Minnesota Twins: With the season circling the drain, what comes next?
By Otto Johnson
Minnesota Twins End of Season Checklist Item No. 4: Call up the Young Reinforcements.
With the team barreling out of playoff contention, the next thing the Minnesota Twins should do is to start bringing up their young talent and keep them here, starting with outfielder Matt Wallner and pitcher Louie Varland.
After posting tremendous numbers at AA, Wallner struggled initially at AAA. In the last 28 days, Wallner has slashed an incredible .304/.423/.576 with 3 homers and 17 RBI. There’s no reason that he shouldn’t be getting looks in right field over a struggling Max Kepler, Jake Cave, or Gilberto Celestino (put Gordon in center). Wallner should be up.
Varland has done nothing but dice since he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins. In his first MLB start in Yankee Stadium, he went 5.1 innings and struck out 7 while walking just one. He should be given a regular spot in the rotation the rest of the way as a first audition for a rotation spot in 2023. No reason to keep tossing Sanchez out there over him.
In the bullpen, Ronny Henriquez and Evan Sisk both have had issues at the AAA level (Henriquez with hits, Sisk with walks), but with Emilio Pagan blowing games on the regular, both should get a brief audition before the end of the year.
The Minnesota Twins need to realize that 2022 is basically over and start looking towards the future and what it could bring. There’s a lot to like about this team for all its faults, but these four things are things to watch as the 2022 season mercifully rolls to an end.
Next. Sonny Gray leaves start with a hamstring problem. dark