Twins Daily 2023 Awards: Unsung Hero

[Matt Braun]

We move onto the important, but perhaps overlooked contributors to the AL Central-winning Twins.

This one was purposely nebulous: is an unsung hero an underrated player? Was it someone who stepped up in another’s absence? We allowed our writers to interpret the term independently before sending in their answers. Here’s how the voting broke down:

Honorable mentions (all of these players earned a vote):
Caleb Thielbar
Emilio Pagán
Ryan Jeffers
Carlos Correa
Griffin Jax
Kenta Maeda
Royce Lewis
Kyle Farmer
Christian Vázquez
Alex Kirilloff

5. Jorge Polanco
It’s a little weird seeing a veteran rank so highly on this list, especially considering that Jorge Polanco—because of his 2014 cup of coffee—is the longest-tenured Twin. He played with Kendrys Morales and Josmil Pinto. Yohan Pino made 11 starts. Let’s just move on. 

I think timing is the key here: Polanco hit the IL halfway through May, came back for a week in June, and then returned at the very end of July. The team entered its “rookies dominating the lineup phase” right around this point, making it easy for Polanco’s contributions—which was a fifth full season with an above-average OPS—to be lost in the hype. There’s no glory in boring consistency, I guess. 

4. Bailey Ober
Bailey Ober wasn’t even a Twin to start the year. First considered a depth piece, Minnesota sent him to St. Paul to marinate, hoping that they would only need him in case of an emergency.

He was up before April ended. Pitchers did as pitchers do, a little bit of badda, a little bing—ligaments tore and aches became extreme—and suddenly, Ober was back to being a Twin. It was only for a while, they said. After some time, it was clear the elongated righty was simply one of their finest starters, so he stayed with the Twins for most of the year, only going back to St. Paul for some rest at the beginning of September. 

It’s clear why he ranked so highly; it’s uncommon for a team to be able to reach in and extract a 3.43 ERA over 144 1/3 innings when in need. Who knows what kind of eccentric pitching experiments we would see if Ober wasn’t there to stabilize the rotation. 

3. Donovan Solano
“Donovan Solano???” Thought every Twins fan when news of his signing broke late in February. Perhaps you remembered his 2020 silver slugger with the Giants—and maybe the more sick amongst us even recall his time as a Marlin—but none expected the 35-year-old to be the line drive, on-base machine he was in 2023.

Solano hit righties and lefties; he hit at home and when playing on the road; he hit in April, May, June, July, August; he hit in low leverage, and he hit in high leverage. He wasn’t one for slugging—the indulgence of extra-base brutishness—but, no matter the situation, Solano hit. Remarkable consistency seemed to follow Solano, whether he manned 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, making him our 3rd place Unsung Hero.

2. Michael A. Taylor
When the Twins dealt for Michael A. Taylor over the offseason, I wrote an article titled Twins Make Boring, Necessary Trade for Michael A. Taylor, likening acquiring the veteran to the team eating their veggies. Snarkiness lost out today; Taylor was even more than expected.

Taylor has over seven years of MLB service time, and he technically broke out in 2017 with an .806 OPS as a National, making him an atypical selection for this award. He would at least provide competence when Byron Buxton had to rest, we all thought; with visions of Jake Cave and his optimistic dives running across our minds. What we didn’t envision was Buxton never stepping foot into Target Field’s outfield, necessitating 129 games for Taylor in an effort to curb any center field leakage.

He was tremendous. Putting up the 2nd highest OPS+ of his career, Taylor bashed a career-high 21 homers, pairing his typically excellent defense with a power prowess unusually potent for a 9th-hole centerfielder. Minnesota likely would have struggled without Taylor—he’ll take home our 2nd place honors today. 

1. Willi Castro
You’d be forgiven if you thought Willi Castro simply apparated onto the roster in spring training. He had some oxidized prospect luster from his time in Detroit as a man on their top-10 list in 2019 and 2020, but he couldn’t hit much with the Tigers, and the team cut bait following an uneventful 2022.

And the Twins are ecstatic that they did.

Castro made the opening day roster as an afterthought—the kind of player who sticks around for a little, is thanked for their services, and then subsequently Ryan LaMarres his way out of usefulness around the time someone else gets healthy. This kind of player is a baseball tradition. But, unlike those of years past, Castro hit, played quality defense at nearly every position on the diamond, and utilized his legs to steal bases at a rate unique amongst Twins of the modern era. He was suddenly valuable; he’s now a critical weapon for Rocco Baldelli to use in the postseason.

The zenith of Castro’s powers had to be his game on September 20th, when he halted Hunter Greene’s dominance with a two-run homer, before kickstarting a 9th inning rally with a bunt hit and madman baserunning that sent him to 3rd. He scored the tying run on a Kyle Farmer single.

At just 26, Castro looks like a quality contributor for years to come, and—for his efforts in 2023—Twins Daily has named him their Unsung Hero.

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[Parfigliano]

Totally agree.  Willi Castro.  Adds a speed component to the team toolkit with above league average OPS and 2.6 WAR. Decent D too.

Someone deserves a raise for pulling this guy out of the rough.

[strumdatjag]

I would flip-flop Taylor and Castro. Mike Tony Taylor has provided 21 homers in addition to his stellar defense.  The again - maybe I’m biased after his stellar defensive performance last night in the first WC game (I know - it doesn’t count gif this). 

[Karbo]

My 1st thought when I read the title of the article was Solano. But, after thinking about it I have to agree with Castro. Where would the Twins be without any of these guys? FO did a real good job building this roster over the off season. Hats off!

[Dman]

I guess unsung means overlooked to me and I think the last three fit that description best.  Pagan could also be included as there was so much negative energy around him he hasn't got much credit even now after a very good season in the pen.

For once I agree with the pick in one of these articles.  Castro looked like your typical hopeful 5 tool player missing the hit tool.  So many of those players wash out because well they can't hit and defense only takes you so far.  Watching him have a fast start in spring training gave me some hope but then he started K'ing a lot the end of spring.  It looked like he was gonna be the same old Willie Castro.

As I watched his great defense throughout the season and his bat warm up as the weather warmed up I saw a player that the Twins have needed for years.  He can play solid defense anywhere on the field.  He can bunt for base hits.  He can steal bases.  he is a switch hitter which also makes him a versatile pinch hitter.  He is a do it all player that might sacrifice some offense from the starter he replaces but not much and his versatility seems unmatched right now.

The TIger's have to be absolutely kicking themselves right now watching him become the all around player they were hoping he would become.  Why Castro wanted to join the Twins with a very crowded infield doesn't make sense to me, but I am sure glad he picked the Twins as the only other player close to his all around skill level is Lewis.  

Thanks you Willie Castro for a great season and picking the Twins as the club you wanted to join!

[PDX Twin]

Castro is like Punto with less spark and more talent.

[Parfigliano]

20 minutes ago, PDX Twin said:

Castro is like Punto with less spark and more talent.

Haven't seen Castro try to head first into first either.

[minman1982]

49 minutes ago, strumdatjag said:

I would flip-flop Taylor and Castro. Mike Tony Taylor has provided 21 homers in addition to his stellar defense.  The again - maybe I’m biased after his stellar defensive performance last night in the first WC game (I know - it doesn’t count gif this). 

Agreed. I thought Taylor was going to end up being Buxton's backup, not the everyday plan in the outfield. Even if Buxton comes back for the ALDS, Taylor has earned the spot and the start in my opinion.

[old nurse]

The player that you did not expect who added the most to winning when the leverage was there .is not Castro. Ober, Julian, Pagan, Jeffers and Wallner all added more. At the start of the season who was ever thinking that Lopez or Gray would be mentioned in a discussion on Cy Young voting? Castro had a career year. Given his career in Detroit and inconsistent minor league number, there really isn’t any way to count on getting the same performance next year

[2wins87]

I think Castro was pretty well appreciated by fans, though it is a pretty subjective award.  There's a strong argument for him being their most valuable position player flat out though considering how much better he hit in big situations than he did overall, and that might not be fully appreciated.

Taylor did seem to be more under the radar to me and was similar also in how he got big hits a bit more often than you'd expect from his overall line.  His defense was sorely needed too.

I also want to shout out to Jeffers.  Obviously he had a great offensive season, but I'm not sure that he wasn't the better defensive/game calling catcher also.  The advanced defensive metrics still point to Vazquez, but Jeffers was slightly better at throwing out base stealers, and his catcher ERA was 3.61 to Vazquez's 4.09.  The last number could be misleading without adjusting for who they caught more often, but I do think Jeffers calls a really good game, and I think it's still underappreciated how solid of a defensive catcher he's become.

Oh and his offensive season? Same wRC+ (138) as Mitch Garver, who also had one of his best offensive seasons this year.

[Brandon]

5 hours ago, PDX Twin said:

Castro is like Punto with less spark and more talent.

Punto was a flawless base runner and great defensively at 2B and 3rd and above average at SS.  He just didn’t want to hit.

[Brandon]

Solano wins this.  He replaced Arreaz production from the year before.  Compare their on base and slugging number and extra base hits.  Other than average he was an Arreaz clone for 2 million and signed in spring training.  

[old nurse]

15 hours ago, Brandon said:

Solano wins this.  He replaced Arreaz production from the year before.  Compare their on base and slugging number and extra base hits.  Other than average he was an Arreaz clone for 2 million and signed in spring training.  

Ops+ 110 vs 128, for what is described as nearly the same number, OPS+ would suggest that it is easier to hit this year. 

[Doctor Wu]

... Ryan LaMarres his way out of usefulness

How many times can I love that phrase!? Brilliant!

[Brandon]

5 hours ago, old nurse said:

Ops+ 110 vs 128, for what is described as nearly the same number, OPS+ would suggest that it is easier to hit this year. 

Solano had a .369 on base and .391 Slg with 26 2Bs 1 3B and 5 HRs

last year Arraez had a .375 on base and .420 Slg with a similar 31 2Bs 1 3B and 8 HRs in over 130 more ABs.
 

 The main difference in Slg percentage is the batting average difference. Arraez got more hits and Solano got more walks.

[Linus]

If it was unsung hero of the pitching staff I would vote for Thielbar. The guy just does his job. 

[JD-TWINS]

No reason to argue about who was MORE valuable IMO.

BIG Contributions from a handful of guys mentioned here…….not hating, but didn’t understand the mention of Polanco? He was expected to be a core guy and our starting 2nd baseman. His contributions were expected to me.

This may be corny but I give the majority of praise to FO for bringing in Taylor - Solano - Castro!! For about $7.5M these 3 guys were quite a bit of the glue on this roster!

[old nurse]

17 hours ago, Brandon said:

Solano had a .369 on base and .391 Slg with 26 2Bs 1 3B and 5 HRs

last year Arraez had a .375 on base and .420 Slg with a similar 31 2Bs 1 3B and 8 HRs in over 130 more ABs.
 

 The main difference in Slg percentage is the batting average difference. Arraez got more hits and Solano got more walks.

When you claim one replaced the other you have to be aware of difference between year to year. There are similar rate numbers, but a very different plate appearance number. Also a very different number for WAR

[Trov]

I need to say I was 100% wrong on Castro.  I did not want him to make the team out of camp.  I did not see him as a guy that would do much on the team and he was just a place holder for a period of time.  Boy was I wrong.  I think he should be considered for MVP of the team.  Not because his WAR is great, bWAR of 2.6, which is good but not team leading. however, he made the team work for the year.

The FO loves this kind of player.  The guy that can play many positions, and can defend them well enough.  Can hold own hitting wise, and in Castro case a switch hitter so can pinch hit, pinch run, or defense replacement without worry of being insta out later on. I personally feel without Castro we are not nearly as good of a team.  We may not have even made playoffs with the other injuries we delt with, he could always come in to cover for someone. 

He has clearly earned a spot for next few years, unless he regresses.  This is by far his best year, career bWAR of 3.  His OPS is 100 points higher than his last two seasons of full time ball. It may be a break out year, or an outlier year, but it came at a good time for us.