Fangraphs (and other national publications) on the Twins

[70charger]

I think he might have spelled Hughes wrong, but it's six of one, really.

 

Edit: either way, Mejía hasn't pitched himself out, and even if he were marginally worse, he's the longer-term piece with at least as much upside as the others.

[crapforks]

 

I think he spelled Gibson wrong.

I think everyone spelled Hughes wrong. 

[drjim]

http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/78866/how-did-twins-fix-pitching-without-changing-rotation

 

ESPNs Mark Simon on early pitching success.

 

First two parts are on new catchers and better defense, which have been covered well, but last part of article has some good nuggets.

 

Big takeaway is Twins are #1 team in pitches to inner third and off the corner, and #6 to top of zone. Will be interesting to see if a new strategy and execution can improve performance long term.

[Vanimal46]

Not Twins-related, but a fascinating read on Fangraphs nonetheless. 

"The New Generation of Ballparks is Pushing Us Away"

[drjim]

 

Not Twins-related, but a fascinating read on Fangraphs nonetheless. 

"The New Generation of Ballparks is Pushing Us Away"

 

I'm not surprised teams are emphasizing club seats and suites.

 

He doesn't mention it, but Target Field definitely benefitted from a land constraint in the construction. Doesn't seem to suffer quite as much from the same problems he cites in other stadiums.

[Willihammer]

I wonder if we can't have our cake and eat it too. There are some pretty crazy cantilevered structures out there- the Guthrie for example.

[Vanimal46]

There's a lot to like about Target Field. Land constraint, location, mass transit all around.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

He doesn't mention it, but Target Field definitely benefitted from a land constraint in the construction. Doesn't seem to suffer quite as much from the same problems he cites in other stadiums.

While reading the article, I was thinking the same thing. Target Field doesn't feel cramped but it feels much smaller than many other parks I've visited, which leads me to believe it's a bit more vertical in design.

[Mike Sixel]

It was a great article, but I doubt he EVER sat behind a pillar....the comments are very good, even mine....

[Otto von Ballpark]

If you visit the source of those cross-sections:

 

http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/Stadium_profiles.html

 

You can compare Target Field.  Doesn't look like it compares too favorably with the examples from the article.

 

Fortunately, migrating down from the upper deck is eminently feasible these days.

[Mike Sixel]

well, as he says, if he's writing this article, starting with Buxton makes sense:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/help-evaluate-some-of-the-games-worst-hitters/

 

[Mike Sixel]

Doziet: Does Dozier still hit 30 hr in 2017?

 

9:30
Paul Swydan: I’ll say no.
9:31
Jeff Zimmerman: No, probably not. I could still see 25

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Doziet: Does Dozier still hit 30 hr in 2017?

 

9:30
Paul Swydan: I’ll say no.
9:31
Jeff Zimmerman: No, probably not. I could still see 25

Boy, that's a tough call. I need more time to see how Dozier does after the weather warms and whether he reverts to a flyball happy pull hitter. Because, at that point, all bets are off. He's the type of guy who enters a month with 5 homers and leaves with 15.

 

So...

 

[Mike Sixel]

Buxton is the only one he really talks about....

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/your-thoughts-on-some-of-the-best-and-worst-hitters/

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

Turley!

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-fringe-five-baseballs-most-compelling-fringe-prospects-85/

 

[Thrylos]

 

Turley!

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-fringe-five-baseballs-most-compelling-fringe-prospects-85/

 

He is 27.  Not. A. Prospect.  .172 BABIP, 91.7% LOB, and 0% HR/FB, drive the rest of this numbers

[Mike Sixel]

 

He is 27.  Not. A. Prospect.  .172 BABIP, 91.7% LOB, and 0% HR/FB, drive the rest of this numbers

 

Uh, he says that in the damn article. And, this is a thread to share Twins' stories across the internet, so that people don't have to search. You know, trying to be nice and polite and not necessarily try to prove I'm smarter by not offering my opinion when I post, unlike I do on other threads. 

[Mike Sixel]

Ruben Quevedo
9:36 Will Berrios be at least a passable starter this year when he gets called up?

 

Jeff Sullivan
9:36 Passable, sure

[bluechipper]

Ruben Quevedo

9:36 Will Berrios be at least a passable starter this year when he gets called up?

 

 

Jeff Sullivan

9:36 Passable, sure

What a difference a year can make in our expectations. I would be offended with this question and answer a year ago, but now his answer seems more on the optimistic side.

[Mike Sixel]

Jumbotron
10:27 You said earlier (way earlier, I'm late to the party) that Berrios would be passable. What do you think that looks like?

 

Jeff Sullivan
10:28 I cannot reconcile Triple-A Berrios with MLB Berrios. Triple-A Berrios throws lots of strikes and misses lots of bats. I assume that quality has to come out. Something was wrong, whether it was confidence or pitch-tipping, and I think Berrios will get over whatever it was

[GP830]

I once texted my Dad years ago that a Twins player had been "DFA'd." Unbeknownst to me, it had been auto-corrected to "DEAD." My Dad obviously reacted differently than I expected him to, which caused some confusion for a few moments. Ever since, whenever a player is DFA'd, I text him and say the player's name, then "RIP." 

 

 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

I once texted my Dad years ago that a Twins player had been "DFA'd." Unbeknownst to me, it had been auto-corrected to "DEAD." My Dad obviously reacted differently than I expected him to, which caused some confusion for a few moments. Ever since, whenever a player is DFA'd, I text him and say the player's name, then "RIP." 

 

Me thinks you might have a few RIP texts coming up soon. 

[ashbury]

I once texted my Dad years ago that a Twins player had been "DFA'd." Unbeknownst to me, it had been auto-corrected to "DEAD." My Dad obviously reacted differently than I expected him to, which caused some confusion for a few moments. Ever since, whenever a player is DFA'd, I text him and say the player's name, then "RIP." 

Me thinks you might have a few RIP texts coming up soon. 

At least it's a better situation than a few years ago when guys like Albers were DOA.

[AlwaysinModeration]

14 starts in the majors is an "extremely small sample size", and 17 in AAA is not?

Most players seem to have whole years that are outliers from their career norms. I'd personally bank in Berrios being closer to the pitcher he has been throughout his minors career than the one he was for less than half a year in the majors.

 

Hopefully it starts on Saturday.

[Otto von Ballpark]

MLB's best catches for April, by Statcast. A Twins outfielder had the best catch!  But not the Twins outfielder you would expect:

 

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/227057590/aprils-best-statcast-catch-probability-catches/

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

MLB's best catches for April, by Statcast. A Twins outfielder had the best catch!  But not the Twins outfielder you would expect:

 

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/227057590/aprils-best-statcast-catch-probability-catches/

Interesting to see the former player back up the difficulty of that catch. I remember that play and thought it was a nice catch but nothing extraordinary. Only after watching it a few times did I begin to see just how hard that catch was for Max.

[Whammy]

ESPN Power Rankings (not that we should REALLY care)

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/page/powerrankings_2017week4/ranking-mlb-teams-week-4-season

 

Last week: 20th

 

This Week: 23rd

 

I guess going 4-1 on the road means a 3 spot drop.

[Vanimal46]

 

ESPN Power Rankings (not that we should REALLY care)

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/page/powerrankings_2017week4/ranking-mlb-teams-week-4-season

 

Last week: 20th

 

This Week: 23rd

 

I guess going 4-1 on the road means a 3 spot drop.

 

If it makes you feel better, the Twins are #16 on The Ringer's power rankings! 

 

Much like the Common Man on KFAN, they are the best of the lousiest.... and the lousiest of the best! 

[Whammy]

 

If it makes you feel better, the Twins are #16 on The Ringer's power rankings! 

 

Much like the Common Man on KFAN, they are the best of the lousiest.... and the lousiest of the best! 

 

But with the youth on this team, we've only just hit the beginning of the beginning of the end.

[Han Joelo]

Neither ranking mentions Sano at all.  Minnesota aside, shouldn't baseball writers maybe be talking up this guy?  Ah well.  Not something to get worked up over.