jmlease1

Gray has had some starts where the heat/humidity has gotten to him, so after 6 good innings and a lead I can see why they'd want to let him take a seat, and give the bullpen some work before the off day. It was a bit more wobbly with Jax than anyone would have liked, but they got through it. Always good to win a series on the road. Hopefully the Twins can keep it rolling a bit and put some more distance between us and the Guardians. Gray and Lopez are a very nice 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. Been quite a while since we had that, and I still have a lot of faith in Ryan, Ober and Maeda. Starting pitching will carry this squad (which I don't see Keuchel being part of for long...)

more walks for Austin Martin, more runs scored. Hopefully he can finish the season strong and healthy. I think he could be a real option as a 4th OF/super-utility player for the MLb club next season who gets on base all the time and impacts the game on the basepaths as well. Still believe in his talent, and I think he'll add power if he can stay healthy.

Lopez was excellent. He did a great job mowing through the Phillies lineup and it's a good one overall. His pitch mix is just so tough to contend with; he's got options to go to if one of his pitches isn't landing or he's struggling a little with his command. He's been good and healthy all season and I'm thrilled to have him locked up for the long-term. Gallo...great game. But it doesn't erase the trash-fire he's been for the last 6 weeks, or the fact that he wasn't particularly good in May or June either. I still think he needs to be the guy to go when Buxton and Kirilloff and Lewis and Solano (yikes, that's a list) are back off the injured list, because Julien and Wallner simply can't be sent down, Castro has earned his spot, Solano has been more consistent, we need Farmer as the backup at SS, and there's just no other option. Sorry, Joey. It's a harsh business sometimes. This is a strange Twins team: every time they get on a roll, they trip on a rock. every time they look like they might go in the tank, they right the ship. Let's go get the series in on the road today.

Tanner Schobel is finding life in the Texas League a little tougher it seems. I'm still not there on Sabato; he's had some good stretches and seems to be competing in AA, but dude is 24 and outside of a 22 game stretch in Cedar Rapids has never posted a SLG% over .450. With his relatively low BA, he needs to be showing more power, even if he's still taking walks well. Walker Jenkins sure looks like a hitter. he's going to be fun to follow. I think there's a really good chance that he'll be playing in Ft. Myers early next season, if not starting there. Eventually he'll need to start taking some walks, but it's hard to ask a guy to show more patience when he's 9-21 with 3 xbh! It's nice that they're getting done with signings from the draft earlier and guys can start in on minor league play earlier. Oodles of talent from this dude.

well, this is why one of the easiest ways to improve your team is to raise the floor. It's hard to find star talent; that takes patience, development, money, luck, etc. It's easier to raise the floor by creating more depth, shoring up the weakest positions, etc. It's amazing how much better a team is by simply not giving innings to bad players. And I do think this front office understands that and tries to mitigate against it. "Saved" is a little loaded and probably overstates things a little. Taylor has been pretty good, but in fact has been a little below what we might have expected; he's shown good pop in the bat (and it's made for some big moments) but even less patience than usual and his defense has slipped a bit from outstanding to good/very good. The extra value we've gotten from him has been mostly about his availability, which we needed with Buxton's knee keeping him out of center. Castro has been the real revelation; his OPS+ of 96 shows that he's still not a plus player at the plate, but the baserunning, defense, and positional flexibility has made him a real asset, a far better one than I had expected. His OBP is good enough to make him ok at the plate even if he has no real power, especially since he's a serious threat on the basepaths. (did anyone see 5th in MLB in SBs coming? the guys above him on the list have gotten a lot more ABs this season too.) He's not just stealing a lot of bases; he's doing it without giving up many outs, he's going from 1st to 3rd, is a threat to score from 2nd on anything to the OF at all times, etc. You can bring in Castro to pinch run any time in a game and not worry about screwing up your defense. That's awfully nice. I absolutely understood the Taylor signing, and it's done as intended: ensuring that if Buxton can't play in CF that we don't get stuck giving time to a 9th choice in the OF like last season. Sorry, Mark Contreras. I wasn't sure about the Castro acquisition; he seemed redundant with other guys on the roster like Gordon or Farmer, but he's been a great fit and they've played to his strengths without over-using him.

I think this is right; one of the things we've seen about this FO is they like to have redundancy and contingencies in place which probably has a lot to do with why they didn't move on from Larnach at the deadline. I think it's clear that for now, Wallner is higher in the pecking order, but he's going to have to finish August off strong and/or have a good September to definitely stay there. It's fair to say this is still a small sample size from him (we've seen Larnach have a great month before too) so he needs to keep showing it. Wallner's approach at the plate does have a lot going for it though: really good understanding of the strike zone, willingness to take a walk rather than chase, and the ball really explodes off his bat when he connects. It's going to be interesting to see how the league reacts to Wallner and if he'll start seeing the same treatment Larnach got where teams basically stopped throwing fastballs to him. Both Wallner and Larnach have had no problems hammering fastballs and offspeed pitches in MLB, but there's clearly some questions on their ability to handle breaking stuff consistently. Larnach has really struggled with this, and it's easily Wallner's biggest weakness as well so far (though he's done better than Larnach in a much smaller sample size).

jordan balazovic had 25 strikeouts?!? That's amazing! (pretty funny typo, LOL) Good to see Lee and Severino starting to adjust to AAA. It's hard to worry about Lee's bat (he's so fundamentally sound) but it's always good to see a quick adjustment. Severino's going to make for some interesting decisions for the twins.

no one does sunk costs like the MN Twins.

I wonder if Farmer at 1B isn't more likely? But even with Kirilloff on the IL I'm ready to be done with Gallo, who is an auto-out against anyone who can throw strikes. I also think the Twins need to to think harder about only carrying 12 pitchers. I don't think we need two guys who only pitch once a week in the bullpen. Winder or Headrick; having both of them seems redundant. DFA Gallo. Send down Headrick or Winder. But I doubt the twins will even consider cutting Gallo while Kirilloff is out or go more than a few days with 12 pitchers.

Julien's got a pretty bad arm ever since his injury, that might have something to do with it. I wonder if Severino might make the move over to 1B; he's not a very good 3B but might be able to find more opportunities at 1B. His bat looks like it might play just fine there, but we'll see how he adjusts to AAA. Even after a slow start at AAA you have to think Severino is getting added to the 40-man

I'm not too worried about them falling in love with Luplow. He's fine but doesn't have the upside of guys like Martin, Larnach, or even Miranda. I can see Castro sticking. He's doing very well as a utility guy, covering a lot of defensive positions well, the speed & baserunning makes him useful in close & late situations as a pinch runner, and it's always nice to have that switch-hitter with positional flexibility on your bench. You just need to be realistic about what to expect: don't expect him to start hitting HRs, don't expect him to hit .300, or have an OPS+ of more than the 85-95 range. The OBP has been solid this season and going 28-32 in SBs is outstanding and valuable. I think he stole Nick Gordon's job. It'll be interesting to see how the Twins sort out the infield for next season. Lee is off to a slow start in AAA, but I doubt anyone is particularly worried about it. I would hope Julien would look at picking up a 1B glove in the offseason because there is going to be a lot of competition for 2B and 3B innings between Julien, Lewis, Polanco (if he returns), Lee, and Miranda will likely be back in the mix as well. It's a good problem to have...so long as you you pick the right guys and make the right trades. And we haven't even mentioned Severino, who seems likely to be added to the 40-man and could slug his way into the conversation much like he did in AA this season.

Austin Martin is looking healthy again, and it's great to see. he's had a heck of an August at the plate so far: 7-16 with 3 2Bs, 8 BBs, and 4 SB is a very nice line. I think he can handle any OF spot just fine (probably not elite in CF but average to above average) and I think he can still play some in the infield if needed (2B, mostly but could also handle 3B). He's profiling nicely as a super-utility guy right now who could be almost like a 10th starter and be a great guy to slot in as a leadoff man or #2 hitter. It'll be interesting to see if the power ever comes for him, but his on-base skills, base-running, and solid defense at many positions will make him a very useful MLB player. (Willi Castro with better on-base skills and a higher batting average?) While Michael A. Taylor's pop has been welcome and his defense has been solid...Austin Martin looks like he might be coming for his job.

I think both contracts are pretty tradable, and if you have to you can always eat a little of the remaining cash if that's the barrier to getting the prospect you want. (despite the "cheap Pohlads" narrative, they've done it in the past) Part of this gets easier with Gallo not being in the picture next season. It'll be a really interesting question to see if Larnach is in the twins plans or not; I think he's out of options next year?

Great to see Jenkins off to a fast start. I think it's likely that he plays in the FCL this season and starts in low A next season as the Twins development staff works with him to get a good base in place for him. After that I suspect he'll get promoted as aggressively as his performance will allow. (I do think there's a structural advantage for the Twins with their player development to have the complex league and Low-A right in where the Twins have their FL base; it really lets them keep eyes on young players and have a sizeable instructional staff to work with the young players without having to deal with travel.)

I think there's a real possibility they pick up the option. He's still very tradable at that number (assuming he finishes the season strong enough to warrant the exercise of the option), and if he finishes strong there's a good likelihood he could be an asset against RHP next season. But I think this comes down to a choice between Larnach and Kepler, and one of them will probably not be on the team next season.

Lol, I get that Correa is having a poor season at the plate, but Andrelton Simmons had a .558 OPS for the Twins and an OPS+ of 57. His final season in the league he was so helpless at the plate he was unplayable. Even with a poor season (for him) at the plate, Correa is a significantly better hitter. Correa's worst season at the plate (this one) is close to Simmons' peak as a hitter. back to Kepler: It's going to be interesting to see where the Twins go with him for next season. Wallner is hitting very well right now, but who knows how he'll finish the year. If he finishes the season strong and with enough ABs to suggest it's not small sample size fluke, it's hard not to see him starting next season. I could see Kepler back for another year in a reduced role, never starting against lefties, with an OF of Buxton, Wallner, Royce Lewis, Austin Martin and occasionally Kirilloff. Right now, I would say it'll come down to a choice between keeping Larnach or Kepler for next season, presuming at least general health going into the season, and Wallner not falling off the cliff. That's not an easy call: Kepler is proven, Larnach isn't. Kepler only has one year left, Larnach has several more of team control. Kepler is much more expensive than Larnach. Kepler can hit MLB breaking balls...Larnach? Hasn't proven it. I hope Kepler keeps hitting. I hope the Twins don't play him much against lefties.

Exactly the kind of game the Twins wanted to see from their team last night. Jump on the starter early, give your pitcher a big lead to work with, and then Lopez took advantage and kept mowing Detroit down, never let them in the game. Mop up the last two innings with one of the lower leverage guys and give everyone else the night off. Bullpen is nice and rested if we get in a closer game and the Twins are well positioned to keep doing damage this series. A series win here on the road would be really excellent.

Tuesday. $1.55 Billion jackpot.

Ok, whomever had Jordan Luplow starting out like this...I would like to have a conversation with you about tomorrow night's MegaMillions drawing.

seriously. this is pretty fun! Good for Correa. Wentz may be getting the ol' "you got us into this mess, you get us out" treatment to see if they can get at least 5 out of him.

Boy, shouldn't have tuned in late tonight! LOL Would not have bet on Kepler to get a hit against a lefty.

It's great for Kepler to have a good July, but it doesn't erase how awful he was in May. I hope he has a hot August, but it doesn't change the fact that he still can't hit lefties. he's more consistent defensively than a player like Wallner or Larnach and certainly looks better out there. he's far better than Gallo at this point too. And there's a reason why when the DFA conversations came up my argument was for keeping Kepler over Gallo. be great if he finishes the season strong and keeps hitting. but it's still hard to count on him being an impact bat or expecting his old elite defense.

besides the warning from the umpire earlier, Anderson is also the one who drops his gloves and gets ready to start throwing punches. I think it's fair to drop a little instigator penalty on Anderson. I'm sure they'll both appeal, and I bet it gets reduced by 1 game for Ramirez and 2-3 for Anderson (though I hope it doesn't). It was quite the rumble, people looked genuinely mad, actual punches were thrown with intent (as opposed to the "clutch and grab" you often see) the managers got into it...next series between these teams might get a little spicy!

Nice to have the Twins bounce back after a shoddy performance against the sorry, no-account Royals. Hopefully the Twins will respond better to prosperity this time and not let Cleveland back into the race but instead slam the door on them by winning the next 2 series. The double plays from Correa are maddening. I will say this for him, though: he doesn't seem to let it impact him in the field, because he's still been consistently good out there. Kirilloff's injury came at a rotten time. Ok, any injury is at a rotten time, but if he was healthy we might be able to move on from the K-machine, Gallo. He's gone from problematic/poor to dreadful and that great first month is long gone. Seems like a good guy but I hate seeing him come to the plate. Julien, on the other hand, is fantastic to watch at the plate. reminds me of an old Ron Luciano story about Rod Carew, when a catcher complained a little about a pitch on the border not being called a strike. The ump responded by pointing at Carew and said, "He'll let you know when it's a strike." It's still early days, but that strike zone recognition is unbelievable. Jeffers emergence has been great as well. We always knew he had some pop in that bat, but he's making better contact all the way around and the defense has stayed quality. His splits confuse me, but it feels like he should be able to pound lefties just fine. small sample size?

The contract was worth it. He's one of the greatest players in Twins history, a generational talent and one of the greatest catchers of all time. He wasn't the same player after the injuries started piling up and the concussion(s) were responsible for a lot of that, but he was still a fine player and should have won at least one Gold Glove at 1B. I think a lot of people blame him for the injuries as if it's somehow a personal failing on his part (maybe part of that is because people look the same after a concussion; it's not something that makes you limp around like Tony Oliva's destroyed knees). There's also certain members of the media who have relentlessly bashed him for years (mostly for taking too many walks and not appearing on their shows...) and that certainly impacts people's perceptions. there's also those who blame his contract for the Twins not spending money in free agency or retaining other players at bigger deals...but that was a failing on the part of the front office and ownership not Joe Mauer, especially because they had the money. You can't know what injuries are going to do to a player or even whether they're going to have minor, serious, or none. Despite all of that, Mauer kept playing and adding value to the team. He was the veteran leader and tone setter of that 2017 club that went from being dreadful to making the Wild Card and has been a good guy and community presence his entire career. he should have won a Gold Glove at 1B, which probably would have helped re-evaluate the last few years of his career; think about how few players have won Gold Gloves at truly different positions (LF v CF doesn't count) and Mauer was worthy at C and 1B. I love the fact that he played his whole career here. He should be going into the Hall of Fame (I don't think he'll have to wait long, the national media has long held him in more respect than some of the local guys). Maybe from pure on-field value the extension wasn't the greatest, but it wasn't a disaster and everything else that is part of Joe Mauer as a twin makes it worth it every time in my mind. Glad his number is retired. Glad he's in the Twins Hall of Fame. Looking forward to him going to Cooperstown (3 batting titles as a catcher? that's insane.)