Nash Walker

There are 28 games remaining. The Twins have a 1/2 game lead over both Cleveland and Chicago. Here’s how I see the rest of the season panning out:The Twins need their third baseman back. Josh Donaldson played and didn’t hit much in seven games, but he brings more than you think to the table. Donaldson is playing in live intrasquad games in St.Paul (and hitting homers). The Twins need Byron Buxton back, too. They just aren’t as good without him. Despite his struggles, Mitch Garver is an asset. His absence takes another dynamic from the team. Cody Stashak, who struck out the side in Milwaukee in his last outing before hitting the IL with lower back inflammation, is on the mend. Donaldson, Buxton, Michael Pineda, and Stashak could all return August 31 when the Twins come home from the 10-game roadtrip. Garver’s intercostal strain is still healing, so he won’t be back when eligible. The Twins should be near full strength for the home stretch. Here’s what I think of the remaining schedule: The Tigers have played decent baseball in 2020. The Tigers are still a very bad baseball team. The Twins went 14-5 against Detroit last year with a +43 run differential. Predicting an 8-2 record this year is admittedly my most ambitious prediction, but would you be surprised? I wouldn’t. The White Sox look legit through 31 games. The offense is firing on all cylinders and their pitching staff has been a surprise plus. The Twins will battle the South Siders and I ultimately predict a 6-4 season series, with the Twins going 4-3 in the remaining games. Cleveland struck back at home this week to nudge their record to 3-4 against Minnesota. The Twins have been excellent at Target Field, playing to a 12-3 record, the best in baseball. Their last three games against Cleveland will be there. I predict a series win. The Twins embarrassed the Cardinals in a two-game sweep in late July. They’ll play the Cards in a double header at Busch Stadium September 8th. A split is the most likely scenario. The Cubs surprised out of the gate but have since faltered. This will be a fun series and I see Chicago just edging out the Twins for a series win. The Reds were supposed to be electric this summer. They haven’t been. They are 11-17. The Twins could still see Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer and Sonny Gray. I think they’ll take two of three, but going 3-3 against Cincy and Chicago combined should be the goal. Record prediction of remaining games: 18-10 Final record: 38-22 Place: 1st What do you think? What will be the Twins’ final record? MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Josh Donaldson has missed 19 straight games with a calf strain, Miguel Sanó started slow with Mitch Garver, who is now out with an intercostal strain. As a result, the Twins have labored in an area they projected to dominate in.The Twins hit a historic .285/.351/.521 versus left-handed pitching in 2019. Their .872 OPS against southpaws was the third highest in Major League history. C.J. Cron hit a ridiculous .326/.385/.636 with 11 homers against lefties. Jonathan Schoop hit .277/.354/.563 with 14 extra-base hits. The Twins replaced those two with one of the best in the game. Since 2013, Donaldson has the fourth highest OPS against lefties, behind only Paul Goldschmidt, Nelson Cruz and Nolan Arenado. So yes, the Twins have two of the four most potent hitters in baseball against left-handers. As a team, the Twins have completely flopped against lefties in 2020. They’re hitting .235 with a .665 OPS, good for 21st in baseball. Mitch Garver and Miguel Sanó are key reasons for that. The duo crushed lefties in 2019 and have done virtually nothing in the same matchups this year. Donaldson's absence hinders them equally. Without Donaldson, Polanco is mostly hitting second against lefties. That's not ideal. Polanco is among the best left-handed hitters in the game. As a lefty versus right-handed pitchers since 2019, Polanco ties for 8th in the A.L. in wRC+ (127) and 9th in wOBA (.363). As a righty against left-handed pitching, though, Polanco’s wRC+ drops to 89 and his wOBA plummets to .307. That is a long way from Donaldson’s career 157 wRC+ and .401 wOBA versus lefties. There is also something to be said of pitchers seeing Donaldson’s name in the lineup and shuddering. Batting Donaldson second and Cruz third is borderline unfair, especially for a lefty. The entire mindset is changed when it’s instead Polanco leading into Cruz. The dynamic shifts as pitchers know of Polanco’s splits. Another reason for the Twins bashing left-handers in 2019 was Max Kepler’s incredible turnaround. Kepler entered 2019 hitting .202 with a measly .605 OPS against lefties. He adjusted to hit an outstanding .293/.356/.524 in those spots last year. So far in 2020, Kepler has regressed to his career mean, going 2-for-22 versus lefties. It’s still an incredibly small sample, to be fair. Donaldson was struggling to produce in his 27 plate appearances before hitting the IL. For one, it’s 27 plate appearances after a shortened camp. For another, Donaldson was hitting the ball hard. His average exit velocity sits at 92.7 mph, almost the exact same as 2019 when he hit 37 home runs and 33 doubles. His hard-hit rate was 50%, 0.5% below his rate last year, which ranked in the top 2% in the league. His chase rate was slightly elevated but still well below MLB average. All signs pointed to a breakout. The Twins’ offense in 2019 was electric and they returned almost every key piece. Even with that, they expected Donaldson to be another massive weapon and losing that production was a blow that we can’t overlook. The Bringer of Rain will be back soon enough and my money is on him raking - against righties and lefties - as soon as he does. Sanó is 6 for his last 15 with five doubles. Miggy getting right would be huge too amid a myriad of injuries. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

We’re nearly 33% of the way through this wild 2020 season. There have been disappointments, pleasant surprises and everything in between. Who are the five Twins most likely to win team MVP at this point in the season?*THESE CALCULATIONS FOR WINS ABOVE REPLACEMENT (WAR) ARE FROM BASEBALL REFERENCE* 5. Nelson Cruz King Nelly got off to a blazing start. He went 7-for-13 with three homers and two doubles during the opening series in Chicago. He hit .190 with a .499 OPS in the following six games before notching six hits in nine at-bats at home against Pittsburgh. Cruz has struggled since then but is still hitting .329/.405/.543 on the season. He’s a fine bet to win the award again in 2020. 4. Randy Dobnak The Dobber has a 0.90 ERA in 20 innings pitched. That’s the lowest ERA among all pitchers who’ve thrown as many innings. Dobnak is producing a 66.7% groundball rate. His one-seam sinker looks deadlier than ever and opponents are hitting just .077 against his slider. Dobnak leads all Twins pitchers in WAR and ranks second on the whole team behind one explosive centerfielder. 3. Eddie Rosario The single most amazing thing about Rosario’s season thus far is his *insane* walk rate. Rosario is walking in 10.7% of his plate appearances, more than double his career rate of 4.6%. On top of that, he’s hit six home runs, the most on the team. Rosario is 6-for-14 with two doubles and a homer with runners in scoring position, including a grand slam. Edisito’s new formula, drawing walks while still punishing mistakes, has worked to a T through 18 games. 2. Kenta Maeda Maeda’s first four starts as a Twin were superb. He holds a 2.66 ERA in 23 ⅔ innings. He would’ve earned his fourth straight win if not for a bullpen implosion in Pittsburgh. Maeda has produced 0.5 WAR after producing 1.2 total WAR in 153 ⅔ innings for the Dodgers in 2019. Maeda would be on pace for over 3 WAR in a 162 game season. Only 38 pitchers produced 3 or more WAR in 2019. The preseason notion that Maeda could be the Twins’ best starter this year looks quite legitimate. 1. Byron Buxton We all knew the heights the Twins could reach more or less hinged on Buxton’s availability. He’s healthy enough to play and he’s been outstanding. Buxton is hitting .298/.306/.638 (!) through 15 games. He’s produced 1.1 WAR, the third most in the American League behind only Ramon Laureano and Aaron Judge. In his last eight games, Buxton is slugging .966 and ranks sixth in the A.L. with a .638 slugging % on the season (min. 45 PA). Buxton should be officially placed on not only the Twins, but the A.L. MVP watchlist. Honorable mention: Marwin González Marwin has been fantastic both offensively and defensively. Josh Donaldson, the Twins’ best all-around player, remains out with a calf injury. Marwin has filled in for Donaldson more than admirably. He’s hitting .304/.365/.429 in 63 plate appearances. Donaldson’s eventual return will take playing time from Marwin, ultimately diminishing his chances of winning team MVP. His exclusion from this list has nothing to do with production. He’s been outstanding. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Jake Odorizzi lasted just three innings in his 2020 season debut. After he exited the game the Royals jumped all over the bullpen, scoring six runs in the fourth inning. The Twins’ lineup scored more than five runs for just the second time in the past 11 games, but the damage had already been done.Box Score Odorizzi: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K Home Runs: Cruz (4), Buxton (3), Kepler (5) Bottom 3 WPA: Stashak -.279, Thorpe -.275, Adrianza -.209 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): Download attachment: Winchart.png While much of the Twins’ lineup has scuffled, Byron Buxton is white hot. He gave the Twins a two-run lead with a three run homer in the fourth inning, his third dinger in as many days. In his next at-bat, Buxton laced a single to left and drove in another run. Marwin González has filled in more than admirably in Josh Donaldson’s absence. Marwin singled in his first two at-bats Saturday and reached in all four of his plate appearances. Marwin was already hitting .297/.381/.459 before another fantastic game. Nelson Cruz hit a 437-foot home run to center off Duffy in the fourth, his fourth dong of the season. The Twins scored enough runs to win. The problems arose on the mound. Jake Odorizzi made his season debut and understandably wasn’t sharp. He threw 71 pitches in only three innings of work. Odorizzi’s command was spotty at best but he allowed only two runs. Lewis Thorpe entered with a 4-2 lead and lasted only the three batter minimum. Cody Stashak was called next and made multiple mistakes. Jorge Soler and Salvador Pérez made him pay with booming, back-to-back home runs. Soler homered twice in the first four innings. Jorge Alcala, whom the Twins received along with Gilberto Celestino in the Ryan Pressly trade, was electric in two innings of relief. He fired upper 90s heat and buckled the Royals with nasty offspeed action. Alcala struck out four, walked none, and didn’t allow a hit. Watch out for this flamethrower. The Twins will try to salvage one Sunday with José Berríos on the mound against rookie right-hander Brady Singer. Singer throws a mid 90s fastball, a low 80s slider, and an upper 80s changeup. MLB Pipeline ranked Singer as the No.2 prospect - and best pitcher - in the Royals’ system. The Twins have yet to use Sergio Romo, Trevor May, Tyler Duffey or Taylor Rogers this weekend. The bullets are in the bullpen gun for Sunday and for next week’s series in Milwaukee. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Download attachment: Bullpen.png Postgame Pint After the last out, Twins Daily's community and writers dissected Jake Odorizzi's return, the bullpen' worst game of the season and Buxton's surge. Download The Postgame Pint Podcast You can also listen to the Postgame Pint and never miss another one. Just head over to our iTunes page and subscribe. Every morning you'll have a new episode waiting for you. Or listen wherever you download your favorite podcasts. Click here to view the article

The Twins won their sixth straight game Wednesday and now lead the American League at 10-2. Randy Dobnak pitched six scoreless innings, gave up only three hits, and walked none. The Twins are 3-0 versus the Pirates and have a chance to sweep the season series Thursday with Kenta Maeda on the hill.Last Night's Game Recap MIN 5, PIT 2: Randy Dobnak Delivers 6 Scoreless, Max Kepler Provides Key Insurance Homer One Twins pitcher who induces weak contact relays into another for Thursday’s start. Kenta Maeda has begun 2020 in excellent fashion. His slider has continued to stymie right-handed hitters. Righties are hitting just .143 with a .174 wOBA against 24 Maeda frisbees. There quite literally wasn’t a better pitcher than Maeda against righties in 2019: Batting average against RHB (min. 300 faced): 1. Kenta Maeda .158 2. Yu Darvish .181 3. Justin Verlander / Jack Flaherty .182 Maeda’s changeup is a massive key to tightening up his platoon splits. So far in 2020, his changeup has been effective. Lefties swung and missed at nearly 32% of Maeda’s changeups during his first two starts. Pittsburgh’s lineup presents more than a few challenges for the former Dodger. Josh Bell, a switch-hitter, posted a 1.002 OPS against righties in 2019. Bryan Reynolds, another switch-hitter, hit .334 with a .931 OPS from the left side. Kevin Newman hit .316 with an .824 OPS. Maeda’s changeup will be tested Thursday. The Twins’ offense entered Wednesday’s game hitting a measly .237/.317/.410 (.727). Trevor Williams, who posted a 5.38 ERA in 2019, held them to just one run in seven innings. It isn’t quite fair to expect much offense from any team right now. The league had a cumulative .708 OPS heading into Wednesday. The Bomba Squad will find their groove. Thursday’s matchup may provide that opportunity. Right-hander JT Brubaker has the nod for the Pirates. Brubaker has thrown a total of five major-league innings in his career, all during this season. He’s appeared twice in relief and allowed no runs. Brubaker has seen 11 of his pitches put into play in 2020. Four of them were hit over 100 mph. This upper-decker fastball mistake to Paul Goldschmidt should have the Twins licking their chops: Download attachment: Screenshot 2020-08-06 at 6.51.04 AM.png Brubaker isn’t stretched out to throw many pitches and the Twins should be striving to beat him out of the game quickly. The Pirates’ bullpen allowed a Max Kepler three-run shot after entering Wednesday with a bottom-8 4.91 ERA. They struggle to consistently throw strikes and the Twins have punished them for it since Monday. Lineup Around the AL Central CLE 2, CIN 0 CHC 6, KCR 1 MIL 1, CHW 0 STL at DET Postponed 1. MIN 10-2 (+30 run differential) 2. CHW 7-5 (+7) 3. CLE 7-6 (+4) 4. DET 5-5 (-11) 5. KCR 3-10 (-22) See Also Will Good Teams Play Top Prospects? The Unexpected Lyft In Randy Dobnak’s Game Will Luis Arraez Return to His 2019 Form? Mechanical Adjustments Make for Wicked Matt Wisler Click here to view the article

The Twins took advantage of poor Pirates defense and a wild bullpen to win 5-4 in walk-off fashion Monday. José Berríos will battle Joe Musgrove Tuesday as Minnesota looks for yet another series victory.Last Night's Game Recap Twins 5, Pirates 4: Nelson Cruz Delivers a Walk-Off Hit to Cap Comeback Today Twins vs. Pirates, 1:10 pm CT Oh no, Joe Joe Musgrove was part of the package that sent Gerrit Cole to Houston before the 2018 season. Cole has since posted a dazzling 2.69 ERA in over 424 innings of Cy Young ball. Musgrove, though, has mostly sputtered. He has an ERA+ of 96 (4% below league average) since joining the Pirates. It starts and ends with his fastball. For the Twins, that’s good news. Musgrove’s four-seamer, averaging 92.7 MPH in 2019, was hit hard. Opponents produced a .389 wOBA and slugged .536 against it. It isn’t that Musgrove doesn’t have good stuff (his slider and changeup are actually quite good), it's that he can’t sequence it effectively by throwing gofer ball heaters. The Twins, as we know, destroy fastballs. The Twins scored an average of 0.93 runs per 100 fastballs thrown in 2019. That led all of baseball. As was the case with Reynaldo López of the White Sox two weekends ago, humming less-than-stellar rippers at the Twins will result in crooked numbers on the scoreboard. Expect to see a lefty-heavy lineup from Baldelli against the right-hander. Musgrove allowed a .270/.314/.489 slash to left-handed batters in 2019. Against righties, that line dipped to .239/.291/.388. La Makina locked and loaded? José Berríos was on his way to a bounce-back outing on Friday against Cleveland. Unfortunately, the stage wasn’t his; it was Shane Bieber’s. Berríos’ start was ruined by an 0-2 mistake to Francisco Lindor, a center-cut heater canned into the right field seats. Berríos’ five-inning, six-strikeout appearance was completely forgotten; the Twins got Biebered and lost 2-0. Tuesday presents a prime opportunity for Berríos to pick up his first quality start and win of 2019. Although Rocco has taken a conservative approach with his starter’s leashes, the team’s hopeful ace threw 96 pitches in Friday’s start. Josh Bell and Bryan Reynolds presents an underrated challenge for Berríos, but Pittsburgh’s lineup is hardly a problem. This has the feel of a Miami-like start from last August, when Berríos went seven innings, allowed zero runs, and struck out 11 Marlins. Lineup Looking ahead, news, notes Rich Hill has been placed on the 10-day IL with shoulder soreness. Hill impressed in his first start with the Twins, curving five innings of scoreless ball. There has been no subsequent roster move yet. The Twins are hoping to get Josh Donaldson (calf) back on their three-city road trip starting Wednesday against these same Pirates at PNC Park. They’ll face Pittsburgh twice on the road before heading to Kansas City for a three game set this weekend. Jake Odorizzi may make his 2020 debut against the Royals after throwing an abbreviated session Monday. Caleb Thielbar’s contract has been selected and he will join the Twins. The left-hander last pitched in the majors in 2015, for, you guessed it, the Twins. AROUND THE AL CENTRAL CIN 3, CLE 2 CWS 6, MIL 4 CHC 2, KC 0 DET at STL Postponed 1. MIN 7-2 (+23 run differential) 2. CHW 6-4 (+7) 3. DET 5-5 (-11) 4. CLE 5-6 (E) 5. KCR 3-8 (-16) SEE ALSO Week in Review: Winning and Wondering Twins Bullpen: Ready When Needed Which 3 Twins Have Started the Strongest? Can the Twins Fix Mitch Garver? Byron Buxton Goes Deep Click here to view the article

The Twins are rolling into Saturday’s game with a 5-2 record and a +20 run differential. Mitch Garver, Josh Donaldson, and Miguel Sanó aren’t thriving, but plenty of Twins are impressing through the first week of 2020. Here are the top three:3.) Alex Avila Big Al is conforming to his role quickly. Jason Castro had a respectable 101 OPS+ and 13 homers in 79 games for the Twins last year. Avila looks to be another formidable backup for Garver. He is 3-for-9 with a homer and a massively important, 2-out RBI single in Wednesday’s win over St.Louis. Avila is a quiet key to the Twins in 2020. He joins Jake Cave, Ehire Adrianza and Marwin González on the best bench in baseball. Baldelli has the luxury of plugging those guys in and barely missing a beat. Avila, with his great on-base skills and occasional pop, is going to be a plus. He’s off and running. 2.) Nelson Cruz Last Sunday, Cruz became the first player in franchise history to tally 12 total bases and seven RBIs in one game. He went 7-for-13 with two doubles and three homers in the opening series. King Nelly now has 39 extra-base hits in 85 career games against the White Sox. Manager Rick Renteria called him an “animal” at the plate in 2019. Cruz has further tormented Chicago so far in 2020. Boomstick has one hit (a double) and one walk in 15 plate appearances since that record-breaking weekend. Cruz is chasing more pitches than he did in 2019 as he continues to regain his mojo at the plate. Still, his expected slugging % is .630 and in the top 9% of the league. He is a menace. 1. “The deadly T’s” (Tyler Clippard, Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey, Trevor May) The Twins’ bullpen has been mostly tremendous thus far. “The deadly T’s” have amassed a 1.64 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 11 innings. Trevor May is averaging an electric 95.8 mph on 23 four-seamers. His lone “mistake” came on the Tommy Edman solo home run that deflected off Byron Buxton’s glove on Wednesday night. Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers look un-hittable and Tyler Clippard is stunning lefties, including Matt Carpenter, with his excellent changeup. In a complete reversal from this time last year, we can feel entirely confident when the Twins are trying to hold leads. Sergio Romo is still death on righties, Cody Stashak has a 29:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in the majors, and Randy Dobnak is excellent in any role. Honorable mentions: Homer Bailey - 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 K in Tuesday’s win over St.Louis Rich Hill - 5 IP, 0 ER, 2 K in Wednesday’s win over St.Louis Kenta Maeda - 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 K in Sunday’s win over Chicago Jake Cave - Grand slam in Sunday’s win over Chicago Luis Arráez - 7-for-21 (.333) with a .391 on-base percentage Max Kepler - three home runs Click here to view the article

A pitching duel between ground-ball experts Randy Dobnak and Dallas Keuchel quickly turned into a power display by the White Sox lineup. Unlikely hero Leury Garcia hit two of Chicago’s five homers off the Twins bullpen as Minnesota lost 10-3.Box Score Dobnak: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K Home Runs: Cruz (1) Bottom 3 WPA: Littell -.244, Donaldson -.140, Smeltzer -.104 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): Download attachment: WinChart.png The Twins are in danger of losing their opening series to the White Sox. Chicago's starter Dallas Keuchel signed a three-year, $55.5 million deal this offseason, furthering the belief that the team could compete in 2020. His first start couldn’t have gone any better. He quieted the Twins’ potent offense less than a day after they posted 10 runs in a resounding victory. Keuchel is known to bite the edges of the zone with dipping changeups, forcing groundballs and thus, outs. The Twins fell victim to his deception Saturday, mustering only one hit through the first five innings. The Twins hit nine balls over 90 MPH off Keuchel in the form of four line-outs, two groundouts, a pop out, a single and an error. Randy Dobnak started for the Twins and pitched fairly well, allowing only one run in four innings. He handed the ball and a 1-0 deficit to Zack Littell, who impressed with a 2.68 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 37 innings in 2019. After such a dominant performance in Friday’s victory, the Twins’ bullpen was abysmal on Saturday. Littell allowed four runs on three homers in just one inning. Devin Smeltzer struck out five but allowed two longballs of his own, totaling five earned runs in 2 innings. It didn’t take long for Edwin Encarnación, who owns a .944 OPS in his career against the Twins, to start terrorizing them again. He hit a monstrous homer off Littell in the fifth. White Sox second baseman Leury García has 23 career homers in 463 games. He went deep twice Saturday afternoon, his first multi-homer game since 2017. Nelson Cruz trimmed the Sox lead to two with a three-run shot off Steve Cishek in the sixth inning. Cruz’s first homer of 2020 came off the bat at a sizzling 108 MPH. It wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with the Sox onslaught. The Twins will trot out Kenta Maeda in the opening series finale on Sunday against Reynaldo López. Maeda will make his first start in a Twins uniform while López seeks to improve upon his 5.38 ERA from 2019. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. CT. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Download attachment: BullpenChart.png Postgame Pint Parker, Seth and John commiserated over the Twins' 10-3 loss to the White Sox, discussing the bullpen’s implosion, Dobnak’s start, some tricky umpiring and whether the White Sox are for real. Check it out below or download the podcast here. Click here to view the article

The fans were in cutout form, the pre-game intros were mostly mute, and each of the two games Thursday represented 2.7 times more importance than usual. Baseball is back in the weirdest way.There hadn’t been a real MLB game in 266 days. The long layoff created mounds of anticipation, excitement, and anxiety. How was it going to look? Would the players be ready to perform at a high level? Will it feel the same? It didn’t, and that’s okay. Nothing about this year has been rudimentary. Professional sports haven’t been any different. That MLB just made it to opening day is a massive feat. Now we’ll continue to cross our fingers that the league can sustain itself for 66 days and an expanded postseason. Despite the abnormality of no fans, a 60-game season, and playing amid a global pandemic, baseball was live. There was a feeling of relief, refreshment and content. Those are the feelings we have yearned for. Just hearing “what time is the game tonight?” is revitalizing. We always knew it might be the small things; filling out a scorecard, tracking pitch counts, etc. Those simple and beautiful things are back. We get to watch Mike Trout, one of the greatest ever, play baseball. We are treated to seeing Josh Donaldson as a Twin, a man who has more career MVP vote shares than Paul Molitor, Eddie Matthews, and Wade Boggs at third base. 2019 breakouts Luis Arráez, Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco are back for an encore. There is tangible excitement for what’s to come. It’s okay to feel apprehensive about baseball returning. It does seem out of place. Some may even feel like MLB should pack it up until 2021; that’s fine too. There is no wrong way to view this season. We are living through an unprecedented tragedy, repeating every day. Simply: this season is historic. We will look back on the 2020 MLB campaign as an unbelievable event. If you lived under a rock for the last 6 months and then turned on your TV to a game with no fans, what would your explanation be? Why in the world would there be no fans at games? Why would coaches be wearing masks? Why would there only be 60 games? I definitely would not have answered with “oh, must be a global pandemic.” Sometimes there are no words to describe the last four-plus months. We are naturally going to compare this baseball season to the past. We will scope the 2020 Twins in comparison to the 2019 Twins. We’ll compare the World Series champion to years prior. It’s a built-in caveat of any season. Sports are all about comparison, but this year is like no other. Embrace the conflicting feelings. Embrace the 60 games. Embrace the runner-on-2nd in extras rule. Embrace the expanded postseason. Embrace baseball. Let’s go! SEE ALSO Minnesota Twins Opening Day Roster 20 Twins Predictions for the 2020 Season Swinging Sixty: Minnesota Twins 2020 Season Preview The 2020 Preseason All-AL Central Team Who Are the Twins Best 60 Game Sprinters? Ranking Minnesota’s Top-5 Indispensable Players Click here to view the article

Yes, it happened again. Byron Buxton suffered a mid-foot sprain just days before the Twins’ opener. Despite the optics, Buxton said he’s going to play on opening day.First, you feel for Buck. He’s worked tirelessly to rehab from labrum surgery in order to prepare himself for the 2020 season. The Athletic’s Dan Hayes quoted him last week as “having no limits.” Even if he is out there on opening day, he will likely have limits. The response to Buxton’s latest injury was expected, but disappointing. Twins fans hit Twitter to drop the tiring lines “you can’t make this up” and “we should have traded him when we had the chance.” Buxton, a once top prospect, is not solely responsible for his injuries. There is an immeasurable amount of bad luck involved, too. He’s a super-athlete playing at the highest speed imaginable. Injuries happen. Still, he’s only 26 years old and will be in Minnesota through at least 2022. His best days remain ahead. Did you know that in 2019, Buxton had a higher average exit velocity (89.3 mph) than Gleyber Torres, Anthony Rizzo, and Carlos Correa? He did. Did you know that since 2017, Buxton has more bWAR (7.8) than Nationals star Juan Soto in 11 less games? He does. Did you know that on August 1, 2019, Buxton was tied for 39th in all of baseball in fWAR (2.7)? He was. Buxton, on August 1, ranked 15th among outfielders in fWAR, above the likes of Bryce Harper, Austin Meadows, and Whit Merrifield. Everyone is sick of the precursor “when Buxton is on the field…” because *when* feels like it never happens. We can’t pretend we know that he will stay healthy. But let’s go down this rabbit hole again. When Buxton is on the field, the Twins are more prolific. When Buxton is on the field, he gets MVP votes. When Buxton is on the field, the Twins go from a really good team to a great team. That should be enough to continue to dream on what could be. His adjustments at the plate are good enough reasons, too. Buxton played in 140 games in 2017 and hit a lukewarm .253/.314/.413 with only 36 extra-base hits. Since then, his average exit velocity has increased by more than 4 mph. His launch angle has increased almost eight degrees. His hard-hit rate has jumped 6.4%. He’s a different, much more dangerous force at the plate these days. The kind of force that is almost unfair hitting ninth. Buxton slugged .513 in 2019, ranking 21st among outfielders who played at least 80 games. Oh, and he’s *outstanding* on the grass. His defense in centerfield is second-to-none. His Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 innings is 13.0, the highest of any centerfielder with at least 2,000 innings at the position since 2017. Buxton saved 23 runs in 2017, second to only Mookie Betts’ 30 among all outfielders. The disappointment and discord Twins fans have with Buxton is rooted in impatience. Success at the highest level is almost never linear. Buxton is presumably entering his physical prime and should be producing, yes. That he hasn’t shouldn’t result in a fan base throwing in the towel. He’s an extremely special talent and has the sole ability to transform this club into one of the best in recent memory. He’s that influential. We must continue to dream on Buck’s potential. He’s still a key piece of the Twins’ immediate and long-term future. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Yes. You’re right. I had no idea. I took the piece about Vázquez out. Thank you.

The schedule is out. What should you expect from the Twins' foes this summer?Cleveland Indians Games: 10 - July 30, 31, August 1, 2, 24, 25, 26, September 11, 12, 13 The Indians’ strength is in the top of their roster. Shane Bieber and Mike Clevinger offer both consistency and upside in the rotation, and Carlos Carrasco, while a wild card, was once an ace, too. He wasn’t as great last year as he was in 2018, but Francisco Lindor is a superstar entering his true prime. Only Alex Bregman and Nelson Cruz had a higher wRC+ in the A.L. than José Ramírez after the break in 2019. Since 2016, Carlos Santana ranks 19th in on-base percentage (min. 500 games). In that span, he hit 115 homers, tied with Josh Donaldson for 21st in all of baseball. He’s underrated and quite a force at the plate. The Indians should be good. They have too many stars not to be. Will their lack of depth and clearly inept outfield pull them down like it did in 2019? Chicago White Sox Games: 10 - July 24, 25, 26, August 31, September 1, 2, 14, 15, 16, 17 The talk of the offseason, the White Sox feel poised to break through at some point. The question is: when? Their lineup is led by Yoán Moncada, who hit .315/.367/.548 with 25 homers in 2019. The former top prospect is a special talent, but probably not as good as White Sox fans will tell you he is. Yasmani Grandal was a big pick up for a few reasons, but mainly, he actually walks. The White Sox ranked dead last in walk rate in 2019 (6.3%) and return a similar core. Grandal walked in 17.2% of his plate appearances last year, second to only Mike Trout. The pitching staff has loads of question marks. Promising flame-throwers Dylan Cease and Reynaldo López had ERAs well above 5 in 2019. Dallas Keuchel remains effective, but benefitted from pitching in front of a strong infield defense in Atlanta. All-Star Lucas Giolito broke out with a nasty changeup and looked like an ace at times. There aren’t enough certainties on this roster to draw conclusions. They could win 40 games, they could win 25. That, in itself, makes the Sox fascinating. Kansas City Royals Games: 10 - August 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23 The Royals, unlike the Tigers, have a major league core to build around. Hunter Dozier had more bWAR than Manny Machado, Mike Moustakas, and Gleyber Torres in 2019, yet no one talks about him. Dozier hit 25 homers, 10 triples, and 29 doubles in 139 games. Jorge Soler led baseball with 70 barrels and the American League with 48 homers last summer. Whit Merrifield has 398 hits since 2018, the most in MLB. In fact, the difference in hits between Merrifield and the 2nd-placed Freddie Freeman (31) is more than that of Freeman and the 18th-ranked Starlin Castro and Anthony Rendon. The Royals’ top two starters, Danny Duffy and Brad Keller, had ERAs firmly below league average in 2019. The problems reside in the back of the rotation. Jakob Junis, Glenn Sparkman, and Jorge López were mostly abysmal on the hill last year. However, in a shortened campaign, a team built like the Royals could surprise. The Twins will need to show up and play them tough in August. Detroit Tigers Games: 10 - August 27, 28, 29, 30, September 4, 5, 6, 7, 22, 23 The Tigers have to pay Jordan Zimmermann $25 million for only one more season. The right-hander gave up 19 homers in 112 innings and finished with a 6.91 ERA in 2019. Promising left-hander Matthew Boyd struck out 30.2% of the team-leading 788 batters he faced a year ago. The Tigers’ lineup is presumably spearheaded by Victor Reyes, who hit .304/.336/.431 in 69 games last year. However, their two best hitters by OPS+ in 2019 are old friends Jonathan Schoop and C.J. Cron. The offense should produce more than the *one* above-average hitter they had last summer, but not much more than that. The upside is in Tigers’ young arms. Casey Mize is one of the more talented pitchers in Minor League Baseball. Tarik Skubal struck out 17.4 per nine innings in Double-A in 2019. Matt Manning had a 2.56 ERA and 10 strikeouts per nine there, too. If they pitch in Detroit in 2020, they could spoil a few “cupcake” games for the contenders. Milwaukee Brewers Games: 6 - August 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20 The Brewers surprisingly have every form of star. They have a true superstar in 2018 MVP Christian Yelich, a future star in second baseman Keston Hiura, and an underrated star in starter Brandon Woodruff. Milwaukee had a fascinating offseason. They lost Grandal to the Sox and Moustakas to the Reds, but added an intriguing piece. Catcher Omar Narváez was quietly great in Seattle in 2019. Only Willson Contreras had a higher OPS+ (120) among 24 catchers who started at least 100 games. The Brewers traded for Narváez in early December. Woodruff, on average, throws his fastball 96.3 MPH. He struck out 143 in 121 ⅔ innings before suffering an oblique injury in July. He’s reportedly ready to go for 2020. If you faced closer Josh Hader in 2019, there was a 53% chance you either homered or struck out, displaying both his dominance and volatility. The Brewers have some really strong players and a lot of average-ish contributors as well. Yelich and Woodruff raise their floor, and Hiura and Hader push the ceiling. Milwaukee won’t be a necessarily easy opponent for Minnesota. St.Louis Cardinals Games: 4 - July 28, 29, September 8, 9 The Cardinals’ way revolves around phenomenal defense and utilizing the pitcher-friendly confines of Busch Stadium. They went 50-31 at home last year and that’s no accident. Kolten Wong was solid at the plate with a 106 OPS+, but his gold glove defense at second is the headline. Power-hitting shortstop Paul DeJong has just a .316 OBP since 2018. Paul Goldschmidt is coming off the worst offensive season of his career. Jack Flaherty posted a 0.91 ERA after the break in 2019. He works with a phenomenal fastball-slider combo and emerged as a true ace down the stretch. The rest of the rotation is less-than-stellar. Miles Mikolas and Adam Wainwright were just average last year, and Dakota Hudson’s inefficiencies were masked by a tremendous defense behind him. Giovanny Gallegos has a devastating slider that helped him to a 2.31 ERA out of the bullpen last year. The Cardinals ‘pen produced the 7th most fWAR (4.7) in baseball and hopes to get former-superstar Andrew Miller back to form in 2020. The Cardinals are stingy. They don’t really mash at the plate, ranking 24th in homers (210) and 21st OPS (.737) in 2019. They don’t strike out the world either, finishing 17th in K/9 (8.72). What they will do is display tough, gritty defense and play to their strengths. That’s dangerous in itself. Chicago Cubs Games: 3 - September 18, 19, 20 Anthony Rizzo has hit .284/.388/.513 with 179 homers and 199 doubles in 911 games since 2014. He still has an elite bat. Kris Bryant is a premier on-base threat with serious pop, even without great defense at third. The swag monster that is Javier Báez is Eddie Rosario-esque in his aura and aggressiveness and also carries big-boy power and a winning mantra. The rotation will now be without José Quintana initially after he cut his thumb washing dishes. Yu Darvish utilized his outstanding cutter and nearly sliced his ERA in half after the break in 2019. The soft-tossing Kyle Hendricks ranked 20th among 61 qualified starters in ERA (3.46) last summer. Darvish and Hendricks are a solid 1-2 punch, in either order. Jon Lester was just average with an ERA+ of 100 in 2019. The bullpen was agonizing for much of last summer. The group ranked 22nd in Win Probability Added (-1.74) and 20th in fWAR (1.3). Craig Kimbrel had a 6.53 ERA in 20 ⅔ innings and blew three saves, including a crucial loss to the Cardinals at Wrigley on September 21st. He needs to be better. The Cubs have tons of talent. There’s no doubt they could put it all together in a 60-game stretch. Will they? Cincinnati Reds The Reds snatched away both Mike Moustakas and Nick Castellanos from their divisional foes. Castellanos was a menace at the plate in Chicago, hitting .321 with a 1.002 OPS in 51 games. He’ll go to a ballpark that ranked 8th in home run factor in 2019. Moustakas hasn’t been overly great with just 6.9 combined bWAR in 443 games since 2017, but he adds more power. Eugenio Suárez slugged a career high .572 with 49 homers a year ago. He returns to the heart of the lineup with future Hall-of-Famer Joey Votto, who is coming off a season in which he posted a .357 OBP. That broke a four season streak of a .400 or better OBP for the first baseman. The Reds have three potential aces in Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray and Trevor Bauer. Castillo works with a fastball in the 91st percentile for velocity and a truly disgusting changeup. Gray resurged in 2019, pitching to a 2.87 ERA and 5.6 bWAR in 175 ⅓ innings. Bauer allowed 40 runs in his first 56 ⅓ innings for the Reds, but is only two years removed from being an ace in 2018. The Reds’ bullpen ranked 12th in fWAR last year even with a poor campaign from closer Raisel Iglesias, who posted an ERA of 4.16 in 68 games. Two-way phenom Michael Lorenzen was outstanding with a 2.92 ERA and high 90s stuff in 83 ⅓ innings. The Reds have some legitimate weapons. If Bauer can return to form and Castellanos and the newly acquired Shogo Akiyama hit out of the gate, they can run away with the N.L. Central. Pittsburgh Pirates Games: 4 - August 3, 4, 5, 6 The Pirates’ lineup isn’t bad on paper. Josh Bell emerged as an All-Star last year with 37 home runs. Bryan Reynolds hit the ball hard and slashed an incredible .314/.377/.503 with 37 doubles in 134 games. Utility infielder Kevin Newman hit .308 with Luis Arraez-like patience and not much else. When healthy, and he is now, Gregory Polanco can do serious damage at the dish. This lineup is much better than Detroit’s. Not a single Pirates starter was average or better in 2019. Joe Musgrove, who moved to Pittsburgh in the Gerrit Cole trade, has a 4.28 ERA since joining the Bucs. The Pirates have more major league talent than the Tigers but reside in a much tougher division. The N.L. Central has had four competitive teams, compared to two (now three) in the A.L. Central. The Pirates aren’t good, don’t get me wrong, but if the Twins have trouble with their lineup in early August, don’t be surprised. Note: A passage about Pirates closer Felipe Vázquez was deleted after learning that he has been in jail since September. He isn't expected to pitch this season. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Here we are. The Twins will open their season in less than three weeks. My feelings on their lineup change almost daily. This is my current winner. For the sake of this article, let’s say the Twins open with the White Sox or Indians. That means they will see Shane Bieber, Mike Clevinger, or Lucas Giolito. All right-handers. Here we go.1. Luis Arraez, 2B Since 1950, three rookies with at least 350 plate appearances have hit .320 or higher in their age-22 or younger season: Luis Arraez hit .334 in 2019. Albert Pujols hit .329 in 2001. Mike Trout hit .326 in 2012. Batting average can be misleading. A player who hits .330 with a .350 on-base percentage is less valuable than a player who hits .280 with a .375 on-base percentage. A walk is just as good as a single. Arraez passes the test. In the A.L., only Trout, Alex Bregman and fellow rookie Yordan Álvarez had a higher on-base percentage than Arraez (.399) in 2019. He should lead off. 2. Josh Donaldson, 3B In a shortened campaign, your best hitters should see the plate as much as possible. In 2019, Donaldson tied Nolan Arenado for the 19th highest OBP (.379), tied Kris Bryant for 37th in slugging % (.521), and finished seventh with 100 walks. Since 2013, Donaldson ranks seventh in walks (541), 15th in OBP (.376), and 11th in extra-base hits (430). He primarily hit second during his three-plus seasons in Toronto. 3. Nelson Cruz, DH This one is set in stone. Nelly was a monster in the three-hole last year, hitting .311/.392/.639 with 41 homers in 120 games. Only Edgar Martinez, Victor Martinez, David Ortiz, Frank Thomas and Travis Hafner have posted a higher OPS+ at DH than Cruz (166) did in 2019. He had a historic season. Hitting behind two OBP-gods in Arraez and Donaldson will give Cruz plenty of opportunities to drive in runs. King Nelly should be a terror again in 2020. 4. Max Kepler, RF Kepler had a breakout season in 2019. He hit leadoff for the most powerful club in MLB history while slugging 36 homers of his own. Kepler tied Todd Frazier at 79th with a .336 OBP, casting doubt whether hitting first is the wisest avenue. He slugged .519, higher than Anthony Rizzo and Carlos Santana. Cleanup feels right. Kepler has the pop and the patience to hit behind Donaldson and Cruz, and I’ve concluded that Arraez is just too good not to lead off. 5. Jorge Polanco, SS Polanco was statistically the most valuable Twin in 2019. His 4.8 bWAR paced the club and he played in a team high 153 games. At the dish, Polanco came out sizzling. He hit .335 with a 1.002 OPS and 28 extra-base hits in his first 50 games. He was the starting shortstop in the All-Star Game and slotted in the two hole for most of the season. Polanco was cold in June and his OBP was an abysmal .291 in 23 games in July. He bounced back in August and hit .309/.397/.482. His OPS+ of 120 on the season ranked him fourth among all shortstops. This spot says more about the Twins’ historic lineup than it does Polanco. 6. Miguel Sanó, 1B There is an incorrect assumption that because Sanó strikes out a lot, he is undisciplined. Sanó’s chase rate has been well below MLB average for his entire career. His whiff rate, or swing-and-miss, is very high. Those two categories are mutually exclusive. Sanó also walks at a very favorable rate. He walked in 12.5% of his plate appearances in 2019, over 4% more than the league average. Sanó’s hard-hit rate is in the 100th percentile. His barrel rate is in the 100th percentile. He’s on the cusp of becoming a truly elite slugger. 7. Mitch Garver, C Garver homered more often than any player in baseball last year. He slugged .630, the highest for a catcher since Javy López (.687) in 2003. He shouldn’t be expected to repeat his .995 OPS from a year ago, but I wouldn’t bet against him. Garver has elite plate discipline. His chase rate was a whopping 11% below league average in 2019. He hit .341 against fastballs, continually forcing pitchers to come in with heaters. He will have adjustments to make against breakers and offspeed, but again, I’m not betting against him. 8. Eddie Rosario, LF Aaron Gleeman said it best when the Twins signed Donaldson in January. “Someone good is going to be hitting eighth,” he said. Rosario’s .300 OBP in 2019 was the lowest for a qualified Twin since Torii Hunter in 2015 (.293). He probably doesn’t deserve to hit much higher than eighth in this lineup. Whether Baldelli actually slots him this low is a completely different question. The lack of approach has surfaced more and more in recent seasons. Rosario’s chase rate jumped almost 7% from 2017 to 2019. Rosario is a prime example of how zero discipline can hurt a really great hitter. His exit velocity is sopped and his hard hit rate is weakened. He may have to earn his way up the lineup. 9. Byron Buxton, CF One of the silver linings for the 2020 Twins is that Buxton is said to be 100%. Buxton is a true X-factor, capable of turning a really good Twins team into a great team. He is elite in center and finally seemed to figure it out at the plate last year, hitting .262/.314/.513 in 87 games. Buxton is an ideal fit for the nine hole in this lineup. He isn’t a consistent on-base threat, but hitting in front of Arraez is picture perfect. When Buxton reaches first, Arraez can single him to third, setting up a great situation for Donaldson and Cruz. It makes even more sense than it did in 2019. Buck will be slotted at ninth on July 24th. What do you think? What should the Twins opening day lineup be? MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article