Rotation

[John Kelsey]

I'm filing this under "good problems to have" but how will this rotation look when Santana and May get healthy?

 

Berrios

Romero

Gibson

Odorizzi

Lynn

Santana

May

 

May is the obvious guy to push the bullpen but I really like him better as a starter. 

 

I think Lynn starts pitching better here and will be tough to bump out of the rotation. 

 

There will always be injuries but it will be interesting to see how Molly handles this moving forward. 

[laloesch]

I think this is a really good problem to have no doubt and I would even venture to add Gonsalves and Littell as future callups.  At this point the Twins would be crazy to send Romero down when Santana is back in the mix so it then becomes a matter of whose better, Odorizzi, Lynn or Gibson.

[gunnarthor]

Barring injuries, Odorizzi, Gibson and Berrios are locks to remain in the rotation. Romero is too unless he falls apart. When Santana comes back, he'll get his spot back. So Lynn would be the odd man out if there are no injuries/demotions for bad play.

 

May hasn't really proven much and I'm curious on what his status is in the locker room after this offseason. I imagine he'll go to AAA after he's healthy to work on starting. 

[howieramone2]

May has pitched all of 45 innings the past 2 years. Prior to having TJ, he was on the DL four times in little over a season. His claim to fame is, his last 3 or 4 starts were his best, before he was replaced in the rotation, when Santana came back from his suspension.

 

I believe he's fighting to save his career.

[John Kelsey]

 

I think this is a really good problem to have no doubt and I would even venture to add Gonsalves and Littell as future callups.  At this point the Twins would be crazy to send Romero down when Santana is back in the mix so it then becomes a matter of whose better, Odorizzi, Lynn or Gibson.

 

Not really sold on Littell yet but I think Gonsalves is very close to being ready also. 

[wsnydes]

Good problem to have indeed, but I'll wait to sort it out when I need to.  A lot of things can happen between now and that point.  Injuries have a way of making decision making easier.  

 

Secondly, May and Santana have to actually make it back.  

 

I know, I'm no fun. 

[howieramone2]

 

Not really sold on Littell yet but I think Gonsalves is very close to being ready also. 

In a recent interview, Gonsalves said his curve ball is the only thing holding him back. He is throwing it 20% of the time. He credited Duke and Gibson with helping him work on it in ST.

[jun]

I don't understand why people still think May should be a starter. He hasn't had much success being a starter. I would be happy if he can become a reliable bullpen arm.

[jun]

Romero, Santana, Berrios, Gibson and Odorizzi.

 

Lynn could be the long reliever when Santana comes back. May could be a bullpen arm. Hughes might be the odd man out since he is not effective anymore.

[laloesch]

 

In a recent interview, Gonsalves said his curve ball is the only thing holding him back. He is throwing it 20% of the time. He credited Duke and Gibson with helping him work on it in ST.

 

That is really encouraging.  A solid curve will make him that much more dynamic as a starter.

[cmoss84]

Do we go to a 6 man rotation?

 

Saves innings on Romero and, to a lesser extent, Berrios. Keeps Santana fresh. I don't see any of the 6 being knocked out. Like mentioned above-good problem to have, and injuries happen every year. 

[John Kelsey]

 

I don't understand why people still think May should be a starter. He hasn't had much success being a starter. I would be happy if he can become a reliable bullpen arm.

 

1. He was a better starter in 2015 than he was a reliever in 2016. 

2. Starters are more valuable 

3. He mentioned that his body didn't respond well to pitching nearly every day as a reliever and may have led to his back problems. 

[gunnarthor]

 

I don't understand why people still think May should be a starter. He hasn't had much success being a starter. I would be happy if he can become a reliable bullpen arm.

The general worry was 1) he was a decent starter in the minors and probably deserves more rope and 2) his back broke down from pitching more often as a reliever. 

 

Those aren't crazy thoughts. From age 21-24, May was throwing 150+ innings in the minors and he looked like a future workhorse back-end starter. A more durable Scott Baker if everything broke right but someone who might be able to throw 30 stars with a ERA+ in the 100ish range was something you could imagine. He came up in 2014 and was destroyed. He looked horrible in 9 ML starts. The next year, he made 15 starts (80 innings) and in June it really looked like he had turned a corner but for one horrific start. But they moved him to the pen. He was pretty good there and a big part of our near-playoff push.

 

The next year he was in the pen full time but struggled (as did everyone on the Twins). He struck out a ton of guys but other than that, he wasn't good. He had two long DL trips and was sore several times. Molly ran him into the dirt and he wore down as the season went on. (Another reason Molly should have been fired). 

So last year the Twins said he'd get a shot to start and he promptly needed TJ surgery. So now he's 28 years old, on the 60 day DL and not quite sure what role he'll play going forward.

[Battle ur tail off]

 

Do we go to a 6 man rotation?

 

Saves innings on Romero and, to a lesser extent, Berrios. Keeps Santana fresh. I don't see any of the 6 being knocked out. Like mentioned above-good problem to have, and injuries happen every year. 

Remember Lynn has been terrible. IMO, he will be the first to go or be demoted to the BP. 

[alarp33]

 

1. He was a better starter in 2015 than he was a reliever in 2016. 

2. Starters are more valuable 

3. He mentioned that his body didn't respond well to pitching nearly every day as a reliever and may have led to his back problems. 

 

I'm not arguing with any of that, I always preferred May as a starter.  But in regards to 2018, May is a complete and total non-factor when it comes to the rotation. He's still not back from TJ and hasn't started a game in almost 3 years. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

The Twins still have an option on May, right?

 

It makes sense to put him in Rochester and let him get a feel for his breaking stuff. Coming back from TJS is a tough thing to do when you haven’t pitched in a long time and have to face MLB hitters immediately.

[Vanimal46]

Do we go to a 6 man rotation?

 

Saves innings on Romero and, to a lesser extent, Berrios. Keeps Santana fresh. I don't see any of the 6 being knocked out. Like mentioned above-good problem to have, and injuries happen every year.

By the time Erv comes back someone else will probably be dinged up.

 

The real reason why I wanted to reply is to say it's time to take the training wheels off Romero. I hope he's not on a strict innings limit like he was last year. 160-180 innings between AAA and MLB shouldn't be out of the question.

[alarp33]

 

By the time Erv comes back someone else will probably be dinged up.

The real reason why I wanted to reply is to say it's time to take the training wheels off Romero. I hope he's not on a strict innings limit like he was last year. 160-180 innings between AAA and MLB shouldn't be out of the question.

 

Innings;

 

2014: 12

2015: 0

2016: 90.1

2017: 125

 

It would be foolish to "take the training wheels off".  He absolutely should have some limit this year, even if it is around 160

[Vanimal46]

Innings;

 

2014: 12

2015: 0

2016: 90.1

2017: 125

 

It would be foolish to "take the training wheels off". He absolutely should have some limit this year, even if it is around 160

Kershaw:

 

37

122

169 between AAA and MLB

 

Scherzer:

 

106

109 between MLB and AAA

170 first full year as starter

 

Verlander

 

130

186 first MLB season

 

I don't think the jump to 160-180 innings after 125 last year is that crazy of an ask.

[AZTwin]

There should be no such things as a innings limit on a pitcher for a season. It should be a limit on number of pitches thrown

[ewen21]

Don't forget Pineda

[RaoulDuke]

I think May will take awhile to work his way back in the minors and while they said he would come back as a starter I don't think that is a given.  I would consider him, like Pineda, an asset for next year.

 

Once Santana is back it seems like Odirizzi/ Lynn/ Gibson/ Gonsalvez/ Mejia (where did he go?) are fighting for 2 spots. 

 

Lynn has the best track record if he gets his control problems corrected.

 

Gibson's changes have been intriguing but he is still prone to collapsing quickly.

 

Gonsalvez probably stays in AAA to be injury insurance.

 

Mejia probably moves to the pen.

 

Odirizzi is the most interesting to me, he has been pretty solid as a starter but he throws so many pitches he is always done by the 5th or 6th inning.  Would his stuff play up in the pen?  Could he have a Wade Davis style transformation to being a solid late inning guy?

[ewen21]

I don't give May a single moments thought unless one of my friends tells me the Twins screwed him over.  IN that case I remind them of his career WHIP.  Time for Trevor to put on the big boy pants.  Stop Tweeting and playing video games and stay on the field.  I am getting tired of people making his case.  How about he prove himself first?  The clock is ticking.  Dude is 28 now.  Enough already.  Enough.

 

I hope he does well, but I am tired of certain people I know bemoaning his plight with this organization.  Sorry to vent it here

[twins_89]

 

I don't understand why people still think May should be a starter. He hasn't had much success being a starter. I would be happy if he can become a reliable bullpen arm.

 

People wanting May as a starter was mainly due to two factors. First, May had health issues as a reliever that have to some extent been blamed on the unpredictability and frequency of relief appearances. The other main reason is that until this season May had better stuff than all but a couple of the guys that were starting for the Twins (Santana and Berrios).

[alarp33]

 

Kershaw:

37
122
169 between AAA and MLB

Scherzer:

106
109 between MLB and AAA
170 first full year as starter

Verlander

130
186 first MLB season

I don't think the jump to 160-180 innings after 125 last year is that crazy of an ask.

 

None of them had TJ surgery at Age 20, I'm not sure how those are valid comps

[laloesch]

 

Do we go to a 6 man rotation?

 

Saves innings on Romero and, to a lesser extent, Berrios. Keeps Santana fresh. I don't see any of the 6 being knocked out. Like mentioned above-good problem to have, and injuries happen every year. 

 

I would support a six man rotation.  I'm almost 100% positive it has zero chance of happening but it's a good idea in my mind. Saves innings on Berrios and Romero and would allow Lynn to stay in the rotation if he turns it around. Could also create an opening for Gonsalves potentially if one of the others falters such as Gibson who is prone to complete meltdowns.

 

Berrios

Romero

Gibson

Odorizzi

Lynn

Santana

 

Potential options

Gonsalves, Meija, May (late summer maybe)

 

[Mr. Brooks]

I don't give May a single moments thought unless one of my friends tells me the Twins screwed him over. IN that case I remind them of his career WHIP. Time for Trevor to put on the big boy pants. Stop Tweeting and playing video games and stay on the field. I am getting tired of people making his case. How about he prove himself first? The clock is ticking. Dude is 28 now. Enough already. Enough.

 

I hope he does well, but I am tired of certain people I know bemoaning his plight with this organization. Sorry to vent it here

While I agree that players need to be able to stay on the field to be relevant, I'm not sure what Twitter or video games have to do with any of it.

[ewen21]

 

While I agree that players need to be able to stay on the field to be relevant, I'm not sure what Twitter or video games have to do with any of it.

I would only tell you that the Twins probably want him to have more innings pitched than Tweets.  He has had a variety of ailments that has held him back.  That is what we know.  Whether there is a connection between Tweets and video games to pitching in games is not what my statement was about.

 

Sorry about that post.  I carried out a discussion I had elsewhere with friends who think the Twins have messed him up on this board,  Not a discussion I want to start here! 

 

 

[Battle ur tail off]

Yah, May has to prove himself again in order to get a chance. Right now, I see him as a long shot to ever make the Twins rotation. He was at his best when he was coming in and throwing 95-98mph gas and breezing through the 8th inning. I'm sorry for him if he feels like that is not where we get the most out of him, but I think it is. 

 

I'd love to see him come back with that heat and become an effective reliever with this club. That has plenty of value to this team IMO.

[ewen21]

 

Yah, May has to prove himself again in order to get a chance. Right now, I see him as a long shot to ever make the Twins rotation. He was at his best when he was coming in and throwing 95-98mph gas and breezing through the 8th inning. I'm sorry for him if he feels like that is not where we get the most out of him, but I think it is. 

 

I'd love to see him come back with that heat and become an effective reliever with this club. That has plenty of value to this team IMO.

Can't think of him as anything but a reliever.