Grading Every Player Who Appeared for the Twins in 2026: Pitchers

Thirty-two different pitchers made at least one appearance for the Minnesota Twins in 2026. It's certainly a sign of the times. Twenty years ago, in 2006, the team used barely over half that number (17). 

This Twins staff had plenty of injuries, but the front office also churned-and-burned through arms as they looked to account for innings on a staff depleted by the 2025 deadline firesale. As you get to the bottom of the list below, you might start running into names you barely remember. 

Here are my grades for all 32 hurlers who appeared for the Twins this season, in order of innings pitched.

Taj Bradley (178.1 IP): A-
Huge breakout and without a doubt that biggest individual bright spot for the Twins this year. He threw the most innings of any Minnesota starter in the last two seasons despite an IL stint, joining 2023 Pablo López and 2018 José Berríos as the only Twins since 2010 to strike out 200 hitters. Posted a career-best 3.73 ERA and 3.82 FIP. Team went 18-13 in his starts.

Joe Ryan (144.2 IP): B-
Seemingly a harsh grade for one of the team's two All-Stars, but Ryan's second half (once again) did so much to undo all of the great work from early on. He missed a month with a glute injury and struggled mightily when on the mound, going 1-5 with a 6.82 ERA and 11 homers allowed in seven post-break starts. His inability to stay effective throughout a full season has become such a bummer.

Bailey Ober (131 IP): C
Against all odds, Ober held his own with the lowest top-end velocity of any pitcher in baseball, posting a slightly below-average 95 ERA+. Missed time and logged fewest innings in four years but the big righty was a stable back-of-rotation arm.

Zebby Matthews (130.1 IP): C-
Maddeningly inconsistent. Matthews showed great flashes at times, and stayed mostly healthy, but his proneness to homers and clunker outings resulted in a sub-par 4.90 ERA. When the Twins added to their rotation at the deadline, he was the one demoted, which seems telling.

Connor Prielipp (125.2 IP): B-
An even more encouraging season than this grade would suggest. His ERA (4.87) was barely lower than Matthews, but Prielipp did it with much better peripherals and mixed in a very strong finish, which was especially reassuring as he ventured deep into unprecedented workload territory.

Andrew Morris (73.2 IP): C+
Much like Ryan, an instance where a very poor finish diminished much of the good work leading up to it. Acclimating to the majors and a full-time relief role simultaneously, Morris was brilliant for much of his rookie campaign, posting a 2.98 ERA through 47 appearances and elevating into the top setup role. But he cratered in the last six weeks with a 8.80 ERA and five losses in his final 16 appearances, leading to merely average numbers overall.

Taylor Rogers (60.1 IP): C+
A valued veteran presence whose performance on the mound was mediocre, with the caveat that most of his worst outings came in garbage time. Stayed healthy, led team in appearances.

Travis Adams (59 IP): C-
Brutal in May and June, but quietly rounded into form during the second half with a 3.31 ERA and 3.66 FIP from July 1st onward. It wasn't enough to salvage a 90 ERA+, but the promising finish should give Adams a leg-up in next year's bullpen competition.

Dean Kremer (54.1 IP): B+
Deadline acquisition pitched very well in 10 starts as a Twin, holding opponents to two or fewer runs in seven of them en route to a 3.48 ERA that greatly outshined his numbers before the trade. He won four of five decisions.

Kody Funderburk (51 IP): B+
Another pitcher who really turned a corner in the second half, shaking off his control struggles to post a 3.03 ERA with 36 strikeouts and only one home run and nine non-intentional walks allowed in 34 post-June appearances. 

Yoendrys Gómez (49.2 IP): B+
The start to his Twins career could have hardly been better: 1.85 ERA with a perfect 20-for-20 save conversion rate through 44 appearances. The final stretch would have hardly been worse: 10.13 ERA with two blown saves in his final 12 games. The sum result, though, was a very solid season as a Twin. He led the bullpen in WPA and filled a crucial need out of nowhere. (We're not factoring his nine ugly outings with the Rays.)

Simeon Woods Richardson (47.2 IP): F
Stunning fall from grace. A multi-year rotation staple, Woods Richardson ended the 2025 season with momentum but fell flat in 2026, posting a 7.74 ERA in 12 appearances (10 starts) before being waived in early June.

Eric Orze (41.1 IP): D-
Pitched his way out of the team's plans with a 5.66 ERA through 36 appearances. For what it's worth, the 3.34 FIP looks a lot better and suggests bad luck was in play, but the Twins never saw fit to recall him from Triple-A after an early-June demotion.

Anthony Banda (34.1 IP): C
Got off to a rough start, was on his way to turning it around before a season-ending lat injury suffered in late June. Ultimately the 4.46 ERA is nothing to write home about. 

Mike Paredes (34.1 IP): C-
For Paredes, a 4.72 ERA actually is something to write home about. He was far down the pitching depth chart entering this season, but stepped up as attrition struck. Made five starts among nine appearances and generally did his job by keeping the Twins in games. The 18-to-13 K/BB ratio doesn't paint him as an arm worth counting on in the future.

Kendry Rojas (29.2 IP): B
Showcased impressive stuff and velocity in limited action, posting a 3.34 ERA with 34 strikeouts and just two home runs allowed across 29 ⅔ innings. The control issues are a problem though, with 22 walks removing some of the luster. Didn't pitch for Twins after August 2nd, which is unfortunate.

Tommy Nance (26.2 IP): C+
Sort of a middling acquisition when Minnesota targeted him in early July, he pitched shockingly well for a stretch: 1.35 ERA through 14 appearances. Nance unsurprisingly regressed from there, allowing runs in seven of his last 10 appearances to finish with a 4.21 ERA as Twin.

A.J. Minter (22.2 IP): A-
Pretty much exactly what you want from a rental reliever. He posted a 2.78 ERA and 22-to-6 K/BB ratio in 25 appearances with the Twins.

Mick Abel (20.1 IP): B+
Since we're only grading here based on time spent on the field, Abel was quite good. He struck out 25% of batters faced, allowed zero home runs, and threw 13 shutout innings in his last two starts. Unfortunately, he went down in April with an elbow injury that ultimately required surgery and ended his season.

Justin Topa (19 IP): F
Gave up 27 hits (including four homers), 11 walks and 17 earned runs in 19 innings before being released in May. 

Jeff Hoffman (18 IP): A-
The front office's marquee deadline addition looked fantastic after being acquired, allowing just nine hits (zero home runs) with 27 strikeouts in 18 innings. A truly dominant arm that could've been a real difference-maker if the Twins were able to stay in the fight. 

Cody Laweryson (16.2 IP): D
Surprisingly made the bullpen out of camp but failed to reward the team's confidence with a 4.86 ERA and 5.08 FIP across 16 ⅔ innings of work. He was released in August to make room on the 40-man roster for Minter.

Cole Sands (12 IP): F
Threw only 12 innings all year with an 8.25 ERA. Completely lost season that puts his career outlook in jeopardy, especially on the heels of an underwhelming 2025. 

Garrett Acton (11 IP): D
There are things to like about his pitch arsenal, but a 5.73 ERA in 11 innings between injuries is what it is.

Luis Garcia (8.2 IP): F
Gets no worse than this. In nine excruciating appearances, the washed-up veteran allowed 10 earned runs while striking out just two of 42 batters faced.

Justin Lawrence (6 IP): F
Another forgettable midseason relief flier. Gave up a whopping 12 earned runs in just six frames, averaging more than three baserunners allowed per inning.

Marco Raya (6 IP): B
Wish we could have seen a little more of the intriguing young righty. He got the job done in his three two-inning appearances, allowing just two runs for a 3.00 ERA, but was far from dominant.

John Klein (4.1 IP): D+
Barely got any chances. Struggled to throw strikes when he did, issuing four walks with just two strikeouts. 

Jack Anderson (4.1 IP): A
I didn't remember him pitching this well, to be honest. Allowed zero runs, two hits and one walk with six strikeouts in his four appearances. That's very fine work. Wasn't enough to earn him any opportunities in the majors after July, but Anderson remains on the 40-man roster for now.

Woo-Suk Go (4 IP): F
Flashed mildly intriguing stuff but allowed eight hits in four innings of work.

Austin Voth (4 IP): F
Made only one appearance and it wasn’t pretty; the Dodgers went 11-for-24 against him and scored five earned runs. 

Zak Kent (3.2 IP): D-
Gave up a hit or walk to nine of the 20 batters he faced in two relief outings.

The Twins cycled an awful lot of arms to get through 2026, but they came out of the churn with some important answers. Bradley emerged as a legitimate rotation anchor, Prielipp held up through a breakthrough workload, and several younger pitchers showed enough to warrant continued opportunities.

There are still plenty of questions to answer — especially with Ryan and Ober coming off uneven seasons and the bullpen remaining unsettled — but compared to where this pitching staff stood after last year's deadline teardown, there's at least a clearer foundation to build around. And as we just learned, it will be a new pitching group leading the way.

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