Derek Shelton's first Twins Opening Day lineup features 1 surprise, 1 sad reminder

While it could be a long season, Twins fans are pumped that Opening Day is finally here. Regardless of how many expect the Twins to perform this season, Opening Day is always filled with optimism. Every team is on the same level (besides the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, who played each other last night).

The Twins' season opener against the Baltimore Orioles is scheduled to begin at 2:05 p.m. CST today at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Joe Ryan will make the start on the mound for Minnesota, and left-hander Trevor Rogers is slated to start for Baltimore.

While we've known for a while who the starting pitchers will be today, many fans were wondering what Derek Shelton's first Opening Day lineup as the Twins' skipper would look like. Fans don't have to wonder anymore, as the Twins just announced the starting nine for today's game.

The starting nine shouldn’t shock fans in terms of who’s in the lineup, but the order includes one big surprise and one sad reminder.

Austin Martin batting leadoff for Twins on Opening Day is surprising

Most fans likely expected to see either Luke Keaschall or Byron Buxton bat leadoff on Opening Day. But the Twins decided to go with Martin.

While it's a surprise to see Martin batting leadoff today, it makes sense when you think about it. In 181 plate appearances across 50 MLB games last season, Martin posted an elite .374 on-base percentage. He followed his strong, short season with an even better spring training, slashing .353/.476/.353 over 42 plate appearances with four stolen bases.

Martin also excels against lefties, hitting .346/.404/.481 over 52 at-bats against southpaws last season. And, as stated earlier, Baltimore's starting pitcher today is a lefty. So while many didn't expect to see Martin bat leadoff today, it seems like a solid decision from Shelton.

Royce Lewis batting eighth in Twins' Opening Day lineup is a sad reminder

If I had told you two years ago that there'd be a Twins lineup with Victor Caratini batting higher than Lewis, you probably wouldn't have believed me. Not because Caratini wasn't with the Twins at the time, but because you probably thought Lewis would be an All-Star by now.

Unfortunately, it appears Lewis is no longer the player who posted a .921 OPS with 15 homers and 52 RBI over 58 games during the 2023 regular season.

After his breakout 2023 season, Lewis slashed .233/.295/.452 (107 OPS+) in 2024 before slashing .237/.283/.388 (83 OPS+) the following year. Due to injuries, Lewis appeared in just 82 games in 2024 and 106 in 2025.

If Lewis had a strong spring training, Shelton may have placed him higher in the Opening Day lineup to instill confidence in the third baseman, since we all know he could be a much better player than he's shown over the last two seasons. Unfortunately, Lewis' spring stats were so bad (.133/.160/.289 slash line across 50 plate appearances) that Shelton had to place him near the bottom of the order. Hopefully, Lewis figures out how to return to his 2023 form soon.