stringer bell

I don't want to rule Keaschall out completely in the infield, but I believe his defensive struggles got in his head as a second baseman. If the Twins are in the race for postseason, I don't think he should play second base any more this season. As for his outfield play, Keaschall looks like he's trying to play a new position and it hasn't been without mistakes, but he doesn't look dreadful to me. Austin Martin had more experience as an outfielder and when he came up, he struggled mightily. Two seasons later, he is the best the Twins have at the corner outfield spots by a lot. If Keaschall can equal Martin's learning curve as an outfielder, he'll be fine in 2027 and perhaps better than that. Incidentally, Keaschall's throwing has not really been a problem contrary to what many had predicted. He's at the 50th percentile according to his Savant page after checking out well below that when he exclusively played second. Regarding Larnach, he looked improved early in the season, but probably from the wear and tear of over 100 games, he looks much less athletic in the second half of the season and the defensive metrics bear this out.

As usual, a great summary from @Nick Nelson. Offense and starting pitching got them to July in position and the bullpen and some late-inning heroics have kept them there. A lot of has gone right with the current bullpen in the last month plus. Expecting the success to continue on its own (I think) is/was foolhardy. The same could be said for offensive production, but health of Byron Buxton combined with a great walk year from Ryan Jeffers and solid offense from a number of guys might be enough. The current defensive configuration is average at best, but far better than the Opening Day group. It will be fascinating to see how the young left handers will be handled. Prielipp is in uncharted territory and we still don't have a defined role for Rojas. Either or both could be a needed asset in September. Ryan needs to shake off his last couple performances and I think Taj will have to continue his very good season. I've been pessimistic about the eventual result of this season and continue to see red flags in the way of postseason, but the team has kept going and I will keep watching.

Jenkins is what, 21 years old? He hasn't developed the power that we hope will make him a true five-tool player. That doesn't mean he won't ever develop the power, but he hasn't up to now. Triple A and the Saints specifically provide an imperfect proving ground. We've seen several low-rated or unrated prospects come in and do damage at St. Paul, but when they get their chance with the big club, they are overmatched. I wish I could cite one Triple A stat that translates to big league success, but it seems none correlate that well. I really don't think Jenkins would help the Twins much in 2026. Whenever the 2027 season starts, it might be a different matter.

I'd call the post-deadline bullpen functional at least and maybe a bit better. The Twins added Minter's salary for this year and Kremer and Hoffman's for next year. It's not exactly a spending spree, but a reversal of immediate past practice. For some reason, that kind of under the radar spending seems more legitimate to me. There is no question in my mind that adding Kremer, Minter and Hoffman makes this a better pitching staff. The offense is basically unchanged and they will have to figure out what to do with three catchers longer term. Not optimum. Also, I wonder what the role for Rojas will be going forward. I understand he can go multiple innings, but generally a team doesn't want a top prospect to take a long relief role and counting Rojas they have four lefties in the 'pen. For the Twins to have a chance to make postseason, they need to get the offense rolling again. There were signs in Seattle against a really good pitching staff. They also need the starters to bounce back and be consistent. Unless there is an injury, the only prospect I see coming up to Culpepper and he needs to be playing well. IMHO, it is defensible to keep Jenkins at AAA because he hasn't set the world on fire and it would mismanage the 40 man to add him if he's only going to be up until Buxton is back, especially in light of the probable work stoppage next spring.

So, the bullpen is now Gomez, Hoffman, Minter, Morris, Nance, Funderburk, Rogers and Rojas? Honestly, that looks pretty good, especially in light of Rogers and Fundy having very nice runs at this point. There's some depth in the minors--Anderson and I assume Adams. Maybe the team stretches out Rojas and lets him be a starter.

1) I think Lee's floor is a good major league utility infielder. Unfortunately, I think his ceiling is mid-range third baseman. There has been year-to-year improvement and room for a bit more, but the tools are the tools and he has below-average speed and an average throwing arm. His exit velocities are not those of a dynamic hitter and he doesn't have the power or bat speed to be a real slugger. Lee's L/R splits favor his lefty side this year, last year he was slightly better against left handed pitching. Being a switch hitter will get him playing time. 2) Lewis. Despite being the oldest of the three guys featured in this thread, he seems to be the guy with the widest variety of outcomes. He has legitimate power, he has had times where he looked like a superstar in waiting, but I think the injuries have robbed him of a lot. He still run decently and I think his glovework has been good for someone in a new position. I don't think Lewis should be playing second base, but he could be good at either of the corners. For a guy who once said "I don't do slumps" he is slump-prone, but the snags haven't been as pronounced since returning from exile in the minors. The more I think about it the more I think he'll have a career like Cuddyer (without the batting championship). Good hitter, multiple positions, but not elite. 3) Keaschall. Can a guy who hits 10-15 homers be a regular corner OF? Keaschall could easily steal 30 bags, hit .270-.300 and be well above .370 OBP. I think one guy with that kind of line can hold down a regular spot, but into today's homer happy environment, that is all. Keaschall as an outfielder makes Austin Martin less valuable to the team, although Martin has become a really good defensive corner outfielder. There's a long way to go on defense for Luke, but I think he'll be okay or maybe better than that.

As many have noted,the Twins have switched up their entire infield. First baseman Kody Clemens has played all three outfield spots plus second base and is currently the primary second baseman for the Twins. Second baseman Luke Keaschall has played almost exclusively in the outfield, starting fifteen games in center and thirteen in right since his move away from second base. Opening Day shortstop Brooks Lee has been the regular third baseman since late May. He has played a game or two at shortstop, but he's started more than 60 games at third. Royce Lewis is now the team's principal first baseman, with a few turns at second base. As all three of the younger players are moving down the defensive spectrum (noted that center field isn't a move down the spectrum, but Keaschall is playing there in Buxton's absence), the question has to be asked of each player, can they hit enough and field well enough at their new regular position to be major league regulars? This may not be a question for the trade deadline, but rather how the Twins proceed in the next couple of years. Under the current collective bargaining agreement all are under team control for at least two years. Brooks Lee tried to be a shortstop, but his tools foiled that endevour. Since his move to third, his defense has shown he's a better fit at third. In his 60 games at third this year, he has posted solidly above-average defensive numbers. Lee's offense has climbed each of his years in MLB and tthis year is not an exception. He has an OPS+ slightly above league average this year and has hit 16 homers, third on the team. Because he always has the platoon advantage as a switch hitter, Lee has been a truly everyday player. Should he be this in the future? His Baseball Savant page doesn't look promising. Even though he is only 25, he may be maxed out with "meh" production. The next move the Twins made in conjunction with Lee moving to third was to move Royce Lewis to the right side of the infield. Lewis has very little experience at second base and none at first, but after a short training session he has been the Twins' first baseman with a couple of starts at third when Lee wasn't playing there and a few starts at second against left handed pitching. Lewis has been a better hitter since returning from his demotion to St. Paul. His OPS just climbed above .700 for the season, but has been near .800 since his return. He has shown his inexperience at first and second a couple times, but has seemed to take to the right side acceptably. Royce has only had one minimum stay on the Injured List, making this season easily his healthiest since he arrived on the scene in 2022. Lewis' Savant page shows a bit more promise than Lee, but doesn't seem to be that he is a superstar in waiting. I would suggest that his most likely path forward is to be an above-average offensive player who is competent on defense, more of a Michael Cuddyer and not Kirby Puckett. Is that good enough to be a full-time first baseman? Finally, the Twins have moved on from Keaschall at second base. He moved to right field and has played center as Buxton has had to stints on the IL. Keaschall was excellent as a rookie, but faltered out of the gate in his second season (first full season). Luke has come on and is now putting up league-average hitting numbers for the season. Like Lewis, looking only at the more recent numbers, one can see a good offensive profile, but for the season Keaschall is an average offensive player. Can he produce enough as a hitter and improve enough as a fielder to be an everyday corner outfielder? The question here is power. Almost three quarters into the season, Keaschall has but six homers. In approximately a full season of at-bats spread over two seasons, Keaschall has ten homers. All three of these guys were high draft picks (Lewis #1 overall, Lee first round and Keaschall second round) and at this point we've seen the flaws along with the strengths. Are all three going to be part of the core for the rest of the decade, only two or maybe one? Each has questions and perhaps the answers will be supplied in the remainder of this season.

He can’t be optioned without his consent. He’s also under team control for another year under the current MLB labor agreement.

The toughest part of the post-All Star run to determine if they were contenders was the seven game road trip out if the break and finishing 3-4 was acceptable, particularly beating Cleveland twice. The current road trip is also a bit daunting, but they’ve held their own and are buying.

If true, I’d keep asking Houston to consider the deal. The Astros just moved into first place with the same record as the Twins, so they have to be considered contenders and they need LH hitting.

The Twins moved solidly into playoff contention with a 15-9 record in the month of July.. This is despite only outscoring the opposition by four runs (102-98). They produced two memorable walkoff wins, got improved productions from their bullpen and improved their defense moving people to new fielding positions. Here is a look at July hitting: https://www.espn.com/mlb/team/stats/_/name/min/split/43 Nobody was off the charts in July. Larnach, Clemens, Keaschall. Jeffers and Martin all came in with OPS numbers greater than .800. Lee, Buxton, Caratini were all below .650. The Twins were outhomered and allowed 21 stolen bases in 22 attempts. They still lead the AL in runs scored, although Chicago is averaging more runs per game. July pitching: https://www.espn.com/mlb/team/stats/_/type/pitching/name/min/split/43/table/pitching/sort/ERA/dir/asc Good performance from the now-key bullpen arms. Ryan and Matthews had some rough outings. Kody Funderburk had a really strong month. It would be an injustice to send him down. Morris has been a real find and Bailey Ober continues to find a way.

Larnach has been really good leading off, I'm all for maximum Jeffers PAs, currently th Twins' best most complete hitter. One of Caratini/Bell could sit until either or both get hot again. Martin has been better than Roden since Roden was recalled, no matter which hand the pitcher throws with, but I assume Roden will start against righties.

Always wonder about these scenarios. They sent Anderson down for Sands, but he has pitched well. So has Fundrrburk for a while now. To me, Adams should also be in the conversation. A decision on Acton will need to be made in a week or so. Right now the bullpen looks……okay, but certainly not dominating.

When the Twins got Kody, I thought I came up with a good burn by calling him “Bronnie”. I was totally wrong.

Roden (and Fedko too) are outfielders who "can play center", but they aren't center fielders. It seems to me that Roden has average-ish speed and arm from what I've seen and that would be subpar as a center fielder. Keaschall has the speed to have good range in the outfield. He's inexperienced and it has shown a few times.