Minnesota Twins DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

The Minnesota Twins are set to recall right-hander Randy Dobnak from the minors. Dobnak last pitched in the major leagues on Sept. 1, 2021. The 29-year-old is 9-5 with a 3.61 ERA at Triple-A St. Paul this year and leads the International League in victories, is third in innings pitched (99 1/3) and strikeouts (102) and is fourth in ERA. He pitched in 42 games from 2019-21 for the Twins and started 26 contests, going 11-15 with a 4.94 ERA before signing a five-year, $9.25 million deal in 2021. Dobnak is earning $2.25 million in 2024. He suffered a rupture of the tiny ligaments in his right middle finger three years ago and recurred even worse in 2022. Dobnak had to remake himself as a slider/changeup pitcher because of the injury. He's likely to pitch in a long-relief role in Minnesota, which won't give him much fantasy appeal.

Minnesota Twins third baseman Jose Miranda (head) left Sunday's game early in the opening frame after getting hit by a pitch on the left side of his batting helmet. Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group reported that the 26-year-old was down on the ground for a while but was eventually able to walk off on his power. He was replaced by Austin Martin. This was a scary sight, but fortunately, Miranda was able to stand on his own and walk off the field. The infielder was recently reinstated from the injured list on Saturday after missing a few weeks due to a back injury. Miranda has enjoyed a nice post-hype breakout season this summer as he boasts an excellent .324/.364/.517 line with nine home runs and 43 RBI. Fantasy managers should pay close attention to any updates on the third baseman after Sunday's game.UPDATE: Miranda suffered a head contusion on Sunday and passed the preliminary concussion testing.

The Minnesota Twins reinstated infielder Jose Miranda (back) from the 10-day injured list on Saturday and optioned infielder Edouard Julien to Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move. It remains to be seen if Miranda will jump right back into Minnesota's starting lineup on Saturday against the division-rival Detroit Tigers, but with regular third baseman Royce Lewis (groin) also coming off the IL on Friday, the Twins are going to have to get a little more creative to keep Miranda's bat in the lineup regularly. However, if he keeps hitting like he was before going on the IL, Minnesota is going to find a spot for Miranda. The 26-year-old finished off the first half of the season as one of the league's hottest hitters. He was carrying a 13-game hitting streak that saw him go 25-for-47 (.532) with a homer, seven doubles, 13 RBI and one steal before going 0-for-4 on July 10.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez was strong on Friday night, going seven innings deep and striking out seven in the Twins 9-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Lopez picked up the win and improved his record to 9-7 while lowering his ERA to 4.73 on the season. After a spotty run in the middle of the season, the 28-year-old has now thrown three straight games of giving up two earned runs or less. While his strikeout numbers have not been as flashy as fantasy managers are used to lately, Lopez may be starting to turn a corner. With a 3.39 xERA to go along with his 4.73 ERA, the righty has positive regression coming his way. Fantasy managers with Lopez in their lineups should continue to trust him. His next scheduled start is set for Wednesday at Citi Field against the New York Mets.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (forearm) is back in center field and is hitting second for the Twins in Friday's series opener against the hosting Detroit Tigers and rookie right-hander Keider Montero. Buxton won't end up missing a game following Thursday's scheduled off day after he was removed from Wednesday's game when he was hit by a pitch on his forearm. X-rays came back negative for the oft-injured 30-year-old, thankfully, and he'll be available for the weekend series in Motown. He only has three hits in 17 at-bats since the start of the second half of the season a week ago, but two of those hits have landed in the seats. Buxton needs to be returned to all starting fantasy lineups. He comes into Friday's contest slashing .278/.331/.502 with an .833 OPS, 11 homers, 40 RBI and six stolen bases in 263 at-bats.