The Ideal Lineup and Rotation That Could Have Twins Poised to Get Hot

It hasn't been a great season thus far for the Twins, who have had a couple hot spurts that have been followed by extended cold stretches. But it's too early to give up on this team. After an impressive weekend series win over the Cardinals, the Twins are 33-40 and just three games back of a wild card spot in the weak American League.

More importantly, reinforcements are coming. The Twins have been without quite a few injured players this year, several of whom are getting close to returning. They've also got a loaded Triple-A St. Paul Saints team that's already beginning to supply some talent to the big-league club. If you squint a little, the Twins may have the pieces to get rolling this summer and stay in the playoff mix.

Here's what the Twins' ideal lineup, rotation, and bullpen could look like roughly a month from now.

Lineup (vs. RHP)

Trevor Larnach, LF
Byron Buxton, CF
Kody Clemens, RF
Royce Lewis, 1B
Ryan Jeffers, C
Josh Bell, DH
Kaelen Culpepper, SS
Brooks Lee, 3B
Luke Keaschall, 2B

Bench: Austin Martin, Ryan Kreidler, Victor Caratini, Kyler Fedko, Matt Wallner

The Twins are eighth in runs scored and 16th in OPS this season, so the offense has been fairly good. But that lineup above has a chance to be great.

Buxton has been incredible this year, ranking third in MLB in home runs and ninth in OPS. Clemens is having a very strong season. Lewis appears to be back, having gone 11 for 29 with three homers since his demotion to St. Paul. Jeffers, who is recovering from a hamate bone injury in his hand, was easily the Twins' second-best hitter before getting hurt.

The bottom half of the lineup also has some real juice. After a rough start to the season, Bell has an .808 OPS so far in June. Culpepper, who should be called up soon, is the Twins' No. 2 prospect and has been outstanding for the Saints. Lee's 11 homers are second on Minnesota's roster. Keaschall has shown signs of life lately amid a difficult sophomore season.

This doesn't even include super prospects Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez, who both might be a little further away from debuting after missing a big chunk of time due to injury. Now that Lewis is swinging a hot bat again, there's a lot to like about what the Twins' lineup could look like once Culpepper is called up and Jeffers is back.

Rotation

Joe Ryan
Taj Bradley
Mick Abel
Bailey Ober
Connor Prielipp

The Twins' rotation has struggled quite a bit lately, with Bradley going through a tough patch, Prielipp facing rookie adversity, and both Abel and Ober sidelined. But early this season, it was a major strength of the roster, even without Pablo Lopez. That could certainly become the case again. Bradley looked good on Sunday against St. Louis, Abel's return is getting close, and Prielipp's 3.75 FIP is a reason for optimism.

Bullpen

Yoendrys Gomez
Anthony Banda
Andrew Morris
Zebby Matthews
Taylor Rogers
Kendry Rojas
Eric Orze
Marco Raya

The bullpen has been the single biggest problem for the Twins, who are dead last in baseball with a 5.22 ERA from relief pitchers. It's not going to magically become a strength. But there may be a path to competency behind Gomez, who has been a revelation in the closer role.

Morris has shown impressive flashes at times. Matthews has a 5.20 ERA in six starts this season, but his stuff could play up in the bullpen if the Twins decide to move him there. The one reason not to do so would be to keep him stretched out as rotation depth. Rojas could also be a high-upside multi-inning bullpen option, while Raya has shown a lot to like in Triple-A despite poor overall numbers.

The other path for the Twins to improve their bullpen would be to acquire an arm or two before the deadline, although that'll only be a realistic possibility if they can go on a run to establish themselves firmly in the playoff hunt over the next couple months.

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