Twins: 3 players who exceeded expectations
The Minnesota Twins season is over, and while it was mostly disappointing, there were some bright spots. Here are three players who exceeded expectations this year.
1. Nick Gordon, Utility
Nick Gordon has had a rollercoaster of a Major League career. He went from being a top pick in the MLB Draft, to struggling in the minors and dealing with injuries and an illness. There was a moment in time when many people were unsure if he’d make an impact in the big leagues.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. Gordon had a solid rookie year, but it wasn’t anything special. He was mostly utilized as the Twins’ spark plug and often got a hit every fourth or fifth at-bat.
This year, he displayed power, speed, energy and solid defense all around the field. Gordon was one of Minnesota’s most important players this season. Whenever an injury occurred, Gordon would be thrust into a different position.
This season, Gordon finished with a batting average of .272, with nine home runs and 50 RBIs. He also played six different positions – including pitcher.
Not only did Gordon improve offensively and defensively, but he completely shifted many people’s views regarding his value on this roster. If he continues to do this, the 26-year-old will make a lot of money and have a place on any MLB team.
2. Gio Urshela, 3B
The Twins were entering the 2022 season with Josh Donaldson as their third baseman, or so we thought. On March 13, Gio Urshela and Gary Sánchez were traded to Minnesota for Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt.
Urshela has had success at every stop in his career. He’s a good hitter with solid defense. This season he displayed a lot of good hitting and was the Twins’ most clutch hitter for large stretches of the season.
Time after time, Urshela came through when you needed him most. He ended the season with a wins above replacement of 3.1, which was higher than Donaldson for those wondering.
He also finished with a batting average of .285, with 13 home runs and 64 runs batted in.
Defensively, he was incredible and made jaw-dropping plays consistently. He only caused six errors in 343 chances (.983 fielding percentage). His fielding percentage ranks third in baseball amongst third basemen.
Hopefully, the Twins bring him back next season, but if they don’t, they do have options at third moving forward.
3. Dylan Bundy, SP
Dylan Bundy wasn’t great this season, but he was better than his numbers suggest. The Twins signed him at a low cost to essentially eat innings and be a back end of the rotation guy. There were some nights where he would give up five-to-seven runs in four innings, but there were other games where he looked good.
For a stretch there, you could’ve argued he was the Twins’ second-best pitcher. Granted, Minnesota’s pitching wasn’t great, but Bundy wasn’t ever asked to be a frontline starter.
He was probably their most efficient pitcher too, and that’s because he never tried to do too much. There were many games where he’d be through five or six innings and be sitting around 50-to-60 pitches.
Bundy was signed at a low cost and gave the Twins 29 starts, 140.0 innings, with an ERA of 4.89 and a record of 8-8. The record of pitchers isn’t really an indicator of their performances because a lot of that has to do with how good the team is. However, last season Bundy went 2-9 with an ERA of 6.06.
There weren’t high expectations for Bundy, but he outperformed expectations and was a pretty solid fourth or fifth option.
Let us know in the comment section below who you thought exceeded your expectations.
