Austin Martin - The right handed left handed hitter.

[Riverbrian]

It's a rather impressive commitment to the bit. After running low on left handed hitters, the Twins are turning Austin Martin into a left handed hitter to fill the void. 

Austin is playing against right handed starting pitching and sitting against left handed starters. 

Here's the current platoon template.

Vs. Right/Vs. Left

DH - Larnach/Lewis

C - Jeffers and Vazquez

1B - Santana

2B - Castro/Farmer

3B - Lewis/Miranda

SS - Correa

LF - Martin/Castro

CF - Buxton

RF - Kepler/Margot

5 Players are primarily every day against both hands:

Santana, Correa, Buxton locking down 1B, SS and CF while Lewis( 3B against RH and DH against LH) plus Castro (2B against RH and LF against LH) handle two positions to make the platooning work. 

6 players are primarily platooners. 

Kepler/Margot

Larnach/Miranda

Martin (right handed hitter)/Farmer

Plus two catchers in a 50/50 every other day split to account for all 13 players. 

Miranda and Margot have been filling in against right handers when maintenance days are necessary. 

When Kirilloff went on the IL and Austin Martin replaced him... I mentioned that the roster composition shifted to low on left handed bats and over stocked on right handed bats. 

RH Hitters: 9

LH Hitters: 2

Switch Hitters: 2

That's 11 options to stand in the right handed batters box against left handed pitchers. Only 4 to do the opposite. 

Problem Solved: Turn Martin into a right handed hitting specialist. 

Impressive commitment to the bit. 

[stringer bell]

Martin doesn't really fit the roster the way it is constructed right now. If Farmer were shown the door, he could get some reps at second base and he could also fill Margot's role. I like that the Twins do have a bench player who could be used to pinch run and who can fill in both in the infield and outfield, but Austin is getting a lot of pine time, which doesn't help his development. 

[Riverbrian]

36 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Martin doesn't really fit the roster the way it is constructed right now. If Farmer were shown the door, he could get some reps at second base and he could also fill Margot's role. I like that the Twins do have a bench player who could be used to pinch run and who can fill in both in the infield and outfield, but Austin is getting a lot of pine time, which doesn't help his development. 

In the 13 games... Since Martin has been called up replacing the left handed Kirilloff. The Twins have faced 4 left handed starting pitchers. 

Rocco has trotted out the same lineup for all 4 games. Kepler, Larnach and Martin are the 3 players who have sat each of those games. 

Losing the left handed Kirilloff and replaced by the right handed Martin overstuffed the right handed batters box.

One right handed hitter was going to have sit against a lefty. Instead of a rotation... Rocco has picked Martin consistently. 

Against those right handed pitchers. Kepler, Larnach, Castro and Santana are the ones who fill the left handed batters box. After including the catcher that leaves 4 right handed hitters will have to lineup against right handers.  

Lewis, Buxton and Correa are givens. That 4th spot has been Rocco picking and choosing amongst the 4extra choices - Miranda, Margot, Martin and Farmer. 

In the 9 out of 13 games where a right handed pitcher has started. Max Kepler has taken a maintenance day, Willi Castro has taken 1 maintenance day. Buxton has taken 2, Correa has taken 1. Santana has taken 1. Lewis has taken 1. 

That's 7 extra lineup spots that need to be added to the one that is needed each of the 9 games. That's a total of 16 lineup spots to cover via picking and choosing amongst, Miranda, Margot, Martin and Farmer.  

Those 16 open spots were utilized this way. 

Martin 7 starts against a RH starter.

Miranda 5 starts against a RH Starter. 

Margot 3 starts against a RH Starter. 

Farmer 1 start against a RH starter.  

To me... the answer is pretty easy. Remove those 4 starts by Margot and Farmer. Give them to Martin and Miranda. 

Make it equal -- Martin and Miranda 8 each.

Although... It makes even more sense to 2 to 1 Miranda starts because he is hitting the ball real well right now. So Make it Miranda 12 and Martin 4 for those 16 starts needed to fill out the daily lineup card. 

Which leads us back to what you are saying... Not enough playing time for Martin. 

Wallner called up for Martin is certainly worth discussion although... Martin certainly doesn't deserve that. It's Farmer that deserves it.  

[stringer bell]

Farmer is not offering much utility with three guys ahead of him at third base and two at shortstop. Martin could fill Farmer’s role and offer outfield play and pinch running in addition. We’re halfway through the season and it will be difficult for Kyle to put up positive numbers (and WAR) with the current limited use. 

[jorgenswest]

Farmer’s performance moving forward is the only thing that matters. Will his good bat against left handed pitching show itself the rest of the season?

[Riverbrian]

46 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Farmer is not offering much utility with three guys ahead of him at third base and two at shortstop. Martin could fill Farmer’s role and offer outfield play and pinch running in addition. We’re halfway through the season and it will be difficult for Kyle to put up positive numbers (and WAR) with the current limited use. 

 

14 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Farmer’s performance moving forward is the only thing that matters. Will his good bat against left handed pitching show itself the rest of the season?

I'm with String... The thing that matters in my mind is how often will he get to show that good bat against left handed pitching? I don't like burning up roster spots this way. 

 

 

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

Farmer is not offering much utility with three guys ahead of him at third base and two at shortstop. Martin could fill Farmer’s role and offer outfield play and pinch running in addition. We’re halfway through the season and it will be difficult for Kyle to put up positive numbers (and WAR) with the current limited use. 

Farmer is a weak link.  He can best help the Twins by getting DFA.

[DocBauer]

Farmer is a good guy and a "gamer". He is a positive influence in the clubhouse. He had moments in 2023 that lead to a playoff appearance and an actual WIN!

BUT despite a bit of an uptick in his offense lately, he remains, unfortunately, a low producing player without a spot on the 13 man position player roster. 

Has he been given enough playing time to get himself put of his hole? Maybe not. But fellow veteran Margot actually did. 

At some point, the "nice guy teammate" and "can play across the infield" mantra has to come to a close. Sorry, but it's true.

Julien, IMO, is still a part of this team going forward. But Lee is ready NOW for the Twins. He should be up to play 2B SOON and Farmer should be DFA, unless there is someone in real need for a veteran utility player on a low level trade. It's TIME to make a move for this season and the future. 

Period!

Unfortunately, at some point, barring injury or horrible performance, the Twins might have to make a decision between Margot and Martin vs having another LH bat available, Wallner OR giving Kiersey his first ML shot. It's not fair to Martin, but right now Margot is performing. Are we playing for the playoffs and a shot? Or are we preparing for the future?

Or is there a slim line where we do both? That's where I think Lee and a possible OF move come in to play.

 

[Eris]

Part of the player alignment is Martin’s poor defensive performance. He has some of the worst defensive metrics of any Twins player (along with Kirilloff) this year. Not sure if this is his true capability or that he was put in positions were he lacked experience. Nothing about his prospect write ups indicated he would be this poor on defense.