Minnesota Twins DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Minnesota Twins infielder Jose Miranda heads to the bench ahead of Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. This is a much-needed day off for Miranda who has started in each of the last 10 games. The 26-year-old is in the middle of a breakout campaign. Through 115 games, Miranda is hitting .295 with nine home runs and 49 RBI in 2024. He has moved around from first base, third base, and the designated hitter spot this season. Carlos Santana moves first base while Trevor Larnach serves as the designated hitter and bats cleanup versus right-hander Jack Kochanowicz on Wednesday. Fantasy managers should expect Miranda to be back in the lineup after this game.

Minnesota Twins infielder/outfielder Willi Castro (illness) is starting in left field and is batting sixth for Minnesota on Wednesday at Target Field against the visiting Los Angeles Angels and right-hander Jack Kochanowicz. Castro was feeling so bad that he was taken out of Monday's game early and also had the day off on Tuesday. The 27-year-old utility man will return on Wednesday, though, and has a good enough matchup to consider him as a sleeper in DFS lineups. However, fantasy managers also need to consider the fact that he has only one hit in 21 at-bats (.048) with two walks and eight strikeouts in eight games since the calendar flipped to September. Overall, the Puerto Rican switch-hitter has been a first-time All-Star in 2024 and enters the day with a .246/.329/.389 slash line with a career-high 11 home runs, a career-high 52 RBI and 13 steals in 142 games.

The Minnesota Twins activated outfielder Manuel Margot (groin) from the 10-day injured list and catcher Christian Vazquez from the paternity list on Wednesday and optioned infielder Michael Helman and catcher Jair Camargo to the minors in corresponding moves. Vazquez will do the catching and bat ninth on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels and right-hander Jack Kochanowicz at Target Field. It's a promising matchup for Vazquez and the Twins, but the 34-year-old Puerto Rican backstop has very little fantasy upside in the nine-hole. He's hitting .228 (60-for-263) on the year with seven homers and 27 RBI. Vazquez will serve as Ryan Jeffers' backup now that he's back. Margot is recovered from a mild right-groin strain and will return to reserve outfield duties that fantasy managers can ignore in mixed formats.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez continued his stellar second half in Tuesday's 10-5 win over the Angels. Lopez pitched seven innings, allowing four runs (zero earned) on eight hits (including a three-run home run) and a walk with 10 strikeouts. The 28-year-old has turned in a tale of two halves, with a 5.11 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 19 first-half starts but a 1.93 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 10 second-half starts. His success has been fueled by six consecutive quality starts. Lopez will have a decent chance to extend that streak in his next start, which will be a middling matchup at the Guardians.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (hip) said even after his exit from a minor-league rehab game with Triple-A St. Paul last Wednesday, he has been running fine for the last few days and was able to get out and work on defense as well. Buxton is taking things day by day for now but is trying to get the pain in his hip to the point where he can play through it. The 30-year-old is trying to return from a right-hip injury that has kept him out since Aug. 12. At this point of the year with only a few weeks left in the regular season, the Twins priority is probably just to get Buxton healthy in time for a potential playoff run in October. The former first-rounder has played in over 100 games just once in a season since he debuted in 2015 due to various injuries and isn't guaranteed to return before the end of the regular season. Willi Castro has been filling in at center field of late but missed Monday's game due to illness.