Last winter, the Twins front office invested in affordable power. They took the money they had been paying Joe Mauer and applied it to Nelson Cruz, C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop, who produced 89 of their big-league record 307 home runs.
The Twins' brain trust believed that adding power was the most efficient way to improve, and they were proved right, in part because of the efficacy of their signings, in part because of the anti-gravity materials woven into the baseballs used in 2019.
This winter, the Twins will again try to build a winner on a limited payroll, knowing they desperately need starting pitching. How do they proceed?
The answer might lie in the baseball itself. If MLB reverts to a more traditional ball, these types of players will become more valuable:
• Pitchers who induce batters to put the ball in play.
• Position players with speed who are quality fielders and good baserunners.
• Sluggers whose drives will reach the seats regardless of the nature of the ball.
The game has been ruled by power bats and power arms in recent years, and truly powerful sluggers and hard-throwing strikeout pitchers will always excel. But those hitters propped up by a bouncy ball could falter, and those pitchers who saw pretty good pitches land in the seats with regularity could become much more useful, and if more balls are put into play, speed in the field and on the bases will become more important.
