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JD-TWINS

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Everything posted by JD-TWINS

  1. JD-TWINS
    VERY surprised - just looked and they kept Matthews on the 26-man and optioned Winder. Maybe, going forward they’ll piggyback Varland & Matthews. Can’t imagine sending Louie down after today……doubt they take the leap and put him into the Pen with this many weeks left……..should be interesting.
  2. JD-TWINS
    Seems to me Varland is squarely the 5th starter……I guess, after Matthew’s first start, Louie cannot back slide today. Varland has pitched parts of 3 seasons and he’s had 3 straight very reasonable starts. Last outing v. Cleveland he gave up a HR on a hanging curve and then 2 consecutive singles - so 3 hits in 3 batters before he left the game and he gave up 8 total well into the 5th……not bad against a really solid line-up. I’m interested in seeing who goes down today to make room for Varland on 26 man. Does Buxton go to IL? Does Matthews go down (not available for 10 days if so) or Winder? Winder has pitched really well over 4 appearances …..tough call!! If it’s a spot start for Varland (he’s sent back down) and they keep Matthews up, makes sense to give Ober another 2 days rest.
  3. JD-TWINS
    Winder ……9 innings over 4 outings. .888 WHIP 10-1 ….K/Walk ratio 3.00 ERA Between Sands & Winder, seem to have some very nice, somewhat unexpected Pen depth! Sands …… 54 innings over 45 outings. .963 WHIP 7.63-1 ….K/Walk ratio 3.33 ERA BOTH converted Starters over last 2 seasons…….Varland may join these two in ‘25.
  4. JD-TWINS
    The guy is 44….the Pirates didn’t re-sign him. The mentoring thoughts are nice but if he gets signed, the assumption is he pitches for the Big Club per some predetermined conversation, as I assume he’s looking to help and be part of a MLB club with only 43 games remaining in the season…… He may never meet Zebby Matthews let alone mentor him. His stuff hardly plays as well as Matthews, as evidenced last night. He would displace Matthews in any rotation spot and he needs a 40 man spot immediately even if he starts in St Paul for a week or two. All these same things could be said about Varland as well. Varland twice through the line-up is way more suited to MLB competition v. Rich Hill twice through the line-up.…..in 2024. A guy throwing 3 2/3 or maybe 5 1/3 on a good day, isn’t eating innings. He’s a stress on the Pen! TWINS need to be as competitive as possible and don’t need “a guy” to throw out there every 5 days. Would Team rather have Matthews start 3-4 more games between now and October in order to give guys a break v. Hill? To me, this being considered is not a realistic path for the Club…….just my opinion. Lopez - Ober - SWR - Festa - Varland …… Matthews, as needed. I get these guys are young and unproven over long stretches but I cannot come up with any desire to have Rich Hill displace any of the 4.
  5. JD-TWINS
    Gotta be able to plan ahead more than 3-4 months……..I do not recall a big push immediately following being eliminated by Houston, regarding the budget being slashed going forward. Ownership brought the organization back to 2021 salary total in ‘24. If most of the budget is spent when the GM was informed what the budget would be - that is principally on ownership. They can choose to spend whatever…… not the GM’s fault he has no remaining resources based on a screwed up TV deal and a $30M reduction in player spending……..decided upon on the fly.
  6. JD-TWINS
    If Matthews has success, shows good promise…..Varland to the Pen in ‘25! I think Varland - Festa - Matthews & the group behind them (pipeline) should be only part of what Falvey is credited for …….Ober has been developed internally ……. trading for SWR - Ryan - Lopez while signing Paddack…..it’s his job, but Falvey is doing it at a high level IMO!
  7. JD-TWINS
    He’s getting paid - I’m sure he sees himself as a Professional MLB player - the pressure this August, after half dozen starts, isn’t any more than it would be next June. Guys are up & down with performance……part of the pro sports deal……(see P. Lopez) …….I like Festa’s demeanor and competitive fire. He might struggle - gotta roll with it at this point. Festa is older than SWR …… Simeon got thrown in the fire early and, generally, he’s been exceptional at age 23! Festa seems to be leveling off and just relying on his stuff…...I think he’ll be OK.
  8. JD-TWINS
    Agreed - I never heard of him until May or June……he’s been as good as anyone could be!! If his stuff is as good as it looks in print, he’s a no brainer to contribute next year! My assumption, with others good health, either Paddack or Varland is in the Pen from the jump next Spring. Ryan’s back - SWR - Lopez - Ober - Festa …….Paddack or Varland …….hoping Zebby forces one of those two aforementioned into the Pen.
  9. JD-TWINS
    So, it’s 1:30 Central and Matthews isn’t on roster and nobody is off…….only exchange today is Okert for Dobnak. Am concerned they are waiting on some health news on Buxton and may put him on IL to make room for Matthews today. He’ll be optioned Wednesday. Could bring in a player overnight from Indy to take Buxton’s spot. ????
  10. JD-TWINS
    Keaschall may not be able to throw regularly until June (Tommy John)……….don’t see the FA signing…..I think it will be a youth movement. Castro essentially fits the FA/OF role if Julien & Kirilloff are back as depth at 1B & 2B……..been saying for over a year, I don’t expect Julien to ever see time at 1B. Hoping Rodriguez matures and is capable by July/August of ‘25.
  11. JD-TWINS
    Today is my timing, not 1-3 months ago v. AAA guys. DeScla didn’t throw an inning in MLB this year so I didn’t really consider him to be in the mix. At any rate - he’s clearly #8 as of 8/13/24. With Ryan & Paddack unable to pitch, he’s up to #6 as of today. ……I want him to succeed but I sure hope this is as far up the pecking order he gets this season!
  12. JD-TWINS
    I think that might be SWR at age 23.
  13. JD-TWINS
    K.C. isn’t electric offensively but they are right behind the Twins in Runs Scored…..decent line-up. The Pen did a great job Monday night! Looks like Winder - Alcala - Duran are most likely today …….,hope Zebby can stay away from the long ball and keep things competitive. Ryan Jeffers looked great in the 2nd, 0-2 with his shortened, choked up approach……,and then……brutal after that AB. Really hope he can get things going……seems to have potential to be a lot more at the plate but can’t find much consistency.
  14. JD-TWINS
    Over 1.000 on the OPS - I thought you were making fun of him at first.👍 He’s much more tolerable at the plate with 2-3 hits per week!
  15. JD-TWINS
    Rocco said all the right things after the game to downplay this ……..didn’t appear to be a minor discomfort as he walked off and went straight down the tunnel. Needs to have an MRI by 1:00 today to see what’s up!
  16. JD-TWINS
    That was my first thought! ……just doesn’t seem to be any other practical depth option. Even if they do this, I doubt they’d start him. Would like to give him a shot! Probably another 40-man complexity as well though?
  17. JD-TWINS
    Volume down on Rex? Missed a good one.
  18. JD-TWINS
    Looking for the SATIRE heading on this one. Only leads-off ONCE for sure. Slowest guy on the Team. Gotta ride him in the 9 spot and maybe he’ll get lucky and end up leading off an inning. He’s up to .225 on August 12 after being mired in the mid-.100’s for a big chunk of first 3 months. He’s actually been hitting pretty well since mid-June. Hit the very top of the wall on Sunday and another one off the base of the fence. Not completely missing fastballs anymore.
  19. JD-TWINS
    Apparently, he’s in our Top 6-8 starters this year! Ryan down - Paddack down ……..5 other guys & then Zebby. Good luck to him. It’s all about location & not being too fat with his pitches in zone.
  20. JD-TWINS
    Looking over comments/posts while watching game Monday night. A little over reaction here but after watching Jeffers take strike 2 & strike 3 (fastballs) with guys on 1st & 3rd with 1 out…….I started wondering when the buzz might start here that Vazquez is the #1 Catcher on the club. I don’t think there’s any doubt that Vazquez is definitely a more valuable defensive catcher. He’s got considerably less power than Jeffers. However, Jeffers at .290 BA and Vazquez at .110 BA is long gone. As of this evening Vazquez is hitting .225 with 6 HR in 213 AB’s & Jeffers is hitting .228 with 17 HR in 307 AB’s. Don’t know the numbers clearly, but via eye test, Vazquez has been hitting effectively, & better than Jeffers, for nearly 2 months.
  21. JD-TWINS
    I get your slant about proving oneself before there’s real value…….but if all the guys in the system (maybe 120?) are prospects, talking about how 5 or 6 look to be the best, that fits with the % of guys coming out of Minors that are very successful, either with the Twins or ultimately in another organization. Gotta promote success of the Minors at some level.
  22. JD-TWINS
    No real choice with no other starters with proper rest…….bullpen game doesn’t make sense coming off 4 games in 3 days and in the midst of a key series with K.C. Definite risk but a good opportunity for the kid to gain a little experience……maybe he’ll even experience some success?
  23. JD-TWINS
    Blewett is my assumption. It would be interesting to see him pitch. I can’t imagine his stuff wouldn’t stack up to Dobnak’s favorably……..with Okert due back & Varland added by the weekend for the 5th spot, both of these guys only have a few days left. To me, Winder earned a spot for the foreseeable future over his outings recently.
  24. JD-TWINS
    I too think that the Twins have a good shot, probably can get things done to “make the playoffs”. Problem is health!!!! Pitching in rotation is thin, we all get that. How does the Team do well with Dobnak - Blewett - Richards as guys that need to perform in our Pen - that’s the really scary piece. Okert - Henriquez seem to be needed back in the 26 man very soon!
  25. JD-TWINS
    Winder - 5 innings with no runs for the week……Sands has been very good 80-90% of the time - yesterday he gave up a broken bat single & a slow roller through the left side before a routine single in the gap ruled a double without much of a challenging effort by our LF……..Alcala - Jax - Duran. Filling those bottom 3 spots has been/is challenging, to your point! Okert will be back…….somebody has got to displace Dobnak fairly soon. Who saw Richards - Blewett - Dobnak as 3/8 of the Pen at any point in the season? Wow!! Paddack - Okert - Varland filling those spots by October or sooner would be a big help. Ronny Henriquez soon - sometime?
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