At halfway point, Twins a mixed bag -- but with key standouts

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Sunday’s series finale against the Orioles was the Twins’ 91st game of the season, 10 games beyond the season’s mathematical halfway point. But the baseball world uses the All-Star break as the de facto demarcation point between the first and second half.

The first half of the Twins' 2023 season has certainly been a mixed bag. On one hand, there were the highs of winning the season series against both the Yankees and Astros and the fact the Twins have, by many metrics, the best pitching staff in the game.

On the other hand, the inconsistency (to put it kindly) on offense and the underperformance of the team’s star hitters has made it difficult for the Twins to pull away from a very bad American League Central. In fact, Minnesota ended Sunday in second place -- a half game behind Cleveland.

But this halfway mark offers us a chance to look back at some performances that got the Twins to this point, and assign awards and superlatives for the first three-plus months of the season.

Cy Young: Sonny Gray

Four of the team’s starting pitchers (and reliever Jhoan Duran) have solid arguments for this recognition. Newly added All-Star Pablo López ranks second in the AL in strikeouts (138), and his underlying numbers are among the league’s best. Joe Ryan’s ability to limit hits and baserunners is nearly unmatched -- and Bailey Ober matches and even surpasses him in some regards.

But there’s a reason Gray was initially the Twins’ sole All-Star on the strength of a 2.89 ERA, 101 strikeouts and 39 walks in 99 2/3 innings across 18 starts. Perhaps those outings haven’t always been the cleanest, but he has always limited the damage and avoids the homer. The 33-year-old held opponents to three or fewer runs in his first 17 starts of the season (until he allowed six to Baltimore in his final start of the half).

Offensive MVP: Donovan Solano

Hard as it may be to believe, the 35-year-old veteran, who was signed as a platoon bat after Spring Training had already begun, has somehow blossomed into the Twins’ most consistent and productive hitter. He has done it while much of the offense has totally dried up for large chunks of the year.

Armed with improved swing mechanics that help him drive the ball with more authority, Solano leads the team’s regulars in average (.281), on-base percentage (.373) and OPS (.797). He has remained steady with an .842 OPS in June and 1.105 OPS in July -- a stark contrast to many difficult at-bats around him.

The fact this didn’t go to Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa or Jorge Polanco indicates where things have gone wrong for the Twins this year.

Rookie of the Year: Edouard Julien

This is really a two-way battle between Julien, who began the season ranked the No. 4 prospect in the organization per MLB Pipeline, and Royce Lewis, who was ranked No. 2. Both have been rare bright spots on the offense. Lewis’ ability to hit for average, in particular, is a welcome contrast to the low averages across the board, but Julien gets the edge here because Lewis has missed significant time with injuries -- first, rehabbing his ACL, and now, an oblique strain.

Through 42 games filling in for the injured Polanco, Julien has been every bit the patient, opportunistic and barrel-finding hitter the Twins could have hoped he’d be. The rookie is hitting .271/.349/.504 with an .853 OPS to kick off what could be a very promising career -- if he can find the defensive ability to maintain a consistent home.

Biggest Surprise: Brock Stewart

Stewart seemingly came out of thin air in late April. Since then, he has been one of the relief corps’ most indispensable pitchers, and it’s very fair to wonder where this team would be without him.

If the season ended today, Stewart’s 0.70 ERA would be a new single-season record among Twins pitchers to make at least 25 appearances in a year. The 31-year-old started his Minnesota tenure with some walk issues -- which is natural after missing so much time with arm issues. He made his return to the Majors this year after being out since 2019.

He’s currently down with forearm and elbow soreness, stemming from his upped workload, but he's likely to be a very important factor down the stretch for Minnesota.