Sam Caulder

While the Twins' bullpen has been far from consistent, Yoendrys Gómez has looked like a true high-leverage option. View full video

While the Twins have had no shortage of highly-touted prospects, the hit rate has been far below where you'd like to see. Do the Twins, as an organization, have a development problem? View full video

Ryan Kreidler may not be the biggest name on the Twins’ roster, but his defensive versatility, athleticism, and timely production are making him an increasingly important piece of the team. He’s quickly becoming the type of role player every contender needs. View full video

Image courtesy of © Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images After arriving this offseason as an unheralded waiver claim from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ryan Kreidler didn’t exactly enter 2026 with much hype surrounding his name or his game. The 28-year-old utility man came to the Minnesota Twins as organizational depth—a defense-first player capable of moving around the diamond, but someone whose bat had never developed at the major-league level. Yet, eight weeks into the season, it’s becoming fair to ask an interesting question: Does Kreidler deserve more playing time? That question probably would’ve sounded ridiculous a year ago. Entering the 2026 season, Kreidler owned a career .138 batting average in the majors. No matter how strong the defense is, no matter how much versatility a player offers, that level of offensive production is simply disqualifying for an everyday role. But so far this year, things look different. Kreidler pushed hard for an Opening Day roster spot during spring training. While he ultimately didn’t break camp with the big-league club, he continued doing exactly what teams want depth players to do: produce, stay ready, and force the organization to keep noticing him. With both Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis currently spending time at Triple-A, opportunities have opened up around the roster. While the Twins still have several highly-regarded prospects working their way toward the majors, Kreidler has quietly made a compelling case to stick around and see an even larger role in the short term. Through 113 Triple-A plate appearances this season, Kreidler has hit .266 with a .389 on-base percentage and an .889 OPS. He’s also collected 12 extra-base hits in just 26 games, showing far more impact offensively than he had earlier in his professional career. That alone would’ve been encouraging. But what’s happened during his limited major-league opportunities has been even more eye-opening. In just 32 major-league plate appearances this season, Kreidler is hitting .296 with a .406 on-base percentage and three home runs. Even more encouraging than the raw production is how he’s getting there. He’s walking more consistently and striking out less frequently than he did in the minors, which suggests this isn’t purely random batted-ball luck. It sure seems like he's a new player, too, because his swing data is vastly improved. In his limited big-league time in 2024 and 2025, he posted average bat speeds of 68.5 MPH and 71.0 MPH, respectively. This year, that number is 74.4 MPH. That difference is massive. His contact point has moved farther in front of his body. His swing is also flatter. We would expect a player with this kind of swing to be productive, which wasn't really true of the version of Kreidler we saw in the past. He's also made a critical adjustment to maximize the impact of that boost in bat speed: moving deeper in the batter's box. He's giving himself more time to operate a swing that's also much faster. It's not surprising to see that yield big results, except in that they're attached to a player whose name was recently synonymous with helplessness. Now, to be clear, nobody should expect Kreidler to continue hitting near .300 over a full season. Betting on that outcome would be extremely aggressive considering his previous offensive track record. Small samples can create misleading stat lines, especially early in the year, and even a rebuilt swing doesn't automatically mean a player will sustain their newfound success; adjustments loom ahead. But the important point isn’t whether he can maintain superstar production. It’s whether he can be productive enough offensively for the rest of his skill set to become highly valuable, and the answer to that might be a resounding 'yes'. Defensively, he’s exactly the type of player managers love having available. Throughout his professional career, he’s logged time at second base, third base, and shortstop, while also spending significant innings in center field and left field. More importantly, he hasn’t simply survived at those spots; he’s consistently been a strong defender across the board. That kind of flexibility matters over a 162-game season. Injuries happen, rest days become necessary, and matchups change daily. Having a player capable of handling multiple premium positions without sacrificing defensive quality gives a team far more roster flexibility than most fans realize. That defensive value was always the foundation of Kreidler’s game. It’s the reason he was even in the Opening Day conversation, despite his offensive struggles. Teams will always make room for players who can defend at a high level all over the field. The difference now is that he may finally be hitting enough to become more than just a late-inning defensive replacement or occasional spot starter. There’s also another element of his game that still hasn’t fully shown up yet: speed. Kreidler hasn’t had many opportunities to impact games on the bases this season, but the athleticism is absolutely there. Across his minor-league career, he’s posted a 75% success rate on stolen bases, proving he can be an effective runner when given opportunities. That matters, because players like Kreidler don’t necessarily need to be middle-of-the-order hitters to create value. If he provides strong defense across multiple positions, adds quality baserunning, and posts an OPS around .720, that’s a genuinely useful major-league player. Given where his numbers currently sit, he could afford a fairly substantial offensive regression and still remain valuable to the Twins. The Twins don’t necessarily need Kreidler to become a star. They just need him to continue being playable offensively while doing all the other things he already does well, and right now, he’s doing far more than simply surviving at the plate. Of course, there are still long-term questions. The Twins have several highly-touted prospects nearing the majors at positions Kreidler can play, and roster situations can change quickly once players return from injury or regain form. There’s no guarantee he spends the entire season, or even most of it, in the big leagues. But that doesn’t really change the current reality. At the moment, Kreidler has shown he’s capable of helping this team in multiple ways. He’s defending well, providing lineup flexibility, bringing athleticism to the roster, and producing offensively. At some point, players earn more opportunities simply by continuing to perform. Kreidler is getting very close to that point, and until we see evidence that the offensive improvements aren’t real, there’s a strong argument that the Twins need to keep his bat and his glove in the lineup most nights. View full article

Kody Clemens has emerged as one of the more important players on this Twins roster. Between his bat, glove, and sneaky speed, he's providing Minnesota with a little bit of everything. View full video

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images For much of the 2026 season, the Twins have been searching for consistency in the middle of their lineup. Injuries, cold streaks, and underperforming veterans have all played a role in the team’s uneven offensive production. But while much of the attention has gone elsewhere, one player has quietly emerged as one of the most important pieces on the roster: Kody Clemens. Not only has Clemens become a steady contributor offensively, but he’s also provided the Twins with strong defense and lineup flexibility—two things every contending team needs over the course of a long season. After a sluggish start to the year, Clemens has found another level offensively over the last few weeks. He’s now slashing .245/.341/.445, while adding 14 extra-base hits and five stolen bases. Among those are a team-leading 10 doubles, highlighting just how consistently he’s been driving the baseball. In May, Clemens is hitting .333 with eight extra-base hits, looking every bit like a hitter who has fully settled into a groove. His confidence is noticeable. He’s driving the ball with authority and showing a level of comfort that simply wasn’t there during the opening weeks of the season, when manager Derek Shelton identified him as the hitter "who maybe suffered the most" from the disruption of a bizarrely lefty-heavy stretch of the team's schedule. Yes, the strikeouts remain somewhat concerning. Clemens is punching out at roughly a 26% clip, which is certainly higher than you’d like from an everyday player. But the overall quality of contact more than makes up for some swing-and-miss issues. In fact, the underlying metrics paint the picture of a player who has been significantly better than many fans probably realize. Clemens currently owns a 92.4 MPH average exit velocity, which not only leads all Twins hitters, but also ranks in the 90th percentile league-wide. His equally strong barrel rate indicates that there's even more power upside here. Even when the traditional numbers looked modest earlier in the year, the expected stats suggested that better production was coming. Now, we’re starting to see those results. Perhaps most importantly, Clemens is proving that he deserves everyday at-bats, regardless of the opposing pitcher. Historically, he’s been viewed as more of a platoon option, due to questions surrounding his production against left-handed pitching. But so far in 2026, Clemens has done nothing but silence those concerns. In a small but encouraging sample of 20 plate appearances against lefties, he’s hitting .438 with three extra-base hits and a pair of walks. While that number will obviously regress over time, it’s still an important development for both Clemens and the Twins. Shelton can and should try Clemens out against more lefties, even if the schedule turns against him again, to keep him in rhythm. Right now, there’s a very legitimate argument that he should simply be the team’s everyday first baseman. With both Josh Bell and Victor Caratini struggling offensively in recent weeks, Clemens has clearly earned the opportunity for more consistent playing time. The production is there, the advanced metrics support it, and frankly, the eye test does too. Bell appears to be pulling out of what was a prolonged, nightmarish slump, but he can serve as the regular designated hitter. Caratini, meanwhile, will be essentially full-time at catcher while Ryan Jeffers is on the injured list. Then there’s the defensive side of the equation, and Clemens has quietly become very reliable in the field. The Twins’ infield defense is a weakness, but Clemens has stood out as a clear exception. According to Statcast, he currently ranks in the 78th percentile in Outs Above Average, an impressive mark for a player who entered the year without an everyday role. Now, is Clemens going to maintain an OPS near .800 for the entire season? Probably not. There will likely be some regression offensively, particularly as pitchers begin adjusting to the hot streak he’s currently enjoying. But even if he settles into the range of a .730 to .750 OPS hitter, that represents a highly valuable player, when paired with above-average defense and (at least theoretically) positional flexibility. Clemens is certainly not a superstar. He’ll never headline the Twins’ roster or dominate national conversations. But winning teams need players exactly like this: dependable contributors who impact games in multiple ways and consistently outperform expectations. View full article

Through his first five starts, Connor Prielipp has been all Twins fans could've hoped for. The timing of his emergence couldn't have been any better, either. View full video

Top prospects Kaelen Culpepper and Emmanuel Rodriguez continue to push for their shot in Minnesota, while Ryan Gallagher is rapidly forcing his way into the conversation as well. Which Twins prospect is actually closest to getting the next call-up? View full video

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Zebby Matthews - 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K (83 pitches, 56 strikes (67% strikes)) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Zebby Matthews (0.18), Austin Martin (0.18), James Outman (0.09) The Twins entered Thursday’s rubber match against Miami looking to secure the series after splitting the first two games. Behind a brilliant season debut from Zebby Matthews and a much more opportunistic offensive performance, they did exactly that. Minnesota jumped on the Marlins early, backed Matthews with plenty of run support, and cruised to a comfortable 9-1 victory at Target Field. The win secured the series for the Twins and improved them to 20-24 on the season. ZEBBY MATTHEWS SHINES IN SEASON DEBUT Making his first major league start of the season after being called up earlier in the day to replace Travis Adams, Zebby Matthews looked completely in control for most of the afternoon. Miami put a pair of runners on base in the opening inning after singles from Liam Hicks and Otto Lopez, but Matthews stayed composed and escaped the frame without damage. He needed just 12 pitches to get through the inning, throwing nine strikes and immediately showing an aggressive approach in the zone. From there, he only got sharper. Matthews struck out Jakob Marsee and Owen Caissie in a dominant second inning, and through two frames had thrown only 25 pitches, 19 of them for strikes. He continued to pound the zone throughout the afternoon, mixing his fastball and changeup effectively while consistently getting ahead in counts. By the middle innings, Miami had no answers. Matthews retired the side in order in the third, worked around a two-out double from Christopher Morel in the fourth, and erased a fifth-inning single with an inning-ending double play. Through six innings, the Marlins still hadn’t had a leadoff hitter reach base. The only bit of trouble came in the seventh, when Kyle Stowers drew a leadoff walk, but Matthews calmly worked around it to finish off seven scoreless innings. In total, Matthews allowed just three hits across seven shutout innings while striking out five. He threw 83 pitches in the outing and looked every bit like a pitcher capable of giving the Twins rotation a significant boost moving forward. THE TWINS CAPITALIZE AFTER EARLY FRUSTRATION Minnesota threatened immediately against Miami left-hander Braxton Garrett, but nearly let a golden opportunity slip away. Austin Martin opened the bottom of the first with a four-pitch walk and quickly stole second base. Brooks Lee followed with a double off the wall in left field, and Ryan Jeffers worked a walk to load the bases with nobody out. What followed felt painfully familiar. Josh Bell, Victor Caratini, and Luke Keaschall all struck out swinging, allowing Garrett to escape the inning completely unscathed despite needing 34 pitches to get through it. This time, though, the Twins responded instead of spiraling. Royce Lewis opened the second inning with a walk, Ryan Kreidler singled in his first start since being called up earlier in the day, and James Outman drew another walk to once again load the bases with nobody out. Martin made sure this opportunity didn’t go to waste. The Twins outfielder ripped a two-run double down the left field line to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead, and after Brooks Lee grounded out, Bell delivered a huge bounce-back moment. The veteran first baseman chopped a ball off third base that brought home two more runs and gave the Twins a 4-0 advantage, while also recording the 700th RBI of his career. Caratini later added an RBI groundout, and just like that, the Twins had turned an inning of frustration into a five-run outburst. THE OFFENSE KEEPS ADDING ON The Twins didn’t stop there. In the third inning, Kreidler reached again on a sharply hit ball that deflected off Otto Lopez’s glove, then advanced to second after a throwing error from reliever Calvin Faucher on a pickoff attempt. Moments later, Outman lined a two-strike single into right field to score Kreidler and extend the lead to 6-0. Outman wasn’t done contributing. After Miami finally broke through for its first run against Kendry Rojas in the eighth inning, the Twins immediately answered in the bottom half. Keaschall singled through the right side and later stole second base, his tenth stolen base of the season, before Kreidler worked a walk. Outman then ripped a double into the left-center field gap, scoring both runners and pushing the lead to 8-1. Martin followed with another RBI single to cap off the scoring and finish off a huge afternoon offensively for the Twins lineup. After entering the game without an RBI on the season, Outman finished with three RBIs, while Martin reached base three times and drove in three runs of his own. A MUCH-NEEDED COMPLETE PERFORMANCE For a team that’s struggled to put together complete games this season consistently, Thursday looked much closer to the formula the Twins envisioned coming into the year. The offense capitalized with runners on base after an ugly first inning, the defense played clean baseball throughout most of the afternoon, and Matthews gave Minnesota exactly the efficient, stabilizing start the rotation desperately needed. Even with another shaky inning from Kendry Rojas in relief, the outcome never truly felt in doubt. The Twins controlled the game from the second inning on and closed out an emphatic 9-1 win to take the series from Miami. What’s Next? The Twins will kick off a three-game weekend series at Target Field against the Brewers, starting tomorrow. Neither pitcher for the series opener has been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 PM. Postgame Interviews Coming Soon! Bullpen Availability Chart View full article

Ryan Jeffers has been phenomenal to start the season, emerging as one of the best all-around catchers in baseball. Right now, he looks every bit like a truly elite backstop. View full video

Left-hander Kendry Rojas has struggled with command to begin his major league career, and it's starting to seem like a serious issue the Twins will have to correct. View full video

Image courtesy of © Brad Penner-Imagn Images There’s been a noticeable shift in the narrative around Twins pitching prospect (Twins Daily’s No. 8 prospect) Kendry Rojas. At this time last year, Rojas looked like the type of pitcher you could realistically envision slotting into the middle of a major-league rotation in a couple years. The 6-foot-2 left-hander has the frame and swing-and-miss ability teams covet in modern starters, and we saw plenty of that during the first half of 2025. But there’s also some fine-tuning that needs to happen first, and right now, that part of the equation is becoming harder to ignore. Before being acquired from Toronto at last year’s trade deadline, Rojas was carving up minor-league hitters like he was a butcher at a meat shop. Hitters simply had no answers for him. Across 31 2/3 innings between Single-A and Double-A in the Blue Jays organization, Rojas allowed just eight earned runs while striking out 58 batters and walking only five. That works out to an absurd 11.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio, with a walk rate sitting just north of 4%. He looked like a man amongst boys. Because of that success, Rojas quickly emerged as one of Toronto’s top pitching prospects. Then, at last year’s trade deadline, he was dealt to Minnesota alongside Alan Roden in the package for Louis Varland and Ty France. That acquisition looked like exactly the kind of upside swing the Twins needed to take at the time. But things changed once Rojas reached Triple-A. After a three-month stretch of dominance to begin the year, he very much struggled in St. Paul. In 27 1/3 innings with the Saints last season, his ERA ballooned to 6.59, but more concerning than the run prevention (or lack thereof) was his command (or lack thereof). For the first time in his professional career, there were legitimate concerns surrounding Rojas’s ability to consistently throw strikes. His walk rate climbed all the way to 16%, and suddenly, his profile looked a lot different than the one we had seen earlier in the year. Instead of a polished strike-thrower with electric stuff, Rojas began to look more like a talented arm still searching for consistency. Now, to be fair, there were a lot of moving parts involved. A midseason trade and a jump to Triple-A. New coaches, new catchers, a new organization: it was a different environment entirely. Heading into 2026, the hope was that a fresh start (along with some sharper command) would quickly put a lot of those concerns to bed. While his walk numbers in the minors have improved this year, injuries and an inconsistent bullpen opened the door for Rojas to make his debut earlier than the Twins probably envisioned. Through his first 5 1/3 innings with the Twins—which, of course, is an extremely small sample—the results have been pretty concerning. Rojas has walked six batters, giving him a frightening 24% walk rate at the major-league level. To make matters worse, hitters are punishing the mistakes he does leave over the plate. Opposing hitters already have seven hits against him, along with a 50% hard-hit rate. Technically, he's allowed just one earned run, but the expected metrics paint a far uglier picture. His 7.06 expected ERA feels significantly more representative of how he’s actually pitched than the traditional ERA does. When Rojas misses out of the zone, it’s often not even close, and major-league hitters simply are not chasing those pitches. But when he does come back into the zone, the contact quality against him has been loud. That’s not exactly a sustainable formula for success. It’s fair to wonder if there’s a velocity component playing a role here. Rojas’s fastball and slider, his two primary pitches, are both sitting roughly 1.5 MPH harder than they did a season ago. Added velocity is usually a positive in the bigger picture, but it can sometimes create temporary command issues while pitchers learn how to repeat their mechanics at that new level of effort. That’s not uncommon at all. But at the same time, that explanation only goes so far when you factor in the command problems we already saw during his Triple-A stint last season. The concerns aren’t brand new anymore, and that’s what makes the rest of this year so important for him. Rojas absolutely still has the size and raw stuff to become an effective major-league pitcher. Left-handers with this kind of talent don’t grow on trees, and there’s still very real upside here if he can harness everything consistently. But a 24% walk rate is simply unplayable at the major league level. Even if that number were cut in half, that would still be considered quite high for a starting pitcher. Can pitchers survive with elevated walk rates? Sure. But if that’s going to happen, everything else in their profile has to play up. The strikeout numbers need to be elite; the contact suppression needs to be elite; and the stuff needs to completely overpower hitters. More often than not, that skill set tends to align more naturally with a reliever working shorter outings, rather than a starter trying to turn a lineup over multiple times. The rest of 2026 could be the year we learn what his long-term role is. His upside is undeniable, but if the command never takes the step forward the Twins need it to, there’s arguably just as much downside attached to his profile. It’s far too early to say with certainty, but right now we’re seeing a lot more of the downside scenario. View full article

After two inconsistent seasons, plenty of people were starting to question whether Brooks Lee would ever live up to the hype. Now in year three, the former first-round pick is beginning to prove a lot of doubters wrong. View full video