Minnesota Twins DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Minnesota Twins outfielder Matt Wallner had a big night in his team's 6-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of a Friday doubleheader. Wallner went 1-for-3 with a three-run homer to help power his team to the win. The 26-year-old's homer was a clutch one as the Twins were down 3-2 in the fifth inning when he launched the blast. Wallner is now hitting .274 with seven homers, 13 runs, 18 RBI, and one steal across 84 at-bats this season. He will look to carve out a more regular role moving forward.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober was strong yet again on Friday afternoon as he struck out nine in six innings and allowed just two hits in the Twins' 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians in the first game of their doubleheader. Ober picked up the win, improving his record to 12-5 and decreased his ERA to 3.52 on the season. The right-hander now has three straight games with seven strikeouts or more, especially impressive against a Guardians team that doesn't post a high K%. With the Twins fighting to hold onto a wild card spot (+1.0 GB) and chasing Cleveland for the AL Central lead (2.5 GB) Ober's performance on the mound has been key for the Twins. He'll look to keep his strong season going during his next scheduled start on Wednesday when the Kansas City Royals come to Target Field. Ober has had a rough go against the Royals, who own a .411 wOBA against him in 104 PA, so fantasy managers may want to temper expectations for Ober on Wednesday.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton is absent from the starting lineup ahead of the second game of Friday's doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians. This is not shocking given Buxton was dealing with a back issue earlier in the week. The Twins don't want to risk the health of the oft-injured outfielder. Manuel Margot will cover center field and bat seventh versus right-hander Alex Cobb on Friday.

Minnesota Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey expressed optimism that right-hander Chris Paddack (forearm) will pitch again this year. Everything is tracking well for Paddack, and he hasn't had any issues with his UCL. The 28-year-old could start a throwing progression soon with hopes of returning to the Twins in the final month of the regular season. Paddack is currently on the 15-day injured list with a strained right forearm, but barring a setback once he begins building his arm back up, the Twins could have him back in their starting rotation for the final month of the regular season in September and potentially for the playoffs. Fantasy managers shouldn't be as optimistic that he can help them the rest of the way, especially after he posted a career-low 20.6% strikeout rate, a 4.99 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in his 17 starts before going on the shelf.

The Minnesota Twins recalled right-hander Louie Varland from Triple-A St. Paul on Friday as the 27th man to start Game 2 of the team's doubleheader against the visiting division-rival Cleveland Guardians. Depending on how Varland fares in his start on Friday, the Twins could call on him again soon now that right-hander Joe Ryan (shoulder) could potentially miss most, if not all, of the rest of the 2024 season. The 26-year-old will be making just his sixth start for Minnesota this year on Friday and won't be a recommended fantasy streamer against the first-place Guardians. In his six appearances this year, Varland has gone 0-4 with a 6.58 ERA (5.75 FIP), a 1.65 WHIP and a 25:10 K:BB in 26 innings pitched. Varland's last appearance in the big leagues came back on June 16, when he gave up two earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of relief against the Oakland Athletics.