How Walker Jenkins Could Be Pushed Off The Twins' Opening Day Roster

[Riverbrian]

1 minute ago, DJL44 said:

It also kills the roster when players specialize on defense. Players should have to learn every single position, including pitcher and catcher. If they can’t sign Jeffers they should move Byron Buxton behind the plate. None of job sharing, he needs to give them 162 games at catcher.

Do you really want to keep going this direction? 

[DJL44]

4 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Do you really want to keep going this direction? 

I think I have a solution - everyone becomes a switch hitter. 

[Riverbrian]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I think I have a solution - everyone becomes a switch hitter. 

OK got it. You do want to continue down this path. 

HEY EVERYBODY

DLJ44 WANTS JENKINS TO BE STRICTLY PLATOONED. HE WANTS EMMA TO STRICTLY PLATOON. KEASCHALL WILL BE A SHORT SIDE PLATOON. CULPEPPER A SHORT SIDE PLATOON. 

I want to go on record that I strongly object to his assertion that Culpepper should be a short side platoon and I also strongly object to his assertion that Buxton plays catcher. 

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

Austin Martin had a. .582 OPS against right handed pitching last year. 

Austin Martin had a .736 OPS against left handed pitching last year. 

So... it makes perfect sense to platoon Austin Martin. .582 is terrible. While .736 is average. 

One problem that nobody ever talks about. 

Austin Martin had 181 PA's vs RH and 177 PA's vs LH position. Any platoon advantage gains were given right back. 

So where is the net gain? 

In this case... Wallner failed. Forcing Martin to expand into a bigger role. Because our role players are our depth... our break glass in case of emergency. 

Needing your short side platoon guy to face more right handed pitching isn't a one time outlier. It's a regular occurrence because of the volume of right handed pitching and the frequency of injuries and platoon specialists occupying replacement positions. 

This isn't just a Twins problem either. 

Refsnyder had 114 PA against RH - 95 AB's against LH - .465 OPS against RH.

Austin Hays in 2026. 50 ABs vs LH and 50 AB's vs RH. A true 50-50 split in every sense. OPS of .452 against the Right Handers.  

I could keep going but nobody ever looks at this stuff.

The Platoon works is what they think. Does it?

Staffing your roster with Refsnyder and Hays is the answer. Is it? 

Let's go find that right handed OF and have him take away as many AB's from Jenkins as possible. 

Traditional straightforward platoon analysis is over looking this. 

Unfortunately... It's not going to stop others from attacking your position. 

 

 

 

Your examples are all RHH.  Their splits would be 2/1 in favor of RHP if used without regard to match-ups.  Instead, they are basically 1:1. Their overall OPS is higher because they were used in this way.  My conclusion here is not that platoons are ineffective.  It's more nuanced.  They are ineffective when the rest of the roster lacks the depth that forces that ratio lower.  The ratio of ABs has to be lower against same side pitching.  It's not a bad idea the Twins just have not had roster construction that resulted in ratios that created better LHP match-ups.  Of course, how dominate are they against LHP and how weak are they against RHP.  Of course, defensive value also comes into play.

[Riverbrian]

3 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

Your examples are all RHH.  Their splits would be 2/1 in favor of RHP if used without regard to match-ups.  Instead, they are basically 1:1. Their overall OPS is higher because they were used in this way.  My conclusion here is not that platoons are ineffective.  It's more nuanced.  They are ineffective when the rest of the roster lacks the depth that forces that ratio lower.  The ratio of ABs has to be lower against same side pitching.  It's not a bad idea the Twins just have not had roster construction that resulted in ratios that created better LHP match-ups.  Of course, how dominate are they against LHP and how weak are they against RHP.  Of course, defensive value also comes into play.

First off... Thank you for an intelligent response. 

You are correct... it's incredibly nuanced. 

It's 72% RH and 28% LH. It's higher than 2/1 but 2/1 for works for what you are saying.  

A platoon strategy only maximizes offensive output when roster depth allows a team to strictly shelter weak-side hitters from same-handed pitching. That rarely happens.  

 

When injuries or a thin bench force a right-handed platoon bat into a standard 1:1 ratio of at-bats against right-handed pitchers, their overall OPS drops and the roster spot loses its value. For a team like the Minnesota Twins, the issue rarely lies in the platoon concept itself, but rather in the roster construction and bench depth required to keep those usage ratios tilted toward favorable matchups.

 

Setting up your roster in the pre-season for maximum utilization of the platoon is intentionally leaving land mines on your roster because true platoon optimization requires a complementary left-handed bat who can reliably absorb the bulk of the plate appearances against right-handed starters. When that left-handed counterpart gets injured or slumps, the right-handed platoon player is forced into everyday exposure, turning a weapon against lefties into a lineup liability against righties and the intended ratios are gone.  

 

If a short-side platoon specialist can hit right handed pitching. There would be no reason to short side him.  

 

Staffing your roster with Austin Martin for this role is a mistake because we will need Austin to be more than that. We almost always do. Needing him to be more than that... Negates the original advantage.

 

And yes... Defense is another nuance to the discussion. Defense is talent. Offense is talent. The Rays did OK with Taylor walls getting 369 AB's at the SS position. And 39 AB's in the playoffs. Walls was on the disabled list three times in 2026 and that's why his AB's were down. He was their everyday SS and they did OK. 

 

Building a roster is incredibly nuanced.