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of the pitchers listed above, albers,hendriks & devries probably come off the 40 man this winter & may be elibible to file free agency, almost positive albers can walters is not on the 40 man & not under twins control , he will file for free agency on sept 30 when minor leaguers can file.

Robbie, I have seen him pitch but not this year, I dont see the deception but he is doing something right..I talked with a scout friend yesterday & he said he is just getting by with throwing strikes & hitters are missing them. he was 84-86 yesterday & threw some fat pitches right down the middle & they just missed them..he definately has earned his shot but there is a reason the twins are reluctant to bring him up.. as far as Hendriks, I have seen him several times & I have never been high on him, no plus pitches , no out pitch , he has to have pinpoint control to have success.. if TR is looking ahead & sees Albers & Hendriks in the future rotation the twins are going to struggle for a while.. but Albers has earned a shot , lets see what he can do..

jun, I am not writing Albers off , all i am saying is most on here just see the stats & thats ok..I have seen Albers pitch in college & professional, as I have seen alot of guys & I cant remember 1 single guy in the last 10 years that has gotten a chance much less succeded throwing 83-85mph, it just dont happen..he maybe , maybe could have some success as a pen guy because he faces hitters one time & has them out front of everything , but that 2nd time thru the order big league hitters will wait back & kill it..he deserves a chance BUT he is not the answer, the best options in AAA or on the AAA DL is unfortunately walters or hendriks. in my opinion walters or hendriks if facing the tigers gives you a chance to win if they are locating pitches. any of the others you have very little chance of winning that day. Albers is alot like Brad Mills , mills had success in the minors , he even pitched great in vegas & thats almost impossible but he had zero success in the bigs & he throws harder than albers & i am not a velocity guy but you have to atleast get it in the hi 80s...

I think they should extend Pelfrey, he can be a top of rotation starter. as far as this list, I really dont see any options, worley is hurt & he has been terrible, albers has been good at AAA but he is throwing 83-85 & that will not translate to big league success, you say walters doesnt have good enough stuff to pitch in the bigs , i disagree he basically has 1 full season of stats under his belt, IF he locates his pitches he can pitch in the bigs , he is no different than hendriks, neither have over whelming stuff but must locate all there pitches , hendriks is younger but look at his #s , they are no better than walters..lets just say the options in AAA are not good & thats even if ALL of them were healthy...

good news, Rochester got better & now can make a run at the playoffs.... bad news, the Twins got worse & will loose 100

seth, its not giving up on hendriks , but you have to look at there pitches , hendriks , worley or diamond & especially albers does not have any plus pitches..they all rely on location & a large strike zone from the umpire, thats why they can look good at times & then like garbage at times & its not going to change..a guy like gibson will succeed long term because he has big league stuff, if you watch gibson pitch you see the pitches, the movement & you say wow, you watch any of the listed above & there is absolutely nothing that jumps at you....the twins better hope they got something in the lower levels coming in the next couple years because there is nothing in AAA absolutely nothing..

Danchat, while I agree with you that Walters has not been good, but to say nobody wanted him is far from the truth, 99% of pitchers that are DFAd do have other options , they may not get claimed but other teams do show interest if they choose to go free agent...there is one reason & one reason only that walters is still in the twins organization & thats because they have the worst rotation in baseball & the AAA options are no better, worley , hendriks or albers are not the answer..walters be it good or bad will get another chance with the twins...thats why guys would come back to the twins , not because they werent other options but because the twins still offer the best opportunity in the league..

I know walters is up now ,but he is up mainly because of his may #s 4 starts 2-0 2.84 ERA 25.1IP 24K 7BB I know not a prospect but stats are stats...

you guys should really watch more games, benson had some of the worst at bats in run producing situations that i have ever seen & he is supposed to be a 5 tool player...then he would carry it over to his defense, i watched him drop balls in his glove , jog to balls in the gap that he probably could have made...i am amazed the mgr put up with it as long as he did...benson may go on to be a big leaguer but rochester & the twins are better off without him..if he is still the same with the rangers i predict he will be designated in 2-3 weeks.

The only pitcher left in Rochester that can help the twins is Gibson ....hendriks & Worley are not good enough to pitch in the AL .. The phillies would have never traded a young cost controlled pitcher for a slap hitting Center fielder if they thought he could repeat what he did in 2011.. Gibson will replace deduno in a couple weeks..but Worley hendriks & devries may just spend the season in Rochester unless there's a injury.

they said before that it came down to gibson, deduno & walters ...supposedly gibson wasnt ready & deduno was better to face the tigers...well nothing has changed since then...deduno was promoted & gibson , walters havent pitched again..so if there reasons were correct then it has to be walters.

I am all for Gibson, he will be up soon enough, he is still inconsitent but he will get some big league innings this year I was so hoping we would get thru this thread without someone bringing up Hendriks, not gonna happen..Devries , Deduno, Walters, & even Hernandez have passed him up....and Gibson is ahead of them all.

fairweather, have you seen Hernandez ? his fastball doesnt exactly light up the radar gun.. if Hernandez pitches well then maybe Hendriks will be sent down..

seth, it took all of 6 weeks last year for walters to be added to the 40 man, if the need arises TR isnt afraid to move guys off if they are not performing , he has made that pretty clear.. could be tomorrow or may be 2 months but its going to happen for walters & deduno.

spiritofvodka, I dont think I contradicted myself, my opinion of Hendriks hasnt changed..with Deduno if he is in the rotation or pen doesnt matter to me , I just believe he offers something to the team & I honestly think Hendriks offers nothing..

There is no way possible anyone could like Hendriks over Deduno, if you watched tonight Deduno showed you exactly what Hendriks don't have...a out pitch... Every time he got behind in the count or in a jam he went to the slider...I still believe he should be in the pen because I just don't see his FB commnd improving...but I was impressed tonight...

the difference is worley is a lock in the rotation, he has the luxury of working on things in games, hendriks should not be working on things in games he should be worried about results, i think that may be some of his problem, he has been given his spot & has not earned it...with deduno TR said it best just nobody wants to hear it, you cant throw him out there every 5th day & hope you get 4-5 innings, that would kill the pen & you cant have that for a whole season ...and i have seen where some have said let him throw 120 pitches, that is never going to happen...the best thing for deduno is throw the slider 30 times for a inning or two out of the pen....

So you guys still see Hendriks ahead of DeVries,walters & Deduno?why? What do these guys have to do to move ahead of him, all 3 of them have been lights out this spring & all had better showings in the bigs...I Am still not sold on Deduno , just too many pitches & will tax the pen.. I don't think it was a good idea for Hendriks to disagree with Gardy on his pitch selection..maybe that will help them give these other guys a shot at that spot..

guys , this is pretty simple...the Mgr & pitching coach want somebody to be as consistent as possible , not have to worry are they going to get out of the 1st inning.. thats why they signed correia...deduno does have very nasty movement but he is always 1 pitch away from disaster & nothing has changed or clicked as some call it, he was 1 pitch from disaster last night & barely got out of the 1st inning & coaches just dont want that ...you can look at his numbers & rates & all that stuff but its a simple process if he keeps putting guys on base by walks or hit batters he will start to give up alot of runs at some point. i have said he would be a good pen guy & some disagree , but even last night he threw his slider 80% of the time , if he did that out of the pen he could dominate a inning ...but now he is trying to get ahead with the fastball & he has no idea where its going..his arm is going to fall off if he continues to throw that many sliders as a starting pitcher.

seth, yea the topic was headed in the wrong direction.. i agree with you on some parts, gibson is good & he is coming, not out of camp but he will be there this year & be in the rotation for a long time..he is a top of the rotation guy. on devries , does his age matter, the only thing his age makes him is not a prospect & he never was a prospect, he is just getting the job done , isnt that what matters. you did not mention walters but he like hendrks was a pitcher of the year, cruised thru the minors & just didnt have opportunity in st louis, he had a great opportunity last year & came up injured on hendriks, what he did in A & AA ball means absolutely nothing, if you have decent off speed stuff you will sail thru the lower levels, now what he has done at AAA is absolutely amazing & thats why he has gotten his opportunity. but cmon how many starts has he had in the bigs, its beginning to not be a small sample size, he is more 88-91 just like devries & walters, his CB &CU grade as below avg to maybe avg, definately not #3 starter stuff...and i have seen his starts , a couple were not bad but there were some balls squared up & i know runs scored on a ball in the sun but its what he did after that , he lost it for a couple of batters , and i have heard the coaches comments before those are confidence boosters hoping that it finally gets thru..the wind was blowing out the other day but i know your not saying those were wind aided , they were all legit , & all the pitchers pitched with the wind blowing out , if your a GB pitcher keep the ball on the ground that way it dont fly over the fence.. i hope you know i am not argueing with you & i respect your opinion , i know you have seen these guys ..i just wanted hear your explanation.. and i have not given up on hendriks.

seth, I know you are a fan of hendriks, I would like to know why in your opinion is he being given so many chances? In years past i have seen projected top of the rotation guys get alot of chances but i dont think in the 30 years i have been doing my thing in baseball i have ever seen a guy with avg stuff get this much opportunity , he is basically being given the #5 spot. a guy like gibson ,top of the rotation stuff ,top prospect, those are guys that get every opportunity to succeed...i have been in ft myers & i see hendriks,devries gibson & walters competing for the 5 spot , and 1 will make the team out of camp to fill in for diamond 1 start.. right now it should be devries spot he pitched well last season & he has been great this spring, walters is having a good spring but his walks are a concern, when he was in college his control was plus , his pitches look good but his control has got to be better. deduno could be in the mix but if he is not here he is not in the conversation doesnt matter what he does in the WBC & once they get to rochester its all even & the guy that is pitching the best will be the 1st promoted..i just think these last 3 weeks the starts shoud go to devries & walters, hendriks has had his shot this spring & he is getting out pitched buy a couple of guys.

hendricks would not have to clear waivers , he has a option left, and even if he didnt i dont think he would get claimed.

Mr. Falcon25, people do take me very seroiusly, I am not down on hendricks , I , along with some others believe the twins other options are better.. yes he has pitched some good games , so have the others, they all have spots in the game where 3 or 4 pitches decides if you have a good or bad night...as far as being the best starter at the end of the season, ask any baseball guy & they will tell you dont put to much stock into spring training or sept stats...I have been a supporter for walters , i just think his pitches are better & he was the best the twins had for 4 games in may - june, but how much does that matter...of the 3 devries had the best year & should be ahead of hendricks. hendricks earned a shot from his AAA numbers , but he hasnt earned it in the bigs..devries & walters did..and i know walters numbers were not great , but they were pretty good until he got hurt & i dont believe he was right at the end of the season..he has looked good in spring & his pitches are moving & sinking & the groundballs are back..this is just my opinion but it is taken seroiusly be some...

twinsfan46, your not missing anything, you are dead on..

I have watched every ST game except 1 ,watched all of Hendricks starts, his first start he was shaking his arm & acting like it was bothering him after giving up a couple hits....2nd start was better, looked better ,last start was ok but did not handle it well after willingham lost the ball in the sun, walking the next batter then giving up a hit for the 2nd run.. His stuff hasn't changed & it's not better. The best option for the 5th starter is Gibson but I just don't think he starts the season in the bigs, he should but I don't believe he will...then next is Devries & Walters , both are pitching well & stuff wise are clearly better than Hendricks. .a friend of mine that scouts & is scouting ST games has the same opinion & says he wonders why the twins are set on Hendricks when he thinks they have better options..