Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios have been solid at the top half of the starting rotation for the Twins but Kyle Gibson, Hector Santiago, Phil Hughes have all been putrid for the majority of the season.
Rookie Adalberto Mejia is 4-4 this season with an ERA of 4.43 in 13 starts – but his numbers are a bit inflated, he’s actually been a very effective pitcher over the last two months.
How good we talking?
After being demoted to Rochester in April, Mejia has turned things around since his recall. Take away a clunker against Seattle on June 12 and in nine of his past 10 starts, the southpaw has an ERA of 3.12.
He’s dished out 40 strikeouts in 52 innings pitched during those nine effective starts too.
Can he get better?
Mejia’s biggest problem this season has been handing batters free passes, as he’s issuing 4.4 walks per nine innings this season. He also needs to limit the home runs too as he’s been taken deep 11 times this season.
Last year we saw Berrios struggle with his control but after finding better command in 2017, he’s been downright nasty. During Mejia’s tenure in the minors, he didn’t issue many walks – just 2.1 per nine innings – while averaging nearly eight strikeouts per nine innings.
If he can replicate those numbers at the major league level, now you’re talking about a rotation that’s starting to come together.
Biggest start coming up
The lefty will arguably make the biggest start of the year on Monday, when the Twins host the New York Yankees. New York owns one of the league’s best offenses, which is anchored by talented rookie Aaron Judge, who already has 30 home runs.
If Mejia can quiet the Yankee bats while building upon a solid string of starts, his confidence will only continue to grow and Minnesota rotation will start to stabilize.
