The Twins Have Created Themselves a Platoon Disadvantage.
If you have been watching the Minnesota Twins for any extended period of time the past two seasons, you know that their lineups have been built on platooning talent. Unfortunately, that lineup’s inconsistency has once again created a platoon disadvantage.
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On a daily basis, you can hear the bickering caused by the announcement of Rocco Baldelli’s lineup card. Regardless of how a guy may be going, the handedness of the opposing pitcher will dictate what players start, and where they fall in the batting order. With the rise of pinch-hitting in the era of a universal designated hitter, Minnesota is doing the most to pad the stats. The problem is: their blueprint isn’t working.
Over the course of the 2024 Major League Baseball season, about the only thing that has remained constant for the Minnesota Twins is their inability to be consistent. Throwing up gaudy winning and losing streaks, they find themselves looking up at both the Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals in the standings. As they continue to get healthier, returning Royce Lewis to the lineup in short order even, playing their best players could benefit them–and if those players can be clearly identified, they should be prioritized even in ostensibly suboptimal lineups.
As Twins Daily’s Gregg Masterson pointed out recently, there are few teams doing more to actively hurt themselves at the dish than Minnesota. Through 65 games, no team has more at-bats coming from pinch hitters than Baldelli’s group. Of the 55 at-bats taken, only five have gone for extra-bases (four doubles and a Ryan Jeffers home run), while the .182 batting average ranks 20th. The OPS for these spots from Minnesota checks in 17th across baseball and they have produced a near-neutral fWAR.
