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Covid is no joke. It's not the flu or some ailment with predictable results. It's dangerous. It makes the rounds through people's bodies differently from person to person. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated for themselves and their fellow humans.

Note that being vaccinated does not mean one cannot contract the disease (and possibly transmit it). It means one is (much) less likely to get seriously sick and die from it. It's the transmission possibility that's going to be the main concern for the vaccinated. And that's why keeping up the protocols is important even after receiving the shots right now.

No, it means that they haven't reached full vaccination, which comes two weeks after getting the shot.

Let’s break down each loss: April 1 @ MIL: The defense makes several key mistakes that all result in runs. Combine that with Colome serving up meatballs April 6 @ DET: The offense fails to score any runs with 1st and 3rd and nobody out in the 10th. Combine that with a lack of offense in Innings 1-9. April 10 vs SEA: The offense once again fails to execute with RISP, this time in the bottom of the 8th. April 11 vs SEA: The bullpen implodes. Also, apparently the offense can’t score runs after the 5th Inning. April 12 vs BOS: Once again the offense can’t score runs past the 5th Inning. Or, wait, the 1st Inning. Dobnak gets shelled. April 14 (Gm1) vs BOS: A completely pathetic offensive performance, with 2 key Boston runs coming from a stupid throwing error. April 14 (Gm2) vs BOS: Berrios cruises until he suddenly can’t throw strikes. The offense once again can’t do sh!t. April 16 @ LAA: Terrible bullpen management results in 10 runs. Weak ground balls bleed through the infield. Offense can’t hit with RISP I think the main reason the bullpen looks so bad is because the skipper isn’t pulling the right strings. Let’s all remember that Liam Hendricks has a 6.00 ERA right now. Bullpens fix themselves over time. We saw it in 2019. We very well may see it again this year. The offense is clearly a problem. The fact that we can’t hit anything when runners are on is a recurring theme. We hit into double plays way too much. SP seems like the strength of the team so far and may be our strength this year.

This shows that no testing and quarantine protocol can stop an epidemic; they can only slow it down to buy time for treatments/cures. The Twins have been very rigorous with the implementation and enforcement of their process. Management statements, such as this one from Derek Falvey at the time Simmons' illness was announced, make the point: The team's system worked from July - September and again through spring training, but it only takes one accidental transmission to set the dominoes falling. Games will be postponed, and people will continue to get sick and die until most of the population worldwide is vaccinated. Hopefully the Twins will continue their efforts to get the word out.

There have been many twists and turns, and teams, in the baseball life of Minnesota Twins and St. Paul Saints pitcher Andrew Albers. He is beginning his third stint in the Twins organization and looking to contribute any way he can. Andrew Albers grew up in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. It isn’t exactly a baseball hotbed. As Albers said during a Saints press conference on Friday, “Most (Canadian) ballplayers come from BC (British Columbia) or Ontario.” However, scouts found him and he was drafted out of high school but chose to attend the University of Kentucky. The Padres drafted him in 2008 and he pitched in a handful of games for their rookie Arizona League team. He got hurt, missed the 2009 season and was released. He pitched some for Quebec in the independent Atlantic League. That could have been the end of Andrew Albers' baseball career. Instead... The next offseason, he pulled a lot of strings, made a lot of phone calls and sent a lot of e-mails in an attempt to sign with an affiliated team including driving from Saskatchewan to Arizona, In fact, as the story goes, the Twins said they might be interested, but they wouldn't be able to have anyone see him in Arizona for a couple of weeks. Albers gave it some thought, called the Twins scout back and said he would drive from Arizona to Ft. Myers for the tryout. If they liked him, they would sign him and reimburse his travel expenses. If not, he would say Thank You and, well, probably just hope for some travel expense reimbursed. The Twins gave him a shot. In 2011, he spent time in Ft. Myers and Double-A New Britain. He spent 2012 with the Rockcats. He began the 2013 season at Triple-A Rochester, but he was pitching well, and the Twins called him up to make a couple of starts. In his MLB debut, he tossed 8 1/3 scoreless innings. In the next game, he threw a complete game shutout. Not promised a big-league spot in 2014, he signed with Hanwha in the Korean Baseball Organization. In 2015, he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and got to pitch in one game for the team from his home country. He pitched in Venezuela that offseason and then returned to the independent leagues in 2016 for Lancaster to start the season, but he quickly signed with the Twins and went to Rochester before pitching in six games for the Twins. In 2017, he went 12-3 with a 2.61 ERA in Gwinnett (Atlanta AAA) but was traded/sold to the Mariners in August. They called him up and he went 5-1 with a 3.51 ERA in nine games and six starts. He went to Japan in 2018 and went 9-2 with a 3.08 ERA. He received an offer to extend his deal for two years and accepted it. Unfortunately, he was “nicked up” and didn’t pitch as well as he would have liked. Albers thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity he had in Japan. ““I really enjoyed the experience there. Was treated very well by the organization. It was great to immerse yourself in a different culture. I enjoyed my experience in Japan much more than I did in Korea. Really enjoyed the way they played the game. The fans there are tremendous. They just do a tremendous job creating a great atmosphere. It’s all really positive. They’re extremely respectful. The team itself, they take really good care of you. I had a really great time there. Was very thankful for that opportunity. I was glad that I was able to go over there and do that.” Late this offseason, he and his agent sent out e-mails to several teams to see if any might be interested in his pitching services for this season. “The Twins showed some interest, so it was a pretty easy decision for me to end up back here. Obviously have some fond memories here with the organization. Some things have happened in the past and couldn’t be happier to be back.” While he got to spring training late due to visa issues, Albers feels like it only took him a couple of weeks to feel as if he had caught up. Albers is currently in St. Paul, working out at the alternate site. His manager with the Saints in 2021 will be Toby Gardenhire. Gardenhire’s final season as a player in the Twins organization was 2011 when he played 103 games in Rochester. That was Albers first year in the organization, and he split the year between Ft. Myers and New Britain. While they never played together, they both recall a time they played against each other. In September of 2012, there was a WBC Qualifier tournament in Germany. Gardenhire (and a 19-year-old Max Kepler) played for Team Germany. In the championship game, Germany faced Team Canada. Andrew Albers made the start for Canada and gave up one run over six innings and Canada advanced to play in the 2013 WBC. Gardenhire recalls, “I think I was like 0-for-3 off of him in the game. So it’s funny that now we’ve come full circle, I’m managing and he’s still pitching.” (online research shows that Gardenhire was indeed 0-for-3 in the game.) Albers said that he certainly remembered that game. “Any time I get to play for Team Canada, I treasure those moments. It was a lot of fun.” Albers is just three years younger than the 38-year-old Gardenhire. “Obviously I played for his dad in ‘13, so that’s a really interesting relationship there. I guess that’s when I really know that I’m getting up there in age when I start playing for both father and son as managers. I try not to think about it that much.” But there is value in having a guy like Albers on the roster. Gardenhire has seen it already in their brief time together. “It’s cool having Albers around because he has so much experience, and he’s been around and done so much. He’s had conversations with all the guys about different things. I’ve heard him talk to guys about playing in Japan. He’s been around so much.” He continued, “It’s cool having a guy like that. He knows how to get his work done. He knows everything he has to do. He’s just staying ready to go. Once the season starts, he’s a guy that’s reliable. You know what you’re going to get from him because he’s done it so many times. He’s been in those situations before.” Albers relishes the role of a mentor for other players, but he doesn’t push anything on his teammates. “I think that’s an important part to play. Obviously you hope that you can provide some experience to help the younger guys.” He continued, “If somebody comes up and has a question for me or we can just have a discussion about baseball. I love that. I think the biggest thing is just to be open and approachable. You’re a little bit older now, but at that same time you try to be one of the guys and have fun with them. Obviously I think I appreciate it more now having spent some time internationally where you can’t necessarily communicate with a lot of your teammates. So that part of it’s a lot of fun.” All that said, Albers may not throw hard, but he can pitch, and he can keep batters off balance. He hopes to help whichever team he is playing for, be it the Saints or the Twins. “Anything I can do to help the club, right? Whatever role they see me in. We’ve talked a little bit about that, whether it’s going to be a middle to long guy, or a starter. I’m trying to get extended a little bit here in St. Paul right now just so that I’m available if the need arises, and if they feel I can contribute hopefully up there with the big league club at some point this year. It’s one of those things where you’re just trying to get yourself ready as best you can. Trying to prepare yourself for whatever role that they think you can help in. That’s what I’m doing. That’s my approach.” Andrew Albers is 35 and has had some great experiences and memories throughout his baseball career, a career that could have ended 12 years ago when he was hurt and released. Despite a fastball that likely won’t hit 90 mph, he has had four stints in the big leagues with three different organizations. He’s represented Canada in several international competitions. He’s played in Japan and Korea, and he’s now back with the Twins for a third time. This is a guy who is appreciative of his opportunities. “I’m just thankful that I have an opportunity and then hopeful that I get an opportunity up there. Just going to try to prepare for whatever that opportunity may be.” OH CANADA! There are currently four Canadians in Twins minor league spring training in Ft. Myers. Right-handed pitchers Jordan Balazovic and Landon Leach, infielder Edouard Julien and catcher LaRon Smith. Albers noted the age gap between him and those players, so he hadn’t met any of them until this spring when he met Balazovic at big-league spring training. “I met Balazovic this spring, was really impressed with him. Impressive character, seems like he has a good head on his shoulders, obviously throws the ball real well. He then gave a lot of credit to Greg Hamilton who has been very instrumental in the Canadian Junior National team which has helped player development in the country. Albers mentioned Josh Naylor. Mike Soroka. Cal Quantrill and Tyler O’Neill as big-league guys from that program. MY HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED Albers was in the Twins organization from 2011 to 2013, in 2016 and now in 2021. It’s fair to say that things have changed quite a bit since his previous stints. “It’s almost like it’s a whole new organization. Obviously with the new front office and bringing in some different guys, the philosophy’s changed from what it used to be, certainly from 2013 and then even from ‘16. The last few years, there have been a lot of changes, or at least it seems like a lot of changes to me.” While he hadn’t previously been brought up with the analytics and technology that the Twins now use, he is excited about it and how it is being communicated and how he’s able to put what he’s learning into action in St. Paul. “I think they’re doing a great job here getting guys that are extremely knowledgeable with the analytics. Obviously that’s part of the game now. You get the older guys like me where it’s a lot of new information, but they're doing a great job communicating to me what they’re looking for, what they think can help me improve." He gave a real-life example of this. "That’s the great thing about being here in St. Paul right now. I’m getting the opportunity to work on some of those things in a low-stress environment. If you’re trying to work on increasing the depth on your slider, you can go out and do it in your game and you don’t have to worry if you give up a couple of hits or some runs." We have heard a lot about how the Twins now have individual improvement plans. "I think they’re doing a good job giving guys plans going forward on what they think they can improve on in order to give themselves a better chance of not only getting to the big leagues but being successful once they get there." Yes, Albers plainly sees that changes in the organization since his previous stints and again points out the importance of how the information is communicated. How can a player improve? What can they tinker with or alter or add, but also what is it that has worked for you in the past? "When I first got here in ‘13, they weren’t very analytically based. I would say that’s changed substantially over the past three or four years. They do a great job communicating it to us. Certainly they rely heavily on it not only in the big leagues but even at the minor league level. The thing that I really appreciate as someone new here, they do a great job communicating their expectations, communicating what they want you to try, and at the same time they realize you’ve had some success in the past a certain way and they don’t want you to change exactly who they are.” THE SAINTS EXPERIENCE Finally, Albers has played in the independent leagues and appreciates those opportunities. He was well aware of the St. Paul Saints and looks forward to playing in front of fans at CHS Field. “The ballpark looks like it could be great. Obviously it’ll be a lot nicer once you get fans in here. I’ve heard nothing but great things about how the Saints run their program, they draw really well here in the summer, and that was as an indy league team. It will be interesting to see as a Triple-A team. I wouldn’t expect there not to be a fall off, maybe even an increase. I’ve heard a lot of great things about their on-field promotions and how they get people to the ballpark. I’ve heard they create a great atmosphere. So I’m really looking forward to seeing that. Really looking forward to getting to be a part of it and hopefully have some success along the way.” For More Twins Minor League/Saints Content at Twins Daily, click these links: Kirilloff Preparing for Big-League Opportunity The Brightest, Anonymous Superstar: My Conversation with Tzu-Wei Lin Twins Minor League Report: Depth Camp Opportunities Twins Minor League Report: Follow the Affiliates Toby Gardenhire is Following in his Father's Footsteps View full article

The Minnesota Twins announced Saturday evening that their matchup with the Los Angeles Angels slated to begin at 8:07 p.m. CT was postponed “to allow for continued testing and contact tracing involving members of the Twins organization.”The Minnesota Twins announced Saturday evening that their matchup with the Los Angeles Angels slated to begin at 8:07 p.m. CT was postponed “to allow for continued testing and contact tracing involving members of the Twins organization.” Sunday's game has also been postponed. The Athletic’s Dan Hayes provided further detail regarding the reasoning behind the postponement, reporting that a Twins’ staffer as well as outfielder Kyle Garlick have tested for COVID-19 since the team arrived in California. Hayes also reported that the Twins’ most recent positive cases don’t appear to be connected to Andrelton Simmons’ positive test earlier in the week. Additionally, the Twins have not announced further positive results, though contact tracing and testing remains ongoing. Perhaps the more concerning aspect of his positive test, for both the Twins and Angels, is that Garlick was in the Twins’ lineup during the team’s 10-3 loss Friday night and has appeared in their last five games dating back to April 13. This is a developing situation and more news is sure to break in the near future. Stay tuned to Twins Daily for more information as the story develops. For now, we wish a speedy, full recovery for Garlick and the yet-unnamed staffer. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

COVID cancellations, key players sidelined by injuries, and several crushing losses: It was a rough week for Twins baseball. Let's review it, and try to figure out where we go from here. Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 4/12 through Sun, 4/18 *** Record Last Week: 1-4 (Overall: 6-8) Run Differential Last Week: -15 (Overall: +6) Standing: 4th Place in AL Central Last Week's Game Recaps: Game 10 | BOS 4, MIN 2: More Missed Opportunities, Another Blown LeadGame 11 | BOS 3, MIN 2: Twins Swept by Red Sox, Slip Deeper Into SlumpGame 12 | BOS 7, MIN 1: Twins Swept by Red Sox, Slip Deeper Into SlumpGame 13 | MIN 4, BOS 3: Twins Snap Losing Streak Despite Another Blown LeadGame 14 | LAA 10, MIN 3: Upton Slam Sinks Struggling TwinsNEWS & NOTES Lest anyone thought we'd moved beyond the dangers and disruptions of a global pandemic, this past week for the Twins served as a sobering reminder that COVID-19 is very much still raging in our society, and pro sports are not immune (especially when partially-distributed vaccinations have yet to take full effect). On Wednesday, Andrelton Simmons tested positive and was placed on the COVID-19 IL. The following two days were both thrown into doubt as chaos ensued with pre-game false positives, and on Saturday, mounting fears came to roost. The Twins registered multiple positive tests in their Tier-1 group (including Kyle Garlick and another as-yet-unnamed player), shutting down the rest of their series against the Angels and leaving the upcoming trip to Oakland in limbo. Outside of the virus outbreak, the Twins had some other high-profile health issues. As soon as Josh Donaldson returned from his hamstring injury, Byron Buxton suffered one of his own, sitting out four straight games from Wednesday through Friday with what was described as a minor strain. So far, in a season where we were all so eager to see those two together in the lineup, it hasn't really happened yet. On the bright side, Buxton was slated to play on Saturday night before the game was axed, so he should be fine once the Twins get going again. Perhaps the extra time off for his legs will be a hidden silver lining of an extremely unfortunate situation. In other roster moves, the carousel at the end of the bullpen is already spinning, as expected. Brandon Waddell was optioned on Wednesday to make room for Donaldson. The next day, Cody Stashak was optioned and replaced for one game by Shaun Anderson, who was himself sent out the following day to make room for Friday night's starter Lewis Thorpe. Thorpe went back down after making his spot start, with Devin Smeltzer arriving to fill in as long reliever. It's probably just gonna be like this all year for the relief corps. Buckle up. HIGHLIGHTS In a week sparse on highlights and happy moments, Michael Pineda came through in a big way. His seven shutout innings against Boston on Thursday helped the Twins secure their only victory of the week, avoiding a sweep at home. In his finest start yet as a Twin, Big Mike cruised through seven frames on 88 pitches, striking out six and walking one with two singles allowed. A red-hot Boston lineup could never really mount a threat against Pineda as he pounded the zone with quality fastballs and then attacked with sharp sliders. LOWLIGHTS Aside from the smattering of encouraging developments above, the past seven days were a flurry of almost nonstop bad news for the Twins, both on the field and off it. The gravity of the latter outweighs the former so heavily, it feels pointless to pick apart individual performances in an almost universally ugly 1-4 stretch. Suffice to say that the offense as a whole slashed .228/.316/.282 with five doubles, one home run, and 12 runs scored in five games. With runners in scoring position they put up a putrid .175/.271/.200 line. Meanwhile, the bullpen posted a collective 9.19 ERA, with almost every reliever taking part in a series of poorly-timed implosions. Rocco Baldelli made a number of borderline decisions, and basically every one went the wrong way. With all that's going on, I find it difficult to hold these struggles against the manager or team. Beginning with Simmons on Wednesday, the Twins dealt with an endless onslaught of stress and drama, sparked by positive tests both legitimate and illegitimate. Beyond the mental distractions stemming from all this, the ability of players to prepare for games and go through normal routines was impeded. It's all bad. You just hope they can use this immense challenge as an opportunity to come together, rest up, and hit the ground running as they seek to turn around one of the most confounding team-wide slumps of Baldelli's tenure. More than anything, you hope there's no further spread, and that all who've been affected by this outbreak can recover quickly and fully. TRENDING STORYLINE Obviously, the overarching and all-consuming storyline is: when will the Twins play again? But within that, the status and outlook for Alex Kirilloff becomes a pivotal thread. Kirilloff came and went quickly on Thursday, joining as 27th man for the doubleheader and taking three hitless plate appearances before returning to the alternate site. But there's certainly an argument the Twins could've benefited from keeping him around, given the wavering availability of Buxton and the ongoing struggles of Jake Cave. One way or another, it's only a matter of time. Within the next few days, and perhaps before the team even plays again, Kirilloff will reach the point where it becomes impossible for him to accrue a full year of major-league service this season, meaning there's no reason to keep him down unless the Twins don't think he's ready or don't think he can help. That's becoming a tougher and tougher case to make, especially since they know they'll be without Garlick (at least) for some time. LOOKING AHEAD With Monday's series opener in Oakland already canceled, the tentative plan is for a traditional doubleheader on Tuesday – the second in a weeklong span for the Twins. Keyword: tentative. If they play then, it's anyone's guess how they might handle their rotation. Matt Shoemaker was due up on Saturday but with all the days off, the Twins have the option to skip him and J.A. Happ, starting both José Berríos and Kenta Maeda on five days rest. Then again, everyone needs their work and there's nothing wrong with getting the top two arms a little extra rest here early in the season. So I'd expect Shoemaker and Happ to start on Tuesday. Next weekend the Twins are scheduled to return home for a quick one-off series against the Pirates, but with Minneapolis bracing for the potential fallout of a verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial in the days ahead, that series carries its own cloud of uncertainty. Stay tuned and we'll keep you updated on things as they develop. But be ready for a weird week. TUESDAY, 4/20 (G1): TWINS @ ATHLETICS – TBD v. RHP Jesus Luzardo TUESDAY, 4/20 (G2): TWINS @ ATHLETICS – TBD v. LHP Sean Manaea WEDNESDAY, 4/21: TWINS @ ATHLETICS – TBD v. RHP Frankie Montas FRIDAY, 4/23: PIRATES @ TWINS – RHP Trevor Cahill v. TBD SATURDAY, 4/24: PIRATES @ TWINS – RHP Chad Kuhl v. TBD SUNDAY, 4/25: PIRATES @ TWINS – LHP Tyler Anderson v. TBD MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Buxton doesn't have enough PAs to qualify for the batting average title. So it goes, or seems to go, and go, and go.

If I was going to see any of these teams, I’d go to Wichita. A seven nation army couldn’t hold me back. I hope their uniforms have white stripes. I have a Chattanooga Lookouts TShirt for sale

If the pitchers are trying to make him chase, Sano just needs to accept the walks. The hits snd homers will follow.

Can't draw that conclusion. They just got the shot a few days ago. It takes 2 weeks for full immunity. Plus no vaccine is 100%

I don't think you're going to get a list of those who got vaccinated, personal medical information, etc. I did see that Betsy Halfand tweeted that Kyle Garlick DID get the vax (see tweet below) and remember that Sano and Astudillo, already had the virus a year ago. Overall it's just getting old. I thought we were done with this nonsense - and up until now, the Washington Nationals were the only other team to screw the pooch on this, and that was opening weekend. Just super frustrating as a fan. Get it together already, Twins.

Frustrating start to the season, to say the least.

Yeah, this sorta has a "I want to hit reset" type of vibe to the season. Oh well. Hope everyone is healthy.

Welp, this season is now officially off the rails. This is stuff most teams figured out how to handle in 2020 and long before Spring Training. Inexcusable, frankly.

You are evil for this opinion

The problem with the Twins starts and ends at the top, with the owners. Imho, they don’t know what they’re doing. Their thinking seems so simplistic, so black and white: new is good; old is bad. They follow the latest trends and dump everything from the past, even ideas and techniques that have proven, over time, to work. Take our manager, for example. Endorsed (blessed) by Korn Ferry, he embodies all the attributes of the new modern manager as dreamed up by the new modern progressive thinkers. But this ideal, completely ignores the real human element and group dynamics of an all-male professional baseball team. Academically and politically, Rocco checks all the boxes. He loves the new technology, and like a Wall Street quant with his advanced algorithms, he puts unquestioning faith into the numbers it produces. He boasts about how much he cares and empathizes with his players. Catering to all their needs, he treads ever so carefully to protect them from injury and make them “feel comfortable.” And he takes great pride in his even temperament. I don’t know if he’s ever been thrown out of a game. Maybe once; but I’ve never seen him blow up. Unlike the old-school managers, like Earl Weaver, Sparky Anderson, and the current skipper of the Cleveland Indians, Terry Francona, who rarely minced words—or tantrums—our guy never gives a straight answer to anything. So as not to offend, he chooses his words with excruciating carefulness, and he hedges and dodges like a politician. And don’t even get me started on his predilection for raising the pitch of his voice at the end of sentences, making every statement sound like a question, as if he’s unsure about what he had just said. To me, Rocco is the poster boy of the modern detoxified American male. He’s better suited to run the human resources department at a NPO than to manage a group of professional male athletes. Perhaps he's good for an occasional moral victory, but a real championship? Fuhgeddaboudit. Now, I don’t mean to be pounding solely on poor Rocco because in all honesty, it’s not his fault; it’s the owner’s fault for hiring him. And it’s the owner’s fault for hiring Korn Ferry to conduct the managerial search in the first place. And it’s the owner’s fault for giving the go ahead to erase their own history by throwing Calvin under the bus to support (or appease) the BLM. It follows the same pattern: “out with the old, and in with the new” with little indication of thoughtful deliberation or any kind of nod to nuance, ambiguity, or uncertainty. Outside the occasional Central Division Championship, I don’t think this team has a chance to win anything of consequence as long the current owners remain the current owners.

I really think you're on to something here, Nash. We have three teams in the division that have now had the benefit of selecting elite prospects for a number of years. KC, CWS, and DET have zero excuse for NOT being much better. Early draft choices are underrated IMO. Also underrated: financial capacity. So, for example, Luis Robert fits CWS's budget, but not the budget of the other teams in the division. Not to be a Debbie Downer, but my gut is telling me that what I'm watching is not encouraging for Twins fans. I'll spare y'all the dozen or so indicators I think I'm seeing.

I wonder who was offended by the Miracle name.

The Minnesota Twins have now played nine games in the 2021 Major League Baseball season thus far and are scheduled for their tenth today. They haven’t had a fully healthy roster for a full game yet, but batting order positions are starting to take shape. Where and when should we consider questioning them? For most of his tenure as the skipper for Minnesota, Rocco Baldelli has opted to bat lefty Max Kepler in the leadoff hole. He’s a non-traditional fit there as speed isn’t his game, and he is more of a power player than high batting average guy. Through nine games this year Kepler hasn’t batted higher than cleanup and he’s been slotted in as low as ninth. Looking at all options, the ideal fit for Rocco would seem to be Luis Arraez. The former second basemen turned utility man has played all over the place in 2021 and will continue to get reps in the outfield at least until Alex Kirilloff is promoted. In seven of his 10 starts he’ll have led off, but curiously he’s also batted 9th on the other three occasions. This is where the weirdness comes in. From purely a speculative standpoint it seems that Baldelli is looking to shield Luis from left-handed pitchers. Despite an .890 OPS in his career against righties, that drops to .645 against lefties. The caveat here however is that Arraez loses power and average against southpaws, but he still owns a career .371 OBP against them and is synonymous with solid at bats. Before making any determinations, it’s worth bringing up the emergence of Byron Buxton. I have long believed he was primed for a breakout 2021, and so far, that’s looking to be selling things short. Playing otherworldly, and especially at the dish, he’s now drawing starts in the leadoff spot. Traditionally that would make a lot of sense given his speed and gap potential, but things are a bit different for him in recent years. Buxton has found his power stroke. For Byron there’s a few tendencies that run opposite of what Arraez is capable of. While Byron absolutely has thirty homer power potential, he’s still not going to be the on-base asset without hitting for a relatively high average. 2020 was an outlier for sure, but the walk rate is never going to be something Minnesota’s centerfielder hangs his hat on. More alike the former leadoff guy in Kepler, Buxton is plenty capable of putting a charge into a ball and generating extra-base hits. This all may become moot in a few days when Josh Donaldson returns to the Twins lineup, but I think there’s some concrete decisions that can and should be made here. Luis Arraez bats leadoff when he’s in the lineup. It shouldn’t matter where he plays, who is pitching, or what day of the week it is. Don’t overthink it, let your table setter set the table. From there, Buxton has earned his way into the two-hole. That’s a spot occupied lately by the likes of Kyle Garlick. Minnesota is a bit stretched offensively in left field right now, and Garlick is fine, but he’s a bottom third hitter. Buxton should be batting in a run-producing position while still allowing him the ability to be on base for the bigger boppers. Donaldson is going to hit here when he returns, but then moving Buxton to third makes a good deal of sense. Lineup construction is certainly nuanced, and it really only matters in the first inning and on a relatively minute scale. That said, Arraez should be generating as many at bats as he can for Minnesota, and Buxton should always be in a spot to come up and drive runners in. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz