Brad Penny

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05-14-2012, 03:38 PM
iminnesota55

Brad Penny

So this is it. This is what the bottom of the barrel feels like. The Twins' pitching has been so atrocious this year that I actually found myself excited when the news came that Brad Penny was released by a Japanese baseball team and the Twins might be able to pick him up. Even assuming Penny repeats his aweful performance of last year, his ERA of 5.30 and WHIP of 1.56 is still better than 4 of the 8 pitchers that have made a start for the Twins this year. And what's worse is that even without pitching in MLB yet this year, he has just as many wins as four of our starters. It is probably only going to take a minor league contract to get him, so why not take a flyer on him and see if he pans out the way Carl Pavano did his first couple of years in Minnesota. If the Twins did pick up Brad Penny, it would give us the two lowest strikeout pitchers in the Majors (percentage-wise since begining of last year--see Nick's Contact Kings post, http://twinsdaily.com/index.html?523-Contact-Kings) but if Penny can get us some cheap quality starts, great. If he doesn't work out as a starter he can always provide some desperately needed depth in the bullpen. It can't be any worse that what we have now, right?
05-14-2012, 05:10 PM
Kirby_Waved_At_Me

I think the tendency is to look at these guys (Brad Penny, Jorge Cantu, Hideki Matsui, Dan Wheeler, Doug Davis, etc) that are older and have had some major league success and assume that they could bring value to a team that is doing as poorly as the Twins are.
But the team will have to be looking for players that will contribute next year and beyond.
05-14-2012, 05:19 PM
Rosterman

At some point, better than a Scott Diamond or PJ or whomever is next on the callup list that may/may not have a future with the team. Someone made a comment about bringing Sano up at 19 and giving him licks at third.Is he better or worse than what they have. Right now, the Twins have to be looking long-term and figuring out who they need to take chances with that will grow as the years go on -- from within their system.
05-14-2012, 05:34 PM
The Greatest Poster Alive

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosterman

At some point, better than a Scott Diamond or PJ or whomever is next on the callup list that may/may not have a future with the team. Someone made a comment about bringing Sano up at 19 and giving him licks at third.Is he better or worse than what they have. Right now, the Twins have to be looking long-term and figuring out who they need to take chances with that will grow as the years go on -- from within their system.

Brilliant. Let's overwhelm a kid who hasn't seen a pitch above a ball.
05-14-2012, 05:43 PM
Thrylos

re: Sano. He does not project as a third baseman. More like a first baseman or an OF. I can see the Twins getting him in the MLB as a first baseman around 2014 (when Morneau's contract expires) depending on how he progresses in AA/AAA in 2013. Hopefully he will be promoted to Fort Myers soon and will start 2013 in AA.
05-14-2012, 06:55 PM
Nick Nelson

Penny was the only SP in the majors with a lower K-rate than Pavano last year. Pass.
05-14-2012, 07:08 PM
The Greatest Poster Alive

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrylos98

re: Sano. He does not project as a third baseman. More like a first baseman or an OF. I can see the Twins getting him in the MLB as a first baseman around 2014 (when Morneau's contract expires) depending on how he progresses in AA/AAA in 2013. Hopefully he will be promoted to Fort Myers soon and will start 2013 in AA.

Not necessarily. Sano will never be an elite defensive player at 3rd. But he can stick at the position. He is certainly not projecting at 1st base yet. LF is far more likely of a final position for him than 1st base (unless of course the Twins have a gaping hole at first when he gets his call up)

The book is far from shut about Sano's ability to play 3rd.