stringer bell

Much of his struggles at the plate have been when he has tried to play through injuries. I don't know how many games he has played at less than 100%, but it is a lot more than zero. His current struggles make me wonder whether some injury is bothering AK at this point, but there has been no report of any injury.

Snap. Buzzard's luck for López in the first inning.

It looks like a bullpen game for the Red Sox today (if they play).

I'm a huge Kirilloff fan. He's actually been subpar for a few weeks after a really hot start. I don't know if it is injury related or just bad luck. I checked about a week ago and his exit velo was the highest of his career, but he's made a lot of soft contact since then. Thielbar made a good pitch against Devers, but Devers made solid contact. That will happen especially against an elite hitter. I am not ready to toss him away because of a less-than-impressive April. Sands got the bottom of the order with a five-run lead, not exactly high leverage, although when he started warming up, the score was 1-0. I hope Topa and Alcalá can step into higher leverage situations and keep Sands out of them.

I remember Soderholm and he was one of those guys I rooted for, over and above being a Twin. He played a good third base and had power, but the Twins teams he was on were in decline. Attendance was dropping and few paid attention. One of the broadcasters called Eric "Solid Sod". For some reason I remember that.

Oh my, tough take. I don’t think many center fielders catch that ball. Willi kept the ball in front of him.

Green line is pretty low cost.

It was a pretty good pitch to Devers, but it is probably true that Thielbar’s best isn’t going to get Devers out too often.

Sands gets charged with two ER because Thielbar couldn’t strand the runners he inherited.

I miss Stewart already.

Arraez could three consecutive batting titles for three different teams. I doubt any other player has done that.

Great outing for Paddack. However, he threw a bunch of pitches in the sixth. Rested bully, but no Stewart. It looks like Rocco is going to let him start the seventh.

Yup.

He was born in Austin. There aren’t a lot of cowboy boots and 10-gallon hats in the capital city.

Paddack threw like a relief pitcher in the ninth inning after the first two guys reached. Don't know if he can sustain that.

I guess I'm puzzled by the Buxton injury. He has no structural damage according to the MRI, only inflammation. I'd think there would be some warning sign, but AFAIK there were no warning signs.

I just saw that Stewart is on the IL with shoulder tendinitis. Ugh. I know the club has been careful with him, but more than most, he seems to be a ticking time bomb (for injury).

Bowman traded to the Snakes for cash. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/05/d-backs-acquire-matt-bowman-from-twins.html

The bar will be raised against the Rose Hose, but I think the Twins will be up to the challenge. I hope the crowds are up in numbers and enthusiasm.

Stewart has been excellent and earned the Pitcher of the Month recognition. The pitching group has been pretty good, with the bullpen better than the rotation.

There are some insane BABiP numbers that definitely will regress to the mean. Strikeout numbers are way down and the slugging seems more generated by doubles and triples than solely home runs. The competition will be much tougher and it is foolish to think they will sustain offensive production at this level regardless. There seems to be a bit of adjustment particularly in two-strike approach. It's a long season and there are peaks and valleys for all players.

If Rocco Baldelli ran out the same nine game after game, I might agree with you. However, he's pretty likely to use his whole bench several days in a row. Add on the impact of injuries and having a truly versatile player to fill the slack at as many as seven positions is worth Kyle Farmer dollars. I've mentioned this before. I think there's a chance that Willi Castro is better than a typical utility player, but more of a Tony Phillips/Ben Zobrist/Whit Merrifield type that becomes a tenth regular, filling in wherever there is need without much loss at the plate or in the field. I don't think there's enough evidence yet one way or the other, but with this year and next coming under team control, I think there will be evidence of how good and how important Willi Castro is to the team. Castro just turned 27 a week ago, so he would be in his age 29 year for free agency--on the young side. As long as he's a plus runner, I think he can be very valuable.

Let's wait until there is some clarity about the injury, OK? The word I have been dreading with Buxton's knee is "chronic" with the runner up being "arthritic".

Willi Castro is currently on a roll. He has essentially doubled his batted average, halved his strikeout rate and continued to play good defense all over the field. With the injury to Byron Buxton, there has been discussion whether Willi should become the primary center fielder in Buck's absence. What I would like to discuss here is what the best role for him is going forward and what has changed since he was signed to a minor league contract just before Christmas in 2022. First and foremost, he has earned the trust of the manager. Rocco Baldelli trusts Castro to handle several positions defensively, make good and aggressive base running decisions and handle himself against left and right handed pitchers. This has won Castro lots of playing time. He currently has played in every game, starting 26 of 30 and is among the top three Twins in plate appearances. Secondly, he has picked up his hitting against left handed pitching. Willi is mashing to the tune of 1.250 OPS versus southpaws. Last season, he lagged against lefties with a .636 OPS. On the other hand, Willi's OPS against right handers has suffered (only .646 to date). I would expect regression to the mean in both, especially given his career platoon splits are basically neutral. Finally, and maybe because my expectations have changed, there seems to be a downturn in both defense and base running. Castro has been guilty of a couple of notable base running mistakes, he's been nabbed stealing three times already and has more bobbles and bad routes in the outfield than I recall from 2023. He's still a good defender in left field (the best the Twins have) and is a good fielder at third base. He has already played much more shortstop in 2024 than he did in 2023 and he's no Carlos Correa at short (not many are). In summary (and IMHO), Willi Castro has followed up a breakthrough season with another solid start and has attained the status of a regular at the age of 27. While it is early in the season, he has thus far shown that 2023 wasn't a fluke and that he can do a lot of things to help the Twins win ball games. He appears to thrive playing wherever he is needed and looks to be an asset that the Twins would be smart to keep, maybe for more than his years of team control.

Agree, but I think sometimes the difference is hard to discern.