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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    Hamilton signed a couple of days ago with the Giants. I wanted him as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement for last year's postseason run. If the Twins are in a similar position this year, I think that would be a good move on or about August 31.
  2. stringer bell
    I don't want to sound all "sour grapes" on Graterol, but it is not a guarantee that he'll will be elite, even if he does stay healthy. The wipeout slider a triple-digit fastball are great, but we were saying the same thing about Fernando Romero. I wish Brusdar the best and hope he's real effective until the Dodgers play the Twins in the World Series. I wish that if the club was going to cashier a top prospect, they would have gotten top value, but Maeda is an intriguing arm and I think he will help this club this year.
  3. stringer bell
    Absolutely no reason to add Chacín until the last day before the Twins play their first regular season game. They now have a spot to claim someone who might help them, and with Hill going on the 60-day they'll essentially have two spots. Raley is an OF/1B. The Twins have higher rated prospects that play outfield corners and first base. I think Raley will reach the majors this year and he might be a pretty good player, but the Twins have Rooker, Larnach and Kirilloff.
  4. stringer bell
    The other thing on Maeda is that he's under contract for four more years, with minimal financial risk. At best he makes $13M a year and earns it by being a functional part of the rotation for the next four years. At worst, he costs just north of $12M and the Dodgers gave the Twins that much money anyway. Yes, the Twins traded the potential of Graterol, but they get a surer bet in Maeda.
  5. stringer bell
    I have to disagree. This club is firmly on a win-now path. They have added depth in their rotation and versatility with Maeda. With both Pineda and Hill out for more than the first month, they have veteran options and it is entirely possible that some of the veteran options they have acquired will stay in the rotation when (first) Pineda and (then) Hill become available. For the first two-thirds of 2019, the Twins had the five-man rotation start more than 90% of their games. I doubt they will have the same fortune this year. I don't want to dump on prospects, but Dobnak, Thorpe and Smeltzer are not top prospects. They did each have moments last year and I think it wouldn't be a disaster if any of them made the rotation to start the season. However, to count on them and need them to be positive contributors is not the blueprint of a team that is trying to win a championship.
  6. stringer bell
    Even though Graterol is younger, has MLB experience and throws harder, I believe the Twins think that Balazovic has more value because his arm can stand up to the rigors of starting long-term. I am not convinced that Graterol is going to be great this year and I am also not convinced he'll stay healthy even as a bullpen pitcher. He might be special and there is no guarantee that he won't be a starter. Time will tell.
  7. stringer bell
    Well Chacín will now have to be better than Smeltzer, Dobnak and Thorpe. Now there will be a bullpen opening for either Stashak or Romero, or one of the non-roster left handers.
  8. stringer bell
    Bobby Kielty was one of the guys I had an irrational affection for. He never amounted to more than a platoon guy and never became the five tool slugger I envisioned. I hated it when they traded Kielty for noodle-armed Shannon Stewart (and I was totally wrong).
  9. stringer bell
    Reading the MLB Trade Rumors writeup, it appears that Maeda could earn an additional $10M in incentives based on starts and innings. $13M per year is hefty, but it also provides protection in the event of injury or ineffectiveness. $13M is not too much to pay for a reliable 1-3 starter. He is under contract through his age 35 season. I really hope this trade pans out as the Twins could be looking to restock their rotation in 2021 no matter what the results for 2020 are.
  10. stringer bell
    I've also wondered about Graterol's body. type He's not tall and he weighs 265 according to the Twins web site. I'm not calling him out for conditioning etc., but questioning whether a guy with that type of body can be durable while throwing triple digits.
  11. stringer bell
    We shall see.I have not been as high on Graterol as most here. I just looked up Maeda on BBRef--he's a pretty solid arm in his early 30s. This club needs starters most of all and getting a guy for four years might to worth it.
  12. stringer bell
    First and foremost, it isn't fair to judge a pitcher from just 27 innings, as you said. Secondly, IMHO, the swing and miss rate negates the low spin rate. He's getting swings and misses and Ks. If I recall correctly, Thorpe seemed to be a victim of nerves leading to to crooked numbers. The other thing I remember is sailing along and then encountering an inning where he couldn't get anyone out. Bad luck? Different stuff out of the stretch? Lack of trust in his stuff? Regarding FIP and xFIP, some pitchers never can pitch to what would be predicted for them--Ricky Nolasco comes to mind--but usually ERA tends to normalize near those indicators. If Thorpe could pitch close to those marks, I think he'll be an asset for this year and years to come.
  13. stringer bell
    It's pretty obvious that we, the fan base, don't have a consensus on who to keep and who to discard. the beauty of it all is that they have all the pieces at this time. I think that a few months in that they may have to decide and they'll have more information to make a decision. My sense is that Kirilloff could be an elite hitter and maybe Larnach. Rooker and Raley probably project lower, but Rooker could be among the top quartile power guy. Cave and Wade both had their moments (Cave with a much larger sample size).I don't think Cave will get past Rosario, but if he gets an extended opportunity, who knows? I think all of outfielders will get a chance to improve their stock. By the end of July both the fan base and FO will probably have much more informed opinions about all of them.
  14. stringer bell
    The wisdom of waiting for the trading deadline is that the Twins will have a lot more clarity on what they need and a better idea of which pitcher fits their needs. Most of the guys signed as free agents have questions attached to them. Performance in the first half will answer many of those questions. I expect the price tag would be high, but the Twins also by then will have a better idea of which prospects they are willing to trade in order to get who they want.
  15. stringer bell
    I don't think the Twins can depend on five guys in the rotation to get them through the season. Last year was an anomaly in that, until August, the team got more than 90% of their starts from the same five guys, who were all reasonably effective. This year, we can expect one of the three written in already (Berríos, Odorizzi and Bailey) to come out of the rotation because of injury or ineffectiveness. Beyond that, I think it should be expected that at least one of the three likely replacements at the bottom of the rotation (Dobnak, Smeltzer and Thorpe) also either gets hurt or struggles. Having Pineda and Hill as reinforcements at roughly the quarter pole and halfway mark is prudent, but overall I expect Twins starters to be a continuing problem this season. My hope is that the club's starters, as a whole, improve as the season progresses. Last year was the opposite.
  16. stringer bell
    There is a 26 man roster this season, so the Twins can have eight in the bullpen and still have four bench players. Especially early in the season, there is really no point to having more than 13 pitchers. Non-starters Avila, Gonzalez, and Adrianza are set, so the fourth bench spot is between the versatile Astudillo (including being a third catcher) and Cave. I believe both players have an option remaining, so which guy fits better? All things being equal, I think Astudillo is the better fit, but if Cave clearly outplays him in the spring, he can win the job. Most likely, someone will be injured and we won't be having this discussion at all.
  17. stringer bell
    I think spending money on a declining Pillar makes very little sense and while the team needs more speed and a good defender, especially if (when?) Buxton is injured, Dyson really doesn’t have a major league bat. I think the best and most versatile 26th man would be Astudillo, but he’ll need to win the job over Cave.
  18. stringer bell
    Back to the OP--Counting Raley, the Twins have four corner outfielders who look close to major league ready. All four may also be groomed to play first base, but that hasn't been their position up to now. All four of the players are bat-first and three of them hit left handed. To me, there is a lot of redundancy there, especially when the Twins have two established left handed hitting corner outfielders, along with Jake Cave and LaMonte Wade Jr. To me, the Twins need to prioritize who they are going to stick with and who they can stand to lose and include those guys in trades. Next year probably will feature a real roster issue with high potential, but unproven corner outfielders. It is best to be proactive and deal with the problem early rather than late. All four will have a chance to put themselves in line for a promotion this year. May the most qualified win!
  19. stringer bell
    And welcome to Twins Daily Gary_Wayne_Guy!
  20. stringer bell
    Welcome to Twins Daily DanFordWasTheMan.
  21. stringer bell
    With regulars pretty much established at all nine positions, it would appear that Gonzalez would get most of his playing time this year in the outfield, leaving precious little time for Cave, if he makes the original 26-man squad. My thought is that whoever is in that last slot on the roster won't get much consistent playing time. Maximum versatility and the ability to play well after sitting several days on the pine would be optimum for the last guy. My unverified opinion is that if Cave plays regularly, he plays pretty well, but when he gets to play only once or twice a week, he doesn't perform well. I don't know if Astudillo would be better in that very limited role, but he would get opportunities at the infield and outfield corners and catcher when players get nicked and come out of a game or in blowouts. Plus Astudillo has the one outstanding skill of making contact which could come into play in a rare pinch-hitting scenario.
  22. stringer bell
    This will be year 2 of Polanco throwing sidearm. I suspect he make incremental progress with his throwing. I was also reminded that he had ankle surgery in the offseason, and if he's fully recovered, he may make progress on his footwork, which would also positively impact his throwing. That said, Jorge is still stretched as a shortstop IMHO. With Arraez looking like his best position by far is second base, I think Polanco is the team's SS for the foreseeable future. Polanco is a good enough hitter to be a top 10 shortstop despite his defensive liabilities. I don't expect him to make many All-Star teams since there are a number of really good shortstops in the AL, but he is an asset even though he is stretched at the most important defensive position in the infield.
  23. stringer bell
    Astudillo over Cave IMHO. Neither is best suited to play occasionally, but I see Astudillo as slightly better-suited and also has the chance to get some reps as the third catcher. The raw numbers for Thorpe haven't been very good, but I am intrigued by him. I hope this is a year where he can really take a step forward. If Graterol is considered a bullpen piece, I would probably put him in front of Stashak and Wisler. I'd love to see Romero also convert his potential into performance, but I suspect he'll have to prove himself in Rochester or another major league team.
  24. stringer bell
    One result of committing Graterol to the bullpen this year would be the increased chance that Romero will not be in the Twins' bullpen, making him by far the most likely to be included in any trade the Twins make. Young, mid-nineties velocity, some experience and on his last option. I would think many clubs would want to take a flyer on him. As for Graterol, the velocity is nice, but he doesn't get as many swings and misses as other guys who don't throw it as hard (SSS, I know). I like that the team is playing to win, but I wonder if eliminating a possible ace for this decade is worth having his stuff in the bullpen this year.
  25. stringer bell
    His velocity as a reliever was pretty good IIRC, and improved from his starter days. I would predict some regression unless he makes another adjustment (add a third pitch?). I believe Littell still has an option remaining so he could shuttle back and forth to Rochester if the bullpen gets overcrowded.
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