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ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings released their Thursday injury reports ahead of their Week 13.

The Cardinals saw Kelvin Beachum upgraded from DNP to Full after his rest day.

Emari Demercado (back), Darius Robinson (ankle), Jalen Thompson (ankle) and Jonah Williams (shoulder) all were limited for a second straight day.

It’s a fairly light injury report for the Cardinals, who again saw key defenders practice for a consecutive day – a potentially good sign for players such as Thompson and Robinson.

As for the Vikings:

DNP – Josh Oliver (wrist/ankle), Jay Ward (elbow)

Limited – Patrick Jones (knee), Cam Robinson (foot) and Andrew Van Ginkel (thigh)

Full – Harrison Phillips (rest), Jonathan Bullard (toe), Kamu Grugier-Hill (shoulder), Brandon Powell (ankle),

Phillips, Bullard, Grugier-Hill and Powell all saw upgrades in their practice status.

The Cardinals’ playoff chances again can sway either way for the squad with a win/loss in Minnesota, you can read more about their odds here.

Arizona stumbled out of their bye week against the Seattle Seahawks, and the Cardinals know defeating the Vikings on the road is a tall task.

“It goes back to the makeup of this team. We understand and ‘JG’ (Head Coach Jonathan Gannon) does a great job. After the game, I know he’s probably feeling the same way we feel, right? But at the end of the day, the message is we have to be ready for next week,” Kyler Murray said when asked about rebounding.

“We can’t let one turn into two, two turn into three. We have to get right back on the horse and keep going and the guys understand that. We’ve done a good job of bouncing back and we get another opportunity to go out there this weekend and do that again.”

In a year headlined by the Pohlads’ frugality, broadcasting issues, and a historic collapse, we often need the reminder that the Twins were a playoff-caliber club for more than two-thirds of the season. You aren’t a playoff contender without players who are producing at exceptional rates, as compared to the rest of the league. Let’s look at four(ish) statistics that stood out across the league for our local club.

Matt Wallner’s Power
Matt Wallner is a power player on both sides of the ball, with a 98th percentile exit velocity (EV) and 99th percentile arm strength. While we need to see considerable improvement in Wallner’s contact rate, the lefty hits the snot out of the ball when he makes contact, boasting elite hard-hit rates. With a 93 mile-per-hour average EV and a 116.8 mile-per-hour maximum, the lefty mashed 13 home runs in only 220 at-bats in 2024. His hardest-hit ball was “just” a single, but his second-hardest was this 116.7 MPH scorcher over the right-field fence at Guaranteed Rate Field.

And then there was the behemoth off Griffin Canning.

On the other side of the ball, Wallner might grade out as a below-average right fielder, but he has one of the best arms in the game. Runners need to tread lightly (er, quickly? Tread not at all?) when they’re thinking about extra bases on a ball hit to Wallner, as he shows off an arm that produced a maximum velocity of 101.2 MPH and an average velocity (on competitive throws) of 96.9. On Aug. 30, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Spencer Horwitz learned this this hard way.

Byron Buxton’s Speed
Twins fans are very aware of Buxton’s speed, and while we’d love to see it employed more on the basepaths, it’s helped him remain one of the best centerfielders in the game. His Sprint Speed and Outs Above Average (OAA) both sit in the 97th percentile in all of baseball, and his best catch of the season was this liner off the bat of Los Angeles Dodgers Teoscar Hernandez, which had a 35% catch probability.

Nothin’ but raindrops, folks.

Griffin Jax’s Stuff
While rumors swirl regarding Jax’s ability to be a starter, he has cemented himself as one of the best relievers in baseball, with a bevy of statistics that sit in the 90th percentile of the league or better. Most notably, his chase rate (99th percentile), whiff rate (98th), and strikeout rate (97th) lead to some of the best actual and expected stats in the majors. Sure, the highlight below is from Spring Training, but my oh my did he send the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Tsung-Che Cheng back to medieval times with this sweeper.

Joe Ryan’s Command
The Twins really missed Joe Ryan down the stretch, in large part due to his ability to control and command the strike zone. With a 96th percentile walk rate and a 98th percentile expected OBP, Ryan limited free passes better than nearly anyone in baseball – an important attribute when you don’t have traditionally overpowering stuff. His ability to live on the edge of the strike zone doesn’t just limit walks. It also limits a hitter’s quality of contact, resulting in better-than-average exit velocities and hard-hit rates for the righty.

There’s plenty more to be thankful for this season, and it gives us plenty to look forward to as the calendar inches toward 2025. One thing is for certain: No matter what happens with the team on the field in 2025, we here at Twins Daily are thankful for the owners, editors, content creators, and readers that make this all possible. Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate—and cheers, all the same, to those who don’t!

What are YOU thankful for this year?