Simeon

Woods Richardson

Woods Richardson had never fanned more than eight in a game until striking out 11 Yankees two weeks ago. Now he’s done it again with another six-inning masterpiece. The outings are just the second and third times this year he’s gotten a chance to complete six innings. He ends the year 7-5 with a 4.04 ERA that’s a big improvement over the 4.58 mark prior to the Yankees game. That should make a difference going into what could be a stiff rotation competition next spring.

Both runs came in the first, which featured a Steven Kwan leadoff homer. Woods Richardson left down 2-1 before the Twins came back to win 6-2. He’ll take a 4.27 ERA into his final start against the Phillies.

Woods Richardson put together the most dominant start of his career, generating 16 swinging strikes and finishing with a near-elite 37 percent CSW. The 24-year-old righty limited New York’s formidable lineup to just a pair of hits and three walks over six sublime frames. He and three Twins relievers — Kody Funderburk, Travis Adams and Pierson Ohl combined on a two-hit shutout in this one. He’ll face the Guardians on Sunday to cap off a two-start week.

Woods Richardson has six wins this year from the 10 of his 20 starts in which he’s managed to complete the requisite five innings. He’s recorded a total of six outs beyond the fifth inning. It doesn’t seem workable for the long haul, and barring a real step forward, he ought to be expendable at some point in 2026. However, he’ll finish this season in the rotation and face the Yankees next Monday.

The 24-year-old right-hander piled up seven strikeouts on the evening while issuing three free passes. He served up a solo homer to Andrew Benintendi in the second inning, then the White Sox added another pair of runs on a two-run double by Bryan Ramos in the fifth. Woods Richardson got eight swings and misses 85 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 26 percent. He’ll carry a 4.53 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 78/40 K/BB ratio (89 1/3 innings) into Sunday’s showdown against the Royals in Kansas City.

Woods-Richardson gave up three no-doubt shots – two to Davis Schneider and one to Andrés Giménez – in this poor return to the Twins’ rotation. His command was poor, especially on his splitter which hung up in the zone far too often and was responsible for that home run to Giménez. He’s now allowed six long balls in his last six starts and hasn’t completed five innings since July 8th. He isn’t a viable option in any league.

Woods Richardson will make his return to the rotation against the Blue Jays tonight. He allowed three earned runs over 5 1/3 innings in his two rehab starts, and he doesn’t seem like a very good bet for fantasy purposes right now.

The Twins said Woods Richardson would start Wednesday after scratching from his Sunday start, but he obviously wasn’t recovering as hoped. Darren McCaughan was called up in his place and could start Wednesday. Pierson Ohl will also likely be an option then. The Twins also just added Taj Bradley and Mick Abel, but they probably won’t be called up before the middle of the month.

Woods Richardson was scratched earlier this weekend from Sunday’s scheduled start against the Guardians due to a stomach bug. The hope is that he’ll be feeling well enough in a couple days to start Wednesday’s series finale against Detroit.

No word yet on the reason for the decision. Woods Richardson surrendered three runs over 4 2/3 innings on Monday in a no-decision against the Red Sox. It’ll be José Ureña drawing the starting assignment in his place.