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Dman

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Everything posted by Dman

  1. Dman
    First time watching Peschl on MiLB.com. He looks physically a bit Zebby like. Big thick legs and a solid body. He's pitched well all year. Actually one of the few bright spots for A ball pitchers. Still he gave up some pretty hard contact, was wild at times and didn't seem to throw very hard. Granted his FIP and xFIP aren't that far off his ERA so the underlying numbers look good and support his success. Wondering if anyone has a good scouting report on him as his talent is intriguing. It's only 16 games but nice to see Salas with a near .900 OPS. He's not young for the level anymore, but would be nice to see him take off this year. More time is needed, but so far so good for him. Wallner has been a force at AAA. Some kind of crazy bad K's swinging out of the zone at times, but when he hits it, it's usually trouble for the other team. Nice to see him doing well. Have to believe he will be with the big club soon.
  2. Dman
    Yeah if he could find an out pitch I like him as a pen arm. I don't think he has the stuff to make it in the rotation. He needs a swing and miss pitch preferably a good changeup low and away.
  3. Dman
    I haven't seen every at bat, but there does seem to be some trends for how to pitch to Emma. One is to throw an almost down the middle strike to get ahead in the count and then maybe a pitch somewhere on an edge for strike two and then try to coax him into swinging out of the zone for strike three. He rarely swings at first pitch strikes so it seems like an easy way to get ahead in the count for the pitcher. Second approach is as you showed is to pitch him very carefully and try to get him to chase. I feel like when there are men on base they tend to stay out the zone more with him due to his extra base power. In those scenarios they seem fine to walk him if he isn't going to swing at borderline or out of the zone pitches. The strange thing is I have seen him swing and miss at stuff almost right down the middle of the plate more than a few times which makes me wonder about his contact skills. Still for all my wondering and complaining he has a 1.000 OPS for May. So his approach is working. At least this month anyway. His approach confounds me leaving me hot and cold with him more often than not. Still as stated his approach works for him, but it feels like maybe with some tweaks he could be even better.
  4. Dman
    Interesting note on Raya. Thanks for that. He really does have trouble throwing strikes. Either he doesn't trust his stuff or just has no idea where it is going, but it seems like he ends up needing to groove one or give up another walk far too often IMO. Still am happy he had a good night if nothing else than for his confidence and if the other team is gonna swing might as well stay out of the zone so good for him. FWIW it seems like a lot of hitters are having a tough time with just how low the strike zone goes with automatic pitch tracking. Being at the game so many of those pitches seem like they are at the ankles only to be called strikes and many challenges fail on those low pitches. On some of challenges the ball scrapes the top of low part of the zone at the knees literally making it slightly below knee high but still a strike. So I can see why there might be more swings at balls in the dirt as it can be hard to judge how low is too low until it is too late. Somewhat the same with the top of the zone as it can seem chest high or higher on some players with almost no chance to hit that, but the auto zone has it as a strike.
  5. Dman
    I've always liked MacLeod as he has always put up decent numbers, but he is one of those crafty lefties and that makes me nervous when making the leap to MLB. He kind of feels a bit like Funderburk part 2. Hoping he keeps it up, but it has just been hard to get too excited since he seems to have limitations. Gasper I don't get it. He is a monster at AAA but just seems to have such a hard time at the MLB level. I know it's different but with how dominant he is at AAA you would think some of that should translate. Love what he is doing maybe if he gets another callup things will work out better for him? So nice to see Raya have a nice outing. He just seems to get rocked almost every time out there. He has plus stuff or so I am told, but his results have never really been all that great IMO. Maybe this will be a turning point for him? Kernals grabbed a bunch of walks so good plate discipline tonight. Gotta believe Culpepper isn't going to be at High A much longer. I'd also think about pushing Diaw as he seems like one of the few catchers that might have a chance so would be good to get him reps at a higher level since his bat and approach appears ready.
  6. Dman
    I feel like a 900 OPS over a few months generally shows dominance at that level. It's not easy to get to 900. It takes consistency and the ability to get extra base hits. The Kernals have 4 guys with a 900 OPS right now and a 5th in DeBarge who has dropped just below that level. Not included in the five mentioned is Gonzalez who also had a 900 OPS at High A who currently has a 900 OPS at AA where his bat continues to stay hot. I'm not sure there is room for all 5 players at AA so it is going to be interesting to see how that shakes out. If I am Ross or Cespedes or Cossetti at AA and possibly Rucker or Prato at AAA. I am looking over my shoulder right now.
  7. Dman
    It is a smaller sample size but he has the highest OPS on the team right now IIRC. TBH my initial thought is it was kind of a joke\desperation signing, but like pretty much all season everything I think is right ends up wrong when it comes to this team. Might as well just say right now that the worst players will be the best players and vice versa. It's a strange world the Twins live in.
  8. Dman
    I honestly don't know what to say. I had pretty much given up on the season and was ready for the FO to trade all the guys on one year deals at the deadline. I know it is a long season but usually once a trend is set it doesn't instantly reverse itself. I'll eat my crow for now and jump back on the bandwagon I guess. This team just doesn't make sense to me, but they sure have been fun to watch while on this amazing streak. I know this pace isn't sustainable but it sure looks like they should be able to be in games and win their fair share. Who knows what will happen next, but they sure have made things interesting again as they take second place in the division after the win today..
  9. Dman
    I love it when these types of players get a chance. You never know how it might turn out. There are plenty of warts in his underlying numbers, but these power hitters can make up for a lot of short comings with the power they have. He looks a bit like Wallner from the right side. Let's see if he can manage an .800 OPS like Wallner has been able to do. It's a tall order moving up to the top level I sure hope he can do some damage when he gets his chance.
  10. Dman
    I would love it if Summerhill fell to the Twins. It's a very balanced profile with a high chance of success IMO. I think he ends up going higher than the Twins first pick though unless there are more high schooler's taken than expected ahead of him. I think he squeezes into the top 10 when it is all said and done but we'll how he does the rest of the way. Fischer wouldn't be a bad get either. The Twins need power hitters to balance out the lineup and I think he could be a solid power bat. Wouldn't mind going high school with this pick but with the results from last year in Culpepper and DeBarge I could see them double dipping college bats again. Not sure if love Phillips as he seems to have reliever risk, but a high octane arm certainly wouldn't hurt even if he ended up in the pen. I think this might be the year they take a flyer on one of the catchers that might be there around their spot. It seems like the system has been pretty rough for legit catchers. Stevenson has his warts as does Irish, but Irish's bat and position flexibility should make him a more Twinsy pick. I think this could be the year they go catcher early.
  11. Dman
    Happy you pointed it out but Gonzalez seems like he has a double play magnet on his bat when he is up. He should really focus on lifting the ball with bases loaded or even a man on first. It does feel like he has been a bit lucky and I am still not 100% sold on his very aggressive approach, but hard to argue against a .900 OPS for a young 21 year old.
  12. Dman
    It is so hard to go on these extended winning streaks as all five guys in the rotation have to keep the team in the game. The offense has to do enough against the other teams pitchers and the pen has to hold up game after game after game as well. With the way this season started I would have never pegged this team for even a five game winning streak let alone 12. Kudos to those guys for sticking together and changing this season's narrative.
  13. Dman
    CR has a killer lineup. The Twins invested most of their top 10 picks in bats last years draft and most of them are performing well. 5 of the top 10 hitters for OPS in the Midwest league are from the Kernel's (Gonzales, Amick, DeBarge, Baez and Culpepper). I don't think I have ever seen that level of dominance at any level before. They all have their flaws as hitters so plenty to work on. As mentioned by @jmlease1I don't think they move anyone up until at least the end of May or early June and they often wait until the first half of the minor league season is over to make those moves. There is no reason to rush anyone that I can see as they are all pretty young except for Baez. Been watching Diaw pretty closely and on offense it seemed like he just really lacked power. His K and Walk rates are good and his BA has been decent all year as well but the OPS lagged because he had no power. I was going to write that about him earlier and of coarse now he has been hitting HR's and moved his OPS into the 800's. If he can keep that going it looks like a strong plate approach and strong bat. When I went to the Cedar Rapids game he didn't look that good behind the plate and the opposing team stole bases at a high clip and his throws to second were way off. Maybe just a bad game as I know he has been better there recently. Also lot's of passed balls in the game I watched. Seems like there is work to be done there but he does look athletic behind the plate. Still hoping he develops into a more viable catcher than the Twins have had in a while. Baez has the typical power you like in a catcher and I think his defense is fairly good as well (except for caught stealing numbers which are horrible). He has really brought his K rate down this year from like 30% to 11%. It seems to have made a huge difference in his results at the plate. I would like to see them move him soon since he is older for the level and with his improved approach and 900 OPS he has earned a move to AA IMO.
  14. Dman
    Man am I gonna have to eat crow tonight for my Paddack comments? I thought his last time out was a little bit of luck, but seven innings of no run ball? Maybe he is better than I thought he was? Naaw I need him to do it one more time before getting that crow dinner. Nice to see him pitching well. Hope it stays that way the rest of the year.
  15. Dman
    Yeah I noticed that as well. His numbers are going to come down and they were until he got hurt. Still I think the fact that he is taking his fair share of walks and getting so much solid contact seem to dispel some of the concerns that he might not improve much. I'm not as pessimistic, but I also don't think you are wrong to be concerned. I think the power will return. If I had to guess I would think they wanted him to focus on contact in the zone first as that was a pretty major concern coming out of college and likely the reason he fell to mid second round (he had late first round buzz if you looked past the warts). If his injury isn't too bad I expect a power surge later in the year. We'll see. I was extremely pessimistic when they made the pick and am on record as not liking it. There is still plenty to be concerned about, but he hasn't been the train wreck I expected he might be.
  16. Dman
    Thomason looks more than ready to move up, but not much room in the infield for the Kemal's. .The only player from the Kernal's that seems ready to move up would be Baez but he is a catcher. With Salas back they technical have 4 shortstops plus Amick and Doncon whenever those two come back. SO he might have to stay at Fort Meyers a bit longer than maybe he needs to. I don't know how much more McCusker can do to earn that callup. 10 Home runs already. and he has been striking out less these past few games as well. Maybe no room with Bader and Larnach hitting pretty well right now? Hope he keeps it up. Would like to see if it translates to the bigs.
  17. Dman
    I really liked the pick when they made it but I never expected to be a top 100 guy his first full pro year. Usually the high school arms struggle to some degree, but he has been good from the start. He will need to fill out some but Festa is still pretty skinny and he does just fine. My mind would blown if the Twins developed an ace type lefty. There's a long way to go, but I love seeing Hill off to a great start.
  18. Dman
    I went to Beloit to watch the Kernels and I wish I could have my money and time back. For the most part they looked horrible tonight. Poor plate discipline, Pitchers couldn't throw strikes and when they did gave up solid contact. Wild pitches throwing errors. Just really ugly baseball. Hard to believe this team has a good record after what I saw tonight. A few observations. Culpepper has some very good bat to ball skills and made a great defensive play tonight. He really looks the part as a strong defensive shortstop IMO. However, Beloit scouted him well as he likes to swing at pitches low in the zone and they exploited him in key spots by throwing pitches in the dirt or very close to that to get swinging strikes out of him. He needs to figure that out and if he does he has a bat that can do good damage. If he doesn't he should be pretty easy to strike out staying out of the zone. Funny part of the evening had Kendle as the player that if he strikes out they give 4 dollar beers to those that want them. The announcer and the crowd got on him and he ultimately did strike out the first time, but his next time up he hit a home run and quieted the crowd some. So he got his revenge in the end which was one of the few things to go right tonight for the Kernel's. I came to this game to watch Oliveras pitch and he didn't make it out of the first inning. He couldn't throw strikes and when he did they were all over it with solid contact. Given what I saw it was hard to believe he was someone that has barely been scored on the last 11 innings or so. He looked awful. I will say he throws hard and the ball really makes a pop in the catchers mitt. It is a good looking delivery, but the results were not there and I was extremely disappointed that he didn't make it out of the first inning. That game was over after the first inning. The player that looked the most amazing tonight was Thomas White with Beloit. He was masterful getting lots of swings out of the zone. His control wasn't that great IMO , but he had them swinging and he made throwing 95 to 97 look easy. Like playing catch. He has work to do for sure, but was the best player out there tonight IMO. I was thinking of heading out there for Sunday's matchup, but with such a sour taste in my mouth with this one I think I am going to skip.
  19. Dman
    I never thought this team would even sniff 500 after their horrible start to the season. Maybe I've just jinxed them as they are not quite there yet, but to have nibbled their way this close seems extraordinary given the offensive limitations and the imploding pitching they tend to have. I don't know that they can keep this up, but kudos to them for getting back in it. I mean I had just recently been cheering for them to lose and for players like France, Castro and Bader to do well so they could fetch players at the deadline. If this team can continue to pitch this well consistently they can play with anyone. Also FWIW I never in my wildest dreams thought Paddack could go 6 no hit innings or ever go 7 innings in a game. He just hasn't looked capable. And yet here we are in one of the more Jekyll and Hyde starts to a season I can remember. I give up trying to figure this team out. Will just have to see how things play out, but I am going to try to keep some type of positive spin whether they keep winning or losing.
  20. Dman
    McCusker making his move to convince the Twins he needs to be called up. He is on fire to start the season. Absolutely dialed in. The only thing holding him back is that 30% K rate which generally only gets worse at the MLB level. I do love seeing him hit home runs. Festa looking really good too. He is just waiting for another chance.
  21. Dman
    I didn't know about the velocity drop. I thought they were likely working with him to try and get more swinging strikes out of the zone rather than in the zone as he seems to have Home run problem when in the Majors. So if there is a velocity drop that certainly would be worrisome.
  22. Dman
    Nice to see Beltre have instant success in the FCL. 1 for 2 with a home home run. a walk. four RBI's and no strikeouts has him continuing what he did in the DSL last year. Long way to go, but he was great in his first game.
  23. Dman
    Walker JenkinsLuke KeaschallEmmanuel RodriguezKaelen CulpepperMarco RayaConnor PrielippCharlee SotoDasan HillBilly AmickBrandon WinokurAndrew MorrisGabriel GonzalezTanner SchobelKala'i RosarioPayton EelesCory LewisCJ CulpepperYunior SeverinoCarson McCuskerYasser Mercedes
  24. Dman
    Man what a difference a week makes. Last week I was ready to pronounce DeAndrade as a failure. He wasn't disciplined at the plate, swinging out of the zone. It didn't look like he was tracking pitches well at all there was sooo much swing and miss. Sooo much weak contact. The past week has seen a power surge and his OPS climb into the 800's. This is the bat I remember. He still has a low batting average, but he dug himself a pretty big hole to start the season. Happy to see him back on track.
  25. Dman
    Cleveland's Williams has been bad the last three times out. Wondering if there is something wrong with his arm? Nice to see hits with runners in scoring position. We'll see what tomorrow brings but I am really struggling to follow this team.
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