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Dman

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Everything posted by Dman

  1. Dman
    I didn't have Adams on my bingo card to go in and save the day in the 9th as he generally gives up hard contact. Feels like Shelton is either a genius or getting some amazing good fortune with his pen management, I love that they got it done today. Was hoping for them to go at least 5 and 5 on this road trip and they are two wins away from that. Will be interesting to see this White Sox team and what they can do.
  2. Dman
    Nice to see Chivili moved up to A ball. Even after converting to a pitcher he is still only 20 years old and they need more good arms at A ball. Reyes is going to be interesting. Not a large enough sample size but he is off to a blistering start with a 1.529 OPS. He was one of the Twins better hitters in the DSL last year as well. If he can handle state side pitching out of the gate that bodes well for potential star status. Right now it's a good blend of K rate, walk rate and power. All the things the Twins love about hitters. BABIP is high so those numbers are coming down, but if he has good contact skills this guy could be something.
  3. Dman
    Yeah it sounded like the Twins drafted him as a 3rd baseman or Corner outfielder. I don't remember any scouting reports thinking he would stick at short. Just that for his size he was surprisingly able to play the position which said more about his athleticism than his ability to play short long term. It's his first pro year so I guess I don't mind them playing him wherever they want to, but yeah the odds and the number of errors aren't looking good right now. Honestly to me he looks a little clumsy out there at times and has hurried and inaccurate throws., I'm no pro scout but he doesn't look horrible fielding that position though I haven't seen all his games. I thought they would start him at third base. but they must feel like he has the ability to play there or they would move. him. As long as they give him some time at third and the outfield I think it's OK to play him at short until he can't move well enough for the position. I think he is still growing into his body and is likely to improve over time. We'll see though.
  4. Dman
    Man if your Martin who doesn't hit many home runs. Has to be pretty special to hit one over the green monster. He's having a nice year so far.
  5. Dman
    I was a big Kreidler basher when the Twins kept him on the 40 man over other options. Watching him more closely he is starting to win me over. I am starting to see why the Twins liked him. Likely plus defense in the infield and outfield makes him a valuable bench player to have around. If he can hit a little over .200 with power that is a pretty valuable utility guy to have with his level of defense. I don't know if I remember correctly or not but his batting luck seems best when he is aggressively swinging early in the count. I feel like a couple of his home runs came that way. I don't know if that is a strategy that will work long term for him. We'll see. Maybe he is better in the box than I think he is. At any rate I am willing to eat a little crow even in this small sample after what I have seen from Kreidler.
  6. Dman
    This year was always going to depend on the young arms and bats stepping up. We have seen some of that, but mainly too many black holes in the lineup. Wallner had been an almost automatic out with several uncompetitive at bats. Lewis hasn't performed well. Gray has fallen off and Keaschal has been pretty brutal this year as well. Get better production out of those spots and maybe the Twins can find more offense. The young arms have all performed pretty well so far. Abel looked good until hurt. Bradley's been great. Prielipp seems to have found his footing. Rojas a bit bumpy with the walks, but looking OK. Morris getting acclimated to the bullpen and Zebby seems to be back. Pitching could still be the strength of this club if they keep up this level of production. There seems to be an almost unusual amount of parity in the league this year. There are lot's of teams bunched together that are close to a wild card spot. I see no reason given the schedule and little improvement from the bats that the Twins couldn't claim a wildcard spot. The pen could still kill that dream but with Topa gone and maybe some young arms coming up. Maybe that can be patched up as well. There's no Duran, Varland or Jax like talent there right now, but they could have some good arms yet. They need to do well on this long stretch of away games. If they can be around .500 after that June only has the Yankees and Cardinals as super tough teams to beat. We'll see how it goes, but despite the many flaws this team has they are still in it.
  7. Dman
    Yeah this is my take as well. There are too many outfielders on the 40 man as is. Fedko is older than Rodriguez, Gonzalez and Roden granted two of those three are currently injured with Jenkins likely not too far away.. Outman has actually started to hit the ball and looked good in the outfield and Kreidler despite the past poor batting average has looked better in a small sample and his defensive versatility is ideal as a bench bat. Even if they got rid of Outman I would say they have too many outfielders on the 40 man. I just don't see them adding him. I forgot who has the stats up above, but those agree with my eye test to some degree as well. Granted I hate April stats because some players just don't play well in cold weather, but Fedko has had his fair share of meatballs to hit in May. Not that hitting HR's is easy, but a fair number of bombs were balls pretty much down the middle. He's not going to see many fastballs when he comes up as they will throw junk at him and hit corners. I'm not sold just yet that he is a hitter that can make it and if you add him you need to be sure. Still I absolutely love the player and what he is doing. He has been a solid bat for a while now and he has a good approach at the plate. He should just keep his head down and make noise at the plate and if he doesn't get his chance with the Twins he will get it somewhere else. Right now he seems like a break glass in case of emergency type player who is last in line of like eight choices. I'd wager the Twins leave him off the 40 man and dare a team to grab him in Rule V next year. He really has to show out most of this year to get a 40 man spot IMO.
  8. Dman
    If you've ever watched Houston hit you would've have seen he covers the plate really well. His problem has been getting those extra base hits. Right now he is hitting to many balls on the ground. Houston is a bit like Austin Martin without the excellent eye at the plate. So I think there will be value there. Not sure I'd have him in my top 100 though until that OPS reaches the mid 800's. There's a lot of competition for spots in the top 100 not sure he makes it just yet. Mercedes is interesting. Gonna need to keep that production up most of this year to find a spot in the top 100, but if he keeps this up he's got a chance, He could be a four or five tool player with a plus arm, plus speed, and if it holds up a plus bat with plus power and plus fielder in left or right. There's a lot of if's there, but things are looking good right now. Quick, not a large enough sample for me, but if he is who we think he is then he is the most likely to be added to a top 100 list. in the near future.
  9. Dman
    I didn't know what to make of Zebby's start to this season as he was penciled in as the 5th starter and he really struggled even in AAA. Maybe that time in AAA got him back on track because he sure looked locked in today. Hope he keeps this up. I really didn't see him going 7 today or being this dominant. A true pleasant surprise.
  10. Dman
    Twins gave Wallner as much time as they could to turn things around. He just hasn't been able to get his groove back. Time to go back to the lab and simplify things at AAA. I still think he rebounds from this and hopefully becomes a better hitter in the end. He feels months away, but time to dig in and find that golden swing once again.
  11. Dman
    Have you had a chance to watch Lackey at all? I have seen snippets and just have his stat line to go on. It seems to me he covers the zone well and he has a good eye at the plate. The reason he wasn't rated higher on boards to start the season were the questions about power. He has hit more home runs, but it seemed most of them have come in non conference play. He has 40 walks to 32 K's so a patient approach with good contact skills. His profile seems a lot like Marek Houston's. Probably more doubles power than HR power although he has a lean frame that could add more muscle. The Twins are pretty good at getting players to pull side power, but not sure his approach would work with that change. It feels like a solid hit tool to me with a chance for power to be special. He has a strong arm so a chance to control the running game as well. He feels like a pretty safe pick to me with a chance to be All Star caliber if he stays behind the dish. It's hard to find catchers with all of his qualities.
  12. Dman
    I would just say that if his hit tool doesn't work out then he is more Kreidler than Witt. I have heard he is squaring the ball up better this year as well. I assume that is why he is still in the top ten and top 5 on several other boards. I'd just want to be sure there is no mirage there before taking taking him. Lewis had all the tools as well and he ain't Witt.
  13. Dman
    I tend to agree. I get the attraction as he is a Bobby Witt type player if the hit tool works out. Still there are many cautionary tails when it comes to athleticism without the hit tool. The most damaging one for the Twins is Cavaco. While I don't see Lombard being "that bad" it doesn't mean there isn't risk. To give an example of how important the hit tool is look at Arraez. Almost every player you look at is more athletic than he is, but his hit tool carried him to the Majors and keeps him there despite the lack of elite athleticsim. If you can't hit you can't make it. It's not that guys with hit tool issues when they are young never work out, but the hit rate seems extra rare. When they do hit though they generally are star players. The Twins are not afraid to take those type of risks as we have seen them take Winoker, Young, Miller and Amick later in the draft, but I agree with you that when picking at 3 I think you want to grab a player with a strong hit tool to increase your odds of said player making it all the way to MLB. The hit tool is the one tool you absolutely have to have to make it. The others are icing on the cake.
  14. Dman
    I'm generally not one to advocate for taking a catcher high, but that is generally because it is hard to find one worth taking that high. It takes a Joe Mauer type of great defense, great offense to go there and I think Lackey has that. This type of catcher doesn't come around often so I'd love that pick if they make it. Flora seems to be right there at number 4 and Lombard despite some swing and miss still seems to hanging top 5 on boards. Lot's of things the Twins could do, but to me catcher is a need that fits where they are picking. They have taken shortstops the last three drafts. I think catcher makes sense at three, but we'll see.
  15. Dman
    I've seen him be efficient in outings where hitters can't touch his stuff and I've seen him give up an awful lot of hard contact especially when behind in the count. He has been a fast mover as he made it all the way to AA his first pro year and finds himself in AAA early in his second year. Seems like he just needs more seasoning\time to see what works against advanced hitters. I think they can work with his fastball by adding a sinker or cutter to minimize usage if needed, but from what I remember his fastball plays well up in the zone and with refinement could be a plus pitch for him. The changeup is also good and might be plus. Wil be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out. I do agree that if he cant find some plus pitches he likely ends up a pen arm, but let's give him some time. Most arms like his are still at High A at this stage and he is already at AAA.
  16. Dman
    I'm still not completely sold on Sabato given what I've seen when watching him. Happy to see him doing well though. I'd need to see a couple more months of this to get on the bandwagon as he has fooled me with a hot month before. Don't know what to think about Spain. This is the best he has ever hit so I'd want to see another couple of good months from him as well. I have been impressed watching him at the plate, but have only seen a few appearances. As noted there are a a lot of younger guys ahead of him. Still he can play for that next team to take him. For the record I thought he was a terrible pickup\signing when they announced it. Scouting department did well on this one. I've been waiting on Mitrovich and still hoping to see Reitz soon as well. Nice first outing, but too small a sample to tell much of anything just yet. Glad he is off to a good start.
  17. Dman
    Bowman has been the best arm they have at AAA. He still seems to get dinged with hit's many ground ball weak contact ones placed well. It's still a good WHIP though. He looks like he deserves a shot to me. Brebbia has good outings and terrible ones. I think he would be hard pressed to find a job at the MLB level given his stats, but given the Twins low bar who knows. Not sure who moves around on the 40 man if they want to add one of them, but I wouldn't mind taking a look at Bowman at the MLB level.
  18. Dman
    After some tough starts for the Kernals and Saints it's nice to see all the affiliates at .500 or above. Mercedes Ferrer and Olivar look ready to move up as they are all second in their league for OPS. Will be interesting to see how the numbers look at the end of May.
  19. Dman
    Yeah Emerson makes sense since his bat is likely not far off of Cholowsky. He should be a faster runner and if he does move fast enough they might be able to get him sign a deal like Detroit got for McGonigle. That way you get more prime years of control. I think there is a pretty good possibility he goes first unless they think Cholowsky is vastly superior between now and draft day. All things being equal I'd see them go High School.
  20. Dman
    Kid has easy power. Still looks like he is growing into that body so he is gonna need some time. I am not a huge fan of players with hit tool issues. Still his athletic traits are loud. When he gets a hold a ball he scorches it. Gonna be interesting to see how he turns out.
  21. Dman
    Yeah I am not convinced there isn't a problem yet. Velocity has been down, pulls himself from the game due to soreness. I am happy the imaging came back clean, but things still look dicey to me.
  22. Dman
    It makes some sense in theory and trying something new isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'm not sure if it makes that much of a difference or not. You look at the Twins system this year and there were a ton of arms that started the season late Rojas, Quick, Mitrovcich and supposedly Horn, Reitz and Soto although they might as well join the 60 day IL arms in Barr, Fang, Kaminska, Carpenter. Not to mention guys with stretches on the IL already in Garcia, Moring, Bohorquez. It seems like arms are just naturally struggling with the max effort required to pitch these days whether it be 60 pitches or 90 to 100. I get that fewer pitches per outing should be easier to recover from, but how much does that matter. Once the arm is "warmed up" is it less prone to injury than just starting the warming up process? I mean guys who throw just one or two innings out of the pen get hurt all the time as well. I don't know what the answer is and since it is the minors am willing to see how they do compared to other teams, but to my knowledge there isn't a lot of proof that shaving of 20 to 30 pitches per outing will change much.
  23. Dman
    I think you could make a case for Rojas in the top 4. I think the walk rate is high, but so is Ellwanger's. He's at a much tougher level and is very young for the level. He could be in there, but this seemed more focused on the first year pro's. They won't move Quick or Peschl to the majors because they would need to be added to the 40 man and their options clock would start and if they can't handle that level you would be wasting 40 man spots waiting for them to be ready. I mean there's a chance Quick could make it, but honestly there is no reason to hurry these guys as they face a significant challenge at AA and then AAA before the ultimate challenge at the MLB level. Just no reason to force a sink or swim approach with young arms. They both could be moved to AA and there are pitchers from last years draft that skipped A and High A and started in AA. They could promote faster if they want to, but given the Twins are not a likely playoff team they can afford to be patient. I think if you get to AA your first year that's a very good pace. If you perform well at AA like Gallagher you can move to AAA pretty fast and then get called up if you look good there.
  24. Dman
    I think the pen is the best place for him. He gives up too many homeruns somewhat like Varland did when he came up. Not saying he can't start at AAA but I think his ultimate role is pen in short relief. If good enough he could be a stopper bullpen arm used in the toughest situations.
  25. Dman
    I was really impressed with what Moring did to start the season. He looked better in that first game than Ellwanger IMO, but things evened out from there. Do we know why Moring was out those two weeks? Shoulder, elbow, knee? The movement he was getting seemed to stifle hitters though as time went on they made more contact. Looks promising but time will tell. I had my eye on Peschl after last year. I like his stuff and thought they might keep him as a starter. Was surprised by the pen move, but he has dared batters to hit his stuff and it hasn't happened much yet. Nice to see some of the lower picks establishing themselves.
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