They may not be related, but two of the newest Twins could pass for, well, twins.

Ryan Fitzgerald, whom the Twins called up after the trade deadline in early August, and James Outman, acquired for Brock Stewart and called up last weekend, bear a striking resemblance to each other, so much so that the new Twins are often mistaken for each other, even within the clubhouse.

Case in point: at a hitter’s meeting on Thursday morning, Fitzgerald said bench coach Jayce Tingler kept pointing in his direction while talking about Outman.

The new Twins see the resemblance too.

“(Wednesday) when I was on second, I saw him standing in the box and I was like ‘Oh, that does look like me,’” Outman said. “But the first time I ran into him, I didn’t think much of it just cause I don’t really see my face too much.”

Both have long, wavy dark hair that peaks out from underneath their caps. They both have dark brown eyes. Their facial hair is styled the same way and they have similar face shapes and builds, though Outman is a bit taller.

Both left-handed hitters, Fitzgerald believes their swings look somewhat similar and they also have the same “resting face.”

“I’ve seen him before but just being so close to him now, I can’t stop looking at him,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m like ‘This is literally like looking in a mirror.’”

While Outman said he hasn’t gotten confused for Fitzgerald, a rookie, in public, Fitzgerald has been getting the Outman comparison since at least last year. Both spent spring training in Arizona last year when Outman was with the Dodgers and Fitzgerald was in the Royals’ organization and when Fitzgerald was out in public, confused fans would approach him.

“I would be out to dinner or I was at Topgolf and people were like ‘James Outman?’” Fitzgerald said.

Their manager, Rocco Baldelli, has yet to mix the two up, but he said he tries to take his time and be deliberate, making sure he has the right one in front of him when he begins talking.

Fans seem largely unable to tell the difference between the two of them, too. On Tuesday night, during the Target Field celebrity look-alike cam, Outman was pictured as the celebrity and a live shot of Fitzgerald came on the screen. The crowd had little reaction, seemingly thinking they were just looking at two photos of Outman.

The next day, when Fitzgerald was at the plate, the fun fact that accompanied his photo on the scoreboard simply proclaimed he “is not James Outman.”

“It’s like ridiculous,” Baldelli said. “The similarities, it’s uncanny.”

Ohl breaks out new pitch

In the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s game, Twins rookie Pierson Ohl unveiled his newest weapon: a knuckleball.

Up 0-2 in the count, he threw the pitch to Darell Hernaiz. It was just outside for a ball. A couple pitches later, he threw it again, Hernaiz fouling off. In the eighth inning, he brought it back against Hernaiz and got him to swing at it for strike three.

It was the first time Ohl had broken out the pitch in a major league game after he first started toying with it at the end of his Double-A season last year.

“I had one more start and I go ‘Let’s throw it in a game and see what it does,’ and it honestly wasn’t bad at all,” Ohl said. “I was like ‘Wait a second, this could be something.’”

He started the year again in Double-A Wichita and knew he needed a pitch that would help him strike out more right-handed hitters. With an 0-2 or 1-2 count, he figured he had some wiggle room to try it out. The first time he tried it this year? Strike out. The second time? Strike out. The third time? Yep, strike out.

“It’s a less-than-10 percent pitch but it’s something that generates strikeouts and I see myself doing it in the future,” Ohl said.

Briefly

Zebby Matthews will start on Friday when the Twins head to Chicago to take on the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field.

Originally Published: August 21, 2025 at 3:29 PM CDT