Article: Coming In Hot

[PintoWF]

My cell phone is what keeps me updated. Life, politics, sports. Whatever. That includes the Minnesota Twins.

 

Whenever they score, or are scored upon, I get an update. Lately I have been seeing more of the former.

 

The Twins have averaged 7.8 runs per game in July while going 7-3 to begin the month. They have scored in double figures four times in those ten games. Compare that with just one instance of double figure scoring in the first 78 games.Kurt Suzuki, the Twins catcher I still believe is just a stopgap for the organization, has been white-hot the last 28 games. His line of .379/.402/.592/.994 over that time is one of the best for a catcher over the last month plus.

 

Max Kepler has been just as hot driving in 33 runs over the last 37 games. Of those 33 RBIs, 18 have come in the last 10 games. He has also hit five home runs with a ridiculous slugging percentage of .622 in those 10 games as well.

 

That's fifth best of any rookie in the majors with at least 25 plate appearances.

 

Minnesota has done most of their damage against the Texas Rangers. Seven of the 10 games this month have come against the American League's best team. The Twins have averaged eight runs per game while hitting 14 home runs, 15 doubles and a .328 team batting average.

 

The run scoring against Texas is something of a tradition. The Twins have averaged 4.76 runs again against Texas since 2010, the best mark for Minnesota against any American League opponent.

 

What are we to feel about all of this? Is this a product of the opponent? A hot team? A handful of players getting hot at the same time?

 

First, feel happy. Some positivity from a season void of it. Second, feel optimism. Kepler. Kennys Vargas. Robbie Grossman. Even Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. They've all had a hand in this offense going crazy over the last 10 games.

 

Not only that, they've played well in the field. At positions they were meant to play.

 

Sano, a third baseman, is actually playing third base. Not the outfield. Meaning Kepler is getting time in right field at the major league level and not at AAA where he has already proven himself.

 

(Side-note: The injury to Trevor Plouffe might be a blessing in disguise. This is what the team, defensively, should look like. Sano playing his natural position and a rotation of Byron Buxton, Grossman, Rosario and Kepler in the outfield. It seems to be working.)

 

Third, don't get your hopes up that this is the start of something great for this year.

 

The Texas pitching staff isn't all that great. The starters are good but the bullpen is dreadful. The Twins crushed an already bad bullpen into submission by taxing them to the limit. Frankly, the All-Star break could not have come soon enough for Texas.

 

The Twins, by comparison, could have done without the stoppage in play.

 

They could also use some more games against the AL West. Of their 32 wins, 15 have come from teams that hail from that division. They have just seven more games, three against Seattle and four against Houston, left to play against AL West teams.

 

Fourth, it is only 10 games. A small snippet in time. Nothing to get overly hyped about if you're a Twins fan as this team will certainly find its level soon. Especially with how young this roster is.

 

All of those things aside, it still makes you smile, if only for a moment. A break from the monotonous pounding the team had been taking.

 

If you want to enjoy it, by all means, enjoy. Don't let my negativity drag you down.

 

Whoop it up, baby. The Twins are coming in hot.

 

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[FunnyPenguin]

Read this, good for twinsdepressionosis is well...

 

http://bringmethenews.com/2016/07/11/the-twins-have-the-best-offense-in-baseball-since-mid-june/

 

[wsnydes]

They've been fun to watch the last couple of weeks.  There have been one or two blips in there where you just shake your head, but overall they've been enjoyable to watch.  It's good to see the youth be the main catalyst too.  I don't really believe that they'll continue on that pace, but it does give me something to look forward to for the second half.  Hopefully a couple of the veterans are dealt and the youth movement continues.

[Loosey]

I think the "Real" Twins team is somewhere in between the team of the last 10 games and the team that started off 25-53.

 

Right now the team sits at 32-56.  A .500 record in their final 74 games gets them to 69-93 on the season.  A very bad 90 loss season, but much more respectful than the 110+ losses they were on pace for at one point.

 

I would take that especially if it is driven by the teams future pieces of Sano, Buxton, Kepler, Berrios and friends.

 

The rest of the summer is looking better than it was just a few shorts weeks ago.

 

[gunnarthor]

The Twins certainly have the pieces for a very good offensive team. Hopefully, we are starting to see that grow at last.

Edited July 12, 2016 by gunnarthor

[d-mac]

In July the Twins offense has the highest walk rate, third lowest K rate, 3rd highest ISO. Sure, their BABIP is a bit high for this month- .331, but it's not that much higher than the .316 median BABIP  for the month. 

 

So there are some signs that the offense is improving fundamentally. 

[High heat]

We do forget that a lot of these young guys have come up together and have won together in the minors. Learning to win and having a winning attitude is as important as pure skills. You keep a bunch of these young guys up and playing together that energy seems to have returned. Maybe we have something. I wanna see some big traded in coming weeks if it's not just to get all these guys up and playing together.

 

Maybe I'm just drinking the koolaid of a little win streak but you gotta grab at anything positive sometimes.

[Danchat]

It was hard not to pummel guys like Kyle Lohse and Chi-Chi Gonzalez (twice). But as I said in one of the first game threads of the year, "this offense is going to be susceptible to some very high highs and some very low lows". This is the Twins offense on a high part of the coaster - now when the coaster drops and the offense levels off, can the starting pitching hold up?

[Old Twins Cap]

I remember in '84, still not a very good team, but there were signs -- a Gaetti here, a Puckett there, Hrbek. 

 

You could see some pieces coming together. 

 

When they score runs in bunches on the road, hit the ball up gaps, a three-run dinger that is way gone.  That's when you know a corner is about to be turned.

 

 

[gunnarthor]

 

It was hard not to pummel guys like Kyle Lohse and Chi-Chi Gonzalez (twice). But as I said in one of the first game threads of the year, "this offense is going to be susceptible to some very high highs and some very low lows". This is the Twins offense on a high part of the coaster - now when the coaster drops and the offense levels off, can the starting pitching hold up?

Sure, but the offense also pummeled Hamels, Manaea, Nola and Quintana.  I do think the offense will certainly have some lows but they won't be the lows we saw in April.  

[MileHighTwinsFan]

Don't forget the pitching.  Santana and Duffy have been great. Gibson, Milone and Nolasco have been solid - if not remarkable.  I also really like what we are seeing in the pen with Kintzler, May, Pressley, Rogers, Tonkin and Abad.  

 

I remain optimistic that the team will play at or above .500 the rest of the way.  

[Brandon]

I think the Rangers need to be moved to our division

[troyhobbs]

 

Don't forget the pitching.  Santana and Duffy have been great. Gibson, Milone and Nolasco have been solid - if not remarkable.  I also really like what we are seeing in the pen with Kintzler, May, Pressley, Rogers, Tonkin and Abad.  

 

I remain optimistic that the team will play at or above .500 the rest of the way.  

I feel the pitching might even be more of a mirage than the scorching hot offense of late. Abad is regressing pretty hard and I feel like Kintzler might be next. Still not impressed with that rotation. But we'll see, can't deny the fact that they just embarrassed one of the top teams in the AL....it'll be interesting to see how they come out of the break and there should be plenty of fun rumors leading up to the deadline....

[jimbo92107]

You used 'Kurt Suzuki' and 'white hot' in the same sentence. You know what that means, right? 

 

AXEBATS FOR EVERYBODY!!!!

[Shaitan]

The season finally gets interesting and we have to take a 4 day break.

[Badsmerf]

If the team plays 500 the second half that should be a win to all involved. That is a tall task relying on first and second year guys with the bat, and a horrendous rotation. There future looks alright, but until the young guys start contributing more on the mound, it's hard to see this tea contributing any time soon.