Minnesota Twins MLB The Show July Simulation: All-Star Weekend, Big Trade

Today’s post will feature how the Twins did in July. Check out the previous editions of this series: April, May, June.

Roster moves throughout the month:

• 7/5: Jake Cave called up. LaMonte Wade jr sent down
  
• 7/8: Max Kepler reinstated. Jake Cave sent down.
  
• 7/28: TRADE: Twins acquire SP Jon Gray for Devin Smeltzer, Cody Stashak, and Brent Rooker.
  
• Gray will not be included in any statistical categories for this month.
  

AL Central at the end of July:

1. Indians: 68-42
   
2. Twins: 66-45 (2.5 GB)
   
3. White Sox: 54-56 (14.0 GB)
   
4. Royals 47-63 (21.0 GB)
   
5. Tigers 43-68 (25.5 GB)
   

Lineup with end of July statistics:

1. Buxton: .214/.275/.351 (.625), 7 HR, 35 RBI, 1.1 WAR
   
2. Arraez: .304/.375/.432 (.806), 9 HR, 40 RBI, 1.0 WAR
   
3. Kepler: .347/.436/.613 (1.049), 12 HR, 30 RBI, 3.4 WAR
   
4. Sano: .265/.359/.576 (1.014), 27 HR, 71 RBI, 2.9 WAR
   
5. Cruz: .292/.373/.520 (.893), 22 HR, 59 RBI, 2.1 WAR
   
6. Garver: .265/.334/.506 (.841), 18 HR, 40 RBI, 2.9 WAR
   
7. Polanco: .292/.371/.471 (.798), 13 HR, 42 RBI, 3.5 WAR
   
8. Rosario: .255/.273/.482 (.775), 22 HR, 60 RBI, 1.1 WAR
   
9. Donaldson: .258/.357/.431 (.788), 13 HR, 44 RBI 3.1 WAR
   

Bench Summary:

The four players on the bench to finish the month were Alex Avila, Ehire Adrianza, Willians Astudillo, and Marwin Gonzalez. All four produced as expected with averages around .250 to .280 at the end of July.

July rotation with end of the month statistics:

1. Jose Berrios: 10-7, 3.81 ERA, 8.70 K/9, 3.18 BB/9, 2.4 WAR
   
2. Kenta Maeda: 7-4, 2.83 ERA, 8.08 K/9, 2.21 BB/9, 3.0 WAR
   
3. Jake Odorizzi: 6-7, 4.78 ERA, 8.95 K/9, 3.70 BB/9, 0.7 WAR
   
4. Michael Pineda: 0-0, 2.23 ERA, 6.68 K/9, 1.39 BB/9, 1.0 WAR
   
5. Randy Dobnak: 10-6, 3.23 ERA, 5.77 K/9, 3.23 BB/9, 1.2 WAR
   

Bullpen Summary:

The bullpen at the end of May consisted of Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey, Trevor May, Sergio Romo, Zack Littell, Homer Bailey, Rich Hill, and Cody Stashak. Everyone is performing well, especially Rogers, Duffey, Romo, and Bailey. The trade for Gray will become official on the 1st of August and will push Dobnak to the bullpen.

July summary for the Twins:

The month of July was a solid one for the Twins, going 14-11 but they did lose their hold on first place in the division for the first time. Getting Kepler back is huge for this team as he has been performing at an MVP level for the team.

Every single hitter suffered at least a small dropoff over the month except for Garver. Garver is having a very nice season for the Twins along with Kepler, Polanco, Sano, Arraez, and Cruz. The Twins are tied for the league lead in home runs with the Cubs at 169.

On the pitching side, things will look a lot better for the rest of the season now that Jon Gray is on the team. He wasn’t here for July but Berrios, Maeda, Odorizzi, and Pineda all had a solid month.

Around MLB: Division leaders:

• ALC: Indians (68-42)
  
• ALW: Astros (64-45)
  
• ALE: Red Sox (71-39)
  
• ALWC: Twins (66-45), Yankees (65-44)
  
• NLC: Cubs (65-45)
  
• NLW: Dodgers (67-44)
  
• NLE: Nationals (64-47)
  
• NLWC: Marlins (62-49), Brewers (58-51)
  

League leaders:

• AVG AL/NL: Bogaerts (.378), Ian Happ (.325)
  
• OBP AL/NL: Bogaerts (.458), Goldschmidt (.421)
  
• SLG AL/NL: Bogaerts (.759), Schwarber (.611)
  
• HR AL/NL: Bogaerts (35), Freeman (33)
  
• ERA AL/NL: Jon Gray (2.45), Hendricks (1.67)
  
• SO AL/NL: Cole (179), Scherzer (191)
  

ALL STAR GAME & HR DERBY

The Minnesota Twins were represented by Miguel Sano in the home run derby. Here is how he did round by round...

• Round 1: Sano beat Schwarber 15-14.
  
• Semi-finals: Sano beat Goldschmidt 10-9.
  
• Championship round: Sano beat Bogaerts 16-14.
  
• Miguel Sano is the 2020 Home Run Derby champion!
  

All Star Game representatives for the Twins:

• Taylor Rogers: 1.0 IP, 2 K, 0 ER.
  
• Nelson Cruz: 1-2, BB.
  
• Mitch Garver: 1-2, RBI.
  
• NL beats AL 3-1.
  

Any questions about what’s going on in the league so far? Leave a comment and I’ll be sure to answer whether it's about a certain player, team, or anything else! What are your thoughts on this series I am putting together?

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