stringer bell

Batter to batter now. One more runner and he’s gone, I think.

He looked unhittable until the sixth. Not so much last inning. I hope he can go 7. Wouldn’t expect much more despite the low pitch count.

Who is this #20 for the Twins?

I was going to comment that the ump’s zone was tight, but consistent. Then he rang up Jeffers on a pitch that he called low all game.

I tried it and it hasn’t changed a thing.

Shaun Anderson continues his odyssey around MLB. He pitched in four games for the Twins in 2021. Probably more important, he was traded to the Twins for LaMonte Wade Jr. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/05/angels-select-shaun-anderson-transfer-ben-joyce-to-60-day-il.html

There's room for a left handed hitter vs. southpaws given the Twins current roster. Some of the right handed options aren't very good--Castro has hit better left handed since coming to the Twins, Bride has pretty severe reverse splits and Vásquez can't hit anybody. For now, Larnach is getting PAs against lefties. I was surprised to see him hit in the eighth inning yesterday (tie game, one out, two runners on). When Matt Wallner returns, he might get the chances that Larnach is getting. SSS, but he's 3-5 with a homer against same sided pitchers. Of course, by the time Wallner returns someone else will probably be on the IL. Regardless, by and large Baldelli has abandoned the early pinch hitting for left handed hitters, and I totally agree with that change of strategy. Resting Wallner and/or Larnach against left handed starters is prudent IMHO, but giving them PAs against left handed middle relievers helps later in games and later in their careers.

Cano allowed zero hits. He did walk the two guys who scored on Lee's double and was charged with the loss.

Matt Bowman DFA'd after pitching Tuesday and Wednesday. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/05/orioles-dfa-matt-bowman.html

Yeah, the AL Central teams all were playing teams with poor records. Twins/Orioles, Tigers/Rockies, Royals/White Sox.

That aged well.

Lee isn't doing much right.

I think both guys are on the outside looking in at this point. Miranda was in a similar position at the start of 2024, but was given a chance due to injuries and hit well enough for long enough to be on the cusp of being an "everyday player". Then he got hit in the head and slumped noticeably. He hasn't seemed to recover the groove he was in and now the Twins have other options to first and third. In the last calendar year, Julien has been a bad baseball player. The power has dried up, the walk rate is down and the K rate is up. Both guys are bat-first players and despite hard work to improve their defensive skills, they are liabilities in the field. It is unfortunate, but their trade value would be negligible. Both guys would be candidates for non-tender or DFA unless things change during the season.

I'm not quite as harsh about Keirsey, but I'm not surprised by his lack of production so far. BTW, 4 of 6 stealing bases isn't good enough either. The jump from AAA to the majors isn't a small speed bump. Mickey Gasper is raking at St. Paul after we saw him look pretty close to pathetic playing for the Twins. Great Triple A stats aren't a guarantee of major league success or readiness.

If the Twins want to improve their chances of making the playoffs, they need to improve in their division, which currently has a net winning record. They are 3-8 against Detroit, Cleveland and KC. They need to just about reverse that to make a significant move in the division. They also need to play much better on the road (6-14 thus far). The team is pretty healthy right now, with only Wallner out from the projected starters and only Tonkin out from the rostered pitchers. Alcalá can't be optioned without his permission, so if they want to send him to AAA, they would have to DFA him. I would guess that someone would take a flyer on his arm despite poor results this year.

I'll be interested to see the starting lineup today. Will Lewis DH again? Will both Correa and Buxton be in the lineup? Where will Castro play? Could Keirsey possibly get a start? Sweeping the O's out of town would be pretty good revenge for being owned by them the last two years.

Pretty sure that is one more pinch hit than Margot had all of last year.

Nice play by both guys. France isn't a GG candidate, but Baseball Savant has him +1 runs saved this year.

Highlight reel play by Varland!!

Not much of a leash for SWR, but maybe that’s the right thing to do.

The Tigers released Kenta Maeda and outrighted Manuel Margot after he was activated from the Injured List. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/05/tigers-outright-manuel-margot-release-kenta-maeda.html

Totally expect Morton to wake up and realize he is a high quality pitcher and throw a good game against the Twins.

I hadn't checked Umpire Scorecards this year until after I watched two veteran umpires have tough days at the plate against the Twins (Bill Miller last week-Ron Kulpa yesterday). I wanted to confirm that 1) they were pretty bad and 2) that both guys are usually pretty good behind the plate. Miller is a good HP ump and had his worst game of the year so far in Cleveland (vs, the Twins), Kulpa is averageish and was below average last night. I found that UmpScorecards has added more data and they have season totals for teams. The three most favored (according to their numbers) are Cleveland, Arizona and Seattle and the worst were Colorada, Miami and the Twins. The Twins as of today are -4.74 runs over their 36 games. Why? Is it catcher framing? Conditions? Bad teams don't get borderline calls? I don't know. I think umpire inconsistency is the least of the Twins problems, but I think umpire quality is an issue for MLB.

I agree with your big picture view and the pre-arb numbers do tell a story about development and the current roster. I am much less convinced that McCusker is the poster child for the Twins problems and that not promoting him is why they have failed to build a solid offense. From what I know, McCusker is another bat-first or perhaps bat-only player and he's older (27) and was previously not thought to be a prospect. What would his role be on the current Twins roster? Would he be starting only against left handed pitching and would he be DHing? Is it worth the 40-man manipulations to get a guy like him to the majors to perform a limited role? Given the resumé, it is tough to believe McCusker would amount to more than a role player. I can't think of many, if any, guys that broke into MLB at 27 or later and became solid everyday regulars or All-Stars, especially when they were non-prospects to start with. You mentioned Rooker, but he was a first round draft choice. Pedigree is another filter IMHO. Filling the position player roster with non-athletic "if you're not hitting, you're not helping" type players is what I see is the biggest flaw in the Twins roster. They can't be 100 OPS+ types and help the team. Putting and veneer of positional flexibility over that doesn't really help, but it's kind of necessary if the 40-man has 23-25 pitchers. I don't know for a fact but I suspect there are red flags in McCusker's hitting overview. The strikeout numbers must be showing something that makes it difficult to impossible to translate his success at Triple A to the majors. Good luck to him and I hope he keeps raking. Maybe he's the exception to the rule and has a solid major league career.

I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a chance this year, but just because he's tearing up AAA isn't any guarantee that he'll amount to anything. I see McCusker homered twice today. His OPS is above 1.000, Great numbers to be sure. In a smaller sample size Mickey Gasper has an OPS of 1.500. Some guys can dominate Triple A, but can't make the next step and often it is one weakness, maybe high fast balls or maybe breaking stuff. I also see that McCusker strikes out a lot. I am pretty sure the K number would be even higher in the majors. He probably would hit more than Royce Lewis right now, but that is more about Lewis. McCusker reminds me of two guys who played for the Twins after producing boxcar numbers in the minors--Chris Colabello and Mark Funderburk. Colabello had a few moments with the Twins and Toronto, but was out of baseball after three plus years. Funderburk got a couple of callups with the Twins (1981 and 1985). Neither was a game changer. The Twins need more guys who can help them win games in more than one way. Defense and base running are two of the bigger flaws on the team today and I sincerely doubt that McCusker can help them in those areas. It's fun to root for the underdog and a guy like McCusker qualifies, as does Eeles and to some degree Keirsey. These late bloomers and guys from Indy Ball are good stories and if they make the major leagues, it shows what can happen if you pursue your dream, but the chances of really being a helpful piece or more are pretty small. I don't come here to bury the Twins field staff or front office, but the fact is that the team has disappointed more often then not since 2019 and have only won one playoff series since the Falvey (and Baldelli) era began. I think they need more position players who are well rounded, first and foremost. That is really what Carson McCusker is.