Twins 2024 Position Analysis: Designated Hitter

Last spring, the Twins were shoehorned into a plan at designated hitter that was far from ideal, with Byron Buxton's physical limitations restricting him to DH-only availability. It looked to be working for a while, as Buxton jumped out to a hot start at the plate in April, but as his performance deteriorated, he became a liability in this offense-driven position. As Buck himself acknowledged, by a certain point he "wasn't really helping the team." 

It doesn't seem like an experiment that Buxton or the Twins are interested in repeating, so while I do expect to see him rotate through a decent amount, I can't envision any scenario where he's starting 80 games at DH again. Instead, the Twins figure to go with a fairly diverse mix of players at the position, giving opportunities to bat-first players and regulars who could use a day off their feet. Let's take a look at how this group shapes up, and where the strengths and weaknesses lie.

TWINS DESIGNATED HITTERS AT A GLANCE

Starter: Alex Kirilloff
Backup: Edouard Julien
Depth: Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner, José Miranda, Trevor Larnach
Prospects: Gabriel Gonzalez, Kala'i Rosario

Twins fWAR Ranking Last Year: 8th out of 30
Twins fWAR Projection This Year: 16th out of 30

THE GOOD
Kirilloff is currently lined up as the primary DH against right-handed pitchers, at least to start the season. He could be very well suited for the task, as a former first-round draft pick and top prospect renowned for his hitting ability. Even through injuries he's posted a decent .274/.329/.440 slash line in the majors against righties, and last year he elevated that to .300/.373/.485, which would be stellar production from the strong side of a DH platoon. Coming off shoulder surgery, Kirilloff has had a very encouraging spring at the plate, piling up extra-base hits.

Julien also figures to get some of those DH starts against RHP, though the frequency may be influenced by how his defense looks at second early on. Wallner will probably get used here a decent amount on days where Rocco Baldelli wants to inject a bit more range into the outfield via Willi Castro or Manuel Margot. 

That leaves Larnach buried on the depth chart and waiting for some sort of opportunity to materialize, either here or in the outfield corners. Having a Triple-A contingency like that on hand is a fine luxury for the Twins; he's slashed .230/.331/.411 against righties in the big leagues and like Kirilloff, the former first-rounder exhibits clear potential for more. 

The Twins are organizationally very deep on quality left-handed bats, so they shouldn't have much trouble plugging a good one in at DH in those majority of RHP matchups. The flip side of the platoon is where more uncertainty exists.

THE BAD
If Buxton is healthy and frequently rotating through DH against left-handed starters as a matter of maintenance, the Twins will be in solid shape. But if Buxton's too hurt to play center field he's probably not going to be a great option at DH, even against lefties (last year he batted just .180 against southpaws). Beyond him, the lack of clear right-handed options for this spot is one of the few noticeable shortcomings on a generally well-rounded position player corps.

When the Twins face a LHP on Opening Day in Cole Ragans, who gets the nod at designated hitter? One of the catchers? Not the most exciting proposition, coming off the year Christian Vázquez just had, though he did show some power against lefties. Miranda? He's probably not on the roster to start the season, though he could vault himself into this mix easily if he hits. Guys like Margot, Castro and Carlos Santana can plug in against left-handers, but they're known more for their gloves than their bats, making them less than ideal fits at DH.

Beyond their core nucleus of Buxton, Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis, the Twins are much more lefty-heavy in terms of their makeup of bats. This puts a special emphasis on two upcoming prospects specifically: Gabriel Gonzalez and Kala'i Rosario, ranked fourth and 13th on our top prospects list. These are promising righty sluggers with the potential to flat-out mash southpaws. Gonzalez, headliner of the Jorge Polanco trade, slashed .310/.360/.556 against them in Single-A as a 19-year-old. Rosario slashed .275/.362/.549 versus LHP en route to earning Midwest League MVP honors for Cedar Rapids. 

Neither outfielder is considered much a defender, so an opening against left-handed pitchers at the DH spot in Minnesota could be a great ticket to the big leagues for either. But Gonzalez and Rosario are both probably at least another year away from making an impact. 

THE BOTTOM LINE
The Twins have assembled a lot of good bats and we'll likely see a bunch of them filter through the DH spot this year. Between Kirilloff, Julien, Wallner and Larnach, they're going to have plenty of juice against right-handed pitching. 

Against lefties? That's a bigger question, although there are a number of bats capable of stepping and and producing here. Expect to see a wide distribution of starts at this position, with heavy platooning to provide advantageous matchups on a daily basis.

Catch up on the rest of our position previews:

• Twins 2024 Position Analysis: Catcher
• Twins 2024 Position Analysis: First Base
• Twins 2024 Position Analysis: Second Base
• Twins 2024 Position Analysis: Third Base
• Twins 2024 Position Analysis: Shortstop
• Twins 2024 Position Analysis: Left Field
• Twins 2024 Position Analysis: Center Field
• Twins 2024 Position Analysis: Right Field