Should Twins Fans Be Worried About Designated Hitter Production in 2022?

[stringer bell]

5 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Rooker's exit velocity, hard hit, barrel rate were better than average last year and xwOBA were far higher than his actual results. Not to mention Rooker runs faster than the MLB average player. If he's on the team, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was traded, I expect Rooker will probably be a starting corner outfielder.

Sano going to be on the team. He makes a better DH than he does a 1B.

Sanchez is going to be the starting catcher. Not sure why he's in the discussion as a likely common DH. He might have a handful of games at DH, but unless he's hitting far better than he has recently, I don't expect him to come out from behind the plate much.

I don't care if Rooker's speed is average, by every metric I seen he's a lousy outfielder and he doesn't hit enough to overcome that or to be a DH. 

I agree on Sano. He should be the primary DH. 

The way that Rocco handles catchers, both will get a lot of starts. I would expect the breakdown is somewhere betweeen 50-50 and 65-35. Depending on how much of that time, Sanchez is behind the plate, he should get some at bats as a DH. I do think the pairing of Jeffers and Sanchez is unfortunate--their strengths and weaknesses as hitters are similar and neither is much of a limitation of limiting base stealing. 

[Heiny]

I'm not usually a fan of rotating DH's.  I really believe that players play better when they have a defined role, and that includes DH.  But since we don't have Cruz, or anyone like him, I understand this situation.  Yet I still think that Kirilloff should get the majority of starts at 1B, with Sano getting the majority of starts at DH.  Sanchez can spell Sano if (or when) he goes into one of his deep freeze streaks.  I think Arraez is our best trade bait for pitching and if not he would not get enough at bats at 2b or 3b.  Those starters should play 5 days a week, leaving only 2 days a week for Arraez, which makes him more valuable as a trade chip.  Will be interesting how this all plays out, but we do need at least one more quality starter and 40 man roster spots are tight.  Someone has to go.

[Trov]

If you are expecting any DH on this team to produce like Cruz did then you will be disappointed.  As long as we can get some production from the DH I am good, I am not asking for Cruz number from last couple of years with both the power and the average.  

I am not sold on Sanchez, but I am willing to give him a shot with new place to play and new coaching staff in his ear, maybe that will help him.  With hitting being a very mental game, sometimes just a change will do.  We have plenty of bat first guys we can rotate in if Sanchez fails.  Many struggled last year, but hopefully they took the offseason to work on those issues. 

[FrankQuilicy]

Yeah after you fill out the card it wont be hard to find a bat to dh....unless its a right handed starter....Oh wait.....For Christs sake!!!!!

[DocBauer]

Nope, not worried about DH, and NOT because of Sanchez in any way. A full time DH is only a ONE MAN spot, usually,  when you have an Ortiz or Cruz who is a special hitter. When you have a deep and versatile roster, as we potentially do, you need to find room for everyone. And who says your DH spot can only be manned by a power hitter?

Until another OF is added, or a prospect grabs the LF spot and makes it his, AK is going to initially play there a bunch, but he will also cover 1B until he can make the move there more permanently. 

Sano is going to play 1B and DH when not at 1B.

Arraez needs to be in the lineup almost daily at the top of the order. He will play 2B, 3B and DH. Whoever he replaces in the field can take the day off, or a half day and DH.

Sooner or later, if not immediately, Larnach and Miranda are going to be ready for daily action, in the field or even in the DH mix. They also mean more time at 1B for AK, more time at DH for Sano, etc, as things expand and trickle down.

As far as Sanchez at DH on a regular basis? I doubt it for all the options listed above, plus the fact you generally hate to play both your catchers, plus he doesn't hit well enough to be in the lineup daily despite his power.

Sanchez, despite defensive limitations, provides experience, power, and an OB above .300, if only barely. Hopefully he will raise that OB to around .320 and raise his AVG up beyond the Mendoza line and around the .225-.230 range. That's enough to make him valuable as the backup catcher, starting around 1/3 of the games. But there are far better options at DH than Sanchez unless he suddenly resembles his previous Silver Slugger self, which seems unlikely at this point. 

There is no need or good arguement for Sanchez to see primary AB at DH. If he's there a lot, we have some serious issues, or, a serious reward.

But I'm not worried at all about DH. I can easily see 10-11 guys that can/should be playing daily.

 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Why not Arraez as the everyday DH and  he can substitute at 2B and 3B? Arraez is a hitter who makes things happen when he bats, because he doesn't strike out much..