MINNEAPOLIS – Joe Ryan took a positive step toward returning to the Major League roster on Tuesday night when he pitched three effective innings for Triple-A St. Paul on the road against Omaha.
Ryan scuffled coming out of the All-Star break and was placed on the injured list with a left glute strain following an especially frustrating start in Kansas City shortly after the Trade Deadline. He’s been dearly missed, as the Twins endured a losing August that dealt a blow to their postseason hopes.
He’ll likely need at least one more rehab start, but a solid showing on Tuesday is a good sign that he’s getting closer and should be able to pitch in the Majors before the season is out.
How did he perform?
The results were quite good. Ryan allowed a run on one hit over three innings with four strikeouts and no walks. He threw 42 pitches, 29 for strikes, and was consistently around 91-92 miles per hour on his fastball.
The first inning was quick and efficient, as Ryan got three outs on five pitches. He allowed a homer on a hanging curveball in the second for the only hit against him, but also got his first strikeout, and then struck out the side in order in the third.
What’s next?
That’s to be determined based in part on how he feels the day after starting, but also the unusual nature of the Minor League schedule does complicate the question a bit.
It’s most likely the Twins will want to build Ryan up more before having him pitch in a big league game, presumably getting to at least 60-65 pitches before activating him. The challenge is this: they can either have him face Omaha again on four days' rest, go to a lower-level affiliate on four days' rest, or wait two days and pitch again for St. Paul on six days’ rest. Minor League teams are off on Mondays.
What are they saying?
“I think any time we’re getting him to face hitters of a different uniform is something that’s really important," manager Derek Shelton said. "And then we just have to build from there off how he feels and how it goes.”
What else?
Though the Twins' rotation spent much of August searching for its form, recent results have been better, with back to back outstanding outings from Taj Bradley and Zebby Matthews. The odd man out upon Ryan’s return might well be Connor Prielipp, whose workload the team is managing aggressively.