The Minnesota Twins put together a respectable lineup for the 2022 season, after adding Gio Urshela, Gary Sanchez, and Carlos Correa while re-signing Byron Buxton.
With Luis Arraez and young outfielders Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, and Trevor Larnach, the unit had the potential of being very good.
Their pitching, on the other hand, was full of question marks.
Baseball is such an unpredictable game that the Twins have a top pitching staff and their offense hasn’t been as good as expected.
They have the fourth-best ERA in MLB with 3.01, but their lineup has been somewhat underwhelming without Buxton.
The dynamic slugger, thankfully, dodged a bullet with a recent knee injury.
But back to the pitching.
“The #MNTwins pitching staff has allowed 4 or fewer runs in 20 games this season (out of 24 total), most in the Majors. Mariners, Yankees, Dodgers, Brewers tied at 19 behind them; Giants and Mets next at 18,” Do-Hyoung Park tweeted.
The #MNTwins pitching staff has allowed 4 or fewer runs in 20 games this season (out of 24 total), most in the Majors.
Mariners, Yankees, Dodgers, Brewers tied at 19 behind them; Giants and Mets next at 18.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) May 4, 2022
A Competitive Staff
It means that more often than not, the Twins’ staff is good enough to keep the team in the game.
Two of the recently acquired rotation pieces, Chris Paddack and Dylan Bundy, are performing like stars in the early going.
Paddack is currently sporting a solid 3.15 ERA in 20 innings, while Bundy, who had a disastrous 2021 in Los Angeles, is posting a 2.95 ERA in 21.1 frames.
Second-year hurler Joe Ryan, who came to Minnesota in the Nelson Cruz trade last season, has also been impressive, with a 1.63 ERA in 27.2 frames.
Youngsters Jhoan Duran and Josh Winder have been fantastic in key roles, too, while Bailey Ober, Josh Winder, Griffin Jax, and other homegrown arms have responded as well.
Overall, pitchers are having an impressive start of the season in Minnesota.
NEXT: Twins And Miguel Sano Have An Important Decision To Make Soon