stringer bell

And Willi Castro makes two! Great news for Willi. Will the Twins add a third or even a fourth? For any outfield vacancy, I would think Buxton would get consideration. Miranda might have a chance as well, but choosing Westburg over him might have been that chance. A catcher going down could open the door for Jeffers and Jax and Ryan have posted good seasons.

I recall a game during the COVID year when the Twins were playing the Tigers. The Tigers started a utility guy at third base and he was brutal--a couple of rollers for infield hits, a throw to the wrong base and a booted grounder--I'm pretty sure it was Willi Castro. Willi has worked hard (not effortlessly) to become decent to good at five defensive positions. He showed outstanding results on the base paths last season and this year has hit well enough to become a regular player although he doesn't really have a single position to call his own. It's a great story and Willi's skill set works perfectly with a manager like Baldelli, who uses his bench and doesn't overwork his regular players.

Ryan should have a lot of friends and family at the game. If the Twins hit a homer in all three games this weekend, they tie the record for consecutive games with a long ball. They still project to +90 wins, it has been a good season so far.

I don't know if we will get all of the hitters swinging well at once, but there's plenty of hitting talent. The radio guys were saying that since sometime in June, the White Sox have the second best starter ERA in MLB. Maybe Chicago will be be better after the All-Star break. I do hope they beat other contenders more than once in a while.

The Buxton "double" is what won the game and not many if any players could have advanced to second without a mistake from the defense. When he turned first base i blinked and he was sliding into second. If i heard it right Rocco mentioned Buck's inability to decelerate. I hope he can stay healthy for the rest of the season. He's a special talent.

Right this moment, there doesn't look like there's any room for Kirilloff with the Twins and the injuries may or may not have limited his upside to the point that he'll never be a game-changing player. I'd suggest caution however because three active members of the 2024 Twins were in the same position in the past year. José Miranda, Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner all looked to be down and out (and done) with the Twins. Kirilloff's chances might be limited and the club needs to have their best players playing down the stretch. I still believe he can be a far-above-average hitter, but there aren't any guarantees. The Twins likely will lose their first baseman and their right fielder next year, so there could be a roster spot and plenty of at-bats available. AK has an option remaining so the Twins can send him to St. Paul when he completes a rehab and he could start afresh in 2025. Getting someone like Detmers for him isn't much of return IMHO. If that's all he can generate, it is probably better to wait until 2025.

Paddack can’t be sent to the minors without his approval. He’s either in the rotation, the bullpen or the injured list.

They don't need a starter. With the All-Star break starting on Sunday, it only gives Ober an additional day off.

Much like Brock Stewart and Justin Topa, I'll believe the Twins are playing Lee at second base when he actually does it. Stewart and Topa may be rehabbing, but until either or both of them take the mound and throw a pitch for the Twins, I won't count on any contribution from either player. I'd be willing to bet that Farmer would play second if Willi started this game in center field.

I don't know where the Twins will draw the line, but I hope there is a point where they say a left handed hitter is a regular player, no matter who is pitching against them. The current roster has Larnach, Wallner, and Kepler as LH hitters and there might be some justification for not feeding any of them to the wolves, but the two best prospects in the system are Jenkins and Rodriguez, both LH, and I hope they aren't completely platooned as they progress and when they make the big leagues. Very good and great hitters hit no matter what arm the pitch is thrown from.

There's Vázquez!

There are several opinions out in Twins Daily-land. I think most have some merit, but I'm not buying all of it. 1) Farmer should be traded or if they can't trade him, he should be DFA'd. Farmer's role and productivity have shrunk. He is a trusted backup at second and third base and can play shortstop. He is reputed to be a lefty killer, but he hasn't hit much at all against lefties or righties. I doubt there is any real market for a $6M infielder who may have slipped past being productive. However, the Twins will likely hold onto him because of the money and the fact that injuries come in bunches and he could suddenly be a valuable player again (in the FO's eyes). 2) Margot shouldn't be on the major league roster and could/should be replaced by Keirsey, Martin or Willi Castro. Again, like Farmer, here is a veteran player that seems to have slipped. He hasn't played well in the outfield and has seldom been used in center field. He's hit okay as a platoon option, but he is hitless in over 20 appearances as a pinch hitter and has more plate appearances against right handed pitching that left handed pitching. IMHO, this is where the manager has gone too far. The early pinch hits and subsequent at-bats for Margot (and Farmer) against right handed relievers can be avoided by leaving the lefty hitters in the game for the middle innings. Originally, the right handed side of each platoon looked to be a better defender and a more veteran presence (Margot/Wallner, Santana/Kirilloff, Farmer/Julien). With Margot's shakiness on defense plus the emergence of platoon-proof hitters Castro and Miranda, that formula has changed. Let Margot start against lefties, don't let him pinch hit in the middle innings and I think the results will be better. 3) Platoons hurt the development of young left handed hitters. It sure seems that way. Kirilloff struggled and was originally optioned, Wallner and Julien were optioned. My college stats professor reminded us often that correlation does not prove causality. It seems very apparent to me that (in general) Rocco minds much less a right handed hitter facing a right handed reliever as compared to left handed hitters facing left handed relievers. I have come around to accepting the all right handed lineups versus southpaws. I am not on board for pulling the left handed hitters as soon as a lefty steps across the line out of the bullpen.

Buxton looks terrific right now and yesterday was an example that base running isn’t all about stolen bases. Buck was flying from first to third on Lee’s 11th inning single. He read it as a hit and advanced where he could score on an out, which he did. I don’t know how many other guys on the team score on the dribbler to third, but most of them wouldn’t. Moving Byron down in the order seems to have unlocked something.

I can tell Roy is a different generation, but it’s my generation. He’s a baseball guy though and he knows hitting. I don’t mind him in short intervals. Perkins seems the most willing to be critical and I like that. I like the perspective of LaTroy, because he played for a whole bunch of teams.

Great questions. Larnach hasn't been scorching the ball as often in the past couple weeks, so I think it puts him on the bubble with Wallner, who looked very good for six innings yesterday. Castro's flexibility means any position player (except catcher) can be replaced by someone who doesn't play the same position. I think in-season the Twins won't play around with Lewis. He may get quite a few days at DH, but I don't see him being moved to another position in 2024. For today, my best infield against a right handed pitcher would be Lee at third, Correa at short, Castro at second and Miranda at first, with Lewis the DH. For 2025 and beyond????

The Twins will have Marney Gellner doing television play-by-play this week in Chicago and San Francisco. For those of us lucky enough to get Bally Sports, having Cory Provus has been a nice addition to the broadcasts, but having Marney on play by play should be fun, as well. Speaking of the broadcasts, the Twins have switched out as many as six ex-Twins as color commentators. Each provides a little different view of the game and I've found all to be pretty good, but if any of them did 160 games, I would probably get tired of their style and their takes. Which brings up the question, who is your favorite (if you have one)?

The answer that is on the active roster is Willi Castro. Austin Martin also could pair with Julien, but he’s on the IL I have mentioned it before and I’ll say it again, Baldelli seems to mind much less when right handed hitters are facing a right handed pitcher. He’s not pinch hit for Margot when there were left handed options available a couple of times. He started Martin and Margot occasionally against right handed pitching as well. Kepler has started two games when a lefty starts the game and Julien got three starts early in the year when both Lewis and Correa were injured.

Honestly, I don’t think there’s any conspiracy or anything like that, but far worse teams have more All-Stars. The Twins have a half-dozen that could/should have been taken and only got the minimum number. It’s one of those years, I guess.

USA Today sports had an article on All-Star snubs and had 5 AL players and 5 NL players and didn’t list a single Twin. I think a couple All-Star picks were questionable and several Twins could be recognized, but I don’t see a glaring injustice.

There’s that category that used to be referred to as “nicked”, which would describe several players—right now Correa and Miranda and probably Larnach. Maybe more rest (or time) would be helpful for a couple of guys, especially with a five-day All-Star break.

I’m glad you survived another one-run game. They were due to win one!

If Lee continues to hit and field as he has for the first five games, he may force the issue. I thought he looked really good at third base and he handled the bunt attempt flawlessly. Gleeman mentioned that Lee had done quite a bit of work at second, but not in games.

The Twins stand at 51-39 at the 90 game mark. Last year after 90 games, they were 45-45.

Not included was Buxton. Outside of Judge, there aren't any AL centerfielders with a better OPS and he's still great in the field.

He's been very good, but there have been a lot of good starters in the American League. I'm sure there are stats that give Ryan an edge over someone who was selected, but there are thirteen starters with a better ERA and more than that with more victories.