Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Thursday that he expects Archer to start the team's fifth game of the season April 12 against the Dodgers in Minnesota, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

EDGE Analysis

Archer got off to a delayed start to spring training after he didn't sign with the Twins until Monday, but he was apparently able to build up his pitch count to some degree before reporting to Minnesota's big-league camp this week. He's slated to make what will be his lone Grapefruit League start Friday versus Atlanta, and the Twins will likely have him get further stretched out with another simulated game in the middle of next week before his first turn in the rotation comes up. Archer might still face a workload restriction in his regular-season debut, but it's not likely to be a significant one.