Minnesota Twins DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Minnesota Twins starting pitcherJoe Ryan(3-3) hurled seven shutout innings, picking up the win, collecting six strikeouts, and allowing three hits and two walks in a 10-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. The seven scoreless innings lowered the right-hander's ERA to 3.15 on the season, giving him five quality starts in his last six outings. Ryan looks like he's breaking out in his age-27 season with career-best 3.15 ERA and 0.98 WHIP totals on the season thus far. He will look to sustain his early season success on Monday against the Kansas City Royals, whom Ryan last faced on Opening Day, allowing one run in 5 1/3 innings pitched.

Minnesota Twins outfielderByron Buxtonblasted his second and third home runs Tuesday night while going 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored in a 10-0 dominating performance over the Washington Nationals. Since being activated off the injured list after a knee injury, Buxton has been 4-for-13 with two home runs, four RBI, and four runs scored. The speedy center-fielder dominated with the bat on Tuesday, but overall, his 2024 has been underwhelming. He's currently on pace for just above 10 home runs during the season while making little contribution in RBI, runs, and stolen base categories. His .257 batting average is an improvement over last year's .207 batting average. Still, until he can put together a longer streak of production, he remains a bench or waiver-wire player at best in most league formats.

Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis (quadriceps) ran the bases for the first time on Monday after faring well during change-of-direction work, according to athletic trainer Nick Paparesta. It's another big step in Lewis' rehab process, and the Twins should have a better sense of his progress when they return home on Friday. The 24-year-old strained his right quadriceps muscle on Opening Day on March 28 and has been out ever since. Because of the long layoff, fantasy managers should expect Lewis to be required to go on a lengthy minor-league rehab assignment before the Twins reinstate him from the injured list. In a best-case scenario, he's probably not going to make his return until at least early June. Despite his injury, the former No. 1 overall pick in 2017 should continue to be stashed in all fantasy formats for his power upside.

Minnesota Twins left-handed hitters Max Kepler, Edouard Julien, Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach are all on the bench on Tuesday as the team takes on left-hander Patrick Corbin and the Washington Nationals. Kepler is on the bench for the second straight day for the suddenly struggling Twins. The 31-year-old lefty slugger has had a great year to this point, though, batting .303/.352/.505 with an .857 OPS, three home runs and 17 RBI in 29 games. He's even hitting .400 against lefties, but in just 20 at-bats. Kepler and most of Minnesota's lefty hitters typically find themselves riding pine against southpaws. Manuel Margot is in right field and is hitting leadoff, while Ryan Jeffers is the designated hitter and is batting second in a great matchup against Corbin. Willi Castros is in left field and in the six-hole, and Kyle Farmer is at second base and batting seventh.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler is taking a seat on Monday with the team facing left-hander Mitchell Parker and the Washington Nationals. With Kepler getting a day off, Manuel Margot will draw into the starting lineup, playing right field and batting third for the Twins. The 31-year-old lefty-swinging Kepler has been solid in limited plate appearances against southpaws this year, but he's hit just .221 against them in over 1,000 career plate appearances. The German outfielder is hitting .303 (30-for-99) with three home runs, 17 RBI and 13 runs scored so far this year, but the underlying numbers show that he's due some regression in the average department eventually. Margot is hitting just .195 (17-for-87) this year with a homer and nine RBI, but he could be worth considering as a DFS sleeper against a young lefty out of the three-hole.