In a 2021 season that has been full of challenges, the Minnesota Twins needed something to go right this season. Nick Gordon, who has been a staple in the Minnesota Twins farm system for years, finally got a chance to showcase his talent and be that thing that could go right.
Still just 25 years old, Gordon’s road to the show has been a bit longer than expected for the former No. 5 Overall Pick. After Jorge Polanco’s steady rise and the surprise emergence of Luis Arraez, Gordon seemed to be placed on a back-burner of sorts.
With Polanco’s ineffectiveness in 2021 and Arraez’s injury, the Minnesota Twins were in dire need of production on both sides of the ball at second base, allowing Gordon to make his major league debut against the Texas Rangers yesterday.
While his future with the club is still murky at best (thanks to the logjam in front of him and Royce Lewis lurking behind) Gordon definitely impressed. Yes, he was only 1-2 in 3 total plate appearances, but he battled, had some nice at-bats, and was clean in the field and on the bases.
When you’re a lifetime .276 batter in the minors without a path to playing time, it’s doing the little things right that will keep you on the field and allow you to see consistent playing time. That’s exactly what Gordon did.
His first at-bat was a solid full-count walk to get the Twins threatening with two outs in the 2nd. He made that threat even more dangerous by stealing second base on a breaking ball in the dirt. The Twins couldn’t quite bring him home, but Gordon did his job. That’s a great start.
In the bottom of the fourth, Gordon capped off his second big-league plate appearance by dumping an 0-1 changeup to right, followed by another stolen base. A 1.000 OBP and two stolen bases? So far, so good.
Even though the second half of his day wasn’t as inspiring, he still showed a couple of excellent signs. His third at-bat was hard-fought and actually rather encouraging given how little life some Twins players have when facing a pitcher’s count.
After falling behind 0-2, Gordon battled back to a full count only to fall to a hard sinker that painted the corner nicely. That ended his day, as Rocco Baldelli brought Polanco in to pinch-hit for Nick.
All in all, in what has been a very disappointing season thus far, Gordon brings some much-needed light to a very dark tunnel. He performed well in the field, at the plate, and especially on the bases, all of which were needed.
What more could you ask for from a 25-year-old making his big-league debut? I’m sure we could be greedy, but the Twins certainly aren’t in a position to be that at this time. However, with Polanco struggling, Gordon could be just the type of boost the Minnesota Twins need.