Odd SP out

[stringer bell]

 

I'd feel worse about Pelfry's outing, if more balls were hard hit. Now he gives up a rope to Bruce and another blooper. Control seems to be the issue. Three walks and pitching from behind are the problem.

Two more hits and he's gone. The last ones were hit well and in good spots. Oh well, a 4ish ERA is a lot more sustainable than that gaudy 2.29 he was sporting a while ago.

[stringer bell]

Tommy Milone says "I'm in!".

[TheLeviathan]

 

Let's hope May actually HAS some success going forward, though.

 

You should look up his 4 starts prior to that clunker, he's been doing just fine. 

[jorgenswest]

It should still be on Santana to impress tomorrow.

 

Pelfrey and May both also get one more start.Twins are wise to play it out. Any of the three would help the bullpen.

[GACbaseball]

We can't count on Pelfrey continuing to have a 3 ERA... I get that he's been one of our best pitchers so far but his track record would suggest he's due to to regress substantially.

Also, it'd be very dumb to put Santana in the bullpen and keep anyone (except maybe Hughes) in the rotation. Yes he was suspended for 80 games but he has proven to be a good pitcher for a number of years. I'd go with a track record of success over half a season of starts any day

[Old Twins Cap]

Deal Pelfrey.  Get what you can for him.  He's been WAY better than anticipated and somebody will be willing to overpay. 

 

Sad to say, but Twins are going nowhere this year.  Bring in the kids, play them, let them know they can be winners, and find out who can play.

[Linus]

 

Deal Pelfrey.  Get what you can for him.  He's been WAY better than anticipated and somebody will be willing to overpay. 

 

Sad to say, but Twins are going nowhere this year.  Bring in the kids, play them, let them know they can be winners, and find out who can play.

I'm guessing that if you are not willing to overpay, professional MLB GMs aren't going to be willing either.

[drjim]

 

I'm guessing that if you are not willing to overpay, professional MLB GMs aren't going to be willing either.

 

Of course they aren't and they haven't been willing to at any point this season and won't be in a month no matter what happens.

 

He has some value, but the Twins still need at least one more start out of him.

[Dantes929]

 

We can't count on Pelfrey continuing to have a 3 ERA... I get that he's been one of our best pitchers so far but his track record would suggest he's due to to regress substantially.
Also, it'd be very dumb to put Santana in the bullpen and keep anyone (except maybe Hughes) in the rotation. Yes he was suspended for 80 games but he has proven to be a good pitcher for a number of years. I'd go with a track record of success over half a season of starts any day

Its not like he is Clayton Kershaw.   HIs career era of 4.17 is not spectacular and may have been aided by PEDs to go along with his aging and suspension.  It would be very dumb to put him right in the middle of the rotation replacing guys who are currently sporting ERA's a run better than Santana's career mark   I don't mean the really dumb part.   I hope he does well but it would not be really dumb to put him in the pen to start out as long as the rest of the rotation is doing well.    That element can fall apart quickly.  

[GACbaseball]

Its not like he is Clayton Kershaw.   HIs career era of 4.17 is not spectacular and may have been aided by PEDs to go along with his aging and suspension.  It would be very dumb to put him right in the middle of the rotation replacing guys who are currently sporting ERA's a run better than Santana's career mark. I hope he does well but it would not be really dumb to put him in the pen to start out as long as the rest of the rotation is doing well.

 

I realize Santana isn't an ace but he has consistently showed that he is better than Pelfrey. I understand Big Mike has had a great season so far but I am very pessimistic that he will continue to have this kind of success. I would prefer to sell high (not expecting a top prospect, maybe a decent reliever) rather than have him regress back towards his 4.55 career ERA while still in a Twins uniform

It's not about what they've done so far, it's what you think they'll do in the future

 

Sorry if I offended with the really dumb comment, I just meant it as I think it would better for him to start over Pelfrey

[Danchat]

At this point, I would move Pelfrey to the bullpen. I think he could be a very strong asset in the bullpen - we never got to see him pitch there earlier, but I think he'll be an improvement over almost everyone there.

[DaveW]

Yeah, I think Pelfrey could be amazing out of the pen, however he has earned at least another couple starts in the rotation IMHO.

[Kirby_waved_at_me]

This time last week it seemed like no one deserved to lose their spot in the rotation, and I was firmly in the camp of sending Milone to AAA to open a spot in the rotation and to keep Milone in a starting role.

 

Maybe it makes sense to return to plan A from Spring Training, which had Pelfrey in the bullpen?

 

I don't think May should get sent down, and while I don't think Milone deserves it either, if I have to pick between those two, May has much more to gain towards his development by pitching against MLB hitters. 

 

If Pelf goes to the pen and has some success, it makes room for Santana, and allows the Twins to move one (or two) guys out of the pen and back to AAA.

 

I don't think they will go to a six man rotation long term, but I wouldn't be surprised if all six guys get another start before someone is moved. If they do that, someone from the bullpen will get moved out first.

[jorgenswest]

Santana with a solid 2 innings. The Twins really need him to show he is ready. Keep it going and earn that spot.

[DJSim22]

Santana should be in the pen, the other five deserve to stay in the rotation for now.  Santana might be just working into shape in AAA, but the numbers are not encouraging.  He also should be willing to go into the pen since he burned us cheating. 

[stringer bell]

Ervin with seven good innings, 3 hits no walks, 5 Ks. Milone-like.

[jorgenswest]

This is how he needed to perform to earn a spot. Next he needs to lead this team to victory on Sunday against the Royals.

[stringer bell]

Santana done after 99 pitches. Eight scoreless with 5 Ks, no walks. Next stop, KC.

[GACbaseball]

I'd let May go to the pen. Nothing behind this but I don't think a veteran like Pelfrey would take too kindly to a demotion when he has pitched pretty well this year.

 

Once/if Pelfrey regresses more, we can swap him and May in the pen and rotation

Santana has too much of a track record not to be in the rotation

[jorgenswest]

Pelfrey and May have a start before any decision is made. They need to perform. Make the decision difficult.

 

If Pelfrey puts up another bad start, it shouldn't matter how he takes the demotion. It is in his hands. If he puts up a great outing against KC there is no way Molitor puts him in the pen.

[Twins33]

For me, it's between Milone and Pelfrey. I don't believe either has a future on this team. If they are going to keep whoever loses the rotation spot on the 25 man then it should be Pelfrey because Milone in the BP sounds scary...and not in a good way.

 

At least two of Pelfrey, Milone and Nolasco need to be traded within the next year. Pelfrey this year, being that he's a FA and I don't want him to be re-signed. Nolasco obviously can't be traded yet, but it needs to be done as soon as it can be. You're not going to get anything good, but salary relief would be nice even though payroll isn't an issue.

 

At some point next year, ASAP, I want the rotation to be: Hughes, Santana, May, Gibson, Meyer/Berrios/Duffy

[Blake]

If it is the odd man out, I'm not sure who the odd pitcher is. Perhaps Pelfrey is the odd pitcher, what with his beekeeper hat during the interview.

 

Since my prognosticatory abilities are nill, I thought I'd go with weird.

[Craig Arko]

If it is the odd man out, I'm not sure who the odd pitcher is. Perhaps Pelfrey is the odd pitcher, what with his beekeeper hat during the interview.

 

Since my prognosticatory abilities are nill, I thought I'd go with weird.

When the going gets weird, the weird enter the rotation.

[Linus]

Ok. When will Milone get some credit? He's 28 and our second or third best starter and under team control. Get over that he doesn't throw 94-many guys have been successful in the big leagues without throwing hard. What I care about is if he gets guys out.

[awinter]

I think the Twins should put all of Milone, Pelfrey, Nolasco, and Gibson on the trading block and see what other teams are willing to give. I don't expect to get anything for Nolasco and expect very little for Milone and Pelfrey, but if we can ship one of those three off for some international bonus $ or a low level prospect that won't need to be on the 40-man for a few years, I would pull the trigger. We should be able to replace (or surpass) their expected production with Berrios or another AAA arm. The other potential benefit of a trade is that the Twins could have one less guy on the 40-man roster and at the end of the season so they will be better equipped to protect the guys they need to protect.

 

Regarding Gibson- I wouldn't give him away. I think he would be harder to replace him than the other guys so I'd want a decent prospect or two.

[jimmer]

 

Ok. When will Milone get some credit? He's 28 and our second or third best starter and under team control. Get over that he doesn't throw 94-many guys have been successful in the big leagues without throwing hard. What I care about is if he gets guys out.

When you say he's been our 2nd or 3rd best starter, you mean by ERA right?  Just want to know what you're using to evaluate the pitcher's performance.

[dxpavelka]

 

Milone has performed better (by ERA+) since his first full season than any of the other 6. He is the only lefty. He is 28 and under team control until 2019.

 

Put him in the pen? He is probably the worst fit of the 7. He pitches better innings 4-6 than 1-3. In the first three innings he has an ERA of 4.33 with 16-12 K/BB. Innings 4-6 he has an ERA of 1.56 and 16/6. Is it possible that as the game progresses he gradually gets the unpire to give him a little more of the corner of the plate? He also has career platoon splits that are neutral and much more ideal for a starting role.

 

Pelfrey or Gibson? They with Milone have ERAs in the low 3s. How can any of the three be removed from their spot? What kind of message does that send to the team? Work your tail off. Back it up with performance and it doesn't matter. Pelfrey specifically had to fight back from two injuries and do it without the use of PEDs. Now they are going to replace him with a guy that tried to do it the easy way? Great message to send the organization.

 

That leaves Hughes and May. It isn't going to be Hughes. If contracts didn't matter, it would be Santana in the pen. May has one start before Santana returns. He needs to be lights out.

 

If they want to do what is best for the team, they really need to expect Santana to earn it. He hasn't yet. In 12.2 innings he has allowed 17 base runners with 2 home runs. He has 6 strike outs and 4 walks. You might recall Tommy Milone's numbers in AAA. in 38.2 innings it was 28 base runners and 47 Ks. There is no way a guy can allow 17 base runners while striking out just 6 batters in AAA and then be successful in the majors. Santana has one more game to show he is ready. He needs to show it. 

Those were essentially spring training outings for Santana.  There are actually a lot of ways a guy can allow 17 base runners while striking out just 6 in spring training outings and then be successfull in the bigs.  How about his 8 shutout innings of 4 hit ball with 5 strikeouts and no walks last night for a preview of what could happen?

[jorgenswest]

 

Those were essentially spring training outings for Santana.  There are actually a lot of ways a guy can allow 17 base runners while striking out just 6 in spring training outings and then be successfull in the bigs.  How about his 8 shutout innings of 4 hit ball with 5 strikeouts and no walks last night for a preview of what could happen?

I ended by saying he needed to perform in his next start. He did. There should have been no free ride to a starting spot.

 

My comment in this thread after listening to his start

 

This is how he needed to perform to earn a spot. Next he needs to lead this team to victory on Sunday against the Royals.

 

Milone stepped up. May stepped up. Now Pelfrey needs to make this a really difficult decison for the Twins. If he has a third bad start in a row, it should be an easy decision.

[TheLeviathan]

Again, keep May in the rotation.  Please.

[Andrew]

For me, it's between Milone and Pelfrey. I don't believe either has a future on this team. If they are going to keep whoever loses the rotation spot on the 25 man then it should be Pelfrey because Milone in the BP sounds scary...and not in a good way.

 

At least two of Pelfrey, Milone and Nolasco need to be traded within the next year. Pelfrey this year, being that he's a FA and I don't want him to be re-signed. Nolasco obviously can't be traded yet, but it needs to be done as soon as it can be. You're not going to get anything good, but salary relief would be nice even though payroll isn't an issue.

 

At some point next year, ASAP, I want the rotation to be: Hughes, Santana, May, Gibson, Meyer/Berrios/Duffy

My guy Taylor Rogers never gets any love