Catching the Twins

 

The Guardians tried to even things up at the top of the AL Central. It didn't go so well for them.

Now it seems to be up to the Chicago White Sox to try and take on the Twins. Not that the Guardians are out of it, they're just...still a bit stung by those losing streaks last month. The White Sox are looking to build momentum and have finally got themselves back to .500, and they're trying to take back the division they thought was theirs at the beginning of the season. 

However...if it's been this hard to stop the Twins to this point, I don't think it's gonna get any easier.

What has helped this team this year is that the core of the team, where maybe one or two players would succeed and the others would hang back, is all working right now. Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler, Luis Arraez, and now Carlos Correa, Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez, are all powering this team and are all pretty reliable. Buxton's having another career year and has stayed relatively healthy, Correa is picking up where his Astros numbers left off, and Polanco, still incredibly reliable, is 2nd in homers this year. It's to the point where even bench guys like Jose Miranda, Gilberto Celestino, Alex Kirilloff and Kyle Garlick can join in on the fun and keep the momentum rolling.

The thing is that there's a few members of this core that are injured, like Trevor Larnach, Ryan Jeffers and Miguel Sano, and that's not keeping them down. The Twins traded away two of their extra catchers during the offseason and are now digging up people like Jose Godoy and Caleb Hamilton from the minors in a conscious effort to keep Gary Sanchez from getting behind the plate. And while this team has a lot of outfield depth and infield depth, little spots like catching where they're grasping at straws are unsettling as this team moves towards a playoff run.

This is why I'm glad their incredibly low-key rotation of Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Dylan Bundy, Chris Archer and Devin Smeltzer is working so well. You have Bundy and Archer, known for being fireballers, being focused more on control and less on throwing hard, and that's helping them. Ryan's the ace and he's just being helped along by the veterans. Gray is still in good shape and is helping the team out by knowing what he's doing. And I'm just glad Smeltzer, a local boy, is getting to start games for a 1st place team.

There's a lot of interesting pieces of this Twins team, and I'm honestly happy it's leading to success. I am wary of other teams trying to compete, and the team should be as well. But if all of this understated, trusted stuff is working, then maybe it'll continue to work.

Also, someone like Rocco Baldelli outmatching someone like Tony LaRussa is good for baseball.

Coming Tonight: Ironically a catcher, this one for another 1st place competitor.