The Twins and Astros will play Game 1 of the AL Division Series today in Houston, with Bailey Ober and Justin Verlander as the starting pitchers. Both teams revealed their full 26-man rosters for the series this afternoon.
Ober is the only new addition to the roster, as Minnesota is going with 25 of the 26 players who defeated the Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series. Joe Ryan had been slated to start Game 3 of the WCS if necessary, but he’ll now probably be held off (barring an emergency) until Game 4 of the ALDS, as Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray are set for Games 2 and 3.
Left-hander Kody Funderburk was dropped from the roster to make room for Ober, and Caleb Thielbar is the only southpaw Minnesota is bringing into the series. Houston’s lineup is mostly full of right-handed hitters, but Thielbar might be tasked with the tall order of handling Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, and Michael Brantley for some key at-bats. Thielbar had a 3.23 ERA over 30 2/3 innings this season, with very extreme splits after pitching right-handed and left-handed batters pretty evenly throughout his career.
Byron Buxton is still not available, and it is unclear if Buxton will be a factor even if Minnesota does advance deeper into October. A hamstring injury and continued problems with Buxton’s surgically-repaired right knee have kept the former All-Star out of action since August 1, and limited to DH duty rather than center field this season.
Winning the AL West and winning three more games than the Twins during the regular season boosted the Astros into the American League’s #2 seed, so they’re just beginning their playoff run after a first round bye. Keeping with the topic of left-handed relief, the Astros don’t have any lefties on the roster whatsoever except starter Framber Valdez.
However, Houston heads into the ALDS without a key right-handed reliever, as Kendall Graveman is absent from the roster due to right shoulder discomfort. A trade deadline pickup from the White Sox, Graveman has a 2.42 ERA in 22 1/3 innings since joining the Astros, albeit with an inflated 12.8% walk rate.
Verlander and Valdez are lined up to start the first two games, and Cristian Javier will likely start Game 3, though nothing has been announced. Any or all of Jose Urquidy, Hunter Brown, or JP France could start what might end up as a bullpen game (or an all-hands-on-deck elimination game) in a Game 4, and Verlander should start again if the series reaches a fifth game.
The rosters…
Twins
- Right-handed pitchers: Jhoan Duran, Sonny Gray, Griffin Jax, Pablo Lopez, Kenta Maeda, Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack, Emilio Pagan, Joe Ryan, Brock Stewart, Louie Varland
- Left-handed pitchers: Caleb Thielbar
- Catchers: Ryan Jeffers, Christian Vazquez
- Infielders: Carlos Correa, Kyle Farmer, Edouard Julien, Alex Kirilloff, Royce Lewis, Jorge Polanco, Donovan Solano
- Outfielders: Matt Wallner, Michael A. Taylor, Max Kepler, Andrew Stevenson
- Utility: Willi Castro
Astros
- Right-handed pitchers: Bryan Abreu, Hunter Brown, JP France, Cristian Javier, Phil Maton, Rafael Montero, Hector Neris, Ryan Pressly, Ryne Stanek, Jose Urquidy, Justin Verlander
- Left-handed pitchers: Framber Valdez
- Catchers: Yainer Diaz, Martin Maldonado
- Infielders: Jose Abreu, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Mauricio Dubon, Grae Kessinger, Jeremy Pena, Jon Singleton
- Outfielders: Yordan Alvarez, Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers, Kyle Tucker, Michael Brantley