The Twins hit three more homers on Wednesday. This puts them at 258 for the season, nine short of the single-season team record. And we're not out of August yet.
Even if the 2019 Twins don't advance in the October tournament -- and they very well may not, as they appear destined to play either Houston or the Yankees, two powerhouses with superior records -- this validates their remarkable season. They're going to shatter the single-season team homer record, perhaps by Labor Day. They stand to break the record for team slugging percentage as well.
I didn't particularly care for the off-season's add-homers, discard-walks approach from the front office. But I've been acknowledging for a while, and will continue to, that it has worked.
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Byron Buxton is not off the disabled list. Eddie Rosario is not on the disabled list. The Twins replaced Lewis Thorpe on the pitching staff Tuesday with another pitcher, Randy Dobnak, as the Rochester shuttle keeps moving for a few more days.
Come September, the Twins can just activate everybody still on the shuttle: Thorpe, Devin Smeltzer, Kohl Stewart, Zach Littell, Sean Poppen, maybe Trevor Hildenberger. They can have a whole bullpen of low-leverage arms.
That will only matter indirectly. It will mean that Trevor May or Sam Dyson or Tyler Duffey won't have to pick up innings in blowouts, which in turn will mean they'll be kept fresh for the at-bats that matter.
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