Which Twins offense are we going to see the rest of the 2024 season?

The Twins have started the year with one of the worst offenses in Major League Baseball. Their pitching has been solid thus far, but they will need to start scoring some runs if they want to be a playoff team. Here is our offensive outlook for the year.

New Additions: On the offensive side of the ball, the Twins had two key additions. They acquired outfielder Manuel Margot from the Dodgers and signed first baseman Carlos Santana.

Margot plays all three outfield spots well and is a slightly below-average hitter. However, he is above average against left-handed pitchers, and that is when he should get most of his playing time this season, as he could play instead of Matt Wallner or Max Kepler who historically struggle against lefties.

Santana is a veteran switch-hitter who spent his prime years as a Cleveland Indian. Santana is a good defensive first baseman who will hit in the low-to-mid .200’s with 20-homer power and will draw a lot of walks. Santana figures to split time with Alex Kirilloff at first base and designated hitter.

Lineup: The lineup was a tale of two halves in 2023. In the first half, the Twins scored the 11th most runs in the American League as they struggled to consistently string together hits. In the second half, they scored the second most runs in the American League thanks to the emergence of some key players.

The Twins saw a historic rookie class in 2023, as three hitters all made a major offensive impact in the second half.

Everyone knows Royce Lewis, the former first overall pick who had two knee surgeries and emerged last year as a grand slam-hitting machine. Lewis hit .309 with a .921 OPS in 58 games with 15 home runs. He also elevated his game in the playoffs, hitting four home runs while leading the Twins to their first playoff series win in 20 years. Lewis figures to be a key cog in the Twins lineup in 2024 once he returns from the quad strain he suffered in the opening series.

Two rookies who made a big impact but are less known among casual fans are second baseman Edouard Julien and outfielder Matt Wallner.

Julien is a big reason the Twins were able to part with fan-favorite Jorge Polanco in a trade to the Mariners. During Julien’s rookie season, he had an on-base percentage of .381 with 16 home runs in 109 games. Julien became a regular for the Twins in June and was a force for them out of the leadoff spot.

Wallner—a Forest Lake, Minn., native—was a power-hitting threat in the middle of the lineup. After destroying minor league pitching, Wallner became a mainstay for the Twins in June and had an .877 OPS with 14 home runs in 76 games. Wallner is a solid defender in left field who has one of the best outfield arms in all of baseball.

Along with their three stellar second-year players, the Twins will have familiar faces Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Carlos Correa in the lineup this year.

Buxton, who didn’t play in the field at all in 2023 due to nagging knee injuries, was limited to a designated hitter role in which he struggled to be consistent at the plate, hitting .207 with a .731 OPS and 17 home runs. When healthy, Buxton is one of the best defensive outfielders in the league and a power-hitting threat, with a .530 slugging percentage since 2019. With renewed optimism in Buxton’s knee throughout this year’s spring training, the Twins would get a no bigger boost than Buxton returning to his form pre-2023.

Correa struggled with Plantar Fasciitis in 2023 and saw a dip in production, posting an OPS of .711, 109 points lower than his career OPS of .820. Correa is a good defender at shortstop and always comes to play in the playoffs, as he has an OPS of .860 in the playoffs. As the Plantar Fasciitis seems to be gone this year in spring training, the Twins could get a boost with a healthy Correa this year.

Kepler was a catalyst in the lineup’s second half turn-around last season. Kepler had a subpar .688 OPS in the first half but exploded in the second half with a .926 OPS as he was the Twins’ most consistent hitter down the stretch. Kepler should be in the middle of the Twins lineup again this season.

Brooks Lee – a star in the making? The Twins No. 2 prospect, Brooks Lee, is knocking at the door of the major leagues and is ready to make an impact at the major league level. In the minor leagues last season, the second baseman hit .275 with 16 home runs and 84 RBIs in 125 games. He is almost certainly going to be called up at some point this season, and he’ll be ready to produce when that time comes. Lee’s promotion will likely push Julien into more of a DH role, or it’ll push him over to first base if Lee has an extended stay in the majors.

Predictions AM: This offense will be successful if Correa and Kirilloff continue their hot starts, Buxton stays healthy and hits 20+ homers, and Julien can maintain his production from his rookie year. My bold prediction is that Carlos Correa makes the all-star team.

NS: I also believe the Twins will win the AL Central again this season, but with 90 wins. The revamped bullpen, although a little banged up to open the season, will help the Twins win a few more games than last year. This team has many promising pieces and will now get full seasons out of Julien, Lewis and Wallner. Also, the team will hope to get full healthy seasons from Buxton and Correa, which will only make the team better. This Twins team has the potential to make a deep playoff run, especially if they can fill any needs at the trade deadline. My bold prediction is that Edouard Julien will hit 30 home runs.