Cole DeVries promoted to the Twins!

[Shane Wahl]

Thyrlos, DeVries may have been up before Walters, but the timing of when they pitched was off two days, I believe.

 

Anyway, I see DeVries as not 3 of x, but rather 2 of 3. That is, I think he, Walters, and eventually Manship or Swarzak (maybe interchangeable roles?) are vying for the last rotation spot at the end of the year.

 

Assuming a Pavano trade, keeping Liriano where he belongs, and Blackburn coming back, I see the August-September rotation, as preparation for 2013 as:

 

Hendriks

Bromberg

Diamond

Blackburn (unfortunately, a ballsy move would be to say "take your $5.5 million next year to the bullpen")

DeVries or Walters or Manship/Swarzak.

 

This sets them up for one FA signing at the top, and filler at the bottom in preparation for Gibson.

 

That's what I would do, anyway. What they will do . . .

[cr9617]

My goodness. How sorry is the current state of affairs when DeVries, Diamond, and Walters are the main sources for optimism.

[DAM DC Twins Fans]

Bingo... The state of pitching is the scariest thing about being a Twins Fan at this moment in time. Keep throwing these guys and let's see who sticks. Don't blow this draft and move every tradable piece for more pitching. Keep your expectations low while your hope is on high.

Could not have said it any better. Diamond, Walters (too many HRs), Now DeVries, one or two of these may stick at the level of Baker and Blackburn...now draft a pitcher who could be an ace in 2014 or 2015 (or trade our only real asset--Span for one).

[DaveW]

Thyrlos, DeVries may have been up before Walters, but the timing of when they pitched was off two days, I believe.

 

Anyway, I see DeVries as not 3 of x, but rather 2 of 3. That is, I think he, Walters, and eventually Manship or Swarzak (maybe interchangeable roles?) are vying for the last rotation spot at the end of the year.

 

Assuming a Pavano trade, keeping Liriano where he belongs, and Blackburn coming back, I see the August-September rotation, as preparation for 2013 as:

 

Hendriks

Bromberg

Diamond

Blackburn (unfortunately, a ballsy move would be to say "take your $5.5 million next year to the bullpen")

DeVries or Walters or Manship/Swarzak.

 

This sets them up for one FA signing at the top, and filler at the bottom in preparation for Gibson.

 

That's what I would do, anyway. What they will do . . .

They need to head into next season with the thought that they need to fill a minimum of 3 rotation spots, and ideally 4 rotation spots. I think out of the Gibson/Hendricks/Diamond/Blackburn group we can reasonably expect 1-2 spots from those 4, counting on 3 or 4 of those guys to hold down a spot all of 2013 is foolish.

[DaveW]

Could not have said it any better. Diamond, Walters (too many HRs), Now DeVries, one or two of these may stick at the level of Baker and Blackburn...now draft a pitcher who could be an ace in 2014 or 2015 (or trade our only real asset--Span for one).

None of those guys will come close to sticking at the level of Baker (who when healthy is a solid #2), Blackburn is nothing more than a #5 and in all reality Diamond is the only one with a chance better then 25% at sticking as a #5.

 

The Twins need more than an ace, they need to find a #1/#2/#3 and maybe even a #4 moving forward. That is a tall task to say the least.

[DaveW]

My goodness. How sorry is the current state of affairs when DeVries, Diamond, and Walters are the main sources for optimism.

I'd argue that Mauer being healthy, Span being healthy, Morneau being healthy, Willingham and Dozier as our main sources of optimism at this point. (not taking into consideration minor legauers like Sano, Rosario and Arcia)

[ltwedt]

My - My - what do you suppose Anthony Slama did to so thoroughly piss off Gardy and Ryan?

[J-Dog Dungan]

I don't know why people are hating on Walters and Diamond, considering they have given a few rays of hope to this starting line that had won four in a row until it was broken by the black hole of suckiness that was Marquis. While Walters has given up 4 HR's in two outings, one he won, and the other he should have won. Therefore, I see nothing wrong with what either have done up here so far.

[TwinsGuy55422]

Congrats to DeVries. I hope he does well and proves his worth to the team going forward whether that be in the starting rotation or the bullpen. We've had good results with the pitchers called up this year, so I hope he continues the trend.

[glunn]

I don't know why people are hating on Walters and Diamond, considering they have given a few rays of hope to this starting line that had won four in a row until it was broken by the black hole of suckiness that was Marquis. While Walters has given up 4 HR's in two outings, one he won, and the other he should have won. Therefore, I see nothing wrong with what either have done up here so far.

"Hating" seems like a strong word, but I share your view that there has been excessive pessimism considering their performances thus far. I think that people are focusing on their minor league stats and they assume that Walters and Diamond have mediocre ceilings. However, it seems possible that one or both of them may prosper over the long run. And until DeVries gets blown out a few times, I will be optimistic about him as well.

[roger]

Coles numbers look pretty pedestrian for Triple A. I thought Slama deserved the first shot, or Manship since he was a starter and has been up before.

His last start was going great until they tried to get him a complete game. Gave up only one run through 8, then three more in the 9th. Things like that hurt the ERA early in the season.

[Shane Wahl]

They need to head into next season with the thought that they need to fill a minimum of 3 rotation spots, and ideally 4 rotation spots. I think out of the Gibson/Hendricks/Diamond/Blackburn group we can reasonably expect 1-2 spots from those 4, counting on 3 or 4 of those guys to hold down a spot all of 2013 is foolish.

Blackburn isn't going anywhere, so he takes up one of those spots. Hendriks will be fine and Diamond should be too. They are 3-4 and 4-5 starters, yes. Gibson is hopefully the guy to swing it somewhat and if Wimmers and Stuifbergen get healthy, they are in the mix too. And the Twins need to recognize that they must draft pitchers instead of toolsy HS outfielders, including HEALTHY 2013 versions of players like Gibson and Wimmers (both were expected to essentially be involved by 2013 back before everything went to hell).

[IdahoPilgrim]

Nothing but best wishes for DeVries, and I hope for his sake (and the Twins!) that he does well.

 

That being said, I still think the best answer would be to give Duensing another shot. He is doing much better against RHB this year, and if he can get over that issue permanently he can be a decent 3-4 starter for a few years to come. In this rotation that could be huge.

[Shane Wahl]

My - My - what do you suppose Anthony Slama did to so thoroughly piss off Gardy and Ryan?

One more (and it is coming) Jeff Gray blow-up and it MUST BE Slama time.

[Shane Wahl]

"Hating" seems like a strong word, but I share your view that there has been excessive pessimism considering their performances thus far. I think that people are focusing on their minor league stats and they assume that Walters and Diamond have mediocre ceilings. However, it seems possible that one or both of them may prosper over the long run. And until DeVries gets blown out a few times, I will be optimistic about him as well.

It's been funny because they have been the best starters for the Twins yet they are truly 4-6 starting caliber pitchers. That's what they are and that is good if you have other good pitching before them. But I am fine with figuring out that part of the rotation this year, honestly. Some FA, Hendriks, Gibson, and Bromberg likely are involved in 2013 before those guys.

[jimbo92107]

nothing against devries but a mistake Devries will get hammered at MLB level. He is a solid AAA pitcher but he will get hammered at MLB level mark my words.

Funny thing about hammering...it assumes the nail will stay in one place.

 

If Cole DeVries is a finesse pitcher, then he already knows that he will need to mix up his velocity, spin and placement to survive in the bigs. Scott Diamond is already doing that, and succeeding. Pitching is all about making hitters uncomfortable. If you don't have a big fastball, then you figure out other ways to do it.

 

I think a lot will depend on Cole's ability to execute damage control. People will get some hits off him, sure. Can he handle it? Can he limit the damage, or will he collapse emotionally like a little boy? He worked his way to the majors from an undrafted free agent. Maybe he's already got the mental toughness to hang in there.

[jimbo92107]

Haha, good lord who knows? Let's see: Hendriks, Manship, French, Thompson . . . .and maybe they will promote Bromberg or Hirshfeld?

Get Bromberg to Rochester!

[Rosterman]

It is NOT the worst rotation if the guys get guys out, and win games. You can survive with 5 B-starters. You may not reach the wild card or playoffs, but right now Blackburn/Liriano/Marquis weren't getting it done.

 

I see Slama on the radar as Gray and Burton implode, but Waldrop and Manship may be ahead in the callup scale.

 

The big pain with musical chairs is that you might be forced to lose someone at some point...but if playing musical chairs, guess it doesn't matter.

 

There was a reason the Twins signed 110 free agent minor league pitchers...I guess.....this year.....

[Han Joelo]

Check out Seth's latest Top 50 prospect installment. Plenty of recently drafted pitchers that shouldn't be categorized as "soft-tossers." The whole soft-tossing/pitch to contact complaint has grown pretty cliche. The Twins have taken shots with the likes of Hunt, Bashore, Tootle, etc, and see where those guys are now. Seems like people think these SO machines grow on trees. I'd argue that the current state of Twins Organizational pitching is possibly a result of getting away from drafting the likes of Slowey and Perkins and Hendriks and having too many high draft picks like the aforementioned group washout.

[jorgenswest]

As long as the Twins can send DeVries back to AAA with an option, I don't see any reason not to give him a start or two. He can't be worse than Marquis and should be able to match Blackburn. If he has a few rocky starts, they can send him back. By that time, I hope that Liriano is ready for another shot.

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

I see Slama on the radar as Gray and Burton implode, but Waldrop and Manship may be ahead in the callup scale.

I don't think there's any reason to suggest Burton imploding. He has a .702 WHIP and is capable of striking out batters. His 4.60 ERA looks much worse than how he's performed. Burton has a pretty good track record of being reliable as well, so I'd be surprised if he didn't finish the year with the Twins.