It's Time for Steven Tolleson

(Photo by G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images)

The Minnesota Twins have had a lot of concerns early this season. Some are injuries, but the most are players just not getting the job done. The bullpen has slowly but surely turned a horrible start into a solid season up to this point, the rotation has followed suit as well. Unfortunately, the middle infield problems that was a question mark prior to the season is now leaving everyone completely up in arms.

Alexi Casilla had an outstanding first half to the 2008 season but he leveled off and got injured in the second-half and never looked the same afterward. He was given a huge vote of confidence in the off-season when manager Ron Gardenhire laughed off any media outlet who questioned if Casilla would start the season at second base or if he was in danger of losing his spot. Casilla looked to be back on track in Spring Training when he hit .306/.354/.361 while playing steady defense at second base. But all of that unraveled once the season started.

Casilla all of a sudden could get a hit and lost complete awareness of the strike zone. Despite swinging at 6% more pitches this season, his BABIP dropped .081 points while his batting average dropped .101 points from a year ago. The once patient Casilla now started to swing at nearly 10% more pitches outside of the strike zone than he did a year ago, which is no wonder why his strikeout rate rose 7.2% from 2008. All of this without even mentioning his shaky defense were reasons enough to be demoted to Triple-A. But defense ultimately cost Casilla his roster spot and was the main factor why he ended up in Gardenhire’s “doghouse.”

To replace Casilla, the Twins have used a rotation of Nick Punto, Matt Tolbert and Brendan Harris. Harris has played second base, shortstop and third base, but the Twins believe that second base is his weakest position and if we’re looking at the small sample size, they’re right. According to UZR/150, Harris has played much better defense both at shortstop and third base this season compared to second base. Harris is labeled as a “natural shortstop” and Gardenhire just doesn’t believe he fits right at second base, which is evident with his poor footwork when turning a double play. He also features a very strong arm, which is better suited for shortstop.

Punto and Tolbert are about the same player offensively, although Punto’s defense is far and away superior to Tolbert’s. But both player’s combined are hitting .204 with eight extra-base hits in 269 at-bats. Tolbert is one of Gardenhire’s favorite players due to his ability to run out a ball and play “on his toes.” Unfortunately, Tolbert has played in 40 of 78 games and continues to get starts on a semi-regular basis. It’s been time for his demotion to Rochester for a couple months now and while he and Punto continue to look absolutely worthless offensively, a player in the Minor Leagues looks to be primed to make his Major League debut.

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