Cody Pirkl

He'd have been there if he didn't have that extra option. At this point though I'm not sure they should even go the long relief route. I'm interested to see how his stuff plays up in a traditional one inning relief role. He could turn into a valuable guy in the middle to late innings.

I could write an entire article on why the Twins should look to trade Rogers. He's a proven arm who can pitch in any situation and is left handed. Relievers are volatile. If you can trade 2 expensive years of one for a haul (the Twins probably can) then you absolutely should. Also for as much as they failed this winter to build a bullpen, being this bad this early gives them plenty of time to backfill Rogers spot and find the next high leverage guy headed into next year.

Lewis Thorpe has put up respectable numbers in his few MLB starts so far this season. That being said there is certainly cause for concern in regards to his future in the rotation. It may be time to try something a bit different. It’s hard to really pick at Lewis Thorpe’s performance on the season. In fact, his performance so far isn’t the issue at all. He has a 3.86 ERA and 4.22 FIP which is much better than most of the current rotation. His SIERA, Skill Interactive ERA however tells a much different story. SIERA is more predictive than most ERA indicators and puts Thorpe at a 5.44 mark, over a run and a half higher than his current ERA. If you’ve watched Thorpe’s handful of starts then you know exactly what the issue is. For the 2nd straight season, Thorpe is averaging under 90 mph on the fastball. In fact, Thorpe’s average fastball is actually .2 mph less than his disaster 2020 season. He was averaging a perfectly acceptable 91.2 mph as recently as 2019 where he looked like a future rotation piece. I give Thorpe all the credit in the world for performing as well as he has with what little velocity he’s had to work with. That being said, there are very few starting pitchers who can put up consistent performances with an average fastball under 90 mph. Those that do are arms like Kyle Hendricks, Zach Davies, etc. All command specialists with devastating offspeed pitches. Thorpe just simply doesn’t fall into that bucket of pitcher. The frustrating thing is that Thorpe possesses the ability to ramp up his fastball somewhere in there. Spring performances don’t mean much, but after an encouraging offseason he looked like a stud as he pumped 92-93 mph. So where has that fastball gone and what can the Twins do? After one of his recent starts, Thorpe mentioned that he’s been struggling with some “dead arm”, a malady all pitchers suffer through where they just don’t have their top notch arm strength. Dead arm however typically lasts a week or two and it’s looking increasingly like Thorpe just doesn’t have a fastball that can run into the low 90s for multiple innings. That’s exactly why the Twins should try Lewis Thorpe in the bullpen. In shorter stints Thorpe’s fastball could easily play up 2-3 mph which isn’t uncommon when starters transition to the bullpen. He has a pitch mix to face hitters from both sides with his slider and changeup, both of which would play off of a fastball with more velocity. Especially now that Thorpe seems to be around the strike zone more, it’s easy to imagine him finding success. It may also give him a more clearcut route to a spot on the MLB roster next year when he’s out of options. In addition to Thorpe’s benefit there are a few other factors to consider. The Twins now have two other starters that can fill that spot start role in Dobnak and Ober. I also think they’ll heavily shop Taylor Rogers on the trade market given the return they could find for him and the near $7m he’s due to make in 2022. The Twins will have an opening for another lefty in the bullpen and Thorpe may be just the guy to fill that role from within. Some may see a move to the bullpen as giving up on Lewis Thorpe. It may be giving up on him as a starter, but it’s incredibly hard to overlook the velocity issues. I personally think it’s giving Thorpe an opportunity. Plenty of openings in the bullpen are coming and the probability of Thorpe sticking there looks to be much higher than the rotation at this point. Not every starting pitching prospect finds themselves toeing the rubber every 5th day at the Major League level but I think Thorpe has a chance to follow a path similar to players such as Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers. The Twins have put themselves in a position where they can try some new things. In regards to Lewis Thorpe, I think it’s time to start experimenting. — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here View full article

The Twins bullpen is certified bad at this point and outside help seems like a long shot. The Twins have been trying a lot of the same arms in relief but the time may be coming soon to try some new names. Here are 3 internal arms that could make a big impact in the bullpen. Shaun Anderson Anderson was acquired by the Twins for LaMonte Wade Jr. this winter because of their excess of fringe outfield types. He has some control and command issues with over 4 BB/9 in his short MLB career but the stuff is there. He posted a 10.5 K/9 in 2020 for San Francisco along with a 3.52 ERA in 15 innings. It seems the Twins are already at the point of giving Anderson some run considering he pitched two innings on Wednesday in Chicago and they have yet to option him again. He gave up four hits and four runs (one earned) but struck out three and only walked one which was encouraging. Anderson obviously already has a 40 man spot and while he has options left, it’s easy to argue that his mid 90s fastball and biting slider are deserving of an extended look with how the rest of the bullpen has performed. He may be sent down in a pinch if the Twins need a fresh arm, but if the Twins let him settle in and find some consistency he could easily pitch himself in some important innings. Yennier Cano Fellow TwinsDaily contributor Steve says all you need to know right here. Cano was signed as an international free agent out of Cuba a few years back and is already 27 years old. He has very limited minor league experience, only throwing 20 2/3 innings so far but he’s been nothing short of dominant out of the bullpen at the AA level. On Wednesday night he even threw an immaculate inning and has allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings on the season with 11 Ks and no walks so far. At 27 years old, Cano is already approaching the prime of his baseball career. He brings a mid 90s fastball with a nasty slider and a splitter to go along with it. As far back as 2019 shortly after he signed there was a question as to whether Cano would shoot up to the MLB squad that very season because of his advanced skills. He quite simply doesn’t have a ton of time to slow cook in the minor leagues and his raw stuff alone may be deserving of a look at this point. Dakota Chalmers Chalmers was acquired from Oakland in the Fernando Rodney trade. The Twins have tried to develop Chalmers as a starter so far despite injury troubles and some control issues (never posted a BB rate below 12.4%). For many pitchers, such a history points to them not being long for the rotation, and plenty of these arms wind up having effective careers in the bullpen. His nasty stuff doesn’t hurt his chances either, as Chalmers has posted a 33%+ K rate in every season since 2017. Chalmers already has a 40 man spot which is important given the turnover the Twins have already had. It may be a longshot for the Twins to fast track a starting pitching prospect to the majors from AA, especially as a reliever. That being said, Chalmers already being on the 40 man makes the move pretty convenient and such a gamble could pay off big for this struggling group. Something clearly has to change with the bullpen and I think these three names offer a good variety of risk/reward for the Twins to gamble on. Are there any names you’d want to see brought up? Will any of these names be enough to fix what’s been an unmitigated disaster? Let us know below. — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here View full article

Pretty much any platform involving Twins fans has been a rough place lately, and for good reason. Some weird takes are developing as would be expected, but there’s one that makes no sense. Why is everybody hating on Willians Astudillo? Remember the good old days? 2018 wasn’t the greatest of Twins seasons but a short stocky utilityman debuted late in the season. After slashing .355/.371/.516 the legend of La Tortuga was born. While that magic at the plate didn’t carry into 2019, Astudillo remained a fan favorite not only in Twins territory, but throughout all of baseball. La Tortuga has been a ton of fun, but it’s important to note that he’s more than just an entertaining story. Even though he’s never approached his scorching hot debut again, he’s been right around a league average hitter for his career. He can play all over the field at just about any position except shortstop and center field, though not particularly well. Even for a good team he’s a Major League caliber player, even if that comes with the condition he shouldn’t be playing everyday. Speaking in present day terms, it’s safe to say that Astudillo has been exposed a bit more than we would prefer so far. He’s played in 22 of the Twins 31 games so far which is probably more than a player like Astudillo should see. That being said he’s having his best season since his debut with a slash line of .313/.308/.484, good for a wRC+ of 120. Sure, his plate approach can be frustrating which has led to his OBP hilariously being lower than his batting average (nope that slash line wasn’t a typo), but he’s been 20% above a league average hitter so far this year. Nope, I’m not trying to make the point that Astudillo is a key offensive player on this Twins team. He has however been basically the best bench bat they could have asked for. Has he come up in some big spots and failed miserably? Sure! Nobody likes to see this, but it was never the plan. Astudillo is the same fun Twins player he has been these last few years. In fact, he’s been that player and then some offensively. Look back just one year to see Marwin and Adrianza who were in the same overexposed role and falling flat on their faces. The Astudillo slander has to stop. I’m not saying Twins Territory has to fall back in love with him, but we shouldn’t let our frustrations with the team as a whole boil over into undeserving parties. The team has plenty of problems, Tortuga being overexposed being one of them, but his performance hasn’t been an issue. He may not be spectacular but in a season of disappointments, the blame deserves to be directed elsewhere. — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here View full article

One certainty this season was supposed to be Cy Young runner up Kenta Maeda leading the rotation. So far however things just haven’t looked quite right, even before his blow up in Oakland on Wednesday. So what’s going on with King Kenta?It’s been pointed out on the broadcast several times since Opening Day how Kenta Maeda just hasn’t looked “sharp”. He was certainly effective leading up to one of his worst starts of his career against Oakland while sporting a 3.07 ERA and 3.02 FIP paired with a near 10 K/9. That being said he just never really appeared to get on a dominant roll like we saw so many times in 2020. After seven earned runs in three innings, Maeda’s line tells the story of a different pitcher. His ERA rose to 6.11 with a 5.29 FIP and even xERA, his most positive indicator comes out to a 4.47. All of these indicators are far from what we expected to see this season. It’s easy to blame one bad start for Maeda’s inflated stats but there are serious concerns in this young season for perhaps the most important pitcher on this struggling Twins roster. Shaky Command: As we know, Maeda isn’t succeeding by way of the 95 mph fastball. In 2020 he used pinpoint command of his pitches to place them exactly where he wanted to pick batters apart. That does not appear to be the case so far in 2021 however. His command of the strike zone appears to be failing him, as his pitches left over the heart of the plate has increased to 28% after posting a 23.9% mark in 2020. Unsurprisingly, hitters are batting .486 and slugging .886 off of these mistakes Maeda has made more often so far this year. He simply can’t afford to leave so many pitchers in a hitter’s wheelhouse with a 90-91 mph fastball. It would be different if his offspeed pitches were as otherworldly as they were in 2020, but unfortunately… The Slider: Maeda’s nasty slider and the Twins were a match made in heaven from the day they acquired him from the Dodgers. In 2019, FanGraphs gave the pitch a pitch value of 19.8, one of the best in all of baseball. In 2020 the pitch fell off tremendously to 6.7 but was still plenty for Maeda to dominate opposing hitters. So far in 2021 the pitch has a pitch value -5.1. Maeda’s signature pitch has gone from his calling card to allowing a .382 batting average and .735 slugging %. So what happened? It appears it all comes back to command for Maeda. He’s throwing his swing and miss pitch right down the middle as often as anyone in all of baseball. The end result is still a consistent whiff rate of almost 33% so far, but when contact is made, it’s loud. The league could have easily just scouted this flaw out after a year which would give a huge edge even to teams that didn’t see him in person in 2020. The Change Up: It’s possible many fans made the assumption that Maeda’s breakout was a result of the Twins overhauling his slider in 2020 but that wasn’t the case. Instead it was the best performance Maeda’s split change has had in his career. In 2020 the pitch had a career high value of 7.1, even higher than his slider. So far this year however the pitch has turned in a -1 rating and Maeda has dropped his usage of the dominant pitch from almost 30% to around 21%. What gives? For starters it’s worth noting that 2020 was the first year Maeda truly featured the pitch and baseball could have adjusted. This may be the reason the pitch has gone from a 45% whiff rate in 2020 to a 23.5% mark so far in 2021. That being said, the .300 BA allowed isn’t backed up by the .234 xBA on the pitch, nor is the .400 slugging % mirrored by the .305 xSLG. It’s also worth noting that both his vertical and horizontal break on the pitch have improved from 2020 levels so far. The change up’s struggles could be a result of sequencing given the failures of his slider or it could just be bad luck. Either way, it’d be nice to see Maeda bump the usage of the pitch back up. So where do we go from here? It’s probably likely Maeda isn’t the same pitcher over 162 as he was over 60 but the version we’ve seen so far has been a big disappointment. Maeda had the look of his 2020 self to begin Spring Training which should be reassuring that his dominance didn’t simply disappear at the turn of the year. There are adjustments for the 33 year old right hander to make. For all of the issues pitchers run into in their mid 30s, command would be a surprising one to drag Maeda down long term. For now it appears Maeda may just be missing some feel or possibly has a small tweak to make. I’d bet on Maeda righting the ship in the near future and returning to some form of dominance. Afterall, something has to go the Twins way sometime right? — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

There isn’t an immediate need in the starting rotation, but on Friday the Twins were reminded of their depth. Lewis Thorpe made his 2021 debut and it appears it won’t be the last start he makes for the Twins this year.The Twins surprisingly went with Lewis Thorpe to start Friday’s series opener against the Angels over Randy Dobnak, who was already on the roster and would have been able to eat a few innings following the doubleheader. Thorpe faced a formidable Angels lineup even without Anthony Rendon. He struck out two and walked one in four innings of two-run ball. Without watching the game it’s easy to be unimpressed with such a line, but there were certainly reasons for encouragement. For starters it’s worth noting that Thorpe’s current 4.50 ERA is misleading. He got BABIP’d to death in his start including a shift beating single to allow his two runs. His FIP instead sits at 2.91 and his xERA which takes Statcast into account sits at 0.97. Thorpe allowed a .130 xBA and .143 xSLG in his four innings. Sure it was only one start, but the lack of comfortable swings has to be encouraging after what Thorpe showed last season where he posted a 6.06 ERA before getting demoted. Speaking of last season, the number one takeaway from Thorpe’s first start was how he presented himself. 2020 something just seemed off as the left hander seemed to lack confidence despite his moderate success in 2019. Instead it was hard to say just by looking at Thorpe that he was making his debut or that he was attempting to raise the stock on his young career which had come crashing down so rapidly in one year. Confidence might be what separates Thorpe from a successful Major League pitcher and the pitcher we saw in 2020. Talent shouldn’t be the question for a young pitcher who in 2019 led all of AAA in K/9. It’ll be interesting to see how the Twins handle Thorpe moving forward. He’s surely in his last option year at this point but the Twins chose him over the newly-extended Randy Dobnak to make a spot start. Could Thorpe perhaps be the first in line for a rotation injury while Dobnak remains in the bullpen? Was this spot start for the lefty a one time deal? Let us know below. — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

The Twins were inspired to add a shortstop this winter and opted for defensive specialist Andrelton Simmons over a superior bat such as Didi Gregorius or Marcus Semien. What the Twins have gotten so far however was certainly more than they could have ever expected.Andrelton Simmons has been a defensive wizard since he broke through to the MLB and has been considered by some to be the best defensive shortstop of the generation. His defense alone has him walking the tightrope to a Hall of Fame finish thus far in his career according to bWAR and fWAR measurements. It’s this reason the Twins brought the 31-year-old shortstop to Minnesota on a one year deal. After a shocking error in the first game of the season, Simmons has been as advertised with the glove. His baseball IQ is through the roof, his range and arm at shortstop are unlike anything Twins fans have ever seen as he’s proven several times already in this young season. There’s little doubt that Simmons’ presence will be made known defensively, but it’s the offense so far that should really be drawing eyes. Simmons has a slash line of .270/.318/.379 in his career, good for 9% below a league average hitter in that time according to wRC+. He perfectly fits the mould of a light hitting, slick fielding shortstop, perfect for a bottom of the order hitter on a team full of mashers. Through seven games, however, Simmons is on fire posting a .450/.577/.600 slash which is 129% above league average. He can’t and won’t keep producing at this level forever as evidenced by his absurd .600 batting average on balls in play. That being said, what Simmons is doing so far should be encouraging. His 2019 and 2020 have been hindered by ankle injuries and separate him from his 2017 and 2018 seasons, the former in which he finished eighth in MVP voting. In those seasons Simmons did little more than put up league average offense while his glove carried him to 5+ win seasons in both years (The last Twin to post 5+ fWAR was Brian Dozier in 2017). His health has kept him from doing so since. The Twins new shortstop may very well run into more injuries as he passes the age of 30, in fact there’s reason to believe this is likely. That being said, we may be looking at the first time Andrelton Simmons has been fully healthy since he received MVP votes three years ago which has a possibility to be the steal of the offseason for the Twins at $10.5m. Look for the Twins to continue to manage Simmons’ workload as we’ve seen with him already getting one off day through the season’s first seven games. Even if his range at short reduces with the normal wear and tear of the regular season, his instincts and arm should continue to be the main source of his value. Avoiding the big injury and therefore being able to hold his own offensively may elevate him to a level the Twins didn’t have in mind when they signed their stopgap shortstop. Could the Twins have picked up another name that we could possibly see receiving MVP votes by season’s end? Is Simmons’ offense so far just a complete mirage doomed to come crashing down? Let us know below. — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

Alex Colomé made his Twins debut and promptly blew a three-run save in fantastic fashion. Judgements shouldn’t be drawn from one appearance, but let’s see what we can learn from this Opening Day disaster.It’s worth remembering what kind of pitcher Alex Colomé is, and that’s one that pitches to weak contact. In 2020 Colomé had only a 17.8 K% but was in the top 25% of the league in hard hit % allowed. The reason this is noteworthy is that on Opening Day Colomé allowed an average exit velocity of only 85.3 mph. In terms of the skills that have made Colomé a superb reliever the last few years, everything looked fine. Perhaps the Twins would like to coax a few more strikeouts out of him to help escape some jams that come up, but in terms of stuff, Colomé was as advertised. The real issue was pretty pretty obvious, and that was the defense we saw in the ninth inning. I crack myself up. In all seriousness though these stats do tell a story. For as bad as Colomé appeared to be, it’s not like he gave up a homer like Hendricks did in his White Sox debut. He likely escapes unscathed with solid defense. It would of course be insincere not to mention that Colomé was his own worst enemy on defense, as he committed the costly error that cracked the door open for the Brewers to eventually kick down. Throwing to second base with a three-run lead, one out and a runner on first is more of a mental blunder than a physical one. Colomé being the seasoned closer he is just had a brain cramp. It wasn’t pretty but it’s doubtful that such a mistake is likely to become a trend with Colomé unlike giving up a bunch of loud contact which may foreshadow future issues for example. There was also a bit of bad luck involved in Colomé’s outing. I’m still not convinced the hit by pitch to Kolten Wong was worthy of awarding him first base. The ball clearly hit the knob of the bat in replay. Max Kepler also almost made a fantastic play on a ball with a 97% chance of being a hit which would have saved Colomé as well. It wasn’t an error on Max, but he did a great job of making it a catchable ball and couldn’t quite come up with it. All of this to say that no, Alex Colomé is not toast after one appearance in a Twins uniform. We should not trade him for whatever we can get. The Twins bullpen is not already a dumpster fire. A mental mistake and a series of bad breaks led to a very unfortunate meltdown on Opening Day. All signs at this time point to Colomé being just fine. We may all be on the edge of our seats in his next appearance, but Alex Colomé will absolutely play a big role in the 2021 Twins bullpen. — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

Alex Colomé made his Twins debut and promptly blew a three-run save in fantastic fashion. Judgements shouldn’t be drawn from one appearance, but let’s see what we can learn from this Opening Day disaster.It’s worth remembering what kind of pitcher Alex Colomé is, and that’s one that pitches to weak contact. In 2020 Colomé had only a 17.8 K% but was in the top 25% of the league in hard hit % allowed. The reason this is noteworthy is that on Opening Day Colomé allowed an average exit velocity of only 85.3 mph. In terms of the skills that have made Colomé a superb reliever the last few years, everything looked fine. Perhaps the Twins would like to coax a few more strikeouts out of him to help escape some jams that come up, but in terms of stuff, Colomé was as advertised. The real issue was pretty pretty obvious, and that was the defense we saw in the ninth inning. I crack myself up. In all seriousness though these stats do tell a story. For as bad as Colomé appeared to be, it’s not like he gave up a homer like Hendricks did in his White Sox debut. He likely escapes unscathed with solid defense. It would of course be insincere not to mention that Colomé was his own worst enemy on defense, as he committed the costly error that cracked the door open for the Brewers to eventually kick down. Throwing to second base with a three-run lead, one out and a runner on first is more of a mental blunder than a physical one. Colomé being the seasoned closer he is just had a brain cramp. It wasn’t pretty but it’s doubtful that such a mistake is likely to become a trend with Colomé unlike giving up a bunch of loud contact which may foreshadow future issues for example. There was also a bit of bad luck involved in Colomé’s outing. I’m still not convinced the hit by pitch to Kolten Wong was worthy of awarding him first base. The ball clearly hit the knob of the bat in replay. Max Kepler also almost made a fantastic play on a ball with a 97% chance of being a hit which would have saved Colomé as well. It wasn’t an error on Max, but he did a great job of making it a catchable ball and couldn’t quite come up with it. All of this to say that no, Alex Colomé is not toast after one appearance in a Twins uniform. We should not trade him for whatever we can get. The Twins bullpen is not already a dumpster fire. A mental mistake and a series of bad breaks led to a very unfortunate meltdown on Opening Day. All signs at this time point to Colomé being just fine. We may all be on the edge of our seats in his next appearance, but Alex Colomé will absolutely play a big role in the 2021 Twins bullpen. — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article

Even if he keeps doing what he's done in his career I think they'll try to trade him in for whatever value they can once Kirilloff and Larnach are here to stay. At that point with those two and Kepler it'll without a doubt be better to have a right handed backup. But I agree, Cave is a mainstay at the moment. He does some things well and some things not so well. Nobody needs to be fired up for him but he's solid.

Kirilloff didn't make the team and it wasn't because of Cave. Rooker was either going to beat Garlick out or go to AAA, I don't think it was ever him vs Cave. Cave being a lefty is fantastic for the situation we're in now. Once Kirilloff and Larnach are up his being left handed may be redundant, but I can almost guarantee you playing the matchups of Cave and one of the righties produces more value that rotating Rooker and Garlick.

That's what I'd hope for myself although it's hard to forecast how much they'll use Arraez in LF. I wish they'd given him more starts in LF this spring but I genuinely think they wanted Kirilloff to take that spot early on.

Who's he blocking? It seemed a lot more like Kirilloff played himself out of a spot rather than Cave just having it handed to him. In Rooker's case they put a lot of emphasis on his defense. If anyone I'd say Garlick is the clog in the rookie call ups at this point, as I don't think both him and Rooker were ever going to make the roster together.

I agree. Now is his time to get some ABs but his left handed bat may be unnecessary in a short while when Kirilloff comes up, let alone shortly after when it's Larnachs turn. I do think the Cave/Garlick platoon will be formidable for now though.

With regards to Rooker it's actually very possibly Cave ends up with a better career than Rooker when all is said and done. Rooker is a volatile hitter with power and no defense and Cave can at least do a range of things reasonably well. I also was bummed Rooker got sent down, but if people want to win this season then Cave was probably the right choice over Rooker given the information above. The Twins have more value in a versatile left handed outfielder in the mix than two poor fielding right handed ones.

Now that the Opening Day roster has been announced, it seems as though it’s been Garlick vs. Rooker for the last outfield spot all along despite a career worst 2020 and difficult spring for Jake Cave. What exactly do the Twins see in the left handed outfielder?Jake Cave’s selection to the Opening Day roster may have fans a bit surprised after a career worst 2020 in which he managed a .221/.285/.389 triple slash, good for 18% below league average. He just barely bested Brent Rooker’s spring numbers (.723 OPS vs .712), who many feel has the more exciting bat after his short showing in 2020. Garlick and Rooker in competition can be argued, but Jake Cave being one of the left fielders in the mix is the right choice at this time. Playing the Matchups: For as rough as 2020 was overall for Cave, he still held his own against right handed pitching by posting a .235/.303/.420 triple slash and was 4% below league average against right handed pitching. Hovering around league average against righties may not seem all that impressive, but being able to count on that production is actually pretty valuable. For example, Kyle Garlick has been 60% below league average against righties in his short career. Also take into account that 2020 was Cave’s worst year in those matchups by far. In his three seasons as a whole, he’s been 15% above league average against right handed pitching which is pretty incredible. Do we really think that Cave has declined this much against right handed pitching at the age of 28? Pairing Cave with Garlick can ensure that he avoids his number one weakness being left handed pitching. Plugging him in against only right handed pitching and mixing in Garlick against lefties can go a long way in replacing Eddie Rosario’s bat according to the numbers. Missing the Soft Stuff: Just about everyone from Jake Cave to Nelson Cruz hit the fastball better than breaking balls and offspeed pitches, but Cave’s performance against the latter in 2020 just didn’t make a lot of sense. Cave had two years of at least getting by before the bottom fell out in about 350 opportunities against these pitches in 2020. For reference, in 2019 Cave saw almost 900 breaking balls and offspeed pitches and performed much better against them. It’s far likelier that Cave was a small sample size victim than it is that he completely forgot how to hit the soft stuff at age 28. Few players can claim to hit these pitches well, but Cave could easily go back to at least scraping by against them in 2021 which would go a long way in a bounceback. Defensive Value: Defensive metrics are fluid and a little inconsistent, but it’s safe to say Cave has come a long way since his debut. Cave was always an athletic outfielder with good speed, but he made tons of mistakes in his debut season. What Statcast has noticed in his game across the last three seasons is impressive. His “jump” measures his reaction time on fly balls which was actually better than Byron Buxton’s in 2020 believe it or not. The result was him being in the top 15% of outfielders in “Outs Above Average” which measures how many extra outs a player's defense results in. It goes without saying that this kind of improvement doesn’t just happen. Cave has worked hard at his position and while that doesn’t mean anything in itself in the MLB, he’s become a great defensive outfielder. Even if his offense can’t fill the Rosario void, Cave’s ability to add value on defense could be higher than Eddie’s ever was. Nobody is arguing for Jake Cave to be a full on starter, but he’s one of the better fourth outfielders in baseball. For example, the White Sox would likely kill to have a left fielder of Cave’s caliber at this point. In all likelihood, the left field situation will be a platoon until Kirilloff can come up and show he can play everyday. Until then, Jake Cave’s defense and left handed bat are exactly what the Twins need. — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email — Follow Cody Pirkl on Twitter here Click here to view the article