How Kyle Farmer Explains (Almost) Everything - EXCERPT

[Matthew Trueblood]

New Minnesota Twins shortstop Kyle Farmer is not a star. That fact is inescapable, and it’s made his acquisition a source of some confusion, and even frustration. View it through the right lens, though, and Farmer’s arrival not only makes sense, but reveals much about what the front office wants, what they value, and what they might do next.

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

If I had to sum up the Twins’ offensive philosophy in a single sentence, it would go like this: Hit the ball in the air, to your pull field. No viable approach could ever be quite that simple, of course, but theirs comes close. And Kyle Farmer fits into that mold. 

No other team in MLB emphasizes this quite as clearly. Knowing that this is what they’re always doing explains almost every individual offensive move they make. This can be seen using a statistic I’ve dubbed “Bomba Rate” which reflects that philosophy. Here’s the list of all 2022 Twins who came to the plate at least 200 times, with their Bomba Rate:

Bomba Rates, Minnesota Twins, 2022

Player	%	Rank (of 357)
Byron Buxton	11.0	7
Jorge Polanco	9.7	30
Jose Miranda	9.7	33
Nick Gordon	9.5	36
Luis Arraez	9.2	42
Gary Sanchez	7.9	103
Carlos Correa	7.3	134
Ryan Jeffers	7.2	139
Max Kepler	6.7	179
Gio Urshela	6.2	205
Gilberto Celestino	2.9	347

I won’t further inundate you with numbers, but name a homegrown Twins hitter from the last several seasons–Mitch Garver, Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario–and they rank highly in Bomba Rate. Guys like Carlos Correa come through and see their Bomba Rates rise. The few free-agent hitters in whom the team invests (Marwin Gonzalez, Josh Donaldson) run high Bomba Rates. 

There’s more. Jake Cave had a Celestinish 4.0-percent Bomba Rate in 2022, and was waived immediately after the season. Kyle Garlick had a Buxtonian 10.5-percent rate, and the team re-signed him. The Twins kept both of their hitting coaches and promoted a third to their big-league team from within the organization this fall. Why did they do so, even after a frustrating finish to the season? Because those coaches got their guys to keep on Bomba-ing.

We’ve reached the point where it’s time for a deeper dive into Bomba Rate and how Kyle Farmer in particular fits into it so cleanly, but that content is reserved for Twins Daily Caretakers’ eyes only. 

Fear not: You too can become a Caretaker for as low as $4/month, and we’re having a special Black Friday sale through Monday the 28th. In addition to getting to read the rest of the meaty Bomba Rate post, you also get other free Twins Daily publications, Winter Meltdown tickets and other special recognition. You can read all about it and signup here. 

Those benefits are all nice, but the real reason to sign up is this: 100% of all Caretaker money is channeled directly back into the site. By signing up to be a caretaker, you’re supporting (we writers you value, and enabling deeper dive Twins-specific content like this that isn’t dependent on ad revenue. 

We hope you’ll consider it. We expect you’ll love the benefits, including learning more about Farmer, Bomba Rate, and why it helps show what the Twins will do next.

View full article

[rv78]

Just looking, I would guess your numbers are not correct. No way is Arraez that high and Kepler that low unless all of Kepler's weak grounders to 2nd base and Arraez's line drive base hits to right skew the numbers.

[Doctor Gast]

I'm fine with hitting HR but training & encouraging player to elevate their launch angle and etc due to the one year juiced ball is increasing their SOs & FOs post juicedball era. They get into the habit of what they've been taught & can't adjust to the deader ball.

Buxton & Polanco are not of this group, they went their own way to make a good swing on the ball & hit it hard. Yet they are leading the Twins in HRs. That's what they should teach the rest of the players.