Can the Twins Have One of MLB’s Best Lineup Duos in 2024?

[Cody Christie]

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are teaming up in New York to form one of the best duos in baseball history. Can the Twins' top duo be considered among baseball’s best next season, too?

Image courtesy of Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, the Yankees acquired Juan Soto in a blockbuster trade that will have long-term ramifications across the baseball landscape--even though Soto is only making a short-term home in the Bronx. Soto is one of baseball’s best young hitters and a future Hall of Famer. He is an on-base machine, and it’s scary to think what he will be able to do with Aaron Judge batting behind him. If both players stay healthy, they should be baseball’s best lineup duo, but there are other contenders.

MLB.com ranked the top 10 lineup duos for the 2024 season, and the Twins didn’t crack their list or their honorable mentions, which stretched the ranking to the top 12. Outside the Yankees duo, other top pairs include Los Angeles’s Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman (and now Shohei Ohtani); Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna, Jr. and Matt Olson; and Houston’s Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker. Minnesota’s offense struggled through the first half of last season, but the team took positive strides in the season’s final months.

So, who would be included in Minnesota’s best lineup duo, and how can they crack baseball’s top 10?

Carlos Correa
Correa is the most obvious pick to be included in the team’s top pairing. He’s coming off his worst statistical season, as his 94 OPS+ was 30 points below his career average. At the Winter Meetings, the Twins had positive reports about Correa’s progress with the plantar fasciitis that impacted him throughout the 2023 campaign. No surgery was required to address the injury, and Derek Falvey told reporters that Correa is “tracking really well” and “felt like he’s really turned a corner.” Rest and treatment can be sufficient to ameliorate this condition, and the Twins hope Correa returns to his previous form. He has been a dominant offensive player for multiple seasons in his career, with an OPS+ of 124 or higher in six of his nine seasons. In his first season with the Twins, Correa hit .291/.366/.467 with 24 doubles and 22 home runs. When fully healthy, he’s one of baseball’s best hitters.

Bryon Buxton
There were also positive reports at the Winter Meetings regarding Buxton and his recovery from offseason knee surgery. The star center fielder (?) is ready to start baseball activities, and is already further along than he was at the start of spring training last year. He has shown the ability to be an elite hitter in his career, but even those stretches have been marred by injury. In 2021, Buxton posted a 171 OPS+, including 19 home runs in 61 games. He started the 2022 All-Star Game in center field, after hitting 23 homers and posting an .834 OPS in the first half. There were multiple months during the 2022 season in which he had an OPS north of 1.000. Buxton has played fewer than 100 games in all but one season in his career, so it’s tough to include him in the team’s top tier.

Royce Lewis
Lewis returned from his second major knee surgery last season and was a spark plug for the Twins lineup. In 58 games, he hit .309/.372/.548, with seven doubles and 15 home runs. He set the team record with four grand slams in a single season, and he was the fastest player in MLB history to reach five career grand slams. It’s exciting to think of what he can mean to the middle of the team’s lineup, especially with the club’s struggles against left-handed pitching. Many evaluators doubted Lewis throughout his professional career, and now he will get a full season to continue to prove them wrong. 

Other Candidates
A handful of other candidates could be included in the team’s top lineup double threat. Max Kepler posted a .926 OPS with 17 doubles, three triples, and 12 home runs in the second half. Minnesota is considering trading Kepler this winter, since he has just one remaining season of team control, so he probably doesn’t fit into this conversation. Edouard Julien was an on-base machine (.381 OBP) during his rookie campaign, adding 33 extra-base hits in 109 games to his healthy walk total. Does he have a chance to reach another offensive level? Alex Kirilloff and Jose Miranda were among the best hitting prospects to come through the Twins organization over the last decade. If they can stay healthy, both can be offensive threats. 

Many projection systems will pair Correa and Lewis as the Twins' top lineup duo for 2024. This pair probably won’t rank with the big names mentioned above, but they can stand among baseball’s top 10. The Twins must pass tandems like San Diego’s Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., New York’s Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor, or Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Bo Bichette. Those pairs are potent, but the Twins’ dynamic duo can catch them. 

Who do you think will be Minnesota’s best two hitters next season? Can the Twins have a top-10-ranked duo? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

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[Rod Carews Birthday]

I think that’s very unlikely given the level of some of the other duos out there. .  HOWEVER, the fact that Buxton and Correa were so offensively challenged last season could mean that if they return to norms and the people around them duplicate last season’s success, the TEAM could have a very strong lineup.  That’s what I’m hoping for and that’s would will hopefully carry them a little further in the playoffs this time around.

 

[mikelink45]

I will take Lewis and Correa.  Next would be Wallner and Julien.  The injury pairing of Buxton and Kiriloff is potentially great, but they need to stay out of the hospital to make the ranking.  But based on last year the last half season it was our trade boys - Polanco and Kepler. 

[Oldgoat_MN]

I really am excited about having Royce Lewis in the lineup for the full season. 

Buxton, however, has already shown that he can generate consistency at the plate. His >.800 OPS from 2019 through 2022 is evidence of that.

I know, we need Buck to be healthy for a full season. If he is then much fun is in store for Twins fans. He and Correa could make many pitchers uncomfortable. 

[roger]

Interesting read, Cody, thanks.

Buxton and CC are the big names, players familiar to every fan in baseball.  Hope like heck that when next year ends, with the Twins winning it all, these two were the duo that led the Twins to their championship.  

But odds are good that at least one of their top duo will be someone else.  My bet would be it will be either Lewis or AK stepping up with a huge, HUGE, 2024 season for the Twins.  

[tony&rodney]

The Twins simply do not have any two (or three) player(s) to compare to guys like Judge/Soto or Betts/Freeman/Ohtani. However, I do believe that it is possible that with good fortune, health, and continued growth the Twins will have a strong lineup. The offense of the last half of 2023 could be replicated and even improved in 2024. It is a reason I believe the Twins will be a better team next year than they were in the past year.

As far as duos go, I would suggest that Edouard Julien and Royce Lewis batting 1 & 2 could be quite a start in any game. It will be the 1-9 lineup that makes a difference though. The Twins do not have the superstars to make any top ten list of duos in MLB. The Twins ranked #10 in runs last season and it would be sweet to see them reach the top five in the coming year.

[Karbo]

Lewis and Buxton would be my guess if they can stay on the field. Wonder what the odds of that are?

[baul0010]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

I will take Lewis and Correa.  Next would be Wallner and Julien.  The injury pairing of Buxton and Kiriloff is potentially great, but they need to stay out of the hospital to make the ranking.  But based on last year the last half season it was our trade boys - Polanco and Kepler. 

Lewis and Julien initially popped into my head.  Hopefully in a few years it'll be Lewis and Lee.  They could be a great combo for many years.

[Schmoeman5]

All I want for Christmas is my 2 bomb ers my 2 bomb ers. To suggest that any combination  the Twins have as of Dec 14 2023 and compare them to Soto/Judge or Betts/Ohtani/Freeman Tucker/Alvarez Acuna Jr/Olson is blasphemous sacrilegious lazy incompetent wishful thinking. 😴 

[nicksaviking]

Just for fun, I'm going to take a long shot and say it's Lewis and Miranda. I know Miranda has largely been an after thought by us, me included, but man, that strikeout rate is just so nice to look at, even last year when he struggled. If his shoulder WAS the issue, he has the chance to start hitting and make us all smack our heads with the realization that he was an obvious bounce-back player.

[Muppet]

It's a stretch to say Buxton and Correa will be a major 1-2- punch at the top of the league. But obviously that would be awesome and not entirely impossible. If Correa's foot is better and Buxton finally has a full season absolutely any thing could be possible with that pair. I'd add that maaaaaaybee AK could be the next MVP caliber hitter on the team. But that would require rolling a 20 sided die and getting your number. 

Id be happy to see Lewis and Julien move a step forward, or even stay as hot as they were, but until I see it, I'm not going to believe it. 

As for the Mirandas and Larnachs, of the world... maybe even Wallner, their window of opportunity is quickly slamming shut. Maybe not Wallner yet.  

[Schmoeman5]

5 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Just for fun, I'm going to take a long shot and say it's Lewis and Miranda. I know Miranda has largely been an after thought by us, me included, but man, that strikeout rate is just so nice to look at, even last year when he struggled. If his shoulder WAS the issue, he has the chance to start hitting and make us all smack our heads with the realization that he was an obvious bounce-back player.

This is not to argue. Miranda did not take part in the WBC last year due to the shoulder. In spring training he was clobbering the ball. When the season started he struggled right out of the gate. Did the shoulder problem persist or get worse?Colder weather? I hope he bounces back. But right now he's a man looking for a position and the Twins still have options

[tony&rodney]

26 minutes ago, Schmoeman5 said:

Did the shoulder problem persist or get worse?

Yes, much worse. Awkward swings, demotion, more bad swings, IL, and finally surgery. The details are somewhat murky but the swing was affected immediately.

[2wins87]

This is not a team built around superstars, certainly not the kind of offensive players that mostly populate that list of duos.

Correa did it for two months in 2022, Buxton has done it for stretches, and maybe Lewis establishes himself as a superstar hitter, though he looks like he's overperformed by a bit so far.

But if this offense is going to be good, I don't think it's going to be two guys with .900+ OPS, they'll need to have a deep group of guys with .800+ OPS.

Lewis, Correa, Buxton, Julien, Wallner, Kirilloff, Kepler, Polanco, Jeffers; all of those guys could do it if they are on the roster and healthy.  Probably unlikely that all of them will, but they need a solid majority of them to perform.

[old nurse]

I would rather the Twins have the best pitching duo than hitting duo. See Dodger post season success 

[Brandon]

You must have missed the article on MLB.com after the dodgers signed Ohtani they have the best 3 hitters in a row… duos are so last week… also note the Twins didn’t make that list either but they also didn’t have a hitter with more than 72 RBIs either so is pitching really scared…. We did have I think 14 players with 40+ RBIs which I think is interesting also that even with such a low RBI leader we were 5 th in the league in runs scored and that is my preference to have the highest scoring offense in the league.

[Fezig]

When a team sets the world ablaze in strikeouts the odds of having a dynamic duo are longer than the Vikings winning a Super Bowl.

[Major League Ready]

17 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Just for fun, I'm going to take a long shot and say it's Lewis and Miranda. I know Miranda has largely been an after thought by us, me included, but man, that strikeout rate is just so nice to look at, even last year when he struggled. If his shoulder WAS the issue, he has the chance to start hitting and make us all smack our heads with the realization that he was an obvious bounce-back player.

We forget Miranda was a beast for a period of time.  I would love to see him get back to that form and make your prediction come true.

[saviking]

Lewis, but as of now, I don't know another player on the team to play with Lewis.Maybe in a year or two 

[Doctor Gast]

You forgot our best clutch & walk off hitter that done most of it while playing unneccessarily hurt & that's Jorge Polanco. This season he'll be 100% so watch out & don't undersell him.

[Beast]

Correa is a really good hitter when healthy, but he’s not one of baseball’s best hitter.

Lewis won’t sustain his astronomical level of production.