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, since 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?

[bean5302]

Keaschall doesn't provide much value to the club right now. Playing him in RF makes no sense. He can't hit well enough to play 2B, let alone RF.

The team can take two approaches. Continue to give him an unlimited leash to learn how to hit MLB pitching and try to improve infield defense like they did with Brooks Lee or send him down to AAA to change his swing.

 

[Matthew Trueblood]

2 hours ago, William K Johnson said:

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

I do find it really odd that they've chosen right for him, especially in their home park, where the right fielder's range isn't as important as their ability to field the ball off the wall and make a quick throw, or make a strong peg from the corner. I can only surmise that they don't want to displace or displease Larnach right now. I would hazard a guess that LK will spend much of the last two months in left, instead.

Or center? The old Bill James thing was, "If you can throw, but not run, you play right. If you can run, but not throw, you play left. If you can do both, you play center." I agree with Sam that Keaschall's arm will stay below-average even as an outfielder, but I could see it getting to the point where he could play center without causing a problem.

[ashbury]

The glut of corner outfielders leads me to expect multiple trades soon.   But then I thought the same a year ago and we actually added another.

[Road trip]

He's only 23, so there is still time for him to become the player we *thought* he was going to be last year.

He had fewer than 400 PAs at AA and AAA combined.  The Twins rarely rush their prospects through the minors, but I think you could argue that Luke got rushed, perhaps both offensively and defensively.

 If they think he just needs more work at 2b to become an asset there, send him to AAA to learn more, which might also benefit his hitting.  If he needs to become an outfielder... well, there are players at AAA hitting well that are already better defensive outfielders than Luke.  It seems like either way, a move to St Paul might be the best for both the player and the franchise.

[Mike Sixel]

I still think he might be traded to Pittsburgh for a minor league pitcher or two.....

[bean5302]

33 minutes ago, Road trip said:

He's only 23, so there is still time for him to become the player we *thought* he was going to be last year.

He had fewer than 400 PAs at AA and AAA combined.  The Twins rarely rush their prospects through the minors, but I think you could argue that Luke got rushed, perhaps both offensively and defensively.

 If they think he just needs more work at 2b to become an asset there, send him to AAA to learn more, which might also benefit his hitting.  If he needs to become an outfielder... well, there are players at AAA hitting well that are already better defensive outfielders than Luke.  It seems like either way, a move to St Paul might be the best for both the player and the franchise.

TD Hype machine on overdrive, Keaschall was barely holding his own at AAA when the Twins called his number. Then his first 7 games at the MLB level were great and fans jumped on board the hype machine at warp speed. His rehab assignment in AAA was poor, and the Twins recalled him. Once again, the first 20 games at the MLB level were great before pitchers stopped throwing him challenge fastballs. Keaschall's production fell off hard but fans seem to think the all fastballs version of Keaschall was the real Luke Keaschall and the AAA and post August 2025 Luke Keaschall was the imposter.

Brooks Lee was similar. TD Hype Machine maxed out, initial success, then he struggles. Looks bad in AAA, but people think he'll turn it around.

[tony&rodney]

44 minutes ago, ashbury said:

The glut of corner outfielders leads me to expect multiple trades soon.   But then I thought the same a year ago and we actually added another.

The Twins are between a rock and a hard place. Ryan Jeffers is on the IL and becomes a free agent at the end of the season. Royce Lewis has had spasm of promise mixed with lunging ineptness, yet has adapted pretty well to first base and remains a crowd favorite. Brooks Lee is growing into a playable regular at third base, which was his prognosis all along; regular but not an all star. Trevor Larnach has improved to just slightly below average in left field and provides a steady bat versus right handed pitchers. Kody Clemens has played good defense wherever he plays and has hit the ball hard enough to deserve regular playing time. In the meantime, there are a pile of players who have some, but not exceptional, promise at AAA. Matt Wallner doesn't work any longer. Aaron Sabato has numbers but is an iffy choice. I wouldn't bet for or against him, but do not expect much. Kaelen Culpepper has risen pretty fast and could be a fine regular at the major league level but we shouldn't expect him to be an all star. He will be fine at either second base or shortstop with Lee at third. The corner outfield prospects will need opportunity to show their skills and platooning really isn't necessary for all of Jenkins, Roden, Rodriguez, Mendez, and Gonzalez. There needs to be a runway for a couple of these guys though. Five players for the two  corner positions doesn't work. Mendez or Gonzalez might fit best at DH.

The Twins are almost certainly wondering, thinking, reaching out, and listening regarding potential trades. The question is which players and what teams match up with the Twins on a mutually beneficial trade? The Coaching staff and Shelton have done a remarkable job thus far. The club had no bullpen and seven DH fellows at the beginning of the year. Trying to keep everyone involved, happy, and convincing players to move positions and embrace change has been a trick. The injuries to top prospects did not help at all. These changes take time and hopefully teams like Arizona, Seattle, Tampa Bay, or Milwaukee feel strongly about adding one or more of the players who can be traded. It is going to be difficult to find a good match. The Yankees and Jeffers works but will New York part with a player the Twins want?

[Linus]

After thinking about this and reading a bunch of good comments I think the right thing to do is play him at second. He can be a good enough hitter for second but I just don’t see him ever hitting well enough to be a corner bat. If they deem him unplayable at second send him to St Paul to refine his fielding. If he never learns to be a good second baseman than we can add him to the pile of all bat no glove prospects that Falvey loved. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

3 hours ago, Jeff K said:

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

If he is truly one of the outfielders going forward, then they are also thinking that the majority of the outfielders at aaa right now aren’t going to be with the club long term. 

[Jacksson]

He looked like he never played outfield before when he played the ball hit over his head into what was charitably ruled by the HOMETOWN "Official Scorer" as a triple when he was out of position and missed the carom off the wall.  Should have been scored a single and a 2 base error.  MLB needs to establish better guidelines on official scoring; greater consistency throughout the league.  No wonder the ERAs of pitchers is soaring; seems like every game I see has at least one batted ball that should be an error, not a hit.  I'm surprised that pitchers are not lobbying the league and their players association to do something about the poor excuses for earned runs they are being charged with.

[Jacksson]

Send him over to St Paul to get outfield reps and to work on his hitting until after the 2026 deadline sell off.