Luke Keaschall Might Be a Much Better Outfielder Than He Was a Second Baseman

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of © Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

We had a first this weekend. Luke Keaschall, who had spent basically his entire major-league career playing second base, was penciled into the lineup as the Twins' starting right fielder. Meanwhile, Kody Clemens handled the starts at second base, as the two kind of flip-flopped.

If you've been paying close attention over the last few months, it wasn't a huge surprise. Keaschall’s eight errors at second base this season are the second-most, behind only Nasim Nuñez of the Nationals, and there have been misplays and non-plays beyond those. His performance there essentially compelled a change. Additionally, it felt like Derek Shelton and the Twins had been preparing for this possibility since spring training, when Keaschall started getting a fair amount of work in the corner outfield. At the time, it looked like they were simply adding another position to his résumé. Now, it looks like they were laying the groundwork for something they always knew could become a legitimate option. 

Whenever an infielder moves to the outfield, though, there's almost always going to be a learning curve. It's one thing to shag fly balls during batting practice. It's another to do it under the lights in a major-league game, especially with runners on base. The encouraging part is that the Twins already know that. Shelton acknowledged it before Friday's game.

"I think it's going to be a work in progress, I think we're aware of that, and there's probably going to be some growing pains with it," he said.

That's exactly the right mindset to have. There are going to be some tough moments as Keaschall gets comfortable in right field, and you could argue we saw one of those on Saturday. Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy ripped a ball off the right field wall, and Keaschall didn't play it particularly well, allowing the ball to get past him. McCarthy was able to take an extra base, and the misplay ultimately led to a run crossing the plate later in the inning.

Obviously, Target Field offers a new right fielder some unique challenges. But Keaschall got that play wrong in every way. He got too close to the wall, especially on a ball he clearly didn't read well. Had it hit off the limestone overhang, it would have caromed even farther beyond his reach. As it was, it hit about 15 feet up on the wall, above the padding, which made for a sharp bounce of its own. Keaschall had initially gone back uncertainly, then turned his shoulders toward the foul pole, forcing him to pivot again as the ball bounced past on his other side. If he's in position to collect the ball quickly, that's a double, not a triple.

It certainly wasn't his finest defensive moment. In fact, McCarthy also beat Keaschall on Friday night, with a double that could have been caught—although he played this one much better, all things considered.

On both plays, it's the same error. Misreading either the initial trajectory off the bat or the likely spin and wind influences that would act on the ball, Keaschall turned the wrong way. See this? This isn't good. This loss of visual contact with the ball (not to check on the wall or make up ground, but because he'd turned the wrong way and needed to swing around) happened on both plays, and was a problem both times.

As is made clear by the closeness of the ensuing play, McCarthy hit that ball hard enough that it should have been possible to hold him to a single, even for an outfielder not quite fast or familiar enough to charge back and stab it before it short-hopped the wall. That Keaschall was still circling the wagons when he fielded the rebound slowed down his release.

But we've also seen some positives. Keaschall made a really nice sliding catch in that same Saturday loss, and outside of McCarthy playing wall ball, he's actually looked pretty comfortable in right field. He's moved around well, looked athletic, and hasn't appeared completely overwhelmed by the position change. On two other plays (easier ones, admittedly), he even negotiated successfully with the wall.

That shouldn't come as a huge surprise, either, especially when you hear what Twins first base coach Grady Sizemore had to say. Sizemore, who was a three-time All-Star and one of the better defensive outfielders while he was playing, offered a pretty interesting perspective.

"Honestly, I think the best outfielders are former infielders. I think for an infielder, it's probably going to be an easy transition. You’re going to have more time; you’re going to have a little bit of—you’re just [farther] away. Your reaction, you don’t have to be as immediate. You can be a hair late or have an extra step to get the right read or the right direction."

Those are some pretty telling words coming from someone who made a career out of playing the outfield at an elite level. But even with that, we also have to acknowledge that there will be bumps in the road.

Second base doesn't exactly require a rocket launcher for an arm, but Keaschall's average arm strength of 76 MPH leaves quite a bit to be desired. In my opinion, that's going to be the biggest question mark throughout this entire transition. Most major-league right fielders have above-average throwing arms; it's one of the defining traits of the position. Keaschall simply doesn't. If runners begin taking extra bases because they know his arm isn't much of a threat, that's something the Twins will have to weigh moving forward.

But despite that concern, I still find myself thinking this experiment has a legitimate chance to work. The biggest reason is Keaschall's overall athletic profile. He's described himself as a "tight athlete," and I think that's a really interesting way to look at his game. There's a difference between being twitchy and being tight.

A twitchy athlete relies on explosive first-step quickness. They're able to go from zero to one hundred almost instantly without losing dexterity at their extremities, which is incredibly valuable in the middle infield, where reaction time is everything. A tight athlete is a little different. They might be equally explosive, but the control of that explosiveness is more confined to their core. They need a bit more margin for error when it comes to great feats of hand-eye coordination. That profile feels like a better fit in the outfield.

There's a little more time to react. Keaschall's straight-line speed should allow him to track baseballs down in the gaps, and when he gets to balls, he should be better able to do what's needed with them. There's no need to rush an exchange or contort your body to get the ball out immediately. You're freer (and, again, have more time) to move your glove late to get it around the ball, and an outfielder's glove is itself bigger than a middle infielder's.

The arm strength is still going to be worth watching, because that can’t magically improve overnight. (Most players throw harder from the outfield than on the infield, because the throws must be longer and the proper technique therefore involves taking a hair longer to load up and fire. Relatively speaking, though, Keaschall won't throw harder as a right fielder than as a second baseman.) But outside of that, Keaschall might actually be a natural fit in right field. There are almost certainly going to be rough patches along the way. There will probably be another misplay or two before everything starts feeling comfortable. That's part of learning a brand-new position at the highest level. Still, when I look at Keaschall's overall athletic traits, I honestly think they line up more with a corner outfielder than they do with a full-time second baseman. And it's not like this has to be a permanent move, either.

If there's one thing we've learned about the Twins this year, it's that they value defensive versatility. Keaschall can still move around the diamond. He can still play second base when the matchup calls for it. Maybe this experiment ends up sticking for years, or maybe it doesn't. But I applaud Derek Shelton and the Twins' coaching staff for being willing to find out. Sometimes, the only way to discover what a player can become is by giving him the opportunity to try something new.

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[tarheeltwinsfan]

OK I agree OF may be a better position for Keaschall than 2B. But why not left field, where arm strength is not as important as right field? Oh yea, I forgot...Larnach.  Larnach should bring a decent package  in a trade at the deadline or in the off season, sense he is having his best year at the plate this year.  

[MMBoys93]

On a team where every young player with potential is defensively limited to corner outfield, the twins add another lol

[DJL44]

If Keaschall is an outfielder every day then there isn’t much for Kyler Fedko to do. 
 

Keaschall has to hit more to be valuable in RF.

[dxpavelka]

"Honestly, I think the best outfielders are former infielders."  Um, Grady, obviously you weren't here in 2016 for the Miguel Sano Experience.  What Grady failed to add is that the best designated hitters are former infielders who are also not good outfielders.  Maybe that's where Keaschal is destined for.  With almost  half dozen outfielders  (Fedko, Rodriguez, Mendez, Jenkins, Rhoden, some guy named Ben Ross) waiting in the wings (yes, some in various phases of injury recovery) in St. Paul I'm not sure there is room in the big league outfield for failed infielders.  Nor do I believe it's a good idea.  Yes, that might mean you as well Austin Martin.  And I'm ok with that.  

[CRF]

That ain't really saying much. Anyway...he doesn't hit enough to be playing anywhere right now. 

[Jeff K]

Keaschall's move to the outfield places his Twins future in jeopardy with so many outfielders in St. Paul on the radar.  

[William K Johnson]

If he plays anywhere in the outfield, it should probably be left field as he lacks the arm strength to play right field.

[tony&rodney]

The goal is to have good hitters who play average to plus defense at every position. Ultimately. positions will be claimed based on the bat. The Twins are stronger defensively today than they were in April at six positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, and RF. That is something. Shelton and his coaches have taken what they were given and are tweaking things to the benefit of the team. The pitchers are thankful.

Keaschall is already  better than Matt Wallner in right field and his move means that second base is improved as well. Luke will need to hit to keep his spot. Will others pass him by in the near future? Stay tuned.

[JD-TWINS]

Keaschall has 15 XBH in 274 AB’s. He barely hits well enough to be a “defensive” middle infielder. Zero power - weak arm - poor OF instincts (granted, newness as well) combine for not a good fit!

A supposedly “weak hitting” Kreidler has 10 XBH in 93 AB’s……… Larnach, in a “down power year” has 21 XBH in 60 less AB’s than Luke.

Martin played/started in RF for most of 25 games or more …….. he has pretty good instincts there and has a better arm. Keaschall in LF is a good answer for his future with some occasional play at 2B, when advantageous for Team. Send him down for 2-3 weeks to get a bunch of OF reps and have a bit of a mental break. Allows time to work on some minor tweaks in offensive side, if deemed necessary……..seems to be necessary.

Luke’s energy & grit are admirable and valuable …….. gotta field your position and can’t just “swing hard” and get slap hitter results. His OBP is up …… not suggesting banishing him but he seems to be in need of a re-set defensively & and it needs to happen, IMO, before there are more bumps along the way.

[Andy MacPhail]

Twins past bad philosophy of hiding poor fielders at 2B has hurt the team. The bar is much lower in RF, so yeah Keaschal is a better RFer than 2Bman. They should have started Keaschal at 1B last year & ease him at RFer this year. 

[Peter Gravett]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

If Keaschall is an outfielder every day then there isn’t much for Kyler Fedko to do. 
 

Keaschall has to hit more to be valuable in RF.

Especially given both are RH bats.

[TJSweens]

I bet Luke could field the DH position at an elite level. Unfortunately he doesn't hit well enough to play there.

It's amazing how Keaschall has gone from an exciting hitting prospect to place holder status.

[Peter Gravett]

43 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Keaschall has 15 XBH in 274 AB’s. He barely hits well enough to be a “defensive” middle infielder. Zero power - weak arm - poor OF instincts (granted, newness as well) combine for not a good fit!

A supposedly “weak hitting” Kreidler has 10 XBH in 93 AB’s……… Larnach, in a “down power year” has 21 XBH in 60 less AB’s than Luke.

Martin played/started in RF for most of 25 games or more …….. he has pretty good instincts there and has a better arm. Keaschall in LF is a good answer for his future with some occasional play at 2B, when advantageous for Team. Send him down for 2-3 weeks to get a bunch of OF reps and have a bit of a mental break. Allows time to work on some minor tweaks in offensive side, if deemed necessary……..seems to be necessary.

Luke’s energy & grit are admirable and valuable …….. gotta field your position and can’t just “swing hard” and get slap hitter results. His OBP is up …… not suggesting banishing him but he seems to be in need of a re-set defensively & and it needs to happen, IMO, before there are more bumps along the way.

Spot on... get reps at both corners at AAA, while he gets his swing fully dialed in.

[1985Fan]

Agree with most everyone here, he isn’t hitting enough to play RF. With all of the OF prospects in AAA I don’t understand the move to RF. It means two things: the Twins feel his glove will never be good enough for 2B (I agree), and they are positioning him to be the RH platoon/bench outfielder (meaning Martin or Fedko aren’t the RH outfield bench bat). Ok, I agree with both things, so if he can learn to play average or better OF defense, he can be a RH bench bat. I can’t see him coming in late in the game after pinch hitting though, so we’ll see where this goes. Twins must have a lot of confidence in his bat to try this out. It doesn’t hurt right now, unless/until he is taking a roster spot from others. 

[Linus]

I think he looked pretty good out there for the first time I will join the chorus wondering why he isn’t in LF where his arm is less of a liability and his speed is more of an asset in the larger LF. It might be that they think he will read the ball off the bat better in RF having played the right side of the infield but that’s just a guess. What I know for sure is the bar to clear for acceptable hitting just got raised significantly. No way his current level of hitting is good enough for a corner outfielder on a legit playoff team. 

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, MMBoys93 said:

On a team where every young player with potential is defensively limited to corner outfield, the twins add another lol

There aren't very many "young" position players on this roster. Literally 2 who are 25 or younger: Lee and Keaschall. Lee still in the infield, has potential to be very good at 3B. And of course, Keaschall can also play CF with his speed and athleticism, so not limited to just corner OF. So not exactly accurate.

I've been disappointed in Keaschall's progress at 2B; he's got good enough tools to be better than what's he's shown, but the performance simply hasn't been there. Part of me still wonders if it's still mostly a matter of reps so that he stops thinking about every play and can just react and play, but maybe that's improvement that needs to be done in the offseason.

He's looked fine in the OF in the minors and should be able to handle RF once he learns the oddities of Target Field a little better. But I tend to agree that he plays up better in LF or CF than RF, since his arm is still a liability.. They sure seem to be prioritizing Larnach's comfort level, and you'd think Larnach would be more suited to RF, even if he's played much better in LF this season.

[mickster]

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

OK I agree OF may be a better position for Keaschall than 2B. But why not left field, where arm strength is not as important as right field? Oh yea, I forgot...Larnach.  Larnach should bring a decent package  in a trade at the deadline or in the off season, sense he is having his best year at the plate this year.  

Larnach is more valuable staying.   I don't think he would bring back much more than a single A prospect.  To me - he should stay; all of the younger prospects won't pan out.

[David HK]

Pretty low bar there, eh?