Bright spots

[adorduan]

One my areas of concern coming into the season was the defensive play of the left side of the infield.  So far they have far exceeded my expectations.  I'm glad to be wrong so far.  

[S.]

-Sano (both offensively and defensively)

-Polanco (both offensively and defensively)

-Ervin Santana's steadily increasing trade value

 

Probably my top 3 bright spots so far this season.

[drjim]

They are about to be .500 through the first 20 games. That's a nice change from last year.

[TheLeviathan]

-Sano (both offensively and defensively)

-Polanco (both offensively and defensively)

-Ervin Santana's steadily increasing trade value

 

Probably my top 3 bright spots so far this season.

Pretty much nailed it. Kepler and Castro probably take the next two spots for me.

[yarnivek1972]

Pretty much nailed it. Kepler and Castro probably take the next two spots for me.

What exactly is the "bright spot" for Castro? His .212 batting average or plays like his two run passed ball on Sunday? Just curious.

[USAFChief]

 

What exactly is the "bright spot" for Castro? His .212 batting average or plays like his two run passed ball on Sunday? Just curious.

maybe the .713 OPS (106 OPS+ from a catcher) and obviously better play behind the plate?

 

Just spitballin' here.

 

Maybe it's just me but there's a visible improvement in the catching so far this year.

[Old Twins Cap]

How about Castro throwing out two guys tonight on balls in the dirt?

 

And if that means little to you, I ask you to review the last two years and how often opposing baserunners took extra bases on passed balls, wild pitches and balls in the dirt.

 

Small potatoes until it's a close game.  And then the Twins lose because, extra base.

[Dozier's Glorious Hair]

 

What exactly is the "bright spot" for Castro? His .212 batting average or plays like his two run passed ball on Sunday? Just curious.

 

Team ERA has gone from 5.08 in 2016 to 3.51 in 2017. I'm willing to give Castro a slice of the "credit pie" for that.

[Dozier's Glorious Hair]

Some other bright spots:

 

-Robbie Grossman and .448 OBP. He's been proving the naysayers wrong, at least so far.

 

-He hasn't gotten hot yet, but I like that Dozier seems to be doing a better job of hitting the ball to all parts of the field. He's no longer pulling EVERYTHING.

 

-Of all the young players, Kepler was the one I was most worried about regressing in 2017 (he cooled off considerably after that monster series in CLE.) Thus far, he's been very solid.

 

-Oh, and Kintzler hasn't turned into Kevin Jepsen (yet). That's certainly good. 

[Twodogs]

As far as bright spots for the last couple of days,  Buxton and Rosario look to be coming out of their slumps??  Not to mention Vargas looks good over the last two games also.  But what does that do with Grossman??

[Twodogs]

 

Some other bright spots:

 

-Robbie Grossman and .448 OBP. He's been proving the naysayers wrong, at least so far.

 

-He hasn't gotten hot yet, but I like that Dozier seems to be doing a better job of hitting the ball to all parts of the field. He's no longer pulling EVERYTHING.

 

-Of all the young players, Kepler was the one I was most worried about regressing in 2017 (he cooled off considerably after that monster series in CLE.) Thus far, he's been very solid.

 

-Oh, and Kintzler hasn't turned into Kevin Jepsen (yet). That's certainly good. 

You know Kepler had me a little worried the first week of the year, he kind of started off slow.  But I noticed that most of the time he was hitting into outs unlike Buxton and Rosario who have been whiffing constantly.  So I figured that Kepler would eventually get hot as long as he kept on making contact.  

[yarnivek1972]

As far as bright spots for the last couple of days, Buxton and Rosario look to be coming out of their slumps?? Not to mention Vargas looks good over the last two games also. But what does that do with Grossman??

If Molitor gives Mauer playing time ahead of Grossman, especially vs lhp, he deserves whatever fallout results from it.

 

Edit: Sheesh what a flub up that was.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Maybe it's just me but there's a visible improvement in the catching so far this year.

It's not you. Even when I'm casually watching the game, I notice how smooth both Castro and Gimenez look behind the plate. Under more critical examination, they look even better.

 

And those guys aren't on the roster to hit. As long as they're not embarrassing themselves with the bat, they're a big addition to the team.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Also, Sano's arm is really fun to watch. That guy is so ridiculously strong. I wonder what his fastball speed would be from the mound.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

-He hasn't gotten hot yet, but I like that Dozier seems to be doing a better job of hitting the ball to all parts of the field. He's no longer pulling EVERYTHING.

I don't care if Dozier pulls everything as long as he's hitting. But, yeah, a slightly more rounded approach probably won't hurt.

 

Dozier, despite appearing to scuffle, is having an okay season for himself. It makes me wonder what he's going to look like when the nearly inevitable hot streak kicks in. When Dozier scuffles, he usually posts a .600 or .650 OPS with tons of pop flies and a .200 BABIP. He's not doing that this season.

[yarnivek1972]

It's not you. Even when I'm casually watching the game, I notice how smooth both Castro and Gimenez look behind the plate. Under more critical examination, they look even better.

 

And those guys aren't on the roster to hit. As long as they're not embarrassing themselves with the bat, they're a big addition to the team.

Right up until the point one of them drops strike 3 on what would have been out 3 and allowed TWO runs to score.

[Willihammer]

Yesterday on the radio Provus said a composite of outfielder throws using statcast data determined the Twins have the best outfield trio in Rosario - Buxton - Kepler by a combination of velocity and accuracy. I thought that was cool.

 

He also said Buxton was number 2 in outfield SPEED (to Hamilton) but Kepler was #8 as well IIRC.

[USAFChief]

Right up until the point one of them drops strike 3 on what would have been out 3 and allowed TWO runs to score.

Yeah, that prolly outweighs all that other stuff.

[lukeduke1980]

A bright spot to me so far seems to be team health (knock on wood!!)

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Right up until the point one of them drops strike 3 on what would have been out 3 and allowed TWO runs to score.

Everyone makes mistakes and errors. But their stellar play in the day in, day out balls/strikes greatly outweighs the occasional screw up.

 

One thing that has shocked the hell out of me is their caught stealing this season. Castro has openly admitted that caught stealing is a weakness of his play, as framing and setting up for a throw to second are at odds with one another.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Right up until the point one of them drops strike 3 on what would have been out 3 and allowed TWO runs to score.

 

Thread about bright spots......

 

Polanco for me is the brightest, his defense has been what some of us thought it was, despite what we were constantly told. 

[Platoon]

As far as bright spots for the last couple of days,  Buxton and Rosario look to be coming out of their slumps??  Not to mention Vargas looks good over the last two games also.  But what does that do with Grossman??

What to do with Grosman? Since it would seem sensible IMHO to give Vargas some time at 1B you could DH RG as long as he continues to overachieve, which I don't see happening. I would much rather see Vargas play 1B than Robbie play RF. Of course all of this is somewhat a moot point, since Mauer will not sit often, or seemingly at all. Those Cretin boys stick together. As for the OF, it's so much better than anything they have put out there in years. How much better will be determined by how often Molitor feels the need to "rest" on of the regulars.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

What to do with Grosman? Since it would seem sensible IMHO to give Vargas some time at 1B you could DH RG as long as he continues to overachieve, which I don't see happening. I would much rather see Vargas play 1B than Robbie play RF. Of course all of this is somewhat a moot point, since Mauer will not sit often, or seemingly at all. Those Cretin boys stick together. As for the OF, it's so much better than anything they have put out there in years. How much better will be determined by how often Molitor feels the need to "rest" on of the regulars.

Between Mauer sucking against LHP and Grossman mashing the ball, I think there's plenty of room to squeeze Robbie into almost every game, most coming at DH with a few coming at a corner outfield spot.

 

OPS against LHP:

Grossman: .857

Rosario: .467

Kepler: .516

 

Yeah, you take a hit defensively but you gain 300-400 OPS points in the process.

[yarnivek1972]

Everyone makes mistakes and errors. But their stellar play in the day in, day out balls/strikes greatly outweighs the occasional screw up.

 

One thing that has shocked the hell out of me is their caught stealing this season. Castro has openly admitted that caught stealing is a weakness of his play, as framing and setting up for a throw to second are at odds with one another.

I was thinking about that. Statisticslly, his CS % coming into this season was barely better than Suzuki's. Clearly he has a better arm. Two guys got thrown out trying to advance on balls in the dirt in this series so far. The Rangers used to play Houston a lot in interleague and now they are in the same division. Clearly they have something that says Castro doesn't block pitches well, so go for it on a ball in the dirt. So, I'm thinking if the ball doesn't get away far, but a baserunner beats the throw, chances are he gets credit for a stolen base. So, I'm wondering if that contributes to a low CS %.

[USAFChief]

Between Mauer sucking against LHP and Grossman mashing the ball, I think there's plenty of room to squeeze Robbie into almost every game, most coming at DH with a few coming at a corner outfield spot.

 

OPS against LHP:

Grossman: .857

Rosario: .467

Kepler: .516

 

Yeah, you take a hit defensively but you gain 300-400 OPS points in the process.

IMO that's where he should be getting the majority of his ABs, corner OF.

 

Actually, they should have found and signed (or traded for) a lefty masher for the spot, but since they didn't, there you are.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I was thinking about that. Statisticslly, his CS % coming into this season was barely better than Suzuki's. Clearly he has a better arm. Two guys got thrown out trying to advance on balls in the dirt in this series so far. The Rangers used to play Houston a lot in interleague and now they are in the same division. Clearly they have something that says Castro doesn't block pitches well, so go for it on a ball in the dirt. So, I'm thinking if the ball doesn't get away far, but a baserunner beats the throw, chances are he gets credit for a stolen base. So, I'm wondering if that contributes to a low CS %.

I suspect it does, as Castro doesn't appear to be great at digging balls out of the dirt.

 

The framing thing definitely plays a part as well, as Castro has said that you basically decide to frame a pitch or you prepare for a throw to second. You can't do both.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

IMO that's where he should be getting the majority of his ABs, corner OF.

Actually, they should have found and signed (or traded for) a lefty masher for the spot, but since they didn't, there you are.

I'm hesitant to say he should get most of his plate appearances in a corner outfield spot but I won't rule it out, either. I need to see Grossman in the field more to see if 2016 was a fluke or if he's just that bad in the outfield.

[Mike Sixel]

I'd like to see Grossman at DH against about half the RHPs, with Mauer at DH against the other half. I'd like to see Vargas at 1B and PH. I'd like Grossman to play the OF every time they face a lefty, with the other OF taking turns having the day off. It's not like Grossman is old. Vargas should start at 1B against every lefty, imo.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I'd like to see Grossman at DH against about half the RHPs, with Mauer at DH against the other half. I'd like to see Vargas at 1B and PH. I'd like Grossman to play the OF every time they face a lefty, with the other OF taking turns having the day off. It's not like Grossman is old. Vargas should start at 1B against every lefty, imo.

This is kind of where I lean but what do you do at DH in that situation?

 

I'm thinking Escobar at third and Sano at DH. Eddie needs playing time and he's decent against LHP. It also gives Sano a breather on occasion. He can't play 162 games.

[Mike Sixel]

 

This is kind of where I lean but what do you do at DH in that situation?

 

I'm thinking Escobar at third and Sano at DH. Eddie needs playing time and he's decent against LHP. It also gives Sano a breather on occasion. He can't play 162 games.

 

Agreed. I'd see Sano at DH like, 15-20 times, and resting 5-8 games (assuming health).