stringer bell

Austin Martin returns and takes Kirilloff's place on the roster.

Unless someone goes on the Injured List.

The season is just over 40% over. By the end of 2024 Kirilloff might have made himself an important part of the Twins' future or he might have played his way to a non-tender. So far, the pedigree and the projection have far exceeded the performance. There is still a spot wide open for him to seize in 2025, but if he doesn't perform and soon, he'll probably be in another organization.

I agree that Castillo wasn't overly impressive. His FIP is pretty high (5.28) and his problem the last couple of years has been his walk rate and he walked seven in seven innings for the Twins. Relievers have small sample sizes and BABiP luck and a high strand rate can hide some suspect performances. When Jackson was designated MLB Trade Rumors noted that his deeper numbers were much better than his ERA, indicating he was on the unfortunate side in a small sample size. Caleb Thielbar also looked to be unfortunate so far this year, but allowing a bunch of walks and hard contact to the Rockies might be the true measure of his effectiveness or lack thereof.

The whole process of bringing up Varland to start a game necessitated taking someone off the active roster and the choices would be Castillo and Sands as guys with options. They could have promoted someone who was on the 40-man like Funderburk, Winder or Henriquez and then they wouldn't have to DFA anyone.

Apparently Kirilloff has been optioned to St. Paul. No corresponding move that I can see.

Alex Kirilloff is listed on the Saints roster this evening. I don't see that someone has been recalled, but apparently the Twins are using AK's last option now. It is fair, but I don't know if it is the right move.

I was surprised by both the move to bring back Jay Jackson to the major league team and the DFA of Diego Castillo (the pitcher). Jackson really wasn't effective for the Twins and he doesn't have much of a major league resumé. The Twins have plenty of other guys that wouldn't have necessitated potentially losing another veteran arm (Castillo), yet they chose to select Jackson's contract and then DFA Castillo. To look at the transaction from a glass-half-full perspective, they must really like Jackson and figured that the stint in St. Paul was what was needed to have him "get right". Perhaps also, they think that Castillo will both get through the DFA process and accept assignment at St. Paul. I believe he's been designated for assignment before, if he hasn't, then the Twins can outright him to the Saints. Another view is that the potential relievers, including Funderburk, Winder, Henriquez on the 40-man aren't going to help the club as much as Jackson. There are quite a few guys that could have been considered for promotion who weren't on the 40-man, including Nick Wittgren, Scott Blewett, Ryan Jensen and Jeff Brigham. Purchasing Jackson's contract seems to indicate that none of these guys are more than depth options.

They had to make a spot for Jackson.

Aaaand the Mariners have DFA'd Matt Bowman. Michael Tonkin, Niko Goodrum and Bowman have all been on at least three major league rosters this year, with Goodrum now on his fourth, perhaps to be joined by Bowman. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/06/mariners-designate-kirby-snead-matt-bowman-for-assignment.html

The platoon switches are pretty easy to see--Miranda or Jeffers for Larnach and Santana for Kirilloff. I really don't see any role for Farmer unless somebody gets injured.

Most of their offseason acquisitions are optionable (Staumont, Topa, Castillo), with the exceptions being Okert and Jackson. Jackson is in St. Paul and Okert is going pretty well. I guess I don't think it is a huge problem. I think the larger problem is getting guys who can't stay healthy.

I had a look at the lineups and was mildly surprised that Miranda is out of the lineup for the second day in a row. Margot is getting a start in left field--he has been hitting better--with Larnach at DH and Kirilloff at first base. I guess Rocco is going with Margot as the "hot hand".

On the basis of performance, Boushley deserves a start and major league time over Varland, but Boushley is 30, doesn't throw overly hard and doesn't have impressive "stuff". Varland has good pitches--we've seen him hold down impressive lineups--but he's struggled this year. The Twins have kept Varland in a starting role and I don't blame them, but if he keeps struggling this year, I would presume the next step is the bullpen.

Diego Castillo (the pitcher) was optioned to St. Paul.

I don't see how Helman's merits fit in with Kirilloff at all. Without Kirilloff, the Twins have Santana/Miranda at first base and DH and Larnach in left field. Willi Castro is a better player than Helman and shouldn't be moved aside so that he can play second base. It is much more likely that either Wallner or Julien are recalled than Helman comes up. As you noted, he is older, in fact older than both Julien and Wallner. I would suspect that if Julien isn't recalled to be a (mostly) regular second baseman, it would be Lee. I've said before that I don't really trust AAA numbers and whether Helman is hitting or not, his best path to the big leagues is as a utility player, not taking over as a regular.

There are a bunch of choices. Winder could be recalled, Funderburk, and several non-roster guys have been pretty good. Castillo could be recalled immediately if one of the guys on the major league roster goes on the Injured List. Blewett (what a name) and Jensen have mostly pitched well for the Saints, though not on the 40-man roster.

On a day that Buxton was rested, Manny Margot got his playing time, not Kyle Farmer. With Miranda around to fill in when Lewis is off or the DH, there doesn't appear to be much of a way for Farmer to get significant playing time, unless there is another injury. Castro and Miranda take away opportunities for Farmer to get on the field at this time.

Since he arrived on the scene for a playoff game in the COVID year, I've been a fan of Alex Kirilloff. A first round draft choice, Kirilloff was projected to be a dynamic hitter with power to all fields. He chose to wear my favorite number (19) and his middle name is my first name. Back in 2022, when writing a blog entry as the season opened, I opined that Kirilloff had the floor of Mark Grace offense and Will Clark defense and the ceiling of Will Clark offense and Mark Grace defense. I watched AK do drills before COVID hit and thought he looked very smooth as a left handed throwing first baseman. Since then, Alex has been dogged by injuries. He had two wrist procedures as well as a shoulder surgery. We've seen glimpses of a great hitter, including winning player of the week last year in July. However, there hasn't been sustained production and the Twins have used him more as a left fielder and DH than as a first baseman. Kirilloff had a good spring training in 2024 and came out of the gate as about the only Twin to hit the ball hard in the first couple weeks of the season. Since the hot start, Kirilloff hasn't produced much. Yes, he had a couple of homers that helped win games and a walk-off single in a game where he struck out four times. The batting average has sunk to the low .200s, and there has been minimal power. Strikeouts are up, walks are down. Soft contact is up, line drives and hard-hit balls are down. The longer view also isn't kind. AK will turn 27 this offseason, so he is no longer young as a baseball player. His defense is regarded as a liability in the outfield--he never was projected as better than adequate in the corner outfield--and a 38-year-old is taking about 90% of the reps at first base. Because of the perceived weaknesses as a defender, Alex is getting less than normal at-bats as a platoon player and he is strictly platooned. In the last month, he has averaged less than two and a half plate appearances per game. So far, he's only had eight plate appearances versus left handers this season. It now seems very doubtful that he is the answer as a regular player batting in the middle of the order on a daily basis. AK didn't start in a game where a right handed started last week and he's generally moved down to the bottom of the order after hitting at the top early in the season. Jose Miranda has started a couple games at first base, moving Kirilloff to either left or DH. Many had written off Miranda and Trevor Larnach and each has reclaimed major league status with hopeful returns to the majors. It's probably too early to write off Kirilloff as well, but I believe the clock is ticking. AK has an option remaining and if Edouard Julien or Matt Wallner or Brooks Lee force their way on the major league roster, Kirilloff would be a logical choice to earn a trip to St. Paul. There has been no word of injuries hindering Kirilloff's performance, but given his history I think there is some suspicion that he's not 100%. The club has recently gone into another deep hitting funk and getting productivity from Kirlloff as a left fielder, DH or first baseman is needed. It is truly time for Kirilloff to produce and maybe it is now or never.

Beau Burrows, who was a Twin for a minute in 2021, was just released from a minor league contract by the Phillies. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/06/phillies-release-beau-burrows.html

Niko Goodrum needs to keep his suitcase packed. He was claimed by the Pirates and optioned to the minor leagues. So far this year, he has been with the Twins (Spring Training), Rays, Angels and now the Pirates. He got in major league games with the Angels and Rays. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/06/pirates-claim-niko-goodrum-from-angels.html

As reported by Betsy Helfand, Varland is starting this evening's game and Diego Castillo won a ticket on the Green Line. After Varland pitches today, it would seem likely that he'll be optioned back to St. Paul. If that is the case, the Twins can't recall Castillo, so I wonder who they would promote. I suppose Funderburk is an option. He has been in St. Paul for the allotted 15 days.

A loss here isn’t the end of the world. The upsetting thing to me is that the offense is so darn inconsistent. The funk of Jeffers and Kepler are even more noticeable.

Home plate ump is having a bad game, but the second base ump made the proper call on the force play.

No AK vs. a right hander. Not a good sign for #19.