Several Young Twins Pitchers Are Off to Good Starts in Spring Training

It's extremely early in spring training, so it's not the time to overreact or draw any major conclusions. But through three games, several important members of the Twins' young pitching staff are off to strong, encouraging starts.

After an exhibition game against the University of Minnesota on Friday, the Twins began their true spring schedule on Saturday with a loss to the Red Sox. The most notable performance from that game — outside of a home run and a stolen base from Royce Lewis — was Simeon Woods Richardson going two scoreless innings with a couple strikeouts.

On Sunday, the Twins got a couple more strong showings from young pitchers in an 8-1 win over the Braves. Taj Bradley, acquired for Griffin Jax at last year's deadline, struck out five and allowed one run on five hits over three innings. Bradley allowed some loud contact, but he also generated seven whiffs while mixing in five different pitches.

Left-hander Kendry Rojas, who was acquired in the Louis Varland trade, replaced Bradley in the fourth and struck out three over two perfect frames. Rojas touched 98.5 MPH with his fastball, threw some nasty sliders and changeups, and got five whiffs on 24 pitches. His three strikeout victims included All-Stars Austin Riley and Ronald Acuna Jr.

Rojas had a rough time for Triple-A St. Paul in eight starts after the deadline, but the 23-year-old from Cuba still has major potential with his three-pitch mix from the left side.

Even multi-time All-Stars have a hard time touching Kendry Rojas' stuff 👀

The @Twins' No. 5 prospect strikes out three in a scoreless Spring Training outing -- including Austin Riley and Ronald Acuña Jr. -- using three different pitches: pic.twitter.com/TPpX98HqmQ
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 22, 2026

Most recently, the Twins blanked the Tigers 3-0 on Monday afternoon in a game that featured perhaps their most encouraging pitching performance yet. Mick Abel, who was acquired in the Jhoan Duran trade, started opposite Tarik Skubal and threw three scoreless frames with two hits allowed and five strikeouts.

Abel generated 12 whiffs on 46 pitches. After surrendering a leadoff triple to Matt Vierling, he struck out the next three batters — Kerry Carpenter, Gleyber Torres, and Riley Greene — on mid-90s fastballs. He then opened the second inning by striking out Javier Baez on a curveball and Colt Keith on a changeups. Six batters into the game, Abel had already racked up 11 swinging strikes. The only unfortunate thing is that the game wasn't televised, so there's no video of his dominance.

After Abel's three innings, Connor Prielipp came in and had a solid outing. He allowed a hit and three walks over 1.2 scoreless frames, striking out two. Prielipp's command will need to improve, but he got five whiffs and touched 97.5 with his fastball.

So, including the exhibition outing against the Gophers, here's what some notable Twins pitchers have done through the first four games this spring:

Zebby Matthews: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Marco Raya: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Simeon Woods Richardson: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Taj Bradley: 3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Kendry Rojas: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Mick Abel: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Connor Prielipp: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K

The total line from those seven pitchers, all of whom are 25 years old or younger: 15.2 innings pitched, 12 hits allowed, 1 earned run allowed, 3 walks allowed, and 24 strikeouts.

Again, it's ridiculously early. There's still an entire month of spring training action to play. But that's an encouraging start from the Twins in an area that could largely determine the success of their season.