stringer bell

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.

LF candidates have the hits tonight, Garlick with a long ball.

So sad. The future is not guaranteed for anyone.

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.

Dobnak's rise is a good story backed by excellent performance in the spring. Much like the struggles of some of the hitters, let's remember this is Spring Training. I've seen far too many stories of players ready to break out who never have. That said, it appears that Dobnak is the first "starter in waiting" and if previous years are any guide, he'll be in the rotation before we've settled in for the regular season. I'm confident Randy will get his chances and probably will hold on to a starting role for quite a while.

With the exception of Lewis, who wasn't going to make the club anyway, the team has been extremely healthy, so you just knew somebody would get dinged. I hope it isn't serious with Garver.

What happened to Garver?

What are the odds that Kepler hits the first pitch of the season into the seats? I don't think they are astronomical. Really, that is the mystery of Max Kepler to me. He has a nice sound swing and yet is so slump-prone. We've seen swoons from him every year for no apparent reason. Of course, we've seen the reverse where he's doing damage on almost every at-bat.

If there is a level playing field for the relief pitcher spots, I think Law should make the big league team. He has been absolutely lights out. Stashak is probably a competent last man in the bullpen, but given the apparent need for multiple innings early, I would expect Dobnak to come north with the team as a long reliever/spot starter. Also, given that Thorpe has an option, it will probably be used right away. He has been impressive so far this spring and may end up working many significant innings for the Twins. Thielbar was effective last year, but I don't expect a successful encore. I am thinking that Waddell will get to Target Field early in the year and will supplant Thielbar, but probably not on Opening Day.

I agree with those who say that Kirilloff lost the competition for now. Given the projections for him, he should be with the Twins before the middle of June, but he will have to pick himself up after getting knocked down (figuratively). I will be concerned whenever Rooker is playing in left field. I see that he was charged with his second error this spring (don't know if that is significant in and of itself). From the little I've seen of him, it appears he might be closer to Josh Willingham defensively than Eddie Rosario. While there were several "oh Eddie" moments, Rosario had sufficient range and a real strong arm. I have seen neither from Rooker. I realize that Kirilloff isn't noted for his glove either, but I don't think he's as limited as Rooker. If the Twins are ahead late, I presume we'll see Cave in left field.

Opening Day starting lineup with Maeda pitching and Sanó at first? Or maybe Arraez or Cave gets the start in left field. Garver, Sanó, Arraez and Cave all traveled yesterday for the game with the Pirates and aren't starting today. Tampa's lineup looks to be pretty much made of major leaguers as well.

I'll paraphrase what I wrote on a different thread--spring training is different for different players with different status. Buxton, Sanó, Kepler and Simmons are going to be in the starting lineup, if healthy. Despite a slow spring, Jake Cave will start the season with the Twins. Kirilloff had a chance to win himself a position and did not do it. It appears that Rooker did nail down a spot. Astudillo and Garlick have enhanced their chances to make the 26-man roster, as has Broxton, but Garlick and Broxton aren't in competition with Kepler and Buxton. The reality is that Polanco, Kepler, Donaldson and Sanó are on multi-year contracts and will get their playing time early in the season whether they .050 or .550 during Spring Training. That Garlick and Broxton have performed well probably means that they could be in line for a promotion if someone gets injured or if Rooker or maybe Cave don't hit when the bell rings for the start of the regular season.

Spring training is different for different players. Guys like Buxton Sano, Simmons, and Kepler already have starting positions and just need to be ready when the bell rings. While Cave hasn't been very good, he's had 2+ years with the team and they aren't going to dump him because he was lousy in ST. Kirilloff had a chance to win a spot, as did Rooker and it looks like Rooker has nailed that spot down, for now. Rooker's twentysome PAs last year and nice spring will likely be forgotten if he goes 2-20 in April, as it should be. I'm pretty sure everyone that has made a serious bid for a roster spot will get their chance sometime.

Now just nine days until the opener in Milwaukee. I'm still looking for volunteers to do introductions, either those of you that have done them in the past or newbies. Tentatively, 15 of the 27 games in April are covered, so there's definitely room to get more people involved. Below is the schedule for games in April (subject to change). Thanks to those who have volunteered so far. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bMtsBvWZxxow1r-rxuEmt8WYmlJj1U9cRX6mgX8jgJI/edit

I think the Twins value Thorpe enough that they would not risk losing him. Stashak has been less than impressive this spring and would be a candidate for St. Paul to start the season.

Four right handed hitters—Rooker, Broxton, Garlick and Astudillo—have hit very well. If Kirilloff makes the team, there’s probably only room for one. If Alex starts at St. Paul, there’s room for two. If Kiriklloff starts swinging well in the next few days, he can claim a spot, but I think it is up to him to do better. He has no absolute claim to a roster spot despite his #1 prospect status. Of note, as well, there is no backup for Sanó if Kirilloff is sent to the minors.

Spring doesn't count and hitters as a rule are far more reliable and predictable than pitchers. That said, yeah it seems time that the bats start producing. I worry most about Sanó and Buxton.

It's a long season and certainly the Twins will undoubtedly use many pitchers, probably including Smeltzer. I just don't think Smeltzer is going to be anything more than marginal. I think Smeltzer's story is great, but the tools are pretty limited. He doesn't have much very much margin for error.

I do think he's allowed runs in two outings, but he's been really effective since his first outing. I will grant that Waddell has faced less than the top of the line opponents although the opponent quality is on a par with most of the other pitchers projected to make the staff.

Dunno why I watched the game today with the college BB going on, but you have to be impressed with Waddell. Two innings, 5 Ks, the only balls in play a grounder and a pop up. Also Broxton scored from first on a single and had a double in his only AB (although he ended up running into an out because the runner in front of him stopped at third). He offers speed and defense off the bench With the bat-first candidates for left field and little speed on the bench, I think there should be a place for him on the bench.

Maeda looks stellar again today. There always are guys like him who don't break the radar gun but are truly tough to hit.

Just a reminder, there is a thread posted about game thread introductions during the regular season. We’re less than two weeks from Opening Day and it would be a plus to have volunteers early rather than at the last minute. http://twinsdaily.com/topic/49812-2021-regular-season-game-threads/

Welcome to the 2021 edition of Twins' Baseball. Twins Daily plans to have a game thread during the regular season for every game (one thread only for a doubleheader). The focus of the game thread should be on that day's contest and it is expected that the content of the thread will be provided by regular TD Twins fans. Each thread will require an introduction and I have accepted the task of organizing the introductions. I will post a Google Doc for each month usually 1-2 weeks before the month is started, meaning that I'm already late for the April edition. I'm looking for volunteers to post all game introductions. I'll also be the person to contact if you're unable to provide an intro that you've signed up for. Introductions should be posted at least an hour before first pitch but it is preferred that they be posted after lineups have been announced. The content of an introduction should be related to the day's game, but doesn't have to be hard news or analysis of that tilt. One could discuss uniforms, favorite players, reminiscences, strategy and really anything in the wide range of topics that relate to baseball. We will apparently have a full season of games and at least some fans will be in the stands this year. That should provide opportunities for anyone interested in doing an introduction to try their luck. I hope for a mixture of experienced intro writers and newbies to provide this content. If interested, send me a message and I'll do my best to hook you up with preferred game dates. If you have any questions about game threads, the signup procedure or any other specifics, get in touch with me. This thread will be pinned in the Minnesota Twins Talk forum and I'll post the Google Doc downthread as well as any adjustments, omissions or changes. It should be a fun season. I hope we can make Twins Daily Game Threads the place to be (on the web) for Twins games this season.