Minnesota Twins: Giving the players their final letter grades
The Minnesota Twins’ year came to a disappointing end, but how did each player fare in a historic 2019 season?
The Minnesota Twins deserved a better fate than this. Roughly two days after their season-ending loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday night, the Twins are left wondering what could have been and where the team could go as they prepare for the 2020 season.
With the hot stove season now in full force, the Twins must first take a look at their roster and see how each player performed. For some, their final season grades are worthy of bringing a big smile into Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey and General Manager’s Thad Levine’s office to be hung on their refrigerator (That is, if they actually have one in their office) or maybe even get an extension like the ones Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler received.
On the flip side, there are some players that should be shuttering in fear as they await what kind of fate looms in the offseason. For the players that had a rough year, that could include a demotion to Triple-A Rochester, a trade or an outright non-tendering that would get them out of the Twins organization for good.
As usual, we’ll be grading on an A through F scale, which takes into account a player’s statistical performance, fulfilling their role on the team, their impact on and off the field and which ways they helped (or hindered) the Twins capturing their first American League Central Division title since the 2010 season.
Grading the infield
C.J. Cron: B+
When the Twins picked up Cron last offseason off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays, many Twins fans were having Logan Morrison flashbacks. Instead of matching Morrison’s ineffectiveness in the Twins lineup, Cron brought some much-needed power to the first base position after beating out Tyler Austin and Lucas Duda in spring training. Although a thumb injury slowed him down, he still smashed 25 home runs and added a potent bat in the middle of the order.
Marwin Gonzalez: C+
Gonzalez was a late addition to the Twins roster after signing in spring training, which may have contributed to his slow start (.167 BA in April). Once he got going, however, he was a solid bat in the lineup and his defensive versatility was a blessing once the Twins got hit with the injury bug. With his final numbers (.264, 15 HR, 55 RBI) falling in line with his career averages per 162 games (.264, 16 HR, 62 RBI), the Twins pretty much got what they paid for.
Schoop was another one of the Twins’ trademark bargain basement signings, but he still put up solid numbers (.256, 23 HR, 59 RBI) that were worthy of his $7 million salary. The issue was getting Schoop to hit in the clutch, hitting .218 with one home run and four RBI in Baseball-Reference’s late and close situations while raking (.273, 10 HR, 27 RBI) when the Twins were either four runs ahead or four runs behind.
Luis Arraez: A
While Schoop left some things to be desired, the rise of Arraez was one of the biggest storylines of 2019. Originally called up during Nelson Cruz‘s first stint on the injured list, the 22-year old continued his rampage through the Twins system by hitting .334 with four home runs and 28 RBI. With Schoop’s impending free agency, Arraez appears to be on track to be the Twins’ second baseman in 2020 and beyond.
Jorge Polanco: A
It’s possible not even the Twins could have predicted the type of season Polanco had even as they signed him to a big contract extension last spring. The 25-year old had a career year, hitting .295 with 22 home runs and 79 RBI and even started for the American League in the MLB All-Star Game. His emergence was well received at the major league level but might cause questions as top prospect Royce Lewis rises through the system.
As the Twins’ utility infielder, Adrianza was fine during the season. His .765 OPS was a career-high and his .416 slugging percentage was his best in a full season. The 29-year old is what he is at this point in his career and as a fill-in to help some of the players get their days off, he was an admirable fill in when he was called upon.
Miguel Sano: B
To put Sano’s season in perspective, he came out of his “Heavyweights” inspired demotion from 2017 and dropped about 40 pounds before injuring his heel in a Dominican League championship celebration. After missing most of the first two months, Sano came back and delivered the power the Twins expected with a career-high 34 home runs and .923 OPS. On the negative side, Sano struggled with his consistency and struck out 41 percent of the time.
Mitch Garver: A+
As much as the Twins were surprised with Polanco, the real shock for the Twins was the rise of Garver. Coming into this season with just seven home runs on his resume, the backstop exploded for 31 in 2019. His rise was also accentuated by his improvement defensively, as he improved his pitch framing to squeeze everything he could out of the Twins beleaguered starting rotation.
If we were factoring in entertainment value, we might be bumping up Astudillo to an A. However, there’s a lot of things that are to be desired. Sometimes the theatrics get the best of La Tortuga and his .678 OPS was a sign of his lack of patience at the plate (five walks in 240 plate appearances) and a BABIP (.258) that fell off dramatically from his 2018 campaign (.341).
Jason Castro: B
After two underwhelming seasons with the Twins, Castro bounced back from his knee injury that ended his 2018 season to post solid numbers this season. While he was originally signed to be the Twins’ everyday catcher, he became a fine platoon-mate with Garver, hitting .254 with all 13 of his home runs coming against right-handers. As a pending free agent, it will be interesting to see if he comes back or looks for a starting role somewhere else.
Grading the Outfield
Nelson Cruz: A+
Yes, Cruz was strictly the designated hitter for the Twins, but we’re going with his primary position during his career, which now has 401 home runs over 15 seasons in the majors. The impact Cruz had on this team transformed it into the Bomba Squad and after crossing the 40 home run mark for the fourth time in the past six seasons, it’s a lock that the Twins will exercise their 2020 option for the 39-year old this winter.
Max Kepler: A
Much like his contract counterpart, Polanco, Kepler took his money and had a breakout season in 2019. As the anchor at the top of the Twins lineup against right-handers, Kepler exploded for 36 home runs and 90 RBI. These numbers could have been even better had Kepler’s nagging shoulder not flared up in the final weeks of the season. Regardless, the Twins have their right fielder for the foreseeable future.
Byron Buxton: B
Let’s talk about the positives with Buxton. The 25-year old came of age at the plate in 2019, notching career-highs in batting average (.262), slugging percentage (.513), OPS (.827) and doubles (30) while recording a career-low strikeout rate (25%) to go with his Gold Glove caliber defense.
The issue with Buxton is his ability to stay healthy. Getting hit by a pitch in June and suffering a concussion were bad luck, but a full sprint into the wall in Miami that cut his season short may mean he must change his style to be the outfielder we expect him to be.
The numbers for Rosario look great as he hit a career-high 32 home runs and enjoyed his first 100-RBI season. A deeper dive shows a lack of plate discipline that proved costly at times as he chased 46.3% of pitches that were out of the zone. The good news was that Rosario made contact with 75.3% of those pitches, but that number may not be sustainable moving forward.
Jake Cave: C+
For most of the season, Cave deserved a D as he struggled at the plate and kept making mental errors in the outfield (such as the one that cost the Twins a run in Game 3 of the ALDS). Once Buxton went down, however, Cave turned it on by hitting .304 with a .940 OPS in his final 37 games. He probably won’t be an everyday outfielder, but if he limits his mistakes, he’s not a terrible option on the bench.
Grading the starting rotation
Jose Berrios: C
Things started off great for the Twins “ace” during the early months of the season and up until the calendar turned to August, the right-hander was 10-5 with a 2.80 ERA and made his second consecutive All-Star team. The wheels fell off however as Berrios posted a 5.83 ERA in his final 10 starts after the Twins opted not to make a move at the trade deadline.
The first two seasons with the Twins were mired in mediocrity, but something clicked when Odorizzi was coached up by new pitching coach Wes Johnson. The right-hander flirted with a sub-2.00 ERA during the first half of the season and made his first All-Star game, but he returned to being a five-and-fly pitcher in the second half. That being said, he was one of the Twins’ most effective pitchers down the stretch.
This was a tough one to grade because of the 60-game PED suspension that Pineda was slapped with in September. With the Twins needing some resemblance of legitimate starting pitching, Pineda’s decision failed the Twins. But he was really good on the mound, going 9-3 with a 3.46 ERA after having a rough April. Pineda will be a free agent and with the Twins poised to lose four pitchers from their 2019 rotation, it will be interesting if they bring him back.
Kyle Gibson: C
Much like the rest of the staff, Gibson was serviceable during the first half going 7-3 with a 3.70 ERA in his first 13 starts. However, an offseason bout with E. Coli would turn into ulcerative colitis and his energy would be sapped. Still, Gibson tended to nibble too much and threw just 34.2% of his pitches in the strike zone. Although he posted a career-high in chase rate (36%), it was the same style that has put Gibson in bad situations for years with or without stomach problems.
Martin Perez: C
Through the first couple weeks of the season, the Twins appeared to have found a diamond in the rough as Perez went 7-1 with a 2.95 ERA in his first 11 appearances (eight starts). Like everyone else, Perez struggled as teams caught onto his new cutter and he refused to adapt, throwing it 30.8% of the time. With teams teeing off on Perez, he was left off the postseason roster.
Grading the bullpen
After closing out 2018 by not allowing a run in his final 28 appearances, Rogers picked up where he left off in 2019 by taking over the Twins’ closer role. In the process, he also became the team’s best reliever, seeing a jump in strikeout rate (11.7 K/9) and a steep decline in his walk rate (1.4 BB/9). The only negative may have been the Twins over-using Rogers, but that could be fixed with a key free-agent signing.
Sergio Romo: B
One way to keep Rogers in the back end of the game could be by re-signing Romo. The right-hander was a trade deadline acquisition from the Marlins and he was a great influence on the mound and in the clubhouse. Romo’s numbers (3.18 ERA in 22 IP) with Minnesota will not confuse him with Aroldis Chapman, but his veteran presence could be a great thing for the team if they can get him to stay this winter.
Tyler Duffey: B+
If there was a reliever that followed in the footsteps of Rogers in 2018, it was Duffey’s performance in 2019. The right-hander had a career season posting his lowest ERA (2.50) since his rookie season (3.10) in 2015 and knocking nearly five runs off that average after posting a 7.20 ERA last season. With his strikeout rate doubling from a year ago, Duffey seems to be on his way to being a key reliever for the Twins in 2020.
Trevor May: C+
Maybe I’m letting a July stretch get to me. Maybe it’s the reluctance to throw his fastball which clocked in at an average of 95.6 MPH this season. Either way, you never felt safe about a game when May was in and even though his numbers (2.94 ERA) suggest otherwise, it will be interesting to see where the big right-hander goes from here.
Zack Littell: B+
Littell was part of the Twins carousel at the back end of the bullpen and did well outside of an eight-run outing at Tampa Bay on 30 and allowed just three earned runs in his other 26 appearances in 2019.
Cody Stashak: B
He started the season at Double-A Pensacola and worked his way up to Rochester. People will remember him getting shelled in Game 1 of the ALDS, but he should bounce back.
Devin Smeltzer: B+
Made his debut after being acquired in the Brian Dozier trade last summer. Made solid spot starts and saw teams adapt to his style late in the year. Location is always key.
Next. Yankees complete ALDS sweep over Twins. dark
Randy Dobnak: B
We’d give him a 4.99/5, but since we’re on a letter scale, this will do. Started the year at High-A Fort Myers and wound up being a playoff starter. It didn’t go well but should be great depth moving forward.