The Twins Can't Ignore Kyler Fedko Much Longer... Right?

[chpettit19]

43 minutes ago, arby58 said:

The American League is down, and we're barely into June. Suggesting they 'aren't good enough to contend at this point in the season - far too soon. If so, you're sending a bad message to the rest of the roster. If they are out of it in August, fine - bring him/them up and play them. For now, some patience is required.

This is the biggest challenge for front offices and, too often, owners. A hard, emotionless, realistic assessment of your roster. I don't care if the American League is "down" right now. Has the Twins outlook changed significantly from the 72-78 wins most people expected coming into the season? I'd give that a very hard "no." So, if you're still expecting a max of about 78 wins 1/3 of the way into the season, what are you waiting for? What's the best-case scenario? Half the American League can't get to 78 wins so you sneak in and get boat raced in 2 games and go home? I'm not interested in that. Pretending you're good enough when you aren't is how teams get stuck in, at best, the no-man's-land middle ground. I'm not interested in that. Because that leads to the Twins holding Jeffers and him leaving for nothing. It leads to them holding Ryan and risking a Lopez style complete loss of value. It leads to a worse future in some lost cause hope that the rest of the league sucks, too, and you can pretend you succeeded by sneaking into the playoffs with a below-.500 record. No thanks.

But, I will say I don't expect the Pohlads to allow the team to do what they should and treat this as the transition year it is. I expect Tom to force the front office into some bad decisions for the future of this team.

[Linus]

7 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

This is the biggest challenge for front offices and, too often, owners. A hard, emotionless, realistic assessment of your roster. I don't care if the American League is "down" right now. Has the Twins outlook changed significantly from the 72-78 wins most people expected coming into the season? I'd give that a very hard "no." So, if you're still expecting a max of about 78 wins 1/3 of the way into the season, what are you waiting for? What's the best-case scenario? Half the American League can't get to 78 wins so you sneak in and get boat raced in 2 games and go home? I'm not interested in that. Pretending you're good enough when you aren't is how teams get stuck in, at best, the no-man's-land middle ground. I'm not interested in that. Because that leads to the Twins holding Jeffers and him leaving for nothing. It leads to them holding Ryan and risking a Lopez style complete loss of value. It leads to a worse future in some lost cause hope that the rest of the league sucks, too, and you can pretend you succeeded by sneaking into the playoffs with a below-.500 record. No thanks.

But, I will say I don't expect the Pohlads to allow the team to do what they should and treat this as the transition year it is. I expect Tom to force the front office into some bad decisions for the future of this team.

Preach. I am really worried TP will tie Zolls hands and not allow him the the freedom to do his job. 

[LyleCole]

Why would the Twins want to do that?   They have James Outman with a solid .493 OPS on the MLB roster.   There is still more than half the season to give him more plate appearances so he can strike out 43% of the time.   And, when we get too tired of that magnificence I am sure there are several 32 year old waiver wire candidates out there.

The Twins give very few chances to players that have actually been drafted by the organization and besides, since Kyle is 26 years and 256 days if we brought him up now that would be rushing him to the majors and threatening his future development.  We don't want that.  What if he fails?

And, of course we don't need a versatile player with a little bit of pop in his bat that will take professional ABs.   

 

[Cory Engelhardt]

4 hours ago, Over The Hill Again said:

Fedko for Outman? Yes please. 

Culpepper needs a spot before Fedko no? Either way Outman probably isn’t long for the team 

[Wedman13]

28 minutes ago, LyleCole said:

Why would the Twins want to do that?   They have James Outman with a solid .493 OPS on the MLB roster.   There is still more than half the season to give him more plate appearances so he can strike out 43% of the time.   And, when we get too tired of that magnificence I am sure there are several 32 year old waiver wire candidates out there.

The Twins give very few chances to players that have actually been drafted by the organization and besides, since Kyle is 26 years and 256 days if we brought him up now that would be rushing him to the majors and threatening his future development.  We don't want that.  What if he fails?

And, of course we don't need a versatile player with a little bit of pop in his bat that will take professional ABs.   

 

What a colossal waste of time for folks to constantly complain about outman, Kriedler, gray, Jackson, arcia, Clemons and even Tom Pohlad..... in every thread.

maybe frustration should be channeled towards those that so obviously let the team down thru performance or injury?.  Royce, Wallner, SWR, Pablo, Jeffers, Jenkins, Emma.  That was not a bad team if they produce.  They didn't.  Blame them.

But go ahead bring up Fedko so the guys who should have been producing have one more AAA player to take bullets for them.  However, anyone who thinks Fedko will cure the ills made by those who let the team down, will be complaining about him in a month.  And if you think the guy we got for a one armed Brock Stewart is the problem, you are reaching.

[LyleCole]

1 hour ago, Wedman13 said:

What a colossal waste of time for folks to constantly complain about outman, Kriedler, gray, Jackson, arcia, Clemons and even Tom Pohlad..... in every thread.

maybe frustration should be channeled towards those that so obviously let the team down thru performance or injury?.  Royce, Wallner, SWR, Pablo, Jeffers, Jenkins, Emma.  That was not a bad team if they produce.  They didn't.  Blame them.

But go ahead bring up Fedko so the guys who should have been producing have one more AAA player to take bullets for them.  However, anyone who thinks Fedko will cure the ills made by those who let the team down, will be complaining about him in a month.  And if you think the guy we got for a one armed Brock Stewart is the problem, you are reaching.

Speaking of colossal wastes of time, your comments are the King!  Good job.

 

Do I think that Fedko will "cure the ills" of the Minnesota Twins? Nope.

What I do think is that:

1.  Kyler Fedko can be a better performer than James Outman who has demonstrated he is a below replacement level player  ;

2  Fedko is a guy the  minor leagues were designed for and he has essentially got better each step of the process   ;

3  Fedko has EARNED the promotion to the Big Leagues, six years in the organization and advancing and improving, seemingly doing everything his team has asked.

Fedko's career path reminds me a lot of Brian Dozier except that Dozier's increase in power came well after his major league debut.   

We know what we have in Outman (and a few other players).  We don't know what we have in Fedko.  He has earned his shot and the Twins should reward a 6 year member of their organization with the deserved promotion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

S

[DJL44]

Can Fedko produce more than Outman? Maybe. So what? It’s not that difficult to find someone better than Outman.

[Dman]

7 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

IDK, I might be in LF on this one but I think Ben Ross might be more likely tom be called up.  He has a .990 OPS the last month.   He is also a good defender and can literally play any position except catcher.  I would much prefer to see him get a shot over Outman.  Ross has a low probability of sticking but Outman is a near zero probability.

Yeah he can handle all six spots and I haven't looked, but I believe he is a plus defender at short.  Haven't checked EV's or anything, but if you were going to add a guy he'd be the one with the most versatility so you could fit him in the lineup easier.

[mikelink45]

15 hours ago, bean5302 said:

This season's DaShawn Keirsey please stand up! Keirsey through June 4th, 2024 (called up just before then).

a27 - 213PA - .302/.390/.538 OPS .928 wRC+ 135, 12.7% BB, 23.5% K, ISO .236 (Keirsey)
vs
a26 - 199PA - .287/.372/.561 OPS .933 wRC+ 134, 10.6% BB, 21.6% K, ISO .275 (Fedko)

Projection tools have Fedko well below league average at the plate for good reason. He's 26 and he's moved very slowly through the minors with multiple hiccups along the way. A college draft pick who is going to make an impact typically takes 2-3 years. Fedko is in year 6. That's plenty of time to polish, polish, polish what talent a guy has. It takes more than polish to be successful at MLB, though. It takes talent. Both have to be there.

His xwOBA in AAA is dramatically lower than actual wOBA, his EV is good for AAA, but projecting it to MLB puts him probably bottom quartile (88mph-ish).

I don't have any problems playing Fedko 2x per week for 3 plate appearances or whatever Outman would get, but I don't see any real upside there.

I prefer to see rather than project. I asked Google about baseball projections and this is what I got - Baseball player projections are reasonably accurate on a macro level for league-wide averages, but highly unpredictable for individual player outcomes. Because projection systems predict a player's median outcome across thousands of simulations, they generally nail team-wide offensive trends while frequently missing on individual variables like injuries, slumps, or breakout seasons.

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

...while frequently missing on individual variables like injuries, slumps, or breakout seasons.

What this means is projection tools can't account for SSS or unexpected breakouts. It does not mean projection tools aren't worth noting. There's a reason projection tools exist. They cost money. Somebody is literally paying for that data.

[bean5302]

10 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Can Fedko produce more than Outman? Maybe. So what? It’s not that difficult to find someone better than Outman.

it's true. Fedko could add or subtract between 0.1 and 0.2 WAR per year over Outman based on the 25 PA they'll get, lol

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

What this means is projection tools can't account for SSS or unexpected breakouts. It does not mean projection tools aren't worth noting. There's a reason projection tools exist. They cost money. Somebody is literally paying for that data.

And we are paying for tickets - try the hot bats.

[bean5302]

42 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

And we are paying for tickets - try the hot bats.

Fedko is NBD at AAA. He's "good" for that level, not great. Pitching in the International League is "Animal Food Drop Water" to quote the French in Monty Pythons Holy Grail.

[4twinsJA]

I don't think anyone is saying Fedko is the next Twins AllStar outfielder, just that he has proven himself in minors and deserves an opportunity at the MLB level. Maybe Fedko doesn't produce, but it is time to see if he can. 

[twinstalker]

Bring him up to stop the whining.

[RpR]

On 6/5/2026 at 1:10 PM, 4twinsJA said:

I don't think anyone is saying Fedko is the next Twins AllStar outfielder, just that he has proven himself in minors and deserves an opportunity at the MLB level. Maybe Fedko doesn't produce, but it is time to see if he can. 

No.