Minnesota Twins: Midseason Report

Even more impressive is the fact that we are not leaning on guys like Mauer and Morneau to do everything. Seemingly every game has a different guy stepping up with multiple hits, clutch RBI, and/or some unexpected power.

While this is very encouraging, you have to ask yourself, “Can we consistently expect guys like Brendan Harris, Nick Punto, and Brian Buscher to deliver clutch hits?” Realistically, it would seem like the team needs its stars to step up a bit over then next couple months.

Sure we can hope that the younger players continue to improve and that the clutch hitting continues to be contagious, but in order to be a division winning team, you need the studs to carry the team at times.

So where has Morneau’s power gone?

It seems like Justin has gone to the Joe Mauer school of hitting (Quick Swing not included) and has decided that it’s better to hit .310 with 20 HRs (still five times as many as Joe hits) than to hit .275 with 35 bombs—seemingly standard for all Twins hitters.

While this approach is getting him quite a few RBI and keeping runners on base, I would say that it’s not the way to go. There’s no guarantee that guys like Span, Gomez, and Casilla are going to continue to be on base when Morneau comes to the plate.

On top of that, there are times, especially late in games, where a one- or two-out double simply isn’t going to be enough—we need the power. If it were up to me, I’d be pushing for No. 33 to participate in the Home Run Derby next week as a way to get the power back in his swing.

What will the team do with the lineup when everyone gets healthy?

This is the most immediate and pressing issue facing the Twins right now. The outfield already has Gomez, Young, and Span looking like a very good, young core. Add to that Jason Kubel and Craig Monroe coming off the bench (and splitting the DH role) and you have a lot of talent.

However, Michael Cuddyer is scheduled to come off the DL soon, so that gives the team a glut of players at this position. Do you really send Span back down to AAA?

In the infield, Gardenhire has already shown that he’s determined to play Nick Punto on a regular basis at some position. Brendan Harris has been a viable player at multiple positions as well.

Brian Buscher has been hitting very well, but has fallen victim to Gardy’s hatred of batting lefties against lefties. Also in the mix is Mike Lamb, who’s been terrible but is making a lot of money, and Matt Tolbert and Adam Everett are scheduled to return to the team soon.


What can we realistically expect from The Kids in the second half?

The youngest players on the team (Carlos Gomez, Alexi Casilla, Denard Span, and Delmon Young) have been the most exciting and the most frustrating part of the offense so far this year.

Gomez has the ability to bunt at any time and make things happen on the basepaths, yet has shown poor plate discipline and an inability to get on base consistently.  Casilla is still hitting over .300 and getting into scoring position for the big guns. Nevertheless, he was hitting only .220 in AAA for a reason. Span is flourishing (both in the bigs and in the minors) and seems to have found a bit of a niche in the No. 9 hole.

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