Jorge Alcala fights to win the war – Twins

When the Minnesota Twins traded closer Ryan Pressly to the Houston Astros for Jorge Alcala and Gilberto Celestino, the outfielder was considered the bigger prize. Alcala has bided his time and overcome some arm problems to experience this moment. He hoped this would be his year, but he has exceeded all expectations.

Alcala pitched 1 2/3 innings in the first game of Sunday’s Father’s Day doubleheader against the Oakland Athletics. Rocco Baldelli called up Alcala after 6 1/3 strong innings from starter Bailey Ober. The fireball pitcher managed to get a single hit while earning another strikeout, pushing his ERA to 1.99 on the year.

Aside from the injury issues, inconsistency has held back Alcala’s career. While he’s worked on getting his arm healthy over the past few seasons, finding and holding the zone is something Baldelli has addressed again this spring. With 12 walks in 22 2/3 innings this year, he’s not quite there yet, but keeping the ball in the yard and making batters miss is something the Dominican native has never done at this level.

As has become the Twins’ modus operandi, Alcala’s 2024 target has been expanded to include velocity. With a 96 mph average last season, the result was not unexpected, but now he’s at 98 mph and hitting triple digits. At his best so far, Alcala was a capable major league reliever during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In those years, the velocity was where it is now, but the top end wasn’t the same.

Combining the speed with a slider that generates plenty of bite, he’s back to chasing and striking out opposing batters. A whiff rate that’s the lowest of his career helps tremendously in keeping the ball in the field, and for a guy who still faces a fair amount of traffic, that’s a good thing.

Alcala’s emotional and mental development this year also deserves mention. Although he was one of the Twins’ best pitchers out of the bullpen early in the season, he was used in a strange way. For a guy who was dealing with such significant arm problems, it was odd to see him play multiple innings and make a lot of pitches. Options for St. Paul seemingly came out of nowhere, and he had to accept that his role was constantly in flux.

Currently, he has pitched 11 2/3 innings in 10 appearances, though he has allowed just a single run. Still, Baldelli cautions about his 11/6 K/BB during that span. However, let’s assume that traffic comes only from free passes and Alcala is consistently able to dominate anyone who steps into the batter’s box. In that case, the opportunities for him to contribute remain.

The Twins aren’t in a position to consider Alcala in the group of Griffin Jax, Jhoan Duran, or a healthy Brock Stewart, but a reliable middle-inning relief pitcher with potential is something the bullpen has lacked. Even a slight drop in walk rate would take Alcala to new levels.