Minnesota Twins MLB The Show Season Simulation: June

The first two months for the Twins went very well, but June was a much more difficult month. Cleveland was right on their heels the whole month and players were inconsistent the whole time. Let’s see how everything shook out.

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

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

Roster moves throughout the month:

6/25: LaMonte Wade jr. called up. Jimmy Kerrigan sent down.
6/28: Michael Pineda called up. Tyler Clippard designated for assignment.

AL Central at the end of June:

Twins: 52-34
Indians: 51-35 (1.0 GB)
White Sox: 42-44 (10.0 GB)
Royals 40-46 (12.0 GB)
Tigers 31-54 (20.5 GB)

Lineup with end of June statistics:

Buxton: .230/.291/.353 (.644), 3 HR, 22 RBI, 1.1 WAR
Polanco: .314/.388/.531 (.919), 13 HR, 37 RBI, 3.3 WAR
Arraez: .316/.386/.448 (.834), 8 HR, 32 RBI, 1.7 WAR
Sano: .282/.378/.637 (1.014), 24 HR, 61 RBI, 2.9 WAR
Cruz: .297/.375/.520 (.895), 18 HR, 51 RBI, 1.8 WAR
Garver: .246/.321/.496 (.817), 18 HR, 40 RBI, 2.9 WAR
Donaldson: .249/.350/.441 (.798), 12 HR, 36 RBI, 2.2 WAR
Rosario: .262/.282/.493 (.775), 17 HR, 43 RBI, 1.0 WAR
Gonzalez: .252/.325/.398 (.723), 5 HR, 13 RBI 1.3 WAR
Kepler (injured): .327/.415/.574 (.989), 9 HR, 23 RBI, 2.0 WAR

Bench Summary:

The four players on the bench to finish the month were Alex Avila, Ehire Adrianza, Willians Astudillo, and LaMonte Wade jr to replace Kepler. All three of Adrianza, Avila, and Astudillo continue to produce like they should and Wade jr has not had an AB yet.

May rotation with end of June statistics:

Jose Berrios: 7-6, 3.73 ERA, 8.76 K/9, 3.16 BB/9, 1.6 WAR
Kenta Maeda: 6-3, 2.98 ERA, 8.06 K/9, 2.10 BB/9, 2.4 WAR
Jake Odorizzi: 5-6, 5.08 ERA, 8.73 K/9, 3.55 BB/9, 0.6 WAR
Rich Hill: 8-5, 4.18 ERA, 9.48 K/9, 3.46 BB/9, 1.0 WAR
Randy Dobnak: 8-3, 2.81 ERA, 6.12 K/9, 3.41 BB/9, 1.2 WAR

Bullpen Summary:

The bullpen at the end of May consisted of Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey, Trevor May, Sergio Romo, Cody Stashak, Zack Littell, Homer Bailey, and Michael Pineda was moved there after his suspension. Everyone is performing well, especially Rogers, Duffey, Romo, and Bailey. Clippard was cut from the team with an ERA over ten. Pineda is likely to replace Hill in the rotation.

June summary for the Twins:

This was not a good month at all for the Twins. After two straight excellent months to start the season, they struggled through a 9-16 June that saw Cleveland get back within one game. The team dropped from first in win% to fifth at the end of the mont behind Boston, New York, Washington and the Dodgers.

Every single hitter suffered at least a small dropoff over the month except for Sano. Sano is having an MVP level season if he keeps this up. At the end of the month the Twins rank 3rd in AVG, 4th in OBP, 1st in SLG, and 1st in home runs.

On the pitching side, Berrios and Hill suffered a drop off that I statistically saw coming last month but the Twins will need Berrios to lead this rotation. Hill is moving to the bullpen as Pineda slides into the rotation. Dobnak and Maeda are pitching great, but Dobnak has a 4.20 FIP and a bad K/9 so he could struggle soon.

Around MLB: Division leaders

ALC: Twins (52-34)
ALW: Astros (49-35)
ALE: Red Sox (56-30)
ALWC: Yankees (53-33), Indians (51-35)
NLC: Cubs (51-35)
NLW: Dodgers (53-33)
NLE: Nationals (53-33)
NLWC: Marlins (49-37), Phillies (46-39)

League leaders:

AVG AL/NL: Bogaerts (.375), Ian Happ (.348)
OBP AL/NL: Bogaerts (.451), Ian Happ (.438)
SLG AL/NL: Bogaerts (.729), Ian Happ (.648)
HR AL/NL: Olson (29), Freeman (28)
ERA AL/NL: Nova (2.28), Hendricks (1.57)
SO AL/NL: Cole (152), Scherzer (159)

All Star voting has begun. Here is the AL/NL leader along with where Twins rank in the AL:

SP: Morton, Hendricks
CP: Rogers, Iglesias (Rogers 1sr)
C: Sanchez, Suzuki (Garver 2nd)
1B: Olson, Freeman (Sano 5th)
2B: LeMahieu, Albies (Arraez 6th)
3B: Ramirez, E. Escobar (Donaldson 8th)
SS: Bogaerts, Segura (Polanco 4th)
LF: Martinez, Schwarber (Rosario 7th)
CF: Trout, Acuna Jr. (Buxton 12th)
RF: Reyes, Betts (Cruz 3rd)

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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