Three home runs (including one apiece from recent acquisitions Harrison Bader and Ty France). plus details about how pitchers Simeon Woods Richardson, Jhoan Duran, Justin Topa and others performed.
1.The new guys remember how to hit dingers
Video, courtesy of #MNTwins, of today’s homers from newcomers Ty France and Harrison Bader vs. the Yankees: pic.twitter.com/R7b39VnDIE
— KSTPSports (@KSTPSports) February 25, 2025
Ty France and Harrison Bader, free-agent acquisitions earlier this month, each went deep for their first home runs of Spring Training and for the Twins. France went opposite field against right-hander Carlos Carrasco for a solo homer in the second inning.
Bader went 2-for-3 with a no-doubter, a solo shot 106.0 mph off the bat in the third inning, which went a distance unmeasured by MLB Statcast. It’s a great sign they appear appropriately ready for the season. Said France, who has battled injuries for two years: “I feel like my old self.”
2.Wallner goes over the wall(ner) too
Matt Wallner also homered, hitting a two-run blast in the third. He is stinging the ball early in camp.
The day before in a rain-shortened 1-1 tie against the Tampa Bay Rays, Wallner hit a long fly ball that witnesses say was kept in the park by a strong wind. He also flied out against left-hander Chris Sale with a liner at 97.9 mph.
3.Rocco says right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson ‘did what he normally does’
Woods Richardson allowed a run and three hits, striking out one over two innings. SWR reached 93.7 mph on his four-seam fastball, averaging 92.6 mph.
He threw it 93.1 mph in 2024. He also featured a slider, curve and changeup — the latter of which had a 5 percent rise in spin over 2024 average. He got four misses on 13 swings overall. He allowed a home run to Everson Pereira, a top 75 overall prospect.
4.Duran throws a little bit harder in second outing of spring
Jhoan Duran raised a few eyebrows over the weekend by not lighting up the radar gun like he typically has in his first spring outing. But he added (almost) another mph to his four-seam velocity against the Yankees, reaching 99.6 mph. Duran threw six of the seven fastest pitches in the game. He got zero misses on four swings.
5.Topa’s sinker a little quicker than in 2024
Justin Topa threw nine of 12 pitches for strikes, allowing a hit and striking out one in a scoreless fourth inning — an improvement on his first outing Saturday.
Topa got one miss on seven swings overall, and his sinker velocity maxed at 93.6 mph and averaged 92.7 — about seven-tenths quicker than his average in limited work a year ago. In his breakout 2023 season for the Mariners, Topa’s sinker averaged 95 mph.
He’ll need to keep building velocity if he is to make the team out of Fort Myers. If not, he can get more seasoning at St. Paul.
6.Canterino has wild time in Grapefruit League debut
Was he more Nuke LaLoosh, or Ricky Vaughn? Right-hander Matt Canterino walked three and threw two wild pitches in his scoreless spring debut, also generating three misses on 10 swings.
7.A Varland by any other first name…
You can call him Louis Varland, or you can call him Louie Varland. Even if you just call him “Corporate Lou” Varland, he struck out two in his scoreless inning.
L. Varland wasn’t perfect because of a fielding error by first baseman Mike Ford. Varland averaged 96 mph and reached 97.3 mph with his four-seamer. He got two misses on nine swings.
8.Misiewicz makes batters miss
Left-hander Anthony Misiewicz got batters to miss both of the cutters and curveballs he threw in his perfect inning.
He doesn’t stand a great chance to break camp with the Twins at the moment, but he’s shown the ability to pitch effectively at the major league level.
9.Yankees toy with Tonkin
The Yankees liked his contributions in 2024, but they still exposed Michael Tonkin to waivers and the Twins snatched him up. Against his old club Tuesday afternoon, Tonkin allowed three runs and four hits, including a two-run homer to Dom Smith. Tonkin’s four-seam velocity (91.3 mph) was down nearly 2 mph over his 2024 average.
10.Keirsey makes the Yanks go ‘curses!’
DaShawn Keirsey Jr. got the game-ending hit, walking off the Yankees after getting ahead 2-0 in the count. Keirsey’s RBI single scored recent arrival Diego Cartaya from third base.
Keirsey is probably a longshot to make the club out of Spring Training, but there’s also a good chance he’ll get to play at some point with the big boys after a solid season at St. Paul in ’24.
