this list last year, and don't be surprised to see his team MVP status later in the week. The bullpen savior of 2024 rose to become the only lock-down arm by the end of the season, by lowering his FIP (from 3.17 to 1.94) and raising his K% (from 24% to 34%) this past season. Will Jax be closer material in 2025? Or is a return to the rotation in his sights?

Carlos Correa: .310/.388/.517, .905 OPS, 10.9% BB rate, 16.6% K rate, 3.7 WAR, 86 G, 14 HR
The main star on the roster, the most expensive player on the team, the captain on the field and off. Unfortunately Correa was more off the field than on in 2024, but when he played he was the definition of a difference maker. He reached near his career highs across all offensive categories in his 86 games played, while reducing one important metric: groundball double plays. Dropping these rally killers from 30 to five in 2024b allowed Correa to almost match his hits and RBI totals from 2023, even though he played in 50 less games!

Bailey Ober: 178 2/3 IP, 3.98 ERA, 26.9% K rate, 6.1% BB rate, 2.9 WAR, 1.00 WHIP, 3.82 FIP
Ober's improvement in 2024 came at two levels that might not scream "excitement," but should give Twins fans for Bailey's continued presence in the rotation for years to come. He increased his innings pitched again by 34, and improved his opponents' slash lines across the board. Incremental growth is sustainable growth, and there is no reason another year of improvement isn't in Ober's future.

Byron Buxton: .279/.335/.524, .859 OPS, 5.2% BB rate, 25.5% K rate, 3.6 WAR, 102 G, 18 HR
Buxton increased his OPS (from .731), his games played (from 85), and his WAR (from 0.8) in 2024, through decreasing strike outs, and adding doubles back into the mix due to finding some health early in the season. Twins fans hope that 2024 was a sign of progress for the perennial MVP hopeful, and not the last glimpse of promise for the oft-injured Buxton. His defensive range might be the first tool to drop off in 2025.

And now to our top three vote getters for Most Improved Twin in 2024!

3. Simeon Woods Richardson: 133 2/3 IP, 4.17 ERA, 20.6% K rate, 8.4% BB rate, 2.0 WAR, 1.29 WHIP, 4.12 FIP
Woods Richardson finally found his way to the major league rotation on a full-time basis in 2024, just two years after coming to the organization from Toronto in the 2021 trade for cornerstone starter Jose Berrios (along with Austin Martin, who could make this list in 2025). For someone who never reached Triple-A with the Blue Jays, Woods Richardson had only known St. Paul Saints action with the Twins except for a forgettable start late in 2023. How did the rookie respond to the chance in 2024? 

For starters, he improved every metric from his Triple-A stat line in 2023, including maxing out at 133 2/3 innings (and clearly showing he was maxed out in his final start), along with an adjustment in arm slot and pitch mix (check out Cody Christie's awesome article on this growth), made Woods Richardson a weapon that the Twins desperately needed throughout the season. From where he was experience-wise, to his track record of results, Woods Richardson delivered beyond expectations and gives the rotation some depth for years to come.

2. Trevor Larnach: .259/.338/.434, .771 OPS, 10.0% BB rate, 22.3% K rate, 1.3 WAR, 112 G, 15 HR
2023 was a lost season for the former 2018 first round draft pick Larnach. Injuries derailed his season, and finding consistency at the plate when he was in the lineup provided the rest of the disappointment. No batter turned over a new page like Larnach did, however, once 2024 rolled around. Even though he was unable to start the season with his major league teammates, he made up for lost time once he did reach the field. 

Larnach's improvement stemmed from reducing his strikeout rate by 12%, and by recapturing his clutch hitting to the tune of a .341 rOBA (a climb of 30 points). Exit velocity increased, and Twins fans will remember how the last few weeks of the season seemed to contain a daily dose of Larnach blistering line drive outs. While Larnach's defensive metrics declined slightly, his OPS climbed to new heights as did his position in the batting order during the home stretch. Is right field Larnach's new permanent home? As Nick Nelson noted, Twins fans should be wondering if Larnach will still be holding down the middle of the order when 2025 rolls around. 

2024 Most Improved Twin!
1. Cole Sands: 71 1/3 IP, 4 SV, 3.28 ERA, 29.1% K rate, 4.1% BB rate, 1.2 WAR, 1.00 WHIP, 2.63 FIP
Sands went from bullpen afterthought to core weapon as the 2024 Twins season advanced. After notching only 30 2/3 and 21 2/3 innings of big-league work in 2022 and 2023 respectively, Sands displayed the kind of durability and resilience that could make him a bullpen lock for years to come. Not often does a middle reliever factor into the WAR conversation, but Sands consistently came into more and more high leverage opportunities, and he delivered more often than not.

Most notable improvements include Sands reducing his opponents' OPS from .772 in 2023 to .590 in 2024. He also lowered his walk rate (from 13.3% to 4.1%) and increased his strike out rate (from 21.4% to 29.1%) with an improved curveball and increased velocity (96-97 mph) on his naturally sinking fastball. As a minor leaguer, Sands worked in the starter role, and his success declined as he climbed above Double-A level. As a major league reliever, Sands has put in the work and has found success with the max effort approach. As Eric Blonigen noted, the Twins had several problems in 2024, but Sands was not one of them.

Congratulations Cole Sands on being named the Twins Daily 2024 Most Improved Player Award! Without his middle relief and emergency appearances, the Twins would have never made the season interesting until the final weeks of the season. Granted, a middle reliever in the top spot of this category points more to the lack of improvement across the rest of the young stars that the Twins were hoping to see the shine from in 2024. That's not Sands' fault though. He did the work, got the results, and deserves the honor. Right?

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What are your thoughts on selecting Cole Sands as the Twins Most Improved Player? How about the other candidates? Anybody that you would remove or add to the list?

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[pierre75275]

I think with our Sands and SWR, this season would have looked very very different and not in a good way.

[CRF]

Yeah...I think it would have to be Sands. 

[Trov]

I would fully agree with Sands, but I would not put SWR on the list, and would have Ober much higher on the list.  First, SWR was a rookie, how can you say a rookie was most improved?  If you are saying off his AAA numbers, I would even push back and say he started to improve the second half last year from his terrible first half.  

The reason I would have Ober higher is he has shown he can be a solid number 2 guy, with flashes of being a number 1.  Rocco started to trust him deeper into games.  For the most part, outside of a few blow up starts he was very solid.  He had 19 quality starts, even going complete game, 8 innings at times.  He had 5 starts where he had 3 runs or less allowed and 5 innings, so if given a shot he could have got a quality start.  He will slot into the 2 or 3 roll nicely for next few years, or fetch some good prospects in return when the time comes I think. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

What is the least important position among the 10 players who are "in the game" on a baseball field? Is it starting pitcher? Shortstop? Catcher? Hitter batting 3rd or leadoff? Closer? Or is is "long reliever"?  In this award, called "Most Improved", I submit that the position played, does not matter. However if it did, I would not chose a long reliever for any awards, except "The Best Long Reliever Award". As far as the "2024  Most Improved Award" I would have selected Buck, because he had the most improvement of his WAR. He went from 0.8 to 3.6...the largest improvement by far among all Twins players from 2023 to 2024. 

[Patzky]

We did have improvements in 24, despite the way the year wound down. Can I submit a guess (hope!) for 2025 most improved.. Pablo Lopez, Royce Lewis. If either or both come through we're golden.

[mikelink45]

If this were on the Athletic there would be a least improved or least valuable choice.  We have some choices if we made this selection, and I would nominate Julien as my most disappointing player with Varland a close second. (of course I am ignoring all the great RP we signed and DFA'd).

If this were improvement within the season Wallner would be my choice from demotion to near star status.

[ashbury]

I'm grouchy about naming a team MVP this year, but for Most Improved you've got a great choice in Cole Sands.  I was slow to get on the Griffin Jax train, and I'll be more open this time around.

[bean5302]

12 hours ago, Trov said:

...The reason I would have Ober higher is he has shown he can be a solid number 2 guy, with flashes of being a number 1...

Not for any team in baseball looking for a playoff appearance. Ober finished the season with an ERA of 3.98 ranking 81st in ERA for starters with 70+ innings pitched last year. His Stuff+ is rated at 91 (below MLB average pitch arsenal)

He delivered a quality start or a start with 6.0+ innings and 3 ER or less 58% of the time. He delivered a start with 5.0+ innings and under a 4.00 ERA 18/31 times 58% of the time.

Ace / #1 pitchers do that 70%+ of the time
#2's do that 60%+ of the time

Ober's not an ace. He's not a #2. He'll be 30 years old next year and he doesn't have the stuff to climb any higher.

You know what? This kind of stuff really illustrates how low the bar is for Twins fans. How about this?

Flashes of Ace / #2 pitchers, Nick Blackburn! 23/33 starts in 2009 met that criteria (70%). #54 in ERA of the 150 pitchers with 90+ IP at 4.03 ERA.
33 starts 205 innings 4.03 ERA
31 starts 178 innings 3.98 ERA woot woot!!!! Bailey Ober, Cy Young in the making! Except Blackburn was 2 years younger and not already entering his decline back then.

Nick Blackburn!!! Super ace!