Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Optioned to minors
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Woods Richardson was optioned to minor-league camp on Saturday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
Woods Richardson made his big-league debut in October of last year but didn't seem to have a real chance to push for a rotation spot this spring. The 22-year-old will continue his development at the Triple-A level, where he recorded a 2.21 ERA over seven starts last season.
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Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Sent back to minors
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The Twins optioned Woods Richardson to Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.
Woods Richardson wasn't scheduled to pitch again in 2022 after making his MLB debut Sunday in Detroit, where he struck out three while allowing three runs (two earned) in five innings en route to being handed a loss. The Twins will swap him off the 28-man active roster for right-hander Cole Sands, who will give the team a fresh arm out of the bullpen in Wednesday's season finale against the White Sox.
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Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Handed loss in debut
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Woods Richardson (0-1) allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks over five innings Sunday, striking out three and taking a loss against Detroit.
Woods Richardson gave up two runs in the first inning on an error and a wild pitch before serving up a solo homer to Eric Haase in the third. The right-handed rookie forced 10 whiffs while his fastball sat in the low-90s. He posted an impressive 2.77 ERA across 107.1 frames with Double-A Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul this season. Woods Richardson should get the chance to compete for a spot in the Opening Day rotation during spring training next year.
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Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Promoted for big-league debut
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Woods Richardson had his contract selected from Triple-A St. Paul and will start Sunday against the Tigers, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
The 22-year-old was previously confirmed as the starter for Sunday's contest, and he's now officially been called up for his MLB debut. Woods Richardson split the 2022 campaign between Double-A Wichita and St. Paul, and he posted a 2.73 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 116:37 K:BB over 109.2 innings.
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Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Slated to debut soon
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Woods Richardson is expected to pitch for the Twins prior to the end of the regular season, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Woods Richardson was promoted to Triple-A St. Paul in mid-August and was dominant over the last month and a half, posting a 2.21 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 36.2 innings over seven starts. The Twins haven't officially announced which day the right-hander will make his major-league debut, but the team hasn't yet announced a starter for Sunday's game in Detroit, so it seems likely that he'll draw that start. He was one of two prospects the Twins received in the trade that sent Jose Berrios to the Blue Jays last summer.
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Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Gets bumped to Triple-A
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The Twins promoted Woods Richardson from Double-A Wichita to Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
The 21-year-old right-hander will move up to the Twins' top affiliate after supplying a 3.00 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 78:27 K:BB across 72 innings at Double-A. Woods Richardson was one two prospects the Twins received in last summer's trade that sent Jose Berrios to Toronto.
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Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Back from COVID-19 IL
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Woods Richardson (illness) was activated from the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.
Woods Richardson hasn't taken the mound for Wichita since June, but he's now cleared the COVID-19 protocols and should soon retake the mound. The 21-year-old has a 3.31 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 54:20 K:BB over 54.1 innings this season.
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Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Makes organizational debut
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Woods Richardson debuted for Double-A Wichita on Saturday, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings in his start against Arkansas. He gave up no hits and struck out two but issued three walks.
After acquiring Woods Richardson in the July 30 deal that sent Jose Berrios to Toronto, the Twins have slow played the right-hander's integration into the organization. The 20-year-old's organizational debut was delayed in part due to his commitment to pitching for Team USA in the Olympic Games, and he wasn't immediately activated upon returning from Tokyo. Though he was finally cleared to pitch for Wichita over the weekend, Woods Richardson showed spotty control in the start, tossing only 19 of his 40 pitches for strikes. Consistently finding the strike zone had proved to be an issue for Woods Richardson prior to the trade; he submitted a bloated 12.9 percent walk rate in his 11 starts with the Blue Jays' Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire.
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Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Deactivated at Double-A
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Double-A Wichita moved Woods Richardson to its development list Tuesday, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.
One of two prospects the Twins acquired from the Blue Jays in the July 30 deal that sent Jose Berrios to Toronto, Woods Richardson has yet to debut for his new organization after he played for Team USA in the Olympics. The 20-year-old looks like he may have to wait a while longer to do so, as the Twins may want to work with him to refine his mechanics after a string of poor outings at Double-A New Hampshire prior to being traded. Over his final five starts with the affiliate, Woods Richardson posted a 10.18 ERA, 2.02 WHIP and 28:16 K:BB in 20.1 innings.
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Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Heading to Twins for Berrios
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Woods Richardson is part of the trade package going from the Blue Jays to the Twins in exchange for Jose Berrios, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.
Woods Richardson was Toronto's top pitching prospect following the graduation of Alek Manoah, though he's struggled at Double-A this season with a 5.76 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 67:26 K:BB across 45.1 innings (11 starts). The right-hander is still only 20 years old and has shown swing-and-miss stuff with a 33.2 percent strikeout rate, but his command has been inconsistent with a 12.9 percent walk rate. Still, it's a strong return for the Twins, who will also receive shortstop/outfielder Austin Martin in the deal for Berrios, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Woods Richardson is currently playing with the U.S. Olympic team in Tokyo, so he won't be joining his new organization immediately.
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Blue Jays' Simeon Woods Richardson: Suddenly skidding in Double-A
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Woods Richardson allowed 16 runs on 19 hits and 10 walks across 10.2 innings in his last three starts for Double-A New Hampshire prior to the All-Star break.
That leaves the young righty with a 5.53 ERA and 1.50 WHIP across 40.2 innings spanning 10 outings with the Fisher Cats. He's shown great swing-and-miss stuff with a 12.8 K/9, but he also has a 4.7 BB/9. It's been an odd campaign so far for the highly regarded young arm, who pitched to a 2.25 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across his first five starts. The good news is that he's still just 20 years old in Double-A -- nearly five years younger than the average player at his level. He's got plenty of time to figure it out, and perhaps a temporary change of scenery will help, as Woods Richardson is part of the U.S. roster for the Olympics.
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Blue Jays' Simeon Woods Richardson: Sharp so far at Double-A
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Woods Richardson recorded eight strikeouts and gave up one run on one hit and two walks over five innings for Double-A New Hampshire on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old right-hander has overmatched Double-A hitters so far, posting a 2.00 ERA and 16:3 K:BB through his first nine innings. Woods Richardson, the Jays' No. 4 fantasy prospect, has an outside chance of making his big-league debut this season if he forces an early promotion to Triple-A, but more likely he'll head into spring training next year competing for a rotation spot.
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Blue Jays' Simeon Woods Richardson: Heading to big-league camp
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Woods Richardson received an invitation Friday to the Blue Jays' major-league spring training, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.
The right-hander didn't appear in any games during 2020 due to the cancelation of the minor-league season, but he was still able to put in some developmental work at the alternate training site. Woods Richardson finished 2019 at the High-A level and had a 2.54 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 29:7 K:B over 28.1 innings, and he should open 2021 in the upper minors.
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Blue Jays' Simeon Woods Richardson: Joins 60-man player pool
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The Blue Jays included Woods Richardson as part of their 60-man roster pool that was announced Sunday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Woods Richardson's placement in the roster pool appears to be mostly a measure to allow the Blue Jays to oversee his development more closely, given the likelihood that there won't be a minor-league season in 2020. Since Woods Richardson has yet to reach Double-A ball and probably wouldn't find much initial success if he were thrust into major-league action, the Blue Jays don't have much reason to start up his service clock yet.
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Blue Jays' Simeon Woods Richardson: Fans eight for Dunedin
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Woods Richardson gave up three runs on four hits over five innings while striking out eight for High-A Dunedin on Wednesday.
Making his second start as a member of the Blue Jays organization, and his second start in the Florida State League, the 18-year-old flashed the upside that made the club target him as part of the Marcus Stroman deal. Woods Richardson is still at least a couple of years away from his big-league debut, but he's another potential frontline arm in a system that's suddenly flush with impressive young pitching talent.
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Blue Jays' Simeon Woods Richardson: Leveling up with new organization
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Woods Richardson, whom the Blue Jays acquired from the Mets on Sunday, will report to High-A Dunedin with his new organization.
The 2018 second-round pick will move on to the Florida State League after posting a 4.25 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 97:17 K:BB across 78.1 innings with the Mets' Low-A affiliate in Columbia. While Woods Richardson was viewed as more of a secondary piece in the Marcus Stroman deal that also netted the Blue Jays a more advanced pitching prospect in Anthony Kay, the 18-year-old right-hander still boasts an intriguing profile. Woods Richardson features a fastball that typically sits in the 91-to-94 mile-per-hour range in addition to an above-average curveball and changeup.
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Blue Jays' Simeon Woods Richardson: Headed to Toronto
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Woods Richardson and Anthony Kay were traded from the Mets to the Blue Jays on Sunday in exchange for Marcus Stroman, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Woods Richardson was selected in the second round of the 2018 draft out of high school, and he's done nothing but impress to this point. He posted a 4.25 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with a 97:17 K:BB over 78.1 innings this season while with Columbia and will likely be assigned to Low-A Lansing following Sunday's transaction.
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Mets' Simeon Woods-Richardson: On a roll for Columbia
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Woods-Richardson gave up one run on two hits and a walk over five innings while striking out six for Low-A Columbia on Thursday.
The right-hander won't turn 19 until late September, but Woods-Richardson is handling himself well in the full-season Sally League after a bumpy start to the year. He's posted a 2.20 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 38:10 K:BB through 32.2 innings since the beginning of June, and while the Mets have been keeping a close eye on his workload -- five innings is the longest he's gone in any outing this season -- the organization's No. 6 fantasy prospect could receive a taste of High-A ball before the end of the campaign if he keeps taking care of business for Columbia.
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Mets' Simeon Woods-Richardson: Dominant start at Low-A
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Woods-Richardson gave up one hit and struck out five over three scoreless innings for Low-Columbia on Monday.
The Mets are keeping a careful eye on the 18-year-old's workload in his first full pro season, but Woods-Richardson has been overpowering when he's been on the mound, posting an 11:0 K:BB through his first 7.2 innings at Low-A. A second-round pick in 2018, his mid-90s fastball is more than enough to handle Sally League hitters, and despite his age he may not be challenged until an eventual promotion to High-A. Woods-Richardson is still likely a few years away from a big-league debut, but he appears poised to shoot up prospects lists in 2019.
