Cody Christie

Jose Miranda is proving that his breakout 2021 season wasn’t a fluke. So, should the Twins try and work out a long-term extension with their rookie slugger? When a top prospect reaches the majors, it can be exciting for fans to watch a player start to unlock his full potential. The Twins have seen Jose Miranda emerge on the big-league scene with a 127 OPS+ in his first 78 games. According to FanGraphs, he has been worth $9.3 million in 2022. He also ranks fourth among Twins hitters in Win Probability Added as he trails only Luis Arraez, Byron Buxton, and Jorge Polanco. It has been a tremendous start to his career, but have the Twins seen enough to sign him long-term On Tuesday, the Atlanta Braves agreed to a long-term extension with their own power-hitting rookie. Outfielder Michael Harris agreed to an eight-year, $72 million extension that will keep him in Atlanta through the 2030 season. The deal also includes team options for 2031 ($15 million) and 2032 ($20 million). The Braves are buying out his pre-arbitration and arbitration seasons so they can control his first two free agent seasons. Since Harris is 21 years old, he will still be able to reach free agency in his early 30s. Even though Miranda and Harris are both rookies, they aren’t exactly the same type of player. Harris is a dynamic centerfielder that provides value on both sides of the ball, while most of Miranda’s value is tied to his bat. Harris is also three years younger than Miranda and was a consensus top-100 prospect entering the season. In 2022, Miranda has played seven more games than Harris, but Harris has compiled 1.8 more WAR than Miranda. Three years ago, the Twins signed Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler to team-friendly extensions that bought out some of their free agent seasons. Polanco signed a five-year, $25.75 million deal with team options for 2024-25. Kepler’s deal was for five years, $32.12 million, with a team option for 2024. Since signing their extensions, Polanco has provided $76.8 million of value, while Kepler has been worth $68.1 million. Both players were roughly the same age as Miranda at the time of their extension. Minnesota doesn’t need to rush into a contract extension with Miranda since the team will have control of him throughout his 20s. It likely wouldn’t take a Harris-level deal to sign Miranda long-term and buy out some of his free agent seasons. The Twins have gotten tremendous value from the Polanco and Kepler extensions, so the team may want to find a middle ground to keep Miranda in Minnesota long-term. It will likely take a seven or eight year deal for $50 million or more to make an extension work for both sides. Miranda has the potential to be a middle-of-the-order bat for a long time, and that has tremendous value. Do you think the Twins should look to sign Miranda to a long-term extension? How much would you be willing to pay him? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

A handful of relievers have taken the blame for Minnesota's relief issues this season, but deeper issues compound the problem. Can the Twins solve their bullpen problems before the season's end? Fans focus on relief pitcher performance because of when those pitchers come into a game. In high leverage situations, each pitch has magnified importance on the game's outcome. Relievers also pitch a small number of innings per season, and a small sample size magnifies their flaws. Here are three bullpen issues that have transpired over the last handful of seasons. Strike 1: Sticking with Struggling Veterans During the 2021 season, the Twins signed Alex Colome as a veteran pitcher with a strong track record as a late-inning reliever. Minnesota gave him the bulk of the save opportunities in April, and he proceeded to have one of the worst months of any pitcher in Twins history. He blew three saves while posting an 8.31 ERA and allowing a .952 OPS to opposing batters. The Twins were out of the division race, and Colome's performance was one of the biggest reasons for the team's struggles. It could have been easy for the Twins to cut Colome, but it no longer mattered what he did on a team heading for a last-place finish. After trading Taylor Rogers, Minnesota expected to get crucial innings from veterans like Emilio Pagan, Tyler Duffey, and Joe Smith. Duffey and Smith struggled significantly, but the team was forced to keep them on the roster until players were acquired at the trade deadline. Pagan continues to get opportunities because he has strong strikeout numbers. However, he has been one of baseball's worst relievers in recent years, and the team has hung on to him for too long. Strike 2: Short Starts Mean More Bullpen Innings Minnesota acquired two veteran pitchers to add to the back of the rotation this season, Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy. They are tied for the team lead in games started because the Twins have continued to manage their workload. Archer has averaged just over four innings per start, and he has yet to pitch into the sixth inning. Bundy has averaged 4.91 innings per appearance with four starts of six innings or more. This strategy has kept both players on the field but also puts added pressure on the bullpen. Baseball's evolving usage of starters will continue to have long-term effects on how bullpens are structured. Few teams want their starters to face a line-up for the third time, which results in relievers entering the game in the fifth or sixth inning. When this happens, three or four relievers are asked to finish the game. That scenario can work in a team's favor for one game, but the next day there is a domino effect as the bullpen's backend will need to be exposed even if it is a close game. Strike 3: Not Addressing the Bullpen in the Offseason Looking at the Twins' current front office, it is clear that they don't prioritize bullpen acquisitions in the offseason. In 2022, the Twins made Joe Smith their lone free agent addition to the bullpen while also swapping Rogers for Pagan before Opening Day. Last season, Alex Colome and Hansel Robles were acquired on cheap one-year deals, and neither was particularly effective. Luckily, Jhoan Duran emerged as a dominant late-inning option this season, or the team might be in an even more precarious position. Signing free agent relievers is not an exact science. Some top free agent relievers have become strong contributors recently, while others have faded away. Minnesota's front office hasn't prioritized bullpen acquisitions, so the team was forced to address the relief core at the trade deadline. In the long run, the Twins need to adjust their relief pitcher philosophy, or these issues will continue to follow the team in the years ahead. Do you think there are any other problems with the team's bullpen? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

Joe Ryan's rookie season has seen some ups and downs, but the Twins need him to continue to adjust as his career progresses. So, where can Ryan improve the most? Joe Ryan was the Twins' Opening Day starter and will be an essential part of the team's pitching staff over the majority of the next decade. Like any pitcher, improvements and adjustments to his repertoire are needed to reach his potential ceiling. Ryan's fastball has continued to be great, but his secondary pitches are the key to unlocking his top-of-the-rotation potential. When the Twins acquired Ryan, his minor league numbers were impeccable as he dominated the high minors with high strikeout totals. Most of Ryan's success throughout his professional career has been tied to his fastball usage. So far in 2022, he has used his fastball nearly 60% of the time, while hitters have a 25.1 Whiff% with a .343 SLG. Ryan's fastball will be a vital pitch throughout his career, but he needs to see improvement in his secondary pitches. Ryan's second most used pitch is his slider, and that might be where he has the most opportunity to improve. He uses his slider nearly 22% of the time as batters have posted a .267 BA and .514 SLG when facing this pitch. Because Ryan is a righty, his slider is almost exclusively used (92.4% of the time) versus right-handed batters. Teams may put more left-handed batters in the line-up to face Ryan, and this takes away from the effectiveness of his best secondary pitch. In Ryan's last start against the Royals, he only needed to throw nine sliders in the outing. Kansas City's line-up isn't exactly a murderer's row of sluggers, but it highlights how little Ryan relies on his secondary pitches. Minnesota's goal is to make the playoffs and win games with Ryan as a key starting pitcher. When facing playoff-caliber line-ups, he will need to rely on his slider more regularly, and it has yet to develop into a solid number two pitch. Against left-handed batters, Ryan's most used off-speed pitch is his changeup, with some curveball usage too. His changeup is a below-average pitch, but there have been starts where he uses this pitch more than his slider. Batters have posted a .565 SLG against his changeup for the season because he has an 80% strike rate with this pitch. Overall, he has only thrown his changeup 13.3% of the time, but he's been forced to use it when his slider is off. Ryan has never been a prototypical starting pitcher with the high percentage of fastballs that he throws. Before reaching the big leagues, many evaluations of Ryan pointed to the fact that he would need to rely less on his fastball and more on his secondary pitches. Ryan's slider is the key to reaching the next level in his career. Do you think Ryan needs to see improved results from his off-speed pitches? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

Last winter, the Twins surprised the baseball world by signing one of the best free agents on the market. Do any of this year’s top free agents fit in Minnesota? Even with the Twins in the midst of a division race, it’s never too early to look ahead at plans for this winter. Minnesota’s starting rotation will have plenty of options for the start of 2023, but there are other holes to fill in the roster. Here are the top pending free agents and how they may or may not fit with the Twins. Aaron Judge, OF Judge bet on himself this spring and that bet is paying off. New York offered him a contract north of $215 million but he will make significantly more than that based on his monster 2022 season. He’s the likely front runner for the AL MVP and the Yankees are dominating one of baseball’s best divisions. Back in June, ESPN’s Buster Olney named the Twins as a potential landing spot for Judge. The team has the payroll flexibility to make a deal work, but the Twins also have quite a few options in the outfield. Judge likely gets a contract he is looking for from one of the big market teams. Trea Turner, SS Turner may be a sneaky fit for the Twins if the market plays out in their favor. Judge may be the top player on the market but Turner has skills on both sides of the ball that front offices covet. For the second consecutive offseason, the free agent shortstop class is considered strong. Turner is slightly older than Carlos Correa (see below) so a seven or eight-year deal will lock him up through his late 30s. As he ages, he will need to shift to a different defensive position, but he is currently one of the game’s best overall players. Nolan Arenado, 3B Like Judge, Arenado is in the midst of his best big-league season in a contract year. Arenado is under contract through 2027, but he can opt out of the remaining $144 million he is due after this season. He compares similarly to Anthony Rendon who signed a seven-year, $245 million contract entering the 2020 season. Arenado is in his age-31 season, so he is older than the other players on this list. Even with his age, he is considered one of the game’s premier defensive players, but the bulk of a long-term contract will be outside the prime of his career. For the Twins, Arenado may be slightly cheaper than the other players on this list. Carlos Correa, SS If Correa stays healthy, it is expected that he will opt out of his contract at the season’s end. Correa slumped to start the 2022 season and has struggled over the last couple of months. He is still having an overall good year, but the Twins and Correa were both expecting more during the 2022 campaign. His defensive numbers have declined this season, but there may be some reasons for his decline (see below). Even with his slump, Correa is younger than all of the players on this list which has a chance to result in a 10-year contract that takes him through his age-37 season. It would be out of character for the Twins front office to sign him to this kind of contract, but his first deal with the club was also uncharacteristic. Do you think any of these pending free agents are a good fit for the Twins? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

Early in the offseason, the Twins will have three contract decisions to make with some of the team’s prominent players. So, which will be picked up, and who are likely to become free agents? Club options are one of the first decisions teams have to make in the offseason, and each team invariably has some easy and tough choices. The Twins have three contract options to consider, and they aren’t all straightforward decisions. Miguel Sano, 1B/DH Contract Option: $14 million, $3 million buyout Sano has been a member of the Twins organization since he was a teenager, but his time with the Twins is likely coming to an end. During his eight big-league seasons, Sano posted an OPS+ of 105 or higher in six campaigns. According to FanGraphs, he has been worth more than $14 million in three different seasons, but the 2019 campaign was his last season at that level or above. Over the last three seasons, he has combined to be worth $4.5 million, so it is a no-brainer for the Twins to pay the $3 million buyout. Minnesota can use a variety of younger and cheaper options at first base, which makes Sano even more expendable. Twins Likely Choice: Pay the Buyout Sonny Gray, SP Contract Option: $13.1 million, no buyout While Sano’s option is easy to decline, the Twins will have an easy decision to exercise Gray’s $13.1 million option if he continues to be healthy. In his first season in Minnesota, Gray has a 115 OPS+ with a 79 to 26 strikeout to walk ratio in 83 2/3 innings. The Twins have plenty of options for the 2023 rotation, but Gray should be penciled into the top of the team’s rotation. Minnesota was willing to part with Chase Petty, the team’s 2021 first-round pick because Gray came with multiple years of team control. Besides Gray’s option decision, it will be interesting to see if the team decides to engage him in extension talks to keep him in Minnesota beyond 2023. Twins Likely Choice: Exercise Option Dylan Bundy, SP Contract Option: $11 million, $1 million buyout Bundy’s contract option is the toughest of the three because of his improved performance in recent weeks. Minnesota was hoping Bundy would bounce back after a poor 2021 season, but that hasn’t been the case. His ERA+ is below average, and his fastball velocity is in the 7th percentile. Minnesota’s rotation is also reasonably complete, with Gray, Tyler Mahle, Joe Ryan, and Kenta Maeda scheduled to be the team’s top four starters. Other pitchers like Josh Winder, Bailey Ober, and Chris Paddack will return from injury, making Bundy less of a necessity. Bundy has improved in the season’s second half, but it seems unlikely for the team to pick up his option. Twins Likely Choice: Pay the Buyout What would your decision be on the team’s contract options? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

The Twins dropped to second place for the first time since June, but the team is having a call to action. With 52 games to go, it's time to band together and enjoy the ride of the 2022 season. Wednesday night's loss in Los Angeles might be the low point in the season so far. However, the Dodgers are arguably baseball's best team, and they finished the series with a 10-game winning streak. The Twins eventually need to be able to beat playoff-caliber teams, but the club was hardly playing its best baseball. Twins Vice President of Communication and Content Dustin Morse had a simple message for fans following the team's loss, "Let's ride together." Sports are designed to be frustrating for fans. Only one team can end the season as the champion, so 29 other fan bases will be upset. Baseball isn't fun if you don't enjoy the journey of a 162-game season. With Morse's message in mind, here are three reasons to be excited about the remainder of the Twins' schedule. Twins Control Their Own Destiny MLB's unbalanced schedule means the Twins have 27 remaining games against AL Central teams. This includes nine games against the Royals and White Sox, six games against the Guardians, and three games against Detroit. Minnesota can control its own destiny by winning the majority of the games in the division, including 15 games against Cleveland and Chicago, the other teams chasing a division title. There will also be some tough tests on the schedule with seven road games against the AL's powerhouse teams. Minnesota travels to Houston on August 23-25 to play the Astros in a three-game set. Houston has a 71-41 record, and they are tough to beat at home with a .660 winning percentage. New York has the same record as Houston but has struggled recently with a 2-8 record in their last ten games. The Twins head to New York for a four games series from September 5-8. Both series will be a good test for the Twins. Arraez's Batting Title Chase Entering play on Thursday, Luis Arraez leads baseball with a .333 batting average. He is five points ahead of St. Louis' Paul Goldschmidt for the MLB lead and over 20 points higher than Rafael Devers for the AL lead. Minnesota hasn't had a batting title champion since Joe Mauer during the 2009 season when he won AL MVP. Only four Twins players have won a batting title, but each player has their number retired by the team (Mauer, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, and Kirby Puckett). Arraez struggled in a recent stretch going 7-for-42 (.167 BA), but he seems to have recovered his swing. Over his last three games, he has gone 9-for-14 (.643 BA) to help improve his average. Also, he has 13 three-hit games so far this season which ties him for second in baseball. If Arraez can stay healthy, he should earn his first batting title. Young Contributors Roster depth helps every contending team, and the Twins are no different, with multiple young players providing value to the team. It took some time, but Nick Gordon seems to be living up to his former status as one of the team's top prospects. Jose Miranda is coming off one of the best minor league seasons in franchise history, but few expected him to have 126 OPS+ during his rookie campaign. Jhoan Duran has been one of the team's bright spots during his first taste of the big leagues. His dominant relief appearances are some of the team's must-watch moments, but some may forget he was a starter until this year. It's easy to get mad and upset when a team isn't performing well on the field, but fans need to enjoy the ride, or sports will never be enjoyable. What are you excited about watching in the last 52 games? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

Minnesota's farm system ranks in the middle of the pack compared to the rest of baseball. That makes this year's key prospect injuries even tougher to withstand. Injuries impact every farm system, but the Twins have had three of their top-10 prospects suffer season-ending injuries. All three players should return over the next year with various timelines to impact the big-league level. Matt Canterino, SP Injury: Tommy John surgery Expected Return: Fall 2023 On Wednesday, it was announced that Matt Canterino would undergo Tommy John surgery which usually has a 12-month recovery timeline. Canterino has missed significant time throughout his professional career, and there's hope that this surgery will be able to solve those issues. In three minor league seasons, he has posted a 1.48 ERA with 13.8 K/9, but injuries have limited him to 85 innings. Canterino has a chance to get into game action at the end of 2023, and the Twins have to decide whether or not to add him to the 40-man roster before this winter's Rule 5 Draft. Royce Lewis, SS/OF Injury: ACL surgery Expected Return: June 2023 Lewis has already gone through this surgery and has shown a positive mindset throughout the process. Last month, he was already ahead of schedule in his rehab, so that is a positive sign for when he may return in 2023. ACL surgery is typically a 12-month recovery, but Lewis told MLB.com that he hopes to be ready in 10-11 months. During his debut, Lewis was fantastic as he hit .300/.317/.550 (.867) with four doubles and two home runs. What made it even more impressive was the fact Lewis hadn't appeared in a game throughout the 2020 or 2021 seasons. At Twins Daily, Lewis is still considered the organization's top prospect, so his health is critical to the team's future success. Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF Injury: Knee surgery Expected Return: Spring 2023 Rodriguez was in the midst of a breakout season at Low-A before suffering a knee injury on a slide. In 47 games, he hit .272/.493/.552 (1.044) with five doubles, three triples, and nine home runs. He did all of this while being over two years younger than the average age of the competition in the Florida State League. Throughout the season, he only faced younger pitchers in four plate appearances. His surgery puts him on track to be back on the field early next season, so he will still be young for the FSL if the team sends him back to that level. Injuries have also impacted other young players that have graduated from prospect lists. Alex Kirilloff, one of the team's former top prospects, is out for the year after having wrist surgery. His wrist had been bothering him over the last two seasons, so the hope is this will put him back on track for 2023. Not every prospect pans out at the big-league level, but the Twins are hoping all of these players have healthy careers moving forward. Which recovery worries you the most? Who will be back earlier than expected? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

For multiple offseasons, the Twins' front office has needed to add depth to the starting rotation. Looking ahead to 2023, that may no longer be the case. So, does Minnesota have too many starting pitchers? Starting pitching depth is vital for any contending team, and the Twins have used a lot of their depth during the current season. In 2022, twelve different pitchers have made starts for the Twins, including eight pitchers who made five or more. Top of the Rotation: Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle None of these three pitchers were in the Twins system 14 months ago, which speaks to the front office's ability to acquire talent. Minnesota has used Ryan and Gray at the top of the rotation for all of 2022, with each posting an ERA+ of 104 or higher. Mahle's transition from Great American Ball Park to Target Field should help his numbers improve. Gray and Mahle can be under team control next season, while Ryan won't be arbitration eligible until 2025. Barring a significant injury, the Twins will look for these three arms to be at the top of the rotation throughout 2023. Returning from Injury: Kenta Maeda, Josh Winder, Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack, Randy Dobnak Winder and Ober are scheduled to throw bullpen sessions this week with a chance to impact the roster down the stretch. Winder has shown the flexibility to pitch as a starter and reliever, while Ober's appearances have all been as a starter. When healthy, both players have pitched well, so they should be in the mix for a rotation spot next season. More prominent question marks surround the other injured pitchers listed above. Maeda is also expected to be ready in September, but he will likely serve in a relief role if he makes it back in 2022. During the 2020 season, Maeda finished runner-up for the AL Cy Young, but there are no guarantees he will return to that form. Paddack likely won't be ready at the onset of the 2023 campaign since he had Tommy John surgery in May. Still, he was terrific during his brief Twins tenure and is under team control through 2024. Dobnak has been dealing with a finger injury for the last two seasons, so there are no guarantees he will be back to 100%. Down on the Farm: Jordan Balazovic, Blayne Enlow, Cole Sands, Devin Smeltzer, Simeon Woods Richardson, Matt Canterino, Louie Varland Minnesota's 40-man roster will be squeezed this winter when the team has to remove players from the 60-day IL. Balazovic, Enlow, Sands, and Smeltzer are all on the 40-man roster, but the team might have some tough decisions to make with some of the names. Balazovic has struggled at Triple-A this year, but he is still considered one of the team's top pitching prospects. Enlow returned from Tommy John surgery this year and has a 3.73 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 41 Double-A innings. Smeltzer saved the starting rotation during the middle portion of the season, while Sands has been limited to fewer than ten big-league appearances in his rookie campaign. Woods Richardson, Canterino, and Varland are among a group of prospects that will need to be added to the 40-man roster before the Rule 5 Draft. During his second Double-A stint, Woods Richardson is having a breakout season with a sub-3.00 ERA while holding batters to a .583 OPS. Canterino has dealt with various elbow issues over the last two seasons, but he is dominant when he can pitch. Varland recently was promoted to Triple-A after posting a 3.34 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 105 innings at Double-A. All three pitchers should be added to the 40-man roster this winter, which makes them one step closer to the big leagues. The old adage states, "a team can never have too much pitching." It's clear the Twins will have options for the 2023 season, and there is no way to predict how injuries will impact the organization. Another option is to have some of these arms switch to permanent bullpen roles, but that is a decision for this winter. Which pitchers will make the most starts for the 2023 Twins? Will any of the younger pitchers be contributors to the rotation? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

Minnesota’s front office filled multiple needs at the trade deadline, but the team is hardly perfect. So, what are the team’s most significant weaknesses? Baseball’s 162-game season is a long, grueling battle to divide the contenders from the pretenders. The AL Central is one of baseball’s worst divisions this season, which helps the top teams stay in contention. Minnesota needs to solve the weaknesses below, or Chicago and Cleveland will claw their way to a division title. Struggling Veteran Bats All hitters go through streaks, and teams hope that other players pick up the line-up when stars are slumping. Unfortunately, the Twins have seen some of their best hitters struggle since the beginning of July. Carlos Correa was brought in to bring a championship pedigree to the Twins but has hit .186/.288/.333 (.621) in his last 27 games. Only Gary Sanchez has a lower OPS (.470) among regular players during that stretch, but he has done it in a third as many plate appearances. Minnesota’s only regulars with an OPS over .835 since July 1 are Jose Miranda and Nick Gordon, who were hardly expected to lead the team to the playoffs. For the Twins to win the division, the team’s veteran bats need to break their summer slump and start impacting the line-up on a daily basis. Clutch Hitting Hitting in high leverage situations is almost impossible to predict because a player can be clutch for one moment, but it might not translate to an entire season. Also, few hitters can consistently hit in the highest leverage spots. FanGraphs uses a stat called Clutch, which measures how well a player performs in high leverage situations. Minnesota currently ranks 17th with a -0.12 Clutch ranking, which is below average. Among AL Central teams, only the White Sox rank lower than the Twins. Minnesota’s best hitters, according to Clutch, include Luis Arraez, Jorge Polanco, and Jose Miranda, who all rank above average. Max Kepler is at the bottom of the team’s Clutch leaderboard with a -1.19 ranking. Other poorly ranked players include Nick Gordon ( -0.76), Carlos Correa (-0.68), and Kyle Garlick (-0.61). Down the stretch, the Twins will need more clutch hitting from all parts of the line-up. Mounting Pitching Problems Luckily, the Twins tried to improve their pitching problems with multiple trade deadline moves, but that doesn’t take away from how bad the team has been recently. Since July 1, the Twins pitching staff ranks 26th in fWAR, with the starters only ranking higher than the last-place Washington Nationals. During that stretch, Minnesota’s starters have a 4.85 ERA, a 69.7 LOB%, and 1.53 HR/9, which all rank among baseball’s bottom ten teams. Tyler Duffey and Joe Smith helped the Twins at different points during the 2022 season, but both had run out of gas in recent weeks. Replacing those two players with Jorge Lopez and Michael Fulmer will help the team down the stretch. Other injured pitchers like Josh Winder, Bailey Ober, and Kenta Maeda expect to return in the weeks ahead to give the pitching staff another boost. Even baseball’s best teams have weaknesses, but it’s getting close to the point in the season where the Twins need to start putting their best product on the field. If Minnesota can’t solve these issues, the AL Central race will continue to be close for the season’s remaining games. Which weakness do you feel is the biggest concern? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

Few baseball prospects can live up to the hype surrounding their trek through the minor league system. It looked like Nick Gordon was running out of big-league opportunities, but he has been crucial to Minnesota’s 2022 success. The Twins drafted Nick Gordon with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft. There can be plenty of pressure put on a top-5 draft pick, but that was even more true for Gordon. His brother, Dee Strange-Gordon, and his father, Tom Gordon, were All-Stars during their respective careers. There’s no quest that Gordon faced added pressure as a prospect, which might have impacted his development throughout his career. MLB’s draft is different from the other major sports leagues because no players immediately impact the big-league level. In Gordon’s draft, three players taken after him in the first round have accumulated more than 25 WAR, including Trea Turner, Aaron Nola, and Matt Chapman. It’s easy for fans to play the “what if” game with any of these players, but draft baseball talent isn’t an exact science. Gordon was highly touted as an amateur and deserved to be a top-10 pick. After signing with the Twins, Gordon immediately became one of the organization’s top-ranked prospects. All three major national rankings (Baseball America, MLB, and Baseball Prospectus) placed Gordon among baseball’s top 100 prospects for four consecutive seasons (2015-18). During that stretch, his highest OPS was in 2017, when he combined for 46 extra-base hits at Double-A. Gordon proved he could consistently get on base, but his power hadn’t developed. Unfortunately, multiple health issues impacted his development moving forward. Besides the pressures of being a top prospect, Gordon dealt with two health issues that had a chance to cost him his career. His entire 2020 season was erased when he tested positive for COVID-19 and didn’t clear protocols until late August. Gordon has also dealt with chronic gastritis that causes him to lose weight. He’s a naturally skinny player, but he was down to 153-pounds at one point. Luckily, he has worked through his health concerns and is currently playing at 180-pounds. It’s hard to put in perspective what Gordon has meant to the Twins during the 2022 season. Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff being out for the year has forced players like Gordon to step up and fill a prominent role. Gordon is doing more than filling in as he is putting himself into the team’s future plans. He ranks in the 79th percentile or higher in Barrel %, Average Exit Velocity, Hard Hit %, xSLG, and xwOBA. Also, Gordon ranks 9th on the Twins according to both versions of WAR. Every team needs role players, and Gordon is more than filling his role. There is no question that Gordon has been invaluable to the 2022 Twins, but the team might be lucky in other ways. Because he was a late-bloomer, Gordon is not arbitration eligible until 2025, and he can’t reach free agency until 2028. Currently, he is 26 years old, so Minnesota can control the prime of his career. Gordon may never be an All-Star like the other members of his family, but he is proving the Twins were right to draft him so highly. Not every prospect pans out, but the Twins would be in a much different position if Gordon wasn’t making plays for a first-place team. What has stood out to you most about Gordon this season? What do you remember about his minor league career? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

Minnesota's bullpen received an influx of talent at the trade deadline. How will Rocco Baldelli organize the Twins' new bullpen hierarchy? The Twins added Jorge Lopez and Michael Fulmer to a bullpen that has struggled for most of the 2022 campaign. Jhoan Duran has been unbelievable during his rookie campaign, and Griffin Jax has emerged as a late-inning weapon. How do these pieces fit into the new bullpen hierarchy? The Closer: Jorge López Baseball has gotten away from a traditional closer role, and the Twins have followed this trend under Rocco Baldelli. So far in 2022, seven different relievers have earned a save, with Emilio Pagan (9 saves) and Jhoan Duran (6 saves) leading the team. In his first full season as a reliever, López became an All-Star, and now he finds himself in the middle of the pennant race. It seems likely for him to get the majority of the save situations down the stretch. The Fireman: Jhoan Duran Adding López allows the Twins to use Duran in each game's most important moments. For instance, the team can use him when the middle of the line-up is scheduled to bat in the sixth inning or if the starter runs into trouble in a tight game. Duran has also shown the ability to pitch more than one inning as he has recorded more than three outs in 11 of his 38 appearances. Duran will still get some save opportunities, but now Baldelli has more flexibility regarding when to use him. The Set-Up Men: Michael Fulmer, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar Minnesota relied on Jax and Thielbar in roles they weren't expected to fill at the season's start. Thielbar has more appearances than anyone on the team, and Jax has been the team's most successful reliever outside of Duran. According to fWAR, Thielbar and Jax only trail Duran among Twins relievers. Since June 22, Thielbar has an ERA under 2.00 while holding opponents to a .539 OPS. Jax has a 53-to-14 strikeout to walk ratio in 49 innings while holding batters to a .363 SLG. Fulmer's addition allows Thielbar and Jax to be pushed down the bullpen hierarchy in roles they were expected to occupy earlier in the season. First Out of the Pen: Emilio Pagán, Trevor Megill, Jovani Moran, Cole Sands The Twins used Pagán, Megill and Tyler Duffey in Thursday's loss, where they combined to allow nine runs (eight earned). Pagán hasn't been a good reliever since 2019, and he continues to be dreadful for the Twins. Duffey saw his velocity drop for the third consecutive season and the team waived him on Friday. According to Win Probability Added, Pagán and Duffey have been worth -2.12 wins for the Twins in 2022. Megill has only allowed multiple earned runs in three of his 20 appearances, and he wasn't expected to fit a high leverage role. Moran has struggled with control at the big-league level, but his change-up can be a bullpen weapon. Sands struggled with the Twins but he has done so in a small sample size of just over 16 innings. Minnesota's bullpen significantly improves with the addition of López and Fulmer. Moving other players down the bullpen hierarchy will hopefully be able to find more success in less high leverage situations. The Twins have led the AL Central for most of the season, and the bullpen will be essential if the team wants to win their third division title in the last four years. How would you organize the new bullpen hierarchy if you were the manager? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

The trade deadline can offer players a new opportunity, but for others, it can mean the end of their time with an organization. On Friday, the Twins waived Tyler Duffey after a decade in the Twins’ system. The Twins drafted Tyler Duffey out of Rice University in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Throughout his collegiate career, he posted some impressive numbers (2.25 ERA, 11.6 K/9), but the team used him as a reliever. Minnesota signed him and shifted him to a starting pitcher role. Duffey slowly worked his way through the team's farm system, and his numbers seemed to improve with each promotion before earning his first call-up. As a 24-year-old, Duffey made his big-league debut and made a strong impression in his first ten starts. He posted a 3.10 ERA with a 131 ERA+ and 8.2 K/9. It looked like he might fit into the team's long-term plans as the organization looked to get out of the bottom of the American League. His sophomore season saw a slump as his ERA jumped to 6.43, and he had a 1.50 WHIP. Minnesota decided to shift him to a relief role following the 2016 season, but there were some struggles with that transition as well. From 2017-2018, Duffey appeared in 75 games with a 5.53 ERA and an 86-to-22 strikeout to walk ratio. Some pitchers can find more success as relievers because of increased velocity and only needing one secondary pitch. Things still weren't clicking for Duffey, but one coaching change might have made all the difference. Wes Johnson's arrival to the coaching staff signaled a clear turning point for Duffey as he became one of baseball's best relievers for multiple seasons. From 2019-2021, Duffey posted a 2.69 ERA (163 ERA+) with a 1.06 WHIP and 174 strikeouts in 144 innings. Minnesota was able to utilize Duffey in a fireman role as he came into challenging situations and got the team out of jams. Duffey's Win Probability Added was nearly two wins higher than any other Twins reliever during that three-year run. Relievers can be fickle and signs of Duffey's decline started appearing over the last handful of seasons. His velocity has declined for three consecutive years, and the 2022 season has been his worst as a reliever. He ranks in the 15th percentile or lower in average exit velocity, xBA, hard hit %, and xSLG. Only Emilio Pagan and Jharel Cotton compiled a lower WPA among Minnesota's relievers during the 2022 campaign. Duffey saw himself move up and down the bullpen hierarchy this season, but his inconsistency eventually forced the team to waive him. For now, right-handed pitching prospect Cole Sands will take the place of Duffey in the bullpen. Sands, and particularly his delivery and curveball, are reminiscent of what Duffey had in his good years. He will get a chance in the bullpen, though it's very possible the team will recall lefty Jovani Moran as soon as he reaches 10 days since his demotion. Fans will likely focus on Duffey's recent struggles as he leaves the team, but that doesn't tell the entire story. He was one of baseball's best relievers throughout multiple seasons. He helped the Twins win games and impacted the organization on and off the field for the last decade. What will you remember most about Duffey's time with the Twins? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

On paper, the Twins had a very successful trade deadline, but that might not tell the entire story. Minnesota's young core might have been the most sought-after piece of the roster. Every team's front office enters the trade deadline with a specific focus. Is a team buying or selling? What are the team's current and future needs? Luckily, the Twins could find a balance by adding controllable assets without surrendering multiple prospects from the top of their farm system. However, teams were also calling about some of the younger members of the big-league roster, and the Twins front office had a clear message… "No." One of the players asked about was Jose Miranda, the reigning AL Rookie of the Month. In July, he hit .353/.405/.603 (1.008) with two doubles and five home runs in 20 games. Out of those five home runs, two of them were walk-off winners. Miranda might be one of the most valuable pieces to the current Twins line-up, and the team wanted to keep the young core intact to help with an October run. As the trade deadline approached, Carlos Correa gave feedback to the front office and coaching staff about players the Twins should add. One of Correa's messages was, "Jose Miranda was untouchable, and he needs to be in this franchise for a long time." Miranda is coming off one of the best minor league seasons in franchise history, and he seems to be putting it all together at the big-league level. Another team was likely going to have to overpay to acquire his bat. Twins GM Thad Levine joined KFAN's Paul Allen on Thursday, and Allen explicitly asked about offers for Miranda. Levine didn't get into any specifics about offers for Miranda. Still, he said, "the league will tell you how valuable they are, and it's at these trade deadlines that you realize how valuable and coveted some of your players are." Besides Miranda, Levine also referenced some of the team's young pitching at the big-league level without mentioning specific names. Some of Minnesota's younger pitchers are part of the team's long-term core, including Jhoan Duran and Joe Ryan. Ryan may have been Minnesota's most valuable pitcher according to trade value, but there was no way the team was going to deal him. When healthy, Bailey Ober and Josh Winder are two other young pitchers who have value to the team this season. Minnesota is starting to see value in its pitching pipeline, and other front offices have also noticed this. Minnesota's minor league system might not rank as highly as in recent years, but the team has plenty of young talent at the big-league level. The Twins have used 12 players this season that are 25 years or younger, including Luis Arraez, Trevor Larnach, Ryan Jeffers, Gilberto Celestino, and Alex Kirilloff. In 2022, these players have all been critical to the team's success and will be relied on for crucial situations throughout the season's remainder. Levine said, "the future is bright for this franchise based upon the feedback we got at this trade deadline of how much the industry likes some of our minor league players and certainly some of our young players at the big-league level." Minnesota's front office wants to keep the team's winning window open as long as possible, and this trade deadline might prove that the team is meeting that goal. How do you feel about the Twins young core? Do you feel like any of the players mentioned above are untouchable? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article