stringer bell

Much discussion about which infielders should be playing and where they should be playing

Royce is certainly doing what he can to come back to the Twins. The domination is epic.

Back to Lewis and Lee--There is no statistic that shows that Brooks Lee is a better defensive third baseman than Royce Lewis. Lee is currently playing third base because he is hitting slightly above league average and he has shown that he isn't an everyday major league shortstop due to his tools (or lack thereof). In the last year, Brooks and Royce have similar OPS numbers, but Lewis has had about 100 fewer plate appearances and less productivity. He's been better than Lewis by a significant margin. Lee doesn't have the tools that Lewis has demonstrated, but he's a switch hitter with better bat-to-ball skills who has been available to play almost every day. Lewis missed ten days this season and wasn't healthy much of last year. His performance this spring was lousy with no obvious way out. He's showing signs in St. Paul of having found his groove, but AAA isn't MLB. Meanwhile, Lewis is taking heat for his off-field remarks and supposed attitude issues. Has he burned his bridges with the Twins organization? I don't know one way or another. I do think his tools and early performance are enough to at least give him one more chance with the team that selected him #1-1. The odds are probably against him, but the upside is IMHO worth the extra chances.

Regression to the mean is a statistical fact of life. It is bad news for Martin and Larnach, but good news for Bell and Caratini. I really hoped that Martin had taken a big enough step forward to be considered s regular, but his performance has been down substantially.

Reading the Game Thread shortly after the game is over. First of all, nice win. Prielipp got through a tough inning and went six plus. Good for him! Gray had another go-ahead RBI hit and the lineup did a good job against a guy who had been outstanding for the first two months of the year. I only saw about five minutes of the game and witnessed an infield hit by Acuna that more often than not is an out. The White Sox had four infield hits out of their total of eight knocks. Should any of the other three have been turned into an out? Jackson was charged with two errors including his second catcher's interference call, so the Pale Hose got some help from the Twins. Still, the team allowed only four runs and scored enough to win. A lot of discussion about Royce Lewis, who homered twice more tonight in St. Paul. While Lewis deserved to be sent down with poor play, he also is doing what he can to come back and be a productive player, at least on the field. He was a mess when demoted, but the swings he is making in Triple A look short, strong and powerful. I wonder if he just needed to breath and let his natural talent and swing take over. According to the Fielding Bible, Lewis has a -1 defensive runs saved, the same number that Gray and Lee have in fewer games and innings. Is he a horrible defensive player? I think not and all of this discussion about him changing positions is overblown. If he can be a good hitter (115-125 OPS+) slightly below average defense at third base isn't a team-killer and I believe there is no reason why he can't improve to average or better. Brooks Lee is playing third base because he doesn't have enough tools in his toolbox to be an everyday shortstop and he is currently an average major league hitter, while Royce Lewis has not been. If Lewis can outhit Lee, there is no reason why Lee should be playing in front of him. I think there has been enirely too much speculation about Lewis' personality, entitlement, selfishness and character. We don't know him personally and interpreting what he has said to the media probably doesn't fully portray what type of person he is. I will add that Lewis has made a career's worth of awkward statements, so some of the distaste for him is probably justified.

I like that defensive configuration so much better. A good first baseman is playing first base, a good center fielder is playing center field and a poor defender is the DH. I’m not convinced Gray is any better at short than Lee, but it is apparent he’s a placeholder.

Certainly agree on Houston, whose bat is supposed to be the only question. Not so sure about Tait, whose bat isn’t far over tge Mendoza Line.

The White Sox and Pirates were too good for the Twins. At their best and the Pirates snd White Sox and the Twins are roughly equal IMHO. At this time, the Twins biggest strength (starting pitching) has been ravaged by injury and the rest of the team has’t been up to the challenge. Without Buxton in center field, the shape of the roster goes from questionable to totally mismatched. I haven’t decided how positive a move the change of position for Lee really is. I think it’s an admission that Brooks is too limited at short to be part of a championship team. I don’t know if it necessarily means that the Twins are firmly committed to Culpepper. Finally, I don’t believe it signals the end for Lewis. If he’s the better hitter and fielder than Lee, he can win back third base. I’m disappointed in a lot of position players—the last month has really shaken my confidence in several players. It is probably time to try something else at several positions. I really would like to see a faster, more athletic group with superior defensive aptitude. I hope a few top arms recover soon, but once the injury bug bites, it tends to stick around.

Atlanta went through a similar run last year. The Yankees and the Orioles had similar runs of starting pitcher injuries. It is basically a cost of maximum effort hurling in the 2020s. Actually, I'd rather have the injuries occur so now rather than in August so that the Twins aren't fooled about being contenders.

The pessimist in me is saying it will only hurt more when they lose in the late innings.

I am getting a 2026 season death spiral vibe right now. The club managed to win three games in Boston, but since then two kinds of news—bad news and worse news.

I now can be convinced that I am wrong, but I still think there is elite talent there and that the Twins should not give up on Lewis just yet. It's nice that he is slugging in Triple A, but topline numbers aren't that important especially after only a week in the minors. Defensively, Lewis was -2 defensive runs saved in almost 100 games at third base last year. He moved better and better as the season went on and his throwing accuracy improved. I believe he was positive after the All-Star break. on the other major defensive metric (Zone Runs Above Average), Lewis was positive last year and is positive this year. So, if he reverts to form as a hitter, his defense is okay at third base. Move him? Yeah, if Lee hits better than Lewis, maybe Royce should move over to first or left field(?). The jury is out on Lewis. His runway is pretty much used up and he needs to perform in his next chance in MLB. I think the potential is worth the risk, but I think his next chance should be his last chance with the Twins.

I’m still at about that point unless the disappointments bring their games up to expectations. To carry as weak a bat as Kreidler at short, the other eight hitters need to be far above average. IMHO, Kreidler is the only shortstop above A ball that profiles as average or above defensively. Run scoring has been quite a ways above average, but when the team isn’t hitting (like right now) the team’s deficiencies show up too much to win games.

Rojas (sore elbow) scratched. Ruh-roh.

This is why I liked his acquisition, despite his offensive deficiencies. He’s got the tools to be a very good defensive catcher, I think both Jeffers and and Vázquez (and maybe Caratini) were pretty good in skills that sre tough to measure—working with the pitcher, calling a game etc., but stopping a running game hasn’t been a strength since Mauer traded in his catcher’s mitt. It also has been noted that Jackson isn’t a glacial slow runner (in fact above average) and has some power. He’s never hit for average, but a few long balls coupled with good defense makes him an acceptable backup catcher.