Badsmerf

Since his HR/FB ratio is about 12.9 % which is below the 15.1% he enjoyed in 2009, so the thin air isn't making much of an impact here. His LD% is also at 22% which is the highest of his career, not really sure of the thin air make him hit more line drives. O yeah, he is also enjoying a .382 BABIP, which I don't think is an effect of Coors Field. In case you were wondering, his highest BABIP ever is .328 in 2006. Lets be fair when assessing players.

As bad as Colabello was when he was up, I'd like to see both him and Parmelee get more AB's. In another month the playoff picture will start to develop and Morneau/Willingham should be traded. That opens up an everyday spot for Parmelee with Colabello receiving about as many AB's as Parmelee is getting now. That might not be perfect, but until Colabello shows some ability to hit MLB pitching he shouldn't be handed a full-time job. This is contradictory to how I feel with most prospects, but his circumstance is different than most.

Have I ever said I have a B.S. in Mathematics? I love the numbers in baseball and how to interpret them. There is almost no 2 people that place the same emphasis on the same categories. One of the many reasons I absolutely love this game.

I agree and disagree at the same time. I might favor Pedroia slightly more, but not by as much as you're suggesting. Desmond has 12 HR on the year compared to Pedroia's 4. That is pretty significant. I don't want to turn this into a Pedroia vs. Desmond thread, but this is really Pedroia's on base skills vs. Desmond's power. Fortunately for Pedroia, he is an OBP machine and thus gets a slight edge to Desmond. I know you are bias toward OBP, and for good reason. I'm pretty balanced on BA, OBP, and SLUG. Maybe I am just too used to seeing SLUG instead of ISO. I might feel differently about OPS-BA if we just used ISO instead of SLUG. Maybe it is more indicative. In the case of Desmond vs. Pedroia, this would make Desmond sit at .529 and Pedroia sit at .501. So, you would think OPS would then be better since it favors your position more.

Morneau is making it hard to trade him. Playoff teams want guys that can hit HR's. So far this season, Morneau has not shown that is something he is capable of.

I don't think OPS-BA is a better stat than OPS. BA, while fluctuating based on things like BABIP, LD%, FB/HR%, still is a key stat. Base hits are important. They drive in runs, move runers ect. Subtracting them is basically taking ISO + OBP. This is why power showed to be important in this stat. I don't think a single stat deserves to tell an entire story on a player. One can make an argument that oWAR does make a good attempt. The 20 guys listed here will look good no matter how you slice it up, they are having monster seasons. When advanced stats come into play are for guys like Plouffe that contribute greatly yet quietly.

I disagree. Ground balls are more likely to be hits than balls hit in the air. Obviously, line-drives are pretty likely to be hits too. I've come to the conclusion that ground balls don't matter unless you are an elite ground ball guy like Gibson. I think the ground ball craze got big during the steroid era when balls hit in the air were leaving the park at an unprecedented rate. Shoot, an infield fly is the absolute worst type of contact a hitter can make, which is converted to an out nearly 100% of the time.

Where did you find that Parker?

I would have put Buxton in there, but it seemed a little aggressive to expect him to be the leadoff guy by then. It is certainly possible, especially if Hicks continues to struggle. Add in guys like Vargas and Harrison that could be on the verge by then and Plouffe possibly in the mix somewhere and you've yourself a nice line-up.

What this data shows me, is that none of it is relevant to a winning team. The numbers are all over the board and shows no correlation with successful Twins teams vs. unsuccessful Twins teams. I get that the point of your blog is to highlight "Twins Way" stats, which I believe you did a good job doing. I'm a "Twins Way" hater though, I despise putting value and making big decisions on things are not pertinent to winning games. I think the "Twins Way" is something they just talk about now, which doesn't make me feel much better about it.

Thank you. I will make an effort to be a better person from here on out. I will not let my snark overcome my main goal at this site, I will not let ineptitude deter me from spreading the truth! Sounds really good in my head right now, but like a New Years resolution, I'll probably get tired of it.

Love Arcia. Had him as my #1 prospect coming into the season. He is going to be scary to pitch to in future years. In 2015 imagine pitching to Rosario, Mauer, Sano, Arcia. Man, that will not be a walk in the park.

I'm going to suggest that he finishes the season with the best ERA of any of the starting pitchers. I might just be too excited for a talented pitcher to be on the mound for the Twins again, but I don't think he is going to struggle as much as suggested.

Am I on your ignore list? I didn't know those even existed. Now I'm wondering how many people have me on their list and if everybody hates me.

Relax. Whining about whining just equals more whining. Half-way through the season with the worst SP ERA and the Twins best starting pitcher finally gets a call-up. Its just long over-due and some might want to get their shots in. Hit the ignore button dudes. I'm extremely pumped to see Gibson and I think my posts finally convinced TR to make the move. I think he should read my posts more often.

Are you suuuure? Is this going to be the real Kyle Gibson?

Are you sure? The Twins (you) aren't just joking around? I wont believe it until I actually see his debut. Even if he is in the dugout. Are we sure its him and not a projection like 2-Pac at that one concert?

I'm fine with Pedro on the 40-man. There are plenty of of other options to DFA. Wait for it.... wait for it..... Butera!!!! SPEEED!!!

I'm of the position that the Twins are ****ing-up Hendriks. While I will concede that it is possible he can dominate AAA then not make it in the MLB, he needs an actual shot. He will figure out how to get MLB hitters out, it is just giving him the opportunity.

Relievers have train their body/arms for short stints. Relieving and starting are different. Relieving you are only throwing 20 pitches, starting your goal is to throw 100. They train differently and asking a reliever to turn on a dime and start is asking a lot. Swarzak and Duensing are more long relievers that go 3 innings or so, but when they've had spot starts it hasn't gone too well. I completely believe this is an incompetent move. Albers could have been called up to pitch this game and might as well send Walters back down in favor of Gibson while you're at it. I realize it is a short term thing, but why call-up a AAA filler over a guy that might actually give your team a chance to win long term? If I was Albers and got passed up I would be frustrated as hell. This has been another example of the Twins terrible handling of young players. I get that Gibson will probably get the call after this start, but it just doesn't make it any better.

Does Buxton really have 32 ****ing steals already?

He started the opener for E-Town 2013 with 1.2 IP and 3 K's. He started the game, so I'm not sure why he only went 1.2 innings... Anyway, not a bad debut. Hopefully he can build on this start and begin to rise in relevancy.

Felix Jorge comes into 2013 having had a great 2012. He is 19 this season and stands 6'2" and only 170 lbs. He had a 2.34 ERA with 37 K's and 12 BB's in 34.2 IP for the GCL Twins last year. He signed a few years back and was considered one of the better INTL pitchers available. Finding scouting reports or anything of substance on him is difficult. 15. Felix Jorge, RHP 1/2/1994 H:6’2″ W:170 - Jorge is a young righty, projection in his frame and already flashes low 90s with his fastball. He should grow a little taller and add at least 20 lbs to his frame. That should uptick the velocity to the mid 90s. He pairs the fastball with an average curve and changeup. It’s been enough to hold lower level hitters to a .221 AVG against last year and lead the GCL staff with a 2.34 ERA fully supported by his FIP. He’s still on the first steps of a long development path but could be a top SP prospect for the system in just 2 years. -baseballinstinct.com Here is a video of him. Hopefully by the end of the year we will be much more familiar with him. At this point he is all projection with some pretty good results in his first few years in low level ball. I hope to see him in Cedar Rapids by the end of the year, but the Twins might not be as aggressive with him as they've been with some of their top prospects recently. A good year from him could find him in the top 20 prospects for the Twins (already 15 on baseballinstinct) with a chance at top 10 lists with Hicks, Arcia coming off (I would say Gibson, but I doubt he will get enough innings in the MLB at this point). I'm excited about his potential. He has a smooth, easily repeatable delivery with a lot of projection. This is a guy to keep an eye on.

Since I've pretty much ignoreds this thread until this page, I'll throw out a few top INTL FA. Sano, Polanco, Kepler, Pimintel, Jorge, Minier, Ko Lou Ho (or whatever), Nishioka. Those are just guys off the top of my head that were pretty good signs. Not really sure what the argument is about, but if it is the Twins presence INTL I would agree they have been soft. Things are changing though, and with the success of Sano (hopefully) more guys will want to come to the Twins

How many starts does he get? He had a flukish good year last year, that doesn't mean he will continue to have good years. His past is more indicative of his results this year than last. He's had 13 starts, when is it time to jump off the wagon?