Twins' Lewis Thorpe: Improved velocity in spring debut

Thorpe threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and reached 93 mph with his fastball in his spring debut Monday against Tampa Bay, MLB.com reports.

Thorpe gained 28 pounds while working out in the offseason after struggling last season with a 6.06 ERA. Thorpe had a promising 25.0 percent strikeout rate in 2019, but that plummeted to 13.0 percent along with a drop in average fastball velocity to 89.7 mph in 2020. He's a candidate to win a swingman role with the Twins this spring, but more likely begins the season in Triple-A after Minnesota was granted a fourth minor-league option year in his contract this offseason.