A Revised Arsenal Could Lead to a Breakout 2027 Campaign For Garrett Acton

[Cody Schoenmann]

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Acquired from the Miami Marlins for right-handed pitching prospect Logan Whitaker on April 2, Garrett Acton joined the Minnesota Twins' 40-man roster, hoping to pitch more than the one inning he threw for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2025. The 28-year-old accomplished that feat in his first appearance as a Twin, facing eight batters over two innings against the Detroit Tigers on April 9. Acton pitched 4 2/3 more innings that month, netting an impressive 2.70 ERA, 2.20 FIP, and a 32.1% strikeout rate—before being placed on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder strain on April 26. He was later transferred to the 60-day IL, before joining the Triple-A St. Paul Saints' roster on August 1.

“The shoulder thing was a hiccup.” Acton said. “[But] I feel like it’s largely been a successful year … I’ve learned a lot from Pete [Maki] and Luis [Ramirez].” Before receiving insight from the Twins pitching coaches, however, Acton had already gotten good advice. He believes his time in Miami played a big role in his success this season.

 

“I guess one of the things that was kind of an emphasis with Miami was expanding the arsenal, right?" he said. "In spring training, I was working on a sweeper, obviously, and a kick change. Coming over here, [Maki and Ramirez] were like, ‘You have two really good pitches in your fastball and slider. Let’s get a third pitch.’ And that ultimately ended up being my old changeup.”

 

Before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023, Acton threw his four-seamer 69% of the time; his slider 23% of the time; and his changeup 9% of the time with the then-Oakland Athletics. In his one inning pitched for Tampa Bay last season, he threw only his four-seamer (81%) and change (19%). Yet, with Minnesota this season, he has almost exclusively become a fastball-slider pitcher, throwing his four-seamer 54% of the time and his slider 45%. He throws what Baseball Savant categorizes as a splitter 1% of the time; that's the “old changeup” Acton was referring to.

 

“(We prioritized) tightening up the arsenal," the journeyman explained. "But the emphasis was still the same. Dominate the strike zone pre-[two-strike counts], be able to expand, and use my best pitch [once I get to two strikes].”

 

After being recalled from Triple-A when major-league rosters expanded to 28 players on September 1, Acton initially pitched well. with four innings of one-run ball in his first two appearances. He fanned four and allowed just five baserunners in those outings. Things went sour on Sunday against the White Sox, but Acton felt he tapped into something real and valuable.

 

“Ultimately, I’m trying to play the north-south game," he said. "I’m trying to get some killshots up [with my fastball]. I know that’s where I’m going to generate most of my swing-and-miss … But I also need to be able to work below with my slider and change.”

 

The Sunday night shellacking got Acton a ticket back to St. Paul on Labor Day, as the Twins reinstated Joe Ryan from the injured list. He was optioned, but not cut loose from the organization. There's still a chance for him to have an impact next year.

 

Some of the club’s eight-pitcher bullpen is already constructed for 2027. Given good health, Yoendrys Gómez, Jeff Hoffman, Andrew Morris, Kody Funderburk, and Tommy Nance are all but guaranteed their spots. A slew of mid-to-low-leverage candidates presently possess 40-man roster spots alongside Acton: Travis Adams, Jack Anderson, Marco Raya, and Eric Orze, with Cole Sands, Mike Paredes, and Anthony Banda set to return from the injured list before spring training. There's ample room for an affable late bloomer with plus stuff to carve out a role, though, and Acton is closer to doing so now than he was five months ago—even if much of the time between then and now was spent mired in frustrating stasis.

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[bean5302]

He's fine as a back end bullpen option for next year, but his optioning back to AAA says the Twins don't believe in him. He'll be 29 next year with 17 innings to his big league career.

Man, the looming lock out is truly depressing. I hope guys like Acton find a way to put pressure on the MLBPA to start negotiating and giving the middle finger to the Bryce Harpers sitting on their mountain of cash who want another "victory" with not a care in the world.

[bean5302]

@PuckettPond cheering for a lost season here, love it!

[Andy MacPhail]

Good job, Cody, I agree with you. I love the way that MIA ground their pitchers. IMO, they are great trade partners for MN to build on them, even better than our own pitchers. IMO, Acton could be a smart & successful pitcher

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

To me he looks similar to someone like Emilio Pagan.  I think there is definitely some rough patches and there is a big difference between MLB and AAA- but he has upside.  We will see if he can figure it out or not.  

[Cody Schoenmann]

36 minutes ago, Andy MacPhail said:

Good job, Cody, I agree with you. I love the way that MIA ground their pitchers. IMO, they are great trade partners for MN to build on them, even better than our own pitchers. IMO, Acton could be a smart & successful pitcher

many are saying Peter Bendix is the next Andy MacPhail

[MMBoys93]

.131 opp BA and huge whiff numbers in AAA this year.

 

Find a way to get in the zone more and he could be a big part of the pen next year 

[DJL44]

The Twins have used 20 different relief pitchers this season so the idea of an 8-man bullpen is misleading. Optionable minor league depth is necessary. That’s Acton’s role in 2027.

[Twins_Fan_For_Life]

Acton is not the worst bullpen arm the Twins have run out there this year. Think of the garbage pitchers used.

[AceWrigley]

5 hours ago, bean5302 said:

He's fine as a back end bullpen option for next year, but his optioning back to AAA says the Twins don't believe in him.

I don't think that's the case rather, he threw the most bullpen pitches (49) over the 3 days leading up to Joe Ryan being activated. With a game on Monday he looked like the obvious guy to go down.

[MMBoys93]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

The Twins have used 20 different relief pitchers this season so the idea of an 8-man bullpen is misleading. Optionable minor league depth is necessary. That’s Acton’s role in 2027.

You can base your opinion off of 11 major league innings all you want, but a deep dive shows that he is one of the most dominant relievers in the minor leagues.

In the second half he limited opponents to a .421 ops on a .114/.235/.186 line.

Even in the limited major league innings, his whiff rate is 98th percentile. He’s might be depth, but he’s high ceiling depth that teams with consistently elite bullpens crave and finesse the approach of every single year 

[MMBoys93]

Mason Miller might be known for his fastball velo but his slider is his dominant pitch.

He’s generated a 54.8% whiff rate

Acton’s slider- 48.8%

Jax’ sweepers best season- 46%

 

[DJL44]

17 minutes ago, MMBoys93 said:

You can base your opinion off of 11 major league innings all you want, but a deep dive shows that he is one of the most dominant relievers in the minor leagues.

In the second half he limited opponents to a .421 ops on a .114/.235/.186 line.

Even in the limited major league innings, his whiff rate is 98th percentile. He’s might be depth, but he’s high ceiling depth that teams with consistently elite bullpens crave and finesse the approach of every single year 

That doesn’t matter as much if he continues to walk 4-5 batters per 9 innings. His control is his problem, not his stuff.

I am rooting for him, but he is going to be 29 with very little time in the major leagues. It is a bad sign he is still working on a 3rd pitch at age 28.

[bjorks]

I can think of at least 16 pitchers WORSE than Acton we've deployed since last year's sell off or earlier - Topa, Laweryson, Luis Garcia, Justin Lawrence, Jack Anderson, Woo Suk Go-away, Austin Voth, Zak Kent, Jorge Alcala, Pierson Ohl, Thomas Hatch, Michael Tonkin, Brooks Kriske, Genesis Cabrera, Jose Urena, Noah Davis. 

If Acton is nothing more than organizational depth, he's at got at least one thing elite (or close to) that most of these other arms don't or lost or never had.