5 players the Twins can't afford to lose down the stretch
The Minnesota Twins dodged a bullet on Friday night as Matt Wallner suffered a right hand contusion after being hit by a pitch. While the Twins avoided the worst-case scenario, it's a reminder that they'll need all hands on deck if they want to win the American League Central and win their first playoff game in 20 years.
With the season entering its final weeks, here are five players that are pivotal to the Twins' playoff hopes.
Matt Wallner
There was a good reason Twins fans were holding their breath when Wallner came out of the game on Friday night as he's been one of their hottest hitters all season.
Wallner went back and forth between the majors and Triple-A while hitting .291/.403/.524 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI in 67 games with the St. Paul Saints before getting called up for good on July 17. While his .215 batting average is low, Wallner owns a .516 slugging percentage and eight homers in 29 games since his latest call-up.
Wallner just hit a grand slam to Forest Lake. 😱😱😱#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/QqtaMSROk0
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 16, 2023
The Twins lineup is starving for offense and Wallner has the power to fuel it. With an upper-tier arm in left field, the Forest Lake native is beginning to establish himself as a major leaguer and an important piece of Minnesota's offense.
Royce Lewis
Lewis might have a list of injuries that could compare to Byron Buxton, but like his older counterpart, he is an electric player that can make a difference when he's on the field.
The force is strong with this one. pic.twitter.com/IGzvw27Ckl
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 19, 2023
Since returning from his second ACL tear in a span of 15 months in May, Lewis is hitting .340/.491/871 with four homers, 17 RBI and two stolen bases in 29 games. Although he suffered an oblique injury that put him back on the shelf on July 1, he's hitting .412/.464/.588 with two homers and eight RBI in his last 14 games.
With a hit in 12 of those 14 games, Lewis appears to be catching fire again. But like with most Twins, it's a matter of keeping him healthy as they head down the stretch.
Carlos Correa
It hasn't been the best season at the plate for Correa and he may not recover until the season ends to digest a wild free-agency tour last winter but it's also possible he needs the calendar to turn to September.
At this time last year, Correa was hitting just .269/.351/.431 with 14 home runs and 39 RBI in 93 games with the Twins but turned it on down the stretch, hitting .337/.399/.544 with eight homers and 25 RBI in his final 43 games.
Mix in the fact that Correa's defense hasn't dropped off and his 18 postseason home runs rank eighth in MLB history and there's a chance that some brisk October air could turn him into the player the Twins thought they were paying for.
Max Kepler
A good chunk of Twins fans wanted Kepler gone in mid-July but Kepler surged after Wallner was called up on July 15.
In his last 30 games, Kepler has become one of the Twins' best hitters with a .294/.339/.587 batter's line, eight home runs and 17 RBI. There's also a case that the Twins don't have much depth behind him as Joey Gallo's arm could replace him in right field but his .185 average would leave a massive hole in the lineup.
Kepler's turnaround may feel kind of like a coincidence, but Twins fans have been begging for Kepler to return to his 2019 form. If it takes a young player to do it, Twins will gladly accept Kepler's resurgence.
Jhoan Duran
Duran has allowed seven runs and a 1.028 OPS over his last eight outings (7.1 innings) but he remains one of the Twins' most dominant arms with a fastball that is still routinely sitting in the triple digits.
Obviously, the Twins wouldn't like to lose Sonny Gray or Pablo López but they have options in the rotation such as Kenta Maeda, who has a 2.68 ERA since coming off the injured list on June 23, or Joe Ryan, who was 8-4 with a 2.98 ERA before he suffered a groin injury in late June.
Emilio Pagán has also been the Twins' top reliever with a 1.37 ERA and .125 opponent batting average in 27 appearances since June 15, but Twins fans may be uncomfortable with him in a high-leverage situation.
That leaves Duran as the reliever to slam the door and with his ability to throw multiple innings, he could be the piece that helps end the Twins' 18-game postseason losing streak.
