TransFarmers: Rise of the Twins

Kyle Farmer (MIN): 2-3, 2B, HR, R, RBI.

The Twins took down the Brewers 7-5 in a thriller last night. There were big performances on both sides of the field, but one of the more surprising ones came from Twins’ utilityman Kyle Farmer who went 2-3, 2B, HR, R, RBI. Both of Farmer’s hits came against former Cy Young winner, Corbin Burnes. Farmer pounced on a misplaced middle-middle curveball for a double in the second inning before launching a cutter that was also middle-middle just over the left field wall in the seventh.

Milwaukee led through most of the game, taking a 3-2 advantage in the third that they’d hold until the final frame. Trailing 5-3 in the ninth and facing the Brewers’ lockdown closer Devin Williams, the Twins went home run, walk, single, home run to walk things off without even making an out and seeing just 14 pitches. Carlos Correa delivered the final blow, ripping a 108.6 mph line drive homer to left field that just missed the second deck at Target Field.

The Twins made an under-the-radar trade in November, landing Farmer from the Reds. At the time it seemed like the Twins were getting a starting infielder with Correa destined to leave the club in free agency, but when his deals with the Giants and Mets unexpectedly fell through and he wound up back in Minnesota, Farmer became a depth piece that has proven invaluable.

After yesterday’s big game, Farmer’s slash line is up to .270/.328/.393 through 134 plate appearances. Those numbers come out to a 104 wRC+, meaning Farmer has been just a hair above league average at the dish. That doesn’t lead to much fantasy relevance, but it does make him incredibly important to a Twins club full of oft-injured players, especially when he can bounce around all four infield spots.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday:

Rafael Devers (BOS): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB.

Devers is looking to put his slow start to the season behind him as he now has four home runs in his last five games. Yesterday’s two bombs were about as contradicting as they come. His first was hit at just 92.9 mph and traveled 311 feet—it had an xBA of .030. Plus, it needed a review to show it hooked just inside Pesky’s Pole. Devers’ second homer was a rocket with a 108.6 mph exit velocity and 410-foot distance.

Christian Yelich (MIL): 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI.

Yelich finished a triple shy of the cycle last night and all of his hits had exit velocities over 100 mph. He’s not going to win another MVP award, but he’s quietly putting together his best season since 2019. He’s slashing .258/.354/.403 with nine home runs, 46 runs, 30 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. If Yelich stays healthy a 20/30 season is within reach.

Jack Suwinski (PIT): 2-2, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB.

It was twos across the board for Suwinski last night as he was two stolen bases away from having the ultimate Batter’s Box stat line. Suwinski got the better of Jameson Taillon twice, homering against his four-seamer and his curveball yesterday. The Pirates’ young outfielder is up to 15 long balls on the campaign, and eight of them have come in his past 14 games. Overall, he has a .253/.367/.557 batting line.

Gunnar Henderson (BAL): 3-5, HR, R, 4 RBI.

The Orioles hung 11 runs on Toronto last night, including eight on Chris Bassitt. Henderson broke things open with his third-inning grand slam, his 10th big fly of the season. The Orioles’ 21-year-old rookie entered the year with sky-high expectations and struggled out of the gate, but he’s turned things around in a big way recently. He’s now riding a six-game hit streak and has gone deep in four of those contests. Despite the slow start, his season-long numbers are already back up to .246/.355/.475 and a 131 wRC+.

Corey Seager (TEX): 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.

Seager notched all three of his hits against Jaime Barría in the early goings of last night’s AL West matchup in Arlington. The Rangers’ shortstop missed over a month with a hamstring strain, but he’s played at an MVP level when he’s been on the field. Seager is slashing .357/.415/.629 and his 185 wRC+ is the second-best mark in the majors among players with at least 150 plate appearances.

Ian Happ (CHC): 1-2, HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB.

After a lengthy rain delay, Happ led the Cubs’ offensive explosion against the Pirates in the North Siders’ 11-3 victory. Entering last night’s game, Happ was in the odd position of his on-base percentage actually being higher than his slugging percentage, but that’s no longer the case. He’s now at a .262/.390/.393 slash line, a .351 wOBA, and a 121 wRC+. Overall, it’s been a solid season for Happ after his All-Star campaign last year, but he’s been in a big power drought. His homer yesterday was just his fifth of the season and his first since May 5th. On the plus side, he’s chasing pitches out of the zone at his lowest rate ever, leading to his career-best 16.7% walk rate.

Aaron Hicks (BAL): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB.

This is the second straight week Hicks has had a big Tuesday and made my Batter’s Box column. Since joining the Orioles at the end of May, Hicks is slashing .364/.488/.667, plus his barrel rate and plate discipline numbers have significantly improved. We’re dealing with a tiny sample size of just 41 plate appearances, so while I don’t think it sticks, he could be worth a look in deep leagues to try to ride out this hot streak and hope the change of scenery was all it took to turn his fortunes around.

Shohei Ohtani (LAA): 2-2, 2B, 2 R, 3 BB, SB.

I feel like there’s nothing Ohtani can do to surprise anyone anymore, but his perfect day at the plate at least needed mentioning. The AL home run leader stole his 10th bag last night and walked three times. Oh, he’s also 5-2 as a pitcher with a 3.32 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 33.3% strikeout rate. Is there anything this man can’t do?

Michael Conforto (SF): 4-6, 2B, R, 3 RBI.

Conforto’s four-hit day led the way for the Giants’ 11-3 demolition of the Cardinals last night. He had Jack Flaherty’s number, as three of his base knocks came against the St. Louis starter. After missing all of 2022, it’s great to see Conforto look like his old self at the plate again. His .348 wOBA and 121 wRC+ are just barely off his career wOBA of .351 and wRC+ of 124.

Brandon Nimmo (NYM): 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI.

The Mets’ rough stretch continued last night. They led 5-1 after the third inning but immediately coughed up the lead by allowing the Yankees to score five runs in the fourth. Nimmo led off the bottom of the first with a 429-foot home run and added a single in the eighth. He’s doing exactly what the Mets paid him to do this offseason with a .286/.378/.429 slash line.

Bobby Witt Jr. (KC): 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.

There’s not a lot going right in Kansas City this season, and Witt is no exception. He once again has puzzling numbers—counting stats that will turn out strong in most fantasy formats, but underlying data that says his real-life production isn’t stellar. After yesterday’s game, Witt is hitting .237/.276/.422 with a 21% strikeout rate and 4.9% walk rate which is only good for an 86 wRC+. On the other hand, his 11 home runs and 21 steals mean he’s on pace for a potential 25/40 season.

Randal Grichuk (COL): 2-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI.

Grichuk delivered the big blow in the Rockies’ 7-6 win in extras last night. He yanked a slider from Justin Garza on the ground down the left-field line, scoring two runs to put Colorado up for good in the 10th inning. It’s been a great season for Grichuk. He started the year on the IL and since coming back has a .316/.383/.451 batting line. Weirdly, he has just one home run, but that’s come with a career-best BB/K rate.

Trea Turner (PHI): 2-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SB.

The start of Turner’s 11-year, $300 million contract hasn’t been encouraging for Phillies fans, but it looks like the team’s newest star is starting to right the ship. He has hits in four of his last five games, and three of those have been of the multi-hit variety. His batting line stands at a measly .249/.297/.394  on the year and he interestingly has just 11 stolen bases in a season where they’ve skyrocketed across the league. If you’re looking to buy low on Turner before he snaps out of this funk, I’d make a trade offer soon.

Mauricio Dubón (HOU): 1-5, HR, R, RBI.

Dubón has been indispensable in filling the leadoff role for the Astros as they’ve dealt with injuries to key contributors. Yesterday Dubón deposited a Patrick Corbin changeup into the Crawford Boxes, opening the scoring in Houston’s 6-1 win. Dubón is hitting .297/.323/410 with three homers and five stolen bases but is a much better asset to the Astros than he is to your fantasy team.

Christian Walker (ARI): 4-4, 2 2B, RBI.

The Diamondbacks got absolutely beat down last night and Walker stood out as the lone bright spot. His four-hit performance moved his slash line to a solid .261/.323/.483, but his 12 home runs are pacing a touch below where he finished last year, and he’s a lot more interesting fantasy option as a mid-30s homer bat than he is as a mid-20s homer bat.