Minnesota Twins: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not, Week 3
The Minnesota Twins are 9-10 and are in the middle of a slump. Let’s highlight who’s been helping or hurting the Twins lately.
After a 5-1 start, the Minnesota Twins have cooled off quite a bit. After the hot start, the Twins have gone 4-9 and are really struggling to hit the ball. Besides the likes of Ervin Santana, the pitching hasn’t been much better.
While slumping, the Twins have had a few bright spots. It’s not all been bad. As a whole, the Minnesota Twins absolutely need to improve, though. Right now, they are sitting at number 4 in the AL Central and on the verge of slipping into the cellar of their division.
Now, three weeks into the season, we will do our second version of the Minnesota Twins’ “hot or not” segment. We will take a look at who’s been most helping the Twins and who’s been hurting them lately.
Minnesota Twins’ ace Ervin Santana has been off to an extremely hot start.
The 34 year-old veteran has had the best start to a season of his lengthy career so far in 2017. When it seemed as if the Twins needed a leader in their pitching rotation the most, Ervin Santana has stepped up big.
So far this season, Santana has an incredible ERA of 0.64 to lead the AL. Along with his ERA, Santana also has 20 strikeouts to only 8 walks on 4 starts. His record is 3-0.
Ervin Santana had a one-hit complete game shutout against the White Sox on April 15.
Amidst a very young pitching staff, a leader has arose. Santana can help to lead this young group to a lot of success, and is leading by example thus far. It may be really early in the season, but Ervin Santana is having a Cy Young-like start to his 2017 campaign.
While the bats stay inconsistent for the Twins, pitching becomes a focal point. At the center of this focal point is their veteran ace, Ervin Santana. If the Minnesota Twins want continued success from the mound, it all begins with Santana.
Byron Buxton’s struggles at the plate continue to haunt the Minnesota Twins.
While the young center fielder has been great in the outfield, Byron Buxton continues to look lost at the plate. Since being called up from the minor leagues, Buxton has yet to find his swing, and Twins’ fans are hoping that will change soon.
Buxton’s slash line is .105/.177/.140 with only 6 hits in 57 at-bats.
Along with his horrendous averages, Byron Buxton leads the Twins in strikeouts with 28. He has also earned 4 walks.
Buxton’s experiences at the plate have been less than superb, but there’s no reason to give up hope. Still being a young player, there is time for improvement in Buxton’s career.
Not to mention, he is an absolute necessity in the outfield for the Minnesota Twins. His range is unbelievable and speed is insane. If Byron Buxton can get his average up to the .200’s, the Twins will be happy. But he is a long way from that right now.
Robbie Grossman has the hottest bat on the Minnesota Twins right now.
Robbie Grossman has been a very pleasant surprise thus far for the Minnesota Twins. From the designated hitter position, Grossman has the best batting average and best slash line on the Twins thus far.
The 27 year-old designated hitter has a slash line of .288/.448/.423. He is leading the Twins in both batting average and on-base percentage.
Along with a strong average, Robbie Grossman has one home-run, 4 doubles and 8 RBI’s.
The Minnesota Twins had a lot of questions heading into the 2017 campaign after a 100+ loss season a year ago. Robbie Grossman has helped them to answer one of them, the DH question.
He has been a solid contributor with the bat in his hands, and the Twins can only hope it continues. With all the inconsistency the Twins have had from an offensive perspective, Grossman has helped them in being one of the lone bright spots.
Kyle Gibson has had a hard time making a positive impact for the Minnesota Twins.
While the pitching rotation has looked like a bright spot for the 2017 season, Kyle Gibson has yet to be able to help the Twins at all. After starting 25 games in 2016, the Twins had high hopes for Gibson coming into the new campaign.
Gibson has the worst ERA in the pitching rotation for the Minnesota Twins with 9.00. He has started 4 games thus far and is 0-3.
In 4 starts, Kyle Gibson has 12 strikeouts while walking 7 batters and giving up 5 home-runs.
Minnesota Twins’ fans would hope that all of their pitchers follow in the footsteps of Ervin Santana, but that has not been the case for Gibson. The stats are atrocious, but it’s the fact that he cannot win a game for the Twins that has fans so angry.
Is it time to give another starting pitcher a shot? Possibly, only time will tell. As for right now, Minnesota Twins’ fans can just hope the offense can put up a rare 15-run game when Kyle Gibson is pitching.
Brian Dozier is starting to step up for the Minnesota Twins in a big way.
After a slow start, Brian Dozier seems to have found his stride as of late. For Minnesota Twins’ fans, this should be a very encouraging sign. If the leader plays well, the pack will shortly follow. We can only hope this stands true.
Dozier’s slash line for 2017 is .257/.321/.392. While the slash line seems about average, he has been able to stand out in many other ways.
Brian Dozier has 2 home-runs, 6 RBI’s, 5 stolen bases and has earned 7 walks.
Of course, it’s not just Brian Dozier’s hitting that makes him the jack-of-all trades. He has been phenomenal in the field again this year, and continues to be a double-play machine.
We can hope that Dozier continues to bring his batting average up and even starts hitting more long balls. But as of right now, Brian Dozier has been one of the best, if not the best, all around players for the Minnesota Twins.