stringer bell

Congratulations to Royce Lewis for the four-hit game in which he didn't hit a single ball hard. He put the ball in play and good results happened. His slow roller in the tenth keyed the inning.

For various reasons, the only real place for position player juggling is the corner outfield. Gallo will be back soon, as will Buxton. The obvious candidates for demotion are Garlick and, regrettably, Larnach. That doesn't allow Wallner another chance and keeps Kepler in the lineup. If the club wants more than rearranging the deck chairs, they need to cut ties with Max Kepler and try someone/something else.

I agree that the hitters need to do a better job of making contact. Having a two-strike approach isn't giving up on the at-bat. Not chasing with two strikes is an easy area of improvement. Teams look terrible when they aren't hitting. There's time for a recovery, but they have squandered a chance to open up a big lead and it's about 90% on the hitters.

They were going to face three lefties and face the Rays with three lefties in their bullpen. I guess the feeling was that having a right handed bat to hit for or be the alternate for Kepler and Larnach was needed. Garlick is 31 years old and hasn't lit up AAA. He's always been thought of as a lefty mashing specialist who is not particularly adept in the field. Trading him is a remote possibility at the deadline and certainly not right now. He could be a DFA at some point, although he can be optioned this year.

What about Ortega?

Good points fellas. There is a lot to agree with from both of you. RB, I agree that someone hitting as well as Wallner has at AAA/MLB should have gotten the call when another LH batter went on the IL. Two games of having Wallner or Kirilloff face LH pitching isn't worth letting a guy who is raking sit in AAA. Chief, I also agree with you. The Twins continue to seem to be trying to win games with one hand behind their back, short benches, poor performers continually in the lineup. We keep waiting for the full lineup to be there and for a good and consistent offense.I, too, believe in platoon advantages, but not so much that giving Kyle bleeping Garlick a week of roster run and a half dozen at-bats is worth it. From perhaps a third perspective, this is what I see on the position player side of the Twins' roster: Starters--based on past performance--Buxton, Correa and Polanco. Starters based on pedigree and potential--Lewis and Krilloff. Starter--based on position--Vázquez/Jeffers. That is six--the catchers are a job sharing operation, the other five guys should be in the lineup 90% or more of the time if healthy. That leaves three positions to fill. Center has been manned by Michael A Taylor, a perfectly fine 8-9 hitter with an 88 OPS+, not optimum but not a black hole, particularly with good defense at a premium position and 8-8 stolen bases. The remaining two positions are the corner outfield spots and the three that have played (more than 25 plate appearances) have these batting averages: .188, .189 and .211. These are guys playing two of the three lowest positions on the defensive spectrum and in 463 plate appearance the trio has 22 homers and 65 RBI, not exactly boxcar numbers for those positions. Gallo goes out and the team brings in an all-but-acknowledged specialist (I mash lefties). Nah, it doesn't make sense. They need someone to mash pitching. Kyle Farmer, Donnie Barrels and Willi Castro have been called on to play much more than expected and also much more in non-favorable platoon matchups. Buxton and particularly Correa have performed far below past performance and expectations, which puts more on the other players. Lewis has less than 100 plate appearances and Kirlloff has just over 100 this year, so neither of those guys is proven. The only thing that is proven is the missed time. Buxton has missed about half of the time in the last six years, Kirilloff and Lewis have missed most of the last two seasons, Gallo, Kepler and Polanco have both already been on the IL twice this year. Larnach missed a lot of time in the past two seasons and was on the IL this year. The subs, the catchers and the center fielder (Taylor) have stayed healthy. Dump the unproductive Kepler, bring up Wallner, get the key players healthy and stop wasting so much outstanding pitching. If it doesn't work, blow it up. Note: I may have let my keyboard anger let me say things I'll regret later.

Yes, I get it. As far as I’m concerned, why play Kepler four days out of five until Gallo returns. Further, I don’t think it makes sense to stack so many left handed hitters, but the alternative needs to be a better player than Kyle Garlick.

I thought about posting a “Larnach vs. Wallner” thread. Apparently Trevor is still first in line. He can play both left and right and is a decent fielder—much better than Wallner. This doesn’t get Kepler out of the lineup. Also it doesn’t provide space for more than one of Gallo/Kepler/Wallner.

Absolutely.

Concur. Can CC go? How about Buck? Since Kirilloff ended Sunday’s game in the on-deck circle, I’d presume he’s good to go.

Wallner couldn't be recalled if the corresponding move is an option or DFA. Wallner could replace someone placed on IL.

Since the Rays are now going with three right handers, will Garlick get swapped out with either Wallner (the people's choice?) or Larnach?

If he stays healthy, Lewis will fill a major role on the Twins this year and beyond. It may or may not be third base.

I really like AK as the long-term answer at first base. I think he will hit enough to be a middle-of-the-order fixture and he will be a fine defensive first baseman, maybe the best lefthanded first baseman the Twins have ever had. Lee is a great prospect, but he looks to be at least a year away and who knows what will happen to Correa and Lewis in that year. If Lewis' and Correa's defense are too good to move them and Lee forces his way to the majors, the easiest adjustment would be to move Lee to second or maybe to an outfield corner.

I dunno. To me, keeping Lewis in the infield this year is probably a done deal. If he adjusts to third as it appears he has, maybe it is best to keep him there. It will probably be a decision to be made after the team is done playing this season, hopefully in November. It isn't a guarantee that he will be a good or great outfielder and current need shouldn't figure in to what is best for the club long-term. If Lewis plays close to 100 games at third this season, it will make him much more likely to stay there long term IMHO. I'm not 100% convinced that his arm is best-suited for third. There seems to be a wind up before he throws, but that would be the case at short, too.

I’m glad Lewis is okay. Happy Birthday Royce!! 24 years old today.

Long term encouraging stats--The Twins have allowed 29 stolen bases with 15 caught stealing. They have been successful on 28 stolen bases and only caught six times. They are actually winning that portion of the running game. The biggest bugaboo is strikeouts. In 60 games, they struck out 613 times.

It’s too bad that the Twins only got a split when they were able to keep Ramírez in check. Of course the Twins marquee players did …….zero. Add a decent middle of the order to the pitching staff and role players and this is a good team. Correa, Buxton, Kirilloff and Lewis could and should be a good middle of the order. How much longer should Max Kepler be considered the starting right fielder?

I think they will use all 30 days of Maeda’s rehab, particularly since there are no easy bullpen or rotation moves to be made. I think Maeda has to prove that his current stuff can get hitters out.

This sets up tomorrow's game as important. A win gives the Twins three of four and increases their hold on first place while exorcising some demons. Another close loss and some might start thinking "here we go again". I don't know how many pitches McKenzie will be allowed to throw, but it would be wise to get him out of there early. I also don't know how many people will be available off the bench. López (Jorge) needs to get right. It is situations like these where it's too bad they can't send him to the minors to get his confidence back.

What promoting Garlick probably means is that Buxton is expected back sooner rather than later. That would be the logical place for Wallner to get at-bats.

I don't think they've gotten great production from their catchers, but there are probably 20 other teams that aren't satisfied with what they're getting. Of all catchers, Jeffers ranks ninth in WAR and Vázquez is 32nd.

Kyle Garlick. Unconcur. According to ESPN, the Twins face one lefty per series Allen of the Guardians, McClanahan on the Rays and Kikuchi of the Jays. This does even up the bench options a bit, but ..............

Or you could say it was an evenhanded analysis. I don't know where to go on the "play Buck in center field" debate. I vacillate depending on how bad I think his knee is. If it's Mickey Mantle or Tony Oliva bad, maybe DH is all he can do, if it's minor (and seeing him run the bases you start to believe that) then get him out there.