After noticing an improvement in fastball velocity this offseason, One made a small technical adjustment that freed agility and boosted his confidence. Since he found the swing that got him a first-round selection instead of trying to remodel it in pursuit of greater power, the other player is feeling more confident.
The paths that both players may take to succeed in the major leagues are currently overlapping, and they frequently discuss it in their shared spring training home.
Prospects Simeon Woods Richardson and Austin Martin of the Minnesota Twins believe they are finally about to have an influence on the team.
“We discuss it frequently,” Woods Richardson stated. Not in terms of keeping up our half of the bargain, but in terms of having the self-assurance to say, “Yes, we will be here.” We’re going to carry out excellent actions.
The Twins acquired Woods, Richardson, and Martin in the July 2021 transaction that sent José Berríos to the Toronto Blue Jays. The following January, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic rated Woods Richardson and Martin as the top nine and first prospects, respectively, in a strong Twins farm system.
Despite making a brief appearance in the previous season and making his debut late in the 2022 season, Woods Richardson has not performed to the level that the Twins had hoped.
Martin, 24, missed two seasons due to serious ailments. The 23-year-old Woods Richardson has trouble performing regularly. These obstacles have made it impossible for the players to get to and remain in the major leagues.
Adversity awaits you, Martin said. However, the key is to transform the drawbacks into advantages. You’ll keep growing as long as you keep doing that.
Following his September 2022 major-league debut, Woods Richardson had great hopes for 2023.
But his season took a sharp turn for the worst.
He had trouble during his first three spring training games and at Triple-A St. Paul to begin the season.
Nevertheless, on April 20, he was elevated to relieve a short-handed Twins bullpen. However, Woods Richardson was sent out for a new arm two days after coming after giving up five earned runs and seven hits in four and a third innings versus Washington.
He was never asked to return.
He started working in Triple A by mid-June. His 8.18 ERA put him at 0-6.
In June, Woods Richardson took an 11-day vacation in between shows to turn things around. Woods Richardson finished the season 7-1 with a 3.03 ERA, 60 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings over his last 12 appearances.
However, it was insufficient to persuade the Twins to give him a late-season promotion. In that time, he walked 35 hitters and his fastball velocity was insufficient for the Twins to decide.
Woods Richardson worked with the Twins development department in the offseason to move his arm slot significantly, and he arrived early at spring training to take part in the team’s velocity camp. He hit 93 to 95 mph more routinely after that, and he saw the change right away.
We went deep diving, according to Woods Richardson. “I used to be a lower slot guy. It just slowly crept up on us. The Twins pointed that out to me and told me to be an athlete. Return to your athletic stance, and together, let’s gauge your level of comfort and effectiveness.
Pete Larson, his Triple-A pitching coach, has already noticed a change.
He was pleased with the right-hander’s 2023 comeback to establish himself as the group’s most reliable second-half starter. Furthermore, the early results of Woods Richardson’s offseason effort give him even greater hope. There could be uncertainty towards the end of the major-league rotation, so Woods Richardson’s timing is ideal.
Larson remarked, “This is the best version of him I’ve ever seen.” “In 2022, he would achieve impressive speed results in Double A, reaching up to 93, 94, and 95 mph.” Simply said, there was not a constant feature. I believe that’s what we’re aiming for, and he’s interested in and supportive of it. Though he’s still young, he’s growing older and gaining experience. We are about to witness something very amazing.
Martin, a standout hitter at Vanderbilt, is beginning to recall those times. When Toronto selected Martin with the fifth overall choice in the 2020 MLB Draft, he was electrifying at the plate and seemed to have more power potential.
Evaluators salivated over the prospect of Martin, a.368/.474/.532 hitter in college, changing a mechanical aspect of his swing to produce greater pull power. However, the shift was never embraced. After suffering a wrist injury on July 1, 2022, Martin’s Double A batting line read.249/.378/.313 at that point.
Martin started to revert to his previous swing over a six-week rehabilitation period. Martin played well in 97 plate appearances for the Arizona Fall League, hitting.374/.454/.482 with 10 stolen bases, despite the fact that the alterations took time to materialize.
Before an elbow injury kept him out of the lineup in the spring of 2023, he looked to be headed for the big. Martin did not begin playing regularly in the major leagues until late June.
Martin found his way back to his previous trajectory by the end of 2022. Martin finished the 2023 season with a batting average of.293/.413/.451, starting with a two-hit game for St. Paul on July 20.
Martin remarked, “I think this is the best I’ve felt in my professional career.” It feels almost like how I should feel. I know that I am the player that I am. Right now, I feel secure in my abilities at the plate. It seems more akin to me. I feel great about every facet of my game.
The Twins have high hopes for Martin’s future as well. They believe he develops as a quick center fielder/second baseman because of his approach at the plate.
The Twins need Martin to show that he is healthy because of his ailments from the previous two seasons. Last week, they acquired Manuel Margot as insurance against Byron Buxton’s injury. However, it won’t be long until Martin receives the call if he plays as well as he did at the conclusion of the last two seasons.
This offseason, Twins President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey stated, “We think he can play a role.” “We were thrilled about him when we traded for him. Then he began to take a few minor knocks. I believe that a truly consistent offensive approach was once again demonstrated in the second half of the previous year.
When Martin and Woods Richardson joined the Twins in July 2021, they were presumably not thinking of this as their future.
Carlos Correa wasn’t signed yet. Matt Wallner, Royce Lewis, and Edouard Julien hadn’t shown themselves as essential players. Joe Ryan, Louie Varland, Griffin Jax, and Jhoan Duran were absent.
However, neither Woods Richardson nor Martin are allowing the past to stand in their way. Each has a clear understanding of their challenges.
Martin remarked, “We both respond differently to adversity.” However, we have both made it work in our favor. These are valuable things to learn because they will only benefit us down the road.
Woods Richardson has seen life in the major leagues before, if only momentarily. He was in the major leagues for six days, which was enough time to ascertain a harsh reality.
He remarked, “It’s even harder to stay there.” “Understanding how to enhance your abilities to support a team in any circumstance and accept any role assigned to you; your goal is to carry out that role and support the team.” Work on whatever they need me to accomplish right now so that you will know exactly what has to be done when your name is called.
Woods Richardson, a veteran colleague, is always self-assured, according to Martin. He now notices that his participation at Velocity Camp has given him more confidence.
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