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JD-TWINS

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  1. JD-TWINS
    Agree - Lopez has electric stuff but he is either clueless or has no guts due to lack of command. Cannot walk in the winning run, particularly after you load the bases on purpose. Kiriloff got screwed on balls & strikes and that was probably the difference. Had a real shot though with one out & an 0-2 count to Martinez. Morneau & most other astute baseball heads wanted an even higher 3rd fastball to Martinez but whoever is calling the game likes to see all of Duran’s pitch repertoire. We had him & he throws a breaking ball over middle of plate for an 0-2 single. Bad baseball!
  2. JD-TWINS
    .500 on the road out West & remainder of season ………..with 5 games over at home for each quadrant of the season & we win 91 games. Should be enough for the Division title!
  3. JD-TWINS
    Our current starting 5 in the rotation are excellent! (Maeda & Mahle were 1-6) The existing rotation boasts a record of 15-3 with a 2.53 ERA…..outstanding. Can’t maintain that but can be consistently good with 5 guys to lean on……would like to see Headrick & Maeda & Balazovic in the Pen by early-mid June with………Jax-Lopez-Thielbar-Pagan-Duran.
  4. JD-TWINS
    Lewis is a luxury & I don’t expect to see him until he is excelling at AAA…….probably 5-6 weeks from now. Kiriloff has been a big shot in the arm. CC is coming around over last week with 4-5 doubles & a HR. A guy really lengthening the line-up is Farmer. No more issues at 3B over last 5 games and he’s 7-18 at the plate……Twins are 4-1 since his return! Gordon is getting playing time in CF regularly which was the plan until Polanco wasn’t ready. He’s getting his act together.
  5. JD-TWINS
    The Key - no! Timely Contributor - yes! Farmer has been 7 for 18 in his first 5 games back, displacing Miranda at 3B. He’s got a hustle double & a HR, while the Team has gone 4-1………Gallo has had back to back solid games…….Larnach reverted back to April 1st production………..CC has 4 doubles & a HR in last 5 games & is 7 for last 21……..Nick Gordon putting a charge into the ball every handful of AB’s.
  6. JD-TWINS
    95Mph may be “averageish” but it doesn’t mean it’s easy to hit. Middle/Middle is easy to hit. Varland obviously has good enough stuff to get MLB hitters out. He’s started a half-dozen or more games with decent results. Command is the key…….Maddux command is a big ask……just the ability to move the ball around helps a bunch. The thing I’d like to see Varland do is to take a page out of Ryan’s approach and throw some letter high fastballs both in & out. Ryan consistently is up in the zone with velocity & he works both sides of the plate with this. He throws high strikes not just Show pitches to set something up. If Varland could not only pound fastballs at the knees but also get some high strikes occasionally it would be very valuable. Easier said than done!
  7. JD-TWINS
    75% or more of the guys we face are RH. There’s no reason to force a pretty decent Platoon bat out of the line-up just to see if Kiriloff will succeed. He needs days off just like everybody else. No reason to abuse the wrist.
  8. JD-TWINS
    Making a move with prospects for an established pitcher made sense! I live in Cincinnati and see/saw Mahle as a mentally soft guy that gave up too many HR. It’s not the ballpark! He nibbles & walks guys or he’s trying to strike guys out & his pitch count balloons early, he tires, then the HR’s come. I would have given up anybody the Reds wanted, other than Lewis, for Castillo. Not 2nd guessing FO here, but the result of that would have been Castillo to Twins - no trade for Lopez - we retain Arraez. Probably would have spent $ on Castillo and maybe don’t sign CC? Anyway, we were trying to get better & got burned. CES, Steer, Lee, Lewis, Walner, Miranda, Martin, Larnach, Kiriloff, etc. - can only deal with so many prospects at once. Reasonable risk for Mahle type of arm.
  9. JD-TWINS
    I can’t imagine paying him more than $5M to rehab in ‘24 and something around $10M per year for 2 more years with some easily attained incentives that can make him interested - but we can’t tie up $15M per year if he’s not pitching and at least .500. He’s not that good & good money after bad doesn’t seem wise. Seems like a wasteful move with Mahle the more I consider. Gray, 2 years, for $23M per year. He pairs with Lopez - Ryan - Ober - Varland …..with Paddack competing with all 5 guys - still need depth going forward! When Gray is done at end of ‘25 we’ll have money for Ryan…..going to be paying Duran by then as well.
  10. JD-TWINS
    2 games later…….Farmer has 2 hits in first 2 games back, one being a homer. (….and I don’t have to see Miranda’s line) Gallo has hits in 2 consecutive games……one game he had 2 hits & a walk! CC has had big RBI doubles in 2 consecutive games. Kiriloff is contributing. Kepler hit another homer. ALL in last 2 games - it’s a long season and there are days we are going to look bad ……,,it’s just tough when everybody looks bad. Can’t change approach/line-up every 2-3 games just because somebody sucks for a day or two. Get a couple W’s v. Cubs this weekend & all is good!!
  11. JD-TWINS
    Gordon is 7 for last 21 I believe? Anyway, he’s coming around. He’s a good 7-8 guy at this point, if goes to lead-off he’s under the scope and pressured. Nobody needs that. Maybe in 2-3 weeks after a stretch of OK! Gallo & Gordon & Castro can share LF. Kepler & Gallo in RF. Gordon & Taylor share CF. Last night our 2-6 hitters all had at least one hit & a couple had 2! 2 of 3 Pinch hitters came through. Thought we could have had some smarter AB’s but overall more like a normal club.
  12. JD-TWINS
    So, I know everyone is excited about Kiriloff being in the lineup & the polished hitter he is. Me too. However, I was watching the game via stream in Charlotte & in the 6th Kepler leads off with a gritty 7 pitch at bat where he ends up making the first out on a tapper. Good AB though. Then CC comes up and fouls a couple pitches off and works a 6-7 pitch walk. Kiriloff comes up and swings at the first pitch and grounds out too short. We’re trying to work the pitch count up and get a good pitch to hit and he comes up anxious and swings at a curveball. Really bothered me at the time - just doesn’t seem like there’s situational awareness from him in that instance nor any from others, quite often. We’re tied in the 8th. Gordon PH and via some fine talent & good fortune he gets a hit (7 for last 21). Lead-off runner on in bottom of 8th & we have Duran in our pen. We need a one run lead - not a 3 run lead. Our fastest (lead-off) batter is up with speed at first …………gotta bunt Byron, even if coaches don’t have the stomach to ask/tell you to bunt. With Buxton’s speed & Gordon’s speed there’s tremendous pressure on the D………..instead we waste the base hit & get into an extra inning fiasco…..w/o ever applying any stress to San Diego. If you play for a run to win in 9th - play for one in 8th & end the game with Duran!
  13. JD-TWINS
    They’re getting paid more because the expectation of performance is highest. Expected to work it out & succeed. Therefore they get repeated opportunities. We going to release Gallo on May 10th? 3 weeks ago Gallo had 5 homers & was hitting .365 - Vazquez was hitting .335. They’ll be back to historical averages but that may be 2-3 months away. Problem with Gallo is his history sucks so getting to .200 with a bunch of walks/strikeouts along with 20HR is where we can hope he is by late July. Not a big fan but I understand the long game of us hoping his power helps us win 4-6 games this summer……..people get behind his defense as a rationalization. It’s not that difficult to play an acceptable LF so I’m not in the Defensive WAR camp for Gallo. He needs to produce but he can’t if he doesn’t play & btw he’s an exceptional defender.
  14. JD-TWINS
    Agreed - he’s got some issues with what’s going on between his ears - big time! Kiriloff can’t play 162 games so it makes sense for Miranda to take Solano’s platoon starts v. LH pitching at 1B ……..if he doesn’t move into that roll, along with pinch hitter & back-up 3B (bench bat)……..he’s off the team. No reason to keep an even worse defensive 1B in Solano at 36 years old…..no point to that & he’s a butcher defensively. I’d like to see Kiriloff start 100 of the 125 remaining games. If he can hit LH pitching & stay healthy maybe more starts. Lee & Lewis seem to be essentially a lock along with CC. Martin, Julien, & Miranda are all maybes with nowhere to play…….Miranda doesn’t seem to have a position & if Julien can only play a mediocre 2B, he’s in trouble as well. They don’t play him anywhere else. Martin has at least a shot in the OF.
  15. JD-TWINS
    Gordon can & will slot into CF v. RH pitching. Outfield is solid with him flanked by Gallo & Kepler. Gotta hope Gordon keeps trending in the right direction. Not heard anything about Gallo at 3B - seems to be a stretch to move him from a position of strength to one of “who knows”, not that desperate yet. Gallo has to do better - the HRs are intriguing but we can’t go 3-4 weeks between them. I know he’s going to hit for an average of .200 with another .125 OBP points with walks. Cant’t have him go 0-23 with 6 walks and act like it’s OK. Farmer started for a bad Reds club for 2 years - he’s not that bad of a hitter to play 130 games per year in the bigs. He can play 3B for 6 weeks until Miranda has things sorted out or Lewis is cleared & ready for a shot.
  16. JD-TWINS
    It’s the only choice! Castro in emergency at 3B or if CC needs a break from Farmer. I expect that Gordon will back-up Polanco just to keep playing time distributed evenly with the back-ups. Miranda will need most of a month in my opinion. He’s dug himself a pretty big hole in his approach at the plate. If not, they would have kept him up and straightened things out in Mpls. Lewis is still 45 plus days away to get him, & everyone else involved, comfortable. He’s at 3B by July 15 with Farmer back in his original role with Miranda taking over Solano’s gig as RH 1B - pinch hitter - 3B once a week.
  17. JD-TWINS
    Miranda optioned to AAA. Agreed on Solano and his tenure on the roster being short. My assumption is that Miranda will take his spot as back-up 1B - back-up 3B - pinch hitter once he makes reasonable progress in St Paul………..Solano will be here until then, at least. That’s probably a month - there’s no magic in getting hitting slumps rectified! Lewis won’t be brought up until end of June so he has proper time to acclimate to playing v. working out. Will need to build confidence moving freely as well.
  18. JD-TWINS
    Correa & who else? Buxton is hitting 5 points under his career average (that’s one hit difference at this point in season) & his OBP is 30 points higher. Slugging % & OPS are both exceptional and much higher than his career averages. Kiriloff - Polanco - Buxton - Kepler - Correa are the offensive core - which, at this point, isn’t very optimistic. Gallo & Vazquez could use a couple to fall in somewhere to get them going in the right direction. If either Larnach or Gordon or Miranda could get back to normal it would be really helpful! Lewis could play for 2 1/2 months and be the team MVP (no pressure).
  19. JD-TWINS
    Farmer’s return may not be a big shot in the arm but his ability to give Polanco a day off - Correa a day off - displace Miranda at 3B for a bit………ability to hit an even keeled .240 or so, way better on days we see a LH pitcher. Stability. Don’t see how Walner helps this year prior to late July. Can’t imagine trading Kepler to make room for him because if Kepler sucks we can’t trade him & if he’s moderately OK, we’ll keep him. Walner, in my mind, only plays RF? If he could play LF he might get an opportunity instead of Larnach? Also, don’t see how Julien gets people excited. He only plays 2B. He’s not getting more than 1 start at 2nd every 2 weeks with Polanco healthy. He may get 1 start every 2 weeks at DH with Buxton currently cemented there. He may pinch hit twice per week. 6 AB’s per week is not worth a roster spot for him. Would probably stunt his development as well, not playing regularly. Polanco - Kiriloff both back for next few weeks should tell us a lot. CC needs to slowly creep back to the norm between now through June. Gallo - Buxton - Kepler gotta keep going deep once per week. Nick Gordon has the rest of May to get it going or we’ll need to consider a move with him. .279 BA & 28 doubles in ‘22 with defensive flexibility should keep him around for a while.
  20. JD-TWINS
    Gallo is what his history said he would be - no hits over last 29 plate appearances isn’t a good trend though. He’s getting me concerned. (0-23 with 6 walks) Agree on CC coming around at some point - he seems slow to the ball - big, wound up swing. Would love to see a line drive over SS head a couple times per week. Never saw Jeter get moved down in line-up……don’t see this as a benefit with a team BA of .220. Lots of holes to fill in line-up. Can release Solano & back fill his role with Miranda. Gotta assume guys will hit better over time………whole organization can’t remain in prolonged slump.
  21. JD-TWINS
    Farmer coming back & the options for him to replace: 1) Castro……not much of a bat, switch hits but still little offensive value. Speed - defensive flexibility! 2) Miranda……defense is struggling, offense is even worse. No intuition on defense and Way overly aggressive at the plate. No strike zone discipline….”pressing”!! 3) Solano……his defense is. or good at either 1B or 2B. His offense has been in steady decline for past 3-4 weeks. No future with club. Miranda can fill his role at 1B & take some reps at 3B while having some days off to help mentally reset. Castro seems obvious because he has options - Miranda has options - Solano has most offensive upside, on paper, & has no options. Who gets moved & when?
  22. JD-TWINS
    Would love to see Julien in RF but he only plays 2B in minors. A little frustrating, unless they are just grooming him for a trade as a solid 2B with upside bat. Miranda isn’t going to be of much interest to anyone as a subpar defender hitting .220 with little XBH pop. The minors are full of these guys…..hope he turns it around. He looks worse than anyone at the plate. Adding to pitching depth for ‘24-‘25 could be extending Mr. Gray for $43M!!
  23. JD-TWINS
    Miranda - Larnach - Gordon all have nice potential upside for rest of season. Gotta get more disciplined and swing at strikes to be able to be in line—up daily. Larnach looks smoother than the other two. He misses pitches down & the other two have no discipline up & out of the zone up! All gotta improve.
  24. JD-TWINS
    The guy has watched his 2nd game of the year out of 35 games because of his disinterest. Seems disinterested in baseball - right? We’re in first place with the lowest team BA in the league. We are at .220 as a team & MLB average is .248. CC is a problem that will get better……Kiriloff should help. Gordon has to get his act together with plate discipline or we should consider DFAing……..I’m Gordon’s biggest proponent (.279 BA - 28 doubles last year……just waiting for a change) but coming to the plate after a HBP, walk & walk……(your rock head teammate Miranda swings at ball to pop out after a pitch)………..first 2 pitches are balls to you & you swing at two balls (should be 100% RED light on 3rd pitch) to ground out & fail to get out of box clean, so it’s a double play. Really disappointing after recent XBH over previous 2 series. Miranda needs an assignment to help him get it together. They both seem to be way too anxious and very immature in their approach. We’re in first place though with nowhere to go but up offensively.
  25. JD-TWINS
    After seeing Miranda over the first 6 weeks of season, he looks like a project at 3B. The intuitive aggressiveness isn’t there & the routine plays seem less routine. That said, Polanco - Correa - Farmer - Lewis - Lee are our likely infielders with Kiriloff in ‘24. Julien doesn’t feel like he has a fit with the Twins due to fact that he’s only a 2B. Polanco may turn into a RH hitting 1B by next year for more flexibility. Because of 1B - RH hitting combo, Miranda has a better chance of making team than Julien. If Buxton stays healthy & productive through ‘23 there won’t be many AB’s at the DH spot in the foreseeable future. Again, despite the promise, Julien is on the outside………..there is a chance they don’t pick up Polanco’s option for ‘24 but if he is close to what he’s shown early in ‘23 for the balance of season, they have to bring him back. Farmer is signed for ‘24. Walner is able to put up similar stats to Kepler, we expect/hope! He should be in right next year. Larnach - Gordon - Taylor or new young guy from system (Martin?) Walner ………..Gallo & Kepler gone. I see Miranda & Julien as excellent trade chips for an arm………if Julien started getting reps in OF soon he may have a shot at making ‘24 team but that doesn’t seem realistic. Could drop Polanco but, again, if he performs around his historical numbers this year he’s going to be tough to displace……..Lewis is awfully talented & Lee is a switch hitter that can play multiple positions. Julien on outside!
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