Twins: 3 positives from the 2021 season
There weren’t many positives this season, but the Minnesota Twins had a few bright spots. For one, they had several big games from their young budding stars and even finished fifth in the MLB in home runs (228). Here’s a look at three positives from the 2021 year.
1. Jorge Polanco’s big season
There wasn’t a better player on the Twins’ roster than Jorge Polanco. I mean, can we get a round of applause for Polo?
We knew he was capable of playing at an All-Star level after he made the ASG in 2019, but Polanco didn’t look good in 2020. The primary reason for his struggles can be blamed on his ankle injury.
When you watched him play last season, you could tell there was something wrong. After hitting a career-high (at the time) 22 home runs in 2019, you expected him to come out and hit at least 10-15 home runs. That wasn’t the case, as in 55 games, he only hit four.
You could look at that and think, well… maybe he’s just not a home run hitter? Maybe that 2019 performance was a fluke?
Nope.
Polanco had surgery on his ankle after the 2020 season and had another coming-out party in 2021. The Twins also moved him to second base and he looked really good. Long-term, that’s where Minnesota should play him. There’s less strain on his body, and he played solid defense.
This season Polanco hit .269, with 33 home runs and 98 runs batted in. We knew he could hit 20 home runs in a given season, but he exceeded expectations. His 98 RBIs were also a career-high, previously 79.
Polanco finished the year with a wins above replacement of 4.8, which is tied for 41st in the MLB.
He hit many walk-offs this season, including a stretch in which he hit three in four games.
I don’t think I could have been excited to watch Twins’ games down the stretch if he wasn’t in the lineup. Hopefully, he can carry over that success into next year because Minnesota will be a better ball club if he does.
2. Optimism for the future
Even though this season was a disappointment and they traded away fan-favorites Nelson Cruz and José Berríos, the Twins have a bright future.
Minnesota has a lot of young talent, four of which came back after trading away Cruz and Berrios. Drew Strotman, Joe Ryan, Simeon Woods Richardson, and Austin Martin will all play a part in the success of this franchise. It sucked that it came at the expense of trading two-star players, but Minnesota came away with some pretty good young talent.
Minnesota has a lot of high upside players, including three in MLB’s top-100 prospects. Let’s not get too carried away and instead look at what they have at the major league level.
Minnesota saw Alex Kiriloff and Trevor Larnach make their big league debuts this season, but both were cut short. Kiriloff looks like a future All-Star or at the very least, a good player on a good team. Sadly, his season ended early, but in a short amount of time, he hit eight home runs on a batting average of .251.
Larnach was a surprise call-up this season, but it made sense given the Twins’ outfield situation. He showed a lot of promise out of the gate but struggled heavily in July and August. Depending on what the Twins do with Byron Buxton and Max Kepler, Larnach may not be on the opening day roster. There’s a lot to like about him, including his baseball IQ and power at the plate.
Ryan looked good in his first five starts, and he looks like a stud. There were a few rough patches, but nothing serious that would make you worried.
The most encouraging young player we saw this season was Bailey Ober. The 6-foot-9 right-handed pitcher was one of the Twins’ best pitchers this season. He struggled a bit out of the gate but settled in nicely after July. He finished the year with a 3-3 record and a 4.19 ERA. If he can improve against left-handed hitters as he did with his velocity, then he’s going to be a part of the rotation for years to come.
3. The bullpen is good
One of the biggest surprises was how well the bullpen turned things around. Minnesota finished 20th in the league with a 34-31 record and an ERA of 4.39.
The final stat line is a little deceiving, and it doesn’t tell the full story:
- First Half: 25th, 16-21, 4.91 ERA, 329.2 IP, 54 HR, 206 R, 132 BB, 345 SO
- Second Half: 12th, 18-10, 3.80 ERA, 294.0 IP, 38 HR, 135 R. 116 BB, 287 SO
The change from the first half to the second half of the season is night and day.
A huge reason was Tyler Duffey and Caleb Thielbar turning things around. Alex Colomé had his moments, but he was a lot better towards the end of the season.
Jorge Alcala was absolutely dominant after coming back from his injury. His velocity, mixed with his slider is lethal. He finished with an ERA of 1.50 in August and 0.79 in September.
A lot of his improvement came in the seventh inning, but don’t be surprised if he’s used more in high leverage situations next season.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Twins do this offseason, but you have to feel better about the bullpen heading into next season. The front office should sign one-to-two arms, but finding quality relievers isn’t the biggest priority this offseason.
One thought on “Twins: 3 positives from the 2021 season”
Comments are closed.