Have the Twins Found Their Next Cult Hero in Mickey Gasper?

[Nate Palmer]

Minnesota and the Minnesota Twins are good at finding and highlighting the best of cult heroes and personalities. Wally the Beer Man and La Tortuga to name a few. Could Mickey Gasper be next?

Image courtesy of William Parmeter

Once upon a time, a legend among legends lived in Twins territory. A man who transcended time and space and popularity. A man for whom memes and merchandise were made. Fans referred to that man as “La Tortuga.” The scorecard referred to him as Willians Astudillo. 

Astudillo was a fun player to watch, and he also had video game numbers in the minors regarding his strikeout and walk rates. While he could play all over the diamond, including catcher, we could never quite figure out if we wanted him playing anywhere. Regardless, in the middle of the 2018 season, Astudillo was one fun player to watch. As 2025 spring training plays out, the Twins may have another similarly fun player to watch. 

While it will be hard to match Astudillo’s hair and hustle, Mickey Gasper seems to be the current Twin with the closest possibility. Both players are of short stature for a major league player. Both aren’t exactly rocking six-pack abs either. Both players have been able to pick up several different gloves and hit the ball in the minor leagues in a way that gets them noticed by multiple clubs. 

Gasper hasn’t put up the same sort of eye-catching numbers as Astudillo, like the aforementioned walk and strikeout rate. Gasper has put together a couple of seasons where his average has been above .300. He has done so as recently as last season where over two levels (AA and AAA) Gasper had a combined slash line of .328/.440/.531 and an OPS of .970 in 92 games. 

That performance was enough to get Gasper a cup of coffee with Boston last season. Last season’s numbers, combined with a hot spring, are getting Gasper similar attention and could land him on the Twins roster. If not, Opening Day at some point in 2025. When that happens, it seems obvious he could be the next cult hero to wear a Twins uniform. 

Astudillo was our hero in a half shell as La Tortuga with his luscious locks flowing behind him as he rounded the bases. While Gasper doesn't have the hair on his head to compete, he may have the facial hair to resurrect the Randy Dobnak silhouette. Maybe even Gasper can become the real-life version of the rally sausage and be the hero at the center of every unbelievable victory. 

When acquired this offseason, Gasper seemed like a long shot to play any significant role with the Twins. As he has had success this spring and Royce Lewis went down injured once again, the possibility of that has only increased. If or when he does make the roster, Gasper seems like a likely fan favorite, like many of those who have gone before him. So while Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, and others will compete for statistical team MVP, Gasper seems like the sort of guy who could be the MVP of fan’s hearts.  

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[bean5302]

It's funny to me to watch the shift in opinion on TD for Gasper. The lamentation Gasper might somehow see a plate appearance from a couple months ago to the thoughts Gasper is a good addition to the 26 man and that he will become some sort of fan favorite.

What I will say is Gasper is doing exactly what he needs to show his bat might play at the MLB level, and that's swing at more pitches. His overall swing rate is at 41.4% this spring. Still very low, but essentially the highest of his career. Gasper will not be able to be as passive as he's historically been at the MLB level because MLB pitchers know how to throw strikes which aren't mistakes. Players will not be successful waiting exclusively for meatballs like they can feast on through the low minors, and have some success even through AAA. Gasper's first pitch strike rate is only 40.5% right now, but it's not going to stay that way. Since Gasper is starting 60% of his plate appearances ahead it in count 1-0, it's no surprise his BB rate and K rate are so impressive this spring. His batted ball profile this spring is mediocre line drive rate, lots and lots of grounders, and some fly balls with moderate pop. He'll need to reduce the grounders in exchange for his historically higher line drives to have continued success. If he's able to adapt to MLB pitching and reach his potential at the plate, Gasper's batted ball profile probably falls somewhere between Jose Miranda and Edouard Julien, but I'd be surprised if Gasper was ever a true plus value bat. Whether or not Gasper could be a regular depends on his defense and position.
 

[rusty boots]

No, they have not 

[nicksaviking]

I'm not a huge fan of the 'cult hero' players anymore. Even the actual hero players can be a chore to deal with on this site. You have to walk a tightrope if you want to say something less than flattering about Astudillo or Dobnak. But if you have any intention of being critical of Eddie Rosario or Max Kepler, you might need to think about going into witness protection.

Man, being a fan pre-internet was waaaaaay easier.

[IndianaTwin]

Mickey Hatcher, Mickey Gasper. Mere coincidence to have such similar names? 

(Favorite Mickey Hatcher stat. In the 21 basketball games of his senior year in high school, he had 104 fouls. Do the math.)

[DJL44]

40 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

I'd be surprised if Gasper was ever a true plus value bat. Whether or not Gasper could be a regular depends on his defense and position.

I don't expect him to be a regular, just like I don't expect that out of Keirsey. I am hopeful they can come up from the minors and fill-in adequately until the regulars are healthy again.

[Blyleven2011]

Gasper did not have a good day in today's game  ...

3 strikeouts and 1 error ...

It's not up to me if he makes the team for opening day , if he does , we will have to open another discussion , if memory serves me right he's a switch hitter so that helps his chances , I haven't been following him much on his splits ... 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

If we are gathering cult heroes, I would prefer not to compare him to Astudillo.  I would choose someone (much?) higher on the food chain, but still kind of a cult hero in Lew Ford.  He had one excellent year and kind of came out of nowhere, but stuck around long enough to accumulate 8.3 WAR.  Astudillo is yet to find his way into positive territory. 

[Fatbat]

A bit early. He hasn’t even played a regular season game for the Twins yet.

[jmlease1]

I hope that he does become a cult hero, because that means he'll have had at least one season where he did some awesome and memorable things. Astudillo became a cult hero not just because of the flowing hair and fun factor of his appearances, but because he knocked the snot out of the ball in his initial foray with the Twins. It turned out to be small sample size mania and once he was exposed as a guy who would swing at anything he couldn't sustain it, but what fun we all had that september.

Gasper is a fascinating case of how a player's development can go sideways without the player ever really performing poorly. gasper looks like he's had some injuries along the way, and the missing COVID minor league year followed by an injury season seemed get him lost as a prospect. He hit quite well in 2022, but now he's 26 and no longer looking like a catching prospect. Yankees only gave him 20 games at AAA in 2023 before burying him back in AA for...reasons? Boston picks him up but starts him back in AA AGAIN? Gasper hit AA pitching just fine in parts of 4 different seasons, so why waste half the year with him in AA at age 28?

Good luck to him hope he gets a legit chance and is able to do something with it. Wouldn't mind at all having a switch-hitting bench bat who can cover a couple of positions, DH, and be an emergency catcher. He seems to know the strike zone well and that's a good skill.

[KirbyDome89]

Astudillo and Dobnak? Yikes. I'll pass on another replacement level player that gets way too much run....

[Jocko87]

From the two things can be true at the same time department, the Twins also need to decenter Mickey Gasper from their plans.

[mikelink45]

Does the answer have to do with the willingness to drink the cool aid?  Or are we going to be reincarnations of Manson (sorry he is not dead yet).  Or are we going to book passage on one of Musk's exploding rockets and join the asteroid that just missed the earth? I understand Hale-Bopp is not close enough this time. Or are we going to find the trump/Koresh savior?

Sorry Mr Gaspar - no cult follower here. 

 

[Aerodeliria]

Buxton and Correa will undoubtedly be the statistical leaders in most missed games...hey, just kidding...well maybe not...

[Wizard11]

I am of the opinion that Baseball should be fun.  For me cheering for an underdog is fun.  I think that is the premise of this article even though it seems to trigger some folks.

[tony&rodney]

The idea of Mickey making the 26 person roster makes me gasp. Er, you know what I mean.

[killertwinfan]

For about 6 weeks. 

[JD-TWINS]

21 hours ago, IndianaTwin said:

Mickey Hatcher, Mickey Gasper. Mere coincidence to have such similar names? 

(Favorite Mickey Hatcher stat. In the 21 basketball games of his senior year in high school, he had 104 fouls. Do the math.)

If that foul stat is right that’s hilarious! …..people thought his buddies were calling him “Hatch” but it was actually “Hack”😉

[JD-TWINS]

19 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

I hope that he does become a cult hero, because that means he'll have had at least one season where he did some awesome and memorable things. Astudillo became a cult hero not just because of the flowing hair and fun factor of his appearances, but because he knocked the snot out of the ball in his initial foray with the Twins. It turned out to be small sample size mania and once he was exposed as a guy who would swing at anything he couldn't sustain it, but what fun we all had that september.

Gasper is a fascinating case of how a player's development can go sideways without the player ever really performing poorly. gasper looks like he's had some injuries along the way, and the missing COVID minor league year followed by an injury season seemed get him lost as a prospect. He hit quite well in 2022, but now he's 26 and no longer looking like a catching prospect. Yankees only gave him 20 games at AAA in 2023 before burying him back in AA for...reasons? Boston picks him up but starts him back in AA AGAIN? Gasper hit AA pitching just fine in parts of 4 different seasons, so why waste half the year with him in AA at age 28?

Good luck to him hope he gets a legit chance and is able to do something with it. Wouldn't mind at all having a switch-hitting bench bat who can cover a couple of positions, DH, and be an emergency catcher. He seems to know the strike zone well and that's a good skill.

Can’t argue with this logic. Gasper as the last guy or two on the 26 man with a couple guys out injured seems to make a lot of sense due to reasons you state.

[stringer bell]

Gasper is behind the plate again today. There's been quite a bit of speculation about how viable he is as a catcher. It seems it is beyond the "emergency catcher" threshold of Kyle Farmer the last two seasons. Farmer came to the majors as a catcher, but hadn't played behind the plate for several years. Gasper seems more likely to be similar to Willians Astudillo, who actually started a few games at catcher in his Twins career.  Having a third catcher would be a nice bonus, allowing Jeffers to DH some without the worry of losing the DH if Vázquez has to come out of a game or if the Twins would need to pinch run for a catcher late in the game. 

[DJL44]

21 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Gasper is behind the plate again today. There's been quite a bit of speculation about how viable he is as a catcher. It seems it is beyond the "emergency catcher" threshold of Kyle Farmer the last two seasons. Farmer came to the majors as a catcher, but hadn't played behind the plate for several years. Gasper seems more likely to be similar to Willians Astudillo, who actually started a few games at catcher in his Twins career.  Having a third catcher would be a nice bonus, allowing Jeffers to DH some without the worry of losing the DH if Vázquez has to come out of a game or if the Twins would need to pinch run for a catcher late in the game. 

If Gasper can pinch-hit for Vazquez and finish the game behind the plate he might have a role on the team.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

3 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

If Gasper can pinch-hit for Vazquez and finish the game behind the plate he might have a role on the team.

Lee is on the IL, the odds are improving that the legend just might actually get off the ground

[IndianaTwin]

On 3/22/2025 at 1:29 PM, JD-TWINS said:

If that foul stat is right that’s hilarious! …..people thought his buddies were calling him “Hatch” but it was actually “Hack”😉

I remember reading that about him when he was still playing, but a stat like that sticks with a person. If I recall, they blew out their opponents in the game where he had four. 

[JD-TWINS]

1 minute ago, IndianaTwin said:

I remember reading that about him when he was still playing, but a stat like that sticks with a person. If I recall, they blew out their opponents in the game where he had four. 

………so he got pulled & rested before he could foul out……that’s great.