Riverbrian

Last Game Right Handed Pitcher August 1 - Logan Gilbert - Loss - 3 Runs Scored Lineup Composition: 5 RH 2 Switch 2 LH Season Record vs Right Handed Starters: 42-36 Season Average Runs Scored vs Right Handed Starters: 4.85 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Record vs LH Starters: 14-20 Season Average Runs Scored vs LH Starters: 4.35

Good Article I appreciate it.

Nice breakdown. Thank You

Last Game Right Handed Starter July 31 - Bryce Miller - Won - 5 Runs Scored Lineup Composition: 3 RH 2 Switch 4 LH Season Record vs RH Starters: 42 35 Season Average Runs Scored vs RH Starters: 4.87 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Record vs LH Starters: 14-20 Season Average Runs Scored vs LH Starters: 4.35

Tonight doesn't rhyme

We are closely aligned on that. Development is everything for us unless the new CBA levels the playing field. I believe the only way to get development working for you is providing opportunity for young players who get their moment in the major league sun. Full opportunity! No strip mining for parts. If you call up Fedko... give him a chance to become something. I'm not afraid of youth... there will be successes and failure. There are enough examples of successful youth across baseball to alleviate any fears. You have to keep pouring them through and keep playing those who are performing. However... I am afraid of new language in the CBA and I'd like to know for sure the future cost before we start purchasing contracts of players not on the 40 man for a taste of the bigs. With that said... If Jenkins gets the call. I'll be glued to my TV watching him with my full support behind him. Just not sure I'd do it in the current context of the team and CBA. I'd need more information... the information that owners would be privy to.

That's the thing about these deadline deal discussions. We all come from different places. I understand those who want to sell. I was one of you back in the off-season. I would have sold Joe Ryan and Ryan Jeffers in the off-season. I would like to have seen the addition of a couple young close to ready infielders... primarily at SS and 1B. The club didn't take that route... I don't want them changing now when they have been successful. I get that we are not as successful as some want and I know there are many who don't believe in the talent assembled but there is no way I can justify going for it... not failing and now selling anyway. Trading Ryan and Jeffers now at a possibly reduced value that they may have gotten with more service time to work with. That would drive me crazy. Contention is contention and this team is in contention. We are 1 Game out of a wild card and just three games out of an AL Central title. Yes the American League sure seems to be weaker than the National League. That isn't a reason to not go for it... that's a reason to go for it. .500 baseball has you clearly in contention while in the National league we would be just 2.5 games behind the Phillies for the final wild card spot. I don't recommend trading Jenkins types to pick up Skubal for two months. However... mid-level prospects like we just dealt for Minter for additional bullpen help. Go for it. Get more bullpen arms because we need it. But Yeah... I'm a buyer now.

I think it's possible that I have bullpen ranked higher in terms of need than you do and that's alright. I like what I'm seeing out of Gomez and Morris. Morris through consistent opportunity has gone through a pretty nice stretch. His WHIP is sitting at 0.77 the past 30 days reducing his base traffic from lofty to 1.25 for the season. Gomez has a 1.05 WHIP for the year. Funderburk has a 5.87 per 9 walk rate but over the past 30 days it has been 2.61 and his WHIP and ERA reflects this so I've been encouraged lately. On the other side of things: Rogers has been a little better of late but he still has me concerned with his overall stuff and his 2026 1.60 WHIP. I realize that he is probably going to be a part of this bullpen for the rest of the season if he remains healthy but I'd like to see him pushed down the leverage ladder. Nance and Anderson are still question marks. I'm just not sure what we have in Adams yet. He looks great... he looks struggly. He has options he can bounce back and forth when needed. Rojas is long relief and I do believe he's got talent and we will need him to slot into the rotation at some point this year. I have 4 question marks on a staff that requires 8. Minter will remove one of those question marks unless he becomes a question mark by stinking up the joint. And then there are injuries that we will have to get through so acquisitions that push relievers down the spectrum will be brought right back up. I like this deal... let's see if it works and I'd like to see a couple more.

Interesting finale of the Royals series. Sometimes you just have to put 4 runs in the left handed starter column because 4 runs were scored and a left hander started the game. Although... 1. That was a left handed hitter homering off a left handed reliever for the grand slam that produced all 4 runs. 2. That was a right handed reliever that produced 3 baserunners to load up the bases. 3. That was a left handed starter that allowed 1 hit and two walks and zero runs through 8 innings. Despite those 3 points. 4 runs scored was be added to the left handed starter stats when it was really close to being nil. Now before anyone calls their SABR buddies to point out how ridiculous this season long exercise is because of results like yesterday. I'm tracking Wins and Losses, Lineup Composition and Runs Scored per game based on the throwing hand of the starter. That's it. I'm doing this because the starting lineup is set primarily based upon what hand the starting pitcher throws with. There are minor adjustments that are made day to day but it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that the starting pitcher and the hand that he throws determines the starting lineup. Why is this important: It's because... the starting lineup does the overwhelming majority of the work in any game, they have the overwhelming majority of PA's, they make the overwhelming majority of defensive plays, they do the majority of the baserunning in the game... and the starting lineup also determines who is available to pinch run and pinch hit in any given game... and the reason the manager or front office makes these type of decision... is too... ultimately... produce... Wins... and not produce losses. In other words... anything that influences the starting lineup is rather important and there is nothing that influences the starting lineup more than the throwing hand of the starting pitcher. I can easily access stats that tell me how the team does against left handed or right handed pitching overall... but I can't find stats that tell me win/losses vs left handed or right handed starters so I'm tracking it myself and sharing it for the 1 or 2 people who might be interested. I understand that the pitching in any game has perhaps a bigger influence but I am not tracking that. Anyway... the Twins were shut down by a left handed starter yesterday. Dominated by a left handed starter... it was one strike from going down as a zero and it was a left handed hitter who hit the grand slam off a left handed reliever so... it's a 4 going down in the books because: Throwing Hand of the Starter, Wins, Losses, Lineup Composition and Average Runs scored per game is what I'm tracking. I want to know at the very least if it's working.

Last Game Left Handed Starter July 30 - Noah Cameron - Won - 4 Runs Scored Lineup Composition: 6 RH 2 Switch 1 LH Season Record vs LH Starters: 14-20 Season Average Runs Scored vs LH Starters: 4.35 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Season Record vs RH Starters: 41-35 Season Average Runs Scored vs RH Starters: 4.83

I don't believe what you saw and I saw it to.

If they believe in Jenkins and Culpepper. I'd love for them to sign a Pratt type deal. You'll find me much less concerned about all the stuff I'm currently concerned about in this regard. The Brewers have done it with Chourio, Pratt and Lara. Yeah... I'd like to get in that boat.

Maybe... I can't argue your point because I have no way of knowing. However, there seems to be quite a longer list of big prospect contract purchases in 2025 compared to 2026. Roman Anthony and Meyer, Nick Kurtz, Misiorowski, Caglione and Jensen, Baldwin, Shaw, Basallo, Teel, Burns and Stewart, Dollander, Cam Smith. I still got more research to do. But... I'll complete it eventually.

I'm not afraid of youth. I watched Julien and Wallner nearly carry the team in 2024. Only to flame out later. I'll take an Evan Carter type boost to the 2026 if it happens and 2027 we will deal with later if they flame out. I'm all about exposure to MLB pitching and putting it in the bank. My concern is strictly... if it costs us two years of service time to make the move now... is it worth it? IF options are reduced? Is it still worth it? Some have no problem with that or don't think it would happen. I'd like someone to explain to me how I have nothing to worry about in that regard. And I swear to all that's holy. If they call up Jenkins to face right handers only Or Culpepper to face left handers only. Then I am absolutely against it... regardless if there is no potential service time adjustments made in the next CBA.

Rookies will always have to be called up. Are they on the 40 man or not when they are called up? I'd have to research it. I don't know the answer at this moment but the question is. How many players have had their contract purchased this season? And I'll apply a filter to that. Of those that were. How many were top 100 prospects? The Fedko type players don't matter because they won't be long term considerations. Clark and Snelling of the top of my head. Pratt with Milwaukee would have been another but they signed him to an 8 year deal. I'd be happy if the Twins want to sign Jenkins and Culpepper to 8 year deals for 50 to 60 million to buy out a couple of extra deals. That changes this discussion.

I don't think anything likely? He could destroy the baseball, completely fail or somewhere in between. My concern is the future cost? Unless someone can tell me how his 40 and 26 man spot works with the new CBA. Explains to me how there is no danger of spending a year of service time golfing in 2027 and no danger of lowering the service time required before free agency. I'm not going to be totally comfortable.

I missed that. So with the Gray call up. We are down to? Ross? Morrissette? Keaschall back to the infield? Acquiring an infielder at the deadline?

I'm heartened by the Max Clark call up. Max is in the exact same boat as Walker and Kaelen. December 2027 guys. It shows a willingness for teams to make those type of contract purchases in the face of the CBA.

This has been my main concern with the Twins organization for the past decade and the primary reason that I constantly complain about strip mining of our prospects for parts. We need to create major league talent that is at least average and we need to increase their trade value so have players that other teams would want to acquire and willing to pay a higher price for. I'm tired of being a top ten farm system year after year and consistently relying on 4 to 8 million dollar one year deals to fill in for the failures of these consistently top ranked farm systems. Farm system rankings don't mean much to me anymore. However... if the club is convinced that Walker Jenkins is going to be a superstar... that's great because we are going to need to develop one at some point. If Walker is that... I'd sure hate to have one or two less years of that superstar in a Twins uniform. It's been a long time since Mauer and Buxton. Royce Lewis doesn't appear to be Mauer or Buxton. All eyes are on Jenkins now. Personally... I would have made further strides toward that future this past off-season. We needed younger infielders back in January and we still need them today. We didn't do that and now Gray is being tried again and if injury occurs or Gray can't solidify himself. Then it's Arcia I assume. Because Culpepper is in the same boat as Jenkins and I just don't know what is going to happen with the new CBA.

I'm all for younger players getting callups and opportunity when called up but it's also dangerous to make the assumption that he will immediately perform in the next couple months or it could be as little as the length of time that Byron spends on the DL. It may not have the result some seem to think it will. If he struggles... we get low performance with a potentially enormous synergistic future cost. I'm not different than others on this website. I'm dying to see Jenkins in a Twins uniform but I'm really uncertain in regards to the potential future cost.

Who knows but we could be starting his clock early and the new CBA could also shorten the clock. That would be synergism. The combination of two forces combined to create a result greater than the sum of the individual results. I wouldn't be keen on Jenkins reaching free agency at age 26 or 27.

I don't believe we will miss any games next season because I think both sides know the damage that could cause. However... if a lockout is possible and especially if that lockout extends into the season. I can't see any reason to add a potential FUTURE superstar to the 40 and 26 man roster... therefore burning service time and options on the hope that he out performs current players for two months in 2026. We also don't know what the new CBA will say when an agreement is eventually reached. If the owners want a cap/floor and if they can convince the players association to agree some version of that. MLBPA is going to want something significant in return. Quicker Free Agency? Less Options? Limits on demotion? Jenkins and Culpepper don't need to be added to the 40 man until December 2027. For all of us... me included who like to talk about the future. Jenkins and Culpepper called up this year could have negative future implications.

Dobnak out duels Ryan. How bout that.

Infield depth 3 Catchers Team context

Last Game Right Handed Starter July 29 - Randy Dobnak - Loss - Zero Runs Scored Lineup Composition: 3 RH 3 Switch 3 Left Season Record vs RH Starters: 41-35 Season Average Runs Scored vs RH Starters: 4.83 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Season Record vs LH Starters: 13-20 Season Average Runs Scored vs LH Starters: 4.36