Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

stringer bell

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    21,069

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    94

 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

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    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.
  2. stringer bell
    Luis Arraez in games won by the Marlins: .167 BA, .542 OPS In games lost by the Marlins: .542 BA, 1.202 OPS
  3. stringer bell
    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.
  4. stringer bell
    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.
  5. stringer bell
    Another game tomorrow. Jax, JLópez and Duran have all pitched two straight days. If it’s close and late, do others get the ball?
  6. stringer bell
    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.
  7. stringer bell
    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.
  8. stringer bell
    Reported elsewhere, Matt Wallner recalled, Kepler on the 10-day IL.
  9. stringer bell
    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.
  10. stringer bell
    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.
  11. stringer bell
    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.
  12. stringer bell
    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
  13. stringer bell
    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.
  14. stringer bell
    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.
  15. stringer bell
    I thought he could have caught one or both of the balls that went over his head. It takes more than a great arm to be a great outfielder. If that's all it takes, Cuddy would have had gold gloves to go along with his silver bats.
  16. stringer bell
    Gray got the win in his first start.
  17. stringer bell
    Here we go with the injuries. Those soft tissue muscle injuries are notorious for healing slowly.
  18. stringer bell
    “Here Comes Opportunity”
  19. stringer bell
    Six games is not nearly enough to be making pronouncements about a baseball season. I like some things about the club, but see plenty of potential flaws. Time will tell. The schedule gets tougher, but the team will be at home. Let's see how they do.
  20. stringer bell
    You're right, it's much too early to be making such pronouncements. As far as can be seen in the future, the Twins will only face one left handed starter in the first 15 games or so. Doesn't it make sense to get all the right handers who do have superior splits against left handers in that one lineup? Given how short benches are anymore, it is really tough to have strict platoons. Yes, Solano did hit for Gallo in Game One of the season (and got a hit!), but he hasn't replaced him against a lefty reliever since. He might at some point depending on the situation. Solano was a better bet to make contact and drive in a key second run when he hit for Gallo in KC. Regarding Gallo playing first base, getting the best offense in the game versus right handed pitching wouold have Gallo in the game and he's not a terrible first baseman and incidentally is a great target (6'5"). I would argue the the two choices at this time (with Kirilloff and Polanco both on IL and Buxton as the DH), the best offensive alignment is having Gallo at first base. I don't love it, but it is the best situation overall. Gallo might be a better left fielder than Larnach (not by much), but Larnach has never played first base professionally. I don't think Gallo is any better in the field than Kepler as a right fielder and certainly is not a better center fielder than Taylor.
  21. stringer bell
    My point was and remains that at the age Castro is now, Gordon presented an inferior profile to Castro. Take away Gordon’s age 26 year and what do his numbers look like? I do think it’s entirely possible that if given the chance that Gordon had, he might thrive. He switch hits, runs well and has some power and he has experience in right field and third base that Gordon lacks. With three plus years of service he might never find the team and role to develop and no one is at fault here. He’s probably not now and maybe never good enough to be an everyday player. I don’t think we can count on Nick G to get better or maybe put up numbers as good as last year.
  22. stringer bell
    Three recent pennant winners in the NL were far different teams in the playoffs compared to where they were at the All-Star break. 2019 Nats, 2021 Braves and 2022 Phillies. Nats got healthy and added a couple of key performers as they won the World Series. Braves remade their outfield--Rosario, Soler, Duvall--and won the WS and the Phillies caught fire after being around .500. The Phillies won 87 regular season games last year, the Braves won 88 in '21 and the Nats won 93 in '19. They were far different teams when they hit the stretch run and the playoffs.
  23. stringer bell
    Specifically, it won't break my heart to see Castro sent to the minors, but he could be a Triple A All-Star IMHO and someone that steps in somewhere as a truly valuable and versatile super-sub. About the only way that would be in Minnesota would be if Nick Gordon fails or gets injured. That is because Gordon is cheaper and can't be sent to the minors without being DFAed.
  24. stringer bell
    Compare Willi Castro today to Nick Gordon a year ago (same age). Castro is younger, faster, more versatile with a similar offensive profile. We all know Nick had a nice second half and looks like a much better hitter, but it wouldn’t totally surprise me if Willi Castro ends up being a better player than Nick Gordon.
  25. stringer bell
    I hate to like this, but I believe it is right on the mark. Watching just Twins games this year, speed and base stealing has had minimal impact, but I believe it will be a pretty big factor going forward.
×
×
  • Create New...