Bryson Cole Sands...Goes by middle name, Cole...Instagram: @colesands_26...Attended North Florida Christian High School in Tallahassee, Fla., where he went 5-1 with a 0.32 ERA, 73 strikeouts and 32 hits allowed in 66.1 innings his senior season...As a senior in 2015, participated in the Under Armour All-American Game at Wrigley Field and was ranked as the 60th-best prospect by Perfect Game and named a First-Team All-American by Louisville Slugger...Pitched three seasons at Florida State University, going 19-15, 4.73 ERA (228.1 IP, 120 ER), 87 walks and 210 strikeouts...Father, David, also attended Florida State...His older brother, Carson, was selected by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft and played four seasons in the minors from 2014-17...Switched from number 77 to 44 during 2023-24 offseason, when the Twins acquired Ryan Jensen off waivers...Was one of four players in club history to wear uniform number 77, joining Tony Batista (2006), Fernando Romero (2018-19) and Andrew Albers (2021)...Claims his hidden talent is that he's "sneaky good" at golf...Participated in 2025 TwinsFest at Target Field.
2024
Made Twins' Opening Day roster for second time in career and second consecutive season, making club as a bullpen arm...Used in more high-leverage roles throughout season, picking up four saves and six holds, along with nine wins...Allowed one run in two innings pitched in first appearance on March 31 at Kansas City, but went on to post seven straight scoreless appearances from April 4-24...Finished April with a 1.54 ERA (11.2 IP, one ER), two walks and 18 strikeouts...Earned second career save and first of season on April 13 at Detroit, pitching 2.1 perfect innings to close out a 4-1 Twins victory...Did not allow an earned run in 15 straight appearances from June 20-Aug. 4 (18.0 IP)...Walked just one batter in 25 appearances from June 25-Sept. 8 (29.1 IP, 113 batters faced)...Twenty-seven of final 35 appearances were scoreless from June 20-end of season, posting a 2.11 ERA (38.1 IP, nine ER) in that span...Earned a win in relief in three consecutive appearances from Sept. 11-17, tied for second-longest streak in club history for a reliever (tied nine others; record held by Mike Marshall with four in 1979)...Pitched 2.0-plus innings in 13 of 62 appearances on season...Made 23 appearances in the sixth inning, 25 in the seventh inning and 13 in the eighth inning...Held right-handed hitters to a .193 average with a .512 OPS and left-handers to a .264 average with a .706 OPS...Recorded four saves on the season, third-most on the team, trailing Jhoan Duran (23) and Griffin Jax (10)...Set career highs in games (62), innings pitched (71.1) and strikeouts (85)...Led the AL in relief wins (nine) and tied for third in all of baseball...His .900 winning percentage (9-1) was the second-highest in club history for a reliever with a minimum of 10 decisions, trailing only Stan Williams in 1970 (.909, 10-1)...Was one of four pitchers in baseball with at least nine wins, four saves and six holds, joining Ryan Walker, Tanner Scott and Hector Neris...Led Twins staff in walks-per-9.0 innings pitched (1.51)...Ranked seventh among AL relievers and 11th among all MLB relievers in walks-per-9.0 innings pitched (1.51)...Among that same group, ranked fourth in AL in strikeouts-per-walk (7.08) and seventh in all of baseball...His 7.08 strikeouts-per-walk ratio ranked fourth-best in club history for a reliever (since 1961), trailing Taylor Rogers (8.18 in 2019), Rogers (7.38 in 2021) and Trevor Hildenberger (7.33 in 2017)...His 1.51 walks-per-9.0 innings pitched ratio ranked 10th...Posted a run value of 13 on his fastball, ranking in the 91st percentile in baseball...Ranked in the 97th percentile in walk percentage (4.1%) and in the 88th percentile in strikeout percentage (29.1%)...Opponents hit .170 (9-for-53) against his splitter, .198 (16-for-81) against his four-seam fastball and .227 (15-for-66) against his cutter...Recipient of Charles O. Johnson Award for Most Improved Twin, an award voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the BBWAA.
2023
Made Twins Opening Day roster for first time in career after pitching in second career Spring Training...spent most of season as long-man out of Twins bullpen. A Had four different stints with the Twins on season, splitting the season between Minnesota and Triple-A St. Paul...Posted a 0.73 ERA (12.1 IP, 1 ER) in first seven appearances with Twins from April 3-May 30, an Anthony Rizzo home run on April 13 at New York-AL being only run allowed in that span...Tied career-high by walking five batters on May 13 vs. Chicago-NL (2.0 IP)...Struck out season-high four batters three times: May 22 vs. San Francisco (2.0 IP), May 30 at Houston (2.1 IP) and Sept. 3 at Texas (2.0 IP)...Placed on 15-day injured list with Minnesota on June 4 with right shoulder impingement...Pitched in two games on rehab assignment with St. Paul and reinstated on July 5...Optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on Sept. 4, where he finished the season...Spent the final week of the season throwing to rehabbing hitters (Buxton, Correa, Lewis, etc.) to be ready for postseason...Allowed earned runs in just three of 15 appearances with Twins on season, finishing with a 3.74 ERA (21.2 IP, 9 ER) with Minnesota...Combined to go 0-2, 2.41 ERA (52.1 IP, 14 ER) with 23 walks, 62 strikeouts and a .191 opponent batting average in 34 games between St. Paul and Minnesota combined.
2022
Pitched in first career Major League Spring Training after being added to Twins 40-man roster Nov. 19, 2021...Optioned to Triple-A St. Paul March 23...Appeared in four games (3 starts) for the Saints from April 4-24 and was recalled by Minnesota April 30 (Bailey Ober - IL)...was the first of seven stints with the Twins on the season (2 of which were 29th man recalls). ...Florida native made Major League debut in relief May 1 at Tampa Bay, allowing two runs on three hits in 2.0 innings pitched...recorded first major league strikeout in that game, fanning Brandon Lowe...Placed on Minnesota's 15-day Injured List on Aug. 24 with a right elbow contusion after being struck by a comebacker off the bat of Yuli Gurriel August 23 at Houston...reinstated Sept.8...Earned first career save Oct. 5 at Chicago-AL in the club's final game, allowing one unearned run on four hits in 4.0 innings pitched in a Twins 10-1 victory...Went 0-0, 3.44 ERA (18.1 IP, 7 ER) in eight relief appearances for Minnesota and 0-3, 9.49 ERA (12.1 IP, 13 ER) in three starts...Combined to go 3-9, 5.65 ERA (92.1 IP, 58 ER) with 37 walks and 100 strikeouts in 30 games (16 starts) between St. Paul and Minnesota on season...Ranked in the 88th percentile in baseball in curveball spin rate at 2812 rpm...Ranked as Twins 24th-best prospect in organization by MLB.com after season.
2021
Began the season with Double-A Wichita and spent the entire year with the Wind Surge...Missed time on the 7-day Injured List from June 21-July 14 with a right elbow strain...Matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts on August 14 at Tulsa (5.2 IP, 2 R/ER, 1 BB)...Went 2-0, 0.00 ER-(17.0 IP) with seven walks and 14 strikeouts across his last three regular-season starts...Started the first game of the Double-A Central Championship Series at Northwest Arkansas, taking the loss (5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R/ER, 1 BB, 1 HB, 4 K)...Held right-handed batters to a .167 (25-for-150) batting average in the regular season, while lefties hit .243 (34-for-140) against him...Allowed three-or-fewer earned runs in 18 of 19 outings...also struck out at least six batters six times, including at least eight batters thrice...Went 4-2, 2.46 ERA (80.1 IP, 22 ER) with 35 walks, 96 strikeouts and a .203 opponent batting average in 19 games (18 starts)...the Wind Surge went 12-7 when he pitched...Finished the season as the 19th-best prospect in the Twins system, per MLB.com...entered 2022 ranked 17th...Added to the Twins 40-man roster Nov. 19.
2020
Did not play, as the Minor League season was cancelled due to COVID-19...Participated in Twins Instructional League in Fort Myers.
2019
Split his first professional season between Low-A Cedar Rapids, High-A Fort Myers and Double-A Pensacola, going 7-3 with a 2.68 ERA (97.1 IP, 29 ER), 19 walks and 108 strikeouts in 18 starts...Struck out eight batters in 5.0 hitless innings in his professional debut on April 6...Fanned 10 batters in 5.0 innings on May 18, allowing eight hits and one run...Had two stints on the seven-day injured list, from June 13-23 (blister) and Aug. 5-12 (left calf strain).
2018
Selected by the Twins in the fifth round of the MLB Draft...Missed the entire Minor League season due to injury.
