Mid-season Grades for the Big League Roster

[stringer bell]

We are approaching the statistical halfway point of the Twins' season. The club is at .500, just slightly worse than pre-season prognostications. However, they've reached that mark by being bad, then excellent and most recently poor again.

I will give my grade for all players on the roster, including those on the Injured List, but not counting those who are currently optioned to the minors.

Pitchers

Danny Coulombe. Grade A-  superior performance and exceeds expectations, but missed time.

Jhoan Durán  Grade B+  very good performance, met expectations. Downgraded due to recent rough outings on the road trip.

David Festa  Grade C  numbers are average because of inconsistency. Probably in line with expectations.

Griffin Jax  Grade C-  performance is quite a bit below expectations. High ERA and several losses, but several dominating outings.

Pablo López  Grade B-  very good performance, but currently on IL with a multi-month injury. Had pitched up to high expectations.

Zebby Matthews  Grade C. Coming off his best two outings when he, too, was injured. Inconsistent performance in line with expectations.

Bailey Ober  Grade C-  recent slump has hurt his numbers to markedly below expectations. 

Chris Paddack Grade B-  slow start and two recent subpar outings. In between, he was excellent and far exceeding expectations.

Joe Ryan  Grade A- Outstanding  performance probably above high expectations.

Cole Sands  Grade C+. Down a bit from last year's surprise breakout. Probably unfairly a bit below expectations.

Brock Stewart  Grade B  Started on IL, a bit rusty to start, but he's mostly been very good, in line with high expectations.

Justin Topa  Grade B  He's been active all year and performed pretty well, probably a bit above expectations.

Louis Varland  Grade A. Very good performance, far exceeding expectations. He's carried a heavy work load with no hint of fatigue.

Joey Wentz  Grade Incomplete. Recently acquired. Tough to evaluate. Should  have low expectations due to his track record.

Simeon Woods Richardson  Grade C-. Lost his spot in the rotation and is back due to rotation injuries. Below his performance last year and expectations.

Position Players

Ryan Jeffers  Grade C-.  Jeffers has not broken out in his age 28 season. He is slightly above average as a hitter and is not strong defensively. Expectations for a guy starting his fifth full season would be higher than he has achieved.

Christian Vázquez Grade C. After two years of substandard offense, expectations for his hitting should be at rock bottom and that is precisely how he has performed. He has struggled a bit according to defensive metrics, but is still well regarded. 

Jonah Bride  Grade C. Acquired after he was DFA'd, he started with a rather display of hitting, but has regressed to below replacement level. Bride has not exceeded the truly low expectations of a DFA pickup. He has fielded pretty well at third base.

Willi Castro Grade B-. After establishing himself as either a super-utility player or multi-position regular, Castro has hit very well, especially recently, and has exceeded expectations. He hasn't played good defense and he hasn't been a base running asset.

Kody Clemens Grade A-. Another DFA pickup, Clemens has hit very well for the Twins and played a decent second base with some reps in the outfield and first base. He has far exceeded the meager expectations that were on him.

Carlos Correa  Grade D. He's plaBryed solid defense, but has been a failure at the plate thus far. He was expected to remain elite at the plate and been a huge disappointment. If the Twins are to contend, he has to play like an All-Star the rest of the season.

Ty France  Grade B-. France is coming off a poor season and has bounced back. He is a classic case of mediocre overall performance being far better than expected. Kudos for his defensive improvement this year and good hitting in clutch situations.

Brooks Lee  Grade C+. He's currently on an 18-game hitting streak and has shown himself to be a capable infield defender. Lee hasn't lived up to top prospect expectations however and has revealed his tools are not those of a star player.

Royce Lewis  Grade D. He's missed most of the season and when playing hasn't looked like a potential superstar, breaking the Mendoza line in his last game before injury. Pre-season expectations were probably comically high.

Harrison Bader  Grade B. Bader has been a little bit better than advertised and expected. He's a fine outfielder who has adjusted to left field extremely well and he has hit for and OPS+ of 114 so far.

Byron Buxton  Grade A. Yes, he was on the Concussion IL for two weeks and has missed a couple of other games, but he has mostly played every day and despite some slumps and strikeout binges, he has performed at an All-Star level, showing elite power and speed. Truly great to watch him play.

DaShawn Keirsey Jr.  Grade C-. Keirsey is in the role of late inning defensive replacement and pinch runner. He appears to be a good defender, but has been caught stealing too often to be a base running asset. He hasn't lived up to expectations as a hitter, being one of the worst in MLB, but has played good defense.

Trevor Larnach  Grade C+. Larnach hasn't been the far above hitter a bat first corner OF needs to be to guarantee playing time, although he has hit slightly above average. He's gotten a lot of at-bats against left handers with mixed results and generally has played about up to expectations.

Matt Wallner Grade C-. Missed a bunch of time due to injury. When he was injured he was probably the Twins' best hitter, but now has slumped. He has not reached the lofty expectations laid on him and like Correa, if the Twins are to be contenders, he will have to pick it up. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Linus]

Thanks for the thoughtful post. I was going to do a slight variation of this but will just include it here for better discussion. This last off season I wrote about 2025 being a make or break year (to varying degrees) for a bunch of players. The FO bet on these players which was a defensible position given their ages and experience levels. In this group I included Miranda, Jeffers, Martin, Julien, Larnach and to a lesser extent Wallner and Lewis. I didn’t include pitchers in my post. None of these players have taken a clear step forward. IMO Larnach and Jeffers have treaded water. The others have disappointed in degrees varying from injury disappointment to complete cratering. Of course all have another half season to improve their play. The other complicating factor is that they are all slow (except Martin) and all are below average or worse defensively. Unless something changes dramatically most of these guys shouldn’t be counted on when planning for 2026. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

4 hours ago, stringer bell said:

We are approaching the statistical halfway point of the Twins' season. The club is at .500, just slightly worse than pre-season prognostications. However, they've reached that mark by being bad, then excellent and most recently poor again.

I will give my grade for all players on the roster, including those on the Injured List, but not counting those who are currently optioned to the minors.

Pitchers

Danny Coulombe. Grade A-  superior performance and exceeds expectations, but missed time.

Jhoan Durán  Grade B+  very good performance, met expectations. Downgraded due to recent rough outings on the road trip.

David Festa  Grade C  numbers are average because of inconsistency. Probably in line with expectations.

Griffin Jax  Grade C-  performance is quite a bit below expectations. High ERA and several losses, but several dominating outings.

Pablo López  Grade B-  very good performance, but currently on IL with a multi-month injury. Had pitched up to high expectations.

Zebby Matthews  Grade C. Coming off his best two outings when he, too, was injured. Inconsistent performance in line with expectations.

Bailey Ober  Grade C-  recent slump has hurt his numbers to markedly below expectations. 

Chris Paddack Grade B-  slow start and two recent subpar outings. In between, he was excellent and far exceeding expectations.

Joe Ryan  Grade A- Outstanding  performance probably above high expectations.

Cole Sands  Grade C+. Down a bit from last year's surprise breakout. Probably unfairly a bit below expectations.

Brock Stewart  Grade B  Started on IL, a bit rusty to start, but he's mostly been very good, in line with high expectations.

Justin Topa  Grade B  He's been active all year and performed pretty well, probably a bit above expectations.

Louis Varland  Grade A. Very good performance, far exceeding expectations. He's carried a heavy work load with no hint of fatigue.

Joey Wentz  Grade Incomplete. Recently acquired. Tough to evaluate. Should  have low expectations due to his track record.

Simeon Woods Richardson  Grade C-. Lost his spot in the rotation and is back due to rotation injuries. Below his performance last year and expectations.

Position Players

Ryan Jeffers  Grade C-.  Jeffers has not broken out in his age 28 season. He is slightly above average as a hitter and is not strong defensively. Expectations for a guy starting his fifth full season would be higher than he has achieved.

Christian Vázquez Grade C. After two years of substandard offense, expectations for his hitting should be at rock bottom and that is precisely how he has performed. He has struggled a bit according to defensive metrics, but is still well regarded. 

Jonah Bride  Grade C. Acquired after he was DFA'd, he started with a rather display of hitting, but has regressed to below replacement level. Bride has not exceeded the truly low expectations of a DFA pickup. He has fielded pretty well at third base.

Willi Castro Grade B-. After establishing himself as either a super-utility player or multi-position regular, Castro has hit very well, especially recently, and has exceeded expectations. He hasn't played good defense and he hasn't been a base running asset.

Kody Clemens Grade A-. Another DFA pickup, Clemens has hit very well for the Twins and played a decent second base with some reps in the outfield and first base. He has far exceeded the meager expectations that were on him.

Carlos Correa  Grade D. He's plaBryed solid defense, but has been a failure at the plate thus far. He was expected to remain elite at the plate and been a huge disappointment. If the Twins are to contend, he has to play like an All-Star the rest of the season.

Ty France  Grade B-. France is coming off a poor season and has bounced back. He is a classic case of mediocre overall performance being far better than expected. Kudos for his defensive improvement this year and good hitting in clutch situations.

Brooks Lee  Grade C+. He's currently on an 18-game hitting streak and has shown himself to be a capable infield defender. Lee hasn't lived up to top prospect expectations however and has revealed his tools are not those of a star player.

Royce Lewis  Grade D. He's missed most of the season and when playing hasn't looked like a potential superstar, breaking the Mendoza line in his last game before injury. Pre-season expectations were probably comically high.

Harrison Bader  Grade B. Bader has been a little bit better than advertised and expected. He's a fine outfielder who has adjusted to left field extremely well and he has hit for and OPS+ of 114 so far.

Byron Buxton  Grade A. Yes, he was on the Concussion IL for two weeks and has missed a couple of other games, but he has mostly played every day and despite some slumps and strikeout binges, he has performed at an All-Star level, showing elite power and speed. Truly great to watch him play.

DaShawn Keirsey Jr.  Grade C-. Keirsey is in the role of late inning defensive replacement and pinch runner. He appears to be a good defender, but has been caught stealing too often to be a base running asset. He hasn't lived up to expectations as a hitter, being one of the worst in MLB, but has played good defense.

Trevor Larnach  Grade C+. Larnach hasn't been the far above hitter a bat first corner OF needs to be to guarantee playing time, although he has hit slightly above average. He's gotten a lot of at-bats against left handers with mixed results and generally has played about up to expectations.

Matt Wallner Grade C-. Missed a bunch of time due to injury. When he was injured he was probably the Twins' best hitter, but now has slumped. He has not reached the lofty expectations laid on him and like Correa, if the Twins are to be contenders, he will have to pick it up. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Correa and Lewis didn’t deserve Fs, I’m not sure I know what an F is.