After three years and a great deal of perseverance, the returns on everyone’s Joe Ryan stock are beginning to mount.
The Minnesota Twins defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Monday afternoon thanks to another masterful pitching performance by Ryan. The Twins are 22-11 since the beginning of the season, and Ryan’s rise to prominence as the pitching staff’s ace is largely responsible for this success.
After Monday’s victory, Ryan received high marks from Twins manager Rocco Baldelli for both his pitching performance against the Royals and his assimilation into a more prominent role this season.
According to Baldelli, “it’s not just like he’s throwing hard,” as reported by the Start Tribune. “He’s locating his pitches, he’s putting them in great places, and that’s a good combination for him.”
Ryan’s fastball has never been better, and he’s crushing hitters at a rate that implies he’s turned the corner to become the team’s ace. That’s been his recurring theme this season. This is great news for several reasons, not the least of which being that Pablo Lopez, the team’s main player, has been going through some rough times.
Although Ryan was viewed as Lopez’s Batman’s Robin, it appears the Twins may be developing a Superman scenario, which is utterly fascinating to watch.
At last, Joe Ryan appears to be the star that Minnesota needs him to be.
Ryan has thrown 67 innings this season with 11 starts, a 2.96 ERA, and a 73-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The extent of his progress cannot be overstated, and his fastball velocity over time provides the most accurate development chart.
Observing his abilities in play this season has been both breathtaking and terrifying for batters attempting to understand him. Ryan is simply dominating hitters with his great location and sheer overwhelming strength; he isn’t pitching anything extremely sophisticated.
After assisting Sonny Gray in leading the staff the previous season, Lopez has found it difficult to regain his footing. Gray didn’t seem to want to return and Minnesota didn’t make much of an effort to get him back this offseason, which increased the burden on Ryan to step up and make up for that missed output.
He has accomplished that and more thus far.
The Twins gave Lopez a contract extension last season, which established a scenario in which Ryan and Lopez would be the team’s dominant pitchers for the ensuing few seasons. The fact that both men have contracts through 2028 makes Ryan’s star turn even more delightful.
When Lopez finally comes to terms with things, the Twins will have two pitchers who have the ability to lead the team not just out of this season’s darkness but also into a very promising future.
