Kirilloff hoping to split time with Santana

[C-Gangster]

Kirloff is hoping that would be the case but that might not be the case. balldelli says "Setting health aside for a minute, whoever's the better defensive first baseman is going to play more at first base,” so I assume this means Santana will play more time at first while kirloff will play more DH. Because Kirloff has -8 OAA. While Santan has 2 OAA. Balldeli also said Kirloff might get some more time in The outfield. There's also probably only room for 1 of them vs a LHP. Balldeli says when the time comes they will figure it out. He also says ,” Baldelli said. “Both are going to end up playing a good amount of first base, but the guy that is going to do the best job for us on that side of the ball is the one that's going to play more". So in conclusion I think this offense would be really good and also I'm really glad we signed Santana. I think it was a good dedication by the Twins. 

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[JD-TWINS]

“More” is 51% & above.

If Kirilloff is hitting .270 or above he’s going to PLAY against RH pitching essentially every day. That’s about 122 games.

Santana gets ALL the starts v. LH pitching at 1st Base. That’s 38-45 games or so.

Kirilolloff may get starts in LF when Kepler rests some & Wallner moves over. He’ll DH maybe 40-50 games. So 10 in LF - 45 at DH - 70 at 1B………..that’s 125 games started.

92 total games at 1B for Santana per these assumptions. I don’t think he’ll get more starts than that if Kirilloff stays healthy.

[GKuehl]

It will depend on how we use the DH spot. If everyone is healthy, I think we'll see a lot of Kirilloff in the DH spot to allow Santana (the better defender) to play 1B. But if Buxton ends up needing substantial time at DH, then we'll probably see more AK at 1B against RH SPs with Santana available to pinch hit off the bench against a LH reliever. 

[stringer bell]

It is pretty certain how the season will start and Kirilloff should get enough chances to prove his bat is legit and that he can play first base. The article being referenced also made mention that AK was an outfielder through high school and the low minors. I still see him as a first baseman primarily, but I thought he had always played more first than OF.

[Parfigliano]

51 minutes ago, GKuehl said:

It will depend on how we use the DH spot. If everyone is healthy, I think we'll see a lot of Kirilloff in the DH spot to allow Santana (the better defender) to play 1B. But if Buxton ends up needing substantial time at DH, then we'll probably see more AK at 1B against RH SPs with Santana available to pinch hit off the bench against a LH reliever. 

If Buxton gets substantial DH AB's "iceberg dead ahead" for the offense.

[Doctor Gast]

Seems like the Twins don't care about defense unless it's 1B, go figure. Kiriloff needs more time at 1B to get better which he won't get. We need Kiriloff's bat in the lineup as much as possible once he gets rolling, limit his time at 1B during ST isn't going to do it. IMO it's poor judgement on the Twins. 

[Fatbat]

4 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

If Buxton gets substantial DH AB's "iceberg dead ahead" for the offense.

If Buck is relegated to mostly DH. He really should be relegated to 60 day DL. 

[TwinsDr2021]

17 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Kirilolloff may get starts in LF when Kepler rests some & Wallner moves over. He’ll DH maybe 40-50 games. So 10 in LF - 45 at DH - 70 at 1B………..that’s 125 games started.

 

As far as I can see he has only played 1 game in RF this spring the other 9 have been 1B/DH. Has he been getting practice time in LF?

[Linus]

He better get enough time to actually get better at first (or not and we find out). Santana will not be here next year so we need to consider that. I have no interest is seeing AK in the outfield. He is not good out there. 

[RpR]

10 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

If AK/Twins want him to be a FT player, he needs to get at-bats against LH pitchers at some point or he will forever be a platoon player.  He's too far along in his career to send him down to STP for at-bats against LH pitchers.

Twins are not AAA, nor should be used as such.

[bean5302]

2 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Agreed, but then how does AK even hope to improve against LH pitching with Santana getting those at-bats?  And next year, he'll probably be in the same boat platooning with Miranda.

Alex Kirilloff didn't hit LHP in the minors particularly well, either so thinking Kirilloff can make a big step forward into a position where he's not a platoon only guy is optimistic. Take his numbers at AA in 2019.
vs. RHP .816 OPS
vs. LHP .634 OPS

Miranda probably isn't a candidate for platooning. Miranda had a wRC+ of 110 vs. right handed pitching in 2022 and an OPS of .908 against them in AAA in 2021. Miranda had no real significant splits vs. LHP or RHP in 2023, either.

Honestly, Miranda's MLB numbers in 2022 vs. RHP were basically just as good as Kirilloff's career numbers vs. RHP.

[RpR]

3 hours ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Agreed, but then how does AK even hope to improve against LH pitching with Santana getting those at-bats?  And next year, he'll probably be in the same boat platooning with Miranda.

The Twins coaches seem to think Kirilloff is not good enough at this point so they brought in some who they think is good enough.

[stringer bell]

3 hours ago, RpR said:

The Twins coaches seem to think Kirilloff is not good enough at this point so they brought in some who they think is good enough.

How about a little nuance? 1) Kirilloff was a good hitter last year, but has only had 700 plate appearances in three years due to injuries. Does it make sense to bring in one of the most durable players in MLB to augment his position? 2) Kirilloff was not good against left handed pitching, does it make sense to bring in a guy who has handled left handers better throughout his long career? 3) Kirilloff struggled in the field last year and the guy they brought in is regarded as a good defender. 

I don't think the Twins believe Kirilloff "is not good enough", but I do think it is more than prudent to have a backup plan for areas where he isn't as good and especially since he hasn't displayed durability to this point.

[RpR]

9 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

How about a little nuance? 1) Kirilloff was a good hitter last year, but has only had 700 plate appearances in three years due to injuries. Does it make sense to bring in one of the most durable players in MLB to augment his position? 2) Kirilloff was not good against left handed pitching, does it make sense to bring in a guy who has handled left handers better throughout his long career? 3) Kirilloff struggled in the field last year and the guy they brought in is regarded as a good defender. 

I don't think the Twins believe Kirilloff "is not good enough", but I do think it is more than prudent to have a backup plan for areas where he isn't as good and especially since he hasn't displayed durability to this point.

Kirilloffs defense numbers at First Base last year were worse than Sano's worst numbers ever at First Base; they simply probably do not think he is competent enough at First Base so they brought some one in who will be.

[C-Gangster]

Remember that error he made in the ALDS.

[dxpavelka]

I keep reading about what Kirilloff is good at and not good at.  What he needs to become good at is staying on the field.