Twins didn’t invest much money but can still hit the jackpot in 2024
According to Joe Pohlad’s remarks earlier this week, the Minnesota Twins aren’t significantly upgrading their squad. Due to the payroll reduction from $154 million to $123 million this season, the front office’s options for improving a team that qualified for the playoffs for the first time in almost 20 years were restricted in 2023.
The Twins seem to be taking a big risk on really talented players keeping healthy in 2024 rather than investing in more talent and security.
This summer, the Twins’ middle lineup—which includes enormous risk-versus-reward talents like Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Byron Buxton, and Max Kepler—will be the ultimate slot machine.
Lewis leads the way with a season-long.309/.372/.548 slash line, 15 home runs, and 52 RBI. Not only did he post those numbers after suffering his second ACL rupture in 15 months, but his line had historical importance as well, matching up with rookie seasons of legends like Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.
Fans will understandably want Lewis to become very famous, but there are a few reasons that might prevent him from doing so.
Pitchers are only now beginning to recognize Lewis’ patterns, despite his career total of just 280 plate appearances. Lewis may have an adjustment phase early in the season, which could result in a delayed start, given the opportunity to analyze his approach during the offseason.
In addition, Lewis had two injuries: a hamstring strain in the final week of the regular season and an oblique injury that kept him out of action for more than a month. Lewis, 24, seems committed to working harder this season, even if he may need to modify his style of play to last the entire 162 games given the mounting ailments.
It’s a challenging game, and you have to maintain your composure and concentrate,” Lewis said to Dawn Klemish of MLB.com. This game will humble you and take you out immediately if you feel that you have nothing to prove or if you get overly confident. I wish to play this game for as long as possible. Having said that, I’m going to put in my best effort at work.
This sounds a lot like what Twins supporters have been told about Buxton, who spent last season exclusively on designated hitter duty. Due to his problematic knee, Buxton was only able to play in 85 games despite hitting.207/.294/.438 with 17 home runs and 42 RBI.
But Twins supporters are also aware of Buxton’s potential when healthy, and he just missed out on his first career All-Star game a year ago.
Evidence exists to support the theory that Buxton could improve even more after hitting. In 61 games in 2021, he hit 306/.358/.647 with 19 homers, 32 RBI, and nine stolen bases. He thinks his move back to center field will help him regain that form.
Earlier this month, Buxton stated, Now that I know I’m not DH’ing, I’m excited. Being well again and going out there doing what you did before all of the injuries is always exciting.
Buxton won’t suddenly start hitting like a Barry Bonds player if he returns to center field, but there were encouraging signals last season, including a career-high 10.1% walk rate and a 14.6% barrel rate that were in the 90th percentile of major league hitters.
Buxton’s ability to stay on the field could benefit Kepler, whose hitting brought his career back to life. 306/.377/.549 in the second half of the previous season with 36 RBI and 12 home runs.
Twins supporters should be excited by Kepler’s breakthrough second half, but they should also exercise caution. Kepler was on the edge of being assigned to a minor league team before his breakout season. On June 9, he hit.188/.262/.361 with six home runs and fifteen RBI, which infuriated Rocco Baldelli.
However, Kepler’s breakthrough may have also marked his comeback from a left hamstring ailment and right knee pain that he had been dealing with for the first two months. Another reason for it would have been the increased limitations on the shift, which Kepler acknowledged contributed to his downfall following an incredible 2019 campaign.
According to Kepler’s comments from last February, as reported by Dan Hayes of The Athletic, you kind of attempt to play around with it when you see three people occupying the side where your strength is. However, it detracts from your strength.
Correa remains, having suffered through one of his worst offensive seasons due to plantar fasciitis. Last season, Correa had his worst full-season slugging percentage (.399) and career lows in on-base percentage (.312) and batting average (.230). However, he bounced back to slash.409/.458/.546 with three doubles and four RBI in six postseason games.
After experiencing a pop in his foot during a series in Cincinnati last September, Correa’s postseason performance came as a result. He appeared to be the same player who finished the 2022 season with 22 home runs and 64 RBI, hitting.291/.366/.467 after a week off.
During the offseason, Correa also modified his plate approach to produce a more straight, compact swing. David Popkins, the hitting coach, observed a significant adjustment in the first few days of spring training.
Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune was told by Twins hitting coach David Popkins, I haven’t really seen him hit balls like that in a long time. He never seemed to be able to clear the batter’s eye, I believe. In the batter’s eye, he hit one way.
The remaining players in the lineup could benefit if each of these guys reaches their potential. Matt Wallner and Eddy Julien are coming off fantastic rookie campaigns, while Carlos Santana, Ryan Jeffers, and Alex Kirilloff might round out the bottom half of the lineup to make this team among the best in baseball.
In this case, the Twins might hit it lucky and benefit even more when elite prospect Brooks Lee reaches the major leagues. Although the fans did not anticipate this spending spree, it is evidence that the Twins can still win big and contend in 2024.
