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

[LA Vikes Fan]

I think the Twins see real potential with Keaschall and are trying to find a spot where he can maximize that potential. He's only 23. and has hit .268/.349/.3685 (.717) in 456 ABs, with 52 walks and only 77 SOs. That's 508 plate appearances, basically 85-90% of one season's worth of regular time, and he has a .717 OPS, 10.2% BB rate, and a 15.2% SO rate.  He has speed and a .349 OBP. That's a decent regular NOW, and he is more likely than not going to get better with more experience. He has shown hitting competence at the MLB level while Emma, Jenkins, and GG are still trying to conquer AAA. Now, playing him in the OF may be holding back Roden who actually has conquered AAA, but I would argue its Fedko being on the roster and rostering a DH only player like Bell is what is keeping Roden down for now.  There is absolutely no reason why the Twins don't demote Fedko, promote Roden, and find Roden 15-20 ABs a week. Even better, demote Fedko, trade Bell, and now you have space to give a bunch of guys regular ABs. 

This season should be about finding the core for next year and beyond. Keaschall could be an integral part of that core, he could be a bench guy, he could be a AAAA player. We will never know if he is a keeper if he doesn't play. He's shown that 2B isn't going to be his long-term spot. I applaud Shelton for trying him in RF and giving him ABs. This is the year to find out if he can make it now. Same for Lee, same for Lewis, same for Kriedler. The jury is still out on all of these guys. PLAY THEM and FIND OUT.

 

[MMBoys93]

It seems more and more that we’re going to see an unexpected trade before the deadline. Moving Royce around to other positions and now Luke in the outfield while having six major league quality outfielders in Saint Paul means that something has to give here.

You deal from a point of strength here and retool for the future. There’s no way to get everyone ABs with 2 corner OF spots.

I have a couple names in mind that I could see getting moved but will keep it to myself for now. 

[LakesPibble]

6 hours ago, Sam Caulder said:

If there's one thing we've learned about the Twins this year, it's that they value defensive versatility

Translation:  if there's one thing we've learned this year, it's that we don't have many good fielders.

[RpR]

2 hours ago, Road trip said:

...so there is still time for him to become the player we *thought* he was going to be last year....

 

That chorus has been sung for SO many rookies, LOL.

[Hunter4848]

4 minutes ago, RpR said:

That chorus has been sung for SO many rookies, LOL.

Yeah the Twins organization constantly fails young players. 

[HeresWaldo]

He doesn't have the power required to be a good regular out there. I'm entirely willing to believe he can be a useful utility guy/platoon bat and I don't think people should be giving up on him, but I don't think he's a regular. Maybe he'll hit .300 and prove me wrong, but I doubt it. In a lot of ways I like Keashall and think the Twins should put more emphasis on fairly fast athletes like him when building their bench, but if he can't hit for power and can't play good defense at a premium position there's a pretty low ceiling in modern baseball. 

[karcherd]

I am still baffled by this move.  If feels like they are giving up on him to a certain extent.  He has had a years worth of games at 2B.  He has had some good games and to me it looks like he is thinking and not reacting.  The best way to solve that is reps.  For those who say he should be sent down to work on his defense, what can they do in AAA that our major league staff can't.  I think they need to show more patience especially when there is not a clear replacement.  Clemens should be in a utility role moving around to get his bat in the lineup while he is producing.

Is there any kind of plan for this team, they have completely remade the infield barely halfway into the season.  Defensively no one regressed at their position, they didn't improve but I don't feel there was regression.  So then why weren't these moves made at the beginning of the season or better yet wait until of this season.  Not to mention as others have we have at least 6 corner outfielders that are going to pushing up for at least a look between now and the end of 2027.  So you add another player to that mix, where again is the plan.  Not every player is a finished product and he did look better playing next to Kreidler, you can't totally dismiss the instability at SS and the impact on Keaschall.  He has the athleticism and his arm probably plays best at second.

It would be nice if we could develop more than one or two players to be productive starters in the majors.  But part of that is showing patience, something that has been in short supply with many of the younger players under the Falvey regime.  And even though Falvey is gone, all the supporting cast is still there and they are not operating much differently than in the past.