Week in Review: Quiet Deadline, Quality Response

[Nick Nelson]

Last week's trade deadline came and went without a move from the Minnesota Twins front office, who decided they're comfortable with the group they have, even as their on-field product continued to lag.

To their credit, the team responded with a 5-1 week, extending their lead in the Central to 4 ½ games as the division crumbles beneath them.

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 7/31 through Sun, 8/6
***
Record Last Week: 5-1 (Overall: 59-54)
Run Differential Last Week: +13 (Overall: +47)
Standing: 1st Place in AL Central (4.5 GA)

Last Week's Game Results:

Game 108 | MIN 3, STL 2: Solano's Big Hit Leads to Slim Victory
Game 109 | STL 7, MIN 3: Cards Crush Ryan for Four Homers
Game 110 | MIN 5, STL 3: Gray Excels, Earns First Win Since April
Game 111 | MIN 3, ARI 2: Three Solo Shots Enough to Sink D-backs
Game 112 | MIN 12, ARI 1: Jeffers Homers Twice in Blowout Win
Game 113 | MIN 5, ARI 3: Kepler Ties It, Wallner Walks It Off

NEWS & NOTES

The Twins headed into the trade deadline looking like a team in dire need of help, riding a five-game losing streak and coming off an embarrassing sweep to the Royals. They got none. 

The front office strangely stood pat at the deadline, passing up the opportunity to make even minor additions for a flawed team being struck by continuous attrition. The gravity of their inaction was felt even more heavily as we learned that Brock Stewart and Alex Kirilloff, two players who were in line for key roles down the stretch and beyond, had troubling injury setbacks.

Kirilloff is now on the injured list with a right shoulder strain that's been bothering him for some time and worsened. Stewart was moved to the 60-day IL last week, unable to shake his forearm soreness. It would not be surprising if neither makes it back this year.

The Twins also lost Byron Buxton to the IL with a strained hamstring, and Joe Ryan with a strained groin. The circumstances of Ryan's injury were especially frustrating – he evidently had been bothered by it for several starts but failed to notify the team, pitching horrifically in the meantime.

Speaking of pitching horrifically, the Twins had seen enough of that from Jovani Moran. Shortly after the left-hander issued three walks in one inning during Saturday's blowout, he was optioned to St. Paul. He just can't stay in the strike zone and unless that changes Moran has no future in the big leagues.

The roster did get some reinforcements amid all of these subtractions. Brent Headrick was swapped in for Moran, joining newly-activated Caleb Thielbar as a second lefty in the pen. Jordan Luplow was claimed off waivers from Toronto, adding a much-needed right-handed bat to the mix – albeit a lesser alternative to what was available via trade. 

And on Sunday, Dallas Keuchel made his Twins debut against Arizona. Keuchel wasn't very impressive, recording zero strikeouts with two walks and eight hits allowed, but lucked his way into holding AZ to one run. He figures to get at least a couple more looks while Ryan is sidelined.

HIGHLIGHTS

From a big-picture view, the most impactful developments of the week – in terms of the Twins and their outlook – took place elsewhere. While Minnesota did nothing at the deadline, Cleveland one-upped them by selling off key veteran pieces in Aaron Civale and Josh Bell. Later in the week, their biggest star sparked an on-field fistfight with White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson. A perfect summary of the "drunken bar fight" (as GATG coined) that is this year's AL Central. 

Jose Ramirez might've taken down Anderson in the scrum, but his Guardians were the ones taking haymakers and dropping in the standings. They lost five of six games to fall four and a half back of the Twins, who more than took care of business against a pair of struggling National League opponents.

Ryan Jeffers was the emergent star of the offense, leading the charge in Saturday's 12-run flurry with a pair of home runs after doubling and homering in the St. Louis series. He finally appears to be realizing his potential as a power-hitting force at catcher, and became the first Twins position player to reach 2.0 fWAR. As a part-time catcher, that's an extremely impressive number for early August. The success of Jeffers is almost entirely counterbalancing the total offensive void that has been Christian Vazquez.

Michael A. Taylor joined the fun on Saturday by homering in his third straight game. Much like Jeffers, albeit to a lesser extent, Taylor's combination of power and defense at a premium position make him more valuable than meets the eye. 

Max Kepler has gotten back to offering those qualities too, minus the premium position part. He went deep three times over the weekend at Target Field, including a game-tying blast in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday, and suddenly his OPS his healthily above-average. The glovework in right field remains sterling.

Shortly after Kepler tied Sunday's game in the ninth, Matt Wallner stepped in with a runner on first base and nobody out. Paul Sewald, who'd been victimized by the Twins in a loss two weeks earlier (as a member of the Mariners), left a 92-MPH fastball out over the plate and Wallner said "buh-bye" for his first career walk-off in the majors.

At last, Wallner has found his way into everyday playing time in the majors and he is thriving. The Twins cannot look back at this point. He went 6-for-20 with two homers, two doubles, and seven RBIs last week. Wallner has seemingly settled in as Rocco Baldelli's No. 5 hitter against right-handers and it's a good look.

On the pitching side, it was a sorely needed stabilization for the Twins and their staff. The rotation's lagging performance after the All-Star break was setting off all kinds of alarms. But outside of Ryan's dud, the starters got it done.

Sonny Gray notched his first win since April on Wednesday, hurling seven innings of two-run ball before handing it to Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran for a smooth 3-2 victory. He struck out eight and walked none, peppering the zone with confidence all night. It's the kind of emphatic and decisive performance that's been oddly rare for Gray during this undeniably stellar season. 

Kenta Maeda was lights-out once again on Saturday. Pablo López and Bailey Ober also threw well. Dylan Floro made a welcome impact with two shutout innings from the bullpen. Jax threw three scoreless eighth innings, all in tight situations, to lower his ERA to 2.85 on the season. 

There are a lot of parts to like on this team, which makes it all the more befuddling that the front office failed to supplement or add depth in anyway at the deadline. Alas, that's in the past now, and doesn't take away from the teeming potential of this ballclub when enough pieces are clicking. Especially if they could get one other piece in particular to click...

LOWLIGHTS

When Carlos Correa managed to drop a two-run single into left field in the sixth inning on Sunday, giving the Twins a (brief) lead, one can only imagine the level of relief he felt. To say Correa had been in a skid would be an understatement: He entered the game slashing .143/.204/.184 in his previous 12, and had already grounded into two double plays on the day, extending his league-leading total to 22. 

Despite his best efforts, Correa has been a constant drain on the lineup, failing to harness any burst of momentum or find a sustained rhythm at the plate. He's homered just once since June 24th (a span of 150 plate appearances). Sunday's game was his first with multiple RBIs in more than three weeks. 

I desperately want to believe that Correa's clutch moment against Arizona will finally be the breakthrough that sticks and sets up a late surge. But my faith has run dry. We've seen so many of these fleeting, false indicators of a turnaround that I've finally grown convinced Correa is what he is, for this year at least: a below-average hitter with frustratingly repetitive tendencies.

Sure enough, in his next at-bat – with a runner on and the game tied in the eighth – Correa went down in familiar fashion, watching a fastball sail over the plate uncontested for strike three.

All things considered, Minnesota is in a relatively favorable position: overwhelmingly likely to make the playoffs with a roster makeup conducive to October success. (Good starters and backend relievers, power-driven lineup.) The Guardians fortunately seem intent on maximizing Minnesota's margin or error, but the runway is never going to be infinite. 

The Twins need better from guys like Correa and Ryan, who are viewed as leaders on this team. They need to stop feeding at-bats to Joey Gallo. They need to catch a few dang breaks on the health front. (The return of Royce Lewis, hopefully later this month, looms large.)

The past seven days may have moved the needle strongly in Minnesota's direction for the AL Central race, but did little to quell the nagging concerns that this group – left intact, as such – is equipped to end the franchise's postseason curse narrative.

TRENDING STORYLINE

With all the big news surrounding the trade deadline and shifting AL Central dynamics, it was also a very eventful week on the Twins farm. Top draft pick Walker Jenkins debuted in the Florida Complex League, doubling in his first professional plate appearance. We'll be waiting a long time for the arrival of the 18-year-old stud outfielder, but it's going to be fun to follow him.

Twins fans won't have to wait nearly as long to see to see the organization's No. 1 prospect, and top draft pick from a year ago. Brooks Lee was promoted to Triple-A last week, putting him just one step away from the majors at age 22. 

It's not unthinkable Lee could find his way up to the big leagues this year, especially if Lewis can't rebound from his oblique injury, but one way or another he's not far off. The Saints return to CHS Field this coming week if you're interested in catching baseball's No. 17 prospect in action.

LOOKING AHEAD

These are what they call the dog days. The Twins are running through a bit of a summer gauntlet in the schedule right now: 16 games in 17 days, with 13 of them on the road. They're wrapping up this tough stretch in the coming week with trips to Detroit and Philly, with no break. 

The second half of August gets much more accommodating: after next weekend's Phillies series, they have four off days mixed into the following three weeks, and 12 of their remaining 14 August games are at home. 

They've just gotta get through this next week. Beware: lefty starters lurk ahead.

MONDAY, 8/7: TWINS @ TIGERS – RHP Pablo Lopez v. LHP Joey Wentz
TUESDAY, 8/8: TWINS @ TIGERS – RHP Sonny Gray v. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
WEDNESDAY, 8/9: TWINS @ TIGERS – RHP Bailey Ober v. TBD
THURSDAY, 8/10: TWINS @ TIGERS – RHP Kenta Maeda v. RHP Reese Olson
FRIDAY, 8/11: TWINS @ PHILLIES – LHP Dallas Keuchel v. LHP Cristopher Sanchez
SATURDAY, 8/12: TWINS @ PHILLIES – RHP Pablo Lopez v. RHP Taijuan Walker
SUNDAY, 8/13: TWINS @ PHILLIES – RHP Sonny Gray v. LHP Ranger Suarez

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[mikelink45]

What has made things so good for the Twins?

1. Cleveland giving up on the season
2. Julien and Wallner giving us the bats 
3. Maeda reliving his 2020 season
4. Pagan not stinking!

What has not been good?

1. Our highest paid Twins not carrying their weight of their salary in the lineup
2. Ryan and Duran looking like they need a rest. 
3. The front office giving us a line of BS about the trade deadline.

[FlyingFinn]

Julien and Wallner really make the hitting lineup more dangerous. Even though we don't have an intentional walk before the 9th inning, Julien was being pitched around to get to Correa, who then knocked two runs in.

Julien really should be the DH though. His fielding gives up runs. Not sure 1B is the answer either the way he missed that ball today. Twins need him though. Sacrifice the D for 7 innings to get ahead right now if he's not the DH.

[HerbieFan]

Great read Nick!  I'll 1,000% agree on Gallo and take it a step further and say he should be cut loose.  I'm going to disagree with you on Keuchel's "luck" today.  I don't know if I've ever seen a guy give up more soft-contact hits in a five-inning stint.  At the very least he was better than an ailing Ryan has been recently.

[Fatbat]

Julien had a .692 obp against the Dbacks. 4 walks , 3 K’s. He must have had flashbacks to the AFL 2022. DH is looking 👀 goooood on him!!

[IndianaTwin]

From the OP: “The front office strangely stood pat at the deadline, passing up the opportunity to make even minor adjustments…” 

Also from the OP: “Dylan Floro made a welcome impact…”

[JD-TWINS]

FO knows we go to 4 starting pitchers in the playoffs…….we play 21 games v. above .500 clubs here on out…….Guardians play 39 games v. above .500 clubs here on out. That alone should grant us the Division.

Focusing Jeffers into lineup v. LH pitching along with Lewis being back, we should be capable! We still have 49 games to find ourselves v. LH pitching…….another maybe, 12 games v. LH starters.

CC-Farmer-Lewis-Solano-Jeffers-Buxton-Castro-Luplow-Taylor vs. LH pitching

Only 4 starters in Playoffs & the need for only 12 total pitchers…….Ober/Gray/Lopez/Maeda………

Ryan-Kuechel-Duran-Jax-Headrick-Pagan-Balazovic-Thielbar

Seems crazy but they will try to keep Gallo rostered through August so they can carry him though September (roster expansion) and not mess up team chemistry……..need him for corner OF depth but more importantly at 1B with Kirilloff out another 2-3 weeks.

 

[stringer bell]

Keuchel's outing had me going back to 1987. Getting just enough out of a starting pitcher to be in range to win late. He pitched the way a lot of soft-tossing lefties have pitched for years, changed speeds, kept the ball off the barrel of the bat and the ball out of the middle of the strike zone. The Twins were fortunate that all of the stolen bases didn't hurt them and that Arizona came close to o-fer with runners in scoring position.

[JD-TWINS]

5 minutes ago, Fatbat said:

Julien had a .692 obp against the Dbacks. 4 walks , 3 K’s. He must have had flashbacks to the AFL 2022. DH is looking 👀 goooood on him!!

I love the guy in the batters box!!

Can hardly watch him on defense. Nothing looks easy. Nothing looks intuitive - ever. Sooo mechanical. Hope he can fit at DH…..doesn’t seem practical for a young guy! Needs WORK!!!

[FlyingFinn]

17 minutes ago, HerbieFan said:

I'm going to disagree with you on Keuchel's "luck" today.

Agreed. Keuchel is a professional nibbler, meaning he has to have control so he can work around the edges of the strike zone. I generally don't like pitchers who nibble but that is the only way he can get it done. With Keuchel pitching, give me the A rated infield defense and DH Julien.

[JD-TWINS]

FO has had some things come together by accident -  they absolutely deserve credit for the veteran depth they added that was dismissed by most…….pitching is holding up & could be really good down the stretch with some rest.

Taylor - Farmer - Solano have been really good as fill-ins who play almost all of the time. Castro was a huge pick-up.

While planed upon contributors like Miranda - Buxton - CC - Polanco - Vazquez have underperformed at a minimum.

DALLAS KUECHEL - 5 fabulous innings. Gave up 1 run after at least 3-4 weak hits out of 8 total with 2 walks. I don’t care what it looks like if we can get 5 innings & 1-3 runs, he’s capable of giving 3 other starters good rest during the Dog Days. No K’s - who cares!

[JD-TWINS]

4 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Agreed. Keuchel is a professional nibbler, meaning he has to have control so he can work around the edges of the strike zone. I generally don't like pitchers who nibble but that is the only way he can get it done. With Keuchel pitching, give me the A rated infield defense and DH Julien.

Can’t “not catch” a waste high throw from the catcher!!! Looked like a distracted 7th grader playing 2B today. Really suspect defense, essentially on every opportunity. Gotta change. 

[stringer bell]

29 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Can’t “not catch” a waste high throw from the catcher!!! Looked like a distracted 7th grader playing 2B today. Really suspect defense, essentially on every opportunity. Gotta change. 

I just looked at the box score and they gave the error to Vázquez! 

[SotaSports in NM]

57 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

From the OP: “The front office strangely stoop pat at the deadline, passing up the opportunity to make even minor adjustments…” 

Also from the OP: “Dylan Floro made a welcome impact…”

That wasn't a deadline trade, though.

[darwin22]

This ^$%$% team.  One short week ago tonight, I like many other fans (I'm guessing) just wanted this season to be over.  After getting swept by the hapless Royals in KC, my mood was beyond angered.  No energy and little sense of urgency by the players, coaching staff and the front office at the trade deadline had me ready to turn all of my Minnesota sports allegiance to the state of affairs of Vikings training camp.

So one short week later, what series of events have me (GULP) actually willing to re-invest my heart into this team?

1. Winning 2 of 3 in STL after the KC fiasco.

2.  Seeing CLE, despite only being a few games back, seemingly throw the white towel by trading away their best healthy SP (Civale) and jettisoning another quality bat (Josh Bell) at the trade deadline.

3.  Witnessing one of the funniest (and stupidest) baseball fights----the welterweight action of Jose Ramirez vs. Tim Anderson last night.  This imbecilic brawl will (hopefully) cost Ramirez a 5-game+ suspension.

4.  This team finishing off a sweep today against the Snakes.  Improbable to say the least with Gallen dealing early and seeing Pagan and Thielbar both give up late runs in their outings.  

Maybe just maybe what happened in the bottom of the 9th can be a springboard for the last 49 games. Saying that, I'm a realist.  Bullpen is thin.  Very thin.  Buxton is out for an extended period. Who knows when either Kirilloff and Lewis will be back?  Correa, despite a key hit today shows little evidence of breaking out of his season long funk.

On the flip side----as others have noted---as bad as things have been offensively, who would've predicted the improvements from these 3 hitters 6 weeks ago?

1.  Ryan Jeffers:  Since July 1st, Jeffers is hitting .385 (20-52) with 5 HRs, 12 RBI and an OPS over 1000

2.  Eduardo Julien:  Same time frame---since July 1st is hitting .353 (30-85) with a .450+ OBP

3.  Max Kepler:  Since 7-1:  .295 avg (31-105), 7 HRs, 17 RBI with an OPS over 900

This game of baseball is crazy.  Twins have 49 games left.  This week's 7 game road trip through DET and PHI is crucial.  Need to come away with a minimum of 3 wins.

The key to this season will be the 13 game stretch (Aug 24-Sept 6) when the Twins face TX and CLE for 13 games....7 vs. TX ( 4 home/ road) and 6 vs. CLE (3 home/3 road)

One thing has proven true about this team through 113 games:  They are consistently inconsistent.

Time to buckle up to see what happens and maybe have some fun over the next 8 weeks.

Its just a game...right?

[IndianaTwin]

2 hours ago, SotaSports said:

That wasn't a deadline trade, though.

Do you mean because it was a whole six days before the deadline? If so, then I guess we can’t count the July 22 trade of Cruz for Ryan as a deadline deal either. 

[wabene]

5 hours ago, stringer bell said:

I just looked at the box score and they gave the error to Vázquez! 

To be fair to Julien that ball was 15 feet from the bag. That's the correct call. 

[wabene]

5 hours ago, SotaSports said:

That wasn't a deadline trade, though.

What is the point of this distinction? Just for criticism? Seems irrelevant that the trade was a few days before the deadline. 

[William K Johnson]

2 hours ago, wabene said:

To be fair to Julien that ball was 15 feet from the bag. That's the correct call. 

Don't care how far the throw was from the bag, it went right through his glove.    His defense is as bad as I have ever seen from a professional player.

[Peter]

What a week-last week with getting swept by Kansas City up by only half a game and now it’s 4.5 let’s give credit where credit is due!!! Twins have picked it up especially with winning series against St Louis and important intense season turning point changing sweep of Arizona especially with yesterdays win!!! Bullpen was awesome this week little shaky yesterday but came through! Tough  games this week as we can’t look past Detroit and Phillies. I’ll take 4-3/5-2 week as twins should expand division lead.

[wabene]

1 hour ago, William K Johnson said:

Don't care how far the throw was from the bag, it went right through his glove.    His defense is as bad as I have ever seen from a professional player.

Sorry that's impossible. Does he have a hole in his glove? It went beyond his glove. Did he have a play? Maybe. What we have here is more over reaction. Fire this. The worst that. Calm down. With that bat I would give him more time. The Twins seem to agree. 

[LastOnePicked]

Well I, for one, am enjoying this whiplash between hope and hate for this club. Kind of.

I've been down on this team. I've been down on this whole organization. I'd be thrilled for them to extend this week into October and make me look stupid in the process.

But I really, really want to see Correa put it together at the plate. Have a .350 mid-August-Sept. Put this division away and start getting the younger players ready for a playoff run.

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, wabene said:

Sorry that's impossible. Does he have a hole in his glove? It went beyond his glove. Did he have a play? Maybe. What we have here is more over reaction. Fire this. The worst that. Calm down. With that bat I would give him more time. The Twins seem to agree. 

What I saw was that Julien tried to catch the ball and then swipe at the sliding runner. The ball went off the end of his glove and he should have kept it in the infield. Misplay by Julien? Absolutely (IMHO), but that alone doesn't make him a latter-day Nishioka.

[saviking]

I thought I'd give the Twins brain trust a few kudos to balance our my criticisms. 

Picking up Castillo and Stewert wwre really great moves even though Stewart got hurt. Sticking with Pagan and Keppler has turned out as well. Never thought I would say that about Pagan but it's true. Until it isn't 😄

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

3 hours ago, William K Johnson said:

Don't care how far the throw was from the bag, it went right through his glove.    His defense is as bad as I have ever seen from a professional player.

I don't know,  the last year from Knoblauch where he couldn't throw to 1st base was pretty bad.  Conseco getting hit on the head from a pop fly.   Lets not go hyperbole here,  but he is a bad defensive player currently,  with as good as his bat is,  hopefully they can work more on the defense.  

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

Even at the lowest levels of baseball,  baseball is 90% mental and having a good approach.  Right now Correa is off, but not hopeless,  we have seen many players go through slumps like this before and bounce back.  Correa himself,  Bellinger and many others.  Hopefully he can figure it out as we wind down the season.   

However, Kepler and Jeffers look to be getting much more comfortable, and with Julien and Wallner that is starting to form a decent core of batters to build around for the rest of the season.   

It is entertaining to as one poster mentioned on here the "whiplash" of fans opinions on this team and organization.  Just a week ago their was major concerns on the ownership, management, coaches and direction of the team and organization.  

A week later after 5-1 start someone of the demonstrative concern has begun to quell, but more just seems to be in the background seeming to be waiting (dare I say hoping) for another downward stretch from the team.   As a whole though it was a very good week for the team and organization.   Here is my highlights of the week..

1. Pablo Lopez beginning to assert himself as the Twins future ace.  

2. Wallner and Julien looking like 2 very good young bats.  

3. The minor leagues, continues to pump out mid level prospects and making them look like elite hitters.  Add in the most recent draft where Jenkins, Keaschall and Winokur are all performing very well in their first week of professional baseball.  SSS away,  both Jenkins and Winokur are performing very well for high school players.  We will see if they get promoted to A ball here shortly.  We are still waiting on the pitchers and based on previous years handling they will likely slow play them letting some get their feet wet and others working with them to get ready for the 2024 season.   The 2023 draft has the potential to be a franchise changing draft.  3-4 very good bats,  and plenty arms,  some with very high ceilings to work with. 

4. Lee getting promoted to AAA.  On track to potentially be in the big leagues next year, and we will see if the team starts him at the MLB level to try an get an additional pick if he is rookie of the year.   

5.  Bounce back start by Gray and continued dominance by Maeda.   For individuals concerned about not trading Gray or Maeda,  the Twins not only are continuing to benefit from their performances,  they both continue maintain in Grays case and continue to increase the chances that the Twins may be able to either receive draft compensation or another  1 year on a qualifying offer.   It is questionable whether Maeda would accept the qualifying offer or not,  but he is currently performing at a very high level.  

[Blyleven2011]

What concerns me is that Rocco and medical team had no idea Ryan was playing through a groin strain ...

Yes it players responsibility to report even minor bumps and bruises  , but management should also be watching players perform  ...

Maybe it time to start giving penalties to unreported injuries , baserunning blunders , called third strikes , etc. ....

We had a good week , better than expected  ...

What's our record against national league teams ???

[RpR]

7 hours ago, wabene said:

What is the point of this distinction? Just for criticism? Seems irrelevant that the trade was a few days before the deadline. 

Add to that, his throws to first have the First Baseman guessing whether he will try to dig it out of the dirt, jump in the air to catch it, or have reach to the left or right to the extreme or leave he bag to catch it.Fi

His fielding is a Chinese Fire Drill.

[stringer bell]

17 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

 

We had a good week , better than expected  ...

What's our record against national league teams ???

By my count 15-14 vs. the NL. 

[jmlease1]

Nice to have the Twins bounce back after a shoddy performance against the sorry, no-account Royals. Hopefully the Twins will respond better to prosperity this time and not let Cleveland back into the race but instead slam the door on them by winning the next 2 series.

The double plays from Correa are maddening. I will say this for him, though: he doesn't seem to let it impact him in the field, because he's still been consistently good out there.

Kirilloff's injury came at a rotten time. Ok, any injury is at a rotten time, but if he was healthy we might be able to move on from the K-machine, Gallo. He's gone from problematic/poor to dreadful and that great first month is long gone. Seems like a good guy but I hate seeing him come to the plate.

Julien, on the other hand, is fantastic to watch at the plate. reminds me of an old Ron Luciano story about Rod Carew, when a catcher complained a little about a pitch on the border not being called a strike. The ump responded by pointing at Carew and said, "He'll let you know when it's a strike." It's still early days, but that strike zone recognition is unbelievable.

Jeffers emergence has been great as well. We always knew he had some pop in that bat, but he's making better contact all the way around and the defense has stayed quality. His splits confuse me, but it feels like he should be able to pound lefties just fine. small sample size?