3 Questions Facing Key Twins Players in Season's Final Weeks

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins still have plenty of baseball left to play. The final weeks of the season will provide an important opportunity to evaluate several players already on the roster. While the organization will eventually have to make decisions about its offseason plans, those decisions should be influenced by what happens on the field down the stretch.

For some players, the remaining games are about establishing consistency. For others, it's an opportunity to show the Twins they can handle a different role or position. Every at-bat and inning provides another piece of information for the organization to consider.

There's no shortage of questions surrounding the roster, but three players in particular have plenty to prove during the final weeks of the season.

Zebby Matthews: Starter or Reliever?

The Twins need to figure out where Matthews fits into their pitching plans. Matthews has already shown flashes that he can be a useful major-league pitcher, but Minnesota may not have enough starting pitching depth to simply pencil him into the rotation and assume everything will work itself out. Pablo López, Mick Abel, and David Festa are all working their way back from injuries. Even if all three are healthy when spring training begins, the Twins will have plenty of uncertainty behind them.

That could make Matthews an interesting candidate to follow the Andrew Morris path. Morris began his professional career as a starter before eventually transitioning into a bullpen role. That move has allowed him to become a valuable part of Minnesota's pitching staff, and Matthews could follow a similar trajectory.

The Twins shouldn't rush to make that decision, though. Matthews has enough starting experience that he should get every opportunity to compete for a rotation spot. At the same time, Minnesota needs to determine whether his stuff could play up in shorter outings. If the Twins believe Matthews can become a legitimate weapon out of the bullpen, that could be a valuable role for a team that has needed more depth in the pitching staff.

The question: Is Matthews a future member of the starting rotation, or could he become a more valuable weapon coming out of the bullpen?

Royce Lewis: Back in the Long-Term Plans?

It wasn't long ago that Lewis's future with the Twins seemed considerably less certain. Minnesota sent Lewis to Triple-A earlier this season, creating plenty of questions about whether he would eventually regain his place as a cornerstone of the organization. Since then, however, something has changed.

Lewis has transitioned into playing first base regularly, and his offensive production has taken a significant step forward. In 61 games since returning, he has an .822 OPS with 10 homers and 17 doubles. The change in position may have helped simplify things for him, while his bat has started looking much more like the one the Twins envisioned when they made him the No. 1 overall pick.

That matters, because Lewis is still under team control for two more seasons. The Twins don't have to make a decision on his long-term future this winter. But they do need to determine whether Lewis is part of the next good version of this team.

His recent performance could make that decision considerably easier. If Lewis can continue producing offensively and establish himself at first base, the Twins may have found a path that keeps him in the middle of their plans. His injury history and inconsistency remain legitimate concerns, but the organization has already invested heavily in his development. There is still time for Lewis to change the narrative.

The question: Has Lewis done enough over the second half of the season to earn another opportunity to be part of Minnesota's long-term plans?

Luke Keaschall: Are the Improvements for Real?

Keaschall's season started about as poorly as anyone could have imagined. The offensive numbers were ugly, and it looked like the young infielder was having trouble adjusting to major-league pitching. At the end of April, he had a .542 OPS with 21 strikeouts in 31 games.

Since then, however, Keaschall has worked to pull those numbers back toward respectable territory. In 87 games since May 1, he is slashing .294/.401/.422 (.823) with 22 extra-base hits. Minnesota has even started using him back at the top of the lineup because of his strong on-base skills. 

That doesn't mean every concern has disappeared. His defense in the outfield has been questionable at times, which is understandable considering the circumstances. Keaschall isn't a player who spent his minor-league career exclusively roaming the outfield.

In fact, the Twins have essentially been moving him around on the fly. Keaschall played only 20 minor-league games in the outfield before reaching the majors. Asking him to learn a new position while simultaneously trying to adjust to big-league pitching was never going to be an easy assignment.

That makes it difficult to determine exactly what Minnesota has in Keaschall right now. The offensive improvement is encouraging. But the Twins need to know whether it represents a genuine adjustment or simply a player going through a better stretch.

There is still plenty of time for Keaschall to answer that question. If the bat continues trending upward, the Twins can afford to be more patient with the defensive development. But if the offensive struggles return, the organization will have to determine whether moving him back toward the infield is the better solution.

The question: Are Keaschall's recent offensive improvements the beginning of a sustainable adjustment, or just a temporary hot streak?

Three Players, Three Very Different Decisions

The Twins don't necessarily need definitive answers on all three players before the season ends. They do, however, need more information.

Matthews could help determine how Minnesota builds its pitching staff. Lewis could show the organization that he still belongs in the middle of its long-term plans. Keaschall could provide evidence that his difficult start was simply part of the learning curve.

All three players have something to prove. And all three could have very different roles when the Twins return to Target Field next season.

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How would you answer the questions listed above? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[offensive_loons_fan]

For what it's worth, all three of these examples come grounded in the "we just move people around positions" philosophy of the organization. Starters become relievers, infielders become outfielders, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria.

[Patzky]

11 minutes ago, offensive_loons_fan said:

For what it's worth, all three of these examples come grounded in the "we just move people around positions" philosophy of the organization. Starters become relievers, infielders become outfielders, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria.

There also the Depending On variable, especially for Keaschall (depending on OF depth, Houston sliding Culpeper over, and even re-signing Josh Bell) and Zebby (depending on the health of other starters more than relief depth, especially Lopez and Abel, and also the usage plan for Rojas and possibly Festa.) Royce will be here but the long term plans depend on Scott Boras. 

[mark allen]

Not sure if Shelton hasn't made perfect moves. Lee at third looks perfect. Royce first again looks great. Keash started hitting to form right after changing to outfield, Morris to bullpen looks great, even though I can't help wondering what would of happened if he was a starter.

[DJL44]

This offseason is the sweet spot for a Royce Lewis contract extension. His overall numbers will depress his arbitration award. Next offseason will be too late, he will go to free agency.

I don’t see him getting more than $16M in arbitration for the next two seasons. Would he go for a guaranteed 4 years and $48M?

[Road trip]

1. Starter. Need 10 because 5 will be hurt at any given time.

2. yes, but "long-term" for Lewis likely may mean "until he becomes a free agent in '29".  

3. I sure hope Keaschall's glove improves somewhere.

[mikelink45]

I would add some more questions

1. Can Caratini actually replace Jeffers after this season?  He has thrown out 7 of 20 base stealers
2. Is Jackson now the number two catcher for next year or number one?
3. Are we going to drop Bell like we did France, Santana and other 1b/DH signings in the past?
4. Is the narrative for Larnach going to be trade him again?  Does his poor second half change things?
5. Is Buxton done in CF?  Can he get his batting eye back?
6. Does Ober have enough savvy to stay in the rotation next year?
7. Can we really count on Lopez?  How many games has he pitched since he signed his contract?
8. Is Gomez real or a fluke?
9. Why do I keep reading about Festa as though he and Abel are ready to be better SP than Matthews?
10. What will the team do with Wallner, Fedko, Gonzales and our OF logjam?
11. How much more leash does Roden have?

[MMBoys93]

Zebby- why does it have to be one or the other? He can move to the pen next year and potentially move back to the rotation in the future. I think pen makes a lot of sense for next years plans with the potential of moving back to the rotation. It’s being done more often in the league nowadays and he has the stuff to make it happen.

Royce- yeah I think in a way he’s back, but his whiff struggles and his in zone whiff struggles will mean that he’ll likely never be an elite hitter, so he’s really going to have to find somewhere defensively where he can be at least a league average presence defensively. 
 

Luke- I think it’s mostly legit with the bat. He’s really incredible about swinging at his pitch and laying off stuff outside the zone and pitchers pitches. MLB defenses will learn to play him tighter but remember he’s still coming off TJ and multiple hand injuries. I think he can find a little more bat speed which should help him adjust to the adjustments that’ll come next year. His impact is highly dependent on his ability not to play terrible defense though.
 

it’s shocking to me how many bad plays he makes. Not because he’s lacking athleticism but just baseball smarts, but he did go to ASU…

[tony&rodney]

"All three players have something to prove. And all three could have very different roles when the Twins return to Target Field next season."

All three could be parts of blockbuster transactions this coming offseason too.  The future is wide open.

The Twins front office will have some decisions to make about a number of players and their ideas will result in the roster chosen to begin 2027. Will they gamble or play it back again?

[DJL44]

26 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I would add some more questions

1. Can Caratini actually replace Jeffers after this season?  He has thrown out 7 of 20 base stealers

In 60 games. I don’t think he will catch more than 90 games, which would mean 10 caught stealing and 20 SB allowed. That is actually pretty impressive control of the running game.