MINNEAPOLIS – Nearly seven years ago, Randy Dobnak toed the rubber at Target Field and made his Major League debut for the Twins. He tossed four scoreless innings in relief in a 2019 season that began with him in Class A ball and ended with him making a playoff start for the American League Central champions.
Dobnak’s journey was already improbable at that point. He went undrafted in 2017 following his graduation from Alderson Broaddus University, a Division II school in rural West Virginia. He played for the Utica Unicorns of the United Shore Professional Baseball League, a four-team independent ball league in the suburbs of Detroit. The Twins signed him as a free agent in 2017 for $500.
Since then, Dobnak's career hasn’t stopped taking twists and turns. He signed an extension with the Twins in 2021, establishing himself as a part of their future. But injuries stalled those plans, and that was Dobnak’s last season in the big leagues until 2024.
On Wednesday, Dobnak again took the mound at Target Field. He’s 31 now with two daughters, and his signature mustache has been replaced by a long beard. But he can still pitch, and he showed his former team that with seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 Royals win.
“He knows who he is,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “He knows what he does well. He doesn’t try to do something else. And he’s poised. He believes in what he’s doing, and he executes.”
Dobnak’s seven innings matched his career high, earning his first win in the big leagues since May 21, 2021.
“That’s kind of crazy to think about,” Dobnak said. “It’s also kind of funny that it was against the team I was with for nine years. It’s cool.”
Dobnak felt a lot of emotion leading up to Wednesday’s start, but once he threw the first pitch, he was locked in. He knew what he needed to do, and he executed.
In many ways, he’s still the same pitcher the Twins saw for those nine years – fueled by his sinker, which he added in 2018 at the suggestion of a Minor League coach. It’s a pitch-to-contact weapon, and the Twins put it in play a lot on Wednesday without much success.
Dobnak has also changed and adapted, and the Twins saw that, too. They chased his sweeper and were kept off balance with his changeup. A new breaking ball that registered as a slider, but that Dobnak calls a curveball, caught a few hitters off guard, including Victor Caratini in the second inning when he struck out swinging on the pitch.
“That probably wasn’t on the report,” Dobnak said. “I tweak with pitches during the game. I don’t like the way something moves, I just shift up on the ball, shift back on the ball. Move pressure around. [Pitching coach Brian] Sweeney thinks I’m crazy because I can do that mid-game, but that’s just who I am. Show me a grip, I’ll try it.”
This year has been a whirlwind for Dobnak. He was a free agent for the first time in his career this past offseason, and he signed a Minor League contract with the Mariners in November. He made 13 starts with Triple-A Tacoma before he was acquired by the Royals on June 17 for cash considerations.
By July, Dobnak was in the big leagues again with the Royals. On July 18, he made his first start since 2021. He’s been great for Kansas City, allowing just three runs in 26 innings for a 1.04 ERA. That includes 12 scoreless innings now in his past two starts against the Tigers and Twins.
Dobnak’s final pitch of the night was the 101st he threw – and it was his hardest at 94.6 mph.
“Sweeney came up to me after the sixth and said, ‘I know we [haven’t] known each other too long, but how are you feeling?’” Dobnak said. “And I said, ‘Give me the ball.’”
Wednesday’s game was one that made you shake your head in disbelief. The Royals saw a home run from their speed specialist, Tyler Tolbert, and a triple from their newly crowned home run king, Salvador Perez. Baseball defies logic sometimes.
So does Dobnak’s journey, yet he’s never wavered. He thinks his stuff is better now than it was when he was with the Twins. All he ever wanted was another opportunity. He’s making the most of it with Kansas City.
“I think it just comes down to my confidence,” Dobnak said. “My confidence has always been there. Baseball is the kind of game where you have to trust your stuff. … At the end of the day, you know who you are. You just got to go out there and do it.”