9 trade targets for the Colorado Rockies from the Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Randy Dobnak could be a diamond in the rough for the Colorado Rockies

Randy Dobnak is slated to be in the Minnesota Twins starting rotation in 2022 but he could be a diamond in the rough for the Colorado Rockies.

Dobnak, who turns 27 next month, is probably best known for his Goose Gossage-like mustache and for being an Uber and Lyft driver. As Dobnak told MLB.com in 2019, he had a 4.99/5 rating (all five-star reviews but one four-star review) so he was more than happy to sign a five-year extension for $9.25 million before the 2021 season that could net him $20.3 million more if his three team options are picked up. That came only four years after he was pitching in Independent ball.

He struggled mightily in 2021, though, partially due to a finger injury on his right-hand (his throwing hand). He only pitched in 14 games (six starts) and had an awful ERA of 7.64. His FIP suggests some bad luck but it was still awful itself (5.70), WHIP was 1.539, and he allowed two homers per nine innings.

However, there’s one thing that could intrigue the Colorado Rockies: his groundball rate.

In his short time in the majors (125 2/3 IP), it is very high (57.3 percent). In the minors, it has been over 45 percent each season, including roughly a 60 percent groundball rate in 2019.

As we’ve discussed in this series before, Germán Márquez, Antonio Senzatela, and Jon Gray are all in the top 17 among starters with at least 300 innings pitched since 2019 and they all pitched much better at Coors Field. Senzatela’s groundball rate is the highest among the trio at 52.1 percent.

If healthy, the Rockies would love to have a pitcher like Dobnak in their rotation for his controlability and groundball rate but with the team friendly contract, the Twins might not be willing to part with him.