Cory

Lewis

The headliner here is Rodriguez, though the Twins’ top prospect was never really a candidate to break camp with the big league club — especially after missing time with an ankle injury during spring camp. Dobnak could have potentially pushed to make the Opening Day roster in a long reliever role, but he’ll begin the season as extra depth at the Triple-A level instead. Ramirez could have been an option for the bullpen, but suffered a “significant tear” in his shoulder earlier in the week.

Lewis through his hard knuckleball 13 times today and got batters to swing and miss at five of them (eight swings total). He doesn’t have much of a chance of making the Twins this spring after missing much of last season with a shoulder injury, but he’s someone who could be a factor come June or July.

Lewis was the Twins’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2023 but missed the first three months of last season with a shoulder injury. He struggled in his first games back but posted a 1.68 ERA in his final 10 outings. The 24-year-old famously throws a mid-80s knuckleball to go along with a low-90s fastball and a true five-pitch mix. He will start the season in Triple-A, and the Twins are loaded with pitching prospects like Zebby Matthews and David Festa, but Lewis could get a shot this season, and Gleeman believes he has “mid-rotation upside.”