Handing Out First-Half Awards for the 2024 Minnesota Twins

[Cody Christie]

MLB’s 2024 season is over half done, so it’s time to hand out some first-half hardware. Who is the team’s MVP, Top Pitcher, Rookie of the Year, and LVP?

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins reached the halfway point of the season on Thursday with a 45-36 record. On pace for 90 wins, the Twins are ahead of last year’s 87-win pace and outpacing their pre-season projections. Minnesota started the year in a miserable 7-13 slump but has turned things around in a big way. Since the rough start, Minnesota has played at a 101-win pace while leading the American League in wins (38) and runs scored (325). It’s been a first half full of slumps and streaks, but the Twins are on pace for a playoff spot for the second straight season. 

First-Half MVP: Willi Castro, UTL
Honorable Mentions: Carlos Correa, Ryan Jeffers, Royce Lewis, Joe Ryan
Castro has stood out above the crowd on a team with multiple former All-Stars and multi-million dollar players. Baseball-Reference ranks him second on the team in WAR, while FanGraphs has him as the team’s top player. His value has multiple layers because of his defensive flexibility. He’s joined a small club of players who have amassed 20 or more games in left field, center field, third base, and shortstop in the same season. His 133 OPS+ is 25 points higher than last season, and he’s already compiled a career-high in WAR. Correa’s hot stretch in recent weeks has put him in the MVP conversation, and Lewis is quickly moving up the list, but Castro has impacted the Twins in every facet of the game. 

First Half Top Pitcher: Joe Ryan, SP
Honorable Mentions: Griffin Jax, Simeon Woods Richardson, Jorge Alcala
Many hoped that Ryan could take the next step this season, and he has lived up to those expectations. Among the team’s pitchers, he ranks first in rWAR and fWAR. In 16 starts, Ryan has posted a 3.31 ERA with a 0.96 WHIP and a 26.1 K%. Other members of the starting staff have struggled through different parts of the season, but Ryan has been a steadying presence nearly every time he takes the mound. An argument can be made that Jax is the team’s top pitcher of the first half because the rest of the bullpen has seen inconsistent performance. However, Ryan deserves the nod over other potential candidates. 

First Half ROY: Simeon Woods Richardson, SP
Honorable Mentions: Austin Martin
The Twins have only seen a handful of rookie players impact the roster meaningfully. Woods Richardson was expected to spend most of the first half in St. Paul after struggling through the 2023 campaign. Instead, Minnesota needed him to step into Louie Varland’s rotation spot, and he ran with the opportunity. In 13 starts (66 innings), SWR has posted a 3.41 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP and a 20.5 K%. Ryan is the only pitcher with a higher rWAR and Woods Richardson ranks third according to fWAR. He made changes to his mechanics this winter, upgrading his pitch mix and making him more effective. Martin has fit an essential role with the Twins but hasn’t provided nearly as much value as Woods Richardson.  

First Half LVP: Christian Vázquez, C
Honorable Mentions: Kyle Farmer, Edouard Julien, Alex Kirilloff, Jay Jackson
Minnesota’s slow start saw poor performances throughout the lineup, but many players have turned it around. Unfortunately, other players have been demoted to Triple-A to rediscover their offensive approach or see their role change at the big-league level. Vázquez has the team’s lowest WPA (-1.5), more than double the next lowest hitter (Farmer, -0.66 WPA). FanGraphs ranks him as the team’s second lowest position player according to WAR behind Kirilloff. Defensively, he continues to rank among the AL’s top catchers, and that’s one of the biggest reasons the Twins have stuck with him to this point. 

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Who would make your ballot? Would you change any of the above award winners? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[terrydactyls]

The only change for me would be adding Bailey Ober to the honorable mention list for top pitcher.

[arby58]

I'd add Buxton to the honorable mentions for MVP - he is fourth in WAR behind Correa, Castro and Jeffers and is playing excellent defense and being a disruptor on the basepaths. I'd drop Lewis - much as his start has been noteworthy, he has only played about one-fourth of their games. It's hard to be that valuable when you've spent the vast majority of the season on the IL.

[JD-TWINS]

Lewis surely adds huge value but an awfully small sample for an 81 game mention ….. probably more appropriate for 2nd half…fingers crossed.

All other stuff seems pretty spot on.

Farmer (& I’m a backer of his) seems to be squarely the biggest issue. I can’t say “one of the best defensive catchers in A.L.” and then say he’s the biggest disappointment. Vazquez is tough to watch at the plate, no question.

[mikelink45]

Vazquez defense puts him honorable mention and Farmer wins, although Julien and Kiriloff are vying for Most Disappointing Player.  So much expectations and so little performance on the field.  

[Karbo]

I wonder if the FO can admit to making a mistake by signing Farmer for as much as they did. If I was making the decisions Farmer would be DFA'd and sent to St. Paul to see id he can revive himself enough to be a late call up. Lee would be brought up to be the every day 2nd baseman.

[Doctor Gast]

I think Miranda needs some attention, he could be added to the MVP honorable mentions or the most improved.

LVP award doesn't exist, it's an award you created to keep the social media's Vazquez negative hype train rolling. Most of the players that were acquired who had poor starts were limited to a LHSPs-only diet. Vazquez & Martin have been on an LHSP-banned diet especially since Jeffers had been in a slump. The last LHSP, Vazquez started but it lasted only 1 AB before Twins knocked him out. So stats can be deceiving. 

All hitters who were demoted were best positioned as RF/ 1B/ DH which demands the players to really mash the ball.  I grant you that Vazquez is a poor hitter & give you credit for mentioning that Vazquez is one of the best defensive catchers. But IMO saying that Vazquez is one of the best defensive catchers (at a key position) & listing him as the LVP is an oxymoron. It's almost as bad as listing one of the best SPs as the LVP, because he can't hit.

I know I'll get a lot of thumbs-downs (boos) by social-media hype lovers but I don't care.

[arby58]

2 minutes ago, Karbo said:

I wonder if the FO can admit to making a mistake by signing Farmer for as much as they did. If I was making the decisions Farmer would be DFA'd and sent to St. Paul to see id he can revive himself enough to be a late call up. Lee would be brought up to be the every day 2nd baseman.

I'm of the 'veterans are veterans for a  reason' sentiment(see Santana's slow start this year and Kepler's last year), but I also agree that Lee needs to come up and the only logical thing to do is send Farmer down. Pretty close to the same opinion on Vazquez.

[arby58]

8 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

I grant you that Vazquez is a poor hitter & give you credit for mentioning that Vazquez is one of the best defensive catchers. But IMO saying that Vazquez is one of the best defensive catchers (at a key position) & listing him as the LVP is an oxymoron. It's almost as bad as listing one of the best SPs as the LVP, because he can't hit.

I'm not so sure the advanced metrics all align with the 'Vazquez is one of the best defensive catchers' mantra. He certainly cost the Twins defensively last night. Statcast has a metric on catcher throwing leaderboard, which uses a variety of factors on throws to second base on steal attempts (including runner speed, arm strength, etc. plus attempts and caught stealing). Vazquez ranks 25th in 2024 among all MLB catchers. Jeffers, BTW, ranks 23rd.  His WAR, which takes into account defense, is -0.3. 

Also, saying he is a poor hitter is understating things quite a bit - he's a disaster at the plate. He has the lowest batting average on the team and BY FAR the worst OPS - Farmer's OPS is .555 to Vazquez' .465.

[DJL44]

26 minutes ago, Karbo said:

I wonder if the FO can admit to making a mistake by signing Farmer for as much as they did. If I was making the decisions Farmer would be DFA'd and sent to St. Paul to see id he can revive himself enough to be a late call up. Lee would be brought up to be the every day 2nd baseman.

If you DFA Farmer, he's NOT headed to St. Paul. He's headed onto another team's roster. That's why your suggestion hasn't happened.

[DJL44]

20 minutes ago, arby58 said:

I'm not so sure the advanced metrics all align with the 'Vazquez is one of the best defensive catchers' mantra. 

His WAR, which takes into account defense, is -0.3. 

If he wasn't one of the better defensive catchers his WAR would be much more negative. Think about how bad his bat is. WAR is saying his defense is good enough to cancel out a bat THAT bad.

[arby58]

1 minute ago, DJL44 said:

If he wasn't one of the better defensive catchers his WAR would be much more negative. Think about how bad his bat is. WAR is saying his defense is good enough to cancel out a bat THAT bad.

A negative WAR means you're less valuable than a replacement player. That is not a good thing, offensively or defensively.

[DJL44]

Julien doesn't deserve to be on the LVP list. He wasn't even the least valuable 2B.

[arby58]

6 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

If you DFA Farmer, he's NOT headed to St. Paul. He's headed onto another team's roster. That's why your suggestion hasn't happened.

So what? They then pick up the rest of this year's salary. Lee has demonstrated he's ready. 

[DJL44]

1 minute ago, arby58 said:

A negative WAR means you're less valuable than a replacement player. That is not a good thing, offensively or defensively.

He's not been good, and he's definitely not worth $10M, but there have been several catchers who are worse with a regular job in baseball. It's actually a sign of a pretty good team if their worst player is right around replacement level.

[DJL44]

3 minutes ago, arby58 said:

So what? They then pick up the rest of this year's salary. Lee has demonstrated he's ready. 

No. Farmer would pass through waivers and become a free agent. The Twins would owe the entire contract except the league minimum. His job right now is mostly to make sure the bench is warm. Kyle Farmer is the most irrelevant player on the team at the moment. He's hardly playing which makes him an unusual scapegoat. Cutting him would make little impact because he's hardly playing as-is.

If they bring up Brooks Lee he's going to need to be in the lineup every day. They're not going to let him rot on the bench like Kyle Farmer. That means fewer at-bats for Castro, Lewis, Miranda, Larnach or Martin. Those players are all doing quite well at the moment. That's the downside of promoting Lee.

[DJL44]

My vote for LVP is Caleb Thielbar. He's the highest paid member of the bullpen and the worst performer. He's been demoted to the 3rd lefthanded reliever and only used to soak up innings in blowouts.

[LambchoP]

Castro and Miranda have improved and helped save this team in a big way. Also nice to see Buxton and Correa playing to their abilities. If this team is going to seriously make a playoff push, both Vasquez and Farmer need to go, ASAP. Vasquez is on the roster solely for his defense, but his defense just cost us a game. Offensively he's as automatic of an out as you can get. Any replacement at all would be better. And as far as Farmer goes, he's a wasted roster spot. Especially when you consider Brooks Lee is ready to take the everyday second base job. I really don't understand what they're waiting for...

[DJL44]

7 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

Especially when you consider Brooks Lee is ready to take the everyday second base job.

There's the problem assumption. I don't even know if they want Brooks Lee to play 2B.

[old nurse]

Participation awards for Tonkin and Boushley.

[Karbo]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

If you DFA Farmer, he's NOT headed to St. Paul. He's headed onto another team's roster. That's why your suggestion hasn't happened.

I'd still do it. He is hitting poorly, his defense, though OK, hasn't been anything special, and they need to make room for Lee.

[DJL44]

36 minutes ago, Karbo said:

I'd still do it. He is hitting poorly, his defense, though OK, hasn't been anything special, and they need to make room for Lee.

Except they don't. Correa, Lewis, Miranda, Santana and Castro are doing a great job in the infield. Austin Martin is earning more playing time, not less, and should probably get some reps at 2B against LHP instead of Farmer. There is no pressing need for Brooks Lee on the major league roster.

For the moment it is perfectly okay for Brooks Lee to play everyday in AAA, move around the infield learning different positions and wait for an opportunity.

[Fatbat]

Its hard to watch Vasquez, Farmer and Margo. Galloesk unplayable. 
 

without Willi Castro, we would be 10 games under .500 or worse. 
 

Tbar and father time are having a come to Jesus meeting. 
 

its time to make some tough personnel decisions. 

[RpR]

2 hours ago, LambchoP said:

Castro and Miranda have improved and helped save this team in a big way. Also nice to see Buxton and Correa playing to their abilities. If this team is going to seriously make a playoff push, both Vasquez and Farmer need to go, ASAP. Vasquez is on the roster solely for his defense, but his defense just cost us a game.

Miranda can be blamed for the loss just as much as Vazquez without exception, but Vazquez made a rookie mistake not looking at the ball until it was in his hand.

[Karbo]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Except they don't. Correa, Lewis, Miranda, Santana and Castro are doing a great job in the infield. Austin Martin is earning more playing time, not less, and should probably get some reps at 2B against LHP instead of Farmer. There is no pressing need for Brooks Lee on the major league roster.

For the moment it is perfectly okay for Brooks Lee to play everyday in AAA, move around the infield learning different positions and wait for an opportunity.

IMO he can get his reps in with the big club. He's proved what he needs too in St. Paul. Now it's time to find out what he can do against MLB pitchers. At least know what they have moving forward.

[JD-TWINS]

5 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Julien doesn't deserve to be on the LVP list. He wasn't even the least valuable 2B.

In agreement with all the LVP comments until this one - I mentioned Farmer as THE LVP earlier, he deserves this, but saying Julien doesn’t deserve consideration is questionable since he has 47 more AB’s than Farmer even after being sent down for 3 weeks. The offensive expectations were higher for Eddie - he had 7 HR’s by April 27 and he never hit another one for essentially 6 weeks. ……If Farmer hits his career average over the next 47 AB’s he’ll surpass Julien’s BA…….certainly not a lofty goal.

[DocBauer]

Probably accurate. I can only argue Farmer should be the LVP. Vazquez may be the worst hitter in the league, but Farmer really isn't much better. Despite a badly botched play in the Seattle opener, he's still useful...if not valuable...in his role as a catcher. At this point, Farmer is only a 2B against LHP and a bottom of the order bat. He's really a "break glass in case of emergency" option.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

Miranda can be blamed for the loss just as much as Vazquez without exception, but Vazquez made a rookie mistake not looking at the ball until it was in his hand.

I have no problem pointing at Griffin Jax (one of my favorites) as the reason for the loss…..,no way you can come into the game and walk anyone in their line-up other than possibly Rodriguez. He pitched like he has Dylan Florio’s stuff…..it was ridiculous and it set up all the upheaval!

I get guys aren’t perfect but he has pitch after pitch to set things right and Miranda had a weird play with a guy crossing in front of him, etc. ……One Play…….sn unearned run but the situation should not have come about IMO.

[JD-TWINS]

59 minutes ago, Karbo said:

IMO he can get his reps in with the big club. He's proved what he needs too in St. Paul. Now it's time to find out what he can do against MLB pitchers. At least know what they have moving forward.

Gotta win games and have a plan within the organization to make that happen……if somehow that goes sideways a Team can then look at players for “the future”. The Twins are trying to catch the Division leader and things are set-up, with various guy’s performance improvement over the month of June, plus. That improvement along with the addition of Lewis should allow the club to have a better 2nd half…..maybe 94 wins?

It isn’t time now to see if someone has the stuff to rely upon going forward in ‘25. That said, I think Lee will be up within the next month………no rush.

[RpR]

13 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Julien doesn't deserve to be on the LVP list. He wasn't even the least valuable 2B.

He was not worth much in the Bigs, or in the Minors.