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

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.