Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

stringer bell

Verified Member
  • Posts

    21,258
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    95

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. In another thread I opined that Wallner will probably never be a major league regular. I think the Twins are going with Gallo at first because he’s pretty capable there. Their two long-term first basemen would be Kirilloff and Miranda, especially since both Lee and Lewis are on the horizon as possible third basemen. Perhaps they will try to move Julien to first, and if they do it would indicate that the future isn’t very bright for Kirilloff.
  2. Tampa is 9-0 this year, pretty impressive. However, I don’t think their schedule could be any softer. Detroit, Washington and Oakland are the first three opponents and none of them are guaranteed to not lose 100 games.
  3. SSS, but López looks very good. He’s been getting the bottom of the order more often than not, but has taken care of business. I doubt that Duran will be asked to pitch in three straight games, so I would guess he’ll get a few save opportunities.
  4. St. Paul seems to have a runs-friendly ballpark. Lots of homers and lots of high scores. Also, it seems based on balls are a major concern for the Saints. Julien does fan a lot, but draws a lot of walks and puts up a satisfactory batting average. I could see him leading off at DH (with Buxton in center) in a month.
  5. Four straight starts of six innings or more, none less than five. In today’s baseball, that is going deep. The Twins are pitching extremely well, and a good thing because the hitting has been spotty and, so far, possible replacements in St. Paul have been less than dominating. Maeda’s first three starts this year will be against Alcantara, Cease and Cole. Welcome back Kenta.
  6. He’s got plus power, good speed, great throwing arm. Hmmm, sounds a lot like Joey Gallo. No, I don’t think he’ll be a regular on a major league team. Not enough contact at the plate and currently a lot of rough edges in the field. He was born the same year as Kirilloff and Larnach and to me he is clearly less skilled than both of them, although he’s been healthy and the other two have had their last two seasons curtailed by injury.
  7. Jeffers made an absolutely perfect throw today to nab a base stealer. I haven't seen many throws like that from him. If his throwing improves, I think he's pretty solid as a defender.
  8. The score was 5-1. What is the "backend" of the bullpen? To me, the backend is the highest leverage guys. Yes, like most every team, the low leverage guys are not sure things to do their jobs. Alcala struggled with control, but shows good velocity and he has had success with his breaking pitches. I'm not terribly disappointed in his performance, Pagan is going to be a lightning rod for criticism as long as he is with the Twins. Moran needs to avoid walks and work ahead in counts to make that changeup a put away pitch. Mahle was certainly not great, but gave up a bunch of soft contact hits, two to Abreu, an infield roller by Dubon and the broken bat two-run single to McCormick. The homer went 354 feet, not exactly a moonshot. That's four straight starts of six innings or more for the starters. Getting the lineup healthier and more productive has to be priority number one.
  9. Boy, I didn't think there was any problem with game-calling in '22. I thought Twins' pitchers overall overachieved considering the talent level.
  10. It appears that Correa needs a day. Gallo is nicked up. Jeffers has started every third game (and hit very well), so this is a "B" lineup, throwaway game? You go with what you have and this is the best the Twins can do today. The alternates this year are pretty good players. I'm not delighted they are playing as much as they are, but injuries happen. I don't want to make this personal, it isn't, but there's honest criticism and there's falling back on wildly stretched narratives. No manager goes out and tries to lose a game. No manager goes solely on printouts and spread sheets, etc. It's really hard to beat a good team three times in a row and the Astros are a good team. I hope a couple of guys can do damage against Hunter Brown, whoever he is. Mahle needs to pitch deep and well.
  11. Devin Smeltzer is back in the major leagues. His contract was selected today by the Marlins.
  12. Dereck Rodriguez is one of the few Saints pitchers to have worked successful multiple innings so far. While he's not on the 40-man roster, in terms of performance perhaps the Twins should be giving him a look. He was also pretty effective in Spring Training for what it's worth.
  13. Luis Arraez in games won by the Marlins: .167 BA, .542 OPS In games lost by the Marlins: .542 BA, 1.202 OPS
  14. After eight games the Twins lead all of MLB in strikeouts. That is, their pitchers have struck out more hitters than any other team. Unbelievable.
  15. I think the Twins good start and the obvious stuff that Moran has give him a pretty long leash. That said, I doubt we’ll see him in a late-and-close situation for a while.
  16. Another game tomorrow. Jax, JLópez and Duran have all pitched two straight days. If it’s close and late, do others get the ball?
  17. Nice win and the complaints about offense will abate (until tomorrow). Farmer and Solano are showing their worth, I just hope they aren’t full time players until May. Every player has at least one good plate appearance. Jovani Moran is about halfway to an all-expenses paid visit to Minnesota’s capital city. He certainly isn’t working his way into high-leverage opportunities.
  18. I'm certain that Kirilloff will go on rehab assignment and that will be his proving ground as to whether he can help the team. The team believes he will hit if healthy (and so do I) and he'll have to prove it in the minors. If he's not driving the ball, they will option him. Larnach, to me, is a better player than Wallner right now--superior in the field, makes better contact, and evidenced by this year, much more selective. Maybe Wallner develops more skills, but he's not a finished product IMHO (despite his relatively advanced age for a rookie). I'd like to see Julien, but my guess is he won't get recalled until he can be the DH. If it's May and Buxton is playing center field, that might be his chance.
  19. Reported elsewhere, Matt Wallner recalled, Kepler on the 10-day IL.
  20. Thanks! Good stuff RB! Here is how I see it: The Astros and Yankees are good teams and probably will win more than 90 games, most likely somewhere around that 60% mark. During the season, they'll struggle sometimes and they'll play very well sometimes. Right now, neither team is playing that well. On Opening Day, the Yankees had three projected starting pitchers and nine total players on IL. They'll probably add JD today. The Astros seem to be in a post-championship funk. Their pitching in particular has allowed more hits than innings pitched, a marked departure from last year. It would appear to me that now is an ideal time to play both teams. Winning 40% of the games against New York and Houston should be the floor! The Twins' pitching can't and won't continue at the level they've started, but this is a good group. Except for Duran, there isn't one essential arm that isn't largely replaceable. I would like to see the Twins more than hold their own for the rest of the month and I think they will.
  21. Agree that blocking pitches is important. Supposed defensive star Maldonado probably cost the Astros the game yesterday with three “wild pitches”. Mostly due to outstanding pitching, the running game hasn’t hurt the Twins, but some teams really have put their foot on the gas when it comes to stolen bases. We shall see.
  22. If Ronnie Henriquez gets healthy, he could be a candidate as well. He’s throwing at Fort Myers, but hasn’t faced hitters yet according to the last injury report. Henriquez, Winder and Headrick are on the 40-man making their promotion easier.
  23. He’s probably not an everyday player at 35 with limited power and so-so defense, but one can do worse than plug in a guy who has a fair to good chance of hitting singles against anybody
  24. IIRC, Jax was up 0-2 when he threw the change ups. Adding another pitch for hitters to be aware of is probably a good thing. Ahead 0-2 (and 1-2) is probably as low-leverage as he will be in. As for Jorge López, the Twins now have had time to consider what might enhance his pitch mix. He’s looked very good so far.
  25. It seems to me that the Twins are playing the White Sox, Astros and Yankees at the right time. Houston has struggled so far, the Yankees have a bunch of guys on the IL and the White Sox pitching staff is close to in shell shock.
×
×
  • Create New...