Milone Officially In

[Linus]

Twins baseball.com is reporting that Milone is officially in the rotation.

[Craig Arko]

No big surprise.

[jimmer]

 

No big surprise.

Exactly.  Has there been any surprises so far?  Arcia maybe, for some?

[stringer bell]

As it should be. Really the only question is how long his leash is when he hits a speed bump of a couple short starts in a row.

[Linus]

As it should be. Really the only question is how long his leash is when he hits a speed bump of a couple short starts in a row.

The same as any other starter not named Nolasco.

[stringer bell]

 

The same as any other starter not named Nolasco.

I disagree. Santana, Gibson and Hughes have quite a bit of rope IMHO, whereas Milone will be intermediate and the fifth starter (at the beginning of the season) won't have much at all.

[Hrbowski]

Wasn't he expected to be the #4 starter?

[TheLeviathan]

 

I disagree. Santana, Gibson and Hughes have quite a bit of rope IMHO, whereas Milone will be intermediate and the fifth starter (at the beginning of the season) won't have much at all.

 

I think you could make a case that Milone has as much rope as anyone not named Santana.  Mostly because of the hand he throws with.

[Platoon]

He is the only left handed SP, and the poster boy for PTC. This decision had about as much suspense as the ending to the OJ TV series!

[Dr. Evil]

I think Milone will have a solid year.

[DocBauer]

FWIW, I believe in the best STAFF you can put on your team, 1-12. Which is why I'm not in favor of May in the pen still, but it works. It makes sense, as I've said before, for the NOW of this staff as currently constructed. I don't feel you have to have a lefty in your rotation, but it is nice to have. And throwing from the port sidd, as Milone does, is not bad for a change of pace from that side, as well as what and how he throws. While he is nothing special, his career numbers, sans his problems when he first came to the Twins, have been solid. Largely, he was solid in the rotation last year for the Twins, and his ST appearances seem to indicate he has earned his spot.

 

Leash? Now that's a different topic entirely. The potential of Duffey and Berrios, short term and long term, for the Twins is greater than Milone or Nolasco...should Nolasco actually take the 5th spot to begin the year. With some top RHRP arms on the way, soon, May should also be included in this part of the discussion. I hope everyone pitches great, the Twins win, and the Twins find themselves able to make trades with promote blessed young arms available.

 

But Milone and Nolasco are on a slightly different field of play than Hughes, Santana and Gibson. And I hope the Twins won't be timid about making moves necessary to improve themselves short and long term by moving either of these two. Whether that constitutes a short leash or not is debatable.

[jimbo92107]

 

I disagree. Santana, Gibson and Hughes have quite a bit of rope IMHO, whereas Milone will be intermediate and the fifth starter (at the beginning of the season) won't have much at all.

A particularly short rope for Milone around June, if Tyler Duffey and Jose Berrios are pitching well in Rochester...

[Brock Beauchamp]

I'm interested why so many are commenting on the "leash" given Milone... Maybe it's just me but I have far more confidence in Milone pitching at an acceptable level than I am Nolasco doing the same... Hell, I'm more confident in Milone than I am Duffey as well.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I think you could make a case that Milone has as much rope as anyone not named Santana.  Mostly because of the hand he throws with.

Perhaps, but this club demoted a healthy Milone to AAA last year in favor of a less-seasoned RH in May.  And he was sort of on the bubble with Pelfrey down the stretch, getting skipped for a turn.  And he was the only lefty starter on our club at that time too.  Not to mention Oakland likewise demoting him in 2014 and selling low on him.

 

I agree he was pretty much guaranteed a spot this spring, but I don't think he's as entrenched as Hughes or Gibson, despite being a left-hander.

[Mike Sixel]

I've never understood why Milone is so undervalued, all he does is produce. No idea how, but he does.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I'm interested why so many are commenting on the "leash" given Milone... Maybe it's just me but I have far more confidence in Milone pitching at an acceptable level than I am Nolasco doing the same... Hell, I'm more confident in Milone than I am Duffey as well.

Agreed that Milone has a pretty high floor, but last year he was demoted after 4 turns with a 4.76 ERA.  And after coming off the DL in August, he had a 4.79 over the next month and got skipped a turn.  And of course we all remember how Oakland demoted him in July 2014 with a 3.55 ERA on the season (16 starts).

 

For whatever reason, Milone historically hasn't gotten as much leash as one would expect given his fairly steady, "high floor" performance.  Maybe that changes now that he is out of minor league options and making $4.5 mil?  Although for the Twins to demote him last year making $2.8 mil, that was a pretty big deal...

[Vanimal46]

So the average age of the rotation heading into this season, assuming that Nolasco wins the final rotation spot is 30.4 years old... I guess that's okay to have proven players to begin the season, but I'm more excited for the time when Berrios and Duffey make their way up to the big show full-time. 

[jimmer]

How many new people will be on our 25 man roster?

[Squirrel]

I've never understood why Milone is so undervalued, all he does is produce. No idea how, but he does.

Maybe you answered your own question in there with the 'No idea how.' Maybe that leads people into not trusting his production and the continuation of that production.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Maybe you answered your own question in there with the 'No idea how.' Maybe that leads people into not trusting his production and the continuation of that production.

That's definitely a possibility but Milone has been consistent enough for long enough that he's probably destined to have a nice little career at the back of a rotation. He throws with the correct hand to get away with being a "moxy" pitcher and not a "stuff" pitcher.

[jimmer]

We have a lot of back rotation pitchers.

[Brock Beauchamp]

We have a lot of back rotation pitchers.

Unfortunately, yes... But I'm loathe to discard a useful piece, especially a pitcher, and receive nothing in return.

 

I suspect that when all is said and done with the 2016 season, all the guys we want to see in the rotation will get several turns through it. The baseball season is tough on starters.

[jimmer]

 

Unfortunately, yes... But I'm loathe to discard a useful piece, especially a pitcher, and receive nothing in return.

I suspect that when all is said and done with the 2016 season, all the guys we want to see in the rotation will get several turns through it. The baseball season is tough on starters.

That's my issue with always using the line, he's a decent back of rotation pitcher.  A team should only be allowed to use that excuse for keeping a pitcher in the rotation twice a year :-)

 

It's right up there with he's okay as a 9 spot hitter.  Remember how long we said that for awhile? Problem is, only one guy can start in the 9 spot per game :-)