All Things 2024 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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GophersInIowa said:
Hey they scored a run (even though they did absolutely nothing to earn that run).

I will never understand how a team can go through long stretches where they look like the best hitting team and then others where they look like if I was trying to hit MLB pitching. I get players have slumps but how does an entire lineup go into a slump at the same time?
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So you will go insane 😜
 






some days you win
some days you lose
some days it rains

Twins 4-1/2 up on the Red Sox in the Wild card race. with the Royals cooling off, Twins have a chance to move past KC into the 2nd Wild Card slot.

now, Cleveland and KC play each other in a 3-game series - so one of those teams is guaranteed to lose each day. Twins have 4 with Tampa Bay. an opportunity for them to close the gap - if they can take advantage.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
some days you win
some days you lose
some days it rains

Twins 4-1/2 up on the Red Sox in the Wild card race. with the Royals cooling off, Twins have a chance to move past KC into the 2nd Wild Card slot.

now, Cleveland and KC play each other in a 3-game series - so one of those teams is guaranteed to lose each day. Twins have 4 with Tampa Bay. an opportunity for them to close the gap - if they can take advantage.
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On paper, KC has the toughest remaining schedule of these four teams, with a weighted average winning percentage of .518 for their opponents. The average winning percentages of the Twins, Guardians and Red Sox remaining opponents are all slightly below .500. Boston and Cleveland both have a 3-game series left with the dreadful South Siders.
 

GopherVotary said:
On paper, KC has the toughest remaining schedule of these four teams, with a weighted average winning percentage of .518 for their opponents. The average winning percentages of the Twins, Guardians and Red Sox remaining opponents are all slightly below .500. Boston and Cleveland both have a 3-game series left with the dreadful South Siders.
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Cleveland is 5-5, thus far against the Mighty Whities.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Twins 4-1/2 up on the Red Sox in the Wild card race.
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Barring a three game sweep by the BoSox when we go to Fenway later this month, we should have the tiebreaker against Boston, either via head-to-head record or divisional record (thanks White Sox).
 



From my insomnia to this thread via Gleeman @ The Athletic -

Info on Mayonnaise
Helman ranked No. 34 on my preseason Twins top prospects list, and he’s bolstered his standing since then by hitting .283/.367/.508 with 13 homers and 10 steals in 63 games for St. Paul. Much like Castro, he can play essentially anywhere, starting Triple-A games at every position but catcher and seeing extensive action at shortstop, center field and third base this season.

Where’s Varland
Notable by his absence is Louie Varland, who was not called up. For now, at least. Varland will almost surely end up in the Twins’ bullpen at some point this month, like last September, but that move isn’t being made yet. He’s still needed as rotation insurance after the starter depth was wiped out by injuries to Joe Ryan and Chris Paddack.

One possibility would be to bring up Varland to make a spot start in early September, giving everyone in the rotation extra rest when the young arms are at risk of wearing down, and then transition him to the bullpen for the final two or three weeks. Maintaining rotation depth for as long as possible is important, but the bullpen has been running on fumes.

 



Why is it a night game today? Should be required to be a day game on a holiday.
 






On this date in 1991, Twins rookie second baseman Chuck Knoblauch began a TWENTY-game hitting streak over which he hit an even .400.

He was named AL Rookie of the Year, garnering 97% of the vote. ALCS opponent Juan Guzmán came in second.
 

interesting note in the Strib:

Twins outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez played only 37 games at Class AA Wichita because of hand/wrist injuries this season, but he will end his season with the Saints.

Rodriguez was promoted to St. Paul on Monday after rehabbing in Fort Myers. Rodriguez, a consensus top 100-rated prospect, hit .298 in Class AA with eight homers, 12 doubles, 20 RBI and 40 runs. He drew nearly as many walks (42) as he had strikeouts (46), producing a .479 on-base percentage.

Baseball America ranks Rodriguez as the No. 2 prospect in the club’s farm system behind 2023 first-round pick Walker Jenkins. Rodriguez, a 21-year-old center fielder who is a lefthanded hitter, was added to the Twins’ 40-man roster last offseason.

slash line at Wichita: .298/.479/.621 (1.100 OPS)

I would guess that the Twins will want Rodriguez to start next year in Triple-A, but that still means he is literally and figuratively a 10-minute ride away from Target Field. also supposed to be a solid defensive player in CF. not a long shot to think that he makes his MLB debut sometime next season.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
interesting note in the Strib:

Twins outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez played only 37 games at Class AA Wichita because of hand/wrist injuries this season, but he will end his season with the Saints.

Rodriguez was promoted to St. Paul on Monday after rehabbing in Fort Myers. Rodriguez, a consensus top 100-rated prospect, hit .298 in Class AA with eight homers, 12 doubles, 20 RBI and 40 runs. He drew nearly as many walks (42) as he had strikeouts (46), producing a .479 on-base percentage.

Baseball America ranks Rodriguez as the No. 2 prospect in the club’s farm system behind 2023 first-round pick Walker Jenkins. Rodriguez, a 21-year-old center fielder who is a lefthanded hitter, was added to the Twins’ 40-man roster last offseason.

slash line at Wichita: .298/.479/.621 (1.100 OPS)

I would guess that the Twins will want Rodriguez to start next year in Triple-A, but that still means he is literally and figuratively a 10-minute ride away from Target Field. also supposed to be a solid defensive player in CF. not a long shot to think that he makes his MLB debut sometime next season.
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The 2025 back-up CF'er instead of Manuel Margot? Those are some big shoes to fill...
 


TRF Guy said:
On this date in 1991, Twins rookie second baseman Chuck Knoblauch began a TWENTY-game hitting streak over which he hit an even .400.

He was named AL Rookie of the Year, garnering 97% of the vote. ALCS opponent Juan Guzmán came in second.
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He was a hell of a player. Too bad he's best remembered around here as being a target for batteries and hot dogs launched from the left field stands.
 

GophersInIowa said:
He bats left handed. Maybe they bring in a regular right handed bat to replace Kepler.
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well, roughly 30% of MLB pitchers are left-handed. so a left-handed hitter is going to face a RH pitcher about 70% of the time.

ergo, I don't think they replace Kepler with a RH hitter. my guess - they start the season with Larnach in LF, Wallner in RF and Buxton (assuming he's healthy) in CF. Martin can be a RH hitting backup OF, or Castro for that matter.

they have RH bats in Lewis, Miranda, Correa (assuming he's healthy), Jeffers.

Castro and Lee are Switch-hitters.

If Santana wants to come back for a reasonable price, I'd bring him back. (another switch-hitter).

If Rocco has to have a RH bat off the bench, guys like Margot are always available.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
He was a hell of a player. Too bad he's best remembered around here as being a target for batteries and hot dogs launched from the left field stands.
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Or he couldn’t throw a strike to first base after he fielded a grounder. That was bizarre
 



short ornery norwegian said:
well, roughly 30% of MLB pitchers are left-handed. so a left-handed hitter is going to face a RH pitcher about 70% of the time.

ergo, I don't think they replace Kepler with a RH hitter. my guess - they start the season with Larnach in LF, Wallner in RF and Buxton (assuming he's healthy) in CF. Martin can be a RH hitting backup OF, or Castro for that matter.

they have RH bats in Lewis, Miranda, Correa (assuming he's healthy), Jeffers.

Castro and Lee are Switch-hitters.

If Santana wants to come back for a reasonable price, I'd bring him back. (another switch-hitter).

If Rocco has to have a RH bat off the bench, guys like Margot are always available.
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My point was they are not going to replace Margot with another left handed bat. They're going to want a right handed bat either to replace Kepler or have a backup like Margot. I find it unlikely they'd go with a Buxton, Wallner, Larnach and Rodriguez outfield only.

With the DH and how often guys get days off, you really have four OF that can get regular playing time.

Edit: I forgot, Soto is a free agent so he'll probably be Kepler's replacement.
 




Not sure I can watch this. Rays need to sweep us so huge ninth inning here for them. Come on Duran.
 

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