Bailey Ober is the odd man out in the Twins' rotation

When the Minnesota Twins broke camp last year, there was plenty of room for Bailey Ober. The right-hander was coming off a solid rookie season, going 3-3 with a 4.19 ERA in 20 starts and the Twins were working with a patchwork rotation that included Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy.

Ober's first full season in the majors didn't go as planned, however, as a groin injury limited him to 11 starts and the Twins rotation was decimated by injuries. This spring, Ober did everything in his power to make the starting rotation only to be told Sunday that he's starting the season at Triple-A St. Paul.

The Twins' rotation looks a lot different than it did a year ago thanks to the front office's strategy to acquire depth. The Twins started that process last offseason by trading for Sonny Gray and acquiring Tyler Mahle at last year's trade deadline and continued to bolster the rotation by acquiring Pablo López in the Luis Arráez trade.

With Joe Ryan already established and Kenta Maeda returning from Tommy John surgery, the deal for López effectively solidified the rotation, which left Ober competing for a roster spot this spring.

To his credit, Ober made it a tough decision. In 10 innings, Ober allowed just three earned runs and three hits – all coming in Saturday's start against the Atlanta Braves.

Spring training stats should always be taken with a grain of salt – Tsuyoshi Nishioka hit .345 in spring training before Nick Swisher broke his leg in 2011 – but Ober certainly had a spring deserving of a spot in the rotation. But the Twins are clearly going with veteran experience over Ober's upside. 

Ryan has two years of experience and a 3.63 career ERA under his belt while Gray figures to be the veteran leader of the staff. López has already been named the Opening Day starter and Mahle looks poised to begin the season in the rotation despite a drop in velocity and nine runs allowed in 13.2 innings this spring.

The Twins have been cautious with Maeda in his return from Tommy John surgery and even declined to use him out of the bullpen last September. While Maeda came into camp with a clean bill of health, his spring has been disappointing, allowing eight earned runs and a team-high 10 walks in 14.2 innings.

When healthy last season, Ober had a 3.21 ERA and 1.05 WHIP and he was nothing short of dominant this spring. Look what The Athletic's Aaron Gleeman wrote about Ober after watching him in Florida: 

"Ober arrived at Twins camp knowing he was sixth on the depth chart for a five-man rotation, but the 6-foot-9 right-hander said all the right things and has looked great all spring. Ober was a soft-tossing control artist in the minors, but he’s topped 94 mph often this spring and added velocity has also turned his slider into a swing-and-miss weapon. He was already good, with a 3.82 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 148 career innings, but Ober’s raw stuff has jumped dramatically. Now he just needs a spot in the rotation to show it off."