Twins Have Important Reinforcements Close

[Nash Walker]

It’s been an ugly start for the Twins and their bat rack. Aaron Gleeman broke down the awful numbers here if you thought your eyes were deceiving you. The good news is that the Twins have three hopeful offensive contributors on the way. 

It’s never wise to place the “instant contributor” tag on any prospect. The early struggles of Bobby Witt Jr., baseball’s No. 1 prospect, and Spencer Torkelson, the first-round pick in the 2020 Draft, show that it’s unwise to expect immediate results from even the best rookie hitters. 

The Twins are struggling to score runs. Naturally, fans start to wonder about reinforcements. Who could give this group a boost? And more importantly, why should you believe it could be better in the future? 

Gary Sánchez, Carlos Correa, and Miguel Sanó are virtual locks to depart after the season, while Max Kepler enters the final guaranteed year of his contract in 2023. Gio Urshela is a clear non-tender candidate. There was significant turnover this offseason, especially in the rotation. We could see the same type of flip in the lineup next winter. 

It doesn’t have to start then, though. MLB Pipeline ranks three Twins hitters in their Top-100 Prospect Rankings. Royce Lewis (45) has dropped considerably since the Twins selected him with the first pick in 2017, but his talent is undeniable. 

Lewis is raking at Triple-A for the Saints. He’s hitting for power, drawing walks, using the opposite field, and stringing outstanding plays at shortstop. It’s still super early, but the early returns on Lewis are nothing short of remarkable. His production shouldn’t be a surprise to those who know how special his tools still are. 

The assumed plan to replace Correa with Lewis in 2023 looks sound so far. If things continue to go this well for him at Triple-A, it’s not crazy to think Lewis could join the Twins relatively soon. He’s the highest upside player in the entire system, and his previous prospect status would’ve placed him at a 2022 mid-season debut.

While Lewis carries the most upside, Austin Martin’s floor feels the safest. Martin, ranked as the No. 51 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, is known for his quality of at-bat and elite ability to make contact. His skillset is a right-handed Luis Arraez, and that specific mastery tends to translate fastest. Martin may never develop real power, but it feels like he’s close to the majors even without it. 

The Twins’ Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2021 put together one of the best seasons the organization has ever seen. José Miranda, now a Top-100 prospect, led the minors in total bases and hit 30 homers across the two highest levels. He’s off to a slow start in 2022, but Miranda had an outside chance of making the team outright this spring. He’s likely the first call if a corner infielder gets hurt. 

The Twins are hoping that Lewis, Martin, and Miranda make up the heart of the lineup for the next half-decade, preferably as soon as possible. With Byron Buxton locked in, it’s easy to envision a potential core for the future. If things continue to stay downhill for the Twins’ offense, they have three top prospects who could help when the weather warms up. 

View full article

[Nashvilletwin]

Yep, couldn’t agree more. Outside of this team turning things around, the goal is to hope multiple players start to show more so that we can maximise trade deadline value. You correctly identified the right names. Some of those will be DFA’d if they can’t be moved.

However, as this team transitions to a much younger squad, you’ve missed one important piece that also needs to change. That’s Rocco and his staff.  This team is going to need a head coach and position coaches who can develop young players to reach their potential. Rocco has not shown that with any young player yet. Fellow TDers please name one.  The sooner we bring in that type of coaching leadership, the more upside this franchise can have. Forget Kepler and Sano - their regression may be to difficult to turn around. Think Kiriloff, Larnach and Jeffers on the current team - those three still have potential and are begging for development. We need them to be solid major leaguers. 

[MplsFan]

Get Miranda (1B) and Lewis (CF for a while) up here.  They can’t do any worse than what’s currently on the field

[Major League Ready]

How great would it be for these three to establish themselves by year end!  They could make this lineup really deep and fun to watch.  Buxton / Lewis / Martin and Gordon would provide the speed and excitement this team is missing.

It's a big year for some pitching prospects too.  Ryan / Winder and Duran at the ML level and Balazovic / SWR and Canterino pushing their way up to the ML level would be really exciting.

[Dave The Dastardly]

53 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Yep, couldn’t agree more. Outside of this team turning things around, the goal is to hope multiple players start to show more so that we can maximise trade deadline value. You correctly identified the right names. Some of those will be DFA’d if they can’t be moved.

However, as this team transitions to a much younger squad, you’ve missed one important piece that also needs to change. That’s Rocco and his staff.  This team is going to need a head coach and position coaches who can develop young players to reach their potential. Rocco has not shown that with any young player yet. Fellow TDers please name one.  The sooner we bring in that type of coaching leadership, the more upside this franchise can have. Forget Kepler and Sano - their regression may be to difficult to turn around. Think Kiriloff, Larnach and Jeffers on the current team - those three still have potential and are begging for development. We need them to be solid major leaguers. 

Biggest mistake this FO ever made was going with Rocco instead of Dougie. Said it then, and it's proving itself to be true day after day. Might be one of the few times my opinion has been proven correct. That alone makes it noteworthy.

[Trov]

If Correa continues to hit sub .200 with OPS of .586I think he opts in for next year, so I would not say he is a lock to walk. Also, if he continues to hit like that we will be a bottom feeding team again as well. 

The most frustrating about our hitting prospects is our stacked OF list has not performed for various reasons and now our future OF hitters look terrible right now.  Of course Marten, or Lewis could get shifted there if no IF spots are open when they come up.  Also corner OF is easiest to fill from trades or FA so not too worried there. 

[Blyleven2011]

We have the reinforcements prospects but they don't bring them up when we really need them  and give them the opportunity , 

our front office quoted when they cleaned house and fired everyone in the system ( we have hired all top professionals at every position to turn this franchise into a winner )  , I keep waiting for those words to come to fruitation .

They keep digging into their depth of dumpster divers  ... we want to see our talent ( FO draftees ) at the major league level  not somebody else's rejects ...

The manager may be a players manager  but he simply does not take that talent and develop him into a better talent  ...  

Baseball is baseball , hit , run and catch

[Rosterman]

Interesting thoughts going forwards. Correa, in all likllihood, will produce and make it worth his while to walk from the Twins. But if he doesn't, that juts one helluiva a complication that could arise come 2023.

 

When I see the Twins playing Arraez at first base...well, it got him in the lineup. But putting a guy in an uncomfortable position (even leftfield) doesn't necessarily make him more comfortable in the game. Arraez, the guy with the lone Twins bat as of today, but no place to play.

 

I started to think that Miranda should get the call, and be cycled in at first base or leftfield. Clearly staying in AAA would help Larnach and Celestino more than struggling at the major league level right now. And watching Garlick, I guess it will be time for more Jake Cave.

 

I have yet to figure out Rocco. From bullpen usage (it is their turn today) to lineup construction (who hasn't batted cleanup, or isn't it time to reeeeeeestablish Kepler as a lead-off hitter) to player usage (let's play someone somewhere, at least for a couple of innings...hey, have we tried Sanchez at shortstop yet?).

 

We (I) get emotional and call for heads to roll, and the season is still young. If WE all think the Twins are competitive, as our front office told us throughout the off-season, then we start questioning every decision, every player move, every thrown pitch, every swing. If it is just a team in a rebuild, or just coming out and giving us an entertaining evening of play, they we can sit back and hope that the next or the next or the next season will be a return to greatness that the Twins have only seen periodically in their 60+ years in the business.

[Rosterman]

MICHAEL PINEDA who had Visa issues and accepted a trip to the minors to get in shape and was booked for three starts at Toledo got the call early by the Tigers after two starts. 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/04/tigers-notes-mize-manning-pineda.html

 

The Nats have called up Sam Clay, who walked as a minors free agent from the Twins. The lefty is getting a look for a second season in our nation's capitol.

 

 

[Platoon]

I would never miss a Twins game when Garlick bats cleanup. Brings back fond memories of Harmon, Hank, and the Babe! 

[Doctor Gast]

If Correa doesn't turn it around, it'd be contrary, he'll be sticking around, But we are all wanting him to do well so he does leave us.

We have more than these 3 like Christian Encarnacion- Strand

Martins best path to the MLB is OF, Why have they put him on SS where he is projected not to make it and 2B where we are jam packed. The only answer I see is they that don't want Cave to have competion there. Silly isn't it.

[tony&rodney]

I watched Cleveland yesterday against Chicago. The Lake Erie crew have some athletic players and with Francona at the helm it would not be shocking to see them win the AL Central. They need Franmil Reyes to have a big year and someone to step up at first base. Straw and Kwan are not going to give up any base hits in LF and Cf; they are both exciting athletes.

Maybe the Twins should fold in a few athletes and step away from all or nothing defensively challenged players. Lewis time?

[Richie the Rally Goat]

59 minutes ago, Dave The Dastardly said:

Biggest mistake this FO ever made was going with Rocco instead of Dougie. Said it then, and it's proving itself to be true day after day. Might be one of the few times my opinion has been proven correct. That alone makes it noteworthy.

Terry Ryan went with Paul Molitor over Doug Mientkiewicz in 2014.

[terrydactyls]

I am under the impression that teaching players is the job of the minor league coaching staffs and not the responsibility of the major league manager.  His role is to mold what he has been given into the best possible team.  Unfortunately, Rocco may have successfully done his job.  The hitters (in general) are just bad.  Swing for the fence and go sit down.  It's home run derby or nothing!

[Doctor Gast]

30 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

I watched Cleveland yesterday against Chicago. The Lake Erie crew have some athletic players and with Francona at the helm it would not be shocking to see them win the AL Central. They need Franmil Reyes to have a big year and someone to step up at first base. Straw and Kwan are not going to give up any base hits in LF and Cf; they are both exciting athletes.

Maybe the Twins should fold in a few athletes and step away from all or nothing defensively challenged players. Lewis time?

For some reason CLE always play CWS tough. Just like KS socks it to us.

[Dave The Dastardly]

18 minutes ago, Sconnie said:

Terry Ryan went with Paul Molitor over Doug Mientkiewicz in 2014.

True, but wasn't Dougie also mentioned as a replacement for Molitor, who Falvey canned supposedly because he couldn't relate to young players and Dougie had great success with the Twins A team that had Polanco, Sano and a couple other young future Twins on it, all of whom voiced support for Dougie?

[PatPfund]

Yeah, we have prospects, but...

Lewis needs to stay in AAA, hit, and play shortstop every day. He looks good, it is likely a position of need, and the Twins have a habit of scattering people all over the field to the point. Bring him up later in the year (or at the trade deadline, because if we stink, Carlos might like a trade out of here to a contender) to give him a taste before taking over next year.

Martin plays AA middle infield, and from what I've seen (maybe a distorted picture) defensively, he looks... umm... sub-optimal (to steal a description of Thielbar's meltdown the other day). But given Lewis's sharp defense, maybe it's time to jump Martin to AAA for a stiffer hitting test, and play him in the outfield where the path is clearer to the MLB roster.

And you can't promote Miranda, because... because... umm... I stumped.

Miranda's been playing first base. He plays a solid 3B. He is the reigning Twins Minor League Player of the Year after shredding pitching at AA and AAA, and his admittedly cold start of .245, 1 HR, 8 RBI, and 13 hits would rank him as a top four Twins hitter (and his bat has been warming the past two weeks). Give Miguel some time on the pine (which is the only thing that fires him up), play Miranda at first, and DH him when Sanchez catches. (Because Jeffers can't hit, and until he does, he shouldn't DH.)

[PDX Twin]

As far as I can see, the Twins have already established themselves as a non-competitive team this year. They were non-competitive last year. It's long past time to push some of the prospects, let them get a bit of experience and, perhaps, take some lumps. If necessary they can go back down. But there's just no excuse for running out mediocre re-treads regularly at positions where we have young players ready to give it a try.

[TwinsDr2021]

1 hour ago, Blyleven2011 said:

We have the reinforcements prospects but they don't bring them up when we really need them  and give them the opportunity ,

I tend to disagree with this take, they brought up Ober, Jeffers, Larnach, AK, Gordon, Ryan, Rooker, Jax, Moran, Celestino, Rortvedt, Colina, Poppen, Alcala just in the last year or two.

It is just that most everybody they have brought up hasn't been all that good or healthy in AK case, except Ryan, and Ober was decent/good and showed promise but wasn't allowed or couldn't go out and pitch 5,6,7 innings a time so he wasn't they type of guy that when it was his turn could stop a losing streak or save a bullpen or what not.

They have been slow with some of the star pitching prospects but they have all been hurt or not that great in the minors as well.

Miranda is the only real prospect in my mind that could/should (last August for sure)be looked at as not being brought up, and my argument has always been it is tough to bring up a prospect that might struggle when the rest of the team is already struggling.

My thought are Lewis should be splitting time between left and SS in AAA and if he stays hot, should be up by Mid May, than they could move Martin to AAA and do the same with him.

[TwinsDr2021]

3 minutes ago, PDX Twin said:

As far as I can see, the Twins have already established themselves as a non-competitive team this year. They were non-competitive last year. It's long past time to push some of the prospects, let them get a bit of experience and, perhaps, take some lumps. If necessary they can go back down. But there's just no excuse for running out mediocre re-treads regularly at positions where we have young players ready to give it a try.

Lumps like Jeffers, Larnach, AK, Gordon and Celestino are taking? If a couple of Twins were doing well, it would be easy to bring up Miranda and stick him at 1st, but as it is currently going if he struggles then what, back to the minors and Sano gets first again. How does that help, unless they plan to punt this year. Which doesn't seem likely at this point, with trading away a first round pick and spending 35 million on a SS to compete this year.

[baul0010]

2 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

They keep digging into their depth of dumpster divers  ... we want to see our talent ( FO draftees ) at the major league level  not somebody else's rejects ...

Dumpster diving season is almost back in MN!  Goodbye winter.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

21 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

I tend to disagree with this take, they brought up Ober, Jeffers, Larnach, AK, Gordon, Ryan, Rooker, Jax, Moran, Celestino, Rortvedt, Colina, Poppen, Alcala just in the last year or two.

It is just that most everybody they have brought up hasn't been all that good or healthy in AK case, except Ryan, and Ober was decent/good and showed promise but wasn't allowed or couldn't go out and pitch 5,6,7 innings a time so he wasn't they type of guy that when it was his turn could stop a losing streak or save a bullpen or what not.

They have been slow with some of the star pitching prospects but they have all been hurt or not that great in the minors as well.

Miranda is the only real prospect in my mind that could/should (last August for sure)be looked at as not being brought up, and my argument has always been it is tough to bring up a prospect that might struggle when the rest of the team is already struggling.

My thought are Lewis should be splitting time between left and SS in AAA and if he stays hot, should be up by Mid May, than they could move Martin to AAA and do the same with him.

Agreed, mostly. I’d keep Lewis strictly at Short, Correa could be hurt (why else would he be sooooo off) and have Lewis be ready as if Correa picks back up again, he’ll be traded or opt out at end of season.

Miranda to play LF and 3rd makes sense to me. He’s cooled off a bit, but he’s clearly not a SS where Lewis could still be. If Miranda gets hot again, he’s my pick for promotion to Twins LF

[TwinsDr2021]

6 minutes ago, Sconnie said:

Agreed, mostly. I’d keep Lewis strictly at Short, Correa could be hurt (why else would he be sooooo off) and have Lewis be ready as if Correa picks back up again, he’ll be traded or opt out at end of season.

Miranda to play LF and 3rd makes sense to me. He’s cooled off a bit, but he’s clearly not a SS where Lewis could still be. If Miranda gets hot again, he’s my pick for promotion to Twins LF

My thoughts are if Correa doesn't get hurt, Lewis has no real chance no matter how good he hits in AAA. (Similar to Miranda/Donaldson last year), so if he gets some time in LF, he could be brought up to replace Larnach, AK, Celestino, Garlick. I would rather have Lewis up (if he deserves it) then playing SS in AAA. He can get time there in majors, they could DH Correa a couple of times and when he rests and in blow outs. Between that and his AAA play it should be enough to decide if his future is there.

[2wins87]

I actually think Miranda could use a little time to get more locked in.  His 25% K rate is very uncharacteristic for him, he's taken one walk all season, and he's been hitting a lot of ground balls.  To his credit he sprays them around so he doesn't get shifted much and gets some through the infield.  I'd like him to have a little more time against AAA pitching to get his plate approach back to where it was last year, and see him hitting more line drives and fly balls.  I don't think he's far off but I honestly think he needs the time at AAA.

I've been incredibly impressed with Lewis, I expected a lot more rust, but he's been driving the ball all over the park.  He's missed a couple of home runs by a few feet too, so his stats could look even more impressive with warmer weather.  Given how little he's played over the last few years, I think it's totally reasonable to want to see him keep it going for another month+.  But if he does, I would want them to find him a regular role, probably playing mostly LF to start, but also spelling Correa and Buxton at SS and CF.

Martin still has only "doubles power," and it took him a little while to get going at AA.  He'll be promoted to AAA sometime around midseason or earlier I think.  But he's still another stop away.

[Brandon]

While a 3-7 record is not ideal.  I have seen over the years not to put too much stock over a short block of time.  Sano with all of the strikeouts and no production maybe… but Buxton is back, Killeroff should be soon I hope.  And some of these slumps will end.   Just be patient.  Urshala is hitting around.300, Sano has the power and would be on a 1 year contract next year, Correa could but should be gone with a good season.  Sanchez seems to like it here and has hit ok so far and his defense has been passable.  Without a replacement I could see the Twins signing him to a 1 or 2 year deal.  Do I expect everyone back? No but there are scenarios for everyone to return.  

 With that being said I also hope we see all three guys mentioned in the article at some point this season or multiple points…..

[LA VIkes Fan]

I like the premise that these 3 guys are close. The question is - how close? We have some real holes in our lineup now. I don't expect that they're going to be calling these three guys up in the next month but I do think they are going to be opportunities by Midsummer. There really is an opportunity for right-handed hitting outfielder now since I don't think any of us believe that Garlick is even much of a short term stopgap, much less any sort of long-term solution. The early returns on Larnach aren't very good no matter how we try to dress up his poor performance based on his exit velocity and barrel rates. The bottom line is he was not good last year after a hot start and has not been good this year. Kirilloff is a complete wildcard given his wrist and what appeared to be associated issues that may be more psychological than physical, but still as real. This season is rapidly circling the drain. Can we turn it around over the next month? Absolutely. Is that likely given what we've seen to date? No.

I'm wondering if maybe it wouldn't make sense to give either Maranda or Martin some run in the outfield or at 1B at the major-league level starting fairly soon. I think we have to keep Lewis playing shortstop because he is the one heir apparent once Correa leaves either through a midseason trade, the more likely route the way things are going, or at the end of the year. I disagree with the previous poster, I think we have seen enough to know that Sano and Kepler are not the answer. They're not hitting this year, they didn't hit last year, and they didn't hit the year before. I would be happy to bench or trade either one of them to make room if these guys are ready for their shot.

[KFEY93]

5 hours ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Yep, couldn’t agree more. Outside of this team turning things around, the goal is to hope multiple players start to show more so that we can maximise trade deadline value. You correctly identified the right names. Some of those will be DFA’d if they can’t be moved.

However, as this team transitions to a much younger squad, you’ve missed one important piece that also needs to change. That’s Rocco and his staff.  This team is going to need a head coach and position coaches who can develop young players to reach their potential. Rocco has not shown that with any young player yet. Fellow TDers please name one.  The sooner we bring in that type of coaching leadership, the more upside this franchise can have. Forget Kepler and Sano - their regression may be to difficult to turn around. Think Kiriloff, Larnach and Jeffers on the current team - those three still have potential and are begging for development. We need them to be solid major leaguers. 

Agreed! Rocco and his nap squad need to take a hike. I could care less about club house chemistry and players liking the HC. I want W's. Ws make any locker room click regardless if the players like each other or not. I wonder how much chemistry and happiness is in the current locker room with the terrible record? Probably not a lot. 

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, Sconnie said:

Agreed, mostly. I’d keep Lewis strictly at Short, Correa could be hurt (why else would he be sooooo off) and have Lewis be ready as if Correa picks back up again, he’ll be traded or opt out at end of season.

Miranda to play LF and 3rd makes sense to me. He’s cooled off a bit, but he’s clearly not a SS where Lewis could still be. If Miranda gets hot again, he’s my pick for promotion to Twins LF

I don't want Miranda anywhere near LF in Minneapolis (well technically 3B is close to LF so that's not totally true). He played there super limited innings in St Paul last year and they never put him back. I want the days of "just put that slow guy in the corner OF" to stop in Minneapolis. Defense matters and there's no reason to believe Miranda can play left field. In a league where the goal is to lift the ball I want defenders in all 3 OF spots to take away the extra base hits that everyone is searching for.

But agree on Lewis. Keep him at SS everyday if we expect him to be the next SS for the Minnesota Twins. Don't put him anywhere else. He needs reps there and only there.

[chpettit19]

29 minutes ago, KFEY93 said:

Agreed! Rocco and his nap squad need to take a hike. I could care less about club house chemistry and players liking the HC. I want W's. Ws make any locker room click regardless if the players like each other or not. I wonder how much chemistry and happiness is in the current locker room with the terrible record? Probably not a lot. 

People realize Nelson Cruz was the one who wanted the nap room, right? Like the Twins didn't have that until one of the greatest DHs in the history of the game asked for one and they provided it to allow a player to play at his peak. Seems weird that people are mad that a player told the team what they needed to best perform and the team provided it for them. Seems like that's how we should want the org to do things. 

The rest of this is the chicken and egg question. What comes first chemistry and happiness or Ws? It's also weird to me that people basically say "it doesn't matter if you like your boss or your coworkers, if you're all doing your jobs right you'll like each other no matter how different you are as people." I don't think most of us would say that about our own personal jobs. I know if I dread seeing my coworkers or boss everyday I'm not performing at my peak because I'm in a bad mood. Weird that we'd think players wouldn't be affected by being around each other 200+ days a year, and traveling with each other for half those days, but not liking each other.

[KFEY93]

14 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

People realize Nelson Cruz was the one who wanted the nap room, right? Like the Twins didn't have that until one of the greatest DHs in the history of the game asked for one and they provided it to allow a player to play at his peak. Seems weird that people are mad that a player told the team what they needed to best perform and the team provided it for them. Seems like that's how we should want the org to do things. 

The rest of this is the chicken and egg question. What comes first chemistry and happiness or Ws? It's also weird to me that people basically say "it doesn't matter if you like your boss or your coworkers, if you're all doing your jobs right you'll like each other no matter how different you are as people." I don't think most of us would say that about our own personal jobs. I know if I dread seeing my coworkers or boss everyday I'm not performing at my peak because I'm in a bad mood. Weird that we'd think players wouldn't be affected by being around each other 200+ days a year, and traveling with each other for half those days, but not liking each other.

And where did that get the organization? More play off losses and crapping the bad where it matters most? At what point are MN sports fans going to stop being OK with mediocrity and stop doing things when they are not getting us to the goal? Whats that goal? Championships. Thats it, anything less is not good enough. Just being happy there is baseball is fine for 10 year old me, its not okay with almost 30 year old me, I expect results. If you are happy with how the team has been managed under Rocco, and think they are managing the team properly and that these are the results you want to see, fine, thats on you. I expect more. Also comparing the average persons day to day job to that of a professional athlete on a professional team making millions is not comparable. At all. Pay me $10 Million and I will travel with Kim Jon and Hitlers ghost around North Korea for 200 days a year.