Its DaShawn Keirsey Jr. Time

[Cody Pirkl]

It will be hard to match the wave of prospects who helped save the 2023 Twins season, but they still have a few options waiting in the wings. It’s becoming more apparent by the day that the next call-up should be DaShawn Keirsey Jr.

Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily

DaShawn Keirsey Jr. isn’t completely lacking in prospect pedigree, as a former 4th-round pick in 2018, but he's been overshadowed by the several other outfield prospects the Twins have drafted since then. As some of those former prospects struggle at the MLB level while Keirsey flourishes in St. Paul, he should get an opportunity soon.

Keirsey Jr. gained a reputation as a strong center fielder throughout his minor-league career, and while the offense never popped, he hit enough to continue to advance through the ranks. Last year was the first season in which he posted an OPS above .800 at any level, when he did so in Double-A. He earned a promotion to the Saints down the stretch, where he performed admirably to finish the season. The Twins took a risk, leaving him unprotected in the Rule 5 draft. Some of the 29 other teams who declined to make a claim are likely regretting it now.

As Keirsey Jr. approaches 200 plate appearances on the season, he’s slashing .296/.392/.515, with six homers and 14 stolen bases. Such a small sample can only change a team’s perception of a player so much, but Keirsey Jr. couldn’t be doing more to prove that he’s worthy of a shot.

 

This isn’t just a case of a player performing well in Triple-A. The Twins would greatly benefit from even a percentage of the performance Keirsey Jr. has put up for the Saints. Even with Byron Buxton back in the center-field mix, we still see Willi Castro and Manny Margot playing up the middle far too often. It’s hard to argue that this wouldn't be an immediate upgrade. The outfield defense isn’t good enough on days when Buxton is on the bench or acting as the DH. This promotion would fix that.

Keirsey Jr. has several paths onto the MLB roster, but unfortunately, the most obvious continues to become more apparent by the day. Swapping out left-handed bats and demoting Alex Kirilloff to the Saints makes too much sense. The former top prospect has a .644 OPS on the season and a .422 OPS in May. Not only has Kirilloff struggled to contribute to the lineup, but he appears to be only a last-resort option to play first base and has been part of the defensive struggles in left field. 

Unless Kirilloff comes around quickly, Keirsey Jr. would be an immediate upgrade. The defense is unquestionably better, and the worst-case scenario likely isn’t worse than what they’ve been getting. Keirsey Jr. would even add an element of speed on the bases, with multiple 30-steal seasons on his minor-league resume.

The circumstances are too perfect. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. has been playing the best baseball of his career for over a year now, and the Twins need a change. It’s time to reward a prospect who has worked through the minor leagues for six years while helping themselves.

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[Fat Calvin]

I think so too.

[4twinsJA]

I am on board the Kiersay bandwagon. No question Kiersay would be an improvement defensively over any OF besides Buxton and maybe Kepler in RF. Time to see what Kiersay can do at MLB level. A reset for Kirilloff at AAA makes sense. Still will need to open a spot on 40 man roster, Of position players, Severino is a DFA candidate, terrible start to season.

[DJL44]

Keirsey should be on the roster when Buxton is on the IL and in AAA when Buxton is playing.

[Doctor Gast]

Castro has been over-stretched mentally as well as physically with the injuries of Lewis, Correa & Buxton at those key positions. Keirsey was more needed in their absence but still, he deserves to get his feet wet. It seems like he has trended up as he is promoted. The problem is there are some on the 40 man that are occupying space that Keirsey needs. Management is hesitant to make that space. As I said before I'd rather have our guys with the opportunities than bringing others in. And Keirsey is one of them.

[tony&rodney]

Kiersey Jr. is doing his part to gain attention, but he will need to maintain his current level of play until an injury occurs. It is the end of May, which is usually way too early for teams to pull the plug on declining vets (Joey Gallo). Teams are also reluctant to demote struggling first round draft choices who have shown promise. Kiersey Jr. had a relatively late start to his career but has shown the skills to gain notice now. When an opening occurs I hope DaShawn gets a promotion to the Twins. 

[Greglw3]

I agree 100%! Living for the day when Keirsey gets his rightful call-up!

[TwinsDr2021]

IMO expecting a 27 year old player that spent the last two years in AA to be even be replacement level offensively is setting a very high bar. Another unproven left handed bat is probably not what is ailing the Twins right now. I am fine with him being a defensive player, I much rather see EROD.

I do wish and hope for the best for him and he does deserve a shot in the majors.

[bean5302]

I don't have a problem with DaShawn Keirsey getting the call as he might be a legitimate 4th outfielder and the Twins do not have one right now, but I'm not sure he's a good fit. I don't think it's likely he gets much playing time as a LHB who is best used as a Buxton fill in as I don't have confidence in Keirsey hitting the ball better than the other lefties.
LF Larnach (LHB)
CF Buxton (RHB)
RF Kepler (LHB)
UO Margot (RHB)
UO Castro (SHB)

[Cory Engelhardt]

Maybe this sounds crazy (it may be) but I would go to Emmanuel Rodriguez first, before Keirsey. No doubt Keirsey is having a good year, but Rodriguez is also having a hot start to the season and is also already on the 40 man.

I don't love that both are left handed hitters, just for roster makeup. But that's the lean I would take right now.

 

[olerud]

100% agreed! But baldini doesn't like lefties!! If they do call him up baldini will pinch hit for him every chance he gets probably before the 5th inning! Let the game breathe for crying out loud!!!!

[wabene]

[LonelyseatinMOA]

2 hours ago, 4twinsJA said:

I am on board the Kiersay bandwagon. No question Kiersay would be an improvement defensively over any OF besides Buxton and maybe Kepler in RF. Time to see what Kiersay can do at MLB level. A reset for Kirilloff at AAA makes sense. Still will need to open a spot on 40 man roster, Of position players, Severino is a DFA candidate, terrible start to season.

Severino is young and cost controlled, not a chance he is DFA'd

[Mike Sixel]

I'd prefer Emma at this point, but if not him, I'd be happy with Kiersey up. Anyone but Margot.

[Greglw3]

Looking at the numbers he slashed .305/.363/.488 in AA last year and in a small sample .264/.375/.364 in AAA.

His combined 2023 season Was .294/.366/.455 with 39 SB in 44 attempts, 15 HR and 8 triples.

Now, in 2024, he’s slashing far better than Wallner/Severino, Prato/Helman against the same pitching. 2024 slash .296/.392/.515 and a .907 OPS. 14 SB in 17 attempts 36 RBIs in 199 AB and superb defense (search YouTube to see multiple great Keirsey catches in CF). I can’t believe that a .907 OPS AAA hitter wouldn’t be better than Margot.

[LA Vikes Fan]

Preach! Totally agree on Keirsey. I think we have an open 40 man slot after the DFA of Jay Jackson. No one has been added to my knowledge. Am I wrong? We can also put Topa on the 60 man Il - he won't be back until July at the earliest. I think we can call up Keirsey today for the Texas series. The Rangers are starting RHs today and tomorrow, with a TBD for Sunday. We can all up Keirsey for Kirilloff, put him in LF tonight or Saturday and in CF Sunday with Buxton as the DH (day game after night game).  Let's do it!

[Greglw3]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

I don't have a problem with DaShawn Keirsey getting the call as he might be a legitimate 4th outfielder and the Twins do not have one right now, but I'm not sure he's a good fit. I don't think it's likely he gets much playing time as a LHB who is best used as a Buxton fill in as I don't have confidence in Keirsey hitting the ball better than the other lefties.
LF Larnach (LHB)
CF Buxton (RHB)
RF Kepler (LHB)
UO Margot (RHB)
UO Castro (SHB)

L/R splits for Keirsey this year, the bottom row is vs lefties but a .400 OBP and .847 OPS aren’t bad.:

[mikelink45]

Please - I have been wearing out the comment sections pleading for this.  Why hasn't it happened already?  Defense in CF is a critical - up the middle has always been important.  In a flyball era CF comes up significantly in importance.  

What is Margot contributing?   Why not make a change?

[RpR]

16 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Please - I have been wearing out the comment sections pleading for this.  Why hasn't it happened already?  Defense in CF is a critical - up the middle has always been important.  In a flyball era CF comes up significantly in importance.  

What is Margot contributing?   Why not make a change?

  I have a feeling, Castro gets CF over Margot because of his bat, not his fielding skills.

[danielp19653]

I'm all for it, call him up and move E-Rod to AAA while you're at it, if 2-3 weeks from nor Keirsay isn't cutting it than swap him for E-Rod, gives E-Rod time at a slightly higher comp level and every day opportunity in CF and brings up the best option we have at the moment on the AAA roster.

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, olerud said:

100% agreed! But baldini doesn't like lefties!! If they do call him up baldini will pinch hit for him every chance he gets probably before the 5th inning! Let the game breathe for crying out loud!!!!

In all honesty... I would load up on left handers for two reasons. Bring in 3 or 4 more. 

A. Rocco and the front office wouldn't be able to hand cuff enough right handers to sit more than 4 left handers on the roster. This would force them to let some of our young lefties establish an actual track record against lefties. Gain experience... Get better.  

B. And this is the biggest reason why I'd load up on left handed hitters.

If you really want to play the platoon split to your advantage... forget about these Julien/Farmer handcuffs. Focus on the real disparity in the platoon split advantage. 75% of pitchers are right handed... if you want to play the advantage... load up and attack that 3 to 1 advantage. Load up on lefties for the 75% percent and take your chances against the 25%.

Committing limited dollars to Margot and Farmer for 25% of the pitchers and committing limited roster space to Margot and Farmer to face 25% of the pitchers is bad allocation. Margot and Farmer don't hit right handers that well and they haven't for a fairly long career but they get roster spots end up facing more right handers than left handers just so that 25% is covered. 

If you want to get the most out of the platoon split. More left handers... lots of them. It's a 3 to 1 advantage. 

[USAFChief]

3 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Keirsey should be on the roster when Buxton is on the IL and in AAA when Buxton is playing.

Why?

He's 27. 6th year of MiLB. 7th year since being drafted. 1500 MiLB PAs. 

He doesn't need everyday playing time for development. 

The sole consideration is if he's an upgrade, even a minor one, over current Twins 4th and/or 5th OF spots. And a 40 man spot, of course. 

That's all that matters. 

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

Why?

He's 27. 6th year of MiLB. 7th year since being drafted. 1500 MiLB PAs. 

He doesn't need everyday playing time for development. 

The sole consideration is if he's an upgrade, even a minor one, over current Twins 4th and/or 5th OF spots. And a 40 man spot, of course. 

That's all that matters. 

Not to mention Austin Martin has superior fielding metrics to Keirsey at CF in the minors. Yes. The Austin Martin who has been shredded for his defensive shortcomings.

The expectation Keirsey (who was among the worst CF's in the league last year in terms of RF/9) will be a good CF at the MLB level is highly dubious.

[stringer bell]

Just because a guy makes a couple of highlight reel catches doesn’t make him a sound defender. From what I’ve heard Keirsey Jr. is a good defensive CF and that attribute is needed for the Twins.

Some guys thrive at AAA, but it doesn’t carry over. The Twins have several guys like Helman and Prato and now Keirsey with good Triple A numbers who never were top prospects.

[TwinsDr2021]

20 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Some guys thrive at AAA, but it doesn’t carry over. The Twins have several guys like Helman and Prato and now Keirsey with good Triple A numbers who never were top prospects.

Guys on the wrong side of 25 have to put up good to great numbers or their baseball careers in MLB will be over. I put the stats up last year, Keirsey wasn't a top 5 CF in AA last year and was generally 3 to 5 years older than the guys above him. For the Twins to seriously think he is a solution more than a fill in guy he has to be putting up video games numbers like Stevenson did last year and that wasn't enough for him.

But I get Twins fans have emotional hope that guys that aren't highly thought of in the minors are going to step in a do really well, when in reality that is much, much harder said than done. (I mean Keirsey has never been the prospect that Martin, Wallner, Larnach, AK, Miranda or Julien were and it hasn't been easy for any of them)

It wasn't that long ago that Chris Williams and/or Prato were going to help the Twins turn things around.

[LA Vikes Fan]

You're right about how hard it is to move from AAA to MLB. Maybe even harder when you're 27 and just now coming into your own in the Minors. Still we need a good fielding back up CF and there seems to be an opening given the struggles of both Margot and Kirilloff.  Might now be a good time to give Keirsey his probably one and only shot at the MMLB level?

[Greglw3]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Not to mention Austin Martin has superior fielding metrics to Keirsey at CF in the minors. Yes. The Austin Martin who has been shredded for his defensive shortcomings.

The expectation Keirsey (who was among the worst CF's in the league last year in terms of RF/9) will be a good CF at the MLB level is highly dubious.

Anybody that covers the Saints/Wichita like Tom Froemming or anybody with two eyes and has watched the myriad YouTube highlights  knows that Keirsey is an outstanding center fielder.  Check out the YouTube highlights and do some research and you’ll see and hear that Keirsey is a phenomenon as a defensive center fielder.

[stringer bell]

As far as the 40-man situation goes, there is a vacancy right now, but Winder will have to be placed on the 40-man when his rehab is over, which should be pretty soon. Winder has an option, but he would still have to be on the 40-man even if the Twins want to send him to St. Paul unless they DFA him.

Zack Weiss would also be eligible to come off the 60-day list yet this month, but AFAIK he isn't ready for a rehab assignment. The Twins probably will DFA him as soon as he is healthy, but if they don't he would again take a 40-man spot.

[Althebum82]

I'm afraid Twins fans are going to have to endure this season's Joey Gallo, Margot.  The team went out of its way to bring him on board in last minute fashion before the season started, and they clearly think (somehow) that he fills a need on this team that they never expected Keirsey or anybody else in the system to fill this season.  

So far, your point is dead on, Kiersey has earned a call-up.  But in my opinion he is more likely be a trade chip than able to claim a spot on this team's major league roster.

[stringer bell]

1 minute ago, Althebum82 said:

 So far, your point is dead on, Kiersey has earned a call-up.  But in my opinion he is more likely be a trade chip than able to claim a spot on this team's major league roster.

What value does a 27-year-old who doesn't yet have a full season of AAA have? Keirsey was available for anybody to claim over the winter at the expense of $50K and a 40-man spot and no one claimed him. He may have increased his value incrementally with a nice two months at St. Paul, but there isn't much value there.