Minnesota Twins fans, we’ve all been there – watching our beloved team with bated breath, hoping and praying that our starting pitchers can make it past the fifth inning. But could that be changing soon?

It’s no secret that last season was a bit of a hot mess when it came to our rotation. Injuries plagued our pitchers, and our team relied heavily on our bullpen. As we gear up for the new season, we have to ask ourselves: will our revamped rotation bring longer starts for the Twins?

Let’s dive in and examine the facts, shall we? It’s true that across all of baseball, starters have been going fewer innings in recent years. But if we take a closer look at our Twins roster, we can see that some serious improvements have been made. Say goodbye to the days of five-and-dive routines and hello to a brand-spanking-new era for Minnesota’s rotation.

First up, let’s talk about our shiny new toy, Pablo Lopez. Fresh off a stellar season with the Miami Marlins, Lopez is set to be our Opening Day starter. Last season, he clocked in 180 innings, with a more than respectable 3.75 ERA. Not too shabby, right? With a workhorse like Lopez in our ranks, there’s reason to believe we’ll be seeing longer starts from the get-go.

Now, let’s turn our attention to our returning starters, Sonny Gray and Tyler Mahle. Both have publicly expressed a desire to go deeper in games, and after a year of settling in with our coaching staff, it’s likely they’ll be given the opportunity to prove themselves. Of course, we can’t forget about our trusty duo of Joe Ryan and Kenta Maeda. While there might be some concerns about Ryan’s consistency and Maeda’s return from Tommy John surgery, if they can perform at their peak, there’s no reason to believe they won’t be contributing to longer starts.

But what does this all mean for our fearless leader, Rocco Baldelli? Will he be willing to let our starters stretch their legs, so to speak? The truth is, while game flow certainly plays a role in deciding how long a starter stays on the mound, it’s likely that the performance of our new-and-improved rotation will play a more significant factor. With a solid rotation in place, there’s reason to believe that Baldelli won’t have to rely so heavily on the bullpen and can instead trust his starters to go the distance.

While it may be too soon to expect a return to the glory days of Bert Blyleven-level workloads, there’s no denying that the potential for our starters to go deeper into games has vastly improved. With our revamped rotation, Minnesota Twins fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief and look forward to longer starts from our boys in blue.

So, buckle up, Twins fans – it’s shaping up to be an exciting season ahead. We might just be on the verge of witnessing a brand new era in Twins baseball, and we’re all here for the ride.