stringer bell

Hindsight is 20-20. There was another game to consider with a callup from Rochester starting. I do think that Rocco might consider Hildenberger and Harper swapping roles.

Are the limitations to callups effective this year? The Twins may be only able to add a couple players in September.

For the role of a spot start, I think Stewart and Littell would be the two most obvious choices.I would venture that both are considered limited upside guys at this point, but guys that can be adequate.

Here we are on May 9th and the Twins have the best record in Major League Baseball. They have had some low moments, but mostly everything has gone as well as, or better than, expected. Chatter about the Twins has been positive, especially after dominating a bad Baltimore team and then winning a series (and the season series) against the Houston Astros. A 4-2 road trip, including a dominant sweep in Toronto have put the Twins a season-high 11 games over .500. I doubt everything will continue to come up roses for the Twins, it never does. They will suffer injuries and players will slump or disappoint. Even in the best of years, these things happen. However, it appears that in most respects, the team assembled by the relatively new executive team of Falvey and Levine is set up well to handle struggles and snags when they occur. Let's look at what has transpired in the mostly cold and wet months of April and early May. With the exception of Miguel Sanó, the offense has been healthy and rolling. The Twins are in the top tier in the league for run-scoring, home runs, slugging and OPS. They don't walk much (most of the lineup is comprised of aggressive hitters), but they don't strike out much, relative to the rest of the league. The Twins are averaging well over five runs a game, playing many games in poor weather conditions. They appear set to challenge team records in runs scored and home runs this year. The power is well-distributed, with most of the regular lineup already hitting six or more homers. They have endured slumps from regulars and a slow start from Marwin Gonzalez (who has essentially replaced Sanó) without suffering much on the scoreboard. Pitching has been a surprise. The team is in the top half of many key pitching stats, including runs per game, quality starts, shutouts, innings pitched by starters, and opponent's batting average. Three of the five starters have been outstanding, with a fourth (Kyle Gibson) rounding into form in recent starts. The starters good work has taken pressure off of the bullpen. The bullpen hasn't been spotless, but they've gotten the job done. The late-inning quartet of May, Hildenberger, Rogers and Parker has been satisfactory, if not dominating. Defensively, the team is also doing very well. New acquisitions Gonzalez, Schoop and Crom have all played well in the field and the team has mostly been able to keep it's regular outfielders on the field, all of whom are plus defenders. Individual performances of note include José Berríos ascending to ace or near ace status. Jorge Polanco playing good defense and breaking out with the bat, Martín Pérez finding a few mph on his fastball and coming up with a cut fastball to (so far) become an outstanding rotation piece. The catching duo of Mitch Garver and Jason Castro (with a few appearances by Willians Astudillo) has been outstanding with the bat and has been given credit for helping the pitching improve. On the negative side, Marwin Gonzalez hasn't hit much, new rotation member Michael Pineda has struggled mightily in his last four starts and several relievers at the front end of the bullpen have had trouble getting people out. Many more players have stepped it up beyond those mentioned. Basically, the good play to this point has been a team effort. Can this run continue? Well, I think the competition changes with many more games against familiar opponents in the Central Division--three of those teams (KC, Chicago and Detroit) are in one stage or the other of rebuilding--so the schedule figures to be somewhat more favorable. I doubt the Twins can keep hitting so many homers (they are on a pace to hit almost 300!) and I also doubt the pitching will continue to be dominant, but there is no doubt that they are improved. I think the need going forward this year is adding pitching. A starter to perhaps supplant Pineda and a strong bullpen arm would be helpful and when injuries happen, such improvements might be vital. The Twins are now considered favorites to win the Central, but they need to keep doing what they're doing. Credit for this improvement should be given to Falvey and Levine, who also hired rookie manager Rocco Baldelli. They've shown they pay attention to the metrics that are part of the game now and made good decisions in putting together a team for today without breaking the bank or mortgaging the future. There's a long way to go, but the ride this year promises to be fun and it might be magical.

Do you mean Injured List for Polanco or are you suggesting a DFA of Adrianza and then a recall of Gordon if Polanco is "nicked"? I don't know if a contending team would want to throw a younger player who hasn't mastered AAA out to be a regular shortstop (not sure if that's his best position either). I'm guessing that Adrianza is considered the superior defensive shortstop and if he is on the roster, that he would fill in for a Polanco injury of short duration. If the injury was longer term, do you call up a rookie who has 0 MLB plate appearances? As far as Adrianza goes, no he's not a great hitter. However, I don't think 50 plate appearances is a large enough sample to project his offensive prowess. Last year, in more than 350 PAs, he had an OPS of .680, substandard but OK for a three-position backup infielder. I would expect similar if he was in the lineup three or four times a week for a month. I don't know what we''d get from Gordon.

It was a hypothetical. Actually, in my mind and using the current Twins roster, maybe the most legitimate scenario would be the trio of first base, catcher and DH. With both Castro and Garver raking, it kind of makes sense to get more in the lineup and if Garver is good enough at first base, perhaps they could get both of their (at least temporarily) hot bats in the lineup at once. Cruz is hitting too well to bench every fourth day, but having some sort of a platoon where a switch hitter covers more than one position could work for some team.

Development. Gordon hasn't mastered AAA, but he is a #1 draft choice. Having him sit on the bench and pinch run or play once or twice a week is not the way for him to develop into what he will be. Ronald Torreyes is currently inactive for Rochester. I don't know the details, but I doubt he will be a recall for the Twins in the near future.

I doubt Adrianza gets DFAed any time soon. Gonzalez has not played an inning at second or short, so the obvious preference is to go with Ehire. Also 46 at-bats is a really small sample size. If Adrianza goes 4-4 or more realistically 6-14, he's hitting .200. Adrianza doesn't hit enough to be a regular, but he's a plus defender and a switch hitter who is accustomed to a reserve role. I'm sure there are many similar players, but they don't exactly grow on trees. The Twins don't want to lose him. (IMHO)

Adrianza has decent speed to pinch run. Nobody steals any more, certainly not a pinch runner unless it is Buxton. Bringing up Gordon for less than full-time play would be a mistake, I think. I would like to see a situation where 12 guys shared 9 positions, each guy getting >450 plate appearances. In my mind, it would be four guys sharing 3 positions in three groupings. #1–catcher first and DH. A guy like Garver could start 40 at each (especially the way he’s hitting). #2–second, short, and third with a Marwin-type starting 40 at each position and #3 the outfield with a “fourth regular” replacing each starter for 40 games. The 13th position player could be a pinch hitter/runner or third catcher who might spend half of his season in AAA if 13 pitchers are needed.

Watching Pérez' first couple outings this year, I thought he would be helped greatly by an off-speed pitch. Against right handers, he worked almost exclusively in with fastballs and sliders. He seemed to lose command after 50 or so pitches. Now he's throwing both the cutter and the change and is working both sides of the plate. He's also been solid through 100 pitches. The Twins currently have three of the top 10 pitchers in ERA. One is Berríos, who would have thought the other two would be Odorizzi and Pérez?

I think it is up to Sano how soon he is recalled. If he hits and fields his position, he will be up by 5/20. If the Ks keep coming and the hits stop, he'll be optioned. I don't think there are any guarantees. I just checked BB Reference for something and each day they have assorted photos of player all the way from the 19th Century to today. Right next to each other were two guys who were going to be superstars, Gregg Jeffries and Grady Sizemore. Both had their moments, but weren't all-time greats. Sano was promoted that way as he came up. I just don't know if it will happen for him.

The Twins are averaging the second-most IP per start in the AL (heard on a Twins' broadcast). I don't see the need for all of Morin, Magill and Romero. For now, they can cut to 12 pitchers easy enough. Yes, they have to at some point add Reed and Meíja, but they should be able to do that and someone will suffer some sort of injury. They would have to add a 13th pitcher for the doubleheader next week. My guess is that Romero will be the "shuttle guy"going back and forth from Rochester. If they have to, they would DFA either Magill or Morin before they would lose Meíja or (from the position side Adrianza). If they are forced to go to 13 pitchers for a week or two, it is my guess that Astudillo is optioned.

It is Cave that goes down. Adrianza is the backup in the middle infield and has a good glove. He isn't a regular and not a big league average hitter, but he isn't an automatic out either.

Yes, to only get one of three vs. the wounded Yankees is disappointing. Friday was a lousy game and Sunday was disjointed. Pineda got swings and misses, but couldn’t put away the #9 hitter when he was ahead 0-2. It was the fifth and he was around 80 pitches. His pitches and command weren’t as sharp. Conditioning? He’s become a five-inning pitcher? I think he has to have a short leash.

There certainly is room for more pitching. Not factoring in injuries, the bottom half (less leverage) of the bully has been poor, the top half is OK, but besides Rogers, there isn't a guy I feel comfortable with pitching in high leverage situations. A right handed complement to Rogers would leave lower leverage situations for Parker, May and Hildy. As far as the rotation, Perez has been outstanding, Pineda pretty poor and Gibson's numbers are not good. There is room for better in the rotation and there isn't a season without pitchers missing significant time with injuries, so the club should have a plan when a guy or two go down. From what I've seen of reports from Rochester, there isn't much help there.

My thought is that when (and if) Sano returns next month that Cave goes back to Rochester. The extra outfielder is Gonzalez/Astudillo/Adrianza (probably in that order). That is assuming that everyone is healthy when Miggy is ready for the majors. 12 pitchers should be enough. Getting length out of the starters is the key factor.

I confess to not watching as much as usual so far this season. In another thread, I said Schoop's contributions had been "inconsequential", mostly because he hit his homers in one-sided games. I think he is fine defensively, but I haven't seen anything that sets him apart. I think he'll be OK this year and yes, probably better than Dozier (I really liked him while he was here), but I'd like to see him change a few games before I call his addition a masterstroke.

Castro is OK. Yes, I agree it is unlikely the Twins will want him back next year, but for right now he belongs on the team. With three viable catchers, all of them will be underworked, but they probably can stay fresh into the heat of the season. I like that he has a lefty bat in the bottom of the order.

Thanks. Very informative. It does show that having options remaining is very important. Probably why the Yankees were willing to part with Tyler Austin, for example. Not having options remaining forces the issue for players such as Magill and Adrianza. Meanwhile, Cave will probably be up and down several times on this year's option.

Media attention doesn't matter much to me. The thought that it matters to prospective Free Agents is also a bit far-fetched as far as I'm concerned. I think it matters what club houses and agents think and are talking about a lot more than what leads ESPN or mlb.com. As far as this year's additions, I think they are doing well as a group. Schoop hasn't been consequential and Gonzalez hasn't hit much, but I expect all will be OK offensively. This season will hinge on run prevention IMHO. Berrios looks ready to take a step forward, but no one else in the rotation has really stepped up. I'm disappointed with May and Meija in the bullpen, perhaps I was expecting too much.

The guys that competed for the last spots mostly did well--Harper of the relievers, plus Austudillo, Austin and Cave. I'm glad they're all going north. I wonder if Adrianza is 100%. Can he hit right handed? We'll probably forget about these decisions by June, but rewarding those who've played well with their jobs on the line is a good thing.

What does Romero need? Confidence? Relief experience? Or just more innings? I suspect it is confidence and a month or less of success in Triple A will be just the ticket.

I expect Rosario to spend quite a bit of time in right field. I believe Marwin is more comfortable in left, so if he’s in the OF for Kepler or Buxton, Eddie will move to right.

The Gonzalez acquisition knocked both Reed and Granite back a peg. I would hope the Twins could get Granite to Rochester. They really need more guys 23-40 with options.

Absolutely Ash. All players are not equal when it comes to making the 25-man roster.Adding a player not on the 40-man would necessarily cost the team the services of the player they take off the 40-man roster. Players out of options like Austin, Adrianza, and Meija get the longest looks because they are likely lost if they don't make the 25-man squad going north.