Minnesota Twins: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Jake Odorizzi
Jake Odorizzi is only in this section of this list because of his seven home runs and 16 walked allowed already this season. Odorizzi has been prone to give up home runs throughout his career, but this has been a terrible start.
However, Odorizzi has been pitching well and has allowed the same numbers of runs as José Berríos to this point. Odorizzi will need to find a way to keep the ball in the park for the Twins to have success moving forward.
Berríos needs help from Odorizzi and Lance Lynn to keep this team afloat until Ervin Santana returns. However, Lynn has been a terrible investment for Minnesota and looks nothing like the pitcher he was with St. Louis.
A couple of struggling outfielders
Eddie Rosario was the Minnesota Twins breakout star during the 2017 season. However, things have not been as smooth for him to begin the 2018 season. He already has 20 strikeouts through his first 91 plate appearances.
He is hitting .230 and has drawn only three walks all season. Rosario is still playing well defensively which has helped cover for Byron Buxton not being in the lineup. Speaking of Buxton, his season has started poorly as well.
Buxton hasn’t played since April 12th when he started experiencing migraine headaches. However, things got worse for him while playing his back in the Minors. Buxton fouled a ball off of his toe and is now out indefinitely and that’s a major blow for the Twins.
Buxton was hitting a paltry .195 through his first 43 plate appearances so it’s not like he was off to a scorching start. His defense is what Minnesota has been missing and the pitching staff has suffered.
The Minnesota Twins need their speedy Platinum Glove award-winning centerfielder if they have any chance to contend this season. They also need Rosario to come close to matching his production from last season. There’s still a lot of games left in this season so it’s too soon to panic. However, if these two don’t get things going in the right direction soon Minnesota will suffer.
An honorable mention shout out to Miguel Sano. He has started the season hitting .213 with 36 strikeouts through his first 90 plate appearances. Alright, we’ve covered the ugly and the bad, now let’s take a look at the good starts for Minnesota.