The Minnesota Twins have added a pair of fresh arms, recalling right-hander Marco Raya and left-hander Kody Funderburk from Triple-A St. Paul. Minnesota designated right-hander Austin Voth for assignment and optioned left-hander Kendry Rojas to Triple-A St. Paul as corresponding moves.
The biggest story of the bullpen shuffle is Raya's promotion. Raya, the Twins' No. 16 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, has long been viewed as a promising prospect but has struggled to put things together in the minors, with a career 4.56 ERA in 363 innings. After posting a 6.97 ERA in 31 innings through May, Raya has allowed four hits and no walks while collecting seven strikeouts in eight scoreless innings across six appearances this month.
The main thing that's held the Twins back this season has been their abysmal bullpen , which ranks last among all 30 MLB teams in ERA (5.35). If Raya can live up to his potential as a reliever for Minnesota, the club will be in a much better spot. With an offense that ranks second in the AL in runs (392) and a decent rotation led by a star in Joe Ryan , an improved bullpen could be the key to getting the Twins to the playoffs. If Raya can be an effective late-inning arm in the majors, the Twins' odds of buying rather than selling at the trade deadline should increase a good amount.
Raya's best pitch is his mid-80s slider that has missed a lot of bats even when he has struggled . He also throws a 95-97 mph fastball, mid-80s curveball, low-90s cutter and high-80s/low-90s changeup.
Meanwhile, Funderburk has been recalled for the third time this season. In 18 1/3 innings with Minnesota this season, the left-hander has a solid 3.44 ERA but with awful strikeout (12.2%) and walk (19.5%) rates. In 12 innings with the Saints this season, he has posted a poor 6.75 ERA but with much better strikeout (23.2%) and walk (5.4%) rates.
Voth's DFA was pretty obviously coming. The Twins selected his contract on Tuesday morning, and he proceeded to allow six runs (five earned) on 11 hits and one walk over four innings against the Dodgers last night. The Twins simply needed someone to eat innings after Joe Ryan's scheduled Tuesday start was moved to Wednesday due to an illness.
Rojas started last night's game. The results weren't bad; he allowed just one earned run and one hit with four strikeouts in two innings. However, he struggled with command, walking three batters, which led him to throw 50 pitches over the two innings. Rojas has been an effective arm for the Twins, posting a 1.65 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings, but has struggled with command, walking 13 batters. Rojas should be back in the big leagues at some point. By sending him down, he will be able to work on his command against lower competition. And since he was just reinstated from the IL a few days ago, he can rest a bit more without holding a 26-man roster spot.
This article was originally published on www.puckettspond.com as Twins top pitching prospect becomes latest attempt to save bullpen .
