Pick Up Some Twins

No, I don’t mean you should find a set of twins, choose your favorite, and pick one up! Rather, it’s time to take advantage of the Rockies last trio of home games to finish out the season by rostering some Twins hitters! The Twins end their season with a three game set at Coors Field, which means that daily leaguers should look to take advantage. Unlike the Dodgers, the Twins have numerous hitters that are owned in less than 50% of CBS leagues. Let’s discuss the names that might actually be worthy of a pickup.

Edouard Julien | CBS 41% Owned

Julien has enjoyed a very solid rookie campaign after ranking third among the team’s top prospects and 82nd overall. In a bit more than half a season, he has posted an elite 30.4% HR/FB rate, resulting in 14 home runs. He has also enjoyed boosted valued in OBP leagues, thanks to a huge 15.6% walk rate, driving a .379 OBP.

His batted ball profile is fascinating, as it’s heavy on ground balls and line drives, and he hasn’t even popped up once all year. It’s a BABIP dream, and sure enough, he has posted a .371 BABIP. The one weakness here is his strikeout rate, which sits over 30%. But it’s not due to an inability to make consistent contact, as his SwStk% is only 10.1%. Instead, his passiveness results in a lot of called strikes, and 42.1% of his strikeouts have been of the called variety, compared to a league average of just 23%. Still, I’ll take a passive hitter who makes good contact over an aggressive one who makes bad contact all day.

The HR/FB rate doesn’t look at all sustainable given a pedestrian 108.9 MPH maxEV, though he’s pushed his Barrel% up to a strong 12.9%. Still, it’s difficult to hit such a high rate of homers on fly balls without hitting for higher EVs. Also problematic is the low FB%, as he needs a high HR/FB rate to contribute in home runs right now given the dearth of flies, plus all the strikeouts.

While our RosterResource page suggests he’s on the strong side of a platoon, he has actually started against the last two lefties. That’s important because the first game at Coors is scheduled against a left-hander. So it’ll pay to constantly refresh the starting lineup to ensure he’s in there before you activate him for the day. As a leadoff guy with power who qualifies at second base, he’s an obvious pickup for the three game series.

Max Kepler | 39% Owned

Kepler has also been off and on against lefties, so it’s anyone’s guess whether he’ll be in the lineup when one is starting. He’s enjoyed a nice rebound season, posting his highest wOBA since 2019, and the highest xwOBA of his career. His HR/FB rate has rebounded off last year’s career low, driven by a career best 12.1% Barrel%. He has also gotten his FB% back above 40%, after it dipped below last year for the first time since 2017.

He has consistently struggled with BABIP, so Coors is an ideal place for him given its BABIP-boosting abilities. Since he’s also an extreme fly ball hitter, he is a good fit for the park as well.

With a spot in the middle of the lineup, he looks like an excellent pickup, particularly if an extra homer or two could move the needle for your fantasy team.

Alex Kirilloff | 27% Owned

Kirilloff is the third lefty on this list so far, but here it’s clear that he’s on the strong side of a platoon. That means that he’ll likely only be starting two of three games at best at Coors, depending on who the Rockies’ second game starter is.

Like Julien, he has posted a strong batted ball distribution for BABIP, resulting in a .335 mark. However, the low FB% has taken away from his home run potential, as his 17.2% HR/FB rate isn’t over as many fly balls as we would want. So he’s only on a 20 or so homer pace over a full season, which essentially makes him the definition of a replacement level outfielder. But, he’s now at Coors and clearly has the power to put one or more over the wall during the short series.

Of course, Coors actually increases ground balls and line drives, while reducing fly balls, so that won’t help Kirilloff lift the ball more, as he’s already doing that. So his skill set doesn’t look like the ideal fit for benefiting as much from Coors as some others. However, he’s still a solid hitter in the middle of the lineup and is likely a better bet than who most owners are using as their fifth outfielders.

Matt Wallner | 15% Owned

Wallner has certainly showcased his 70/70 Raw Power grades, as his maxEV stands at an elite 116.4 MPH and he’s posted a 17.1% Barrel%. These are near league leading numbers. He has also hit fly balls at a 47.2% clip, so he’s taking full advantage of all that home run power. In fact, a full season’s worth of PAs would net him around 36 home runs at his current pace. Naturally, he has struck out a lot, but a double digit walk rate has given him a huge boost in OBP leagues.

He has started the majority of games, mostly in left field, but generally in the bottom half of the lineup for some bizarre reason, despite a .372 wOBA and solid rest of season projections. I think I would be most excited to roster him out of all the names on this list given his mammoth power and flyball tendency.

Michael A. Taylor | 7% Owned

The veteran is having his best offensive season since 2017 and only the second time his wOBA has sat above .300. This is despite a strikeout rate that has jumped above 30% and actually sits at a career worst over any reasonable sample of at-bats in a season.

That’s because his power has ascended to new heights. His 24.7% HR/FB rate is a career best, driven by his highest maxEV at a very strong 113.1 MPH, while his Barrel% is his highest over a reasonable sample of at-bats and the first time it’s in double digits.

He continues to steal bases as well, swiping 13 already, making him a surprise power/speed combo plate this year. He’s not going to earn a ton of PAs while hitting at the bottom of the order, but with a high strikeout rate, he’s a pretty good fit to benefit from hitting at Coors, which suppresses strikeouts.