Setting the Twins' Bullpen Pecking Order for 2020

Heading into 2020, rosters will be expanded to 26 players, and most likely the Twins will divide up their roster to have thirteen position players and five starting pitchers. That leaves eight arms in the bullpen for us to figure out how they will fit into the pecking order. I will rank them in order from lowest leverage guys to highest. In 2019 the Twins had 26 players pitch out of the bullpen so obviously the bullpen pecking order will be continuously changing, but for the purpose of this exercise I’ll work out what I believe will be the order on opening day.

Honorable Mentions

A few guys that I don’t believe will make the Opening Day bullpen but should end up in the bullpen at some point.

• Ryne Harper
  
• Fernando Romero
  
• Jorge Alcala
  
• Lewis Thorpe
  
• Devin Smeltzer
  
• Sean Poppen
  

The Lowest of Leverages

8. Matt Wisler

The first move that the Minnesota Twins made this offseason was claiming RHP Matt Wisler off waivers from the Mariners. Wisler was a former highly regarded prospect who had yet to break out in the majors. He had a disappointing 5.61 ERA in 2019, but his 63/16 K/BB ratio is certainly appealing. The Twins handing Wisler a guaranteed contract makes me think he will make the Opening Day roster, however I don’t think he will be entrusted in any scenario other than the lowest of leverage spots to begin the year. Like, Twins are up 13-2 in the seventh inning-type spot.

Low Leverage

7. Cody Stashak

Stashak was a surprise breakthrough for the Minnesota Twins bullpen in 2019. While he had been a great pitcher in each of his stops in the minor leagues, he didn’t show any signs of struggle adjusting to major league hitters. Stashak faced 104 batters with the Twins in 2019 and walked just one (!) of them. Stashak is still young and doesn’t quite have the track record of the other bullpen arms, leaving him in a low leverage spot to start the 2020 season.

Medium Leverage

6. Zack Littell

At this time last year, Twins nation was all up in arms over the lack of impact additions to the bullpen by the front office. If at that time I told you that the Minnesota Twins “medium leverage” bullpen pitcher would be a guy who threw up a 2.68 ERA and a 172 ERA+ the year prior you would be absolutely thrilled. That’s the position that this Twins’ bullpen is in now. Littell was outstanding for the Minnesota Twins in 2019, but with the amount of depth in this bullpen, he’s in a position where he is sixth in the bullpen pecking order and expected to be a medium leverage guy.

Medium-High Leverage/Platoon Guys

5. Tyler Clippard

When the Twins signed Clippard last week, they acquired a two-time All-Star with over 10 years of big league experience. Clippard has a career 3.14 ERA and is coming off of a great season with Cleveland where he posted a 2.90 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. What makes Clippard extremely valuable for the Twins is that even though he is a RHP by biology, he acts as a lefty, allowing a career .187 BA to left-handed hitters. I expect Clippard to be a sixth- or seventh-inning pitcher and be called upon to face left-handers in medium-high leverage situations in 2020.

4. Sergio Romo

While Tyler Clippard has shown extreme success against lefties throughout his career, Sergio Romo has done the same against right-handed hitters. In his career, Romo has allowed righties to hit just a .577 OPS compared to .677 OPS for lefties. I expect both Clippard and Romo to work in similar roles in 2020 as medium-high leverage/platoon guys, dominating opposing lefties and righties respectively.

High Leverage

3. Trevor May

A once-promising starting pitching prospect for the Minnesota Twins, Trevor May has finally put it all together in the bullpen over the past two seasons. Working under Wes Johnson, May was able to get his average fastball velocity up to 95 MPH, which he threw a whopping 62% of the time in 2019. With a K% of 30, the Twins will need to count on May in big spots in 2020, and I have confidence that he will come through.

2. Tyler Duffey

There was no bigger revelation on the entire Minnesota Twins team in 2019 than Tyler Duffey. Coming into the 2019 season, Duffey had a career 5.46 ERA. In 2019, though, Duffey quickly pushed himself into the upper echelon of relief pitchers in all of baseball with his 2.50 ERA, .201 BAA and 34.4 K%. Duffey was frequently called upon as the “fireman” in 2019, and I expect him to be further cemented in as a high leverage pitcher in 2020.

The Highest of Leverages

1. Taylor Rogers

There aren’t enough superlatives to discuss how good Taylor Rogers was in 2019, finishing the season with a 2.61 ERA, 32.4% K%, and 2.1 fWAR (second best in American League). Additionally, Rogers was excellent in high leverage positions, being thrown in to 50 games where he faced high leverage situations, he allowed just a .626 OPS. Rogers is the cream of the crop in terms of baseball relief pitchers and he will undoubtedly be first in the Twins bullpen pecking order heading into 2020.

What are your thoughts on the bullpen pecking order that I laid out? Any changes or disagreements? Do you have a good feeling for where the bullpen is at in 2020? Leave a comment below and start the conversation.

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