The Minnesota Twins are working their way into the playoff race, but just like any season, there are excellent performances that are flying under the radar in 2017 for the Twins.
Consider some of these:
Most would figure that Miguel Sano leads the team in OPS+ (130), but would you guess that Eddie Rosario is second with a 113? Rosario’s offensive season is being pretty drastically underrated. He’s hitting .287/.328/.482 with 23 doubles (second on team), 2 triples (tied for team lead), 14 home runs (tied for third), and 4 stolen bases.
Eduardo Escobar has been hailed as a valuable bench player, but Ehire Adrianza has hit .277/.333/.362 this season with 7 stolen bases in just 109 plate appearances while walking 9.2% and striking out just 14.7% of the time, excellent bat control for a bench player.
Since the All-Star break, Tyler Duffey has made 9 appearances, throwing 10 innings, with a 1.80 ERA and a 1/12 BB/K ratio. Ryan Pressly has made 10 appearances, throwing 13 1/3 innings, with a 2.03 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and a 1/13 BB/K ratio.
Buddy Boshers has turned himself into an excellent LOOGY. He has held the first hitter he faced in 2017 to a .190/.240/.286/.526 line (and he’s actually better coming in versus the middle of the inning than opening an inning) while holding lefties to an OPS .251 lower than against righties.
While many assume Byron Buxton has been the best defender on the team, most wouldn’t realize that (per Fangraphs’ overall defensive rating) Jason Castro and Chris Gimenez have combined behind the plate for an equal score to that of Buxton.
If we’ve missed many of these throughout the current season that’s right in front of our noses, imagine the seasons that have happened in the past that have been lost to our fallible memories and other players on the same team overshadowing them throughout the history of the team.
We decided to put together a team of such players. We’ll start with the infield, then move to the outfield, then the starting rotation, then relief pitching. Five starters and three relievers were chosen. There are players from the 1960s all the way through the 2000s, so players are in every decade on this list!
Stats: .300/.332/.458, 51 R, 20 2B, 5 3B, 9 HR, 41 RBI, 18/37 BB/K The Twins have had a number of players who had impressive seasons behind the plate, but Salas’ 1985 seems to have disappeared among the names of guys who had a productive season. What is really impressive is that Salas was a Rule 5 pick before the 1985 season, so the Twins were “forced” to keep him on the roster, yet he ended up having his largest amount of playing time in his 8-year MLB career, with 120 games played and 382 plate appearances.
Stats: .322/.362/.513, 52 R, 24 2B, 4 3B, 16 HR, 69 RBI, 23/57 BB/K Reese struggled to break through with the Twins, but once he did, he was a productive first baseman and left fielder for a few years in the late 1960s/early 1970s, but 1969 was by far the best of his career. Reese played every year of his 10-year career with the Twins, signing back with the Twins in 1973 after the team lost him to the Tigers after the 1972 season.
Stats: .313/.352/.458, 71 R, 22 2B, 6 3B, 9 HR, 59 RBI, 11 SB, 29/54 BB/K A 13th round selection by the Minnesota Twins out of high school in California, Wilfong was primarily a backup and utility player outside of two seasons, and 1979 was by far the best of his two seasons as a full-time player in his 11-year career. Wilfong ended up leading the American League in sacrifices in 1979 with 25.
Stats: .302/.336/.430, 67 R, 17 2B, 7 3B, 13 HR, 64 RBI, 7 SB, 29/67 BB/K Castino is a guy who broke through and immediately played quite a bit, but flamed out quickly. He was the Twins' 3rd round selection in 1976, and when he got to the big leagues, he immediately was a starter, playing 100 games and coming to the plate 400 times every seasons until his final year of 1984 when he finally succumbed to back issues that bothered him through his entire career, ending his career at 29 years old.
Stats: .280/.353/.388, 67 R, 24 2B, 4 3B, 10 HR, 70 RBI, 5 SB, 66/96 BB/K An incredibly smooth defender from Cuba, Cardenas was a 4-time All-Star by the time the Twins acquired him away from the Cincinnati Reds in 1968. He was with the Twins for just three seasons, but he received MVP votes in two seasons, 1969 and 1971 and was an All-Star in 1971. However, his two other seasons were more impressive by the numbers that most followed at that time (more home run and doubles), so the brilliance of his all-around performance in 1969 has been lost to history to some degree.
Stats: .299/.381/.446, 89 R, 31 2B, 4 3B, 15 HR, 72 RBI, 20 SB, 67/75 BB/K The sad thing about Ford’s career is that so few remember the impressive journey that Ford took to the big leagues to even get his break. Once he finally did break through, the Twins had a need for a leadoff hitter, and they acquired a guy whose primary position was his position, so many felt it was due to Ford’s level of play. Ford had a tremendous year in 2004, playing in 154 games and coming to the plate 658 times. He even garnered MVP votes for his performance, but he would be phased out in 2005 and made a backup player in 2006 before being allowed to leave in free agency after 2007. For many of the era hollering “Lew” at the top of our lungs, even we did not appreciate just how excellent he was in 2004.
Stats: .291/.372/.434, 92 R, 31 2B, 4 3B, 12 HR, 71 RBI, 19 SB, 68/118 BB/K The Twins drafted Becker in the 3rd round of the 1990 draft (a draft that also brought the Twins Pat Meares and Eddie Guardado in the rounds after the first two), and his power/speed combo and excellent defense were actually the impetus for Kirby Puckett moving to right field, as Becker was intended to take over center field in 1994 before injury derailed those plans. He did grab hold of the position in 1995, but he was never the same player, and 1996 was certainly his best season before an okay season in 1997 and seeing the Twins trade him for another center field prospect after the 1997 season.
Stats: .310/.363/.529, 79 R, 27 2B, 8 3B, 18 HR, 74 RBI, 13 SB, 34/79 BB/K Another example of an exceptional Rule 5 pick by the Minnesota Twins, Mack was drafted before the 1990 season, and by the end of the 1990 season, he had taken over a starting outfield position. Mack became a vital part of the Twins lineup, and many know him as a guy whose final numbers as a Twin place him among the top Twins, but his first full season as a starter got overshadowed by Brian Harper‘s big season, Kent Hrbek and Chili Davis knocking out home runs, Kirby being Kirby, and Chuck Knoblauch taking home the rookie of the year. If the strike had not happened, who knows how great Mack could have been with the Twins as he left due to becoming a free agent after the 1994 season and no agreement reached that would allow him to sign, leading to him leaving to Japan for 2 seasons right as he was hitting his peak stride as a player.
Stats: .300/.369/.539, 73 R, 35 2B, 2 3B, 28 HR, 103 RBI, 56/106 BB/K There has not been a better recent story of “what might have been” in the Minnesota Twins organization than Kubel. A gifted outfielder with speed and power to spare, Kubel hit a combined .352 between AA/AAA in 2004 before coming up to the major leagues and suffering a devastating knee injury. The injury would keep him out all of 2005, and his defense and speed were never part of his game again. Kubel was still able to work his way to the big league club, and in 2009, he had an exceptional offensive season, but on that 2009 Twins team, he was tied with Joe Mauer for 3rd on the team in home runs and his .300 average was only 3rd on his own team, allowing his season to go unnoticed by many.
Stats: 13-7, 227 2/3 IP, 2.53 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 30/161 BB/K Actually traded for another in this post (Cardenas), Merritt was selected away from the Dodgers in the winter draft that no longer exists in the 1962 winter offseason. He worked his way to the major leagues by 1965 as a swingman. He really was very good in both ’67 and ’68, but he was better in ’67, breaking into the starting rotation and completing 11 games, 4 of them shutouts, and he was able to keep free passes to a minimum. Merritt would struggle to keep the same level of run prevention in the National League, but he was part of the 1970 team that made the World Series for the Reds, winning 20 games in the regular season, winning a game in the NLCS against the Pirates, but being hit hard in his only World Series start against the eventual champion Orioles team, giving up 4 runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Stats: 15-10, 220 1/3 IP, 2.49 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 67/116 BB/K A Minnesota native, Goltz was drafted out of Rothsay High School in the 5th round of the 1967 draft. By 1972, he’d worked his way up to the major leagues as a big, sturdy right-hander who could throw a ton of innings without big time “stuff” on the mound. For a five-year span from 1975-1979, Goltz averaged 34 starts and 253 innings pitched as a workhorse in the rotation. Interestingly, 1978 was the season Goltz missed the most time on the mound, but he was probably at his sharpest when on the mound, posting a career-best ERA. Goltz was mostly a league-average pitcher in ERA, but he had one big year in 1978 where he was an elite arm.
Stats: 16-9, 202 1/3 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 37/83 BB/K A young lefty that the Minnesota Twins spent a 2nd round draft pick on in 1982, Anderson was by no means unknown to the organization, who considered him one of their top “prospects” (a term not really used at the time) when he reached the major leagues in 1986. He couldn’t crack the 1987 rotation, but he won a job in spring and ran with it all season, having his best year of his career, leading the American League in ERA. However, he just happened to be pitching behind the AL Cy Young Award winner that season in Frank Viola, who would win 24 games and finish just .19 behind Anderson in 3rd place in the AL in ERA. Sharing the mound with an elite lefty like Viola left Anderson’s big year fairly unnoticed, not even garnering a vote in the AL Cy Young award voting.
Stats: 16-9, 241 IP, 3.21 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 64/123 BB/K The Twins paid a fairly steep price to acquire Smiley, trading away top outfield prospect Midre Cummings and top pitching prospect Denny Neagle to the Pirates to get Smiley after he’d gone 20-8 for the 1991 Pirates, helping the team to the NLCS. However, Smiley joined a rotation that already had Kevin Tapani and Scott Erickson from the 1991 World Series team, and Smiley was brought in to replace World Series hero Jack Morris, something nearly impossible to do, no matter how well he performed. He threw a career high in innings, and had the best bWAR of his entire career. He left after the ’92 season in free agency, further allowing his legacy to be forgettable in the minds of Twins fans.
Stats: 17-13, 233 2/3 IP, 3.16 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 64/123 BB/K Part of a trade that sent away a platoon outfielder for the 1997 Twins in Roberto Kelly, Mays was expected, like his fellow trade return in that deal, Jeromy Palki, to likely top out as a minor league arm, with a light chance that he was a replacement arm for a year or two. Instead, the Twins got a guy who made 193 appearances and 146 starts with the Twins, but he never recovered fully after elbow surgery in 2004. Though he was an All-Star in 2001, many Twins forget the season as they had two established starters in Brad Radke and Eric Milton ahead of Mays in the rotation, so he was not seen as a leader in the rotation.
Stats: 66 G, 108 2/3 IP, 6-3, 21 SV, 1.99 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 19/72 BB/K Like so many arms in the era, Dailey was a reliever that was chewed up and spit out, having one huge usage season and never again being healthy, with his career in the majors done before he was 30 years old. Dailey wasn’t even a plan for the Twins in 1963, being purchased from the Indians when he wasn’t going to make their team, and he found his way quickly into the most important role in the bullpen. While that 1963 team was known for its pitching, it was starters Camilo Pascual, Dick Stigman, Jim Kaat, and Jim Perry who drew the most attention as well as swingman/5th starter Lee Stange. Dailey’s arm was so overrun after 1963 that he appeared in just 14 games in 1964 before retiring, nearly walking as many in those 14 appearances as he had in all of 1963.
Stats: 71 G, 146 2/3 IP, 16-7, 15 SV, 3.13 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 47/87 BB/K Another guy who was churned through, Johnson was a local guy, having attended high school in St. Paul and attended college at the University of Minnesota before joining the Twins in 1974. He lingered at the end of the bullpen for three seasons before being thrust into the primary closer role in 1977 for one season. Shoulder issues popped up for Johnson after that one season, and he made his last major league appearance in 1978 at age 27. Johnson went to seminary after baseball, and he has been in ministry for two decades. Johnson and his wife now live in Slovakia.
Stats: 66 G, 50 2/3 IP, 5-0, 0.89 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 15/49 BB/K The Minnesota Twins in the late 2000s had deep bullpens, which is one reason that Reyes went completely under the radar in 2006. In that season, he was elite in his role as the LOOGY in the rotation, yet the rotation had two brilliant lefties that season in Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano, while the bullpen had Joe Nathan leading a crew of arms that would eventually feature both future relief aces Pat Neshek and Glen Perkins. Reyes ended up pitching with the Twins for two more seasons, but neither was as tremendous as 2006. Interestingly, a 27 year-old Craig Breslow would push Reyes out in 2008 before struggling himself in 2009 until a trade to the Oakland Athletics.
There were many players that I had to clip off of here that could have been good selections. Do you remember all of these guys? Do you remember ANY of these seasons (or did you before you were reminded in this post)? Comment below to join the conversation!
