stringer bell

I expect most on TD won't like this lineup. It is as left handed as possible (all five LH hitters plus three switch hitters) and is pretty suspect defensively. Thanks to a run of pretty good starting pitching (except SWR) the bullpen is fairly rested on the 12th day of a 15 consecutive day stretch. It is early days yet, but except for Outman, the lowest OPS in this lineup belongs to ............Keaschall. I was checking on some team splits and found some interesting information. The Twins currently have a better OPS against left handed pitching. .695 vs. LH, .684 vs. RH. They also have a higher batting average against southpaws--.232 to .216. Also, the Twins are middle of the pack in hitting with runners on base, runners in scoring position and the bases loaded.

I liked the signings of Bell and Caratini when they happened. I think Bell should mostly DH. I don’t have a big problem with Caratini being the alternate first baseman. Playing first more than anyone else is probably overuse. Did Bell suffer some sort of arm injury early in his career? He seems to shot put the ball when he throws and his swing looks rather strange as well. I guess it works for him.

The Twins currently have the most plate appearances against left handed pitchers by a wide margin and have the fewest plate appearances against right handed pitching by an equally large margin (>60). They also have by far the most plate appearances with the bases loaded

I remain unconvinced about the Twins’ bullpen. Depending on who is in the field, the fielding is somewhere between a bother and a fatal flaw. They have starters and a half-decent lineup. There is something to build on.

No problem with the system as it is. I was at the game and when the shot came on the screen, I thought the ump was right. I don’t think it reflects poorly on the umpires to be challenged and for calls to be overturned on such incredibly close pitches. Yeah, if a pitch is well out of the zone or clearly in the zone, the ump should be criticized, but umps are seldom that wrong. The main adjustment the umpires need to make is that there shouldn’t be a shrunken 0-2 strike zone or an enlarged 3-0 zone.

Martin’s going to have to wear the three CS for a while, but that OBP is pretty doggone impressive. If the Twins would have had challenges remaining last night, I’m pretty sure he would have had another walk and one less K. The last pitch looked low and away to me.

I’ve heard that too. Must be the voices in my head.

Somebody (still) needs to find a batting helmet that fits Lee’s noggin.

I believe Martin had arm surgery when he was a minor leaguer. Much like Keaschall, when he debuted with the Twins he hadn't fully recovered and his arm was well below average. According to statcast, he now has a 55th percentile arm (certainly not a cannon) but satisfactory.

He's also hitting below .200 thus far for the Saints.

Martin is getting his first ever start in right field today.

Bobby Nightengale reporting that Lewis is already feeling better and expects to be on the IL for the minimum (ten days), Nightengale reports that the team was cautious because they had two more games on artificial turf and Lewis' injury was to his lead (plant) leg for his swing.

Yeah, yeah. The TD faithful have written Lee off as a shortstop. Shelton hasn't. He's the regular shortstop until he isn't and it makes sense if Lee is viewed as an everyday player. I have my doubts about Lee as well, but giving him more than two weeks to show what he can do is the right thing to do. Same for Wallner, same for any one else that has struggled.

Kreidler in the starting lineup at third base and Larnach gets a start against a lefty (Wallner out). BuxtonCF R 0 1 0 .180 .543 MartinRF R 0 2 2 .286 .795 Keaschall2B R 1 7 2 .204 .532 JeffersC R 1 6 0 .294 .856 BellDH S 3 10 0 .289 .978 Caratini1B S 0 4 0 .275 .662 LarnachLF L 0 2 0 .263 .808 Lee, BSS S 1 5 0 .206 .564 Kreidler3B R - - - - -

We can't be sure, but it appears he's playing this much because the Twins are facing so many left handed pitchers. Martin has started one game against a right hander and it was is center field because Buxton was dinged. I don't really think Martin is a better hitter against right handed pitching than Larnach or maybe even Clemens, but I think there's more in his overall game than either of those guys offer.

I wonder if Kreidler and Morris have made it across the border at this point. If Kreidler got a good night's sleep, he will probably be in the starting lineup today. Another left hander! What is it, nine out of fifteen games?

I don't disagree. Triple A numbers don't always predict success. Just ask Mickey Gasper. IMHO, Outman has one thing that Keirsey doesn't. He has big time power, but just doesn't make contact nearly enough. Outman's speed has surprised me. I googled his sprint speed and the reply was that it was elite (28.9 fps). His sprint speed was recorded as 28.5 in 2025. That is equal to Keirsey and faster than Austin Martin.

Outman was good in AAA last year as well,

Per Bobby Nightengale, Kreidler and Morris recalled with Lewis and Laweryson on the IL.

Austin Martin was one of the few bright spots on the Twins team after the trade deadline in 2025. He played a much-improved outfield, stole a few bases and hit quite well. Based on that performance, he was viewed as a lock to make the 2026 Twins team. Due to scheduling quirks and chance, Martin has been in the lineup frequently so far in 2026. The Twins have faced left handed starters more than right handed starters and that will not be sustained over the course of a season. I am advocating that the Twins use Martin as their everyday left fielder for weeks or months to see if his skill set and abilities are good enough to be an everyday player. So far in 2026, Martin is getting on base at an elite level. He has eight hits in 28 at-bats, but also has eight walks and has been hit by two pitches, yielding a .437 OBP. If he had enough plate appearances, he would be right around the top ten of all MLB. According to BBRef, Martin is also a positive in the field, already having a +3 in Defensive Runs Saved and +1 in Total Zone Fielding. In addition, Martin provides value on the bases. He is showing negative value right now because he was picked off twice, but over the course of a season I am confident his base stealing and extra bases taken would eventually provide positive value. These are all really small sample sizes and to me that is the point. If, and it is a big if, Martin can sustain elite OBP, defense and base running, shouldn't he be in the lineup most or all of the time? In this small sample size, BBRef gives him .5 WAR, which projected to a full season would be around 6 WAR, which is an All-Star level. Martin, in his career which includes 476 plate appearances has 31 extra-base hits and only two homers. A power hitter he is not. His overall fielding metrics are subpar, but as noted he has improved dramatically since he has concentrated on being an outfielder. In his career, he has a .673 OPS against right handed pitching (below average), but his only sustained run of regular playing time against righties, he did much better. Austin Martin recently turned 27 years old. In baseball age, he is no longer young. The Twins have three corner outfield prospects playing in Triple A and it is assumed that one or all of them will be promoted this year. I think the Twins need to know if Martin can or should be a full-time player. Regular readers of TD will know this isn't a new idea for me. I've been banging this drum since the end of the '25 season. I believe Martin can provide an offensive spark while helping the team on defense and the bases and that he shouldn't be assigned a short side platoon role. In this year of transition, it should be determined if Martin is a keeper or a role player. I hope this posting can stimulate some discussion. Maybe I'm missing something, but I'd like to see more guys who put the ball in play and can win games with their bat, their legs and their glove. I think Austin Martin can be one of those guys.

I believe Caratini is one of the Twins top nine at this point, so Clemens would be a "bench player" and he has started every game against right handed pitching IIRC. If that continues, he will play in well over 100 games (eventually the Twins will normalize and play far more games against right handed starters). Different teams use their bench differently. Some use their extra players in platoons, some have seldom used guys who might specialize and some have their bench players give days off to multiple players when they have the platoon advantage (but not a true platoon). Gray, in theory is a multiple position backup. Outman has been a defense and pinch running specialist. Clemens has been a platoon player, as is Larnach, but because of the outsized use of left handed starters against them, they've played less than Caratini and Martin.

There are a lot of ways to look at the "lineup imbalance". Some thoughts from earlier in the thread were that they don't have a first baseman and they don't have a shortstop. Another is that they don't have enough good hitters. Another poster said they have too many DHs playing in the field. I think there is truth in all of those takes. Despite having bigger rosters (now 26 players), there are fewer position player spots than there have been historically. It used to be that nine or ten pitchers was enough, later it moved to 11-12 and now every team carries 13 pitchers. Having so few bench spots increases the value of versatility and makes wholesale platooning difficult, if not impossible. Since the majority of pitchers are right handed, the focus is on the left handed hitters. Having one or two guys who can hit well enough to play almost every day against lefties would minimize some of the "imbalance", but alas the Twins really don't have anybody who fits that description. Filling the problem positions of shortstop and first base might help and would address the "too many DHs" lament. That isn't the case here, so the Twins have a mismatched group that still is vulnerable to left handed pitching. I think they will do all right vs. lefties as the season goes on.

The word "exposed" comes to mind when thinking about the Twins' bullpen. There aren't a lot of overpowering arms and the margin for error is really small, so a misplayed fly ball or unlucky bounce can be fatal. We've seen too many bases on balls for a group that isn't going to strike out many. Letting a deficit go from one run to six runs isn't optimum, but it's far worse to give up a lead. The injury bug bit today and losing Laweryson and Lewis is bad news. I don't know who is coming up, but I'm sure it won't be the last move we'll see.

Sad to see players going on the IL, particularly Lewis. I hope this is a minimum IL stay for both Royce and Cody. Lewis looked like he was running okay after tweaking his knee on Thursday, but I suppose they have to be cautious given his injury history.

With a position player roster as unsettled and unproven as the Twins, the 13th guy shouldn't just be a role player. In 2023, Willi Castro was the 13th guy when the season started, but because of his skill set, by the end of the season he was playing every day and helped the team win the division. The DaShawn Keirseys and James Outmans who only contribute on defense and the bases don't provide enough value. Outman does have legitimate power, but his strikeout rate would make Matt Wallner blush. If the Twins want a premium defense guy, they should call up Kreidler. He's probably a better outfielder than Outman and he's also the best defensive infielder the Twins have in the upper minors. He can't hit either, but at least he could help in more places. If they want somebody to platoon in left field, they should recall Roden.