
Will Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano please step forward and present your arguments for being the Twins staff ace.

Liriano returned to the rotation in April of last season and was clearly not the same pitcher who out dueled Roger Clemens on national TV. His velocity was down and his control was awful. After three starts and an ERA of 11.32, Liriano was sent down to the minors to learn how to pitch again. After being demoted, Liriano got back on track as he dominated AAA and showed the talent he displayed during his rookie year. The Twins called him back up in August and Liriano did not disappoint. Liriano went eight starts before giving up more than three earned runs in a game and did not register a loss until his eleventh and final start since returning to the big leagues. With diminished velocity, Liriano relied less on his fastball and more on his off speed pitches which he learned to mix up more while in the minors. After learning how to pitch in the majors again, Liriano now seems poised to be one of the leading men of the Twins rotation.

With no real ace to lead the staff in 2008 after the Santana trade and Liriano injury, Baker stepped forward to become the unlikely leader of the rotation. The Twins went 17-11 in Baker’s starts, with Scott himself compiling an 11-4 record with an ERA of 3.45, the best in the Twins rotation. Even more impressive was Baker’s WHIP of 1.18, the fifth best in the AL, behind only Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Ervin Santana, and James Shields. That is some pretty good company to be associated with. Baker doesn’t have the ability to blow hitters away as his fastball tops out in the low 90’s, but he throws a changeup, curveball, and slider, all with good command. His ability to limit putting runners on base and command four pitches well give the Twins a reliable weapon to put at the front of the rotation.
If asked today, Scott Baker is the ace of the Twins rotation. Liriano’s sample size is just too small from last season to bank on him pitching all of 2009 like the last two months of the 2008. They both have the ability to dominate a game with Liriano more likely to completely shut down an opponent. For consistency, Baker is the one to take. In twenty-eight starts last season, six runs were the most he gave up in a game, which happened once. He gave up five runs only once as well. In twenty-six starts, Baker gave up four runs or less, effectively keeping the Twins in all of those games. The Twins lost three games Baker started 1-0, two of the losses going against Baker’s record. If Baker repeats 2008 and the Twins give him a little run support, there will be a lot more talk about Scott Baker around Major League Baseball. Verdict: Scott Baker, Twins new staff ace.
Written By: Ross Fyfe
Twins Blog
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