Simeon

Woods Richardson

Woods Richardson allowed nine hits in the contest, so this could have gone much worse. The 25-year-old will likely be the fourth starter to open the season for Minnesota and is the definition of “just a streaming option” at this stage of his career.

Woods Richardson gave up only one hit, though it was a 429-foot homer from Otto Kemp. He walked none and dropped his spring ERA to 6.55 in 11 innings. That’s still not great, but his rotation spot figured to be secure coming into the spring and his current 11/1 K/BB is obviously just fine.

He struck out three and walked one, but Woods Richardson has now allowed seven earned runs on 13 hits in five innings in his last two spring starts. The good news is that he registered a 27 percent whiff rate, and the splitter he introduced at the end of last season continued to miss bats. However, Woods Richardson had just a 56 percent strike rate overall and threw a first-pitch strike to just seven of the 17 batters he faced. He likely has a spot in the rotation locked up, but with Mick Abel looking good this spring, Woods Richardson will need to perform better to hold onto his spot.

All of the runs scored in the first, as Woods Richardson was able to work around a one-out double in the second. His fastball averaged 91.8 mph today, down 1.4 mph from his average last season, and he ended up getting just two misses on 20 swings. Still, while this wasn’t nearly his best work, he seems safely penciled into Minnesota’s rotation.

Woods Richardson had never fanned more than eight in a game until striking out 11 Yankees two weeks ago. Now he’s done it again with another six-inning masterpiece. The outings are just the second and third times this year he’s gotten a chance to complete six innings. He ends the year 7-5 with a 4.04 ERA that’s a big improvement over the 4.58 mark prior to the Yankees game. That should make a difference going into what could be a stiff rotation competition next spring.

Both runs came in the first, which featured a Steven Kwan leadoff homer. Woods Richardson left down 2-1 before the Twins came back to win 6-2. He’ll take a 4.27 ERA into his final start against the Phillies.

Woods Richardson put together the most dominant start of his career, generating 16 swinging strikes and finishing with a near-elite 37 percent CSW. The 24-year-old righty limited New York’s formidable lineup to just a pair of hits and three walks over six sublime frames. He and three Twins relievers — Kody Funderburk, Travis Adams and Pierson Ohl combined on a two-hit shutout in this one. He’ll face the Guardians on Sunday to cap off a two-start week.

Woods Richardson has six wins this year from the 10 of his 20 starts in which he’s managed to complete the requisite five innings. He’s recorded a total of six outs beyond the fifth inning. It doesn’t seem workable for the long haul, and barring a real step forward, he ought to be expendable at some point in 2026. However, he’ll finish this season in the rotation and face the Yankees next Monday.

The 24-year-old right-hander piled up seven strikeouts on the evening while issuing three free passes. He served up a solo homer to Andrew Benintendi in the second inning, then the White Sox added another pair of runs on a two-run double by Bryan Ramos in the fifth. Woods Richardson got eight swings and misses 85 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 26 percent. He’ll carry a 4.53 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 78/40 K/BB ratio (89 1/3 innings) into Sunday’s showdown against the Royals in Kansas City.

Woods-Richardson gave up three no-doubt shots – two to Davis Schneider and one to Andrés Giménez – in this poor return to the Twins’ rotation. His command was poor, especially on his splitter which hung up in the zone far too often and was responsible for that home run to Giménez. He’s now allowed six long balls in his last six starts and hasn’t completed five innings since July 8th. He isn’t a viable option in any league.