Written by Chris Schad
Over the Fourth of July weekend, the Minnesota Twins had a golden opportunity to gain ground on the Kansas City Royals. Even by taking three of four from half the American League All-Star roster, the Twins could have found themselves as serious contenders in the AL Central and sitting pretty heading into a homestand before the All-Star break.
Things didn’t go as planned for the Twins in Kansas City, however, as they could only muster a series split following Sunday’s 3-2 walkoff loss. With no ground gained, it could be easy to chalk the weekend up as a lost one, but there were many things to feel good about as they head back to Target Field.
The most glaring improvement over the weekend was the punch in the middle of the batting order brought by Miguel Sano. Long regarded as the Twins top prospect at the plate, the 22 year old missed a couple home runs by a ruler and went 6-for-16 in his first series in the bigs.
Unlike the 11-game stint Byron Buxton put together before landing on the disabled list, the breaking balls didn’t seem to bother Sano as he looked like a savvy veteran while launching balls into the outfield.
While many will caution that it’s just one series, Sano looks like the real deal at the plate and could be a legitimate superstar if he can master third base defensively down the road. For now, he’ll add an element of fear in the middle of the Twins order.
The top of the order seems to be getting a boost as well as Joe Mauer is starting to regain his form at the dish. For the weekend, Mauer went 8-for-16 with a home run on Saturday night. He also was able to pull the ball several times and use the whole field — something that has been missing from his arsenal during the 2015 season.
What’s better about this is that it’s not an isolated series. Since his batting average hit a season-low .253 on June 18, Mauer has been on a tear with a .367/.458/.531 line and a pair of home runs. The days of 2009 MVP numbers are far behind him, but this is the type of production the Twins need from their highly-paid first baseman if they want to stay in the race.
The same goes for the starting rotation, who turned in three solid outings in four games this weekend (the lone exception being Mike Pelfrey’s fifth-inning meltdown on Saturday night). Kyle Gibson and Tommy Milone did their best to keep things competitive in the first two games, and the return of Ervin Santana sparked the Twins on Sunday afternoon despite the loss.
Santana was both effective (eight strikeouts) and efficient (94 pitches in eight innings) in his return from an 80-game suspension for PED use and was victimized on a couple mistakes to Drew Butera and Alex Gordon. After spending a record amount of money on his arm last winter, the Twins have to be thrilled with his debut and hope that he adds one more stabilizing force into the starting rotation.
There are also plenty of things that can be listed as concerns for the Twins such as the lack of clutch hitting and a bullpen that’s starting to become more like a pumpkin than a carriage. However, 4.5 games isn’t a death sentence in July.
If the Twins put together a winning homestand prior to the All-Star break, they could still gain ground on the Royals (who were also struggling entering this series after being swept by Houston last week) and, in a worst case scenario, they could make a push for a wild card spot.
Speaking of which, that spot could get interesting at the beginning of the week with the Twins hosting the team that’s currently tied for the last postseason spot — the Baltimore Orioles.
There’s plenty of time left for the Twins, but if they can play halfway decent baseball, their new developments might give them a Lloyd Christmas chance to make a push toward the postseason.