Randy Dobnak solid against Twins again in win

Dobnak has always been more about the groundout than the strikeout, and his only previous start with six K’s came way back on Sept. 25, 2019 against the Tigers. He’s now sporting a 1.73 ERA in six starts and two relief appearances for the Royals, and even if he fades some, it seems pretty likely that Kansas City will want to bring him back in 2027. And they will be able to, since even though his five-year, $9.25 million deal with the Twins is ancient history, he has only three-plus years of service time and will be eligible for arbitration for just the first time this winter.

This was a box score gem when in reality, Twins’ fans were pulling their hair out watching it. Dobnak let up 11 hard-hit balls and only four turned into hits. To be fair, most of them were hit on the ground as he did an excellent job of keeping his sinker, sweeper, and changeup down. It’s been a great five-game run for Dobnak in his return to the bigs with just three earned runs across 26 innings, just gear up for some regression.

The 31-year-old right-hander struck out three batters on the night while allowing one base on balls. He exited the game with the Royals leading 2-0 and in line for a victory, but his bullpen was unable to hang on for him. Dobnak generated 10 swings and misses on 76 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 34 percent. He’ll carry an impressive 1.42 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and a 10/9 K/BB ratio (19 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Twins in Minneapolis.

Dobnak gave up four hits, walked four and struck out three. He now has a 1.93 ERA in three starts for the Royals, though his 5.02 xFIP points to this run being unsustainable. It’s unclear if he’s going to remain in the rotation.

Dobnak put together an old-school outing working the edges with his sinker and deep array of secondary pitches to keep the Mets off the board here. Mets’ announcer Keith Hernandez was particularly impressed by a 10-pitch battle with Juan Soto in the fifth inning where Dobnak easily could’ve walked him with two outs and nobody on, but kept going after him and eventually forced a pop up. He’s now put together consecutive quality outings and it’s nice to see him back in the big leagues.

Dobnak gets the call to fortify Kansas City’s long relief depth prior to Wednesday’s series finale against Tampa Bay. The 31-year-old swingman came over from the Mariners in a small trade back in mid-June. He’s pitched sparingly in the majors over the last few years, making just one relief appearance for the Twins last season.

Dobnak heads to Triple-A Omaha as extra starting pitching depth for Kansas City. The 31-year-old righty has posted a respectable 4.24 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 39/24 K/BB ratio across 70 innings over 13 starts in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this season. He made one appearance for the Twins last year.

It’s not exactly the blockbuster Passan bomb that baseball fans are desperately craving with the trade deadline roughly six weeks away. Dobnak heads to Kansas City after exercising the upward mobility clause in his minor league contract. The 31-year-old has posted a serviceable 4.24 ERA across 70 innings this season at the Triple-A level.

Anderson, the third-overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, looked extremely impressive in three Cactus League outings this spring and appears to be on the fast-track to the big leagues. The 21-year-old southpaw possesses enough strikeout upside to make an immediate fantasy impact once he reaches the majors. He’s one of the few pitching prospects worth stashing at the outset of the year, especially in deeper mixed leagues.

Dobnak’s debut with the Mariners started out ok with a scoreless first, but he allowed seven hits and five runs in the second inning. Seattle added a host of filler arms on minor league contracts, and Dobnak stands very little chance of making the M’s out of spring training. Results like this certainly won’t help.