A Sidewinder to the Rescue

[Richard]

A Sidewinder to the Rescue

A funky windup or an unusual batting stance is always a welcome site for baseball fans.  Whether it be Fernando Valezuela or Jeff Bagwell, something curious and unique is always a breath of fresh air.  

Twins fans across the nation could use a breath of fresh air.  They've seen the same players shuffled around the lineup and the bullpen with hopes of catching lightning in a bottle for years now.  That is a consistency here in Twins Territory.  An unusual and intriguing happening is the ability of the Twins' starting rotation and a handful of bullpen pieces.  As of June twenty-fourth, the Twins staff is first in whip, second in K/BB, and third in ERA, SO, and average, only to name a few.  It's no denying they are good, but there has always been an insecurity in the amount of quality arms in the bullpen.  We've seen blown leads this season, and no one has steadfast confidence in the offense's ability to regain it.  A successful second half of the season and, more importantly, a successful postseason will be won in the bullpen.  It's not the highest need, but we must add an arm or two.

Tyler Rodgers over in San Francisco has definitely earned the title of a submarine pitcher.  There's another weird arm slot in the NL West by way of the Colorado Rockies.  Justin Lawrence was born in 1994, and the Rockies drafted the Panama native in the twelfth round of the 2015 draft.  Lawrence made his major league debut in 2021 and bounced up and down, trying to earn a bullpen spot.  Finally, after a brief and promising Spring Training, he won a bullpen spot and had a great April, only allowing three earned runs in 13 innings.  Three run outings at home against Philadelphia and the Mets inflated his May numbers, but he has settled back down so far in June and lowered his ERA to 2.88.  

Lawrence brandishes a sinker and a sweeper that share time equally, both of which play well out of his three-quarters arm slot.  Though his usage has been limited this season, Rookies manager Bud Black has thrown him into some tricky situations.  On June thirteenth, Lawrence inherited two runners in scoring position and faced the heart of a good Boston lineup.  A weak ground ball out and an intentional walk brought up Adam Duvall, who grounded out to end the inning leaving the bases loaded.  Lawrence came back out for the eighth.  After a leadoff walk and two stolen bases, he stranded Jarren Duran at third for another scoreless inning.  Again on June nineteenth, the Rookies faced off against a RED-hot Cincinnati team (haha).  After Daniel Bard left the game with one out and two runners in scoring position, Lawrence was called on to keep the Cincinnati lead at one.  Lawrence struck out catcher Tyler Stephenson on a couple of check swings for the second out.  Bud Black made an interesting decision to walk the nine-hitter to bring up the top of the order.  Lawrence didn't completely understand the decision but battled anyway.  In a 2-1 count, Lawrence induced a weak ground ball and ended the inning, leaving the bases loaded.  

Above are two good examples of Justin Lawrence's ability to get out of challenging situations against good teams, which headlines his upside.  His unconventional arm slot adds a bit of uniqueness to a bullpen.  The Minnesota Twins have had a bit of uniqueness with Sergio Romo, who they traded for at the 2019 deadline, and Joe Smith, who they signed last offseason.  Romo and Smith were established veterans then, but both left much to be desired in a Twins Uniform.  They were at the tail end of their careers, and Thad Lavine and the Twins' front office took a chance.  The key difference with Lawrence is that he still has his best days ahead of him.  Pete Maki and the coaching staff can take Lawrence, make some adjustments, and mold him into a guy who slams the door on opposing teams in the later innings of ball games.  They did it with Brock Stewert and Jose de Leon to a degree.  His arm slot and lateral movement could mesh well with Jhoan Duran's over-the-top, powerful stuff, a one-two punch of sorts.  

The obvious issue with all this is that Justin Lawrence plays for the Colorado Rockies, not the Twins.  The Rockies are currently thirty and forty-eight and sit at the bottom of the NL West.  They have some pieces to build around in Nolan Jones and Ezequiel Tovar.  Their farm system is fair, with a couple of top-100 prospects.  They also boast a formidable bullpen that has kept them in many games.  They need to continue to add guys they believe in and allow them to develop.  The Twins should find a way to bring this guy to Minnesota to solidify the bullpen and go from there.
 

[Nine of twelve]

I'm sure he's on the Twins' radar, as are all pitchers who play for teams that will be likely to sell at or before the deadline. I think any reliable bullpen arm would be welcome.

[Richard]

1 minute ago, Nine of twelve said:

I'm sure he's on the Twins' radar, as are all pitchers who play for teams that will be likely to sell at or before the deadline. I think any reliable bullpen arm would be welcome.

I also don't believe he will take too much to acquire either.

[jorgenswest]

His OK strikeout rate and very poor walk rate are virtually the same as last year. He has limited home runs this year compared to last but that stat is nowhere near stable at this point. His BABIP against is much lower than his career norm.

It would be really unwise to believe his skill has changed based on an ERA that needs a huge sample to stabilize. If his strikeout rate were up and walk rate down he might be a consideration. With those the same I think the Rockies would be really wise to try to find a team to sell high.

I don’t think Pagán or Gallo would be of interest as they would want a prospect. I would only be interested in trading prospects that are borderline 40 man roster calls for 2024… maybe someone like DeShawn Keirsey Jr.

edit: I just checked his BTV value and it is 14.8 which suggests Lawrence is their most valuable trade chip on the major league roster. I have no interest in buying high on a reliever.