Twins Game Recap (9/1): Twins Strike Early, Beat Detroit in Brusdar Graterol's MLB Debut

La Tortuga has returned, all is good in Twins Territory!

We learned this morning what Kyle Gibson has been dealing with much of this year.  Explains a lot about his performance to date.  Hopefully, he can get healthy and take his spot in the playoff rotation.

Loved that first pitch at 100 mph from Graterol.  But then pitch after pitch at 98 or 99.  Could he be the final block in a dynamic bullpen?

5.5 feels good, man. 

La Tortuga is the soul of this team. Important to have him back. Pineda really is the #1 reliable now. His season is a credit to the hard work he put in.

La Tortuga has returned, all is good in Twins Territory!

 

We learned this morning what Kyle Gibson has been dealing with much of this year.  Explains a lot about his performance to date.  Hopefully, he can get healthy and take his spot in the playoff rotation.

 

Loved that first pitch at 100 mph from Graterol.  But then pitch after pitch at 98 or 99.  Could he be the final block in a dynamic bullpen?

The MLB.com story on Gibson said he's lost 10 pounds over the last month or so. Given that and how weak he said he felt on Friday, getting through 5 innings for him was a major case of sucking it up for the team.

Graterol throws 100 effortlessly, wow. That seems to be sustainable. He’s going to be fun to watch

Watching on Gameday, and listening, was Radsurb Loretarg really "struggling?"  He seemed like he was hitting his spots with speed (obviously) and precision.  Seemed like a couple of lucky hits to me, and the visit from Johnson was probably to say "keep doing what you're doing."  Which worked wonderfully.

Just my interpretation though.  And I think that his name backwards is almost as cool as it is forwards.

Fun to watch Gaterol today! And great to see the Twins put up a 5-spot and have a pitcher in there who can protect the lead and get the job done.

Big Mike Pineda, as has been said by just about everyone, is rising to the top of the rotation. Last seven starts, 5-0 with a 3.48 ERA. The Twins are in the home stretch and he is delivering.

100 mph  was nice, but Grat's most impressive pitch was his 98 mph 2-seamer that started outside, then broke in on the outer edge to a rightie. Over his career, that pitch will get him countless standing strikes. Batter has just enough time to recognize what looks like an outside pitch, then almost no time to get off a late emergency swing. That leaves the outside edge open to a four seamer that does not cut back in, thus getting tons of whiffs. Now you have right handed batters leaning out over the plate against a guy that throws 100 miles per hour. 

If Graterol learns to throw a cutter that breaks left, it will be truly unfair. Then he can play the same game with batters from both sides of the plate. If he adds a slider, change up or a curve, he'll be weighing his money instead of counting it. 

Honest question: what's the point of a 98mph two-seam? Traditionally, a two-seam drops but when thrown at 98mph, pitches don't drop.

Two seamers are going to move left to right. 4 seamers are pretty straight so the two seamer gives him a wrinkle

Honest question: what's the point of a 98mph two-seam? Traditionally, a two-seam drops but when thrown at 98mph, pitches don't drop.

Well, I saw more odd movement on his 98 and 99 mph hour fastballs in this SSS than I have seen with most hard throwers (particularly for a kid that just turned 21).  If it was just straight, MLB hitters might figure it out, but if he shows that tail action with that kind of speed, even if there is contact, it won't be squared up.  If he exhibits an effective slider and cranks his 4 seam up to 100+, he will be extremely hard to hit with that arsenal.  IT is some of the easiest looking 100 mph I can recall seeing too, and I did see Ryan, JR Richard, Randy Johnson, Zumaya, etc in their prime.

Honest question: what's the point of a 98mph two-seam? Traditionally, a two-seam drops but when thrown at 98mph, pitches don't drop.

What I saw was a 100 mph four seamer that was dead straight, virtually no drop. In contrast, his 98 mph two-seamer bent down and to the right by about half a foot. That's plenty of difference to make a guy whiff if he thinks it's the straight heat. That will also put the two seamer right on the label of the bat. Many broken bats to follow... ;-)

ICYMI here's every single pitch of Graterol's outing today plus the usual analysis.

My god, did you see when Graterol bumped chests with Sano? Graterol is the same size! We're talking a real 265 pounds, and it looks like all muscle!

Watching on Gameday, and listening, was Radsurb Loretarg really "struggling?"  He seemed like he was hitting his spots with speed (obviously) and precision.  Seemed like a couple of lucky hits to me, and the visit from Johnson was probably to say "keep doing what you're doing."  Which worked wonderfully.

 

Just my interpretation though.  And I think that his name backwards is almost as cool as it is forwards.

Yes Master

Yeah, I was also on the Gibson blame train...**GULP*** Don't bother stopping; I'll jump off now.

Let's hope they can figure out how to deal with his problem effectively. It sounds like it's tough to deal with when it is 'raging.' Some here mentioned he looked gaunt; now we know the reason. Beyond balls and strikes, I hope he simply recovers.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ulcerative-colitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20353326

Graterol on postgame interview: "My mentality in the bullpen... hey, throw hard, and strikes, and that's it. Win." No interpreter needed. Awesome. Good job kid.

A cynic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. - Oscar Wilde

Astudillo really is something, a character out of Hans Christian Anderson or Grimm. There's a reason why he was embraced by the fans, broadcasters, writers, poets,and players. He has genuine mystique, an exceedingly rare trait.

"He has no effect. He's a bit player".

A cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. - Oscar Wilde

Astudillo is like a character out of Hans Christian Anderson or Grimm. There's a reason why he delighted fans, broadcasters, writer's, poets and players. He has *mystique. He is magic.

Astudillo is a fun guy. He’s just not the heart and soul of the team. He continually is made to seem more than he is and then doesn’t live up to it. That’s not his fault; that’s the fault of those who place their misbegotten hopes on him.

Honest question: what's the point of a 98mph two-seam? Traditionally, a two-seam drops but when thrown at 98mph, pitches don't drop.

Some lateral movement from left to right and coming in hot for a pitch that moves

Since we've got Gibby on the shelf for at least one game why not give him some company with Berrios? We've got enough pitching help with the Sept. 1 call ups that it won't decimate our bullpen. His last game against Chicago, while considered a "quality start", was far from a good start. That kind of performance won't win any games against quality playoff teams or even above avg teams like the upcoming Red Sox.