Doing a little research on the state of Minnesota Twins pitching under the Derek Falvey & Thad Levine regime from 2017 to current. These gents were brought in because they were supposedly going to turn around the Twins pitching woes. Let’s see how they are progressing.
There is never any “perfect” way to compare players or teams but I use WAR for other comparisons and I will use it again here. Here is how the Twins pitching staff compared to other pitching staffs across MLB. Keep in mind we are ranking entire pitching staffs and not starting rotations here.
2022 – The Twins pitching staff had a WAR of 10.1 ranking them 20th in MLB and 11th in the American League with only the Royals at 9.7, the Rangers at 8.5, the A’s at 6.4 and the Tigers at 4.7 rating lower. Houston had the highest pitching WAR at 25.0 in the AL.
2021 – The Twins pitching staff had a WAR of -0.1 ranking them 28th in MLB and 14th in the American League with only the Rangers at -0.3 being worse. The Yankees had the highest pitching WAR at 27.8 in the AL.
2020 – In a 60-game season the Twins pitching staff had a WAR of 5.7 ranking them 14th in MLB and 7th in the American League keeping in mind that schedules and divisions were should we say, unusual? The Indians pitching staff had the best WAR at 9.4 in MLB
2019 – The Twins pitching staff had a WAR of 16.8 ranking them 9th in MLB and 6th in the American League. The AL leader in pitching WAR were the Rangers at 23.3. Looks like the year of the “home run” took its toll on all the pitching staffs.
2018 – The Twins pitching staff had a WAR of 9.2 ranking them 22nd in MLB and 11th in the American League. Houston had the best pitching WAR at 28.3 in MLB.
2017 – The Twins pitching staff had a WAR of 9.0 ranking them 22nd in MLB and 12th in the American L.eague. Cleveland had the best pitching WAR at 31.4 in MLB.
Bottom line – But if you look at the entire six years that this Dynamic Duo has been in charge of the Minnesota Twins the numbers show that the Minnesota Twins pitching WAR during this period is 50.8 ranking them 26th in MLB and 14th in the American League. Only the Padres at 45.3, the Marlins at 43.6, the Orioles at 42.3 and the Pirates 35.5 rank lower.
Just for fun let’s compare how Twins pitching ranked during each of their different stadium era’s.
Met Stadium 1961-1981 – Twins pitching WAR ranked 6th in MLB with a 315.3 WAR and this put them at number 3 in the American League behind the MLB and AL leading White Sox at 352.5 and the Yankees ranked 2nd in the AL with a 335.5 WAR.
Metrodome 1982-2009 – Twins pitching WAR ranked 9th in MLB with a 407.9 and this put them at number 7 in the AL.
Target Field 2010-2022 – Twins pitching WAR of 117.8 ranks 27th in MLB and dead last in the AL. Only the NL Pirates at 117.3, the D-Backs at 104.5 and the Padres at 102.1 are worse. Is this crazy or what?