December 10, 2021

Starting pitcher Joe Ryan made his Major League debut in September for the Twins after coming up as a pre-2020 top-100 prospect for the Rays according to Baseball America. His first four starts were solid but he ended on a sour note, allowing six runs to the Tigers in his final outing. That led to a slightly inflated 4.05 ERA that masked an excellent 0.79 WHIP and 30-5 K-BB line. On the other hand, it should be noted that his other starts included two against Cleveland and two against the Cubs, both bottom-10 offenses in terms of team average on the season. Rather than dissecting Ryan's small MLB data sample, it's more important to project his role and team context. Ryan was stuck behind multiple pitching prospects in Tampa, a team notorious for using pitchers in non-traditional roles and shortening their usage. Now, on a rebuilding Twins club that no longer has Jose Berrios or Michael Pineda, 25-year-old Ryan has a chance to establish himself near the top of the rotation. The offense didn't lose any key pieces beyond Nelson Cruz at last year's trade deadline but it was mediocre and may remain so. Early Steamer projections have him winning nine games and posting a 4.36 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 148 K in 142 IP. He will be a later-round pick with upside that can be found just inside the top 200 overall players.--Pierre Camus