jmlease1

Nice win, good series for the Twins. After the first game I was wondering if this was going to be a series where it all fell apart for them, and they ended up taking 3 out of 4. And this game really was big: taking 3 out of 4 against a division rival rather than let them salvage a road split is a really good thing. Gibson looked great early and then it looked like he started missing his spots in the 5th & 6th. Encarnacion just brutalized us. Ugh. LaMarre had another very nice game, Sano had a great play...but this was all about Eddie. Imagine if he'd managed to make that catch at the wall too? (It was a great effort) I hate running out an 8-man bullpen. Magill sitting for 5 straight games? Sure limits the bench when you have that nonsense going on.

Rooker is coming around nicely. AA was the right spot for him and he should run the full season there. Hopefully he stays strong throughout the year and piles up 450-500 ABs and we see how he does late in the year with a lot of baseball under him. Nice to see him respond after a slow start. Goodness Kirilloff is hitting well. Any reports on how his defense looks? A little curious to see how he's developed on that after the year layoff.

All true statements, but have little to say on their own, about the pitching staff. The new regime has generally handled pitching acquisitions smartly. Phil Hughes didn't work out (again), but a) he was a legacy player and was coming off an injury stretch. It's a pretty reasonably move for any team not in the Yankees/Dodgers monetary weight class to give him another shot to see if it works out. Lance Lynn was generally hailed as a smart pick up, and it looks like he's rounding into shape. Lynn may be the poster child for "holdouts won't help you get that fat deal", but as a 4th or 5th starter his recent performance (which has shown improved control) is very solid and should be not only repeatable but subject to improvement. I was a little skeptical about Rodney, but I've thought for a long time that the "closer" role had become increasingly overrated and overpaid so having someone like Rodney meant to my mind better deployment for a guy like Reed or other, better arms. Well, Rodney has been just fine as the closer. And Reed (who I think everyone liked as a signing, especially for the price) has been great as a fireman. I wasn't sure Pressly would ever figure it out, and I was ready to move on, but he's been outstanding. Hildenberger has had a couple of glitches, but he's been mostly the same guy as last season and while he's not elite, he's a guy we would have needed to set up games last season. There's no question he's further down in the pecking order. Duke has been a worthy addition now that's he's gotten his control back (last two outings have been a miss, but that's inevitable) and it keeps Rogers from being overworked and exposed. That's a really solid bullpen construction. They're not asking guys to do things they're not capable of doing, they've got pitchers that throw with velocity and can miss bats, and there's a lot of flexibility built in here. The pitching staff is well-insulated against injury this season as well, as we've seen. Losing Santana sucked, but Romero has stepped up. Grabbing Odorizzi meant that we didn't need to expect as much from Gibson. There's real depth, with May looking to come back, with Santana rehabbing, Gonsalves pushing in AAA...the last few years we've been desperate for anyone who can go 5 inning and not embarrass themselves. Expectations are higher now. we're not an elite staff, but nobody is up here on scholarship any longer. That's a good start and bodes well for the future. Nick is right: it's great to have the best two starters on the team as young guys under team control in Berrios and Romero.

Just because a guy may be ready doesn't mean there's a spot for him when it comes to MLB. Tough break for Slegers, who isn't going to get a chance absent additional injury. I do wonder if a guy goes down before Santana or May are ready (of if a couple of guys get wiped out after) if Gonsalves or Slegers gets the call. Kirilloff is exciting right now. He seems to have bounced back wonderfully from the surgery and is hitting the cover off the ball. It'd be crazy if he doesn't get promoted to FM at the break. Can't wait to see how he does when he gets there.

Anyone care to weigh in on a former top prospect who has fallen off everyone's lists? Where does Kohl Stewart stand? I bring him up because Lewis Thorpe got mentioned and still shows up on the top prospect lists...and right now he and Stewart seem to be having somewhat similar seasons in AA. Stewart is still only 23. He's struggled with some health issues. The K rate has never been where people hoped, but it's been pretty good this year and he does a heck of a nice job keeping the ball in the park. Could he be a guy ripe to return to the prospect list, the slower developer who is finally figuring it out?

Probably not, but letting them ride a few more weeks for a mid-season promotion won't hurt anything. Get a good half season in, do a good evaluation and if they're ready (which both are looking like they are) move them up. And then don't be surprised if they struggle a little for a while. They're still both on an aggressive track: Kirilloff would have already been in FM if not for injury, but despite missing an entire season of play he's still younger than average at cedar rapids. Royce Lewis hasn't even turned 19 yet! (June 5th)

Hopefully this means Lynn is finally getting into shape and we'll start seeing this sort of performance a little more often. Nice to see the defense helping out in turning the DP last night too, several very nice plays out there to erase any potential rally. I'm very happy to see the Twins bringing their pitching staff back down to a much more sensible 12 man group. The rotation is going well enough that we don't need frickin' 8 guys in the bullpen and the additional bench bat is especially important as the offense has been scuffling a bit with guys being injured/out.

I'm actually really bummed about this. I LOVED the Phil Hughes signing when we first brought him here and then he had that wonderful first season with us...it was great! I remember being surprised by the extension, and didn't think it made a lot of sense, but I don't think I bitched much about it, because I was definitely on the Phil Hughes train. The next season he had a major drop-off, but I was still a Phil guy. I thought, maybe he was a little unlucky on giving up the HRs, maybe the K's will come back...he's still not walking too many guys...I had hope. And then the wheels fell off. Too many injuries. Shoulder problems. The velocity was down, the HRs kept flying out of the yard, the Ks never came back, the walks went back up...I was pretty sure going into this season that Phil Hughes was cooked, but I was ok with him making the roster. I was still rooting for him. So I'm bummed. Phil Hughes was pretty easy to root for. When he was going, he was a lot of fun to watch. It's the right decision, and I'm glad to see the FO is willing to make it. That's a healthy chunk of change they're eating, but the reality is Phil Hughes is no longer a MLB pitcher. I vehemently disagree with the people who want to dump Lance Lynn the same way. It's not the same situation, not at all.

Kirilloff just keeps on hitting. Hard to think he won't get a mid-season promotion up a level at this point. Great to see him coming back so strong after the injury.

He pitched ok in the last outing, but why would you eat the salary on him to start the clock on a guy from the minors that is only going to have marginal impact right now? The bullpen is doing fine, overall. The decision point comes when Santana/May get healthy, until then I'm not all that worried about the 12th and 13th spots on the pitching staff. I love seeing Buxton get a bunt down that he can run on, because the fear and panic he inspires running down the line is delightful. He makes people rush throws, bobble a fielding opportunity, overthrow, and anything else bad you can think of. So much fun.

Garver is doing fine for his first full-year in the bigs. I like his bat and if he makes even modest improvements there he's going to be a nice asset at catcher. I still have some concerns about his defense, but he's been looking a bit better back there as of late; it may be that more consistent playing time will help him do better there, so Castro's injury could be a real blessing for Garver. His splits so far are interesting: he's absolutely raking against RHPs and is a disaster against LHPs to date. Did not expect that from him, but probably more about SSS than anything else?

I think Gordon gets moved up to AAA around mid-season, but Seth is right as usual. Gordon's hit tool has never really been in question, people have always had confidence in his ability to hit for average and the thought was he'd add power as he progressed. That seems to be bearing out; we're definitely seeing more pop out of that bat. I have to say, I'm disappointed in his baserunning to date. He's got good speed, but outside of his year at Cedar Rapids he hasn't done well on the bases. The fielding is still a question mark, but if Dozier moves on in free agency, I'd feel pretty good about Gordon moving in there even with relatively light experience at 2B. I wonder what the plan is on Kirilloff. He's doing great hitting this year, shows no rust after missing a season from Tommy John and it's wonderful to see him increasing the power production without sacrificing much of anything else in his approach. (there's a few more K's, but hardly enough to be concerned about) Do you push him up to Ft. Myers this season, or see how reacts to full year baseball coming off the injury?

With as much movement as he gets on the 2-seam fastball, it's going to be hard for a lot of guys to hold off on it and work counts, I think so even if he's not throwing it for strikes as often as the 4-seam he should still be effective on it. Goodness, some MLB pitchers don't get that kind of bend on their sliders! Filthy indeed. Would love for him to be able to drop another couple of mph off the change; I think it'll be even nastier at 88mph than 91mph and will help his 4-seam fastball even more. What amazes me about Romero is how smooth and comfortable his delivery is. He's chucking 97mph gas and almost looks like he's long-tossing in the OF. I also appreciate the speed at which he works a game. No way is he going to have to worry about a pitch clock!

It's good to see prospects doing well at a lot of different levels. Always good to have the pipeline cooking at multiple stages and hopefully have someone pressing to make the big club every year. I know I'll be watching Lewis, Kirilloff, Rooker, Graterol, Thorpe, and Rortvedt especially all year. (lewis in part to see how the #1 overall guy does and the other 5 are my personal "i think this guy is interesting, let's see where they go" list, not necessarily because I think they're the best or most likely prospects to succeed) Prospect central is looking good right now.

I don't get this. Bringing in Kendrys Morales didn't work for us, but that's because he had a bad year, not because he was a bad player. Morales turned around the next season and was a fine player for KC right back in line with what he's been doing before the world fell out from under him in MN/Sea. And while he was overpaid the next year, he was still a useful player. (and now he's aging out of MLB) The decision-making process was sound, it just didn't work out. Lance Lynn made be another one of those situations, but it's too early to say. he had a bad month. Let's talk again in June and see if this still looks like a mess. (and remember, the Twins cut bait on Morales towards the end of July)

I object. I was SURE I was the most down on Gibson. Still no ready to declare him fixed and finally living up to his talent, but I am rooting for him. but I've been burned too many times to be convinced on 7 starts. that said, if he can keep putting up Game Scores in the 60s and pitch consistently into the 6th inning...I'll revise my opinion at the all-star break. Until then, he's still "the Tease". No question the peripherals are better this year (I don't love the walks, but for this level of Ks I think you can live with it) and his approach and pitch mix has definitely changed for the better. Hope it continues well for him. He does need to get deeper into games, though. not a fan of a starter leaving before the 6th in about half their starts.

Goodness, Romero is fun to watch. I think the FO is smart enough to know "the verducci effect" is garbage, but I still think they'll be careful with Romero this year and not stretch him out too far. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he gets lit up once in his next few starts now that there's some MLB tape on him and smart teams will start putting together a book on him. How he responds to that will be very interesting, but he has both the stuff and the makeup to do fine. Have to say, i sure am glad they didn't turn him into a relief pitcher! Nice to see Grossman have a good game at the plate, hopefully he can be a useful bat again. Though I'd much prefer his adventures in the OF be restricted!

I worry a little when it's a confirmed hacker like Eddie, mostly about what happens when he cools off. But agreed, for now we should enjoy the ride.

Started out looking like it was going to be a very frustrating game where a somnolent offense wasted a fine pitching performance, but we finally managed to grind out a few runs. Logan Morrison definitely seems to have come around after a horrid start; it's a small sample but the last 2 weeks are the kind of performance we were looking for when we signed this guy: .279/.367/.558 triple slash with a HR every 4 games? yes, please. Rosario is absolutely crushing the ball right now, and it's great to see, but I get nervous about the fact that he hasn't taken a walk in a week. and only 2 in a month. guess we'll have to ride this streak as long as we can and hope he doesn't expand the strike zone too much to where guys can just let him get himself out. Escobar also had a marvelous series against the Chi-Sox and just keeps on hitting. He's really stepped up, and we've needed his bat. Chicago White Sox: a cure for what ails you?

Rosario has hit one of those hot streaks and it's just what this offense needed. I'm still worried that he's regressing in his ability to control the strike zone and that it won't last. (a OBP of .299 isn't good enough for a starter in the OF, IMHO) But when he's going he's awfully fun to watch. Love moving Mauer into the leadoff slot right now. He's a machine getting on base right now (rolling up plenty of hits to go with the walks) and while he's not a threat to steal at this point in his career, he still runs the bases well and intelligently. With Dozier having been in a nasty slump, Buxton on the DL, it's a smart play. Good for Lance Lynn in getting the win. Hopefully this is the start to him being the pitcher we thought he was when we signed him.

This. If Phil can't find a way to add value in the bullpen, he's cooked. The control is gone the velocity is down, he's got a limited effective pitch mix...this is do or die. I loved the initial signing. I hated the extension (made no sense to me then, looks like a fireable offense now). It's a shame that injuries have put Phil Hughes in this position, but that's baseball. And we simply can't carry him if he can't pitch.

Fun game to watch. Romero is going to be appointment watching for a while, I think. Whew, that fastball cooks but it sure doesn't look like he's struggling to get that kind of gas! And it's crazy to think of a change up at 91. Frankly, if he can drop another 2-3 mph off that sucker and get consistent control, it's going to be ugly for a lot of hitters. I would have liked to see him finish off the 6th inning. It's the only real negative. But we need the starters to get a little deeper in the games, and I'm really hoping he's going to have the control that will consistently get him through 6. Offense still needs some work, clearly. Mauer, Escobar, and Kepler are doing fine, but Dozier looks like a total mess right now. he was absolutely flailing last night, and looked awful. is Rosario starting a hot streak? Sure could use it.

The Kinley thing seems to keep coming up again and again as a hack on the FO and a reason why the twins are in this hole. I have trouble accepting that one: the last spot in your bullpen is going to have marginal impact at best. Of our Opening Day starters, only 4 have an OBP over .300. Several of them are far worse than that. All of them last year were over .310. Joe Mauer is one of the only guys this year that you can rely on to get on base so far. That's killing the offense. There were a lot of reasons to be skeptical of Phil Hughes being effective again as a starter. It's proven out so far. I can understand the FO not wanting to just eat the contract if there was a chance of getting some value out of him, though. And that's only 2 starts. So far, Lance Lynn has been a bust, but it's still hard to say it was a bad move: we needed the pitching, his track record is excellent, and it was a one-year deal. Hopefully he pulls out of this mess, but I can't beat up the FO on that one. Odorizzi has been ok. Gibson has been ok. Either would be fine in the back end of the rotation, but because Lynn is awful and Santana is on the DL, we need them to be 2nd & 3rd options and they don't seem to be good enough. The whole pitching staff is walking too many guys; Berrios, Pressly, and Reed are the only guys I'd be happy with there. Funny, they're our three best pitchers this year. You have to hope this is small sample size at work. Maybe Crash Davis can come get us a rainout.

Garver definitely needs some work on his defense and general catching, but it's nice to see his bat starting to get it going. he may have had some tough games behind the dish early but at least he's swinging the bat. Castro has been horrific at the plate. Lynn has been a dumpster fire all year to date and even if you give him some bonus points for Garver's mistakes, he still pitched poorly last night. I don't know if it's in his head or what, but Castro caught him the last two games and he stunk in both of those too. Really nice to see Kepler playing well. He's shot way ahead of Rosario on the development scale and is really looking like a keeper.

I'm hoping this is the woes of small sample size and and some bad luck of so many players struggling at the same time. The offense has been disappointing so far. Morrison struggled so badly to start the season that he's going to be in a hole for a while. He's looking and hitting much better but the first three weeks of the season he was almost an automatic out. Castro has been rough at the plate, Buxton started slow before getting hurt, Sano hits it a ton when he connects, but isn't connecting enough. Grossman has been awful as a hitter and his usual mess of a fielder. Rosario has taken a step back. That's a lot of hitters not hitting. Mauer, Escobar, Kepler, and Dozier are the only ones getting on base at an acceptable level (and I expect more out of Dozier, frankly) The pitching...Berrios has been what we hoped, and Odorizzi and Gibson have been serviceable. But Gibson and Odorizzi and getting late enough in games is a problem because the 4th and 5th slots stink so our bullpen is overworked...again. Pressly & Reed have been great, but no one else has been consistent, unless it's been consistently bad. Again, small sample size, especially with relievers, but Rodney has been bad, Hildenberger, Rogers, and Moya all disappointed...maybe Duke has put it back together? He's started to look like he's finding his control. but I agree: the players need to play their way out of this. So far, only one of the offseason moves has really worked out: Addison Reed. But come on: not even the people predicting regression on morrison thought he'd be this bad. even the people who were "meh" on Lynn didn't think he'd be a dumpster fire. They're not as bad as they've been playing. But they need to get it together.