Twins: 3 things to watch for in Spring Training
Baseball season is here, and the Minnesota Twins have traveled to Fort Myers, Florida, in preparation for the 2023 season. The first game is on Feb. 25 against the Baltimore Orioles, and here are three things to watch for as Spring Training begins.
1. Alex Kirilloff’s wrist
Alex Kirilloff can elevate the Twins from a good team to a great team – that’s how talented he is. If he can put together a healthy season, the former first-round pick has a good shot at making the All-Star game.
In 104 games (two seasons), he’s hitting .251, with an on-base percentage of .295 and slugging .361. He’s also hit 11 home runs and driven in 55 runs. On paper, those stats aren’t great, but a lot of his numbers have been affected by his wrist.
2022 splits:
- April: .059/.059/.059, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 7 SO
- May: .333/.429/.333, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 5 SO
- June: .295/.313/.477, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 1 BB, 9 SO
- July: .254/.303/.366, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 15 SO
April was a slow start, but Kirilloff was a much better player once he settled in. He continued his hot streak in July, but in his final three games, he finished with zero hits in 12 at-bats. It was clear something was wrong, and that something was his wrist.
In May, June, and the beginning of July, AK was a great hitter. This offseason, he went through a serious wrist surgery that will hopefully prevent any issues from coming up. It’s been reported that he’s felt some soreness, but overall, it feels good.
This is great news. Once the Twins traded Luis Arraez, it was a clear indication that the front office believed in Kirilloff. If, they can get great defense and 20+ home runs from their first baseman, then we’re talking about a completely different team.
2. What will the starting rotation look like?
The Twins have a lot of starting pitching options. The most likely outcome to start the season is this:
I think the Twins begin the season with a six-man rotation, just like they did to start the year in 2022. Eventually, they’ll dwindle that number down to five, but for now, that’s what we can expect. Long-term, I think both Ober and Maeda are bullpen options.
The Twins aren’t planning on moving anyone into a middle relief position, but that could easily change.
Even someone like Josh Winder has to factor into the Twins’ plans in 2023. It feels as if he will get starts if there’s an injury, but not as a regular rotation piece.
We haven’t even mentioned guys like Louie Varland and Simeon Woods Richardson. They likely aren’t factoring into any plans unless there’s an injury. Jordan Balazovic should be mentioned too, but we need to see a bounce-back season from him in 2023.
Minnesota has a lot of options to throw out every fifth or sixth day, and we could see some shakeups if Ober or Maeda don’t look good coming out of the gates.
3. Kenta Maeda’s health
We started the article talking about Kirilloff’s health, and we’re going to end it with Maeda’s. When he was at his peak, Maeda was a CY Young candidate.
That was three years ago (2020), and he’s now 34 and coming off Tommy John surgery. He turns 35 at the beginning of April, so he’s practically playing the entire 2023 season as a 35-year-old coming off a serious injury.
To expect him to return to form is unrealistic, but maybe he can be a solid No. 5 starter. Maeda has never been a pitcher who relies on velocity to get hitters out. In 2021, his fastball averaged out at 91 MPH.
If he was a hard-throwing righty, the concern would be a lot higher. Best case scenario, Maeda is an eight-win pitcher with an ERA in the high threes. Worst case, he doesn’t have the stuff anymore, and the Twins move him to a bullpen role.
Either way, we’ll know more about Maeda relatively soon. If I had to make a prediction, I’d guess that he’ll be a bullpen option in 2023, and that’s not a bad thing. He found a lot of success in that role for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Let us know in the comment section below what you’re looking for during Spring Training.
