All Twins Team 1965-2017 pitchers

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While the Twins didn't have had any flame throwers of note, they have had a number of excellent pitchers toil for them over the last 50+ years. They've had some guys with outstanding longevity and could get guys out without blowing them away. Their pitching from 1965 on stacks up fairly well against most other teams. So, here we go.

Starting pitcher: Johan Santana From 2002-2007 Santana was one of the best pitchers in baseball. Santana won 70 games during that span. Johan won 20 games in 2004 in and led the league with 19 wins in 2006. He also led the AL in ERA those two seasons. From 2004-06 Santana led the league in strikeouts. In eight season with the Twins Santana went 93-44 with an ERA of 3.22. His WAR was 35.5. Looking at Santana's stats reminded me of just how good he was.

Starting pitcher: Jim Kaat Jim pitched in the big leagues for a remarkable 25 seasons. He spent 15 of those with the Twins. From 1962-73 Kaat won in double digits for for the Twins. Kaat had a monster season in 1966, going 25-13. During that season, he also led the AL in innings pitched with 304.2 and complete games with 19. For his 15 seasons with the Twins Kaat had a record of 190-159 and an ERA of 3.34. He was also a great fielder, winning 16 gold gloves, 12 with the Twins. Jim was an excellent example of working quickly, throwing strikes and fielding his position well. 

Starting pitcher: Bert Blyleven Possessor of one of the best curve balls in the game during his days in the majors, Bert had a really nice run in Minnesota, especially during his early seasons with the Twins. From 1970-75 Bert won in double digits for the Twins. In 1973 Bert won 20 games and had an ERA of 2.52 and led the league with 9 shutouts. He pitched 325 innings that season. Bert spent the early part of his career with the Twins and then came back towards the end of his career. Overall Bert went 149-138 with an ERA of 3,28 in 11 years in Minnesota. Bert had great stats, but sabermetrics indicate he was even better than his basic stats show.

Starting pitcher: Frank Viola  Frank represents a revision of this list.  Previously I had listed Jim "Mudcat" Grant on this list instead of Frank.  After an outcry from Twins fans, I looked at Viola again and gave him the nod over Grant.  From 1984-88 Viola's win totals were 18-18-16-17-24.  Of course, in 1988 Frank had a career season going 24-7 with an ERA of 2.64.  That was good enough to win the Cy Young award that season.  Viola also went 17-9 with a 2.90 ERA in 1987.  He also won three games in the post season that year, including two in the World Series.  The crown jewel of Viola's time with the Twins was winning game seven of the 1987 World Series.  As For Jim "Mudcat" Grant, he still had a nice run as a Twin and the coolest nickname in franchise history.

Starting pitcher: Jim Perry While Jim wasn't nearly as well known as his brother Gaylord, he was a good pitcher in his own right. Jim spent 17 years in the majors, 10 of those in Minnesota. Perry had a couple of huge years with the Twins, winning 20 games in 1969 and 24 in 1970. During his years with the Twins, he compiled an ERA of 3.15. Perry finished with a record of 128-90 and an ERA of 3.15 for his Twins years. Nice work.

Relief pitcher: Joe Nathan From 2004-09 Nathan got between 36-47 saves. He averaged converting about 90% of his save opportunities during that span. Joe was a big strikeout guy out of the pen, averaging over 10 strikeouts per 9 innings in his days with the Twins. While ERA isn't always a big indicator of a reliever's effectiveness, Nathan's ERA of 2.16 wasn't a mirage, he was very good.

Relief pitcher: Rick Aguilera Rick had a nice run as the Twins closer from the early to mid 90's. Overall, his numbers are inflated by his work in the late 90's. During his prime Rick saved close to 40 games a year with a success rate of just under 85% as a closer. Overall he saved 254 games with the Twins. His ERA was 3.50 and his peripheral stats were decent. Aguilera was decent for a number of years. That's enough to nail down a slot on this team.

Relief pitcher: Jeff Reardon Not to slam a guy I've got on this team, but I don't feel real strong about this pick, I just don't know of a better option. Reardon spent three seasons as the Twins closer, saving 104 games during that period. Jeff does get bonus points for being the closer on the 1987 Twins world series winner. Jeff's ERA for his time in Minnesota was 3.70, which was indicative of his effectiveness. Sometimes not bad is good enough.

There's my Twins pitching staff from 1965 forward. How does it compare with your choices?