Minnesota Twins DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar earned his third save of the season in Monday's 3-1 win over the Mariners. Thielbar came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by two and delivered a 1-2-3 outing with two strikeouts. Closer Jhoan Duran was called upon to face the top of the order in the eighth inning, so Thielbar got the save opportunity. The 37-year-old veteran has gotten off to a rough start this season with a bloated 6.14 ERA in 7 1/3 innings pitched. His fantasy value will remain limited if he continues to pitch poorly, as it seems unlikely that he would earn high-leverage situations.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson turned in a quality start but came away with a no-decision in Monday's 3-1 win over the Mariners. The 23-year-old pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk with eight strikeouts. Woods Richardson has capitalized on favorable matchups since being called up and is now 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA, a 9.15 K/9 rate, and a 2.18 BB/9 rate in four starts and 20 2/3 IP. His streak has a chance to continue in his next projected start at the struggling Blue Jays.

The Minnesota Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez earned his third win with six strong innings on Saturday afternoon over the Boston Red Sox. Lopez had eight strikeouts and a walk while surrendering one run, one walk, and five hits. Lopez lowered his ERA from 4.83 to 4.30 with the solid outing. Lopez now has 45 strikeouts in 38 innings this season. Many fantasy players drafted Lopez as their staff ace this spring. Lopez is right at his career norms with a 29.4K% and 5.6 BB%, so we can expect Lopez to continue to provide worry-free innings in 2024.

Minnesota Twins right-hander Cole Sands earned his second save of the season on Saturday afternoon in a 3-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Sands pitched a spotless ninth and added a strikeout in relief of usual closer Jhoan Duran, who was called upon to face the heart of the Red Sox order in the eighth inning. That left the save opportunity for Sands. With the usual setup men Brock Stewart and Justin Topa out with injuries, Sands could see himself in a higher leverage role in the short-term with lefty Caleb Thielbar and should earn holds and the occasional vulture save.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Alex Kirilloff is not in Saturday's lineup as the Twins are slated to face Boston southpaw Brennan Bernardino. Kirilloff has yet to make a start this season against a left-handed pitcher, and Saturday will be no different. As a result, Willi Castro will play left field, which opens the hot corner for Jose Miranda. Kirilloff has put up a solid .247/.310/.449 slash line with three home runs this season. The 26-year-old should be expected to return to the Twins lineup on Sunday, as they are scheduled to face right-hander Cooper Criswell. Both Castro and Miranda are sneaky plays in DFS on Saturday, as they are batting in the two- and three-holes, respectively, and should see plenty of RBI and scoring opportunities.