MINNEAPOLIS -- It took an improbable series of injuries for Luke Keaschall to make his Major League debut last week. But with the way the Twins' No. 3 prospect has played since his arrival, it¡¯s hard to imagine him being sent back to Triple-A anytime soon.
Keaschall remained a sparkplug for the Twins on Wednesday, doubling, scoring the team¡¯s first run, reaching base three more times and stealing two bases in a 6-3 win against the White Sox. With five stolen bases through five career games, Keaschall is tied for most since 1901.
Making only his second start in the field in the Major Leagues, Keaschall was also charged with his first error. But the Twins are willing to live with the occasional mistake from the dynamic rookie, who has brought a jolt to their lineup since his callup last week.
¡°He¡¯s all energy,¡± manager Rocco Baldelli said. ¡°That¡¯s all he is. He shows up, from the moment he walks into the clubhouse the first day of Spring Training, he¡¯s just bouncing around. But it¡¯s all positive energy. It¡¯s all hard work and eagerness, not to please, eagerness to work, to show everyone what he can do in all the right ways.¡±
Keaschall doubled in the first inning, though he was caught in a line drive double play to end the inning. He walked in the third, stole second, and scored the Twins¡¯ first run on Ty France¡¯s single. After he was hit by a pitch in the seventh, pitcher Jared Shuster threw over to first base twice before his first pitch to Trevor Larnach. On that first pitch, Keaschall took off and collected the historic steal.
¡°I feel like baserunning is all situational,¡± Keaschall said. ¡°We just had a lot of opportunities to run the last couple days, and guys are giving me windows. It just depends on how we match up. If they give me the green light, I¡¯m always comfortable. If they believe in me, then I believe in it too.¡±
Steal No. 5 in five games pulled him into a tie with four other players, a group that includes some true greats on the bases -- Luis Castillo, Ced Landrum, Donell Nixon, and Vince Coleman. He¡¯s not the speedster that some of those players are, but he¡¯s plenty quick, and he has a knack for running the bases.
As a result, he¡¯s earned the trust of Baldelli to go when the opportunity is right.
¡°Sometimes you just have a feel,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°You don¡¯t [have] to be around a guy that long. We know he¡¯s a good runner. ¡ He¡¯s not going to run the bases in any sort of passive manner. He¡¯s one that makes things happen, stealing, first to third, scoring on doubles. He¡¯s going to go hard. You¡¯re going to have to stop him because he¡¯s going to keep going.¡±
It¡¯s not just the baserunning, of course. Keaschall has at least one hit in each of his five games and has reached base at least twice in four of those games. He has four walks and a hit by pitch to go with six hits, against just two strikeouts. And his three extra-base hits in his first five games tie nine other players for the most in Twins history since their move to Minnesota.
He¡¯s currently splitting time between designated hitter and second base. The DH at-bats will likely be available until Matt Wallner¡¯s strained hamstring recovers enough for him to return from the injured list. The second-base chances will be dependent in part on how soon Willi Castro returns from his strained right oblique.
But even when those two players are healthy once again, it¡¯s tough to see the Twins not finding a place for Keaschall in their lineup.
¡°He makes you wake up, sit up and pay attention,¡± Baldelli said, ¡°because he¡¯s always wanting to do something and able to do it.¡±