Twins' Pitchers Fantasy Baseball Preview | Pablo Lopez, Jhoan Duran, Joe Ryan, Griffin Jax, Bailey Ober and More

Let's wrap up our fantasy baseball preview on the Minnesota Twins by discussing the team's pitchers. We looked at hitters in another article.

We've covered the Giants (hitters and pitchers), Athletics (hitters and pitchers), Pirates (hitters and pitchers), Mariners (hitters and pitchers), Rockies (hitters and pitchers), Rays (hitters and pitchers), Braves (hitters and pitchers) and White Sox (hitters and pitchers) already.

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Top Fantasy Pitchers

There's a few Minnesota pitchers appearing on the ADP list so far.

Pablo Lopez is the first Twin, going at pick 58.11 on average.

Bailey Ober is next up at pick 88.56 on average. Closer Jhoan Duran is not far behind at pick 96.28.

Joe Ryan is next up at pick 108.5. Griffin Jax is also on the list at pick 165.17.

Lopez is coming off a bit of a down 2024 campaign. His earned run average rose over 0.40, and his innings, and strikeouts went way down.

In 185 1/3 innings across 32 starts, Lopez had a 4.08 ERA. He won 15 games, but also lost 10. He struck out 198 batters.

Many thought that Lopez was entering his prime after his big 2023 season, but he took a step back. He's still going fairly early in fantasy drafts, which leaves Lopez as a bust candidate, even if he has some good bounceback potential too.

I'm fine taking Lopez in fantasy drafts, but would prefer him a round or two after his current ADP. He should be a fantasy team's No. 3 starting option at best. If you take him as your top option, you'd better really draft well behind him.

Ober had his best season as a pro in 2024. He made 31 starts and logged career highs in several stats as a result.

Ober went 12-9 with a 3.98 ERA. He struck out 191 batters in 178 2/3 innings. Most of those numbers were in line with his career marks, but more starts/innings helped him be a better fantasy asset.

The strikeouts are great, and his ERA isn't bad, but I also think Ober is going a bit too early in fantasy drafts. A half round or so back would make me a lot happier as a fantasy owner.

If you can land him later than his ADP, I have no problem taking Ober as a fourth or fifth fantasy SP option - anything more than that and I think you are going to be disappointed with the results.

If you've been following along in my early-season articles, you know I'm pretty high on Duran. He's coming off his worst season, but it's made him a really good value pick.

In 58 games last season, Duran went 6-9, but with a respectable 3.64 ERA and 23 saves. He struck out 66 batters over 54 1/3 innings.

His strikeouts per nine innings mark dropped by over a strikeout, but they still were pretty good. Duran looks like he will open the season as the team's closer, and if he can stay healthy this season, I see much better results by the end of the season.

He's best drafted as a second fantasy closer, but I also wouldn't be upset with him as my top option if you got a couple other closer options in the later rounds. I think there's enough upside to warrant a pick near his ADP, and would love it if I got him a round or more later.

Ryan saw most of his statistics drop last season, but that was because he only got in 23 starts.

He went 7-7 in those starts, while posting a 3.60 ERA. Ryan had 147 strikeouts over 135 innings.

Health is an issue, but there's some good value in Ryan if you can get him around his ADP. He could be a big draft steal if he pitches even to his career marks over a full season.

He's a good secondary fantasy starting pitcher option, but should remain a keeper all season if he's healthy. Unless his ADP goes way up in the final month before the regular season kicks off, I really like the fantasy value you are getting with Ryan.

It's rare to see a non-closer on the ADP list, but that's what Jax is.

Jax filled in for Duran when he was injured last season, and was the team's top reliever all season. In 72 appearances, Jax went 5-5 with a 2.03 ERA and 10 saves. He struck out 95 batters over 71 innings.

Even if he's a setup man to Duran all season, Jax might score enough with a low ERA and big strikeout numbers to still be a fantasy asset in a bunch of leagues. I personally would try to avoid taking a non-closer in a standard league, because your final draft picks should be giving your team depth.

Taking Jax after drafting Duran earlier makes some sense, but it's also taking up a valuable roster spot in a standard or slightly deeper league. The deeper the league, the more valuable Jax gets. If he pitches as well as he did in 2024, he still could be a deep-league threat and a standard league option in a pinch.

Other Starting Options

We've hit on several of the Minnesota pitchers already, but there's still a few other projected arms to take note of.

Simeon Woods Richardson and Chris Paddack are the final two projected starting pitchers for the Twins.

Cole Sands is another setup option for Duran, while Brock Stewart, Jorge Alcala, Danny Coulombe and Michael Tonkin are other relief options. Eiberson Castellanos is the projected long reliever after being the team's rule 5 draft pick this offseason.

Woods Richardson had a decent showing in his first pretty full MLB season in 2024. In 28 starts, Woods Richardson had a 5-5 record and 4.17 ERA. He struck out 117 batters over 133 2/3 innings.

There were times where he was a hot waiver wire name in 2024, and he'll be streamable again this coming season. He's a better deep-league option to begin the season, and will probably be a keeper in those leagues all season.

Paddack made 17 starts last season, going 5-3 with a 4.99 ERA. He struck out 79 batters over 88 1/3 innings.

There's a little fantasy value with Paddack, but he's a notch below Woods Richardson. He could make some standard league starts if he's in a groove, but will mostly be a deep-league option.

With Duran and Jax at the end of the pen, there's not much room for another reliever to be a good fantasy asset. Castellano isn't likely going to be a big asset, but could maybe steal a rotation spot if he's pitching well out of the pen.

Top Prospects

The Twins do not have a pitching prospect ranked in the top 100 to start the season.

Castellanos, Marco Raya, Andrew Morris and Cory Lewis are three of the team's top-30 prospects from the end of last season who could help the team out in 2025.

Raya has a 3.75 ERA across three minor league seasons. In 225 1/3 innings, he's struck out 244 batters, walked 89 and allowed a .218 batting average. He's expected to debut at some point in 2025.

Morris has a 2.56 ERA across parts of three minor league seasons so far. In 218 1/3 innings, Morris has 213 punchouts, 51 walks and a .235 average against him. He's also expected to debut in 2025.

Lewis has a 2.50 ERA across two minor league seasons so far. In 180 1/3 innings, Lewis has 210 strikeouts, 73 walks and a .210 average against him. He too is expected to debut this coming season.

Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Travis Adams are three more pitchers age 25 or younger who are in big league camp with Minnesota this season.