While Saints pitching coach Pete Larson is one of the new faces with the team this season, he’s a familiar face for a key component — the impressive group of quality arms that have moved up through the organization along with him.
Larson was the pitching coach at Fordham University when the Twins hired him in 2019 as a rehabilitation pitching coach. Following the cancellation of the minor-league season in 2020 due to Covid, Larson served as pitching coach for the Class A Fort Myers Mighty Mussels in 2021 before taking on the same role with the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge last season.
“I had some success developing pitchers, and pro teams were looking for coaches who could develop to progress the game a little bit,” Larson said of how he ended up joining the Twins. “They were looking outside the normal realm of former professionals. I talked to a couple of teams, and I thought this was the best fit. It was really weird how well (pitching philosophies) lined up. What I thought and what I was trying to do at the college level mirrored what the Twins wanted in terms of development and initiatives. So it was kind of a
layup for me.”
Prior to the Saints’ doubleheader against the Iowa Cubs on Saturday at CHS Field, Larson offered his thoughts on four young pitchers on the Saints’ roster who are deemed to have a bright future with the Twins.
Right-handed starter Louie Varland: The 25-year-old former North St. Paul and Concordia-St. Paul star, who struck out nine over five innings in his season debut with the Saints on Friday, appears on the fast track to the majors after making his debut with the Twins last season.
“I had Louie in 2019 when I was the rehab pitching coach after he had a little setback when he was in (rookie ball),” Larson said. “So I’ve seen a full transformation, with the mechanical changes and the things he has worked on along the way. It’s a nice development story for the Twins.”
Right-handed starter Simeon Woods Richardson: The 22-year-old, who starts for the Saints on Sunday, began last season in Double-A before pitching for the Saints and the Twins.
“It’s hard to believe he’s still so young,” Larson said. “It was awesome to see him start the season in Double-A last year, have a really good first month and finish in the majors. He’s healthy and ready to go. His slider is a little bit better than it was last year, and he’s still got everything else: the curveball, the change-up and a pretty unique fastball. The harder breaking ball is a nice adjustment for him.”
Left-handed reliever Brent Headrick: The 25-year-old is a valuable commodity —a lefty who throws hard. He had a breakout season with Wichita last season.
“He was part of the 2019 draft class, and pretty much (only) had a fastball. He’s worked on having the split change and the slider to really come along, especially since late last year,” Larson said. “He ended up starting Game 2 of the championship series for us, and he was pretty much lights out. He maybe wasn’t one of the more popular names among the prospects, but he’s definitely made a name for himself.”
Right-handed starter Jordan Balazovic: The 24-year-old began last season in St. Paul as the top-rated pitcher in the Twins organization but looked nothing like it for most of the season
before having some success late.
“He had a little bit of a setback last year with the knee, but he’s fully ready to go now,” Larson said.. “He’s been working hard coming back, and we’re pulling for him. He finished strong last season; I think that last month-plus was a true representation of him. Everything is trending in the right direction.”
Briefly
Saints outfielder Ryan LaMarre went 3-for-3 in Game 1 on Saturday, including a pair of two-run doubles, but the Cubs rallied for a 9-7 victory. … In Game 2, the Saints scored five runs in the first inning, only to surrender five in the second, but managed to pull out an 8-5 win.
