For this exercise, I’m only including players from 1961 through 2024 who qualified for year-end awards that season, and I’ve excluded short seasons like 1972, 1981, 1994 due to player strikes, and 2020 due to COVID. We also considered roster construction, particularly when it comes to the pitcher’s handling and their ability to handle high-leverage situations. We have included 13 players on striker version of this article, and thus will carry 13 jugs. Without further ado, here is the best active list of rookie pitcher seasons by position.

Ace – 2006 Francisco Liriano
Man, what could have been. Francisco Liriano’s rookie streak was magical and made us feel like the 2006 Twins were a team of destiny. Liriano burst onto the scene with a 28% K-BB rate and a 2.55 FIP while holding opposing batters to a .202 batting average. He would have made the All-Star game and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting despite missing the last two months with a blown out elbow and needing Tommy John.

#2 Starter – 1990 Kevin Tapani
Before Kevin Tapani won Cy Young votes in 1991, he was earning Rookie of the Year votes in 1990. With precision control, the right-hander boasted a 4.4 percent walk rate and did not allow a single walk in 12 of his 28 starts. While hitting wasn’t his calling card, he had a minuscule home run rate and boasted a 3.10 FIP. He went on to be a reliable innings eater for the Twins, White Sox and Cubs.

#3 Starter – 1970 Bert Blyleven
At just 19 years old, Bert Blyleven quickly established himself as one of the best starting pitchers in Major League Baseball. A former third-round pick of the Twins, Blyleven has established a knack for pitching late in early-season games for seven innings or more in 11 of 25 starts. He finished his rookie campaign with a solid 20% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and a 3.18 ERA on his way to a Hall of Fame career.

#4 Starter – 1978 Roger Erickson
Before his career was derailed by a shoulder, Roger Erickson threw 265 2/3 innings for the Twins in 1978 as a 21-year-old rookie right fielder. A very low strikeout rate and .259 opponent batting average led to a 3.96 ERA, but he was able to limit the walks with a solid 7% walk rate. He went on to pitch three more years for the Twins before being traded to the Yankees and making his final major league appearance in 1983.

#5 Starter – 2022 Joe Ryan
It’s not often you’re on the winning end of a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, but the Twins can easily pick up the win in Nelson Cruz for the Joe Ryan trade in 2021. His rookie year saw him throw 147 innings in 27 starts with a 3.55 ERA and a solid 17.2% K-BB rate. His deceptive delivery and unique quick motion make up for his lack of speed and have resulted in a .174 opponent batting average with a run value of 20, ranking as one of the best pitches in baseball. Since then, he has established himself as a mainstay in the top half of the Twins’ pitching rotation.

Spot Starter / Long Reliever – 2012 Scott Diamond
Count me as one who would NOT have thought Scott Diamond would have made the Top 5, but here we are. After seven poor starts in 2011, Diamond managed a 3.54 ERA thanks in part to an impressive 4.3% walk rate, which was necessary given his sub-90 fastball and batting average of opponent’s .271. He was never able to regain his 2012 form and threw his last Major League Baseball pitch in 2013.

Middle relievers – 2005 RHP Jesse Crain2016 LHP Taylor Rogers2006 RHP Bed Neshek2017 RHP Trevor Hildenberger

His postseason shortcomings aside, Jesse Crain was a pretty serviceable reliever and had a stellar 2.71 ERA and .209 opponent batting average as a rookie. What made his effectiveness even more impressive is that he had a NEGATIVE 1.2% K-BB rate, striking out just 25 batters in 79 2/3 innings of relief.

Appearing mostly in low and medium leverage opportunities, Taylor Rogers pitched 61 1/3 innings of relief as a rookie. Despite a solid 18.2% K-BB rate, he boasted a 3.96 ERA, thanks in large part to three appearances in which he allowed 10 of 27 earned runs. The lanky lefty allowed a low 3.9% barrel rate and held hitters to an average 7.8 launch angle as a pitching pitcher.

For me at least, Pat Neshek will go down as one of my favorite twins of all time. His unique sidearm delivery baffled hitters to the tune of a 38.4% strikeout rate, coupled with a 4.3% walk rate and a .174 opponent batting average. His dominance led to a 2.19 ERA in 37 innings and was a key piece to a phenomenal 2006 (regular) season for the organization. On an unrelated note, Neshek was an avid book collector and always welcomed fans to send him memorabilia to sign.

#1 High Leverage – 2009 LHP Jose Mijares
From a pure performance perspective, Neshek deserves the spot, but from a roster construction perspective, we need a lefty capable of handling high leverage situations. Analysis of the 2009 season suggests that Jose Mijares was not a very effective reliever in 2009, but with one of the highest Win Probabilities Added (WPA) for a left-handed reliever in Twins history (2.83), he made it work. In 71 plate appearances, he had a 2.34 ERA and a 21.7% strikeout rate with an opponent batting average of .219. Mijares had somewhat more success in his career with the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants and was suspended for a positive drug test in 2015 and never pitched in Major League Baseball again.

#2 High Lever – 1980 RHP Doug Corbett
One name I wasn’t familiar with before this drill was Doug Corbett, who had 23 saves in 136 1/3 innings in 1980. Wait, he must have been a part-time starter then, right? Not. He had zero starts in 73 appearances and averaged about two innings and seven batters faced per appearance. His 1.98 ERA was a stark contrast to his 3.06 FIP, but regardless, he got the job done with a Twins reliever-record 7.58 WPA and .209 opponent batting average. We need more swing and misses from our outfielder, so despite his impressive WPA, he’s been relegated to a high-leverage role thanks to his 16.8% strikeout rate.

Closer – 2022 RHP John Duran
Twins fans had long heard of Johan Duran’s electric arsenal and finally got to experience it in 2022. His 89.3% slugging percentage was good for sixth in baseball among qualified relievers and he had a .77 .2% on fastball and curveball combined. Furthermore, he limited opposing hitters to an excellent 6.0% walk rate and had a 61.0% groundball rate. All of that added up to the second-best WPA for a reliever in Twins history at 4.56.

What does your starter list look like? Has anyone been rejected? Let me know in the comments!