OAK 6, MIN 2: Gonsalves Gets Burned on Mistake Pitch

Can I just say I really like Tyler Austin?! I think he's going to be a surprise next year when he's getting most of the starts at 1B. Paired up with Rooker and Sano; it's going to be fun to watch those dudes bang baseballs into the upper decks for years to come! Not to mention Kepler, Kiriloff, and (dare I say) Jake Cave! Wow! I think k it's going to be exciting!

Oakland also happens to be pretty damn good this year.

So now that the games don't count Molly is operating the pen quite nicely. When the games count it's damn the torpedoes. I would've like to see this approach and these players all year.

The game really changes on the Eddie Rosario fly out in the bottom of the 7th. He came up with two on and two outs and crushed a Familia fastball fastball. Some (ok me) thought it was gone, but it was caught at the wall... Instead of being up 5-4 going to the 8th inning, they remained down 4-2 and the A's scored two right in the top of the 8th. 

Yeah, I had just tuned into that at bat. I said to myself, Eddie's struck out 3 times, he's going to try and hit a HR here and make up for it...just missed!

Watching Gonsalves, I didn't really think he was that sharp. A few of the outs were screaming line drives, or well-hit grounders speared by infielders. He allowed baserunners in every inning and was once again walking guys with 2 outs. Certainly an improvement but to say "He just made one mistake pitch" is giving him a bit more credit than is due. He was much better than his first outing, but he made plenty of mistake pitches.

Positives: nice to see a rookie get through 5 innings. I like Gonsalves' demeanor/body language as well. He might not be pitching great but the kid seems to have a little more confidence than, say, Stewart right now. I hope the Twins keep him in the rotation.

Austin may hit 35 HR next year playing every day. The Twins may have found an every-day starter and a legit #4 or #5 hitter in this guy. For Lance Lynn!

I didn’t see much to be encouraged about with Gonsalves, honestly. To play in the majors, His stuff is going to require great command. And he has the opposite of great command. Was incredibly lucky last night for as long as you can expect to be lucky.

Still glad he’s getting a taste...and who knows. Reports were his command has improved, especially this year, so we could be seeing nerves playing a factor.

Thanks as usual for the write-up, Tom.

7 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings probably meant a few mistake pitches. And probably a few mistakes by Oakland batters in not getting more runs, earlier.

Agreed!  Gonsalves was VERY fortunate to have given up only one run prior to Lucroy's bomb.  I know we want to be positive, but he has not looked good thus far.  He really needs to fine tune his command if he is going to be successful at this level.

The good news is Berrios was dreadful in his first several starts and he has turned it around.  Hopefully "Stove" can as well.

Gibson was so-so in 7 starts in 2013. Same with May in 8 starts in 2014. I don't want to talk about Berrios' 14 starts in 2016. I was at 2 of his 5 home starts and it was like batting practice.

80-90% of all rookie starting pitchers go thru the same process. If they can pitch okay every other game or so, I'm fine with it. That said, I'm kind of enjoying watching the two of them. 

Let me make a prediction. We will package 2 of Stewart, Gonsalves, Mejia, Romero, Thorpe, or Odorizzi for a #2 starter. I think there is some showcasing going on.

I didn’t see much to be encouraged about with Gonsalves, honestly. To play in the majors, His stuff is going to require great command. And he has the opposite of great command. Was incredibly lucky last night for as long as you can expect to be lucky. Still glad he’s getting a taste...and who knows. Reports were his command has improved, especially this year, so we could be seeing nerves playing a factor.

My thoughts exactly.  I'm glad the Twins are FINALLY giving some of the kids a shot at showcasing their stuff but i'm not really impressed with Gonsalves.   He seems to be a nibbler and strictly control type pitcher.  And so far he also seems to be a two pitch pitcher which is not good either. Fastball and change.   

I'll take command every time but a guy with stuff can work on command and improve it with better mechanics. I think it's much harder to improve your stuff. So I always look for the guy with stuff first. 

 

Gonsalves doesn't seem to have a lot of room for error if he doesn't hit his spots. 

 

If Stewart doesn't hit his spots... his stuff can still turn it into a weak grounder. He has a lot of movement on that fastball.  

Both pitchers have issues.  Stewart seems to be all fastball with weak secondary offerings.  Gonsalves seems like more of a control pitcher with that iffy fastball and change.  I like that they are giving these two a look, but i'm not optimistic at the moment.