The Minnesota Twins had a new face on the mound during Sunday’s game against the Detroit Tigers. Simeon Woods Richardson made his MLB debut and started for the Twins.

The 22-year-old went five innings, giving up two earned runs and struck out three batters. He ended up taking the loss, but Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was impressed by his performance.

“He’s going to be thinking about this start for a long time, and he’s going to take it into the offseason, and he’s going to go over at-bats in his head, and he’s going to be thinking about that first inning, and he’s going to be thinking about the last inning, and everything in between,” Baldelli said in an article from mlb.com. “These are the reasons why we bring guys up and let them go out there and experience and compete and do all of these things.”

 

 

Woods Richardson was anxious during his debut, but after he got through the first inning, he was able to settle down.

“I was breathing for maybe half a second,” he said. “I was almost hyperventilating. But after the first inning was done, we got back into the zone. We got back into the rhythm, mental cues that I had, and just pitched my game.”

He became 13th Twins rookie to take the field in 2022 — the franchise’s second-consecutive losing season — and the youngest MLB pitcher to make a start on the mound this season as well. Woods Richardson was the 48th overall selection by the New York Mets in the 2018 draft. He was acquired from Toronto in the Jose Berrios trade a year ago. Before his promotion, the Texas native made seven starts in Triple-A and finished with a 2-0 record with a 2.21 ERA.

The day finally came for Woods Richardson. A moment he’s been waiting for since he began his professional career. Now that he’s got to experience an MLB game, he can use that going into the offseason as he prepares to make the team for the 2023 season.

“It put me on a better note for next year, see what I need to work on, see what I need to critique, see what I need to tackle in different game plans,” Woods Richardson said. “I think I loved all of that. Tried to soak it up as much as I can, tried not to let it rush me.”

This is a brother who could potentially be in the Twins rotation down the line. It’s good we got a chance to see what he has to offer.

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