The Minnesota Twins will have a new face, and hard-to-miss physique, in their dugout on Sunday. Carson McCusker, the towering 6-foot-8, 250-pound slugger nicknamed McCrusher, is heading from Des Moines to Milwaukee to join the major-league club, as reported by Dan Hayes of The Athletic and others on Saturday evening.

The circumstances, unfortunately, are sobering. Outfielder Byron Buxton is being placed on the 7-day concussion injured list, joining Carlos Correa, after their violent outfield collision on Thursday. Buxton had been under daily evaluation, but the Twins ultimately opted for caution following concussion protocol guidelines.

While the injury news is tough, McCusker’s call-up is undeniably one of the most heartening stories of the Twins’ season.

A few years ago, McCusker was on the verge of retirement. As Bobby Nightingale of the Star Tribune noted, the Oklahoma State product was coming off a second season in independent ball without a single offer from a major-league organization. But the Twins took a flier on him, and he’s made them look smart ever since.

 

McCusker has mashed at every level of the system, and this year he’s turned it up to 11. In 38 games with the St. Paul Saints, he’s slashing .350/.412/.650 with 10 home runs and 11 doubles, ranking third out of 119 International League hitters in OPS. That kind of production has made him impossible to ignore, especially for a Twins team that ranks in the bottom third of the league in slugging and home runs, and is now going to be without its most prolific power bat in Buxton.

Make no mistake: this is not your typical big-league promotion. McCusker isn’t on any top prospect lists. He’s nearly 27, was drafted in the 26th round out of college, and has a career minor-league strikeout rate over 30 percent. He’s not a polished, five-tool player. But he does one thing exceptionally well: hit the baseball very hard. In profiling McCusker earlier this season, Jamie Cameron pointed out that his max exit velocity clocked in at over 114 mph, and he boasted a hard-hit rate above 60 percent.

 

In other words, the Twins are adding something they are sorely lacking with Buxton down and Royce Lewis still not looking like himself: right-handed thump.

McCusker’s late-bloomer trajectory, sky-high whiff rates and lack of discipline might make some skeptical, but Twins fans are ready to root for a grinder who earned his shot the hard way. Whether he becomes the next slugging sensation or simply a feel-good flash, he’s earned this moment.

And for a team still searching for offensive identity — and now down two cornerstone players — it might be the perfect time to unleash McCrusher.

Are you as excited as I am about this news?! Sound off in the comments!