Despite struggles, Nolasco, Escobar bright spots for Minnesota Twins
Boy, it’s been a tough start to the season, making it even tougher to find a true Week One standout player for the Minnesota Twins.
But nonetheless, there were a couple of players who did transcend the slow first week to the season. One ironically put up terrific offensive numbers on a team whose offense has been nothing short of awful.
The other stepped up in a big way with a masterful performance against the Kansas City Royals.
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So while I’m not sure if it will be the norm, the two choices for the Puckett’s Pond Player of the Week go to Eduardo Escobar and Ricky Nolasco.
Escobar’s week started with a two-hit game against the Baltimore Orioles and subsequently had two more multi-hit games. He began the season by hitting safely in five of the Twins’ six games, proving to be a steady force on an otherwise struggling offense.
Escobar finished the week batting 1.140 OPS with four doubles and two RBI’s, really being one of the only true signs of life for the Twins.
Nolasco’s week only saw him make the one start, which was delayed as manager Paul Molitor decided to give Ervin Santana the ball in the series opener against the Royals.
Nolasco came up big for the Twins with seven solid innings, allowing one run and three hits, however a blown save by Glen Perkins led to an extra inning loss on Sunday.
Sunday’s start was a welcome and unexpected sight as Nolasco entered the season with questions about whether he should even be in the rotation.
Perhaps this is the first sign of Nolasco finally being healthy and putting things together. If so, that would be a huge plus for the Twins moving forward.
Honorable Mention:
Eduardo Nunez made his first start on Sunday and rewarded the Twins with a four-hit day. This performance, like Nolasco’s offers a lot of positive signs as Nunez will be looked upon to be the super utility player for the Twins, especially now that Danny Santana has been placed on the Disabled List.
It may be early but guys, Joe Mauer is hitting .400 with an On-Base Percentage of .519, a home run, two RBI’s and four walks. Despite this being very early in the season, what’s so promising about this is just how comfortable Mauer has looked in the first six games. He has also shown signs of being more aggressive while also displaying that patented patience.
As I said earlier in our staff predictions, if Mauer can reestablish himself as one of the game’s best hitters, the Twins will be all the better once their main offensive weapons start to get things back on track.
With an 0-6 start to the season, hopefully a few other guys will begin to turn it around and we’ll be able to name a new Player of the Week next time.