This story was excerpted from Matthew Leach’s Twins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MINNEAPOLIS – We’re a little past the exact one-third point in the season, so hopefully you’ll forgive that this is not exactly mathematically correct. But in my first life as a beat writer, I covered a manager who often talked about dividing the season into thirds.
In April and May, you’re figuring out what you have. In June and July, you’re working on turning it into what it can be. And in August and September, you’ve got what you’ve got, and you turn it loose to get to the finish line.
I always found that an intriguing framing, and as we’ve just reached the end of May, it seemed a good time to take stock of the first third (plus a little bit) of the 2026 Twins season. There’s still a lot of season to go, and a lot of twists and turns left. But I think it’s fair to say that at this point, we know what they have. So here are three things that I think we can confidently say are true about this team.
They’re going to grind it out
The results haven’t always been consistent, and there’s been a lot of turnover. They don’t hit for a ton of power, but this lineup really takes good at-bats. They don’t get out of their approach, whether it’s late in a blowout, or with two men on in a tie game.
“It’s team offense,” said manager Derek Shelton. “It’s not an individual at-bat. Once you get guys on base, the at-bat is not yours anymore. It becomes the team’s at-bat. I think our hitting group has done a good job of making sure that is the focus.”
That has a couple of effects. One, it seems to have played a part in Minnesota seeing more bases-loaded situations than any other team. Twins hitters are willing to take a walk with a runner in scoring position, rather than trying to force things. Two, in a strange time where suddenly it seems relievers are no longer as bulletproof as they used to be, it does mean you see the soft underbelly of bullpens more often.
The bullpen remains a work in progress
Yes, this thing that we know is actually kind of a thing we don’t know. As the season goes on, the Twins continue to fiddle with their relief mix, and there’s no indication they’re going to stop.
The latest addition is hard-throwing right-hander Justin Lawrence, acquired Monday from the Pirates. He got off to a rough start this year, but has had a couple of very successful stretches in his career, and he brings a different look to the relief corps. Lawrence throws mid to high 90s from a low arm slot, making him a different weapon from the other relievers at Shelton’s disposal.
What has become clear more broadly, though, is that they’re going to continue taking chances. It frankly seems as though that’s not just a coping mechanism, but a strategy. As pitchers with big arms or intriguing arsenals become available, they’re going to continue taking chances on them.
The top of the rotation is outstanding
Joe Ryan has come back from an injury scare and looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball again. His velocity has ticked back up after it was a bit low in April, and he’s racked up 27 strikeouts and no walks over his last three starts.
And Taj Bradley keeps performing at a level that indicates that he’s taken a significant step forward in his first year as a Twin. Bradley, remember, is still only 25, despite his extensive Major League experience. It legitimately looks like he’s making the leap to realizing his immense potential.
What that means is they don’t need elite performances from the rest of the starting five to have a very good rotation. They just need health and stability, and hopefully those will be coming soon.