Kubel Update

Kubel just hit his 3rd HR of the year tonight. He is now tied for the team lead in HR with Morneau.

He was down no balls, two strikes, then worked the count full and hooked one around the right field foul pole.

Kubel has started in all the games since Cuddyer went on the DL. Assuming that Span is sent back down once Cuddyer returns, let's hope that the power and patience shown by Kubel will be enough for him to take over as full-time DH.

White Sox Get Kubeled

The top of the 6th just ended for the Twins tonight at U.S. Cellular. Here's Kubel's line for the night:

2 for 3, GS, 6 RBI, SF

And the game isn't over. This why Kubel needs to be in the lineup every day. He is a smart hitter. He doesn't just hack at everything like Monroe. He waits for his pitch, and he drives it.

I was glad that Gardy started him tonight in RF against a left-hander. One wonders if Kubel's performance tonight gives Gardy more confidence is giving Kubel his 550 ABs this year, even after Cuddyer comes back. We can only hope that Monroe will be delegated to the bench and Kubel will be made the full-time DH and occasional OF spot-starter.

On a more obvious note, one only needs to watch a Kubel AB and a Monroe AB to know who should be the permanent DH. Monroe flails, Kubel nails.

The Cuddyer Effect

Now that Cuddyer is on the 15-Day DL, we should see more ABs for Kubel.

However, Smith and Gardy chose to call up Span over the likes of Ruiz, Knott, or Buscher, who would all be a power threat off the bench (Buscher not as much, but far more than the slap-hitting Span).

There are a few reasons they may have chosen Span.

First, if Span can have a few decent weeks in the majors, maybe they can trade him to a team as a 4th outfielder with some range, some speed, and decent defense. They probably wouldn't get much back, but maybe he could be a piece in a larger deadline deal.

Second, perhaps they're wondering if Gomez will be up with the Twins the entire season and are interested in how Span can perform against big league pitching. Gomez has had a few great games, but he has also looked absolutely awful at the plate at times. For every game 3-for-4 game with 2 steals and 2 runs, there will be two or three games where he goes 0-for-4 with 3 Ks. There could be some rough patches ahead for him, and maybe they think Span could replace him while Gomez learns more in the minors.

Finally, it could've just been a nice gesture to Span to give him a taste of the major leagues since he only posted a .678 OPS as a 23-year-old at AAA last year, and doesn't look to be anything more than a 4th outfielder in the bigs. if even that.

For comparison, as a 22-year-old at AAA, Jason Kubel posted a .958 OPS over 350 ABs. He was promoted to AAA that year after crushing AA pitching to a tune of a 1.120 OPS over 138 ABs.

Instead of calling up someone who could actually be a threat off the bench in the late innings, the Twins called up a no-pop 4th outfielder. This means the Twins now have the following outfielders: Gomez, Young, Monroe, Kubel, Span.

So, in reality, Span is the 5th outfielder on the team.

A more sensible thing to do would have been to call up a Ruiz or Knott to add some pop to the bench, and then alternate between Kubel/Monroe in RF while Young and Gomez manned LF and CF. If Gomez needed a day off, then Punto could play in center. Gardy would like that. If Young needed a day off (which seems unlikely since he played 162 game last year), Kubel and Monroe could man LF and RF.

All in all, however, Cuddyer's injury, while unfortunate, will provide Kubel with ABs to prove to Gardy that he belongs in the lineup every day.