Monday Morning Minnesota: The “Average Baseball” Edition

The Twins had a 3-3 week, dropping two to the Nats, taking two from the Guardians, and currently sit last in the AL Central with an 18-23 record. First, the good news: after a slow start to the season, Byron Buxton is back to being a menace at the plate. Since April 13, Buxton has hit 13 homers, with 21 runs and 20 RBI, slashing .299/.342/.701. The bad news: the bullpen has been a revolving door of pitchers, and ranks second-to-last in the league in ERA (6.05), second-to-last in strikeout rate (17.9%), and second-to-last in WHIP (1.61). But more good news: the bullpen didn’t completely suck against the Guardians. Eric Orze picked up the save on Saturday, and new Twin Yoendrys Gómez got the save on Sunday. But more bad news: Taj Bradley has now hit the 15-day IL with pec inflammation. So y’know, a very normal Twins week. The Twins now have a nine-game homestand against the Marlins (19-22), Brewers (22-16), and Astros (16-25).

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
• We’re starting a new segment called Daily Questions! Provide your opinion on the Twins and debate with the community!
• Game threads and recaps are back! Commiserate with your fellow fans as we experience the season together.
• Zach Koenig gives his early thoughts on the ABS challenge system.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Aaron Gleeman, formerly of The Athletic, has announced his departure from the news organization and is starting a new independent site to cover the Twins.
• Bobby Nightengale at the Star Tribune looks at how Trevor Larnach has become one of the better hitters for the Twins this season.
• Chris Schad at Zone Coverage offers an interesting player comparison for Byron Buxton – Kirby Puckett.

In the World of Baseball:

• We have a new leader in the American League, with the Rays having two fewer losses than the Yankees (in two fewer games). These two teams have slowly pulled away, as there’s a 4.5-game gap to the next best team, the A’s.
• Atlanta has a 1.0-game gap over the Cubs, and then the Dodgers, Padres, Brewers, and Cardinals are all within 3.5 games of the Cubs.
• Bobby Witt Jr. had a slow start to the season, not hitting his first homer until April 26th. However, on Saturday, Witt hit an inside-the-park homer on a grounder for his fifth of the season.
• Kiley McDaniel at ESPN looks ahead to the 2026-2027 free agency landscape.
• Jay Jaffe at Fangraphs evaluates the Giants’ trade to send Patrick Bailey to the Guardians.