Cody Pirkl

5. Luis Arraez’s Particular Set of Skills I have to imagine that pitchers absolutely loathe watching Arraez step up to the plate. Not because he’s going to hit one 450 feet like the Miguel Sanos of the lineup, but because whatever happens next is just not going to be enjoyable. Everything from his contact ability to him furiously shaking his head after every pitch he takes says there’s just no way that can be fun to pitch to. Just ask Edwin Diaz. https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1151331377654239235 The animated quality of at-bats Arraez takes are bound to frustrate and wear on a pitcher. His style is different from the rest of the lineup, as instead of trying to carefully pitch your way around him, you’re just in a constant grind to find a way to get an out. If Arraez gets the chance to lead off in 2020, he can be a big time tone- setter at the beginning of games. 4. Nelson Cruz’s Leadership Nelson Cruz came into the Twins organization last year and asked for a locker next to Miguel Sano. After an up and down career, Sano broke out big time in 2019 and had a lot to say about the effect Cruz had on his success .It was more than Cruz being a certified slugger that helped Sano and the Twins in 2019. He’s a guy that’s been around the block at age 39. He not only understands how to hit, he just understands being a successful human being in the game of baseball. Having Cruz back for another year, especially to be around some of the young talent that could be up in 2020 is extremely valuable because he just seems to make everyone around him better. 3. Sergio Romo’s Personality The man needs no introduction. After being coaxed back to Minnesota this winter by a pot of chili offered by his neighbor, the soft-tossing spark plug will be spinning sliders from the Twins bullpen for an entire season in 2020. Romo’s veteran presence has obvious value for a bullpen of all ages and pitching styles. While he was a three-time world champion in the 2010s, he’s also just a good pitcher even after 12 years in the league and a fastball averaging well under 90 mph. He’s just a fantastic guy whose energy rubs off on everyone around him. It’s also safe to say that through the ups and downs of the season, he’s probably going to keep everybody lighthearted. https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1177087904314642434?s=20 2. Josh Donaldson’s Intensity Josh Donaldson is a fiery guy as Matthew Taylor pointed out last week. He makes it known that he not only comes to play every day of the week, he’s here to beat you. It doesn’t matter if it’s the division-clinching game or the getaway game the day after, it’s getting Donaldson’s 100% effort. There’s a reason so many questions were raised in regard to Donaldson’s fit in this clubhouse. The Twins don’t have anybody like him. By all accounts however, this group has a wide range of characters already present and the atmosphere is fantastic. I think an intense superstar is more of a missing piece of the puzzle rather than a presence that’s going to rock the boat. 1. Rocco Baldelli’s Managing Style Rocco is the glue that holds this roster together. His ties to being a player so recently give him valuable insight into the everyday grind of his players. He’s able to manipulate lineups day in and day out and press the right buttons to keep everybody as fresh as possible. We saw career bests from a lot of the lineup from the 26-year-old Kepler to the 39-year-old Cruz in 2020, and that’s no coincidence. Rocco embraces analytics and always seems to be looking for that next edge in a calm and collected way. It’s difficult to put a number on the effectiveness of a manager, but I’d argue that a Manager of the Year award likely does just as well. Look for Rocco to become even more effective at managing games in 2020, which will be only his second year doing so. Last year was a lot of fun for statistical reasons like setting the home run record and winning 101 games. We were all lucky however in the sense that we got to see everything that the box scores don’t tell you. This year looks like there are going to be even more intangibles to help contribute to another successful season, certainly more than I listed here. Which ones are you most looking forward to? MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here

Advances in analytics have made the notion of “third time through” pretty common knowledge in baseball. It only makes sense that the more at-bats hitters gets against a laboring pitcher in a game, the better chance they have at success. Check out the league-wide slash lines allowed by starting pitchers for every time through the order in comparison to Jake Odorizzi for 2019 though. Jake Odorizzi is an extreme example of the penalty, often seen in a pitcher’s third trip through the order. Despite this glaring flaw, Odorizzi is coming off a career year in 159 innings due to the fact that only about 20% of the batters he faced were seeing him for the third time in an outing. In short, Rocco didn’t allow Odorizzi to show the largest weakness in his game in 2019. Just about every hitter he faced was seeing him at his best. Some pitchers handle the second and third time through better than others. Below you’ll see how Berrios, Pineda, and Bailey have fared throughout their careers: Berrios has done a fine job of maneuvering lineups multiple times as you’d hope from your ace. While Pineda’s career marks are better than 2019s league average, both he and Bailey have seen hitters make significant gains in their third matchups. Bailey in particular really sees them tee off as they get more comfortable. It’s unrealistic to limit these two as aggressively as we’d seen done with Odorizzi in 2019 without wearing down the bullpen. Neither has quite as bad third-time-through stats though, and when considering the padding the offense should be giving regularly, there should be plenty of times to just let them ride. The 26th man all but ensures a 13-man pitching staff, as well, there are plenty of arms down in Triple-A if the bullpen gets overworked for a stretch. At least one of the starting trio of Dobnak, Thorpe and Smeltzer will be ready to provide length as needed. The Twins should have much more opportunity to lift their starters in tight ball games. I’d argue that the rotation that ranked fifth in ERA for the AL in 2019 got better this offseason. That being said, there are certainly some red flags. Most pitchers are not wired to be able to effectively cruise through a lineup three times, and the Twins have at least three who can give up some some serious damage if pushed. Because of that, I think we’ll see Rocco earlier in games get more aggressive with his use of a bullpen that boasts considerable talent and depth. Pineda and Bailey certainly have upside, and having the ability to limit them to two times through the lineup gives them the best chance for success. The rotation may be a weakness for this team, but it’s far from a disaster. Look for Rocco and company to do all they can to get the most value possible from them in 2020. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here

Here are three under the radar relievers that could be surprise bullpen aces in 2020. Jorge Alcala Alcala was acquired for Ryan Pressley in 2018 and was an unspectacular starter at the time. Inconsistent control and a questionable offspeed mix warranted a move to the bullpen midseason in 2019. He went on to put up a 0.98 ERA with 18Ks and 4 walks in 18 innings before getting called up to the majors, where we only saw two appearances from him. His approach was similar to what we’ve seen pitchers like Tyler Duffey be so successful with; Cut out everything but your best offspeed pitch and fastball, which sits mid to high 90s for Alcala. Look forward to seeing what Alcala can do with a full season in the bullpen, even if he doesn’t break camp with the major league team. Cody Stashak Cody’s are cool. Stashak is one of the overlooked arms that have come up through our system because he gets things done in a different way than the Alcala’s of the world. In his 25 MLB innings, he averaged just 91.7 mph on his fastball. Stashak however sports plus command, allowing only 10 walks in 78.1 innings in 2019. While that’s an unexciting skill for some, he also struck out 24.1% of batters he faced in his debut season. That pairing could be very effective, and I’d expect Stashak to only improve further as he tweaks his approach to attacking hitters. He may not reach his career highs in the minors of 30%+ K rates or 12+ K/9, but Stashak may have a ceiling we haven’t yet seen. Stashak should be headed north with the Twins to start the year, and will be getting every opportunity to move up the ladder in the pen. Fernando Romero By now you’ve read this name and you’re moving your mouse to the “close” button on your browser. Please don’t. Romero is essentially in the position that Duffey was last year, as this may be his last shot. We all saw what the Twins were able to unlock in Duffey however, and I’d argue Romero has an even higher ceiling with his big time fastball and still relatively young age. In 2016, his K% was around 25% for the first time since 2016 in A ball, his most successful season to date.The biggest issue for Romero in 2019 however was his walks. 40 of them in 71.2 innings isn’t going to play. It may have been a result of his mechanical tweaks however, as the coaching staff was trying to find a way to make his stuff click. If he can get the walk issue ironed out, he still has the raw stuff to dominate professional hitters as we’ve seen in flashes over the years. You may not believe in Romero at this point, but I’d encourage you to believe in the organization’s ability to find the missing piece. We’re just beginning to see the payoff from a complete overhaul of this organization, especially on the pitching development side. While we discuss these three breakout candidates for our bullpen in 2020, there’s an argument to be made for dozens of other arms in the system who could exceed expectations this season. Expect to see plenty of young guys test their mettle at the major league level. Who’s your bet for our bullpen breakout in 2020? MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email --- Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here