Major League Baseball is going to try its hardest to play a 60-game
season in 2020. Starting on July 24, the Minnesota Twins will look to repeat as
AL Central Division champs, and this time they’ll hope the Postseason run is a
bit longer. If Rocco Baldelli’s club is going to take that next step, they’ll
need a big contribution from staff ace Jose Berrios.
For the past few years, I’ve wondered about the possibility
of Berrios winning a Cy Young. Certainly, there’s plenty of strong competition,
and Gerrit Cole now being with the New York Yankees likely makes him the frontrunner.
Berrios’ own chances haven’t been thwarted by the opposition in recent years as
much as they’ve been of his own doing.
Coming into 2020 Bovada lists Berrios as a
middle-of-the-road candidate with 14/1 odds. Despite two consecutive All-Star
game appearances, the Puerto Rican has never garnered a Cy Young vote. For that
to change consistency will be key and avoiding a late-season fade is a must. In
a 60-game sprint though, should that even be a fear?
Over the offseason Minnesota reworked Berrios’ training plan
and helped to institute goals resulting more in endurance with season-long
stamina in mind. June has routinely been Berrios’ best month, but August comes
with a career 5.96 ERA in 21 starts, with another mediocre 4.64 ERA mark across
20 in September/October. Last season Jose was strong out of the gate, saw a
brief two game speedbump, then dialed in before his routine slowdown.
What if the Twins can capture just that middle ground in the
year ahead?
Minnesota obviously plays the beginning of its traditional
seasons in less than sweltering heat. That didn’t seem to hamper Berrios in
2019 however, as he posted a 2.97 ERA across his first six starts. By start
eight he was back down to a 2.53 ERA prior to an ugly outing against the
Angels. Focusing on a snapshot of the mid-summer months of June and July, Jose
put together a double-digit dipping of 10 outings that would turn plenty of
heads.
Across ten starts from June 6 through July 31 the Minnesota
hurler owned a 2.23 ERA with a .609 OPS against. He had a 61/16 K/BB in 64.2
IP. It was also the only two-month stretch of the season that he went
back-to-back starts without allowing a homer more than once. The question for
Wes Johnson to help solve is how can both the pitcher and the team extract that
exact performance.
There’s a ton of differences that 2020 will present due to
playing a season during the midst of a global pandemic. While it’s a positive
to have nice weather out of the gate, there won’t be any room for tune up type
outings. Summer Camp has provided intrasquad action but will only feature one
exhibition game and given the proximity to the Opener, Berrios would be
unlikely to pitch.
As a fast starter, maybe the best of all worlds can come
together for Jose and he’ll be able to provide the calming presence a true ace
brings to the mound. Whether or not that results in a Cy Young will be
determined by a whole host out outside factors. Focused only on the guy wearing
number 17 for Minnesota, it’s hard to see this shortened season as a negative.
We may not yet figure out if the new training tactics bear
fruit without the rigors of a traditional 162-game marathon, but the hope would
be that there aren’t questions about declining velocity or uncertain
effectiveness. The Twins pitching staff in its entirety is now better than it’s
ever been, and it’s time for the smiling 26-year-old to lead the charge.
