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The Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians just wrapped up a stretch of eight games against one another with no ground being gained on either side. The White Sox have taken another step backwards and the Kansas City Royals broke the trading dam as we enter the month of the deadline. The Standings: Minnesota 43-36 Cleveland 39-34 Chicago 35-39 Detroit 29-45 Kansas City 27-47 Minnesota did take back over the top of the division after briefly ceding it by percentage points, but run differential continues to tell another story for everyone not named the Twins. The AL Central continues to be a weak division overall, and most projection systems continue to believe in the White Sox pretty heavily. The Stories: For Minnesota it’s been an emergence of the youngsters. While Trevor Larnach was put on the injured list and core-muscle surgery, Jorge Polanco returned and both Jose Miranda and Alex Kirilloff have been substantial in the lineup. Kirilloff is hitting for power we never previously saw prior to his St. Paul demotion, and Miranda has been on an absolute tear over the past month. The rotation got some health injected into it with both Sonny Gray and Josh Winder returning to their spots as well. It's still clear this club needs to make trade there are more than a few options out there. White Sox superstar Tim Anderson was named a finalist to start at shortstop in the All-Star Game. The game will take place at Dodgers Stadium in a couple of weeks. Yoan Moncada was activated off the injured list on Tuesday and him being a consistent option for Tony La Russa’s lineup would be something that the club has not yet seen this season. Lenyn Sosa made his MLB debut while Moncada was out, and collected his first hit. Chicago hit the skids a bit this past week going 4-6 over their last ten and dropping to -48 in the run differential column.. Walk offs were the name of the game for Cleveland this week. The Guardians walked Minnesota off twice to end the second series they played each other, and Terry Francona’s club routinely bludgeoned Minnesota’s bullpen. Andres Gimenez was responsible for one of the walk-offs and has put up an All-Star-worthy campaign. Jose Ramirez was named a finalist to start at third base in the All-Star Game. Cleveland did also acquire Sandy Leon from the Cincinnati Reds while they lost Ian Gibaut to the Los Angeles Dodgers on waivers. Things are relatively status quo in Detroit, which is to say not exceptionally great. They did sign right-handed pitcher Drew Hutchison to a minor league deal after he had elected free agency a week prior. The Tigers shipped catcher Ryan Lavarnway to the Miami Marlins late last week in a depth move. He had played 44 games at Triple-A Toledo but had not made a big league appearance yet in 2022. Lavarnway was assigned to Triple-A Jacksonville by Miami. Miguel Cabrera also moved up on the all-time hits leaderboard in the past week as well. Kansas City made the biggest waves this week when they capitalized on a hot stretch from veteran Carlos Santana and dealt him to the Seattle Mariners for right-handed pitchers Wyatt Mills and William Fleming. The next move that came from this deal was a big one in that the Royals were able to promote their third-best prospect, Vinnie Pasquantino. They did have to place right-handed pitcher Josh Staumont on the injured list with a next strain. Veteran starter Zack Greinke made his 500th career start. The Week Ahead: After dealing with a divisional foe twice in the last week, Minnesota gets Baltimore at home over the weekend before traveling to face the White Sox for a three-game series starting on Independence Day. A much-needed off day is coming on Thursday. Finishing their west coast trip with a three-game set in San Francisco, Chicago returns home for the Twins series and then welcomes Detroit into town for a four-game series that goes through the weekend. Things don’t get easier for Cleveland after needing to deal with the Twins. They stay at home this weekend, but an angry New York Yankees team comes to town after having been handled by the Houston Astros. Cleveland then has yet another double-header on Monday, starting four games in three days with the Tigers. It’s all AL Central action for Detroit. Kansas City is in town this weekend, then the Cleveland series, and the week finishes with a four-game set on the road against the White Sox. Kansas City’s test won’t be so much on the road against Detroit this week as much as it will be when they immediately travel to Houston for four with the Astros. Bringing up the rear of the division, the gap could get wider for them in a hurry? What are you looking forward to this week? Can Minnesota create some breathing room now getting to face teams not named the Guardians? View full article

After the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins were riding high last week, both came crashing back down to earth. The Cleveland Guardians are now second in the division, and the Detroit Tigers nearly swept the leaders in a five game set. The Standings: Minnesota 30-23 Cleveland 22-24 Chicago 23-26 Detroit 21-30 Kansas City 16-33 Despite going just 5-5 over their last ten games, a three-game winning streak for the Guardians was enough to overtake second in a division trending downwards. Detroit has gone 7-3 in their last ten and looked like a better club than the division-leading Minnesota Twins. Only the NL East can join in the misery of having a single team with a winning record. The Stories: For Minnesota at the top, this week has been marred with injury and Covid. Losing Royce Lewis innings after his promotion and then watching Sonny Gray join him on the IL, it’s been a continued downfall. Add in a trio of players testing positive for Covid and it’s been an experiment to see who’s even available. Chicago has had a mixed bag of emotions. They were manhandled north of the border by the Blue Jays, and lost star shortstop Tim Anderson to a groin injury. It does appear that they’ll be getting reinforcements soon, however, with Lance Lynn and Eloy Jimenez both out on rehab assignments. The hope for Tony La Russa’s club is that Anderson could be back before the end of the month. They’ll get a bit easier stretch at the end of the month, but the Dodgers come to town and will provide another tough test. Jose Ramirez continues to be one of the best third basemen in baseball, and his production this year has kept the Guardians relevant. It’s a good thing they got a contract extension done because seeing him walk would’ve been a catastrophe. Cleveland needs pitching help and they’re looking at getting it in the form of star reliever James Karinchak. He’s begun a rehab assignment at Triple-A. Infielder Yu Chang was recently designated for assignment by the club and he ultimately dealt to the Pirates for cash considerations. Starter Aaron Civale was set to return from glute tightness, but he doesn’t seem ready when he’ll be eligible on June 6. There’s also no certain timetable for the return of Franmil Reyes. It’s not as though Minnesota is a juggernaut of a division leader, but Detroit certainly reminded them of that this week. Detroit kept things light with Beau Brieske introducing a new pregame routine of throwing footballs amongst the pitching staff. More fun than that may be Riley Greene blasting his first homer of 2022, albeit at Triple-A. He’s now played in three games but was slated to open the year with Detroit. The Tigers could get added power to their lineup in short order. This may win up being among the best stretches A.J. Hinch’s team sees all season. While Detroit and Cleveland took advantage this week, Kansas City slid further back. They are just 2-8 over their last ten and now own the worst record in baseball. Michael A. Taylor is nearing a return as he’s begun a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha, but it remains to be seen how his body reacts as he’s been out since May 19 with Covid. Catcher Cam Gallagher is also nearing a return, but how he fits remains a mystery as Salvador Perez and M.J. Melendez are both superior talents. Veteran Zack Greinke was placed on the injured list with a right flexor strain. It’s certainly not ideal seeing him dealing with forearm discomfort. The Week Ahead: This could be a defining week in the first half for the Twins. Licking their wounds from Detroit, they head across the border shorthanded to play the Blue Jays before returning home to face the Yankees. Against the top of the AL East, they’ll have their work cut out for them. It doesn’t exactly get easier for the White Sox either. They continue the AL East tour heading to St. Petersburg for three with Tampa and then return home to face a very good Los Angeles Dodgers team. The top of the AL Central could look much different by this time next week. Playing good baseball right now, Cleveland has to be excited about the prospects of a series with the Orioles, even if it’s on the road. They do get another beatable group in Texas and Oakland when they return home. Although Detroit handled the Twins, they’ll have a tougher task in going to The Bronx over the weekend. If there’s a reprieve, it’s that they head to Pittsburgh from there with off days on both sides of that two-game set. If the Royals weren’t already sick of taking their lumps, they’ll get rewarded by welcoming both Houston and Toronto to Kansas City. What are you looking forward to this week? Can the Twins hang on? Who’s coming for them? View full article

In this week’s AL Central Division update we see the consistency of play across the division that may go unmatched the rest of the way. Four of five teams are 5-5 over their last 10 with the Guardians being just 4-6. Minnesota still leads the division as we look to close out the second month of the season. The Standings: Minnesota 22-16 Chicago 19-19 Cleveland 16-19 Kansas City 14-23 Detroit 13-25 No team in the division currently has a winning streak going, while Cleveland is bringing up the rear holding a three-game losing streak. The Guardians have a +2 run differential despite being in third place while the White Sox have outperformed expectations given their -27 run differential. The Stories: While not to the level of Boston, the White Sox slow start is at least somewhat surprising. They’ve dealt with injury and been on the wrong side of some unfortunate games. Ultimately though, the White Sox have an ugly run differential and play some of the worst defense in the league. Tim Anderson is still hitting, but his work in the field has been atrocious. Jose Abreu has just a .625 OPS thus far and is well off his .832 mark from 2021. Despite the solid average, Luis Robert just crossed the .800 OPS threshold on Thursday. There should be plenty of room for that number to rise. Thus far, Tony La Russa’s management of a young star like Andrew Vaughn has been perplexing to say the least. This team has the talent to rush to the top, but it will be interesting to see how they manage their way forward. I’d wager that Terry Francona expected this Guardians team to be a bit better. Andres Gimenez has hit the ball well, and Jose Ramirez continues to be among baseball’s best at the hot corner. Cal Quantrill was solid again on Thursday but took a no-decision as Cleveland lacked run support. Shane Bieber hasn’t been the 2020 version of himself and Steven Kwan has come back down to earth a bit. Ramirez is the one to watch over the next week as he left Thursday’s game with a bruised shin and is being called day-to-day. Kansas City wasn’t expected to be good this year, but I don’t know if they were pegged to be this bad. Bobby Witt Jr. is settling into life as a Major Leaguer, and despite bumps in the road, has shown why his prospect stock was so high. Salvador Perez was recently placed on the injured list with a thumb sprain which opened the door for star prospect M.J. Melendez to enter the lineup. He and Witt both homered for the Royals against the White Sox on Wednesday night. Veteran outfielder Michael A. Taylor was placed on the Covid-IL before Wednesday’s game after being scratched from the lineup. There was reason to believe A.J. Hinch could take the Tigers a step forward this season but the results haven’t materialized. Eduardo Rodriguez is expected to be placed on the injured list with what’s being called a “left-side” injury. Michael Pineda broke a finger last Saturday, and Casey Mize has been on the injured list since April 15 due to a right elbow strain. Matt Manning, already on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, is working his way back through a rehab assignment. Meanwhile, key free-agent signing Javier Baez is batting just .204 with a .554 OPS, and last year’s Rule 5 darling Akil Baddoo was optioned to Triple-A. The Week Ahead: Minnesota kicks off a weekend series against Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium before returning home to host both Detroit and those same Royals. The Twins will be looking to exact revenge on the Royals after they dropped two of three during the season’s first month. Rocco Baldelli’s club already has a series sweep of the Tigers and owns a +12 run differential against the divisions cellar dwellers. Looking to close the gap at the top, Chicago has a tough test going out east to play the New York Yankees over the week. Aaron Boone has the Bronx Bombers currently going as one of baseball’s best teams. The White Sox do get a reprieve following an off day as the Red Sox come to town. Boston has failed to meet expectations thus far, and Tony La Russa’s club could be getting them at the right time. Similar to what Minnesota is seeing from a schedule construction standpoint, Cleveland hosts the Tigers for three at home before traveling to Houston for a three-game set. They’ll then close out the road trip with another series against Detroit. Between hosting and traveling to face the Twins, Kansas City gets a quick two-game set against the NL West Arizona Diamondbacks. What are you looking forward to for the Twins this week? How are you evaluating the competition? Share your thoughts in the comments below! View full article

Jonathan Schoop was signed to play second base for the Minnesota Twins in 2019. I initially was concerned about his lack of on-base skills. He was all but replaced by July, and Luis Arraez emerged as a fan favorite. Now everyone’s favorite pick to win a batting title, can it happen in 2020?Last season Arraez played in 92 games posting a .334 average. While OPS will always reign supreme, it’s the batting average and on-base prowess that draws interest for light-hitting types. Known for his ability to command and control the strike zone, the Venezuelan posted a .399 OBP drawing 36 walks while striking out just 29 times. He hasn’t had larger deficiency between strikeouts to walks than three since 2018 with Fort Myers, and he’s walked more times than whiffing in five of his eight affiliated stops. A career .331 hitter in the minors, his .334 average at the big-league level should hardly be a surprise. Sure, against the best in the game there’s expectation of some regression, but his approach is one that should translate to almost all situations. Power isn’t his thing, and the four homers he hit for the Twins nearly trumped the six he’d launched in 459 professional games previously. Being able to place the baseball and go with pitches he’ll run into some doubles, but he’s more than content utilizing what is offered. From an upward trajectory standpoint, Arraez won’t often find substantial benefit in splits between average and BABIP. Given the process, results often will be earned and seldom stolen. He’s not driving the ball high into the air, but does a good job elevating enough off the ground. A 20-point difference between the two was present last year, and that’s the exact same amount Steamer projections see for 2020. It’s consistent with career norms and means we should have a relatively well-assumed set of expectations. The recipe for success with Arraez is a formula that won’t need tweaking. He hit the ball with what’s designated as medium exit velocities just over 50% of the time and had his soft contact percentage in the doldrums at 12.3% (top 15 in baseball). He utilizes all fields to nearly an exact one-third split, and then we get to his discipline. A 2.8% whiff rate was the lowest in baseball and only 28 qualified hitters expanded the plate more than Arraez’s 26.9% chase rate. From a summarization standpoint, that leaves us in a very good place. Luis Arraez is a contact hitter that is choosy with what he attacks. He executes within himself, has an incredible eye, and has an established track record of not deviating from these norms. The inputs are there to produce a result no Twins player has had since Joe Mauer in 2009. Now, with an award handed to one of hundreds, there’s also going to be a certain component of luck. Take the White Sox' Tim Anderson for example. He captured the American League batting title in 2019 with a .335 average. He entered the year as a career .258 hitter and enjoyed a Danny Santana-esque .399 BABIP. No AL champ has worn the crown with an average south of .330 since Joe Mauer captured his second in 2008 with a .328 mark. Conversely, Christian Yelich has picked up the nod in the National League each of the last two years being at .329 and .326 respectively. It’s hard to prognosticate what bar will need to be cleared in order to win the American League crown in 2020. It’s not outlandish to suggest the number will be at least north of .325. Projection systems have Arraez between .309 and .311 in year two, which could prove correct as opposing pitchers adjust to his abilities. I’m not going to be against a guy that’s cracked the .340 mark in multiple stops however, and certainly not one that debuted as well as he did. Minnesota’s second basemen may not be the favorite, and ultimately 2020 might not wind up being the year, but immediately or in the not-so-distant-future I’d be more than comfortable suggesting it’s a matter of when and not if. 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

In case you haven’t been following the Minnesota Twins to this point in the season, Byron Buxton has started the season really slowly. On Monday night in Texas, he went 0-2 with two walks and is now hitting just .105/.177/.140 (.318). There is really no way to sugarcoat those numbers. Nick wrote a bit about his struggles yesterday. While few have struggled to the level that Buxton has to start this season, there are a lot of hitters who are just not hitting to this point. Heading into play on Monday, 27 qualifying players (have 3.1 at bats per game their team plays for) had a batting average below .200. The average batting average in MLB was .241.There are six players in the big leagues who are 22 to 24 years old and hitting under .220 heading into Monday’s games. I thought it would be interesting to see if their teams have done anything about those players. Have they been demoted? Will they be demoted? Have they been moved in the lineup at all? I think I found some consistencies in the research. Dansby Swanson - 23 - SS - Atlanta Braves 2017 Stats*: .139/.162/.194 (.357) in 74 plate appearances over 18 games. Swanson was the first overall draft pick in the 2015 draft out of Vanderbilt. Inexplicably, Dave Stewart decided to trade the Georgia native to Atlanta (with two others) for Shelby Miller. The Braves called him up late last year. He played in 38 big league games, he hit .302/.361/.442 (.803) in 145 plate appearances. He had 34 strikeouts, but he also walked 13 times. Part of his struggles this season can be tied to his strikeout-to-walk rate. He has 19 strikeouts to go with just two walks. He began the 2017 season as Atlanta’s second-place hitter. He stayed in that spot for the first 14 games. He then got a day off. At that point he was in a 3-33 slump which dropped his average to .131. When he returned to the lineup this past weekend, he had been moved to the eighth spot. Swanson seems to be taking the struggles in stride. When he was given his one game off, he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “When you’re going like this each at-bat is kind of a battle,” Swanson said. “I was just talking to some people about how, it’s like, they throw those perfect breaking balls on certain counts and they make certain pitches, and then when you do hit balls hard people seem to be standing right there and stuff. But you’ve got to do your best to not let that affect you — just because you’re not getting the result doesn’t mean you’re not doing the right thing. “This game, it’s hard. It’s just a weird concept because you can execute everything perfectly and not be successful, whereas in football if you run a play perfectly you’re going to be successful, or in basketball if you shoot the perfect shot it’s going in. It’s just funny how, in this (sport), you can take the perfect swing and it doesn’t matter. Nothing’s really in your control except your immediate action.” Tim Anderson - 24 - SS - Chicago White Sox 2017 Stats*: .179/.203/.254 (.457) in 69 plate appearances Anderson was the White Sox first-round pick in 2013 out of Community College. He was called up in mid-June and played in 99 games. He hit .283/.306/.432 (.738). Those that have watched the White Sox since his call up know what his issue can be. Throw him a breaking ball outside of the strike zone, and he’ll probably still swing at it. Last year, he saw just 3.7 pitches per plate appearance. This year, that number is down to just 3.3. But the White Sox obviously see him as a future star and leader on the team. . This spring, they locked him up to a six year, $25 million contract. With a couple of option years, the value of the contract could exceed $51 million. So, he’s probably got some leeway. He began the season by batting second the first seven games, and then he moved up to the leadoff spot for three games. After a day off, he has hit second four times and led off twice. Through 16 games, Rich Renteria has chosen to keep Anderson near the top of the order. Orlando Arcia - 22 - SS - Milwaukee Brewers 2017 Stats*: .210/.234/.306 (.541) in 64 plate appearances over the first 18 games Arcia was signed out of Venezuela. He is the younger brother of former Twins outfielder Oswaldo Arcia. He is known for his premiere defense at shortstop, which may surprise those of us who watched Oswaldo out in the outfield in Target Field. He was called up late last year and played in 55 games for the Brewers last year. He hit .219/.273/.358 (.631). The Brewers have him up primarily for his defense and are letting him grow into the offensive side of the game. That is shown, in part, by the fact that they have had him hitting eighth or even ninth in their lineup in each game he’s played. Brewers manager Craig Counsell recently told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Development is not a straight line," Counsell said. "Failure is part of it. You don’t know for who and when, but you know that there’s going to be struggles, and you have to get through those times. That’s when most of the learning happens and the biggest adjustments are going to happen." "Look, I don’t want to see guys struggle. It’s hard seeing guys struggle. But I know also a lot of good can come from the struggle, and that’s what I always remain hopeful about." Jose Peraza - 22 - 2B/SS - Cincinnati Reds 2017 Stats*: .216/.256/.257 (.513) in 78 plate appearances over 18 games Peraza actually made his MLB debut in 2015 when he played in seven games for the Dodgers before being involved in his second, three-team trade in his young career. It sent him to Cincinnati. In 2016, he hit .324/.352/.411 (.762) in 72 games and 256 plate appearances. He played around the infield, but mostly in the two middle spots. This year, he is off to a slow start. However, in all 18 games he has played, he has hit first or second. Chad Dotson from Redleg Nation doesn’t think that Peraza is in any danger of a demotion: As far as I know, there has been no public discussion about either sending Peraza down or dropping him in the lineup. In my opinion, it is highly unlikely that Peraza will be demoted. He’s still just 22 years old, and current management has reason to be patient with the young guys at the heart of the rebuild. This is a season for the Reds to see who they have and what they can do. Peraza will get a much longer leash than 3 weeks. (Plus, his defense has been good.) Trevor Story - 24 - SS - Colorado Rockies 2017 Stats*: .169/.270/.415 (.686) in 74 plate appearances over 19 games Story was the big story early last season. In his MLB debut last year, he hit two home runs. He had six home runs in his first four games. Unfortunately, his season ended after just 97 games due to injury, but he finished by hitting 21 doubles and 27 home runs. He hit .272/.341/.567 (.909). So, it’s clear that he isn’t off to the same kind of start as he was last year. However, he has continued to show the home run power. Rockies fans are surprised when Story hits a single so far this year. He started the season hitting fifth, and batted fourth or fifth each of the first seven games. Since then, he has hit primarily sixth, but also has three games where he’s batted seventh as well. So for now, he has been dropped a little in the lineup. Carlos Correa - 23 - SS - Houston Astros 2017 Stats*: .197/.286/.295 (.581) with 70 plate appearances in 16 games. Correa was the top pick in the 2012 MLB draft, one pick ahead of Byron Buxton. Correa was called up halfway through the 2015 season and hit 22 homers on his way to the AL Rookie of the Year. In 2016, he hit .274/.361/.451 (.811) with 36 doubles, 20 homers and 96 RBI. 2017 hasn’t started out real well for Correa. However, he has been the Astros cleanup hitter each game that he’s played this season, and that probably won’t change anytime soon. SUMMARY So what have we noticed from reviewing the six players above? Maybe you’ll think through some more, but here are a few things I noticed. If you go on Twitter or read comments sections, there are two distinct groups of fans for each of these players. There are the ones who want a guy demoted (or even just given up on), and there are those that will support said player as long as it takes. Here’s a good example from Twitter regarding Dansby Swanson: 2.) Defense - you’ll notice that each of these players plays an up-the-middle position, and plays it well. While Buxton is the only outfielder, most of them are shortstops. Each is known for being a plus defender. 3.) Byron Buxton was the Twins #3 hitter on Opening Day. Having watched him play this spring, it was an aggressive, but understandable plan. Not because of any numbers he put up in spring training, but because of the quality of the at-bats that he was having. After struggling for five games, Paul Molitor moved him down the lineup and he’s primarily been batting ninth since. He’s been pinch-hit for three times and sat out a couple of games too. Swanson stayed in the second spot for 14 games before being moved down this weekend. Story has dropped from five to seven. But the rest have stayed in their spots. 4.) Online searching tells me that none of the other players are in any danger of being demoted, at least not in the near future. 5.) Patience is what is being preached. That’s not new. Player development is not linear. Not everyone develops at the same time. Sometimes being optioned helps. Sometimes a player needs to figure things out in the big leagues. 6.) Walk and strikeout rates are pretty consistently telling in seeing player struggles. I don’t think that surprises anyone. Players that have a better control of the strike zone have a tendency to avoid longer slumps, and they don’t get themselves out by swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. Now, we don’t watch these other teams play as often as we watch the Twins. It’s also pretty certain from the stats and the strikeout rates that Buxton’s struggles have exceeded even those mentioned above. Personally, I would like to see the Twins continue to play Buxton most every day and let him try to work through this. Finally, here is a list of the 27 players who entered Monday’s game with a sub-.200 batting average. Jose Reyes - .104 Ryan Schimpf - .109 Jose Bautista - .132 Devon Travis - .136 Dansby Swanson - .139 Danny Valencia - .145 Curtis Granderson - .149 Travis Jankowski - .160 Mike Napoli - .162 Erick Aybar - .164 Trevor Story - .169 Alex Gordon - .169 Dexter Fowler - .169 Maikel Franco - .171 Scott Schebler - .175 Austin Hedges - .175 Tim Anderson - .179 Brett Gardner - .182 Jonathan Villar - .185 Rougned Odor - .187 Alcides Escobar - .190 Danny Espinosa - .191 Domingo Santana - .193 Adonis Garcia - .194 Justin Bour - .194 Carlos Gonzalez - .197 Carlos Correa - .197 It’s an interesting mix, isn’t it? There are young players and there are old players. There are some former All-Stars, and there are guys you had to look up to see what team they even play for. It’s easy to jump to conclusions early in a season even though we all know it’s a very small sample. But with Buxton, the question that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have to be asking themselves is: What is best for Byron Buxton’s long-term future? Learn in the big leagues or learn in AAA Rochester. The problem is, there is no way to know which answer is more correct than the other. Share your thoughts. Click here to view the article