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While there were many pitchers in the Twins rotation and bullpen who had solid starts in 2023, such as Caleb Thielbar posting a 1.93 ERA in 10 relief appearances, or Tyler Mahle having a few solid starts before going on the Injured List.
There were three Twins pitchers who really set themselves apart as the top of the pack in April. Here’s how they rank. Feel free to discuss in the Comments.
Honorable Mention #2: Joe Ryan
Joe Ryan needs only his fastball, split finger, and sweeper to keep hitters guessing and off-base. Hitters only had a .186 average against Ryan in 32 innings across his five April starts.
Ryan may not be leading the Twins rotation in strikeouts - Pablo Lopez leads the way with 46 so far - but he has shown the best command of the strike zone out of any starter, walking only four batters in his five starts so far.
With 36 strikeouts and just four walks, Ryan’s K/BB sits fourth best in all of baseball at 9.0. He trails only George Kirby (12.0), Jacob deGrom (11.3), and Zac Gallen (10.2).
A stellar command of the strike zone and his new pitch and pitch mix have kept Ryan progressing after a solid rookie campaign in 2022, but there is still room for growth in his sophomore campaign. Who knows? That could keep him on these monthly lists of Twins best pitchers in the coming months.
Honorable Mention #1: Jorge Lopez
Lopez has had a major turnaround from his short time with the Twins after being acquired from the Orioles at the 2022 trade deadline.
He has opened the 2023 season with 13 scoreless appearances, making him the ninth pitcher in franchise history to do so. The last Twins reliever to accomplish it was Joe Smith, just last season, and his streak extended to 16 games.
On top of that, Lopez has only walked one batter in the 12 innings so far this season. He has had a lot of quick innings with a lot of quick outs. He has 10 strikeout to counter just one walk.
Lopez is a rare reliever with a five-pitch arsenal, which he developed over years as a starter, and outstanding command of the strike zone. Lopez’s feats haven’t gone unnoticed by fans. He has anchored himself as the setup man to Jhoan Duran in the Twins bullpen, but his performance in April could only be topped by one man. The one who is leading all MLB starters in ERA.
Pitcher of the Month: Sonny Gray
Sonny Gray finds himself on top of the baseball world right now when it comes to earned run average. No starting pitcher has allowed fewer runs than Gray in the first month of the 2023 season. Hopefully he can maintain this level of success into May and beyond.
Gray’s competitiveness has been at the forefront of his success throughout his career, but especially throughout the entire month of April. His clearly audible grunts with every pitch thrown is a telltale sign that he gives everything he has to each and every pitch.
He’s one of only four players with a bWAR over 2.0 to start the season with only Gerrit Cole (2.3 bWAR) ahead of him as Gray is tied at 2.1 bWAR with Shohei Ohtani.
Gray has had only one month in his career where his ERA was lower than 0.77. That was in August of 2019 when he posted a 0.74 ERA in 36 2/3 innings across six starts for the Reds.
The most phenomenal stat of them all from this month may just be his ERA+ as it leads all pitchers in baseball at 567. This places him 467% lower than the league-average starter. The next closest pitcher to him in ERA+ is Cole, who sits at a 395 ERA+ to start his season.
There’s no telling how the rest of the year will play out for Gray but this is his best start to a season in his career. The expectations are high for where his season can go from here.
What do you think? Would you rank these three pitchers the top for the month? Is this how you would rank them? Leave your thoughts in the COMMENTS below.
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