MINNEAPOLIS – An up-and-down start to the season reaches an off-day Monday with the Twins, appropriately, standing at an even 11-11 after losing 7-4 to the Reds in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon. A stretch of eight wins in nine games has been followed by four straight losses to end the club’s most recent homestand, the last two of them of the painful, late-inning variety.
There’s also been plenty of good, though. Here’s a look at six stats – three good, three not so good – that tell the story of the Twins’ first 22 games. Three up, three down, get it?
UP
Stat: OPS by left fielders (.930, first in MLB)
What it tells us: The platoon is working. Austin Martin has been an on-base machine from the right side, while Trevor Larnach has been resurgent from the left side after a so-so 2025 at the plate. They’re holding down the No. 2 spot in the order and providing RBI opportunities for the middle of the lineup.
Is it likely to continue? Somewhat. They probably won’t both maintain OBPs well over .400 all season, but Martin has shown an ability to get on base throughout his career, and as recently as 2024 Larnach was a dangerous hitter against right-handed pitching.
DOWN
Stat: Team defensive efficiency rating (.673, 27th in the Major Leagues entering Sunday)
What it tells us: This isn’t a great defensive team. DER simply tells you what percentage of batted balls a team turns into outs, removing the question of hit or error. If you’ve watched the Twins, especially recently, this probably won’t surprise you. The Reds series in particular was not a great one for the Minnesota infield.
Is it likely to continue? Unfortunately, it’s likely to. The return of Royce Lewis should help, but this is not an especially athletic team and it didn’t profile to be a great defensive team. Seeing more of Ryan Kreidler could help, but there’s no guarantee Kreidler sticks around after Lewis is activated this week.
UP
Stat: Total successful ABS challenges (38, most in the Major Leagues)
What it tells us: The Twins have identified ABS challenges as an area of focus, and they’re good at it. Both catchers, Ryan Jeffers and Victor Caratini, have been effective at using the system, and while Twins batters are succeeding at less than a 50% clip, they still had the most overturns of any team entering Sunday.
Is it likely to continue? Yes and no. It’s definitely likely that Minnesota will remain aggressive, and pretty likely that the Twins will continue to be effective. The question is whether their lead over the rest of baseball continues. It seems likely that other teams will see what the Twins are doing and copy them.
DOWN
Stat: Reliever strikeout rate (19.0 percent, 27th in baseball)
What it tells us: Again, this one probably won’t surprise you. Even when they’re going well, the Twins relievers don’t miss a lot of bats. They’re more about getting ground balls and weak contact, and that can be effective, though it also can be a dangerous combination with a porous defense.
Is it likely to continue? Until the personnel change, yes it is. There are some big arms at Triple-A, and Andrew Morris recorded a couple of big Ks in Sunday’s loss, but that’s just the nature of this current group of pitchers. There aren’t a lot of guys who rack up strikeouts.
UP (but actually down)
Stat: Home runs allowed by starting pitchers (7, third-fewest in baseball)
What it tells us: This is one big reason that the Minnesota rotation has been able to be effective. Even when they’ve allowed baserunners, they haven’t let opponents turn those chances into big innings.
Is it likely to continue? Not very, no. Twins starters entered Sunday with the third-lowest home run/fly ball ratio in the Majors at 4.9 percent, a number that will likely normalize some as the weather warms up. That doesn’t mean it will change completely, though. There are some very talented pitchers who should be able to keep the ball in the yard. It probably will normalize some, however.
DOWN
Stat: Runners left on base per game (7.4, ninth-most in baseball)
What it tells us: Again, this one probably won’t surprise you if you’ve been watching. But remember, in order to leave men on base, you have to get men on base. So this always runs the risk of being a somewhat misleading stat. The Twins are actually hitting an outstanding .288/.390/.461 with runners in scoring position.
Is it likely to continue? It might, though the shape of it could change. The Twins are ninth overall in team OBP (.332), which could dip a bit, but they may also find those RISP hitting stats dip as well. It’s possible the total LOB numbers will stay the same even as the offensive production fluctuates.