Twins First Half Poll

[Gopher_In_NYC]

So, what surprised you the most? Thought it would be fun, as there’s many options.

Since multiple things can be true, you can select up to three answers - certainly not a comprehensive list, but this is what I got.

 

[Ope3]

About the only thing I don't find surprising is Varland & Julien struggling.

 

[GophersInIowa]

About the only thing I don't find surprising is Varland & Julien struggling.

Varland not as much but am surprised Julien struggled so much.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I picked Castro success, Lopez struggling and being out 4.5 with 54 wins.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

Mike Lamb.

 

[Gophers1992]

My biggest surprise unfortunately is how good Cleveland has been. I would have thought we are sitting pretty with 54 wins at this point.

 

[Ope3]

Varland not as much but am surprised Julien struggled so much.

I guess the "sophomore" slump potential is why I was relatively not shocked, though granted flopping to the point he was sent to St Paul is a mild surprise.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I guess the "sophomore" slump potential is why I was relatively not shocked, though granted flopping to the point he was sent to St Paul is a mild surprise.

It does seem to be real. Just off the top of my head: Miranda, Corbin Carroll, Nolan Jones, and James Outman are all guys that took massive steps back after good rookie seasons.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

Castro for me. But it's close with SWR. That guy sucked last year (yes, I'm aware that he has some sort of new arm angle/trick to pull Vaseline off the pitchcom).

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

About the only thing I don't find surprising is Varland & Julien struggling.

Varland not as much but am surprised Julien struggled so much.

From Dan Hayes @ The Athletic- (Eddie is apparently making the adjustments needed) -

Playing at Triple A over the past six weeks, Julien is hitting .296/.441/.667 with three homers in his last 34 plate appearances. Julien largely struggled against off-speed and breaking pitches over the season’s first two months. One of the team’s big focuses with Julien’s approach is attempting to get him to be more aggressive and attack fastballs earlier in the count to see fewer off-speed pitches later, while also improving against off-speed pitches.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I went with Miranda, Pablo and SWR.

but overall - Twins are 54-42 at the All-Star break.
Last year at the AS break: 45-46

so 91 games played last year, 96 this year. last year through 96 games Twins were 49-47.

as a reminder - last year Twins went on a 9-2 run coming out of the AS break. then lost 5 in a row. then won 6 of 7. then lost 4 in a row, putting them at 60-58. from that point on, Twins went 27-17.
it would be nice if they found a way to be less streaky in the second half this year. (even though it's not really the 2nd half - they've played 59.3% of the schedule)

-----
apropos of nothing - someone cloned my Facebook account, so I spent the morning dealing with that. who in the bleep does that?

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

I tabbed the these three -

Buck, I was hopeful he could play in center, but never imagined he’d be a regular and become an offensive force again; he looked horrid earlier in the year at the plate and now he rarely chases those low and away sliders.

Miranda, I thought the injury and sophomore slump might relegate him to AK land, but man he’s exceeded all my expectations of what he could contribute.
Way to go Jose!

SWR - without him we’re likely well behind They Might Be Royals and a non playoff entity this season.

Willi is my favorite Twin, but I decided not to vote for him, due to my bias.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

I went Castro, Alcala, and SWR.

I was surprised how effective Castro was both sides of the plate.

Alcala showed flashes, but was always hurt. Staying healthy is the surprise for me.

SWR is showing why he made the 2021 Olympic team.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

There's only one real answer here

Actually my real choice is Buxton staying healthy and hitting well. Happy to see it.

 

[Ope3]

Actually my real choice is Buxton staying healthy and hitting well. Happy to see it.

I included Buxton in my vote, not just the hitting and 72 games part, but also doing it as their primary CF. I didn't think we would ever see him there beyond a cameo appearance once in a while.