What will be Twins Lineup?

[Nashvilletwin]

I hate to be such a Debbie Downer, but I’m just not too fired up about this year’s team. I’m having a hard time putting together a lineup that gets me really wanting to tune in. Maybe I can get more excited about this team as the season develops, but I have very little interest in committing emotional capital to Gallo, Taylor, Kepler, Farmer, and even Polanco - all of whom will likely be one year players on this team, if that. Buxton is really fun to watch (when he plays) and I really respect Correa’s talent (but he will never be my favorite player). I guess I’ll just have to focus on Gordon, Kiriloff and Larnach - when and if they play. It will be fun to get to know Vasquez’s game as well.

[chpettit19]

It's crazy how different this lineup could look throughout the year.

Opening day (assuming KC is starting a righty which is highly likely):
Buxton
Polanco
Correa
Gallo or Kirilloff or Larnach or Gordon or Kepler depending who had the best spring
Miranda
Gallo or Kirilloff or Larnach or Gordon or Kepler depending on who had the 2nd best spring
Gallo or Kirilloff or Larnach or Gordon or Kepler depending on who had the 3rd best spring
Vazquez
Gallo or Kirilloff or Larnach or Gordon or Kepler depending on who had the 4th best spring

Bench: Jeffers, Farmer, Taylor, Gallo or Kirilloff or Larnach or Gordon or Kepler depending who had the 5th best spring

Reasoning: I'm a believer in getting your best bats as many ABs as possible throughout the year. Leadoff hitter is only guaranteed to lead off 1 inning so I'm not as concerned about getting a prototypical guy there. Polanco between Buxton and Correa is hopefully a way to get him to see more righties than lefties as he's much better against righties and the other team is likely to have their lefties saved for the lefties in the 2nd half of the order. Who gets pinch hit for, and when, will be an interesting situation to watch. Even their willingness to pinch hit their 2nd catcher on any given day. Do they trust Farmer to step behind the plate if needed due to injury late in a game? Hopefully all the lefty bats means Rocco et al will play the hot hand as often as possible.

But with injuries and young guys knocking on the door that lineup could look vastly different by June/July/August.

[LA VIkes Fan]

I don't see Buxton as a leadoff hitter for those of you putting him there. He has morphed into a power hitter who doesn't walk a  lot and whom I think will NOT be asked to steal bases because of the injury risk. Buxton hits in the 3 spot.  Correa hits 2, and Miranda and Kirilloff hit 4 and 5 in either order depending on a RH or LH starter. I'd love to hit Polanco 6, Gallo 7, DH 8 (probably Larnach), and C 9 but that leaves Gordon or Kepler to lead off. Gordon maybe, Kepler absolutely not. More likely is Polanco leading off with Gallo 6, Gordon/Kepler 7, DH 8, and C 9.  

[AussieG]

59 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I don't see Buxton as a leadoff hitter for those of you putting him there. He has morphed into a power hitter who doesn't walk a  lot and whom I think will NOT be asked to steal bases because of the injury risk. Buxton hits in the 3 spot.  Correa hits 2, and Miranda and Kirilloff hit 4 and 5 in either order depending on a RH or LH starter. I'd love to hit Polanco 6, Gallo 7, DH 8 (probably Larnach), and C 9 but that leaves Gordon or Kepler to lead off. Gordon maybe, Kepler absolutely not. More likely is Polanco leading off with Gallo 6, Gordon/Kepler 7, DH 8, and C 9.  

Kepler leading off could be a viable, that's if they don't trade him

[LA VIkes Fan]

I don't like Kepler as a leadoff hitter at all. His OBP was .318 last year, .317 career, and he doesn't make up for that low number with power - .348 SLG last year, .427 career and the career number includes 2019 when his slugging % was .519. That is very unlikely to ever happen again. Like the guy, can see a Buxton-Kepler-Gallo OF as great defensively but let's face facts - Kepler can't hit.  2022: .227/.318/.348 (.666); career .227/.317/.427 (.744). He's 30 so that performance isn't likely to improve, it's likely to degrade. Kepler is not a guy you want having the most ABs on the team. That's a guy that hits in the 8 or 9 hole if he starts at all. He's much better suited to the 4th OF or a platoon role.   

[AussieG]

13 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I don't like Kepler as a leadoff hitter at all. His OBP was .318 last year, .317 career, and he doesn't make up for that low number with power - .348 SLG last year, .427 career and the career number includes 2019 when his slugging % was .519. That is very unlikely to ever happen again. Like the guy, can see a Buxton-Kepler-Gallo OF as great defensively but let's face facts - Kepler can't hit.  2022: .227/.318/.348 (.666); career .227/.317/.427 (.744). He's 30 so that performance isn't likely to improve, it's likely to degrade. Kepler is not a guy you want having the most ABs on the team. That's a guy that hits in the 8 or 9 hole if he starts at all. He's much better suited to the 4th OF or a platoon role.   

I wouldn't be thrilled about it myself, but I'd prefer Kepler over Gordon. Unless Nick has a massive spring 

[ddubbl1]

On 1/21/2023 at 10:52 PM, FlyingFinn said:

Buxton, Polanco, Correa, Kirilloff, Miranda, Gallo, Larnach, Vazquez, Kepler vs. RH

Buxton, Polanco, Correa, Miranda (1B), Garlick, Farmer, Kirilloff, Vazquez, Gallo vs. LH

Still think Kepler is getting traded though. Gordon will get plenty of playing time then. 

 

On 1/29/2023 at 10:05 PM, lecroy24fan said:

Garlick ain't making the team over Gordon.

 

[ddubbl1]

2B  POLANCO

SS. CORREA

CF. BUXTON / TAYLOR

1B MIRANDA

LF GALLO / GORDON

DH LARNACH / KIRILLOFF / BUXTON

3B FARMER / GORDON

RF KEPLER

C VASQUEZ

SHITCAN PAGAN...HE COST US 7+ GAMES!!!

 

[mnfireman]

Barring signings, trades and injuries, I feel that this should be the "regular" line-up:

LF - Gallo (L)

SS - Correa (R)

2B - Polanco (S)

CF - Buxton (R)

DH - Larnach (L)

3B - Miranda (R)

RF - Kepler (L)

C - Vazquez (R)

1B - Kirilloff (L)

Bench - Gordon (L), Jeffers (R), Farmer (R), Taylor (R).

Waiting in the wings - Garlick (R), Julien (S), Lewis (R), Celestino (R), Wallner (L), Lee (S) & Martin (R).

The top 3 see a lot of pitches (4.26, 4.09, & 4.27 p/pa), the top 6 all have good power potential, and there is decent speed mixed in there, 7 of 9 starting batters are league-average or better.

The defense should be better, 2 GG OF's and another who should have one, a GG SS and an above average C. The right side may be bleed some hits, but I think Kirilloff will be better at 1B than Arraez was.

Kirilloff's wrist is slightly protected by batting lower in the line-up, meaning fewer plate appearances, plus he can be scheduled days off, putting Gallo or Miranda there and subbing in Gordon or Farmer.

The tough decisions will come if Joulien starts out hot at AAA and what to do in July when Lewis comes back. Injuries or performance will probably influence these decisions.

IF the young players can learn to hit same-handed pitching the alternating line-up can go away

[MMMordabito]

On opening day (assuming Brady Singer or Jordan Lyles on the mound)  I'll project ...

2B Polanco

SS Correa

1B Gallo

CF Buxton

DH Larnach

3B Miranda

RF Kepler

C Vasquez

LF Gordon

 

- I just have this gut feeling that Kirilloff will start the season on the IL.  It sounds like his recovery is going well, but the mention of sacrificing some of spring training to have a healthier season makes me wary.

[chpettit19]

19 hours ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I don't see Buxton as a leadoff hitter for those of you putting him there. He has morphed into a power hitter who doesn't walk a  lot and whom I think will NOT be asked to steal bases because of the injury risk. Buxton hits in the 3 spot.  Correa hits 2, and Miranda and Kirilloff hit 4 and 5 in either order depending on a RH or LH starter. I'd love to hit Polanco 6, Gallo 7, DH 8 (probably Larnach), and C 9 but that leaves Gordon or Kepler to lead off. Gordon maybe, Kepler absolutely not. More likely is Polanco leading off with Gallo 6, Gordon/Kepler 7, DH 8, and C 9.  

I don't care about "leadoff hitter" or whatever mold people used to put there. That's why I'd put Buxton there. I want my 3 best hitters in the 1-3 spots everyday, and I think those are Buxton, Polanco, and Correa (in some order) so I want them 1-3. The rest of our guys are slightly above average to slightly below average, although, some provide hope for being more and then things could change.

The leadoff spot is guaranteed to leadoff 1 time every game. They have so much video on pitchers it's crazy, and I think the idea that a guy let's the on deck hitter see the pitcher a bunch in inning 1 is severely overstated now. My theory is to get my best hitters up as many times as possible.

[LA VIkes Fan]

I agree with your idea of putting the top 3 hitters in the 1-3 spots and who those 3 are. Our only difference is I do think there is some value to leading off with the player more likely to see more pitches, run more, and strike out less. Right now to me that isn't Buxton. I would go Polanco, Correa, and the Buxton because Buxton doesn't see a lot of pitches and strikes out too much. We are pretty close and, as they say, reasonable minds can differ.   

[chpettit19]

7 hours ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

I agree with your idea of putting the top 3 hitters in the 1-3 spots and who those 3 are. Our only difference is I do think there is some value to leading off with the player more likely to see more pitches, run more, and strike out less. Right now to me that isn't Buxton. I would go Polanco, Correa, and the Buxton because Buxton doesn't see a lot of pitches and strikes out too much. We are pretty close and, as they say, reasonable minds can differ.   

I certainly don't think that's a ridiculous take by any means. I'd like Polanco between Buxton and Correa to limit the number of lefty relievers he sees. He's nowhere near as good against lefties as he is against righties, and the bottom half of the Twins lineup is mostly lefties. Most teams are only carrying 1 lefty reliever these days due to the 3 batter minimum rule so I'd guess they'd use their lefties there and want to switch back to a righty when they get to Buxton and/or Correa. So putting Polanco between them helps his matchup situation. And then Buxton's speed (agreed he won't steal much, but he's still really fast running around the bases) in front of Polanco and Correa helps them score runs on fewer hits. He scores from first on a double or 2nd on a single more often than those 2 so he can take advantage of non-homerun power better than they can.

But, like you said, reasonable minds can differ, and I wouldn't be calling for Rocco's head if he hits them Polanco-Correa-Buxton. Would be nice to have Julien-Martin in the 8-9 holes at some point to be on base in front of those 3, and have Martin provide a little speed. But I don't want to be too greedy about things 😉

[Doctor Gast]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:29 PM, gman said:

1 Gordon/Farmer

2 Correa

3 Polanco

4 Buxton

5 Kirilloff

6 Miranda

7 Larnach

8 Gallo

9 Vasguez/Jeffers

I agree with you a very good standard line-up. I think Gordon could handle lead off very well & I'd want to give Farmer as many ABs as possible. Farmer isn't an ideal lead-off hitter but I'd put him towards the top against LHPs. I believe they'd want to go slow with Kiriloff so IMO they won't start up in MLB. So my initial line-up would be 

RHPs

1. Gordon (LF)  2. Correa (SS) 3. Polanco (2B) 4. Buxton (CF) 5. Kepler (RF)/ Gallo (1B)                 6. Larnach (DH) 7. Miranda (3B) 8. Kepler (RF)/ Gallo (1B) 9. Vazquez (C)

LHPs

1. Farmer (3B) 2. Correa (SS) 3. Polanco (2B) 4. Buxton (DH) 5. Miranda (1B) 6&8. Kepler (RF)/ Gallo (LF) 7. Jeffers (C) 9. Taylor (CF)

OF course it depends on how well Miranda plays 3B, Larnach & Kiriloff health, how well Kepler & Gallo take advantage of the shift ban & trades that may occur thereafter 

[gman]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

I agree with you a very good standard line-up. I think Gordon could handle lead off very well & I'd want to give Farmer as many ABs as possible. Farmer isn't an ideal lead-off hitter but I'd put him towards the top against LHPs. I believe they'd want to go slow with Kiriloff so IMO they won't start up in MLB. So my initial line-up would be 

RHPs

1. Gordon (LF)  2. Correa (SS) 3. Polanco (2B) 4. Buxton (CF) 5. Kepler (RF)/ Gallo (1B)                 6. Larnach (DH) 7. Miranda (3B) 8. Kepler (RF)/ Gallo (1B) 9. Vazquez (C)

LHPs

1. Farmer (3B) 2. Correa (SS) 3. Polanco (2B) 4. Buxton (DH) 5. Miranda (1B) 6&8. Kepler (RF)/ Gallo (LF) 7. Jeffers (C) 9. Taylor (CF)

OF course it depends on how well Miranda plays 3B, Larnach & Kiriloff health, how well Kepler & Gallo take advantage of the shift ban & trades that may occur thereafter 

I know it's getting late in the off season, but I still don't think Kepler will be on the team. Health issues hold for everyone unfortunately. If I recall correctly, I think both Kirilloff and Larnach hit against lefties and righties instead of platooning. Not that platooning to a certain extent would be a bad idea. Some of the off season reporting has Kirilloff doing some hitting all ready.

[LA VIkes Fan]

I think we'll find out a lot about how Kirilloff is viewed by whether or not we trade Kepler. If they think that Kirilloff is ready to go, it makes a lot sense to trade Kepler if we can get value even in the form of prospects. If not, then I think you probably keep Kepler around to play RF while Gallo plays 1B. I think they're committed to Miranda as a 3B for now so there really isn't another 1B on the roster.  So if Kepler is still around come March 30, I think that tells us that they aren't sure about Kirilloff and/or there's no market for Kepler.