Dman

Sure 2020 has SSS bias written all over it but those were the only numbers we had to go on. Tell the 2020 World Series winners that 2020 needs to be thrown out the window. I bet they beg to differ. 2019 was one of the best seasons by a Twins team ever so I think we all expected some regression there but did you really think the regression would be to the bottom half of baseball? If so then you are smarter than pretty much all the experts in baseball as I am not aware of anyone that had the Twins finishing last or second to last in the division given the talent assembled for that team. My main point was that most of us weren't drinking Kool-aide or FO worshippers just people following the stats and trends that had helped the team win two division titles and had experts predicting they would fight for the title this year as well. It is unfortunate they keep losing in the playoffs but the hitters have been pretty badly exposed in the playoffs. The bullpen hasn't really held up well in the playoffs either. So I agree with you that what they have has not been enough to get a playoff win but the FO is trying to develop better pitching prospects we'll see if that works out or not. While I generally don't agree with the FO's fascination with hard hit rate above all else, they did win two division titles using that philosophy so will have to wait and see. To be honest the guys we were banking on just haven't performed. Sano, Kepler, Polanco, Buxton etc. haven't been the star players we needed to take us to that higher level. While Berrios has been pretty good he hasn't been consistent enough to put the team on his back either. We needed the potential star talent we had in the system to develop and take us to elite levels but it doesn't look like they can do it. Looks like we will be starting over to some degree looking for more elite talent. Baseball is a tricky game and it is often unkind to teams with great talent. Look at the Yankee's lineup full of HR hitters and Tampa is leading the division. Look at the Dodgers team that supposedly has no weaknesses and see that the Giant lead the division. The A's who were swept by Houston early now lead the division. Atlanta has a ton of talent and the Mets lead their division. The Cub's were supposed to be battling for last place and are leading their division. The standings will change as the season moves along but strange things will happen to talented teams and teams that were never supposed to be in it. That is the unpredictability of baseball even though we look for trends to predict it never quite work out the way we think it should.

Kool-aide and FO worship seems like hindsight bias IMO. This team was fresh off of winning two division titles with essentially the same players and you honestly expected them to be one of the worst teams in baseball? I don't think anyone saw this one coming. Plenty of us had concerns about the pen to start the year and several posters legitimately questioned how Maeda would do being used through a full season but the stats from 2020 pointed to a solid rotation and bullpen so why question the numbers? The analysts didn't. The only question they had was whether Chicago or Minnesota would be on top at the end of the season. Was it possible to see some regression? Sure but did you really see essentially full system failure from poor hitting, to horrible defense, to terrible relief work, to suspect starting pitching. Pretty much every player has had a role in major collapses along the way. It is just uncanny how they have been losing this year. While I can get on board with you about the FO build a pen with discarded players as looking like a failed strategy I don't think every decision they make is bad either. In a year where I was hoping for good baseball to watch instead we get almost unwatchable baseball and that sucks, but hopefully we will have a stronger club next year, I do , however, disagree that it was Kool-aid and FO worship that had us thinking this was a playoff team. It was past performance and numbers that had people believing.

He was having trouble getting recognition as a prospect before his MLB callup. We all know a bad K rate is hard to overcome and generally means a hitter is not making enough contact to be a Major league baseball player. Rooker has struggled as he has faced pitchers with better breaking balls. his 35% K rate at AAA in 2019 had several of us saying he wasn't going to make it because 35% at AAA is only going to get worse at the MLB level. This he proved as his K rate was 43% when with the MLB club in 2021. Players with 43% K rates just don't stay in MLB for long. That is just too many non-contact outs unless all of your hits go for HR's. If you watched any games he was an easy out at the MLB level. Just throw a diving ball over the plate and he would swing at it and miss. It was sad to watch IMO. Maybe he can get better but the odds are against him. He would have to reinvent himself to become a player the Twins need. I mean Kyle Garlick a waiver claim and Rob Refsnyder a journeyman look like better players than Rooker and we have Larnach and Kirilloff already establishing themselves and young guys not that far off so yeah I think he is on the edge of oblivion as a prospect. Not saying he can't make changes and still make it but he is running out of time and his current approach won't get him there as he tried that and failed miserably. He has to learn to lay off certain pitches and not K as much. If he can do that he has light tower power that few players possess but he has to hunt better pitches to get to it. Personally I don't see him making it but I hope he proves me wrong.

Miranda is looking pretty special and is another good contact hitter. I agree with him that being patient works in his favor. If he hunts good pitches to hit he can do damage. He has very solid numbers with his BABIP at only 304 which could be sustainable. He could stand to walk a bit more but with a 563 slugging percentage and only a 10% K rate maybe swinging away makes more sense. At any rate this is what we all have been waiting for and he is only 22. Miranda should be a good Blankenhorn replacement. Hopefully his fielding is good as well. Have to say I am pretty excited to see Palacios in this list. We need better SS play and more options for guys that can play that position. His K rate is OK at 25% and his walk rate at 12% but both could stand to be just little bit better. His BABIP of 400 is high so it look like there will be some regression in his numbers but those are solid numbers and you have to be encouraged by the slugging percentage and ultimately OPS of 875. He needs to keep it up but he is looking like he could be a solution at SS sooner rather than later. He just needs to hold those numbers longer into the season and he looks like a solid utility player as his floor everyday SS as his ceiling. He just needs to keep that bat going. I like Gabe's numbers but let's be honest he is a 26 year old playing at High A. If his numbers weren't that good he likely would need to hang up the spikes. The Twins should promote him to AA ASAP to see if the bat plays there so that he has chance to move AAA where his age plays better for the level. Don't get me wrong I love what he is doing but they need to move him up before the numbers mean much. Julien has been in a slump pretty much ever since I said he should be moved up. He has a good eye at the plate though so moving up shouldn't be a problem for him. The Twins can afford to be patient but he is one of the best hitters in the system so I would think moving him up fairly soon would make sense. I like Wallners numbers but I see a ton of regression in his numbers. His near 40% K rate is going to catch up to him and his BABIP is high as well. He is fools gold right now. It is great to see him doing well and putting up nice numbers but that K% will bring him to his knee's eventually. He looks very Rooker like to me right now but hopefully he can get that K rate down and OBP up. He has power I have no doubts there but he needs to make more contact and improve the eye at the plate if he ever wants a shot at MLB. I don't know what to think of Kyle Schmidt yet. His numbers for the month of May all say solid hit tool. K% and walk rate are good. He isn't hitting HR's but the 6 doubles keep his slugging up so he is hitting the ball hard. The one regression point he has though is his BABIP is 472. He isn't going to keep this up. Still he looks like a balanced hitter to me at this point and being a catcher the bar for hitting is much lower. Will be interesting to see how his numbers turn out this year. I am a big Ernie fan so happy to see him make honorable mention. 2019 was a terrible year for him. I was wondering if would be able to recover or if he was done. His numbers are back and I love his game. He has solid hitters numbers he just needs to add to slugging to round things out. I am rooting for him. It is a fun list but Miranda is far and away the best hitter on this list IMO. His low K% normalized BABIP % and high slugging make him the best candidate to sustain his production through the season. Hopefully he keeps it going and the Twins have another star in the making.

After watching him pitch in 2019 I would have never imagined Kody Funderburk could ever be this good. A lefty who gets lots of K's would be very, very valuable for us to have. Would be nice to have a good lefty in AA but I am guessing they will leave him where he is for a bit yet. Hopefully his stuff will translate up the levels. I never really looked that closely at Beck before but his K9 numbers have always been good. I am a little surprised they didn't keep him a reliever as it seems like his stuff plays up out of the pen but I guess if they think he can start and he is having success why not. Cedar rapids has had some good starting pitching to start the season but the pen has not been as good.

Yeah I was looking at the A ball pitchers a week ago or so and the numbers for everyone except Sean Mooney or Anthony Escobar although Escobar has only pitched 4 innings so far and is currently on the injured list. Everyone else looks pretty vanilla at best. No real stand outs at that level just yet at least to me. I think the Covid layoff and lack of experience is really showing at the A ball level this year. I suspect several of those guys will start distinguishing themselves as the year moves on as several of them have had good games but have lacked consistency to this point. My pick for a Winder type rise was Sawyer-Gipson-Long but he has been hit hard to start the year so not sure that is gonna hold up. I also was looking at Varland who has a ton of K's but a very high WHIP so he is giving up contact and walking guys so lot's to work on as well. Hunter McMahon has been good but for his age and level would like to see more dominance. Legumina has the stuff to K guys but gives up too many hits and his ERA shows it too. Every pitcher at ball seems to have their warts right now but I assume they will get better and move on. Other than Mooney there just isn't much to be excited about yet at Fort Myers. Still waiting to see Rijo, Lawyerson and Balazovich pitch this year at their levels as well. Still have lot's of good pitchers in the system so not real worried at this point.

I like your Stroman comp and feel the situation is similar for the Twins. Still they will need a team that likes Berrios better than other options at the trade deadline and be willing to give up more prospect capital than for just a rental. I agree it makes the most sense to trade rather than wait for the comp pick but the Twins FO needs to decide if having Berrios for one more year plus the comp pick is greater than what they might be offered in trade. Going the comp pick route means it would likely be another 5 years from today before that player would help the team and that is assuming that player does not end up a bust as then they get nothing at all. They would have to play the long game if they decide to go that route. If they can trade for a top 100 to 150 player they get the assurance that said player has already done well professionally so won't bust straight out of the draft but will still have to be good enough to play with the best of the best. Still that prospect in the trade can fail as well but the odds are better and the player has a chance to contribute in the next year or two if that player is at High A or AA. So trading makes a lot of sense IMO but the return has to be there. Can't just trade to trade they need to get something they need back.

I feel the same way. Hoping our guys continue to do well and Twins can maximize trade value to boost this teams wave 2 of players and field young hopefully star players that can get us where we want to go. Also the young pitching looks very, very close. It might be an up and down 2022 if they go young with the pitching but could pay huge dividends in 2023 as the hitters and pitchers should be ready to gel at the same time. Hopefully the trades can help accelerate building a young team with star players.

OK first I want to congratulate the guys I have been hard on for having great games. I haven't had much love for Javier but he is starting to hit and if he can keep it up there is a chance he can still work out. I haven't been high on Helman since his rookie year but he has started to heat up the past two weeks as well. I have been of the opinion that Banuelous doesn't know how to use a bat but he went 2 for 4 today so I stand corrected. Celestino has started to heat up this last week and is showing more HR power than I thought was possible for him and finally I had some pretty harsh statement about Rortvedts at bats but he really excelled at AAA this year and his HR for the big club was great to see. I might have been wrong thinking his bat would never come around as he has been hitting pretty well recently. I am a Hunter McMahon fan and was happy to see him pitch well today. I think he has a ways to go yet but he did a really nice job today. Was also nice to see Urbina get a couple of hits. I love that the Twins have challenged him with A ball and we need him to succeed as we need more potential star players in the system. I was expecting Javier to fail again with the bases loaded but he surprised with the HR. He went to 2 for 4 with 5 RBI's I hope he keeps the hitting going and gains the confidence to fulfill his potential. Helman who I thought might be done also hit a grand slam. The knock on Helman is that he just didn't have the power needed to make it but he has 4 HR's already so he has a shot at utility role if he can keep this up. I am not a huge Gross fan just yet but hard to argue 8 K's in 5 innings. Hoping he keeps it going. I know Miranda is the "guy" on the AA team and I waited a while before mentioning anything as I was waiting for him to start to fade but Palacous has been pretty special to start the year. He too is hitting for power with 4 HR's and his batting line is very good. Maybe he is finally putting it all together? I don't know what his defense is like but is it possible he could be our future shortstop of the future or at least a utility player who can actually play shortstop for us? If he keeps this up he looks close to ready to me. I don't know how the AAA lineup does it but they find ways to get runs in. It ain't always pretty but they have been getting the job done. Ober was great until he lost control. His line for the day still looked pretty good and he just keeps the K's coming. I guess a bit more refinement and he looks like solid 5th or 6th starter to me. Nice to see a system sweep as most the teams have had their fair share of hard luck loses.

I haven't done the research but I think the OP is treating Berrios like he is a half year rental not 1 and a half because the team that makes the trade if they can't keep Berrios would get a comp pick. Depending on what team gets him would depend on where that comp pick lands but they get return value even if they cannot resign him. If you factor that in I believe he should be worth a player in the top 100 and maybe a lottery ticket in the lower levels as well. I could be wrong but if the Twins don't get value that would be better than the 35th pick in the draft or so then there is really no need to trade him. Teams that want him have to top that value and then some for the Twins to lose a year of Berrios and the first round draft Comp pick when he likely leaves. To me that would be a top 100 player plus a little something extra at a minimum. The FO doesn't have to trade him and they could use him next year the deal would have to blow them away or at least be an overpay IMO to be made.

I don't think anyone is undervaluing him it comes down to if you believe he will stay with the team beyond his rookie deal. If I believed the Twins could and would sign him I would be all for having him stay. I just don't think that will happen and because he is a valuable commodity the teams with bigger payrolls will find a way to sign him away. You can hold onto him for one more year and wait for draft compensation or trade him early and net a top 100 prospect who is closer to ready and more of a sure thing. Those appear to be the teams only two choices as there have been no rumors he badly wants to stay or that the Twins want to overpay. This is something the Indians, A's, Ray's and most teams who get supplemental picks do because they generally don't have the payroll or want the flexibility to balance their payroll to get the most value per player average they can. They also want to maximize the return they can get for a player likely to leave because that future value can create a huge impact if the player or players work out. If everyone on here believed Berrios would for sure sign with the Twins or the Twins were in contention I don't think we would be having this discussion, but here we are.

Can someone shed a little more light on BJ Boyd? It looks like the last time he played in MiLB was 2018. I looked like in the transactions he might have started with another team but then ended up with us. Hoping someone out there can give us the scoop because the guy had a heck of a debut and although he is older maybe could be something yet.

I like how we match up best with the Blue Jays. Not sure Berrios will be their first choice in the market or not but if the Twins work a deal for an up the middle player that could really help them out. I think they will be hard pressed to get the Blue Jays to include a pitcher back in the deal for 1 and half years of Berrios but you never know. Still I would trade Berrios as I don't think we can extend him and this year will be the most value we can hope to get from him as well. Also don't forget if the team that acquires Berrios can't sign him they will get draft pick compensation back so that needs to be factored into the deal and should increase what return the Twins can get for him. I honestly don't think a top 100 player would be out the of question and if a sweetener is required that is fine too. We need to get valuable player back at a position of need SS, CF, or starting Pitcher. Get the best return you can and go from there. With the graduation of Kirilloff and Larnach we are probably looking at 5 pitcher in our top 10 as it is not including Dobank and Ober so we do have pitchers to fall back on in 2022 but they would not be seasoned options. '

Count me in the disappointed Donaldson category. It looks like we paid for his bad years. Come on man have some pride and be clutch once in a while. He looks horrible at the plate I would rather have Blankenhorn back and batting in his spot because he wouldn't be any worse and would have upside. Maybe call up one of replacement players who at least seem to be doing something. Hard to believe a veteran bat can be so overmatched at the plate especially in run scoring opportunities. Absolute waste of money.

Nice to see Jax with the 10 K's. If he can continue that trend I don't see how he can't be a starter at the MLB level. His control is already good. His only real issue was giving up too many hits. If gets that under control then he should be in MLB. Canterino should have never started at High A. Hopefully they move him to AA ASAP.

I guess I never realized he had such a good eye at the plate. That really translates to success up the ladder as even when not getting on base with a hit he isn't an automatic out and he makes the pitcher work or at least throw actual strikes over the plate which generally translates to more hits. Low A ball is a little weird this year so hard to tell what kind of competition he has faced but I am surprised he is doing this well to start the season. Right now he looks like a heck of a pickup in the 18th round. Kudos to the FO for upping the ante and likely grabbing a possible top 100 to 150 prospect in the 18th round. By saving some money early to sign him later they might have gotten a steal in that draft. Right now although it is early, and he is at a lower level, he arguably could be the best hitter they drafted in 2019.

So I guess I jinxed Julien and Schmidt as they both had O fer games last night. Julien looked especially bad K'ing in half of his at bats. Can't be good every night but I thought he would at least draw a walk like Schmidt did. Prato hasn't been mentioned much but he is putting up typical Prato type numbers batting above 300 taking walks with an OBP of 423 and a solid OPS at 777. He looks good even though he seems to be under the radar right now. Gipson-Long was a pick I thought would be somewhat like Winder. A sturdy build who throws strikes but gives up too many hits and just needs some refinement to possibly become really, really good. Of course he started the year horribly but hopefully last night was a glimpse of better things to come. He can throw strikes so has the command but he needs to move the ball around more and find an out pitch and he might not become quite as good as Winder but still very good. Hoping to see lot's of improvement from him by the end of the season. Last night was a very good night for him. My guy Ernie is having a good start to the year in Wichita. Man he had a brutal year at the plate in 2019. It was getting embarrassing and I thought that he might be done. Happy to see him hitting 300 and back to his normal batting line. Looks like he is focused on adding power to his game with that 800 OPS. He was always a long shot to make it but I am rooting for him. I really like all the numbers Vallimont puts up except ERA. He has a tendency to make a mistake pitch or two or three and it never fails to hurt him by giving up runs. If he can gain some better consistency there he looks like an outstanding pitcher to me. His K9 is crazy good like almost 2 guys per inning good and his Whip is right around 1.00 flat so he is not giving much up in walks or hits. Unfortunately he seems to give up too many runs at times. I don't understand why he isn't talked about more on this site as he rivals some our best pitching prospects in the system. I don't have much to say about Duran except he needs to stay healthy and maintain a good pitch mix and he might have ace level talent. He looks amazing to me out there just blowing the ball by guys. Maybe we will finally have some guys that can pitch with great velocity for once.

6 of his 18 hits have come in the last two games so it is just in the last couple of games that he started doing "well". Before that he was looking pretty bad at the plate. Even this spring he didn't look great at the plate. Hopefully he stays hot and gets in a good groove as it looks like we will need him sooner rather than later. He is no Buxton though. Not speed or power wise anyway. He does look like a solid centerfielder, maybe above average defensively if the hit tool is good he will be very good insurance just not a pure replacement.

Can anyone give me some context on Yeltsin Encarnacion? It doesn't look like he has had an OPS over 700 since E-town, very little time at High and skipped AA. He is a 22 year old in AAA and I haven't heard much about the guy. Is he some kind of defensive wizard that I didn't know about? Obviously the Twins think he can handle the jump but they generally move guys up slowly so just curious about what makes Yeltsin so special.

Man I really underestimated Funderburk. He is off to a great start at High A. A sub 1 ERA and WHIP with a really nice K9. I know it is early but considering how many other pitchers have sort of blown up to start the year need to give credit where credit is due. I kind of thought he only had reliever potential but if he keeps this up he could move into top 30 prospect status. No idea how hard he throws but right now guys from other teams are having a heard time hitting what he is throwing. Sands with a nice night night as well. Seems to be picking up where he left off. He had to throw too many pitches but it is early and I think this is only his second time pitching this year. Hopefully he gets more efficient but other than that he looks like the same pitcher that dominated High A in 2019. The Twins have lot's of pitchers to keep an eye on and I hope they translate well to MLB as we need some young arms. Julien continues to make a mockery out of A ball pitchers. His numbers are just goofy right now 360 BA, 530 OBP, 1,076 OPS. They are absolutely elite for the month of May. I mean the umpire had to squeeze the strike zone just to help the pitcher get him out. His eye is just that good right now. HIs OBP is higher than a third of the teams OPS. He needs to be challenged with better pitching, pitchers that throw better breaking stuff and maybe throw harder. This level appears to easy for him right now. I don't really know who Kyle Schmdit is but I guess we drafted him in the 33 round in 2019. He is killing it in A ball right now with a 360 average and 947 OPS and he is a catcher. I know we have Camargo at High A and Isola is playing well there too but would be nice if Kyle got a crack at High A in the not too distant future. Miranda is in Elite territory at AA as well. 329 BA and 977 OPS. He keeps this up and there is going to be a log jam at 2nd base. He has played third as well so can move around but it looks like he has mastered making better contact and if he maintains those numbers he could have star potential as well. He could stand to be moved up as well to face the nasty stuff AAA pitchers throw and see how he does. Maybe he can help the big league club as early as next year. It is not even one month into the season but trends are developing. Gonna need some guys to step up to keep the farm strong after likely losing Kirilloff and Larnach to the big club.

I am with you on Julien one would think he has to slow down at some point still they really should move him up as he has a 521 OBP. He is literally on base every other time he comes to the plate for the last month. If that isn't domination I don't know what is. While he might regress some regressing from a 500 OBP to 400 isn't really a concern. They could move Steer to AA to make room for Julien at High A. Both players have been dominating and there is no one at AA that should be holding Steer back as there are two 30 year olds holding down the fort because we have no real prospect at that level right now.

I think they are going to need to be above 500 to not sell. Using years past as precedent the Twins would need to be around 600 to capture a wild card spot. That would be some heavy lifting down the stretch if they are only at 500 at that point. Also like some others mentioned I am not feeling like this team has the pitching to compete in the playoffs at all. It might be better if they sell and try and shore up some weak spots in the system like Shortstop or Centerfield. More pitching wouldn't hurt either. Generally I only care about making the playoffs and not much more but like many fans I am starting to embrace the go big or go home mentality. Just getting there isn't enough I think they need to shoot more for high end star players at all positions. If they can get decent returns on some of their players in trade it could go a long way toward allowing them to take more chances on high ceiling low floor players in the draft. Unless they make 2021 a development year for some of the young pitchers then it looks like they might need to do that in 2022. They need to get out from under grabbing older vets with injury concerns and build a young staff of hurlers likely to make it through the year. For me they need to be at least 10 games over 500 at the deadline not to sell. if they manage that then I can live with them giving it a shot even though I think this would be a 1 and done team in playoffs. Also to be honest the more games above 500 the team is the more pressure on the FO not to sell by fans and the team. If they have a shot they won't sell even if it does make more sense than going for it IMO. They need some of their young arms to come up and make a difference. Their jobs likely depend on it.

I don't disagree with you. I never liked the Leach pick and a lot experts thought Rooker was a reach where he was taken as well especially given his age. Have to remember though the two biggest upside guys they got were teenagers in Lewis and Enlow so was likely going to take longer for them make it. Lewis would probably already be playing if not for a tough year in High A ball, Covid and then injury. looks like 2023 before a Major contribution for him. Barnes and Sammons are your typical 5th starter lefties that will be hard pressed to make it. Ober has a chance but unlikely to be more than a 5th starter if his stuff does actually play so none of those guys look like a Cleveland type starter to me. It is pretty much Enlow or bust for 2017. 2018 looks a bit more promising with Winder and Sands but will have to wait and see.

For the question of the week I think the rotation might be Winder, Duran, Balazovich, Canterino and Thorpe. Lot's of things could change that in next few years as Vallimont or Sands or some other pitcher could surprise and a guy I have in the rotation could be injured or just not effective at the MLB level. Wallner certainly had the better line for the week and has been an OPS monster with the HR's but the 38% K rate is going to haunt him at some point. Both Wallner and Julien have 500 BABIP's so they are likely to come down to earth at some point in the near future but right now I like Juliens odds better than Wallner because he has a much better eye at the plate with a 500 OBP. Honestly I don't remember seeing someone with 500 OBP after 50 at bats into the season but I guess I haven't been following MiLB players that long either. No surprise but Juliens K rate is 27% a full 10% less than Wallner and more in line with what you can get a way with and still make it to MLB. Julien could stand to start hitting more HR's at some point but right now I think he has the right approach and the HR's will come. I am interested in Camargo but like Wallner he K's at 40% plus right now. They both hit the ball extremely hard and have some long HR's. Camargo seems to have a lot of swing and miss to his game and I mean miss. He hits air far more times than actually contacting the ball. When watching online I am surprised that pitchers attack him so much over the heart of the plate and yet he still misses the ball completely. I would think that with his power they would pick the corners but honestly so far I haven't seen any pitcher that is afraid of him and I think he has only one walk on the year. He has quite a ways to go offensively if you ask me but he is a catcher and the standard is much lower so maybe he is just fine as he is. I have to say he did impress with the two pickoffs in the same game to first base. That is one way to keep a runner on his toes. He looks defensively sound to me so if the hitting improve the Twins could have another good catcher. I don't understand why Cano is in AA they should move him to AAA. Yeah he has some serious control problems at times but given what we have for bullpen arms he sure looks like a good candidate right now. Why wait? He can pitch in AAA just as well as AA and in AAA he is only a phone call away if needed. Unless of course they don't feel comfortable adding him to the 40 man right now. I am sad to see Donny Breek moving down. I have been following him and it looked like he was someone who was going to have good stuff. I guess the jump was just too big and he needs to work on a few things. Hopefully he comes back better than ever but I was hoping he would take his chance and run with it. I see Urbina and Cavaco are starting to come down to earth. I am guessing they are seeing more breaking balls now so will need to adjust. There is a lot of season left and hoping they both take their lumps and excel so they can move up a level next year. Seth thanks again for the recap. I always seem to get a little down on the system when certain guys I follow are not doing as well as hoped but looking through the week there were lot's of great performances.

I like him in the pen as well. He throws strikes and has good command. Hopefully his velocity would tick up and he still needs an out pitch or he will be a pitch to contact guy. Still I think he fits best in the pen especially with power arms that are coming up.