Nick Nelson

Prior to the season, I wrote that Trevor May's strikeout mentality was sorely needed in a bullpen that had fallen drastically behind the rest of the league in terms of missing bats. Sure enough, the right-hander has been a revelation in that regard, helping to lead a stunning trend reversal that suggests this unit is moving in the right direction even if the results thus far have disappointed.Last year, the Twins ranked dead last in the majors in strikeouts by relievers, with 392. In 2014 they ranked third to last. With bullpens across the league loading up on hard-throwers and strikeout pitchers, Minnesota was on the outside looking in, especially after an offseason that was devoid of aggressive action. The hope was that this issue would be resolved on its own, with Kevin Jepsen around for a full year, Ryan Pressly emerging, and May making a full-time transition to relief. That is exactly what has happened. Entering play on Tuesday, the Twins ranked second in all of baseball in bullpen strikeouts, trailing only the Boston Red Sox. That's a little misleading since the Twins have also accrued a relatively high number of relief innings. Their 24.5 percent strikeout rate is 11th in the majors, which is a bit less astonishing but still a massive jump from the dismal 17.9 percent rate they finished at last season. May has predictably been a K machine while throwing hard in short bursts. He has fanned 23 of the 65 batters he has faced thus far for a 35.4 percent K-rate that places him among the league's elite. One could certainly argue that he has been throwing a little too hard, since he also has eight walks and an MLB-leading five wild pitches, but he has reined things in after an erratic start. May joins Pressly, Michael Tonkin, Fernando Abad and Glen Perkins (who has only made two appearances) as Twins relievers with a K-rate that falls above the league average for relievers. Kevin Jepsen and Casey Fien have both been disappointing in this regard (neither has even come close to a league-average rate) but both might be in their last years with the Twins. Young power arms coming up to replace them eventually, most notably J.T. Chargois and Nick Burdi. Of course, it's not a simple matter of more strikeouts equalling more effectiveness. That's an oversimplification and no reasonable person is naive enough to believe it. But as I mentioned in my spring writeup on May, missing bats "effectively eliminates bad luck, bloopers and bleeders from the equation, which can be particularly critical in close late-game situations." Jepsen is the case in point for this. His inability to put away hitters on his own (Jepsen's 14.4 percent K-rate is the lowest of all Twins relievers) has left him vulnerable to the negative outcomes that have struck him again and again at the most inopportune times. Meanwhile, guys like May and Abad are plowing through the opposition and leaving them with few chances to make noise. While the bullpen has certainly been an overall weakness up to this point, one that has been magnified by the close nature of almost every game and the rarity of instances in which starters have handed over leads leads, there are plenty of positives to be found, especially when you consider which guys are the ones trending up. As for Jepsen, he's probably due for a demotion from the closer role unless his contact-heavy ways take a turn quickly. May, with his intimidating presence and imposing arsenal, looks much more suited for the job right now. With Perkins being an enormous question mark, it may not be a temporary assignment. Click here to view the article

The Twins had a glaring need to improve at the catcher position during the offseason. With no clear long-term solution in place, fans hoped to see Terry Ryan and the front office take aggressive action toward addressing this stark organizational weakness. The moves that the club ended up making probably would not be described as such. The Twins traded an expendable outfielder for a backup catcher from the Yankees, and grabbed a discarded backstop from the Mariners system off of waivers.They have already given up on the latter acquisition. John Hicks was placed on waivers to make room for Jose Berrios and was immediately claimed by the Tigers, leaving Minnesota with two catchers on the 40-man roster. One is Kurt Suzuki, who is likely in his last year with the Twins. The other is John Ryan Murphy, who is off to an utterly miserable start in his new uniform. When they traded Aaron Hicks for Murphy during the offseason, the Twins were hopeful that the improving 24-year-old backstop, a former prep star and second-round draft pick, could develop into a fixture behind the plate. Instead, he just looks like a player that badly needs to be fixed. Murphy was slow to get going in spring training. Given the lion's share of reps at catcher, he collected just five singles in 36 at-bats for a .139 average. "It's timing more than anything," said Joe Vavra, a former hitting instructor turned bench coach, when asked about the newcomer's struggles at the time. Timing still appears to be Murphy's primary issue, and I'm not talking about the poor timing of batting .086 in your first month when trying to make an impression on a new organization and fanbase. In April, Murphy put up a dreadful .225 OPS and it wasn't because opposing pitchers were flat-out overwhelming him. He struck out only five times in 38 plate appearances, but still managed just three hits – a pair of singles and a ground ball double. His BABIP currently stands at .100, meaning he is only getting a hit on one out of 10 balls he puts into play. It's not hard to see why when you look at his batted ball data; Murphy has hit a grounder or fly ball almost 90 percent of the time, with a meager 10.3 percent line drive rate. That is a rather blatant indication that his timing is off, and he's not quite squaring up the ball. The best way to resolve that problem is with regular at-bats. Murphy hasn't gotten those. Only once has he started consecutive games and usually he's been on the bench for multiple days between appearances. It's a bit of a hard sell to suggest that a guy whose batting average starts with zero should be playing more regularly, but I believe that would be the best course for Paul Molitor at this point. Murphy is bound to start collecting some hits and even if he doesn't you're not losing all that much by taking Kurt Suzuki's bat out of the lineup. Plus, additional rest could only be beneficial for the veteran, who has logged more than 9,000 MLB innings at catcher and routinely takes a beating. The other option for ramping up Murphy's at-bat count would be to send him to the minors, where he could start everyday, but unfortunately the aforementioned decision to waive Hicks leaves the Twins with no readily available replacement. In order to demote Murphy, another catcher would need to be added to the 40-man. Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver, the two best catching prospects in the system (faint praise), are both at Double-A and batting around .250. Neither belongs in the majors right now. The current starter in Rochester is Juan Centeno, a 26-year-old non-prospect with a .589 OPS at Triple-A. Unless Ryan can pull off a trade or salvage something off of the waiver wire, there's really no feasible option for replacing Murphy, not to mention Suzuki if he got injured. It's a bad situation, and there aren't any great options. But the Twins saw something in Murphy, and so now they might as well give him some more regular exposure to find out if it can emerge. Given the alternatives, they really need it to. Click here to view the article

La Velle's latest tweet offers some optimism with regards to this post's subject:

On Tuesday the Twins delivered some big news, announcing the long-awaited promotion of top pitching prospect Jose Berrios. He'll take the hill against the Indians on Wednesday night. A day earlier, another of the organization's most highly-rated young arms was promoted from Triple-A, albeit to much less fanfare. Despite a successful start to the season in Rochester's rotation, most believe that Alex Meyer will end up in the bullpen. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. But if he's going to get a chance to maximize his value in the majors, there's no better time than now to give him that opportunity.When the Twins sent Meyer to Triple-A in March, they decided they were going to give him one more shot as a starting pitcher. He spent the bulk of last year as a reliever and it appeared that might be his role going forward, but the promise he once showed as a starter has not totally been forgotten. Granted, it's two starts (and one long relief appearance), but Meyer went to Rochester and did absolutely everything that could have been asked of him. The big righty pitched to a 1.04 ERA in 17 1/3 innings, notching 19 strikeouts and – most importantly – only four walks. In each of his starts he worked at least into the seventh inning with good pitch economy. His sharp early performance draws a stark contrast against last year, when finding the strike zone was a constant challenge for Meyer from start to finish. Whether the 26-year-old has figured something out or is just on a nice run, it's worth taking a look. Finding room for Meyer to make at least a couple starts shouldn't be hard. Kyle Gibson and Ervin Santana were both placed on the disabled list Tuesday, and while Berrios and Tyler Duffey will fill their spots for now, there's another purportedly healthy starter in the rotation who could be bumped. Tommy Milone has failed to complete five innings in three of his four starts. Given his status as a 29-year-old with limited upside on a one-year contract, there isn't a whole lot to gain by continuing to run him out. Moving Milone to the bullpen as a long reliever would be prudent, especially with that unit taking a beating recently. Give Meyer a few starts and see what he can do. The 7-14 Twins don't have much to lose. If he catches on, and approximates what he was doing in the minors in any way, it could be crucial toward rallying Minnesota back into the mix, and it would also be a monumental development in the big picture. If he scuffles, then a return to the bullpen and a full commitment to that path would be in order. But why not run him out there and find out what you've got? At this point, defining the roles and true capabilities of the young incoming wave should be the top priority of 2016 for the Twins. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins are promoting top pitching prospect Jose Berrios from Triple-A. He is expected to make his major-league debut on Wednesday night against the Indians. Occasional Twins Daily contributor Ted Schwerzler was first to break the news, which has since been confirmed by several sources.Berrios was ranked by Twins Daily as the organization's No. 2 prospect heading into the season. One day after the two players who surrounded him on that list -- No. 1 Byron Buxton and No. 3 Max Kepler -- were shipped from Minnesota to Rochester, Berrios makes a trip in the opposite direction. The 22-year-old right-hander has only cemented his status as one of the best pitching talents in the minors with a phenomenal start in Triple-A, going 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA over his first three starts. In 17 innings, he allowed only eight hits (seven of them singles) while striking out 20. Berrios has occasionally battled command problems, leading to some inefficiency and eight walks, but that's the only blemish you can point to in his otherwise dominant performance. Starting pitching hasn't exactly been the biggest weakness in Minnesota's 6-14 start, but Berrios is a transcendent talent who could give the club a much-needed jolt. It's not yet clear how the Twins will make room for Berrios, although one could venture that Ervin Santana may be headed to the disabled list. Barring poor results in his first couple outings, this doesn't appear to be a temporary promotion. It will be interesting to see how Paul Molitor uses his staff when he has six healthy starters. What are your expectations for Berrios? Click here to view the article

Welp. According to Mike Berardino, the move to outright John Hicks was made in order to make room for David Murphy, but then the Twins talked to Murphy and he informed them he wished to be released. Yep. Gonna be a tough to top this for worst roster move of the year. Horribly botched.

The Minnesota Twins announced a wave of roster moves this afternoon, altering their personnel as they head into a six-game AL Central homestand in which they badly need to rebound after a brutal weekend in Washington. Young outfielders Byron Buxton and Max Kepler were optioned to Class-AAA Rochester. Right-hander Alex Meyer was promoted to the majors, where he'll work out of the Minnesota bullpen. Danny Santana was also reinstated from the disabled list.Buxton, who won an Opening Day roster spot in spite of an unimpressive debut last year and spring this year, has started 13 of the Twins' 19 games in center field but has been flat-out overmatched by major-league pitching. As you can see below, he leads baseball in strikeout rate by a wide margin. Equally disturbing as the raw numbers was the quality of his at-bats, which were consistently poor. It's important to remember that Buxton is only 22, and has played only 13 games at Triple-A. The hope is that he'll be able to iron out his plate approach against lesser pitching and return within a couple of months. Meanwhile, Kepler will get the chance to play every day in the Rochester outfield after being unfortunately mired on the Twins bench for the past couple of weeks. Santana, who was activated following a minor-league rehab stint, will fill the vacancy in center field along with Eddie Rosario. Meanwhile, Meyer will join a beleaguered bullpen that was badly in need of reinforcements after Sunday's marathon 16-inning loss. There's a good chance we'll see him pitch tonight, and it will be interesting to see how his improved results at Triple-A, where he had a 1.04 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in three outings, translates to the majors his second time around. What do you think of these moves? Click here to view the article

How did Tyler Duffey's 2016 debut go? Are struggling starting pitchers on the hot seat? Did the Twins make their worst roster move of the year this weekend? All covered below.* It came a bit later than expected, and might be a little more short-lived than expected (for now), but Tyler Duffey made his 2016 Twins debut on Sunday, starting in place of Ervin Santana who was sidelined by a sore back. Duffey drew the tough assignment of silencing a red-hot Nationals lineup as the Twins looked for just their second road win in 11 tries. The Doof did his part. He wasn't always hitting his spots, and batters were showing more of a penchant for laying off his curveball compared to what we typically law last year, but the right-hander nevertheless turned in a fine outing. He pitched into the fifth inning with only one run allowed before a comeback liner from Matt den Dekker nailed him in the pitching shoulder and forced him out of the ballgame. Duffey didn't appear to be in great pain and his removal was said to be precautionary. Hopefully that's the case because he definitely made an impression. * Duffey looked like he belongs. That, along with the resounding success of Jose Berrios and Alex Meyer in Triple-A, means that two Twins starters who might otherwise have lengthier ropes to work through early struggles could be on the hot seat. The poor performances of both Kyle Gibson and Tommy Milone over the first few weeks have been troubling, but less worrisome when you look at their track records. Gibson, who is 0-3 with a 6.10 ERA through four turns, has issued 12 walks with 11 strikeouts over his first four turns. That's horrible, obviously, but not really out of character for him in the first month of the season: April 2014: 29 IP, 15 K, 14 BB April 2015: 22.1 IP, 6 K, 12 BB April 2016: 20.1 IP, 11 K, 12 BB In 2014, he rebounded from the poor start to finish with solid overall numbers, and last year he ended up being Minnesota's best starter. It's not really an excuse, just a fact: Gibson has routinely displayed poor command early on for the Twins and has routinely figured it out. Milone's issues this year have conversely been extremely uncharacteristic. He has typically fared roughly the same against opposing lineups his first, second and third times through – one thing that makes him better suited for starting than relief. That has not been the case this year, to say the least. Tommy Milone, career 1st time through lineup: .270/.325/.443 2nd time through lineup: .265/.306/.417 3rd time through lineup: .270/.309/.433 Tommy Milone, 2016 1st time through lineup: .111/.111/.111 2nd time through lineup: .400/.423/.720 3rd time through lineup: .571/.700/1.571 Given the extreme nature of his splits in a small sample this month, and his career-long trends, I'm inclined to chalk this up as a fluke over three starts. It's reasonable to expect that both Gibson and Milone will get on track quickly. But the Twins don't have the luxury of being all that patient given their awful start, not to mention the presence of rotation reinforcements in Rochester that are proving to be ready. * We have our early favorite for most inexplicable Twins roster decision of 2016. Over the weekend, the team outrighted catcher John Hicks, presumably to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for an impending David Murphy call-up. Hicks was quickly claimed by the Tigers, so he's gone. Murphy was cut by the Red Sox in spring training and hasn't done anything at Rochester since signing a minor league deal a couple of weeks ago. If the Twins want a veteran outfielder on the roster, that's fine. The question is why on earth they would whittle down what little catching depth they have in order to make room. Hicks, claimed off waivers from the Mariners in the offseason, is a somewhat intriguing player. He's 26, has a good defensive rep, and has shown offensive potential at times. He was also the only backstop on the Twins' 40-man other than Kurt Suzuki and John Ryan Murphy. With neither of those players looking remotely good right now, it's befuddling to say the least that the Twins would let Hicks go when they have far more expendable 40-man players like Pat Dean, who is fifth in line among lefty relievers. Maybe other moves are coming that will make this one a bit easier to understand. I hope so. But as the Twins and many other teams have learned, catching talent is tough to come by these days. Click here to view the article

Byung Ho Park has only played seven games at Target Field, his new home stadium. In that short time, he's made quite a mark.In just his last four games, Park has launched mammoth home runs to all fields. His epic blast to center off Joe Smith on Saturday was pegged by Home Run Tracker as the longest in the stadium's history. Two days later he became one of the few right-handed batters to ever clear the heightened right field fence with an oppo shot when he took Chase Anderson deep. And on Tuesday, Park got hold of a hanger and deposited it in the second deck in left. He leads the Twins with four home runs and not a single one of them has been remotely cheap. The South Korean import has jaw-dropping power. But of course, that was never really in question. The uncertainty with the 29-year-old always surrounded his ability to make enough contact to be a quality offensive player overall, rather than an out machine who occasionally gets a hold of one. On that matter, the jury was out after a spring training in which Park struck out 17 times with only one walk in 61 plate appearances. Concern grew during Minnesota's season-opening homestand, in which he struck out 11 times in 21 plate appearances. When the rookie put up a golden sombrero in the final game at Kansas City, it became reasonable to wonder if some time in the minors might be appropriate. Those contact issues subsided in a big way during the Twins' just-completed homestand. He hasn't had a game with multiple strikeouts since leaving KC. At Target Field he fanned only five times total in 27 trips. Sure, the team has been facing lighter opposition than in those first two series. But these are big-league pitchers and Park has had the look of a big-league hitter while standing in against them, which was not really the case in Week One. It appears that he's making some adjustments or at least getting more comfortable – an aspect of his game that initially drew the Twins to him. At the time of the signing, front office officials expressed confidence in Park's adaptability. This is a guy, after all, who improved in each of his five seasons with Nexen in the Korean Baseball Organization, going from solid slugger to MVP superstar. When asked about his impressions of the new acquisition in spring training, assistant general manager Rob Antony remarked that he was struck by Park's patience. "You see the strikeouts," Antony said, "so you think, OK, he takes a huge hack, or he chases a lot of bad pitches. I think he's been fairly disciplined." While his 16-to-4 K/BB ratio doesn't exactly illustrate it, Park has been better than expected in that area. He has swung at 26.8 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, placing him in the middle of the pack among Twins hitters and actually a tad below the major-league average. Inexperience has shone through for several pressing hitters in the lineup but the 29-year-old was unfazed by his challenging initial exposure to the majors. His aptitude for the game has been on display all over – solid defense at first, heads-up base running, even his celebratory handshakes are on point – and that it's all come to him so quickly is awfully impressive. Park has raw power that stands out even on a roster with Miguel Sano and Oswaldo Arcia, and he's demonstrated it, but we've also seen him slash a single between first and second to beat the shift, deliver in several clutch spots, and consistently work deep counts (he leads the team in pitches per plate appearance). The Twins might have found themselves a truly special player here. At the very least, Park appears to be pretty damn comfortable hitting at Target Field, which would seem to bode well for the next four years. Click here to view the article

Referring to Joe Mauer as "Average Joe" during the past two years has been a disparagement – a reference to his utterly pedestrian performance, which could only generously be described as mediocre in comparison to his peers at first base. But that's not how he earned the nickname. In his earlier days, and even all the way up until his tenure at catcher ended in 2013, it was a nod to his extraordinary, elite ability to hit for average. Mauer led the American League in that category three times in four years from 2006 through 2009, and his lifetime batting average (.313) ranks third among active players, trailing only surefire Hall of Famers Miguel Cabrera and Ichiro Suzuki. Obviously, that aspect of his game has been amiss these last two seasons, in which Mauer has batted .277 and .265 respectively. But this year we're seeing early signs that Average Joe might be back, and the positive implications of that would stretch well beyond the nostalgic charm of seeing his BA start with a three.Through the first two weeks of the season, Mauer ranks third in the AL with a .372 average. He already has his first home run – a feat he didn't accomplish last year until May 20th. Through 53 plate appearances, he has drawn eight walks with only four strikeouts. That last piece is the most encouraging. Batting averages can be fluky over short stretches and homers come at random times with him. But Mauer's control of the strike zone suggests that he is seeing the ball better than he has in years. Since his last full strong season in 2012, his walk rate has dropped (from 12.0 percent to 11.6 percent to 10.1 percent) while he has struck out at rates of 17.5 percent, 18.5 percent and 16.8 percent – his previous career rate was 10.4 percent. Over the first half of April, Mauer has been controlling the strike zone masterfully, signaling a return to his bread and butter. The result has been a phenomenal .472 on-base percentage, and to say that his skills in that department are sorely needed would be a tremendous understatement. The rest of the offense entered play Sunday with a .270 OBP, and all seven of Minnesota's home runs have been solo shots. The Twins need base-runners. Even when some of the other hitters get on track more, that will continue to be the case. It's an area that Average Joe specializes in, so if these early indicators prove legitimate, it will bode extremely well for the team's chances of continuing to win and dig out of this early hole. Heck, Mauer might even be on his way to earning a label that many have been reluctant to bestow upon him: Leader. How else can you frame his consistent quality at-bats and outstanding production while the youth-infused lineup has almost roundly struggled? Mauer factored heavily into Sunday's sweep-clinching victory, reaching base in four of six plate appearances. While Oswaldo Arcia gets the headlines – and Gatorade shower – for his walk-off hit, it was Mauer who sparked the 12th-inning rally with a leadoff walk. Two nights earlier, he made Byung Ho Park's go-ahead double in the eighth possible with a clutch two-out RBI single in the seventh. Average Joe is back to being the subtle, underrated, beating heart of the Twins offense, at least so far. It's a good look. Click here to view the article

The lineup also has four starters with fewer than 500 MLB plate appearances. How many other teams around the league can make that claim?

I mean, that simply isn't true. Dozier has 9 K in 39 PA (23% K-rate). Plouffe has 8 K in 32 PA (25%). Those are reasonable strikeout rates for a major-league ballplayer. Buxton, Park and Sano are all at 44+ percent, which is not, and beyond the stats, it is the quality of ABs. Like I said, they've been largely uncompetitive. The intent of this article is not to "blame" the young players, but rather to point out that it appears some may need to be sent back because they're not ready. Are you suggesting that Dozier and Plouffe should be sent to Triple-A?

At one of his pregame lunchroom press scrums on a mid-March day in Fort Myers, Terry Ryan was asked about his level of concern with the young and inexperienced players who would figure prominently into the team's plans this year. "I worry about almost every guy that comes up here," the GM said. "They have instant success and things are looking good. Sometimes when guys come back it doesn't fall into place, it starts to unravel a bit. We send them back."Ryan obviously has a lot of faith in his youthful core, and with good reason. But he's been doing this long enough to recognize that things don't always play out according to plan. "Every guy that's come through here with the exception of maybe a handful in the last 20 years has had to go back. Mauer didn't go back. Knoblauch didn't go back. Those types of guys." Of course, we'd all like to believe that transcendent talents like Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano are "those types of guys," but Ryan pointed to a number of players who needed to be sent back to the minors after their initial call-up – sometimes multiple times – before going on to have long and successful big-league careers. Included on that list are names like Torii Hunter, Corey Koskie and LaTroy Hawkins. A.J. Pierzynski shuttled back and forth between the minors and majors repeatedly back in the late '90s, and he's still playing today. So as we watch Buxton, Eddie Rosario, and even Byung Ho Park scuffle along, it's important to keep in mind that a step backward is sometimes required before taking two steps forward. I have a hard time envisioning a demotion for Sano but with the other three it's quickly going to become a consideration as the uncompetitive at-bats pile up. On a larger scale, it's looking like the Twins, as a team, will need to take a step backward before they can move forward. They've dug themselves a deep hole at the start of the season and being forced to send down one or more of their key young players, while replacing them with mediocrities like David Murphy, would almost surely peg this year as a developmental one aimed toward getting everything in place for a 2017 run. Perhaps that was always the most realistic outcome given the level of inexperience on the roster, but one can hardly be blamed for being impatient after a five-year playoff drought, or for feeling optimistic in light of the elite abilities of these admittedly green youngsters. Unfortunately, it looks like they're just not there yet, and neither are the Twins. Click here to view the article

Why are we assuming this is not what happened? Just because they announced the move this morning doesn't mean that's when they reached the decision.

I just feel bad for him personally. He was a dominant closer for three years on terrible teams, then when the Twins finally appear poised to return to relevance, his body breaks down. It's not like he pitched through a long stretch of the regular season while hiding an injury. He had one bad outing and went on the shelf.

The Minnesota Twins have placed closer Glen Perkins on the disabled list with a shoulder strain and called up left-hander Taylor Rogers from Class-AAA Rochester. Rogers was "coincidentally" the subject of Seth's Prospect Retrospective today.In spring training, Rogers was competing for a lefty specialist role in the bullpen and he lasted deep into camp before being optioned on March 23rd. Last year in Rochester he went 11-12 with a 3.98 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 126-to-44 K/BB ratio over 174 innings. He pitched two scoreless innings in his lone appearance there this year. The 25-year-old has served mostly as a starter in the minors but profiles better as a reliever due to his consistent success against left-handed hitters. In Triple-A last season he held them to a .177/.209/.193 slash line with 55 strikeouts and five walks. Rogers now stands out as Paul Molitor's best option against tough lefty swingers late in games. Perkins showed decreased velocity in his two appearances, which included a blown save against the Royals on Sunday. Obviously it's an ominous sign that he's going on the shelf one week into the season, but hopefully some time off will enable him to come back strong with more life on his fastball. Presumably Kevin Jepsen, who served as the team's closer down the stretch last year, will take over ninth-inning duties for the time being. Click here to view the article