Twins Franchise Favorites: The Best Pitchers in Twins History

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Jeffrey Becker, Bruce Kluckhohn--Imagn Images

When conversations turn to Minnesota Twins franchise favorites, it is easy to focus on the bats that carried October runs or the defenders who made iconic plays. Just as often, however, the foundation of Twins baseball has been the men on the mound. From Hall of Fame starters to lockdown closers, the organization has consistently produced pitchers who defined eras and gave fans confidence every fifth day or in the ninth inning.

MLB Network has been creating lists of the franchise favorites for the lineup and pitching staff. Last week, I attempted to create the Franchise Favorite Lineup; it led to plenty of discussion. Minnesota’s best players can be debated, and that adds to the intrigue of the exercise. Here are five starters and relievers, with some honorable mentions at both spots. 

SP: Johan Santana (36.1 rWAR, 10th in franchise history)
Santana stands at the top of any Twins pitching discussion. At his peak, Santana was not just the best pitcher in franchise history, but one of the most dominant arms in baseball. His two Cy Young Awards and ability to control games made him appointment viewing. For a stretch in the mid-2000s, the Twins felt they had the best pitcher in the sport, and that advantage shaped the entire organization.

SP: Bert Blyleven (48.9 rWAR, 5th in franchise history)
Blyleven represents both longevity and excellence. His curveball became legendary, and his statistical résumé places him among the game's greats. While some of his best years came elsewhere, Blyleven’s time with the Twins included critical contributions to championship teams. His Hall of Fame plaque connects Minnesota to baseball history in a tangible way.

SP: Brad Radke (45.3 rWAR, 6th in franchise history)
Radke may not have the same national recognition as others on this list, but his importance to the Twins cannot be overstated. Radke was reliability personified, taking the ball year after year and giving the team a chance to win even when the rest of the roster floundered around him. In an era defined by efficiency and control, Radke embodied what the Twins valued in a frontline starter.

SP: Jim Kaat (35.6 rWAR, 11th in franchise history)
Kaat bridged generations of Twins baseball. His durability and competitive edge anchored the early years of the franchise, and his success helped establish credibility for a young organization. Kaat’s career longevity and eventual Hall of Fame induction underscore his importance both in Minnesota and beyond.

SP: Jack Morris (2.1 rWAR)
Morris brings big-game gravity. While his time with the Twins was brief, his impact was unforgettable. Morris’s performance in the 1991 World Series remains one of the most iconic pitching efforts in baseball history, and that single season cemented his place in Twins lore. He might be the most debatable name on the list, but his place in franchise history is hard to ignore.

RP: Joe Nathan (18.4 rWAR)
Out of the bullpen, Nathan is the standard, with a borderline Hall of Fame career. He transformed the closer role in Minnesota, combining dominance with consistency. He ended his career with 377 saves, and 260 of those came in a Twins uniform. Ninth innings felt shorter when Nathan was on the mound, and his run as one of baseball’s elite closers gave the Twins a level of certainty that few teams enjoyed.

RP: Rick Aguilera (15.5 rWAR)
Aguilera served as the Twins’ primary closer for nearly a decade, finishing his Minnesota career with 254 saves, the most in franchise history until Nathan arrived. Beyond the numbers, Aguilera was trusted in the most significant moments, anchoring the bullpen during the 1991 championship season. His ability to execute in October solidified his place among the most essential pitchers the Twins have ever had.

RP: Glen Perkins (9.0 rWAR)
Perkins represents the modern Twins reliever who also carried emotional weight with the fan base. A Minnesota native who became a three-time All-Star closer, Perkins brought both performance and connection. His peak seasons reminded fans that bullpen dominance could still be homegrown.

RP: Eddie Guardado (9.5 rWAR)
Guardado thrived in chaos. Nicknamed “Everyday Eddie” for a reason, he took the ball whenever needed and delivered in countless high-leverage moments. His versatility and fearlessness made him one of the most trusted arms of his era.

RP: Jhoan Duran (7.3 rWAR)
Duran is the newest name on the list, but his inclusion already feels justified. With triple-digit velocity and a devastating breaking ball, Duran has redefined what is possible out of the Twins' bullpen. His trade last year was disappointing, because he could have been one of the top relievers in team history had he stayed in Minnesota. Though it will be a footnote instead of a headline in team history due to his early exit, the electricity of Duran's signature entrances is one of the brightest spots in an often dark recent stretch of team lore.

The honorable mentions highlight the depth of Minnesota's pitching history. Starters like Camilo Pascual, Dave Goltz, Frank Viola, and Jim Perry each had stretches where they carried the rotation and left a lasting imprint. In the bullpen, Taylor Rogers, Griffin Jax, Juan Rincon, Al Worthington, and LaTroy Hawkins all played key roles in stabilizing late innings across different eras. Leaving any of them off a favorites list is less an indictment than a reminder of how many meaningful arms have passed through the organization.

Together, this group tells the story of the Twins through pitching. It is a history built on reliability, timely dominance, and moments that still linger in the memory of anyone who has followed the team long enough.

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Who would you add to the list? Who should be taken off? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[TopGunn#22]

This kind of stuff is always an interesting topic.  I have a few disagreements:

First, if you're considering "The Franchise" you have to include the Washington Senators and that puts Walter Johnson at the top of the heap.  If you're only considering "Minnesota Twins" I can't argue with Johan Santana being #1 and Bert Blyleven #2.

Jack Morris had one glorious year and you could argue he's more Detroit Tiger and even Toronto Blue Jay than a Twin.  It was a glorious year, but Morris doesn't deserve to be on any "Twins" list.

Neither does Brad Radke when the competition would include a Hall of Famer (who went in as a Twin) in Jim Kaat, a CY Young Award winning, World Series Champion in Frank Viola, and a Cy Young Award winning Twins mainstay of the 1960's and early 1970's Jim Perry.  Radke won 20 games one time and finished 3rd in the Cy Young voting.  The following year, he made his only All Star appearance in route to a 12-14 record and a 4.30 ERA.  He gave up 238 hits in 214 innings pitched.  Hardly the stuff of legends, much less worthy of an All Star nod.  He was awarded that All Star nod based on the previous season.  He basically had ONE good year and a lot of middle of the pack years.  To me, that doesn't qualify for any "All Time Greatest Twins" list.  

Nathan is the greatest closer in Twins history.  It's not even close.  But neither is the comparison of Rick Aguilera to Jeff Reardon.  Reardon had a so/so first year with the Twins, but in the playoffs and World Series was stellar in closing out games for the 1987 World Series Championship.  He was also tremendous the following year with 42 saves.  He then had a poor 3rd year in 1989 and moved on. 

Aguilera was also stellar out of the pen in 1991 and was integral in helping the Twins win the World Series again in 1991.  But Aguilera spent about 10 seasons with the Twins and had a much bigger impact than Reardon.  You could make a valid argument that even Al Worthington had a bigger impact on the Twins than Reardon.  Reardon has the World Series Championship that Worthington doesn't however.  

Let the debate begin on this least.

[TopGunn#22]

LIST !!  (my bad).

[bean5302]

Blyleven takes the cake without question on this one. Even Johan couldn't match his contributions, and while Johan got the awards, the truth is Blyleven produced more value with Minnesota than even Santana did at his peak.

[IndianaTwin]

I don't consider Morris the most debatable on the list. In my mind, there's no real debate at all. One phenomenal night, massive as it was, doesn't outweigh a body of work. Morris was third on bWAR among starters in his one season. 

Much more debatable is which of the four starters named makes sense for the fifth starting spot. bWAR gives a sizeable lead to Pascual, followed by smaller gaps between Perry, Viola, Goltz, followed by a large drop to Tapani. For his role in the establishing the franchise, I'd concur with Pascual as the choice. Pascual actually had more bWAR than Kaat, though Kaat's success more closely aligns with the successful teams of the late 1960s.  

[#3Killer]

Camilo Pascual- much more deserving than all but three on this list. Jim Perry needs to be top 6. Frankie Sweet Music Viola fry's Radke

[Over The Hill Again]

Fun list, thanks. 
 

I’m ok with Radke. Agree he was never “the best” but I always looked forward to his starts. 

[USAFChief]

If it's just since 1961, Bert Blyleven is easily at the top of the list. Go to BRef and check his first Twins stint when he came up as a 19 year old in 1970 until traded in 1976. Never less than 275 IP in a full season, and his worst ERA was 3.18 as a rookie. 101 complete games in that stretch. Read that again...One hundred and one complete games. 

Concur Jack Morris does NOT belong on this list. I'd go Jim Perry, but I can listen to arguments for Pascual and Viola.

 

[TJSweens]

I always hate these lists because it always amounts to picking a favorite member of the WAR family tree. Sorry folks, they just aren't the be all and end all stats that they are made out to be. There are numerous pitchers in Twins history than Radke. Don't get me wrong, I loved Brad. He was a solid, sturdy gamer. Jim Perry, Frank Viola, Camillo Pascual, hell even Dave Boswell, who was on the verge of a monster career before his shoulder exploded in the 10th inning of his playoff start was a better pitcher than Radke.

[Blyleven2011]

An honorable mention of viola , really , if it wasn't for sweet music and circle me Bert  , no chance we would have won the 87 world series , viola MVP  ...

Viola a Cy young winner , honorable mention  , give me a break ...

Twins jim kaat pitched injured in the 65 world series , had kaat been healthy for game 7 , dodger players all say Twins would have won the 65 series  ...

Bert is by far the best right-hander that pitched for the twins , traded in 76 and came home in 86 and helped with 87 world series championship ....

Kaat and Santana were definitely the best left-handers that pitched for the twins ...

Where was campbell , good reliever  , 4 years with twins before Calvin did his thing ...

Tapani or even Erickson should have been at least an honorable mention  ...

Twins have had some good closers but the Vikings have had alot more good runningbacks ...

[Rufus]

I'd take Pascual are Perry over Morris any day.  The only reason Pascual does not have multiple Cy Young's is they only gave out 1 award  for both leagues in the 50's and early 60's.  He should have won in 59 (I know they were still the Senators) regardless.  He was the only pitcher to win 20 games in both 62 and 63.   Perry could possibly have joined his brother as a 300 game winner if the Twins had used him a full time starter role throughout the 60's.  One of the best trades in Twins history, Jack Kralick to Cleveland for Perry straight up.

[gil4]

8 hours ago, TopGunn#22 said:

Radke won 20 games one time and finished 3rd in the Cy Young voting.  The following year, he made his only All Star appearance in route to a 12-14 record and a 4.30 ERA.  He gave up 238 hits in 214 innings pitched.  Hardly the stuff of legends, much less worthy of an All Star nod.  He was awarded that All Star nod based on the previous season.  He basically had ONE good year and a lot of middle of the pack years.  To me, that doesn't qualify for any "All Time Greatest Twins" list.  

I mostly agree with what you wrote, except for your take on Radke.  That 20-win season was not his "one good year."   His ERA was at least 15% better than league average five times (ERA+ of 136, 135, 120, 116, 115.)  He had three more that were 10% better  (114, 111, 110).  Just looking at his raw ERA doesn't give a great indication because he was pitching in a era that favored the hitters.    

I will grant that Radke never received or deserved a Cy Young award, but then Perry really should have been no higher than 3rd in 1970 (McDowell, Palmer.)   

Radke's career ERA+ was 113, the exact same as Perry's was with the Twins.  Radke did it while pitching about 570 more innings (2450 - 1880).   I'd take Radke over Perry.  

[big dog]

Really fun article and discussion. Thanks all. 

[Doctor Wu]

He wouldn't make the top 5, or maybe not even the top 10, but Liriano had some darned good years with the Twins too. My personal pick would be Blyleven, but man, Santana was amazing for that stretch. And going back a few years, Jim Kaat was great too, plus he could hit!

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

He wouldn't make the top 5, or maybe not even the top 10, but Liriano had some darned good years with the Twins too. My personal pick would be Blyleven, but man, Santana was amazing for that stretch. And going back a few years, Jim Kaat was great too, plus he could hit!

and field  

[bean5302]

LOL, the lack of understanding how good Radke was is astonishing around here. He retired at age 33 and was borderline MLB HoF caliber player at that point with 45.6 career bWAR (above HoF Morris' career 43.6). Radke was just behind Blyleven in terms of pitching WAR for the Twins, well ahead of any other Twins pitcher. Radke's career Twins bWAR is 6th in Twins history, just ahead of Tony Oliva.

During Radke's peak, he was a top 10 pitcher in baseball, even by fWAR standards. He pitched during the steroid era, including his last two years with torn rotator cuff and pitched his final season with, literally, a broken shoulder while still being above average. The guy is the most disrespected player in franchise history.


Re: Viola not getting the kind of recognition he deserves, either. 
 

 

[jmlease1]

I don't particularly care that much about the ranking within the selections, but As wonderful as Jack Morris' 1 season was with the Twins, it was 1 season and he wasn't even the best pitcher on the team during the regular season. (Thanks, Kevin Tapani for having a career year in 1991!)

I'd pick Viola (also a WS winner and WS MVP, and deserved his Cy in '88 and was just as good in '87). If you're counting the Senators years, then it's Camilo Pascual...but I can get only going with Twins seasons. I'll take Frank's extra seasons and sustained greatness (he was awesome for the Twins in '89 before getting dealt) over 1 game of magic.

Johan, Kitty, and Bert are easy picks, and I'm down with Radke getting the call. Big Bad Brad was so consistent, he always gave you a chance. He had 1 bad season his whole career (and still had an ERA+ of 95). Even with his shoulder falling off in his final season at 33 he put up an ERA+ of 104 and gave the team 28 starts. (those 2006 Twins are the ultimate "what if?" team to me; a healthy Liriano and Terry Ryan doing something, anything to improve the lineup...) I think people forget just how good Radke was because it was such a high-scoring environment and he played on some rotten teams...but Radke is a twins legend to me.

 

[JADBP]

This is all very interesting.  Lots of great opinions. 

I can't look at a single stat like rWAR or ERA or whatever....these do not quite fully represent the contributions to the team from that one player.  

For example, yeah, Kirby had a long, fabulous career in Minnesota.  But, he brought more than just great plays and timely HR's to the team.  He brought an infectious enthusiasm that we rarely see on this team.  And, with Kirby proclaiming that he will carry the team on his back in game 6...and then backing it up with a masterful performance...that doesn't translate to WAR or BA or any stat.  He was one of the greatest Twins ever--right up there with Walter Johnson (Yes, Topgun!) or Killebrew!  

So, if we just look at magnificent contributions to the Twins, then my list is as follows:

1. Walter Johnson (assuming we can include the Senators).

2. Jack Morris.  Sure it was one  year, but we don't win that 91 WS without him (or Kirby).  And, not just because of games 6 and 7, but the whole season and playoffs.

3. Johann Santana.  His dominance was real, and he was the best pitcher in MLB for 3 years with the Twins!  I have to say it is not his fault that he was traded...he asked, begged for an extension.  Cheap Pohlads (and Terry Ryan) gave away Santana for a ridiculous return.  Then the Mets ruined him with overuse.  I keep thinking about what the Twins would have done if they just extended him!

4.  I'd have to go with Bert.  He was just so good for so long and contributed so much to the team--even after retiring.  I love Bert!

5. Kaat and Viola.  Kaat made great contributions, for a very long time (14 years on top!).  Viola was fantastic.  

6. Joe Nathan.  Was a workhorse.  

So, it doesn't come down to adding up WAR, it comes down to total contribution to the Twins.  

[bean5302]

On 1/21/2026 at 3:43 PM, jmlease1 said:

...Kitty, and Bert are easy picks...

 

Kaat pitched a very long time, but I think he was only the best pitcher in the rotation for one year with the Twins, in 1966. He was usually well behind 1 or 2 other pitchers in terms of bWAR, ERA, etc. I don't mind Kaat being in the Twins HoF, but Radke (45.6) pitching only until age 33 still has more career bWAR than Kaat's (45.2) 25yrs to age 44 in the league.

Blyleven is on another level. Best pitcher in Twins history, hands down.

[Linus]

On 1/22/2026 at 3:27 AM, JADBP said:

This is all very interesting.  Lots of great opinions. 

I can't look at a single stat like rWAR or ERA or whatever....these do not quite fully represent the contributions to the team from that one player.  

For example, yeah, Kirby had a long, fabulous career in Minnesota.  But, he brought more than just great plays and timely HR's to the team.  He brought an infectious enthusiasm that we rarely see on this team.  And, with Kirby proclaiming that he will carry the team on his back in game 6...and then backing it up with a masterful performance...that doesn't translate to WAR or BA or any stat.  He was one of the greatest Twins ever--right up there with Walter Johnson (Yes, Topgun!) or Killebrew!  

So, if we just look at magnificent contributions to the Twins, then my list is as follows:

1. Walter Johnson (assuming we can include the Senators).

2. Jack Morris.  Sure it was one  year, but we don't win that 91 WS without him (or Kirby).  And, not just because of games 6 and 7, but the whole season and playoffs.

3. Johann Santana.  His dominance was real, and he was the best pitcher in MLB for 3 years with the Twins!  I have to say it is not his fault that he was traded...he asked, begged for an extension.  Cheap Pohlads (and Terry Ryan) gave away Santana for a ridiculous return.  Then the Mets ruined him with overuse.  I keep thinking about what the Twins would have done if they just extended him!

4.  I'd have to go with Bert.  He was just so good for so long and contributed so much to the team--even after retiring.  I love Bert!

5. Kaat and Viola.  Kaat made great contributions, for a very long time (14 years on top!).  Viola was fantastic.  

6. Joe Nathan.  Was a workhorse.  

So, it doesn't come down to adding up WAR, it comes down to total contribution to the Twins.  

Bill Smith traded Johan. 

[USAFChief]

On 1/24/2026 at 8:14 AM, bean5302 said:

 

Blyleven is on another level. Best pitcher in Twins history, hands down.

Easily.

[Rigby]

1 - Blyleven                   1 - Nathan

2 - Santana                  2 - Aguilera

3 - Kaat                        3 - Worthington

4 - Pascual                  4 - Perranoski

5 - Perry                      5 - Duran  / Perkins

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[bean5302]

On 1/22/2026 at 3:27 AM, JADBP said:

3. Johann Santana.  His dominance was real, and he was the best pitcher in MLB for 3 years with the Twins!  I have to say it is not his fault that he was traded...he asked, begged for an extension.  Cheap Pohlads (and Terry Ryan) gave away Santana for a ridiculous return.  Then the Mets ruined him with overuse.  I keep thinking about what the Twins would have done if they just extended him!

 

The "cheap Pohlads" used the money from not extending Santana to extend Morneau, Nathan, Cuddyer and later Mauer.

Santana was clear. He wanted the biggest contract a pitcher had ever received, and he got it. Sure, he deserved it, but the Twins weren't going to match that.

The Mets didn't over use Santana, either. Santana averaged similar or fewer inning per start with the Mets than he did with the Twins, and the Mets gave him similar pitch counts to Minnesota. Santana broke down, and whenever Sananta had issues, the Mets shut his season down early to get him treated. If you're talking about the one game they let Santana go 134 pitches in the FIFTH year of his contract for the Mets' first no-hitter in club history, that's really digging.

[JADBP]

On 1/25/2026 at 4:53 AM, Linus said:

Bill Smith traded Johan. 

Wow, damn I forgot that!! Ouch!  Worst trade ever for the Twins.  Worse than trading (forced) of Carew or Big Papi!  

[USAFChief]

13 hours ago, JADBP said:

Wow, damn I forgot that!! Ouch!  Worst trade ever for the Twins.  Worse than trading (forced) of Carew or Big Papi!  

Nitpic, but the Twins didn't trade David Ortiz. They released him.