Ranking Minnesota's First Month MVP

[Cody Christie]

The Twins had more lows than highs during the season’s first month, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any standout performances. Here is how the team MVP ballot would stack up at the end of April.5. Josh Donaldson (0.7 rWAR, 0.5 fWAR)

.286/.368/.469 (.838), 2 HR, 3 2B, 7 BB, 5 K

There are plenty of candidates to be on the back end of this ballot. Andrelton Simmons put together some strong numbers, but he missed time due to COVID. Taylor Rogers was a one of the lone bright spots in the bullpen, while Michael Pineda and Jose Berrios provided value in the rotation. However, Donaldson gets the nod after getting on base nearly 37% of the time and having more walks than strikeouts. His current 144 OPS+ is his highest total since the 2017 season. Many Twins fans would like to see him leading this list, but he ended the month healthy and that’s certainly a positive sign <knock on wood>.

 

4. J.A. Happ (0.6 rWAR, 0.2 fWAR)

2-0, 1.96 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 13 K, 7 BB, 199 ERA+

Other pitchers rank higher than him in WAR, but Happ’s value has come from what he has meant to the rotation this year. Happ took the mound on April 23rd with the team in the middle of a stretch where they had lost nine out of ten games. He took a no-hitter into the late innings and helped the club to their first victory in over a week. Minnesota lost the next four games before Happ took the mound again and righted the ship. He’s been a steadying veteran presence when the team has needed one the most.

 

3. Luis Arraez (1.0 rWAR, 0.9 fWAR)

.289/.400/.373 (.773), 1 HR, 2 2B, 1 3B, 14 BB, 11 K

Arraez started the season on fire by hitting safely in six of the team’s first eight games including three multi-hit games. On April 15, he almost single-handedly brought the Twins a victory by going 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Over his last 12 games, things haven’t gone as smooth. He’s gone 10-for-40 (.250 BA) during that stretch with two extra-base hits. Defensively, he’s also being moved all over the diamond including getting accustom to playing in the outfield for the first time in his career. If Arraez would have continued his hot start, he might have been higher on this list.

 

2. Nelson Cruz (1.1 rWAR, 1.1 fWAR)

.321/.375/.655 (1.030), 8 HR, 2 2B, 1 3B(!!), 7 BB, 16 K

Cruz, the team’s back-to-back team MVP, is right up there in the running again. Oh yeah, he’s also 40-years-old. He’s tied for second in the league in home runs and he is quietly climbing the all-time home run list. His next two home runs will move him into the top-50 all-time. If he ends the year with 30 homers, he’d jump to 41st all-time. If he can hit 40 homers, he’d move into 38th place. Even without defensive value, he provides leadership on and off the field and that’s one of the biggest reasons the Twins wanted to bring him back for the 2021 campaign.

1. Byron Buxton (2.4 rWAR, 2.3 fWAR)

.408/.444/.842 (1.287), 8 HR, 9 2B, 3 BB, 17 K

By many accounts, Buxton just completed the best month in Twins’ history as his 1.363 OPS was higher than Joe Mauer’s (1.338 OPS) in 2009 and Rod Carew’s (1.313 OPS) in 1977. Good news is that Mauer and Carew would both go on to win MVPs in those seasons. Buxton might be on the same path as he leads the American League in WAR and slugging percentage. His defense continues to be otherworldly and his changes to his offensive approach look to be sustainable. Can he stay healthy? Can he play over 145 games? Those are questions that still remain to be answered.

 

How would your ballot look at the end of the season’s first month? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

 

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[Aerodeliria]

Greetings from Japan. Thank you for that very accurate ranking (I think). Since you ranked some Twins, I will also throw my impressions into the mix.

 

I just watched my first Twins game in its entirety here in Japan, so I finally have a chance to give some thoughts concerning what I saw with the caveat that you guys (for the most part) can see many more games than I can, so please take these observations with a grain of salt.

 

1) The Rangers have a terrible outfield. They are slow and took poor routes on batted balls.

2) Buxton looked very comfortable at the plate. I can honestly say this without hesitation and without hyperbole.

3) It's great to have Donaldson, Buxton and Simmons in the field. It has to give pitchers confidence.

4) Polanco is finding his stride at the plate but he is still a terrible infielder with poor instincts. He failed to cover second base quickly enough on two separate occasions (this resulted in Simmons' throwing error because he was ready to toss it to Polanco who started for second too late) and of course, the dropped pop-fly. Arraez may be slower but I'd feel more comfortable with him at second.

5) Maeken pitched well. He had a little trouble corralling that slider, but he had good movement on every pitch. I think he'll pitch better as the temperature warms.

6) I'd like to give Waddell another chance. It looked like he had good stuff. The homer to Garcia was a fastball in exactly the same place as the previous pitch. That was either a bad call by Rortvedt or a poor pitch regarding location (perhaps it was supposed to be up and in). In any case, it would be nice if he wasn't shuffled off to the minors immediately.

7) Duffy was the hero and he looked like he was in command despite the double. Cave took a poor route on that hit.

8) Gallo is incredibly strong. That wasn't a terrible pitch to Gallo, but if he can get the bat-head out in front, he can probably drive a pitch from anyone out of the park. I think Rogers looked fine (with good pop on that fastball--unlike last year when I saw him).

9) Thielbar had good movement but many pitches were left upstairs. I never felt safe with him in the game. Stashak made it through his inning, but I was still unimpressed with his stuff. Both looked incredibly shaky.

10) I was going to criticize Kepler because he looked so bad at the plate in his first appearance, but he looked much better in every AB after the first one.

11) Kirilloff has the demeanor of an outstanding hitter and also played well in the field. Let's keep him in the lineup!! His approach at the plate equates with hitting southpaws just as easily as righties.

12) Sano didn't strikeout ;-). Actually, he has been taking BBs lately and I think this will serve him well. His main problem now is named Alex.

[ashbury]

11) Kirilloff has the demeanor of an outstanding hitter

People on seven-game hitting streaks are often renowned for their positive demeanor.

 

[mikelink45]

Nicely done.  For a team with such a bad record that is a great list!  Now if we can just get back to 500.  Jason Stark made the comment that no team that started as bad as we have ever won the pennant - time to change history.

[blindeke]

 

People on seven-game hitting streaks are often renowned for their positive demeanor.
 

 

yes but he had the exact same demeanor when he was 0-15.

[Dodecahedron]

Buxton had some really incredible games. 17% of his career WAR happened last month, along with 24% of his oWAR.

 

He is on track to make some major bank in arbitration next year.