Carlos Correa, Jose Miranda and Royce Lewis all had amazing runs for the Twins at different points this season, and all three of them [until very recently two cases] were on the IL. Meaning the infield needed to look completely different for several weeks this year. And yet, because this deficit happened A.) during a relatively uneventful stretch for the Twins, and B.) with the All-Star break right in the middle, the Twins didn't really lose much ground.
So now Lewis and Miranda are back and they're playing comparable teams with 4.5 games separating them and the Guardians. Things are about to get good.
The relieving thing about the Twins losing Correa is that they still had Willi Castro to play either middle infield position. Castro is mostly known for his contact bat, but his utility flexibility has made him a very trustworthy piece in Minneapolis. Castro leads the Twins in hits with 94, and in stolen bases with 10. He's also just an extremely valuable hitter due to just how frequently he can put the ball in play. Even if the Twins still have a lot of power guys, the contact mentality is prevailing, and people like Castro, Correa, Miranda, and arguably even Santana and Buxton, are good enough at just smacking balls away. Castro and Lewis can hold a strong enough infield line til Correa gets back, though hopefully it's not another 10 or 20 games til Lewis gets hurt again.
It's very cool how much this Twins team has come into its own despite losing some big pieces. Ryan-Lopez-Ober-WoodsRichardson is an extremely strong rotation schematic. I'm so happy Simeon Woods-Richardson is finally performing consistently at an MLB level. Ryan is the crowdpleaser but Ober's had some nice starts. I firmly believe the Twins have a plan for that fifth spot. They will trade for somebody, and it'll be someone you're not expecting them to get.
The Guardians may be a favorite for the division, but the Twins are not going to make it easy for them, as they usually tend not to. The Twins have looked so ferocious in points this season, and for a solid point from mid-June to early July they were one of the best teams in baseball. It can happen again. Now that we know Buxton's staying around it very well might be soon.
Coming Tonight- Yeah, Paul Skenes is nice and all but even the guys in his rotation who aren't Paul Skenes can kick your ass.
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