jokin

The OF defense is a train wreck, no doubt. But- Check those team K rates- 16.2%- ranked 30th. Team SIERA and xFIP are ranked 29th. K/BB is 27th (the Giants finished 8th in K/BB with about the same BB% as the Twins). Still a long, long way to go.

How so? Adding the "s" on to the end of Meyer? Actually, I like pretty much all of Ken's post. The Twins may have upgraded on paper with the addition of Santana, and maturation of Gibson, that still leaves "I don't want to be here" Nolasco, continued struggles from whomever the #5 SP is, plus Hughes may regress some.... it seems likely they will still be "the worst staff in the division." And that the Twins love and prefer their vet pitchers and their mystery AAAA pitchers over legit prospects, if it's a close call.

Rhett Bollinger got an early story onto MNTwins.com, complete with a load of reassurances, and some more trepidations around the dreaded walk ratio. I would like to get some further input from Neal Allen, on his health, his mechanics and some more specifics on how he grades each of Meyer's pitches (relative to all of the good pitchers he's worked with on the Rays):

As Platoon just noted, Meyer hasn't been this wild over a 3 game stretch since he's been with the Twins. Although I'm pretty sure it was pre-ordained that Meyer had been offered little chance of getting the #5 spot. I hope Nick asks in-depth questions on the demotion.... 1) Is there a lingering shoulder issue? 2) Is there a new mechanical issue they can't sort out? 3) Is Meyer having trouble adapting to the new pitching coach? 4) Is there an issue with Meyer's agent and the athlete's expectations of where he should be?

Yesterday's performance was reminiscent of the game I saw him pitch last August. Weak contact. Occasional fits of inexplicable wildness. The slider was devastating that day, too. But the velocity on the FB was high 90s, not mid-90s. And the change was, and still is, a work in progress. And like yesterday, when he bears down after struggling, he strikes out 3 guys in a row, and comes back with a very efficient inning. You needed to exposit further on Johnson, in The Big Unit's third and fourth full seasons, while his K/9 jumped from the 7s to the 10s, his BB/9 numbers also jumped to a horrific 6.8 and 6.2! Long leash by the Ms, indeed. By contrast, in Twinsland, there were complaints and grumbles when Meyer's BB/9 upticked from 3.7 to 4.4. For 2014 and Meyer the Twins were all about the innings pitched and health. Hopefully, both the Twins and Meyer have set the bar higher in 2015.

Yep on the "patience" issue. This is why I would have liked to have seen Meyer here last year, with a continuation of his apprenticeship from the start of the season at the major league level this year. This team can afford to be patient during the rebuilding phase- not so much if they think they are still "in it". I think it was a missed opportunity not to get Meyer up before he hit his innings limit, say, in July, for the same, sometimes horrific, 9 starts like May got.

My comment was directed in both directions. Alex Meyer is not the next Koufax or the next Johnson, he's going to be the next Alex Meyer. However, we can't ignore that physically, developmentally and the pitching approach that each possess, that comparisons of Meyer to Johnson at the same age are likely to be apt for comparison- and flame-ball pitchers at 6'9" or 6'10" are rare, unique cases. As I've stated before, IMO, while Meyer has the best chance of any prospect in the org. in becoming an Ace, he seems just as likely in becoming a frustrating mid-to-back-end-rotation guy or a reliever.

Once again, folks are freaking out when Johnson's name is mentioned with respect to Meyer. Without in any way implying or endorsing the notion that Meyer is an Ace-in-Waiting of the Randy Johnson variety, Nick and Seth hit it right on the head, like Johnson, Meyer is the same kind of special, unusual case. In point of fact, Johnson inauspiciously began his MLB career at the same age that Meyer is now, and his initial wild and erratic performance with the Expos convinced them to ship him off to the Mariners in late May of his inaugural full season of ball. What followed was 3.5 more years of a wild roller coaster ride. And when I say "wild", Johnson led the League in Base on Balls for the next three consecutive years and very, very gradually, became more consistently effective. Having seen both pitch around the same age, I think there's every reason to think that Meyer's early MLB career could follow the same arc, frequent train wrecks interspersed with dominant brilliance, often in the same game, or even from inning to inning. As I've pointed out previously, the good news is that Meyer has demonstrated far more control in his minor league career than Johnson did. Again, not to suggest that Meyer will eventually morph into Johnson, just that "Mr Toad", Alex Meyer, is likely to give Twins fans a "Wild Ride" for the next few years. I hope the Twins get him up to the big club, sooner rather than later, and that both management and the fans can show patience when days like yesterday happen. As I wrote in August when I reviewed his game against Louisville, there is little left for him to learn in AAA- he was a man amongst boys, only now, as Nick noted, the change-up is beginning to take shape as his third effective pitch. The only AAA player in the park that day in Louisville that could beat Alex Meyer was Alex Meyer. At this point, it's all about ratcheting up his consistency, I'd prefer seeing that live arm doing its "ratcheting" with the Twins, but I get the Twins thinking that they need Meyer to continue pitching on a tight schedule.

Of all the options, it sure seems to me that a Hicks/Schafer position-share would yield the optimum plate production to start out the season. If Rosario is raking after more than 100 PAs in AA or AAA, it could offer the perfect opportunity to call Rosario up if the platoon is under-producing. I am not in favor of platooning Rosario at this point. But I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to the option that no one is really discussing- Schafer and Robinson starting out with the Twins (not necessarily in a strict platoon)- with Hicks in AAA and Rosario in AA. You lose some plate production at the outset of the season, but the OF defense is solidified with Robinson in late innings, and with this move, you set the bar pretty squarely for each player to leap over, especially with Hicks and Rosario getting 4-6 PAs on a daily basis.

Think back to Gibson one year ago. Unlike this year, he was given a "real chance" to win a spot- and he seized it. It just seems pre-ordained that the M&M boys are opening up again in Roc, with perhaps even the other "M", Milone, accompanying them, or with one or both vets going north, with one in long relief. Nick- Have you heard any whispers to just this scenario? Or is there a chance of a post-April 1st trade to clear the SP backlog a little bit?

You won't get much, to be sure. But assuming he's healthy and performing within career parameters, LH with an option remaining will represent some value to some teams looking for a 5th starter alternative.

The evidence indicates that the Twins had one specific plan for Meyer in 2014, and were never going to deviate from it

The deciding factor might ultimately be that Milone has one remaining option. It now seems destined that Pelfrey, the guy we least expected (I never thought Stauffer was under serious consideration) to get that last spot, is on the inside track to being the winner of the SP#5 Derby. Milone with that option might make better trade bait anyway. The decks are going to have to be cleared, something has to give, it's just a matter of when.... I fully expect Berrios by mid-year to add himself to the M&M boys and become yet another arm worthy of a trial run in the rotation.

Because he was "claimed" by the Twins when he was in limbo after the Yankess DFAd him, and then he was traded to the Twins.

You don't think in a proper platoon that CF at least has the chance to be near League Average? 2014 AL CF- OPS .722 wRC+ 105 2014 HIcks v. LHP- OPS .792 wRC+ 133 2014 Schaf v RHP- OPS .681 wRC+ 94

My numbers were taken directly off of Fangraphs. I'm not certain why they differ from BRef, and it was pretty clear who Nick meant by the "regulars".

Yup. 1st AL .731 Mauer .732 RF AL .706 Arcia .752 LF AL .724 Hammer .747 DH AL .733 Vargas .772

Did anyone say he was?

He was traded after he was placed on waivers.

And not to leave out the "panic-free" veterans and all of their "presence" on the pitching staff:

After last year's early season fiasco with multiple CF waiver losses, plus the simple fact that Florimon, Bartlett and Kubel had no business being on the opening day roster, the Twins made certain that they have plenty of extra "veteraniness" going into 2015- First- of course, "The Accidental Shortstop", Escobar, Second- "The Claimed Clingers", Nunez, Schafer, Third- "The Butera of the Outfield", Robinson, and, Fourth- of course, "The 40 Year Old OF Version", Hunter.

Most unlikely February 2015 headline prediction that could now come to pass: Boyer Bolsters Bullpen

Hunter will be 40 on July 18. Expect an extension on or around his birthday.

It's surprising to a lot of folks who assume that Torii will be gone by July. Barring a Kubel-esque collapse, expect an extension by July 31.