Saturday, October 24

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.

Since being sent down to Triple-A, Royce Lewis is hitting pretty much everything hard. Entering Wednesday, he's sporting a .333/.396/.958 line and a 1.354 OPS for the St. Paul Saints that includes nine home runs in 12 total games, including two games on a rehab assignment earlier this year. But it’s not just the results – the underlying metrics look great too.

Through 53 plate appearances, he ranked first in barrels per plate appearance, 18th in hard-hit rate, and 13th in average exit velocity among International League hitters with at least 40 plate appearances. He’s still striking out perhaps a bit more than you’d like, and also it’s still early in his time at Triple-A. But there’s a lot to like so far.

“It’s been really encouraging to see him go down and get a reset,” said general manager Jeremy Zoll. “I do think it was good for him to take a couple of days for a breather. He had some really productive conversations in a host of different directions internally and externally. He came in ready to go. I do think that if you just look at the quality of swings and some of the swings he’s put on the ball on homers and other damage he’s doing, I think there are some really positive strides and improvement there.”

Tuesday was Lou Gehrig Day around baseball, as MLB recognized a titan of the sport and reaffirmed its commitment to fighting ALS, the disease that killed him.

The Twins recognized the day in a variety of ways, starting with hosting 300 members of the ALS community at Target Field, while honoring ALS Association staff on the field alongside patients. The pregame ceremony featured a special spotlight on Dr. Timothy Culbert, a retired pediatrician who, upon his own ALS diagnosis, founded the nonprofit Mental Wellness Innovations to help children experiencing trauma.

This one is for my far better half, whose birthday is later this week. Love you much. Y’all be kind and look out for each other, OK?

The Hold Steady, “Stuck Between Stations”

Tegan and Sara, “Underwater”

Run the Jewels, “Walking in the Snow”

R.E.M., “Nightswimming”

Drive-By Truckers, “Mercy Buckets”

To subscribe to Twins Beat, visit this page and mark "Twins Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Twins or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (mlb-newsletters@mlb.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.