Taylor Motter hits the DL, Twins select contract of Willians Astudillo

During Thursday’s game, utility fielder Taylor Motter and his sweet, sweet hair crashed into the Guaranteed Rate outfield fence trying to reel in a fly ball. He was placed on the 7-day concussion disabled list and more importantly, the Twins selected the contract of fellow utility player Willians Astudillo.

In an increasingly lost season, Astudillo is the type of player we’ll want to see this year. He doesn’t strike out. Like, ever. Nor does he walk, as he has just 5 walks and 9 strikeouts this year in 188 plate appearances for Triple-A Rochester. More importantly though is that he’s hit .290/.321/.489 and he’s always hit for a high batting average. The difference though is that he added power last season in the Diamondbacks organization (.217 isolated power after previously being under .100 for his minor league career), making him even more of an offensive threat.

However, his defense leaves something to be desired, so I expect him to be used more as a pinch-hitter while the Twins face the Cubs this weekend, which is probably best suited for him because you know he’ll put the ball in play. Otherwise, he has played catcher, first base, third base, and left field for the Red Wings this year, though I don’t expect the Twins to utilize him anywhere other than behind the plate and at first base.

Long story short, this is Bartolo Colon in hitting form, except he’s making his major league debut and he will always put the ball in play.