stringer bell

Dobnak is not a one-inning maximum effort reliever. I'm sure he'd be fine in the rotation and I believe he will be good in a multiple inning relief role as well. Much of his bad numbers come from the third inning of the blowout victory over the Tigers where he gave up five runs in the bottom of the ninth. I don't think Dobnak is ideal to be the guy to pitch in the new extra inning setup, as he was in the season opener. I fully expect that Dobnak will be in the rotation within a month, somebody will get hurt or be ineffective, or perhaps the Twins will go to a 6-man rotation.

I think a role switch when Donaldson returns make sense with Arraez the primary 2B and Polanco filling in. That doesn't mean that Arraez can't play a game here or there in left or third, but that he is the primary starter and Polanco is the tenth starter. Polanco has only driven about three balls hard that I've seen, his K and BB stats are not promising. I do expect he will come out of it some, but I do wonder if the first half of 2019 was an outlier.

We’re talking about ten games here. Small sample size-yadda, yadda, yadda. Akil Baddoo won’t hit 64 homers, Polanco, Sanó, and Garver will improve. The question is whether these guys (and Kepler) will approach their top seasons or whether they are league average or below. Maybe a role reversal between Arraez and Polanco is in order. As far as Jake Cave, he has been the beneficiary of increased play due to Donaldson’s injury and the spring training demotion of Alex Kirilloff. I really expect AK will be with the Twins before the cold snap (in the weather) is over. As for the bullpen, yeah it’s still early, but Colomé hasn’t been sharp and he is really key to the ‘pen. Duffey and Stashak seem to have lost velocity, which is also concerning. I think Rogers, Robles and Thielbar have been very good. I think the lack of innings from the starters might expose the bullpen too much. So far, the team is losing a lot of “50-50 battles”, that likely won’t continue. However Cruz, Buxton and Arraez won’t stay as hot—Sanó, the catchers and Polanco won’t stay as cold, but the offense looks more like 2020 than 2019.

Particularly heartening to see Buxton with hits on the right half of the field. He still isn’t going to hit many ground balls through the gaping hole between first and second. Personally I’d like to see him line a few into the right-center gap, just to see him run out a triple.

Sanó seems on his way to Mark Reynolds territory. Yes, he'll hit a lot of homers, but will have prodigious strikeout totals. The slumps are too long and deep and the periods of elite hitting are too short. Alex Kirilloff may find a home at first base instead of left field. I do want to say that I don't think Sanó's problems are weight or attitude. He plays hard and seems to be a good teammate. He hasn't developed into an all-around hitter despite hard work.

Celestino was protected last year, correct? I wonder if the timing had anything to do with it. I think it was a gamble by the Twins to not protect Baddoo and it does look like they will lose this specific gamble. Detroit isn't going to contend and it looks like there will be sufficient opportunities for the youngster to play and perhaps smooth the rough edges of his game. It seems to me that position players who aren't likely to perform with the major league club are very seldom protected, while the Twins (and most other MLB lteams) protect pitchers who might be a year or even two away from contributing. Detroit is one of maybe five teams that can get away with carrying a Rule 5 guy because their probability of contending is so low. Bonus--the kid has come out hot with noteworthy hits, mostly against his former organization! Last thought. It looks like Akil Baddoo is a guy who might have all the tools. He seems to have good speed and a decent arm to go with developing hit tools. With the exception of top of the top choices Lewis and Buxton, the Twins seem to have gravitated toward hit-first players and it kind of shows on the major league team. there is a real lack of team speed outside of Buxton.

Right now if Cruz or Buxton would be the first hitter in the bottom of the tenth, I’d walk either of them.

Garlik's bust will be next to Baddoo's in the Hall of Fame.Seriously, we're a week in to the season and there's a lot of baseball to be played. At this moment, Garlik is contributing, as is Astudillo, the two guys who were being debated about as far as their place on the roster. I am concerned about two Twins hitters at this early point in the season--Garver and Sanó--both seem to be getting beat on breaking pitches and fastballs. Garver's 2019 season is looking more and more like an outlier and frankly I hope he can be as productive as he was as a rookie. I don't think he as good an overall receiver as Jeffers, so he needs to hit. Sanó seems to be descending into Mark Reynolds territory. The droughts are too deep and periods of dominance are too short. Maeda hasn't had great command in his first two starts, but I'm less worried about him. He seemed to find his groove in the middle innings today, but lost it in the sixth.

The title of this thread seems to indicate that the Twins didn't execute in extra innings (the 10th) but the reality is that they failed to advance runners throughout the game. I know that in today's strikeout heavy era, getting a runner on second and none out is an automatic run, but the Twins failed every time. IMHO, the Tigers stole one today--the Twins had more and better chances and hit two balls out of the park and still lost. Stashak was unimpressive again and given that he has options, he would seem to be the first pitcher sent out. Astudillo keeps hitting and despite not making the play on a slow roller, he appears to be pretty comfortable at third. I think Rooker's SSS so far this year has negated his good performance from last year. He did make a really nice catch yesterday, but he is in the big leagues to hit and he doesn't look like he is going to make enough contact to be an offensive asset.

Arraez should be in the lineup almost every day. Great approach at the plate and he has performed decently in the field.

Absolutely no surprise that JD will go on IL. The duration of the stay is the big question. If it is 10-15 days, OK, if longer, then it becomes pretty significant.

Sanó did play a couple of games at third in ST this year. I would think he’d be an option there. Arraez at third is OK, I suppose (he needs to play somewhere),but whoever plays there is a notable step back from Donaldson.

While I suspect Garlick won't be long remembered in Minnesota, I also think we should wait and see before considering the moves made this winter as a disaster. Opinions are just opinions and the page is blank. It could be a momentous mistake to let Rosario go with a year of control remaining or it could be a savvy decision. I have offered my opinion on Rooker for quite a while. He profiles as below-average in almost every facet except for power and it seems to me that he is going to be a major liability wherever he plays in the field. Finally, 29 plate appearances isn't enough to make a solid evaluation. Rooker did very well in those trips to the plate, but that doesn't give him a ticket to stardom. Fittingly, the front office never said that the job in left field was either Kirilloff's or Rooker's to lose and they have the option of playing Arraez and Cave out there more days than a rookie. Both Rooker and Kirilloff will be available and most likely both will get their chance to prove themselves before the season is even half over.

I think as the 26th player, Astudillo provides nice depth and he might have an occasional role as a pinch hitter when making contact is a high priority. I would hope the Turtle gets less than a start per week and on that topic one doesn’t want to have a younger player with upside in that role.

Rocco had a comment and it was complementary to Rooker and indicated that he was in the Twins' plans. That might all be posturing, but I suspect Rooker is currently looked at as the next position player up unless there is an injury to an infielder.

Platoons can and do work, but it was easier in the old days when a club had 14-15 position players instead of 12-13. I can remember the Yankees doing a platoon in left field with one of their catchers (Yogi or Blanchard) and Hector Lopez. Mauch platooned several positions with the Twins--3rd base, second base, right field and DH. Much harder to do with one backup infielder and one backup outfielder.

Cave is a pretty good defender, but I'd consider him "above average", not outstanding or elite. I certainly can see him being used as a defensive replacement for Arraez or Garlick in late innings when the Twins have the lead. My question is who is the starter in left field on April 1? My guess is that Cave gets the start, but it could be Arraez or Garlick.

1) Astudillo is versatile and has spent most of a season as a bench player for the Twins. He has elite ability to make contact and his presence will allow more ready substitution between Garver and Jeffers. IMHO, I would rate the Turtle's defensive skills as below average everywhere including the defense-oriented position of catcher. For Astudillo to fill in occasionally at first, third, left and right probably wouldn't do much harm. Certainly, he wouldn't be a choice to step in as a regular. 2) Garlick has been passed around on the verge of the majors for years. His upside is likely at best a platoon player, but he's had a good spring from beginning to end. 3) I've never thought that Rooker was on the same page as a prospect as either Larnach or Kirilloff. The strikeouts seemed to be a red flag and while he has good power, he doesn't have many other tools that project as even above average. I've been of the opinion that since we, the fans, saw Rooker play and do well that his upside is pretty high. I just don't think so. It might make sense to give him a month or so of at-bats to see what he can do, but my personal expectations aren't high. The last two years the Twins had two players capable of filling in for a week or so where they wouldn't hurt the club defensively or who could fill in on occasion without being a real defensive step down. That isn't the case this year. There will be a noticeable fall off is Donaldson, Simmons, Kepler or Buxton are not on the field. Bench players Arraez and Astudillo are bat-first guys. The other bench players are the alternate catcher and either Cave or Garlick.

The two non-roster guys pitched very well, but as long as they aren't lost to the team it is fine to go with the rostered players. I expect Waddell to get more innings than Thielbar over the course of the season and wouldn't be surprised if Law gets nearly a full season of work, as well.

Garlick has an option remaining.

Garlick over Rooker? Well, if you’re competing for a spot with a guy with similar experience, Garlick has the better of it. Rooker’s numbers this spring are pretty pedestrian—.237 BA, .645 OPS, and 18 Ks in 39 PAs—while Garlick posted better numbers across the board while facing tougher competition. Garlick is supposed to be the better defender as well.

A couple of extra players left--I also wonder if Colina will end up on the 60-day list, as well. That would free up one of the non-roster relievers (I think Law). Garlick probably gets sent down and two of the four of Thielbar, Stashak, Law and Waddell go to Milwaukee for Opening Day.

I do think that having Larnach a year behind Rooker and Kirilloff made the Eddie decision easier. Even if AK doesn't pan out, the Twins have another hitter for corner outfield nearing readiness. I wonder if Larnach ends up in St. Paul or Wichita.

I don't think the Twins should give up on Thorpe as a starter. While it isn't ideal to send him down because there are still 5+ weeks before AAA games start, having Thorpe available and stretched out at St. Paul makes sense to me. The back end of the Twins rotation has veteran pitchers with plenty of injury history. It is truly doubtful that all of them survive even the first half of the season without a trip or more to the IL. With his refound velocity and a good assortment of other pitches, I'd like to see Thorpe get another chance to have and hold a rotation spot for years.