Twins (Prielipp) vs Guardians (Messick): 5/8/26, 6:15pm

[Brock Beauchamp]

All right, so Simeon Woods Richardson is a problem. That's rather clear. Would you move him to the bullpen? What would you do with him? And Prielipp has been a revelation this season. State your faith level that he's legitimately an above-average starting pitcher.

	SUN	MON	TUE	WED	THU	TOT
Taylor Rogers	32	0	0	0	26	58
Luis García	0	0	13	14	0	27
Kody Funderburk	3	0	0	17	0	20
Justin Topa	17	0	0	32	0	49
Eric Orze	24	0	16	0	0	40
Anthony Banda	0	0	19	0	20	39
Andrew Morris	57	0	0	14	0	71

[Patzky]

I am always hopeful! These are the games that try Twins fans' souls...in order of preference.

1) Bullpen game.. Bowman Morris Sim

2) Zebby to start, Sim outright to pen

3) Ride with it but start warming someone up in the fourth no matter what. Adjust rotation so Sim falls between Ryan and Taj. The reason is obvious.

4) Four man rotation until Abel is Able.

[LakesPibble]

There's a reason folks caution against making decisions on a small sample size.  Solidly in wait and see mode here.

[nicksaviking]

Does SWR still have an option? I suspect not since he’s been a prospect for about a decade. I put him in the pen either way, but I send him to St Paul until June to start the transition if he does.

[LA Vikes Fan]

SWR needs to go to the bullpen, at least for now. He actually might be effective there - 4.38 ERA first time though, 6. 92 second time through. Seems to match the eye test and not unusual for guys who don't throw hard - once you see the junk once, it's easier to anticipate and hit. Moreover, he's killing us in the rotation going 4 -5 innings when followed by another guy going 5, maybe 6. . 

I would move Matthews up to take Sim's spot in the rotation, add Gomez ( the guy they just got from Tampa), drop Garcia, and either demote Klein or put Topa on the IL (Topa looks bad; wonder if he's pitching through something). Morris moves to a later inning 1 inning per appearance role.

Also, give someone a real chance to be the closer. My money is on Funderburk or Orze, probably in combination. Give them the role and live with the results for a month. Only way to find out if they can do it. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

Just now, nicksaviking said:

Does SWR still have an option? I suspect not since he’s been a prospect for about a decade. I put him in the pen either way, but I send him to St Paul until June to start the transition if he does.

No. SWR is out of options according to MLB.com.

[nicksaviking]

24 minutes ago, LakesPibble said:

There's a reason folks caution against making decisions on a small sample size.  Solidly in wait and see mode here.

What’s the small sample size? SWR?  Most have suggested he’s not starter material since 2024.

[nicksaviking]

1 minute ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

No. SWR is out of options according to MLB.com.

Then ride or die in the MLB pen, no matter how thin the rotation gets.

Results don’t usually show up the same year, so I won’t hold transition results against him in 2026. It’s all about putting the right starters in the pen for 2027.

[Vanimal46]

1 hour ago, LakesPibble said:

There's a reason folks caution against making decisions on a small sample size.  Solidly in wait and see mode here.

Yeah I’m giving SWR at least 5 more starts before making any changes. He’s been a solid back end of the rotation pitcher for us. 

Can’t option him to St Paul. Can’t DFA him because a team will claim a 25 year old with an MLB track record in a heartbeat. 

[Vanimal46]

58 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Most have suggested he’s not starter material since 2024.

? That’s news to me. 

2024-2025: 50 starts - 245 IP - 4.11 ERA - 4.2 bWAR 

that’s a pretty damn solid #4 or 5 in MLB. 

[Parfigliano]

God dmn Apple TV game tonight.

[LakesPibble]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

What’s the small sample size? SWR?  Most have suggested he’s not starter material since 2024.

I was referring to my level or hope (or not) with Prielipp.  I like Sim, but he's not starter material.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Kind of glad this one is on AppleTV because I can do without the 3-3 tie headed into the 7th only to see the Twins lose 7-3. Even when the Twins were somewhat competent, the Guardians kicked sand in their face in close games. With this bullpen? Woof.

[Patzky]

The lefty lineup. Wallner and Lewis in tonight. Win Twins!

[nicksaviking]

2 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

? That’s news to me. 

2024-2025: 50 starts - 245 IP - 4.11 ERA - 4.2 bWAR 

that’s a pretty damn solid #4 or 5 in MLB. 

OK, well maybe not 'most', but many. 

He can't go through the lineup more than twice, and often not more than once without getting lit up, and he can't hold his velocity throughout the season let alone throughout a game. 

The Twins don't need #4-5 starters either; they need #1-3 starters and they need late inning relievers, because that's what they can't afford on the free agent market. 

[Western SD Fan]

52 minutes ago, Patzky said:

The lefty lineup. Wallner and Lewis in tonight. Win Twins!

Tough assignment for Wallner given the lefty.  He had a decent game a couple of days ago.  Looks nice to see Lee moving up in the lineup.  Some commentators that I follow are suggesting this weekend is the last ride for Lewis prior to a decision having to be made.  Culpepper, although tearing it up in Las Vegas this week, is still the DH while he is battling an injury I believe.  When he is back to the field and still performing, then I believe the serious question surrounding Lewis needs to be addressed.

[ziggy]

13 minutes ago, Western SD Fan said:

Tough assignment for Wallner given the lefty.  He had a decent game a couple of days ago.  Looks nice to see Lee moving up in the lineup.  Some commentators that I follow are suggesting this weekend is the last ride for Lewis prior to a decision having to be made.  Culpepper, although tearing it up in Las Vegas this week, is still the DH while he is battling an injury I believe.  When he is back to the field and still performing, then I believe the serious question surrounding Lewis needs to be addressed.

Chatterberry mentioned yesterday afternoon that Lewis is 'working on his swing'. Hopefully he is working with the hitting coach. He just can not help but try to pull the ball, no matter how far outside the pitch is located.

[LA Vikes Fan]

27 minutes ago, ziggy said:

Chatterberry mentioned yesterday afternoon that Lewis is 'working on his swing'. Hopefully he is working with the hitting coach. He just can not help but try to pull the ball, no matter how far outside the pitch is located.

He may be learning something. His HR to Left Center on Wednesday was an outside pitch that he just went with and hit out. The key for LH hitters hitting LH pitching is to be able to hit sliders running away. You can't pull those so maybe he's got a chance.  

[thelanges5]

The past 4 seasons at Progressive Field the Twins are 9-21 with one series win. 
 

Can they beat that Guardos devil magic? Not going to hold my breath. 

[Patzky]

5 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

The past 4 seasons at Progressive Field the Twins are 9-21 with one series win. 
 

Can they beat that Guardos devil magic? Not going to hold my breath. 

Close your eyes and pretend they're really Tigers 

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I haven't checked recently... Can we catch the Guardians in this series?

[USAFChief]

44 minutes ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

I haven't checked recently... Can we catch the Guardians in this series?

Twins enter play tonight 3.5 behind Cleveland. 

[USAFChief]

1 hour ago, LA Vikes Fan said:

He may be learning something. His HR to Left Center on Wednesday was an outside pitch that he just went with and hit out. The key for LH hitters hitting LH pitching is to be able to hit sliders running away. You can't pull those so maybe he's got a chance.  

I think maybe you're thinking of Wallner.

[Patzky]

Looks like a breezy and likely damp evening at Progressive Field tonight. If they played the game in Minneapolis a few weeks back they should be able to get this one in too.. might be a slow infield and breezy to right field, 55 degrees.

[Patzky]

9 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Twins enter play tonight 3.5 behind Cleveland. 

Seems like so much more.. never gonna get a better shot to do something about that!

[sampleSizeOfOne]

14 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Twins enter play tonight 3.5 behind Cleveland. 

And how long is the series staring tonight?

[LA Vikes Fan]

32 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I think maybe you're thinking of Wallner.

I was. I think he’s in the lineup tonight against the left hander. 

[Patzky]

25 minutes ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

And how long is the series staring tonight?

Three game series.

[Craig Arko]

Nice composting ad.

[Western SD Fan]

I have to depend on the radio.  Nice that they have Perkins on the radio call tonight.  Is it raining in Cleveland now?  They're talking about putting diamond dust on the pitcher's mound.