Article: Week in Review: Baby Steps

[Nick Nelson]

It was a week that saw more low points, including a couple of painful home losses to the Blue Jays and an even more painful walk-off loss to the White Sox. But the Twins finished with three straight wins and finally seem to be back on track.

 

Oh, and after all that turmoil, they're still only two games out of first place in the division.

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 4/30 through Sun, 5/6

***

Record Last Week: 4-3 (Overall: 13-17)

Run Differential Last Week: +6 (Overall: -28)

Standing: 2nd Place in AL Central (2.0 GB)

Programming note: I co-hosted the Gleeman & The Geek podcast with Aaron this week while our guy John was out of town. Give it a listen if you so please! We discussed many of the topics you'll read about here.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

It's safe to say Eduardo Escobar wasn't feeling any sense of joy upon learning in March that his friend and teammate Jorge Polanco had tested positive for PEDs and been hit with an 80-game suspension.

 

But there's no denying the situation stood to directly benefit Escobar, who was slated for sporadic utilityman duty before Polanco's ban. Instead, the 29-year-old has been a staple in the lineup, and is taking advantage of his opportunity while looking ahead to his first date with free agency.

 

Escobar was the everyday shortstop for most of April, but has shifted to third lately with Miguel Sano on the disabled list. Regardless of his placement in the field, Escobar's bat has consistently delivered; he posted a .926 OPS in April and is off to a red-hot start in May, where he's 8-for-23 with two home runs and four doubles in his first six games. Both those homers came on Friday night, when he carried the Twins offense with a magnificent performance.

 

 

He'll be an interesting free agent case. Surely Minnesota would like to keep him around, with his clubhouse popularity only adding to the tremendous value he's providing on the field, but if he keeps up at this rate Escobar will move out of a price range that makes any sense for the Twins and their long-term plans. Unless they choose to do something like trade Sano...

 

Speaking of long-term plans, a big part of Minnesota's blueprint for building a contending rotation was set into motion last week: Fernando Romero made his triumphant MLB debut on Wednesday. It was a hell of an introduction.

 

Facing a potent Toronto lineup, the 23-year-old steered his team clear of a sweep by shutting the Jays down over 5 2/3 frames. He allowed four hits and three walks while striking out five, unleashing a barrage of tailing fastballs in the upper-90s and physics-defying 92 MPH "changeups."

 

 

The arsenal is good enough for Romero to be an enduring force in the Twins rotation. His ability to maintain command and physical stamina are the only question marks. The righty hasn't yet thrown more than 125 innings in a pro season.

 

Romero's arrival provides a critical boost for a club that seems to have several laggards turning around.

 

Logan Morrison finished April with a .503 OPS but is finally pulling it together here in May, where he is 7-for-23 with two homers through six games. His two-run double on Sunday was decisive.

 

Trevor Hildenberger, alarmingly out of whack early, was on his game this week, making three scoreless appearances and hammering the strike zone with quality pitches. Taylor Rogers, another key bullpen piece from 2017 mired in an early slump this year, was at his best on Thursday, recording five outs on 17 pitches with three Ks. Zach Duke pitched four times and looked much better, lowering his ERA from 5.19 to 3.86. Fernando Rodney tossed four scoreless frames and converted two saves without incident. With Ryan Pressly continuing to be remarkably effective, things are looking up for the Twins relief corps.

 

Last but absolutely NOT least, we have to call out Eddie Rosario, whose scorching bat powered the Minnesota offense over the past week. Playing in all seven games, Rosario went 13-for-30 (.433) with four home runs and 12 RBI.

 

Plate discipline is negligible, but it doesn't matter. He's in his zone again, crushing anything that strikes his fancy.

 

LOWLIGHTS

 

Even if you were down on Lance Lynn this offseason – and clearly most teams were, since he had to settle for a one-year contract in March – I don't think anyone could have foreseen the tumult he'd experience throughout the month of April.

 

 

Monday brought us another brutal start from the right-hander, who was again completely unable to find the strike zone in a game where he yielded five walks and six runs over five innings.

 

Punctuating his first month with that clunker, Lynn finished April with an 0-3 record and 8.37 ERA. Luckily, May is off to a better start for the veteran, who delivered his finest work of the season in Chicago on Saturday night with six innings of two-run ball and seven strikeouts.

 

Most importantly, he issued zero walks and threw 73% strikes. Hopefully this is a sign that Lynn is turning a corner with his control. The stuff has been there; his 11.6% whiff rate trails Kyle Gibson only slightly for the team lead among starters, and would've led the rotation last year.

 

Brian Dozier carried a slump into the week and it continued to snowball, as the leadoff man went 0-for-15 in Minnesota's first four games. Following a hitless showing in the series opener against Chicago, Paul Molitor slid Dozier down to second in the lineup, and the second baseman responded with a three-hit breakout that included his first home run in a month.

 

With Joe Mauer swapping into the leadoff spot, and continuing to get on base at a stellar rate (he reached four times on Saturday), this looks like a switch that could and should stick.

 

While it was nice to see some players get it going on the field over the past week, we continue to receive unpromising signals regarding injured players and their timelines.

 

The Twins placed Jason Castro on the disabled list with a "slight" right knee meniscus tear, which is "not considered serious." Those quotations represent the language team officials are choosing to use, in what has become a characteristic downplay of injury severity.

 

Kinda hard to accept a meniscus tear for a catcher as anything less than serious, especially considering that Castro had evidently been dealing with soreness for weeks.

 

In a sense, this doesn't look like a huge loss, given that Castro was hitting just .143 with a .495 OPS (maybe the knee issue helps explain that) but he's an asset defensively and there is undoubtedly a big drop-off to Bobby Wilson, the 35-year-old journeyman called up to replace him.

 

To make room on the 40-man for Wilson, Ervin Santana was moved to the 60-day disabled list, thus assuring he won't make it back before the end of May. This was already ordained, given that Erv still isn't even throwing sliders off the mound and still appears weeks away from starting a rehab assignment. But the team's original 10-to-12 week timeframe, which would have put him on the mound May 1st at the latest, is obviously out the window.

 

Meanwhile, Dick Bremer said during Sunday's broadcast that there is "no imminent return in sight" for Sano, whose supposedly minor hamstring tweak continues to become a greater source of mystery.

 

Byron Buxton has done some light running on the field and taken batting practice. He might return soon, but it's hard to imagine his dynamic play not being diminished by a broken toe. Putting him in position to exacerbate that injury would be unforgivable.

 

TRENDING STORYLINE

 

So uhhh... what's going on with Sano? As far as I can tell, no one seems to know when he hurt his hamstring. What was initially deemed a "day to day injury" now has him on the shelf indefinitely. Before he got hurt, he frankly looked terrible at the plate, flailing away with no sense of discernment.

 

It's beyond frustrating to see a generational talent and core fixture languishing in this way. The days of Sano being a 24-year-old All-Star, and Home Run Derby runner-up, suddenly seem so distant. Can he return and redeem himself? Technically, he's eligible to return on Tuesday.

 

DOWN ON THE FARM

 

Although things have been less than peachy with the big-league club, developments in the Twins system are resoundingly positive. Each of Twins Daily's top three prospects had huge weeks, so we'll start there:

 

* Royce Lewis continues to show the qualities of a rising superstar. He still doesn't turn 19 for another month but is quickly starting to look too advanced for the Midwest League. After going 6-for-18 this week, he's now slashing .356/.405/.411 at Cedar Rapids. Since breaking out with a four-hit game against Kane County on April 21st, Lewis is batting .435 with a .458 OBP and seven steals on eight attempts.

 

Presumably the Twins won't rush their prized young talent, but it's getting hard to imagine him lasting more than another month or two in the Midwest before being bumped to Ft. Myers. Plan your trips to Iowa accordingly.

 

* Last week in this space I mentioned that Stephen Gonsalves was promoted to Triple A. He made his first start for Rochester on Tuesday and was absolutely brilliant, firing 7 2/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit ball while striking out five and walking one. Then he followed with 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball on Sunday, striking out nine and walking one. His ERA sits at 0.63.

 

With No. 2 prospect Romero already in the Twins rotation and looking to establish himself as a fixture, Gonsalves may not be far behind.

 

* Our No. 11 prospect, Zack Littell, also made his Triple-A debut this week, replacing Romero in the Red Wings rotation. He took the hill on Saturday against Lehigh Valley, and also arrived on the scene with a gem, logging six shutout innings. Littell did issue four walks, and threw only 58% of his pitches for strikes, so it wasn't all rainbows, but he's emerging as an additional quality piece of MLB-ready pitching depth.

 

* Yet another top pitching prospect acclimating to a new level of competition: Brusdar Graterol enjoyed an exquisite second start with the Kernels on Friday, blanking West Michigan over five innings while reportedly touching 100 MPH multiple times with his fastball. He also flashed his outstanding athleticism with this impressive play:

 

 

LOOKING AHEAD

 

It's going to be an interesting week. The Twins first head to St. Louis for a quick interleague series – "Welcome to the big leagues, Romero! Now grab a bat" – then out west for a four-game set against the Angels. Like that ill-fated four-gamer in the Bronx, this matchup will pit the Twins against a team they figure to be potentially racing against for a wild-card berth It's an opportunity to show they can stack up against the league's top-tier squads.

 

We'll see Shohei Ohtani on the mound Saturday, and I'm guessing we'll probably see him at the plate sometime as well.

 

MONDAY, 5/7: TWINS @ CARDINALS – RHP Fernando Romero v. RHP John Gant

TUESDAY, 5/8: TWINS @ CARDINALS – RHP Jake Odorizzi v. RHP Carlos Martinez

THURSDAY, 5/10: TWINS @ ANGELS – RHP Jose Berrios v. RHP Garrett Richards

FRIDAY, 5/11: TWINS @ ANGELS – RHP Lance Lynn v. LHP Tyler Skaggs

SATURDAY, 5/12: TWINS @ ANGELS – RHP Kyle Gibson v. RHP Shohei Ohtani

SUNDAY, 5/13: TWINS @ ANGELS – RHP Fernando Romero v. LHP Andrew Heaney

 

Catch Up On Twins Daily Game Recaps

• Game 24 | TOR 7, MIN 5: Twins Can't Recover From Another Poor Start by Lynn
• Game 25 | TOR 7, MIN 4: WHAT IS HAPPENING!?!?!?
• Game 26 | MIN 4, TOR 0: Fernandomania!
• Game 27 | CHW 6, MIN 5: Twins Blow 5-1 Lead
• Game 28 | MIN 6, CHW 4: Twins Slug Four Homers in Victory
• Game 29 | MIN 8, CHW 4: Rosario Drives in Five
• Game 30 | MIN 5, CHW 3: Rosario Lifts Twins to Third Straight Victory

 

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[USAFChief]

Kind of a big week, IMO. A 4-3 week sort of mildly righted the ship. I know it’s early, but a bad week here, giving back the small gain from this weekend, might be nearly fatal.

 

Keep this together and hope Buxton and Castro are back soon, and whatever is going on with Sano resolves itself quickly. Part of the problem is the quality of reserves available. We need regulars on the field as much as possible.

[mikelink45]

Romero should be the first of many call ups.  I still think Gonsalves should be here, but more than ever, the summary shows Escobar at 3B and we have a real need for a SS that can hit - why is Gordon not here?  

 

I fear the Sano ship is full of holes and may never sail the way we all dreamed.  For some reason, his diminishing stats (except for weight) and his refusal to address his Ks, plus his time on the DL have me thinking that the Twins should be serious about finding a 3B unless they plan to resign Escobar and play him there.

 

Right now LaMarre and Grossman do not represent the kind of bench we need.  Adrianza is fine as a fill in, but not as a regular.  

[slash129]

Definitely not getting excited about winning a series against Chicago ... Winning more than 1-2 games against the Cardinals and Angels collectively would be an actual step.

[Blackjack]

Nice review Nick!!! Thanks!!!

 

[Blackjack]

Should be an interesting week, six games against two division leading teams!!! I'll settle for 3-3.

 

 

I hate those late West coast games!!!

[Han Joelo]

Thanks for sharing those clips, especially of Graterol.  Amazing play all around, starting with a nasty pitch and ending with a throw from his knees that could have put the first baseman in the dugout.

 

Watching the box scores, it feels like its been forever since I've seen Royce with an XBH.  Is it just me?  Should I even care?

[Brock Beauchamp]

It seems to me that Lynn might be a good argument why you don't hold out through part of Spring Training to sign a contract, especially if you're around 30 and have another legit shot at a free agent contract.

 

Come the first week of February, you take the best deal that's on the table and get your butt on the field. If Lynn manages to pitch to his ability for the rest of the season, this one truly awful month is going to make his overall line look pretty pedestrian.

 

And that means millions of dollars left on the table next year when he tries to convince a team he's worth a 3-4 year contract.

[bobs]

Beating the White Sox three times certainly does not mean issues are gone, but given the fact that they are playing without Buxton, Sano, Castro and Erv, expectations need to be tempered and we better take any win we can get.  

[Rosterman]

Not to bash Sano, as he could have continued value as the designated hitter of the future, but with the way Escobar is batting and handling third, CAN HE BE the guy until someone materializes in the minors. Who would've thunk that he had the power to be a force for the Twins. And speaking of power, we look at Eddie Rosario and shake out heads. Out of the three outfielders, Eddie is probably #3 in terms of offering a longterm lucrative contract, behind Buxton (who needs to break out) and Kepler (one of the ahrdest workers in baseballa).

 

For any number of players, it is always "how much" is the contract, and "how many" years the team is willing to gamble. Be interesting to see if we think Escobar can be a third bsaeman for another season or two...or allow him to walk.

 

Dozier is entering HIS free agent season and needs to shine. But if he's not handling leadoff, and just knocking himself in with home runs...do we need to give him five at bats to hit .240.

 

The lovefest on Grossman continues. I wonder what we would be doing if Granite wasn't disabled down in Rochester....missed opportunity for Zack. LaMarre on the bench? Of course, the second coming of Jason Tyner is wondering what will happen when Buxton returns.

 

I am curious to see the battle between Adrianza and Petit heat up.

 

Mitch Garver....c'mon down and make the most of your opportunity! Just don't get hurt!

[Nick Nelson]

 

Watching the box scores, it feels like its been forever since I've seen Royce with an XBH.  Is it just me?  Should I even care?

It's not just you -- 24 of his 26 hits have been singles. But I wouldn't be concerned. He's so young. The strength and power will come.

[DocBauer]

Great write up! Thanks!

 

Whiffing or not, this team misses both Sano and Buxton. Probably Buxton more at this point. But I'm encouraged by the last 3 games even if it was Chicago. It was on the road and we blew the Reds series at home.