By: Abby Altman

*Note: This article was originally written May 20th, so obviously things have happened since

In 2021, the starting shortstop for the Minnesota Twins was Andrelton Simmons. Simmons was a previous gold glove winner, but his bat was nothing exciting, and he often brought down the Twins lineup in important games. 

In 2022, the Twins now face a complete opposite issue. 

After the MLB lockout, the Twins signed All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa from the Houston Astros for 3 years, with an opt-out option after each year. Correa, excluding a brief stint on the 10 day-IL (as of mid May), was batting .255, with a .721 OPS. Correa’s glove has been exceptional at shortstop, and he has been a very valuable addition to the team. 

While Correa was on the IL, someone needed to fill in at the shortstop position. This is where the Twins brought in rookie shortstop Royce Lewis from AAA. Lewis was the number 1 overall draft pick in 2017. In the 11 games Lewis played with the Twins, he hit .308, with 4 doubles, 2 home runs, one of which was a grand slam, 11 RBI, and 12 runs scored. 

Lewis still has a lot to learn in the big leagues, and that showed in the few mistakes he made at shortstop in his big league appearance. 

Many fans are upset, however, that the Twins sent Lewis back to St. Paul and AAA upon the return of Correa. 

The Twins organization stated that Lewis would be spending time at other positions, as well as shortstop while he was in AAA, to see where Lewis would fit in the Twins lineup, without having to bench Correa. 

“We’re going to move him around the field a little bit, to get him a little bit of exposure at some different spots,” Baldelli said, via The Athletic. “The last thing we would want to do is start sending him all around the field to play in places where he’s literally never played a game…But he was fantastic for us.”

In his professional baseball career, Lewis has played 308 games at shortstop, 13 games at third base, 6 games in center field, and 5 games at second base. 

There are not many places where the Twins are looking to replace the current fielder. Jorge Polanco has been heating up at the plate and holding second base steady. 

Luis Arraez is in the most similar situation as Lewis defensively. Arraez has played third base, first base, second base, shortstop and left field since he joined the Twins. Lewis replacing Arraez is not a solution on anybody’s roster, however, as Arraez has been batting .354, with only 7 strikeouts in 113 at bats. 

In his first at bat back in AAA, Lewis blasted a home run, showing once again that he does belong in the major leagues. 

Since Correas’ return from the IL, he has batted .300 in the 6 games he played in. Lewis down in AAA has been batting .346 in his last 7 games. 

After an apparent leg injury for right fielder Max Kepler, Lewis was once again called up to the big leagues, this time as a center fielder.  Lewis played just 1 game at center field in his time in Saint Paul. 

This center field debut did not last long. In the top of the 3rd inning, Emmanuel Rivera flew out sharply to deep center field. Lewis made the leaping catch at the wall, but this resulted in Lewis crashing into the wall, and leaving the game early with apparent “right knee soreness”. 

The last 2 years, Lewis has been plagued with injuries, most prominent including an ACL tear on the same knee he was experiencing soreness in. More tests will be run to evaluate the degree of Lewis’s condition. 

Less worrisome, but still concerning, Carlos Correa has contracted COVID and finds himself on the COVID IL. 

By: Abby Altman

In 2021, the Minnesota Twins defined “disappointing”. They went from being back to back division champs, the league leader in home runs, and one of the best teams in baseball, to taking last place in the AL Central in 2021. The 2021 Twins were plagued with injuries, pitching problems, and an offense that seemed to have lost its power. 

In preseason power rankings for 2022, the Twins were consistently found in the lower 20’s. That has quickly changed.

Just 1 month since the lockout ended, and the season began, the Twins now find themselves at #10 in the MLB Power Rankings. 

The Twins started off the first few games in rough shape, but quickly turned it around. 

Beginning the season in a 4 game series against the Mariners, the Twins started 0-2, but came back to split the series 2-2. The 2 game series against the Dodgers was a well expected sweep by the Dodgers, potentially the best team in baseball. 

There were 2 more series before the Twins took their first series win. Minnesota split the series with the Red Sox, and then lost the 3 game series to the Royals 1-2. 

It was the mid April homestand when the Twins got hot. The Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers traveled to Minnesota, where the Twins won 6 games in a row, sweeping 2 division rivals back to back. 

The Twins then traveled to Tampa Bay, where they won the series 2-1 against the Rays, landing a 7 game winning streak. 

In the most recent games, the Twins split a 4 game series with the Orioles and swept the Athletics. The Houston Astros swept the Twins in a 3 game series in Minnesota last week. The Guardians came to Minnesota to end the Twins longest home stand of the year, and the Twins took a 2-1 series victory. 

The Twins are now traveling to Oakland to take on the Athletics for the 2nd time this season. In game 1, the Twins took a 3-1 victory with Chris Archer pitching 4 innings, allowing only 1 run, and the bullpen shutting the A’s down the remainder of the game. 

The Twins .583 record has not come without any injuries or difficulties. Many Twins players have found themselves benched due to injury or COVID, or placed on the IL. 

Players like Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, Miguel Sanó, Luis Arraez, and many others have missed significant amounts of time due to injury and illness. Because of this, the Twins lineup is often full of young players. 

MLB veterans like Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Gio Urshela, and Gary Sanchez are essential parts of the Twins nearly every game, with the amount of young players in the lineup.

Alex Kirriloff, Royce Lewis, Gilberto Celestino, and Jose Miranda are just a few names who are found in the starting lineup more often than you would expect. 

Alex Kirrilof played in 59 games last season, before undergoing a season ending wrist surgery. Before the surgery, Kirilloff was batting .251 with 8 home runs. This season, he is batting just .172 in only 10 games. 

Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda are 2 players the Twins recently called up from AAA. Both infielders, Lewis has been playing shortstop while Correa heals his hand on the 10-day IL. Miranda has been making appearances at 1st base and 3rd base, with Miguel Sano on the IL as well. 

The Twins bats have been slower this year than in previous years, so a large part of the Twins success is provided by the pitching. The Twins have the 5th lowest overall ERA in the MLB, 10th in starting pitchers, and 6th in relief pitchers. 

The Twins have a fairly new pitching staff, acquiring Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Chris Archer, Chris Paddack, and Dylan Bundy, all just before the 2022 season. For the majority of the time, these pitchers make up the Twins starting rotation, who have held opponents to 4 or less runs in 70% of this season’s games. 

The AL Central is perhaps one of the worst divisions in the MLB. Because of this, the Twins find themselves in 1st place in the division, 3 games ahead of the White Sox. The Twins have the 5th best record in the AL, and the 9th best record in the MLB. 

By: Abby Altman

In recent history, very few teams have struggled with pitching as much as the Minnesota Twins. In 2021, the Twins were 26th in combined ERA, and 25th for starting pitchers. But nearly 1 month into the 2022 season, as of April 28th, the Twins are 9th in ERA, with a 3.21 average, and their starting pitchers rank 2nd in ERA with a 2.36 average, just behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

This new pitching success is propelled by rookie Joe Ryan. The Twins acquired Ryan from the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021, in a trade for Nelson Cruz. 

Joe Ryan was the starting pitcher in game 1 for team USA in the 2020 Olympics (held in 2021). Ryan pitched 10 innings in the Olympics, allowing 9 hits and just 2 runs, accompanied by 8 strikeouts. He finished his time in Tokyo with a 1.74 ERA. 

Ryan’s Olympic success is just one reason that the Twins announced Joe Ryan as the 2022 opening day starter, a week before game 1 against the Mariners. 

Ryan had just 5 career major league starts before this season, where his pitching was nearly untouchable. 

“I think the big leagues is a little bit different than other levels, so there’s probably going to be more pressure in certain situations,” Ryan said. “But at the end of the day, I think last year I just learned it’s still the same game. There’s great hitters up there. Don’t make mistakes. Execute your pitches and it’s still baseball. I’m there for a reason, too.”

There certainly was a good reason that manager Rocco Baldelli chose Ryan to open the season, being the first rookie to do so for the Twins since 1969. 

Ryan held the Mariners to 2 runs, earned off of a 2 run home run in the 1st inning. The Twins offense was unable to provide run security, facing the reigning Cy Young winner Robbie Ray, handing Joe Ryan his 1st loss, 2-1. 

Ryan and the Twins offense rebounded quickly. Ryan came back to pitch again against the Red Sox at Fenway Park a week later. Ryan pitched 6 innings, giving up 4 hits and only 1 run. Ryan also recorded 7 strikeouts in his first win. 

Starting last week for his 3rd game, Joe Ryan has only improved. Ryan was the starting pitcher in game 2 against the Tigers, where the Twins took a 5-0 victory, in Joe Ryan’s first shutout game. 

Backed by an excellent Twins defense, Ryan pitched 7 solid innings, allowing only 1 hit and 0 runs. Ryan recorded 9 strikeouts in his best game of the season. 

Ryan’s most recent appearance on the mound was in game 2 against the Orioles. He pitched 4.2 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 earned runs, and had 3 strikeouts. 

Joe Ryan currently has a 1.63 ERA, which is the 10th lowest for pitchers in the MLB this season. 

The “Joe Ryan Experience” as the Minnesota Twins call it, is exactly that. An experience. His pitches are located beautifully, his fastball ranges around 95 MPH, and he has his average exit velocity at just 68 MPH. 

Joe Ryan’s rookie season is off to an excellent start, and the Twins and Minnesota fans are all hoping to see how Ryan progresses in his career.

Ryan will pitch again on Tuesday against the Astros.