Simeon Woods Richardson’s demotion is a sea change for the Minnesota Twins’ starting rotation. Now, he heads to St. Paul with four areas on his improvement checklist.

After a challenging start to the 2025 season, the Minnesota Twins have optioned right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson to Triple-A St. Paul.

This move follows a difficult outing against the Baltimore Orioles, wherein he allowed six runs on eight hits over four innings.

The demotion allows Woods Richardson to address several areas that have contributed to his struggles at the major-league level.

In eight appearances (seven starts) this season, Woods Richardson posted a 5.02 ERA (83 ERA+) and a 1.54 WHIP over 37 2/3 innings pitched. Opponents are batting .295/.361/.503 against him, with left-handed hitters finding even more success: they own a .957 OPS.

Advanced metrics from Baseball Savant paint an even grimmer picture. His expected slugging percentage (xSLG) stands at .556, placing him in the bottom 5% of the league.

Similarly, his expected weighted on-base average on contact (xwOBACON) is .455 (bottom 7%), and his expected ERA (xERA) is 5.87 (bottom 9%). The Twins won five of his eight appearances, but his overall metrics were hard to ignore at this juncture.

Last year, he found early success with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP over 82 innings in the season’s first half.

The young rookie saved the Twins rotation, but down the stretch, Woods Richardson showed some flaws. He struggled in the second half, as he surpassed his innings total from previous seasons. Still, there was hope for the young pitcher to take another step forward in 2025, especially since he is just 24 years old. As he heads to Triple A, there are some clear focus areas for him.

1. Fastball Effectiveness
Woods Richardson’s four-seam fastball has seen an uptick in velocity over the last two seasons, averaging 93.1 mph in 2025. However, this increase hasn’t translated to improved results. Hitters are making harder contact, with their average exit velocity against the heater rising from 90.5 to 92.3 mph. The pitch’s run value has declined from +8 last season to -2 in 2025.

At Triple-A, Woods Richardson should focus on refining his fastball command and exploring adjustments to its movement profile to reduce hard contact.

2. Slider Performance
His slider, previously a reliable secondary offering, has also regressed. Batters have increased their slugging percentage against this pitch by .165 (.478 SLG this year vs. .313 in 2025). He’s also throwing the pitch less regularly, with a drop in usage of roughly 5 percentage points. It makes sense not to throw a pitch as much if it’s not working as well, but it remains true that the pitch’s effectiveness has diminished—contributing to the overall decline in his arsenal’s performance.

In the minors, he can work on enhancing the slider’s sharpness and deception by tweaking his grip or release point.

3. Batted Ball Profile
Opposing hitters are pulling the ball in the air at a 27.8% rate against Woods Richardson, 11.2% higher than the MLB average. This tendency points to predictable pitch patterns and locations that hitters can exploit. Batters are hunting for pitches where they can pull the ball with authority, and they have been able to exploit that strategy so far in 2025.

By varying pitch locations and mixing pitch types more effectively, he can work to disrupt hitters’ timing and reduce the frequency of pulled fly balls.

4. Getting Ahead in the Count
Woods Richardson’s success is significantly influenced by his ability to get ahead in the count. In 2024, he got the jump on hitters with a 65.7 first-pitch strike%, but that total has dropped by 8% this year. Batters have posted a staggering 1.135 OPS against him when he falls behind. Conversely, he has limited hitters to a .655 OPS when he’s ahead.

At Triple-A, focusing on first-pitch strikes and maintaining an aggressive approach early in counts will be crucial for his development.

The demotion to Triple A isn’t merely a setback, but an opportunity for Woods Richardson to make necessary adjustments away from the pressures of the major leagues. By focusing on refining his fastball and slider, altering his batted ball profile, and getting ahead in counts, he can work toward returning to the Twins’ rotation as a more effective pitcher.

This is certainly a tough break for Woods Richardson. However, the Twins will need him again in 2025. The hope is that he can address these issues and re-establish himself as a valuable asset for the future.