Three Minor League Hitters Who Can Help The Twins In The Second Half

We know Lee has the glove, and now his bat is exploding so by all means bring him up. Wallner's trouble in the MLB is SOs. Has he mastered that in AAA? Camargo can hit well enough in AAA for a catcher & has the arm. But in his short stint in the MLB, Twins didn't even give him 1 inning for a try behind the plate. What should be his ticket to the MLB is his defense not his bat, I don't think he's there yet. IMO Camargo is only in case of an emergency & muddle through until the other returns. Fortunately, we haven't had any injuries to really test where he's at. (LH) Keirsey is the one I'd really like to have the opportunity to shine but he's not on the 40 man.

I'd also like to see Lee take Farmers roster spot and have him play everyday at second. I'd like to see Keirsey Jr to see how he does but that's a long shot. My guess is they'll give Wallner another shot soon. I'd like to see Festa get a cup of coffee, dnd now is the time with Paddack on the IL. I don't trust Varland to start anymore, should put him in the BP.

Is Wallner able to hit the high inside pitch now? 

5 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I'm sorry is this too soon? I realize that 2024 isn't over yet. You just got me thinking. 

More reason to get Lee up sooner than later to get him some experience, and probably Julien and Wallner as well.

Good article!

33 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I'm sorry is this too soon? I realize that 2024 isn't over yet. You just got me thinking. 

It's probably not too soon anymore.  9 games back of Cleveland, nearly July.

It is possible to both try out some youngsters like Lee and/or Wallner with an eye towards next year, AND still stay in the race for the wildcard.  Frankly, the Twins really need another left-handed bat right now.

Will the FO pursue this route?  I'm losing faith.

no no no to wallner ....until he cuts down on K's ..hes over 37% and only hitting .242. no help there at all. 2 guys ..obvious #1 is Lee..and then maybe Kiersey if an OF goes down

40 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Matt Wallner does not need to hit the high inside pitch. 

Was Wallner weak against inside pitches, especially high up? Yep. His final position was super close to the plate = lots of HBP last year. Since his final position in his stance/swing was so close to the plate with his front leg, he was weak to being jammed.

Almost all MLB players have a "hole in their swing." Pitchers aren't accurate to within an inch or two of where they place their pitches. Throwing high/inside = HBP or BBs a lot. It also means missing their spot middle/high, middle/middle and watching Wallner put the ball in the seats.

If a pitcher can perfectly place their pitches, not many MLB hitters are going to be successful against them. Not sure what Wallner's problem was, but it certainly felt "mental" to me.

 

Aaron Judge has a K% this year around 25%. A batting average of .300. Wallner did not. You present a weak argument. 

Usually injuries work out the playing time issues, so i expect to see Wallner and/or Lee at least some time in the second half. And I expect a portion of the fan base to hate having Wallner back because of the K's, regardless of what his overall production is.

I do think the twins will need to move on from some of the veterans for 2025 and it would be good if some of the young guys show out again this season to inspire confidence for that path. Potential lineup for 2025: 

• C - Jeffers/Camargo
• 1B - Miranda/Julien
• 2B - Lee
• SS - Correa
• 3B - Lewis
• RF - Wallner
• CF - Buxton
• LF - Martin/Castro
• DH - By committee (Jeffers/Buxton/Miranda/Julien)

that could be a very exciting lineup.

Absent injury, I'm not expecting Camargo until next season, really but I could see him getting a chance to be the catching pair if they can move off Vazquez's contract.

28 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

He has not mastered the strikeout issue & it is a pretty good assumption that this issue is what’s keeping him from being in LF for big club. He gets to 25% for a handful of games & then 35% for 8 games. He’s always going to K as a power hitter but he needs to trim them some.

Wallner still can't hit lefties. He's striking out about 30% of the time vs RHP and 45% vs LHP. Splits are 906 OPS vs RH pitching and 592 OPS vs LHP in AAA.

4 hours ago, Karbo said:

I believe Lee is the future at 2nd. I'd like to see Julian moved to 1st in St. Paul because He will hit, or at least he has at every level until this year. A platoon of some sort with Julian and Miranda at 1st makes sense to me. Next season will probably loose Kepler, Margot and Santana. Hopefully they can do something about the pen at the trade deadline. If not then, at least in the off season. Next year looks better than this year IMO.

Too early to look at next year but yes, it looks better!! The FO overplayed the safe route by doing the Margo trade.  Lost a gold glove prospect for a rental log jamb. Dumb move. 
just bring up Lee now and if he can’t handle it, bring Julien back up.  Stop losing MLB games because of your pride Rocco et al. 

3 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

We know Lee has the glove,

He has the glove, where?

In the closet?

3 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

Farmer should be added to your list. 

Some key players Lewis, Ober, Ryan, Jax will be entering arbitration and getting significant raises.

For Jeffers it's year #2 of Arbitration with a bump coming and Every Day Willi Castro will be in year #3 and a significant bump most likely coming.  

2024 Payroll is around 129 Million

2025 Payroll is currently around 95 Million without Arbitration. The Arb bumps in pay will most likely eat up the majority of that 34 million difference between this year and what is on the books for next year.  

From the current roster... We will be down the 4 position players listed plus Thielbar in the bullpen. 

Unless any one expects a payroll jump... I don't.

Therefore... I see no reason to think the Twins will be fishing in the big fish bay of the free agent lake this off-season.

Therefore... those 4 position players will be filled by players from the farm or once again... cheaper... right handed hitting specialists to fill the Farmer and Margot roles.

Probably a combination of... Because... Left Handed hitters Julien, Kirilloff and Wallner are still the players most likely to fill in from the farm and they require the right handed hitting handcuffs.   

Cheaper Free Agents like Amed Rosario and Rob Refsnyder are the type of free agent I expect to see the Twins Target. 

The Twins may have to shed Kirilloff (out of options) to make it work. Will Brooks Lee be fulltime on opening day? 2B is where he can get that full time work.    

Something like this?  

DH - Julien or Larnach/Lewis

C - Jeffers and Vazquez

1B - Miranda

2B - Lee

3B - Lewis/Rosario

SS - Correa

LF - Castro/Martin

CF - Buxton

RF - Wallner or Larnach/Refsnyder

Just a guess but I'm pretty sure Pete Alonso ain't showing up. I suspect we will need those youngsters to fill roster space and too many of them are left handed so Rosario and Refsnyder types have to take up roster spots. 

I'm sorry is this too soon? I realize that 2024 isn't over yet. You just got me thinking. 

With Erod, Jenkins and Rosario knocking on next years door, its never too soon. Lol 

2 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Lee sounds more than reasonable………..Can still only carry 26 guys at a time - right???

If the plan is to count on them next year, then you need to know if you can count on them. I get the 26 man roster issue, but it doesn't seem like smart planning to go into another season counting on 4 guys you don't know if you can count on.

39 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Agreed, the few vets that can be moved on from in ‘25, this action will be pursued.

Kepler - Farmer - Margot - Santana - Thielbar….about $32M in salary at this year’s rates………if he remains stable & fairly productive, it’s possible to re-sign Kepler for 2 yrs. at maybe $13M per year?

You have 11 guys in the mix above for 13 spots.

Gotta believe that there’s no realistic way out of the Vazquez contract/situation……$10M sunk through ‘25. Therefore, I don’t see Camargo on the roster unless there’s an injury, through next season.

Vazquez/Jeffers

Miranda/Kirilloff

Lee/Julien/Correa/Lewis (tough to fit Lee & Julien on same roster as both excel batting LH)

Larnach - Martin - Buxton - Castro - Wallner

As you stated, DH by committee.

That’s roughly $77-$80M in salaries. Buxton/Vazquez/Correa make up around $60M.

Wallner - Kirilloff - Julien all seem to be the most vulnerable for a trade or being at AAA in ‘25…….hoping these guys (at least 2 of them) turn it around next month!!!

Joey Wallner is probably worth looking at again next year; Kirilloff, probably gone, tough career breaks ; Julien, bye-bye Ed.

I would not be surprised if Santana is back next year, they need a 1st baseman who is above average.

2 hours ago, Fatbat said:

Too early to look at next year but yes, it looks better!! The FO overplayed the safe route by doing the Margo trade.  Lost a gold glove prospect for a rental log jamb. Dumb move. 

Fangraphs likes Doncon better than Miller. They aren't the only prospect hounds who think MN got the better part of that deal.

25 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Fangraphs likes Doncon better than Miller. They aren't the only prospect hounds who think MN got the better part of that deal.

Fangraphs probably has it right.  Im more salty about Margo as an underperforming roadblock. We have many young options all over the field.  AK will likely be back for 1 year since he is underperforming and arbitration wont do much for him.