Twins have plenty of lefthanded starters

While the Twins may open the season with five right-handed starting pitchers, they also have five competing left-handers who will be given shot to make the team with a spectacular spring training.

Scott Diamond was the Twins best starter in 2012, going 12-9 with a 3.54 ERA in 27 starts, 174 innings. In 2013, however, he started the year disabled and never really hit his stride, going 6-13 with a 5.43 ERA in 24 starts, 131 innings. At age 27, he has been been compared to Tom Glavine at times, but may suffer from overthinking on the mound.

Andrew Albers had a remarkable 2013 season, going 11-5 with a 2.89 ERA in 132.1 innings at AAA, followed by a somewhat mixed 2-5 record with 4.05 ERA in ten starts and 60 innings with one shutout for the Twins. The 28-year-old former independent league pitcher boasts pinpoint control but little velocity.

Kris Johnson, 29, acquired from the Pirates, was even better than Albers in AAA, going 10-4 with a 2.39 ERA in 135.2 innings. Although he had a 6.10 ERA in 10.1 brief innings for the Pirates, Johnson was noted for throwing five shutout innings in a long, terse game against the Cardinals. His stuff is said to be “a tick better,” than Diamond.

The Twins recently acquired Sean Gilmartin, 23, a former 1^st round draft pick, from the Atlanta Braves for Ryan Doumit. After blazing through the Braves’ farm system in 2011-2012, he had arm injuries in 2013. Pitching for AAA, he was 4-5 with a 5.06 ERA in 105 innings.  While he is a long spot to win a big-league spot this year, Gilmartin is the true prospect of the bunch, and could be a nice under-the-radar acquisition for the Twins.

Tucked away on the 40-man roster is 24-year-old, Logan Darnell, who had a very solid 2013 season in the upper minors. Over 153.2 innings between AA and AAA, he was 10-10 with a 3.22 ERA. Don’t be surprised to see Darnell put together a breakthrough season.

Here, the Twins have five quality left-handers that may not even make the rotation. With two legitimate prospects in Gilmartin and Darnell, the Twins have the makings of what could be a solid rotation in the future, paired with hard-throwing right-handers, Alex Meyer, Trevor May and Kohl Stewart.