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.
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- We're a little more than two weeks into the season, and I suspect some of you are at least a little surprised by how it’s gone so far. It seemed like a good time to take a few questions, so here’s a mailbag with some questions from the socials.
From Andrew Tengwall on BlueSky: Is [Ryan] Jeffers really as good at ABS challenges as he seems, and could that affect the Twins' thinking about him going into next season?
I think it’s fair to say that, at a minimum, he’s pretty good at them. As I write this, he has the second-most successful challenges of any catcher, and by far the most strikeouts gained as a result of it. That’s not nothing.
I have a few thoughts on it. One thing that’s clear is that the Twins have been very aggressive using the challenge system; I have a hunch that that gap will narrow, and other teams will see that it’s beneficial to be aggressive. So while Jeffers definitely appears to have some skill at challenging, other catchers may close the gap on him purely due to using it more.
As for how that will affect contract negotiations, I don’t know, but I’d have to think it’s a factor. Jeffers’ framing numbers were poor in 2023-24, and improved but still not great in ’25. If he continues to recoup some of that value through challenges, that does impact what he’s worth.
From Bruce on BlueSky: Twins appear to be overachieving, but there are significant issues. When and who comes up before the end of May from St. Paul?
The easy answer is relievers, and I think it’s most likely. It wouldn’t shock me to see Travis Adams once he’s healthy. Guys like Dan Altavilla, Matt Bowman, Drew Smith, and John Brebbia will certainly be on the radar if they pitch well, too. Even Marco Raya. So if the question is, who are we most likely to see from St. Paul in the next 6-8 weeks, it’s somebody from that list.
The next tier is guys with Major League experience -- Alan Roden, Eric Wagaman, Orlando Arcia. They’d also be in the picture in case of injury, as we just saw with Ryan Kreidler.
But I’m guessing that’s not really what you’re asking; you’re asking more about the prospects. When it comes to those guys -- Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Kaelen Culpepper, Gabby Gonzalez -- the end of May is probably pretty aggressive barring injury. I would say I think that Rodriguez is probably a bit ahead of Jenkins on the depth chart, and Gonzalez, meanwhile, has the advantage of being right-handed. For any of them to be up that soon, it would likely take an injury.
From Brian K. on BlueSky: Has Taj Bradley made any changes to his approach, or is he just healthy for the first time in his career?
There are a few things. He definitely seems to have some newfound maturity. And as far as approach, he’s more willing to turn to his offspeed pitches when he’s in trouble rather than just trying to get out of jams by throwing the fastball harder.
But I think if you’re going to point to one thing, it’s his splitter. It’s been an absolutely devastating pitch this year, a swing-and-miss pitch that is a game-changer for him. He can throw it for strikes and get whiffs with it, and it’s made his whole repertoire play up.
From Emma Iverson on BlueSky: Which group has overperformed expectations more so far, the lineup or the bullpen? Is either sustainable?
It’s definitely the lineup, based purely on the stats. In fact, I’d argue that the lineup is the reason it seems the bullpen is overperforming. The Twins are sixth in the Majors in runs scored, and while I do think this can be a pretty good offense, I don’t see that continuing. With that said, there absolutely are hitters who could turn it up, so maybe it’s more sustainable than it seems.
Meanwhile, they’re 25th in bullpen ERA, 29th in bullpen WHIP, and 27th in bullpen K/BB ratio. So I think the reason it seems they’re overachieving is that there just haven’t been many 3-2 leads that have turned into 4-3 losses. The offense is delivering healthy leads.