Parker Hageman

The Twins made a move today sending starter Cole DeVries down to Rochester and recalling the white-hot hitting Chris Parmelee back to the club. After struggling hardcore at the beginning of the year with the Twins, Parmelee was demoted to AAA and has rediscovered his swing. Interestingly, according to FirstInning.com's data, Parmelee's line drive rate was down to 13% but his zone acumen was significantly better as he walked in 12 of his 58 plate appearances while only coaxing six free passes in 92 plate appearances with the Twins. Overall, the left-handed hitting Parmelee has posted a .350/.500/.707 batting line with four home runs and 12 runs batted in. He's certainly earned his recall.

Good stuff but, unfortunately, the reason that his release points against the Angels were consistent is because he faced nothing but right-handed hitters at that time.

No, the chart just indicates where the ball came to a stop/was fielded. In that case, it was likely a bunt. Plouffe's has five ground ball hits total this season.

I don't put the burden for Plouffe's struggles on Vavra.

He stung the ball pretty good. Too bad Dyson is one fast mofro.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?630-Plouffe-Answering-the-Call

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1149[/ATTACH]On May 13, not long after sending down incumbent third baseman Danny Valencia to AAA, the Twins GM Terry Ryan called out the option-less Plouffe to step up his game: “I’d like to think we’re going to give Plouffe an opportunity here to step up and see what we’ve got. Eventually, we’re going to have to find out.” Heading into the May 16 contest in Detroit, he was staring down a .133/.288/.217 batting line in 73 plate appearances. The lack of production had incited plenty of conversation regarding whether or not he deserved to be on the roster at this juncture at all. Perhaps it was recognizing he was down to his proverbial last strike with the organization or that with Danny Valencia and Chris Parmelee sent to Rochester he would receive regular playing time or because he finally cut his damn hippy hair which was hindering his abilities to hit. Whatever the reason, Plouffe suddenly emerged as a serious power threat. From May 16 onward, Plouffe has hit six home runs, two doubles and has driven in nine runs in 13 games. Part of what has lead to the power outburst is that he is turning on pitches far better post-May 16 than he had been doing previously. According to BaseballHeatMaps.com, Plouffe’s pre-May 16 fly balls were traveling an average of 272 feet. Post-May 16, he was driving the ball much further on average, hitting them 295 feet. While the numerals might not do the significance justice, the visual spray charts found at TexasLeaguers.com shows what the discrepancy of over a 20-foot average looks like: [ATTACH=CONFIG]1147[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1148[/ATTACH] You can see the difference in that not only is Plouffe losing a few more balls over the fence, he is also driving the ball better to the left-center field gap. Prior to this stretch the majority of the time Plouffe turned on a pitch, he would do so and give the defense the opportunity to make a play on the ball. The increase in home runs – as welcomed as they are – still does not cover up the fact that the rest of his overall numbers leaves much to be desired. After all, Plouffe has a sub-.300 on-base percentage even during his recent hot streak. What’s interesting about his numbers is that during the early portion of the season (pre-May 16), Plouffe had walked 13 times in 73 plate appearances in spite of hitting .133. Since then, he has drawn just one walk in 51 plate appearances. Even with the precipitous decline, his walk rate remains above average and the highest of his career to date. Given that he has a 10 percent walk rate one would expect a beefier OBP but that is not the case. What is actually driving the fact that he is hitting below Aaron Gleeman’s weight (which is the modern day Mendoza line) and getting on base less than a 30 percent clip is that his batting average on balls in play – or BABIP - is atrociously bad. In fact, among those with a minimum of 100 plate appearances this year, Plouffe’s .192 BABIP is the fourth-lowest in baseball. Somewhere between 2010 and 2011, the Twins got Plouffe to make several adjustments to his set-up and swing. The new model led to more lift and elevation of pitches which begat a noticeable increase in his power numbers. The problem with fly balls is that if they don’t leave the park, they have a difficult time becoming hits. What’s more is that his fly ball rate has grown significant from last year (now at 47%, up from 40% in 2011) at the expense of his line drive rate. Although this is a good precursor for a home run, hitting a high percentage of fly balls that don’t land on the other side of the fence often are converted to outs. In Plouffe’s case, an even higher than normal amount of flies are being turned into outs, so there is an element of “bad luck” involved. The average fly ball hit has found vacant real estate roughly 13% of the time (by far the lowest among the three types of batted balls) but the flies off of Plouffe’s bat have landed safely just 5% of the time. Likewise, Plouffe’s grounders (39% of his batted balls) have found seams in the defense just 15% of the time, well below the MLB average of 24%. As the season progresses, Plouffe’s figures are likely going to move towards the mean as more fly balls and grounders find free space. Of course, ultimately, unless he raises his line drive rate above the paltry 14.3 percent (only eight other players have lower line drive rates this year), his numbers will not climb all that quickly. Turning on pitches with more authority and greater distance has led to some much needed offense, positive signs for the Twins’ super-utility player. His added plate discipline has given him another dimension as well and may be an indication of progress at the plate. At the same time, we have witnessed Plouffe on a power binge last season that eventually fizzled out later in the year so it is entirely possible that this outburst subsides too.

Not necessarily Marshall. More of the Kyle Boddy-types who do analysis like this one on Appel: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/scouting-mark-appel-the-possible-first-pick-overall-in-2012/

That's the big caveat.

According to the Pioneer Press's Ben Goessling, because of the rash of recent pitching picks who have suffered injuries, the Twins will be using their medical staff more intricately when evaluating potential selections: This is a good start for the franchise - probably a bit behind the curve compared to other organizations in getting out in front with research, but the right direction nonetheless. Now, if the team really wanted to achieve the Extra 2%, they would have bio-mechanical analysts offering their opinions on the pitcher's mechanics as well.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?624-On-Draft-Day-Two-Twins-Will-Likely-Shift-Focus-to-More-Pitching

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1135[/ATTACH]Pitching, it has been said, is a war of attrition. The acronym, TINSTAPP, was invented and has been thrown around a lot in reference to this phenomenon. It means, “There Is No Such Thing as a Pitching Prospect”. Think your club has just landed the next big arm in the draft? Nope, there goes his elbow. Or shoulder. Look no further than the Twins organization and pitcher’s draft in recent years. Alex Wimmers (2010, 21st overall), Kyle Gibson (2009, 22nd overall) and Matt Bashore (2009, 46th overall) have all had their routes to the majors delayed by one injury or another. In the case of Bashore, his constant medical attention got him released from the Twins. While Gibson and Wimmers could have healthy careers ahead of them, the misses in the past few years have left the farm system lacking top tiered talent ready to feed the majors. Surely after selecting five-tooled high school athlete Byron Buxton with the number two overall pick, the Twins’ War Room shifted its focus to re-arming the system. At the end of the first round, the Twins nabbed right-handers Jose Orlando Berrios (Papa Juan XXIII H.S., PR) and Luke Bard (Georgia Tech), two pitchers whom they said they had on their board ranked between 25 and 50. If you believe the collective wisdom gathered at Baseball America, you will find that the Twins placed higher value on both pitchers than the minds and sources at Baseball America did. According to Baseball America’s pre-draft rankings, Berrios came in at 49th overall (the Twins grabbed him at 32) while Bard was ranked 93rd overall (Twins selected him at 42). Of course, this does not necessarily mean they reached too far. If the Twins were targeting right-handed pitchers, not many remained on the board when their time was on the clock. At the same time, you could argue that, given the state of the entire system, the team should have gone with the best available player regardless of position. Nevertheless, pitching is one of the more significant needs and integral part of the team’s success. Minnesota’s VP of Player Personnel, Mike Radcliff, told FSN viewers that the attention in Day Two would revolve around uncovering more pitching. “Pitching is obviously a need in our organization; we believe it’s a need in every organization,” Radcliff told FSN studio hosts Anthony LaPanta and Roy Smalley. Starting at noon on Tuesday, the Twins will be on the clock with the third pick in the second round (#63 overall) and if the neither the Astros or the A’s are so inclined, Minnesota could wind up drafting one of its own: Mitch Brown (Baseball America’s 44th overall), a right-handed pitcher out of Rochester Century. Following that, the Twins have selections at 72 and 97, which could mean if they stick to addressing the pitching needs, they could wind up with one or two more of 25 remaining pitching prospects rated in the Top 100 by Baseball America. Needless to say, Tuesday will be a busy day as the organization attempts to combat attrition among the pitching ranks.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?620-Twins-send-Pavano-to-the-DL-Blackburn-comes-off

Per the Star Tribune's Joe Christensen, the Twins have announced that they will be sending Carl Pavano to the DL with a right anterior capsular strain in his throwing shoulder and Nick Blackburn will be activated from the DL. Pavano's obvious velocity decline throughout the season and the effect his shoulder had on his repertoire was a fairly strong indication that the right-hander would eventually have a date with the DL. Meanwhile Blackburn's rehab assignment has not been great - he's made two starts, thrown six innings and has six hits, five of which have been doubles, as well as a 2-to-4 K-to-BB ratio.

I feel like Seth is either (A) drunk, ( typing with oven mitts on or © both.

"That's an awesome picture Parker. It explains a lot about the story. I'd completely forgotten that bridge ever existed." It still exists. Use to be a pedestrian bridge that I would bike across but now I believe it has been shut down completely to all traffic.

John, The old Cedar Avenue bridge was very similar to the Old Bloomington Ferry Bridge or the 101 bridge in Shakopee -- low bridges that flood over regularly in the spring. As you can see in this picture, high waters on the Minnesota would block everyone in the south metro --

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?597-Teams-Adjust-and-Dozier-Slumps

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1081[/ATTACH]Brian Dozier’s profile was elevated quickly thanks to a strong spring training performance. The shortstop was lifted on to Twins fan’s radars when favorable reports emerged from Florida, touting him as the Twins’ next “big” prospect -- ignoring for a moment that at 25 years old he was far from a rising prospect or the fact that when he was excelling in the minors he was doing so at levels in which he was much older than the surrounding competition. Dozier arrived with the big club and begin to hit above many analysts’ expectations. Through his first 49 plate appearances, he was hitting .298/.327/.489 with five extra base hits including two home runs. Regression, unfortunately, would come rapidly as he would be unable to sustain that early pace, sliding into a 6-for-41 (.146) skid since May 18. This is not an unexpected turn of events for a young player. Anecdotally, when Boston’s rookie Will Middlebrooks pounded the ball all over New England, teammate, veteran and Sweatiest Man of the Year finalist Kevin Youkilis noted that while Middlebrooks’ production was impressive, the real challenge was yet to come. When Dozier, like Middlebrooks, first arrived to the major league level the book on him was rather thin. Like a tangled shoelace knot, teams tried to pick him apart by simply attacking the middle and seeing what works. Clearly, judging from Dozier’s Pitch F/X swing zone from Dozier’s first 11 games, opponents were throwing stuff over the heart of the plate a bit more frequently: [ATTACH=CONFIG]1079[/ATTACH] So, when Dozier demonstrated some success, teams adjusted their plan on him. While Dozier proved he could handle the stuff over the middle of the zone, the opposing teams’ advanced scout would soon begin to crack Dozier’s code. He would be pitched away more often. Pitchers would elevate their fastballs that he would chase. He would see more sliders off the plate that we would chase: [ATTACH=CONFIG]1080[/ATTACH] Dozier, who showed a decent amount of balance at the plate in the minors (151-to-168 walks-to-strikeouts), has not practiced the same restraint he had in the past. While he did not show a wellspring of discipline during his hot stretch, just a pair of walks compared to eight strikeouts, Dozier would have a 1-to-12 BB-to-K ratio during his most recent 44 plate appearances bringing his BB-to-K total to 3-to-20 in 93 plate appearances. This, as Youkilis pointed out to the Boston media, was just the pitfalls of success: To some degree, this is what happened to Chris Parmelee. Parmelee’s September outburst drew attention from opposing teams and they tailored a game plan that would stymie the first baseman this spring. Young hitters like Parmelee and Dozier need to adjust with the competition. Specifically for Dozier, offensive progress means trying to re-calibrate his swing zone. If pitchers are going to continue to pound away, make sure you start going with that pitch instead of turning it over (CC: Danny Valencia). If they are trying to get you to fish, try to wait for something in the zone (which is always easier said than done). Being a successful everyday contributor means being able to make adjustments quickly. Now we will see if Dozier has a response for his opponents.