The Top 5 Twins September Call-Up Options

I would like to see a couple new faces in September, especially in the pen. However it will be people coming off the injured list who fill those spots.

Top 5 position player candidates for the extra roster spot

1) Byron Buxton

2) Alex Kirilloff

3) Willi Castro

4) Nick Gordon

5) Trevor Larnach

Top 5 pitcher candidates

1) Joe Ryan

2) Louie Varland

3) Jordan Balazovic

4) Brent Headrick

5) Jovani Moran

Chris Paddack is possible but he hasn't even started a rehab assignment yet.

Bottom line, I doubt they add anyone to the 40 man roster. I think they keep Keuchel in the bullpen and leave Funderburk in AAA.

I’m surprised to this point that Funderburk hasn’t been called up yet. Especially while Cole sands sits in the bullpen day in day out. Would be nice to see what we’ve got there and whether he’s a playoff piece or someone more for next years bullpen. I’m guessing they didn’t expect Moran to fall so hard on his face. Anyways, hopefully we can get a look at him in the bigs!

Add me to those who believe the two roster spots will go to vets coming off the IL.  Expect there is a chance that both spots go to position players to get Buxton, AK and Castro back with only one current player being sent out (likely Ludlow, sp?).  Finding a second position player gets real tough as Wallner, Julien and Lewis aren't going anywhere.  I know lots of you believe they should DFA Gallo, I won't disagee but will be surprised if they do that.   

I wonder if/when Buxton, Kiriloff and Castro come back, if Gallo’s bothersome ankle, knee, back or whatever flairs up and he will be put on the IL.

2 minutes ago, roger said:

Add me to those who believe the two roster spots will go to vets coming off the IL.  Expect there is a chance that both spots go to position players to get Buxton, AK and Castro back with only one current player being sent out (likely Ludlow, sp?).  Finding a second position player gets real tough as Wallner, Julien and Lewis aren't going anywhere.  I know lots of you believe they should DFA Gallo, I won't disagee but will be surprised if they do that.   

Here is why Gallo won't be gone ( and he should be)

August

36 AB, 194 AVG, .370 OBP, .444 SLG - 20 K's, 3 homers - 0 Doubles - Gallo

52 AB, .212 AVG, .293 OBP, .500 SLG - 20 K's,  4 homers - 3 Doubles - Wallner

They are afraid of getting rid of Gallo because he and Wallner are the same except he can play more defense.

As for who they can bring up, it has to be guys on the 40 man, who are they going to cut?

still not sure why Stevenson gets no love

31 minutes ago, Karbo said:

However, I think down the stretch they will go with 6 starters to give them all some rest.

Great. Looking forward to seeing the adjustments Varland has made.

32 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Here is why Gallo won't be gone ( and he should be)

August

36 AB, 194 AVG, .370 OBP, .444 SLG - 20 K's, 3 homers - 0 Doubles - Gallo

52 AB, .212 AVG, .293 OBP, .500 SLG - 20 K's,  4 homers - 3 Doubles - Wallner

They are afraid of getting rid of Gallo because he and Wallner are the same except he can play more defense.

 

 

Correct, if you ignore May, June, and July, Gallo and Wallner are equally productive 🙄

For the year, Wallner's OPS is .858.   Gallo's is .751.   While we don't know that Wallner can maintain .858 for the duration of the year, Gallo's track record is very well established.  It's hard to believe, but Gallo was even worse last year!

37 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

to be clear, I don't expect this. For some reason they are content with guys that can't produce heading into the playoffs, instead of taking a chance to be better. Fear is no way to win anything in life.

To be fair, I believe Kiriloff got his first MLB at-bat in a playoff game, didn't he? There's at least some shot that it might happen again.

I just want to say, if Funderburk is called up, and his intro music when coming in from the 'pen isn't "Thunderstruck" I will be sorely disappointed.

1 hour ago, roger said:

I know lots of you believe they should DFA Gallo, I won't disagee but will be surprised if they do that.   

I don't know how the Twins don't DFA or IL Gallo if all of Buxton, Kirilloff and Castro come back.

Funderburk in the bullpen would be my choice of the five for this year. Don't like his walks, how about trying out Regi Grace as I think he will have to be added to the 40 man roster this winter or be taken in the Rule 5 draft. Others have made the jump from AA. Winder and Sands can be optioned, Ryan goes in the rotation and Keuchel is our long man for now. (Miranda or Alcala could go to the 60 day IL to make room for Grace/Funderburk).

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

to be clear, I don't expect this. For some reason they are content with guys that can't produce heading into the playoffs, instead of taking a chance to be better. Fear is no way to win anything in life.

Neithver is the equivalent of throwing the crap dice heading into the playoffs.

38 minutes ago, Road trip said:

Correct, if you ignore May, June, and July, Gallo and Wallner are equally productive 🙄

For the year, Wallner's OPS is .858.   Gallo's is .751.   While we don't know that Wallner can maintain .858 for the duration of the year, Gallo's track record is very well established.  It's hard to believe, but Gallo was even worse last year!

 

I said before the season I hated the Gallo signing, and have said all season to cut him. I am not trying to defend him. To be fair I haven't been on the Wallner bandwagon. I am also NOT saying Wallner isn't better than Gallo, because IMO he is. But people seem to be claiming he is the answer and the future of the Twins outfield. And the last two months he is exactly the player Gallo is. I would have loved to see Martin up, Keirsey up, but like I said above I don't believe anybody is being cut from the 40 to bring another player up.

But lets look at July.

43 AB, .209 AVG, .307 OBP, .512 SLG - 17 K's,  4 homers - 1 Doubles -

August

52 AB, .212 AVG, .293 OBP, .500 SLG - 20 K's,  4 homers - 3 Doubles - Wallner

36 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Yeah, wish the Twins had called up Martin or another of the young guys sooner to compete for the spot. A September call up would be great, but it likely won't be enough games to make the front office comfortable going into next year with them in key spots.

I mean, had the Twins called up Wallner sooner last year to give him enough reps, maybe we don't go through this whole Gallo fiasco in the first place. Had they given Miranda a good run in 2021, maybe he would have been the opening day 3B, the Twins don't trade for Urshela, and Spencer Steer would have been among the fist call ups and wouldn't have been traded. 

I'd like the blame the Vazquez signing on the team's reluctance to play Jeffers over Sanchez, but if memory serves, Jeffers was injured multiple times last year.

Bottom line, twiddling their thumbs with these young guys when there are average-at-best vets on the 26-man roster is not productive.

💯I have been saying the same thing for a while now (probably not as well as you just did)

31 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

I said before the season I hated the Gallo signing, and have said all season to cut him. I am not trying to defend him. To be fair I haven't been on the Wallner bandwagon. I am also NOT saying Wallner isn't better than Gallo, because IMO he is. But people seem to be claiming he is the answer and the future of the Twins outfield. And the last two months he is exactly the player Gallo is. I would have loved to see Martin up, Keirsey up, but like I said above I don't believe anybody is being cut from the 40 to bring another player up.

But lets look at July.

43 AB, .209 AVG, .307 OBP, .512 SLG - 17 K's,  4 homers - 1 Doubles -

August

52 AB, .212 AVG, .293 OBP, .500 SLG - 20 K's,  4 homers - 3 Doubles - Wallner

 

Wallner's July, which you seem to think is bad, is an .819 OPS.  That's quite good in 2023.  An OPS+ of 123.  The only Twins getting regular ABs with higher OPS for the year are Julien and Jeffers.  Too many strikeouts?  Yes, I also wish the number was lower, but he isn't striking out at the same rate as Gallo.

Do I know Wallner's a long term answer?  Heck no.  He could be the next Oswaldo Arcia, Marty Cordova, Bobby Kielty, or any other number of young Twins who looked good for a year, but then faltered.  Wallner's thoroughly scouted now, and he'll have to make adjustments.  In a year or two we will know if he can.  For now, give him a chance, as he's the best option the Twins have for 2023.  I'm not full bandwagon, but I do know at this point I like Wallner's chances at the plate more than Gallo's (or Larnach's, or other LF alternatives they could roster).

27 minutes ago, Road trip said:

Wallner's July, which you seem to think is bad, is an .819 OPS.  That's quite good in 2023.  An OPS+ of 123.  The only Twins getting regular ABs with higher OPS for the year are Julien and Jeffers.  Too many strikeouts?  Yes, I also wish the number was lower, but he isn't striking out at the same rate as Gallo.

Do I know Wallner's a long term answer?  Heck no.  He could be the next Oswaldo Arcia, Marty Cordova, Bobby Kielty, or any other number of young Twins who looked good for a year, but then faltered.  Wallner's thoroughly scouted now, and he'll have to make adjustments.  In a year or two we will know if he can.  For now, give him a chance, as he's the best option the Twins have for 2023.  I'm not full bandwagon, but I do know at this point I like Wallner's chances at the plate more than Gallo's (or Larnach's, or other LF alternatives they could roster).

I am not saying July was bad, I am just pointing out that him and Gallo are the same player(type of player), low BA, Lower OBP and a SLG that depends on them hitting homers. Wallner hits a few more doubles on average and Gallo walks a bit more on average.

Since July 17th Wallner's BA has dropped from .350 to .237 his OBP has dropped from .500 to .341, his SLG has dipped a bit from .550 to .518 (not saying this one is bad)

Which goes to my original point they are not cutting Gallo because basically him and Wallner are the same player but Gallo has more defense and money of course.

I would take Wallner over Gallo in a heartbeat and believe he should have been given more time last year and more time this year to see if he is a part of the 24 team and beyond. As of now and if his hitting trend continues, I have to say he isn't, if he was a couple of years younger I would say give him a chance but he turns 26 this off season. 

(IMO there are probably a dozen guys in the minors that I think are better players than Gallo, but none were given a chance because he is a Twin)

Other than the obvious guys like Buxton & Kiriloff (Castro too) I would/could see Funderburk and Martin.  

I didn't like the Gallo signing, but I've been wrong before. However, at this point I think we have a big enough pile of sheep entrails to make a really good prediction about how the baseball gods are feeling about this signing. (If you aren't reading the thread on analytics, you can either be puzzled or just move on with your life.)

49 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

The paralyzing fear of the unknown when the known is already not acceptable, is a loser's mentality. I want no part of it.

What if the new thing is implausibly even worse than this thing we have which is already the worst?!?!?

Nothing, that's what. You still fail the test if you score a 40% or a 50%.

Street hustlers thrive off of that attitude, and I have family connections to know that.

AAA rookies belong in AAA until they have proven they have outgrown the AAA, which is difficult as AAA pitching is a long way from Major League pitching, so what you desire is a fool's folly.

Buxton, Kirilloff and Castro are givens once eligible to return, with Luplow being sent out. I think the toughest call is if/when Gordon is ready - he is out of options - but I guess I can see Wallner getting sent down again.

1 hour ago, Road trip said:

Wallner's July, which you seem to think is bad, is an .819 OPS.  That's quite good in 2023.  An OPS+ of 123.  The only Twins getting regular ABs with higher OPS for the year are Julien and Jeffers.  Too many strikeouts?  Yes, I also wish the number was lower, but he isn't striking out at the same rate as Gallo.

Do I know Wallner's a long term answer?  Heck no.  He could be the next Oswaldo Arcia, Marty Cordova, Bobby Kielty, or any other number of young Twins who looked good for a year, but then faltered.  Wallner's thoroughly scouted now, and he'll have to make adjustments.  In a year or two we will know if he can.  For now, give him a chance, as he's the best option the Twins have for 2023.  I'm not full bandwagon, but I do know at this point I like Wallner's chances at the plate more than Gallo's (or Larnach's, or other LF alternatives they could roster).

Also to add to this is the eye test and numbers aside. How many times has Wallner come into a big spot and battled with the pitcher to get a base hit? Or battled after a few strikeouts to hit that HR the other night. The ability to just make contact in a key spot. Now look at Gallo who is basically guaranteed to watch or swing at 3 straight pitches in general. Strikeout in key spots. Strikeouts to start the inning only to homer once a week. The ability to just move a runner along when you need a run counts for something as well.