Smoothing over the rough patches

Is it possible that Willi Castro could be qualified as a Twins prospect? I think, by and large, the Twins view Trevor Larnach as a prospect in the Twins organization. He has been mercurial, and is presently beset by pneumonia, but I think, particularly because of his pedigree, many people still see Larnach's star as blossoming.

After his two home run performance on Saturday, maybe it is worth exploring whether Castro could land in the group of players the team might consider as part of their future. He is young enough, at 2 months younger than Larnach, and frankly, he does have a bit of a history. He's played in the Majors for the past three seasons, even getting a 4th place finish in the race for Rookie of the Year in 2020.

Castro has the positional versatility that the Twins seem to love, and seems to be growing in importance in the league, and is sorting things out with the bat after a couple of quieter seasons. While he is a switch hitter, he is also, more importantly, capable from the right side of the plate, which is less a redundancy for the Twins. 

His emergence are the culmination of two stories that we've covered at length here or everywhere. First is the substantial depth the Twins accrued this offseason. Second is the rapidly filling Injured List, which has necessitated that depth. Willi Castro is probably not ever going to be Trevor Larnach, but it seems that he has likely supplanted Gilberto Celestino in the Twins' plans, and perhaps even Nick Gordon, depending on what the Twins ultimately try to do going forward.

While this season's offensive output has been paltry, it still provides the air of a team that intends to be successful. They are finding areas they can improve at the edges, things that will make the team a little bit better when the post season arrives, and ways to expand their success next season. They are finding away to make the bumps in the road a little bit flatter. 

Another way the Twins are proving that there is commitment is with the latest headlines around Carlos Correa. He was recently diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, an ailment that, from personal experience, is excruciating, and takes a while to heal. The best way to get better is through rest and stretching, but on the cusp of shaking his early season doldrums and getting the team though a bit of a rougher patch, he has continued to play.

He's already signed his big contract, and he is playing through pain, because this is a team that feels can do big things, and they are putting forth the extra effort to get through the tough patches. With the emergence of players like Willi Castro, the next rough patch won't feel so rough. And with this afternoon's announce ment that Royce Lewis and Max Kepler will be returning, the hope is that this rough patch is at its end. 

I am not a conspiracy theorist..... but

 I am absolutely an umpire, referee and official apologist. While we the fans get the benefit of all sorts of camera angles and hindsight, they are tasked with making all the calls from one angle, in the moment. Then, when they invariably get a call wrong once in a while, especially in the collegiate and professional ranks, they get roasted on line, in the street and throughout the media. 

Then, we have the audacity of wondering why we don't have better officials. Is this a job you would want? We should be thankful that we get the ones we get, rather than trying to get rid of all of those that we do have. 

I don't believe for a second that there is an agenda that any official or umpire has against players or teams, simply based on my personal experience. I am a basketball referee, and my goal is simply to call the game consistently and fairly. And that is a goal. I'm not perfect and nobody else is, either. But for the most part, everyone is trying. 

But man, Phil Cuzzi. Every Twins fan remembers his name from a certain "foul ball" in the playoffs, and frankly, after Monday night's game in Los Angeles, you are well within your rights to think that he has something against the Twins.

Welcome to the Phil Cuzzi show pic.twitter.com/0Edd9mm6bq

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 16, 2023

Terrible miss on a fair/foul call by Phil Cuzzi and there will be zero consequences for it. @MLBUA get it together.

pic.twitter.com/C9Bw6l35RP

— Tarun Sharma (@tksharmalaw) May 16, 2023

Amazing that they won last night, isn't it?

The Twins are in an offensive funk

 

Did you know that the Twins have the second lowest batting average in all of baseball? Yikes! There is justifiable criticism of the way Carlos Correa has started the season. It's not the way you want to impress upon a team after signing a team record contract. His average has been sight, and he's never been an on base machine, nor a pure slugger, so his overall value has been limited. 

You might be tempted to look at Joey Gallo as a problem as well, but Gallo has always seen his average founder around .200. He's always paired it with a decent enough walk rate, and an outrageous power production. Even with an average below .200, his SLG is well over .500. That's the Joey Gallo you expect, and the one the Twins were counting on. Pair that with his slick glove at first, there are likely no complaints.

One thing that the two free agent signees have in common, however, is a thing that has been plaguing the entire Twins team. Not only have the Twins had the second lowest batting average, they've also had the second lowest batting average on balls in play. Gallo's is down about 40 points to no ill effect, but Correa's is down 130 points compared to last year. 

Correa's average feeds lustily upon his line drive rate. He's getting under balls a little bit, which accounts for some of the drop in average, Bad luck accounts for the rest. His walk and strike out rate aren't far off from normal. It should just be a minor adjustment to get Correa back on track, and his batted balls finding the gaps and running to the corners. 

The Twins have some growing to do, and some minor adjustments across the board. By my eye, this run of shoddy offense isn't going to last. And by shoddy offense, I mean specifically their low batting average. They are closer to the middle of the pack in runs scored and wOBA, a measure of tru offensive output. 

Furthermore, even if batting average was the total summation of a team's offensive prowess, the Twins, even in this godawful funk to start the season, are still in first place.