tony&rodney

Top of 2nd inning and five plays not made. Let's not comment on pitchers for a while.

Soon the Twins should see how Festa looks and then we might see some movement in the bullpen. Seems like Festa could be a tough guy in the pen. Still think that hitting and fielding are the top two problems for the team.

May 1 with more than two months to go before the draft, but it is looking like three players are separating themselves from the pack. Fortunately the Twins pick one of those three players. Plenty can still occur between now and July though. My current guess is Lackey but Tampa Bay may favor a catcher over the prep shortstop. Do the Twins have angst about picking a high school shortstop high in the draft and go for Flora?

Love these minor league reports every time. Sorry to hear about the issues with MLB/Twins.TV. I can go to milb.com and instantly get Gameday and Video to watch teams or specific players. I watch a ton of action. However, every single time I log into mlb.com I have to sign in fresh each time. It is annoying. I think MLB just doesn't have their %^&* together. We get spoiled with technology. Last night I watched the Wild on the TV, while watching the Twins on the computer. Most days, I'll have a Twins game and a minor league game on at the same time. It is super convenient to stream late at night after the games are over but when I have the time. I'm usually up until midnight anyway. Retirement is a luxury. Most people cannot do so many games. I get a ton of work done around my property but would never have had this luxury during the nearly fifty years I worked 12 hours per day. I'm totally spoiled now and love the minor leagues ..... and the Twins. Thank you for the recap and hope MLB fixes your issues.

Apparently the answer is no for many. I was merely wondering since I cannot make the exchanges myself.

They are trying him there, which means he is taking ground balls and throws in practice. Same with Gonzalez. I was not labeling but merely suggesting that the Twins are trying to see where players can play. They have almost certainly hit ground balls to Wallner and Larnach as well at some point. It didn't work so those practice experiments ended.

Time gives players games for experience before a plunge into MLB.

Give the guys fifty games? Can you hold on?

This gets mentioned from time to time with Wallner and Larnach. The Twins are using Fedko and Gonzalez at 1B for the Saints and Mendez at 1B for the Wind Surge. Teams try players everywhere pretty much to create usefulness. Both Larnach and Wallner have stood at first base in practices and there are real life reasons they cannot be used at the position. For those who want to move Wallner or Larnach to a new position they would both be safer at shortstop. I'm guessing we can all agree that nobody wants to see that, so let us all retire all thoughts of seeing them injured badly at first base.

Pitching is still the same - keep the ball out of the hitting zone. Bailey Ober needs a strong defense behind him to be his best self. He prayed all winter to be traded to Arizona. He has done pretty well thus far. Hitting, defense, and the bullpen (in that order) are the problem. Hopefully Ober can be consistent.

Slow down a bit. Maybe May 12 or June 1 is possible if Wallner continues to struggle. Lewis too, but the front office might be loathe to ship him down or out. Outman does not require playing time. The Twins call up a players like Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Culpepper, Fedko, or Jenkins but they need to be in the lineup every day if and when they get a shot. Ryan Kreidler is a guy who can be called up if that is what is needed. Changes are coming but not for a couple of weeks or months. Fifty games is normally a check point.

Another good example. Sale spent two years in the bullpen before he became a starter. Worth thinking/ dreaming about.

Rojas can work as a LH arm and Festa may not be too far behind. Perhaps Morris gets used as a 1 inning reliever as well. Maybe even another fellow ...

A ball to MLB has happened before but we would all be gobsmacked for it to happen. Garrett Crochet came up as a 1 inning relief pitcher and transitioned later into being a starting pitcher.

I'm assuming you are thinking that going beyond 100 pitches is dangerous territory for a starting pitcher. I have stated numerous times in the last few years that the number of pitches thrown should be looked at from a case to case and outing by outing basis. Taj Bradley was still cruising at 114 pitches as he closed out the 7th inning. That is reasonable territory for him. We saw Mick Abel tire a bit as he approached 90 pitches and Joe Ryan seems to lose command around 100 pitches. There are quite a few pitchers who can easily go to 110+ pitches as they are fully built up for that number. The pitching coach and manager are pretty tuned in and not extending anyone at this time. Billy Martin never had much interest in pitchers and regularly believed they could go 125-150 pitches. That was also in a four man rotation. The current iteration of the Twins bullpen is a wreck but help could be on the way in a few weeks. I am more concerned about the defense and hitting.